Talonclawfange says: sorry it took so long to put this up, my net was freaking out and it took a few days to fix. Anyways if you wanna know what's in store read the note, blah blah. It's still pg-13, but its a bit more violent than the others so its like a pg-13 or something, heheh. Thx for reading, plz review!
The Threat to Life
By: Sonnet A.K.A. 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 things I own are the Cyphas, Chain, Raykel, Calwots and all other things not in the original video 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 story takes place after my other stories, which are: The Problem of the Swamp Fairies, Duels and Dragons, Hunt for the Dragonlord, The War of the Kings, and The Song of the Siren's Shell, and Return of the Dark One parts 1 and 2; so you probably want to read them first or you'll be a little confused. This story I hope will be my best since it will it will be Link's last one in Hyrule. It'll be more action packed and more...fluffy...than the rest. Those of you who don't like lovey-dovey stuff I apologize. Those who do, your day has come. Those who don't like violence...well, you better not read this. It's PG-13, there's no sexual themes or foul language, but there's lots of violence and blood. Enjoy!
I'm following Link down a corridor. It's one I've never seen before...the walls are green and torches line them. It's stange...in the corner of my eye the walls seem to be moving, but when I turn my head to look at them, they go still. I ask Link about it. He walks on, not saying anything. I ask again, but he seems to not hear me. Perhaps he is concentrating. We walk on, but the torches are burning out and it's becoming hard to see. The only sound in the corridor are my footsteps and Link's, but suddenly I think I hear something more. It sounds like laughing...but it's so far away I can't tell.
Link stops and I stop with him. I lay a hand on his shoulder...but he doesn't move, almost like he can't feel it. But I feel him...what's going on? Link, what's happening? I ask. He says nothing and the torches go out completely. This time I definately hear laughing. Link's breathing quickens, and little beads of sweat roll down his neck. Link, we have to get out of here! I shout, but he still can't hear me. Link! I yell, and put a hand on his face. It's so cold! There's no warmth, no softness. It's like he's dead.
Suddenly he dashes off. Link, wait! I yell and run after him. He's running so fastI can't catch up. I'm losing sight of him! I keep running, but eventually I tire and have to catch my breath. Link is nowhere to be seen. Nothing is to be seen in the enveloping blackness. I suddenly realize how cold it is in here. My breath mists on the air and I shiver. Link! I call, but get no reply. Suddenly and ear-piercing scream rips through the silence. That's Link's scream! Something hits me from behind and I scream too, because the pain is intense as the thing breaks my back. I can see nothing but light suddenly. Link! I yell, but it's useless...
Section 1
A New Friend and an Old Friend
"ZzzzzzZzzzz....."
"Link! Hey, Link!" Navi buzzed around Link's face, trying to wake him up. "C'mon!!" The little fairy kicked Link's nose. He awoke instantly, sneezing and blowing her away.
"Oh, did I fall asleep again? Dangit!" Link said, picking up Navi. She flew out of his hand and buzzed in his face again.
"Don't you know that Cyphas will get here any minute? She's going out of her comfort zone and way to come visit you...and you fall asleep!"
"Well, exuuuuse me! She happens to be four hours late! She said she'd be here just after sunrise! Can you blame me? I'm really bored...I've been sitting her so long my butt's beginning to hurt!" Link complained. He was sitting up against the wall of the courtyard, where Cyphas had said she'd meet him. Soldiers were training in about four hundred feet away, but Link had gotten tired of watching them long ago. Even though there were some clouds in the sky, it was an unusually hot, sleepy kind of day.
"Still, she could show up very soon...ahhhh!" Navi was startled out of her wits when a large creature suddenly dropped down behind her and started screaming.
"Link!! Just what in the bloody abyss do you think you're doing?! If I'm late you're supposed to train while wating for me! I did say we were training, didn't I?! Training is work, not sleeping!" It was Cyphas, of course.
"I...uh...w-well, I was just waiting for you here because I didn't know when you'd be here..." He said, avoiding her angry eyes.
"You sluggard! You're not even warmed up, are you? I could probably beat you in three seconds! Get up, already!" She growled, glaring at Navi as the fairy flew up to her face. "What a puny fairy," She said.
"Hey! Stop ordering Link around! He's not your son or anything!" Navi shouted, while Link was getting to his feet.
"What's this, Link? Your nightlight?" Cyphas questioned, on the verge of swatting Navi out of her face.
"Listen! I happen to be Link's guardian fairy!" Navi yelled, insulted. Cyphas started laughing. The harsh, grating laugh echoed through the courtyard. Navi put up her dukes and prepared to attack Cyphas's upturned nose, but Link grabbed her first.
"It's okay, Navi. She's always grouchy, so don't get offended. She'll calm down once she's used to being among lots of people again, I'm sure. She's probably very nervous, having lived in the swamp almost all her life."
"You didn't tell me she was so rude! I should pull her little blue spikes out..." Link glared at Navi. "Okay, okay...but she'd better lose that attitude!" Cyphas had stopped laughing, and was listening to the conversation.
"Or you'll what, you little dust bunny? Pull my eyebrows out? Buzz around my head? Hahahahah!" The zora-Hylian put her hands on her hips, throwing her head back and laughing again. Navi struggled furiously.
"Navi, I think you better leave or you two are bound to get into a fight..." Link said, not opening his hand.
"Me?! I'm your guardian! She should leave! She doesn't belong here-"
"Shhhh! Navi, you'll offend her! I'll meet up with you after our training is done, okay? Please go." Navi glared at him fiercely, but when he oppened his hand she flew away quickly.
"Man, what a little moron...just like you, Link." Cyphas said. She reminded him of the first time he had met her. She hadn't been this mean since back then.
"Navi's not a moron. She's my friend. Did you come to train me or insult me?" Link asked, folding his arms. Cyphas glared at him with her yellowish-green eyes, which had catish, fat slits for irises. Her navy blue spiked hair and arm fins swayed slightly in the wind, and her whitish-teel skin was very bright in the sunlight. Link saw some teel spots on the back of her neck and arms that he hadn't noticed before. Her clothes were the same as always, black, leathery pants, shirt, and gloves with sturdy, brown boots. The halfbreed suddenly smiled.
"I came to train you. If you want to recieve your first lesson, uncross your arms and drop them to your sides." She said, and Link did so. "Now then, I'm going to punch you. Clench your gut and take it as well as you can, but don't block or dodge."
"What? My training is getting punched? I don't like the sound of..." Cyphas balled up her fist and slammed it into Link's gut. His eyes went wide as the breath was knocked out of him. He fell to his knees, holding his stomach and groaning. "Cyphas...are you trying to kill me?! What was that for?!" He gasped, trying to get some air back in him.
"That was to show you how poorly you take a punch, you whiner." Cyphas said simply. "Now you punch me, and I won't block or dodge."
"What? Why?" Link didn't think so badly of the idea, but still was unaccostomed to punching unprotected stomachs.
"Just do it, or I'll punch you again! Don't use your gauntlets, but hit me as hard as you can. Hurry up!" She ordered.
"Fine then!" Link clenched his fist and puched Cyphas with every muscle in his arm. She budged a few inches, but did not hold her stomach or show any sign of pain. Link felt as if he had punched a wall. "Ow! Sheesh, is your gut made of concrete?!" Link masaged his knuckles. "How can you just take a puch like that and not move?"
"That's what I've come to teach you, duh. When I'm done with you, you'll be able to take a punch the same way." For some reason, Link didn't like the wide grin that spread over the swamp woman's face.
"Well, Cyphas is very sensitive, you know. She doesn't show it, but she's probably scared to death of this place. When she was a kid, everyone hated her and she was abandoned because of what she is. She even snuck into the castle because she didn't want to be seen by Hylians if she could avoid it. If you say the wrong thing, you might hurt her feelings and then she'll fly off the hook." Zelda explained.
"She's already off the hook! She doesn't need to be so mean to Link, and Link didn't need to send me away!" Navi growled, glaring past the training soldiers over at Cyphas.
"Well, if you were still over there, you would probably be fighting with Cyphas, and Link would never get his special training. I'm sure he'll make it up to you later." Zelda said, looking over at them as well. She saw Cyphas punch Link twice. The first one didn't seem to hurt him, but the second made him double over. "What is she doing? She better not be hurting him!" Zelda said. "He's supposed to come with us to Kakariko after lunch, so if she injures him, she's in trouble..."
"That's my point exactly! That woman is not safe. She needs to get out of here..."
"Navi! Didn't I tell you not to say things like that? If Link wants her around, we'll have to endure her. Besides, she's really not so bad when she's calm. She saved Link's life more than once, you know." Navi folded her arms and took a seat on Zelda's shoulder. Did she save Link's life to punch him in the gut? I don't like her... "Ow, ow, ow!" Link moaned, getting onto Epona. The horse neighed sympathetically.
"Link, I don't know if you should continue your training with Cyphas..." Chain said, getting onto his horse. It was a dark brown, healthy-looking female named Rilla. Her mane and tail were long and black. Zelda, on the back of her silvery-white horse (her name was Jewel) nodded in agreement.
"No...the training will be good for me when I get used to it. She's teaching me how to take a punch." It definately wasn't Link's favorite thing to learn. His stomach throbbed painfully. "Anyways, I feel well enough to help repair the potions shop." A few days ago, the old potions hag had made a mistake in her chemicals which later exploded. No one was hurt, but her lab as well as the potions shop were totaled.
"But Link, did you see how big that bruise was when we bandaged your stomach? One more punch would have made you bleed all over! Are you sure you don't want me to heal it-"
"No, Zelda. Your healing is unatural and if my body doesn't heal naturally, Cyphas says it won't get stronger. She also says that that's the reason I've taken so much damage to my body and yet it's still too soft to 'take a puch properly'. You always heal me." Link said, rubbing his gut and flinching. "That doesn't mean I don't want it, though...man, this doesn't feel good..."
"You're staying here, then." Zelda said. Link glared at her.
"No way! It doesn't hurt that much! In fact, I propose a horse race to Kakariko to see who can get second place behind me and Epona." Link said with a grin.
"You're on! Jewel is no slow horse, and in your condition if you ride Epona too hard, you'll fall off!" Zelda declared, patting her horse's neck.
"Are you kidding? Rilla is way faster than Jewel. Just look at this horse! She's built for speed. Link's horse is too muscular to run faster than this baby." Chain grinned.
"Say, has anyone seen Navi?" Link asked out of the blue.
"I saw her after training with Impa today," Chain said, "But she said she wasn't talking to you until you apologize." Link frowned. "About that horse race...We go on the count of three."
"Three!" Zelda yelled, taking off on Jewel.
"Hey, that's cheating!" Chain yelled, and Rilla sped after them. Link watched leisurely, letting them get a head start. After they were about one-third of the way to Kakariko, he patted Epona's shoulder.
"Okay, Epona. Show them what real speed is!" Epona couldn't be happier to oblige. She dashed off so fast Link had to cling to her neck or he would have fallen off. Rilla, in front of Jewel (with a gloating Chain on her back) was over halfway to Kakariko when Epona sped by them.
"What the heck?! Link, what do you feed that horse?!" Chain yelled, eating Epona's dust. Though Rilla was faster than Jewel, neither horse could match Epona. Link thought he was very lucky to have what was probably the fastest horse in Hyrule.
"Sorry, guys!" Link called back to Zelda and Chain, "But you know you'll never beat Epona- whaaa!" While Link had been twisted in his saddle he hadn't noticed the Epona had reached Zora's river. Instead of going over the bridge like a normal horse, she leaped over the water. Link had been too busy bragging to hold on properly, and went flying off. He flew right into a tree - slamming up against the trunk - then landed like a lump on the grass. "Oweee..." Link muttered, sitting up. Chain rode Rilla up to Link's side.
"Well, that's what you get for bragging, bro. You okay?" Chain asked, as Epona came to stand next to Rilla. The reddish horse was making odd snorting sounds that almost resembled laughter...
"Yeah, yeah. Shut up, Epona." Link said, slowly getting to his feet. Epona neighed loudly and bobbed her head up and down. She was definately laughing. Zelda and Jewel finally showed up, and Zelda grinned down at Link.
"Guess we won the race afterall, you big shot. Now then, shall we go into the village or sit here laughing at Link all day?" Grumbling, Link got onto the still-laughing Epona. And the three Hylians and horses entered the village. It was the same as always, people walking around to various shops and houses, conversing merrily. A few waved to the Hylians and bowed to Zelda as they passed. The jugglers were throwing balls at eachother and telling lame jokes in the center of a group of children. The carpenters were dashing around the village, pretending to work. As they passed Impa's house Link asked Zelda why Impa didn't come with them. Zelda told him Impa was training the King's five personal guards today. Birds whistled in the bright green branches of a tree as the Hylians passed by it.
As they made their way toward the old potions shop, they saw that there was already someone there helping the owner rebuild it. It was Cosha, and Link smiled and waved at him as they approached. Cosha had just recently been declared sane. He was now acting like a completely normal person, and hadn't freaked out since the incident with the Siren's Shell and the griffons.
"Hey, guys!" He greeted, grinning. "I heard you'd be coming here today, so I came too. I have nothing to do...the griffons don't really need to be watched, and I woke up too late to join the Hyrule Army training session."
"You mean you're not in the Royal Guard anymore? Surely they'll let you rejoin now that you're capable..." Link said. Cosha shrugged.
"I haven't reapplied. I guess I should do that soon...anyway, the potions shop owner, Marty, already bought the lumber and such to repair the shop with. Since the carpenters are useless, he says he'll pay us to help him do it." Link, Zelda and Chain dismounted and let their horses roam around the village to eat grass (everyone knew that Epona was Link's horse, and any horses with her must belong to Link's friends). They walked up to the place where the potions shop used to be, and saw that all the burnt debris had been cleared away. There was a huge pile of building wood with tools and buckets of red and white piant around it. Marty came out from behind the wood, smiling. He was the familiar skinny, brown-haired man who had run the shop for as long as Link could remember.
"Welcome! I need as many workers as I can get. How much would you guys like for your services?" He asked.
"Er...we don't need to be paid." Chain said. "Link's got more rupees than he'll ever use, and Zelda's the princess so obviously she doesn't need money. As for me, if I need some I'll just bug Link for it." Marty laughed.
"Very well. But I must reward you somehow, so if you help me rebuild this place you can have free blue potions." He said. "Here is the wood. There are the tools. This is the blueprint. Shall we?" Zelda turned into Sheik so her dress woudn't get dirty, and the Hylians got to work. The head carpenter had helped Marty with the blueprint, so he knew exactly how the store was to be built, and there weren't any difficulties to speak of. It was to be exactly like the old one, but painted red and white. Link was working on the same side as Cosha, so the two talked for a long time while building. Cosha told Link about his family and life before getting brainwashed (as much as he could remember of it, anyway) in exchange for Link telling him about some of his adventures. Link didn't like talking about himself, but found that Cosha was an easy guy to talk to and soon forgot all about how the man used to be insane. He was now nothing more than a new friend.
"So, what were you saying about Cyphas? She swam you two to the top?" Cosha asked.
"Yeah. But when we about halfway to the top, she swam right through a pack of Cidids. She didn't know they were dangerous. I had to brush them all off, but there was one on my back..." Cosha listened interestedly as they worked, and before they knew it they were done with the frame of the house. Marty congratulated them and went to get some juice before they started the next part.
"Hey Chain, do you mind if I switch places with Cosha for the next part of the house? I want to talk to Link." Sheik told Chain as they looked over the blueprint.
"Yeah, go ahead. All you talk about is girly stuff and politics, anyway..." Chain muttered.
"Hey, how rude!" Sheik growled indignantly. "All you talk about is your horse and how much better you can wrestle than Taig!" She play punched his shoulder.
"What? I talk about other things, too! Like...eh, like when I talked about....well, I do!" Chain tickled her side and she let out a girlish shriek.
"Do not!" Sheik declared, casting a tickle spell on Chain and laughing at him until he was rolling on the ground.
"Are you torturing my brother, Zelda?" Link asked as he walked up next to her, a mischevious grin on his face that he always wore before tickling her to death. With a small scream, she took off running. "Come back here!" Link yelled, following her. Chain got up and ran after them.
"Save some for me, Link!" He said. In a few moments Link caught Sheik and both he and his brother were tickling her. Cosha watched uncertainly, not sure wether to laugh at the hilarious sight or get back to work. In no time Sheik was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe, so Link wrestled Chain for who had the right to tickle her more. Link noticed Cosha standing there and ran over to him. Though Cosha was nearly ten years older than Link and Chain, Link thought he'd feel left out if he didn't wrestle with them.
"C'mon, Cosha! Can you wrestle? Show us what you got!" Link reached up and grabbed Cosha's head; then proceeded to noogie it.
"H-hey! Now you're gonna get it, Link!" Cosha tackled him and Zelda caught her breath as she watched Chain jump in and create a big free-for-all. As soon as the boys were in a big knot of various wrestling holds, Marty returned with the drinks.
"Hey, stop killing eachother and come get your drinks!" He said loudly, and the panting wrestlers gladly did so. As soon as Sheik was sure she wasn't threatened with getting tickled anymore, she went to get her drink as well.
After the drinks the Hylians got back to work. Chain was now working with Cosha, and the two got into a long discussion about wrestling. Sheik joined Link, and she started a conversation as she held a piece of wood in place for Link to nail it.
"So Link, your birthday's coming up, isn't it?" She said casually.
"The day you call my birthday is coming up," Link said dully. "I don't know when my real birthday is. You know that."
"Well, we have to celebrate it sometime, don't we? I think the day we restored the castle after we sealed Ganon is a good day to celebrate it."
"Hard to believe he's been sealed for a year now," Link said absentmindedly. "It seems like I fought him yesterday."
"Really? Yeah, you don't easily forget things like that. So, how old are you, anyway? You really don't know?" Sheik asked curiously. She was going to turn seventeen soon.
"Nope. Sahoriel the Dragon Queen said I was almost one when my mom left me with the Deku Tree. I know I celebrated eight forest festivals in the Lost woods before leaving it, and those were every year. I don't know how much time passd between then and the time I pulled the Master Sword from its pedastal. I completely lost track of time while I was liberating the temples, but it must have taken me at least a few months. There's a lot of guesswork involved..."
"Well, let's say you're seventeen, then. Almost a year plus nine plus seven plus your adventuring time." She looked over at him.
"A year plus nine plus....." He looked like he was concentrating hard. "Hey, what are you looking at?" He asked her.
"Nothing," She said, giggling. "But Link, on a more serious note..." Sheik lowered her voice so that Link could barely hear it above the pounding of nails. "I had a prophetic dream last night. I'm sure of it. And, it wasn't a happy one." Link pounded quieter so he could hear hear.
"Really? I had a nasty kind of dream as well...what happened?" Link inquired.
"You and I were in a green corridor that was dark and scary. You ran off, and I couldn't catch you. I called but you couldn't hear." Link frowned. He already didn't like the sound of it. "I was hearing strange things, almost like a voice laughing. Then...I heard you scream and something hit my back real hard...and I saw a bunch of light." Link's frown deepened.
"You're sure it was prophetic?" He asked. "Am I the first one you've told about it?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Prophetic dreams always have a certain feel to them. You're the first." Sheik said. "I've got a real bad feeling about it, Link. Your scream was really loud..." Just then she heard a loud clank on the other side of the building's frame, and saw Chain and Cosha laughing. Cosha had accidentally bumped into a bucket of red paint and spilled some on himself. She smiled briefly and turned back to Link.
"Hm...well, don't worry. I'll be careful. And, I won't leave your side so nothing will hurt you." Link said.
"But Link, I'm more worried about you. It didn't feel like I was being attacked, it felt like I was feeling your pain! I wouldn't worry about me, if I was you...just don't go down any green corridors, okay?" Zelda said, grabbing another piece of wood because they were done with the first. Link sighed and nodded. The ominous dream had somehow sucked his will to socialize out, and they worked quietly until sunset.
"Well, that was interesting," said Chain as the Hylians were getting their horses and preparing to leave. "Never helped build a house before. I think all that pounding of nails made me stronger!" he declared, feeling his biceps. Link laughed.
"Well we're not done yet. We'll have to finish the rest tomorrow. I'm surprised at how much we got done, though. I thought it would take much longer to build as much as we did..." Link trailed off, his eyes on the sunset. Cosha hadn't brought a horse, so he got on Epona with Link. As the Hylians left the village of Kakariko, the sky was painted like a field of pink, yellow and orange flowers.
"Oh, Link! Do you remember what my dad said at lunch?" Zelda asked, looking over at him. He shrugged. "Honestly, you men can't remember anything...," she grumbled with a frown. "He said the physician's anti-infection medicine was destroyed by bugs. He needs butterfly dust from those butterflies in the Ethereal Forest to make new medicine very soon. He wants someone to go out and catch at least five so he can extract the dust."
"So, you want me to do it? Guess I'm Mr. Errand Boy..." Link sighed. "Well, okay. I don't want the soldiers to go into the forest, anyway. They need to concentrate on their training, not get lost in a forest. Still want to come with me, Cosha?"
"Of course he's going with you! You're not going by yourself! Not after what we discussed..." Both Chain and Cosha were staring at Zelda. Why would she think it was dangerous for the Hero of Time to catch some butterflies? "Erm...because...well...you'll get lonely," she said. It was obviously a lame cover-up.
"Zelda, what's the real reason you don't want Link to go alone? If it's something really dangerous, maybe we should all go with him..." Chain suggested.
"Don't be rediculous! Guys, I can handle this. I can catch some butterflies; they aren't even deep into the dangerous part of the forest! You're being a worry wart, Zelda. I could probably camp in the forest without getting attacked by anything really dangerous," Link said, turning in his saddle to look at her.
"You're right...I'm sorry, Link. Just go with Cosha." Link nodded, as did Cosha.
"Besides...if it was something really dangerous, I'd rather go by myself. I mean, I'd rather be killed by myself than have company, heheh." Link laughed, but nobody thought it was funny. "Well...let's go, Epona!" The horse eagerly raced off, towards the castle so she could go around it and get to the Ethereal Forest. Zelda and Chain rode slower, staring at the now blood-red sunset and thinking about Link's lame 'joke'.
"Here we are," Link said, gesturing to the giant trees surrounding the Hylians. "The Ethereal Forest." Cosha thought it truely did look ethereal in the dying light. The last rays of the setting sun caught the tops of the the huge old trees and the bottoms were shrouded in darkness. This made it look, from far away, like the tops were floating. At night animal sounds were quiet and rarely heard, unlike in the daytime. Twittering bird sounds were replaced with hooting ones. As the sun dissapeared the darkness was made complete, and the insects began their nightly serenade.
"It's beautiful," Cosha said, "but where are the butterflies the King spoke of?" He glanced around the area. It wasn't hard to see, because the silver moonlight was cutting through the trees, illuminating the ground.
"The butterflies sleep behind leaves at night, so they'll be easy to catch. If we find some large bushes, we'll undoubtedly find some butterflies." Link directed Epona down a line of trees to the left. The great trunks rose up on both sides, like mammoth, living walls. "I sure like this place," Link muttered, more to himself than to Cosha. "It's like a larger version of the Lost Woods, and I'm like a larger version of a Kokiri." And both are more dangerous, too. Link reminded himself. Suddenly he heard some rustling in a patch of ferns to the right. He glanced in that direction, not really worried. In this part of the forest, the most dangerous thing was probably a pair of small wolfoses. They rode Epona for a while, and soon came to an area filled with large bushes, many were larger than a horse. They were like a forest themselves, or a green labyrinth. Link pulled Epona to a stop.
"Okay, if Epona goes in there she'll wake them all up, so come with me," Link said, dismounting. Cosha followed suit. The two of them crept into the large bushes, checking behind leaves for sleeping butterflies. Link gave Cosha a bottle to keep butterflies in if he found them. After a few minutes of searching, the light started dimming and Link looked to the sky. He frowned and grumbled irritably, "Just our luck. Clouds are covering the moon."
"Let's split up, then." Cosha suggested, "We'll find butterflies more quickly that way, and speed is important if we want to find them before the clouds cover all the stars. If that happens, this place'll be black and it will take forever to find butterflies. I don't want to be here all night." Link nodded and the Hylians went two different ways. Link went to the left, scanning the bushes for signs of butterflies. He heard Epona snort suddenly, and looked back in her direction, but bushes were in his way of seeing her. Impatient horse, Link thought, walking on. Ah, there's one! Link saw a patch of bright yellow and green behind a leaf, and flipped it over to find a buttefly. He carefully put it in a jar and corked it. He abruptly froze as heard a noise in the bush to his right. He turned sharply toward the bush, his sword out of its sheath in less than a second. He stared into the leaves for a few moments, but there was nothing there.
Something doesn't feel right...Link thought as an icy breeze brushed by his face. For some reason, he felt like the forest had suddenly become dangerous. We'll only be here a few more minutes, he told himself, but his subconscious still did not feel safe. Link glanced around as he walked on. Had he just heard a voice? Maybe Cosha was talking to himself. Link heard it again. Was that insects and the wind or laughing? Get out, now! His instincts were screaming. This was familiar... Zelda's dream! The thought hit him like lightening. This forest is the green corridor, and the moon and stars were the torches. I'm hearing strange noises...
"Cosha! Hey Cosha, where are you? I think we should call it quits for tonight!" Link yelled, but got no reply. He could hear faint laughing. "Cosha, that's not funny! We can get butterflies later!" Suddenly the frosty breeze died. Insects stopped chirping. Owls stopped hooting. All was silent as a grave. "Cosha!"
"He cannot hear you." Link gasped and stopped in his tracks, whirling around. The cold, quiet voice had come from behind him. The voice was familiar...and unpleasant memory tugged at the back of Link's mind.
"Show yourself!" Link demanded, glaring into the empty bushes, sword held ready. He heard rustling behind him and to the right and dashed that way, hoping to catch the person playing hide-and-seek. He found a person...or rather, a corpse. Link's mouth dropped open and he stared in shock at Cosha's dead body. The throat was sliced open, and warm blood was slowly soaking the ground below Cosha's lifeless face. His once beautiful, green eyes were now open and staring into space. "Oh...gosh..." Link staggered backwards, a hand over his mouth. He had never seen the dead body of a friend before. "Y-you...you sick maniac! Who are you?!" Link shouted into the empty silence. "You're gonna get it for this!" Link heard soft laughing behind him again and ran that way, his heart pounding. He didn't even bother whistling for Epona. The murderer had no doubt taken care of her, too.
"Where are you, coward?!" Link asked loudly after he had been running for a minute or so. He scanned the bushes in front of him, but predictably saw nothing. He was going to turn around again when a stange feeling covered his body. He found he could not move, he was somehow rooted to the spot. He couldn't even breathe. What's happening to me?! Link wondered, panicked. He felt hot breath on his neck. "Who...are...you?" Link whispered, not able to manage anything louder. There was another quiet laugh from the tall man behind him. Link knew who he was, he knew it with every thing that formed his being. He was sweating freely, and tried to force himself to not be scared.
"I am an old friend, Link." The deep voice said simply. Then something hit Link's back very hard. He screamed in agony as the thing, actually his attacker's boot, broke his back like it was no stronger then a pencil. He was hurled to the ground as all the nerves in his body flared with pain. It didn't last long, though. In a few seconds only his back was in pain, and the rest of him felt numb and cold. The numbness reached his head, and pitch black consumed him.
Section 2
Cyphas's Contention
Chain avoided Zelda's eyes. "He didn't come home last night, Zelda. I'm really worried!" He said, in response to the question she had just asked him. They were walking down a hall of the castle, toward the King's throne room. It was the next day, early in the morning. The first thing Zelda had done after rising was find Chain and ask if Link had returned yet.
"He's probably just camping in the forest to prove me wrong about thinking it dangerous..." Zelda muttered.
"Yeah, he's got a big head like that...always playing pranks. He might be home any minute." Chain said hopefully.
"No, Chian. I've known him longer than you, and whenever he does things like this he always gets back at the castle when the sun rises. It's been an hour and a half since it rose. I think he may be in trouble."
"That's the reason we're going to see the King, right?" Chain questioned.
"Yes. I'm going to ask him for soldiers to take with us on a search for Link. The Ethereal Forest is a big place, you know."
"Yeah, we'll need a lot of help-"
"With what, little Hylian?" a rough voice interrupted from behind Chain, making him jump.
"Cyphas! Don't scare me like that!" He said, turning to her. She studied him with an audacious look on her face.
"You know who I am, but who the heck are you? You look like Mr. Moron..."
"No, I'm Mr. Mor- I mean Link's brother! The name's Chain." He didn't bother extending a hand to shake, knowing that Cyphas probably wouldn't shake it if he did. "My brother's in trouble, so we can get to know eachother later," he said sarcastically, pushing past the half-breed.
"Hold it! That idiot got himself into trouble again? Then you'll need me to help him get out of it, like usual. It's like a sport for me now, heheh. Yes, the new sport called get-Link's-stupid-butt-out-of-trouble!" Chain glared at her, but didn't protest when she followed him and Zelda to King Daphnes. They requested soldiers for a search party, and even though the King thought Link could take care of himself, he gave them permission to go pull five soldiers out of training to accompany them. Then, he looked strangely at Cyphas.
"Who...or what, are you?" The King asked curiously, not exactly being polite. Zelda turned into Sheik, anticipating what happened next. Cyphas drew her well-concealed curved sword and leapt at the King, but Sheik intercepted the swampwoman and tackled her. She was able to hold her until Chain rushed over to help.
"Calm down Cyphas, he didn't mean it! Ow, don't try to bite me!" Chain growled, almost losing control of Cyphas. The King's guards eyed her warily, spears raised. Chain took over holding Cyphas long enough for Sheik to cast a restraining spell on her.
"Zelda, is this violent woman a friend of yours?" The King asked. He heard a snicker behind him, and turned to see Navi.
"Put her in the dungeon! She's nothing but a troublemaker, King Hyrule, she was punching Link yesterday..."
"Navi, that's quite enough! Cyphas doesn't need to be put in the dungeon, she needs to come with us!" Sheik stalked out of the throne room, a levitating Cyphas in tow. Chain and Navi followed, and Navi sat on Chain's shoulder.
"Chain, where's Link? I'm still not talking to him, but I felt kinda sick last night and being near my partner or the forest makes me feel better. It was wierd...A bit past sunset I started aching for no reason at all..." Chain's eyebrows raised.
"Is that so? We're going to look for him. He left a little past sunset and didn't come back." Navi's heart sank.
"R-really? Maybe I shouldn't have left him..." Sheik, Chain, Navi, and a floating, growling Cyphas went to the courtyard to get five soldiers. Once there, Sheik truned back into Zelda and took her spell off Cyphas. After warning Cyphas to behave herself (much to the halfbreed's indignation) Zelda picked four strong-looking soldiers and one soldier that she had seen Link talking to before and figured he must know. The eight humans and the fairy went to the stables to get horses and departed for the Ethereal Forest. As they were galloping across Royal Field, the cold breeze from last night picked up again, to accompany the host of dark clouds overhead. It was strange weather for that time of year, and until yesterday afternoon, Hyrule had been getting very warm weather. Nobody payed this much mind, however, and after about half an hour of riding, the group came to the Ethereal Forest.
What a huge place, Zelda thought, gazing around at the monolithic trees. Birds sang happily and the sunlight filtering through the branches made the ground look like a giant quilt of bright and dark grass. Yellow and green butterflies fluttered around above the group, but Zelda had no time to think about catching them.
"This is a very large place so I'd suggest splitting up to look for Link and Cosha, but if they came to harm we had better stay together for more strength. Before we start, does anyone know anything about the butterflies Link was looking for?" Zelda asked, looking up at the insects.
"Link told me they sleep behind leaves," Chain said quietly, "But what good will that information do us?"
"Plenty." Zelda said in a matter-of-fact tone. "If they sleep behind leaves that means they must sleep in bushes, since these are pine trees. Since they sleep in bushes, Link and Cosha must have looked for them in bushes, so if we find some bushes, we may be close to wherever Link and Cosha are."
"Sheesh, Ms. deducing-master. I never thought of that. Maybe I should get me one of those Triforces of Wisdom..." Chain said casually and a soldier glared at him.
"Sir, do not disrespect the Princess. Do not suggest taking her triforce, either." He said sternly.
"Hey, hey! I was just kidding around, buddy. I'm not going to steal it from her or anything!" Chain said to the soldier, who had long, red hair tied back and green eyes. His statement only got more glares from other soldiers. "Bunch of stiffs..."
"Anyway, we should start looking for bushes now!" Zelda said loudly, breaking up the argument. "What's your name, anyway?" She asked the soldier.
"Garret, Your Highness," He said, bowing in his saddle.
"Garret, don't worry about what Chain says to me unless I ask you to worry about it. As he is Link's brother, we are friends and he was only joking. I appreciate your concern, but we have more important things to worry about." Zelda started Jewel forward, and the soldiers and Chain on their horses followed. Cyphas didn't know what to do, having never ridden a horse before. It had automatically followed the rest of the horses across the field, but now it was chomping grass.
"Go!" She said, but her horse stayed put. "Move! C'mon, you stupid beast...move forward! Move! Forward!" Navi snickered from Chain's shoulder.
"You're supposed to slap it or whip it's reins, not yell at it, duh!" Navi yelled. Cyphas glared at the fairy.
"I knew that!" She slapped her horse's butt and it trotted forward to join the rest. Navi smiled smugly. Before Cyphas could yell at her, a soldier spoke.
"Permission to ask something, Your Highness!" He said. It was the soldier Zelda had picked out because he knew Link, named Bodac. He was a tall, lanky man with short brown hair and brownish-amber eyes.
"Go ahead." Zelda said.
"Well, I was wondering, Your Highness...why didn't you take a tracker with you? We would find Link more quickly, wouldn't we?"
"We have a tracker with us already," Cyphas said. "It's me." Bodac and the rest of the soldiers turned to look at her. Until now they had been ignoring her, not knowing what to think of her. They had thought it would be rude to ask what she was or talk to her.
"So, why didn't we try to intercept Epona's tracks so you could track them?" Bodac asked her. She looked at him as if he was an idiot. After all, she still didn't like most Hylians...
"We're doing that now, stupid!" Cyphas growled. "He came from Kakariko, around the castle to here. If we keep going this direction we'll find his horse's tracks soon. Or would you prefer us to go all the way back to Kakariko and start from there?" She asked snidely.
"Eh, well, no...I-I mean..." Bodac stuttered, not knowing how to take the woman's attitude.
"Don't worry about her, Mr. Soldier." Navi said, "She woke up on the wrong side of the swampy waterlilly!"
"Shut up, you puny little-"
"Cyphas, Navi, please! We should find Epona's tracks soon, so I'd like you to keep your eyes open and not argue!" Zelda said, in an almost commanding voice.
"We don't even need the tracks or Cyphas! If we were anywhere near Link, I'd be feeling him right now. I'm all you need to find him!" Navi declared.
"Yeah, well, we'll never get anywhere near him if I don't follow his tracks! Not to mention-"
"Please! I'll send you both straight home and get a Hylian tracker if you can't control yourselves! If you weren't so busy arguing, you might notice those horseshoe tracks right there!" Cyphas and Navi both looked at the ground in front of Jewel and Zelda. Cyphas somehow managed to get her horse over to them for a closer look.
"That's Link's cow, all right." Cyphas said. "He went this way..."
"Don't you mean his horse?" Chain asked. Cyphas merely shrugged and urged her horse along the tracks. Zelda sighed and followed. Cyphas and Navi probably won't feel too good if we find out the boys are in trouble and every moment we waste arguing makes things worse...Cyphas and the group followed the tracks left, down a row of trees, and finally to a huge patch of bushes.
"He's here!" Navi shouted. "I can feel Link is close...but...something's wrong with him. It feels like he's uncouscious or something. That means he could just be sleeping." Her tiny voice had a hopeful tone.
"Well, let's hurry!" Cyphas said, slapping her horse so it would go faster. Almost sounds like she's worried, Zelda thought. That would be unusual, for her. But I'm used to worrying about Link. Let's just hope I'm a worry wart like he said, and this cold feeling in the pit of my stomach doesn't mean anything...
"Oh my gosh!" A startled cry escaped Cyphas's lips as she came around a bush and saw Cosha. As Zelda, Chain and the soldiers rode up next to her, they were all silent for a long moment as they saw him. The soldiers wearing helmets removed them.
"I never liked the guy, but dead..?" Bodac muttered quietly to Garret. He nodded solemly.
"Raykel won't like this. He was planning to start training Cosha again soon. I'd hate to be the guy that tells him." After a few moments the soldiers put their helmets back on and a few got off their horses to get Cosha. Zelda looked sick. Chain simply stared at the body.
"What...could have done this? Do y'think he was attacked by wolfoses or something?" Chain asked Zelda. She shook her head.
"No..he was murdered. That slash was not made by teeth. And..." Her voice cracked as she went on. "Whatever got him...probably got..."
"Link." Chain finished for her. "Navi, are you sure the feeling you're getting about Link doesn't mean he's dead?" Navi was staring into space and for a moment it seemed like she wouldn't answer.
"I..I don't know. He's never died before, so how am I supposed to know what it feels like?" Tiny tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"Enough of this! We don't know if Link's dead or not, so don't give up yet! Garret, you and that soldier there take Cosha back to Hyrule Castle. We'll keep looking for Link." Garret nodded and the group moved on, following some tracks that led between bushes. They were not easy to see on the hard-packed, partially grass-covered ground, but Cyphas had tracked things her whole life and it was not a challenge for her. In a matter of minutes they found what they were looking for.
Section 3
Hopes and Fears
Zelda layed a hand on Link's forehead. Just like when they had found him, it was cold and dead feeling. Yet, the warrior was not dead. Link had a pulse and some dragons were on the way to use their advanced magic to heal his cracked spine. Zelda was waiting by his bed, and had not moved ever since they put him there. Blood from his back was slowly leaking onto the hospital sheets, but the doctor wouldn't bandage it for fear that he would do more damage to the spine. The blood was not coming from his spine, though. It was coming from the numerous cuts on his back that spelled out, 'I have returned.' Zelda already knew who had written it. Who else could it be?
So, the King of Evil is back. How did he get out of the Sacred Realm? Perhaps Rauru's passing weakened the seal. Raru was the Sage of Light, and because he had been very old, it was no surprise that he had passed away a few weeks ago. I wonder what Ganondorf will do? He's probably at Gerudo's Fortess, thinking up a plan to destroy Hyrule...so of course, he'd want to get rid of Link first. But why didn't he kill him? Maybe he thinks he did, Zelda thought. After all, Link had looked very dead when they had found him. But then Ganon had to know he wasn't dead, because he didn't take his triforce. He took his ocarina , but what use has he got for that? None of this makes any sense... A Royal Guardsman appeared in the doorway of the infirmary.
"Princess Zelda, the King has sent me to inform you-"
"That dinner is ready." Zelda said, cutting him off. "I know already, But I want to stay here!"
"Princess, it isn't very nice to yell at your guards," Impa said, coming from behind the startled man. "You worry them, you know. It's just their job. Chain's already at the table and we're waiting for you. Come along." Zelda sighed and got to her feet. Impa turned and left with the guard. Zelda cast one last glance down at Link's pale face, and after kissing him gently on the forehead, went to join Impa.
"So, then. You are absolutely sure this was the work of the Evil King, Zelda?" Daphes asked his daughter, sitting on his left side. She had been playing with her food distractedly before, but at the mention of her name she sat up straight and turned to the King.
"Yes, Father. Who else could it be? He wrote 'I have returned' on Link's back! Who else would write that, and in such a horrible way? I had a prophetic dream of this happening, too. It didn't actually have Ganondorf in it, but I witnessed Link's attack..."
"I see. Well, there is only one thing to do. We must imediately inform all of the races of Hyrule and tell them to be ready for war. There is no doubt in my mind that Ganon has gotten himself some kind of new power or army and is planning to take over. Spies will be sent to the Gerudo's fortress at once, and as soon as the dragons get here we'll talk with them about creating some means of instant magic comunication. How is Link doing?"
"Well, he's in bad shape, father. We'll just have to hope he stays alive until the dragons arrive. The docter says there was a great deal of damage to his nerves and the bones in his back." Zelda's voice was calm and busisiness-like in the presence of her father, though the subject was very emotional for her.
"He's a strong boy. I think he'll make it. Ganon will pay dearly for this underhanded ambush. The Hyrule Army and Royal Guard have not been training for nothing!"
"Besides, we have all the races on our side! What kind of army could the Master of Evil possibly have that could conquer all of Hyrule? Think about it!" Chain said confidently.
"Chain, eight years ago I thought the same thing. I thought the Hyrule Army couldn't possibly be defeated by Ganondorf's gang of thieves if he was lying about being loyal to me. Needless to say, he was lying, and managed to conjure a force of monsters and magic more powerful that I ever thought he could. He is not a man to be underestimated. He surely knows the state of alliances in Hyrule, and I fear he will compensate by gathering a strong, new army of monsters as if from nowhere."
"Well, if you want to be pessimistic..." Chain muttered under his breath. "But still, we have something the Master of Evil can't possibly conquer. The Hero of Time, right? Link'll beat him." The King looked at him incredulously.
"Chain, are you aware that Link was in the forest, with a partner, completely healthy, equipped with the Master Sword when he was attacked? Yet Ganondorf managed to kill Cosha and nearly kill Link. I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but perhaps this siduation is more dangerous than you realize." Daphnes said serioulsy.
"I guess you're right. I hope my bro will be okay...."
"Speaking of Link," Zelda said thoughtfully, "I don't understand why Ganondorf didn't take his triforce. It confuses me greatly. The only thing Ganondorf took from Link is the Ocarina of Time. In the past this would have worried me, but these days all Link uses it for is teleportation and calling Epona. Ganon's already been in the Sacred Realm, so he can't want it for that. It is a mystery why he took it."
"He always wanted it for it's power...maybe there is some other power we don't know about that Ganon wants it for." Impa spoke up, breaking her usual silence.
"Yes, maybe. Or perhaps he's plotting to do something that Link would need the Ocarina of Time to stop. But then, why didn't he simply kill him and take the Triforce of Courage? These mysteries are only evidence that the cunning Gerudo has unexpected plans. Again, we cannot underestimate him. Is there anything else that must be brought to my attention?" Daphnes asked, looking around the elegant, large, but sparsely populated table. Chain, Impa, Zelda, and the King's personal guards all shook their heads. "Okay, then there's a question I must ask you, Zelda and Impa. Now that the Sage of Light, Raru, is dead, do either of you know of a way to seal Ganondorf? He can't be gotten rid of by the Master Sword and Hero of Time alone, right? We need the Sages." Impa and Zelda lapsed into quiet thought. After a moment, Impa's stern voice broke the silence.
"Rauru told us before he died that all seven Sages are needed for that kind of thing. He said a new Sage of Light will make his or herself known after his death. He didn't say when it would happen, though. For all we know, it could happen a year from now." The King nodded slowly.
"I suppose all we can do is wait, then." All was silent again, as the group finished their dinners. Zelda finished first and rose.
"The dragons should get here any time, Father. I'm going to go wait for them." She began to leave.
"I'm coming, too!" Chain said, quickly shoveling the rest of his food into his mouth. After he left Impa quickly followed, and King Hyrule was left to contemplate the military actions he would take against Gerudo's Fortress.
After Zelda had eaten an early breakfast the next morning (just after sunrise) she went to check on her guests. In the courtyard the dragons who had come the night before were still sleeping peacefully, the sunlight just beginning to peek over the castle walls through a gap in the clouds to glint off their smooth scales. Three dragons had come. Scal-zer, carrying a powerful healing potion from the Sahoriel, Queen of Dragons; Taig, come to visit his friends; and Faraws, who was simply too curious about humans after meeting Link to pass up the opportunity.
After seeing that they were comfotable, Zelda went straight to the infirmary. When the dragons had come last night Link had been taken outside (the dragons couldn't go to him, because they were too big to fit in the hallways!) and Scal-zer had used the potion on him. He hadn't woken, and Scal-zer said the wound would take at least a couple of weeks to fully heal. Cyphas complained about the potion being of low quality because it couldn't heal Link instantly, and Faraws had calmly explained why. She had said that most healing magic works by making the body heal itelf much faster than normal while eliminating scars. Since a spine wasn't something the body could heal naturally, very special magic was needed to fix it, a kind only the powerful magic-users had (even the Great Fariys didn't have magic powerful enough, only Sahoriel). This magic didn't work as fast as the normal kind, unfortunately. But, Zelda found to her delight that it did work fast enough that Link was awake when she enterred the infirmary. He was sitting on his hospital bed, his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms holding them. His face was half-hidden in his arms.
"Link! So good to see you awake!" Zelda said sincerely, a pretty smile spreading over her face as she walked up to Link's bed. Her smile was so bright it almost made Link smile. Almost. "What's...wrong, Link? Are you in pain?"
"No. Not much, anyway." Link said dejectedly.
"Well, something's obviously wrong. Are you sad about...you know...Epona and Cosha?" Zelda asked hesitantly, sitting next to him. Link sighed and buried his face in his arms.
"You know...It's completely my fault he's dead." Link said, his voice muffled.
"No, no it isn't, Link." Zelda said, putting an arm around his shoulders.
"Yes it is. I sepparated with him, left him defenseless...that's a dangerous forest, I should never have left him, should never have taken him there in the first place! He trusted me, and I betrayed that trust."
"Link, I'm sure that's not true." Zelda said.
"Not to mention...my sweet, great, beautiful horse...she's dead too, most likely." Link said quietly. Zelda sighed.
"Link, will you tell me what happened?" Miserably, Link did. When he was finished telling the grizzly story Zelda was quite for a while, then spoke.
"Well, even if you were with Cosha, Link, it sounds to me like there's little you could have done if Ganondorf used a paralysis spell on you from behind. And as far as Cosha going with you, I wanted him to do that and he agreed. I'm as much at fault as anyone. But placing the blame won't do any good, Link. Now that Ganondorf is back there may be more deaths. If we blame ourselves and lose hope, we've lost half the battle already." Link was silent for a few moments.
"Yeah, it's easy to tell me not to lose hope when you have no idea what it's like being me," he said bitterly. "Always having friends ignore your warnings and follow you into battle to be hurt or killed! I'm nothing but a trouble magnet. Ganondorf will kill anyone who associates with me. You'd better get away from me too, or he'll only want to kill you more!" Zelda frowned sadly.
"Link, I actually have quite a good idea of what it's like to have my warnings ignorred. And you're not a trouble magnet...well, maybe you are, but that doesn't mean your friends and brother don't want you around! Ganon will attack and attempt to conquer Hyrule whether you're here or not, you know. I'm sure he wants to kill you badly, but he wants to kill me, too. If we all split up with misguided hopes of protecting eachother, we'll lose the strength of unity! We've got to stay together and fight together, even if we get hurt. Just because you're the Hero of Time doesn't mean you're perfect and can defend everything, so don't blame yourself if someone dies. Just keep fighting and don't lose hope!" Zelda said emphatically, patting Link's shoulder with her free hand. Link half-laughed and looked over at her.
"Man, you sure know how to give a corney speech to boost a guy's morale, Zelda. You'll make a great Queen someday." Zelda blushed and looked away.
"You think so? But, I'll need a great King to go with me." She said. Predictably, Link didn't say anything in response to that. Instead he let go of his legs and stretched, moaning when he found it painful. He glared over his shoulder at his back and poked the bandage over it.
"Ow!" He yelped, immediately regretting it.
"Well it won't hurt so much if you don't touch it, silly!" Zelda said, giving him a dissapproving look. He just shrugged and put his legs over the side of the bed, slowly sliding to the floor. He winced and Zelda quickly got down to help him. "Oh yeah, you said you blacked out after he kicked you, right? Well, you should know that he took the Ocarina of Time and carved a message into your back, saying 'I have returned'." Link frowned and growled something nasty and inaudiable.
"Man, my back hurts like heck...when will it be better?" He asked her as she supported him out of the infirmary, toward the kitchen. She figured Link must be hungry.
"Scal-zer said it will take a couple of weeks," Zelda replied.
"Scal-zer? When did you talk to him, and since when does he know about my back?"
"Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you! Scal-zer came last night and used a potion from the Queen on your back. I couldn't heal it, and neither could a Great Fairy, so we sent Naltha and Kars to ask the dragons for help. I cast a speed spell on them so they were there in no time, and three dragons came back with them to Hyrule. Faraws and Taig came with Scal-zer. Speaking of them, they'll probably wake soon. Make sure you talk to Taig, he said he had something to tell you." Link nodded.
"Where's Cyphas and Navi and Chain?" He asked.
"Don't get impatient, now. They don't even know you're on your feet yet! And, you shouldn't be. And I shouldn't be helping you walk because you should still be in bed, but you wouldn't allow that anyway, would you?" Link grinned in response.
"You know me too well. I like my rest but if it's already morning, I've been out for over a day, and that's plenty of sleep. I don't feel tired anyway, just sore. I don't want to stay stuck in a bed." Zelda nodded.
"I figured as much." They walked slowly to the dining room next to the kitchen and Link had some breakfast. He hadn't realized how hungry he was, and ate so quickly Zelda cautioned him that he would get a stomach ache. While he was eating Chain and Navi, followed by a groucing Cyphas entered to room.
"Maybe you don't like Hylians but you don't have to sneak around the place like a thief! Where do you sleep, anyway? You didn't even ask for a room!" Navi was yelling at the Hylian-zora.
"I don't need to be pampered with one of your wimpy, fluffy sleeping devices, and - huh? Link, you're awake!" A stangely genuine smile briefly covered Cyphas's face, and she absentmindedly slapped his back.
"Yow! Ake id eashy!" Link said, his mouth so full it was hard to understand him.
"Ooops, silly me." Cyphas said in a tone that suggested it wasn't a big deal. She emphasized that tone to hide the fact that she really was sorry.
"How ya feelin', bro? Hold on, don't tell me until you swallow that! I don't want you to die from choking or something." Chain said, sitting next to him. Cyphas sat a few seats away, and a kitchen hand came to ask them what they wanted for breakfast.
"My back hurts and I feel a little funny, but other than that, I'm just fine." Link said when his mouth wasn't full anymore.
"You probably feel funny because your nerves were damaged," Zelda muttered quietly.
"Well, at least you're feeling well enough to get out of bed," Chain said.
"So, your stomach doesn't hurt, Link?" Cyphas asked curiously.
"No, why-"
"They healed it, did they?! Those scaled morons! You'll never get tougher with our training if they keep this up..." Link sighed in exasperation. He had all but forgotten about his torturous training with Cyphas.
"Who's a scaled moron?" Taig's voice rang out, and everyone turned to see the larger than horse-sized dragon squeeze himself into the room. He shot a glare at Cyphas and their eyes seemed to blaze into each other's for a moment.
"C'mon Cyphas, in another two weeks I'll be fit as a fiddle and you can use me for a punching bag all you want. There's no need to insult people. Besides, I wouldn't be around at all if it weren't for the dragons, would I?" Link said, returning to his food. Cyphas turned her nose up and looked away from Taig, folding her arms huffily. Taig walked over to Link and sat on the ground next to him.
"Wow, Link. You remind me of your horse when you two were staying in my cave before the War of the Kings. You know, when she stuffed her cheeks full of grass and looked like a chipmunk..." Link snorted but couldn't laugh properly with full cheeks. Once he was over it, he asked,
"So Taig, how've you been?" Taig yawned leisurely, stretching his wings.
"I'm great, of course. After all, I am the Great Taig! I'll be of age soon, you know. After that my deep voice will kick in, and I'll be a full-scale adult dragon! But hey, I've got something to tell you," Taig said in a quieter tone. Link turned towards him. "While me, Scal-zer, and Faraws were flying high over Royal Field last night, I saw something. You know how the Ethereal Forest is bordered by the Stalfos Swords on the north and northeast sides? Well on the far east side there's a cliff which rises into a field, and it's only partially covered with grass. Most of it is dirt and dead-looking bushes. Anyway, I looked over there and it was hard to tell from such an altitude, but...I think I saw a lot of dust rising beyond that field. You know, so much dust it seemed like an army was marching. I told Faraws and Scal-zer, but neither could see it and Scal-zer didn't believe me. He said that since his eyes are larger and older they can see better, but I'm sure I saw something..."
"Could be dangerous, eh?" Link asked quietly.
"Well, yeah! I wouldn't be telling you about it if I didn't think so. Anyway, if we leave right now, maybe we can get clear of the castle before Scal-zer and Faraws wake up, and they wont get in our way. I can take you high above Royal Field so you can see what I was talking about."
"Well, Zelda won't approve...she thinks I should still be in bed. But I guess I can handle a little dragon ride! Let's go."
"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Chain asked them, getting irritated that they were talking quiet enough that no one could hear them.
"Eh, me'n Link are going for a walk. He needs some fresh air, you know?" Taig said, getting to his feet.
"Well, hold on a sec and we'll join you," Chain said.
"No, just me and Link! You hog him all the time, I never get to talk with him because I live on the other side of the kingdom!" Taig declared, pulling in his wings and squeezing through the door, past an astonished kitchen hand.
"Well fine, have it your way." Chain said, and muttered a thank you to the kitchen hand as she gave him, Zelda, and Cyphas their breakfasts.
"I suppose I'm not coming either?" Navi asked, hovering next to Link's head as he stood up.
"Well if you stay here you'll just argue with Cyphas so maybe you should come...I'm sure Taig won't mind if you just sleep in my hat," Link said. Navi grinned and happily crawled into her favorite resting spot. "See you guys later," Link said, waving and following Taig.
"That guy is way too active," Zelda complained. "He almost died yesterday, and now he's walking around just fine!"
"Limping around is more like it," Cyphas muttered.
"Wonder where he's going with Taig, anyway?" Chain pondered, looking at Zelda. "I have a feeling this is no mere 'walk'." They grinned at eachother, silently agreeing to follow.
Hi there, thx for reading! srry no fluff in this part, that'll come later. And the very end of my next story is so corney you'll grow and extra pair of ears! sorry, lame pun. see ya next time, when they find out exactly what it was that Taig saw, and Link goes stargazing with Zelda, ooooooo .
-Talonclawfange