bThe Problem of the Swamp Fairies/b
By: Talonclawfange
( E-mail me at Talonofdayyahoo.com, but not if you're going to give me sick advertisements! I DONT WANT THEM!! I'M ONLY 16! Just feedback, please.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Hyrule, Link, Epona, Zelda, or anything else from Shigeru Miamoto and Nintendo's genius video game: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I wrote this story in dedication to them, since it's from the best video game of all time, created by them. The only things I own are North Hyrule, the Dragonlord, Vamparlia, and all other things not in the original vidio game ( so don't use em' without asking me and putting that I thought them up). I also wrote this because I like reading, drawing, and, recently, writing fantasy (all talents are given to me by God, so all credit goes to him as well). I think Link is really cool- Good job, Miyamoto!
Note: This is about 16 pages long. By the way, this story is somewhere between PG and PG-13, there's no sexual themes or foul language, but there's violence and lots of blood. In the prologue I realize that you don't just claim land whenever you want, but there's no goverment to buy it from, so what am I supposed to say? Oh, nevermind.... Enjoy!
buPrologue/u/b
A while after Hyrule was purged of Ganondorf's evil, Princess Zelda and her father decided to explore the land behind Hyrule Castle (to the north of it). They sent parties of soldiers and discovered that it was beautiful, unowned land. There was quite a lot of it, too.
Immediately behind the castle there was a huge, grassy, hilly feild (Royal Field); with a single gigantic tree, nearly as large as the Deku Tree (The Elder Tree), on a small hill in the middle of it. On two sides of the field that the castle wasn't on there was an enormous, beautiful forest (Ethereal Forest), stretching dozens of miles to the north and east. The soldiers didn't go very far into the forest, but decided that there must be many lakes and rivers in it. The soldiers did go a little ways into it, and found a very tall and treacherous rock formation (The Jagged Beamos). The most capable soldier among them climbed the formation and saw above the trees that the huge forest was bordered by tall, pointed mountains (the Stalfos Swords). The royal family decided these would be the natural boundries of the expanded kingdom for the time being (or until they got someone to accually go through the Ethereal Forest and explore them).
Off to the west of Royal Field there was a swamp. On the outskirts it was only a little moist, with thick mist and lots of trees. The farther in the soldiers went, they discovered the swamp became increasingly more wet and murky, and due to a 'bad feeling' they left the swamp without exploring much of it. It was called Ganon's Swamp and it is still unknown what lies on the other side of it.
All of this new land was claimed by Hyrule's royal family and called North Hyrule.
buSection 1
The Peril of the Fairie's Pool/u/b
Link swung his legs over the side of his soft bed and let out a great yawn. The sun had not yet risen, and Link usually got up early to watch it rise. Sleepily, he dressed and went to his window. He would have gone into Hyrule Field for a better view, but would not leave the castle until he was certain Zelda was awake.
As he watched the sunrise, Link thought about how much he was enjoying his new life living in Hyrule castle. He now had a room which was way bigger than his tiny house, and he was spoiled with a big, extremely soft bed. His room had decorative furnishings, but not much in it except a desk with a chair, his bed, and a dresser and racks to store his clothes and gear.
Link thought about how he had come to be here. After Ganondorf was defeated, Zelda had wanted to send Link back in time, to recover his lost years. What had gotten into her head? Link could go back and enjoy those years whenever he wanted. Why would hewant to go back and forget all he'd been through, to live a life bereft of exciting things like saving princesses and fighting evil? It was, in fact, the doing of evil that Link was able to stay in the castle.
Link used to like dragons. When the Know-It-All-Brothers had told Link about dragons Link hoped he would meet one someday. When Link fought Volvagia, he was dissappointed that it couldn't even talk and wasn't the kind of dragon the brothers had described anyway. A little while ago, however, Link had gotten his wish. A dragon had attacked Hyrule Castle, with the intentions of taking Zelda's triforce. The guards had failed to protect Zelda. She had almost exhausted her magical powers repelling the attack, and could be captured if anything much stronger than that dragon came. Zelda's father said he would post ten times the guards if she wished it, but Zelda firmly declared she did not feel safe without Link around ( but she didnt tell her father that she secretly wanted him around mostly because she loved spending free time with him and maybe had a little crush on him, too). Her father finally agreed that Link was the most capable defender of Zelda and had him moved into a room next to hers, so if anything happened, he, as the royal bodyguard, would hear and help. Since the last attack, he and Zelda had fought off two more dragons, the recent one the biggest. Link suspected they were being controlled, but by no means were they brainless. They were smart and lethal. Despite the danger, Link loved his new (or maybe not so new) job.
When the sunrise was finished, Link heard a knock at his door and Zelda entered.
"Good morning, Princess of Hyrule." Link said cheerfully.
"Link..," Zelde folded her arms and frowned briefly. "you know I'd rather have you call me Zelda. Good morning." She said, a smile replacing the frown.
"Sorry," he said, shrugging.
"Link," Zelda said, "would you please go and get some Arlia plants from Ganon's Swamp today? The ones on the border are all used up, and we need more or the soldier's bruises will go untreated."
"Sheesh...will they ever learn not to massacre each other during training? After all that training, you'd think that they would be brave enough to go into the swamp. Sure I'll get it. Anything else?"
"Not that I can think of," Zelda replied. "Thanks, Link....it must be a pain to go into the swamp all the time because the other soldiers are scared..."
"It's nothing," Link said. He was used to running errands for Zelda that other soldiers wouldn't. It was just another part of his job, and he didn't mind it at all.
After having a little breakfast, Link got his gear, went outside (on the north side of the castle), and called Epona. She came quickly, faithful as always. No matter where she was, she always came. How could she even hear the ocarina when he played it on the north side of the castle when she usually hung out on the south side? Link found himself wondering anew why she didn't stay in the castle's stables. He finally decided that if he was a horse, he would want to roam free as well.
"Hi, Epona," Link said, petting her "can you take me to the swamp, please?" With that, he mounted his friend and she galloped off towards Ganon's Swamp. Link hated the name, of course; but it was a good one since, once inside, you constantly feel like something will try to threaten your life, similar to the feeling he had gotten when Ganondorf tried to discourage him with evil magic.
When Link arrived at the swamp, which didn't take long thanks to Epona's speed, he rode his horse and friend only a little way in, and when the ground got mushy he dismounted.
"Wait here," Link said to Epona, giving her a pat before he walked off into the wet abyss of the swamp, keeping his eyes on the ground for signs of the plant he came for. At first there was only a very thin mist hanging in the marshy air, but after a while it began to thicken as Link went deeper, making it difficult to look for the Arlia plants. Soon it was so thick that he could hardly see ten feet in front of him. He grew somewhat uneasy at the realization that something could sneak up on him without much difficulty in this mist, so he drew his sword.
This was not the Master Sword, that sword had been returned to the pedastal (Zelda said it belonged there when Link wasn't facing a great evil, but somehow he didn't believe that), but this one looked just like it with the exception of a silver hilt rather than a purplish-blue one. It had been infused with light magic from Zelda, so no evil could bear to even touch it without hurting themselves (however it was much weaker than the Master Sword, another reason Link didn't want to leave it in the Temple of Time). Being cut with it would certainly hurt more than an ordinary sword; and because of this, Link knew it would make a good weapon against anything he might meet in this evil swamp.
Link listened carefully for signs of life as he continued walking and scanning the ground for the elusive Arlia. Time passed, but still nothing. The fog kept getting thicker, especially the part of it clinging to the moist ground, nearly hiding it from view entirely.
Despite this, Link continued walking, and because he kept his eyes instenslely focused on the ground, trying to penetrate the dense carpet of fog, he failed to see a low-hanging branch before his forehead smacked right into it.
"Ack!" He exclaimed in irritation and surprise as he fell, scratching his arm on a thorny branch on the way down as he threw his hands behind him to break his fall. Luckily, he caught himself before he landed on the wet ground, his hands and dropped sword making squishing noises as they plunged into the muck.iStupid branch../i.Link thought, glaring at the mushy groud around him. He wanted to find the plant as soon as possible so he could just leave.
"Ick...." Link said, removing his half-submerged hands from the mist-covered, slimy ground. He picked up his sword and sheathed it, examining the small three-inch scratch on his arm. He thought of it as nothing, but Zelda got mad at him the last time he didn't have a scratch treated and it had become infected. He frowned and moved on, keeping a close watch on the ground. His irritation grew with the wet stickyness and pungent smell of the marsh, and a warning grew in the back of his mind that the swamp was not eerily silent and absent of animal life for nothing.
Soon a small pool appeared out of the mist in front of Link. It was only about ten feet across and not very important looking but he stopped as he realized that the water was crystal clear, very unusual for the middle of a swamp. It was lacking the moss and muck and decaying plantlife that all the other pools he'd seen had been choked with. iIt looks shallow now but back there it looked deeper. Are my eyes playing tricks on me?/i Link wondered, glaring at the annoying mist around him which unnaturally seemed to distort everything. He leaned down and smelled the water. It smelled just as pure as it looked. Link picked up a little fist-sized rock that was half-submerged in the slime beside him, and tossed into the middle of the pool. It dissapeared into the pool, and Link couldn't see it sink because of low visiblity, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. Still feeling more than a little suspicious, he thought that the scratch on his arm would get infected if he didn't clean it with something, so he decided to clean his scratch with the water to see if the water was really clean. It wasn't very smart in the first place, but Link saw how careless the decision really was in the next instant. No sooner than his hand touched the water, a green, tentacle-like vine shot out of the middle of the pool, seized Link by the waist, and yanked him into the pool faster than he could act.
Link struggled violently, but the vine-thing dragged him downward, down into the water which was much, much deeper than he had thought it was at first. Even if the thing hadn't been dragging him down, he wasn't the best swimmer in the world, thanks to the weight of his gear. Ironically, all that gear did not include his Zora's tunic, since he didn't think he would have been using it. Desperately, he remembered the dagger in his right boot (he began carrying one when he found it came in useful quite often) and pulled it free. He slashed at the vine, away from his body to prevent cutting himself, but hit nothing. With his limited vision in the ill-lighted pool (getting dimmer by the second as he decended) he coulden't see the vine well and missed several times before his blade struck.
It might as well not have. The vine was extremely tough and the knife did almost nothing to it. Link tried to think of something he could do to the vine, but failed to come up with anything. He hadn't gotten a breath before the vine grabbed him, and he was already feeling the results of the absence of air. Link slashed at the vine a few more times and even tried sawing it, but all it did was give the vine tiny, uneffective cuts. He began to choke and pulled with his free hand at the strong vine relentlessly taking him deeper. He let go of his dagger and futilely yanked at the vine, refusing to give up. His golden gauntlets might have helped, but to use them he had to breathe. His lungs burned and he looked up at the shrinking, dim, grayish circle which was the surface of the pool, seeing in it his pathetic doom: The great Hero of Time died while he was looking for flowers in a swamp. Then everything went black.
buSection 2
Just a Fairy Cave/u/b
Link coughed until all of the water was out of his lungs, and breathed in the air gratefully and he tried to pull together his muddled thoughts. iI remember enterring the swamp...then something...grabbed...oh yeah! /iLink remembered suddenly that something had dragged him into a pool. He was now sitting on hard ground in a cold (or it seemed that way due to his wetness) room which he had never seen before. He looked up and saw a round, watery circle in the middle of the green ceiling which was about fifteen feet above him, and thought he must have fallen through it, and was awakened when his lungs decided they could finally get something from outside other than water. He was surprised he was alive; he had thought it was all over when the vine had him. Alive or not, Link didn't feel like he was in a vey good predicament in this very odd room at the bottom of a deceiving pool which had half-drowned him. The room under water might have freaked out any normal person, but Link had seen stranger things.
Link stood up and inspected the room, noting that it was oval-shaped, was approximately thirty feet across, and had two exits. They were at each long end of the oval opposite each other, one in front of Link, and one behind him; and the exits were about ten feet in height and five feet across. He looked around the floor and discovered that his dagger had been deposited on the floor behind him, and he slid it back in his right boot, between the leather and his white pants. Not the most comfortable place, but Link liked it there anyway. He thought it looked cooler there than on his belt, despite Zelda's disagreement. iWhy does she always have to put her two cents in? At least she doesn't bother me about my green clothes.../iSpeaking of green, it was the color of the walls, ceiling, and floor, and the walls had intricate gold leaf designs on them, as well as a few real vines crawling up them.i Very odd, there's no sunlight down here..../i.The room seemed to be lighted magically and there must have been some kind of magic because of the vines. Link also noticed that there were eyeball-sized circles on the floor and ceiling, but he didn't have enough time to find out what they were.
Before Link could decipher anything else about the room, he heard the unmistakable sound of fairy wings. iWhew, this is just a fairy cave...I was beginning to get worried for a minute./i The sound was coming from behind him and he turned and watched tiny forms materialize from the dark tunnel leading out. When the fairies came into view, Link realized with suprise that they were unlike any fairy he had ever seen in his life. They were a little bigger than storm faeries (which are the ones that come out of the ground at certain places if you play the strom song, and are little bigger than normal fairies) and did not glow like other fairies he had seen. He suddenly missed Navi, who could have probably told him something about them. The thought was gone istantly, however, as Link curiously watched the fairies flutter the room. The fairies were wearing small tunics like Link's, except made of leaves. A few were wearing black ones, but most were wearing green, and they were all female. Link noted they were carrying tiny, sheathed, swords at their sides. About three dozen faires flew into the room, all of their little, pretty eyes on Link. When they got closer to him they spread out, gracefully bobbing up and down as they made a circle around the perplexed Link. All at once they began chanting a little tune.iThis might not be so bad,/i Link thought, iBut I'd better not let my guard down./i The fairies' song went like this:
i"We are singing, singing, ever singing, singing for you now.
We love singing, singing ever singing. Singing when we're filled with love."/i
The fairies danced in the air, circling slowly. Theye were all smiling very strangely at Link, making him suspicious. This was definately the strangest fairy behavior he'd ever seen, not to mention the strangest fairies.
i"We are singing, singing cause we love you, always singing for love.
We are singing, singing, ever singing, singing cause we love your bBLOOD!/b" /i
With that last surprisingly loud shout from their tiny voices, they all drew their blade-of-grass-sized, but razor sharp swords and flew at Link. It was funny. Did they really think they could fight?
Link had been ready for this, and ducked. The fairies screeched and stupidly ran into each other just as Link had thought they would. They all fell to the floor in a circle around Link's feet, some uncouscious, some moaning, and some bleeding, accidentally stabbed by their own comrads' swords. He saw one behind him that was a little more aware of her surroundings than the others, so he walked over to her and crouched to see her more closely. She was one of the fairies wearing black, and she glared up at him defiantly, but was hurt and didn't attack him.
"Which way is out?" He asked the little fairy nicely. He was used to being nice to fairies (even when Navi had bugged him to death he didn't hurt her) and though maybe these ones were just very confused.
"And why should I tell you?" the little brat responded with an attitude. Link sighed, seeing that he was going to have to threaten her to get directions. Apparently they weren't confused, just evil. He didn't want to stick around to find out if they had back up in the form of something more powerful than a fairy.
"Because if you don't," Link said in a calm tone, "I will step on you."
"Eeeeek!" she screamed and her eyes grew wide with fear. "Okay, okay! it's right behind me! Go through that tunnel and turn left! Thats the exit, I swear!" She squeaked.
"Thank you." Link said with a smile to assure her that he wasn't going to step on her.
Link stepped over the fairy and walked into the tunnel. He saw that it was magically lighted like the green room, but a little dimmer. He shivered as he continued into the dark tunnel, which wasmuch colder than the room.i If it gets much colder I'll just light a fire arrow to warm up and see better..../iAfter only about a minute of walking he came to a fork in the tunnel. iShe said left,/i he remembered, and went that way. It occured to him that the little fairy might have been lying to save her life, but fairies weren't known to lie, and he didn't think they would sink that low, even if they were trying to hurt him. As he walked down the tunnel, he noticed it was getting dimmer and wetter. iHow annoying, /iLink thought, remembering also how it had become damper and more difficult to see as he progressed into the waiting dangers of the swamp. He began to think that maybe the fairy ihad/i lied to him, and as he continued down the tunnel, his sense of foreboding grew. He saw a wall comming up, and observed that there was a tunnel branching of to the left of the wall, but as he saw this his fears of the fairie's truthfulness were suddenly confimed. He jumped as he heard a loud noise behind him, the noise of a gate slamming shut.
"AW, MAN!" He yelled as he turned and ran to the gate to test its strength. The moment he layed hands on it he was thrown in to the wall behind him by a magical force. He groaned and got up, shaken but unhurt, scolding himself for being so stupid. iFirst I believed that fairy, then I didn't even check for hidden doors that slam behind you once you pass them! How could I be such a numbskull? Now whatever lies ahead of me may very well be my end./i And the end of Zelda, he suddenly realized, if another dragon was sent to capture her that was even bigger than the last one they had barely defeated together.i Oh, well....nothing to do but continue,/i he thought unhappily.
Link turned down the tunnel which branched off from the first one. This tunnel was lit so dimly that he could barely make out his footing. Link decided it had gotten too dark, so he tried to make a fire arrow; but the tunnel had gotten so damp that every one he made went out in a few seconds. Eventually, he quit trying because he was wasting magic. He trudged on.
Link kept his eyes and ears open for trouble this time, and after a while he spied some pale white-looking sticks on the ground. As he got closer he realized that they were bones. Human bones. He inhaled sharply and looked around the tunnel for what could have killed the owner of those bones. He layed his hand on the wall to his right and saw that there was a....kind of slit in it. It was a horizontal slit and was deep enough that he couldn't feel the depth of it, and extended far down the wall away from him. Link had seen this type of thing before. After he took some more steps, spikes would probably shoot out of the slit, completely shish-ka-bobifying whoever had triggered the trap. To see if this was the case, he took out an unlit bomb (he considered the bones on the floor too small to trigger the trap), backed away, and threw it down the tunnel.
Link saw that he had been wrong about the trap, and was grateful that he had tested it. A huge, very sharp, circular, horizontally spinning blade shot halfway out of the slit in the right wall about thirty-five feet down the tunnel. Two more shot out about five feet down the tunnel on the left wall, from two slits Link hadn't noticed; one at about the level of Link's head, and one just like it down at about the level of his heels.The blades were very large, and stuck out in the tunnel just enough that if someone tried to flaten himself on a wall to avoid them, he would be cut up anyway. The two blades on the left moved down the wall away from Link and the one on the right moved towards him. The three blades passed each other halfway, the one on the right going between the two on the left, and after going ten more feet they disappeared back into the wall. The whole thing had not made one noise, except the swishing of the swift blades as they cut through the air.
iGreat, just how am I supposed to get through that? /iLink wondered. iI can't jump over the highest one or roll under the lowest one and I can't go through the middle because they all intercept! If there was just the right one or the left two only, it would be easy...but this will be really hard./i Link looked at the ceiling just to check if there was anything he could use his hookshot on, but there was nothing. He knew his bombs weren't powerful enought to explode the thick, deadly blades, and didn't want to waste any more. He might have tried the hammer, but knew he couldent swing the heavy thing fast enough to catch one of the quck blades, so what could he do? Finally, he thought of something. It was very dangerous, and if he thought there was any other way to get past, he would have tried it, because this plan depended on speed, something which Link didn't have much of with all his gear (well, he considered himself to be pretty fast but was proven wrong the last time he fought Impa. He hadn't landed a single hit!).
Link wished himself luck, he would need it, and ran down the tunnel. Instantly, he heard the swishing of the blades coming out. He felt a draft on his back and knew the two blades on the left were right behind him, and he saw the blade in front on the right comming towards him, too. Quickly, Link did a back flip, getting over the lowest blade but not jumping high enough to hit the top one. They rushed on past him, and he followed them. They passed the middle one, which was comming strait for Link. When that one reached him, he rolled under it and continued to dash down the tunnel as fast as his legs could carry him. The two blades in front of him and the one he just rolled under dissapeared back into the walls, and Link barely had time to roll again when a second blade from the slit in the right wall shot out, trying to cut him in half. It whooshed over his head and he was finally out of range of the blades. He turned around and watched the second set of blades sweep the length of their slits, barely beleiving that he had actually been able to carry make it through. The blades disappeared back into the walls, and Link continued on.
After Link had been walking down the tunnel for a few minutes, keeping careful watch for more traps in the dim light, he finally came to something that looked suspicious. Directly in front of him, on both sides of the tunnel, there were many holes spread out along the walls, each aproximately three inches away from the others, and each about the size of an eyeball frog's eyes (a bit smaller than a fist). The scattering of holes went on for about three feet, and the walls were smooth beyond that point.i Maybe darts will shoot out of them,/i Link thought cautiously. Quickly, he put his hand out in front of one of the holes and snatched it back. Good thing he did it quickly, because huge, thick, barbed spikes shot out of the holes. They were all about three feet long, and there must have been about sixty of them. The spikes on one side of the wall extended into the midst of the ones on the other side, but didn't collide and paused for a couple seconds, all interlocking like a giant iron maiden or a huge, sharp-toothed mouth. Then all the spikes pulled quickly back into their holes, leaving no trace to betray they had even come out.
Link knew he didn't have many options. He thought these spikes looked even tougher than the blades, and equally indestructable by means of a bomb. However, he had something stonger than a bomb. The only thing he could use was his hammer, and he had to jam the trap so the spikes would sit still long enough to be hit. Link could only think of one way to do that.
Link put his hand in front of a hole again, and yanked it back just in time to miss the spikes a second time. This time when the spikes paused, he sucked in a huge breath and grabbed one, using his gauntlets to keep hold of it. The barbs dug into his skin and blood ran down his hands, but he ignored it, waiting for the trap to break. Break it did; with a huge crash, followed by a cracking sound, when the spikes tried to go back into the wall. All of them were connected inside the wall, so when Link grabbed one, none could retreat back into their holes. He released the spike when the trap broke, and all the spikes sat still, waiting to be crushed by the Megaton Hammer.
He wiped his bloody, slippery hands on his tunic, hardly noticing the pain in them when he took out his heavy hammer. With one great SMASH, Link broke all the spikes, and their ends scattered on the floor, leaving the way open. iI wonder how many more traps are in this stinking tunnel?/i Link thought irritably, then realized that the tunnel really idid/i stink - he could smell the swamp! iFinally, some progress!/i Link thought happily, imaybe this really is the exit to this cursed fairy cave./i
Link walked on, somewhat happier, but still keeping careful watch for more traps he felt certain were still between him and his destination. As Link went down the tunnel, it seemed to rise a bit, then it started getting steeper and steeper, until Link was practically crawling up it, trying not to slip. His boots lost their footing a few times, but each time Link caught himself before he was sent sliding down the slope. After a few minutes he began to get irritated with the slope, which seemed to be getting even steeper, but just he felt sure he would need climbing gear to scale it, the tunnel leveled out. "About time!" Link said, startling himself when his voice echoed back to him louder than he had spoke. iWhoops..../i Link thought, glad that he felt certain there was nothing living in this tunnel to hear him.i Now I remember why I don't talk to myself..../i
Link noticed that the air was getting less stale (but more stinky), meaning that he was now close to an exit of some sort. He walked on, still carefully watching for traps, and he it didn't take long to find something that didn't look right. The light was so dim that he almost missed it, but he had been looking at the wall to his right and saw a tiny little hole in it, only about the size of a deku nut. He didn't put anything in front of it yet, but carefully checked both the right and left walls and dicovered three more little holes. One was on the left wall, directly across from the first one he had seen; one was down at the level of his knees, right below the first one he had seen; and one direcly across from that one, below the second hole.i Probably more motion sensors,/i Link knew. iMaybe this one will trigger more blades that will shoot out from somewhere....but where? /iLink strained his eyes and peered down the dimly lit tunnel. He could barely make out a wall...about twenty feet away from him, and another passage way branching off to the right of that wall. He couldn't see the wall very well, but thought there most be holes in it for shooting unwelcome objects into a careless intruder. Link decided it was time to test the trap.
He pressed himself against the right wall, hoping that whatever the trap had in store wouldn't be widespread enough to hit him. He moved a hand in front of the hole and immediately heard the sound of tiny objects flying through the air, coming from the wall twenty feet down. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of little needle-sized darts flew past his body, mere centimeters from pricking him. They kept coming for about two seconds, then stopped abruptly. There was a skittering sound as they all dropped to the floor. Some flew far enough to get to the slope Link had climbed earlier, and he heard them sliding down it, the scratchy sound filling the tunnel. That was close! Link thought to himself, and he knew he couldn't slide along the wall to avoid the darts. Any movement whatsoever would have put him in the way of the darts.
Link leaned down and picked one up, observing that the end was darkened. It smelled toxic and the dark purplish color had soaked all the way into the wood of the needle-dart, meaning it was poisoned. Link wondered who could have the patience to personally poison each of the vastly numbered darts by hand and thought it would be difficult to get them all. This didn't matter, though, and Link threw down the dart, remembering his earlier thought of the size of the sensory holes. He took out a deku nut, flattened himself against the wall once more, and jammed the deku nut into the first hole he had seen.
Instantly the darts shot out, once again missing him by narrow centimeters. After they stopped, Link put his hand out in front of the hole he just jammed, and threw himself against the wall again, but nothing happened. The way between the first two holes was closed by the nut, so the magic motion sensors could not function. iYes, it worked!/i Link thought enthusiastically. iOnly one more set of holes to go!/i Link crouched down and prepared to put himself on the wall again after jamming the other hole, messing up it's sensing ability. By this time, the floor was completely littered with needle-like darts, and Link slipped on some when he forced the deku nut into the low hole. After slipping Link barely had time to throw himself on the wall before the rush of darts came. A few brushed past his nose and some got caught in his tunic, but he didn't think any pierced him; but when the darts stopped, he realized there was a tiny, peircing pain in his shoulder. He looked down and saw a dart lodged halfway into it.
Worriedly, he withdrew the dart.i Now what.../ihe thought,i I'll never get to the castle in time to get this poison treated.../i.Slowly, he wiped the blood from the dart. His eyes grew wide and he stared at it, dumbfounded. How could he possibly be so lucky? It was clean! The end was not darkened, which meant that while most darts had been carefully poisoned, this one had been missed! He just could not believe it and checked the hole in his shoulder to see if there was any dark poison. Nothing but blood! Link grinned, thanking whatever it was that had given him such luck.
Link passed by the stopped holes without darts shooting at him, and came without incident to the wall and the passageway, which branched off to the right. He peered into the passage and discovered that there were stairs, and, much to his relief, there was light at the top of them! He rushed up the stairs, finding no traps on the way, and got to the top in no time. The stairs stopped and Link saw a ladder on the wall in front of him.
He climbed it and went through a short four-foot, low-ceilinged tunnel and emerged into the wonderful light (well, sort of light...for a misty, murky swamp). He turned and only saw the trunk of a very large tree behind him. Puzzled, Link stuck his hand out to touch the bark, but his hand went right throught it! iOh, a disguised entrance,/i he realized. iSomething I could probably see through with my Eye of Truth. But who cares?/i Link thought, iI'm not going back there again!/i He started to walk away from the tree, but didn't get very far before he heard a tiny voice behind him.
"Waiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!" said a fairy, appearing from the bark behind Link. "you can't just leave like that!"
Link turned and recognized this to be the fairy that had told him where the exit was...but convieniently 'forgot' to mention the traps on the way.
"Hey!" Link growled, glaring at her. "why didn't you tell me about the traps? And what do you mean I can't leave? Watch me!" He stalked off away from her.
"Noooooooooo!" She pleaded pitifully " Please don't leave! I didn't tell you about the traps because you were going to step on me! If you leave, my entire clan will be wiped out!"
Link stopped and turned around. He fixed his eyes on her as if she had said the stupidest thing he had ever heard.
"So first you try to kill me, then I almost get killed by traps you didn't tell me about, and inow/i you want me to istay/i in this stinking swamp to save fairies who tried to turn me into a pin cushion? I have better things to do!" He snapped. "And I was inot/i going to step on you!"
"Wait pleeease! I didn't want to kill you! A vampire has come to the Swamp Fairies and killed our Queen! She is now Queen, and unless we capture creatures for her to suck thier blood out, she'll kill us! If we ever see a Hylian we are by no means to let them go - they're her favorite!"
"A vampire, huh? Why didn't you and your friends try to turn her into a pin cushion instead of me?"
"Oh, Vamparlia is far too strong! There is no way we can beat her....just looking at her frightens me! Please...I don't care if you save yourself, but bring us other Hylians...criminals, maybe...so she can have one. Now that she knows one's been in her cave, we'll all be destroyed if she doesn't get one!" The pathetic little creature began to sob violently.
Link sighed in exasperation. He was going to walk away, but got angry at himelf when he found that he just coulden't do it. He really liked fairies, having been around them his whole life, and if this one's story was true, he coulden't leave her to an angry vampire.
"Well, there's no way I'm going to bring any poor creature to it's doom at the teeth of a vampire...but there is another way I can help you."
"Yes? Yay!" she perked up immediately. "What's your plan?"
"Take me to your queen as a prisoner, then I'll try to defeat her, okay?"
"Yay!!!Lets go!" The little fairy grinned and laughed for a while.
buSection 3
The Vampiress Vamparlia/u/b
The fairy, named Saysa, began to lead Link back to the pool he had been pulled into earlier (the Fairie's Pool, Saysa told him) and needless to say, he was reluctant to go.
"Are you sure that vine-thing wont try to kill me again?" Link asked her for the third time as he followed her through the mist.
"No...If a fairy is present, the vine will obey whatever orders the fairie gives it. I'll just tell it to make us a bubble and take us down nice and slow, okay?" She glanced back at him, not stopping.
"If you say so..." Link muttered nervously.
Soon they came to the pool, which hadn't been more than half a mile west of the hidden tree entrance. Link stepped up to the edge of the pool, and stared at it, amazed that it still looked five feet deep.
"Nice illusion, huh?" said Saysa, and whistled as if calling a dog.
"Nice...." Link pretended to agree. He took a step back as the deadly vine emerged from the pool. It hung in the air in the manner of a snake waiting for instructions.
"Make us a bubble," Saysa ordered, snapping her fingers. Instantly, the vine began to twist around, and a small bubble magically formed in front of it. The vine-tentical kept twisting and the bubble grew, until it was big enough to fit the fairy and Link.
"Don't you think I'm a bit heavy for a bubble?" Link asked the fairy.
"No," she said, smiling. "If you'r not too heavy to be pulled into the pool by the vine, then it's magical bubble will be more than strong enough for you."
Link and the fairy got into the bubble, and the fairy told the vine to take them down to the Main Room slowly. The vine wraped itself around the bubble and pulled it down, and once again Link was descending into Faerie's pool.
iI guess she really isn't trying to trick me../i.Link thought with relief. iIf she was trying to kill me, she would have had this vine do it./i The fairy's thoughts were completely different.
iBlast! This guy put CUTS in the invincible Fairies Vine, and threw a rock on it's still submerged head! He stretched it by pulling on it and caused it so much pain that it dropped him before he was dead! I'll just have to use the second line of defense.../i
Finally Link saw a growing circle of light below him and the vine took them through it. It put the bubble on the ground of the Main Room gently, then withdrew back into the wet circle on the ceiling that was the pool. The bubble popped when the vine left, and Link tunrned to Saysa. "Well, I guess that wasn't so bad. Now where is your - hey! Where are you going?"
With a evil laugh from her puny fairie's voice, Saysa rushed into the tunnel on the left, as fast as her little wings could carry her. Link immediately suspected she would do something he woulden't like, and tried to follow her. Link simply didn't run quite as fast as a fairie can fly. Saysa reached the tunnel (which was the one opposite the tunnel Link went into earlier), and pulled a hidden lever on the wall. A grate came from the roof of the tunnel and slammed into the floor with a crash, sealing the fairy away from Link. He heard another crash behind him, and turned to see that the other exit was sealed as well. Slowly, he turned to the fairy.
"You should have stepped on me!" She exclaimed with childish laughter. "Maybe I told you the truth about everything...I really am going to take you to the Queen...but you'll be dead! Ahahahaha!" The dark intentioned fairy pushed a button next to the lever she had pulled, and Link discovered the function of the dots on the floor and ceiling he had wondered about earlier. Each dot was really a tiny door. They all rolled back, and razor-sharp spikes emerged from them. The spikes were easy enough to avoid, but then the ceiling made a loud grating noise, and started moving downwards. Link knew he was in trouble now. There was absolutely nowhere to go - a large circular door had covered up the watery circle on the celieng (Fairy's Pool) so he couldn't go there; and both exits were blocked. Link would have tried to hit the lever with an arrow or something, but remembered that a magical force was activated whenever anything got close to the gate (he learned that lesson when he was thrown into the wall). Link didn't think he had anything strong enough to stop the ceiling from desending, and was at a loss for ideas; and Saysa's kidish cackling wasn't helping matters.
The celing was now low enough that Link could reach it, and he put his arms up, trying to use the gauntlets to stop it. Saysa laughed louder.
"Do you really think ithat/i will work? The ceiling isn't just weight, it's also enchanted to squash anything trying to stop it! No matter how hard you try, the ceiling will not stop. You will be crushed. Ahahahaha! You gullible FOOL!"
Link grunted with strain, but the ceiling wasn't even close to slowing down. Link had to crouch so it wouldn't run into his head. It was pushing him towards the floor, and he looked below him to see if he was going to hit any spikes on the ground. He wasn't if he stayed exacly where he was, but if he did that, one of the spikes on the ceiling would hit him. There was nothing Link could do. Link was pressed to the floor, and despite his best efforts, a spike on the ceiling started peircing his lower right chest. Link screamed in agony as the spike got deeper, and his rib made a sickening snapping sound as it was broken by the spike. The ceiling threatened to turn him into Hylian pancake.
All of the sudden a fairy wearing green came up behind the unsuspecting Saysa, knocked her out by kicking the back of her heaf, and pushed the button next to the lever a second time. The ceiling began to go back up where it belonged. Link groaned in pain as the bloody spike pulled itself from his chest and receded back into it's hole, along with the rest of the spikes. When the ceiling reached it's original height, the holes closed as the dot-doors went back in place.
The fairy that had saved him reversed the lever, and the gates which were blocking the tunnels went back up into the the place they came from. The way now free, the little fairy fluttered over to Link. It looked like one of the fairies that had attacked him earlier.
"I am Kayl, a fairy which foolishly attacked you a while ago. I must thank you for sparing me. I was knocked out and you could have easliy destroyed me and my sisters. I am truly sorry for attacking you, but as Saysa told you, us fairies have no choice. Thank you again for sparing us."
"Sure," said Link, trying to rise. "I wouldn't-" Link gasped in pain, clutching his wound which felt like someone was twisting a blade in it, because of the strain of trying to get to his feet.
"I can help you," the fairy said with a smile. "Here we have enchanted Arlia plants which are ten times more powerful than normal ones, and a single plant won't run out of it's healing power for years! I was watching you for a short while with my magic after you left through our tree-trunk exit. I heard your promise to try and stop our evil queen...sadly, Saysa was one of the fairies that had an evil spell cast on her...thoses fairies push the rest of us around and wear black. They are loyal to Vamparlia until the spell is broken....Oh, listen to me! Yapping on when you have a wound that needs healing! I will return in a few mintutes." With that, Kayl flew off into the tunnel from which she had come.
Weakly, Link made him self a bandage out of some clothes he was carrying; but the wound was big enough that the cloth did little to stop the steady flow of blood. Dizzy with pain, Link dragged himself into the wall behind him and propped himself up against it, so he would have a clear view of both tunnel doorways. After a while of waiting, at least a few minutes, it became an effort to remain awake, and Link knew he would have to change bandages already.
The silence was oppressive. Link stared at the wall in front of him, but his eyes were not focused enough to make out the vines. He had changed bandages several times (in Link's world, they didn't know that it's better to put a new bandage over the old one if the bleeding hasn't stopped), but despite them a small pool of blood was forming on the floor below his stab wound. His head drooped and he was barely conscious. Link didn't know how much time had passed since the fairy left, but it was far more than a few minutes, possibly hours. He tried to keep his mind awake by thinking of the Arlia plant, and how it only healed bruises, so it woulden't do much for his wound unless it really was as powerful as the fairy said. Even then, it might not go deep enough to heal the entire thing. Then Link's mind strayed to other things, and he nearly fell asleep. Dazedly he sat up taller, trying not to fall into unconsciousness. After what seemed like an eternity of sitting in silence bleeding, Link heard a sound in the tunnel Kayl had gone through. The sound was some creature moving towards him in the tunnel, but it certainly wasn't a fairy. Link heard footsteps.
Shortly, a woman came around the corner...a very odd woman. Link supposed she must be a vampire...but he had never seen one, just heard about them from the Know-It-All Brothers when he was young. The vampire was very tall, easily two feet taller than Link if he stood up, and she looked very evil. Her dark red eyes went perfectly with the malicious look on her face, which was framed by sleek, black, flowing hair. She wore a long, black dress with billowing sleeves that seemed to float on the air every time she made even the slightest move, and two purple wings were on her back, which looked like bird wings and bat wings mixed. The vampire looked to be pretty young despite her height, but Link had heard that vampires don't age if they drink blood. Finally he looked down at her hand, which held a struggling Kayl. This was obviously the Vamparlia Saysa had spoken of.
"So, little Hylian," She started to speak in a low, threatening voice. It was loaded with hatred and condescention. "You thought you could come and kick me out of my kingdom?"
Link looked up at her face. He tried to speak strongly and failed miserably, his words quiet with pain. "This is not your kingdom...leave these fairies alone. They have done nothing to you."
"Who cares? They are pathetic little creatures meant to serve me, and you are a pathetic little creature meant to feed me." She smiled evily, and the smile quickly grew into a wide grin which displayed her very sharp teeth.
Link tried to get up, but could only clutch his lower right chest in agony every time he moved. The vampire only laughed at him.
"You really are stupid! You actually get lucky and find your way out through my traps, then you come back, like a complete idiot, fooled by my incredibly simple-minded slave Saysa! Oh, well...it's only a pity that so much of your blood will rot on the floor rather than nourish my beautiful, youthful body." The vampiress started to walk towards Link, her malicious intent painted all over her pale face.
Link took out his bow and pulled an arrow out of his quiver (laying on the ground next to him because it was uncomfotable to lean against the wall wearing it), aiming it for the vampiress's chest. It was his best weapon since he couldn't get up and fight with his sword without any healing. The vampire stopped and stared hungrily at the blood leaking from Link's wound, aparently not even noticing the arrow. iToo bad the red fairies stopped healing me, /iLink thought, ibecause I got so many 'hearts' that it exhausted all their powers to do it...and they don't make milk or red potions like they used too...it works worse than iArlia,/i for goodness sake!/i
"Stay back..." Link warned, pointing the arrow at her chest. "And put Kayl down! That is so mean...why do you ilike/i to hurt fairies? I really don't think I could do it..."
"HAH!" The vampiress gave him a man-you're-really-dumb kind of look. "Do you honestly think I'll put her down just because you tell me to?"
Link let the arrow fly, but as he expected, the vampire did something about it. She simply raised her free hand, caught it without the slightest effort, and dropped it.
"You make me sad," she taunted, "with how terribly pathetic your efforts are...I like to play with my food, but you're no fun at all..."
Link was about to put his bow back but Kayl spoke up.
"Link!" She yelled in her tiny voice, "shoot her again! Use ice magic if you have it! She doesn't like-" Her yell ended with a painful gasp, as Vamparlia began sqeezing her.
"You insubordinate little insect..."
Link got an arrow out, turned it to an ice arrow, and fired it at Vamparlia, despite his doubt about her not catching it again. She was about to catch it, but brave little Kayl bit her finger.
"Ow! You pesty-" Her yell was cut off as the arrow struck her shoulder, and the vampire froze over. Luckily, her surprised fingers released Kayl before the ice hit the fairy, and she zipped out of the way just in time.
Now that Kayl was out of the vampiress's hand, Link saw that she carried a glowing bud from and Arlia plant, and she flew over to him.
"Finally! It was getting hard to breathe! Thanks for saving me...here you go!" She flew down to Link's peirced chest and rubbed the flower on it softly.
"I'm sure this won't heal the whole thing and you'll still be a little weak, but at least you should be able to stand."
"Thank you...Now you better get out of here, " Link said worriedly, putting down his bow next to his quiver. "My ice arrows aren't permanent, she'll break out any second!
"Okay, good luck, Link!!!" Kayl flew off, and Link slowly rose to his feet, finding that he was still in a lot of pain.i Ow, ow, ow, OUCH! Stop complaining, Link! This is it./i..Link thought as he stood watching cracks form rapidly in the ice surrounding Vamparlia.
Link drew his sword (not his sheild, his right hand was too busy putting pressure on the half-healed pain in his side) and his head swam from loss of blood as Vampalia burst out of the ice, mad as ever.
"Wretched Hylian! You will DIE!" The vampire powered up her right hand with dark energy, and sent it (the energy, not the hand) hurling at Link. He had experience with magic flying at him, and deflected it into a wall with his sword without even thinking. Then Link ran at her, as fast as possible for his condition, and attempted a jump slash. The vampire hadn't expected this, and it hit her in full force. She screeched in pain as the sword easily sliced through layers of skin, making a huge slash from her shoulder to the bottom of her waist.
"Ahhhhhhhhggghhhh!" She yelled as blood spurted from her wound, then abruptly the pained look on her face vanished, replaced by an ugly smile. "That hurt a little...but you'll have to do much better than that!" Link stared in astonishment as the slash slowly closed up, leaving no trace it had ever been there. Link had been told this would happen, but still couldn't beleive it. While he was off-guard, the vampire grabbed Link's head to hold him in place and drove her knee into his stomach a few times, knocking the breath from him. She was extremely strong for her light build, and Link coughed up some blood as she dug her knee into him one last time for good measure. As the vampire let go of him, Link staggered back and dropped his sword, nearly falling over. Then Vamparlia used dark magic to make her fingernails into thick, sharp claws, and laughing, she slammed them into Link's chest extremely hard.
"Eeaaahhhhhh!" Link yelled in pain as he was thrown into the wall behind him by the blow, which also made five deep, painful, slashes, from which came more blood that Link couldn't afford to lose.
Link tried to get up, but couldn't even see Vaparlia clearly as she approached him. She leaned down and extending her left hand, took Link by the throat, easily lifting him off the ground with monster-like strength.
"Time to die," Vamparlia said, grinning up at him evilly as he choked and struggled weakly for a couple dozen seconds. Then she lowered the strangling Link until the exposed part of his neck was level with her shining teeth. "It's about time for the rest of your blood to be mine." She dug her sharp teeth into Link's neck, and proceeded to do what vampires do best, drain his blood.
Link tried to pull her off, but knew it wasn't working. He was getting weaker, the beast taking gulps of the liquid sustaining his life. iMy sword and arrows are on the ground, what can I use? /iHis brain wasn't working very well, starving for oxygen, but finally it remembered the knife.
Despite his life being throttled and drained from him at the same time, Link found the strength to yank the dagger from his boot and stick it in into the wrist of the hand holding him in the air. The vampire screeched, pulling her wicked teeth from Link's neck and dropped him. The vampiress backed away, holding her nearly-severed hand so it wouldent fall off, screaming in excruciating pain. Link coughed blood out of his throat and gratefully filled his starving lungs with air. It was extremely painful to breathe, but Link ignored it, and glared up at Vamparlia. His bow was conveniently sitting next to him where he put it down a while ago, and he picked it up. He beheaded an arrow and aimed the wooden shaft at the vampie's heart (he had been told only wooden stakes kill vampires), pure willpower alone keeping him awake.
"Leave..." he muttered in a barely audible whisper as the vampire paused in her screeching to hear him, "don't force me to kill you...vampire or not...I...don't wan't to...Leave the fairies alone or I will..."
"SHUT UP, YOU MUTTERING FOOL! I WILL NOT LEAVE! I RULE! I WILL KILL YOU!!!" The vampire launched herself at Link, who released the headless arrow right into her heart.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The vampiress's ear-piercing scream rivaled that of a banshee's as she dissapeared in to an explosion of thick, black ashes.
When the ash settled, Link was unconscious.
buSection 4
Finally, the Arlia!/u/b
Link awoke about three hours later in an odd, white room; and immediately his ears filled with a loud, but strangely far-away sounding noise. As Link's eyes adjusted, he saw hundreds of tiny faces smiling down at him and as his ears began working properly, he realized the loud noise was the faces cheering.
"Quiet, QUIET!" yelled a familiar voice. "can't you see you're giving him a headache?!"
The sound stopped immediately and Link found himself looking up at Kayl and Saysa, the latter of which had changed her clothes to green.
"Hi, Link!" She said, bobbing up and down in the air in the manner of a hyper child.
"Shhhh, Saysa, don't yell," Kayl reminded her.
"It's okay..." Link said, finding that his senses were clearing up and he felt just fine. He sat up, looking at all the fairies smiling at him. "How long have I been asleep?" All of the fairies started jabbering at once.
"Quiet, quiet, sisters!" Kayl commanded, who seemed to be the most respected one of the bunch. "You have slept one sunspace, or three hours in your time, I believe. We used a spell The Great Fairy of the Swamp herself gave us to heal you completely. It took all of us together...but we're so glad you're awake! Thank you, thank you so much!" Once again all the faires started yapping, and all Link could make out was, "Thanlyouthankyoulinkqueenvampirethankyoubravethank-"
"iQUIEEEET!/i" Kayl yelled at the top of her lungs. She turned to Link. "Needless to say, we're all very thankful to you for releasing us from Vamparlia's tyranny. What can we do for you?"
"Well, I just want to get out of this swamp...oh wait! Hey, I could really use a couple of those enchanted Arlia plants, if you can spare them..."
'"You can have as many as you want!" Said Saysa, beaming. She looked like the happiest fairy in the world to be able to do something nice for Link after causing him so much pain. "Me and a few of my talented sisters can enchant as many as we want! You can have a thousand, if you like!"
"No, no...I don't need that many," said Link quetly, smiling at her. " I think fifty will be just fine if they work as long as Kayl said. That way, Hyrule Army and Royal Guard officers can have some..."
"Kayl wasn't exaggerating, you'll be pleased!" Exclaimed Saysa, and flew off with a couple other fairies to go get the flowers.
"Well, Link, I guess you'll be wanting to get out of here like you said...I'm sorry, but you'll have to use the vine again..." Kayl said.
"That's fine...I just want to get home...Zelda's gonna kill me for staying out so long." Link said with a short laugh.
"Oh, your wife is worrying about you?" Kayl asked innocently.
"Wife?" Said Link, turning red. "She isn't my iwife/i, she's the princess of Hyrule! I'm just her bodyguard...I've been gone so long the captain of the Royal Guard might think I'm failing in my duty...so you see, I really must be getting back."
"Hyrule? What's that?"
"It's the kingdom I came from...hey, want to be part of it? This swamp kinda is...But we can't just take your land from you...Don't worry, the king is really nice."
"Sure! We don't 'own' this swamp anyway...just this cave. We would be glad to be part of Hyrole"
"Hyrule." Link said.
"Oh, sorry! Um...this way to the Main Room!"
Link got off the floor ( he supposed they didn't have beds because most fairies don't sleep in them), and noticed his gear on the floor next to where he had been laying. His sword, bow, arrows, and dagger had all been cleaned, so he put them away and followed Kayl; all of the other fairies following as well. It didn't take long to get to the room (which looked like it had also been thoroughly cleaned) and as soon as they got there, Saysa and her compainons caught up to the group, carrying a lumpy bag.
"Here ya go," Saysa gave Link the bag of Arlia blooms, grinning ear to ear. "I'm so sorry for hurting you...having a spell on me is a pathetic excuse...are you sure this is all you want? It seems so small a reward for such a great guy..."
"Oh, stop it," Link said, "These blooms are fine and you had no control of yourself...so don't worry about it. Thanks for these, by the way..." said Link, gesturing towards the bag.
"Thank you" said Kayl. She turned to the the group of fairies.
"The hero must now return to his home. Let's all give him a proper farewell." All the fairies made noise again, but this time Kayl let them go for a while. Some clapped, but mostly Link just heard, "goodbyethankyousafejourneyfarewellthankyou..." And finally Kayl told them to be quiet.
"You're welcome," Link said, smiling. "the next time a vampire tries to take over you...don't let it, okay? You're all a lot more capable than you think...believe me, I've seen what fairies in large numbers can do. If you ever need help, come to Hyrule castle, straight east from here, okay? Good-bye."
Kayl summoned the vine, and had it take her and Link both to the top of Fairie's Pool in a bubble. When they got to the top, the vine put them down and went back to the pool. The bubble popped and Kayl turned to Link.
"Thanks again, Link." Said the fairy.
"Oh, cut it out...I think I've been thanked quite enough, thank you." Link realized what he had said and they both laughed a little.
"Which way is east?" Link asked when they stopped laughing. He had completely lost his bearings.
"That way," said Kayl, pointing. "Safe journey."
"Thanks." Link smiled and walked off in that direction, eager to get back to the castle. When he looked back, the fairy was gone, lost in the mist.
"Well, maybe Zelda won't kill me too bad when she sees the Arlias I got..." Link smiled and continued through the mist towards Hyrule Castle.
Thank you for reading! The next chapter elaborates on the dragonlord thing and is packed with battles and dragons! Hey, I drew some art for this story, by the way. If you want it, click on this link: http:t, so just e-mail me or include it in your review if you have anything to say. If the pic that shows up doesn't cover most of the screen than it's a preview. Just click on it to get the bigger version. Once again, thanks ofor reading! I hope you liked it enough (or hated it enough) to review. -Talonclawfange
By: Talonclawfange
( E-mail me at Talonofdayyahoo.com, but not if you're going to give me sick advertisements! I DONT WANT THEM!! I'M ONLY 16! Just feedback, please.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Hyrule, Link, Epona, Zelda, or anything else from Shigeru Miamoto and Nintendo's genius video game: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I wrote this story in dedication to them, since it's from the best video game of all time, created by them. The only things I own are North Hyrule, the Dragonlord, Vamparlia, and all other things not in the original vidio game ( so don't use em' without asking me and putting that I thought them up). I also wrote this because I like reading, drawing, and, recently, writing fantasy (all talents are given to me by God, so all credit goes to him as well). I think Link is really cool- Good job, Miyamoto!
Note: This is about 16 pages long. By the way, this story is somewhere between PG and PG-13, there's no sexual themes or foul language, but there's violence and lots of blood. In the prologue I realize that you don't just claim land whenever you want, but there's no goverment to buy it from, so what am I supposed to say? Oh, nevermind.... Enjoy!
buPrologue/u/b
A while after Hyrule was purged of Ganondorf's evil, Princess Zelda and her father decided to explore the land behind Hyrule Castle (to the north of it). They sent parties of soldiers and discovered that it was beautiful, unowned land. There was quite a lot of it, too.
Immediately behind the castle there was a huge, grassy, hilly feild (Royal Field); with a single gigantic tree, nearly as large as the Deku Tree (The Elder Tree), on a small hill in the middle of it. On two sides of the field that the castle wasn't on there was an enormous, beautiful forest (Ethereal Forest), stretching dozens of miles to the north and east. The soldiers didn't go very far into the forest, but decided that there must be many lakes and rivers in it. The soldiers did go a little ways into it, and found a very tall and treacherous rock formation (The Jagged Beamos). The most capable soldier among them climbed the formation and saw above the trees that the huge forest was bordered by tall, pointed mountains (the Stalfos Swords). The royal family decided these would be the natural boundries of the expanded kingdom for the time being (or until they got someone to accually go through the Ethereal Forest and explore them).
Off to the west of Royal Field there was a swamp. On the outskirts it was only a little moist, with thick mist and lots of trees. The farther in the soldiers went, they discovered the swamp became increasingly more wet and murky, and due to a 'bad feeling' they left the swamp without exploring much of it. It was called Ganon's Swamp and it is still unknown what lies on the other side of it.
All of this new land was claimed by Hyrule's royal family and called North Hyrule.
buSection 1
The Peril of the Fairie's Pool/u/b
Link swung his legs over the side of his soft bed and let out a great yawn. The sun had not yet risen, and Link usually got up early to watch it rise. Sleepily, he dressed and went to his window. He would have gone into Hyrule Field for a better view, but would not leave the castle until he was certain Zelda was awake.
As he watched the sunrise, Link thought about how much he was enjoying his new life living in Hyrule castle. He now had a room which was way bigger than his tiny house, and he was spoiled with a big, extremely soft bed. His room had decorative furnishings, but not much in it except a desk with a chair, his bed, and a dresser and racks to store his clothes and gear.
Link thought about how he had come to be here. After Ganondorf was defeated, Zelda had wanted to send Link back in time, to recover his lost years. What had gotten into her head? Link could go back and enjoy those years whenever he wanted. Why would hewant to go back and forget all he'd been through, to live a life bereft of exciting things like saving princesses and fighting evil? It was, in fact, the doing of evil that Link was able to stay in the castle.
Link used to like dragons. When the Know-It-All-Brothers had told Link about dragons Link hoped he would meet one someday. When Link fought Volvagia, he was dissappointed that it couldn't even talk and wasn't the kind of dragon the brothers had described anyway. A little while ago, however, Link had gotten his wish. A dragon had attacked Hyrule Castle, with the intentions of taking Zelda's triforce. The guards had failed to protect Zelda. She had almost exhausted her magical powers repelling the attack, and could be captured if anything much stronger than that dragon came. Zelda's father said he would post ten times the guards if she wished it, but Zelda firmly declared she did not feel safe without Link around ( but she didnt tell her father that she secretly wanted him around mostly because she loved spending free time with him and maybe had a little crush on him, too). Her father finally agreed that Link was the most capable defender of Zelda and had him moved into a room next to hers, so if anything happened, he, as the royal bodyguard, would hear and help. Since the last attack, he and Zelda had fought off two more dragons, the recent one the biggest. Link suspected they were being controlled, but by no means were they brainless. They were smart and lethal. Despite the danger, Link loved his new (or maybe not so new) job.
When the sunrise was finished, Link heard a knock at his door and Zelda entered.
"Good morning, Princess of Hyrule." Link said cheerfully.
"Link..," Zelde folded her arms and frowned briefly. "you know I'd rather have you call me Zelda. Good morning." She said, a smile replacing the frown.
"Sorry," he said, shrugging.
"Link," Zelda said, "would you please go and get some Arlia plants from Ganon's Swamp today? The ones on the border are all used up, and we need more or the soldier's bruises will go untreated."
"Sheesh...will they ever learn not to massacre each other during training? After all that training, you'd think that they would be brave enough to go into the swamp. Sure I'll get it. Anything else?"
"Not that I can think of," Zelda replied. "Thanks, Link....it must be a pain to go into the swamp all the time because the other soldiers are scared..."
"It's nothing," Link said. He was used to running errands for Zelda that other soldiers wouldn't. It was just another part of his job, and he didn't mind it at all.
After having a little breakfast, Link got his gear, went outside (on the north side of the castle), and called Epona. She came quickly, faithful as always. No matter where she was, she always came. How could she even hear the ocarina when he played it on the north side of the castle when she usually hung out on the south side? Link found himself wondering anew why she didn't stay in the castle's stables. He finally decided that if he was a horse, he would want to roam free as well.
"Hi, Epona," Link said, petting her "can you take me to the swamp, please?" With that, he mounted his friend and she galloped off towards Ganon's Swamp. Link hated the name, of course; but it was a good one since, once inside, you constantly feel like something will try to threaten your life, similar to the feeling he had gotten when Ganondorf tried to discourage him with evil magic.
When Link arrived at the swamp, which didn't take long thanks to Epona's speed, he rode his horse and friend only a little way in, and when the ground got mushy he dismounted.
"Wait here," Link said to Epona, giving her a pat before he walked off into the wet abyss of the swamp, keeping his eyes on the ground for signs of the plant he came for. At first there was only a very thin mist hanging in the marshy air, but after a while it began to thicken as Link went deeper, making it difficult to look for the Arlia plants. Soon it was so thick that he could hardly see ten feet in front of him. He grew somewhat uneasy at the realization that something could sneak up on him without much difficulty in this mist, so he drew his sword.
This was not the Master Sword, that sword had been returned to the pedastal (Zelda said it belonged there when Link wasn't facing a great evil, but somehow he didn't believe that), but this one looked just like it with the exception of a silver hilt rather than a purplish-blue one. It had been infused with light magic from Zelda, so no evil could bear to even touch it without hurting themselves (however it was much weaker than the Master Sword, another reason Link didn't want to leave it in the Temple of Time). Being cut with it would certainly hurt more than an ordinary sword; and because of this, Link knew it would make a good weapon against anything he might meet in this evil swamp.
Link listened carefully for signs of life as he continued walking and scanning the ground for the elusive Arlia. Time passed, but still nothing. The fog kept getting thicker, especially the part of it clinging to the moist ground, nearly hiding it from view entirely.
Despite this, Link continued walking, and because he kept his eyes instenslely focused on the ground, trying to penetrate the dense carpet of fog, he failed to see a low-hanging branch before his forehead smacked right into it.
"Ack!" He exclaimed in irritation and surprise as he fell, scratching his arm on a thorny branch on the way down as he threw his hands behind him to break his fall. Luckily, he caught himself before he landed on the wet ground, his hands and dropped sword making squishing noises as they plunged into the muck.iStupid branch../i.Link thought, glaring at the mushy groud around him. He wanted to find the plant as soon as possible so he could just leave.
"Ick...." Link said, removing his half-submerged hands from the mist-covered, slimy ground. He picked up his sword and sheathed it, examining the small three-inch scratch on his arm. He thought of it as nothing, but Zelda got mad at him the last time he didn't have a scratch treated and it had become infected. He frowned and moved on, keeping a close watch on the ground. His irritation grew with the wet stickyness and pungent smell of the marsh, and a warning grew in the back of his mind that the swamp was not eerily silent and absent of animal life for nothing.
Soon a small pool appeared out of the mist in front of Link. It was only about ten feet across and not very important looking but he stopped as he realized that the water was crystal clear, very unusual for the middle of a swamp. It was lacking the moss and muck and decaying plantlife that all the other pools he'd seen had been choked with. iIt looks shallow now but back there it looked deeper. Are my eyes playing tricks on me?/i Link wondered, glaring at the annoying mist around him which unnaturally seemed to distort everything. He leaned down and smelled the water. It smelled just as pure as it looked. Link picked up a little fist-sized rock that was half-submerged in the slime beside him, and tossed into the middle of the pool. It dissapeared into the pool, and Link couldn't see it sink because of low visiblity, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. Still feeling more than a little suspicious, he thought that the scratch on his arm would get infected if he didn't clean it with something, so he decided to clean his scratch with the water to see if the water was really clean. It wasn't very smart in the first place, but Link saw how careless the decision really was in the next instant. No sooner than his hand touched the water, a green, tentacle-like vine shot out of the middle of the pool, seized Link by the waist, and yanked him into the pool faster than he could act.
Link struggled violently, but the vine-thing dragged him downward, down into the water which was much, much deeper than he had thought it was at first. Even if the thing hadn't been dragging him down, he wasn't the best swimmer in the world, thanks to the weight of his gear. Ironically, all that gear did not include his Zora's tunic, since he didn't think he would have been using it. Desperately, he remembered the dagger in his right boot (he began carrying one when he found it came in useful quite often) and pulled it free. He slashed at the vine, away from his body to prevent cutting himself, but hit nothing. With his limited vision in the ill-lighted pool (getting dimmer by the second as he decended) he coulden't see the vine well and missed several times before his blade struck.
It might as well not have. The vine was extremely tough and the knife did almost nothing to it. Link tried to think of something he could do to the vine, but failed to come up with anything. He hadn't gotten a breath before the vine grabbed him, and he was already feeling the results of the absence of air. Link slashed at the vine a few more times and even tried sawing it, but all it did was give the vine tiny, uneffective cuts. He began to choke and pulled with his free hand at the strong vine relentlessly taking him deeper. He let go of his dagger and futilely yanked at the vine, refusing to give up. His golden gauntlets might have helped, but to use them he had to breathe. His lungs burned and he looked up at the shrinking, dim, grayish circle which was the surface of the pool, seeing in it his pathetic doom: The great Hero of Time died while he was looking for flowers in a swamp. Then everything went black.
buSection 2
Just a Fairy Cave/u/b
Link coughed until all of the water was out of his lungs, and breathed in the air gratefully and he tried to pull together his muddled thoughts. iI remember enterring the swamp...then something...grabbed...oh yeah! /iLink remembered suddenly that something had dragged him into a pool. He was now sitting on hard ground in a cold (or it seemed that way due to his wetness) room which he had never seen before. He looked up and saw a round, watery circle in the middle of the green ceiling which was about fifteen feet above him, and thought he must have fallen through it, and was awakened when his lungs decided they could finally get something from outside other than water. He was surprised he was alive; he had thought it was all over when the vine had him. Alive or not, Link didn't feel like he was in a vey good predicament in this very odd room at the bottom of a deceiving pool which had half-drowned him. The room under water might have freaked out any normal person, but Link had seen stranger things.
Link stood up and inspected the room, noting that it was oval-shaped, was approximately thirty feet across, and had two exits. They were at each long end of the oval opposite each other, one in front of Link, and one behind him; and the exits were about ten feet in height and five feet across. He looked around the floor and discovered that his dagger had been deposited on the floor behind him, and he slid it back in his right boot, between the leather and his white pants. Not the most comfortable place, but Link liked it there anyway. He thought it looked cooler there than on his belt, despite Zelda's disagreement. iWhy does she always have to put her two cents in? At least she doesn't bother me about my green clothes.../iSpeaking of green, it was the color of the walls, ceiling, and floor, and the walls had intricate gold leaf designs on them, as well as a few real vines crawling up them.i Very odd, there's no sunlight down here..../i.The room seemed to be lighted magically and there must have been some kind of magic because of the vines. Link also noticed that there were eyeball-sized circles on the floor and ceiling, but he didn't have enough time to find out what they were.
Before Link could decipher anything else about the room, he heard the unmistakable sound of fairy wings. iWhew, this is just a fairy cave...I was beginning to get worried for a minute./i The sound was coming from behind him and he turned and watched tiny forms materialize from the dark tunnel leading out. When the fairies came into view, Link realized with suprise that they were unlike any fairy he had ever seen in his life. They were a little bigger than storm faeries (which are the ones that come out of the ground at certain places if you play the strom song, and are little bigger than normal fairies) and did not glow like other fairies he had seen. He suddenly missed Navi, who could have probably told him something about them. The thought was gone istantly, however, as Link curiously watched the fairies flutter the room. The fairies were wearing small tunics like Link's, except made of leaves. A few were wearing black ones, but most were wearing green, and they were all female. Link noted they were carrying tiny, sheathed, swords at their sides. About three dozen faires flew into the room, all of their little, pretty eyes on Link. When they got closer to him they spread out, gracefully bobbing up and down as they made a circle around the perplexed Link. All at once they began chanting a little tune.iThis might not be so bad,/i Link thought, iBut I'd better not let my guard down./i The fairies' song went like this:
i"We are singing, singing, ever singing, singing for you now.
We love singing, singing ever singing. Singing when we're filled with love."/i
The fairies danced in the air, circling slowly. Theye were all smiling very strangely at Link, making him suspicious. This was definately the strangest fairy behavior he'd ever seen, not to mention the strangest fairies.
i"We are singing, singing cause we love you, always singing for love.
We are singing, singing, ever singing, singing cause we love your bBLOOD!/b" /i
With that last surprisingly loud shout from their tiny voices, they all drew their blade-of-grass-sized, but razor sharp swords and flew at Link. It was funny. Did they really think they could fight?
Link had been ready for this, and ducked. The fairies screeched and stupidly ran into each other just as Link had thought they would. They all fell to the floor in a circle around Link's feet, some uncouscious, some moaning, and some bleeding, accidentally stabbed by their own comrads' swords. He saw one behind him that was a little more aware of her surroundings than the others, so he walked over to her and crouched to see her more closely. She was one of the fairies wearing black, and she glared up at him defiantly, but was hurt and didn't attack him.
"Which way is out?" He asked the little fairy nicely. He was used to being nice to fairies (even when Navi had bugged him to death he didn't hurt her) and though maybe these ones were just very confused.
"And why should I tell you?" the little brat responded with an attitude. Link sighed, seeing that he was going to have to threaten her to get directions. Apparently they weren't confused, just evil. He didn't want to stick around to find out if they had back up in the form of something more powerful than a fairy.
"Because if you don't," Link said in a calm tone, "I will step on you."
"Eeeeek!" she screamed and her eyes grew wide with fear. "Okay, okay! it's right behind me! Go through that tunnel and turn left! Thats the exit, I swear!" She squeaked.
"Thank you." Link said with a smile to assure her that he wasn't going to step on her.
Link stepped over the fairy and walked into the tunnel. He saw that it was magically lighted like the green room, but a little dimmer. He shivered as he continued into the dark tunnel, which wasmuch colder than the room.i If it gets much colder I'll just light a fire arrow to warm up and see better..../iAfter only about a minute of walking he came to a fork in the tunnel. iShe said left,/i he remembered, and went that way. It occured to him that the little fairy might have been lying to save her life, but fairies weren't known to lie, and he didn't think they would sink that low, even if they were trying to hurt him. As he walked down the tunnel, he noticed it was getting dimmer and wetter. iHow annoying, /iLink thought, remembering also how it had become damper and more difficult to see as he progressed into the waiting dangers of the swamp. He began to think that maybe the fairy ihad/i lied to him, and as he continued down the tunnel, his sense of foreboding grew. He saw a wall comming up, and observed that there was a tunnel branching of to the left of the wall, but as he saw this his fears of the fairie's truthfulness were suddenly confimed. He jumped as he heard a loud noise behind him, the noise of a gate slamming shut.
"AW, MAN!" He yelled as he turned and ran to the gate to test its strength. The moment he layed hands on it he was thrown in to the wall behind him by a magical force. He groaned and got up, shaken but unhurt, scolding himself for being so stupid. iFirst I believed that fairy, then I didn't even check for hidden doors that slam behind you once you pass them! How could I be such a numbskull? Now whatever lies ahead of me may very well be my end./i And the end of Zelda, he suddenly realized, if another dragon was sent to capture her that was even bigger than the last one they had barely defeated together.i Oh, well....nothing to do but continue,/i he thought unhappily.
Link turned down the tunnel which branched off from the first one. This tunnel was lit so dimly that he could barely make out his footing. Link decided it had gotten too dark, so he tried to make a fire arrow; but the tunnel had gotten so damp that every one he made went out in a few seconds. Eventually, he quit trying because he was wasting magic. He trudged on.
Link kept his eyes and ears open for trouble this time, and after a while he spied some pale white-looking sticks on the ground. As he got closer he realized that they were bones. Human bones. He inhaled sharply and looked around the tunnel for what could have killed the owner of those bones. He layed his hand on the wall to his right and saw that there was a....kind of slit in it. It was a horizontal slit and was deep enough that he couldn't feel the depth of it, and extended far down the wall away from him. Link had seen this type of thing before. After he took some more steps, spikes would probably shoot out of the slit, completely shish-ka-bobifying whoever had triggered the trap. To see if this was the case, he took out an unlit bomb (he considered the bones on the floor too small to trigger the trap), backed away, and threw it down the tunnel.
Link saw that he had been wrong about the trap, and was grateful that he had tested it. A huge, very sharp, circular, horizontally spinning blade shot halfway out of the slit in the right wall about thirty-five feet down the tunnel. Two more shot out about five feet down the tunnel on the left wall, from two slits Link hadn't noticed; one at about the level of Link's head, and one just like it down at about the level of his heels.The blades were very large, and stuck out in the tunnel just enough that if someone tried to flaten himself on a wall to avoid them, he would be cut up anyway. The two blades on the left moved down the wall away from Link and the one on the right moved towards him. The three blades passed each other halfway, the one on the right going between the two on the left, and after going ten more feet they disappeared back into the wall. The whole thing had not made one noise, except the swishing of the swift blades as they cut through the air.
iGreat, just how am I supposed to get through that? /iLink wondered. iI can't jump over the highest one or roll under the lowest one and I can't go through the middle because they all intercept! If there was just the right one or the left two only, it would be easy...but this will be really hard./i Link looked at the ceiling just to check if there was anything he could use his hookshot on, but there was nothing. He knew his bombs weren't powerful enought to explode the thick, deadly blades, and didn't want to waste any more. He might have tried the hammer, but knew he couldent swing the heavy thing fast enough to catch one of the quck blades, so what could he do? Finally, he thought of something. It was very dangerous, and if he thought there was any other way to get past, he would have tried it, because this plan depended on speed, something which Link didn't have much of with all his gear (well, he considered himself to be pretty fast but was proven wrong the last time he fought Impa. He hadn't landed a single hit!).
Link wished himself luck, he would need it, and ran down the tunnel. Instantly, he heard the swishing of the blades coming out. He felt a draft on his back and knew the two blades on the left were right behind him, and he saw the blade in front on the right comming towards him, too. Quickly, Link did a back flip, getting over the lowest blade but not jumping high enough to hit the top one. They rushed on past him, and he followed them. They passed the middle one, which was comming strait for Link. When that one reached him, he rolled under it and continued to dash down the tunnel as fast as his legs could carry him. The two blades in front of him and the one he just rolled under dissapeared back into the walls, and Link barely had time to roll again when a second blade from the slit in the right wall shot out, trying to cut him in half. It whooshed over his head and he was finally out of range of the blades. He turned around and watched the second set of blades sweep the length of their slits, barely beleiving that he had actually been able to carry make it through. The blades disappeared back into the walls, and Link continued on.
After Link had been walking down the tunnel for a few minutes, keeping careful watch for more traps in the dim light, he finally came to something that looked suspicious. Directly in front of him, on both sides of the tunnel, there were many holes spread out along the walls, each aproximately three inches away from the others, and each about the size of an eyeball frog's eyes (a bit smaller than a fist). The scattering of holes went on for about three feet, and the walls were smooth beyond that point.i Maybe darts will shoot out of them,/i Link thought cautiously. Quickly, he put his hand out in front of one of the holes and snatched it back. Good thing he did it quickly, because huge, thick, barbed spikes shot out of the holes. They were all about three feet long, and there must have been about sixty of them. The spikes on one side of the wall extended into the midst of the ones on the other side, but didn't collide and paused for a couple seconds, all interlocking like a giant iron maiden or a huge, sharp-toothed mouth. Then all the spikes pulled quickly back into their holes, leaving no trace to betray they had even come out.
Link knew he didn't have many options. He thought these spikes looked even tougher than the blades, and equally indestructable by means of a bomb. However, he had something stonger than a bomb. The only thing he could use was his hammer, and he had to jam the trap so the spikes would sit still long enough to be hit. Link could only think of one way to do that.
Link put his hand in front of a hole again, and yanked it back just in time to miss the spikes a second time. This time when the spikes paused, he sucked in a huge breath and grabbed one, using his gauntlets to keep hold of it. The barbs dug into his skin and blood ran down his hands, but he ignored it, waiting for the trap to break. Break it did; with a huge crash, followed by a cracking sound, when the spikes tried to go back into the wall. All of them were connected inside the wall, so when Link grabbed one, none could retreat back into their holes. He released the spike when the trap broke, and all the spikes sat still, waiting to be crushed by the Megaton Hammer.
He wiped his bloody, slippery hands on his tunic, hardly noticing the pain in them when he took out his heavy hammer. With one great SMASH, Link broke all the spikes, and their ends scattered on the floor, leaving the way open. iI wonder how many more traps are in this stinking tunnel?/i Link thought irritably, then realized that the tunnel really idid/i stink - he could smell the swamp! iFinally, some progress!/i Link thought happily, imaybe this really is the exit to this cursed fairy cave./i
Link walked on, somewhat happier, but still keeping careful watch for more traps he felt certain were still between him and his destination. As Link went down the tunnel, it seemed to rise a bit, then it started getting steeper and steeper, until Link was practically crawling up it, trying not to slip. His boots lost their footing a few times, but each time Link caught himself before he was sent sliding down the slope. After a few minutes he began to get irritated with the slope, which seemed to be getting even steeper, but just he felt sure he would need climbing gear to scale it, the tunnel leveled out. "About time!" Link said, startling himself when his voice echoed back to him louder than he had spoke. iWhoops..../i Link thought, glad that he felt certain there was nothing living in this tunnel to hear him.i Now I remember why I don't talk to myself..../i
Link noticed that the air was getting less stale (but more stinky), meaning that he was now close to an exit of some sort. He walked on, still carefully watching for traps, and he it didn't take long to find something that didn't look right. The light was so dim that he almost missed it, but he had been looking at the wall to his right and saw a tiny little hole in it, only about the size of a deku nut. He didn't put anything in front of it yet, but carefully checked both the right and left walls and dicovered three more little holes. One was on the left wall, directly across from the first one he had seen; one was down at the level of his knees, right below the first one he had seen; and one direcly across from that one, below the second hole.i Probably more motion sensors,/i Link knew. iMaybe this one will trigger more blades that will shoot out from somewhere....but where? /iLink strained his eyes and peered down the dimly lit tunnel. He could barely make out a wall...about twenty feet away from him, and another passage way branching off to the right of that wall. He couldn't see the wall very well, but thought there most be holes in it for shooting unwelcome objects into a careless intruder. Link decided it was time to test the trap.
He pressed himself against the right wall, hoping that whatever the trap had in store wouldn't be widespread enough to hit him. He moved a hand in front of the hole and immediately heard the sound of tiny objects flying through the air, coming from the wall twenty feet down. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of little needle-sized darts flew past his body, mere centimeters from pricking him. They kept coming for about two seconds, then stopped abruptly. There was a skittering sound as they all dropped to the floor. Some flew far enough to get to the slope Link had climbed earlier, and he heard them sliding down it, the scratchy sound filling the tunnel. That was close! Link thought to himself, and he knew he couldn't slide along the wall to avoid the darts. Any movement whatsoever would have put him in the way of the darts.
Link leaned down and picked one up, observing that the end was darkened. It smelled toxic and the dark purplish color had soaked all the way into the wood of the needle-dart, meaning it was poisoned. Link wondered who could have the patience to personally poison each of the vastly numbered darts by hand and thought it would be difficult to get them all. This didn't matter, though, and Link threw down the dart, remembering his earlier thought of the size of the sensory holes. He took out a deku nut, flattened himself against the wall once more, and jammed the deku nut into the first hole he had seen.
Instantly the darts shot out, once again missing him by narrow centimeters. After they stopped, Link put his hand out in front of the hole he just jammed, and threw himself against the wall again, but nothing happened. The way between the first two holes was closed by the nut, so the magic motion sensors could not function. iYes, it worked!/i Link thought enthusiastically. iOnly one more set of holes to go!/i Link crouched down and prepared to put himself on the wall again after jamming the other hole, messing up it's sensing ability. By this time, the floor was completely littered with needle-like darts, and Link slipped on some when he forced the deku nut into the low hole. After slipping Link barely had time to throw himself on the wall before the rush of darts came. A few brushed past his nose and some got caught in his tunic, but he didn't think any pierced him; but when the darts stopped, he realized there was a tiny, peircing pain in his shoulder. He looked down and saw a dart lodged halfway into it.
Worriedly, he withdrew the dart.i Now what.../ihe thought,i I'll never get to the castle in time to get this poison treated.../i.Slowly, he wiped the blood from the dart. His eyes grew wide and he stared at it, dumbfounded. How could he possibly be so lucky? It was clean! The end was not darkened, which meant that while most darts had been carefully poisoned, this one had been missed! He just could not believe it and checked the hole in his shoulder to see if there was any dark poison. Nothing but blood! Link grinned, thanking whatever it was that had given him such luck.
Link passed by the stopped holes without darts shooting at him, and came without incident to the wall and the passageway, which branched off to the right. He peered into the passage and discovered that there were stairs, and, much to his relief, there was light at the top of them! He rushed up the stairs, finding no traps on the way, and got to the top in no time. The stairs stopped and Link saw a ladder on the wall in front of him.
He climbed it and went through a short four-foot, low-ceilinged tunnel and emerged into the wonderful light (well, sort of light...for a misty, murky swamp). He turned and only saw the trunk of a very large tree behind him. Puzzled, Link stuck his hand out to touch the bark, but his hand went right throught it! iOh, a disguised entrance,/i he realized. iSomething I could probably see through with my Eye of Truth. But who cares?/i Link thought, iI'm not going back there again!/i He started to walk away from the tree, but didn't get very far before he heard a tiny voice behind him.
"Waiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!" said a fairy, appearing from the bark behind Link. "you can't just leave like that!"
Link turned and recognized this to be the fairy that had told him where the exit was...but convieniently 'forgot' to mention the traps on the way.
"Hey!" Link growled, glaring at her. "why didn't you tell me about the traps? And what do you mean I can't leave? Watch me!" He stalked off away from her.
"Noooooooooo!" She pleaded pitifully " Please don't leave! I didn't tell you about the traps because you were going to step on me! If you leave, my entire clan will be wiped out!"
Link stopped and turned around. He fixed his eyes on her as if she had said the stupidest thing he had ever heard.
"So first you try to kill me, then I almost get killed by traps you didn't tell me about, and inow/i you want me to istay/i in this stinking swamp to save fairies who tried to turn me into a pin cushion? I have better things to do!" He snapped. "And I was inot/i going to step on you!"
"Wait pleeease! I didn't want to kill you! A vampire has come to the Swamp Fairies and killed our Queen! She is now Queen, and unless we capture creatures for her to suck thier blood out, she'll kill us! If we ever see a Hylian we are by no means to let them go - they're her favorite!"
"A vampire, huh? Why didn't you and your friends try to turn her into a pin cushion instead of me?"
"Oh, Vamparlia is far too strong! There is no way we can beat her....just looking at her frightens me! Please...I don't care if you save yourself, but bring us other Hylians...criminals, maybe...so she can have one. Now that she knows one's been in her cave, we'll all be destroyed if she doesn't get one!" The pathetic little creature began to sob violently.
Link sighed in exasperation. He was going to walk away, but got angry at himelf when he found that he just coulden't do it. He really liked fairies, having been around them his whole life, and if this one's story was true, he coulden't leave her to an angry vampire.
"Well, there's no way I'm going to bring any poor creature to it's doom at the teeth of a vampire...but there is another way I can help you."
"Yes? Yay!" she perked up immediately. "What's your plan?"
"Take me to your queen as a prisoner, then I'll try to defeat her, okay?"
"Yay!!!Lets go!" The little fairy grinned and laughed for a while.
buSection 3
The Vampiress Vamparlia/u/b
The fairy, named Saysa, began to lead Link back to the pool he had been pulled into earlier (the Fairie's Pool, Saysa told him) and needless to say, he was reluctant to go.
"Are you sure that vine-thing wont try to kill me again?" Link asked her for the third time as he followed her through the mist.
"No...If a fairy is present, the vine will obey whatever orders the fairie gives it. I'll just tell it to make us a bubble and take us down nice and slow, okay?" She glanced back at him, not stopping.
"If you say so..." Link muttered nervously.
Soon they came to the pool, which hadn't been more than half a mile west of the hidden tree entrance. Link stepped up to the edge of the pool, and stared at it, amazed that it still looked five feet deep.
"Nice illusion, huh?" said Saysa, and whistled as if calling a dog.
"Nice...." Link pretended to agree. He took a step back as the deadly vine emerged from the pool. It hung in the air in the manner of a snake waiting for instructions.
"Make us a bubble," Saysa ordered, snapping her fingers. Instantly, the vine began to twist around, and a small bubble magically formed in front of it. The vine-tentical kept twisting and the bubble grew, until it was big enough to fit the fairy and Link.
"Don't you think I'm a bit heavy for a bubble?" Link asked the fairy.
"No," she said, smiling. "If you'r not too heavy to be pulled into the pool by the vine, then it's magical bubble will be more than strong enough for you."
Link and the fairy got into the bubble, and the fairy told the vine to take them down to the Main Room slowly. The vine wraped itself around the bubble and pulled it down, and once again Link was descending into Faerie's pool.
iI guess she really isn't trying to trick me../i.Link thought with relief. iIf she was trying to kill me, she would have had this vine do it./i The fairy's thoughts were completely different.
iBlast! This guy put CUTS in the invincible Fairies Vine, and threw a rock on it's still submerged head! He stretched it by pulling on it and caused it so much pain that it dropped him before he was dead! I'll just have to use the second line of defense.../i
Finally Link saw a growing circle of light below him and the vine took them through it. It put the bubble on the ground of the Main Room gently, then withdrew back into the wet circle on the ceiling that was the pool. The bubble popped when the vine left, and Link tunrned to Saysa. "Well, I guess that wasn't so bad. Now where is your - hey! Where are you going?"
With a evil laugh from her puny fairie's voice, Saysa rushed into the tunnel on the left, as fast as her little wings could carry her. Link immediately suspected she would do something he woulden't like, and tried to follow her. Link simply didn't run quite as fast as a fairie can fly. Saysa reached the tunnel (which was the one opposite the tunnel Link went into earlier), and pulled a hidden lever on the wall. A grate came from the roof of the tunnel and slammed into the floor with a crash, sealing the fairy away from Link. He heard another crash behind him, and turned to see that the other exit was sealed as well. Slowly, he turned to the fairy.
"You should have stepped on me!" She exclaimed with childish laughter. "Maybe I told you the truth about everything...I really am going to take you to the Queen...but you'll be dead! Ahahahaha!" The dark intentioned fairy pushed a button next to the lever she had pulled, and Link discovered the function of the dots on the floor and ceiling he had wondered about earlier. Each dot was really a tiny door. They all rolled back, and razor-sharp spikes emerged from them. The spikes were easy enough to avoid, but then the ceiling made a loud grating noise, and started moving downwards. Link knew he was in trouble now. There was absolutely nowhere to go - a large circular door had covered up the watery circle on the celieng (Fairy's Pool) so he couldn't go there; and both exits were blocked. Link would have tried to hit the lever with an arrow or something, but remembered that a magical force was activated whenever anything got close to the gate (he learned that lesson when he was thrown into the wall). Link didn't think he had anything strong enough to stop the ceiling from desending, and was at a loss for ideas; and Saysa's kidish cackling wasn't helping matters.
The celing was now low enough that Link could reach it, and he put his arms up, trying to use the gauntlets to stop it. Saysa laughed louder.
"Do you really think ithat/i will work? The ceiling isn't just weight, it's also enchanted to squash anything trying to stop it! No matter how hard you try, the ceiling will not stop. You will be crushed. Ahahahaha! You gullible FOOL!"
Link grunted with strain, but the ceiling wasn't even close to slowing down. Link had to crouch so it wouldn't run into his head. It was pushing him towards the floor, and he looked below him to see if he was going to hit any spikes on the ground. He wasn't if he stayed exacly where he was, but if he did that, one of the spikes on the ceiling would hit him. There was nothing Link could do. Link was pressed to the floor, and despite his best efforts, a spike on the ceiling started peircing his lower right chest. Link screamed in agony as the spike got deeper, and his rib made a sickening snapping sound as it was broken by the spike. The ceiling threatened to turn him into Hylian pancake.
All of the sudden a fairy wearing green came up behind the unsuspecting Saysa, knocked her out by kicking the back of her heaf, and pushed the button next to the lever a second time. The ceiling began to go back up where it belonged. Link groaned in pain as the bloody spike pulled itself from his chest and receded back into it's hole, along with the rest of the spikes. When the ceiling reached it's original height, the holes closed as the dot-doors went back in place.
The fairy that had saved him reversed the lever, and the gates which were blocking the tunnels went back up into the the place they came from. The way now free, the little fairy fluttered over to Link. It looked like one of the fairies that had attacked him earlier.
"I am Kayl, a fairy which foolishly attacked you a while ago. I must thank you for sparing me. I was knocked out and you could have easliy destroyed me and my sisters. I am truly sorry for attacking you, but as Saysa told you, us fairies have no choice. Thank you again for sparing us."
"Sure," said Link, trying to rise. "I wouldn't-" Link gasped in pain, clutching his wound which felt like someone was twisting a blade in it, because of the strain of trying to get to his feet.
"I can help you," the fairy said with a smile. "Here we have enchanted Arlia plants which are ten times more powerful than normal ones, and a single plant won't run out of it's healing power for years! I was watching you for a short while with my magic after you left through our tree-trunk exit. I heard your promise to try and stop our evil queen...sadly, Saysa was one of the fairies that had an evil spell cast on her...thoses fairies push the rest of us around and wear black. They are loyal to Vamparlia until the spell is broken....Oh, listen to me! Yapping on when you have a wound that needs healing! I will return in a few mintutes." With that, Kayl flew off into the tunnel from which she had come.
Weakly, Link made him self a bandage out of some clothes he was carrying; but the wound was big enough that the cloth did little to stop the steady flow of blood. Dizzy with pain, Link dragged himself into the wall behind him and propped himself up against it, so he would have a clear view of both tunnel doorways. After a while of waiting, at least a few minutes, it became an effort to remain awake, and Link knew he would have to change bandages already.
The silence was oppressive. Link stared at the wall in front of him, but his eyes were not focused enough to make out the vines. He had changed bandages several times (in Link's world, they didn't know that it's better to put a new bandage over the old one if the bleeding hasn't stopped), but despite them a small pool of blood was forming on the floor below his stab wound. His head drooped and he was barely conscious. Link didn't know how much time had passed since the fairy left, but it was far more than a few minutes, possibly hours. He tried to keep his mind awake by thinking of the Arlia plant, and how it only healed bruises, so it woulden't do much for his wound unless it really was as powerful as the fairy said. Even then, it might not go deep enough to heal the entire thing. Then Link's mind strayed to other things, and he nearly fell asleep. Dazedly he sat up taller, trying not to fall into unconsciousness. After what seemed like an eternity of sitting in silence bleeding, Link heard a sound in the tunnel Kayl had gone through. The sound was some creature moving towards him in the tunnel, but it certainly wasn't a fairy. Link heard footsteps.
Shortly, a woman came around the corner...a very odd woman. Link supposed she must be a vampire...but he had never seen one, just heard about them from the Know-It-All Brothers when he was young. The vampire was very tall, easily two feet taller than Link if he stood up, and she looked very evil. Her dark red eyes went perfectly with the malicious look on her face, which was framed by sleek, black, flowing hair. She wore a long, black dress with billowing sleeves that seemed to float on the air every time she made even the slightest move, and two purple wings were on her back, which looked like bird wings and bat wings mixed. The vampire looked to be pretty young despite her height, but Link had heard that vampires don't age if they drink blood. Finally he looked down at her hand, which held a struggling Kayl. This was obviously the Vamparlia Saysa had spoken of.
"So, little Hylian," She started to speak in a low, threatening voice. It was loaded with hatred and condescention. "You thought you could come and kick me out of my kingdom?"
Link looked up at her face. He tried to speak strongly and failed miserably, his words quiet with pain. "This is not your kingdom...leave these fairies alone. They have done nothing to you."
"Who cares? They are pathetic little creatures meant to serve me, and you are a pathetic little creature meant to feed me." She smiled evily, and the smile quickly grew into a wide grin which displayed her very sharp teeth.
Link tried to get up, but could only clutch his lower right chest in agony every time he moved. The vampire only laughed at him.
"You really are stupid! You actually get lucky and find your way out through my traps, then you come back, like a complete idiot, fooled by my incredibly simple-minded slave Saysa! Oh, well...it's only a pity that so much of your blood will rot on the floor rather than nourish my beautiful, youthful body." The vampiress started to walk towards Link, her malicious intent painted all over her pale face.
Link took out his bow and pulled an arrow out of his quiver (laying on the ground next to him because it was uncomfotable to lean against the wall wearing it), aiming it for the vampiress's chest. It was his best weapon since he couldn't get up and fight with his sword without any healing. The vampire stopped and stared hungrily at the blood leaking from Link's wound, aparently not even noticing the arrow. iToo bad the red fairies stopped healing me, /iLink thought, ibecause I got so many 'hearts' that it exhausted all their powers to do it...and they don't make milk or red potions like they used too...it works worse than iArlia,/i for goodness sake!/i
"Stay back..." Link warned, pointing the arrow at her chest. "And put Kayl down! That is so mean...why do you ilike/i to hurt fairies? I really don't think I could do it..."
"HAH!" The vampiress gave him a man-you're-really-dumb kind of look. "Do you honestly think I'll put her down just because you tell me to?"
Link let the arrow fly, but as he expected, the vampire did something about it. She simply raised her free hand, caught it without the slightest effort, and dropped it.
"You make me sad," she taunted, "with how terribly pathetic your efforts are...I like to play with my food, but you're no fun at all..."
Link was about to put his bow back but Kayl spoke up.
"Link!" She yelled in her tiny voice, "shoot her again! Use ice magic if you have it! She doesn't like-" Her yell ended with a painful gasp, as Vamparlia began sqeezing her.
"You insubordinate little insect..."
Link got an arrow out, turned it to an ice arrow, and fired it at Vamparlia, despite his doubt about her not catching it again. She was about to catch it, but brave little Kayl bit her finger.
"Ow! You pesty-" Her yell was cut off as the arrow struck her shoulder, and the vampire froze over. Luckily, her surprised fingers released Kayl before the ice hit the fairy, and she zipped out of the way just in time.
Now that Kayl was out of the vampiress's hand, Link saw that she carried a glowing bud from and Arlia plant, and she flew over to him.
"Finally! It was getting hard to breathe! Thanks for saving me...here you go!" She flew down to Link's peirced chest and rubbed the flower on it softly.
"I'm sure this won't heal the whole thing and you'll still be a little weak, but at least you should be able to stand."
"Thank you...Now you better get out of here, " Link said worriedly, putting down his bow next to his quiver. "My ice arrows aren't permanent, she'll break out any second!
"Okay, good luck, Link!!!" Kayl flew off, and Link slowly rose to his feet, finding that he was still in a lot of pain.i Ow, ow, ow, OUCH! Stop complaining, Link! This is it./i..Link thought as he stood watching cracks form rapidly in the ice surrounding Vamparlia.
Link drew his sword (not his sheild, his right hand was too busy putting pressure on the half-healed pain in his side) and his head swam from loss of blood as Vampalia burst out of the ice, mad as ever.
"Wretched Hylian! You will DIE!" The vampire powered up her right hand with dark energy, and sent it (the energy, not the hand) hurling at Link. He had experience with magic flying at him, and deflected it into a wall with his sword without even thinking. Then Link ran at her, as fast as possible for his condition, and attempted a jump slash. The vampire hadn't expected this, and it hit her in full force. She screeched in pain as the sword easily sliced through layers of skin, making a huge slash from her shoulder to the bottom of her waist.
"Ahhhhhhhhggghhhh!" She yelled as blood spurted from her wound, then abruptly the pained look on her face vanished, replaced by an ugly smile. "That hurt a little...but you'll have to do much better than that!" Link stared in astonishment as the slash slowly closed up, leaving no trace it had ever been there. Link had been told this would happen, but still couldn't beleive it. While he was off-guard, the vampire grabbed Link's head to hold him in place and drove her knee into his stomach a few times, knocking the breath from him. She was extremely strong for her light build, and Link coughed up some blood as she dug her knee into him one last time for good measure. As the vampire let go of him, Link staggered back and dropped his sword, nearly falling over. Then Vamparlia used dark magic to make her fingernails into thick, sharp claws, and laughing, she slammed them into Link's chest extremely hard.
"Eeaaahhhhhh!" Link yelled in pain as he was thrown into the wall behind him by the blow, which also made five deep, painful, slashes, from which came more blood that Link couldn't afford to lose.
Link tried to get up, but couldn't even see Vaparlia clearly as she approached him. She leaned down and extending her left hand, took Link by the throat, easily lifting him off the ground with monster-like strength.
"Time to die," Vamparlia said, grinning up at him evilly as he choked and struggled weakly for a couple dozen seconds. Then she lowered the strangling Link until the exposed part of his neck was level with her shining teeth. "It's about time for the rest of your blood to be mine." She dug her sharp teeth into Link's neck, and proceeded to do what vampires do best, drain his blood.
Link tried to pull her off, but knew it wasn't working. He was getting weaker, the beast taking gulps of the liquid sustaining his life. iMy sword and arrows are on the ground, what can I use? /iHis brain wasn't working very well, starving for oxygen, but finally it remembered the knife.
Despite his life being throttled and drained from him at the same time, Link found the strength to yank the dagger from his boot and stick it in into the wrist of the hand holding him in the air. The vampire screeched, pulling her wicked teeth from Link's neck and dropped him. The vampiress backed away, holding her nearly-severed hand so it wouldent fall off, screaming in excruciating pain. Link coughed blood out of his throat and gratefully filled his starving lungs with air. It was extremely painful to breathe, but Link ignored it, and glared up at Vamparlia. His bow was conveniently sitting next to him where he put it down a while ago, and he picked it up. He beheaded an arrow and aimed the wooden shaft at the vampie's heart (he had been told only wooden stakes kill vampires), pure willpower alone keeping him awake.
"Leave..." he muttered in a barely audible whisper as the vampire paused in her screeching to hear him, "don't force me to kill you...vampire or not...I...don't wan't to...Leave the fairies alone or I will..."
"SHUT UP, YOU MUTTERING FOOL! I WILL NOT LEAVE! I RULE! I WILL KILL YOU!!!" The vampire launched herself at Link, who released the headless arrow right into her heart.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The vampiress's ear-piercing scream rivaled that of a banshee's as she dissapeared in to an explosion of thick, black ashes.
When the ash settled, Link was unconscious.
buSection 4
Finally, the Arlia!/u/b
Link awoke about three hours later in an odd, white room; and immediately his ears filled with a loud, but strangely far-away sounding noise. As Link's eyes adjusted, he saw hundreds of tiny faces smiling down at him and as his ears began working properly, he realized the loud noise was the faces cheering.
"Quiet, QUIET!" yelled a familiar voice. "can't you see you're giving him a headache?!"
The sound stopped immediately and Link found himself looking up at Kayl and Saysa, the latter of which had changed her clothes to green.
"Hi, Link!" She said, bobbing up and down in the air in the manner of a hyper child.
"Shhhh, Saysa, don't yell," Kayl reminded her.
"It's okay..." Link said, finding that his senses were clearing up and he felt just fine. He sat up, looking at all the fairies smiling at him. "How long have I been asleep?" All of the fairies started jabbering at once.
"Quiet, quiet, sisters!" Kayl commanded, who seemed to be the most respected one of the bunch. "You have slept one sunspace, or three hours in your time, I believe. We used a spell The Great Fairy of the Swamp herself gave us to heal you completely. It took all of us together...but we're so glad you're awake! Thank you, thank you so much!" Once again all the faires started yapping, and all Link could make out was, "Thanlyouthankyoulinkqueenvampirethankyoubravethank-"
"iQUIEEEET!/i" Kayl yelled at the top of her lungs. She turned to Link. "Needless to say, we're all very thankful to you for releasing us from Vamparlia's tyranny. What can we do for you?"
"Well, I just want to get out of this swamp...oh wait! Hey, I could really use a couple of those enchanted Arlia plants, if you can spare them..."
'"You can have as many as you want!" Said Saysa, beaming. She looked like the happiest fairy in the world to be able to do something nice for Link after causing him so much pain. "Me and a few of my talented sisters can enchant as many as we want! You can have a thousand, if you like!"
"No, no...I don't need that many," said Link quetly, smiling at her. " I think fifty will be just fine if they work as long as Kayl said. That way, Hyrule Army and Royal Guard officers can have some..."
"Kayl wasn't exaggerating, you'll be pleased!" Exclaimed Saysa, and flew off with a couple other fairies to go get the flowers.
"Well, Link, I guess you'll be wanting to get out of here like you said...I'm sorry, but you'll have to use the vine again..." Kayl said.
"That's fine...I just want to get home...Zelda's gonna kill me for staying out so long." Link said with a short laugh.
"Oh, your wife is worrying about you?" Kayl asked innocently.
"Wife?" Said Link, turning red. "She isn't my iwife/i, she's the princess of Hyrule! I'm just her bodyguard...I've been gone so long the captain of the Royal Guard might think I'm failing in my duty...so you see, I really must be getting back."
"Hyrule? What's that?"
"It's the kingdom I came from...hey, want to be part of it? This swamp kinda is...But we can't just take your land from you...Don't worry, the king is really nice."
"Sure! We don't 'own' this swamp anyway...just this cave. We would be glad to be part of Hyrole"
"Hyrule." Link said.
"Oh, sorry! Um...this way to the Main Room!"
Link got off the floor ( he supposed they didn't have beds because most fairies don't sleep in them), and noticed his gear on the floor next to where he had been laying. His sword, bow, arrows, and dagger had all been cleaned, so he put them away and followed Kayl; all of the other fairies following as well. It didn't take long to get to the room (which looked like it had also been thoroughly cleaned) and as soon as they got there, Saysa and her compainons caught up to the group, carrying a lumpy bag.
"Here ya go," Saysa gave Link the bag of Arlia blooms, grinning ear to ear. "I'm so sorry for hurting you...having a spell on me is a pathetic excuse...are you sure this is all you want? It seems so small a reward for such a great guy..."
"Oh, stop it," Link said, "These blooms are fine and you had no control of yourself...so don't worry about it. Thanks for these, by the way..." said Link, gesturing towards the bag.
"Thank you" said Kayl. She turned to the the group of fairies.
"The hero must now return to his home. Let's all give him a proper farewell." All the fairies made noise again, but this time Kayl let them go for a while. Some clapped, but mostly Link just heard, "goodbyethankyousafejourneyfarewellthankyou..." And finally Kayl told them to be quiet.
"You're welcome," Link said, smiling. "the next time a vampire tries to take over you...don't let it, okay? You're all a lot more capable than you think...believe me, I've seen what fairies in large numbers can do. If you ever need help, come to Hyrule castle, straight east from here, okay? Good-bye."
Kayl summoned the vine, and had it take her and Link both to the top of Fairie's Pool in a bubble. When they got to the top, the vine put them down and went back to the pool. The bubble popped and Kayl turned to Link.
"Thanks again, Link." Said the fairy.
"Oh, cut it out...I think I've been thanked quite enough, thank you." Link realized what he had said and they both laughed a little.
"Which way is east?" Link asked when they stopped laughing. He had completely lost his bearings.
"That way," said Kayl, pointing. "Safe journey."
"Thanks." Link smiled and walked off in that direction, eager to get back to the castle. When he looked back, the fairy was gone, lost in the mist.
"Well, maybe Zelda won't kill me too bad when she sees the Arlias I got..." Link smiled and continued through the mist towards Hyrule Castle.
Thank you for reading! The next chapter elaborates on the dragonlord thing and is packed with battles and dragons! Hey, I drew some art for this story, by the way. If you want it, click on this link: http:t, so just e-mail me or include it in your review if you have anything to say. If the pic that shows up doesn't cover most of the screen than it's a preview. Just click on it to get the bigger version. Once again, thanks ofor reading! I hope you liked it enough (or hated it enough) to review. -Talonclawfange