Link made good time, he assumed, and considered finding a place to sleep… but there were no branches to offer succor to him. Night began to fall, and a nagging thought was bothering the Kokiri. The last ray of light disappeared, and the ground began to churn and crack.
Link scrambled over the broken ground, dodging the emerging monsters. Dark spirits, inhabiting the bones of the dead, rose. Stalkids. Sometimes they ventured into the forest, but rarely very deep. Their weakest point was the joints, since they were held together by strength of will. Disrupting the joints would weaken, and eventually dispel, the spirit.
Link was easily faster than the shambling constructs, even at a steady jog. The danger, however, lay in one of them erupting at his feet. Navi hid under the mane attached to Link's mask, hiding her glow in the darkness. He could see well enough without her, using the moon and the stars to see by. It was the daylight vigil that Navi became indispensable, watching for danger while he slept, hidden in the grass.
Link dug up the coarse tubers with his knife, careful not to damage them with the sharp stone. He brushed the dirt off with his fingers, and tucked them into the forage bag on his belt, which was distressingly light.
Kokiri were passive foragers, not given to amassing and storing food for more than a day… but they were relatively sedentary, near water and ready sources of food. Link was making this up as he went along, learning the hard way to gather all that he could before moving on. His first night had been miserable. He'd eaten his fill from a mess of berries, then moved on, not bothering to take any with him. He hadn't seen any additional sources of food the rest of the night.
Link looked up and gauged the sun. The bottom of the orb was now touching the horizon. He had about forty minutes before it set, and the stalkids would start to rise.
Navi was sleeping in Link's hair.
The kokiri started to crest yet another gentle hill, passing a distinctive boulder, a rarity on this plain, when he caught a flash of copper in the distance. Instantly, he melted against the boulder, his ragged outline slightly camouflaging him. He peered intently, making out a small form walking in the distance, its back to him. Curious, he slowly closed the distance, moving with his head just inches above the waist-high grass. He crept within a spear's throw, and studied the outsider. She had shoulder length orange hair, like Mido's, but straight, not curly. The outsider's hair swept wildly in the wind. Her dress was ill-suited to walking in this grass, and she carried a sack over her shoulder. She was roughly his age, and he felt a pang of loneliness. It had been nine days since he'd seen Saria and Mido. Kokiri were highly social, and such loneliness was… terrifying. The girl was heading where he needed to go, anyway, towards the Castle, which could barely be seen as a very tiny speck in the distance, still twenty miles distant.
So Link gave into temptation, and followed her, pretending that he walked beside her, basking in the imaginary companionship. He had promised to not be seen, and he wouldn't be, even if she was only a child.
Malon was scared. She clutched the bag that held her food tighter. The sun had almost set, and she had not reached Castle Town yet. Her plan to run away had flaws that were just now becoming very obvious to her. The sun had slipped halfway down the horizon, and she soldiered on. She was over half-way there. No sense turning back.
Her resolve faltered when the sun set, and a howl echoed across the plains. She shivered, wishing she had a weapon. A twisted, gnarled tree stood out on the plains, looking to her like a savior. She hurried towards it, lifting her skirt so he could run.
Link watched the girl head for the tree with a sinking heart. If she stayed up there, she would die. Stalkids could climb, slowly, and if one remained in the same place for too long, they would swarm. The girl never made it to the tree.
Malon ran for the refuge, when something grabbed her ankle. She fell in the grass with a shriek. A bony hand held her ankle, as a grinning skull pushed its way out of the soil, followed by the rest of the arm. She kicked frantically at the monster, knocking its skull off to bounce deeper into the grass. The grip on her ankle tightened, and the headless skeleton struggled to crawl out. She screamed, kicking at the hand in earnest as she heard other monsters clawing their way out of the earth.
Something whistled through the air, and hit the monster's elbow with a loud bang, then another bang rang out, and the skeleton was knocked onto its back, still up to its knees in dirt. She looked up and saw a fiercely scowling warrior with wild hair frantically bludgeoning the monster with a spear. The monster stopped moving, its bones scattered across a fifteen foot circle. Malon backed away, and the warrior lunged at her, swinging his spear at her head. She ducked, and it flashed past, slamming into another monster behind her, knocking it off its feet. Rough hands pulled her to her feet, then gave her a push to get going. Terrified, the girl lifted her skirts and ran. Beside her the wild warrior kept pace, and now that she was standing, she realized he wasn't much taller than she was. His long, braided hair streamed behind him as he ran, slightly ahead of her.
Malon began to gasp for breath, unable to keep up with the warrior, who was slowly pulling ahead. She pumped her arms and legs, but even her terror could not keep her moving forever. The warrior slowed to a jog, pulling Malon along. When he delivered a two handed smack to something in the grass with his spear, Malon realized she wasn't holding a hand, in her terror. She looked down. A greenish tail was wrapped about her wrist, about as wide as two of her fingers, thinning to the size of a single finger at the tip. What was he?
Link hid his worry. The outsider girl was slow, and breathing hard. The sun had not even been down for an hour. He slowed his pace further, matching her stumbling walk. Stalkids continued to rise around them, but he delivered decapitations of opportunity, knocking off skulls when he could, to slow down the monsters. Finally the girl tripped and fell. Link pulled her back up, but she tripped again a few seconds later. Link threw one of her arms over his shoulder, and grabbed her waist, dragging her along.
Malon gasped for air as she struggled to place one foot in front of the other. The warrior was practically carrying her, so that her feet only sporadically touched the ground. He smelled nice though. So close to him, she caught another solid whiff of his scent, a mixture of sweet sweat, fresh berries, and leaves right after it rains.
Echoing across the plains, Malon heard a voice she recognized. Her father.
"Here!" she screamed back as loud as she could. The warrior almost dropped her.
A counter cry came back to Malon, and she screamed again, losing volume.
Navi woke up, and darted out from Link's hair, spilling blue motes of light. Link sighed. He had broken his word. He had been seen. Outsiders were coming, and he was growing tired. He had been working too hard to keep the outsider child alive. He snarled, and turned towards the sound of the calls, veering off his course. He would make sure she was close enough to be rescued, before he tried to slip away. Outsiders could not be trusted. The girl tripped, and his tired arm slipped, caught by surprise. The girl landed in the dirt, and Link looked around, realizing how much trouble they were in. Nearly two dozen skulkids were free of the soil, and tottering towards them. Link could escape, but the girl would die. "Navi, glow as bright as you can," Link called, trying to be heard over the monsters' growls and howls. Navi shot up twelve feet and became a small star, lighting up the prairie around her.
Malon gasped as light cascaded down onto her. She looked up to see a bobbing light above them. Now, fully illuminated, she looked at the warrior. His clothing was rough, and obviously fashioned from materials found in the forest. He had pieces of bark on his shins and forearms, resembling armor. A carved wooden mask with staring eyes and snarling teeth hid the warrior's face. Long strands of cloth flowed off the mask, covering the rest of the head in a wild mane. Pouches and weapons were strapped to the warrior, and a tail, half again as long as his arm whipped behind him, much like an angry cat's.
Then he moved, swinging his sturdy spear in an overhand strike, knocking a monster down, and beating it senseless, kicking at the bones to scatter them. All around them, monsters came closer, and Malon cowered. The warrior darted all around her, knocking down monsters, but more kept digging their way out of the earth. She winced when a monster's blow connected, staggering the warrior, allowing a second blow to strike before he recovered his balance and punished his attackers. Slowly, the balance was shifting as the monsters came closer. More blows began to connect, and the warrior began to slow. The light suddenly dimmed, and darted into the warrior's hair.
Over the din of wood hitting bone, the pounding thunder of hooves was lost. Malon screamed when a stalkid's blow landed on the back of the warrior's head, and he slumped, boneless, to the ground. Malon grabbed him, and pulled, trying to get him away from the closest ring of stalkids.
"I've got her!" a voice roared, and a horse barreled through the monsters, a big, heavily bearded man, given somewhat to fat, was mounted atop the beast. One of his huge hands reached out, grabbing up both Malon and the warrior. He clutched them both under his arm and veered his horse away from the battle, in a large circle, heading back the way he had come.
Talon and his ranch hands barreled into the ranch, and the heavy doors closed behind them, a thick locking bar slotted into place. Talon dismounted, "Let's get a light over here!" he called. Some men with torches hurried over, and Talon looked his daughter over, ignoring her protests that she was "fine."
There was a startled curse behind them, and Talon spun. The ranchhand dropped the small body he carried like it was on fire, backing away in terror. "Good god, man, what's wrong with you?" Talon demanded, stomping over to check, but he too froze when he saw what lay in the torchlight. They'd taken a viper into the fold.
Talon looked at the forest spirit, confused and disturbed. The men on his left were whispering about omens, and other nonsense, but Talon had never heard of a forest spirit leaving said forest. He hadn't thought that they could.
Malon tried to push past her father, to look at the warrior, but a colossal hand stopped her, "Hold on there, Malon."
The girl tried to shove her father's hand away, remembering why she'd run away in the first place. "Stop, daddy, I want to look!" she protested.
"You can see the Kokiri just fine from here," Talon snapped, fear harshening his voice.
Malon looked at the bed-time story lying in the dirt. Unconscious, he seemed… diminished, somehow. A blue glow flickered from his mask, sporadically. The men backed up, wary of the demon's power. Malon suddenly slipped past her father, who tried to grab her but missed. She darted to the kokiri, and touched the wooden mask.
Talon licked his lips, "Malon, sweetie, stand up slowly, and come back over here…" he begged in a reasonable tone… but Malon was curious. What do kokiri look like?
She slipped her fingers under the mask's chin, and gently lifted. The men were silent. Their curiosity was greater than their fear, and they came closer, slightly.
The demon's hand darted up, grabbing Malon's wrist. With a growl, he staggered to his feet. He was nearly half the mass of the adults, but they shrank back, blue light glowing from the mask's eyes. The demon snarled, and there was an explosion of light and noise, blinding the men. When their watering eyes cleared, the demon had vanished.
Link scrabbled, pulling himself up into the stable's hay loft, he could still hear the curses of blind men. The tired kokiri crawled through the hay, and burrowed underneath it in the farthest corner from the opening. Navi curled up in the hair by his ear. "Thank you Navi,"
Link whispered. Navi smiled softly to herself. She'd healed Link just enough to get him conscious, without killing herself in the process. She prided herself on hiding beneath the mask and glowing. Link hadn't been able to see very well, but it did keep the outsiders back. Nothing like a little show of magic to keep the superstitious in awe. Link felt like one giant bruise.
Talon glared at his daughter, "See what happens when you run off, head in the clouds?!" he demanded, "You almost got yourself eaten by a demon. You're the only one I know who could get kidnapped by a forest demon, and not be within twenty miles of any forests!" Malon crossed her arms, "That kokiri saved me, dad."
"Saved you for a snack more like!" Talon roared back.
"He could have killed me a few minutes ago," Malon pointed out, "When everyone couldn't see or hear,"
"No, that's when he jumped back to the forest, silly girl of mine, can't be in two places at once," Talon rebuked. Malon walked towards the farmhouse, "Where you going girl!" Talon demanded. "To my room. That's where you're going to send me anyway," she replied sullenly. "Yeah, go to your room." Talon seethed, and stalked off, to look for something to punch.
Link stretched under the hay, his muscles stiff. His stomach rumbled, and he pulled the tubers from his forage pouch, chewing on the fibrous sustenance. Once that handful was gone, his stomach grumbled for more. Link silently crawled to the edge of the hay loft, and looked down. He recognized some of the animals as horses. Woodsmen had come once, with axes. They cut down some of the trees, and tied the logs to the horses, to drag away. It had been almost too easy to drive them off with only two volleys of arrows.
There were black and white animals too, that Link had never seen before. They looked like fat horses. Most had a pink fleshy sack hanging from their bellies, near the rear legs, with tubes sticking out of the sack. They didn't look dangerous, or even very smart. Navi continued to sleep, secure in the cocoon she had woven around herself in Link's hair. Link slipped out of the loft and settled down beside one of the horses. The animal paused a moment to sniff him, but after a few words, the horse recognized him as a friend, and ignored him. Link started to move towards the stable door when he saw the latch wiggle. Swiftly, he darted into a stall, and disappeared under the hay.
"I know how to milk the cows, Jerrol," an annoyed feminine voice complained. Link heard a deep chuckle, "Yes you do, missy, but seeing how the last time you were here you ran away, your pop's a little leery of leaving you here without someone standing outside the door."
Link heard wood scraping across a wooden floor, and other, angry, noises of someone making unnecessary noise to vent their frustration. It was silent for several minutes, except for a strange hissing/trickling noise. Then someone began to hum, and Link listened more intently. The song was simple, but in a good way, like the simple love of a mother for her child. Link peeked out of the hay, and saw familiar shoes on the other side of an unknown dumb animal. She couldn't see him, and Link peeked at the door. The male voice must be standing outside. Link crept along the stable, until he could see what the outsider girl was doing. She was squeezing the tubes, and a stream of white liquid was being squirted into a wooden pail. Link could smell it from where he stood. His stomach rumbled again, and he darted into hiding, in case the girl heard it. She finished her bucket, and stood, placing it by the door, then fetched another pail. Link crept to the bucket and dipped two fingers in, cautiously tasting the fluid on his fingers.
He heard a small gasp of breath behind him.
Malon stared at the hunched figure by the milk pail. Straw clung to his clothing, and a small breath slipped out. The masked face snapped up, finding her staring eyes. He was between her and the door. Milk dripped from his fingers, forgotten. The demon looked nervously between her and the door, as if torn. A gurgle pierced the air. Someone's stomach had rumbled, and she'd already eaten.
Slowly, Malon reached behind her, finding the milking stool. She sat down, and watched the demon. The latch behind the demon rattled, and in a flurry of motion, he disappeared into the pile of straw by the door. Jerrol's burly shape came through the door, grabbing the pail, and handing it off to someone else out of sight. "Better get back to work, little lady," the big man quipped, turning to leave, "Jerrol, wait!" Malon called impulsively. The man froze, surprised, "Yes?" he asked.
Link's fingers slowly touched the hilt of the moblin blade. He would have only a moment to silence the big man, before he would have to flee. Never trust an outsider. Link had forgotten. He'd hoped, maybe, that saving her life hadn't been a mistake, but now she was about to expose him.
"I'm still hungry, could you fetch me some rolls, sausage, and fruit?" she asked. Link halted his motion, and paused, listening intently. What were rolls and sausage?
"Oh… alright, little lady. Sure," Jerrol answered, clearly not expecting the question.
"Hey, Grig, can you fetch me another breakfast pail?" the big man called. Someone answered, and the big man yelled thanks.
A few minutes later, Link fought hard to keep from drooling as he smelled something that screamed of food.
Malon thanked Jerrol, and took the pail. The door closed, and she turned to the demon's hiding place. She left the pail a few feet from the hay, and walked back to milk the cows. If she sat just so, she could milk the cows and discretely watch the demon's hiding place. Nothing moved for several minutes, then the demon burst out, falling upon the pail savagely, sorting through the food inside. The mask flipped up, but she couldn't see the demon's face. He tore into the bread, the apple (he ate the entire thing, core and all). The carrots disappeared into a bag on his belt, and the potato joined them. He left the sausage alone.
Link felt his stomach bulge slightly, but in a comfortable way. He had some food in his forage bag, but the entire meal was threatening to come back up. Included with the food had been burnt animal flesh. He was no stranger to killing, but he didn't eat anything that bled. No Kokiri did. They took life to protect the forest, not to feed themselves. He pulled his mask back down, and left the pail where it stood, prowling idly over to where the girl was milking the dumb animals. He sat in one of the stalls nearby, which blocked the sightline of anyone standing at the doors, but still allowed him to watch the girl, keeping an eye on her.
Malon looked over to the left. The demon was still watching her, motionless. "Did you enjoy your meal, forest spirit?" she asked idly, trying to break the disturbing silence. The masked head nodded slowly, never breaking eye contact.
Malon chattered to herself, and the demon, as she slowly milked the entire line of cows. The demon never spoke, but occasionally nodded or shook his head to questions.
She was curious though, aside from growls and snarls, she hadn't heard the demon speak, "Forest spirit… can you… speak?" she asked.
The head nodded slowly.
"Will you speak?" she asked pointedly. The head cocked quizzically, but neither shook nor nodded.
She milked in silence for a while, then asked the question that had been bothering her, "My father says you're dangerous. Are you?" she asked.
The demon nodded.
"Why did you save me, Forest spirit?" Malon asked. The demon fidgeted for several seconds, and finally shrugged. What did that mean? He didn't know, didn't care, or something else?
"You're a long way from the forest. Why did you leave?" she asked. When she looked up to see his answer she jerked. He was gone.
Link painfully crawled along the hay loft, and buried himself in the corner, ignoring the itchy straw. The sun was up. He was going to sleep. Navi kept watch for her ward, and no one entered the hay loft the rest of the day. Now that Link had rested, it was literally child's play to climb the ranch wall and slip away into the night, undetected. His muscles were stiff, but as he walked, they began to loosen back up, resuming their journey.
Navi eyed the fortified town. It was built in the wide canyon between two cliffs. Tall white stone walls formed a half circle between the two cliffs. A river flowed from the east, hitting the base of the east cliff, before it circled around, following the man-made wall, until it hit the other cliff, and disappeared into the ground. The river narrowed to less than twenty feet when it passed the walls, and a single large drawbridge spanned it. The drawbridge had been raised for the night, and torches dotted the battlements. Link was probably going to get wet… She darted back to her kokiri, who was lying motionless seventy meters from the main gate, his grass cloak blending in perfectly. She landed on his shoulder, and quickly whispered what she had seen to him.
"The river's current is swift, but has eaten away at the mortar of the stones, leaving easy gaps and handholds."
Link nodded, and stealthily moved through the grass, heading east, paralleling the river. When he was a hundred meters upstream of his original position, he took his grass cloak off, and curling it into a tight roll. He tied it to his belt. The kokiri backed up twenty feet, and sprinted for the edge. His foot pushed off from the lip of the embankment, and he flew twelve feet through the air, before plunging into the water with a colossal splash. Water shot up his nose, and ears, swirling around his head like thunder as he fought to surface. His wooden shield, armor, and the air in his lungs pulled him up, and he gasped for air. Link thrashed and kicked his way to the other side, and latched onto the stonework, the current trying to pluck him off and drag him away, into the hole where it disappeared into the earth. Stubbornly, he scrambled up the wall, his small fingers and toes easily finding cracks between the stones.
Link rolled over the top of the wall, and onto the battlements. He was only fifteen feet from a man wearing a metal shirt, with a spear and heavy helmet. Link was in the darkness between two pools of light from the torches, so he was momentarily safe from casual detection. Link took a moment to look out over the sprawling walled town. Off in the distance, he saw a huge castle, backlit by the rising moon. Below him, sprawled in slumber, was a confusing maze of buildings.
Link blew on the ocarina, expelling the water from it with a sharp chirp. The sodden kokiri wrung his clothing until it was only damp, and set off through the silent streets. Occasionally a dog would growl, and challenge him, but after sniffing his hand, the mollified animal would return to its self-appointed post, and watch for real intruders.
In one alley, he almost walked into a pair of lovers, so busy devouring each other's lips, that they never noticed the tiny shape that flitted past them in the dark. Link dodged a couple patrols of soldiers along the way, easily. They talked loudly, almost louder than the sounds of their metal shirts. As Link passed a building, he heard a familiar melody. Looking up, he saw a red-headed girl leaning out a window, humming.
Navi looked at the boy, worried. She could smell his loneliness. He'd never been away from other kokiri for so long… but this wouldn't help him,
"Link," she whispered, "You have a mission, remember? This girl is a distraction. She's an outsider, Link. She will grow up, grow old, and die, while you remain just as you are…"
Link lifted his mask, and looked over at Navi. The desperate longing in his eyes shoved a spike deep into her heart. "Please, Navi?" he asked.
The faerie sighed. "Do what you must, but remember what you are, and what she is. We have a mission to finish, the princess is so close!"
Link smiled grimly, and lowered his mask, "I'm going to whistle. Can you light up my mask in a second?" he whispered. Navi crawled under the mask and squeezed into the gap formed between the smooth mask and the bridge of his nose.
Malon hummed softly. Talon hadn't let her out of his sight, but he had taken her to Castle town with him, finally. The delivery was finished, and they were staying in the royal inn, a free perk for delivering their milk to the castle.
From the darkness, someone began harmonizing with her humming, the whistle strangely clean, without ruddy notes. Malon looked down, startled. Blue eyes flashed up at her in the dark before fading. The demon was here. Was he following her? Excited, and nervous at the same time, she glanced over at her father's sleeping form. Swiftly, she pulled on her shoes, and expertly stole the key to the room that her father had hidden in his shirt. Minutes later, she slipped out the front door of the inn, and found the demon waiting for her. He beckoned to her, and silently walked away down the street, leading her somewhere, his wild hair drifting behind him mysteriously. Excitement bubbled in her, adding a spring to her step. She was going on an adventure.
Link walked with the outsider girl beside him, and the bands squeezing his heart loosened. She was practically bouncing.
"Where are we going?" she asked him eagerly. He placed a finger to his wooden lips, a clear request for her to remain silent. She nodded, and they continued to walk through the winding streets. Finally, they emerged from the town, on a sandy path, leading deeper into the canyon. She saw the castle. "Are we going to the castle?!" Malon asked excitedly. The forest spirit nodded quickly, and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the canyon wall. He crept along it, and peeked around the corner. The path was blocked by a tall gate, with an alert looking guard manning it.
Link backed up, and saw that thick creeping vines had grown along the cliff back the way they had come, disappearing over the top of the thirty foot high cliff.
Link tapped Malon's shoulder, and pointed to the vine. She nodded, a conspiratorial gleam in her eye.
Malon followed the demon up the vine. He made it look easy, but, then again, he wasn't wearing clunky shoes, and had a tail. The demon paused, motionless, at the top, his head level with the cliff edge, scanning for danger. He scampered over the lip, before reappearing, holding a hand out to her. Malon took it, and the demon lifted her up.
He pulled something out of his belt and unfurled it. The smell of wet grass hit her, and the demon fastened the cloak around his shoulders. He grabbed her hand, and led her along the lip of the cliff, apparently unafraid, or unaware of the height. They stopped at the wall that blocked the path, now at the top, and Malon saw a ladder leading down into the thick wall. She followed the demon, who slid down the ladder. She followed behind, and found him at the bottom, cracking a wooden door slightly, peeking out of the small guard station. Apparently, he liked what he saw, because his tail grabbed Malon's hand and pulled her out, softly closing the door behind them. They continued down the path, hugging the cliff wall. A few guards patrolled here, but the demon helped her evade them easily.
They wove across the castle grounds, avoiding the roving patrols. The demon led her all the way up to the wall of the castle itself. The gate was closed tightly, but the demon circled around, and stopped by a small duct letting water out of the castle. He turned to her, and pointed to a pile of crates by a door making a hide gesture. He jumped up, catching the lip of the duct, and wriggling inside it. She had been hidden behind the crates for only a few minutes before the door cracked open, and a dripping forest spirit waved at her impatiently to hurry up and get inside.
Malon followed meekly, marveling at the tapestries inside the castle, hardly noticing as the demon manhandled her into hiding spots occasionally, staying out of sight. They left the castle and entered a courtyard garden. The demon led her through the beautiful shrubs, and cocked his head, as if listening. His hand was warm, but rough, she noticed. She was about to speak when a third shadow entered the garden, and proceeded to a small window, peering through. The demon tightened his hold on her hand, and stepped forward, walking towards the shadow.
Link walked towards the princess, who was consumed with whatever she was looking at. He stopped, five feet away, and whistled softly, to get her attention.
Malon saw the shadow resolve itself into a girl as the clouds across the moon shifted, lighting up the courtyard. The girl spun, and looked at the demon standing behind her with a gasp. Magic seemed to hover in the moonlight, trapping the moment forever.
"Who? Who are you? How did you get past the guards?" the girl asked, terrified. The demon let go of Malon's hand, stepped forward, and dropped to one knee, head bowed before the princess. A blue light emerged from his hair, and landed on his shoulder, resolving into a blue woman, who also bowed before the princess.
"I am Link, of the Kokiri, and this is Navi, of the Faeries. We have come far, Princess of Destiny."
Malon looked down at the demon. His voice had an odd cadence to it. His pronunciation of the language was exotic.
The princess licked her lips, "Did you come from the forest, kokiri?" the princess asked. Malon felt a bubble of annoyance. Look at his clothes, princess, he's not just from the forest, he's wearing it, she thought snidely.
"We do," the forest spirit named Link answered.
"Then… do you have the Heart of the Forest?" the girl asked tremulously, as if afraid that the dream she was in might shatter back into reality at any moment. Malon thought if anyone pinched her, she'd wake up, which scared her.
The demon named Link pulled something from his belt, and presented it to the princess. It was a large emerald, with golden branches curled around it.
The girl suppressed a giggle, "Then, my dream was a prophesy!" she squealed, in a rather un-princess like manner.
"What did you foresee, princess?" the kokiri asked respectfully.
"I had a dream… dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule… But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds, and lit up the ground… The light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy… I know this is a prophecy that someone would come from the forest… Yes, I think you might be the one…"
The princess crossed her arms, musing. The demon patiently waited, but Malon blurted, "One for what?"
The princess seemed to notice her for the first time, "Kokiri, who is this?" she asked curiously.
"Her name is Malon. She hails from a place of horses, surrounded by high walls. I found her during my journey," the demon confessed.
The princess eyed her with suspicion, "You were not in my dream."
Malon shrugged, helplessly.
Zelda crouched beside the demon and began to whisper in his ear.
"I'm going to tell you the secret of the sacred realm that has been passed down by the royal family of Hyrule,"
Link listened to a tale of goddesses, and a relic that could grant the wish of whomever touched it.
"The temple of time is the entrance through which you can enter the sacred realm from our world. But the entrance is sealed with a stone wall called the Door of Time. And, in order to open the door, it is said that you need to collect three spiritual stones.
And another thing you need… is the treasure that the royal family keeps along with this legend… The Ocarina of Time!"
The princess stepped back, then twitched, "I forgot to tell you… I was spying through this window just now… The other element from my dream, the dark clouds, I think they symbolize that man in there!"
The demon rose smoothly, and paced to the window, glancing inside.
"Can you see the man with the evil eyes? That is Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudos. They hail from the-" the princess was interrupted when the kokiri snarled. The sound was chilling, and Malon was reminded that she was standing next to a demon.
Link stared at the evil man. He knelt before a regal king, but Link had eyes only for the man he hated with all of his soul.
"Link, what is it?" the princess asked, shrinking back from him.
"That man. I will kill him and feed him his own eyes!" Link's hands clenched tightly into fists. He wanted to crash through the window and tear the man apart. Slowly.
"What did he do?" the princess asked softly.
"He killed the Father of the Kokiri, in his quest for the Kokiri emerald. We will avenge ourselves upon this murderer," Link hissed, cold chips of ice dripping from his lips. Malon was quietly impressed when the princess laid a hand on the demon's shoulder. The demon spun to face her, snarling mask inches away. Malon wondered how similar the mask and face looked at the moment. Zelda's voice was calm,
"What Ganondorf is after must be nothing less than the Triforce of the Sacred Realm. He must have come to Hyrule to obtain it! And, he wants to conquer Hyrule… no, the entire world! Link, we're the only ones who can protect Hyrule!
I… I am afraid… I have a feeling that man is going to destroy Hyrule. He has such terrifying power! But it's fortunate that you have come. We must not let Gannondorf get the Triforce. I will protect the Ocarina of Time with all my power. He shall not have it! You must find the other two spiritual stones. Let's get the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and then defeat him."
The princess pleaded with the forest spirit, who reluctantly unclenched his hands.
"My power is insufficient to kill the monster. I… I will do as you command." His head fell, and Malon pitied the demon.
"One more thing… take this letter… I'm sure it will be helpful to you," the princess pulled out a scroll and wrote quickly on it with a quill and ink, a royal seal already at the bottom of the scroll. When she finished, she handed it to Link, "It bears the royal seal, and will give you free passage throughout our lands."
"I will leave at once," the demon whispered hollowly, turning away.
"Oh, kokiri. One last thing," Zelda said quickly.
"Yes, princess?" the forest spirit asked.
"I have never looked a kokiri in the eye. May I see your face?" the princess asked shyly. Malon would have killed her with a glare, but she wanted to see just as badly as the princess. The demon sighed, and slid the wooden mask up.
A boy with green skin stood in the moonlight, meeting the princess's eyes, and then Malon's. Two short downward streaks of dark green war paint decorated his left cheek, directly below his eye. Wild straw colored hair peeked out from under his mask, and a few scars ran along his chin. His eyes were so blue, that in the moonlight, they appeared to be purple. They were also oddly… large. With a jolt, Malon realized that it was because his eye had no white to it.
Malon's gaze kept dragging back to his eyes… eyes that had seen things, both more beautiful than she could imagine, and other, darker things she should never see, even in her deepest nightmares.
He personified the forest; beautiful, frightening, alien, and… wild. He could never be tamed.
The kokiri whipped his mask back down, his countenance once more of a snarling animal.
"If you have no other requests, I will leave now," the kokiri whispered angrily.
The princess realized that she might have abused her authority, only now realizing how jealously the kokiri guarded their faces from outsiders.
Link turned, catching sight of a woman with pink-violet eyes and white hair standing several feet away, idly fiddling with a tanto blade. Sheikah! Link jerked the redheaded girl behind himself, his other hand whipping the moblin blade out, falling into a defensive crouch.
Navi berated herself. She'd been so focused on the princess that she hadn't noticed the shadow warrior's approach. If Kokiri were masters of the Forest, then Sheikah were masters of Shadow and Darkness.
The woman smiled slightly, "I am Impa, of the Sheikahs. I am responsible for protecting Princess Zelda. Everything is exactly as the Princess foretold."
Link did not lower his guard or look away.
"You are a courageous boy… heading out on a big, new adventure, aren't you?" the shadow creature named Impa's words dripped with condescension.
Link did not grace her with a response.
"My role in the Princess's dream was to teach a melody to the one from the forest.
This is an ancient melody passed down by the royal family. I have played this song for Princess Zelda as a lullaby ever since she was a baby… There is mysterious power in these notes. Now listen carefully…" Impa sneered. She whistled out twelve notes.
"Do you need me to repeat it?" Impa asked smugly.
Link whistled the melody right back to her, perfectly, startling the Sheikah. He was a kokiri. Music was his first language, spoken word the second.
"If the castle soldiers find you there will be trouble," Impa did not seem to think that was such a horrible thing, but after a glance from Zelda, she grudgingly volunteered; "Let me lead you out of the castle,"
Link risked a peek at Zelda, who nodded to him. Link nervously sheathed his blade. The sheikah's tanto disappeared into a sheath at the back of her belt as well. Link saw the bulges of numerous concealed weapons beneath the formfitting black body suit.
Shadows leapt up, and swirled around all three, making Link tense.
When the shadows receded, they were standing outside the castle, atop the main gate that guarded the path. Malon whimpered, violently nauseous from the teleportation magic. Link didn't feel much better, but he wasn't going to let the shadow bitch know that.
Impa pointed off into the east, "Take a good look at that mountain. That is Death Mountain, home of the Gorons. They hold the spiritual stone of fire." She was pointing to the tallest mountain on the horizon, which seemed to glow of its own accord.
"At the foot of Death mountain you will find my village, Kakariko. Only Royal family members are allowed to learn the song I taught you, which will prove your connection with the royal family. The princess is waiting for you to return to the castle with the stones," as soon as she was finished speaking, shadows whipped around her, and she vanished, not caring if Link had any questions.
He wouldn't have asked them anyway.
Malon was glad she hadn't eaten recently, "Maybe it's just me, but did that Impa woman seem somewhat… nasty?" she asked.
The demon looked over at her, "The sun will rise soon. I will lead you back to your father."
Link paused outside the door to the inn. No one stirred at this hour, but the moon still illuminated some of the street.
Link looked at the girl, then around, carefully, making sure no one else was close enough to see. He stepped close, and his thick forest scent filled Malon's nose. He lifted his mask off, and pulled it all the way off, spiky blonde hair drifting in the breeze. The kokiri seemed smaller, without the mask. So close, she decided that his eyes really were purple.
"You have seen my face, Malon. No outsider has seen a kokiri's face and lived."
Malon felt a thrill of fear pound through her, and she started to step back, but a rough hand gently caught her chin, and the kokiri kissed her. She was too startled to move for a moment, and then he let go and stepped back, slipping his mask back on. She touched her lips. What was going on? The demon untied a bracelet from his wrist, and held it out to her. It glittered in the moonlight, made from braided bark fibers, colored bits of wood and pretty rocks were woven into it. It looked… beautiful. She held out her hand, and the kokiri fastened the bracelet around her narrow wrist, hands linger on hers,
"I cannot allow an outsider to see my face and live, but a friend can see me as I am. If you are ever lost in the forest, you will be found. Show my kin the bracelet, tell them my name, and you will not be harmed."
Malon touched one of the stones on the bracelet, "Thank you… Link," she whispered, trying to see him as scary or terrifying… she saw the intimidating mask, but she kept remembering his face in the brief moment before he found her lips. He had looked so cold, and vulnerable. She tried to see the mask, but it kept slipping away to the kiss. The shock was starting to wear off, leaving her mortified. Had she botched the kiss? Was her hair messed up? How did her breath smell?
"Goodbye, Malon. I hope to see you again," Link stepped back into the alley's darkness, out of the moonlight. "Wait!" she cried, stepping forward, following, but her searching hands found nothing. The alley was empty.
Link ran through the night, as if fleeing the coming dawn. Navi bounced along in his hair. She was deeply troubled, worried about her ward.
"Do you think that was fair, for Malon?" she asked hesitantly.
Link didn't reply, so Navi pressed on, "She isn't like kokiri. By the time she's interested like that, she'll be an adult, and you will still remain a child. This won't end well."
"I know!" Link snapped, frustrated and confused. His thoughts jostled around in his head as he ran. He liked Malon, and he knew that he couldn't have her. There was a reason kokiri didn't leave the forest. They didn't fit with the outsiders.
