Part 5
Chapter 13: The Fifth Hero
Beside Lake Hylia, five fairies of the kingdom were having a meeting.
"Daughters, do not despair - many survived the fires in Gerudo Valley," said Hyrulia.
"Has there been any news of our two missing sisters, Mother?" asked Zorania, who missed her twin sisters even more than usual. Being in Zora's Domain and the other watery areas nearby she rarely got to see her sisters who lived near Kakariko Village.
"I heard their voices, but I am listening to the voices of the Seven Heroes as well, so could not make out what the twins were saying," said Kokiria, who wasn't very fond of her Goron Fairy sisters.
"We must find our missing sisters soon - I fear for their safety now that there are enemies here," said Gerudia.
"My Shadow Hero is still between good and evil," said Shadia.
"Vin the Forest Hero is attempting to push him closer to the light, Sister - do not give up hope," reassured Kokiria.
"I wasn't giving up hope on him - I have great faith in the boy," argued Shadia angrily.
"Where is the youngest hero now?" asked Hyrulia, breaking up the fight threatening to start between two of her daughters.
"He draws ever closer to the others. The reunion of the Seven Hero Spirits is almost upon us," answered Kokiria, lifting the moods of her other sisters with this news.
"When the Heroes are all together you must summon us to them, Kokiria," said Hyrulia, looking her daughter in the eyes to show she was serious about her command.
"Yes, my mother," agreed Kokiria before vanishing; there was never a need for anyone to say when their gathering was over; they just knew.
"Shadia, if Vin cannot turn Ezra closer to the light; you must gently persuade him."
"He longs for his mother," explained Shadia, "if he could ensure his mother's safety he would be more willing to step closer to the light."
"The other heroes are not so concerned about their mothers, why is he different?" complained Zorania.
"The others had friends while they were growing, he only had his mother - his minders were never as good to him as she was," replied Shadia, with much sadness in her voice.
"He will soon have six firm friends and will not worry so much for his mother," said Hyrulia positively.
Shadia hoped her mother was right.
Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7
JD headed toward the big ranch he saw. His friend, Casey had told him all about horses and he realised that travelling would be much easier if he rode one; he would soon learn how to ride - how hard could it be?
He walked through the ranch's gate and knocked on the front door. It was answered by a young boy with blonde hair who wasn't much older than he was. "Hello," said the boy.
"Hi, I wish to buy a horse," said JD. Then he took his money pouch from the belt he wore around his pants and emptied out the few rupees he had into his hand.
"We have nothing for such a small price," said the little boy, with regret in his voice.
"Billy, who is it?" asked a woman's voice from inside.
"It's a little boy with pale skin," answered the child.
A blonde woman appeared at the door and looked at JD. "Come in and join us for some food and drink," invited the pretty blonde woman.
JD walked in behind her nervously and looked at the group assembled there. He saw a blonde-haired man, a brown-haired boy, a man with slightly greying blonde hair (for Josiah had suffered stress throughout his life and his hair was going prematurely grey as a result) and a brown-skinned boy with dark-brown hair. An older man stood a short distance away from the group that sat in chairs in a circle.
"Hi," JD said shyly, nervous at all these people here and watched as they turned their heads to look at him.
"Are you really a Zora boy?" asked Buck in amazement; he'd never seen a Zora before, but his mother had told him of them and Buck had guessed JD was a Zora when he'd heard the boy's bare webbed feet on the ground. JD had left his shoes at Zelda's castle and hadn't gone back for them as he was happy to walk barefoot.
"Only by my mother - as my father was from Hyrule. My name's JD, what's yours?"
"Mine's Buck and this is Chris. The other man seated is Josiah and the other boy is Nathan."
"Have you come here for horses as well?" asked JD curiously.
"Yes we have young man; we are on an important mission and time is of the essence," answered Josiah.
"What is such a small boy doing travelling the world on his own?" asked Chris - surely this boy would be no match for an enemy if it decided to attack him.
"Don't let my size fool you, for I have fought many enemies in the Water Temple and I defeated them all. As for what I am doing, I am searching for six other destined heroes of this world."
"You need look no further for four of them - we are four, but alas the other two are still undiscovered," replied Josiah, smiling at the newcomer.
"Just as I thought - I stayed at the castle of Queen Zelda last night, and when I told her this morning of my plans to come here for a horse she was very encouraging and said I should find more than that which I came here for," replied JD.
"You speak well for such a young one. Have you seen anyone on your travels here?"
"I saw two figures a fair distance away and a black horse..."
"Those are the thieves who stole our horse," fumed Orin, from where he stood in the room. There was only one true-black horse in the whole kingdom and Orin had no doubt that the one JD had seen was his missing one.
"Perhaps they're just borrowing it and will bring it back soon," suggested JD who had been brought up to trust people unless it was proven they weren't to be trusted.
"That horse is very valuable and if I set eyes on either of those two thieves I will be very angry with them," grumbled Orin.
"We should not be too hasty to judge them - let us listen to their reasons for committing the crime first, before we pass judgement," said Josiah wisely. He had a feeling that the two figures could be the remaining two of the Seven Heroes.
"No reasons will excuse them for stealing our most valuable horse," said Orin angrily and loudly.
JD backed away from him, frightened.
"Orin, you're scaring the boy," said his daughter-in-law Mary angrily.
"I am sorry, JD. It is not you I am angry with," apologised Orin in a gentle voice toward the young boy.
Chapter 14: The Seven Unite at Last
Vin and Ezra had almost reached the Travis Ranch when Vin stopped and stood still listening.
"What do you hear?" asked Ezra.
"I hear an angry voice. When we reach the Ranch let me talk to the owner - I fear that you might say something to anger them. I sense that this horse is special in some way," answered Vin, looking toward the horse that he was leading by a rope, after Ezra had complained that his hand was aching holding the rope.
The Kokiri boy stopped walking, then walked over to the horse and whispered to it. Ezra stood watching, intrigued by Vin's behaviour.
Vin stopped whispering after a while and walked over to Ezra. "This horse is indeed special so it is no wonder that Orin Travis is so angry with you for stealing it. We must take it back immediately and I will share your punishment with you," said Vin; he noticed then that Ezra looked shocked.
"Punishment? I will not be punished for merely borrowing; I told you my intention to return it after a time," replied the older dark-haired boy angrily.
"They would've been less angry had you borrowed a less valuable horse, but you chose to borrow this one and endanger it - if anything happens to this horse..."
Vin was interrupted by a large patch of bright flashing light, which vanished as quickly as it had appeared to be replaced by the two fairies, Kokiria and Shadia.
"Where are your manners? Vin was about to tell me what would occur if anything happened to this horse that I borrowed," complained Ezra.
"Ezra, if your mother were here she would tell you not to speak to me in that manner," fumed Shadia angrily.
Kokiria whispered into her ear and Shadia's anger lessened slightly. "We are here to move things forward; it seems that you two are delaying the union of the Seven Heroes."
"We were just on our way to the ranch," said Vin, forgetting that he hadn't told Ezra that the other heroes were there.
"But you were having second thoughts because of your Shadow Brother's crime weren't you?" questioned Kokiria.
"They think I stole the horse with Ez," said Vin, who was upset and scared - he had heard about Orin Travis's temper and was scared of how he might punish horse-thieves.
"You must return the horse and apologise as well as you are able, then you must meet the Seven Heroes who are currently there," said Shadia to Ezra; she was sure that once Orin knew who the two boys were, he wouldn't punish them.
"What do you know of my mother's current position, Shadia?" asked Ezra, with urgency in his voice.
"Your mother is being held in a cell for the moment, but I feel that she will soon be free if she uses the skills her parents taught her," replied Shadia, trying to reassure the boy that Maude would be fine.
"You mean if she cons the Lord into letting her out of her cell?" asked Ezra with an evil grin. Shadia nodded.
"Ezra, we fear that you may be tempted into the darkness, please do not commit any more misdeeds against good people," said Kokiria in a gentle request.
"Very well, Miss...?" said Ezra, upset now he realised that he had indeed committed misdeeds against good people.
"Kokiria - I am the Forest Fairy. You will soon meet my other sisters and my mother, but not until all the Seven are united."
"I am pleased to meet yet another fairy sister," replied Ezra, casting her a friendly smile.
"One day when there is time, we will tell you all about our family's origins."
"I would be intrigued to hear your family's history," said Ezra, always thirsting for more knowledge.
The two fairies vanished in a flash of bright light and Vin and Ezra were again alone with the horse.
"Goodbye, fair Kokiria," said Vin sadly.
"You sound more fond of your fairy than I am of mine," commented Ezra.
"Kokiria's the loveliest of all women," answered Vin, in a wistful voice.
"Come Vin, we must hasten to the Travis Ranch to return the horse and meet our hero brethren."
The two boys started walking toward the ranch, now feeling more confident about facing Orin Travis.
Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in front of them and they stopped. Vin drew his Kokiri sword from his belt. The shadow shaped like a man withdrew a dark sword and the two began fighting with swords.
Ezra was unable to help as he lacked any weapons. He instead put on his cloak again and vanished.
Finally, Vin slew the enemy and looked around for Ezra. "Ez, where are you?"
Ezra reappeared, taking off his cloak. "I am here Vin; I would not abandon you - I would've fought as well, had I been properly equipped."
"When we have met the others, we'll look fer a weapon for you; come on."
They continued their journey to the Ranch and this time didn't meet any enemies.
When they reached the Travis Ranch, Ezra nervously knocked at the front door of the house just inside the ranch walls. He heard footsteps and stepped back feeling scared.
Vin gasped as he heard a low noise and then the horse seemed to vanish from beside him, including the rope Vin had been leading it by. "Ez?" he asked in a panicked voice. Ezra smiled from beside him.
The door opened and Orin Travis looked at the boys stood there side by side. "Can I help you in some way?" he asked. As the horse had vanished, he didn't know that Ezra was the horse thief.
"Good morning sir, how much would you take for the purchase of your black horse?" asked Ezra; he would only have the finest horse.
"We had our black horse stolen yesterday - how did you know about it?" asked Orin suspiciously.
"What if my friend and I were to find your missing horse and bring it back to you?" asked Ezra tactfully.
"You know where he is?" asked Orin.
Ezra blinked his eyes and the black horse reappeared behind him.
Orin ran out of the door and over to the horse. "How can I ever thank you for his return?"
"We really could use the services of a fine horse such as this one, sir," suggested Ezra with hope in his voice.
"I will never part with this horse; he is too valuable," said Orin firmly.
"Why is he so valuable?" asked Ezra.
"You don't need to know, boy."
Vin suddenly spoke, after hearing voices only he could hear; "Ez - they are here."
Ezra suddenly looked very nervous and swiftly put his cloak back on and vanished.
"Where did your friend go?" asked Orin - he had never seen someone vanish before and didn't understand that the boy was still there, but invisible.
Vin listened to something unseen for a moment then replied, "He is very nervous of above-ground people, as he has spent his whole childhood below-ground in the Shadow Lands. He is still there - just not visible to us."
Suddenly Ezra's cloak fell to the ground and Ezra reappeared. "Hey!" he complained.
"You will not delay any longer," boomed a loud woman's voice he didn't recognise.
"Who's there?" asked Orin, he didn't like to hear things that he couldn't see; he had lost animals to unseen forces before.
There were several flashes of light around them and five fairies of different colours appeared.
"WHAT?" asked Orin startled.
"Fear not, we are on the side of good," said Hyrulia, since they had startled this man who she knew had never seen a fairy before.
"We are the fairy watchers of this kingdom and are here to speak to the Seven Heroes once they are united - but we now know that these two are a threat to the union," said Zorania angrily.
"We do not mean to cause trouble, Miss," said Vin apologetically.
"Then join with the rest of the Seven quickly," ordered the fairy impatiently.
"Zorania? What are you doing here?" asked a small voice from behind Orin.
"JD - meet the other Two of the Heroes, Vin of Kokiri Forest and Ezra of the Shadow Lands."
JD walked out in front of Orin and walked toward the two boys. "Hi, I'm JD of Zora's Domain. I'm pleased to meet you both at last."
"YOU are one of the Heroes?" asked Ezra in disbelief.
"You must not be fooled by his size," said Buck jokingly, walking to JD's side and showing that he was quite a lot taller than the younger boy.
"You are the one from the desert lands?" asked Vin, noticing the boy's slightly-tanned skin.
"I heard it's really, really, really hot there and if you get sand in your eyes you get blinded and..." started JD, showing off his knowledge.
"You talk too much, JD," complained Buck, who already felt like an older brother to the youngest Hero. He had never had a brother of his own, so was glad to be like one to the younger boy - even if the kid did talk too much at times.
"Boys, please," ordered Hyrulia, floating higher above the ground. "Vin, Ezra; go inside the house quickly and meet the other heroes. Then you must prepare to travel quickly to the end of Zora's River - Zora's Domain is in grave danger."
"If speed is of importance, then I will allow you to go on Swift," said Orin, looking toward the black horse.
"Thank you sir," said Ezra graciously; much to his relief, he still hadn't got into trouble for stealing the horse.
Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7
Seven riders rode swiftly along the bank of Zora's River, heading for Zora's Domain - the Seven were about to begin protecting Zelda's Kingdom. The fairies had told them that the enemies were going to attack Zora's Domain soon, but the Heroes would be able to reach there before the attack.
The End
The adventure continues in Story 2 - coming soon!
Chapter 13: The Fifth Hero
Beside Lake Hylia, five fairies of the kingdom were having a meeting.
"Daughters, do not despair - many survived the fires in Gerudo Valley," said Hyrulia.
"Has there been any news of our two missing sisters, Mother?" asked Zorania, who missed her twin sisters even more than usual. Being in Zora's Domain and the other watery areas nearby she rarely got to see her sisters who lived near Kakariko Village.
"I heard their voices, but I am listening to the voices of the Seven Heroes as well, so could not make out what the twins were saying," said Kokiria, who wasn't very fond of her Goron Fairy sisters.
"We must find our missing sisters soon - I fear for their safety now that there are enemies here," said Gerudia.
"My Shadow Hero is still between good and evil," said Shadia.
"Vin the Forest Hero is attempting to push him closer to the light, Sister - do not give up hope," reassured Kokiria.
"I wasn't giving up hope on him - I have great faith in the boy," argued Shadia angrily.
"Where is the youngest hero now?" asked Hyrulia, breaking up the fight threatening to start between two of her daughters.
"He draws ever closer to the others. The reunion of the Seven Hero Spirits is almost upon us," answered Kokiria, lifting the moods of her other sisters with this news.
"When the Heroes are all together you must summon us to them, Kokiria," said Hyrulia, looking her daughter in the eyes to show she was serious about her command.
"Yes, my mother," agreed Kokiria before vanishing; there was never a need for anyone to say when their gathering was over; they just knew.
"Shadia, if Vin cannot turn Ezra closer to the light; you must gently persuade him."
"He longs for his mother," explained Shadia, "if he could ensure his mother's safety he would be more willing to step closer to the light."
"The other heroes are not so concerned about their mothers, why is he different?" complained Zorania.
"The others had friends while they were growing, he only had his mother - his minders were never as good to him as she was," replied Shadia, with much sadness in her voice.
"He will soon have six firm friends and will not worry so much for his mother," said Hyrulia positively.
Shadia hoped her mother was right.
Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7
JD headed toward the big ranch he saw. His friend, Casey had told him all about horses and he realised that travelling would be much easier if he rode one; he would soon learn how to ride - how hard could it be?
He walked through the ranch's gate and knocked on the front door. It was answered by a young boy with blonde hair who wasn't much older than he was. "Hello," said the boy.
"Hi, I wish to buy a horse," said JD. Then he took his money pouch from the belt he wore around his pants and emptied out the few rupees he had into his hand.
"We have nothing for such a small price," said the little boy, with regret in his voice.
"Billy, who is it?" asked a woman's voice from inside.
"It's a little boy with pale skin," answered the child.
A blonde woman appeared at the door and looked at JD. "Come in and join us for some food and drink," invited the pretty blonde woman.
JD walked in behind her nervously and looked at the group assembled there. He saw a blonde-haired man, a brown-haired boy, a man with slightly greying blonde hair (for Josiah had suffered stress throughout his life and his hair was going prematurely grey as a result) and a brown-skinned boy with dark-brown hair. An older man stood a short distance away from the group that sat in chairs in a circle.
"Hi," JD said shyly, nervous at all these people here and watched as they turned their heads to look at him.
"Are you really a Zora boy?" asked Buck in amazement; he'd never seen a Zora before, but his mother had told him of them and Buck had guessed JD was a Zora when he'd heard the boy's bare webbed feet on the ground. JD had left his shoes at Zelda's castle and hadn't gone back for them as he was happy to walk barefoot.
"Only by my mother - as my father was from Hyrule. My name's JD, what's yours?"
"Mine's Buck and this is Chris. The other man seated is Josiah and the other boy is Nathan."
"Have you come here for horses as well?" asked JD curiously.
"Yes we have young man; we are on an important mission and time is of the essence," answered Josiah.
"What is such a small boy doing travelling the world on his own?" asked Chris - surely this boy would be no match for an enemy if it decided to attack him.
"Don't let my size fool you, for I have fought many enemies in the Water Temple and I defeated them all. As for what I am doing, I am searching for six other destined heroes of this world."
"You need look no further for four of them - we are four, but alas the other two are still undiscovered," replied Josiah, smiling at the newcomer.
"Just as I thought - I stayed at the castle of Queen Zelda last night, and when I told her this morning of my plans to come here for a horse she was very encouraging and said I should find more than that which I came here for," replied JD.
"You speak well for such a young one. Have you seen anyone on your travels here?"
"I saw two figures a fair distance away and a black horse..."
"Those are the thieves who stole our horse," fumed Orin, from where he stood in the room. There was only one true-black horse in the whole kingdom and Orin had no doubt that the one JD had seen was his missing one.
"Perhaps they're just borrowing it and will bring it back soon," suggested JD who had been brought up to trust people unless it was proven they weren't to be trusted.
"That horse is very valuable and if I set eyes on either of those two thieves I will be very angry with them," grumbled Orin.
"We should not be too hasty to judge them - let us listen to their reasons for committing the crime first, before we pass judgement," said Josiah wisely. He had a feeling that the two figures could be the remaining two of the Seven Heroes.
"No reasons will excuse them for stealing our most valuable horse," said Orin angrily and loudly.
JD backed away from him, frightened.
"Orin, you're scaring the boy," said his daughter-in-law Mary angrily.
"I am sorry, JD. It is not you I am angry with," apologised Orin in a gentle voice toward the young boy.
Chapter 14: The Seven Unite at Last
Vin and Ezra had almost reached the Travis Ranch when Vin stopped and stood still listening.
"What do you hear?" asked Ezra.
"I hear an angry voice. When we reach the Ranch let me talk to the owner - I fear that you might say something to anger them. I sense that this horse is special in some way," answered Vin, looking toward the horse that he was leading by a rope, after Ezra had complained that his hand was aching holding the rope.
The Kokiri boy stopped walking, then walked over to the horse and whispered to it. Ezra stood watching, intrigued by Vin's behaviour.
Vin stopped whispering after a while and walked over to Ezra. "This horse is indeed special so it is no wonder that Orin Travis is so angry with you for stealing it. We must take it back immediately and I will share your punishment with you," said Vin; he noticed then that Ezra looked shocked.
"Punishment? I will not be punished for merely borrowing; I told you my intention to return it after a time," replied the older dark-haired boy angrily.
"They would've been less angry had you borrowed a less valuable horse, but you chose to borrow this one and endanger it - if anything happens to this horse..."
Vin was interrupted by a large patch of bright flashing light, which vanished as quickly as it had appeared to be replaced by the two fairies, Kokiria and Shadia.
"Where are your manners? Vin was about to tell me what would occur if anything happened to this horse that I borrowed," complained Ezra.
"Ezra, if your mother were here she would tell you not to speak to me in that manner," fumed Shadia angrily.
Kokiria whispered into her ear and Shadia's anger lessened slightly. "We are here to move things forward; it seems that you two are delaying the union of the Seven Heroes."
"We were just on our way to the ranch," said Vin, forgetting that he hadn't told Ezra that the other heroes were there.
"But you were having second thoughts because of your Shadow Brother's crime weren't you?" questioned Kokiria.
"They think I stole the horse with Ez," said Vin, who was upset and scared - he had heard about Orin Travis's temper and was scared of how he might punish horse-thieves.
"You must return the horse and apologise as well as you are able, then you must meet the Seven Heroes who are currently there," said Shadia to Ezra; she was sure that once Orin knew who the two boys were, he wouldn't punish them.
"What do you know of my mother's current position, Shadia?" asked Ezra, with urgency in his voice.
"Your mother is being held in a cell for the moment, but I feel that she will soon be free if she uses the skills her parents taught her," replied Shadia, trying to reassure the boy that Maude would be fine.
"You mean if she cons the Lord into letting her out of her cell?" asked Ezra with an evil grin. Shadia nodded.
"Ezra, we fear that you may be tempted into the darkness, please do not commit any more misdeeds against good people," said Kokiria in a gentle request.
"Very well, Miss...?" said Ezra, upset now he realised that he had indeed committed misdeeds against good people.
"Kokiria - I am the Forest Fairy. You will soon meet my other sisters and my mother, but not until all the Seven are united."
"I am pleased to meet yet another fairy sister," replied Ezra, casting her a friendly smile.
"One day when there is time, we will tell you all about our family's origins."
"I would be intrigued to hear your family's history," said Ezra, always thirsting for more knowledge.
The two fairies vanished in a flash of bright light and Vin and Ezra were again alone with the horse.
"Goodbye, fair Kokiria," said Vin sadly.
"You sound more fond of your fairy than I am of mine," commented Ezra.
"Kokiria's the loveliest of all women," answered Vin, in a wistful voice.
"Come Vin, we must hasten to the Travis Ranch to return the horse and meet our hero brethren."
The two boys started walking toward the ranch, now feeling more confident about facing Orin Travis.
Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in front of them and they stopped. Vin drew his Kokiri sword from his belt. The shadow shaped like a man withdrew a dark sword and the two began fighting with swords.
Ezra was unable to help as he lacked any weapons. He instead put on his cloak again and vanished.
Finally, Vin slew the enemy and looked around for Ezra. "Ez, where are you?"
Ezra reappeared, taking off his cloak. "I am here Vin; I would not abandon you - I would've fought as well, had I been properly equipped."
"When we have met the others, we'll look fer a weapon for you; come on."
They continued their journey to the Ranch and this time didn't meet any enemies.
When they reached the Travis Ranch, Ezra nervously knocked at the front door of the house just inside the ranch walls. He heard footsteps and stepped back feeling scared.
Vin gasped as he heard a low noise and then the horse seemed to vanish from beside him, including the rope Vin had been leading it by. "Ez?" he asked in a panicked voice. Ezra smiled from beside him.
The door opened and Orin Travis looked at the boys stood there side by side. "Can I help you in some way?" he asked. As the horse had vanished, he didn't know that Ezra was the horse thief.
"Good morning sir, how much would you take for the purchase of your black horse?" asked Ezra; he would only have the finest horse.
"We had our black horse stolen yesterday - how did you know about it?" asked Orin suspiciously.
"What if my friend and I were to find your missing horse and bring it back to you?" asked Ezra tactfully.
"You know where he is?" asked Orin.
Ezra blinked his eyes and the black horse reappeared behind him.
Orin ran out of the door and over to the horse. "How can I ever thank you for his return?"
"We really could use the services of a fine horse such as this one, sir," suggested Ezra with hope in his voice.
"I will never part with this horse; he is too valuable," said Orin firmly.
"Why is he so valuable?" asked Ezra.
"You don't need to know, boy."
Vin suddenly spoke, after hearing voices only he could hear; "Ez - they are here."
Ezra suddenly looked very nervous and swiftly put his cloak back on and vanished.
"Where did your friend go?" asked Orin - he had never seen someone vanish before and didn't understand that the boy was still there, but invisible.
Vin listened to something unseen for a moment then replied, "He is very nervous of above-ground people, as he has spent his whole childhood below-ground in the Shadow Lands. He is still there - just not visible to us."
Suddenly Ezra's cloak fell to the ground and Ezra reappeared. "Hey!" he complained.
"You will not delay any longer," boomed a loud woman's voice he didn't recognise.
"Who's there?" asked Orin, he didn't like to hear things that he couldn't see; he had lost animals to unseen forces before.
There were several flashes of light around them and five fairies of different colours appeared.
"WHAT?" asked Orin startled.
"Fear not, we are on the side of good," said Hyrulia, since they had startled this man who she knew had never seen a fairy before.
"We are the fairy watchers of this kingdom and are here to speak to the Seven Heroes once they are united - but we now know that these two are a threat to the union," said Zorania angrily.
"We do not mean to cause trouble, Miss," said Vin apologetically.
"Then join with the rest of the Seven quickly," ordered the fairy impatiently.
"Zorania? What are you doing here?" asked a small voice from behind Orin.
"JD - meet the other Two of the Heroes, Vin of Kokiri Forest and Ezra of the Shadow Lands."
JD walked out in front of Orin and walked toward the two boys. "Hi, I'm JD of Zora's Domain. I'm pleased to meet you both at last."
"YOU are one of the Heroes?" asked Ezra in disbelief.
"You must not be fooled by his size," said Buck jokingly, walking to JD's side and showing that he was quite a lot taller than the younger boy.
"You are the one from the desert lands?" asked Vin, noticing the boy's slightly-tanned skin.
"I heard it's really, really, really hot there and if you get sand in your eyes you get blinded and..." started JD, showing off his knowledge.
"You talk too much, JD," complained Buck, who already felt like an older brother to the youngest Hero. He had never had a brother of his own, so was glad to be like one to the younger boy - even if the kid did talk too much at times.
"Boys, please," ordered Hyrulia, floating higher above the ground. "Vin, Ezra; go inside the house quickly and meet the other heroes. Then you must prepare to travel quickly to the end of Zora's River - Zora's Domain is in grave danger."
"If speed is of importance, then I will allow you to go on Swift," said Orin, looking toward the black horse.
"Thank you sir," said Ezra graciously; much to his relief, he still hadn't got into trouble for stealing the horse.
Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7 - Z7
Seven riders rode swiftly along the bank of Zora's River, heading for Zora's Domain - the Seven were about to begin protecting Zelda's Kingdom. The fairies had told them that the enemies were going to attack Zora's Domain soon, but the Heroes would be able to reach there before the attack.
The End
The adventure continues in Story 2 - coming soon!