Chapter 3: Birthday Shopping

The next morning Mirren woke up pretty early. He yawned as stretched his arms as he looked out the window. It was covered in water and rain drops were pounding against it every second. He heard a boom in the distance, and realized it was also thundering pretty hard out. He saw a bolt of lightning slice its way through the sky; and a crackle of thunder soon followed. It sounded like a bomb, and it seemed to shake all of Hyrule. Mirren just sat their and thought of how he was going to go shopping today for Zelda's birthday gifts. He thought of flying Goldenfire through the rough winds and massive rain. He thought of seeing lightning lit up right before his eyes and nearly getting knocked off Goldenfire from a huge boom of thunder..

"Cool!" he exclaimed. He then hopped out of bed and threw off his old dirty clothes and put on new ones. He slipped on another clean pair of the same pants he wore, and then put on a clean green turtleneck as always. He then rummaged through the rest of his closet as he threw away other clothes and items that he didn't need at the moment.

'Now where the heck is that thing?" he asked himself as he plowed through a pile of socks and tossed away some kind of fur hat. Soon, he looked inside an old box, and opened it up. "Ah! Here it is!" he said, and pulled out a sepia colored cloak and hood. He dusted off whatever dirt was on it and slapped it on. He then ran over to his dresser and hooked his adult-sized wallet onto his belt. He then looked up and saw the Goddesses Sword hanging there on the wall. He smiled and took it down. He strapped it onto his back.

"Never know when I might need you" he said to himself. He then lastly made sure he had his redwood ocarina in his pocket. Once he was sure he had it he opened his door and left the room. He walked down the hallways of Hyrule Castle and thought of getting a great dark blue dress and that beautiful necklace for Zelda. He smiled at the idea of it and kept on walking.

As he walked and walked down the halls, he soon turned a corner and bumped into Zelda. She gasped in surprise, but soon laughed.

"Oh I'm sorry Mirren!" she exclaimed, "I didn't see you, are you alight?" Mirren nodded.

"I'm fine" he answered. Zelda smiled.

"Well that's good to know" she replied, "hey, you seem like you're just ready to leave; where are ya going?" Mirren froze and frantically tried to think of an answer. He didn't want to tell her he was going out to get her birthday gifts, but he didn't really want to lie to her. He gulped and finally he decided what to say.

"I'm just going to Larchwood Village in Terlon Forest to get some things for our party" he spat out. He gulped again and began sweating bullets in hopes Zelda wouldn't ask him for what.

"Cool Mirren" she replied, "I'm just going to Kakarkio to also get some things for our party." Mirren sighed with relief.

"Good, at least she won't be able to even see me getting her stuff" he said in his head.

"That's great, now he won't see me get him that red turtleneck in that shop there" Zelda also said in her head. They both then just kind of stared at each other for a few moments before Mirren began walking away.

"Well I better get goin', I've still got other things I need to do after this" Mirren began, "well see ya Zelda!" He then ran down the hallway. "God that was close" he said in his head once again.

"That was a close one" Zelda also said in her head.

* * * * *

Mirren ran outside into the rain and tightened up his cloak. Rain drop after rain drop landed on him, but he barely even got wet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his ocarina. He pressed it against his lips and played Goldenfire's melody. A few seconds after he finished, there was a crackle of thunder, and he heard Goldenfire's deep roar bellow throughout Hyrule. The great golden dragon flew down right by his side and knelt down to help Mirren get on him better. Once he was on, they quickly took to air and began flying out to Terlon Forest through the terrible weather.

* * * * *

Mirren flew Goldenfire at a very fast speed. They soared straight past and through all the storm clouds as the wind blew against them. The rain got even worse, and Mirren began to get soaked. The numerous raindrops slashed against him, and his cloak no longer helped him as much as he planned. A sudden down-pour came, and larger raindrops came plummeting down to the earth. They smashed into Mirren and Goldenfire, and literally gave Mirren a shower.

"Man, I'd never do anything like this for anyone else but you Zelda" he mumbled to himself. He them sneezed, and realized he'd most definitely get a cold now from this. His eyes narrowed. "Why do I have to have a crush on her?" he grumbled. Soon they began flying over Terlon Forest, and in a matter of only a few minutes, he spotted Larchwood Village through all the trees and flew Goldenfire down to it.

He zipped past the treetops and jumped off Goldenfire. He landed perfectly on the ground and got up. He waved Goldenfire off as the great dragon flew off into the wild blue yonder. Mirren instantly then bolted to the tunic/clothes shop of the village. He was already wet enough, and didn't want to get any worse. He ran to it, and opened the door. He walked in dripping wet as the shop keeper looked up at him as he hung up some new tunics.

"Hey lil guy!" he exclaimed, "What can I do for ya today?" Mirren looked around and tried to see if he had what he was looking for.

"I need a dark blue dress for my friend's birthday gift, do you have any?" Mirren asked. The shop keeper chuckled.

"Of course I do my boy!" he answered, "come with me, I'll show the best in stock!" He then turned around and began walking to the far side of the room. Mirren smiled.

"I knew this place had everything" he said in his head. He then began to follow the man until they came to a kind of large cabinet. The shop keeper smiled and opened up the doors; showing Mirren probably close to two dozen dark blue dresses.

"This good lad?" he asked. Mirren's jaw dropped. He'd never expect one shop to have this many dark blue dresses. He didn't answer, he only nodded. The shop keeper chuckled again and began to walk off. "Well when yer ready to buy the one ya want, come by my desk.." He said. Mirren nodded again not even looking at him. He finally snapped out of his trance and began to look at the many dresses.

They were all so beautiful! He didn't know which one to get! There was one with stars, one with suns, one with dragon designs, one with hawk designs, and some with designs that he couldn't even explain..but still ones that were awesome. But as he looked through them all, he remembered he wanted to get one similar to Zelda's pink dress. He sighed.

"Boy, this better be worth it..." he spoke to himself. He then began looking once again.

* * * * *

About twenty minutes later, Mirren finally found a dress very similar to Zelda's. It had the same look, except with a beautiful rose instead of the phoenix-type bird. He smiled at it and ran off to the shop keeper's desk.

"Ahhh, I see you've found a nice one" he said. Mirren nodded happily. "Okay then...that'll be two-hundred rupees my boy" he announced. Mirren nodded again and reached into his pocket. He quickly pulled out his golden rupee and handed it to the man. He took the rupee and then began to fold the wonderful dress. He took a nice golden box from one of the shelves and put it inside. He also then took some scissors and cut a nice amount of red ribbon from one of the rolls he had. He tied it up nicely and handed it to Mirren. "There ya go lad. So who's it for? A friend?" he asked. Mirren nodded.

"Yeah, it's gonna be her birthday soon, and this is what she wanted" he answered. The shop keeper smiled.

"Well I hope she likes it" he replied. Mirren smiled.

"Yeah, me too" he said, "Well I gotta go, and thanks!" He then walked out of the shop and stuffed the box under his cloak to keep it from getting wet. He quickly called for Goldenfire and took off for Kakariko.

* * * * *

Mirren's flight was quick and swift through the terrible weather. He soared straight out of Terlon Forest and made his way over Hyrule Field and all the way to Kakarkio. He landed at the stairs and hopped off Goldenfire. He made Goldenfire stay right outside since he was going to be very quick and was already close to the castle. He left the box with Zelda's dress in it with him also. Goldenfire held the tiny box (to him it was tiny) under his wing and kept it from getting wet.

Mirren ran up the stairs and soon entered Kakariko Village. No one was outside since it was raining, so he got down to business and looked for the shop where the necklace was. He walked a little ways from the entrance and tried to spot it, but unfortunately couldn't. He then suddenly heard the sound of hooves. He looked over to where another clothes shop had sprung up and saw a woman in a cloak also riding a white horse carrying a nicely wrapped box.

"Zelda." he whispered to himself. He then instantly ran as quickly as possible to the large tree in the center of the village. He ducked behind the many weeds by it and also its huge trunk as Zelda rode by. Luckily she passed by without seeing him, and Mirren sighed with relief. "Whew.that was close!" he said. He then thought of the box she was carrying. What as it? He had no idea, and decided to just go get the necklace.

He looked all around the village for a few more minutes before he came to it finally. He opened the door, and flung off his hood. The water that was soaked into it began to drip off it, and he began to walk to the counter where the store owner was.

The owner was an older man with very little hair (which was white). But even with that, he seemed to be a nice man, and greeted Mirren with a smile. "Welcome to my shop lad, what can I get ya?" he asked. Mirren smiled at the man.

"I was looking for that golden necklace with the nice ruby in the center" he answered. The store owner smiled again and nodded. He opened up a small cabinet in the desk and reached it. Mirren walked through the glass windows as he took a purple velvet box. He closed the door and opened up the box in front of Mirren. It was the necklace Mirren had been looking for. The gold shined and the ruby sparkled like no other. Mirren's eyes lit up and his mouth dropped. The shop owner smiled.

"Yep, this is one of my best products" he began, "24-karrot gold and one of the best rubies I've seen in my day. Of course it's rather expensive..I'd seriously doubt you'd ever have the rupees to buy this..." Mirren then just reached into his pocket and poured the rupees out of his wallet. The shop owner was a little surprised, but managed to chuckle a little. "Well, in that case; this thing's all yours kid!" he replied. Mirren smiled and took the box. He closed it up, and slipped it into his knapsack (he had others besides the one that Link massacred). He was about to walk away before the shop owner said something. "For your girlfriend I presume?" he asked with a smile. Mirren smirked.

"I don't think that's any of your business" he said back but not sounding mean. The shop owner laughed, and Mirren left. He put up his hood again and ran out of Kakarkio Village. He bolted down the steps and went over to Goldenfire. He got on, and began to fly off. He wanted to make a quick stop to Lon Lon Ranch before he went back to Hyrule Castle. He soared through the air over to the peaceful over to the peaceful ranch with a smile on his face....but a completely empty wallet.

* * * * *

Zelda had returned to Hyrule Castle. She put her horse inside the stable and quickly went inside to get out of the rain. She took her cloak off and began to walk down the hallways to her room. She carried the wonderful box and still smiled.

As she walked, Faria suddenly came down the other hallway with a smile also on her face.

"Hey Zelda!" she exclaimed, "What's with the box?" Zelda smiled again.

"It's Mirren's birthday present, you wanna see it?" she asked. Faria nodded. Zelda then opened up the box. "Keep it a secret though." Faria then looked in and was amazed at what it was. Inside was a beautiful red turtleneck exactly like Mirren's green one, except the collar, and ends where the wrist would be was made of some gold-like material. Faria's mouth dropped.

"Holy cow!" she said, "It's beautiful!" Zelda nodded and closed the box.

"Yeah I know" she replied, "his Goron tunic had gotten torn yesterday, so I decided to get him something like it; only better" Faria laughed a little.

"Well you sure got him something great!" she spoke.

"Yes, I'm sure he'll love it" Zelda added, "this'll be the best birthday gift ever for him, and I'm sure the best birthday of his entire life." Zelda then walked off down the hallway. Faria watched her older sister walk away and smiled.

"I also promise to make this the greatest birthday for him, and you also Zelda." she whispered to herself.
* * * * *

Mirren was right now over Lon Lon Ranch. He jumped off Goldenfire and landed perfectly on the ground. He looked around, and saw Malon walk out of the barn.

"Oh Mirren, it's you!" she exclaimed, and ran over to him. "How ya doin'?" Mirren smiled.

"Pretty good, haven't seen ya in a while though, sorry I've been kinda busy..." he replied.

"Birthday?" she asked with a grin. Mirren nodded.

"Yeah, I was just out getting Zelda's gifts..." he began.

"Really? What did ya get her?" she asked. Mirren grinned and snapped his fingers. Suddenly Goldenfire flew over the ranch again but this time dropped Zelda's gifts. Mirren caught them and smiled.

"It'd be better if I showed you inside, not here in the rain." he said. Malon smiled and nodded.

"Come on into the house, I can't wait to see them!" she said. Mirren now nodded and they both walked into the house. Talon wasn't around, and neither were his cuccos, so there was actually going to be some peace and quiet. Mirren took off his cloak, and Malon flung off her own cloak. They both hung theirs up, and walked over to the table. Mirren set the things down, and opened up the big box. Malon's eyes lit up with surprise when she saw the beautiful dress. She couldn't believe it!

"Holy cow!" she exclaimed, "That's awesome! She'll love it!" Mirren grinned.

"Yeah, but I think she'll like this even better.." He said, and opened up the purple velvet box to the necklace. Malon's mouth just dropped.

"Oh my God!" she yelled in a way, "that thing's just plain beautiful! How much was it!?" Mirren chuckled.

"Five-hundred rupees.." He answered. Malon now smiled and laughed a little.

"Wow, well I'm sure she'll just love them both" she replied, "man, I seriously think you got her the greatest gifts of all time Mirren.....I know she'll absolutely love them.." Mirren smiled a little.

"Well you were right on that kiss when I told her how I liked her, so I guess I can believe ya on this one" he said. Malon laughed a little.

"You better.." She replied. They both then laughed. Soon Mirren called for Goldenfire and he began to fly back to Hyrule Castle.

* * * * *

Emralda smiled wickedly. She was as usual watching through her magical fire.

"Smile and laugh now boy."she said to herself, "..because yours and Zelda's birthday won't be as happy as planned.." She laughed quietly until Ganondorf came into the room.

"I've got the new troops ready, they'll be our defense for the citadel." he announced. Emralda narrowed her eyes as she turned to her brother.

"They better be more powerful than those weaklings we had before.." She spoke. Ganondorf grinned.

"They are Emralda" he reassured, "the toughest of Monblins and Iron Knuckles I've ever seen. They'll certainly be a challenge for Mirren..believe me..." Emralda smiled back.

"Well that's good to hear" she said, "it'll be just as it was for that kid only a month ago; the worst nightmare of his life, all coming back; only a day before his and Zelda's birthday..." Ganondorf smiled.

"But of course" he began, "that's one reason we're doing all of this, that birthday of theirs to ruin. Not to mention I can also eliminate Link for that battle four years ago; but first he can see Mirren die.." Emralda smiled evilly.

"Yes, I can't wait until I can finally kill him" she said with a little of a fierce tone in her voice, "after everything he's done; I can finally finish off his life. Then we can kill all of his friends, then the Sages, Link, and his beloved Zelda..then finally we'll finally conquer Hyrule; just as we promised each other all those years ago." Ganondorf nodded.

"This will be our greatest assault ever, and this time; we'll succeed" he replied, "now excuse me, but I must go do some business for this plan." Ganondorf then turned around and began to walk off. He came to the door, opened it, and was about to walk out before Emralda said one more thing.

"What exactly are you going to do my brother?" she asked. Ganondorf didn't turn around, but he still smiled diabolically.

"I'm getting the one who will capture the Sages when they're all in the Sacred Realm" he answered, "he's an old friend, but I'll make him even more powerful. If you really want to know where I'll be going, I'll be at the Fire Temple." Ganondorf then left the throne room. Emralda smiled at him before turning to her magical fire. She watched as Mirren flew through the air on Goldenfire.

"That child doesn't even know that his worst nightmare is coming back once again; only worse this time..."

Author's Notes: Betcha know who's coming back....and if ya don't...well you'll find out later! Yeah, I have a feeling this is gonna end up being one of the boring chapters, but once again it's your decision. In the next chapter we're gonna finally see some action. I'll try to post that today, but then I won't be posting for a couple days probably. Yeah, I'm only finished with chapters 1-4, so you'll only see them. But I might be able to finish chapter 5 if I work hard this weekend, so look out. And once again please review and tell me how ya like it!
LittleLink