Link, Hyrule, Epona, Zelda, Zoras, the Ocarina of Time, and such and such are owned by the people who own them.
Beowulf: Well, duh, I would HOPE that the owners owned them.
Eino: ::ignoring Beowulf:: Since this is my first fanfic, I'd be your fan forever if you read and review! Or… Link gets it. Mwahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa!
Link:…
Eino: Right, feedback is good!
Chapter one: a bad grottoThe young man crouched to the ground; his calloused hands rested on his long cap. Slipping his strong left hand over his back, he managed to pull his heavy shield off, leaving his body much lighter than before.
"Alright," he managed to breathe out. An almost hidden grin crossed his face. A hasty glimpse confirmed that nobody was around, and the teen plunged into the icy lake that stretched out before him. His legs swiftly kicked about, and the boy lunged further and further into the lake. Normally, no man would have been able to survive for the length of time he was under water, but Link was not any ordinary man. His blue tunic was a gift from the Zora, and now that he was old enough (and mostly tall enough), he was able to fit into the tunic once again, allowing him to breathe freely under water. It had seemed like an eternity, but Link finally reached the bottom of the lake. His hands fished around the near pitch black water until his fingers wrapped around something hard. The teen shoved the object into his side pack, and with his built legs, shoved himself from the lake floor.
Link surfaced, and he crawled onto the shore; his clothes heavy with water. With a practiced grace, the teen flopped himself onto the grass and reached his hand into his side bag. He rummaged around for his new treasure and finally pulled it out.
"Twenty Rupees," the boy thankfully sighed and stuck the rupee back into his sack. It was almost sad how he made a living, but it was all he had known since he was 10. There were some days when he missed his old home in the forest, but those days were long past. But for now, Link could make a trip into town and eat a decent meal for a change. Memories could wait till later.
He stripped off his soaked tunic and placed the more comfortable Kokori tunic on. Link carelessly set his shield over his shoulders and called for Epona. The trip to town was a full day's ride on horseback, and much more convenient than running the whole way there. Not that he couldn't do it, of course.
Link waited patiently for the horse (as Epona was famously known for wandering off), but after a long pause the troublesome animal had not bothered to show up.
"Epona!" Link shouted into the wind. "Hnn…" his voice trailed off as he reached into his pack for his ocarina. "You stubborn horse…" Touching his lips lightly to the instrument's mouth, he played a tune that was taught to him by the lovely Malon.
Epona's song echoed against the nearby cliffs, but… still no horse. "Darn it, EPONA!" The ocarina was reluctantly placed back into the sack. Had Epona gotten herself into trouble again? Link hoped not.
With a shaking heart, Link ran forward calling out her name. His already tired legs numbed with every heavy step as he forced himself to go on. Epona. His best friend weighed heavily on Link's mind, and caused the teen to not pay any attention to where he was headed, or at least what was under his feet. A man-sized hole, hidden by the tall grasses, engulfed the teen. Link hit his forehead on the grotto's angled mouth causing him to bounce back, hitting the bottom of the small grotto with a thud. There it was that Link blacked out, his limbs dangling all about him on the cold, porous rock.
~*~*~
"What's this I see before me?" A shadowy figure closed in on the unconscious teen. "He's a very pretty creature, no?" Pockets of white light from above lit up the mass of body. The demon carefully eyed the boy before her… his figure was arched up because of the shield strapped to his back; most likely a very uncomfortable position.
"A warrior…" the creature paused thoughtfully. "…a warrior is tasty, I've heard." Her small hands slid over the boy's cheek and paused at his lips. Her grin widened as thoughts of severed flesh took over her wicked mind. She refrained from anything drastic at first, however, for the creature could not venture outside to catch any man herself, and it wasn't everyday that one (especially as good-looking as this one) just dropped from the sky… courtesy of the three Goddesses, no doubt. She licked her moist lips. What to do… what to do…
In all of the old tales, the handsome and brave warrior was triumphantly killed by the darker creature. The warrior in front of her was exactly what she imagined in those childhood fantasies. Her daydreaming broke when she heard a small cough from her prize. Perhaps she could wait to tear into his pink flesh later, but if she wanted to keep the warrior to herself, then she'd have to do something quick before he woke up. The creature hissed. Thank the Goddesses!
~*~*~
Link could feel the weight of someone pressing against him. He could smell it and hear it, but he couldn't manage to open his eyes. The feeling slowly crept up his body until it reached his neck. Link's eyes shot open, but he was blinded by the dark. Making sure his eyes were really open, he blinked several times.
"You're up, my Hero," a chilling voice gently cooed, tickling Link's bare skin. Wait… bare skin? Link panicked as he tried to pull his arms free, but they were securely bound behind him. "If you are looking for your metal items, they are not here."
"Where are they," Link's wispy voice pierced the darkness.
"I have taken them…" Her fingers wrapped around a strand of Link's hair. "…and I have made sure that they are as far away as possible." Link grimaced as the creature's evil aura seemed to overwhelm his body. "After all… it would be a tragedy for me if you were to escape…" Link's hands began to grow numb because of the rope's tight squeeze. Link had been in similar situations before, but he had never been in something this deep.
"What are you going to do with me?"
"Oh? I'm going to eat you, of course." Link couldn't see it, but he knew somehow that the creature had to be smiling at him. The demon shifted her weight and opened her wide mouth, exposing her sharp teeth. With a quick movement, the creature bit down into Link's right shoulder, causing Link to scream in pain.
Me is eviiiillll… anyhow, I know the chapter's kind of short and slow, but it's more like a prologue. And Epona's disappearance will be explained in a later chapter, but for now... Epona has been conveniently pushed to the side (or has she). The entire story is loosely based on the ancient Beowulf story. Beowulf has always interested me greatly, and since I'm a big fan of his… Beowulf gets to co-star in this story!
Beowulf: ::pushes Link to the side:: Hi ladies, I'm Beowulf. I'm looking for several available women to-beep-beeeep, and who want to –beeeeep-. I'm available 24 hours a day, and can even –beeeeeeeeeep-… blah, blah, blah… [keeps on talking]
Link:…
Eino: Ehh… don't worry. Link is still the main dish in this story… and tasty too…
Demon: Hail to that!
Link:…
Please Review!!!! Reviews will keep poor Link alive! Neh heh hehhhh…
