((Disclaimer: Zelda chars not mine, Impa II, Kiren, Eiry, Moth are.))
GODDESS OF THE FOREST
As Impa watched, thin lines sped across the nut and etched the mark of the Triforce. Her eyes went wide, and she scrambled backwards as the nut swelled and burst in a shower of tiny green-yellow sparks. Eiry reared for the second time that day, but her neigh seemed to have a hint of joy. Impa's head tilted upwards as a smooth-skinned hand with slender fingers caressed her chin. The Princess looked up into the deep green-shadowed eyes of Farore, Goddess of Wisdom.
It was impossible to describe her as anything but green: from the long elegant tunic attire, to the tumbling tresses of hair that fell down her back like strands of ivy, Impa saw a personification of 'forest'. The Kokiri had fallen silent, and backed away slightly from the Goddess. Malon simply stared. Impa felt herself gently caught in her gaze and held there. Farore smiled softly, "Greetings, Princess Impa."
Impa couldn't speak; she felt such a yearning to hear her voice more. It was soft as thistledown. Farore turned her head, "Greetings, Children of the Forest. I will take Impa and Malon to Saria, Mido. Tell the others they do not have to fear." In a flash, Impa realised only she (and now Mido) could understand the words the Goddess used. Farore spoke more to Mido, and if Impa listened in the right way, she heard a babble of melted syllables like birdsong. Malon was looking confused atop Eiry.
Suddenly, Impa felt tears prick her eyes. She had been thinking how much her dad would have loved to meet Farore.
Immediately, Farore turned her head and knelt down so as to be on level with the child. She reached out and rested her palm against the girl's cheek, and the child pressed her own small pale hands to Farore's hand as the tears flowed like streams. Farore felt pity well up in her heart and she embraced the girl's little body, letting her sob into her shoulder.
Malon sniffed, thinking of Epona alone in the field. "I have to go back, Impa. Epona. she needs taking care of. and," she swallowed, "Link needs burial."
Farore lifted her head from Impa's honey-gold hair and spoke to Malon in Hylian, "The Gerudo boy has vanished; to where I know not. Go back to the Ranch, and tend to the horse. Do not try to contain your grief," she added kindly, "Tears are not evil."
Malon slipped from the horse with a weak smile and hugged Impa warmly. She remounted Eiry and urged her forwards. Farore raised a hand in farewell.
As soon as Malon had left the woods, the Kokiri became excited again. A second horse, white as snow, sped across the bridge and clopped through the tree-tunnel. Impa's heart leapt as she saw the rider drop easily from the saddle and run across the grass, tugging off a cloth hood and pulling down the long neck of her garb to reveal a long swirl of golden hair and flame- red eyes that melted back to sky blue. "Mama!"
Zelda dropped to the grass in front of her daughter and caught her up in a warm embrace, their grief-filled tears mingling as they clung to one another like survivors of a shipwreck.
Still in her disguise as Sheik, the Queen was garbed in tight bluey-purple Sheikah clothing, extraordinarily pretty and sleek. The Kokiri stepped further back at the presence of what they thought to be a Sheikah warrior. Zelda released her daughter and offered an elegant bow to the Goddess, who stood at about the same height. Farore returned the greeting, noticing with sorrow the tear trails on her cheeks.
"Nayru told me what happened," said Zelda softly, feeling Impa's hand slip into her own. Impa clung to her.
Farore inclined her head, "We need to speak to Saria. Get a plan sorted to get rid of the Gerudo."
Zelda straightened, "First we must bury Link properly."
Farore faced her and their gazes locked, "It is too dangerous. Link was raised amongst Kokiri; the fairies will accept his body and put his spirit to rest. Malon will see it done."
Impa spoke up, voicing the question that had long bothered her, "Please, Mam, Goddess, who is the desert man in black?" Her voice struggled to make the words, and the echoes of it sounded quiet and wispy in the silence that followed. She sensed she had asked the wrong question.
The silence held for a few long minutes. Farore knew it was not her place to explain; Zelda was trying to gather courage to do so. Eventually, she knelt and took her daughter's hands in her own. "Little one. When the King of Evil, Ganondorf took over these lands, my attendant Impa and I fled to the mountains, where I was taught the ways of the Sheikah. Hence the disguise which served so well then, and still serves me now."
Zelda brushed a slim hand down her clothing, the long white collar with the red eye symbol, the blue and purple wrapping that protected her from prying eyes, and the white head bindings that lay strewn on the floor nearby. Impa listened, never once taking her eyes from her mother, whilst she continually felt Farore's gaze at the back of her neck. The calm presence of the Goddess behind her had dried her tears.
Zelda continued, "I convinced Impa to let me return to Hyrule earlier, before the Hero of Time was due to awaken. I thought maybe I could use my skills to take back the Castle. Ganondorf, however, was too strong."
She lowered her eyes and sighed, relating the most painful memory of her past, "I was captured eleven months before the awakening. Ganondorf. . . stole from me. In return, I bore him a son."
Impa drew in a breath. Zelda carried on softly, "Your namesake took him to the Fortress, where she, and I, hoped he would be raised a petty wolf thief. Alas. . . we were both wrong. Kiren turned out more evil that Ganondorf himself. Later I escaped as Sheik and your father and I went on to rescue Hyrule from a black age. Now. . ." Zelda trailed off as Farore placed a gentle hand on Impa's narrow shoulder.
Impa repeated the name under her breath. . . ~Kiren. . .~ The translation hovered around her mind: 'dark child'.
Farore spoke softly, "Do you understand?"
"Yes. . ." whispered Impa. Her hand slipped from Zelda's and found the bow still strapped to her back. She brought it out from the quiver and studied it. She gathered her voice and spoke heavily and bitterly, "I vow revenge upon the man that murdered my father, whether he be my half-brother or not."
"I will aid you in your vow, Princess!"
Zelda's head snapped up, searching for the source of the voice. The Kokiri scattered; they had seen too many strangers for one sitting. Farore simply smiled.
From a short distance away, the air shimmered. Impa blinked, and a tall young man stood where the disturbance occurred. He was arrayed in cloth similarly to Zelda, in darker shades, but his white-blonde hair fell across his red eyes where he had swept the head binding away in respect. A long- fingered pale hand reached up and pulled down the face wrap, revealing a handsome pallid face devoid of colour. He looked ill, but his voice was strong. He strode closer, and Zelda stood quickly.
"Who are you?"
The man bowed, sinking to one knee. "My name is Moth. I am the son of Impa the Great. Doubtless you've heard of her," he added, a smile forming on his ashen features. Impa simply stared.
Zelda crossed the grass to him and pulled him up by the elbow, "You seem Sheikah enough. How old are you?"
"Fifteen, milady."
"Trained?"
"House trained, or trained in fighting?" he asked with a grin. Impa giggled despite herself.
Zelda laughed and released his arm. "You have wit enough. What can you offer the Princess?"
"Milady, I can offer her my services as a Sheikah for training in the ways of assassins, or fair fighters. I can use knife, sword, bow and arrow, cross bow and pike to a good level, and I am willing to teach and learn a few things myself along the road." He grinned again, "I can also stand on my head and juggle up to five apples at once, if that's any use."
Farore intervened, from her place a little way off. "At the same time? That's something I'm yet to see. Excuse my intervention, but we need to see Saria, or at least get to the Sacred Forest Meadow soon. Time flies from idle hands."
Moth tucked the cloth that bound his pale face and snowy hair into his belt and sprang easily up onto the ledge that formed the first step up to the Lost Woods. Zelda followed, and Impa was about to scramble up after her when Farore caught her wrist gently.
"Little Princess, I cannot be your partner in this scheme as I am now," she whispered. Impa looked deep into her eyes and felt something leapt within her as the prospect of having the Goddess with her all the time occurred to herm although the word "scheme" made her frown momentarily in puzzlement. Farore smiled as though she knew her thoughts and continued, "Will you have me as your fairy, like your father before you?"
Impa stared; she couldn't help it, "Navi. . . she was you?!"
Farore smiled again in confirmation. Impa nodded quickly, fearful that the chance might slip away. She concentrated on the memory of Farore's delicate soft touch on her skin as the Goddess stood gracefully and crossed her arms the way Nayru had done out on the field.
She filled with a green light, so bright Impa had to screw up her eyes. A warm wind passed between them, tugging lightly at the Princess's clothing. Farore's elegant form shrank and changed until a glowing white fairy hovered in the air at head height. Her wings held traces of greens still, and the shimmering form in the centre seemed smiling, although Impa could make out no shape in the light.
Zelda turned and beckoned her, and Princess, Queen, Sheikah and Goddess made their way scrambling up the vines and up the ridge into the Lost Woods.
***
GODDESS OF THE FOREST
As Impa watched, thin lines sped across the nut and etched the mark of the Triforce. Her eyes went wide, and she scrambled backwards as the nut swelled and burst in a shower of tiny green-yellow sparks. Eiry reared for the second time that day, but her neigh seemed to have a hint of joy. Impa's head tilted upwards as a smooth-skinned hand with slender fingers caressed her chin. The Princess looked up into the deep green-shadowed eyes of Farore, Goddess of Wisdom.
It was impossible to describe her as anything but green: from the long elegant tunic attire, to the tumbling tresses of hair that fell down her back like strands of ivy, Impa saw a personification of 'forest'. The Kokiri had fallen silent, and backed away slightly from the Goddess. Malon simply stared. Impa felt herself gently caught in her gaze and held there. Farore smiled softly, "Greetings, Princess Impa."
Impa couldn't speak; she felt such a yearning to hear her voice more. It was soft as thistledown. Farore turned her head, "Greetings, Children of the Forest. I will take Impa and Malon to Saria, Mido. Tell the others they do not have to fear." In a flash, Impa realised only she (and now Mido) could understand the words the Goddess used. Farore spoke more to Mido, and if Impa listened in the right way, she heard a babble of melted syllables like birdsong. Malon was looking confused atop Eiry.
Suddenly, Impa felt tears prick her eyes. She had been thinking how much her dad would have loved to meet Farore.
Immediately, Farore turned her head and knelt down so as to be on level with the child. She reached out and rested her palm against the girl's cheek, and the child pressed her own small pale hands to Farore's hand as the tears flowed like streams. Farore felt pity well up in her heart and she embraced the girl's little body, letting her sob into her shoulder.
Malon sniffed, thinking of Epona alone in the field. "I have to go back, Impa. Epona. she needs taking care of. and," she swallowed, "Link needs burial."
Farore lifted her head from Impa's honey-gold hair and spoke to Malon in Hylian, "The Gerudo boy has vanished; to where I know not. Go back to the Ranch, and tend to the horse. Do not try to contain your grief," she added kindly, "Tears are not evil."
Malon slipped from the horse with a weak smile and hugged Impa warmly. She remounted Eiry and urged her forwards. Farore raised a hand in farewell.
As soon as Malon had left the woods, the Kokiri became excited again. A second horse, white as snow, sped across the bridge and clopped through the tree-tunnel. Impa's heart leapt as she saw the rider drop easily from the saddle and run across the grass, tugging off a cloth hood and pulling down the long neck of her garb to reveal a long swirl of golden hair and flame- red eyes that melted back to sky blue. "Mama!"
Zelda dropped to the grass in front of her daughter and caught her up in a warm embrace, their grief-filled tears mingling as they clung to one another like survivors of a shipwreck.
Still in her disguise as Sheik, the Queen was garbed in tight bluey-purple Sheikah clothing, extraordinarily pretty and sleek. The Kokiri stepped further back at the presence of what they thought to be a Sheikah warrior. Zelda released her daughter and offered an elegant bow to the Goddess, who stood at about the same height. Farore returned the greeting, noticing with sorrow the tear trails on her cheeks.
"Nayru told me what happened," said Zelda softly, feeling Impa's hand slip into her own. Impa clung to her.
Farore inclined her head, "We need to speak to Saria. Get a plan sorted to get rid of the Gerudo."
Zelda straightened, "First we must bury Link properly."
Farore faced her and their gazes locked, "It is too dangerous. Link was raised amongst Kokiri; the fairies will accept his body and put his spirit to rest. Malon will see it done."
Impa spoke up, voicing the question that had long bothered her, "Please, Mam, Goddess, who is the desert man in black?" Her voice struggled to make the words, and the echoes of it sounded quiet and wispy in the silence that followed. She sensed she had asked the wrong question.
The silence held for a few long minutes. Farore knew it was not her place to explain; Zelda was trying to gather courage to do so. Eventually, she knelt and took her daughter's hands in her own. "Little one. When the King of Evil, Ganondorf took over these lands, my attendant Impa and I fled to the mountains, where I was taught the ways of the Sheikah. Hence the disguise which served so well then, and still serves me now."
Zelda brushed a slim hand down her clothing, the long white collar with the red eye symbol, the blue and purple wrapping that protected her from prying eyes, and the white head bindings that lay strewn on the floor nearby. Impa listened, never once taking her eyes from her mother, whilst she continually felt Farore's gaze at the back of her neck. The calm presence of the Goddess behind her had dried her tears.
Zelda continued, "I convinced Impa to let me return to Hyrule earlier, before the Hero of Time was due to awaken. I thought maybe I could use my skills to take back the Castle. Ganondorf, however, was too strong."
She lowered her eyes and sighed, relating the most painful memory of her past, "I was captured eleven months before the awakening. Ganondorf. . . stole from me. In return, I bore him a son."
Impa drew in a breath. Zelda carried on softly, "Your namesake took him to the Fortress, where she, and I, hoped he would be raised a petty wolf thief. Alas. . . we were both wrong. Kiren turned out more evil that Ganondorf himself. Later I escaped as Sheik and your father and I went on to rescue Hyrule from a black age. Now. . ." Zelda trailed off as Farore placed a gentle hand on Impa's narrow shoulder.
Impa repeated the name under her breath. . . ~Kiren. . .~ The translation hovered around her mind: 'dark child'.
Farore spoke softly, "Do you understand?"
"Yes. . ." whispered Impa. Her hand slipped from Zelda's and found the bow still strapped to her back. She brought it out from the quiver and studied it. She gathered her voice and spoke heavily and bitterly, "I vow revenge upon the man that murdered my father, whether he be my half-brother or not."
"I will aid you in your vow, Princess!"
Zelda's head snapped up, searching for the source of the voice. The Kokiri scattered; they had seen too many strangers for one sitting. Farore simply smiled.
From a short distance away, the air shimmered. Impa blinked, and a tall young man stood where the disturbance occurred. He was arrayed in cloth similarly to Zelda, in darker shades, but his white-blonde hair fell across his red eyes where he had swept the head binding away in respect. A long- fingered pale hand reached up and pulled down the face wrap, revealing a handsome pallid face devoid of colour. He looked ill, but his voice was strong. He strode closer, and Zelda stood quickly.
"Who are you?"
The man bowed, sinking to one knee. "My name is Moth. I am the son of Impa the Great. Doubtless you've heard of her," he added, a smile forming on his ashen features. Impa simply stared.
Zelda crossed the grass to him and pulled him up by the elbow, "You seem Sheikah enough. How old are you?"
"Fifteen, milady."
"Trained?"
"House trained, or trained in fighting?" he asked with a grin. Impa giggled despite herself.
Zelda laughed and released his arm. "You have wit enough. What can you offer the Princess?"
"Milady, I can offer her my services as a Sheikah for training in the ways of assassins, or fair fighters. I can use knife, sword, bow and arrow, cross bow and pike to a good level, and I am willing to teach and learn a few things myself along the road." He grinned again, "I can also stand on my head and juggle up to five apples at once, if that's any use."
Farore intervened, from her place a little way off. "At the same time? That's something I'm yet to see. Excuse my intervention, but we need to see Saria, or at least get to the Sacred Forest Meadow soon. Time flies from idle hands."
Moth tucked the cloth that bound his pale face and snowy hair into his belt and sprang easily up onto the ledge that formed the first step up to the Lost Woods. Zelda followed, and Impa was about to scramble up after her when Farore caught her wrist gently.
"Little Princess, I cannot be your partner in this scheme as I am now," she whispered. Impa looked deep into her eyes and felt something leapt within her as the prospect of having the Goddess with her all the time occurred to herm although the word "scheme" made her frown momentarily in puzzlement. Farore smiled as though she knew her thoughts and continued, "Will you have me as your fairy, like your father before you?"
Impa stared; she couldn't help it, "Navi. . . she was you?!"
Farore smiled again in confirmation. Impa nodded quickly, fearful that the chance might slip away. She concentrated on the memory of Farore's delicate soft touch on her skin as the Goddess stood gracefully and crossed her arms the way Nayru had done out on the field.
She filled with a green light, so bright Impa had to screw up her eyes. A warm wind passed between them, tugging lightly at the Princess's clothing. Farore's elegant form shrank and changed until a glowing white fairy hovered in the air at head height. Her wings held traces of greens still, and the shimmering form in the centre seemed smiling, although Impa could make out no shape in the light.
Zelda turned and beckoned her, and Princess, Queen, Sheikah and Goddess made their way scrambling up the vines and up the ridge into the Lost Woods.
***