Author's Notes: Hi y'all! Here it is! Chapter 4! And boy, IT IS LONG! I
hope that the other chapters will be just as long, (maybe longer). Lol. I
don't own anything, so no more disclaimers! Oh, and thank you all for
reviewing! I really appreciate it! ^_^
On with the story!
The Legend of Zelda:
Fate VS Destiny
Chapter 4: Lon Lon Ranch
Link was on the bridge that led out of the forest. He was starting to walk when he heard a voice.
"Hey Link! Wait up!"
A little Kokiri ran up to him and stopped to take his breath. It was Mido.
"What do you want?" he asked annoyed.
"I just wanted to know where Saria went. . ." he panted. "She didn't come home today and I got worried. . . You always know because she tells you everything. . ."
Link softened a bit. "She's at the Forest Meadow." He turned to leave but the Kokiri stopped him.
"And where are YOU going?" he asked in this casual sort of voice. Link's anger started to rise up again.
"I'm leaving, okay? Now get outta my way."
Mido stayed. "What?! You're leaving?! But. . . What about Saria? What would she say?"
"Saria already knows," he said.
Now, Mido had this you-can't-be-serious kinda look. "But WHY?! Why are you leaving?! You can't! I won't let you leave Saria! You're her best friend! You can't just LEAVE! And anyways, you'd die outside the forest!"
"Look, don't make me anymore miserable than I am already! I don't need it. Besides, since when do YOU care?"
Mido swallowed and looked down. "You're not a Kokiri now, are you?" he said (rather than asked) in a low voice. It was Link's turn to look down, not needing to answer. He slowly walked past the Kokiri when he stopped him again.
"Link."
The boy turned. Mido looked up to reveal a sad face Link had never seen before. It was almost sad to watch, and he felt sorry for the Kokiri. . . in an arch-rival kind of way.
"If. . .if you're really leaving, then I won't stop you. . . But, can I just say something?"
He had his puppy-eyes look, and Link wasn't in any hurry (yet), so what the heck?
"Go ahead," he responded.
Mido swallowed again. "I want to. . .apologize. . .because I was so mean to you. You've been nice to everyone else, even me sometimes, and I would just treat you like a stranger. . . I was jealous. . . Saria really likes you, everyone respects you. . . That used to be me before you came in. But I was blinded by selfishness. . .and that was wrong. If there's any way I can make up for that, I'll do it. You just name it."
Lin, however, was too shocked for words. Mido was apologizing to HIM???!!! Link???!!! Impossible! Insane!
"Well. . ." he said trying to think of something. "There is one thing you could do. . ."
"Really? And what's that?" he asked.
"Just. . .just take care of Saria for me. . ."
The Kokiri stood, wide-eyed. "S-sure thing, Link."
With that, Link turned and disappeared through the tunnel, with Mido still watching. Navi popped out of his hat.
"Mido actually apologized?!"
"Hey, I could hardly believe it myself. . ." he said. He never had time to think over what just happened because Navi said: "Well, we're here. Welcome to Hyrule Field, Link!"
He couldn't believe it. He had done it! The entrance to the forest was right behind him. He really was a Hylian! The sunlight was too bright and he had to blink a few times. Navi, meanwhile, was babbling about how he would get used to it over time and that speaking of time, they better get going. But he was only half listening.
Farore, this place was HUGE! There wasn't anything really beautiful about it. . . The grass was fairly green and trees could be seen across the horizon. But the bluish (A/N: Is that how you spell it???) color of the sky and the freshness of the air made it, well, easy to drift into. Despite the fact that this was his first time in Hyrule Field (or so he thought), this place seemed eerily familiar to Link. Like he had been here many, many times before. . . He hated his life!
First, he gets the feeling that he's different. Second, he finds out that he is NOT a Kokiri (surprise, surprise). Third, he needs to find the Oracle if he wants answers to his questions (mind you, he's not even sure what an Oracle is). Fourth,, only the princess knows where to find her (not to mention that he has NO idea where that princess is)! Oh, and let's not forget his personal favorite: Mido's apology, which none of the others could possibly compare to. Gee. Isn't that comforting. He couldn't gulp all this down! It was too much of a big piece to chew!
Like Navi or anyone else ever had anything to worry about. Look at her, she was still babbling! Only now she's talking about how she loved to ride down here and smell the fresh air. What does she mean by 'ride'? She can't even run! Let alone walk! Anyway, she wouldn't say more and then gives him I- know-something-you-don't glare. But he guessed that he imagined it since it was gone as fast as it had come. That fairy was something! And to tell that he couldn't remember their first meeting. Hmmm. . . That must have happened. . .about four years ago or something. . . Great Goddesses, he couldn't remember! He really disgusts himself. And Navi's still talking. What fun.
"-Anyway, Link, we better go to Hyrule Castle Town before-. . . Link? Link?? Are you listening?!"
She turned to look at him but regretted as soon as she did so. He was standing, so he was physically here; he was breathing (in and out, in and out. . .), so he was alive alright. But that wasn't it. He had this blank stare like she wasn't even there, and his eyes. . . Boy, were they scary! They were (and even a blabbermouth like Navi couldn't find the right words). . . empty- or anything you can think about that's close enough. They weren't the usual, happy, ocean blue, too bright to look into kinda eyes. Instead, they were dark. Almost black. . .and, well. . .empty! What other word could she find? The little fairy was starting to feel pretty uncomfortable.
"Yoo-hoo! Link! Are you there?! Stop staring like that! You're giving me the heebie-jeebies! (a/n: Is that how you spell it???)"
He didn't even blink. So, mentally, he wasn't there. . .
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
//Where am I. . . ? Wait. . . I know this place. This is my house! I'm back home! In the Kokiri Forest! But, how? What in Din's world am I doing here?! And on the bed, that's. . . me?! I must be getting paranoid! There's another 'me' in my house! Is this some kind of dream? (What a coincidence: 'other me' is sleeping as well) He does look a lot younger. . .like around 11 years old. . . He's struggling pretty hard and is shaking madly. There's sweat on his face, too. . . He's having a nightmare.
Someone's coming. . . That's Navi! Why can't she see me? She doesn't seem to hear me, either. She flies up to 'other me'.
"Hello, Link! The Great Deku Tree wants to see you! Get up!"
'Other me' grumbles and turns. That's me alright. . . Now she's getting pretty annoyed.
"Hey, c'mon!" she shouts while zooming around the bed. "Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?!"
Yep. That's Navi alright. . . Young Link slowly gets up and rubs his eyes. He looks up.
"You finally woke up!" says Navi. "I'm Navi, the fairy! Great Deku Tree said that I should be your partner from now on! Nice to meet you!"
What? Is this our first meeting? 'Other me' looks surprised.
"My own fairy? For real?"
I can't believe I was so small. . .
"Yep!" she says. "The Great Deku Tree has summoned you. So let's get going!"
'Other me' hesitates, then nods and starts running out the door.//
"Link! LINK!! Hyrule to Link! This is Navi speaking! The little fairy with a very short temper that might explode at any moment if you don't snap out of it!!!"
Still wouldn't work. He didn't even blink.
//I have to follow them. . . I need to find out what happened.//
"Link!"
//I run out of the house and climb down the stairs.//
"Link, wake up!"
//He's talking to Saria. What are they saying?//
"LINK!!!!!"
Too late. SPLASH!!!!
His hat had been filled with water and dropped on his head by a very, VERY panicked Navi.
"Great Goddesses, NAVI!!! What was that for?!"
This would have been very funny if the situation hadn't been so serious. Navi looked quite happy.
"Oh, thank Din! You're awake!"
"Awake? What are you talking about?"
She took a deep breath. "Well. . . I really don't know how to say this. . . Your eyes got all dark, and you were just staring like nothing was there! It was like. . . like you were in some kind of coma. . ." She shivered. "But don't ever do that again!"
"Okay, okay! Sorry about that!" he said. What was that all about? Was it a dream? Or a memory. . .? Navi spoke again: "Well, now that you're back, can we just go?"
Obviously, SHE wasn't worried about the fact that he had been WET for the past five seconds because of a certain hyper-insane fairy he knew. . .
Navi," he said as smoothly as possible. "In case you haven't noticed, I have been completely SOAKED to the bone because of you, my clothes are all wet, not to mention that I'll have to dry them, and I might as well have to make myself a new hat!!!"
The fairy looked down at the object-in-question. Not only had it simply dropped on his head, but it stretched (in a way) thanks to the water pressure, and there also appeared to be holes all over it. . . Oops! Navi shrugged and tried not to laugh.
"I don't see anything wrong with it. Okay, so maybe it got bigger and has a few holes over it. . . But, so what? You can still get it fixed!"
Oooh, that was the last straw!
"Navi, you're gonna pay for this. Big time."
But all she did was stick out her tongue at him and say: "Not unless you catch me!" And there she goes, flying away towards the horizon. Link quickly picked up his hat while muttering something about fairies and started chasing after Navi.
"Hey, no fair! You got a head start! COME BACK HERE!!!"
The little fairy laughed and flew faster. The boy kept running, and soon noticed a bridge leading to a huge gate. Suddenly, they heard a wolf's howl, and Navi stopped, which caused Link to bump her from behind.
"Ooww. . . Navi, did you HAVE to do that?" he asked while rubbing his nose.
She wasn't listening, though.
"Uh-Oh."
He froze.
"I heard that. Whaddya mean by 'uh-oh'?"
She didn't need to answer. It was already night and the gate was closed. The moon was shining brightly in the sky and the stars were glowing faintly.
"Great. NOW, how are we gonna get to the Market?"
Link was confused. "Market?"
Navi mentally slapped herself. 'Farore, I really wish he didn't get brainwashed after that Ganon incident! This is going to be so tough to explain,' she thought. And as luck would have it, three medium-sized skeleton beings emerged from the ground right behind Link and started walking clumsily towards the boy.
"Whoa! What the- ???"
He seized his Kokiri sword/dagger and backed up.
"Navi, what are those things?"
Navi, though, seemed perfectly calm.
"What? Oh, you mean these guys? They're called Stalchilds, but don't be afraid of 'em. Just attack them repeatedly!"
He soon reached the edge of a river.
"You're a great help, Navi. You know that?" he said in a sarcastic way.
"Of course I do! Why else would I be here?"
Link groaned and stabbed the first Stalchild right in the throat. Its arms, legs, and head fell off and it dissolved into flames. Right when he was about to charge for the second one, the third Stalchild hit him in the sides, which caused him to tumble closer to the edge of the water. He soon regained balance and braced himself with his wooden shield.
Link," Navi yelled, "jump into the river!"
"What?! Again?" He rolled to the side, avoiding another hit from the skeletons. The fairy grew frustrated.
"Look, these guys are vulnerable to water, got that? Just do it!"
Link mumbled and dived in, but only to rise to the surface again and yell: "Farore, this water's FREEZING!!!"
"Oh, stop complaining and watch!" she snap.
He glanced at the creatures. As soon as they touched the liquid, the Stalchilds ended just like the first one: right into flames. Wow. Where did Navi know all this? Link stepped out of the water and onto dry land. He was shivering, like crazy and his lips were turning blue.
"Damn. . ." said the fairy. "The weather's pretty low at night. If you stay like this, things won't turn out so good. . ."
He rubbed his arms, trying to stay warm. "Yeah. . . Let's find a place to sleep the night. Or some place where we won't see these- things again." Now he was trembling. Not good.
"I know the perfect place. Let's go to Lon Lon Ranch-" But before she could finish, other skeletons popped from the ground and started for Navi, who flew higher to avoid their hits.
"Just ignore them, Link," she said. "Follow me!"
He gave them one last swing before sheathing his sword and running after Navi. The Stalchilds tried to follow, but in their current state, could only manage to walk in quite an unfortunate way. Seeing that this maneuver was getting them nowhere, the skeletons gave up their chase and sank back into the earth. Navi soon noticed this, and slowed down. So did Link.
"See that ranch over there?" she pointed to a house not too far from them. "That's where we're going."
He nodded and started to walk towards it. Navi gave him an encouraging push and dove into his pocket (since his hat wasn't available now) before he broke into a run once more. Once he arrived at Lon Lon Ranch, Link took a look at his surroundings. On either side of him were wooden buildings. Cows and horses could be heard in the building to his right. That must be the stable. On his left, he could hear people (men, actually) chattering in and about.
But mostly, Link heard singing. A beautiful voice that came from up ahead. He followed the sound until he reached a very big, round fence. Right in the middle was a redheaded girl singing happily while petting a pretty, flaming red mare. As he walked closer, the horse turned its head towards Link. Seeing that, the girl stopped singing and whirled around to face him, a surprised expression on her face. There stood a blond-haired boy with bright blue eyes wearing strange green clothes. She softened and smiled.
"Hello. I haven't seen you around here before. I'm Malon and this is my horse Epona. Welcome to Lon Lon Ranch!"
Epona. . . Where had he heard that name before?
Malon continued: "We normally don't get visitors at night. Are you from around here?"
He shook his head. "No."
The girl started patting her horse again. "Really? I thought so, because your clothes looked different. . ." She looked at him again. "Are you a fairy boy from the forest?"
Link nodded. "Yeah. My name's Link. . . I'm looking for a place to stay the night."
"Link. . ." she said. "Well, fairy boy, if you want, you can sleep in my room. But first, you'll have to dry yourself before you catch a cold."
Link only now realized he had been shivering for the past few minutes and started clutching his arms again. Malon giggled. "Come with me."
She led him to the house where he had heard the voices and opened the door. There were two men; one was sleeping peacefully on the stack of hay near the corner, and the other one was killing himself trying to catch runaway Cuccos scattered around the room.
"Damn these chickens!" he yelled. "Can't even tell which is which! How does Talon do it?! Can't he keep his special-super-Cuccos or whatever outta my way so I won't have to cook any for dinner?!"
"Sorry about him," Malon told Link. "Mr. Ingo is always grumpy. Especially when it comes to work."
Link nodded and glanced at the sleeping man. "And who's that?" he asked.
"That's my father, Talon. I admit it: he IS pretty lazy. . . Mr. Ingo always brags about it. He says that my dad never does enough work around here." She shrugged. "You wait right here, okay? I'll be right back."
Then, she ran out the door and out of sight. Meanwhile, Link took a look around. There was a large stack of hay in the upper left corner of the room, where Talon was sleeping. He was a very round man with thick, bushy eyebrows and a big mustache. In the middle of the room was a wooden table with a Cucco perched on it. All his other companions were scattered all over the place, trying to escape a very frustrated Ingo. The door soon opened again and Malon entered holding a few towels and clothes.
"I've got everything now!" she said. "Shall we?"
She walked up the stairs to the right with Link following nearby and stepped in the next room.
"This is my room," she said proudly. "You can sleep here for the night. I've got some towels and a few clothes that should fit you."
She laid the stuff on her bed lying near the window.
"Oh, and there's also something else. . ." She reached into her pocket and took out and object which she handed to him. "This should sooth you down. It's the best milk in all of Hyrule."
Link looked closer at the object. It was a bottle filled with milk. Lon Lon Milk, to be exact. He looked up and smiled. "Thanks Malon."
She smiled back and her face suddenly froze. "Oh, by the fires of Din! I completely forgot to milk the cows!" she said while slapping her forehead. "And Dad has to go deliver milk at the Castle tomorrow!"
"Which is where we need to go," said Navi from his pocket.
Malon stopped and looked around. "Who said that?" she asked.
"Me!" said the fairy as she flew up. The ranch girl watched in amazement as the little ball of light flew up to Link's head.
"So THIS is a fairy. . ." she said. "I heard her say something about going to the castle. Is that right?"
"Yeah. We were going there to meet the princess."
"Oh, are you? You could go there with my dad when the sun rises, if you like," she replied. "Speaking of which, I really need to get that milk. . . I'll see you later, all right?"
"Okay. Thanks again."
She smiled and walked out of the room. As soon as Malon closed the door behind her, Link walked to the bed and collapsed right into it, his mind spinning wildly.
"What a day. . ." he moaned.
Navi gently sat on his chest. "You know," she said, "what Malon said is true. That Lon Lon Milk will sooth you down. . . Try it and see." The little fairy flew up to the window before adding: "Meet me by the fence once you're dried up, alright?" and flew out of sight.
Link looked over at the bottle in his hand. He slowly uncorked* it and brought it up to his mouth before drinking a few mouthfuls. To his great surprise, he felt warmth spread suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes. He could feel the liquid spread throughout his body, massaging his muscles and cooling his mind. Wishing this soothing sensation would last, Link sat up and gave out a long sigh.
"Wow. . ." he whispered.
He soon rose to his feet, feeling calm and relaxed, and started to get undressed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
" 'Lo Epona. . ."
Navi quietly sat down on the mare's head. In response, the horse gently sat down on the grass and slowly lowered her head to the ground. She moaned silently.
"I know you've been anxious to see him again. . . Don't worry. He'll be coming out here anytime now." She patted her head. "He won't remember you, but at least he'll meet you. . .again. But I wish he DID remember. . . If only. . ."
Epona gently nodded in agreement and looked up at the sky. So did Navi. They didn't need words to speak. Their silence said it all. Not a word, not a sentence, or either a small speech. . . This one quiet moment was enough to share a lifetime of feelings. Just like this. . .
"I missed you Epona. . ." the fairy finally said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Link looked himself over. He was wearing a white shirt with blue overalls and he had kept his boots and earrings on. His hair was dry and tidy again. . . To make things short, he looked as if he had never been wet (or sick) at all. Checking that his things were neatly stacked on the table near the bed, Link headed out the door and closed it shut behind him. As he ran down the stairs, he noticed Ingo collapse to the floor and say: "I give up! Last straw! I quit!"
He then noticed the young boy staring at him. "Hey you! Kid! Could you help me out here?! I'll be willing to pay you five rupees if you get the job done!"
Link tucked his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I guess. . . What would you like me to do?"
The man pointed to the table where the Cuccos (two of them, now) were perched on. "See those?" he said, "These chickens are special. . . They're not normal Cuccos. I have no idea why, but that's what he told me." He jerked his head towards Talon (still sleeping). "Anyway, all you have to do is find the last one for me. Whaddya say?"
The boy stared at the chickens, then back at Ingo. "But how will I recognize it? I mean, they all look the same; it's gonna be hard to tell which is which."
"Ha ha ha! Yes it will!" he laughed. " The trick, is that they're afraid of heights. That's why they won't get down from the table. So! Will ya do it?"
Link nodded and started chasing after the Cuccos. He was finally able to catch one, but as soon as he lifted it from the ground, the chicken began to flap its wings and to quack madly, trying to wriggle free. Avoiding its claws, Link quickly set it on the table, but it simply hopped back down to the floor, joining his other friends. The boy continued his chase but soon found himself picking the same Cucco over and over again, which caused even more confusion. On his fifth try, though, his 'prey' wouldn't seem to get down. In fact, it was shaking with fear.
Ingo's eyes suddenly lit up. "A-hah! You did it! You found the last one! That was some fine work, son! Fine work indeed!" He gave him a smile revealing a gold tooth and handed him two blue rupees. "Here! Have ten rupees. You've earned them! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do," he said, giving Talon the evil eye and before he knew it, Link was shooed out of the room. It was still dark when he stepped outside. Everything was still and quiet until an alarmed yell told him that Talon had been woken up. He grinned and walked to the fence where Navi was waiting.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*
*Uncork: to pull the cork out of (a cork is the stopper for a bottle; some sort of lid) '-_-'
Author's Notes: So there ya go! Another chapter done! Whaddya think? Horrible-Bad-Okay-Good-Great-Anything? Please tell me in your reviews! I absolutely MUST know! It might take a while 'till the next chapter comes up, so plz don't be surprised if it comes up a week after (which I'll try to avoid)! Thanks again!
Ani ^_~
The Legend of Zelda:
Fate VS Destiny
Chapter 4: Lon Lon Ranch
Link was on the bridge that led out of the forest. He was starting to walk when he heard a voice.
"Hey Link! Wait up!"
A little Kokiri ran up to him and stopped to take his breath. It was Mido.
"What do you want?" he asked annoyed.
"I just wanted to know where Saria went. . ." he panted. "She didn't come home today and I got worried. . . You always know because she tells you everything. . ."
Link softened a bit. "She's at the Forest Meadow." He turned to leave but the Kokiri stopped him.
"And where are YOU going?" he asked in this casual sort of voice. Link's anger started to rise up again.
"I'm leaving, okay? Now get outta my way."
Mido stayed. "What?! You're leaving?! But. . . What about Saria? What would she say?"
"Saria already knows," he said.
Now, Mido had this you-can't-be-serious kinda look. "But WHY?! Why are you leaving?! You can't! I won't let you leave Saria! You're her best friend! You can't just LEAVE! And anyways, you'd die outside the forest!"
"Look, don't make me anymore miserable than I am already! I don't need it. Besides, since when do YOU care?"
Mido swallowed and looked down. "You're not a Kokiri now, are you?" he said (rather than asked) in a low voice. It was Link's turn to look down, not needing to answer. He slowly walked past the Kokiri when he stopped him again.
"Link."
The boy turned. Mido looked up to reveal a sad face Link had never seen before. It was almost sad to watch, and he felt sorry for the Kokiri. . . in an arch-rival kind of way.
"If. . .if you're really leaving, then I won't stop you. . . But, can I just say something?"
He had his puppy-eyes look, and Link wasn't in any hurry (yet), so what the heck?
"Go ahead," he responded.
Mido swallowed again. "I want to. . .apologize. . .because I was so mean to you. You've been nice to everyone else, even me sometimes, and I would just treat you like a stranger. . . I was jealous. . . Saria really likes you, everyone respects you. . . That used to be me before you came in. But I was blinded by selfishness. . .and that was wrong. If there's any way I can make up for that, I'll do it. You just name it."
Lin, however, was too shocked for words. Mido was apologizing to HIM???!!! Link???!!! Impossible! Insane!
"Well. . ." he said trying to think of something. "There is one thing you could do. . ."
"Really? And what's that?" he asked.
"Just. . .just take care of Saria for me. . ."
The Kokiri stood, wide-eyed. "S-sure thing, Link."
With that, Link turned and disappeared through the tunnel, with Mido still watching. Navi popped out of his hat.
"Mido actually apologized?!"
"Hey, I could hardly believe it myself. . ." he said. He never had time to think over what just happened because Navi said: "Well, we're here. Welcome to Hyrule Field, Link!"
He couldn't believe it. He had done it! The entrance to the forest was right behind him. He really was a Hylian! The sunlight was too bright and he had to blink a few times. Navi, meanwhile, was babbling about how he would get used to it over time and that speaking of time, they better get going. But he was only half listening.
Farore, this place was HUGE! There wasn't anything really beautiful about it. . . The grass was fairly green and trees could be seen across the horizon. But the bluish (A/N: Is that how you spell it???) color of the sky and the freshness of the air made it, well, easy to drift into. Despite the fact that this was his first time in Hyrule Field (or so he thought), this place seemed eerily familiar to Link. Like he had been here many, many times before. . . He hated his life!
First, he gets the feeling that he's different. Second, he finds out that he is NOT a Kokiri (surprise, surprise). Third, he needs to find the Oracle if he wants answers to his questions (mind you, he's not even sure what an Oracle is). Fourth,, only the princess knows where to find her (not to mention that he has NO idea where that princess is)! Oh, and let's not forget his personal favorite: Mido's apology, which none of the others could possibly compare to. Gee. Isn't that comforting. He couldn't gulp all this down! It was too much of a big piece to chew!
Like Navi or anyone else ever had anything to worry about. Look at her, she was still babbling! Only now she's talking about how she loved to ride down here and smell the fresh air. What does she mean by 'ride'? She can't even run! Let alone walk! Anyway, she wouldn't say more and then gives him I- know-something-you-don't glare. But he guessed that he imagined it since it was gone as fast as it had come. That fairy was something! And to tell that he couldn't remember their first meeting. Hmmm. . . That must have happened. . .about four years ago or something. . . Great Goddesses, he couldn't remember! He really disgusts himself. And Navi's still talking. What fun.
"-Anyway, Link, we better go to Hyrule Castle Town before-. . . Link? Link?? Are you listening?!"
She turned to look at him but regretted as soon as she did so. He was standing, so he was physically here; he was breathing (in and out, in and out. . .), so he was alive alright. But that wasn't it. He had this blank stare like she wasn't even there, and his eyes. . . Boy, were they scary! They were (and even a blabbermouth like Navi couldn't find the right words). . . empty- or anything you can think about that's close enough. They weren't the usual, happy, ocean blue, too bright to look into kinda eyes. Instead, they were dark. Almost black. . .and, well. . .empty! What other word could she find? The little fairy was starting to feel pretty uncomfortable.
"Yoo-hoo! Link! Are you there?! Stop staring like that! You're giving me the heebie-jeebies! (a/n: Is that how you spell it???)"
He didn't even blink. So, mentally, he wasn't there. . .
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
//Where am I. . . ? Wait. . . I know this place. This is my house! I'm back home! In the Kokiri Forest! But, how? What in Din's world am I doing here?! And on the bed, that's. . . me?! I must be getting paranoid! There's another 'me' in my house! Is this some kind of dream? (What a coincidence: 'other me' is sleeping as well) He does look a lot younger. . .like around 11 years old. . . He's struggling pretty hard and is shaking madly. There's sweat on his face, too. . . He's having a nightmare.
Someone's coming. . . That's Navi! Why can't she see me? She doesn't seem to hear me, either. She flies up to 'other me'.
"Hello, Link! The Great Deku Tree wants to see you! Get up!"
'Other me' grumbles and turns. That's me alright. . . Now she's getting pretty annoyed.
"Hey, c'mon!" she shouts while zooming around the bed. "Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?!"
Yep. That's Navi alright. . . Young Link slowly gets up and rubs his eyes. He looks up.
"You finally woke up!" says Navi. "I'm Navi, the fairy! Great Deku Tree said that I should be your partner from now on! Nice to meet you!"
What? Is this our first meeting? 'Other me' looks surprised.
"My own fairy? For real?"
I can't believe I was so small. . .
"Yep!" she says. "The Great Deku Tree has summoned you. So let's get going!"
'Other me' hesitates, then nods and starts running out the door.//
"Link! LINK!! Hyrule to Link! This is Navi speaking! The little fairy with a very short temper that might explode at any moment if you don't snap out of it!!!"
Still wouldn't work. He didn't even blink.
//I have to follow them. . . I need to find out what happened.//
"Link!"
//I run out of the house and climb down the stairs.//
"Link, wake up!"
//He's talking to Saria. What are they saying?//
"LINK!!!!!"
Too late. SPLASH!!!!
His hat had been filled with water and dropped on his head by a very, VERY panicked Navi.
"Great Goddesses, NAVI!!! What was that for?!"
This would have been very funny if the situation hadn't been so serious. Navi looked quite happy.
"Oh, thank Din! You're awake!"
"Awake? What are you talking about?"
She took a deep breath. "Well. . . I really don't know how to say this. . . Your eyes got all dark, and you were just staring like nothing was there! It was like. . . like you were in some kind of coma. . ." She shivered. "But don't ever do that again!"
"Okay, okay! Sorry about that!" he said. What was that all about? Was it a dream? Or a memory. . .? Navi spoke again: "Well, now that you're back, can we just go?"
Obviously, SHE wasn't worried about the fact that he had been WET for the past five seconds because of a certain hyper-insane fairy he knew. . .
Navi," he said as smoothly as possible. "In case you haven't noticed, I have been completely SOAKED to the bone because of you, my clothes are all wet, not to mention that I'll have to dry them, and I might as well have to make myself a new hat!!!"
The fairy looked down at the object-in-question. Not only had it simply dropped on his head, but it stretched (in a way) thanks to the water pressure, and there also appeared to be holes all over it. . . Oops! Navi shrugged and tried not to laugh.
"I don't see anything wrong with it. Okay, so maybe it got bigger and has a few holes over it. . . But, so what? You can still get it fixed!"
Oooh, that was the last straw!
"Navi, you're gonna pay for this. Big time."
But all she did was stick out her tongue at him and say: "Not unless you catch me!" And there she goes, flying away towards the horizon. Link quickly picked up his hat while muttering something about fairies and started chasing after Navi.
"Hey, no fair! You got a head start! COME BACK HERE!!!"
The little fairy laughed and flew faster. The boy kept running, and soon noticed a bridge leading to a huge gate. Suddenly, they heard a wolf's howl, and Navi stopped, which caused Link to bump her from behind.
"Ooww. . . Navi, did you HAVE to do that?" he asked while rubbing his nose.
She wasn't listening, though.
"Uh-Oh."
He froze.
"I heard that. Whaddya mean by 'uh-oh'?"
She didn't need to answer. It was already night and the gate was closed. The moon was shining brightly in the sky and the stars were glowing faintly.
"Great. NOW, how are we gonna get to the Market?"
Link was confused. "Market?"
Navi mentally slapped herself. 'Farore, I really wish he didn't get brainwashed after that Ganon incident! This is going to be so tough to explain,' she thought. And as luck would have it, three medium-sized skeleton beings emerged from the ground right behind Link and started walking clumsily towards the boy.
"Whoa! What the- ???"
He seized his Kokiri sword/dagger and backed up.
"Navi, what are those things?"
Navi, though, seemed perfectly calm.
"What? Oh, you mean these guys? They're called Stalchilds, but don't be afraid of 'em. Just attack them repeatedly!"
He soon reached the edge of a river.
"You're a great help, Navi. You know that?" he said in a sarcastic way.
"Of course I do! Why else would I be here?"
Link groaned and stabbed the first Stalchild right in the throat. Its arms, legs, and head fell off and it dissolved into flames. Right when he was about to charge for the second one, the third Stalchild hit him in the sides, which caused him to tumble closer to the edge of the water. He soon regained balance and braced himself with his wooden shield.
Link," Navi yelled, "jump into the river!"
"What?! Again?" He rolled to the side, avoiding another hit from the skeletons. The fairy grew frustrated.
"Look, these guys are vulnerable to water, got that? Just do it!"
Link mumbled and dived in, but only to rise to the surface again and yell: "Farore, this water's FREEZING!!!"
"Oh, stop complaining and watch!" she snap.
He glanced at the creatures. As soon as they touched the liquid, the Stalchilds ended just like the first one: right into flames. Wow. Where did Navi know all this? Link stepped out of the water and onto dry land. He was shivering, like crazy and his lips were turning blue.
"Damn. . ." said the fairy. "The weather's pretty low at night. If you stay like this, things won't turn out so good. . ."
He rubbed his arms, trying to stay warm. "Yeah. . . Let's find a place to sleep the night. Or some place where we won't see these- things again." Now he was trembling. Not good.
"I know the perfect place. Let's go to Lon Lon Ranch-" But before she could finish, other skeletons popped from the ground and started for Navi, who flew higher to avoid their hits.
"Just ignore them, Link," she said. "Follow me!"
He gave them one last swing before sheathing his sword and running after Navi. The Stalchilds tried to follow, but in their current state, could only manage to walk in quite an unfortunate way. Seeing that this maneuver was getting them nowhere, the skeletons gave up their chase and sank back into the earth. Navi soon noticed this, and slowed down. So did Link.
"See that ranch over there?" she pointed to a house not too far from them. "That's where we're going."
He nodded and started to walk towards it. Navi gave him an encouraging push and dove into his pocket (since his hat wasn't available now) before he broke into a run once more. Once he arrived at Lon Lon Ranch, Link took a look at his surroundings. On either side of him were wooden buildings. Cows and horses could be heard in the building to his right. That must be the stable. On his left, he could hear people (men, actually) chattering in and about.
But mostly, Link heard singing. A beautiful voice that came from up ahead. He followed the sound until he reached a very big, round fence. Right in the middle was a redheaded girl singing happily while petting a pretty, flaming red mare. As he walked closer, the horse turned its head towards Link. Seeing that, the girl stopped singing and whirled around to face him, a surprised expression on her face. There stood a blond-haired boy with bright blue eyes wearing strange green clothes. She softened and smiled.
"Hello. I haven't seen you around here before. I'm Malon and this is my horse Epona. Welcome to Lon Lon Ranch!"
Epona. . . Where had he heard that name before?
Malon continued: "We normally don't get visitors at night. Are you from around here?"
He shook his head. "No."
The girl started patting her horse again. "Really? I thought so, because your clothes looked different. . ." She looked at him again. "Are you a fairy boy from the forest?"
Link nodded. "Yeah. My name's Link. . . I'm looking for a place to stay the night."
"Link. . ." she said. "Well, fairy boy, if you want, you can sleep in my room. But first, you'll have to dry yourself before you catch a cold."
Link only now realized he had been shivering for the past few minutes and started clutching his arms again. Malon giggled. "Come with me."
She led him to the house where he had heard the voices and opened the door. There were two men; one was sleeping peacefully on the stack of hay near the corner, and the other one was killing himself trying to catch runaway Cuccos scattered around the room.
"Damn these chickens!" he yelled. "Can't even tell which is which! How does Talon do it?! Can't he keep his special-super-Cuccos or whatever outta my way so I won't have to cook any for dinner?!"
"Sorry about him," Malon told Link. "Mr. Ingo is always grumpy. Especially when it comes to work."
Link nodded and glanced at the sleeping man. "And who's that?" he asked.
"That's my father, Talon. I admit it: he IS pretty lazy. . . Mr. Ingo always brags about it. He says that my dad never does enough work around here." She shrugged. "You wait right here, okay? I'll be right back."
Then, she ran out the door and out of sight. Meanwhile, Link took a look around. There was a large stack of hay in the upper left corner of the room, where Talon was sleeping. He was a very round man with thick, bushy eyebrows and a big mustache. In the middle of the room was a wooden table with a Cucco perched on it. All his other companions were scattered all over the place, trying to escape a very frustrated Ingo. The door soon opened again and Malon entered holding a few towels and clothes.
"I've got everything now!" she said. "Shall we?"
She walked up the stairs to the right with Link following nearby and stepped in the next room.
"This is my room," she said proudly. "You can sleep here for the night. I've got some towels and a few clothes that should fit you."
She laid the stuff on her bed lying near the window.
"Oh, and there's also something else. . ." She reached into her pocket and took out and object which she handed to him. "This should sooth you down. It's the best milk in all of Hyrule."
Link looked closer at the object. It was a bottle filled with milk. Lon Lon Milk, to be exact. He looked up and smiled. "Thanks Malon."
She smiled back and her face suddenly froze. "Oh, by the fires of Din! I completely forgot to milk the cows!" she said while slapping her forehead. "And Dad has to go deliver milk at the Castle tomorrow!"
"Which is where we need to go," said Navi from his pocket.
Malon stopped and looked around. "Who said that?" she asked.
"Me!" said the fairy as she flew up. The ranch girl watched in amazement as the little ball of light flew up to Link's head.
"So THIS is a fairy. . ." she said. "I heard her say something about going to the castle. Is that right?"
"Yeah. We were going there to meet the princess."
"Oh, are you? You could go there with my dad when the sun rises, if you like," she replied. "Speaking of which, I really need to get that milk. . . I'll see you later, all right?"
"Okay. Thanks again."
She smiled and walked out of the room. As soon as Malon closed the door behind her, Link walked to the bed and collapsed right into it, his mind spinning wildly.
"What a day. . ." he moaned.
Navi gently sat on his chest. "You know," she said, "what Malon said is true. That Lon Lon Milk will sooth you down. . . Try it and see." The little fairy flew up to the window before adding: "Meet me by the fence once you're dried up, alright?" and flew out of sight.
Link looked over at the bottle in his hand. He slowly uncorked* it and brought it up to his mouth before drinking a few mouthfuls. To his great surprise, he felt warmth spread suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes. He could feel the liquid spread throughout his body, massaging his muscles and cooling his mind. Wishing this soothing sensation would last, Link sat up and gave out a long sigh.
"Wow. . ." he whispered.
He soon rose to his feet, feeling calm and relaxed, and started to get undressed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
" 'Lo Epona. . ."
Navi quietly sat down on the mare's head. In response, the horse gently sat down on the grass and slowly lowered her head to the ground. She moaned silently.
"I know you've been anxious to see him again. . . Don't worry. He'll be coming out here anytime now." She patted her head. "He won't remember you, but at least he'll meet you. . .again. But I wish he DID remember. . . If only. . ."
Epona gently nodded in agreement and looked up at the sky. So did Navi. They didn't need words to speak. Their silence said it all. Not a word, not a sentence, or either a small speech. . . This one quiet moment was enough to share a lifetime of feelings. Just like this. . .
"I missed you Epona. . ." the fairy finally said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Link looked himself over. He was wearing a white shirt with blue overalls and he had kept his boots and earrings on. His hair was dry and tidy again. . . To make things short, he looked as if he had never been wet (or sick) at all. Checking that his things were neatly stacked on the table near the bed, Link headed out the door and closed it shut behind him. As he ran down the stairs, he noticed Ingo collapse to the floor and say: "I give up! Last straw! I quit!"
He then noticed the young boy staring at him. "Hey you! Kid! Could you help me out here?! I'll be willing to pay you five rupees if you get the job done!"
Link tucked his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I guess. . . What would you like me to do?"
The man pointed to the table where the Cuccos (two of them, now) were perched on. "See those?" he said, "These chickens are special. . . They're not normal Cuccos. I have no idea why, but that's what he told me." He jerked his head towards Talon (still sleeping). "Anyway, all you have to do is find the last one for me. Whaddya say?"
The boy stared at the chickens, then back at Ingo. "But how will I recognize it? I mean, they all look the same; it's gonna be hard to tell which is which."
"Ha ha ha! Yes it will!" he laughed. " The trick, is that they're afraid of heights. That's why they won't get down from the table. So! Will ya do it?"
Link nodded and started chasing after the Cuccos. He was finally able to catch one, but as soon as he lifted it from the ground, the chicken began to flap its wings and to quack madly, trying to wriggle free. Avoiding its claws, Link quickly set it on the table, but it simply hopped back down to the floor, joining his other friends. The boy continued his chase but soon found himself picking the same Cucco over and over again, which caused even more confusion. On his fifth try, though, his 'prey' wouldn't seem to get down. In fact, it was shaking with fear.
Ingo's eyes suddenly lit up. "A-hah! You did it! You found the last one! That was some fine work, son! Fine work indeed!" He gave him a smile revealing a gold tooth and handed him two blue rupees. "Here! Have ten rupees. You've earned them! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do," he said, giving Talon the evil eye and before he knew it, Link was shooed out of the room. It was still dark when he stepped outside. Everything was still and quiet until an alarmed yell told him that Talon had been woken up. He grinned and walked to the fence where Navi was waiting.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*
*Uncork: to pull the cork out of (a cork is the stopper for a bottle; some sort of lid) '-_-'
Author's Notes: So there ya go! Another chapter done! Whaddya think? Horrible-Bad-Okay-Good-Great-Anything? Please tell me in your reviews! I absolutely MUST know! It might take a while 'till the next chapter comes up, so plz don't be surprised if it comes up a week after (which I'll try to avoid)! Thanks again!
Ani ^_~