Part two!  Yay!  This chapter is more of an explanation of Ang, and how her mind works.  It shows what she thinks about, why. . .that kinda stuff.  Next chapter is probably going to be longer, and cover basically everything up to the Sacred Realm. . .and no, I'm not going into a detailed description of how he beat each temple.  I have a small life.

~*~

I gently pushed the blankets off myself, and climbed out of the grotto, managing to not wake Kailua up.  I looked around the forest, peeking out from behind Link's tree.  The sun hadn't quite risen yet, so the stillness of night still lay over the land.  The moon was almost gone, still casting a few eerie shadows throughout the land. I sighed to myself.  Something was wrong with the air.  I could feel it.  Something was going to happen.

I heard a soft moan from above.  I sighed to myself.  Link was having another nightmare.  He had them often, judging from how often I could hear the noises.  I wondered what scared him so much.  He couldn't remember his past.  I walked silently across the forest and into the lost wood, losing myself in the maze of tunnels.  Of course, I wasn't actually lost.  I knew the tunnels as well as I knew the contours of my bow.

I ended up where I always did.  The Sacred Forest Meadow, where Saria would be eventually.  She could feel the spirits there, which surprised me greatly.  She must have been important, but the Kokiri treated her with respect only because of who she was.  She assumed everyone heard the spirits, since no one else had ever told her otherwise.

I looked at the temple, wondering what had broken the great stairwell all those years ago.  There were no longer jagged edges, proving that the damage had been done possibly before even the Kokiri had inhabited the wood.  I gently touched the trunk of the tree near the entrance.  I heard a footstep on the ground behind me.

I turned around, drawing and cocking my bow in one fluid movement.  I stared at the man standing behind me.  I didn't hear him coming!  I didn't even hear him!

He smirked at me.  "Could it be you are not as bonded with the forest as you would like to be?"

"Who are you?"

He smirked again.  I didn't like his attitude.  Contempt practically dripped off him.  "That is you for to find out.  Tell me, why is it you follow that young boy around?"

"…What's it to you?"

"Nothing.  However…I believe I could kill him quite easily, if I so desired.  It would require very little of my power.  And all I'm asking of you is a simple answer to a simple-"

I let my arrow go.

It whizzed directly past his right ear, and by the time he had realized it had missed, I had the next one ready.  "I'll hit you next time.  Don't threaten him."

He laughed.  It wasn't a pleasant sound, but it made me tremble to little bit.  "Foolish girl…it'd be so easy for me to kill you as well!"  He reached out and clenched the air in front of him.

I felt a huge hand close around my throat, cutting off my air.  I dropped my bow in surprise, and reached for my throat.  An invisible force was blocking it off.  I choked.

He lifted his hand, pulling me into the air as well.  "Tell me girl.  Is he the one?"

I felt my blood run cold.  He knew about the legend.  He knew.  I opened my mouth, ready to deny it, but he clenched harder, so no noise came out, save a strangled squeak.  I shook my head instead.

He snorted, and dropped me.  I collapsed on the ground, gasping in huge breaths of air.  "Insolent girl."  I looked up, in time to see him fire a huge ball of magic at me.  I watched it with horror, since it certainly looked capable of killing me off.

At the last moment, I raised my bow, and fired off another arrow.  It sunk into the ball of magic, striking it with a bright flash of light.

And then, everything went black.

~*~

Hours later, I opened my eyes.  A quiet, drifting melody was floating through the woods.  I winced at the light, and sat up, feeling my whole body ache.  I was alive.

The music stopped.  Saria looked at me, a look of mild concern on her face.  "I collected your arrows for you."

I looked at my bow.  Next to it, my quiver full of airs was sitting, perfectly organized, as if I had just walked out of the store.  I nodded my thanks, my throat still sore.  Saria nodded back at me, and lifted to ocarina to her lips.  I watched as she began to play again, the melody so quiet to was basically not hearable, but still calling all the spirits of the woods to her.  Wild fairies began to gather around her, dancing in beat to her song.

I sat up slowly, and picked up my bow and arrows, sliding them back onto my back.  I tried to stand up, but simply couldn't find the energy.  I quietly hummed to myself, humming my own personal warp song.

I'm not a sorceress, don't get me wrong.  But I grew up surrounded by magic, and with the skull children.  After a while, they taught me how to compose a warp song.  It wasn't easy, and I doubt I'd ever do so again, but for that one time, it had been fun.

I didn't have an instrument, so I had to sing to myself.  I had been told I have a wonderful voice, and I guess if I could get the whole of Kokiri forest to beg for another song it had to be true.  I closed my eyes, and focused on the melody.  It was harder to warp without an instrument.  But I preferred to practice my voice.

The words to my song played in my head as I hummed the two-lined song.  Although the real song when on for nearly two pages, the warp was only two lines.  Good for dangerous situations.  What if I nurse this infection…maybe the worst is behind…

I opened my eyes and looked around.  Once again, I was in my grotto.  I reached for the blankets, but the five feet was too far to crawl.  I collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.  "Kai?"

The fairy started awake, and then flew over to me.  "Where ya been?  You look like you just frolicked through a field of angry Deku scrubs."

I looked at her with an expression of confusion, annoyance, and just plain exhaustion.  "I need some of that revival thing."

"Well, since you ask so nicely…" But I could still hear the worried tone in Kai's voice.  She fluttered over, and somehow managed to carry the heavy bottle over to me.  I picked it up, and sipped it, glad I had bought it.  I sipped a little at a time, and stopped when I felt okay again.  "So, what happened?"

"Magic."

"Whose?"

"I don't know.  He looked like he came from the desert.  Who lives there?"

"The Gerudo?"

"Yes.  He looked like one of them.  He had really dark skin.  Wore a lot of armor.  And I think he had red hair…"

Kai seemed surprised.  "I didn't think men of the desert had red hair, usually."

I shrugged.  "Never been there.  How do I know?"

"Then how do you know it's there?"

"I've flown over it."

Kai nodded.  Finally, she said, "She came."

I looked at Kai in surprise.  "Well good for her.  Who is she?"

Kai rolled her eyes.  Don't ask how I knew.  You can tell when a fairy rolls their eyes.  "Navi, idiot.  She was there when I woke up. I heard Saria yelling at Link, saying how happy she was…he took off, and Saria got bored after a while.  She went to the meadow.  Where did you go, anyway?"

"I saw her there. I was at the meadow…something's wrong in this forest today."

"The spirits have been in turmoil for weeks now, Ang.  I thought you already knew that something was wrong."

"I didn't realize how wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, Kai.  You can feel the spirits more than I can.  There's another spirit in there now.  It's evil.  Someone is tainting the forest."

Kai didn't answer.  She looked away, silently feeling the essence of the forest, calming herself down.  But the evil ki was there, making her shake.  I stood up.  "Come on.  We'll help Link out."

Kai looked at me.  "We can't.  You know the rules as well as I do."

"Fuck the rules!"  Coming from a ten-year-old, it was enough to made Kai pause.  "I don't care!  Just because I'm not supposed to interfere with it doesn't mean I like it!  And what I don't like I change!"

"You can't change what the goddesses have already set in motion."

I glared at the fairy.  "Watch me."  I stormed out of the grotto, missing several handholds while climbing out. Kai hovered next to me, watching with a mild disinterest.  I glared at her when I got out, and looked around the forest.  "Now where in Din's name is that boy…" I heard the noise of the training center boulder hitting something and stopping, followed by a sharp yell of pain.  I sighed.  "That answers that question."

I walked over to the entrance, and then decided I was far too lazy to actually crawl through.  So I flew.

That's right, I flew.

A long time ago, I had discovered a discarded crystal on the ground in the forest.  Kai had told me to leave it alone, but I wanted to touch it, so I ignored her.  As soon as I touched it, it had fused to my hand, melting and becoming part of it.  For a few days, my hand had a filmy look to it, reflecting sun the same way the jewel had.  The shell had spread daily, eventually covering my whole arm, before covering my whole body.  The strange thing was, it didn't hurt.  It was just mildly annoying.  Within the next day, it had faded.

I hadn't noticed a different, just that I wasn't shining in the sun anymore, which was a good thing, believe me.  Anyways, a few days later, I was watching a bird fly by, and I was thinking how much fun it would be to be a bird, how much fun it would be…all that stuff.  Then I noticed my body was-literally-melting.  It were changing shape, flowing like liquid.  I started screaming bloody murder.

The melting stopped there, leaving me with wings, talons, and a normal human body.  I had panicked for about twenty minutes, and then calmed down, and focused on the bird again.  Almost instantly-as soon as I opened my eyes-I was a bird.

So whenever I want to fly, I think about being a bird, and I fly.  When I want to go unnoticed, I turn into a stray fairy.  There're so many of them, no one notices one more.  I can turn into any living thing I so desire.  But I've never tried to be a human.

So anyway, I flew over the barrier, and road the thermals above the training center, watching Link and the boulder have an all-out offensive.  The boulder chased him, and he threw rocks at it.  I was thoroughly amused.

Eventually, he stopped in front of the chest.  Navi came out of his hat.  I stared at her, focusing intently on the fluttering pixie.  Navi.  The second Hylian fairy.

I looked at Kai.  "What's in the chest?  I assume you've already opened it?"

Why else would it be unlocked?  It's the Kokiri sword…

As an animal, although I could talk to other members of the species, I had to talk to humans basically telepathically.  I just kinda put what I was saying into their head.  Some people just always assumed it was their own thought.  Like Mido.  "Ah.  He's leaving?"

Not if I can help it.  Idiot needs a shield too.

Kai sighed.  "For someone you call an idiot at every chance you can…"

I can't help it.  He's…he's like family to me.  I want to make sure he's okay.  So lay off!

"Don't throw a hissy fit.  Look, he's got the sword."

I looked down.  Link was swirling the Kokiri sword, parrying with invisible enemies.  I gulped.  He handled it well.  He was definitely a natural.  But I didn't want him to have it.  I knew what that sword signified.

I landed on a ledge nearby, and looked at him.  He stared at me for a moment, and then grinned.  He made a jab at me, but I refused to move, unlike a normal hawk.  He shrugged it off, and continued to fool around.  I sighed to myself.

Maybe I should get out of here…

He looked up, and shook his head.  "Hey, Navi!  Think we should go now?"

The floating light nodded.  They took off, avoiding the boulder this time.  I shook my head, and looked at Kai.  What would he do without me?

"Have more fun, I think."

Thanks.

"I love you too.  But…if Saria was right, after this, the kid's never going to have any spare time.  You should let him play around for now.  There's plenty of time to let him train.

That's the point I'm making!  If I just let him fool around now, sooner or later, he'll meet something he can't handle.  And then what will he do?  If I work him now, he'll be ready for it later, Kai!

"You think you can prepare him for everything, Ang?"

Yes!

"You're just as sheltered as he is.  You know about the outside world, and you've been there.  But you understand as much as he does.  You know his fate.  You know your own fate.  Just let it go."

I took off, diving after Link.  I didn't want to think about fate.  I hated fate.  Someday, I'd kill the sadistic bastard that had arranged mine.

Link had to stop in the store before he returned to face Mido, now armed with a shield.  I soared above, watching with interest.  Link stopped in front of Mido, who refused to let him go through the door.  "What do you want, fairy-less wonder?"

"…I have a fairy, Mido."

Mido looked at Navi in surprise.  "Shocking.  I didn't know stray fairies would stoop so very low."

Link sighed.  I had to admit, he was used to dealing with Mido.  I was probably the only other person who could ever get what I wanted from the boy.  And I just beat him up.  "Look, Mido.  I just want to see the Great Deku Tree.  Will that suit you?"  However, I couldn't act that nicely to the idiot.

Mido rolled his eyes, and made more comment before eventually storming off, practically in tears with himself.  I hovered over Link's head, watching as he walked down the narrow path, looking up and down.  He had never been into this part of the forest.

Suddenly, the ground near his feet erupted.  He scrambled backwards, clumsily pulling out his sword and shield.  He circled the spinning thing.  I sighed to myself.  He couldn't be that helpless.  Attack the thing!

Link did so, slicing the thing in half.  He picked up the Deku stick he got from it, listening to Navi explain them to him.  He nodded, and then kept walking, killing two more.  Kai looked at me.  "See?  He's doing better than you thought he would."

I shrugged, watching him.  It was an old pastime of mine.  I was constantly watching out for the boy.  I figured it was my job, since my "fate" dictated it didn't matter anyway.  According to destiny, Link would be greatly important and influential, all that stuff.  And I would fade away into the mists of time, forgotten.

So did it matter if I died for a cause?  Protecting someone who would make a difference?  Link walked in front of the Great Deku Tree, looking at it in awe.  Navi fluttered up to it, telling it she had returned.

I listened to his story, only half paying attention.  I already knew what he was saying, although to Link it was probably shocking information.  Then the Great Deku Tree told Link to "free him from his curse."  He gulped, but walked inside.  I landed on the ground in front of the Great Deku Tree and glared at him.

Bastard!  He just got a sword!  Do you think he's ready to- "take on monsters yet?  And a full scale curse?"

My melting cut my speech when I switched to human; I couldn't speak as easily telepathically.  So I tended to go back into actual speech.  Of course, being a human was just another form I could take, but speech was the human's natural mode of communication…basically, not talking aloud in a human form was like trying to get a point across by barking as a horse.

"He will be when he is done with the curse."

"I don't care about later, I want him to live now!"  I took a step towards him.  "Now let me in!  I'm gonna help!"

"You can't."

I practically growled at him.  Poor tree.  Trees don't get growled at very often.  "I'll guard his back for him.  I'll keep him alive.  He could die otherwise.  I won't help him otherwise."

"I cannot allow that.  Link must learn to be strong on his own."

"I intend on helping him, whether you like it or not!"  I walked up to the trunk, and began senselessly beating on it.  "Let me help him!"

The Great Deku Tree didn't say anything.  I guess he was watching as I attempted to kill him with my own two hands, but I'm really not sure.  Finally, I stopped, and just rested against his trunk, crying.

I couldn't help him.  I couldn't do anything with a point in my life.  It was worthless.  I'd die and fade into the mists of Hyrule legend, with Link went on and tried to defeat the great evils that had yet to rise.  I'd watch…I'd merely watch as her died.  And I couldn't do anything.

"…I can let you follow him.  As long as you promise not to interfere."

I nodded.  "I…I won't interfere.  What will you do if I do, anyway?"

"If you do, as I know you will, then I will be forced to put distance between you two, as I was advised to do before."

"By who?"

"When we found you…I was advised by someone to keep you two separate.  I will not tell you whom, seeing as I know you would kill them.  But…I know for a fact it is dangerous to allow you two to be together for an extended period.  You already know too much for your own good."

"…Are you going to let me in or not?"

"Heed my words, child.  I have lived far longer than you, and have seen many evils come and go.  The trust you have in that boy has killed many stronger than you.  I am sure it will be your end as well.  I advise you to separate yourself from him before it is too late."

I glowered at the tree.  "I don't take orders from a tree."  I looked at Kai.  As usual, she was silent.  The Deku Tree and I had many arguments before.  She never said a word during them.  "Are you going to let me help or not?"

"…I cannot change what is written and set in your destiny," he finally replied, and opened the hole in his trunk again.  Shaking, I stepped inside.

It's unnerving to bicker with the being that keeps you alive on occasion, I guess.

~*~