Hey finally got it up! Umm, I kinda had a little writers block so I'm not even sure if this came out good at all. It's kinda boring cause I need to fill this up until we get to the interesting part which will probably happen in the next chapter and then the really good stuff will keep continuing on from here. Also I'm not sure how much I'll be able to update, since my time on the computer is limited. But here ya go Chapter 2!
Link is 17 and Kelly is 15 1/2.
~TeaGreenMoonHorse~
A soft light suddenly filled my mind. I slowly walked towards it feeling a warming presence growing larger the closer I stepped. As I got closer a shape started to form. It was furry and long agile legs. A bushy tail swished back and forth to its gait.
I gasped as it whipped around and golden brown eyes stared at me. I couldn't stop looking and the same feeling of expulsion came over me and I wanted to run away. But behind me was darkness and this creature was light. It didn't move as I neared it. It was almost as tall as me. It was a large white wolf with human eyes.
"Who are you?" I asked it, unafraid.
It looked at me and blinked but said nothing. In a flash it turned around and had started trotting away.
I gawked at its speed for being so large and that it just turned at went. "Hey! Wait up! Where are we going" I asked as I looked around. All there was was an empty black feeling behind me and the light from the wolf. So I followed it.
The wolf stopped and turned towards me again. It starred me down and I froze, a sudden terror for this wild beast welling up inside me. But it didn't lunge for my throat instead it revealed its own and howled a ringing shout that stung my ears.
I covered my ears and watched as the world started to fall apart and the black puzzle-pieced into white. The floor came last and I found myself falling. I let out a sharp scream as I saw the ground rising up to meet me. My body writhed and churned through the air to try and slow my process. It was no use.
Watching trees and leaves form and pass before me and branches reach out seconds after I was gone, gave me a sense of urgency. Then all of a sudden the world brightened and a cacophony of birds and other natural sounds reverberated through the air. Branches cut and broke beneath my fall as the ground rushed beneath me.
I heard the distant sound of water rushing and hoped I'd at least land in some lake. I looked down one more time and my hands instantly grabbed for the branches. Desperately I grappled for them but found them slip right out of my hands.
Then I gasped as I saw someone under my falling shadow. The person looked up and threw is hands out in front of him. I waited for the fall and impact of our bodies, but nothing came. With a sudden rush of relief I felt buoyant.
A glittery yellow light highlighted my entire body as it brought me down gently. I turned so my feet would come first and not my head. With a splash I fell into a small spring with a massive waterfall. I sank to the ground in utter relief.
I mean what was that wolf thinking leaving me to fall for my death? I'd forgotten about the other person there so when he cleared his throat I jumped and leaped around, my hands in karate attack mode.
The boy stepped back and put his hands up as surrender. I lowered my hands, annoyance spreading for my embarrassment. "Sorry. Kinda've had a rough d-day…" I let the word day strangle off as I remembered what happened. "Oh god, where am I?" I looked at the boy.
"Ummm? Ordon Village? Aren't you from around here?" The farm boy asked.
I looked at the boy with dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes and could see he was smarter than was letting on. "Ya, do I look from around here? I just dropped from the sky." I gave him an angry look as if this was all his fault. For all I knew it was.
"Hey, no need to get snappy!" He held his hands up in another gesture of surrender. "But at least I can take you to Uli and see if she can fix you up."
"Fix me up- oh." I looked at myself and saw that I was muddy and full of bruises and cuts. Great. "Okay fine. Where is she?" I gathered myself up and watched as the boy walked over to some "U" shaped plants and blew on them.
A sweet melody twisted and flitted from it as he blew into it and in a second there was a distant pounding of hooves and a warm whinny. A beautiful flaxen Belgian mare came galloping around the corner from my right and halted right in front of her master.
"Come on, Epona can get us there sooner." He beckoned me to come so I could get on first.
As I came closer the mare spun her fuzzy muzzle out at me and I let her sniff my hand. She snorted and gave me a little nibble. I took it as an acceptance and so I proceeded to mount her. The mare was a draft breed so she was well above fifteen hands-high (15hh) and my short stature could barely reach the stirrups.
The boy saw my distress and helped me by pushing on my right foot so I could swing it over. After a second try I gripped the pommel and leaped with all my might from his hand and landed with a subtle thud in the large saddle.
The farm boy leaped up behind me and gripped the reins around my waist so that I was encircled by his arms. My face warmed a bit at the thought but I was gladder to not be walking.
"Hiya!" He shouted and gave the mare a persistent kick, she leaped a little and hit into a lope. I held on to the saddle horn and pommel while sweet warm air tickled my cheeks and weaved through my slightly darker dirty blonde hair.
I looked and saw beautiful greens and golds swept by, like ribbons streaming through the summer breeze. I could see a chasm coming towards us with a huge wooden bridge. The horse didn't hesitate to gallop across it. I looked to my right where the sun was heading to bed and saw the most beautiful formations of clouds. They leaped and fell like ballerinas on a huge performing stage. Where ever I was, I was glad I was here. A sudden lurch got my breath, but the horse was riding smoothly. I then realized it was my heart. A small tear welled up and fell, glistening against my dirty cheek.
Soon we left the bridge, passed a magnificent hollow with a small pool and a crystal waterfall, and now making our way through a narrow passage that led to a small clearing, a tree house sitting up high to our left. We made a turn and passed into a tiny village.
"Here we are!" He pulled the reins back, just a little too hard and leaped off, his hand waiting to help me down.
I raised my left eyebrow at him and ignored his gesture. I let my right leg swing over and dangle before I slid off. Then I stood by him as he hastily put his hand down and tied Epona up.
"Uli's really nice and she's great with everyone," He explained.
I nodded, not really paying attention to him. I was in awe at how amazingly surreal this place was. It was full of little kids playing and chasing chickens. Little home gardens littered the place, pumpkins and squash and tomatoes growing tall and healthy. Little wooden houses lingered around and all in all it was a perfect atmosphere. It was a happily content village.
"Hey I don't even know your name." The boy said, snapping me back to his attention.
"Oh, ha, sorry, it's Kelly. What 'bout you?" I asked, looking at him sternly.
"Link."
I looked at him funny. "Link? Really?"
"Uh, ya. You shouldn't be talkin'; you have a pretty strange yourself!" He exclaimed giving me an annoyed expression.
"Ya, well at least mine's not named after a sausage link or something," I mumbled under my breath as he walked ahead of me and knocked on cottage door.
"Oh! Hi Link! Nice to see you, come in! Come in!" A small woman with a blonde pixie exclaimed.
I followed behind, drawing myself up so I could seem tall and unafraid. I didn't want to seem helpless; in truth I don't think I had that privilege. The woman finally noticed to me and gave Link a look.
"Who is this?" She asked the room.
Link hesitated so I jumped in. "My name's Kelly." It was all I could really tell her.
"Well nice to meet you. I'm Uli by the way. So what can I do for you?" She asked as she walked to a living room and continued folding some laundry.
"Uh, Kelly needs patchin' up and somewhere to sleep. Can you help?" Link asked running his hand in his hair at the embarrassing thought of having to ask for help.
"Ya, sure."
"Um, I kinda gotta go…"
Uli cut him off and waved her hands at him, shooing him away. "Go! Finish your work! Don't want you gettin' into any trouble." She smiled as he ducked his head then headed out.
"So what's wrong Kelly?" She asked after Link left.
"Really nothing, but I need to clean up…I'm kinda covered in mud," I trailed off raising my arms like dead bat wings and letting them flop down with plopping noise.
"You're right! Let me just draw the bath for you." She ambled off and that's when I noticed that she was pregnant. I smiled at the way she was so energetic even when carrying another human being.
While she was gone I had time to really look at the small cottage. It had simple wood flooring and walls, but the little knickknacks she must have put up warmed the place up. There was a hand woven rug made of greens and oranges and reds on the floor beneath a simple coffee table. A wooden framed couch had on overly stuffed forest green cushions and a blanket lying over the top.
I walked closer to a beautifully made picture and saw an amazing cliff that jutted out to the middle of the page. On the craggy cliff point was the silhouette of a person and a wolf, sitting side by side, neither trying to kill the other. For some reason the picture gave me chills and I moved away fast from it.
"The bath's all drawn. I have some extra clothes that don't fit me anymore." She saw me looking at her enlarged stomach and laughed. "It wasn't because of this one," She said rubbing her stomach. "No I grew out of them a long time ago. I just never got around to getting rid of 'em. Glad I didn't though." She winked and gave me a towel. "The bathroom is just down there."
I nodded and quickly made my way down the short hallway to the last door on the left. I needed to get out of these clothes fast, they were starting to itch. Stupid poison oak. I opened the door and revealed a small cube room with a huge basin taking up most of the space. A smaller basin sat to the right in the corner with a stool next to it with the clothes I was going to borrow.
I found a rack and hung my towel up. Quickly I stripped feeling awkward and out there, and dipped quickly in the steaming water. I sighed as I slipped in my back resting against the cool metal. With a huge splash I ducked under and let the water wash away the mud, sweat and blood away. Already I was beginning to feel cleaner.
When I resurfaced I found another little stool with a bar of soap and a cloth on it. I dunked the cloth and soap into the water and scrubbed the soap onto the cloth. Soon the water was bubbly and I was clean. I stepped out and grabbed my towel drying myself off. I grabbed the clothes from the stool and pulled them on.
When I was done I looked at myself in a tall mirror. I was wearing cream colored leggings with a grey tunic over top. A belt fit snugly around my waste. A pair of animal-hide boots covered my feet. "Eh. I don't look too bad." The grey highlighted my deep blue eyes and dirty-blonde hair. My eyes were my favorite feature so I was cool.
I walked out and found Uli. "Hey what should I do with my old clothes?" I asked.
"Oh I'll wash them and give them to you later. How about you go up to the farm and see what Link's up to." She suggested seeing that I was at a loss for where I could do.
"Mm. Sounds like a good idea. Oh thanks for everything! I'll see you later." I called as I left, the summer air washing over my face. I breathed in and felt clean. With a sudden burst of energy I ran.
My feet pounded hard and I ran where my instincts told me a farm would be. I could feel the air changing as I speed by houses and leaped over fences. I raced up a path and found myself on a hill overlooking a huge spread of farmland, huge blue goat like creatures with huge horns (or was it "horn"?) roamed grazing on the lush grass.
I saw a familiar flaxen mare and ran down the sloping hill towards the road. I saw Link talking with another boy who was larger and heavier built than Link and maybe a couple years older than him. I tumbled down the last bits of hill and came to a stop near Epona, Link and the other kid on the other side of her.
They hadn't spotted me so I stayed hidden and listened to their conversation.
"Fado what am I supposed to do?" Link asked, running his hand through his hair in frustration.
"Hey she's a chick right? Have her stay at your house!" The guy named Fado let a huge laugh and I looked at him in disgust.
"Pervert," I whispered.
"Dude, shut-up!" Link looked at him and gave him a disappointing look.
"Come on I was just kiddin'! Personally I don't think you have to do anything at all with her. Just leave her with one of the families!" Fado said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
"I probably will, but there's something about her that doesn't make sense. I have a feeling I need to keep an eye on her." Suddenly Link's head whipped towards Epona, down to where I was hiding beside her.
Seeing I was caught I jumped up and pretended I had just got there. "Oh hey Link and…"
"Fado's my name. Goat raisin' is my game!" He laughed.
"Ha, nice to meet you Fado. Well Uli sent me down here. I'm bored what can I do to help?" I asked catching on that Link was a Ranch Hand.
"Hmmm," Fado thought scratching his head. "Um, can you ride?"
I gave a sly smile. "Yep!"
"Perfect! All you need is a horse." Fado wandered off and Link and I followed.
"She doesn't know how to herd!" Link complained.
"Well then you have to teach her!" Bellowed Fado. "Hmm. Only horse we have left is Night Fury. Want to take him on?"
I watched as Fado led a huge black stallion that had the same build as Epona. He was a draft horse; he kinda looked like a Noriker. I smiled at the challenge he would bring. "Ya, why not? I mean what's wrong with him?"
"Eh, nothing really, just that he's never been broken and that he's injured every rider that's ever ridden him." Fado said as if that was no big deal at all.
I looked into the amber eyes of the stallion, Night Fury and saw a raw wildness. I wanted to ride this horse just to show him that I had raw wildness as well. "Okay, saddle him up."
After a tense ten minutes to get the bit into his mouth, I was mounting up and on, sitting heavily in the worn saddle.
"Make sure you stay out of the way of his hooves if he kicks you off!" Fado shouted as I kicked the large horse into a lope around a small corral. I passed by Link who stood on the fence and watched as Fado joined him.
In a hoarse screech the horse called Night Fury leaped up into the air and galloped around the corral. I gripped the reins with both my hands and kept my back straight and my heels down. I gradually pulled my reins back so that they rested on the pommel and then farther so that I had my hands on my hips. I sat deeper in the saddle and slowly the wild stallion slowed down. But not without a fight.
He pulled his head forward and shook the reins, trying to dislodge them from my hands. But I was mad at his ignorance and I kept him backing up and backing up until he was backed up in a corner. I heard a large chomp as he chewed the metal bit in his mouth with anger. Frothing at the mouth now he reared and leaped forward. I felt my arms strain as I tried to keep him back. But I was no match for a two ton horse. The reins were pulled from my grip and I almost went flying over his head, but the horn stopped my progress by ramming into my gut.
I gritted my teeth and strained farther forward to snatch the flailing leather straps, in a miraculous attempt I stood up in my stirrups and leaned even farther forward. I felt the reins brush my fingers and then they flew right into my open hand. I sat back hard and adjusted myself while the wild horse still galloped around.
Suddenly he stopped. I watched as he breathed hard and snorted. I thought we were done but he knew we weren't. Another war cry sounded from the thick neck of the stallion. He lurched forward into a full on gallop and reached the corral fence in a matter of seconds and I watched with dread as he gathered his speed and used it to propel him forward.
I gripped the reins with a fierceness that ached through my hands and felt as we lifted into the sky. Looking out I saw the whole world watching and I smiled a grim smile. This was amazing and I was doing it. I was riding this horse and I had passed his test.
We landed with a thud and the horse trotted off his excess speed then stopped and allowed me to slide off. My legs shook and I fell to the ground grabbing the stirrups before I flew face first into the ground. Night Fury looked back and blew air over my head, he nudged me to get back up.
"Damn girl! You rode Night Fury and he hasn't killed you!" Fado shouted.
I saw Link gawk at me then follow Fado towards me. Fado gave me his hand and I gladly took it and pulled myself up. "Thanks," I mumbled.
"Wow. That was amazing. The horse is all yours," Fado said handing the reins to my trembling hands.
"Really?" I asked in amazement.
"Uhuh, you're the only one who's been able to ride him!" Fado said a look of disbelief on his face.
"Ya, okay. Umm so what was it you wanted me to do?" I asked ignoring the praise and the look of awe and frustration on Link's face.
"Oh ya, I want you and Link to herd up the goats and bring 'em in there's a storm brewing nearby," Fado said looking towards the west. Sure enough there they were brewing angrily and sinister.
"Let's get to it," Link said.
I nodded and followed after him.
