Disclaimer:  You know the drill…  I don't own Link, Zelda, Hyrule or Beowulf or anything that makes this a fanfic...  thus the fan part…    I DO however own Gorideu…  he's mine…  can't steal him…  ::evil chuckle:: 

Well…  it took about a gazzilion months, but chapter three is finally here!  I apologize to those who were reading my fic.  It's one of my biggest pet peeves when authors don't update their stories and here I did it myself.  Sorry sorry sorry!!!  ::bows over and over again::  Oh, Please read and review!

Chapter three:  bad personalities

            "Wha~"  The demon stumbled back clumsily, tossing her arms to her side.  "What is this!?!  Why can't I touch youuuu!"  She hissed and jerked her body to the side, scrambling around for something to cut her victim with.

            Link sighed.  He was safe for a few minutes…  a few more minutes to live.  No.  He had been through to much to die from this.  He struggled with his ropes in a vain attempt to get loose, but the more he struggled, the tighter the moist fibers dug into his skin.

            "Strange magic tricks my Hero has…"  The demon stood slowly; the soft light from Nayru's Love highlighting her figure.  She had a small body frame, but Link's blue tunic bunched up around her waist, causing her to look larger.  In her hand she loosely held Link's old sword.

            "Heh…"  Link grinned.  How long had it been since Nayru's Love had been activated?  It'll die out soon.  Think…  THINK!  His thoughts were interrupted when his captor gently wrapped her free arm around his back and held the cool blade to his neck.  Shivers shot down his spine.  Her long fingernails dug into his skin drawing more blood.  THINK LINK!  The light flickered suddenly…  the magic was running out. 

            "Scared hero?"  The demon whispered into his pointed ear.  "Your magic trick…  how long can you keep me from hurting you?"  She giggled and rested her elbow on Link's shoulder.  "Thank you for this tasty treat!"

            "ehh…"  His eyes shot open just as the light had finally faded.

            "Nay…  ru…"  Link frowned and tossed his head back.  What could he do?  If there was some way to invoke Din's Fire maybe?  "Zelda…  tell me what I'm supposed to do…"

            "That's enough!"  The demon covered Link's mouth with her hand.  "I wonder…  how long it would take you to die if I ate both your arms…  how long I'd get to hear your screams?"  She didn't give Link much time to think before she slowly sliced through his skin.  He clenched his teeth together, trying not to utter a single sound.

            Cling!  The sword suddenly dropped to the rock floor, sending echoes through the cave.

            "ugghhhh…"  The sadistic creature coughed out blood that dripped down Link's chest.  He could feel her jerk away from his body.  Her soft frame hit the ground.

As Link desperately tried to see what was going on, two strong hands gently touched Link's chest.

"If you're alive, say something…"

"Wha…  what?  What happened?  Who…"  Link gulped trying to moisten the inside of his mouth.  It didn't work, however, and he lost his voice.

"Shut up.  I didn't want to have a conversation with you."  The man had a piercing voice.  He grumbled to himself as his hands made their way to the ropes that were binding Link's body.  "Oh God…  you're all bloody…  disgusting…"  Using his short sword, he sawed at the ropes, finally cutting the boy free.  Without the support of his bindings, Link slumped to the ground helplessly.

"Can you walk?"

"Uhhh…"  Link bent down clutching his arm.

"Well..  Damn…  I guess that means no then…"  The man lifted Link on his back as if he weighed nothing and stepped forward.  "Try not to bleed on me…"  Link groaned…  the man's body felt nice and warm…  and it smelled… badly.  His eyes fluttered shut.  At least he was safe.

                                                                     ~*~*~

            "Zel…da…"  A soft breeze brushed past his bangs tickling his cheeks.  His entire body felt numb and it wouldn't seem to move.  It was as if he was paralyzed.

            "Oh…  you're up?"  Link bolted up when he heard the unfamiliar voice.  "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."  The man kneeled down to the ground so he could be eye level with the injured lump of annoyance.  "You should consider yourself lucky boy.  You were saved by the famous Beowulf."  The man almost seemed to snicker at the mention of this strange man.

            "Beowulf…"  A confused look crossed Link's gentle face. 

            "You…  never heard of Beowulf?  Have you been in that hole your entire life?"

            "No…  Hyrule…"  Link mumbled to himself.  He remembered what Zelda had said in his dream about the forbidden land.  Where the Goddesses was he?  He eyed the slim man in front of him.  The dirt plastered to his skin and hair was nothing compared to his stench.

            "I'm sorry…  I just…"  The man patted Link on the back avoiding where the blonde had been injured the most.

            "You're better off not knowing that scum."  He smiled and took Link's wrist in his own.  "My name is Gorideu, assistant messenger to the king."  He sat back, slouching on a large bag.

            "It's nice to meet you…  my name is Link…  I'm ahhh…  was traveling and happened by here."

            "Where were you headed?"  He raised an eyebrow and shoved his hands behind his greasy head.

            "Well…  I…"  Link felt a bit uneasy talking to the total stranger.  He seemed nice enough, but there seemed to be something the man was hiding deep inside…  something that creeped him out.

            "Ahh…  I know!"  Gorideu leaned forward and crossed his legs.  "I bet you're from one of those faraway tribes…  you look about 18…  you're taking your manhood test, right?"

            "My…  what?"  Link smiled and tried to conceal his laughter.  These people have tests for manhood?

            "I bet you tried to take on one of those demons by yourself, didn't you?"

            "Actually…"  Link smirked.  Did he really want to tell him that he fell into the hole by accident?  No,  It would probably be safer to just play along with this 'manhood' thing.  "Give it up kid…"  Gorideu's face grew darker.  "Warriors are a waste of human flesh.  Go find yourself a wench instead."  The blonde just stared at Gorideu who kept his irritated gaze.

            "Don't pollute the child's head with nonsense."  Beowulf leaned on a tree, a large hand resting on his hip.  Gorideu frowned and sat back again keeping his mouth shut with obvious resistance.

            "Kid."  Link looked up.  It was the same voice that he had heard earlier in the cave.  So, it was this man who had saved him.  "Hnn…"  Beowulf watched with amusement as the boy before him tensed up.  "Thanking me would be pointless...  it's not like you could ever return the favor to me."  The built man reached to his side and pulled out Link's sword from his belt.  He carelessly tossed it to the ground.  "You need a lot more training if you ever want to learn how to properly use a sword."

            "Uhhh…"  Link just smiled forcefully and decided to stay quiet.  How he'd love to take this guy on right now.

            "You shouldn't be challenging demons like that.  There are very few people who can defeat even minor creatures like that.  Be more careful 'cause next time I may not be there to rescue you."

            "Thanks, I'll keep your words into consideration."  Link sighed and shook his head hoping it would shake of the dizziness.

            "Well, kid…  you were hurt pretty badly, so you should probably stay here.  Gorideu will stay with you till you get better."

            "I'm gonna do what now?"  The man shot an angry glance to Beowulf.

            "Look, that kid has more blood soaking on my clothes than he probably has in his body."  Beowulf rubbed his chin and grinned.  "It's just good that I didn't get anything on my armor…  I would've killed him myself."

            "Whatever…  leave then."  Gorideu shut his eyes and turned his head away from the two.

            "Oh Kid, Gorideu's right.  Swordsmanship is too tough for children like you.  Stick to a wench."  Beowulf lifted his heavy pack over his shoulders.  Before he left, he looked back at the shocked blonde boy. 

            'Heh, that boy is a lot stronger than he looks.  He's only been sleeping one night and he's already recovering.'  His thoughts shifted back to his mission, however, and he finally left.

                                                                  ~*~*~

            "Great…  they didn't even bother to clothe me."  Link wrapped the blanket around his waist and tied it with a tight knot at the side.  Gorideu was sleeping soundly several yards away so the Hyrulian boy thought he'd try to do the same and rest, but he did so with a failed attempt.

            "I wish I knew more about what was going on…"  A heavy sigh escaped his lips and he tilted his head to the side.  This wasn't the first time he had visited a strange land, but this time he was thoroughly confused about why he was there.  Where was Epona?  What did Zelda mean about the forbidden land?  What was happening to the triforce?  Questions raced through his mind. 

            "It's hard to believe that you're still living after that."  Link spun around to face the sleepy Gorideu who was sitting up.  "Did I frighten you?  I'm sorry."  He smiled with his goofy grin and plopped himself next to Link.

            "I didn't mean to wake you."  The long grasses gently bent with the wind and wrapped around Link's body.  He shifted his body back to get out of the itchy grass.

            "Nah…  I don't sleep too well nowadays anyway…"

            "That makes two of us then."  Link leaned back placing his weight on his arms.

            "I was wondering…"  The man's hand reached out and pulled a blade of grass out of the ground and brought it up to his lips.  He gently blew into the piece making a faint note.

            "Yeah, what?"

            "Well, I was wondering if you were a fairy."

            "Huh?"  Link questioned Gorideu.  They knew about fairies in this land?

            "Well…  your hair and eye color are both rare…  and your pointy ears kinda give it away."

            "My…  ears?"  Link touched the tip of his ear.  He hadn't noticed it before because he had been so faint, but now that he looked…  Gorideu did have short, rounded ears.

            He jumped in front of Link and brought his face close to his.  "I never thought I'd actually get to meet a fairy in person!"

            "Well…"  Link looked to the side, uncomfortable with how close Gorideu was to him.  "I was raised in the fairy forest, but I'm not a fairy myself."

            "A human who was raised by fairies!"  The man clasped his hands together and grinned. 

"Look, it doesn't seem like you have any money to stay at an inn and you probably don't know your way around these parts, right?"

            "Uhh, yeah.  That's true."

            "So, howabout you stay with me for a while?"  He laughed to himself.  It was perfect.  Here he had an actual fairy with him who had placed his trust in a total stranger.  Who knew what advantages knowing a fairy would bring.  Maybe, the boy would even take him to his realm.  Oh gods…  if only.

                                                                ~*~*~

***Author's note***

Eino:     Once again, I apologize for the huge delay with this chapter.  I forgot how much fun writing this fic was…  and actually…  I just kinda forgot about the fic in general…  ::sweatdrop::

Well…  it took three whole chapters for me to finally kill that demon off…  but at least this chapter is a bit longer than the first two.  I'm REALLY trying to work on this length issue!

Beowulf:  That last sentence sounded really bad…

Eino:  eep!  ::hits Beowulf::  Anyway, Grendel will be coming up shortly, and Beowulf will be back, so please continue reading!

Gorideu:  Alright everyone…  you know the drill…  you gotta review…  reviews make Eino happy!