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Chapter Three

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The bright sunlight hurt Alanna's eyes as they finally found their way out of the Lost Woods. In the forest, the sun had been filtered through the shady leaves above, but now the noonday sun shown unyieldingly down on Hyrule Field. The air was more dusty and dry than it had been in the forest, but not as stale as it had been in most of the cave.

The cave. Her mind winced at the thought. Link had been eyeing her suspiciously through out the journey, as if she might suddenly bolt and run for the cave. She might have returned, had she not been so afraid. It was an odd sensation, fearing the very thing you longed for. Alanna still struggled within herself to resist the urge to return to the crystal room and the dark triangle with its frightening . . . peacefulness. It was the only word she could find that came close to describing the feeling, or lack thereof, she had felt.

"What should we do now, hero boy?" she asked Link, trying to distract her mind from the cave.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm heading for the castle," Link said, pointing a finger in the direction of Hyrule Castle Town. "Maybe Zelda will know something more about this."

"I doubt Princess Zelda will listen to a young boy," Alanna remarked.

Link looked insulted. "I'm the Hero of Time. Of course she'll listen. She knows she can trust me."

Obviously the boy still believes he's a legendary hero. Alanna had to bite her lip momentarily to keep from laughing. "I'll come with you and we'll see," she said, once she trusted herself to speak.

"Fine," Link said, turning on his heels, "but you'll have to keep up!" Grinning, he took off at a full run. Alanna tried to run, but half way across the field, she tripped over her skirt. When she started off again, she held her skirt a good five inches off the ground for good measure. We must look quite a sight, she though, realizing she hadn't brushed her hair since she climbed the tree and neither of them had showered in two days.

Finally, she came in sight of the main drawbridge into the town. Link was leaning against the sign outside looking smug. "Beat ya!" he smirked.

Alanna pretended not to care. "I didn't know it was a race."

"Fine then," Link said, "Race you into town!" He didn't even wait for her reply and was off like a rocket into the town. Alanna rolled her eyes and deliberately took her time making her way across the bridge, past the guards' house, and into the center of the market square.

Hyrule Castle Town was as busy as ever. Alanna had been there a few times, usually when her mother sent her for eggs or milk or some such thing. Vendors called out from their stands, advertising everything from sharp swords to birthday cakes. Children chased chickens around the square, despite their mother's pleas to come back. The air was filled the aroma of foreign spices and unusual potions. Everywhere you looked, there was something new and exciting.

In the middle of the square was a large fountain. Alanna sat down next to it. She had just begun to look around in hopes of finding Link when she felt a splash of freezing cold water on the back of her neck. She whipped her head around, ready to reap revenge on whoever had splashed her. Another splash of water hit her as soon as she spotted her attacker. "Link!" she yelled out, " I'm going to kill you." She stood up and tried to splash some water back in Link's direction, but he dodged behind the centerpiece of the fountain. Alanna turned around and splashed in that direction, soaking Link as he came around the other side.

"Hey, watch it! You're gonna rust my sword," Link said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"So are we going to go see the princess now?" asked Alanna.

Link shrugged. "I thought that as long as we were here, I might as well stock up on things."

"Like what?" said Alanna, wondering what the supposed hero could need.

"Well, I'm running low on fairies and I could do with a little more slingshot ammo . . ." Link started, and would have continued if his audience had stayed put, but Alanna had gotten up and started walking away. "Meet you back here at three," he called after her. Alanna just kept walking, so Link shrugged and went off to do his shopping.

He really believes he's a hero, she thought disgustedly, walking around inspecting booths as she did, going on about all his supplies. Of all the boys I could've met . . . . She stopped short as she came to an odd booth. Most of the booths she'd passed were full of customers. This booth was completely empty except for a short man who appeared to be the shopkeeper. He looked older than Hyrule itself. His eyes were gray and looked as though they'd seen many battles. Thinning white hair and beard flowed down to his waist. He wore layers and layers of slightly wore clothes, covered in enough pockets that they seemed to almost drown the man. His teeth were remarkably white and his smile seemed almost eerie.

However, none of the man's features could compare to what the cart held. It was filled with an assortment of odd items. The cart wasn't organized in any particular fashion. Objects were simply piled on top of each other in random layers. There were old clocks that hadn't told time for centuries, with multicolored springs stick out every which way. Shiny new tin whistles lay next to shabby wicker baskets. Rings with large, fake stones were sprinkled across the display. A large red pocket knife lay to one side of a basket full of eggs.

"Looking for anything in particular?" asked the old shopkeeper in an inquisitive tone as he noticed her looking at his wares.

"Not really," remarked Alanna, casually browsing through the interesting items. At first she had just looked to be polite, but the shop became more fascinating as she sifted through the items. She lifted up a ridiculously over ornamented sky blue shirt and quickly set back down. Underneath a pair of shoes, she found a basket of simple jewelry. Most of them were small gold chains with simple pendants hanging down. At the very bottom, however, was a small ring, barely big enough to fit around her little finger. It was a simple band made of a single seamless piece of black ebony. Something about the ring seemed very appealing.

"How much for this?" Alanna said, holding the ring up to the little man behind it.

"That one? That ring?" the shopkeeper looked taken aback, "I've been trying to sell that ring for years! You can have it." He shoved the ring back towards her and looking very upset pulled down the cover of his shop saying, "We're closed."

Alanna opened her mouth to say something in protest, but the man seemed to have disappeared from the booth. Still very puzzled by his behavior, she slipped the ring on her finger. She looked at it wonderingly for a second and then moved on, to browse the next booth.