The Legend of Zelda: Her Story
Chapter 12: Pirates!! And the Blue Eyed Devil.
By: (o'.')o – The Kirby Kid
Disclaimer:
The Legend of Zelda is Copyright Nintendo of Japan/America.
Author's Notes:
Hey. Another long one coming up, so I hope you stay with me :). Thanks to you guys who reviewed. You know who you are. ;).
On another note…I know my last chapter, the Interlude 1 was a little out of place. Palta and Tella are going to end up being major players in this story…and I wanted you to get a piece of what motivates them. I'm very happy if you enjoyed it. And don't hate Tella…she's a nice person and loves her sister. She's just obviously a little insensitive….
….And a slut. But anyway…
Did I just say that? o_O. Oy…. Sorry. Didn't mean to offend anyone.
P.S.: My dates don't really mean anything, I haven't gone through them yet. Let's just say that this entire storyline of fan fictions take place about 2500 years after the Triforce was left on Hyrule by the Goddesses…and let's say it takes place about 500 years after the Imprisoning War. (Ocarina of Time.) It's all rough but that's about it.
Enjoy! And please please please review if you read this. I'm trying my best! Later!
-(o'.')o
************
"I know it's a week later, but I still must say how glad I am to be out of that dreadful kingdom," a large, colourfully dressed woman cowed loudly.
A slimmer woman in a sapphire blue dress nodded and brought a small porcelain cup of tea to her lips. "Oh yes, I must agree."
"Die…" Zelda thought to them.
The ladies laughed, and the large one spoke again. "Can you believe that ninny husband of mine, thinking I could use a holiday in a place like that?"
"I know! If it's not 'Goddess this' and 'Goddess that', it's war with their mongrel races. How utterly pathetic, if their Queen wasn't so beautiful and their country so powerful I wouldn't think of them as anything at all.
"Please die…" Zelda thought again.
"Beautiful? Please. She's a short and skinny ghost, that woman is. I don't know why they let that girl run the Kingdom. I can't imagine what she has to face with those rock people and…fish people? And those desert thieves! They stole one of my favourite brooches. It was priceless!"
The woman in blue waved her hand dismissively. "You've got several of those brooches, Annemette."
"That's not the point! Why in the world do they allow those dark faced jackals to run around like that? It's abhorrent."
"Why won't you die already?"
"Now, now Annemette…" The woman in blue chided.
"If you don't die this very second…"
"Princess?" Rin whispered. Zelda turned her scowl towards him, and he leaned away a bit. "You…were just wishing those women death, were you?"
Zelda blinked, and then turned away with a huff. "Well some people deserve that wish…if you can call them 'people'."
"Ku!" Moto said in agreement from beneath her blouse.
The Princess and her pet were upset, and they had good reason to be. They had been stowed away on this cruise ship for the past week. Zelda didn't want to use a lot of magic for fear that she'd alert her mother or Impa…and she didn't want them to know what she was up to until later. So she cast Glamours around her and Rin to make them appear as parts of the ship: pipes and barrels and whatnot. Even though the Glamour could even hide their voices, the disguise was very fragile, and any movement threatened to unravel it. So they decided to find spots on the ship and stay there.
At first they thought about staying below deck. However, the passageways under the ship were cramped and they were at a high risk of being discovered, especially when Rin broke disguise to get Zelda and Moto food. So they stayed on the deck, moving to various places depending on the concentration of nobles and sailors.
They were hungry, they were cramped, and they were sick and tired of listening to these idiots prattle on and disparage Hyrule.
A slight smile curled on Rin's lips and as he glanced away he said, "Surely you've dealt with nobles and the like before, princess?"
Zelda huffed again and looked straight ahead irritated. "The nobles I've met in Hyrule are nowhere near this crude, and even the ones I've met overseas aren't this bad. Shades, even the ones that were at least had the decency to keep their foul thoughts to themselves." She bunched her knees up to her chest and buried her head in her knees. "These people are horrible. They're ludicrously obtuse, their prejudice amazes me and they practically bathe in perfume." She gritted her teeth and added, "If you ask me, they're in serious need of a medicinal kick to the head."
Rin spread his hands. "You'll get no argument from me," he said to placate her.
Sighing again, Zelda tried to calm down and focus on her anger. She was upset for a lot of reasons. She was cramped, hungry, thirsty, and smelly. What she wouldn't give for a bath at that moment. Zelda closed her eyes and could almost feel the heat of the water cleansing her body. But that wouldn't be…and it was mostly her fault. She was the one who suggested they stow away on this ship. Little did she know that it was a cruise ship full of snobbish nobles who were taking the long way back to Calatia. One week had passed, and there was another week to go.
"I don't know if I can do this much longer," she whispered to no one.
Rin turned to her, but said nothing. He knew how she felt, but there was nothing he could do about it. They said few words ever since starting this uneasy journey, and it didn't look like they'd be able to find comfort or solace in each other during bad times.
So Zelda leaned back and yielded to the rocking of the large ship to the troubled seas. There was nothing to do but sit back and wait, though she wished there was something more that she could do…
***
A wise person once said, "Be careful what you wish for."
It happened as the moon reached its highest point during that cool night. Zelda was rocked awake by a large tremor caused by a massive blast. She braced herself and looked at Rin with distress and concern. He looked back at her, and then at the sailors and passengers that were running around frantically. Lines of rope began to whip up from the sea and to the rails of the ship. Was this an attack? Were they being boarded?
"We have to move!" Zelda hissed. Before Rin could answer, she dissolved the Glamour and started running. With a few quick steps, they reached a wall that surrounded a doorway to the below decks, and flattened against it. Zelda threw the Glamour back into place before anyone was the wiser. From this vantage point they could clearly see what was happening.
Zelda could see that there was another ship to the…right of cruise vessel. (She had no idea, which was port and which was starboard or the bow, or any nautical jargon like that.) There were a few men on the ship wielding weapons she recognized as guns…like the ones her uncle Evit used. These guns, however, had much longer barrels to them, and they were pointed square into the population of nobles and sailors that were congregating on the ship. There were also cannons pointed right at them. The ship had a large mast and the sail was black with the symbol of a skull and swords on it. They were obviously pirates.
People were being horded to one spot by pirates that had boarded the ship. As the nobles stood with their hands up in the air, one pirate stood ahead of them, one more defiant than the others. He was tall and strapping man, with long scraggly black hair and sharp blue eyes. He wore a red leather shirt, dark pants and a long dark overcoat, and a shiny cutlass was strapped to his belt at the side.
"Where's the Captain boys?" the man asked boisterously. "I've got to tell him about what a shoddy ship he's got under his command. Do you know we've been tailing you for days? Days! And you've never suspected. I mean I've got to say that's really sad. Might as well draw a target on your hull."
"What do you want from me!" a large woman in red screeched. Zelda recognized the voice as the one belonging to the irritating noble called Annemette.
Zelda thought that the man, possibly the pirate captain, would respond. Instead a young woman walked up to his side and stared at the woman with hard eyes. This lady was dark-skinned and quite pretty, with hair put in small braids that reached the back of her neck, which had a dark ram-head necklace clasped around it.. She also wore a dark overcoat, blue pants that fell to her shins and a white frilly blouse. A slight smile curled on the woman's lips.
"What we want, my lady, is what we all want as we are motivated by the desires of our animal nature…and of course, you know all to well what that is." The woman said lightly, before stepping forward again. "That is, naturally, what someone else possesses, controls, owns or just plain wants to keep for themselves. More accurately, my lady, it's what you have."
"Get away from me you-" but before Mrs. Annemette could get another word out, the black woman raised a finger in the air to interrupt her.
"Oh, and for the record, is it just the Gerudo, or do you consider or do you consider all of us 'dark faces' abhorrent?"
Mrs. Annemette gasped, and her friend's hands flew to her mouth in alarm. "You…you were listening to us?"
"All of you, actually." The pirate captain said jovially. "We had to see if your captain and crew had spotted us and if they planned on retaliating. You couldn't imagine the amount of goods we have on you fun, fun people." He placed his hands on his hips, and he said with a wink, "And by fun…I mean rich and stupid."
Mrs. Annemette's faced blackened with rage. "HOW DARE-"
Before she could go on, pirate woman interrupted her again, this time with a small pistol to her face. The pistol was silver, with a short barrel engraved with the image of a flower on it. Zelda gathered that she kept it hidden under her coat…but she still couldn't believe how fast the gun appeared in her hand. Guns were a relatively new technology in Hyrule, but it seemed the Calatians had been using them for quite a while.
"I want your brooch," the pirate woman said prettily. "It's a very nice brooch."
"Don't forget priceless, Miss Abe," the captain quickly added.
Mrs. Annemette looked like she was about to faint. Part of Zelda wanted to stop this crime from happening. The rest of her…the other 99%, smiled at the woman's comeuppance with glee.
"Then again, I'd rather sell it. Better yet, I'll give it away. I'm sure this'll look lovely on some Calatian street urchin."
Mrs. Annemette finally did faint.
The pirate captain shrugged lazily and faced the crowd once more. "All right, looks like we've assembled the crew. Hello there, fellow Captain. Nice group of men you have here. A little on the oblivious side, but it's hard to find good help nowadays. Yeah I hear that. Now, here's what's gonna happen." He brought over another pirate; a tall lanky man with a bandanna wrapped around his head and slung his arm over his shoulder. "This here is Tenmen; good guy, really funny. He's gonna entertain you with a few jokes, maybe a magic trick here and there…and you're gonna sit their and love it. In the meantime, the rest of my people will strip you and your ship of everything and anything even remotely valuable. Don't worry, we'll leave you with just enough supplies that'll take you back to Hyrule, so that you can get your refund and spread the awesome and fantastic tales of the famous Black Birds of Calatia. Good sirs and madams please don't look at me like that. Like my beautiful first officer said, taking advantage of dimwits like you who put yourselves on ineptly rubbish ships like this is in our nature. Just like it's in your nature to put yourself on a ineptly rubbish ship like this and get robbed by beautiful people like us."
Zelda blinked. Goddess that man could talk…
It was just like the pirate captain said, and after about a half-hour, they had stripped the cruise ship of everything useful. Finally they finished off and with a final 'thank you' flourish, they made their way back to their craft.
"Princess, let's go!"
Zelda whipped her head at Rin and glowered. "What, are you joking?"
"You heard the man, Princess. This ship is going to be forced back to Hyrule. They've just taken a huge bounty, and they're probably going to head back home…and home is probably Calatia. Their ship is much faster than this one. This is an opportunity we can't pass up."
Biting her lip and glancing to the floor, Zelda thought about this. She knew Rin was right…but some doubt was gnawing at her. "How are we going to get there with all of this ruckus?"
"Can't you use your teleportation spell?"
She looked at him ludicrously and shook her head. "Farore's Wind? I might as well wave a giant banner to the rest of the magical people in Hyrule saying 'HERE I AM! COME AND GET ME!' That's way too much magic. We'll be detected for sure, and you'll be back on that gurney." She turned to the rails and saw the pirate ship retract some of its cables and make ready for the final departure. "Or the gallows…"
Rin shook his head. "I don't think so. I think you can disguise the spell somehow… If anyone can, you can. I'm sure of it!"
"It's not that easy!" Zelda reiterated. It really wasn't. Farore's Wind was an inherited spell. That is, she didn't have to learn it…it came naturally to her at a certain age. Inherited spells were notoriously difficult to manipulate. In fact, it was almost impossible to manipulate or even see the weaves of an inherited spell…
But maybe she didn't have to.
Rin watched as Zelda took in a large breath, and as she slowly released it, she started weaving her Wisdom. It snaked out of her being and curled into a large sphere that enveloped them, and as it shimmered and coiled about she pointed her arm towards the pirate ship and created another such sphere there, behind a large cabin near the end of the ship.
"What are you…?"
"Quiet!" Zelda hissed. She tied off the ends of her weaves and watched the ripple of the spell and waited for any indication that she had been detected. When none came she turned to Rin. "Hopefully these spheres will mute Farore's Wind when I cast it. Let's hope it works."
She offered her hand to Rin, who took it and was immediately taken away with the power of the spell. There was a sudden and fierce rush of wind, and then they were aboard the pirate ship. The spheres she created expanded for a brief moment, and then caved into themselves with a pop. Zelda put her back to the cabin wall and quickly created another Glamour, and disguised them as supply barrels. When she was finished, the princess slid to the ground and started to pant heavily.
Looking at her with wonderment and respect, Rin smiled and said to her, "Well done. You're more skilled than I could have imagined."
Zelda didn't respond. She was grateful from the compliment, but she didn't know how to take it from him.
***
A little more than an hour had passed since they stowed away on the pirate ship, and although no one was the wiser, Zelda was getting more and more uncomfortable. They hadn't moved at all since they'd gotten aboard, and those nasty cramps were coming back. She watched as pirates in all shapes and colours walked by them unknowingly. This crew was very diverse, and she figured it probably helped towards their efficiency. The way they robbed that cruise ship smacked of professionalism.
Then, as the moon began to make it's final arc through the dark sky, another pirate walked by them, and when Zelda finally noticed she gave a start. It was a boy of probably thirteen years of age. She was only looking at his back, but she could see he had blonde hair that waved from the side of his head to his neck. That wasn't the most alarming part. It was his clothes: brown boots, and most noticeably, a green tunic and a long green toque covering his head.
Zelda heard the boy sniff a couple of times, and as she stared, she saw the boy turn and look straight at them. Zelda and Rin froze and waited for the cry for help with frozen hearts, but the boy continued to glance around. Maybe he wasn't looking at them…just at the disguise. Now that she could see the boy's face, Zelda saw that it was a clear one marred only with dark bags under his eyes. That coupled with the constant sniffling made it seem to her like the kid was ill.
The boy turned and then turned back to Zelda, looking her directly in the eye. A small smile formed on his lips, and a chill ran down Zelda's spine. He saw her. How was that possible? She saw Rin's hand flash with small flames. He was getting ready to strike.
"O Captain my Captain!?" The boy shouted. "*Sniff* Come down here a moment!"
"Oh no…" Zelda gasped. Rin started to inch his way up against the wall.
The captain arrived with the black woman walking beside him. They stopped right in front of the boy, their backs to Zelda and Rin.
"What's going on, Mighty?" the captain asked.
The boy smiled and coughed slightly. "A trick, for your consideration. You see, now you don't see them." He brought up his right arm and snapped his fingers.
Zelda's Glamour shattered and recoiled back into her with such a force that her back slammed into wall.
"*Sniff* And now you do."
The captain and his first officer stared in shock at two stowaways, and Rin quickly took advantage of their pause. He started forward, Halef still not present in his hand. Zelda could only think he'd use it at the final second. He reached for the captain…
…And there was this sudden ball of dark light flashing in his face. Rin covered his eyes instinctively, and then felt a boot to his chest that knocked him to the ground. When he tried to get up he was slammed back to the ground by that same boot, and a pistol was shoved into his face. The first officer had a firearm in both hands and they were pointed at Rin and Zelda.
"Good work Miss Abe," the captain said with a wink. "But you know, I could have taken care of that."
"Of course, but it's my job to make sure you don't have to." She never took her eyes off of her targets. "On your knees, both of you. Hands behind your head."
Rin and Zelda reluctantly did as they were told. Zelda saw the dark ball of light float beside the boy's head. A fairy, she suddenly realized, though it was like no fairy she'd seen before. That boy was Kokiri.
The captain also looked at them with a smile. "And Mighty, tell Sartos 'good job'."
Coughing and sniffling, the boy turned to the dark ball of light and said, "Hey, Sartos…good job."
The fairy harrumphed grumpily.
Finally the captain regarded Zelda and Rin, and that smile never left his face. "I am Captain Geza of the Blackbird. This is my first officer, Miss Abebi and these fellows are my navigators, Mitos and Sartos."
"Yo," said the Kokiri with a light cough.
Geza nodded and continued with his ever-present smirk. "Now, I suppose the real question is, who the hell are you two, and what are you doing on my ship?"
With a tiny gulp, Zelda lowered her head and nervously began to talk, but to her surprise it was Rin who began with the explanation. "My name is Fala. This is my…. my…"
Zelda watched him stammer in a panic and she knew she had to say something. "I-It's okay Fala. You can say it. I'm your…" she gulped again. "I'm your fiancée!" she blurted out.
Abebi and Geza glanced at each other, before returning their gazes back to the stowaways. "Fiancée?" Abebi sceptically.
Zelda nodded her head with a little too much enthusiasm. "It's true! It is!"
"Then where's your ring?"
Zelda blinked and started to bring her hand down to confirm that she wasn't wearing a ring, but a couple of clicks from Abebi's pistols brought it back to the top of her head quickly. "I…I…"
"She sold it," Rin said calmly. "We were going to take a passenger ship to Calatia, but our tickets were stolen. We stowed aboard that cruise ship when you robbed it…then we stowed aboard here."
"Bad bit of luck you've got going for you sport," the Captain announced boisterously. By then a small crowd of pirates began to congregate at the scene. "But call me a Poe's uncle…I just don't believe that you too could be planning on getting married."
Rin laughed derisively and gave Geza a hard stare. "That's what her parents thought. She, a daughter of a wealthy Hylian noble, a family so old and distinguished that magical blood still appears within a few generations…with a grubby half-Gerudo boy. They thought that, and they tried to keep us apart, but it's not going to happen. We're in love, and we're going to make a new life for us in Calatia, no matter what anyone thinks." He glanced over at Zelda with a smile on his face. "Right, Itali?"
Zelda blinked at him in admiration. He did it perfectly, just as they had rehearsed. "You're right, Fala." The exchange caused Geza and Abebi's look to soften a bit. In fact they almost looked guilty. It was working….
"It took more than watered down magical blood to cast a Glamour like that one, O Captain my Captain." The Kokiri boy spoke up all of a sudden.
Geza glanced at him and then back at Zelda. "You recognize her, Mighty?"
The kid shook his head and coughed again. "*Sniff* No… Can't say I do."
Geza sighed loudly and drooped his broad shoulders. "Man! Of all the ships you guys have to escape on. I feel for you kids, I really do. But I can't have stowaways turn this into some sort of passenger operation. I've got a reputation to uphold."
Mitos raised his hand quickly, and the Captain and his first officer took notice. "Captain, *sniff* I think before we do anything rash we should *cough cough* we should make use of the brig."
The kid coughed and sniffled for a little longer before the Captain replied, "You've got an idea, Mighty?"
" *cough* I might."
"Excellent. Miss Abe, would you be so kind as to take a couple of men and escort these fine young lovers to our brig. I'm sure they've been itching for a little private time. And of course, who am I to stand in the face of true love?"
"No one at all, Captain," Abebi laughed. "No one at all. Let's go kids." She waved her guns upward, and Rin and Zelda rose obediently to their feet. They were surrounded by a small group of pirates, and they were led below decks.
************
"That boy…he's strange," Rin said a few minutes later. They were now locked up in a large cell. There were no portholes or windows, just bars and a door. However the place was rather clean for a jail cell. Zelda sat on one end of the long bench that ran along the side of the cell, and Rin sat on the other end. Zelda was stroking Moto across the head, lost in thought when Rin suddenly spoke out.
"He is Kokiri," she said absently.
"Kokiri?"
Zelda realized that Rin might not know who or what they were. She knew, only because Invincible had gotten her interested in the history of the fairy-folk. Invincible had lived with them for a time when he was a born, and he was said to be one of the few living experts on the Kokiri.
Well…was…
"They lived in an enchanted woods a few miles north of the Castle. They were basically ageless…they lived forever by reincarnating themselves every few hundred years or so. That way they could receive the joy and playfulness of youth because they were reborn into it." She started to say more, but Rin held up his hand.
"I…I'm sorry, Itali…you're confusing me." He used her fake name because of the concern that the pirates were somehow monitoring their conversation. They live forever but they reincarnate themselves?"
Zelda shrugged. "That's what I was told. See they don't age. They're born as babies out of the earth and raised by a great Demi-God known as the Deku Tree. Then when they reach a certain age…12 or so I think…they stop aging. Then after another set of years, they disappear and start the process all over again." She released Moto from her hold and as he sprung to the ground, she spread her fingers apart and began to gesture about with them. She pointed at her index finger. "For instance, we know that there is a Kokiri named Saria. She's a sage now, and she's still residing somewhere as a Sage. However there's another Saria, one that was 'reborn' a long time later. She was Li…Invincible's friend, and now she's living in Hirocco. You understand now?"
Rin nodded uncomfortably, not fancying how she mentioned the Hero's name. "And what about that black ball of light? Do they all have those?"
"I think that was a fairy, and yes they did. Auntie Saria had a fairy named Esea. She helped us out when we were trapped in the Dark World. But I've never seen a fairy like that before. It seemed…dangerous."
There was a long moment of silence. Then, hesitantly, Rin spoke again. "You speak of them in past tense…"
Zelda bent over, clapped her hands, and watched as Moto bound back into them. "Invincible told me that they were dying. Basically a disease was running around and killing the forest…so the reincarnation process was stopped. Their only option was to stay and die and never come back, or to leave the forest, grow up and hopefully marry and leave a legacy…like Auntie Saria." She closed her eyes, and as she imagined that bright and colourful forest melting and wilting away, she felt a profound sense of sadness. "I wonder how many of them are left now?"
"Good question. *cough cough*."
Rin and Zelda shot foward. Outside of their cage were the boy Mitos, and his fairy. They had not heard him approach.
" *Cough* your information on Kokiri needs a little updating though. But how're you *sniff* enjoying your cell? A little grey…but then it's better than green, I suppose…"
Rin shot out of his seat and ran towards the jail bars. "Just what are you-"
"Silence!" the fairy blasted, as he shot out in front of Rin with such speed that it caused him to come to a startled stop and fall to his rear end. Zelda got a good look at the fairy now. It had short dark hair and purple eyes, it wore a dark robe and its wings were extremely strange. They didn't look like the large butterfly wings fairies had. They looked more like wings; platinum shiny feathered wings. It didn't flap them like a bird when it moved. In fact, it constantly had its arms crossed, and its back was straight. It looked down on them like they were insects.
Rin growled and shot the fairy a bitter smile. "Why don't you come here and say that?" he taunted.
"I will crush you." The fairy snarled in return.
The Kokiri raised his hands and tried to placate the tiny creature. "Now now," he said. "No need to get testy, Sartos…" He turned to Zelda and coughed out a smile. "You have to forgive Sartos. He's still getting used to…*sniff* people. It's hard to trust people when you've lived as we lived for as long as we did…"
Zelda rose to her feet and faced the boy evenly. "Do you mean that Kokiri's forest?"
"Mmm…. close. *cough cough*"
"Enough," Rin said roughly. "Stop being so secretive already and tell us-"
Again, the fairy blasted in front of him and burned his evil light. "Hold your tongue, lest I pull it out for you," he said with a low voice.
Rin's smile was full of contempt. "Are you moulting, little fellah? Maybe I need to clip your wings."
"You know…*sniff*" the Kokiri started, "You show a great deal of restraint for someone with powerful magic and their right hand."
Rin stared at him, as did Zelda "Mitos…is it?" she began carefully. "You can see magic?"
The boy nodded and ran a finger beneath his nose. "And I can cancel it. It's about all I can do really, at least individually. That was how I was able to break your little disguise before."
"Are you a Kokiri? Was the Kokiri Forest the place you were talking about a second ago?"
Mitos coughed a little more before clearing his throat. "Close and close again. *sniff* See the place I'm talking about is the Forbidden Woods inside the Kokiri Forest." He leaned closer into the bars and gave them a lazy smile. "I am a Lost Kid."
Zelda stared at him for a moment, and as she breathed the air came uneasily into her lungs. "Lost Kid?" she gasped in astonishment.
"…Itali? Lost Kid?"
"Lost Kids are Kokiri that got lost in the Forbidden Woods. They…they become shrivelled up and evil and their fairies either leave them or die off. At least that's what Invinci-"
"Itali!" Rin hissed.
Mitos waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. *Sniff* I didn't believe that a person who held as much magic in her body as she did could be anyone else but the princess of Hyrule. You certainly fit the general description…the hair's a bit off though. Am I right?"
Zelda looked to the ground and even as she tried to prevent it a blush spread over her nose and cheeks. Rin stared up at the Kokiri angrily. "If you knew who she was then why did you lie to your Captain earlier?" Mitos laughed.
"That, my dark friend, is for me to know and you to find out. *cough cough* Ermm. I may have been out of the loop for long long while, but some things never change."
"So…so you were lost in the Forbidden Woods and now you're free. How long were you there?"
Mitos coughed into his hand, swallowed and sighed. "Uh...what year is it?"
"2563 After Triforce."
The Kokiri brought up his hand and started ticking off his fingers. "That'd make it what… *sniff* five hundred years? Give or take a century."
***
See, I remember Saria, the one you call the Sage because I used to know her. Kinda tall, green hair with a bit of a bob to it? So sweet she hurts your teeth? Yeah, basically the same Saria that was reborn a few times later after this one became a Sage. She probably doesn't remember me though. See, everyone thinks I died…or became a Lost Kid.
It's that stupid ball's fault. I just had to bounce it around like an idiot. I just had to follow it into the Woods when it bounced there. 'Why not?', I told myself. 'I mean, Saria went into those Woods to get to that Sacred Meadow all the time'. What I didn't know at the time was that Saria had the magic to survive the Woods, and she was one of the few Kokiri that did. That jackass Mido was another.
So I enter the woods, chase my ball around through a couple of tunnels and grab it… and then I turn around and head back the exact same way I came. No problem right? Except that the exact same way I came isn't the same anymore. Then I'm like 'Oh crap…I'm Lost.'
Should have listened to you, Sartos. You always were the voice of reason."
***
Zelda nodded in understanding. It was exactly how Invincible had told her some become Lost Kids. "So…how did you survive?"
Mitos shrugged with a bit of apathy and cleared his throat. "*sniff sniff* Who knows? A bit of luck…a bit of Wisdom, a few learned skills here and there. Maybe we did become Lost Kids somehow. Sartos certainly changed. He *sniff* grew more powerful, like you see here, and I've learned to channel some of that power. There are a lot of nasty things in the Forbidden Woods…*cough* nastier than the constant chanting and the masked monsters you hear about in story."
"So then, how did you get out?" Rin said from his position on the floor.
"One day the curse of the Forbidden Woods just…took off, and I was able to find my way back. I went back into the village, but there was only a few Kokiri left. So I went over to the Deku Tree, said a few 'hi how's it been's…give me the gossip of the last half-millennia'…you know, the usual. He starts bawling about how I finally came back and by the time I calmed him down, he told me what was going on." Mitos coughed, checked down the hallway for any pirates, and continued. "At first he thought the Forest was dying…but now he believes that it was changing somehow. It and the Kokiri were becoming different. He said that those who didn't want to undergo the change were to leave and become elves."
"Oh, is that's what you are?" Rin said under his breath. This brought another angry flash from the fairy.
"Allow me to teach this ignorant pup a lesson!" it asked of Mitos in fury.
"Dekez…relax Sartos," Mitos chided. "Anyway, long story short, I chose to live out here with you mortals. *Cough* I thought it couldn't be much worse than the Woods. I found these pirates, became part of the crew and that's it." He glanced into the hallway again. "Well…that's about enough for now. *Sniff* In a few moments the Captain will come down here and out of the kindness of his heart, *cough*, he'll offer to take you to Calatia in exchange for a little labour. It's a good deal, I suggest you take it." He then nodded to Sartos, who followed him out of the cell.
Zelda walked up to the bars and gripped them tightly as she called out to him. "Wait! What is all of this? Why are you helping us?"
"Why not?" Mitos said without turning back.
"I can help you with whatever's ailing you, Mitos," Zelda called. "A way to thank you for talking to the Captain about us?"
Mitos continued down the dark hallway, and he raised his hand into the air. "No need to worry. I'm not sick, *sniff* I'm just allergic." He turned back to her and winked. "…To everything."
************
When the option came for Zelda to help with the cooking, Zelda leapt at it with glee. She loved to cook, even though some people out there thought she needed some help at it. She was more than a little disillusioned when her job ended up sitting on the deck of the ship, brushing and cleaning clams. At least she got a better job than Rin, who was naturally swabbing the deck.
Zelda took another clam out of the bucket, dunked it into a tub of water and began to clean it with the brush when the first officer sat up beside her.
"Itali, is it?" she asked.
"Miss. Abebi. How are you?"
She laughed and clasped her hands together. "So polite. You're unlike any noble I've met in Calatia."
Zelda shrugged. "Maybe you haven't been meeting the right ones." She dunked the clam in water again and then placed it in the new pile. "So, how long have you been serving on this ship?"
"…About ten years, since the Captain started this Pirate Ship. I was one of the original crewmembers."
"Oh…" Zelda stuttered, unsure of what else to say. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Shoot."
Lovely choice of words, considering her armament. "Why do you…um…steal, from other people?" Zelda said as she concentrated on brushing. "That's wrong, umm, isn't it?"
Abebi glanced at her and then she looked up into the sky. "Itali…let me tell you a story. It's one you've probably heard before, but it's one of my favourites. In a small corner of a wood, there was a poisonous Tektite. This Tektite wanted to cross the river to get back home, but this one couldn't swim. Then, up from the waters came an Octorock. The Tektite called out to it, 'Hey friend, can you carry me across this river?' The Octorock was sceptical and he responded, 'No, if I let you on my back you'll bite and kill me.' 'No I won't,' the Tektite pleaded, 'if I do that, then I'll drown and we'll both die.' The Octorock thought that made a lot of sense, so he let the Tektite ride on his back. But halfway down the river, the Tektite did bite him. As the poison ran through his body and he and the Tektite both sank into the water, the Octorock asked, 'Why did you do that? Now we'll both die.' To which the Tektite responded, 'I couldn't help it. Biting is in my nature.'"
Zelda stopped brushing for a moment and considered the story as Abebi spoke on. "What we do, Itali…is what we're supposed to do. That's the nature of us pirates. We try to make the best of it, knowing that there's a place for us in this world, just like there's a place for biting Tektites. Do you understand now, Itali?"
A place for everything, and everything in its place. "I…I guess…" Zelda said hesitantly. She was thinking about many things at that moment, not the least of which was Invincible… What was his place? Was it to die like he did?
"Anyway, we're a little different than what the stereotype is. Captain Geza is an honourable man. He's got a good heart and he's always helping strangers out…" Abebi smiled and glanced away down the deck. Zelda followed her gaze and saw Rin fighting with Geza again. It had been the same argument all day:
Rin: "Why the hell do you want me to clean these decks when they're always getting messed up again? If it's not bird shit it's you and your crew throwing junk around!"
Captain Geza: "*Spittoie* That sounds like a swabbie's problem, not mine. Don't blame me, kid, blame nature."
Rin: "Sonofa…"
Zelda giggled and looked at Abebi. The way the first officer was looking at Geza…Zelda recognized that look. She had it herself once. "You're in love with him, aren't you?" she whispered.
Abebi abruptly rose and clenched her fists to her sides. "Don't be ridiculous!" she said aloud. A lot more quietly she said, "And don't you tell anyone…"
"It's fairly obvious," Zelda mentioned. "Why don't you tell him?"
Abebi closed her eyes and lowered her head. "I'm not confirming anything. All I can say is that he is my Captain, and I am his first officer. There are some barriers that can't be broken."
"I don't believe that for a moment."
With a small laugh, Abebi turned and began to walk away. "It doesn't matter what you think, now does it?"
Zelda watched her walk away, and she began to think again. "There is no unbreakable barrier…" she mused, but she wasn't as convinced as she was a moment ago. With these feelings in her mind, she took another clam from the bucket and dunked it into the water to clean.
************
It took only one more day of sailing for the ship to reach the shores of Calatia. Zelda and a reluctant Rin thanked the pirates profusely for their help in getting them to their destination.
"No problem, you guys did good work," the captain responded. "And besides, it's nice to break the rules every once in a while. Now, this is the port town Hamlet. You'll find a lot of Haikeners there, since this town was part of the Haiken Dukedom before it was divided. They're a little like you Hylians so you should fit in with no problem. Watch out for the Blue-eyed Devil, though."
"Blue-eyed Devil?" Zelda asked.
Abebi crossed her arms across her chest. "He's an assassin that is rumoured to frequent these parts. He's got blue eyes and he wears green…that's all people know of him. I'd steer clear."
Zelda's eyes widened. "Blue eyes? Green clothes?" Before she could think more on this, she heard a hard whisper directed at her. She turned and saw Mitos gesturing for her to come over to him, so she did.
"I have something for you," he sniffled. He reached underneath his toque, pulled out two small bells that were tied together and pressed them into Zelda's hands. "Use it, and you might…might get a response from us. It's good for one favor and one favor only."
Zelda was very surprised. She clutched the bells and looked at the Kokiri with new respect. "Why?"
"Must you always look the gift horse in the mouth, child?" Sartos asked forebodingly. "Just accept the gift and move on. It's more than I would have given you."
Once again Mitos waved his hands at the dark fairy. "*cough* Come on, Sartos, you've got to learn to take it easy." He said with a soothing smile.
************
He watched the two disembark the ship and then head into the crowded Hamlet's marketplace. As he did, he recalled the conversation he had earlier with the master.
***
"It is true, my lady. I've located them. They're on a ship heading this way, and they'll arrive in a matter of hours. It's just as you predicted, he brought the princess here."
The woman that looked back at him through the waters of the pond was lying lazily on a long and luxurious sofa. She looked around twenty though she was quite a few years older, and she had an exotic beauty to her. The sheer blue gown she wore left little to the imagination, and she was playing around with a few strands of long silver hair. "Of course. My visions are never wrong. Though I'm still not sure the purpose of having the Princess here."
He snapped at his chains and gritted his teeth. "Forgive my impertinence, oh Lady of the Waters, but isn't it obvious? You've brought the Princess here to die."
She looked at him with a glare that could shred steel. "Do not assume anything to be obvious. I am the one given the visions, not you."
"Think about it! We've killed their Prince. We've killed their Hero. Killing their Princess here will be the final blow. Their Queen will lose heart, and she will leave nothing to defend their pitiful state. They'll be ours for the taking. Isn't this the goal we've been reaching for, my lady?"
The woman sighed and turned away. "The goal is much, much larger than your small mind could ever comprehend." Glancing at him one more time she added, "Do not do anything without further instruction from me." With that, her image faded from the surface of the water.
***
He watched them from the shadows of the trees, so vulnerable, such perfect targets. He had been waiting for days, and he would wait no longer. Whatever the reason for the Princess being here virtually unprotected…it had to result in her death, sooner or later.
The Lady might have been a prophet, but he was a killer. There would be no more denial of his nature.
He pulled out his chain, licked it longfully, and watched as his prey continued through the marketplace.
************
Zelda clutched Moto close to her breast. She'd never been in such a crowded place before, and she was afraid people would recognize her from this close. Thankfully, no one did. It sure was different though; all of these sights and smells. Zelda also had a feeling of deep loneliness. Gone were the constant presence of Knights and guards. She'd never felt so exposed before. She flexed her right hand, hoping that Gram would respond to her when she needed, and that her Knightly training wouldn't go to waste.
She turned to Rin anxiously. "So what do we do now?"
Rin shrugged. "I was thinking we should just go on," he said as the crowd began to disperse. The duo seemed to be headed towards the back of an Inn.
"Oh really? I was hoping we could rest or something."
"I understand, Princess. I'm tired too…but like that pirate said; this town is part of Haiken. We might be recognized. Calatia Proper isn't too far away, and they don't have many things in common with Hyrule."
Zelda bit her lip and looked to the thinning crowd. She could still see several people in tunics and toques. The style of the Kokiri seemed to be quite popular here. He was from this part of the country; she supposed that was why he liked wearing a toque and a green tunic too.
With resolve, the princess and the assassin were moving forward through the now empty back street, when Rin suddenly stopped and summoned Halef. Three spinning darts jutted out from nowhere and struck at the boy, but he was able to deflect them and push Zelda away.
As Zelda hit the floor a chain whipped out from the trees and headed with deadly intent for Rin's forehead. He brought up his arm and the chain wrapped itself around it. Rin became wide-eyed for one dreadful moment before pain and electricity shot up and down his body. He let out a agonizing howl and fell to his knees. Five more darts came from the trees. They hit the floor and surrounded Rin, and from them a cage of blue light was created. Rin was forced to his knees underneath the fearsome magic, and he could only stare at Zelda with rage in his eyes.
"One down…"
Zelda turned her head stiffly and looked in the direction of the voice. She saw a tall man dressed in ragged green robes. His head was wrapped tightly in green cloth, save for a hole that revealed one piercingly blue eye. He was wearing large gauntlets on his arms, and the chain that held Rin was attached to one of them.
"The blue-eyed Devil…" Zelda whispered.
The skin around his eye crinkled in a hidden smile. "Unfortunately for you, I was armed with weapons specifically designed to disarm my prey." He nodded towards Rin, trapped down with the chain and the magical cage, and as he did, he flung water into Zelda's face.
Zelda wasn't quick enough, and the water hit her dead on. She squinted and as she felt it pour down her facade, she suddenly realised that it was the same kind the witch Jezarin poured on them as rain when Invincible was killed. She couldn't use magic, or she'd be shorted out and at the mercy of this killer…
…like she wasn't already.
The Blue-eyed devil detached the chain bound to Rin and produced another one. With a strong leap, he made his way off of the tree and landed on the ground with a crash. His movements were slow and deliberate, and Zelda could tell he was taking pleasure in watching her squirm. As much as she tried to stop the trembling, she couldn't.
She was face to face with another dangerous enemy…and once again she was freezing! Why…what the hell was wrong with her?
The assassin brought a gauntlet up to his face and he licked the studded chain lustfully. "Do not worry, My Lady," he said mockingly, "I will make it quicker than you deserve."
"Fight back…Fight back…" she told herself, but her muscles wouldn't respond.
He pulled his gauntlet back, whipping the chain around and gaining momentum.
"Do something!!!" She glanced down to her blouse and saw that Moto was still clutching on to her. "Get out of here! Run!" She knew it was useless. He wouldn't go anywhere. He was much too loyal.
And it was going to get him killed.
Zelda's blue-green eyes watched unblinking as the assassin flung the chain at her at full speed. She watched as the metal sliced through the air and screamed towards her. She saw a shadow, a figure suddenly appear in front of her…
With the sound of metal grating across metal, the chain was split cleanly in half and they whizzed by both sides of her. The right half of the chain blazed closely by her face, and she felt her cheek part and bleed. The chain halves slammed hard into the ground behind her and billowed a cloud of dust and dirt into the air.
Zelda focused and took in the figure in front of her. It was a boy, as tall as her, thin and well defined. He had fair skin, long ears and shiny blonde hair. He was wearing a green tunic with a large brimmed collar, and underneath a red long-sleeved shirt. He had brown shorts that reached just past his knees, brown boots and, most noticeably a long green toque over the top of his head.
Her trembling intensifying, she brought a shaking hand up and over her mouth, and she stepped back to get a better look. When she did, he finally spoke.
"It's better if you stand still," he said.
Zelda gasped silently. It was his voice. It was him.
He turned his head slightly, and glanced back at her with those same intensely blue eyes. He then lowered his split-bladed Razorsword to his side. "I'm sorry…Zelda," he said quietly. "I wasn't fast enough. I let you get hurt."
The cut on her cheek. Zelda held it lightly, but her gaze never left him. "….Link?" she whispered.
Rin was staring at the two with considerable confusion.
"What is this?" The Devil snarled angrily. He detached his ruined chain, and produced a new one.
Link turned his deadly glare towards the assassin. "You've hurt my Princess," he whispered with a cold menace.
"Who the hell are you?"
Link's scowl turned into a mirthless smile. "I'm your blue-eyed devil."
*************
So Link, you've finally come back.
I should beat you within an inch of your life, you know. You think you could just leave your friends like that at their time of need for no reason,
and waltz back like nothing's happened?
But…I still can't believe it. I don't know what to do. It's been so long?
What do I say? How do I act?
…and how the heck do I introduce you to Rin?
Next Chapter:
The Legend of Zelda: Her Story
Greetings, Link.
***
Long enough for ya? Thanks for reading. Oh and at the time I was writing this, I just reviewed my pal Dinadan Feasin's new story, and he gave a shout out to me! Wow, you can't believe how elated I was. I mean Dinadan is an excellent, excellent writer in his own right, and he gave me props! That's awesome. Thanks man. If you guys want Tolkienese writing that'll blow your socks off, just read this guys stuff! He's also writing a new 'traditional' style story that I think is looking really good. It's called 'The Hunt for Arawn', so be sure to check it out. Another person to check out is Snowsilver's 'The Destiny Stone'.
Actually this is a good way for good stories to get read. I might make it a regular part of my chapters.
To the rest of my loyal readers, I loves ya all! You know who you are. See you soon for another instalment! –(o'.')o