The Ballad of the Goddess
Prologue
Disclaimer: I don't own the storyline of Ocarina of Time, I don't own any of the characters from the game. I do, however, own the plot of this story, and the way it is put together, and some things that are coming later.
"Oof! Ungh... erg!"
A warrior clad in green was trying to push a large stone boulder into an indentation in the dirt. His long, pointed hat dangled over a decorated metal shield and a sheathed sword that were strapped onto his back. Sweat rolled off his face as he pushed, falling to the ground, to be instantly absorbed by the soft moss. A small white fairy hovered around his head, looking around for any danger.
Link, the chosen hero, was on a mission to save Hyrule.
Suddenly, the fairy spotted something. It cried out in alarm as it sensed the danger nearing, warning Link of an enemy. "What is it, Navi?" Link asked, looking up from his task.
Navi flew over to a large plant that had sprung out of the ground. It was topped with a large, dark blue flower that had, curiously, a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. The plant tried to reach Link, but the long, thin stem was still too short. It strained to get closer, jaws snapping furiously. "Watch out, Link!" Navi cautioned. "It's a Deku Baba! Its stem is weak!"
"Right." Link reached behind his back, grabbing his shield and unsheathing his sword in one fluid motion. The sword gleamed in the bright midday sun that was streaming in from over the walls of the Forest Temple. Its sapphire blue hilt matched the colour of Link's eyes, which were now filled with grim determination. The blade was vibrating slightly in anticipation of the battle, however small or large it was. The golden jewel set into the hilt lit up, and the blade began to glow, emitting a faint, pale blue light.
Link settled into his battle stance, focusing all his concentration on the Deku Baba in front of him. The Baba lunged, but Link nimbly jumped to the side, avoiding the sharp teeth. Seeing the exposed stem, Link jumped forward, sword held high, bringing the blade crashing down onto the vulnerable stem. The stem was sliced in two, and the Deku Baba writhed on the ground, fading away as it died. A Deku Seed from the head was left on the ground, as if evidence of the battle. Link picked it up and put it into a bag hanging from his belt.
"Good job, Link!" Navi said, congratulating the Hylian. "But you need to continue to work on moving that block!"
Link sighed, and rubbed his arm. He had been forced to use his sword a lot, lately. Though they were short skirmishes, they still took a lot out of him. He had only recently awoken as an adult after seven years of being held dormant by his sword, the legendary Master Sword, in the Chamber of Sages. His new, bigger body was still unfamiliar to him, and he still moved in a jerky, uncoordinated way at times. "True, though," Link thought, "that I am stronger." When he had awoken, he had felt power surge through his limbs that he never dreamed that he would have. But the Master Sword was much bigger and heavier than his old Kokiri Sword. Swinging it around in battle took a lot out of him. He was not in any condition to be pushing around a giant stone block.
"Still," Link thought, "There's nothing for it, I suppose. I have to do it regardless." He started walking back to the block, when he heard a familiar scratching noise. A gold skulltula was nearby. Link shivered as he thought back to how he had stumbled into that old house as protection from the rain.
(this is a line break/placeholder/thing that divides the story up into flashback and not flashback). FF.N isn't letting me do even one asterisk as a line break.)
"Hello? Hellooooo? Helloooooooo?!? Is anybody in here?" Link looked around at the inside of the house. It was dark inside; he couldn't see anything. The rain pounding on the tin roof sounded like thousands of arrows constantly hitting the roof. Link gulped. A shiver ran down his spine as he peered into the gloom.
"Navi? Could you be a light for me?" Link asked. Light would be comforting.
"Okay..." Navi answered in a shaky voice. "Link. I'm scared."
Link wanted to say that it was okay, that everything would be all right. But he had trouble convincing himself, let alone somebody else. He took a deep breath and walked deeper into the house. It looked as if nobody had been there for years. The only furnishings were a handful of big, old wooden crates stacked in various places. Cobwebs hung everywhere. Something glinted from the middle of the room. Curious, Link walked toward it.
"Link..." Navi cautioned, "Be careful. You don't know what that is..."
"Don't worry, Navi, I've got..."
But exactly what Link had, Navi never knew. A giant spider dropped from the ceiling, directly in front of Link! He was standing motionless, looking at it with a mixture of curiosity and fear. It appeared to be a big skulltula, but it was all wrong. It had human eyes, rather then the usual piercing red eyes of a skulltula. Some of its legs were human appendages.
"Please help me..." the monstrosity croaked, "I've been cursed, along with the rest of my family."
"Cursed?" Navi asked curiously, "Cursed by whom?"
The Skulltula-man looked fearful. "The King of the Gerudos. Ganondorf." It replied. "We will stay Skulltulas until someone seeks out the Gold Skulltulas and brings back their gold backs. This is what he said."
"I'll try to help you!" Link replied. "So I have to find these Gold Skulltulas and bring back their gold? Sounds easy enough."
"There are many, and they are well hidden," warned the Skulltula-man. "But if that is your wish, then let it be done with the blessing of the goddesses."
Link vaguely recognized the blessing as something the Deku Tree had said to him once. "I'll try," He promised. "And I'll break the curse as well! I'll find every last Gold Skulltula!"
(This is another one of those line breaks.)
"Navi! Can you see where the Gold Skulltula is hidden?" Link asked. "Go find it!"
Navi flew around the room, examining the walls. She circled the room, looking critically at any possible hiding place. "I see it!" she cried. "It's on a ledge high up here. I don't know how you'll be able to reach it."
"Could I use my hookshot?"
"No. There's nothing there that you could hook onto." The fairy said sadly. "Is there any way you could call something up there to use as a target?"
"No." replied Link. He hung his head. He had wanted so badly to kill the Gold Skulltula and help the family. He sat down on the grass and put his face in his hands. "I've failed them, Navi." Link looked dejectedly up at the fairy.
"No... you just need to think a bit more. Come, have a rest. We'll see what you can do after you've cleared your mind a bit."
Author's Note: Wheee! New story! I got the idea in a really random place, but had to figure out all sorts of stuff to make it work. It's going to be one of those really overused plots, except I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. You'll see what I mean by 'really overused plot' in the next chapter. Big thanks to Nimmireth for her support, even though I haven't let her actually read it yet or know the plot XD. She keeps me going! So let's have some more people review, kay? Add to the list of people that keep me going!
It must be really hard to type when you're on fire. Vaniwen