Hello, my readers, it is I, CrypticElf!

Navi: We are back in action people!

Ok, let the insanity begin!

I own nothing of Zelda and never will, but the script in this is mine, and if you take it, I get to sue you!

Chapter Sixteen: Unsuspecting Death

Zelda stood in front of a stand, trying to figure out to buy. The Sheikah woman waited patiently, she knew that Zelda liked to take her time. Eventually Zelda picked out a ring with a violet stone, she placed it on her finger and looked at it.

"What does this one do?" Zelda asked as she looked at the small violet stone.

"It is a protection stone, placed on your finger, and it will ward away evil spirits of the dark. A most rare stone, I would say, only grown in one cavern of these tunnels."

Zelda looked at the stone with more intensity, only one of the tunnels? Nowhere else?

This certain merchant Zelda trusted, she was a traveling merchant, and so Zelda didn't see her often. She would tell the truth, and would make good bargains and trades, Impa also trusted her. She usually had rare items, and would always know what they did. If she didn't, she would always tell Zelda, then I wouldn't dare to put it on my blanket.

"Dark spirits? Sounds like something that I need, do you only have one?"

"Sorry to say, but yes. I was lucky enough to even get it."

"How much?"

The merchant hesitated for a moment and glanced nervously at Zelda.

"It is expensive, I would bring the price down, but not many Sheikah are buying from me these days. They don't have the money."

"How much? I won't know until you tell me."

"Seven hundred Rupees."

"That is a lot!"

"I know."

Zelda sighed, this was far too expensive, was there something that Zelda had that she could trade?

"Oh! Can I trade you something?"

The merchant raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, but I doubt that you have anything that could be enough for this, no offence."

"None taken!" Zelda said as she took her pack off of her back and placed it on the floor. Taking out a bundle of thick stems of a rare plant, she placed it in front of the merchant. Gasps spread from behind Zelda, even the merchant looked at it and then to Zelda with wide eyes.

"Is... is that Death White Zelda?"

"You bet, how many rupees would I get from that?"

"Oh, many many many more then I think that I could ever give you!"

"May I exchange the ring for these?"

"If it is alright with you, but I must insist that you pick out other items! I could not take all of that with you only taking that ring!"

"Oh, but it's all that I need."

"No, I will not except, unless you promise to pick more items out."

Zelda smiled and nodded, this merchant always had useful things. Making sure that White Death was still on the blanket to the side, the merchant showed Zelda her most expansive items, so expansive that she didn't even bother to show it on her trading blanket.

Zelda bought new shoes, although, she decided that she would get some boots instead. They weren't like normal boots. It didn't have such a bulky look because it could be thinner from the Goron's skin. It also had lots of straps, so that way Zelda could tighten and loosen it when she wanted to. She got gauntlets, these made of Goron's skin as well. So it looked more like hand decoration, and her boots looked like they were just there, not for walking miles or running or fighting.

Zelda even found a new circlet that she loved, it was silver, as always, but this one wasn't just a small loop to place on her head. It twisted like vines, and if you looked closely enough, you could see Sheikah marks trailing all along it. On it was a hole that seemed to have once had something placed in it. But the merchant told Zelda that that was how it was made, she said that the man who had made this had had a vision from one of the Goddess to make it and then sell it to the first person who wanted it. This certain merchant had been the one Zelda was bargaining with now.

"Now, Flaa," Zelda asked. "Did he happen to make anything else?"

"Now that you ask, yes he did. When I came by again, he had made two others after this one. He told me that he had two more dreams, and they were from the two other Goddesses, they had told him to wait for me to come again and then sell it to me. I almost thought that he had been lying but his eyes told of the truth. Would you like to see the two other items that he made? They are bracelets."

"Of course, I am interested."

Flaa nodded and pulled out two bracelets from her box that was filled with the items that she choose not to put out unless she was dealing with someone of importance. Impa, as such. Or a Priest or Priestess of high ranking, or a famous warrior.

These were each identical, they were more armlets then bracelets, but they were made of silver and both had holes just like the circlet. Sheikah marks wove across and around it, and that was when Zelda noticed that on one of the bracelets it seemed to fit the shape of something that she had. She didn't bother to get that certain item, but she kept her eyes on both of the bracelets intently.

"Did there used to be something in those holes?" Zelda asked as she felt around the hole of one of the bracelets.

"Not that I know of, but these don't seem to have any scratch marks from digging anything out. And the man never told me that anything had to go into it, and never told me that anything ever had. I have always wondered as well, but I have never come across anything that seems to match those holes."

"Hmm."

Zelda decided that this was the time to pull out what she had, it was too large to fit the hole, but the shape still matched as far as she could tell. And Zelda pulled out the certain stone that the Great Deku Tree had given her, the Korkori's Emerald.

"What is that?"

"It's called the Korkori's Emerald."

"Oh, of the children of the forest?"

"You don't think that they're demons?"

"No, not at all. I find it to be a foolish thing to think of, the only thing being capable of being a demon is Ganondorf. In fact, I think that he is one. I can't wait for his turn on the throne to end."

"If that ever comes, how long has he had the throne again?"

"As old as you are, seventeen years of sadness, death, and fear."

"I wish that I hadn't been born right after he took rule."

"I know, I know. Now what about that jewel that you have?"

Zelda looked down, and then picked up the bracelet that matched it and held them in each hand. Then, both items shot out of her hands and a flash of green appeared. Soon after, the items fell into Zelda's hands, only this time, the Korkori's Emerald had shrunk and fit itself into the hole on the bracelet and now sat there on the bracelet.

"You are filled with wonders today!" Flaa exclaimed as the Sheikah around them crowded to see the bracelet. Zelda blushed as she looked at the bracelet, now she was really going to have to keep it.

"I suppose that I'll buy the other bracelet as well, I guess that these three belong with each other. I think that is all that I will buy today, thank you."

"Are you sure? You don't want anything else?"

"No, I need to go, someone above is waiting for me. By the way, do you know where Impa is?"

"No, in fact I don't. She's been gone for a long time; no one had seen here, that is the word that is going around. I thought that she might be with you."

"No, she told me that she had Sheikah business to attend to."

"Ah, that one. I wonder where she has gone? But she will come back, she would never abounded her people, or her daughter."

"Good-bye, I can't wait to meet you again." Zelda smiled as she left, and ignored the looks that the Sheikah gave her. It wasn't something like that happened everyday in the tunnels, so Zelda couldn't blame them. They were thirsty for something to happen.

Zelda went back to the large hole in the wall, no one had bothered to go in and investigate. But that was because they were going to seal it off once Zelda left. Zelda stood in front of the hole, looking in. She never liked leaving the Sheikah, leaving the cool earth, their open arms, and personally Zelda just didn't like Hylians. Even though Zelda was probably one herself, she still disliked them. The Sheikah had gone from sight since the last line of Royal Family had been killed, because that was the only thing that had ever bond them to Hyrule. But they still stayed underneath Hyrule; they could leave whenever they wanted to. But the Sheikah were not known to leave people in need, and Hyrule was defiantly in need.

Zelda was about to go through the hole when she noticed a young girl looking at Zelda. Zelda looked at her and smiled, and the little girl smiled back, her red eyes sparkling. The little girl was only about five or six, but had a small dagger at her side. All Sheikah were taught how to fight right when they learned how walk. No sooner, and no later. Zelda pulled her pack down from her back and fumbled until her fingers touched White Death. Zelda kept her hand in and looked at the little girl.

"How many people live with you?" Zelda asked kindly, but she didn't make a baby voice like Hylians did.

"About five, my mommy, daddy, brother, and my other brother."

"Here," Zelda told the girl as she pulled out five pieces of White Death. "Share this with your family."

The little girl gave Zelda a large smile and gave Zelda an unexpected hug. Then she broke it and ran off, while saying, "Thank you!"

Zelda smiled and walked through the hole that was the last of White Death that she had. She would get more soon, maybe when she got out of the tunnel. She wanted to get some before she left the forest at least, a lot too. She could earn a lot of rupees when she got down to the Sheikah tunnels, and she knew that she would need some rupees sometime.

It was already getting dark after Zelda took a couple of steps, so she sighed and turned into her alter ego Sheik.

She didn't bother to put his hair up, or wrap his fingers he knew that he didn't have that much time before sunset. And he still had to do about one more thing, and he wanted to go to sleep when the sun went down.

He walked farther as he pulled his shawl up, he should at least have that up. He sighed; he needed to add an addition to his transforming spell. When he transformed into Sheik, his shawl, and wraps would already be up. And when he turned back into Zelda they would go off. It wouldn't take that long, maybe he should do it before he went to bed?

He walked a distance, and then crouched down.

"One, two, three!"

Again, Sheik started running faster then any Hylian could, using his long and powerful legs to make long quick strides. He went faster then he did last time, he was on a time limit.

Link just finished putting on a clean tunic when Navi zipped in.

"Hey Navi, you've been busy I guess?"

"Yes, but.... Oh! Link, I have to go!"

"What? Why?"

"The Great Fairy of the Forest is calling all of the fairies, I'm sorry Link! Please forgive me, tell Zelda that I said bye!"

Navi flew out before Link could say anything else and Link held back a sniffle. He didn't want Navi to leave him; he and her had just seen each other after such a long period....

He sighed and put his boots on, looks like he would be alone again....

But Zelda would be there, with her magic, she could keep him company. He hoped that they didn't split up again; he couldn't get that image of Zelda bleeding to death against the wall out of his head. If those pink fairies hadn't been there, she would have died, and Link wouldn't be able to do anything to help her.

Link walked home with the sunset against his back. He hoped that Zelda was at his home, sitting down, and then saying something critical about him being out so late and not using this time to get some rest for tomorrow. He smiled, hoping that she was there.

He walked up his latter and into his home, hoping that a certain person was there....

But she wasn't, everything was just as it was as when Link had left. He shook his head; he had never worried over a girl so much. Why now?

He sat down on his bed, another thought going through his head. A Sheikah in the forest? Why would there be a Sheikah in forest? Maybe there could be, after all, there was nothing wrong with that, but it still sounded odd to his ears. Maybe it was nothing, he shouldn't worry.

But one thing was worrying him, where was Zelda? Shouldn't she be here by now?

Zelda walked in right when Link was about to get lost in his thought. Link jumped up and looked at her. She looked at him and smiled ruefully.

"Where have you been?" Link asked Zelda with curiosity.

"Hmm...."

"Hey, that's a new circlet! Where did you get it?"

"Sheikah merchant."

"What? There are Sheikah here?"

"No, I would tell you how I got there... but I can't. The Sheikah don't like to be found and revealed to others."

"You mean that there's a hole group of them somewhere? I thought that they were a dying race!"

"They live in the shadows, that is their home. They are still here, I can tell you that. But I cannot tell you where."

"How come you know? You aren't a Sheikah, are you?"

"No, but the leader of the Sheikah is my adopted mother. And I was brought up just as Sheikah children were, I lived with them, ate with them, talked with them, trained with them.... I was brought up between two worlds, one shadow, one out here...."

Zelda stopped and sighed, and sat down on the floor.

"Uh," Zelda said with anger. "I still need to make a new tunic...."

"Um, I have some." Link volunteered.

"No thanks, I wouldn't to deprive you of your tunics."

"You sure?"

"Yes...."

Zelda pulled out another ball of thread, this one a light blue. She used her magic again, and the threads weaved together and started making a tunic just the same as the other one that she had worn before. Link sat down and watched her, and when he thought that the bottom was going to end, it continued. Link was wondering if Zelda didn't realize but didn't say anything. The bottom grew longer, but it split at the same time on the sides. Link realized that the threads must have already been cut, because Link noticed that Zelda hadn't bothered to cut them.

It finally ended to where Link had a feeling that it would end at Zelda's ankles. It floated down to Zelda, and Link noticed that he really shouldn't even consider it a tunic, because it was sleeveless.

"Why aren't there sleeves?" Link asked as Zelda fumbled in her pack.

"Hmm. I have no idea. I just wove whatever I felt like weaving. It does look interesting, doesn't it?"

Zelda pulled out two thin cloths of white, and also pulled a small kit. She opened it up, and pulled out a white thread and a needle. After putting the thread through the needle hole, she started sewing them as sleeves. Link watched silently at this.

"I didn't know that you knew how to sew." He told her once she was on her second sleeve.

"Every Sheikah has to learn how to sew, even the men."

That made Link laugh, he couldn't imagine himself sitting down and sewing peacefully. If he ever tried, he would probably stab his eye out.

"It does sound funny, doesn't it?" Zelda asked him after he finished laughing. Link nodded, smiling.

"Hey, what are you going to do after the Forest Temple?" He asked just as she finished the second sleeve.

"Death Mountain, the Fire Temple. I'm guessing that whatever is disrupting the temples is going to continue. But there's going to be something there to stop them, and that is me."

Zelda knotted the thread as she spoke, and now had it lifted up to her. The sleeves went mid-length, and weren't loose but meant to fit like his own sleeves. Zelda seemed to approve as she set it down and yawn. But she didn't stop; she pulled out a ball of white thread. Pointing at it, she said. "Light blue." The ball turned into light blue as she said.

She let the thread separate, and then it started weaving itself. Link sat silently as they turned into pants that would go down to the bottom of her knees.

"That's going to be an interesting outfit," Link remarked as he pictured Zelda wearing it.

"I like it," Zelda replied as she spread it out. She yawned again, and then went into a meditating position and closed her eyes. Link went silent, but Zelda opened her eyes after not even half a minute.

"Was that it? I thought that you were going to meditate!"

"I was just making a spell, now I'm going to meditate. But you can do whatever you want. When I was taking away that spell for Milan that was a different type of meditation for breaking a spell. The type of meditation that I'm going to do is like sleeping, it's so I can get any magic that I lost back. And it also builds it up new magic, very, very, very slowly. And that's only once I've recovered all of my other magic. If you need something, then just touch my shoulder. Sound won't get me out of my concentration, but a touch will. So just don't bump into me, Ok?"

"Sure, but what about dinner?"

"Oh, I should eat before I meditate, shouldn't I?" Zelda smiled at Link, and Link smiled at her.

"I'll go get something for you," Link said quickly as he went out of the house. Zelda looked after him, and then back at her clothes.

Zelda was a little shocked at what she had made, this was an outfit of the Sheikah. Or at least the style of it, the two main styles was where the sleeves of a tunic were extended and the bottom was extended as well. The other style looked much like the one Zelda had just made. Zelda liked that she had made it, but she still needed to make some thing else. But what else did it need?

A belt, of course, but Zelda didn't want to use her other one, it was old and Zelda knew that she had it for too long. She needed a new one, but where could she get one? She sighed as she looked at her new outfit, she would make another match of it soon. But how could she forget to get a new belt if she had been planning to get something new to wear...?

Zelda fumed, and then she heard Kale tell her in her mind.

'Meditation seems to be very good for you right now, you need to calm down and rest.'

"Ha, ha, funny." Zelda replied aloud with a hiss.

"Oh, you should calm down." Kale told Zelda, using Zelda's mouth this time.

"Hmm...."

"You have a short fuse. What are you so angry over?"

"Nothing...."

"Now then, I can tell when you're lying. You need to tell someone before the anger gets bottled up and then explodes at the wrong time."

"I'm just going to meditate after eating, I'm angry over nothing but myself."

"Alright, whatever you say, sorceress." Kale finished with a final tone.

Zelda was about to reply when Link came back up with an armful of fruit. Zelda immediately hid away her anger and put on a happy face.

"Took you long enough." Zelda told Link as he passed Zelda a green apple. Zelda took it and looked at it.

"I thought that there was only nuts and berries here." Zelda remarked just before she took a large bit.

"Well this forest is enchanted, remember that. Nearly everything grows here, even corn. Weird huh? If the Great Deku Tree wasn't here, then nothing of that stuff would ever grow and it would become filled with monsters from Hyrule Field, or perhaps even those from the Forest Temple."

"Hope that the Great Deku Tree lasts long, then."

"I do too," Link replied, he didn't even want to imagine what would happen if the Deku Tree died, Zelda could read it in his eyes.

"Oh, by the way Link. I got this for you."

Zelda picked up the purple ring that she had gotten from Flaa; Link took it and looked at it with interested eyes. Zelda smiled and looked at Link's face, she knew that he didn't like.

"It isn't for fashion, moron. It's a ring that has a spell on it to keep evil ghosts away from you."

"Oh! Ok." Link replied more happily as he slipped it on his pinky finger.

Zelda ate the rest of her apple, and Link passed another. Zelda loved green apples, not the red ones. And the ones that Link collected seemed to be even sweeter and sour then the ones that Impa would give her. Zelda defiantly didn't object, the more sour and sweeter the better.

Zelda finished the second one, and Link gave another. Zelda didn't know why she was so hungry, and didn't bother. She just wanted to eat and then meditate.

Zelda ate the last apple that Link gave her, which was the fourth one. Zelda felt her stomach was no longer empty, but warm and filled with satisfaction. Zelda thanked Link, and then started meditating. All sounds slipped away, and Zelda listened to the sound of her heartbeat, counting the rhythm....

Zelda woke after what must have been about five hours, because Link was asleep and no light came in from his window or doorway. Zelda slowly got up, was the vision that she had just had true?

Zelda stretched out her muscles for half a minute, and then headed outside.

She went the same way that she had gone when she had first met the Great Deku Tree. Words went through her head, 'please be wrong, please be wrong....'

Zelda stepped into the meadow of the Great Deku Tree, and then she ran as fast as she could to the Deku Tree. When she got there, his bark was gray, the leaves on his branches dead and dull. Zelda felt his bark with her fingers, and she knew that the Great Deku Tree was going to die. She fell to the ground, holding back the tears. She wasn't even attached to the Deku Tree, but she knew that if he died, the Korkori would as well. Monsters would come and slay them, the forest would lose its enchantment and all of the magic that it held would be lost. She didn't want that to happen... no, please don't....

"'Tis that thee, Sorceress?"

"Yes." Zelda answered quietly.

"I need thee to... to hold this."

Zelda looked up as she heard the rustling of branches, leaves fell all around her. But eventually something that looked close to an almond fell next to Zelda; she would have taken it for that if she hadn't felt the magic that lay inside it.

"Is this a seed?" Zelda asked as she looked up at the Great Deku Tree.

"Yes, thee are correct. My own seed, plant it in front of me.... For it is... the new... Great Deku Tree.... Please watch... over.... My children...."

Zelda didn't bother to hold the tears back as she felt the life of the Great Deku Tree slip away. She looked down at the blurred image of the seed in her hands. Why did he have to die?

But at least there was this seed, and Zelda was going to replant it.

Zelda slowly got up, and then she walked forward a few paces and started digging in the dirt. She made a hole, and then gently placed the seed on it. And then covered it up with dirt, the tears had stopped, but Zelda still felt the sword of misery that was cutting into her. She sat down and prayed to not just Nayru, but to Farore and even Din. She didn't know how long she prayed, but when she finished, she knew what had killed the Deku Tree.

The Forest Temple, she had to balance it. It was starting to kill, and Zelda knew that she couldn't delay any longer.

Zelda ran back to Link's home, and then she ran in and started taking off her nightclothes and into her new ones. She didn't care if Link saw her; all that she cared about was avenging the Deku Tree. Zelda looked down at the way clothes flopped carelessly around, and also say one of Link's belts. She grabbed it, promising to Link silently that she would get him a new one.

She grabbed her pack and slung it over her shoulder, and without even bothering to wake Link up; she ran out as fast as she could to the Forest Temple....

I like to type, and that's the chapter for today!

Navi: OHHH! I can't wait for another! I like this story!

Well, could that because you're a character in it?

Navi: I don't know, but WHO CARES!

Ok, whatever... um, just remember to review!

So Until Next Time,

CrypticElf....