Legend of Zelda : Next generation
Chapter 6 : A home found.
The three of us gathered what little we kept on us and followed link out of castle, stopping only to pick up some things from the still kitchen and spell some of the stable entrances shut. It was easy slipping past the guards. We slipped silently past the sleeping gate guard and up through the trap door onto the roof and up into the hills. Skirting the town we where out in the field before the hour had passed.
We went a fair way in the dark and found Lon-lon ranch at sun rise. The ranch, despite the early hour was abuzz with activity. Stable hands turned out the horses and started to milk the cows as we walked up to the main farm house. Debbie was excited about being at Lon-lon ranch. Alex was complaining about his sore feet. I glared at him to shut him up. "I'm not in the best of moods either Alex so don't get like that around me."
Malon came to the door as Link knocked. "Oh Link." she was certainly pleased to see him. "Why don't you come in. She smiled to us and stood back from the door. She bustled about the kitchen as Link explained why we were there. "Tisk Tisk." Went Malon "You know better than that Link. I'm surprised you went back to the castle and with her. You know what the princess is like these days or did you go and hide in the forest again. You haven't been seen round here for almost a year."
Link was trying to defend himself against the growing tirade but couldn't get a word in. Though after about fifteen minutes of the constant strait forward scolding she stopped to breathe. Link took the opportunity to talk. "Malon," he started "First of all it wasn't me who cast the spell on the new king it was Stephanie, and she had a go reason to and..." I cut him off "And he'll be cringing in his chambers like a baby till I take it off."
Malon gave me a funny look. "What did you do exactly?" she asked curiosity getting the better of her. "Oh just a spell so he can't look at another female. It's insurance, he wouldn't last a day around the Gerudo." a smile lit the corners of Malon's mouth.
Link and Alex where getting uneasy with the way the talk was going and sought to change the subject. "So about horses. Can you lend us any to get to the Gerudo fortress?" Malon answered immediately "Oh won't you stay? Not even for one night?" Link bulked at the idea but didn't let Malon catch on.
"Sorry Malon these three are not safe out here anyway Nabooru owes me a favour." Malon looked a little disappointed. She agreed to loan us the extra horses eventually. They would be returned by the Gerudo once we arrived. But as we walked toward the stables she pestered Link to stay.
"NO." He said forcefully then in a lighter tone "I can't. I wanted to help them so now I have too. I won't stay." His words where final and Malon gave up.
**********************
Once in the saddle we rode away from Lon-lon ranch. To avoid any contact with pursuing guards we took a back way out of the ranch. Travelling was much easier by horse. The Gerudo valley came into sight just before midday and none of the guards hindered us once they saw link.
The fortress was much larger in real life. And there where a lot more guards around. Nabooru herself came out to meet them. "Greetings link, it been a long time since you visited the fortress." She nodded her head to him then turned and bowed to me. The movement put me off guard as she addressed me. "And greetings to you. You will find yourself more welcome here than at the castle. I was informed of you midnight activities by Impa. You are very welcome among us."
Her voice had a middle eastern accent to it I noticed as she walked through the fortress ahead of us attempting to explain the layout to my friends. "Did you understand all that?" She asked before she left us. I let fly with the truth and told her that I already knew my way around.
Nabooru wasn't surprised "I would expect nothing less from the seventh sage." she noticed Debbie for the first time. "And you girl what are you doing away from your post?" she asked in a firm tone. Debbie gaped like a fish out of water and I rushed to explain.
"Nabooru this is my dearest friend Debbie. She has never been to fortress in her life and I assure you she is not one of your guards, although she bares a resemblance that make's her one of your kind."
Nabooru excepted the explanation with a nod. "Then maybe she would like to get to know her kin." It dawned on me that Nabooru's words held a ring of truth. Debbie was a Gerudo, that's why she hadn't changed like I had when we came through the portal. "That would be something to do after you've rested." Nabooru answered for her. "From what I hear of you adventures in Hyrule so far I think you need the rest."
*************************
Clang...
The swords met and rebounded with a crash as the combatants wound through the movements of a battle dance. one of the combatants swung his sword in an arc to block a deadly blade that had been aimed at his neck and thrust out with his shield. The other was surprised at the move and obviously hadn't expected it.
The first combatant continued with his attack. Watching I could hardly see the blade as his arm blurred and for a moment disappeared before it came into sight with the blade poised at the throat of the other combatant.
"Oh don't make me go through that again." Groaned Alex as he stepped away from Link's blade and sat down heavily on the floor panting. "Well I told you that if you wanted to learn how to use a sword you had to learn quickly and the fastest way to teach you was to make you fight." Link explained patiently as he walked over to the side of the room and put his sword back in it's sheath.
"I know, I know." Alex groaned from the floor. Beside me on the bench sat Debbie trying not to let the frantic giggles escape, I was smiling despite my self. "At least your making progress, Alex." I sypathsised, "Unlike some people." "Oh it's not my fault that I had to start what I did." Link defended himself.
Debbie and I had started to teach him Tae-qwan-do but because of the years he'd spent training with a sword he was as stiff as a board. Getting to loosen up was like getting a mule to walk without a rope to yank. He was reluctant to leave his sword out of his sight. "You trust to much in that hunk of metal." I retorted "I'll have you know this "hunk of metal" as you so aptly named it has saved my life more times than I can count."
I shook my head as my smile widened. "Don't forget you've got to let every thing flow." I repeated the words that our teacher had taught us, then let the argument slip knowing that I'd won.
Debbie was enjoying herself immensely. In the week and a half that we'd spent in the Gerudo fortress she'd become more and more like one of the fierce worrior's. I was accepted as a Gerudo because my talents, while not as good as Debbie's, where different and I'd already been daubed as the wise one by the guards. That made me uneasy.
Alex was proving to be quite a handful.
Debbie, Link and I had to keep a careful watch on him. The raging hormones of a teenager made it difficult for him to grip the concept of the rules we had set out for him. That had been one of the conditions of entry, but unfortunately what ever I tried. Spell's, potion's borrowed from a Gerudo and even just knocking him unconscious had all failed me.
The exposure to me over so many years made the magic I tried slip off him, The potions didn't last long in his strong immune system and knocking him on the head had only worked once. My punch had knocked more than a few brain cells lose. I'd found him sleeping on the floor of Debbie's assigned room an hour later while she stood over him, yelling at him to get out of her room. But Alex had just rolled over and sucked his thumb.
The teasing he'd received from the women in the fortress had rendered him docile. At least for now.
I'd explored the fortress from top to bottom finding all the secrets I knew where there. Sneaking round like a shadow I'd found the training grounds. Link spent most of his time there going through the firmilure obstacles with long practiced ease. He had sensed my presence the first time I encountered him in the maze.
"Who's there." he had shouted when he'd felt my gaze on the back of his head. I'd been waiting for him to get far enough away so I could slip through the door he'd just come from. He'd swivelled round on his toe drawing his sword and looking in time to see my cloak flick round the doorway.
He'd given chase and found me sitting on top of one of the statue deep in part of the maze an hour later. He joined me sitting on the statue and just blurted out things that surprised me. He'd been meaning to talk to me since the incident in the lost woods but the chance had evaded him. "So the reaction shows how much you like someone." he made me confirm it for him. I'd nodded and faded a little out of view but his attention was squarely on me so I had no hope for just disappearing into thin air.
So I settled on transparent.
He'd told me of all that he'd been through and how he'd been forced to be the hero, starting with how he'd had to destroy the monster within the Great Deku Tree and finishing with his most recent adventures against the evil prince that had been terrorising Hyrule in Ganondorf's place.
It was obvious that he'd kept all this bottled up for a long time. "I don't feel like being a hero all the time like people expect me to. Sometimes its alright but I don't want to fight for the rest of my life." I knew an old grievance when I saw one. I'd actually become visible again and talked to him after that.
Allot of disturbing things had surfaced as a result of that talk. I remembered every second of it days later, but now at least I had some idea about who he really was.
****************************
A/N : Okay this is starting to get a little sketchy. I suppose my supply of creativity is starting to dry up.
Read what happens next in the next chapter...
Chapter 7 : Disturbing facts.
Chapter 6 : A home found.
The three of us gathered what little we kept on us and followed link out of castle, stopping only to pick up some things from the still kitchen and spell some of the stable entrances shut. It was easy slipping past the guards. We slipped silently past the sleeping gate guard and up through the trap door onto the roof and up into the hills. Skirting the town we where out in the field before the hour had passed.
We went a fair way in the dark and found Lon-lon ranch at sun rise. The ranch, despite the early hour was abuzz with activity. Stable hands turned out the horses and started to milk the cows as we walked up to the main farm house. Debbie was excited about being at Lon-lon ranch. Alex was complaining about his sore feet. I glared at him to shut him up. "I'm not in the best of moods either Alex so don't get like that around me."
Malon came to the door as Link knocked. "Oh Link." she was certainly pleased to see him. "Why don't you come in. She smiled to us and stood back from the door. She bustled about the kitchen as Link explained why we were there. "Tisk Tisk." Went Malon "You know better than that Link. I'm surprised you went back to the castle and with her. You know what the princess is like these days or did you go and hide in the forest again. You haven't been seen round here for almost a year."
Link was trying to defend himself against the growing tirade but couldn't get a word in. Though after about fifteen minutes of the constant strait forward scolding she stopped to breathe. Link took the opportunity to talk. "Malon," he started "First of all it wasn't me who cast the spell on the new king it was Stephanie, and she had a go reason to and..." I cut him off "And he'll be cringing in his chambers like a baby till I take it off."
Malon gave me a funny look. "What did you do exactly?" she asked curiosity getting the better of her. "Oh just a spell so he can't look at another female. It's insurance, he wouldn't last a day around the Gerudo." a smile lit the corners of Malon's mouth.
Link and Alex where getting uneasy with the way the talk was going and sought to change the subject. "So about horses. Can you lend us any to get to the Gerudo fortress?" Malon answered immediately "Oh won't you stay? Not even for one night?" Link bulked at the idea but didn't let Malon catch on.
"Sorry Malon these three are not safe out here anyway Nabooru owes me a favour." Malon looked a little disappointed. She agreed to loan us the extra horses eventually. They would be returned by the Gerudo once we arrived. But as we walked toward the stables she pestered Link to stay.
"NO." He said forcefully then in a lighter tone "I can't. I wanted to help them so now I have too. I won't stay." His words where final and Malon gave up.
**********************
Once in the saddle we rode away from Lon-lon ranch. To avoid any contact with pursuing guards we took a back way out of the ranch. Travelling was much easier by horse. The Gerudo valley came into sight just before midday and none of the guards hindered us once they saw link.
The fortress was much larger in real life. And there where a lot more guards around. Nabooru herself came out to meet them. "Greetings link, it been a long time since you visited the fortress." She nodded her head to him then turned and bowed to me. The movement put me off guard as she addressed me. "And greetings to you. You will find yourself more welcome here than at the castle. I was informed of you midnight activities by Impa. You are very welcome among us."
Her voice had a middle eastern accent to it I noticed as she walked through the fortress ahead of us attempting to explain the layout to my friends. "Did you understand all that?" She asked before she left us. I let fly with the truth and told her that I already knew my way around.
Nabooru wasn't surprised "I would expect nothing less from the seventh sage." she noticed Debbie for the first time. "And you girl what are you doing away from your post?" she asked in a firm tone. Debbie gaped like a fish out of water and I rushed to explain.
"Nabooru this is my dearest friend Debbie. She has never been to fortress in her life and I assure you she is not one of your guards, although she bares a resemblance that make's her one of your kind."
Nabooru excepted the explanation with a nod. "Then maybe she would like to get to know her kin." It dawned on me that Nabooru's words held a ring of truth. Debbie was a Gerudo, that's why she hadn't changed like I had when we came through the portal. "That would be something to do after you've rested." Nabooru answered for her. "From what I hear of you adventures in Hyrule so far I think you need the rest."
*************************
Clang...
The swords met and rebounded with a crash as the combatants wound through the movements of a battle dance. one of the combatants swung his sword in an arc to block a deadly blade that had been aimed at his neck and thrust out with his shield. The other was surprised at the move and obviously hadn't expected it.
The first combatant continued with his attack. Watching I could hardly see the blade as his arm blurred and for a moment disappeared before it came into sight with the blade poised at the throat of the other combatant.
"Oh don't make me go through that again." Groaned Alex as he stepped away from Link's blade and sat down heavily on the floor panting. "Well I told you that if you wanted to learn how to use a sword you had to learn quickly and the fastest way to teach you was to make you fight." Link explained patiently as he walked over to the side of the room and put his sword back in it's sheath.
"I know, I know." Alex groaned from the floor. Beside me on the bench sat Debbie trying not to let the frantic giggles escape, I was smiling despite my self. "At least your making progress, Alex." I sypathsised, "Unlike some people." "Oh it's not my fault that I had to start what I did." Link defended himself.
Debbie and I had started to teach him Tae-qwan-do but because of the years he'd spent training with a sword he was as stiff as a board. Getting to loosen up was like getting a mule to walk without a rope to yank. He was reluctant to leave his sword out of his sight. "You trust to much in that hunk of metal." I retorted "I'll have you know this "hunk of metal" as you so aptly named it has saved my life more times than I can count."
I shook my head as my smile widened. "Don't forget you've got to let every thing flow." I repeated the words that our teacher had taught us, then let the argument slip knowing that I'd won.
Debbie was enjoying herself immensely. In the week and a half that we'd spent in the Gerudo fortress she'd become more and more like one of the fierce worrior's. I was accepted as a Gerudo because my talents, while not as good as Debbie's, where different and I'd already been daubed as the wise one by the guards. That made me uneasy.
Alex was proving to be quite a handful.
Debbie, Link and I had to keep a careful watch on him. The raging hormones of a teenager made it difficult for him to grip the concept of the rules we had set out for him. That had been one of the conditions of entry, but unfortunately what ever I tried. Spell's, potion's borrowed from a Gerudo and even just knocking him unconscious had all failed me.
The exposure to me over so many years made the magic I tried slip off him, The potions didn't last long in his strong immune system and knocking him on the head had only worked once. My punch had knocked more than a few brain cells lose. I'd found him sleeping on the floor of Debbie's assigned room an hour later while she stood over him, yelling at him to get out of her room. But Alex had just rolled over and sucked his thumb.
The teasing he'd received from the women in the fortress had rendered him docile. At least for now.
I'd explored the fortress from top to bottom finding all the secrets I knew where there. Sneaking round like a shadow I'd found the training grounds. Link spent most of his time there going through the firmilure obstacles with long practiced ease. He had sensed my presence the first time I encountered him in the maze.
"Who's there." he had shouted when he'd felt my gaze on the back of his head. I'd been waiting for him to get far enough away so I could slip through the door he'd just come from. He'd swivelled round on his toe drawing his sword and looking in time to see my cloak flick round the doorway.
He'd given chase and found me sitting on top of one of the statue deep in part of the maze an hour later. He joined me sitting on the statue and just blurted out things that surprised me. He'd been meaning to talk to me since the incident in the lost woods but the chance had evaded him. "So the reaction shows how much you like someone." he made me confirm it for him. I'd nodded and faded a little out of view but his attention was squarely on me so I had no hope for just disappearing into thin air.
So I settled on transparent.
He'd told me of all that he'd been through and how he'd been forced to be the hero, starting with how he'd had to destroy the monster within the Great Deku Tree and finishing with his most recent adventures against the evil prince that had been terrorising Hyrule in Ganondorf's place.
It was obvious that he'd kept all this bottled up for a long time. "I don't feel like being a hero all the time like people expect me to. Sometimes its alright but I don't want to fight for the rest of my life." I knew an old grievance when I saw one. I'd actually become visible again and talked to him after that.
Allot of disturbing things had surfaced as a result of that talk. I remembered every second of it days later, but now at least I had some idea about who he really was.
****************************
A/N : Okay this is starting to get a little sketchy. I suppose my supply of creativity is starting to dry up.
Read what happens next in the next chapter...
Chapter 7 : Disturbing facts.