Chapter no. : 1
Chapter title: Gone
Story rating: T (for now)
BETAed: Not BETAed - if anyone's willing, drop me a line
Disclaimer: Me no own Zelda. I mean, come on - how stupid are you? If I did own Zelda, it would contain much swearing, blood, sex and rock'n'roll. And Yaoi. Don't forget the luffly yaoi. But since I don't own it, I have to settle for entertaining you guys with my stories and OCs - which is fine by me.
Warnings: Not any at the moment. Apart from the blood. I'll get more descriptive as time goes on, but for now, it's really nothing unless you faint at the sight of a dead ant.
Notes: This is my first Zelda story. Now, I know I'm not that great of a writer, but I'm trying. To write is to practice to write, right? I just hope this goes well.
Totally irrelevant quote of the update:
"I don't believe in bad luck, but I do subscribe to the theory of horribly inconvenient coincidences."
Epona always spoke to me. Despite the fact that she, being a horse, could not actually talk, I could understand what she was thinking as if they were words floating above her head. I always thought I could read all horses fairly well; setting aside the fact that other than Epona, I'd only met one horse.
Only after Epona had been killed by an Archer Bulblin, who had quickly lost its own life, and I got a new mount (which I named Shade) did I realise I knew nothing about communicating with horses. Shade tended to directly and intentionally ignore me, despite my best efforts in gaining her trust and affections. I tried giving her carrots, letting her graze whenever I wasn't in need of her assistance, petting her often…but nothing worked. She refused to eat the carrots, which had been Epona's favorite food, rolled instead of grazed, which Epona never did, and merely walked away when I began petting her. She also wouldn't answer to Epona's Song, which was understandable, seeing as she was a different horse, but still, the fact broke my heart.
So, realizing that it was high time I set out to learn to understand Shade better, as well as the world, I watched everything intently along my travels. I watched Shade's ears and made sure to feel how she walked, I watched the Bulblins as they fell from cliffs, pushed by another laughing at the top, and I watched and listened to the rest of the world. One thing I noticed was that Shade was nearly opposite Epona. She hated carrots, didn't like being petted, and actually preferred rolling to grazing. Epona had always been spotless due to the simple fact she never touched dirt.
But something stranger yet I discovered was the young girl that sat atop the stone arch that stood proudly over one end of the Great Bridge of Hylia, her legs dangling precariously over the edge. A large bow sat at her side and a quiver hung from her back, renewing magically if she ever ran out of arrows. She wore her golden-brown hair cropped short, layered, and only just hitting the bottom of her pointed ears. A long, lavender skirt gave way to bare feet, and a white blouse covered her top half, showing the extraordinarily prominent lack of cleavage. A rolling plain held more hills than her chest did.
Over the next few weeks as I didn't learn a thing about reading Shade, I noticed the girl's eyes changing. Some days, they were sweet and innocent, reminding me of Ilia's. They were the same shade, too, but a bit more vibrant. Other days, they were mere slits, resonating evil and spite. It seemed, as you traveled under her chosen perch, she was plotting against you. It always sent a shiver down my spine as Shade and I rode past. Yet, on the rare occasion, her eyes were bold and strong, impassive almost. I liked those days least.
Typically, I did my best to ignore the mysterious girl, but sometimes she sparked my interest. After only a few of those times, I decided to figure out what she used the bow for.
I would cross under her, taking note of how her eyes looked so that I didn't observe her too often with the same eyes, and hide behind the rocks that guarded the entrance to her bridge. Shade would be left to roll farther away so she didn't alert the girl to my presence.
The first day I chose to observe her, her eyes gleamed with malevolence and evil. Shade had decided to suddenly vanish, so I crossed the bridge without her, only realizing then how long it was.
From dawn to midday, nothing happened. Never before had I noticed how utterly vacant the bridge was, at least, not until waiting for something to happen. I'll never know how that girl merely sat up there all day, unmoving. Either she had a lot to think about, or she was really bored.
Finally, as the sun passed its zenith, a small form appeared on the horizon, on the far side of the bridge. He was an older man, a fellow of at least fifty years, his age marked by graying hair and deep wrinkles upon his weary face. His blue eyes shone wise and dull.
Just as the innocent old man hit the center of the bridge, directly under the swarm of vulture-like birds, the girl idly raised her bow, pulled an arrow from the quiver, and, without aiming whatsoever, launched the arrow straight into the man's chest. I could only stare with wide eyes, pondering over her reasoning.
I was suddenly grateful she'd never pointed that bow at me, for if she had, I'd be dead, rotting on the bridge. I also wondered why she'd never shot me. Perhaps she knew I was the Hero of Legend, the one fated to save Hyrule from perils beyond compare. Or maybe she had just decided to spare me all those times. Still, why did she kill the man, when he had so much life left?
My answer dropped on me like a stone as the vultures plummeted from the sky in a black cloud, descending upon the corpse hungrily. Within a minute, only bones were left, and a few remained to push the skeleton over the cliff edge.
I made a mental note to, if I ever got the chance, see how large the pile of bones beneath the bridge was.
The next day, her eyes were the same. Shade had returned, but I didn't observe her that day. I already knew what she would do to innocent passerby.
Until her eyes changed, I passed under her every day before taking Shade to the field to practice jumping the tiny brick walls that littered the field some ways away. She would probably never be as good as Epona had been, due to her smaller size and thinner frame. True, she was hardly three years old and still had a tiny bit of growing to do, but even Epona had been larger at the same age.
Even now, I miss my first companion.
Epona had been a Palomino Clydesdale Mare, standing at about seventeen hands. Each 'hand', the unit of measurement used in the horse world, was about four inches. So, all total, she was about sixty-eight inches at the Withers, or shoulders.
Even now, I love how the Master Sword felt in my grip as it slid through the Bulblin's chest, piercing its heart, and as I turned it, pushing it in to the hilt and out through the beast's back, ripping one of the most vital organs in a body to shreds.
I love how its blood felt as it soaked through my boots.
Even now, I miss Epona, and I would give even Shade to have her back.
But back to the point.
Shade was only sixteen hands, about sixty-four inches. She was a thin, Black Sabino Warlander with a crest-shaped snip on her forehead. It's still a good thing she's not White, because if she was, she'd have turned permanently brown with all the dirt from her rolling habit.
Finally, after over a week, the girl's eyes were different. They were sweet and loving this time, a stark contrast to the previous setting.
I assumed my position, hiding in the shadows after dropping Shade far away, and readied myself for a long day of watching.
The sun bore down on me with a distinct lack of cloud cover to hinder the heat it gave off. I would be burnt to a crisp by the end of the day.
Two small caravans of supplies to aid Kakariko, seeing as Death Mountain had recently erupted and the civilians were in dire need of help, passed separately before mid-morning. The girl merely watched them with gleeful eyes.
Long after the sun's zenith, when clouds had finally covered the sun and prevented my skin from burning any further, a young man with a brisk pace and a small rapier at his side stepped onto the far end of the bridge, stopping shortly after and pulling out a large map. He seemed puzzled, unfamiliar with the territory.
I had to admit- Hyrule Field could be tiresomely irritating if you didn't know it well. I still get lost sometimes.
The girl was watching him intensely, no longer idly swinging her legs back and forth over the edge of the arch as she had been for the past few hours.
Soon, his face lit up in realization, obviously seeing that he was on the right track, and he continued over the bridge.
Just as the ill-fortuned young man stepped below the swarm of vulture-like beasts, three dropped from the sky, ready to tear him limb from limb for food.
I strongly believed it would be his end, and my Hero's instincts were on full throttle. It took everything in my power to keep myself in the shadows and not run to save the individual.
Again, the girl idly plucked her bow from the stone at her side and notched an arrow. She let it fly, but instead of piercing the heart of the birds' prey, one of said birds dropped to the ground, its eyes wide and glazed over in cold death, an arrow protruding from its chest. Despite the fact that it had been meaning to harm the young man and often myself, I couldn't help but feel bad for the beasts as she let two more arrows fly. Even the daftest of species had feelings, I realised as the rest of the flock crowded around the three dead birds, keening out in mournful tones and pitches.
Soon, though, still crying with grief, they began to nudge the bodies over the bridge's edge as they had done the bones so many days before. I have no words to describe how shocked I was at the sight, as I vowed to never kill one of that type of bird again.
Seeing the girl, her arrows, and the dead birds, the young man connected the dots, his face sinking into a grimace or horror, believing whole-heartedly that she'd been aiming at him. With a terrified whine, he dashed the final few meters to the rest of the field, nearly dropping his map in his fright.
A spider crawled, unnoticed, into my tunic. Only once I felt the little feet catching on my skin did I realise it was there.
Not exactly fond of spiders, I bit back a squeak of alarm and quickly turned around, purposefully ramming my back into the wall, effectively crushing the tiny bug. But after a moment of contemplation, my mood dropped slightly as I saw how daft of an idea that had been, seeing as I'd have to clean the smashed spider off my lower back.
Still, a dead spider was better than a living one.
It rained the next day.
The girl's eyes were at my least favorite setting, and she didn't seem to mind the torrential downpour that could soak even the thickest wad of clothing through in an instant. I was sure even my chainmail had become soggy, nomatter how impossible that was.
The sun had effectively hidden behind a wall of dark grey clouds that covered every inch of blue sky, giving Hyrule Field an air of death and mourning.
Claps of thunder only added to the music the pouring rain had created, flashes of light becoming the visual entertainment of the day.
The girl atop the bridge didn't move an inch all day, nomatter who crossed and who was attacked by the crow-like birds.
As time passed ever so slowly and the clouds didn't move an inch, the idea of jumping off the bridge with a cuccoo crossed my mind multiple times. But the lake below would be cold and my Zora Tunic was torn. Had I jumped in regardless of the two factors, I would be more likely than not dead within a few minutes. I'd never been the best swimmer without the specially-made tunic given to me by the late Queen Rutella.
Night came, and it dawned on me that she wouldn't move at all that day. I decided I'd spent too much time watching her, and it was time to continue on, despite my curiosity. I would travel up to Death Mountain to visit the Gorons to see how they were faring in the time of peace.
The Zoras were recovering well from the loss of their queen- I'd visited them less than a month ago. Fish were plentiful again, and their population was quickly growing. They'd discovered new medicines, some even to fight off multiple types of poisons and unique illnesses.
I'd visited Castle Town and Princess Zelda, the new inhabitants of Arbiter's Grounds, even the mildly disturbing 'clowns' of Lake Hylia.
The only ones left were the Gorons and Kakariko.
Kakariko, since it lay at the bottom of the mountain, came first.
I called Shade using a grass horseshoe whistle, waiting over five minutes before the mare realised she was supposed to come to that music, and quickly mounted.
Bulblin after Bulblin became mere remains as Shade trampled them into the dust, leaving their black blood and smashed organs behind us.
Acre after acre of grasses and flowers sped along underneath, creating a green ocean as we flew over it.
Hoofbeat after hoofbeat caught my attention, each carrying the same sound.
Step after step, and I felt my heart cracking. Shade's 'song' was so unlike Epona's.
Eventually, the mare slowed to a trot as we entered Kakariko.
It definitely wasn't the barren town with a mountain and a spring I remembered it being.
People flocked from store to store, creating a massive crowd. Party banners hung from rocks, one at each entrance to the little village, and I had to duck down on Shade to keep from clotheslining myself.
"Link!"
Someone called my name from near the hotel. Even amid all the mixed voices, I knew it to be Renado, Kakariko's famed shaman.
Grateful as I was to see him, the only drawback of announcing my presence as such is that it drew others' attention. Soon, I had a large flock of people around me, desperate to get to touch the Chosen Hero.
Oh, the woes of being famous.
A wide smile on his face, Renado cleared a path in the crowd, and, noticing Shade was on the verge of fleeing, lead my black-pinto horse into his home.
Glad to be free of that swamping mass of people, I dismounted Shade and let her out, seeing as she was begging at the door like a dog would. She quickly raced through the crowd, running for the hills and Hyrule Field, where there would be grass to roll in. People screamed as they jumped out of the way of the rampaging horse. I grinned in apology as they rushed to the door to swamp me once again.
It was shut in their faces.
Renardo handed me a cup of tea identical to his own and ushered me to sit on the desert-ish couch. He turned towards me, obviously happy to see me. I agreed that it had been far too long.
"So, Link, what brings you here? It strays far from your usual path." Ah, Renado. Quick to the point.
"I wanted to check up on the Gorons, to see how they're faring in peace." Renardo nodded solemnly, and I stopped.
"It pains me to tell you this, but the Gorons no longer reside in the mountain." My jaw dropped as my eyes widened.
"But that mountain has been their home for centuries! Since the Goddesses created the races, they've lived there! Why would they leave?" My grip had tightened on the clay glass.
The proud Goron tribe has always lived in Death Mountain, since long before the age of the Hero of Time, even. They survived on the diamonds created by the lava. Their mines were everything to them, and I could not imagine the Gorons living anywhere else. Such a huge change could possibly upset the balance of nature!
Ok, maybe I was being a bit melodramatic.
Still, nothing could provoke such a drastic move. Where would they go? They ate rocks, for the Goddesses sakes! Where were they to get such a huge supply of food aside Death Mountain?
And the Goron Ruby was still buried, deep inside the mountain's temple, the source of all lava. Who would protect it? Kakariko itself was far too weak to hold such a job, and I refused to stay in the dry, arid climate for too long. Besides, I couldn't stand the mountain. A full week in there when I'd been getting the Fused Shadow for Midna had been enough.
…Midna.
I still missed the little imp. It had been two years since I'd seen her, and two years too long. I wondered how she was. Was she even alive? Perhaps the Twili race had rebelled, and she'd been killed or overthrown?
"Link?" Renardo had snapped me out of my daze, out of my thoughts.
"Hm? Oh, sorry." I shook my head slightly to clear the ideas from my mind. "So, why would they leave?" I suddenly felt stupid, repeating my question. It had been I, after all, who had been lost to his thoughts. Renardo had most likely already answered it, and I was just making a fool of myself. Regardless, he cleared his throat to speak.
"Because they no longer exist."
To Be Continued...
And so it begins.
I've decided I'll not make a plotline for this one and just go with the flow, because my flow tends to be fairly creative. My plots, however? Not so much.
If I've made any spelling, gramatical, or otherwise errors, feel free to tell me!
Please review. If ya do, I may update sooner. :)