Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda. I'm just trying my hand at writing about it. Hopefully this is fairly decent.

"This is ridiculous!" grunted Link as he cut away more branches. "I should be over in Arbiter Grounds right now, a part of the campaign in the East." It had been nearly 10 years since the war began. Though Link had been but a young boy at the time, war had a way of making one grow up fast.

He'd seen his first real combat at the age of 9 when Navi woke him to go help the Great Deku Tree. Since then, he'd felled more creatures and seen more death and destruction than anyone had a right to. Stupid Navi…everything was so much simpler before she showed up…

"You heard the old man said. We have to collect the pendants and then he'll…"

"Yes, I know Asher. 'You must prove your worth by finding the three pendants. Bring them back to me and I'll give you what you seek.'" Quoted Link. "I just don't get it. Haven't we seen enough combat? We aren't exactly unknown around these parts. What's with this 'prove your worth' junk?"

"Well the guy was pretty old…he could be one of those hermits. Probably doesn't even know there's a war on."

"Haha, that sure would explain a few things... I wonder why an old hermit needs the pendants anyway…"

"We'll find out soon enough, I guess. There can't be much more jungle left, I think we've chopped down almost all of…AHH!"

--A few minutes later—

"Asher…can you hear me?" The voice sounded faint at first, but slowly grew in intensity. "Li…Link?" Asher looked around but the world was still fuzzy.

"Bout time you woke up, you've been out for some time. How am I supposed to get the Power Bracelet without my partner in crime?" Link harassed.

"Wha…what happened?" As his eyes slowly adjusted, Asher began to take in the area. They were in a small cavern. Light seemed to be seeping in from somewhere overhead so that the whole area was soak in a dim, eerie glow.

"You took a hard fall right into this underground cavern. The brush was so dense; we didn't see the hole till we were right on top of it. I nearly toppled right on top of you myself…" At this, Link reached down to help Asher up. "Maybe we deserve to be stuck looking for pendants, we're losing our touch"

"Heh" mumbled Asher as he slowly got up. His muscles ached but he'd seen far worse. "I was never much for stomping around anyway. Clearing brush, trying to find pendants in a jungle…give me a straight fight any day!"

"You asked for it."

"Huh?"

"LOOK!" Link pointed forward. Asher shifted his gaze to the wall on the far side of the cavern. At first he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. As he walked closer, his eyes finally adjusted completely to the lighting. It was at that moment he understood what Link was talking about. Carved into the very bedrock ahead looked to be a decorative wall. And in the middle, what looked almost like a door.

"Are you sure the pendant is in there?"

"Of course I'm sure. The old man said a temple in the jungle. Did you see any other temples out here?"

"Good point and even if the pendant isn't there, I'm sure there's something else worth getting. There's always something of value hidden away in these old things. Remember when we found that old hook-shot?"

"As if it were yesterday! Either way, no more jungle for us. It'll be bats, undead, and demonic monsters from here on out!" Link said half cheerily, half sarcastically.

Finally, some action…

He should have been here now. Sigh. Where could he be? All he had to do was get the Power Bracelet from the old man.

"…Princes Zelda?"

"Er, what?" Zelda jumped at being startled from her thoughts. She looked up to see Tera, her longtime assistant and friend, standing before her.

"We're approaching Kirdin."

Oh…right. "Thank you Tera." At least things will finally liven up a bit. Zelda had been traveling with Tera and some dozen guards for several days now. While small skirmishes were ever-present, there had been no large scale conflict with Gannon in weeks.

Hyrule kingdom had seized this lull as an opportunity to finally go on the offensive. While the Pentor Tragin, Hyrule's top general was leading that campaign in the East, Zelda had been left at the castle. As a general rule, royalty was not supposed to go gallivanting around on the battlefield. Still, it was so dreadfully boring at the castle sometimes.

Last contact with General Tragin had been well over a week ago. And then contact had suddenly been lost with the Goron city of Kirdin. Tired of being cooped up in the castle, Zelda decided to lead the investigation herself. Something just doesn't feel right about this…

"Are you alright, Zelda?"

"I'm fine, Tera. Just thinking about some things. It isn't like Gannon to lay low for so long. He's up to something. And there have been a lot of strange things going on throughout the kingdom lately."

"Somehow I doubt Gannon was behind the mysterious disappearance of that pair of shoes you never wear," Tera teased, "you worry too much Zelda."

"Just being careful. It's my duty as Princess; I have to watch out for my peop…"

"Yeah yeah, I've heard that one before. You need to lighten up. If Link were here, he'd tell you the same thing."

Not long ago, Link and Asher had been dispatched to retrieve the Power Bracelet. They were to accompany Zelda's entourage to Kirdin when they returned but they hadn't yet been received at the castle. This trip couldn't wait any longer.

All they had to do was go talk to that strange old hermit on the edge of the kingdom. It shouldn't have taken more than two days, three at most. "Link…Asher…Where could they be…" Zelda mumbled. In response, Tera rolled her eyes at the worrisome princess and marched on ahead. She's so in love, thought Tera, she'll just never admit it, not even to herself.

In the meantime, Zelda went back to daydreaming. While she and Tera were some of the most capable fighters in the kingdom surpassed only by Link, Asher and a handful of others, there was something about having Link around that Zelda found comforting. And his presence would have been even more welcome now. This dress isn't exactly conducive to effective combat…

Lost in her considerations of how exactly she'd fight moblins while wearing her elegant, flowing gown, Zelda didn't notice everyone else had stopped suddenly and stood in silence.

"Oof, hey!" She yelped in surprise as she bumped into the person in front of her. After regaining her composure, she took a few steps to the side to get a better view of what everyone was looking at-what should have been Kirdin.

Tera was the first to break the silence, "By the goddesses, Gannon will pay for this!"

I knew I should have brought my Sheik cloths…

CRASH

"Could you make any more noise killing that thing?? I thought the whole reason for chasing down that stalfo was so he couldn't warn the others." Asher asked panting, struggling to keep up

"Time for Plan B" Link yelled back

"And that is…?"

"A hell of a lot more fun, come on!"

At least there are only a few rooms left in this place, Asher assured himself. Just then the two turned the last corner and entered a long corridor.

"Clear sailing, all the way." As if on cue, half a dozen giant spider-looking Tektites appeared out of nowhere and blasted Link with stinky adhesive strips, temporarily immobilizing him. It wouldn't last long, but it'd be long enough. "Hey, what the…! I can't move! Uh oh, Like-likes? I'm in trouble…"

The item-eating monster inched closer and there wasn't a thing Link could do about it. In the blink of an eye, a massive tentacle reached out and Link's shield was gone. It was about to reach in for seconds when an arrow seared by within inches of Link's face and slammed into the like-like. Had the monster a face, it would have shown an expression of utter shock. Then it took off like a bullet the other direction. Thinking Link was alone, Asher's appearance took the stealthy yet weak Tektites totally by surprise. Their presence was quickly a fading memory

"You shouldn't have gotten so far ahead." Asher reprimanded as he helped Link quickly helped Link break free from the adhesive. "It didn't get anything, did it?"

"Only my shield." Link called back as he raced after the like-like.

When will he learn patience? Ah well…Charge!!