Disclaimer: See Prologue.

A/N: At long last, Chapter 5 arrives! My 'excuses' are at the bottom of the chapter. To start off on a good note, I'd like to give a special shout out to Soul of Heroes who has repeatedly encouraged me and given me ideas to toy with :P and of course my heart goes to all who review 'cause you keep my spirits high and that's what keeps me writing! So I won't delay this any longer!

Here we go!

Chapter 5: The Divine Beast

I managed to sleep in, much to my surprise. Knowing Jaggle, he must have given the kids hell, and grounded them after. Feeling fully rested, I got up and stretched, made breakfast, and headed out to work for the last time before beginning my journey.

Today, I meet Hyrule. I explore the country, and I just might get to meet the Princess!

I stepped outside, and felt this sudden foreboding pressure, as if something big was gonna happen today. I shrugged it off and continued on my way. I entered town and was greeted by all of the adults, who wished me the best of luck. I thanked them and walked up the hill to the ranch.

I helped Fado take care of some last- minute chores before lying down on a patch of grass. I fell asleep for a few hours until Fado's distant voice woke me up.

"Liiiink!" he called. I jerked awake and got up, brushing myself off and jogging over to where he was standing.

"Fado. I guess it's time, huh?" I said. He nodded.

"Just about. Epona's all geared up. You should go. The Mayor will be waitin' for ya." I nodded, and shook his hand.

"I'll see ya when I get back, Fado." I said as I mounted Epona.

"I'll be countin' on that! Good Luck out there, Link!" he responded. With a final wave, I made my way down the hill towards the Mayor's House.

As I approached the bottom of the hill, I saw that Mayor Bo was waiting for me, with Ilia in tow. Ilia spotted me, and ran to greet me and Epona.

"Hi Link!"

"How's it going, Ilia?" I replied. We continued chatting idly as we approached the mayor. As we stopped in front of him, I halted Epona, and handed the reins to Ilia who began to speak to Epona softly as I turned my attention to the Mayor.

"So the day has finally come. Today you will leave for Hyrule. Listen up, Link; the offering you are delivering to the Princess is a sword made by Rusl. In a few minutes, you can go pick it up. You mustn't waste time on the way there, you only have 3 days before the tribute ceremony and you must get there on time! Understood?" he said.

"Yes, Mayor."

"Now, here is a map that should guide you to Hyrule. It has details of every route, including known dangers, food, and such."

(Ilia's POV)

As Father spoke to Link, I figured I should give Epona a few words of encouragement. Link's journey depended on her safety, and on the number of complications that could arise.

"Please carry Link through this journey safely, and may your instincts guide you if you get lost. Be safe and be swift, Epona." I murmured softly in her ear. She gave a soft snort, showing that she had understood.

I proceeded to make sure that Link was properly prepared for his trip. His travelling pack was full and secure. I then shifted my attention towards checking Epona for potential injuries. I scanned Epona's body and at first saw nothing until I looked at one of her forelegs: there was a minor gash, where blood had crusted and formed a scab. While she hadn't shown signs of being hindered by the injury, complications could pop up later. Dammit, always has to be Link pushing her too hard doing fence jumping!

"What in the name of the goddesses is this, LINK?"

(Link's POV)

"What in the name of the goddesses is this, LINK?" exclaimed Ilia. I quickly turned and looked at Epona, and then at Ilia, who was pointing at a small gash on one of her forelegs while frowning profusely. She stormed up to me and got in my face.

"What happened to her? What did you do to her, huh? I bet you anything that she got hurt when you pushed her too hard again doing that goddesses damned fence jumping!" she ranted.

"No, it must've been-" I tried but she cut me off in her anger.

"I told you a million times to treat her good but all you do is abuse her-" now it seemed to be her turn to be cut off.

"Now Ilia, don't be so harsh on him-"and the Mayor's attempt to defend me fails with another interruption.

"Father! You've let him get away with too much! You're the MAYOR! Start acting like one! As for you, my sweet horse, we'll take a nice trip to the spring, it'll make you feel much better. You poor thing…"

With that, Ilia left, with my only steed in tow. Wonderful.

"Ilia! Return Epona to Link this instant! Without her, the gift can't be delivered in time! Ilia!" shouted the Mayor. Ilia wasn't fazed, however, and continued on as if she didn't hear her father.

"Dammit! Just like her mother was…" he muttered to himself. Mayor Bo then straightened himself and turned to me: "That offering must be delivered, Link! Without Epona, it will be impossible! You have to convince Ilia to give her back, no matter how hard it may be. Time is running out!"

I nodded and ran towards the pathway leading to my house, nearly running into Colin as I rounded the corner.

"Colin! What's up?" I asked him. He pointed to Talo and Malo, who stood by the path to the spring.

"I don't know if it's just me, but I guess they normally don't let people pass. Ilia looked really mad when she brought Epona through here. What happened?"

"Epona got a small gash on one of her forelegs. It must have been yesterday when I was chasing after Talo and the monkey. She thought I pushed Epona too hard jumping fences so she took her away. I need your help, Colin; without Epona, I can't take the gift to the Princess in time!" I said. If anyone can reach ilia, it's Colin.

"Sure thing, Link! We can go together. But what about Talo and Malo over there?" replied he.

"No problem! I'll take care of them. Watch this…" I said with a smirk.

I walked over to where the boys stood and they jumped up and down, excited for some reason. So much for being grounded then, I thought to myself.

"Hiya, Link!" shouted Talo.

"Hey guys. Didn't your father ground you two or something?" I asked. They paled.

"Uhh Talo, how long have we been out here?" asked Malo.

"I dunno, Malo. I think-"

"TALO!" "MALO!" "Inside the house, NOW!" Jaggle's extremely loud voice made the boys jump and run back home. Wow, so they disobeyed Jaggle then… the guts those kids have…

"Okay Colin let's go. You go to the entrance and I'll sneak in through the hole on the side. Knowing Ilia, she locked the entrance and won't let anyone but you in." I said. Colin nodded and we set off for the spring.

(Colin's POV)

"Ilia! It's me, Colin!"

"Colin! Oh hold on, let me unlock this for you. Can you believe this? Link went too far this time with those fences."

"Ilia. Did you hear about Talo and the Monkey yesterday?" I asked.

"Yes I did. He got captured didn't he?"

"Yeah he did. Boklobins got him. They caged him and the monkey, I don't know why but whatever they were gonna do they didn't get to." I replied. Ilia looked puzzled.

"Why?"

" 'Cause Link caught up to them at the forest that's why! I saw him get on Epona and go after them. Look Ilia, Link might screw up sometimes, but it wasn't his fault this time. Talo could've gotten hurt if it wasn't for Link! He needs his horse back. Please…" I explained. Please say yes, I can't fail Link…

(Link's POV)

I got up on the other side of the tunnel and brushed myself off just in time to hear a bit of the conversation.

"I never did hear the details of Talo's capture… But Colin-" Ilia was cut off by my appearance. She immediately stepped closer to Epona, as if to deny me any contact. As if Epona is gonna choose you over me. She's MY horse. One would think that it would be obvious that extreme loyalty would come with the ownership. I mentally snorted. Epona seemed to follow my train of thought, as she snorted and shook her head as if to say: "Stop it, that's enough already." I smiled and walked over to her and patted her on the crest.

"You still value your master over me, huh Epona? You can take her back, Link; I know you need her, and I know she understands what she's being counted on to do. Luckily for you both, Her injury isn't looking bad, so you don't need to worry. But I do have a request for you, Link." She said.

"What is it, Ilia?"

"Just come back safely. No matter what happens, stay away from trouble and don't do anything out of your league. Please, that's all I want. Promise me this." She pleaded. With a warm smile and a hug, I obliged.

"I Promise you I will be back. Unharmed." I declared.

Our little farewell scene was interrupted by inhuman howls and the sound of stampeding animals. We looked to the locked entrance and saw bull like creatures break through. There were 3 of them, each with a Bulbin rider. One blew right past me, and its rider shot an arrow at Colin, another shot an arrow at Ilia. I made to run and help Colin and Ilia but before I could act on my thoughts, pain exploded in the back of my head. I fell in the cool water of the spring, and the last thing I saw before I blacked out was a large Bull creature in armor, and a large Bulbin in armor riding it. The armored rider blew his horn, and I blacked out.

(Third Person POV)

King Bulbin blew his horn, and it echoed across the small province of Ordona, and a red portal appeared briefly before disappearing. The blue skies turned gray, and the rest of the gathered Bulbins rode into the Village of Ordon, kidnapping the children after incapacitating the village guardians. Once this horrid deed was done, they rode away, all of the village children and the Arabian Mare in tow and the Bulbins howled their victory as they rode off. King Bulbin paused at the spring one final time, in time to see the Triforce on Link's hand flicker. Taking this as a sign, King Bulbin returned to his minions quickly.

As soon as they came, they had gone, and the gray skies left with them.

(Link's POV)

My eyes opened, pain shot from the back of my head as I sat, and eventually, got up. I looked around, and flashbacks of the Bulbin attack returned to my mind. I looked to the left and right, scrambling for some evidence of where they had gone. My eyes settled on the entrance of the spring, on the remnants of the broken gate and without thinking even once, I ran.

I ran across the bridge, noticing that the skies got darker with every step that I got closer to Faron woods. As I rounded the corner on the other side of the bridge, I stopped dead in my tracks. Not only did it get as dark as night, there was an eerie wall in front of me with foreign symbols inscribed in it, only the wall seemed like it wasn't solid; almost like only certain things could pass through it. I noticed a small flash and looked at my left hand to see my birthmark flicker but had no time to do anything but scream as I was grabbed by a shadow like claw and wrenched through the wall.

I struggled as the shadow thing gripped tighter, choking me. My hands clawed at it's 'hand', trying to break free. My windpipe was closing. I opened my eyes, and whether it was lack of oxygen or because of that wall, everything around me was in an abnormally dark atmosphere.

Dammit… what…ever….you are…..LET…ME…GO! I.. can't…..die like this! Colin… Ilia… I… My thoughts were interrupted by my birthmark, which somehow sparked to life. It shined like a beacon, blinding the shadow thing and causing it to throw me as far as possible.

I struggled to get up, my vision flashed purple. I felt my own heartbeat. My hand burned with intensity, my body felt heavy. My body was shifting, as if I was transforming. I heard a crunch and I screamed bloody murder.

(Midna's POV)

I reached Faron Woods in time to see the Twilit Messenger pull someone through the Twilight barrier. It was a boy who looked only a bit younger than me, with golden hair and deep blue eyes. He fussed and struggled, trying to get out of the grip of the Messenger but it didn't work, until a mark on the boy's hand shone on it. Naturally, it threw him away. I saw him try to get up but it was as if something held him down. The mark on his hand shone brighter and brighter, and finally, there was a crunching sound and the boy's body shot up and he screamed as he transformed before my eyes. He went from boy to wolf and that's when I knew I had found him. The Divine Beast. I grinned to myself as I watched the Messengers drag him away.

A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, I profusely apologize for the EXTREME delay of this chapter. I needed to ensure that I would pass ALL of my classes because I DO want to graduate high school on time which is next year. Life has also been very crazy as of late. But anyways, I will keep working as diligently as possible to get chapters up. Uh, on a side note, my sister will be borrowing my netbook for a trip to Italy so it may take more time for the next chapter as there are more distractions with me using my desktop computer. Please bear with me and my crazy life people!

And like always: Please Review My Story! Reviews keep me motivated!