A brief note from the author:
Hello, this is Timestones, the author of this fanfic. I thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to actually read what I've typed up here. Before I begin with the actual fanfic, I'd like to make one thing clear: this fanfic is not like any other Zelda fanfic you'll read. It doesn't novelize any of the games, nor does it take place in the timeline around any of the games. In fact, the events of the games happened a great deal of time before the events of this fanfic, which makes the story I've devised a sort of alternate universe/future to the Legend of Zelda series. You see many familiar characters and situations, but in different situations, with different histories. Basically, you might have to get yourselves reacquainted with who they all are. But I promise I'll do my best to capture the Zelda series charm and adventurous spirit as best I can in this fanfic.
The Legend of Zelda: Seize the Day
Chapter 1: Discovery
"COMING THROUGH!"
Ingo, the town's top authority on antiques, heard the cry and found himself with barely enough time to dodge the oncoming blur of green and brown as it sped by. A moment later, a second, smaller, and slightly smaller blur ran past him, chanting "wait for me!" as it bounded along.
"Damn kids!" Ingo shouted as he shook a fist menacingly in the air. "Think you own the roads these days! I oughtta drop kick you both into the next time zone! That'd learn ya!"
"Mr. Ingo, who in Hyrule are you bellowing at this time?" Madame Meow-meow, the mayor's wife, asked the irate man.
"It's that damn kid of Anju's," Ingo fumed. "Little punk nearly ran me over, him and that little friend of his, Sara or whatever her name is. They both oughtta be taught a lesson or two, if you ask me!"
Madame Meow-meow gave no reply, but simply inspected her watch and then the town's central clock tower. "Oh goodness, is it really nine-thirty already? Where has the time gone?"
Most of the other residents of Raru were smart enough to keep out of the streets at this time, or else they got run over and drenched by the innkeeper's son as he made his daily round with water from the river. For the past six or seven years, Link would run through the streets carrying buckets filled with water from the river as fast as he could towards the Stock-Pot Inn, where he lived and worked with his aunt, uncle, and mother. It was all part of a rather unorthodox sword-training exercise established by his father years ago, and continued by his uncle in recent times. No amount of arguing or citations from the other townsfolk could convince the family to change to a more standard method of training, so the people learned to cope with the madness on a day-to-day basis. In fact, they'd grown so used to the various charging about town by Link that many people could even tell what time it was just by watching that the active twelve-year-old did about town.
For instance, the blacksmith knew it was about time to open up shop when Link came rushing past with two, full buckets of water grasped firmly in each hand. "Good morning, Link!" he called out as the boy would rush past.
"HiIgottagocan'ttalknowbye!" would be the hurried reply Link gave.
A second or two later, his friend, Saria, would come bounding by at a quick, albeit slower pace while balancing a bucket of water on her head and chanting "wait-for-me, wait-for-me, wait-for-me," over and over.
That was the typical routine for those living in Raru. They woke up in the morning, did their jobs, conversed, took time of for leisure when possible, and generally tried to stay out of Link's way as he went running about. Today was no exception, as the people set about their business for the day, while still being careful of the green clad bundle of energy that zipped by for whatever reason. But it was not a typical day in Raru, not in the least. As soon as the central clock tower struck five o'clock, the townspeople would begin a new set of tasks as opposed to heading home to retire for the night; they would begin the preparation for the Trinity Festival.
Every year, people all over Hyrule would set aside five days during the Spring Solstice for a celebration in honor of the goddesses Din, Farore, and Nayru. It was five days of games, performances, feasting, and having an all-out good time, so everyone who was involved wanted to make sure it would be as perfect a time as possible. Because everyone's attention would be focused on preparing for the festivities, many shops found themselves with few customers that day, but those at the Stock-Pot Inn found things to be a different story.
"I'm sorry sir, but if you didn't make a reservation at least four months in advance I'm afraid I can't help you," Anju, the woman who ran the Stock-Pot Inn, was currently answering the many inquiries volleyed at her by those guests who had come to check into their rooms.
"Hey, do you give room service?"
"What about your tavern, is it any good?"
"The honeymoon suite is soundproof, right?"
"What about my possessions?"
"We here at the Stock-Pot Inn are not responsible for what happens to the belongings of our guests."
"You don't still have that weird hand in the john, do you?"
"Are you sure the honeymoon suite is soundproof?"
"The roof better be waterproof!"
"We're not going to have to share a room with someone, are we?"
"I am NOT sharing a room with someone!"
"Nobody will have to share a room, I assure you."
"We're definitely not sharing the honeymoon suite! (You did say it was soundproof, correct?)"
"Did someone order a pizza?"
"What the hell is a pizza!?"
"Every- everyone plea- please BE QUIET!"
All at once, the hustle and bustle of people in the Stock-Pot Inn's lobby stopped. Anju was normally timid and polite, but even she had limits on how much she could take when it came to being yelled at for things that weren't her fault.
"Now, if you'll all be quiet and just listen, I'm sure all your questions will be answered. Sir, I regret to inform you that if you did not reserve a room at least four months in advance we have no room for you. Also, we do not provide room service during the festival period, our tavern is considered the best in town, the honeymoon suite is INDEED soundproof, we are not responsible for personal belongings during festival period, we never HAD a hand living in the bathroom, my brother-in-law worked on the roofing all last week so the rooms should all be waterproof, you will NOT have to share rooms, and Link, don't do that."
All eyes immediately shifted to the hotel entrance, where two children stood idly. One was a small girl, perhaps no more than nine years old, with dark, green hair cropped just below her shoulders. The other was a boy, who was significantly older looking in appearance and trying his best to look innocent.
"Don't do what? I didn't say anything, it was Saria!"
"No it wasn't!" the tiny girl was quick to defend herself. "Link's lying!"
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Link, Saria, please," Anju, already stressed out enough as it was, decided she was going to nip this escalating annoyance in the bud. "Don't you two have a water-run to make?"
"We just finished the 9:30 run, mom," Link responded quickly, and the continued his argument with Saria as if nothing happened. "Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Children, please, I'm very busy right now. If you're going to argue, could you please do it in the tavern and not here?"
"Okay," agreed the children, who proceeded to walk down the hallway while still engaged in their squabbling."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
It was a few seconds before the children were out of earshot and more importantly, out of Anju's hair. She breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded wipe some sweat which had formed on her brow. Turning back to her customers (who had, up through this point, remained silent), the Stock-Pot Inn's owner focused her mind back on the workload before her.
"Now then, where were we?"
"What do you mean there was never a hand in the toilet? I saw it!"
"Are you sure you're brother-in-law's handiwork is trustworthy?"
"Damn it all, don't you realize how goddamn rich I am? I demand to have a room!"
All at once the customers broke out into a cacophony of yelling and demands. Groaning, and attempting to suppress an oncoming headache, Anju wondered if she wasn't better off listening to Link and Saria's bickering.
* * * *
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am NOT!"
"Are TOO!"
"AM NOT!"
"ARE TOO!"
"NOT!"
"TOO!"
"NOT!"
"TOO!"
"NOOOOOOT!"
"TOOOOOOO!"
"Link, Saria, I love you both like you were my own children, but if you two don't shut up I'll tan both your hides."
"If you so much and lay a finger on those two, I'll beat ya senseless with a fryin' pan! I'll have no child abuse in MY tavern, ya hear?
In spite of having the services of Cremia and her various kitchen utensils, Link and Saria decided it'd be best if they heeded the advice of uncle Byran. Besides, the argument wasn't fun anymore.
"It's not child abuse, Cremia," Byran insisted. "It's tough love. Tough love builds character."
Cremia, co-owner of the Stock-Pott Tavern, leaned her elbows on the counter and peered directly at Byran's face. The thin-lipped, crooked eyebrow expression on her face betrayed the displeasure she was feeling for having been contradicted. Link's uncle Byran simply returned the gaze with one of his own (though his moustache hid most of his upper lip.)
"Excuse me," the red-headed barkeep/cook/what-have-you said in a low tone of voice. "I don't believe you understood me. You're not hitting children, at ALL. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," Byran replied. "Since I can't hit them, can I tie them up and throw them in Bagu Forest for the river monster to eat?"
"You wouldn't dare!" Link objected abruptly. The sudden interruption set the two adults into a fit of raucous laughter which didn't subside for a good while.
"Of course I wouldn't, Link," Byran ruffled his nephews already messy hair playfully. "you're mother would have my head on a silver platter if I even looked at you the wrong way!"
"And then you'd have to deal with Kafei once she was done with you," added Cremia.
Byran paused a minute to think of that possibility. "Oh Din, I hadn't even thought of that. It'd be even worse!"
"No kidding. All Anju could do is kill you, but Kafei, whoah! Talk about eternal punishment!"
Once again, the two adults began laughing hysterically. Many of the other people present in the tavern began to laugh themselves, even if they hadn't heard the joke. Link, however, remained silent, and gave the two of them a rather cross look. It wasn't long after Cremia and Byran caught this look on the youth's face that their laughter died.
"Oh, I. . ." Cremia, at a loss for words and her mouth suddenly feeling dry, stumbled for the right thing to say. "That is, I didn't. . ."
"We were just joking, Link," Byran offered. "There wasn't anything meant by it at all."
Link, however, didn't feel like listening to anything else they had to tell him. He simply dropped down off the bar stool and began to stalk off towards the back.
"I'm going to go practice archery," he stated coldly, brushing past his uncle without looking up. Saria was quick to turn her face up towards the adults with an expression of confusion written all over her, before she followed her best friend out of the tavern.
It was a long time before anyone else spoke.
"I didn't think he'd get that upset about it. I mean, I wasn't making fun of Kafei or anything. . ."
Byran walked around the counter and wrapped the red-haired barkeep in a tight, one armed embrace. "Don't worry about it," he assured her. "He's still a little sensitive about the matter. Besides, he'll be back to his upbeat self again shortly. After all, the Trinity Festival and his thirteenth birthday are in two days. He's been waiting to long for those to stay bitter."
* * * *
For archery practice, Link tended to stray as far from the edge of town as possible (ever since that one incident where a stray arrow caused the pawn shop to collapse, anyway) while still being close enough to be well within Raru's limits once the sun went down. Considering it wasn't even noon yet, Link wouldn't have to worry about that this time around. Instead, all he planned on doing was getting out some pent up aggression by shooting arrows at trees, thrown fruit, and maybe a small, woodland creature should one be foolish enough to crass his path.
Knocking an arrow against the bowstring, Link shouted an order out to Saria. "PULL!"
On cue, the little girl let fly a rather large piece of fruit of some kind, which Link quickly shot out of the arrow. Being slightly rotten, the piece of fruit splattered everywhere on contact with the arrow, sprinkling the grass, a few rocks, and even a tree with it's overly juicy contents. The 'carnage' created by his well placed shot helped to lift the young Hylian boy out of his funk.
"Pull," Link ordered after knocking a second arrow, his voice noticeably less tense and sour than before. Again, Saria chucked a piece of fruit through the air, and Link sniped it out of its grand flight with the arrow.
"Bulls eye, baby!" he shouted triumphantly.
Noticing a great improvement in her friend's mood, Saria diced to risk conversation with him. "Are you okay Link?"
"Yeah, of course," he replied nonchalantly. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You looked kind of angry when we left town," Saria pointed out. "Did it have anything to do with something uncle Byran said to miss Cremia?"
Link furrowed his brow at the reminder of what transpired earlier at the tavern, but seeing the look of concern on Saria's face made Link decide to put the incident behind him.
"Forget about that," he reassured his friend. "I'm sure Cremia didn't mean anything by what she said."
"So you're not still mad at them?"
"Nope," Link replied, removing another arrow from his quiver. With a sly grin and a wink, he added, "although don't tell them that when we get back. I wanna see what they'll do if they think I'm still upset with them."
"Okay!" Saria giggled, thinking of the kind of fun Link's scheme would produce.
"In the meantime, let's stay out here for a bit. Might as well practice some more before heading back." With that, Link knocked the arrow he'd withdrawn against the bowstring and readied another shot. "And this time, throw it as hard and fast as you can."
"Want me to use the slingshot?"
"Go for it!"
With enthusiasm only a pair of children could have, Saria and Link prepared to test the limits of their accuracy and timing. Utilizing a slingshot, Saria aimed a piece of fruit right into the trees that formed the edge of Bagu Forest, diagonal with Link's range of fire.
"Pull!"
With the command given, Saria released her hold on the slingshot and shot her projectile off into the forest. Link soon followed by releasing his arrow. However a sudden, sharp jolt in his left hand and a tingling sensation that danced across his spine induced a spasm so slight, that it threw off his aim just enough that he missed the projectile completely and ended up flying into the forest.
"EEEEEYOOOOOOOOOOW!"
Almost immediately after the second projectile had been launched, a startling scream ripped through the air and caused the children's stomachs to personally say "hello" to their ribcages.
"I think you hit someone," Saria gasped.
"I could hear that," Link snapped. "Come on, we'd better check this out!"
"But didn't Anju say. . ."
"Never to go into Bagu Woods. I know, but someone could be hurt in there and need our help! I'm sure mom wouldn't mind if we helped someone in trouble, now come on!"
Being the brash young lad he was, Link didn't even wait for Saria's response to go dashing into the trees where the arrow had flown. She followed soon thereafter, albeit with much hesitation and disapproval of the whole matter. As the two went farther and farther into the forest, they could hear the voices of two other people yelling and howling at one another growing clearer and more distinct.
"Stop movin' around ya dink! I'm tryin' to get th arrow outta your butt!"
"You get your filthy paws away from my ass! (Ow!)"
After a bit of walking, Link and Saria were able to follow the voices to a hedge surrounded clearing in the trees. By this time, they'd managed to discern that the owners of the voices they'd been hearing were both male, and didn't sound like they got along very well with one another. As Link attempted to push though the bushes that stood between the two parties, he continued to listen to whoever it was he hit argue with someone else.
"Trust me, it'll hurt a lot less once the arrow's out."
"Bollocks! Leave me alone before I hit you with a, with a. . . a hot bag of nickels!"
"Stop talking nonsense and hold still!"
"Ow, that hurts!"
"Almost got it-"
"I want my mommy!"
"Stop crying like that! Someone's going to hear you!"
"Um, hello? Is everything alright back there?" having finally forced their way past the shrubs, the children decided to make their presence known to the strangers and provide assistance in any way they could. Nothing could have prepared either one of them for the surprise they got when the two voices turned out to belong to a pair of strange, wolf-like creatures wearing brown, leather armor and a red sash tied around their waists. The creatures seemed just as surprised to see Link and Saria.
For an instant, time seemed to stand still as the two parties stared each other down, their eyes growing wider with each second that ticked away. In the distance, the clock tower of Raru chimed ten o'clock.
"GORIYAS!" Link and Saria's shout of terror was the next sound heard in the forest.
"HYLIANS!" the wolf creatures reciprocated the reaction, and followed quickly with a shout of, "RUN AWAY," which is what they did. One of them, in their haste, dropped an open mouthed jar on the forest floor.
Overcome with fear, and more importantly, a great deal of confusion, Link and Saria remained standing where they were, wide-eyed and rigid, looking very much like part of the scenery in their green clothes (and in Saria's case, hair).
"Will someone tell me what the dilly-doo-dad just happened here!?" Link exclaimed in his puzzlement.
"I _think_ they ran away, but then again this is just a dream I had that caused me to wet the bed. I'm sure of it."
No one moved for a very long time. It was a good while before Link could muster up the courage to move.
"Y-yeah, t-that's right," he shouted to the air. "You better run you . . . you Goriyas, you." He finished off his uninspired retort with a bit of mock laughter, which gave away to the maniacal giggles and snickering of relief, which Saria joined in. They continued to laugh, long and hard, until the corners of their mouths were sore and their sides ached and their lungs begged for a substantial amount of air. Suddenly feeling drained and exhausted, they collapsed to the ground in heaps, exchanging on a few snickers or slight giggles for conversation.
"Oh . . . . man," Link sighed heavily. "I. . . never want. . . to do that again. . . ."
"You said it. . . ." Saria replied between gasps. "It'll be a cool story, though."
"Yeah, but nobody will ever believe us," Link noted. "It's too bad we don't have any kind of proof to bring back. Everyone would be really amazed!"
"Sahasrala. . ."
"Eh?" Link grunted. "What?"
"Must. . . find. . . Sahasrala. . ."
Link found himself presented with that familiar, ominous feeling he got when he heard the Goriya scream after getting hit with an arrow. "Saria?" he asked cautiously. "Did you say something?"
The green haired girl thought for a moment. "No. . ."
"Take me. . . please. . ."
"What the. . . who. . .?"
Link looked about the area to see if he could find who it was that was talking to them, but found no one. He began to suspect the possibility of forest spirits playing tricks on his mind, when Saria dismissed the possibility by an exclamation of "Link, look!"
He followed the direction of Saria's eyes and finger to the ground, right at his side. There, he found the tiny figure of a girl with large, glittering wings, glowing faintly and clutching desperately to the hem of his tunic.
"Take me. . . to Sahasrala. . ." the miniature girl pleaded one last time, before relinquishing her hold on Link's tunic and collapsing.
"Hey, wait a second," Link's awe quickly gave way to frantic concern as the fairy slumped against his side. "What are you talking about? Wake up, hey! Wake up!"
Hello, this is Timestones, the author of this fanfic. I thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to actually read what I've typed up here. Before I begin with the actual fanfic, I'd like to make one thing clear: this fanfic is not like any other Zelda fanfic you'll read. It doesn't novelize any of the games, nor does it take place in the timeline around any of the games. In fact, the events of the games happened a great deal of time before the events of this fanfic, which makes the story I've devised a sort of alternate universe/future to the Legend of Zelda series. You see many familiar characters and situations, but in different situations, with different histories. Basically, you might have to get yourselves reacquainted with who they all are. But I promise I'll do my best to capture the Zelda series charm and adventurous spirit as best I can in this fanfic.
The Legend of Zelda: Seize the Day
Chapter 1: Discovery
"COMING THROUGH!"
Ingo, the town's top authority on antiques, heard the cry and found himself with barely enough time to dodge the oncoming blur of green and brown as it sped by. A moment later, a second, smaller, and slightly smaller blur ran past him, chanting "wait for me!" as it bounded along.
"Damn kids!" Ingo shouted as he shook a fist menacingly in the air. "Think you own the roads these days! I oughtta drop kick you both into the next time zone! That'd learn ya!"
"Mr. Ingo, who in Hyrule are you bellowing at this time?" Madame Meow-meow, the mayor's wife, asked the irate man.
"It's that damn kid of Anju's," Ingo fumed. "Little punk nearly ran me over, him and that little friend of his, Sara or whatever her name is. They both oughtta be taught a lesson or two, if you ask me!"
Madame Meow-meow gave no reply, but simply inspected her watch and then the town's central clock tower. "Oh goodness, is it really nine-thirty already? Where has the time gone?"
Most of the other residents of Raru were smart enough to keep out of the streets at this time, or else they got run over and drenched by the innkeeper's son as he made his daily round with water from the river. For the past six or seven years, Link would run through the streets carrying buckets filled with water from the river as fast as he could towards the Stock-Pot Inn, where he lived and worked with his aunt, uncle, and mother. It was all part of a rather unorthodox sword-training exercise established by his father years ago, and continued by his uncle in recent times. No amount of arguing or citations from the other townsfolk could convince the family to change to a more standard method of training, so the people learned to cope with the madness on a day-to-day basis. In fact, they'd grown so used to the various charging about town by Link that many people could even tell what time it was just by watching that the active twelve-year-old did about town.
For instance, the blacksmith knew it was about time to open up shop when Link came rushing past with two, full buckets of water grasped firmly in each hand. "Good morning, Link!" he called out as the boy would rush past.
"HiIgottagocan'ttalknowbye!" would be the hurried reply Link gave.
A second or two later, his friend, Saria, would come bounding by at a quick, albeit slower pace while balancing a bucket of water on her head and chanting "wait-for-me, wait-for-me, wait-for-me," over and over.
That was the typical routine for those living in Raru. They woke up in the morning, did their jobs, conversed, took time of for leisure when possible, and generally tried to stay out of Link's way as he went running about. Today was no exception, as the people set about their business for the day, while still being careful of the green clad bundle of energy that zipped by for whatever reason. But it was not a typical day in Raru, not in the least. As soon as the central clock tower struck five o'clock, the townspeople would begin a new set of tasks as opposed to heading home to retire for the night; they would begin the preparation for the Trinity Festival.
Every year, people all over Hyrule would set aside five days during the Spring Solstice for a celebration in honor of the goddesses Din, Farore, and Nayru. It was five days of games, performances, feasting, and having an all-out good time, so everyone who was involved wanted to make sure it would be as perfect a time as possible. Because everyone's attention would be focused on preparing for the festivities, many shops found themselves with few customers that day, but those at the Stock-Pot Inn found things to be a different story.
"I'm sorry sir, but if you didn't make a reservation at least four months in advance I'm afraid I can't help you," Anju, the woman who ran the Stock-Pot Inn, was currently answering the many inquiries volleyed at her by those guests who had come to check into their rooms.
"Hey, do you give room service?"
"What about your tavern, is it any good?"
"The honeymoon suite is soundproof, right?"
"What about my possessions?"
"We here at the Stock-Pot Inn are not responsible for what happens to the belongings of our guests."
"You don't still have that weird hand in the john, do you?"
"Are you sure the honeymoon suite is soundproof?"
"The roof better be waterproof!"
"We're not going to have to share a room with someone, are we?"
"I am NOT sharing a room with someone!"
"Nobody will have to share a room, I assure you."
"We're definitely not sharing the honeymoon suite! (You did say it was soundproof, correct?)"
"Did someone order a pizza?"
"What the hell is a pizza!?"
"Every- everyone plea- please BE QUIET!"
All at once, the hustle and bustle of people in the Stock-Pot Inn's lobby stopped. Anju was normally timid and polite, but even she had limits on how much she could take when it came to being yelled at for things that weren't her fault.
"Now, if you'll all be quiet and just listen, I'm sure all your questions will be answered. Sir, I regret to inform you that if you did not reserve a room at least four months in advance we have no room for you. Also, we do not provide room service during the festival period, our tavern is considered the best in town, the honeymoon suite is INDEED soundproof, we are not responsible for personal belongings during festival period, we never HAD a hand living in the bathroom, my brother-in-law worked on the roofing all last week so the rooms should all be waterproof, you will NOT have to share rooms, and Link, don't do that."
All eyes immediately shifted to the hotel entrance, where two children stood idly. One was a small girl, perhaps no more than nine years old, with dark, green hair cropped just below her shoulders. The other was a boy, who was significantly older looking in appearance and trying his best to look innocent.
"Don't do what? I didn't say anything, it was Saria!"
"No it wasn't!" the tiny girl was quick to defend herself. "Link's lying!"
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Link, Saria, please," Anju, already stressed out enough as it was, decided she was going to nip this escalating annoyance in the bud. "Don't you two have a water-run to make?"
"We just finished the 9:30 run, mom," Link responded quickly, and the continued his argument with Saria as if nothing happened. "Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Children, please, I'm very busy right now. If you're going to argue, could you please do it in the tavern and not here?"
"Okay," agreed the children, who proceeded to walk down the hallway while still engaged in their squabbling."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
It was a few seconds before the children were out of earshot and more importantly, out of Anju's hair. She breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded wipe some sweat which had formed on her brow. Turning back to her customers (who had, up through this point, remained silent), the Stock-Pot Inn's owner focused her mind back on the workload before her.
"Now then, where were we?"
"What do you mean there was never a hand in the toilet? I saw it!"
"Are you sure you're brother-in-law's handiwork is trustworthy?"
"Damn it all, don't you realize how goddamn rich I am? I demand to have a room!"
All at once the customers broke out into a cacophony of yelling and demands. Groaning, and attempting to suppress an oncoming headache, Anju wondered if she wasn't better off listening to Link and Saria's bickering.
* * * *
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am NOT!"
"Are TOO!"
"AM NOT!"
"ARE TOO!"
"NOT!"
"TOO!"
"NOT!"
"TOO!"
"NOOOOOOT!"
"TOOOOOOO!"
"Link, Saria, I love you both like you were my own children, but if you two don't shut up I'll tan both your hides."
"If you so much and lay a finger on those two, I'll beat ya senseless with a fryin' pan! I'll have no child abuse in MY tavern, ya hear?
In spite of having the services of Cremia and her various kitchen utensils, Link and Saria decided it'd be best if they heeded the advice of uncle Byran. Besides, the argument wasn't fun anymore.
"It's not child abuse, Cremia," Byran insisted. "It's tough love. Tough love builds character."
Cremia, co-owner of the Stock-Pott Tavern, leaned her elbows on the counter and peered directly at Byran's face. The thin-lipped, crooked eyebrow expression on her face betrayed the displeasure she was feeling for having been contradicted. Link's uncle Byran simply returned the gaze with one of his own (though his moustache hid most of his upper lip.)
"Excuse me," the red-headed barkeep/cook/what-have-you said in a low tone of voice. "I don't believe you understood me. You're not hitting children, at ALL. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," Byran replied. "Since I can't hit them, can I tie them up and throw them in Bagu Forest for the river monster to eat?"
"You wouldn't dare!" Link objected abruptly. The sudden interruption set the two adults into a fit of raucous laughter which didn't subside for a good while.
"Of course I wouldn't, Link," Byran ruffled his nephews already messy hair playfully. "you're mother would have my head on a silver platter if I even looked at you the wrong way!"
"And then you'd have to deal with Kafei once she was done with you," added Cremia.
Byran paused a minute to think of that possibility. "Oh Din, I hadn't even thought of that. It'd be even worse!"
"No kidding. All Anju could do is kill you, but Kafei, whoah! Talk about eternal punishment!"
Once again, the two adults began laughing hysterically. Many of the other people present in the tavern began to laugh themselves, even if they hadn't heard the joke. Link, however, remained silent, and gave the two of them a rather cross look. It wasn't long after Cremia and Byran caught this look on the youth's face that their laughter died.
"Oh, I. . ." Cremia, at a loss for words and her mouth suddenly feeling dry, stumbled for the right thing to say. "That is, I didn't. . ."
"We were just joking, Link," Byran offered. "There wasn't anything meant by it at all."
Link, however, didn't feel like listening to anything else they had to tell him. He simply dropped down off the bar stool and began to stalk off towards the back.
"I'm going to go practice archery," he stated coldly, brushing past his uncle without looking up. Saria was quick to turn her face up towards the adults with an expression of confusion written all over her, before she followed her best friend out of the tavern.
It was a long time before anyone else spoke.
"I didn't think he'd get that upset about it. I mean, I wasn't making fun of Kafei or anything. . ."
Byran walked around the counter and wrapped the red-haired barkeep in a tight, one armed embrace. "Don't worry about it," he assured her. "He's still a little sensitive about the matter. Besides, he'll be back to his upbeat self again shortly. After all, the Trinity Festival and his thirteenth birthday are in two days. He's been waiting to long for those to stay bitter."
* * * *
For archery practice, Link tended to stray as far from the edge of town as possible (ever since that one incident where a stray arrow caused the pawn shop to collapse, anyway) while still being close enough to be well within Raru's limits once the sun went down. Considering it wasn't even noon yet, Link wouldn't have to worry about that this time around. Instead, all he planned on doing was getting out some pent up aggression by shooting arrows at trees, thrown fruit, and maybe a small, woodland creature should one be foolish enough to crass his path.
Knocking an arrow against the bowstring, Link shouted an order out to Saria. "PULL!"
On cue, the little girl let fly a rather large piece of fruit of some kind, which Link quickly shot out of the arrow. Being slightly rotten, the piece of fruit splattered everywhere on contact with the arrow, sprinkling the grass, a few rocks, and even a tree with it's overly juicy contents. The 'carnage' created by his well placed shot helped to lift the young Hylian boy out of his funk.
"Pull," Link ordered after knocking a second arrow, his voice noticeably less tense and sour than before. Again, Saria chucked a piece of fruit through the air, and Link sniped it out of its grand flight with the arrow.
"Bulls eye, baby!" he shouted triumphantly.
Noticing a great improvement in her friend's mood, Saria diced to risk conversation with him. "Are you okay Link?"
"Yeah, of course," he replied nonchalantly. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You looked kind of angry when we left town," Saria pointed out. "Did it have anything to do with something uncle Byran said to miss Cremia?"
Link furrowed his brow at the reminder of what transpired earlier at the tavern, but seeing the look of concern on Saria's face made Link decide to put the incident behind him.
"Forget about that," he reassured his friend. "I'm sure Cremia didn't mean anything by what she said."
"So you're not still mad at them?"
"Nope," Link replied, removing another arrow from his quiver. With a sly grin and a wink, he added, "although don't tell them that when we get back. I wanna see what they'll do if they think I'm still upset with them."
"Okay!" Saria giggled, thinking of the kind of fun Link's scheme would produce.
"In the meantime, let's stay out here for a bit. Might as well practice some more before heading back." With that, Link knocked the arrow he'd withdrawn against the bowstring and readied another shot. "And this time, throw it as hard and fast as you can."
"Want me to use the slingshot?"
"Go for it!"
With enthusiasm only a pair of children could have, Saria and Link prepared to test the limits of their accuracy and timing. Utilizing a slingshot, Saria aimed a piece of fruit right into the trees that formed the edge of Bagu Forest, diagonal with Link's range of fire.
"Pull!"
With the command given, Saria released her hold on the slingshot and shot her projectile off into the forest. Link soon followed by releasing his arrow. However a sudden, sharp jolt in his left hand and a tingling sensation that danced across his spine induced a spasm so slight, that it threw off his aim just enough that he missed the projectile completely and ended up flying into the forest.
"EEEEEYOOOOOOOOOOW!"
Almost immediately after the second projectile had been launched, a startling scream ripped through the air and caused the children's stomachs to personally say "hello" to their ribcages.
"I think you hit someone," Saria gasped.
"I could hear that," Link snapped. "Come on, we'd better check this out!"
"But didn't Anju say. . ."
"Never to go into Bagu Woods. I know, but someone could be hurt in there and need our help! I'm sure mom wouldn't mind if we helped someone in trouble, now come on!"
Being the brash young lad he was, Link didn't even wait for Saria's response to go dashing into the trees where the arrow had flown. She followed soon thereafter, albeit with much hesitation and disapproval of the whole matter. As the two went farther and farther into the forest, they could hear the voices of two other people yelling and howling at one another growing clearer and more distinct.
"Stop movin' around ya dink! I'm tryin' to get th arrow outta your butt!"
"You get your filthy paws away from my ass! (Ow!)"
After a bit of walking, Link and Saria were able to follow the voices to a hedge surrounded clearing in the trees. By this time, they'd managed to discern that the owners of the voices they'd been hearing were both male, and didn't sound like they got along very well with one another. As Link attempted to push though the bushes that stood between the two parties, he continued to listen to whoever it was he hit argue with someone else.
"Trust me, it'll hurt a lot less once the arrow's out."
"Bollocks! Leave me alone before I hit you with a, with a. . . a hot bag of nickels!"
"Stop talking nonsense and hold still!"
"Ow, that hurts!"
"Almost got it-"
"I want my mommy!"
"Stop crying like that! Someone's going to hear you!"
"Um, hello? Is everything alright back there?" having finally forced their way past the shrubs, the children decided to make their presence known to the strangers and provide assistance in any way they could. Nothing could have prepared either one of them for the surprise they got when the two voices turned out to belong to a pair of strange, wolf-like creatures wearing brown, leather armor and a red sash tied around their waists. The creatures seemed just as surprised to see Link and Saria.
For an instant, time seemed to stand still as the two parties stared each other down, their eyes growing wider with each second that ticked away. In the distance, the clock tower of Raru chimed ten o'clock.
"GORIYAS!" Link and Saria's shout of terror was the next sound heard in the forest.
"HYLIANS!" the wolf creatures reciprocated the reaction, and followed quickly with a shout of, "RUN AWAY," which is what they did. One of them, in their haste, dropped an open mouthed jar on the forest floor.
Overcome with fear, and more importantly, a great deal of confusion, Link and Saria remained standing where they were, wide-eyed and rigid, looking very much like part of the scenery in their green clothes (and in Saria's case, hair).
"Will someone tell me what the dilly-doo-dad just happened here!?" Link exclaimed in his puzzlement.
"I _think_ they ran away, but then again this is just a dream I had that caused me to wet the bed. I'm sure of it."
No one moved for a very long time. It was a good while before Link could muster up the courage to move.
"Y-yeah, t-that's right," he shouted to the air. "You better run you . . . you Goriyas, you." He finished off his uninspired retort with a bit of mock laughter, which gave away to the maniacal giggles and snickering of relief, which Saria joined in. They continued to laugh, long and hard, until the corners of their mouths were sore and their sides ached and their lungs begged for a substantial amount of air. Suddenly feeling drained and exhausted, they collapsed to the ground in heaps, exchanging on a few snickers or slight giggles for conversation.
"Oh . . . . man," Link sighed heavily. "I. . . never want. . . to do that again. . . ."
"You said it. . . ." Saria replied between gasps. "It'll be a cool story, though."
"Yeah, but nobody will ever believe us," Link noted. "It's too bad we don't have any kind of proof to bring back. Everyone would be really amazed!"
"Sahasrala. . ."
"Eh?" Link grunted. "What?"
"Must. . . find. . . Sahasrala. . ."
Link found himself presented with that familiar, ominous feeling he got when he heard the Goriya scream after getting hit with an arrow. "Saria?" he asked cautiously. "Did you say something?"
The green haired girl thought for a moment. "No. . ."
"Take me. . . please. . ."
"What the. . . who. . .?"
Link looked about the area to see if he could find who it was that was talking to them, but found no one. He began to suspect the possibility of forest spirits playing tricks on his mind, when Saria dismissed the possibility by an exclamation of "Link, look!"
He followed the direction of Saria's eyes and finger to the ground, right at his side. There, he found the tiny figure of a girl with large, glittering wings, glowing faintly and clutching desperately to the hem of his tunic.
"Take me. . . to Sahasrala. . ." the miniature girl pleaded one last time, before relinquishing her hold on Link's tunic and collapsing.
"Hey, wait a second," Link's awe quickly gave way to frantic concern as the fairy slumped against his side. "What are you talking about? Wake up, hey! Wake up!"