A/N: I don't know how well I'm writing this, or how well the time
conversion is or anything like that, so just tell me where I could improve
on...I do want to make this story fabulous. ^_^
Chapter 2
A Strange Kind of Town
Link patted Epona, not quite trusting the stablehands to care of her, but knowing that he had to leave her here. The stable was comfortable, well insulated, and there was plenty of fodder for the horses. "Make sure you take good care of her," he told the stable hands, before leaving the building.
The stable was only on the exit of the city towards the castle. The security on the road between the castle and the town seemed to have lessened, for the gate that separated the two was wide open. Link could tell that very few people went outside of the town into Hyrule Field, but he still wasn't quite sure why.
There was quite a bit that Link had to catch up onto. He still didn't know how long it had been since he had left. And plus, many things had happened that he didn't know about as well...
Then, without realizing it, Link bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that..." he apologized immediately, before getting a good look at the person he had bumped into. His jaw dropped. "Malon?!"
The girl his age gave him a puzzled look. "Malon? Isn't that someone in the Legend? My name's Shaelon."
Link gave Shaelon a good look. She had the same face, as well as the same red hair that Malon had had once. The one major difference was clothing. Malon had worn a dress; Shaelon was wearing a short skirt. It was the third person he had seen that was a lot like Malon. First Malon, then Romani, then Cremia (She was like Malon grown up), and now Shaelon.
Link gave also gave Shaelon a slightly puzzled look. "I'm Link. What's the Legend?"
Shaelon stared at Link. "The Legend is the legend about the Hero of Time and how he saved Hyrule."
Link grinned. So, everyone knew about that. Seemingly, it was a famous legend. But no one referred to the Hero of Time by his original name.
"I know about that legend," Link said quietly, "I was always wondering though, what his name was. He had to be called something while he was growing up other than the Hero of Time."
Shaelon shrugged. "No one knows, or remembers. But you have a point; he was probably not called the Hero of Time when he was three years old." She giggled, and Link could tell that she obviously loved the legend. "You got anymore questions about the Legend?"
Link shook his head, smiling. Shaelon seriously did remind him of Malon. Then he stopped and reconsidered his thoughts. "Shaelon...how long has it been since the Hero of Time..."
"Disappeared?" Shaelon asked. Link looked up at her, and nodded. "I'm not sure...they say it's been a thousand years."
Link stared at her. To Shaelon, it may have seemed that Link was simply amazed at the time span, but it was something else. Link now knew the reasons for so many changes. A thousand years... he closed his eyes. Zelda...Saria...Malon...Impa...Darunia...even Ruto and Mido...they must all be gone now, he thought. He hadn't even been able to find Navi. No wonder Shaelon looks so much like Malon, he thought for a moment, she must be a descendant. Silently, Link remembered his last meeting with Zelda, when she had given him the Ocarina of Time. Quietly, he placed a hand into the pocket that held the Ocarina of Time and felt the smooth metal of the ancient instrument...
"Hello, Link? Are you all right? Link?"
Link snapped his head back up out of memories. There was no use now...a thousand years had passed. But now that he was back home, Link seriously wished he could only see the people he had known...
"Link?"
Link held back a tear and looked Shaelon in the eye. "I...I'm all right...I guess..." he spoke with a little trouble, but knew that he would have to keep the secret of the fact that he was the Hero of Time, who had the Ocarina of Time and the Triforce of Courage.
Shaelon peered at Link in the face. "You seem troubled. What's the matter?"
"Nothing, I..."
Shaelon now gave Link a stern gesture. "C'mon, no hiding from me."
Link shook his head. "I can't explain now..."
"Then you can explain later. Come on now, we have to go see my father, Temron," Shaelon took Link by the arm gently and pulled him towards the entrance to Hyrule Castle Town.
Link blinked. "That's the guard that admitted me in here," he stated.
Shaelon turned to him automatically. "Really? He must have had a liking to you or something. We have to go see him anyway in that case, because he probably wanted to give you a tour."
Link followed behind Shaelon blankly. He didn't know how he was going to explain anything to her; should he lie, or should he tell the truth? He certainly didn't want to tell her that he was the Hero of Time, or anyone in fact. But, when the time came, people might have to learn about it...
Shaelon was calling up to her father now. With a sigh, Link calmly walked up to where she was and listened in.
"I'm sorry Shaelon, but I still have another hour on my shift," Temron, who was now identified as Shaelon's father, called down from the wall. "Unless you would like to give Link the tour in my stead."
Shaelon seemed to have an expression of absolute delight. "Yeah!"
Temron shrugged. "Okay then, just don't take him over to Cellar. You know how dangerous it is over there."
Shaelon's delightful expression was replaced with a frown. "Seriously, I can't believe that the people here would imprison -- "
Temron shook his head. "We know what the attitude about that is here in the town. I don't like it either; but with all of those raids, there isn't really a better idea."
"Raids...I hate them..." Shaelon muttered as she turned away, almost bumping into Link. "You scared me there!"
Link was puzzled. "Okay, first of all, what is Cellar, what's with raids, and what did you mean by imprisonment?"
Shaelon looked around nervously. "I'll tell you somewhere else. But be quiet about it, please. From your attitude, I think you should go visit Cellar and see what you can do."
She grabbed Link by the arm, and pulled him along. Still not quite used to this type of treatment, Link let her do so and followed. Link himself was kind of worried about all this talk. There must be prejudice here on different races, he though for a moment.
Soon, Shaelon reached an alley. Looking around carefully, she opened a door, pulled Link in, and shut it.
"What's with all the secrecy?!" Link peered around at his surroundings. It seemed like it was a small room, filled with hay and had a water tray within. From the stench, Link could see that the room had probably been a stable at one point, for he recognized the smell of old fodder and horse must.
"Listen," Shaelon lit a lantern, sat down on a bale of hay, and leaned close. "Do you know about the fact that all the races of Hyrule are now warring with each other?"
"WHAT?!?!" Link yelled in shock. He almost couldn't believe it. The races of Hyrule against each other?! For what?!
"Shush!!" Shaelon immediately placed her hand over Link's mouth. "You have to calm down; apparently, you've lived outside of Hyrule for a while."
Link nodded, and Shaelon removed the hand. "Good," she whispered, "this is important stuff. Lately, the Gorons have been raiding Hyrule Castle Town, and the soldiers managed to capture one. That's what we're talking about. They keep prisoners in a place called Cellar because it basically is a cellar. I hate it all."
"But...but...how did this all happen?!" Link sputtered, "What's up with all of this?!"
Shaelon shook her head. "No one remembers; it happened a little over a hundred years ago. But because of all the attacking and such, the fighting will never stop unless someone can bring everyone together, like in the Legend."
"The King," Link said simply. He knew all about it; he had been alive during that time. However, back then, the reason was the Triforce.
Shaelon nodded. "That's right. If the Legend is completely true, and if Princess Zelda - "
Link's eyes grew wide once more. "Princess Zelda?! What?!"
"She's named after the Princess Zelda in the Legend. She's a descendant. Now you need to let me finish!" Shaelon said with urgency. "If Princess Zelda is right, then the Hero of Time should be the one to do it this time."
"Well then, we don't have any time to lose," Link immediately stood up and gazed towards the doorway. Shaelon gave him a puzzled look. "What?" Link turned and gazed into her eyes.
"But the Hero of Time disappeared a thousand years ago, remember? Princess Zelda said that she had a dream in which the Hero of Time would do this deed, but very few believe her," she was clearly confused. Link wanted to slap himself. This was the kind of thing he would do if he were still in his original time, but she didn't know that he was the Hero of Time.
Link breathed a deep breath. "Can I trust you with a secret?"
Shaelon nodded, still puzzled.
Carefully, Link did something he didn't do often. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Ocarina of Time, holding it out to Shaelon.
Shaelon's eyes widened, and she gasped. "But...that's the Ocarina of Time!!!" She cried out. "That was given to the Hero of Time when he left a thousand years ago!!"
Link nodded. "Yes, and the Hero of Time was taught the Song of Time by Princess Zelda, as a song that would help him remember the time he had spent in Hyrule, before he left on a quest to find his fairy, Navi. The ocarina served him during his time in another land called Termina, where without the Song of Time, the people of that world would no longer be in existence."
Shaelon looked at Link blankly. "How do you know all this?"
Link closed his eyes. "I know, because I went through it all. You probably don't believe me, but it is important. Come on, let's go."
Shaelon nodded. "Right."
The two carefully burst out of the old stable into the alley, where Shaelon led Link to another building nearby. Link was nervous about the attitude of the Gorons now, for after all, everything was different. Briefly, he wished he still had the Goron mask, but it had been used for another purpose.
As Shaelon and Link approached the door, Link heard Shaelon curse under her breath and pull Link to the side. Link knew better than to yelp. There was a single guard standing right beside the doorway.
"They've strengthened the security!!" Shaelon groaned, "I didn't think that they would do that!!" She looked over to Link. "Well," she said unsurely, "If what I think is correct, and you ARE the Hero of Time," she still seemed doubtful, "Then you should be able to sneak past that guard, since you did it so many times in the Legend."
"Yeah, but did you know that in the Gerudo Fortress, I had to use arrows and the Longshot to stun the guards so I could get past?" Link joked, grinning at remembering what he had done.
Shaelon seemed interested. "Show me," she smiled.
Carefully, Link pulled out the Hero's Bow and a single arrow, and notched it. He blinked once, making sure he was aiming right, and released the string, doing it all quickly and effectively.
The arrow flew straight and fast, but not to end the guard's life. With a hard force, the arrow hit the guard's helmet at a certain point, not enough to pierce the armor. However, the guard groaned, as he collapsed unconscious, as the arrow bounced away, came back towards Link, and finished its short flight by burying its tip into a bit of the dirt on the paved ground. Grinning, Link picked up the arrow and placed it back into his quiver.
Now, Shaelon was highly impressed. "Wow..." she smiled, now slightly nervous. "I don't know if you are or not..."
"It's all right, it's just important that I talk to the goron," Link smiled, and stood up. "Is there any more security in there?"
Shaelon nodded. "Yes. Just they've never guarded the outside before, but inside, it should be pretty easy. I think I'll wait out here."
Link gave a deep breath. "Okay, keep that guard unconscious then. I'm going in." And with that, he slipped carefully in through the door.
Chapter 2
A Strange Kind of Town
Link patted Epona, not quite trusting the stablehands to care of her, but knowing that he had to leave her here. The stable was comfortable, well insulated, and there was plenty of fodder for the horses. "Make sure you take good care of her," he told the stable hands, before leaving the building.
The stable was only on the exit of the city towards the castle. The security on the road between the castle and the town seemed to have lessened, for the gate that separated the two was wide open. Link could tell that very few people went outside of the town into Hyrule Field, but he still wasn't quite sure why.
There was quite a bit that Link had to catch up onto. He still didn't know how long it had been since he had left. And plus, many things had happened that he didn't know about as well...
Then, without realizing it, Link bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that..." he apologized immediately, before getting a good look at the person he had bumped into. His jaw dropped. "Malon?!"
The girl his age gave him a puzzled look. "Malon? Isn't that someone in the Legend? My name's Shaelon."
Link gave Shaelon a good look. She had the same face, as well as the same red hair that Malon had had once. The one major difference was clothing. Malon had worn a dress; Shaelon was wearing a short skirt. It was the third person he had seen that was a lot like Malon. First Malon, then Romani, then Cremia (She was like Malon grown up), and now Shaelon.
Link gave also gave Shaelon a slightly puzzled look. "I'm Link. What's the Legend?"
Shaelon stared at Link. "The Legend is the legend about the Hero of Time and how he saved Hyrule."
Link grinned. So, everyone knew about that. Seemingly, it was a famous legend. But no one referred to the Hero of Time by his original name.
"I know about that legend," Link said quietly, "I was always wondering though, what his name was. He had to be called something while he was growing up other than the Hero of Time."
Shaelon shrugged. "No one knows, or remembers. But you have a point; he was probably not called the Hero of Time when he was three years old." She giggled, and Link could tell that she obviously loved the legend. "You got anymore questions about the Legend?"
Link shook his head, smiling. Shaelon seriously did remind him of Malon. Then he stopped and reconsidered his thoughts. "Shaelon...how long has it been since the Hero of Time..."
"Disappeared?" Shaelon asked. Link looked up at her, and nodded. "I'm not sure...they say it's been a thousand years."
Link stared at her. To Shaelon, it may have seemed that Link was simply amazed at the time span, but it was something else. Link now knew the reasons for so many changes. A thousand years... he closed his eyes. Zelda...Saria...Malon...Impa...Darunia...even Ruto and Mido...they must all be gone now, he thought. He hadn't even been able to find Navi. No wonder Shaelon looks so much like Malon, he thought for a moment, she must be a descendant. Silently, Link remembered his last meeting with Zelda, when she had given him the Ocarina of Time. Quietly, he placed a hand into the pocket that held the Ocarina of Time and felt the smooth metal of the ancient instrument...
"Hello, Link? Are you all right? Link?"
Link snapped his head back up out of memories. There was no use now...a thousand years had passed. But now that he was back home, Link seriously wished he could only see the people he had known...
"Link?"
Link held back a tear and looked Shaelon in the eye. "I...I'm all right...I guess..." he spoke with a little trouble, but knew that he would have to keep the secret of the fact that he was the Hero of Time, who had the Ocarina of Time and the Triforce of Courage.
Shaelon peered at Link in the face. "You seem troubled. What's the matter?"
"Nothing, I..."
Shaelon now gave Link a stern gesture. "C'mon, no hiding from me."
Link shook his head. "I can't explain now..."
"Then you can explain later. Come on now, we have to go see my father, Temron," Shaelon took Link by the arm gently and pulled him towards the entrance to Hyrule Castle Town.
Link blinked. "That's the guard that admitted me in here," he stated.
Shaelon turned to him automatically. "Really? He must have had a liking to you or something. We have to go see him anyway in that case, because he probably wanted to give you a tour."
Link followed behind Shaelon blankly. He didn't know how he was going to explain anything to her; should he lie, or should he tell the truth? He certainly didn't want to tell her that he was the Hero of Time, or anyone in fact. But, when the time came, people might have to learn about it...
Shaelon was calling up to her father now. With a sigh, Link calmly walked up to where she was and listened in.
"I'm sorry Shaelon, but I still have another hour on my shift," Temron, who was now identified as Shaelon's father, called down from the wall. "Unless you would like to give Link the tour in my stead."
Shaelon seemed to have an expression of absolute delight. "Yeah!"
Temron shrugged. "Okay then, just don't take him over to Cellar. You know how dangerous it is over there."
Shaelon's delightful expression was replaced with a frown. "Seriously, I can't believe that the people here would imprison -- "
Temron shook his head. "We know what the attitude about that is here in the town. I don't like it either; but with all of those raids, there isn't really a better idea."
"Raids...I hate them..." Shaelon muttered as she turned away, almost bumping into Link. "You scared me there!"
Link was puzzled. "Okay, first of all, what is Cellar, what's with raids, and what did you mean by imprisonment?"
Shaelon looked around nervously. "I'll tell you somewhere else. But be quiet about it, please. From your attitude, I think you should go visit Cellar and see what you can do."
She grabbed Link by the arm, and pulled him along. Still not quite used to this type of treatment, Link let her do so and followed. Link himself was kind of worried about all this talk. There must be prejudice here on different races, he though for a moment.
Soon, Shaelon reached an alley. Looking around carefully, she opened a door, pulled Link in, and shut it.
"What's with all the secrecy?!" Link peered around at his surroundings. It seemed like it was a small room, filled with hay and had a water tray within. From the stench, Link could see that the room had probably been a stable at one point, for he recognized the smell of old fodder and horse must.
"Listen," Shaelon lit a lantern, sat down on a bale of hay, and leaned close. "Do you know about the fact that all the races of Hyrule are now warring with each other?"
"WHAT?!?!" Link yelled in shock. He almost couldn't believe it. The races of Hyrule against each other?! For what?!
"Shush!!" Shaelon immediately placed her hand over Link's mouth. "You have to calm down; apparently, you've lived outside of Hyrule for a while."
Link nodded, and Shaelon removed the hand. "Good," she whispered, "this is important stuff. Lately, the Gorons have been raiding Hyrule Castle Town, and the soldiers managed to capture one. That's what we're talking about. They keep prisoners in a place called Cellar because it basically is a cellar. I hate it all."
"But...but...how did this all happen?!" Link sputtered, "What's up with all of this?!"
Shaelon shook her head. "No one remembers; it happened a little over a hundred years ago. But because of all the attacking and such, the fighting will never stop unless someone can bring everyone together, like in the Legend."
"The King," Link said simply. He knew all about it; he had been alive during that time. However, back then, the reason was the Triforce.
Shaelon nodded. "That's right. If the Legend is completely true, and if Princess Zelda - "
Link's eyes grew wide once more. "Princess Zelda?! What?!"
"She's named after the Princess Zelda in the Legend. She's a descendant. Now you need to let me finish!" Shaelon said with urgency. "If Princess Zelda is right, then the Hero of Time should be the one to do it this time."
"Well then, we don't have any time to lose," Link immediately stood up and gazed towards the doorway. Shaelon gave him a puzzled look. "What?" Link turned and gazed into her eyes.
"But the Hero of Time disappeared a thousand years ago, remember? Princess Zelda said that she had a dream in which the Hero of Time would do this deed, but very few believe her," she was clearly confused. Link wanted to slap himself. This was the kind of thing he would do if he were still in his original time, but she didn't know that he was the Hero of Time.
Link breathed a deep breath. "Can I trust you with a secret?"
Shaelon nodded, still puzzled.
Carefully, Link did something he didn't do often. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Ocarina of Time, holding it out to Shaelon.
Shaelon's eyes widened, and she gasped. "But...that's the Ocarina of Time!!!" She cried out. "That was given to the Hero of Time when he left a thousand years ago!!"
Link nodded. "Yes, and the Hero of Time was taught the Song of Time by Princess Zelda, as a song that would help him remember the time he had spent in Hyrule, before he left on a quest to find his fairy, Navi. The ocarina served him during his time in another land called Termina, where without the Song of Time, the people of that world would no longer be in existence."
Shaelon looked at Link blankly. "How do you know all this?"
Link closed his eyes. "I know, because I went through it all. You probably don't believe me, but it is important. Come on, let's go."
Shaelon nodded. "Right."
The two carefully burst out of the old stable into the alley, where Shaelon led Link to another building nearby. Link was nervous about the attitude of the Gorons now, for after all, everything was different. Briefly, he wished he still had the Goron mask, but it had been used for another purpose.
As Shaelon and Link approached the door, Link heard Shaelon curse under her breath and pull Link to the side. Link knew better than to yelp. There was a single guard standing right beside the doorway.
"They've strengthened the security!!" Shaelon groaned, "I didn't think that they would do that!!" She looked over to Link. "Well," she said unsurely, "If what I think is correct, and you ARE the Hero of Time," she still seemed doubtful, "Then you should be able to sneak past that guard, since you did it so many times in the Legend."
"Yeah, but did you know that in the Gerudo Fortress, I had to use arrows and the Longshot to stun the guards so I could get past?" Link joked, grinning at remembering what he had done.
Shaelon seemed interested. "Show me," she smiled.
Carefully, Link pulled out the Hero's Bow and a single arrow, and notched it. He blinked once, making sure he was aiming right, and released the string, doing it all quickly and effectively.
The arrow flew straight and fast, but not to end the guard's life. With a hard force, the arrow hit the guard's helmet at a certain point, not enough to pierce the armor. However, the guard groaned, as he collapsed unconscious, as the arrow bounced away, came back towards Link, and finished its short flight by burying its tip into a bit of the dirt on the paved ground. Grinning, Link picked up the arrow and placed it back into his quiver.
Now, Shaelon was highly impressed. "Wow..." she smiled, now slightly nervous. "I don't know if you are or not..."
"It's all right, it's just important that I talk to the goron," Link smiled, and stood up. "Is there any more security in there?"
Shaelon nodded. "Yes. Just they've never guarded the outside before, but inside, it should be pretty easy. I think I'll wait out here."
Link gave a deep breath. "Okay, keep that guard unconscious then. I'm going in." And with that, he slipped carefully in through the door.