I don't usually do author's notes at the beginning of a chapter, but I felt like I should say something. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorited, etc. It was super exciting because I didn't have internet access for a few days and then I came back and my inbox was just full of emails from ff. For a few minutes, I thought my inbox was broken. But it wasn't. And that was an awesome feeling.

For those of you who reviewed, thank you so much. Please continue to give me feedback in the future. I do enjoy it. Now I'll stop talking and get on with the story.

When Zelda first woke, as was her routine, she tried to swing her legs over the edge of the bed and drop to the floor. She had done this every morning, without fail, for six years. This time, however, it didn't work quite as expected. Her legs kicked the sleeping creature beside her, eliciting a sharp squeal of pain. Her head collided with the ceiling above her. Her arms flailed into the wall. Suddenly, Zelda had the very intense feeling of being trapped, and she struggled with all her might, flailing in random directions, desperate to escape. The little creature panicked and tried to escape, trying to pull itself out of the hole. The movement only scared her more, and she continued to struggle for all she was worth, grabbing onto anything she could, which unfortunately included a hefty patch of the creature's fur.

Then she remembered where she was. She stilled her limbs, looking at the trembling creature who was expending all of its energy in trying to escape her grasp. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," she whispered apologetically before she realized that she still had a firm grip on the creature's fur. "Oh, sorry," she gasped, releasing it quickly.

The creature continued to struggle until it finally pulled itself free. It leapt from the hole in the ground and stood some four feet away. Zelda felt a sudden twinge of guilt as she saw the ruffled fur of the creature and the spooked look on its face like it had been betrayed. But it didn't flee into the rest of the woods. It stopped to look back at her, which she hoped was a good sign.

"Please don't be mad at me," she begged, clasping her hands in front of her pleadingly. It didn't seem convinced. She tried to climb out of the hole, to comfort the poor thing, but it leapt backwards when she moved, squealing again. She quickly threw her hands up in a gesture of surrender and sank back into the hole.

"Alright," she continued, a twinge of panic edging into her voice as she watched her only ally slink away, "I won't come out if you don't want me to. It's just, you're the closest thing I've made to a friend since I got here." These words seemed to do the trick, for the creature's gaze visibly softened and it cautiously began to pick its way back towards the girl. She sighed in relief and allowed herself to relax.

"It's alright," the creature answered her. Zelda's head shot back up as she stared at the creature in surprise. It had talked. It hadn't talked before. Was that normal? Then she caught herself and remembered that it had been talking before, she just couldn't hear it. She laid a hand over her heart in relief, before she realized exactly what that entailed.

She could hear. Experimentally, she snapped her fingers by each of her ears. They were both working. There was still a slight ringing noise, which had given her a massive headache, but being able to hear was completely worth it. She laughed in delight, an action which frightened the little creature even more. It started to edge away again. It was nearly ten feet away before Zelda stopped laughing and noticed what had happened.

"Oh, please don't," she begged, reaching out to stop it. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's just I can hear again."

The creature stopped and reluctantly began the return trip back to the hole. When it had covered about half the distance, it paused and asked her. "You're sure you can hear?" It's voice was high and squeaky, unsurprisingly, but also unexpectedly dignified for such a timid creature.

"I'm sure," she answered.

"So, no more surprises."

"Hopefully."

"No more flailing and kicking?"

"None."

"Or screaming?"

"Was I screaming?" she asked, trying to remember if she had done that.

"I thought you said you could hear." The creature squeaked and took another step back.

"I can. I can," she insisted, wondering why she had to defend her position when the very fact that they were talking should have proved that.

"Then what do you call what you were just doing. That noise." The creature made a strange, high pitched wheezing sound, which, after a few moments, Zelda recognized as a very poor approximation of laughing.

"That's not screaming. It's laughing. It's a good thing, I promise. Don't you laugh?"

"Of course not. It doesn't sound like a good thing. It sounds like the noises those monsters make and I'm not entirely sure now that you're not one of them." The creature puffed up its chest and adopted an expression that she was sure was meant to look intimidating. The effect was considerably lessened by the fact that the creature was visibly shaking from its ankles all the way to the top of its head. "And let me warn you, if you are a monster. You'll regret messing with me."

Zelda looked at the creature in disbelief, torn between a need to win this creature over and the nearly overwhelming desire to laugh again. Instead, all that came out was a quiet snort, before she slammed a hand over her mouth, holding her laughter inside.

"I'm serious," the creature continued. "One day you'll be walking by a harmless plant, and then I'll leap out at you. I can do it, you know. Watch." The creature doubled over so its plant side was facing up. Zelda had to admit, the camouflage was an impressive effect, or it would have been, if she hadn't known exactly where the creature was to begin with.

Swallowing the last of her giggles, she called out to the creature. "I believe you. Come on out." The creature made a harrumph noise, and stood up, standing as tall and broad as it could.

"You cross me, monster, you'll get a lesson you'll never forget."

"I'll take your word on that."

"You better." It shook a finger at her to emphasize the point.

"But how can you think I'm a monster after last night?" she asked. The creature patted its still ruffled fur in response.

"That was before the kicking and grabbing," it reminded her. "And before I knew you could make that horrible 'laugh' noise."

"These monsters you're worried about... are they like that creature we saw last night?" It nodded its agreement. "But, I don't look anything like that thing."

This seemed to catch the creature off guard and it paused for a few moments to think of its answer. "They come in different types. I've seen red ones and Oolo swears he saw a blue one. There have even been rumors." The creature looked side to side conspiratorially before raising a hand to its mouth and whispering, "It's been said that they sometimes come in green." It leapt back after saying this, like it had revealed some very secret information.

"But I'm not green or blue," she insisted.

"But there might be more types. Who's to say they don't come in spotted?"

She looked at the creature in surprise. Spotted? Since when was she spotted? She looked down at her arms as she tried to figure out what it meant. The skin on her arms was covered in red patches. Blood, she realized. She felt as though her heart had plunged into her stomach. Was all that blood really hers?

It was dried, but most of the wounds were still fresh. The ones on her back stung when she bent. Curiously, however, the deepest wounds seemed to have healed up completely overnight. It must have been the berries, she thought. Apparently, they maintained some of their healing properties and they went for the worst injuries first. So, although the dried blood suggested she was in pretty bad shape, and truth be told, she was, the wounds weren't nearly as life threatening as she believed.

Or at least, she managed to convince herself of this fact. After all, if the injuries were life threatening, she'd be dead. She wasn't dead, so it couldn't be that bad. With these thoughts in mind, she turned her mind to answering the creature's question.

"Oh, these... these spots aren't normal. They're bad."

"Are they monsters?" The creature asked, looking closely at her as though she were a patient suffering from some exotic disease.

"No, no. They wash right off in water. It's just bad because it means that I've been hurt," she explained, wondering if these strange, non-laughing creatures were also immune to bleeding.

"Oh." The creature bobbed its head, accepting the explanation, although seeming perhaps a little wary, nonetheless. A moment of silence passed.

"I'm sorry," Zelda interjected, feeling strangely guilty for breaking the quiet, "You must have told me this before, but what is your name?"

The creature did a little hop and squeak of embarrassment before answering. "Machi. I'm Machi, the Kikwi."

"Machi," she repeated, rolling the word over in her mouth. "Machi the Kikwi." As she muttered the name, she couldn't help but wonder if Kikwi was a family name or a species, but strangely felt as though it would be rude to ask.

The little creature, Machi, was staring at her expectantly. She stared back for a few moments before she realized what it wanted. "Oh, I'm Zelda."

"Zelda the what?" it asked, leaving Zelda to wonder if it was tradition to introduce yourself by your name and your... tribe. She wasn't sure if she should answer with her last name or tell it she was a human, or none of the above. She settled for the ambiguous.

"Zelda of Skyloft," she informed Machi. It looked back in confusion, but decided to let the matter slip, for which she was extremely thankful.

It nodded as it considered her words. "I've never heard of a Skyloft before. They must be very good at hiding if I've never seen them."

Zelda smiled softly and pulled herself from the hole, relieved that Machi didn't flee. Stretching her sore muscles, she brushed a layer of dirt from her clothes and sat down. "We don't really hide," she tried to explain, "We live far away. None of us have ever been here before. I'm the first."

"Oh," Machi answered, seemingly saddened. "You're away from your nest?"

She smiled at the terminology, but nodded nonetheless. Machi leapt up with a pleasant squeak. "Perhaps you could make a new nest, here? Join the Kikwi? You already have a talent for hiding. You'll fit right in as long as you don't make that horrid laugh."

Zelda very nearly accepted. A home, a nest, that was all she needed. But as she opened her mouth and began to speak, she remembered Impa's words. Something was after her, some demon. For that matter, Impa was probably searching relentlessly for her, too. She didn't really know which was worse to have trailing her, but she was sure that she couldn't lead them straight to this little creature, or to its family. If Machi was any indication, this species was not a group of warriors. If a laugh could start it trembling from ankle to head, what could a demon do? So, reluctantly, she shook her head.

"Machi, I don't think that's such a good idea. You see there are... some... monsters after me."

No sooner had she gotten the words out than Machi had curled back to the ground, its plant half facing the air, hiding in plain sight.

"Machi?"

"Continue talking," Machi insisted, "I will listen. But, if there are monsters chasing you I would much prefer to be left undevoured."

Zelda blinked for a moment in surprise, and another moment in confusion as it seemed the remainder of this conversation would be spent talking with what appeared to be a plant. "Oh, alright," she at last stuttered out, "Like I was saying, there are some monsters, of a kind, that are trying to find me. I can't put you Kikwis in danger."

"I don't fear danger," Machi insisted, still hiding diligently. "I'm widely considered to be the bravest of all the Kikwi."

"Machi, you're pretending to be a plant so monsters won't eat you," Zelda reminded it skeptically.

"Yes, but I haven't hid in the trees yet. Most of the other Kikwi would have run off by now." It talked slowly, as though this ought to have been obvious. Zelda took a few more moments to blink off her surprise before she shrugged.

"Alright, if you're the bravest Kikwi around, maybe you can give me some advice. I'm looking for a way to get somewhere... into the sky." Zelda thought about these words very carefully, considered exactly what it was that she had opted to do. Impa had mentioned, in passing, that there were certain destinations on the surface where she should travel, but she hadn't said where. Impa had insisted that the less she knew, the better. That didn't leave Zelda with a lot of room to work.

If she could get to Skyloft, there was a library, and her father might know something of what to do next. She could prepare herself. Get a weapon, assemble the knights. Yes, going back home was definitely the safest option.

And it didn't hurt matters that she was terrified and truthfully wanted nothing more than for her father to hug her and take matters out of her hands.

"You're going to the sky? What's in the sky?"

"Something I need," she answered simply. Machi waited for her to elaborate, but she shook her head, repeating Impa's maxim. "The less you know, the better." She could feel dread creeping into her stomach as her thoughts suddenly turned somber. This creature, only by virtue of having stumbled into her path, was now in terrible danger.

"So you're not going to tell me anything?" it answered, seeming a little indignant that it was being left out of the loop.

She shook her head again. "Anything I tell you will give the monsters another reason to come for you."

"Alright then," Machi answered a little too quickly, "Tell me nothing. I am content knowing nothing." It followed this statement up with a few loud peeps and even waved its arms a little to emphasize its point, although, with its face still pressed to the ground, the effect was a little confused.

"Thank you. So do you know of a way? A way up into the sky?"

"I've never heard of reaching the sky... you could climb a tree," Machi suggested, "Some of those go pretty high."

Zelda shook her head in defeat. "I need to go higher. Much higher. Past the clouds."

"I don't know of anything higher," Machi insisted. Zelda slumped down, out of ideas. Suddenly, Machi seemed to have a thought and spoke again. "Unless you travel to the mountain."

"Mountain? What's a mountain?"

"It's a big piece of rock. Really big. Huge. I've never seen it, but I've heard that it even touches the sky."

Zelda perked up when she heard this. Even if this thing didn't quite break the cloud barrier, maybe she could signal a passing loftwing from there. They could lower a line, or something, and pull her up. "How can I reach it? Where is it?"

"It's not in the forest," Machi answered, slowly. "So you can't get there by land. There's a rumor that you can reach it by water, but I don't know much about it."

"A rumor?" Zelda asked, her heart sinking again. "A rumor's no good to me. There's absolutely no proof that it's true." Against her will, her mind wandered back to the many rumors that had followed the average Skyloft teenager, including a few rather unpleasant ones that had been spread about herself. Not one had any basis in fact.

Machi shook its head. "Kikwi are careful about rumors. We don't start a rumor for no reason. If you've heard someone whisper it, chances are it's mostly true."

"Are you sure you don't know anything about this water passage?"

"Kikwi don't swim much," it answered apologetically.

Zelda almost screamed in frustration. So close. "So then, what should we do?"

Machi almost proposed going to see Elder Bucha, before it remembered that Zelda didn't want the other Kikwi to know about her. That left just one option. One, rather unpleasant option. Reluctantly, Machi gathered his nerve. "There's a spirit somewhere around here, known as the water dragon. She might know."

"A water dragon?" Zelda asked, confused. She had never heard of a dragon before, but she knew a little about spirits. At least in the sky, the term "spirit" was relative. It very rarely meant ghost or apparition and more often meant a guardian of some kind. The sky had its own personal guardian, by the name of Levias, which she had seen a few times.

Levias was massive, with a big, flat head and flippers like wings that guided it through the air. In her mind, she tried to imagine a version of Levias made entirely of water, but such a thing didn't seem possible. Nonetheless, if it were possible, then maybe this water dragon could fly. Could it fly her back to the sky?

She shook her head, trying to stay on topic, not to give herself false hopes. They wouldn't pay off. Still, she knew nothing about this surface world. It was just possible enough that Zelda leapt to her feet.

"We're going to meet with this water dragon," she declared.

Machi shrunk a little at the declaration. It had never met the water dragon, and hoped to continue that record. There were stories, unpleasant stories about her. Theoretically, the water dragon was meant to be the guardian of the whole woods, but she distinctly favored the more... aquatic races. A Kikwi who showed up unannounced at her place to ask a boon was more likely than not to find itself dinner.

"Well then, Zelda of Skyloft, I wish you luck," it replied quickly, inching its way back towards the shrubs, its plant side still pointed skyward.

"You're not coming," she asked in surprise.

"Well, I wouldn't say not coming... except that... I have a rather urgent appointment. Over here. This way." It continued to edge away, forcing Zelda to quickly run around it and block off his retreat from behind. When it bumped into her legs it squeaked in surprise and seemed to shrink even more.

"Machi, I don't know where to go."

"Well, it's the water dragon, so I'd go find some water if I were you." It tried to slowly sidle its way around Zelda's legs.

"I don't know where that is. Machi, I don't know anything." She threw her hands up into the air, even though she knew it couldn't see.

"It's not hard. There's a lake about that way." It turned around until it was facing towards the south. "Go from there."

"Machi, I'll never get there alive, monsters or not. I don't know anything about this place."

"It's pretty intuitive," Machi answered dismissively. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"No, Machi. It isn't and I won't. I mean... are there things like you every plant? Do the trees all move around and talk and stuff. Or is that just you?"

Apparently this statement was a shocking one to Machi, because, in spite of its own fears, it sat up suddenly to cast her a disbelieving look. "Do the trees talk? Did you just ask if the trees talk?"

"I just mean-"

"Why would the trees talk?"

"What I'm saying is-"

"Do the trees talk where you come from?"

"No," Zelda answered pleadingly, "What I'm trying to say is-"

"Then why would you think the trees would talk?"

"You talk."

"I'm a Kikwi, not a tree."

Zelda gave up trying to explain her thought process and just clasped her hands in front of her face, dropping to her knees, desperate. "Please, Machi. I'm begging you. I don't know this sort of thing. All of the rules about life around here, I've never learned them. I know nothing. You're the bravest of the Kikwi. Who better than you to help me?"

The Kikwi shuffled back a few inches. It could think of several Kikwi who would be better. Most every Kikwi in fact. Elder Bucha. Lopsa. Oolo. Plus a few unusually intelligent plants it thought might have had a better chance. Nervously, it replied, "Bravest may have been a bit of an exaggeration... And really, I'm more of the brains behind the operation."

"Machi, please. I helped you hide last night."

"Yes, but I wouldn't have been there in the first place if you hadn't fallen on me."

'Please," Zelda started, before an idea struck her. She stood up slowly and brushed the dirt from her dress. "Fine. I'll go alone. And you can go alone, too. Through the monster infested forest. By yourself."

This got Machi's attention very quickly. "Wait, wait, wait. Let's not be hasty here. Maybe you could walk me back home and then go find the water dragon."

"I don't really have the time for that. I have to find the water dragon and get back home myself. But I bet, if the water dragon is as powerful as it sounds, it might be able to drop you off home, safe and sound. And really, we'd probably have a better chance of surviving together than alone."

Machi made a funny growling noise as it considered this new development. At last it gave in, throwing its arms into the air in an exasperated manner. "Fine. Fine. We'll go to the water dragon. But then I'm going straight home, alright? No more of this 'adventure' nonsense."

"None. I promise."

"And no more 'laughing'," it reminded her.

"There won't be, I swear."

With a stubbornly defiant look on its face it took a few confident steps into the nearby foliage. However, within moments its bulk brushed against the nest of a bird, sending a robin fluttering past its face. Machi toppled backwards and rolled into a ball, quick to pull out its disguise. For a moment it waited cautiously before uncurling and checking to see if the coast was clear. Seeing Zelda's disbelieving expression, Machi did its best to recover what was left of its dignity and gestured to the girl.

"You go first," it whispered.

And so the reluctant pair began to pick their way through the bracket, past trees and bushes, on a desperate quest. A small spark of confidence was brewing deep in Zelda's chest. Just a tiny thing, but it was there. With Machi, however useless Machi may be, beside her, she felt that maybe she had a chance to get through this. They would find the water dragon. They would both get to go home.

With this tiny confidence putting a spring in her step, Zelda trudged on through the forest, fully unaware that she was walking straight into the belly of the beast.

The assault was not going as planned. Although he had massive numbers of troops at his disposal, progress was horrifyingly slow going. It seemed that he had failed to take into account one small factor in his assault on the water dragon: all the water.

At the moment, the demon lord was resting on a large rock, trying to enjoy the pleasant breezes that Lake Floria had to offer. He had been widely informed that it was a nice place to visit. Cooling winds, pristine water, and a lovely rock wall that surrounded the whole thing, making it feel like a secluded piece of paradise. A little bit of heaven left on the surface.

Or, it had been. Now the air was clouded with smoke. The water ran pink with blood. The water dragon's wrath had sent many of his soldiers flying straight into the lovely rock wall, which was now smeared red and black. A few unlucky souls had been flung so hard the impact had caused their bodies themselves to stick to the wall, leaving a ghastly imprint.

And yet, for all of this destruction, they had made almost no progress. He took a deep breath and leaned back, watching out of the corner of his eye as a few more of his demonic minions attempted to swim into the dragon's lair.

Ghirahim liked to call them brave, assuming brave was synonymous with stupid. They were muscle, but not brains. He marveled as another wave attempted to charge the water, trying to swim into the massive cavern, only to be hurled back by yet another huge wave of the water dragon's. The survivors, ran in again, this time brandishing swords, as though they could slash the water into submission.

He had to smile a little. They were trying their hardest. He would have given them points for effort, except they were dead already and the next group had taken their place. Was that the fifteenth or the sixteenth? He had lost track and that was just in the past hour.

It was bad enough that they had had to blow their way into the lake. The cursed dragon had put up some kind of seal around the whole place that they had had to break down. This had required the use of a makeshift bomb, built specially from some of the bomb flowers growing outside the sealed temple. Monsters were so commonplace now, the old crone inside, whoever she was, had never even suspected his presence. Although she claimed that she was there to guard the temple from evil, she wasn't doing a very good job. And bomb flowers grew back so quickly, there was no trace they had ever been there at all. It was a lovely deception.

Or, it would have been, if those fools hadn't lost the first bomb they made. It had gone rolling down some hill, and, although they had chased after it, the whole mess exploded in their faces. It was a shame those cretins had been blown up by their own bomb. He would have enjoyed punishing them. Morons, the lot of them. He had had to oversee the transport of the second bomb personally, which had lost him valuable time in searching for the spirit maiden.

His anger had very nearly gotten the better of him, which was why he had chosen to take a few moments to try to relax and enjoy the famous Floria sun.

With an absent minded glance at the sky, he supposed that he ought to call his soldiers off until he discovered a more effective strategy. But truthfully, he felt it was much more fun to watch them try again and again than it was to call it off. And he could brainstorm and still have a little entertainment. Nothing wrong with that.

It wasn't as if he were at a loss for troops. That was the thing about demonic hordes. They tended to come in... well... hordes. He wondered, vaguely, if any of the demons in his group had the foresight not to run into the lake. It would be interesting to see. Of course, he'd probably have to kill the creature for insubordination, but it was a curious thought, nonetheless.

The next group charged towards the lake and didn't even reach the shoreline before a blast of water knocked them off their feet. It was less powerful a blast than before. Did that mean the water dragon was getting tired? But the next shot of water disproved that theory, for it was the strongest by far that he had seen.

A huge wave of water suddenly loomed over everything, casting a shadow even over the rock where he lay. Quickly, he snapped his fingers, removing himself as far from the rock as possible, before the wave came crashing down.

The spot he chose to land was well into the forest, far enough away that there was no chance of getting hit by the splatter. He wasn't particularly fond of water. The place he had chosen was well shaded by a thick canopy of leaves and also had fairly good cover, with many ground level bushes to block his image from any onlookers.

He didn't know why he was so careful about stealth. He was all but sure that he could handle any creatures he might find in the woods. Still, extra caution never hurt anybody, he supposed. Nonetheless, the woods were just as empty as he expected, so he made to step out of his haven and walk back to the lake, when a glint of yellow caught his eye.

He turned instinctively, fully expecting it to be nothing but a brightly colored bird. Instead, what he saw almost made him gasp in surprise.

'It couldn't be,' he thought to himself. 'Why would she come here? The servant of the goddess was last seen up near the temple. Why would her lost charge come here?' And yet the proof was undeniable. He could see her, carefully picking her way through the thick trees. He could feel her presence, even from where he was standing.

It was the spirit maiden herself, seemingly oblivious to his presence, traveling with what appeared to be a Kikwi. She held tightly onto one of the Kikwi's arms, although he wasn't sure if this was to comfort herself or to keep the creature from running away. Both were equally likely. The girl looked a little worse for the wear, with blood across her arms and face. Her dress was in an equally horrid condition. Nevertheless, she was moving with strong strides, which he could only assume to mean that she was doing alright, although she did wince a little whenever a stray branch happened to brush her bloody back.

A part of him wanted to charge forward and seize the girl in that moment, but he restrained himself. He didn't know the extent of her powers, if she had any at all. She might be prepared for this ambush.

In a few hundred yards the girl would be in sight of the lake. That meant that she would be in sight of his monstrous legion, and that they would be in sight of her. The demons would attack, that much was without question. It was their instinct, even his orders couldn't override it. They would charge. She would either have to showcase her powers to defend herself, giving Ghirahim an understanding of her abilities or she would panic and flee back into the forest.

Stealthily he began to follow the girl. If she retreated, he would be there to catch her. If she attacked, he would wait until she had exhausted herself and move in before his hordes could kill her. His breath came quickly with anticipation. 'Could it really be this easy?' he wondered before shaking his head. He deserved something easy, after the disaster the day had been.

He crouched in wait, creeping forward as the girl and her little Kikwi friend approached his legion. With only seconds to, he stood up slowly, ready to run into the fray at a moment's notice. The confrontation was imminent. He licked his lips slowly as the girl took her last steps forward and brushed the last few branches aside.

She took a step out into the sunlight around the lake.

Duh duh duh. (That was supposed to be dramatic music by the way). So there is chapter 2. I know it seems like it's moving a little fast, and it is, but this isn't it. Did I mention this will probably be a fairly short story? Not too short, but we're not talking epic here.

Anyway, thank you again to all my reviewers and favoriters (yes, that is a word... now). Please continue to tell me what you think.

As always, read, review, enjoy.

'Till next time,

-Ornamental Reciprocity