Please enjoy the story. –KawaiiKirby
I don't own Zelda.
The Shape of Pain Chapter 5All the Kokiri stood alert in the forests, on the dawn of the next day. They all stood nervously searching for any strange business, with their baggage all around them. They were waiting for Fred. Then they would head out into the unknown.
Fred came bustling out a few moments lately, apologizing for his lateness.
"Sorry, sorry, got held up. Everyone here?"
Heads nodded through the massive crowd of Kokiris, all standing outside his house. Fred cracked into a nervous smile.
"Good. No more delays, then. Let's head! All follow me. Stay in pairs, mind you, we don't want anyone getting lost!"
He said this all with a cheerful voice, but it didn't fool anyone. They all knew he was just as nervous as they were. They all split into pairs and followed Fred out onto the bridge leading to the exit. Fred stopped there to make a speech.
"Ahem. Now none of us knows what's out there. We must stay together. I cannot express the importance of this. Link mentioned a village very close to here a few times, so we'll head there to see if they have any maps of Hyrule. But until we get there, no splitting up. No one gets left behind. Now let's go!"
They all cheered nervously, none wanting to leave but knowing they had to. Fred took a deep breath and went through the small exit to the world they had never known.
A little ways off, a ranch stood in the gleaming sunlight. It was a hot, hot day on the ranch, and all the horses were keeping to the shade of the small amount of trees surrounding them. A small girl stood in the sun, petting a horse and feeding it carrots. She sang a beautiful tune, and the horse swayed and neighed in approval.
A man stood watching her with a fatherly smile, keeping his distance as not to disturb her. He listened for a few more moments before leaving to get back to work.
The girl continued to sing when a voice interrupted her.
"Malon! Playing with the horses again, eh? Shouldn't you be working?"
A skinny man stood scowling from the entrance of the pasture. He looked intently at her, squinting because of the sun.
The girl called Malon heaved a sigh and answered reproachfully.
"Yes, Ingo. I will get to work right away."
She brushed past him and walked into the stables to clean. He smiled satisfactorily as she left and went to continue his work.
The other man, who was watching from his window, frowned deeply and muttered something to himself. He quickly walked down the stairs and out into the yard to speak to Ingo.
Malon sighed and hummed to herself as she swept the stables. She was speaking to the cows when she saw a figure covered in shadow hiding in a stall. She turned around quickly, turning her head as she did so.
"Who's there?!" she yelled, quite frightened. But the figure was gone. She frowned and shivered. She must have been imagining things. She must have been.
Fred took a deep breath of the clean air outside the forest. He looked around at the beautiful open field and beckoned the rest of the Kokiris to come out. They all were quite surprised as they saw the beautiful scenery. They had never imagined that there was place more beautiful than the forest.
Fred lead them on, not quite as scared as before. He walked out from the opening of trees and looked around.
It was beautiful. There was a large open field with rolling hills. There were trees covering the outside edges of the field, and a sparkling stream weaving it's way across it. They all just stood there, gaping at it. There was a small ranch in the middle of the field, and a castle to the far side.
Fred finally managed to croak out some words.
"That's the castle – the market is in there. We should aim to be there by nightfall. I'm sure the field isn't quite as friendly at nighttime."
They all followed Fred to the castle. It was a little ways off, and it was already starting to get dark. Fred was getting worried. He wasn't sure they were going to make it before the sky turned dark.
An hour later, they were still walking, but ganging ground fast. Fred had sped up the pace. It was dark and he knew they needed to find shelter.
Sounds started filling the air. The air was cold, not at all like it was in the day. A shiver ran among the Kokiri.
Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream came from the back of the ranks. They all turned around in a hurry and gasped. It couldn't be...