"My name's Han." Her toned softened a bit when she noticed the angst in his eyes, but her face remained smiling. "I saw something moving over here and I just came by to see what it was." She attached her bow to her back with one swift motion and leaned on the boulder, crossing her arms. Then she cocked her head and smiled at him with a curious expression. "What are you doing out so late?"
Link's mouth twisted in frustration. Bright white teeth shone from underneath the strange elf's smile as she watched him intently. She was giving off a mischievous aura, but still very cheerful at the same time. Link brushed his hair out of his eyes, and decided she was harmless. He slipped his sword back into his belt.
"I always come up here to think. I don't recall ever seen you around the village before..." He replied. Something about the elf was captivating, and he couldn't seem to avert his attention away. "Where did you come from?" He noticed that she had medium length hair, little past her shoulders, and it severed off into several directions . There wasn't enough light for him to see what color it was exactly, but it seemed to be a dark brown shade. What looked like a burgundy colored scarf was loosely wrapped around her neck and she had a pair of beaten up old archer gloves on. He could see she'd sewn it up several times by the loose stitches hanging off everywhere. She must've spent a lot of time hunting, he assumed.
"My father's a trader." She explained "But our ship got caught up in a wild storm down east and it took us a little longer than expected to get here. We just docked about an hour ago." She bit her lip. "He's visiting some friends I think. Around here." She stood up and pointed to the Forest of Fairies across the bridge. "And so not wanting to come along, I wandered off and into those woods over there to see if I could catch something good." She turned back at him and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "What's your name by the way?" Link raised an eyebrow.
"Link. My name's Link." He replied with a flat tone. The girl's scarf was beginning to droop and he noticed a tattoo of something familiar on her neck. "Hey, is that a tattoo?" He reached over to grab her shoulder when she suddenly jerked away.
"Uh, no no, it's a birth mark." She took a few steps back and quickly pulled the two ends of the scarf so it was wrapped tight against her neck. "I don't really like to show it…" Her voice became a little more quiet and the smirk in her eye lessened. It looked as if her pupils had gotten smaller aswell. She looked down at the floor, then back up. "So what's on your mind anyway? Why are you here?"
Link's licked his lips and withdrawed his hand. He scratched the back of his neck for a moment, then looked up and gazed at the sky.
"Lady troubles. Don't worry about it." He finally answered with a sigh. The girl listened intently and nodded. Then she smiled and skipped over to stand beside him. Her eyes were large with curiosity once more, and she hooked arms with him.
"Well I can surely fix that! You up for some hunting tonight?" She playfully grabbed his arm and tugged him towards the bridge
"Um, I should really be heading back-"
"Oh please! Just for a little while?" she urged. Her eyes pleaded for him to go. He stopped for a moment and looked over the cliff and back at his hut. He bit his lip. What harm could it do? They were probably all asleep anyway. He sighed.
"Uh... Sure I don't see why not… But I don't have my b-"
"I've got an extra bow you can use. Here," She tossed a large wooden bow at him that she pulled from behind her. "Oh, and some arrows too of course." She let out a playful giggle and handed him about ten arrows. "Let's go." She clutched his arm and skipped merrily across the bridge. Link stumbled along behind her.
"This bridge is pretty old, I'd be careful if I were you." He warned her. She was a bit childish, he observed, but still seemed rather mature at the same time. Her eyes were incredibly remarkable; He couldn't get the image of them out of his head. Never before had he seen an elf with eyes that vibrant shade of violet before. Even in the hushed lighting, they still shone bright as day, as if they were glowing.
"Yes, yes I know. Trust me, would ya'?" She replied, and continued to skip across the bridge as if she hadn't heard a thing he'd said. Link trotted along behind her, struggling not to fall through the missing boards in the bridge.
After what seemed like hours, for Link atleast, they finally reached the other side. He hesitated before going into the forest. Where was the entrance? "Come, it's right through here." Han dashed past him and disappeared into the dense thicket of trees.
"Right, I'm coming." Link called back. He slowly took babysteps towards what looked like a large mass of darkness until his hand felt something he recognized as the rough trunk of a tree. How could she possibly see anything in lighting like this? He felt a tap on his shoulder and he flinched.
"Don't worry, it's just me." Somehow the elf had scuttled behind him without him even noticing. She held his hand and pulled him into the forest. "Geez, do I always have to hold your hand?" She teased, and the two walked into the blackness together.
Inside the Forest of Fairies, the environment was suddenly different. Rays of light coming from an unknown source shone down and illuminated the whole place up. It had been a long time since Link had visited this place. Last time he did was years ago when he came to rescue Zelda after she'd been dropped by that wretched bird sent by Ganondorf. It was back when he'd first got the news that he was the Hero of Time. When his entire journey first started. Speaking of which! He'd totally forgotten about her; his future bride was probably laying in bed worried sick as to where he was. Or maybe not. She didn't seem to give a damn when he left. Link rubbed his eyes in frustration. Regardless, it was too late now anyway to turn back.
"Oh! Over there!" Suddenly, Han let go of his hand and dashed behind a tree. He watched as she pulled back an arrow and closed one eye. She carefully aimed at the Kargorok and licked her lips. With one swift trick of a finger, she released the arrow. The bird let out a loud squawk and came spiraling downwards. Kargoroks were usually flying around Dragon Roost Island, not often were they spotted around here. They were probably migrating around this time of year. "Yes!" She made her way over to the bird and in a matter of seconds, it disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. All that was left was a golden feather that lay delicately on the forest floor. Han scooped it up in her hands and took a moment to study it. She smiled and shoved it in her boots. Link let out a little snort.
"That's how you store your earnings?" He asked . The beginnings of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Han looked up with a puzzled look on her face, then nodded.
"Well yeah. Kinda strange huh?" She laughed. "Nah, these boots were made for me by one of the Great Fairies. Me and my dad stopped by on our way to Windfall Island, since the weather was too crazy for us to go on. She took us in until the storm blew over and she noticed that my bow and arrow. She upgraded those for me too, and made me these." She pointed her toes together and admired her boots for a couple seconds. She looked up and beamed at him. "They can keep up to 10 pounds of material! And the best part is, they'll always feel light, which means they're fashionable, and easy to hunt in."
Link nodded, rather amused by her story. His mouth curving into a hint of a smirk.
"They're amazing." He replied. His tone of voice a little more tender, but still stern.
"Yeah… They are…" She replied absentmindedly. She jerked her head up. "Anyway, don't just stand there! Let's get hunting!" She picked up her arrow from the ground and slipped it in her quiver and began to skip over towards Link when her foot was caught on a tree root. She tripped. Thankfully, Link dashed over just in time to catch her before she face planted into the dirt. One arm gripped her wrist and the other wrapped around her waist. "Oh.. Thankyou." She startled, and stood up straight to brush her skirt off.
"Sure thing…" Link replied in a hushed voice, as he released his grip on her arm. He felt his cheeks begin to flush. He quickly dropped his other hand realizing it was still draped around her.