Nature Sage - Ch 8
Zelda, Malon, Link, and Nabooru finally made it to New Grove Village, on the other side of Death Mountain. They were searching for four more Sages, and as many Gemstones they could get a hold of. No one knew which gems corresponded with which Sages, except for Saria, Darunia, and Ruto. Their Spiritual Stones were made from the same stones that belonged to them. Freya, one of Navi's fairies-in-training, had led them to New Grove in search of the first stone, but now she couldn't seem to find it.
"I know there's one here," she pouted, flying about frantically. "Navi said there was!"
"Relax," Nabooru said, strangely calm. "It's here. The fairy said it would find us, remember?" At that, Freya seemed reassured that she wasn't wrong about this.
Zelda glanced into one of the many shop's windows. Another person was glaring angrily at her. Why didn't anyone here seem to like her? She shuttered and walked a bit faster.
Malon walked silently beside Link, thinking about what Leona had said to her. The people here didn't like Zelda for some reason, but why wouldn't she tell Zelda that herself? Obviously, Leona didn't like Zelda much either.. Link put his hand on Malon's shoulder, and she jumped about four feet up. "You okay?" he asked, concerned.
"Yeah," she replied, calming down a little bit. "Have you noticed that the people don't like us?"
"Nope."
Malon sighed. "Good. I hoped I was being paranoid."
She felt a tap on her shoulder, and she whirled around, frightened again. "Relax," the person behind her laughed. "It's just Leona, from the forest. I came to take care of you guys. I figured you'd need some protecting."
"I can protect myself," Link said, somewhat offended.
"Oh, I know," Leona said hurriedly, "but Malon probably can't, so - "
"I can," Malon said, also offended.
Leona turned a deep crimson color. "Sorry. Just wanted to tag along, I guess. Making up stupid excuses.."
Malon looked at Leona's eyes. They were a sparkling blue color.. strikingly familiar.. but from where?
"Well, another person is always welcomed," Link said kindly, shattering Malon's thoughts.
"Thanks," Leona said. She removed the veil covering her face, and Malon saw a trace of someone she knew.. "I changed my mind," Leona said loudly. Zelda turned around. "I will join you guys for lunch, after all."
The Princess scowled. "Wonderful. Why don't you pick a place, since you're from around here."
They chose a place to eat, and Zelda asked Leona about her life.
"What do your parents do?" she asked, keeping a snooty look on her face the entire time they were there.
"Oh, they don't do anything," Leona said. "They're both dead. Never knew them."
"My mother's dead," Malon offered.
"My mother is dead," Nabooru added, "but I knew her until I was sixteen. And many of the Gerudos don't know their fathers."
"My parents are dead," Link said. "I never knew them, either. Well, my mom, she took me to the forest. The people there told me all about her."
"My father brought me here," Leona said. "He lived here for a while, then he had to go back to the war. I think that's how he died."
Zelda frowned. She didn't want to make a conversation out of it. "Well, what do you do, then?"
"Nothing, really. I practice with my trainer every day, and I eat whatever I can catch. For some reason, the people here are kind of cold to me. They talk to me, sure, but only when I confront them. Thank you," she said as the waitress dropped off their food. Leona continued talking while she ate. "So I just stay in the woods all the time, only come into the village once or twice a month, and I was hoping I could come with you guys to find gemstones or whatever."
Link started to say something, but Zelda cut him off. "I don't think that's possible. You see, we need Sages to come with us. You're - "
"I can be a Sage," Leona said excitedly. "I can use a sword and bow and arrows, oh, and I've got plenty of bombs and a shield.."
"Zelda, can she be the Ice Sage instead of me?" Link asked. "I'd like for her to come with us."
"You're not even a Sage!" Zelda shouted. "You shouldn't be here either! The only reason I let you come is because I - er, nevermind," she said, turning slightly red.
Malon rolled her eyes. "Of course you can come. Zelda's just being snooty. We usually ignore her when she's like this." Link and Nabooru nodded in agreement. Zelda continued pouting.
The small group finished their meal and continued through the village. Freya rejoined them, since she didn't like the same kind of food as they did.
"Well, what do fairies eat?" Leona asked.
"Nothing you need to be concerned with!" Freya said hotly. Zelda grinned. Finally! Here was someone else who didn't fully trust this girl.
"Freya has a right to her privacy," the Princess said slyly, defending her newfound fairy friend.
Leona rolled her eyes. "Well, in any case, would you mind if I took my moonstone back? I am really quite fond of it."
"Where did you get it?" Nabooru asked.
"I found it when I was younger. Most of my life, my trainer has kept me in the woods near the village, and I found this out there. Strange, really; moonstones aren't usually found around here."
Malon suddenly seemed very interested. "And that stone is very.. attached to you?"
Leona gave her a quizzical look. "No, I'm attached to it. It's almost like a source of energy to me. It really helps me train."
Nabooru and Malon exchanged glances, an excited light shining in both their eyes. "We found one," Nabooru mouthed silently. Malon smiled, pulling her over.
"Zelda's not gonna want to give her the Sage powers," Malon whispered. "She hates Leona."
Nabooru sighed, knowing it was true. "We can go to Rauru," she suggested softly. "He gave you your powers."
Malon considered for a moment, then said, "Zelda's still gonna know. She'll do everything she can to stop this, you know."
The two Sages decided to tell Zelda about Leona after everyone settled down for bed that evening. They did their best to improve her mood by then, but she still seemed a little resentful towards Leona. After a while, they decided that the time was right.
"Zelda," Malon started, slightly nervous, "we have something you need to know."
"It's about that moonstone," Nabooru added. "And Leona."
Zelda's eyes narrowed. "What? Is she.."
"Yes," they said in unison.
Zelda's expression remained blank for a moment, then a huge smile spread across her face. "I was hoping it was her! Now I have to trust her, and since Link likes her so much, he won't have to be upset with me!" She blushed. "Not that I really care what Link thinks about me. I mean - "
"We get it," Malon assured her. "You just.. didn't want to start a fight."
"Right. Now, tomorrow I'll give her the powers, okay?"
Nabooru smiled and nodded, surprised at how well things went. She and Malon then left Zelda and went to talk about their new Sage partner.
"This isn't gonna hurt, right?" Leona said nervously.
"Of course not," Zelda reassured. "Just close your eyes, and it'll be over in a minute."
Leona did just that, and Zelda cast her power over the maiden. After a few seconds, she lifted her spell and said, "It's done. Leona, I welcome you as the Sage of Wind."
Malon grinned at Zelda. "We were so close."
"Air, wind, basically the same thing.."
Freya remained silent through the whole ceremony. It wasn't really a ceremony, but the fairy thought it deserved to be one. There was something special about this girl, something that everyone knew, but no one could quite put their finger on. Freya knew she had to be the one to figure it out. That was the duty of the Sage Guardian Fairy, a duty that Navi had just recently temporarily entrusted her with. She sighed in frustration, unable to think clearly.
Zelda felt it, as well. Something about this girl.. she seemed so familiar to everyone, though they had known her for just over a day. Well, she was part of them now, Zelda realized, shrugging her feeling off.
Leona walked over and sat next to Link. "Sorry you're not a Sage," she said. "I'll do my best to live up to your standards, Hero of Time."
"Yeah. You are a lot like me," he joked. "You could almost be as good of a Sage as I could."
"Almost?" Malon asked incredulously, entering their conversation. "Leona is eight times the Sage you could be!"
Link half-drew his sword and stood up. "Oh really? Take that back!"
Malon laughed and started running for cover. Link shot after her, tackled her, and they both rolled down the hill a little ways. Zelda frowned disapprovingly. "Come on, you guys. We have to go back to the castle and deposit that gemstone. Freya, lead the way. We're not going back through that creepy town.." She went on for a bit about how people don't respect you if you ignore them, and that she didn't really ignore them, she just didn't know they were there.
Back at the castle, Paige had the Zodiac Sages on the search for Princess Zelda and Link. Paige liked to know where things were, and she didn't know anything about their quest. The Season Sages had to return to their village, so Paige took charge herself.
Aries, the Aries Sage, was ordered to search the Death Mountain area, along with Melody the Pisces Sage. Melody and Aries were cousins, both with dark hair and green eyes. They were about the same age as Link, Zelda, Malon, and Ruto. They used their powers to warp to Kakariko Village, and started walking up the mountain.
"I don't see why they couldn't just make it back alone," Melody whined. She hated hiking, walking, and almost any outdoor thing there was. She did like to sing, though.
"Paige said to walk this part. If we warp too fast, we'll miss them," Aries replied, growing impatient with his cousin. "It's not my fault, so don't come crying to me."
"Who ever would have imagined that we'd be here, in Hyrule, looking for Princess Zelda and Link!" Melody continued, her whiny voice now full of excitement. "I've always dreamed of meeting the Lead Sage! Wow! This is amazing!"
"She's not all that great," Aries muttered. Melody glared at him.
"There they are!" she said, pointing. "Zelda, Link! You other three people! Over here!"
"It's Mel and Aries," Aries called. "Paige sent us to find you."
Zelda sighed. "Paige is such a worrier. We can find our way ourselves! It's not like we've never been here before!"
"But we haven't," Nabooru pointed out.
"..That's not the point. The point is, we don't need Paige to send people looking for us." She turned to Aries and Melody. "Please go back there and tell Paige that we were just on our way and we'll arrive when we arrive."
"Okay," Melody said, "but she's not gonna be happy." She and her cousin warped back immediately.
Leona ran down Death Mountain Trail and into the village. She'd never been there before, and wanted to explore everything before it was time to go. "Wow!" she cried. "A shooting gallery! And look at this - a magic potion shop! I've never seen anything like this!"
"There's a bazaar across the street," Link said. He wanted to see what she would say to that, but she completely ignored him.
"What else is there in this part of Hyrule?" Leona asked, obviously very excited.
"A wonderful farm," Malon began.
"And a beautiful desert!" Nabooru said proudly.
"And a forest full of children," Link added.
"And a castle with a bunch of Sages in it," Zelda concluded. "There's a bunch more, but none of those people are here right now. We have to go to the castle."
Leona nodded, starting toward the exit of Kakariko Village. The others followed, and Malon went ahead to the ranch to see her father. After many stops along the way, they made it to Hyrule Castle.
"There you are!" Paige practically yelled, running over to the Princess. "I've been worried sick!"
"If only that had been the case.." Nabooru said quietly. Leona snickered softly. Paige gave them a dirty look.
"Well, Mel and Aries did say you'd be coming soon, but that was almost forever!"
"Sorry," Link said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Leona's never been on this side of the mountain, and she wanted to stop and see some things."
"Freya, take Leona to put her Moonstone in the circle, okay?" Zelda asked.
"This way," the fairy said, leading Leona out of the room. Link and Nabooru followed, leaving Zelda to deal with Paige.
"Look," Nabooru said happily. "There's already an emerald here!"
"Yeah," Saria said, stepping back. "I just got here. I also found Trevor, he's the Sage of Thunder. Oddly enough, he already had his powers."
"Where's his stone?" Link asked.
"He's got it with him."
"Well where is he?"
"He's with his mom."
Nabooru opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. "You mean he's too young to be here by himself?" she asked finally.
"Exactly," Saria said, turning to face them. "You guys, Trevor can't really help us. Even though he's unusually bright for his age, he's only four years old."
"But there is one thing he can do for us," Navi said, "and it involves some things that might be hard to get to cooperate."
"Hey, Trevor," Link said, sitting down near the child.
"Trevor is my new friend," the Virgo Sage's little girl said happily. "He pick up my barrette!"
"Really?" Nabooru said in a talking-to-babies voice. "That's spectacular!"
"That's schapacklar!" she repeated, giggling.
Trevor looked up at Link. "Can you please make her go away?" he whispered. His eyes were big and hopeful.
"Sure," he replied. "Nabooru..?"
"Say no more," she laughed, picking up the little girl. "We're gonna go see you mommy about some spectacular things!"
"Schapacklar.."
"Thank you," Trevor sighed. "I was 'fraid she'd never leave! My name is Trevor, and I'm the Thunder Sage!"
"That's great, Trevor," Link said. "I'd really like to know more about the Thunder Sage, if that's okay."
"Okay," the boy said. "You're nice. You won't let Princess Zelda get me."
Link stopped for a minute. "Wh.. what do you mean?"
"Mommy and me saw Princess Zelda yelling at this girl, and the girl said that Zelda had evil powers and she'd put a curse on me!"
Link choked back laughter. "Zelda's not gonna do anything like that. The girl only said that 'cuz she was mad. Princess Zelda is a really nice person. She's smart, funny.. beautiful.."
Trevor noticed that Link's attention was starting to drift off subject. "I'm not talking about how much you're in love with her," he said flatly. Link looked at the ground, embarrassed. "Sorry. Anyway, Mommy said that I'm too little to be a Sage and I don't know what to do."
Just then, Link heard the main door open. "That must be Malon. You stay right here. I have to go for a minute."
"Okay," Trevor said, watching Link leave. He looked down and smiled at the small onyx in his hand. "Thanks, Link. Now I know just what to do."
-+-chapter eight: complete-+-
How do you like it? I really could have gone on and on and on, but I quit here because I didn't want to go on and on and on. ^_^
Anyway, as always, next chapter coming soon and PLEASE review! Thanks!