Alaia Skyhawk: Two chapters in one day... No the Writing Bug isn't back it's just that chapter 8 took less time than I though... and I'm bored with not much else to do, lol.
I don't own the Zelda series or anything associated with it. I do however own this story and any OCs, so please don't steal them.
Chapter 9: Like Ships in the Night.
The Red Lion ploughed through the waves as the sun just cleared the horizon, Link heading for the Forest Haven. Loot, the sailor who ran the boating course to the south, collected his mail from next to the post box on the island, and in the ship's hold there were no less than three parcels for him that Link would be dropping off. He looked ahead at the looming outline of the Forest Haven and mentally gauged the distance.
"Hmmm, I'll be there by noon. I guess I can take an hour and visit the Great Deku and the Koroks since I can fly up to one of the side entrances instead of run halfway around the island." He considered the wind which was still blowing to the south and frowned. "I'm gonna need every bit of time I can scrounge, it'll take a week to tack the wind to Bomb Island in this... But still that isn't going to stop me from making at least a brief visit. It's been more than a year since my last one."
Link altered the course of the Red Lion slightly and continued on his way.
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To the west of them the Forest Haven stood out against the blue of the sea. On the deck, Alan and Jason were singing rowdy bar songs as all of them had a tot of rum to take off the chill from the sea air. Eidan smiled to himself. It had taken some time to adjust to having the company after so much time alone, but now he was completely comfortable with his current situation. It was wonderful to feel a living ship beneath him again and even better to be on a ship with such jovial characters as these. He'd learned that there were all from Anglau, the floating village near the Angular Isles, and that they had been hunting treasure on the Great Sea with moderate success for nearly nine years. He glanced over at Krio and the others.
"You never did tell me what you were doing all the way out there. Surely there are places to hunt treasure that are close to home."
Thom smiled at him wryly.
"Well you see most of the good treasure around the islands of the Great Sea was cleared out by another explorer we're acquainted with." He laughed. "The guy's a genius when it comes to spotting treasure and of course it's finders first when it comes down to it, so we hold no grudge against him. Anyway we decided to come have a look out here and we've managed a fair haul. We've gotten nearly a thousand rupees on this trip."
Eidan raised his eyebrows.
"That's a good haul alright. So where are you planning on going once you've dropped me off on Outset?"
This time Krio spoke.
"Wherever the wind takes us, my friend. The life of the treasure hunter is never better than when you just follow the wind. It's taken us all over the Great Sea, to places where many will never go in their lifetime, and it's always brought us home with treasure in our hold."
Eidan leaned back against the rail.
"Sounds like a good life, but then any life spent on the sea is good."
Krio raised his tot of brandy.
"I'll toast to that."
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The Red Lion came to a halt next to the peninsula of rock that served as the dock here at the Forest Haven. Link looked around at the lush greenery that covered the island as he tied the mooring line to the post carved out of the surrounding rock. Dozens on new trees had grown everywhere he could see leaving only the pathway and a few other areas clear. He chuckled to himself.
"Looks like the Deku Tree and the Koroks have been busy."
Link opened the cargo hatch of the ship and descended into the hold to retrieve the three parcels. Once back on deck he made an agile leap to the shore from the ship's rail and approached the post box. Balancing the parcels on one arm, Link opened the moderate sized crate next to the post box and put them into it. Job done, he took flight and headed for the side entrance that overlooked the figurine gallery that was on one of the small islets nearby. It would have taken him hours to walk around the outside to get to the ground level entrance. His trip to the side entrance however took less than five minutes.
Link soared through the opening and into the Deku Tree's grotto, which was also the home of the Koroks, the Children of the Forest. As he flew down to the giant lily pad in front of the great guardian, one of the Koroks used their deku leaf to fly up and meet him.
"Hi, Link. So you've learned how to use your new wings, huh? The Great Deku tree chuckled to himself for nearly a whole day after Lord Valoo came and told him what he was going to give you."
Link smiled at the Sage of Wind, as he continued to glide down to ground below.
"Hi there, Makar." He chuckled. "Valoo seemed to find it amusing as well when he came to see me." Link then blinked as a little winged ball of light came dashing up to Makar and upon seeing the hylian, hid behind the Korok. "What's that? It looks like a fairy but not a kind I've seen before."
Makar laughed.
"He's a forest fairy and his name is Hari. They all hid themselves away in slumber when Hyrule was sealed and now for some reason they've all woken up again. That's why there are so many trees on the island now. The forest fairies make them grow. As for why he's following me, before Hyrule was sealed, when we had our old forms, all the children of the forest had a forest fairy as a guardian and now that they're back they've paired up with us again." Makar grinned and looked over his shoulder at the hiding fairy. "Hari, come out. This is my friend Link, the one I told you about."
Hari peered over Makar's shoulder, his wings trembling.
"The hero who defeated the Great Evil?"
Makar nodded.
"Yep, go say hello."
As Link landed, the little fairy cautiously fluttered over to him and proceeded to fly around him, getting a good look as Makar put his deku leaf away. Finally he stopped in front of Link's face.
"...Hi."
From this distance Link could see Hari clearly. In the centre of the light was a fairy much smaller than those found in the fountains. The light around him, combined with his very large wings made Hari look a lot bigger than he really was. He was actually about half the size of a regular fairy and unlike them, had bright green hair and eyes. Link smiled reassuringly at him.
"Hi, nice to meet you."
Hari stayed there for a moment before he dashed behind Makar and once again peered at Link from over the Korok's shoulder. Makar patted the little fairy and looked at Link.
"I guess he's shy."
Link shrugged.
"I guess. So how have things been around here since my last visit?"
"Why don't we go speak to the Deku Tree? I took a trip to the Wind Temple for a few weeks to clear out the last of the junk Ganondorf's minions left behind and only got back yesterday. I don't know if anything new has happened while I was away, but the Deku Tree would."
The two of them strolled out into the shallow water and onto the lily pad. It rose out of the water bringing them up to the eye level of the Deku Tree. He looked at them and smiled.
"Greetings, Link. It has been some time since you last came to this sacred grotto. How have you been?"
Link sat down on the lily pad and looked up at the guardian.
"I got my new boat built. I called it the Red Lion, after the king. These last few weeks I've been travelling on my first postal run... It's going well."
The Deku Tree continued to look down at the young hylian.
"That is good to hear, and it makes me happy that you would remember the king in such a way. He was a good man and I will always remember him with pride. Now as for the goings on around here. I'm guessing Makar has already told you about the forest fairies and why there are so many trees on the island now." Makar who was behind Link mimed something and made a 'zip it' gesture. The Deku Tree saw it. "...The only thing I can add to that is that my old power seems to be returning. I can only assume that Ganondorf was behind my weakened state and that now he's gone my power is slowly returning. It would also explain why the fairies have awakened."
Link grinned and got up.
"So with your strength coming back you it will be easier for you to work on your dream of the forests creating new land and joining the islands together." Link looked up at the opening in the top of the grotto. The sun was nearing the western side. "I'd best be going." He smiled at the Sage and the Guardian. "I've enjoyed talking to you, but talking won't get those parcels delivered. Bye."
Makar waved as Link flew up to and out of the opening he'd come in through. When he was gone the Deku Tree looked at Makar. The sage looked back.
"I suppose you want to know why I didn't want you to tell him about what we've been sensing..." He sighed. "Link has been through a lot and both Medli and I agreed we wouldn't say anything to him until we actually know something. We don't want him to worry when we ourselves are doing enough of that for all of us."
The Deku regarded him and nodded.
"I agree with you. There is no need to interfere in Link's happiness unless it is absolutely necessary."
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Link landed on the deck of the Red Lion and prepared to cast off. He untied the mooring line and reached for the rope to hoist the sail, but hesitated.
Why do I feel like I need to stay a little longer? He shrugged and pulled on the rope. It's nothing, just my imagination.
The Red Lion moved off as Link turned the ship to point north by north-west on the first tack of what was promising to be a very monotonous and long trip towards Bomb Island.
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As the ship passed the Forest Haven, Eidan frowned and looked to the north. Something tugged at his heart, like a whisper on the wind. He shrugged.
It must be my imagination.
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Alaia Skyhawk: And there it is... hmmm, still have some free time.... still have nothing else to do... What the heck, here comes chapter 10.
