I've being telling myself not to do this. Oh well.

I don't own very much any more.

Ocarina of Time: The Prelude of Light

Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings

Lake Hylia

"So that's it, you're running away?" The moon shone down on the lake, casting haunting reflections of the two who stood in the shallowest parts of the water. They were little more than children, with eyes the color of amethysts. The young Zora girl glared at the boy, who was pulling a cloak out of a pouch on his waist.

"I can't stay here," he replied. "I've seen the looks they give me; heard the whispers. They hate me."

"Not all of them do." Tears formed in her eyes as she watched him put on the cloak, "And it's not safe out there for our people. You could die of dehydration."

"No one would miss me."

"I would," she told him, stepping towards him. "You're my little brother: I don't want to lose you."

"Sis," he started, lifting a hand to her face. She covered his hand with her own, uncaring of the tears that rained down on them. He pulled away, before she could see the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks, and flipped up his hood. "I'll miss you."

She watched him leave the lake, watched as he retreated into the darkness. Tears fell faster as she screamed after him, "Come back! Promise me that you'll come home!"

"I can't make that promise," he replied softly, sparing a glance back at her.

Kokiri Forest

Link was woken from a nightmare by a shrill voice screaming in his ear. He yawned as he sat up, glaring at the glowing ball of blue light in front of him. The fairy made a face at him as she spoke, "You finally woke up! I'm Navi the fairy!"

"No kidding," Link muttered, rubbing at his eyes. Although he was thankful to have been woken up, he wished at it had been his best friend-to be honest his only friend-Saria waking him up instead of the fairy. Was she going to taunt him?

"The Great Deku Tree asked me to be your partner from now on! Nice to meet you!"

"She's excited," Link thought, his sleepy mind not processing what she had said. "Wait, my partner?" "Partner?"

"The Great Deku Tree has summoned you!" Navi said, not bothering to answer his question. "So let's get going right now!"

"I have a fairy! I'm a real Kokiri!" Link thought, nodding quickly, unable to hide his grin. Saria was going to be so happy for him! The young boy stepped out of his house, his grin growing larger as he took in the forest. Kokiri Forest was a truly beautiful place, and its beauty seemed to grow now that Link belonged. He could see a bob of green hair moving towards his tree house, followed by a pink fairy that seemed to have trouble keeping up, and he laughed quietly. "Saria."

"Yahoo!" She called as she came to a stop in front of his house. "Hi Link!"

"Hey, Saria!" he replied, climbing down the ladder to see her. She grinned at him, and glanced up at Navi.

"Wow! A fairy!" She threw her arms around the boy and squeezed him tightly, cutting off his air. "Finally, a fairy came to you, Link!"

"I know," he replied, breathlessly. "It happened this morning."

"Wow! That's great news!" She let go of him with an ecstatic giggle, watching as he tried to breathe deeply. "I'm so happy for you!"

"How'd I know she was going to say that?" He thought wryly, shaking his head slightly at her.

"Now, you're a true Kokiri, Link!"

"Link," Navi hissed, dancing around his ears. "You've been summoned by the Great Deku Tree, remember?"

"Is that right?" Saria asked, overhearing Navi. She grinned at her best friend as she continued, "The Great Deku Tree has summoned you?"

"Yeah," Link replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Saria bowed her head slightly, showing an obvious sign of respect.

"It's quite an honor to talk to the Great Deku Tree!" She looked up at him suddenly, "I'll wait for you here."

"Are you sure?" Link asked, biting his lip. "Maybe you could come with me."

Saria laughed at him, and brushed his blond bangs out of his eyes, "Get going, Link! Go see the Great Deku Tree!"

"Alright, Saria." Walking away from his friend, Link made his way toward the passage that he had seen Saria go through many times when she was meeting with the Deku Tree. However, when he got there, he was met with a horrid sight.

"Hey, you! "Mr. No-Fairy"!" Mido sneered, pointing a chubby finger in Link's face. Mido. Link could say a lot of nasty, but true, things about the self-proclaimed leader of the Kokiri, but Saria wouldn't approve. "What's your business with the Great Deku Tree? Without a fairy, you're not even a real man!"

Link glared at the boy, and ground out, "First off, I have a fairy-"

"What?! You've got a fairy?!" Mido exclaimed, noticing Navi for the first time. Navi brightened, and flew around Mido's head.

"Yes he does," she replied. "And he was summoned-"

"Say what?! The Great Deku Tree actually summoned you?" Link nodded, hiding a smile as Mido looked him up and down in anger, "Whaaat? Why would he summon you and not the great Mido?

"He likes me more than you," Link shrugged, causing Mido to start pouting.

"I don't believe it! You aren't even fully equipped yet!" Mido glared at him as he continued, "How do you think you're going to help the Great Deku Tree without both a sword and a shield ready?"

"You don't have your equipment ready," Link pointed out.

"What? You're right-I don't have my equipment ready, but…if you want to pass through here, you should at least equip a sword and shield. Sheesh!" Link glared at him, but turned on his heel and walked away. As he did, he bumped into one of the twins, Rela, who had been walking back to her house with a bunch of flowers.

"Hi Link! Have you talked to Radi recently?" she asked as Link helped her pick up the flowers. "He and his brothers are all training again. Sedi has even started buying Deku seeds from the shop over there!"

"That's nice," Link replied, remembering that the Know-It-All Brothers used to be the closest things the Kokiri had to soldiers back in the dark time. Maybe Radi knew where a sword was.

"Oh! If you stop by the shop later, could you say hello to Sola for me?" Rela continued. "She's always seated on the roof of the shop."

"Of course I will," Link smiled, remembering that shields were sold at the shop for forty Rupees. "It's good talking to you, Rela."

"You too, Link."

Hyrule Castle Town

"You got any Rupees kid?" a gruff salesman asked, glaring down at a cloaked boy. The boy's blue eyes widened, and he started frantically searching the worn leather pouch attached to his belt. Looking up at the man, he silently shook his head. Sneering at the boy's torn blue tunic and cracked brown boots, the man continued, "Then get out of my shop."

"Yes Sir," the boy squeaked, practically running for the door. Once he got outside, he surveyed the marketplace. His stomach growled loudly, prompting a groan to escape him. He hadn't eaten in hours, and even then he had barely touched the food. "Man, can my life get any worse?"

"Hey you," a quiet voice called, causing the boy to jump several feet in the air. He spun around, only for a giggle to ring out from above him, "Up here."

He looked up, eyes widening at the sight of a young Gerudo girl seated on a rooftop, a large loaf of bread in her hands. She waved it at him, motioning with her other hand.

"Are you hungry?"

"Y-yes," he nodded, his eyes never leaving the bread.

"If you can climb up, I'll split it with you." She smirked at him, waiting to see if he'd be willing to scale the building to get bread. He smiled slightly at her, and stepped backwards, gauging the distance. The smile changed to a sly smirk as he rushed forward, leaping onto a stall and catapulting onto the roof. She stared at him, dumbstruck, prompting a nervous laugh from him.

"Wa-was that alright?"

"Where'd you learn to do that?" she gasped, handing him half of the loaf. He shrugged slightly, eyeing the bread with a look of ravenous hunger.

"I've always been able to do that," he admitted. "It used to annoy my sister to no ends."

"You have a sister? Where?" He froze at her questions, his blue-violet eyes studying the horizon.

"Far away from here. She probably wouldn't even recognize me now."

"Oh," the Gerudo nodded, and took a bite of the bread. The boy, on the other hand, tore into it like an angry wolfos. "Hey slow down! I don't want you to choke!"

"I-sorry." He took slower bites, much to the girl's happiness. He swallowed, and asked, "What brings you so far from the desert?"

"My King is meeting with the King of Hyrule," she said, looking towards the castle. "Nabooru told me to tag along and watch for anything weird. I should be training now, instead of waiting for him and Rukmini to leave the castle."

"I see," the boy hummed, looking down sadly. The Gerudo girl looked at him with a slight smile.

"I'm Ashia!"

"Za-Vanir."

"Zavanir? That's a funny name."

"No, it's just Vanir. No za."

"But you said-"

"Just Vanir." Ashia giggled quietly at him, earning a pout from the boy.

"So then , Vanir, can you fight?"

"I-I don't know."

"How can you not know?"

"I mean, I can use a sword, and a stick, but-"

"Then you can fight!" Ashia grinned at Vanir, who looked down at the townspeople, his ears turning pink. "I bet Nabooru would love to meet you!"

"But Gerudos don't like boys. They think they're icky," Vanir murmured, pouting. Ashia giggled again, causing his eyes to meet her golden ones.

"We don't like most boys," she agreed, nodding. "But you don't seem icky."

"Thanks…I think."

Kokiri Forest

Link raced across the bridge, his mind still reeling from what had happened. The Great Deku Tree…was dead. He had to find the Princess-whatever that was, and give her the gem. The Kokiri Emerald rested in his pouch, a strange feeling of home radiating from it.

"Oh, you're leaving." Link stopped in his tracks, spinning to look at his only friend. Saria stood on the bridge, her eyes filling with tears. Link walked over to her, watching as she brushed at her eyes, unwilling for him to watch her cry. "I knew…I knew that you would leave the forest…someday Link."

"Saria," he began, reaching a hand towards her. She shook her head, taking in deep breaths.

"Because you are…different from me and my friends." Saria brought a hand to her chest, her fingers resting over the place where a wood necklace laid underneath her shirt. The necklace was of the Kokiri symbol, it had been a gift from a friend of hers. His name was Fado, and he had given Link his house a few years back, when the Great Deku Tree had called him. Link hadn't seen him since, and he knew just how close Fado and Saria had been. Saria smiled at him, but Link felt guilt bubble up inside of him none the less. "But that's ok, because we'll be friends forever…won't we?"

"Of course we will," Link smiled. Saria looked down as she took a clay ocarina out of her pocket. She held it out to him, not meeting his gaze.

"I want you to have this Ocarina," she began. "Please take good care of it."

"I will," Link whispered, taking the ocarina from her. He held it up to the light, noting a small engraving of his name on the back. He put it in his pouch, and stared at her, all the words he wanted to say dying in his throat.

"When you play my ocarina, I hope you will think of me and come back to the forest to visit." Link nodded and embraced her, clinging to her like he would never see her again. She squeezed him back, singing a quiet melody in his ear. After a long moment, he pulled away, stepping backwards a few steps.

"I'll come back," he promised quietly, before turning and running out of the forest. Saria watched him go, before finally giving into the tears.

AN: I always wanted him to hug her. But Link is a douche. *shrugs* And he's icky. Like all boys according to the Gerudo mindset. Come on, everyone knows it's true.

Anyways, Ashia does, in fact, belong to amberxgayle. I know you told me to keep her personality in tact, but I made her a kid! She's supposed to be cute! Do you like kid Ashia? =D

So, um, yeah. Nothing else I'm missing? Oh yeah, Za-Vanir! There's a chessy joke in there somewhere.

Hyiea: You made it already.

Tch, jerk. Did you guys catch the Wind Waker reference? I know I did!

Anyhoo: read and review!