A/N: Thanks to RoseWing for her review! :3
'Miss' is sorta like a term of endearment to me, rather than a term to address royalty. As for the 'Zelda' thing, that was a mistake on my part. Writing 'Sheik' in dialogue and 'Zelda' everywhere else confuses me sometimes. So to be clear, the only person who knows Zelda's true identity is Rauru, from this point in the story XP
Let's go!
Chapter 11 - Rush
Zelda had been jogging for at least half an hour, using the map and compass she had been given by Enyd years ago to navigate. It was still night, and she had fought about seven stalchilds so far. She found that her reflexes and agility had improved since she had first fought a stalchild seven years ago. Memories flooded back, of riding on Maple, hands around Impa's waist. The stalchild knocking them off the horse. Defending Impa as she lay unconscious. Being kidnapped by Drazzil. And when she first entered Kakariko.
She shook out of her daydream as yet another hand broke out of the ground, and groaned inwardly.
'Don't these things ever give up?' she asked herself.
It rose out of the ground, and slunk to where she was running. She was already prepared, flicking out a dagger and holding it above her head. When she was a few metres away, she leaped up, foot aimed at the stalchild's ribs. It hit, and the stalchild fell to the ground, a hole where it's spine should be. Zelda wasted no time and stabbed it in the head. It gave a dying yelp before bursting into flames and sinking into the ground. Luckily, no blood ran through the stalchild, so she didn't have to clean the dagger every time she killed one. Showboating, she spun it around a few times and threw it back in the holster.
Who would have thought the princess of Hyrule would grow to be such an excellent fighter? Though she did have some people to thank for training her. Some soldiers in Hyrule Castle, for example. Or what about Impa, who gave her extra lessons on the sly? She smiled at the memory of them, nostalgia creeping into her mind again.
She started to slow, she noticed, and sprinted to make up for time. After about a minute's sprinting, she slowed into a job once more. Thankfully, the moon had sunk down to the bottom of the sky by that time. It would soon be daytime, and she wouldn't have to worry about the stupid stalchilds interrupting her.
Another hand rose out of the ground, and Zelda sighed. Producing the dagger, she killed the stalchild in a matter of seconds. Then, she spun it around again and shoved it in the holster.
'Daytime can't come soon enough,' she said to herself.
XxX
After about two hours of jogging (and eleven more stalchilds), the entrance to Kokiri Forest came into view.
'Finally!' Zelda shouted to no-one in particular. She sprinted now, wanting to get to the entrance before any other stalchilds were able to rise and interrupt her. Fortunately, no more did and she made it to the hollow trunk without trouble. She felt an air of evil emanating from the forest beyond, and at first was apprehensive.
However, she remembered Rauru's words and walked through the trunk. Past it was a bridge. On either side, there was a clearing, and there were fireflies flitting everywhere. They didn't seem to bother her, though. The evil aura was intensifying every step she took toward the next entrance, but she kept walking, albeit slowly.
When she finally got through to the forest, the evil aura almost knocked her over. In the usually peaceful forest, where Kokiri should be running around, playing, there were huge monsters and Mad Deku Scrubs. Zelda instantly recognized the plant-like monsters as Great Deku Babas, deadly creatures who poisoned prey with their saliva, then ate the writhing remains. The Mad Scrubs were a lot smaller, but also very dangerous to any unprepared person. The Deku Nuts they fire can reach speeds the human eye cannot trace. At the speeds the nuts are fired, they could easily break skin.
She tried to keep a low profile, slinking away from where a Great Deku Baba rested. Unfortunately however, the direction she went was right in the path of a Mad Scrub, which shreiked out on the sight of her. She jumped up as the Scrub was readying a Deku Nut. It then shot it, extremely fast for any normal human to see or avoid. However, Zelda's reflexes were incredibly sharp. She dodged the bulet with ease, and it flew into the wall behind her, denting it. Then, flicking out some throwing needles, she fell to the ground and lay until the Scrub stopped firing. When it did, she jumped up and fired five needles at once. Two of them missed, hitting the ground behind the Scrub. Three of them, however, stayed on course, hitting the Scrub with deadly accuracy; one in it it's head, chest and arm.
It shrieked and flailed before falling to the ground, bursting into flames. Satisfied, Zelda ran up and grabbed the two needles from the ground and placed them back in their holster.
Suddenly, a great roar sounded behind her. She turned quickly to see a Great Deku Baba about five metres away, swaying its head, saliva dripping from its jaw. Zelda flicked out a dagger as she prepared for battle.
Obviously, this would be a lot harder than the Scrub.