It was the early morning, and I was packing a few last minute things into my pouch. Saria had been good about it, after chatting for a bit longer she ran to get my rug sack and some clothes I'd unpacked like I asked her. I just slipped the whole thing in my pouch; the Elder knew it was an Endless Bag now, and it didn't really matter about hiding it anymore. In fact, I'd hooked my sword to my belt for the first time. It'd be easier to get to this way, rather than shuffling through my quickly filling bag. Though I hoped I wouldn't have to use it.

I threw in my seed satchel next. A nurse had given it to me yesterday, passing it along from the Elder, along with the bitter tasting wolfsbane drink and a bit more red potion. It had a lot of seeds, many I'd never attempted to grow yet, or weren't sure what they were. But some staples like the tent fern seeds, crenel seeds, heart fruit seeds, hyoi and apple seeds would definitely be helpful. I had my book with me anyway, so I could look up some of the other's on the road if I had to.

I stood, clasping my new hood in the front. They had given me some new ones, my other pretty bloody and torn. Having more than one meant I could be presentable to the King, switching out for a less dirty and sweaty one when I got there. It's not like I could just do some laundry on the road. In the pocket of one was a small traveling Ward; I could set it up when I made camp and be blind to monsters for a short time while I slept. Normally I wouldn't figure I'd need one, but with how things had been lately, I was grateful for it.

"Sarah, are you ready yet?" Navi called from the door. She'd slept with me here last night, so woke when I did. At least someone would be sending me off…

Though I sort of planned it this way. Apparently a bunch of people had been blocked from seeing me, wanting to thank me and give me gifts for saving themselves or their loved ones. I just rubbed my hand under my glove. I still had no idea how to take that thanks right now, so I was leaving early. That way I could at least delay it further.

"Yeah, I'm ready," I told her, and left the room. I huffed a bit…this was gunna be awkward with my side throbbing like it was. At least my arm wasn't as bad; but I was gunna have some lasting scars. I was bringing one, but I needed to lay off the red potions for a while. They stopped helping so much after constant use, and I didn't want to get dependant on them either. Then none of my cuts would heal on their own.

The morning dew sparkled in the first light of the sunrise over the forest. It was so quiet, everyone just barely waking up for the day. Man, I was going to be missing even more classes now. I'd really have to work hard to catch up when I returned.

I didn't know how I felt about this journey. On one hand I really wanted to know why my mark glowed and saved me. On the other, I was fine chalking it up to a happy miracle. But it seemed to be more than that, and I was nervous what it would lead to.

I sighed. Well, there was no use dwelling on it too much until later. For now I need to walk back to Castle Town. If I planned it right I could…accidently arrive too late to the Castle Town gate, and be able to stay the night at home. I really wanted to see my parents, and hug Epona. I'd almost lost out seeing them ever again. I shuttered at that thought, trying to push it to the quickly crowding back of my mind.

"I knew you'd leave early," someone spoke from my right, just as the exit log came into view. Startled, I spun around.

Saria was leaning on a fence, and beside her was Mido. He looked as awkward as could be, while Saria grinned at me.

"Saria, hey. Yeah, I wanted to get a good start on the day. I'm still not moving super fast…" I rubbed my side.

"Without saying goodbye, though?"

I looked way, frowning. "I've learned…I'm not very good at goodbyes." Pictures of when I said goodbye to Kage and Epona flashed though my mind.

"Well, I wanted to, so…goodbye. I know you shouldn't be very long, but even so, I wanted to say it. And Mido had something he wanted to say too." She glanced over at him with narrow eyes and he jumped. Grumbling, finally, for the first time, he looked me in the eye without malice.

"I just wanted to say…sorry, ya know, for what happened…" he muttered out, quickly looking away. Saria elbowed him in the arm. "Ow, hey! And uh, well I guess sorry that it was kinda, somewhat my fault, too…"

Watching the two of them made me smile. I offered Mido my hand. He looked at it with a raised brow.

"Thank you, Mido," I said. He continued to just watch my hand, like he was confused what you were supposed to do with it. "Oh, for Din's sake, Mido, take it! I wouldn't offer to shake my hand with someone I didn't think of as my equal, after all."

His features lightened at that. He grabbed my hand and we shook strong.

"Well, Saria, keep teaching everyone the way you've been doing. And Mido, your magic's great, keep it up. I'll need someone to get me up to speed when I return." I turned to Navi and smiled too. "And you, thanks for all your help. Sorry I was…reluctant for it before, but really, if it weren't for you I wouldn't be here now. Thanks so much." I nodded to the group of them. "Well…umm, I guess, goodbye." I turned to leave.

"Wait, what?"

Navi flew in front of my face. I stopped.

"What?" I asked.

"But…I'm going with you!"

I blinked.

"Why?"

Navi glowed red. "Wha-, you're asking why?! Well…we, we were in this together, right? And I want to come!" She stuttered, sounding a little unsure herself.

I rose a hand up to her. "Navi look… Hyrule hasn't seen a fairy in years. Centuries! And no one's pre-talked to them about you. Someone might try to hunt you. Bandits grab and sell you on the black market; who knows! I don't think it's safe for you to leave here. The Kokiri people aren't big on violence, so staying here's probably for the best."

She landed on my fingers defiantly. "I'm coming anyway! I'll be careful; I can hide in your pocket if I sense anyone approaching. And who's to say other bad stuff won't happen to me here? Besides, with how slow you are, you need someone to watch over you and make sure you don't slack off!"

I lifted the hand she was sitting on closer to my face. She continued to glow red. I sighed.

"Were all fairies as persistent as you?" I conceded.

"Nope, I'm the worst," she turned blue again and plopped down on my head. Saria giggled from behind.

"Okay, try two. I guess we're both going, so, umm, bye… again," I said as I waved to Saria and Mido, heading for the exit. They both waved back, until I couldn't see them anymore.

After a short walk through the forest path, the trees gave way to Hyrule Field. The sky was wide and bright today, and I was happier than I thought I would be to be able to see the whole thing, full and blue, uninterrupted by huge branches and leaves. The air smelt cool and crisp in the morning, and I breathed deep.

"Finally, no more trees…" I sighed as I continued down the path.

"Don't you like the forest, Sarah?" Navi piped up from on my head.

"It's okay." I shrugged. My arm twinged at that, so I began rolling my shoulder. "But I didn't grow up their like Saria. I grew up on a ranch by Castle Town. I'm only staying in Kokiri Village for my mandatory year of training, after learning I got Earth Magic. Though honestly, after everything…I'm glad to be putting it behind me, at least for a bit." I sighed.

My head felt momentarily warmer where Navi sat. "Sarah…about everything…are you doing okay with it?"

I frowned, kicking a stone along on the dirt path. "I'm fine, I guess…I mean, I'm super glad, relieved, overjoyed and every related word under the sun that whole thing with the Wolfos…didn't happen. That was…t-terrifying. But I do feel weird about not really understanding why. Like I told the Elder, all these strange things keep happening to me. I thought they were all separate instances, but what if they're related? Heh, if you told me where I'd be now a few weeks ago, meeting and befriending a prince would have looked like a walk in the park…"

Navi jumped of my head and swooped in front of me. "You know-you've met the Prince of Hyrule?!"

I chuckled. "Yeah… there are two, but I've only met the older one once. The younger prince, Kage, after an…odd series of events, well, he ended up teaching me how to use this." I put a hand on the sword hanging at my side. "We got pretty close, even though we met just a few weeks ago. I guess it's been a month and a half now? Wow. But he's not snooty or flaunting at all, like you might think. He's a good friend…"

Navi drooped a bit. She landed back on my head.

"I'm glad. That sounds good. I was starting to think Saria was your only friend, really." She sighed.

"Hey now!" I smirked, and flicked my fingers at her playfully, "What about you?"

"Me?"

"Well yeah," I nodded, crossing my arms with a smile, "I mean, not cuz I found you. But I don't think many people, fairy or otherwise, would risk their skin…err, light? for just anyone. I said it already, but I really appreciated your help in the forest. I was the mess that time, and you wouldn't abandon me. You have no idea how much that means… Thanks, for sticking it out with me. And well, coming now too. I'm sorry we've not gotten much further with your memory issues, but maybe during this trip those'll start returning as well."

Navi was silent a moment. "Actually," she began slowly, "I've remembered…some things already."

"Oh, really? That's great Navi! Like what?"

She shuffled a little, burrowing deeper in my hair. "Well, you were right. Link…that was the person I was helping before. He grew up in the forests, similar to Faron. I met him when he was a kid, like 10. There was a tree, a sentient tree, who guarded the forest back then. He asked us to help him out with…with something. We left the forest to do it…" She paused. "T-that's about it, for right now."

"Well, it's a start. But a sentient tree, really? That sounds pretty cool."

"…I guess," she mumbled.

She must still be pretty confused, only regaining a part of her memories like she did. "Don't worry, Navi. I'm sure the rest will come soon. That's already a fair chunk. But we're getting further from the forest entrance path, almost to the main one. I'm gunna put my hood up, since we'll probably meet more people on the road now. Unless you wanna go in my pocket?"

Navi didn't move. "The hood's fine," I felt her nod against my head. I rose it up carefully.

Poor fairy. I hoped she'd regain the rest of her memories soon, for her own peace of mind.

I was right. The main path wasn't hopping, but a few travelers passed us by. A pair of Gorons ambled along, arguing about something. I was just glad they weren't rolling down the path, or else they might have hit me. After them a man on a horse with a postman's flag on his back nodded to me as I past. He looked vaguely familiar; he was probably coming from Castle Town's post branch. A couple, wife heavily pregnant, stopped me to ask how much further the forest was. They said they were looking to visit their friend and midwife there, one more time before moving away from Hyrule.

Early afternoon I stopped to eat and rest. I had been given some food I didn't have to grow, so I wouldn't have to use up all my energy with my magic. I chewed on a bun (I was so happy they gave me actual bread!) with some nut butter spread on it, and took out a heart seed.

My side was pretty sore after all the walking. I checked it, and at least the large scab hadn't opened. I changed the dressing though, to keep it clean. The last thing I needed was an infection. It might not be deep but it was wide, another scar in the making, I was sure…wonderful. While hearts were used to make red potions, they were much more natural. And I'd yet to have any medicine for it today.

I'd never grown a heart fruit though. I placed one of the seeds down and concentrated on what I knew about it. I was becoming uncomfortably accustom to them, after all…

The sprout shot up, and I thought hard. If I could do this right…

I did. Two small heart fruits grew off the short sprout. I grinned. Two for the price of one seed, yes.

"Ohho! How amazing indeed!" Someone said from the road ahead.

I looked up. A blue-cloaked Subrosian was watching me. He had a bag on a stick over his shoulder. I'd only ever seen Subrosians at the festival before, otherwise they pretty much stayed in the Holodrum underground. I was surprised to see one so far out in Hyrule Field.

The short creature waddled over. "Well met, stranger!" He chirped, walking around the plant I'd grown, observing it closely with its large, white eyes. "I didn't know there were creatures out there that could grow peaches! Honest to goodness peaches, really. Might I have one? No one at home will believe this!"

He thought they were peaches? I'd heard of those before, but they weren't native to Hyrule…"Oh, uhh, actually, they aren't-" I began, trying to correct him.

"Oh my, I wouldn't take it for nothing though, madam, don't worry!" The Subrosian swivelled his pouch over, and opened it, all somehow without taking it's hands out from behind it's cloak. "A trade, for you! It's from my home, I'm sure you can bedazzle all your friends! It is a Star-shaped Ore, very rare, found on our beaches!"

He wanted to give me this rare, shining ore chunk, all for a simple heart fruit? I couldn't trick him like that… "Um, sir, I –"

I looked at his face, or should I say, his huge eyes. I couldn't see anymore than that. They were pleading with me. My side protested.

"I would be happy to," I finished, and plucking one of the two I handed it over. He skipped with glee, handing me the small, star-pointed ore. I just couldn't crush the poor man's spirit. At least heart fruits lasted a long time…

"Many thank-you's, and goodbye, kind traveller! Now, back on the road to Death Mountain!" The Subrosian skittered off back on the road, the direction I had been coming from.

"Uh, sir, wait!" But he was gone. I was surprised the little thing's legs could carry it so fast.

Well, I guess he'd find out he was heading the wrong way soon enough… I chuckled at the strangeness of it all, and grabbing my remaining 'peach', I took a big bite.

The room's panels made the shape of a skull, and monstrous statues with fire in their mouths barely lit the room. The boar monster…him, he was there. He used magic to break apart and reform, attacking a warrior whose face was hidden in the shadows.

He appeared to be weakening, slowly forming more and more due to fatigue. The warrior took the opportunity, lifted a bow, and flung a shining arrow into his opponent.

He melted into dust.

…

It was him, yet not him. He appeared as the boar monster again, though his features reflected that of another. Melded? His roar was terrifying, powerful. I was knocked back, and couldn't get up.

He strolled forward, each footfall echoing in the chamber. About to strike, a woman appeared between us. She raised a staff of the Triforce…inverted, and blue chains enveloped the fusion.

…

…after looking up from the dark horse, I saw he sat upon it, in the form of a man.

"Arrrrgh! I lost her!" He cursed, looking to and fro for the riders who came before him. He turned his gaze down when he noticed me.

I had a hard time looking up to him in the pouring rain. "You, over there! Little kid! You must have seen the white horse gallop past just now…Which way did it go?! Answer me!" He screeched down at me.

My chest was fluttering in a panic. This man…nothing felt good about him. I backed away slowly.

His face split into a cool grin. "So you think you can protect them from me…You've got guts, kid."

He couldn't find her, I knew that. I grabbed my sword…

…

"AHH! …ugh." I started from my dream, but the fear quickly developed into irritation.

Again. One of those dreams, again. Goddesses damned, that was nearly five days in a row, now! Some instances were familiar, others not, but they were always about that man, and their continual pestering was getting annoying!

"Sarah, are you okay?"

Wha?…oh. It was just Navi. She was sitting on a leaf, watching out our small fern tent as some summer rain drizzled through the night. I was surprised she was up, to be honest. She slept pretty heavily; none of my previous sudden awakenings had even made her stir.

"I-I'm fine. Just a stupid nightmare. But why are you up?"

"I had a long nap while you were walking today, so I figured I'd stay up and keep watch…just in case. But you, um, your nightmare… want to talk about it?"

I moved up into a sitting position, ducking a bit so I wouldn't knock my head and shift the ferns. "It's fine, really. But thanks. And the Ward is up, protecting us from monsters. So you don't have to stay up, no worries."

Navi turned back and watched the rain. "What if…it's not only monsters we should watch out for?"

"Don't worry, bandits aren't common in the middle of Hyrule Field. It's pretty open, so it makes get-aways hard. We should be fine," I assured her. Then I yawned. "Get some sleep, Navi, we'll need it to get the rest of the way to Castle Town tomorrow." I flopped back down, resisting the urge to turn and sleep on my usual side where my wound was.

"I dunno, Sarah. I feel…uneasy, about up ahead. Like the air was drenched in people's panic, emanating from the direction we're heading…" Navi shivered.

"You can feel stuff like that?" I reached my hand towards her, for comfort.

She floated up into it, still staring hard ahead. "Sometimes. The wind carries intense feelings that I can pick up on. But this feels like it happened a bit ago. M-maybe we'll be okay?"

"Maybe it's from when my farm was attacked a few weeks ago." I thought back with a frown. "People freaked out quite a bit…but, well, no one got hurt by them. Come on Navi, let's get some sleep."

"…okay."

Heyo! So, long albeit late Chapter; sorry about that. I sorta got Pokemon Sun and Moon at its midnight release with friends, and was out at their place all day in preparation XD;. But now we're getting somewhere! Next few chapters are quite...well, move the plot forward a lot. Also yes, I am happy of the fact I figured out a away to add a 'fetch quest' into the story. Now you guys must suffer with it XD! Mwhaha!