Link awoke to the sound of the drawbridge being lowered just as the sun rose. He ate a couple of deku nuts. Only Kokiri ate them. Most people wouldn't think of eating a nut that would explode if dropped too hard or thrown. The acrid, bitter taste reminded others of poisons, and was unbearable to all. However, if one could acquire the taste for them, they were the most nutritious food known. Raised as a Kokiri, Link had the taste for them, and ate them without thought. Link asked Navi "How do fairies get food and drink?"
"We don't," she answered. "Guardian fairies like me are sustained by the life force of those to whom we're joined, and at the same level of health. We normally go back to The Great Deku Tree after our partner dies, if we don't die ourselves, but I don't know what will happen now. I drew my sustenance from the Great Deku Tree, before I was bound to you."
"You say guardian fairies like you. There are other kinds?"
"Oh, yes" Navi replied. "There are also healing fairies. They are born in fairy fountains and wait for someone sick or hurt to come into the fountain. They then pour all their life-force into the sick or injured person to make them well. This is their fate, and it brings them great joy. Legend has it that there are also five great fairies, but I've never seen one."
Link asked, "You have a name, Navi. You are the only guardian fairy I know of who has one. Why? And, why is it we talk? Saria never spoke with her fairy that I know of, and neither has anyone else, not even the Helfdanes. In fact, to speak to one's fairy is a sign of madness!"
Navi hesitated before answering. But she bowed to the inevitable, and answered in truth. "Before I became your guardian fairy, I was a battle fairy. Battle fairies were like guardian fairies, but in later years were bonded to The Great Deku Tree itself, not an individual Kokiri. The Tree knew he would be sending you on a great quest for the Kokiri, and knew that you would need help. So, rather than make an ordinary fairy for you, he sent me." Hearing this, Link remembered the legends of the old battle fairies and became frightened. In fact he was almost as scared as he was when he had the nightmares.
Navi sensed this. She said forcefully yet soothingly, "Calm down, Link! I know you've heard legends of the battle fairies, and the old Kokiri Warriors! But the legends can be misleading! And though your quest can be dangerous, The Tree sent me to make sure it isn't! You've already defeated a giant gohma, which few other Kokiri have either the courage or skill to do! Follow my advice, and your experience as you gain it, and you will do fine."
Link's worries now took a different tack. "Navi, is your name a common one amongst fairies? Ivanhoe's battle fairy was named 'Navi,' too." Ivanhoe was the greatest of the Warrior Chieftains of the Kokiri. He was also the last of the Warrior Chieftains of the Kokiri, because he tried to overthrow the Great Deku Tree, kill off all the Hyleans, Sheikahs, and Gerudo, and make the whole of Hyrule a Great Kokiri Forest. But his battle fairy, Navi, cooperated with the Great Deku Tree and helped kill Ivanhoe before he could succeed. Ivanhoe was also Saria's great-great-great-great-father.
Navi answered, "I will explain someday why I did what I did then. Saria loves you, and bears me no ill will. When I was healthier, I would visit her occasionally, until the day she tried to make me bond to you rather than waiting for the Great Deku Tree to make you a 'normal' guardian fairy. When she asked this, it wasn't right for me to do, and I owed both her and you too much to refuse. So, I stopped visiting her.
"Her line survived because they also worked to stop Ivanhoe from achieving his plans. But yes, I am that Navi. And, I am the fairy you needed, even if the Great Deku Tree could have made you a hundred ordinary ones. If I were not, I wouldn't have bonded with you. I have had nothing in my heart for you save love and concern from the day you first entered the Forest, just five days after you were born."
Link was somewhat reassured. He asked "Navi, what else do you know that you haven't told me?"
Navi replied "There are some things I can't tell you yet that I know, and others that I can't tell you because I'm not sure they'll come to pass. I keep my silence in these things because your knowing them before you are ready to will distract you, and cause you to fail in what you must do; failure that will kill us both and many others besides! You will have to trust me on this! I will tell you as much as I can, when it will help you. But if I tell you too much, you will fail, and be killed! Our lives are bound together. If you die, I will die too. I want to live at least as much as you do, so I won't mislead you, or give you more of a burden than you can handle." Link wasn't entirely happy with this, but accepted it.
They crossed the drawbridge, and entered Hyrule Castle Town. They walked down a main street. They passed a guardhouse on their right, and the machinery room for the drawbridge on the left. They then walked between the sides of two shop buildings, and into the Market Square. They explored the Market to find out how to get into the castle itself. They had entered the town from the south. To the east of the main street into the square, there was a shop with a booth in front of it. On the east side of the square was a bazaar, and a potion shop. In the Northeast corner of the square was a large building, built of the same grey granite as the gatehouse to Hyrule Castle Town. It was large and looked important, but was not the castle. On the north side of the square was "The Happy Mask Shop", and a brick paved road leading out of the town. Looking down this road, he could see the castle off in the distance. To the left of this road was an indoor shooting gallery. A "Bombchu Bowling Alley" dominated the west side of the square. An alley ran behind this building. On the south side of the square, west of the main road into the square, was a "Treasure Box Shop."
Link decided to talk to some of the people in the square. He talked first to an old woman. She said, "I made a lot of money today, kid. Maybe I should go find some more things to sell." After a short pause, she continued, "I know! I'll go down to Lake Hylia. Things always end up down there!"
Link walked further, and found a couple of teen-aged boys standing by a tree. One of them was laughing at the other. The first laughed, and said "What a crazy guy! Can you believe this guy was crazy enough to try to sneak into the castle to see Princess Zelda? All because of this idiot, they've tightened security at the castle, again!"
The first teen-ager laughed as the second said, "I wanted to see Princess Zelda! I avoided the guards. I swam through the moat. I was almost there when they caught me! I found a small drain hole on the right side of the castle that I thought I could sneak into, but I got stuck there." The two friends started to argue good-naturedly, as to whether the one could have won the Princess's heart in one chance meeting, should he have succeeded. Link didn't care one way or another, so he politely excused himself from the pair.
Link chanced upon a red-haired girl, about the same age as him. She was also the same height as he was, and was slim but well fed. The features of her face were indeed girlish, yet they also resembled Link's own countenance, as if they were somehow related!
She stared openly at Link in utter amazement, as could only be polite by a child. Her green eyes sparkled with curiousity as she exclaimed, "Hey, your clothes! They're different. You're not from around here, are you?" She saw Navi, and was surprised. "Ohh… You're a fairy boy from the forest! My name is Malon! My dad owns Lon Lon Ranch! Dad went to the castle to deliver some milk, and he hasn't come back yet."
Link answered, "Malon, I'm headed to the castle. If I see him, should I tell him you're looking for him?"
She answered with a laugh, "You're going to the castle, Fairy Boy?" After laughing some more, she realized that Link was neither joking, nor crazy. She said "Sure. But if the King or Princess isn't expecting you, you won't get into the castle at all. They don't let me in, and the only reason they let Dad in is because he delivers the milk! The Palace Guard are more jumpy than usual, and no one knows why."
Link told Malon "Thanks, Malon. If I see your dad, I'll let him know you're looking for him." She walked off to look for her dad. Link and Navi left the square, and walked down the street, towards the castle.