Thanks A LOT to the nice ppl who reviewed... and thank you for the advice Alex, I'll try my best... Last chapter was a bit short I guess so here's a nice longer one... ehehe... Not much fighting in this one but there IS an evil little surprise for Link... Oh and please don't get mad at all the details. Most of them will play some part in the fic and others are just there to help you get "a mental picture"
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda. WAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! I wish I did 'cause of certain evil reasons
Chapter 2: Escape and Discovery
The still-drowsy blond haired hero slowly climbed out of bed. The birds were singing, the bees were buzzing, the sun was shining, and... and... he hated it!
I was having such a great dream too. Almost about to give the final blow.
Link rummaged around his closet for his favorite tunic... well... one of his favorites. After returning from Termina, Zelda had invited him to stay at the castle. Even though he still preferred his old treehouse more, he had politely accepted the offer, saying that he would spend the summer and fall months at Hyrule Castle and the spring and winter months in the Kokiri Forest. That had been a few years ago. He was fourteen now.
Three more years 'til I become that awesome hero everyone really respects!
Link smiled wryly at that thought. Not that anyone remembered it, of course.
He had been trying to gradually get the clothes that his older self had worn. So far, he had the gauntlets - even though they probably had to be lengthened, the tunic - that would have to be lengthened too, the boots - he needed to get larger ones, and the undershirt- well... part of it, Epona had chewed off the sleeves, forcing him to make it a sleeve-LESS shirt instead of a LONG sleeved one. He couldn't find the white hose he had worn seven... no make that three... years into the future... so he just used the green shorts dating back to his younger years - lengthened, of course. (A/N: if you flip the statue of Young Link over in SSBM you can see his green shorts... my friend showed me... I was an unwilling spectator... REALLY!) He quickly slipped on the tunic over his shirt and shorts. He detested nightgowns, and there was no way Zelda was going to make him get that "cute blue one". Link hopped across the cold tiles, trying to get his feet into his boots. He succeeded in stuffing one foot in and was just about to start on the other one when the door slammed open, almost into his head. That resulted in him falling flat on his face and Zelda staring at his position in shock.
"Link, are you alright?" she was trying to hold her laughter, he could tell.
"Yeah... yeah... I'm fine..." grumbled Link, who had finally slipped the other boot on while still lying on the floor.
"My dear Lord Link. What are you doing sprawled on the ground? Shouldn't you be attending to your lordly duties?" Zelda giggled.
"Haha. Very funny. And since when am I a LORD? Did Your Majesty change my status from hero to lord during the night?" Link asked sarcastically.
"You know I'm just kidding Link," said Zelda, helping him up. "Besides, you'll always be the Hero of Time to me."
"Yeah, but it's not like anyone else knows. Everyone just calls me Sir because they don't know what else to call me," he complained.
"At least they respect you. You don't have to sneak into and out of the castle anymore."
"Yeah. I guess. But it's annoying! It's not like I'm a knight or anything." Link walked over to the window and grinned, seeing the Hylian knights busy at their morning exercises, or "circus practice" as he liked to call it.
Zelda giggled again. "And that's a good thing. You really wouldn't look good in armor. That reminds me, I have to give Father some suggestions for that ball we'll be having soon. Don't get into trouble while I'm gone!" Seeing his expression switch from embarrassed to bored, she added, "Maybe you could go and hunt Guays (the crows). I heard that they've been attacking travelers more and more lately."
Link's face brightened considerably at that. "Really? ALRIGHT! Finally something exciting!"
Zelda smiled. "Glad you like that idea. Better get going." She walked out the door and closed it gently behind her.
Once she left, Link went to his closet to grab a few things for Guay hunting. Gilded Sword, Hylian Shield, Fairy's Bow, arrows, Longshot, a random mask for disguise, and a cloak. He slung his sword, shield, bow, and quiver onto his back, tightened his shoulder belt, stuffed the rest of the things into a bag, and headed for the royal kitchens. He grabbed two sandwiches sitting conveniently on a counter, an apple and some carrots from a basket, and left again, unnoticed by the cooks who were busy washing dishes and preparing lunch. They wouldn't miss the apple and carrots, but the sandwiches... well... as for those, no measly cook could insult the princess' private guest for borrowing two simple sandwiches.
Link headed for the royal stables, waving to a few idling soldiers along the way. The stablehand was absent, no doubt watching the knights practice. Link walked quietly to Epona's stall where he was greeted by a whinny. He laughed as the young mare happily licked his face. "Epona! That tickles! Wait 'til I get in!" Opening the gate, Link stepped into the stall, where he was promptly greeted by another round of licking. He gently pushed his horse away and glanced around, checking to make sure everything was in order.
Well here's royalty for you. Even the horses have their own rooms.
Epona's "room" was dimly lit by a lamp, which, amazingly, had never caused a fire, despite the fact that the ground was completely covered with hay. A saddle hung on a wall, so polished that it reflected the soft light of the lamp. Two shelves with some riding equipment were fixed next to it. A few small crates were scattered around the room, and two buckets, one for water and the other for feed, sat near the high wooden gate.
Link combed Epona with a brush he had found and then fed her a carrot. He watched her gulp it down happily, then sat on a crate to eat his apple while she playfully nibbled his ear. "Hey Epona. Stop that! You know I don't like it!" Obediently, she stopped, then proceeded to push Link off his crate. He sighed and moved to another one, feeding her another carrot to keep her busy.
At first, he wondered why it was so quiet in the stables, but then remembered that most of the horses had been led to the training grounds already. Ever since that "incident" four years ago, the castle knights had been training on horseback once every week and today was that day. Link sometimes went to watch them, but he always left quickly so he wouldn't embarrass himself and the knights by laughing at their often crazy attempts at good horsemanship. He smirked at the thought and tried to imagine the armor-clad knights in a circus, prancing around with huge red noses on dainty little ponies. That was a bit too much for Link, and he burst into laughter, falling off the crate. Epona blinked at her young master, shook her head, walked over to the hay covered Link, and picked him up by his tunic collar.
"Ha... Thanks Epona... I sorta... haha... lost control there... hahahaha..." Epona shook her head again and nuzzled the now calm hero. "Huh? Oh. You wanna go out now?" he asked, shaking out the straw in his hat and hair. The mare bobbed her head eagerly. "Alright then! C'mon girl! Let's go check Hyrule Field for Guays!"
Link saddled up Epona, attached the saddlebags, then put his equipment into them. He had always received a small bit of pride from knowing that he was the only person in the castle capable of riding a horse without a bridle or a saddle. Of course, the latter would be needed today. Link grinned to himself.
For a guy who doesn't need saddles, I sure get a lot of them.
For each year that he'd lived in the castle, he'd receive at least one set of saddles and bridles. He'd kept all but the one he was using now, an exact duplicate of the one Epona had had in the future, in a trunk in his room.
Finished with his preparations, Link nimbly climbed on Epona's back and gently directed her out of the narrow hall, waving to the entering stablehand who was occupied with leading another horse in.
"I'm going out for a bit, so don't bother fixing Epona's lunch. What's wrong with the horse?" called Link, stopping his mount with a light touch.
"Nothin'. But her rider's gonna be out of commission for a couple weeks. Fell off and twisted his ankle."
Link winced. "Ouch. Poor guy. Was it spectacular?"
"Yeah it was! Ya shoulda seen it. Stopped his horse too fast and flipped over her head. Pretty darn lucky he didn't end up in the mud he were tryin' to jump over if ya ask me."
"Wow... I- sorry. Epona wants to go," Link apologized, taking the mare's irked glances as his cue to end the conversation and leave.
"Well. Good luck gettin' out of the marketplace. It IS Auction Day, after all," the stablehand said as he waved goodbye.
"Thanks!" Link shouted, then mumbled to himself, "What did I get myself into this time?"
Epona whinnied and looked at Link, who swore that she was grinning evilly at him.
Auction Day. The day when everyone in town came to the square to participate in huge sales and celebrations. It was a monthly event and there were always free food and drinks. And crowds, crowds and crowds of screaming girls who all wanted to see, or even better, touch, the "cute blond guy in the castle." Link had to admit that he admired them for their persistency; he'd evaded them for four years now, but still they never tired of trying.
Good thing I brought a cloak and my Gibdo Mask.
Link retrieved the two items from the saddlebags. He clasped the cloak on first, lowering the hood, and held the mask in his hand so he wouldn't scare the castle gate guard into attacking. He waved to the soldier, who opened the gates and yelled, "Have a safe outing Sir Link!" and then shouted in a friendlier tone, "Good luck Link!"
Link smiled. His little "talk" with the knights appeared to have worked. "You too! If you don't keep those sightseers out, who knows what Princess Zelda will say!" he shouted back, then urged Epona to go faster.
Once he was a good distance from the castle, Link slapped the Gibdo Mask onto his face, drew his hood over his head, and hunched his shoulders, giving himself the appearance of a scarred and mentally unstable old man. And just in time too, for a group of girls soon passed by, mumbling about "sneaking into the castle". Link noticed with pleasure that they gave him a wide berth out of "respect".
This behavior continued as Link trotted Epona through the merry town. He was almost at the drawbridge when a particularly strong gust of wind blew his hood off, revealing his trademark green hat. "IT'S HIM!" a group of girls screamed almost immediately, leading to total chaos. (A/N: hehehe. Fangirls.) A panicked Epona took off with a shocked Link, trailed by a screaming mob, which seemed to grow larger and larger every second. The guard at the drawbridge barely had enough time to dive out of the way before he was crushed by Epona's hooves and the unwanted crazed fans. When Link was certain he was safely out of reach, he turned around, took off his mask, and waved at the disappointed mob, which slowly dissolved, leaving behind a very confused guard.
Freed of his troubles, Link petted Epona on the head to calm her down. He put his cloak and mask away, secured his quiver to his side, and readied his bow. It was a beautiful day for Guay hunting, as the sun had already climbed high into the sky, and the clouds were white and few. It wasn't long before he noticed a couple of black specks circling in the air. Link silently urged his mount toward the dots, and notched an arrow to his bow. The bowstring sang five times, and five bodies fell in quick succession. He was just about to dismount and collect his prizes, but a flash of gray in the corner of his eye changed his plans. Link whirled around and trained his arrow on... a gray horse, which seemed happy to see him.
"Hey there. Are you looking for your master?" asked Link, as the horse sidled up and nosed him in the side. He tentatively reached toward the creature to pet it, and to his surprise, it let him do so for a while, before it took off. "Hey!" Link shouted, as he watched the horse gallop off.
Wow. It's fast.
But instead of running away, the horse stopped on top of a small hill, as if wanting Link to follow it. The Hero of Time grinned.
But not as fast as Epona!
"You want a race? You got one. C'mon Epona! Let's do our Guay hunting later!" Epona took off immediately after the newcomer, which waited for the distance between them to close a bit, then galloped off again.
As Epona speeded after her rival, Link's keen eyes picked out a strange sight in the distance. Something that appeared to be a ring of children dancing around a tree. And they were headed straight for it!
Maybe this horse belongs to one of the children. No wait... those aren't children.
Link gasped in shock. They were Stalchildren! A large group of Stalchildren in the early noon sun! And there... and there was a girl in the tree!
A/N: Please review! Please! Be kind to a new author!