Whew, it's been awhile since I've written anything on this! I hope you like this chapter, but I don't really think of it as my best, so there's a heads up. Please r+r!

Disclaimer: I would have piles of money I would be out spending right now if I owned Zelda.

Chapter 11

I must have eventually gotten to sleep, because I was woken up by some sort of feathery monster attempting to peck my face.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Were my exact words, I believe. I scrambled back, but the wall I had been half-slumped against cut off any retreat. The monster squawked and tried to fly away, flapping small wings against a chicken-like body. In fact…

"What's the matter Evalyn, are you allergic to feathers?" Link sniggered. I glared at him, then the chicken that had moments before been terrifying.

"Shut up." I said, in lack of thinking of a better comeback. Malon was trying hard not to laugh, and chased after the bird. I put my hand down in the hay to push myself up on, but instead felt something cool and metal underneath it. Link must have noticed my expression, because the smirk that had been there before was replaced by a curious one.

"What is it?" He asked. Malon looked up from her chase. Placing my hand on the hilt, I drew out of the hay a long, magnificent blade a little less then 3 feet long. It was amazingly light, probably from some sort of charm. The hilt was bound by a gold-colored leather, and on the end of the handle were three jewels, a sapphire, a ruby, and an emerald. The blade itself was made out of nothing less then diamond, the hardest substance on Earth, and I assumed the same was true here in Hyrule. An identical gasp of amazement came from all three of us.

"The sword of the Goddesses," Breathed Malon. I got up and brushed hay off my borrowed clothes, still gaping at the sword. Then I noticed the same writing on the blade as on the key, etched in where the blade met hilt, etched into the diamond. I asked Link to read it. He came over, and read aloud a poem similar to the one on the key.

"Use me to defeat your foes

I am the strongest as far as a sword goes

I am the blade

To immortality

I can grant you all you desire,

Within the elements earth, air, water, and fire

I am the blade

To immortality."

None of us spoke for a few minutes, allowing the words to sink in. Finally Malon spoke.

"If anyone doubted that what we were on this quest for, they won't now." Since I was the holder of the four, it was decided I would use the blade for fighting, and not the one now. When I asked if it would hurt the sword, Link pointed out it was the Sword of the Goddesses, had lasted since the beginning of time, and wouldn't simply break over some Wolfos head for all that. Less then half an hour later, we were about to find our horses and leave the village. We had left them in the care of a family with a barn, who had let us keep them there for a small price. All we had seen the night before was the father, but he had said something about the children loving to see the magnificent animals. That morning, the door was opened by an adorable little girl who couldn't have been any more then 7 years old.

"Hi!" She said, then stuck her thumb in her mouth. The same man from last night then came to the door, recognizing us.

"Well now, you'll be wanting your horses back, will ye? Can't say my girls are glad to let them go, especially young Hyacinth here," He said, tussling the girl's long red hair, identical to his own. The simple act of father-daughter bond brought a lump to my throat, and I had to look away. Being in Hyrule and on this quest, I was able to almost forget about my parent's death. Now all the memories came flooding back, and I fought to keep down the tears. Riding the horses out of the village about 10 minutes later, Link noticed my expression and tried to make pleasant conversation, but soon stopped. The rest of the journey to the forest was in glum silence. However, I was lifted out of my dark mood as we entered the ancient woods. The sunlight hung in tattered strips through the emerald leaves, dappling the ground with it's light, giving the spots it touched a golden glow. It was almost silent except for the odd twittering of a bird, and I tried to identify a few, when I remembered I wasn't on Earth anymore and there probably was no such thing as Blue Jays and Cardinals here. We rode in silence, but it wasn't the same glum one that had hounded us on the field. I absorbed all the sights I could, wanting to remember all the beauty, and trying to push my dark thoughts out of my mind.

"You know Evalyn, this is right around the spot where I found you." Link said, noticing my alertness.

"Really?" I asked, trying to find the stump I had found myself sitting on. Malon simply rode in silence, trying to absorb all the sights as I was.

"Haven't you ever been here before, Malon?" I asked. The red head shook her head.

"No. Aside from the odd trip to Hyrule Castle Town or Kakariko, I've pretty much stayed at the ranch, especially since my mother died." She said in a quiet tone.

"You're mother's dead? I'm sorry," I quickly added.

"It was awhile ago. I guess I'm okay with it now." The look on her face showed signs of grief long past.

"So it goes away? The hurting?" I asked. Link had wisely ridden ahead a bit, allowing us to converse by ourselves, even though he, too, had lost a parent.

"It never really goes away, but you learn to live with it." We fell into the now-familiar silence again.



You're all probably confused right now, but that's okay. I hope it won't make ya want to stop reading this story…