Author's Note: Wow. I haven't posted anything on here for AGES. I must be getting old and rusty...
Anyway, welcome to my first ever Zelda fic! The only thing you need to know is that it takes place post-Twilight Princess. So...
Disclaimer: I do not own anything Legend of Zelda. I don't even have my own games, I have to mooch off my friends.
Please enjoy and comment!
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1.
Hyrule Field was dark, the breeze just strong enough to rustle the very tips of the long grass. A nearly full moon shone from the heavens, casting a silver glow on the world below.
A boy lay amongst the grasses, staring at the stars with a slight smile on his face. A sheathed sword and bow rested on the ground beside him, within easy reach should danger show itself. At his head stood a beautiful chestnut mare, keeping watch over her master with dark, attentive eyes. It was she who first sensed the Kargarok's approach, snuffling worriedly and tapping her master's head lightly with one hoof.
"Ah, Epona!" he said indignantly, sitting up and rubbing his head where she had kicked him. "What is it?" The horse snorted and shook her head at him, then nodded to the south. The boy - Link - followed her gaze and saw the dark shadow in the sky, clumsy wings flapping laboriously to keep the draconian body aloft: definitely a Kargarok.
Sighing (he had been enjoying his first relaxing night in weeks), he grabbed up his sword and bow and rose to his feet, strapping the sword onto his back. The bow he kept in his hand, and he drew an arrow from his quiver. A glance to the south told him that the Kargarok was flying rather quickly; maybe it would choose to ignore him, deciding rather to keep its course. That thought made him smirk; rarely did one of those deadly creatures pass up a chance to attack, especially in the dead of night when it thought it had the advantage. Link had dealt with enough of its kind to know that it would attack without hesitation as soon as it saw him.
Epona trotted in place nervously, and Link could feel her shaking at his back. She had gone through many battles with him, but he knew she could still get spooked like any other horse. He turned and placed a calming hand on her nose, petting the velvety fur and shushing her quietly.
"Shh, calm down, girl. It's okay, I promise it'll be all right," he murmured, resting his forehead against hers. Epona calmed under his touch and her deep brown eyes radiated trust and love. Link smiled and gave her a final kiss on her nose before turning back to the Kargarok, which was now bearing down on them at a dangerous speed. He lifted his bow and aimed straight for its reptilian head.
"Come and get it," he muttered, then let loose the bolt. The Kargarok shrieked and just managed to avoid getting its head speared, but the arrow still caught the creature in the shoulder. The monster let out a wild cry and dove straight for Link, claws extended. Link barely had time to dive out of the way, yelling for Epona to move in the process. The well-trained horse reared with a loud whinny and galloped away from the danger, leaving her master alone to deal with the Kargarok.
Link crouched in the grass where he had landed from his diving roll and lifted the bow again, aiming at the grounded Kargarok's head a second time. This time the creature lifted a wing to take the bolt and its scream was more infuriated than in pain. It turned black eyes to Link and the boy couldn't suppress a shudder at the hatred that was shining through them. The Kargarok let out a low hiss and launched itself straight at Link, who jumped to his feet and sprinted away before it could reach him.
He was just about to turn back and take another shot when something suddenly caught him around the legs and sent him sprawling. Unable to catch himself in time, he hit the ground so hard that black and white stars danced in his field of vision. Stunned by the impact and almost positive he had some kind of concussion, Link struggled onto his hands and knees and looked back, expecting to see the Kargarok bearing down upon him.
What he didn't expect to see was an angry horse attacking the monster, powerful hooves striking ruthlessly and eliciting pained screeches from the Kargarok. Link just barely registered the fact that it was his Epona fighting the creature before the throbbing pain in his head overwhelmed him and then everything went black.
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Epona snorted and stomped her front hoof angrily as the injured Kargarok took off into the night sky, flying slower and with much more trouble than before. That was what it got for attacking her master when he was down!
The mare turned her chocolatey gaze to where her master lay motionless in the grass. She stepped over to his side and nudged his shoulder impatiently, telling him to get up, the fight was over. He didn't move. Huffing in a frustrated way, she nudged him again, this time adding a little bite that would usually have him up in an instant.
Nothing.
Epona blinked her long, thick lashes in confusion. About as worried as a horse could be, she let out a soft whinny and looked around the deserted field for something that might help, but saw nothing. She leaned down and nuzzled his cheek, as he usually would raise a hand to swat the nuisance away even in the deepest sleep, but all she got was a tickle in her nose from his soft hair.
Finally out of ideas, Epona decided to just watch over him and protect him as best she could until he woke up. She positioned herself so that her master was directly below her and settled in for a lonely wait.
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As a fairy, there are two things one should always strive not to be: bored, and lost. Unfortunately for a young sprite named Faya, she ended up being both.
Frustrated beyond all hope, she fluttered around in the tall grass of Hyrule Field, waiting for some silly human to come along and scoop her into a ridiculously small jar for later use as a healing mechanism. She didn't completely believe that it would ever happen, but rumours had spread from friends who lived in dungeons, and in her cynicism Faya just expected to be caught. After all, it would top off her wonderful (yes, that was sarcasm) night.
She was just about to settle herself down for a quick rest when she saw a great shadow standing out against the starlit sky. Immediately suspecting danger, she let out a squeak and dove deep into the safety of the grass, peeking out only when she was sure the monster hadn't seen her. Upon closer inspection, though, she realized that it wasn't a monster at all.
"What's a horse doing out here all by itself?" Faya murmured. Curious (and no longer even the slightest bit bored, thank goodness), she flitted cautiously out of the grass cover. The horse was a pretty chestnut mare, sturdy and well-kept, and equipped with a nice saddle and reins. Due to this, Faya decided there had to be an owner somewhere, so she went to check it out.
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Epona caught sight of the approaching fairy and stared her down with intense chocolatey eyes. The mare had seen plenty of fairies before, but while her master was unprepared to defend himself, Epona trusted little. She tossed her head in warning and the small, winged ball of light halted its advance.
"Easy, horsey," a tiny voice said. "My name is Faya, and I only want to help. I can heal the boy if you let me come near him."
Epona understood English well enough to comprehend what the fairy was offering, but she hesitated. Faya flew slowly closer and was soon right before the horse's nose, so near that Epona could now just make out the tiny human inside the silvery light.
"Poor thing," the fairy said softly, her eyes big with sympathy. "I bet you wanted to help him. You must love him very much to keep watch over him like this." Faya patted Epona's nose gently and the mare closed her eyes to the tiny magic touch. The fairy smiled; she knew her lore well enough to recognize Hyrule's hero (even if he was currently unconscious) and his loyal steed. "You have done well, my dear, in protecting this boy. I will reward you with a gift." Epona opened her eyes and blinked at the fairy, but Faya continued; she knew the mare understood. "Any gift, my sweet Epona. You can think while I heal your master."
Epona finally stepped back as Faya spiralled down toward Link, fluttering around his head busily. The horse was baffled; a gift? Like a sugarcube or a kiss on the nose? No, those were little things. The fairy had said any gift. So if Epona could have anything she desired, what would it be? Her dark gaze shifted to her master, who was just beginning to stir at her feet.
"Well?" Faya had returned, smiling prettily in her aura of silvery light. Epona lowered her head and Faya reached out a small hand, touching the mare on the forehead to receive the wish. Her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw, but the smile stayed in place.
"Well, one thing is for certain," Faya said as she mustered the power to grant the gift. "I definitely won't be bored anymore."
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Link awoke feeling better than he had felt in months. At first his mind was blissfully blank of everything but the pleasure, but soon memories of the Kargarok attack returned and brought him forcefully back to reality. He rose with a groan that had nothing to do with pain (for reasons he could not yet fathom, because he could have sworn he had concussed himself at least a little) and rubbed his head merely for appearance's sake. He desperately hoped that the only one who had seen him trip and basically knock himself out was Epona, because it was far too humiliating to even think of anyone else spreading a rumour of how the great hero of Hyrule couldn't defeat a lone Kargarok without tripping over his own feet and giving himself what should have been a rather serious concussion. The mere thought of it was too embarrassing to describe.
Something poked him in the back; Link jumped about a foot and spun, turning wide blue eyes to a pretty girl sitting on the ground behind him... a pretty, naked girl. Link, still rather young, immediately flushed a deep rouge and averted his eyes, to the apparent confusion of the girl. She frowned and tried to meet his gaze, not even bothering to cover herself. Link cleared his throat nervously and removed his outer tunic, handing it to her without looking.
"Here, put this on." The girl only stared at the garment, her head cocked to one side. She reached out a hand and grabbed it clumsily but made no move to put it on. Link frowned slightly and risked a glance at her; she did not appear embarrassed by her nudity. In fact, she seemed not to mind it at all.
"Who are you?" he asked. The girl blinked big, brown eyes at him but did not reply. She glanced down at the tunic in her hand, then back up at Link, then down again. At last she pulled it to her chest, covering herself, and smiled at the boy like she had just done a wonderful trick. Link was deep in thought, though, and showed little reaction, so the girl's smile quickly faded.
"Do you have a name?" he asked slowly, deciding that maybe she was foreign. In the darkness it had been hard to notice at first, but compared to the green tunic her skin was incredibly dark, a beautiful brown color found rarely in Hyrule. Her hair was lighter, almost blonde, and her eyes were the color of melted chocolate. The combination was striking, but not at all unattractive.
The girl nodded vigorously in response to the question, but did not answer. Her eyes were wide and eager, as though she was waiting for Link to ask more questions.
"Um, okay... can you... not speak?" he asked. The girl bit her lip and appeared to think about that for a moment, then shrugged. Link tried a different approach.
"Well, are you new to Hyrule?" he asked. Surprisingly, the girl shook her head. Link frowned. "How long have you been here?" The girl opened her mouth, then stopped and shrugged helplessly again, so Link rephrased the question: "How many years?" The girl tapped the ground before her seven times, then paused. She held up one hand and displayed five delicate fingers, then held up two more: seven. Apparently, this was a great feat, because she was grinning like a maniac after she was done. Link couldn't help but grin with her, although he had no idea why she was so excited about being able to count on her fingers.
"So you've been here for seven years?" he asked. The girl nodded again. "And you can't speak?" She started to shake her head, but then stopped. With apparent determination, she opened her mouth and let out a soft cry, but cut it off almost immediately. Then she sighed and fixed Link with a helpless, confused stare, as though she herself was not quite sure whether she could speak or not. Link smiled at her and she returned it, heartened.
"Well, it doesn't matter to me whether or not you talk," he said, rising gracefully to his feet. (And thinking to himself how odd it was that he could rise to gracefully, as he had fully expected to wake up to a throbbing headache.) He held out a hand to the girl, offering to help her to her feet, but she just stared at him, suddenly terrified. "It's all right," he said hurriedly, "I'm not going to hurt you." The girl shut her gaping mouth with an audible snap and put her hand into his, not gripping back, but allowing herself to be tugged to her feet. Once standing, she wobbled and almost fell.
"Easy," Link said, catching her before she toppled over. It was only then that he realized she was shaking. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered, holding her comfortingly. "Are you cold?" The girl nodded, so Link took his tunic from her and actually put it on her, careful to keep one arm around her so she wouldn't fall. "Better?" The girl smiled up at him warmly, and Link found he had to look away.
"Oh, by the way, I'm Link," he said as the two of them started walking through the field in the direction of his home.
"Link." The boy blinked and stopped walking, looking down to see his companion beaming up at him. "Link," she repeated, obviously very proud of herself.
"So you can talk!" he exclaimed. The girl nodded, still smiling. Link was about to say something else when a thought suddenly struck him. He paled with horror.
"Epona..." he whispered. The girl in his arms flinched at the name, but Link didn't notice. "My horse... have you seen a horse around?" he asked the girl. "A chestnut mare?" The girl nodded, looking almost guilty. Link could have fainted with relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Where?" The girl hesitated, biting her lip, then pointed a single finger at herself. Link was speechless for a second, completely thrown, but then shook his head, thinking she had misheard the question.
"No, no, a horse. My horse, she's brown with a light mane and - OUCH!" The girl had poked him. Hard. He rubbed the spot where she had poked him, glaring. "Why did you do that?" She merely pointed at herself again, this time with both hands. Link sighed. "Look, I'm asking you where my horse is, and you keep..." He trailed off, thinking.
Epona had been there when he had blacked out. He had awoken not much later, and Epona was not there, but this mysterious girl was. The girl said she had been in Hyrule for seven years, Epona was seven years old. The girl had skin the same shade of brown as Epona's coat, hair the same light shade as Epona's mane, and even her eyes... her eyes were the same beautiful, deep chocolate color as Epona's. She had been naked in the middle of Hyrule field, and she couldn't speak or walk very well. Was it possible...?
"Are you telling me... that you are Epona?" Link asked, very slowly. The girl nodded vigorously, then - without any warning - slid her arms around his torso and hugged him tightly. Shocked and still in a state of disbelief, Link meekly returned the hug, and the girl - Epona? - sighed in contentment.
Oh, this, Link thought, absently rubbing the girl's back, this will be interesting...
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Well, there you have it! The first chapter. I feel accomplished. COMMENTS ARE LOVE, PEOPLE. THANK YOU!