A/N: yay!! another chapter. i wouldve update sooner, but the stupid document manager was being STUPID!!! neway, read on, everybody!!
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Dear Princess,
Is your quest going well? I've been praying every night to the Goddesses that you, Link, and your friends are all right. I've been very worried; you know how I am. Always stressing about the smallest things. But I can't help it, you know? Raising you all these years, it feels as though you are my own daughter.
It is strange to wander the hallways of the castle and not bump into you. I expect to hear you playing your harp in the music room, hear you singing in the courtyard, or see you reading in the library. All the servants agree with me--not having you here makes the castle seem so empty. It's darker, colder, and just not full of life anymore.
We miss Link a lot, as well. I especially have become accustomed to looking out a window and seeing him riding Epona across the fields, or seeing him in town. I know you'll laugh at me saying it, but I've always felt that there's been something going on between you two (that's why I was always suspicious about letting him into your room in the evening. But there I go, being overprotective again).
I had a terrible dream last night. Ganondorf was it; and he had the Triforce. Standing behind him was an entire army of ReDeads, clutching Hylians and torturing them. And there were Octoroks, and Like Likes, Wolfos, Skullkids, and just every monster I could think of. I teamed up with Link to find you, because I knew Ganondorf would want you gone. I was terrified when we finally discovered where you were.
You were encircled by Ganon's army. Then the Gerudo King yelled something I didn't catch and you were surrounded by a pink light. Then suddenly, both of you were gone. I don't understand what the dream meant; because I cannot bring myself to think that he will get the Triforce before you do.
Good luck, Princess.
Love,
Impa looked down at the letter she had just written. Tears stung her eyes, and she crumpled up the parchment and threw it into the fire place. She often wrote letters for the sake of getting feelings out, and never sent them. She couldn't have sent this one anyway, seeing as how she didn't know where Link and Zelda were.
Shuddering and sighing deeply, Impa stood up slowly and walked out of her room. She began to aimlessly walk in the hallways of the castle. After a few minutes of this, she came across a room that looked like it was not occupied very much.
Cautiously opening the door, Impa coughed at all the dust that rose in the air. She lit a candle in the room and gasped softly. It was basically a junk room; several things were piled up on each other in no specific fashion. The objects looked very old, as if they had gone untouched for years.
Curiously, Impa began sorting through some of it, wondering if she would recognize anything. An old tapestry featuring an ogre, a chastity belt, and a purple robe were all covering several boxes. With a grunt, Impa moved the boxes off of an old cradle.
Immediately, Impa recognized it as the one Zelda had had as a baby.
Smiling, Impa stroked the dusty blanket that lay inside the cradle, wishing Zelda was there to see it. Then she began to take notice of how hot it was getting. The nurse maid saw a window on the far side of the room and went to open it. A fresh breeze came into the room, and then Impa's eyes rested on something else.
It was an old ocarina. She picked it up, running her hands over its rough edge. Lying close to the instrument was ragged doll, who looked as if a certain little Princess had loved it too much; it's clothes were torn and its face was considerably dirty. Impa laughed out loud softly.
She walked back to the cradle, with the doll in one hand and the ocarina in the other. Then she placed the doll gently under the coverlet in the cradle, and sat down on a stack of boxes.
Quietly, she began to play Zelda's Lullabye.
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"Well, Darunia, thanks again," said Link, mounting Epona. "It was very kind of you to let us stay here for a while."
"My pleasure, son," said Darunia, waving a hand. "Well, good-bye, then!"
"Bye!"
"Well, he seems nice," remarked Malon, as they continued their venture.
"Yeah, he is," Link said.
The next few minutes were quite uneventful. The four of them could only hear the sounds of their horses' hooves slowly touching the ground; all else was nearly silent. That was when Zelda became suspicious.
"Stop," she whispered to Link. He gently pulled on Epona's reins, then looked over his shoulder questioningly at Zelda.
"What is it?" he asked.
Slowly, the Princess dismounted the horse. She looked cautiously around her. "It's too quiet," she answered.
"You're right," Malon agreed, sliding off her own horse as well. She looked at the scenery around them. "There doesn't appear to be even a bird fluttering in the trees..."
"Where are we?" Saria asked nervously, still atop her horse.
"I don't think we're anywhere important," Link answered, who hadn't gotten off of Epona yet. "Because it's not exactly marked on the map." He looked up, then back down on the map. "This is all so confusing .... we're by the woods, but there isn't one marked on here..."
"Zelda!!" Saria suddenly shouted. In one cobra-quick movement, she swung off of her horse and landed on her feet before the Princess. Malon was stunned to see Saria clutching an arrow in her fist, right in front of her heart.
"Where in Din's name did that come from?!" Malon asked, running towards her.
"It came just from up there!" Saria answered, pointing straight ahead.
"Oh, Goddesses, Saria," Zela moaned, putting a hand to her face. "If you hadn't seen that arrow and grabbed it, I'd have died! And you, you might've gotten hit if you hadn't caught it!"
"It's all luck," Saria said, dropping the arrow bitterly. Blood began pouring out of her palm where she'd caught it's stone head, and she swore loudly at the cut. Zelda quickly tore off one of her sleeves and tied it around the wound.
Before Saria could thank her, Link (who, by now, was on his feet), said to Malon, "Obviously we're not alone. It could be dangerous to go up ahead. This thing apparently knows exactly where we are, but we have no ways of locating it."
"It seems we're at the disadvantage here," Saria said, shaking her hand to get rid of the pain. She picked up the arrow that had been shot. "I'd say it was a moblin, but the design is too crude."
"Yes," Malon agreed, taking the arrow from her sister and inspecting it. "It's not classy enough to be a moblin arrow. It might be--"
"LOOK!" Link suddenly shouted. "A CHICKEN!!"
"Hey, it IS a CHICKEN!!" Zelda screamed, pointing at the foul not to far away from them.
"........................so?" Malon asked, failing to see how it was relevant.
"If there's a chicken, it must mean there's a town nearby," Link explained. "This having been said, we can ask the townspeople what local crazy kooks may be out to kill Princesses."
"I think all this bad air has gone to their heads," Saria whispered to Malon.
"Well, there IS a chicken over there," Malon said.
"C'mon, Link!" Zelda shouted. "Let's go follow it!!"
"Okay!"
Arm in arm, the two of them chased the chicken down the dirty path, leaving Epona and two bewildered sisters behind.
"W-WAIT!!" Malon yelled. "THERE ARE ASSASSINS DOWN THERE!! Argh! Saria, c'mon! We've got to follow them!" Motioning for Saria and the horses to follow, Malon raced down the dirt path as well. "LINK! PRINCESS! WAIT UP!!"
"I'm gonna get you!" Link said to the chicken, who was presently squawking it's little head off.
"Hey, look!" Zelda said. "MORE chickens!!"
Indeed, there was a large herd (herd?) of chickens gathered at the top of a hill. The chicken Link and Zelda were chasing buh-gawked a loud warning to them, and they all scrambled to get away from the insane elves.
"I've got one!" Link yelled triumphantly, throwing himself on top of a struggling chicken.
"Me too!" Zelda said, grabbing a chicken that was jumping about hysterically. She started running with the thing, the bird over her head, and when she reached the part of the hill that declined, she was amazed to discover the bird was flying with her. "HEY, LINK!!" she shouted. "CHECK IT OUT--I'M GETTING CARRIED BY A GIANT CHICKEN!!"
Not to be outdone, Link followed Zelda's example and flew off the hill. The chicken he had selected was panting and constantly in danger of falling back to the ground. "MY CHICKEN APPEARS TO HAVE PROBLEMS STAYING AT THE SAME ALTITUDE," Link observed, calling out to Zelda.
"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO HEAVY FOR IT!!" Zelda said mockingly.
"What's gotten into them??" Saria asked, deeply concerned.
"I don't know," Malon answered, heaving deep breaths. She came to a halt near the end of the woods and dismounted her horse. Saria followed suit, and the two of them looked about anxiously.
"That arrow came from up here," Saria said quietly. "That means there's a hunter somewhere nearby."
Malon squinted and got her pack of arrows off her horse's back. She pulled one up to her bow, and walked around slowly in a circle. She stopped suddenly, and nodded her head slightly to the left. "I just saw some plants move back there," she whispered.
Saria got out a bow and some arrows as well. She jumped when Malon swiftly let her weapon fly, and they both heard a thud as it hit the target. They looked dumbfounded when a dead rabbit appeared under a bush.
"That's what was moving the plants," Saria said through gritted teeth. She slowly began to walk towards the small creature.
"Don't walk over there," Malon said in a steel voice. "Rabbits don't shoot arrows; and somebody's in there." Gradually, she lowered her bow. "This would be a lot easier if Link and Zelda would come to their senses and--"
Malon shouted out in surprise as an arrow went whizzing past her ear. She and Saria turned about abruptly and saw an armored man walk out of the forest opposite them. He was tall and muscular, holding a large bow by his side.
"I shot that one to get your attention," he growled menacingly. He shifted his head to look at the quivering Saria. "You stopped my arrow from hitting the Princess. Why?"
"Well, because it would have killed her," Saria answered bluntly.
"Oh. Does this mean you didn't want her to die?" the man asked curiously.
"Ya think?" Malon asked.
"What're you four doing in these parts anway?" he continued.
"We got lost on our way to Planet Paradise, I'm afraid," Malon said coolly, clearly not afraid of the humongous figure before her.
He glared down at her. "You've got a mouth on you, haven't ya?"
"That's what this is; yes," Malon responded, pointing to her mouth.
"Malon, I don't think you should tempt him into getting angry," Saria whispered.
"Yeah, why don't you listen to her?" the man laughed. "Trust me, you're much better off by not makin' me mad."
"I'm not afraid of you," Malon said truthfully. "I knew what kind of man you were as soon as we saw that arrow. It takes a coward to attack in secret, where no one can see you and have a fair fight."
::Oh, I'm going to use that against her some day,:: Saria thought.
"So I'm afraid now, am I?" the man asked, flexing his arms. "Well, we'll just see how cowardly THIS is." He lunged forward and grabbed Malon by the neck, then turned and pinned her to a tree.
Choking, Malon grabbed his fist (slightly larger than her head), and struggled to pry his fingers off of her, as he raised his free arm. Saria looked on in horror as she saw Malon's feet leave the ground and she realized that the man was lifting her up to his level.
"It's--not--through yet," Malon managed to spit out.
The man smiled wickedly. "Of course not. I haven't killed you, so it's NOT over. I don't appreciate it when lowly wenches tell me I'm a coward."
"So what would you do if a royal wench told you you were a coward?" came a voice from behind him.
Surprised by this outburst, the man turned around, slightly loosening his grip on Malon. His eyes widened when Zelda (who else) reached out with a bow in hand, and threw it over his head and around his neck. She pulled on the two ends of the arrow, hoping to choke him, but her plot was foiled somewhat when the bow snapped in half.
"................................................oops."
Grinning, the man dropped Malon to the ground and swung a fist towards Zelda. Unfortunately for him, she was much quicker. "LINK, A LITTLE HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!" she shouted, landing on the assassin's back.
Right on cue, Link flew into the scene, sword in hand. He slashed at the giant man's arm, cutting it completely off. He screamed in agony at the loss, and Link frowned as Zelda hopped down.
"It always pains me to see a grown man cry," Link sighed.
"I am NOT crying!!" the man sniffed.
"Well then shed those crocodile tears and die like a man!" Saria yelled, taking Link's sword and plunging it into the man's back. He screamed again, and writhed on the ground as Saria twisted around the sword. When she finally yanked it out, he was--
"Dead as a doornail," Malon said.
"How dead IS a doornail, anyway?" Zelda asked. "I've always wondered."
"You know what, that's irrelevant," Saria said. "What I want to know is WHAT was going on with you two and those poor, innocent chickens."
"What chickens?" Zelda asked. "Ohhh, you mean the chickens....didn't Link tell you? Chickens mean towns. So we thought we'd follow them to the nearest town, and then we realized that we'd left you two and the horses behind. So, we turned around and came back."
"Just in time, too, it seems," Link observed, running a hand through his hair.
"Yeah, thanks so much," Malon said.
"BUT LET'S GO CATCH THE CHICKENS AGAIN!!" Link shouted with extreme enthusiasm. Saria stared at him, then gave him a quick slap across the face. He put a hand to the place she'd hit, rubbing it, then said, "Um, thanks."
"No problem," Saria said nonchalantly. "C'mon, let's go find that town you two are so passionate about getting to."
"Alrighty then," Zelda said. "Let's go!"
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The four adventurers came upon a small inn and decided that's where they would be staying.
"Phew, I'll be glad to finally be able to sleep in a real bed," Malon sighed, as they put their horses in the stable. "Sleeping on the ground really isn't my thing."
"I didn't mind it so much," Saria said, shrugging. "Although I guess it'll be nice to stay in a bed for a couple of nights."
"Hey, where's Link?" Malon asked, taking the bridle off of her horse.
"The innkeeper's showing him our rooms," Zelda answered, automatically running a hand through Epona's mane. "We're supposed to go in and find them as soon as we're through with the horses."
"Well, that would be now, I guess," Saria pointed out. The three of them walked out of the stable and towards the inn.
Link greeted them at
the entrance. "Hello, ladies."
"Um...hello,"
Malon said back. "Did you see the rooms?"
"Yup," Link repsponded, nodding. "Not bad, considering the cheap price I got them for. So Malon, are you and Saria sure you don't mind sharing a room?"
"You kidding? It's no problem," Malon said, waving her hand. "We share a room at home, so we might as well do it now for a smaller price."
"Yeah, I'd share a room with Zelda if it wasn't...erm...." Link started.
"Indecent," Zelda whispered with a smile.
"Um, yeah."
"So's there a bar in this place?" Saria asked, stepping inside. "I'm practically dying of thirst over here."
"Yeah, there's one over there," Link answered, guiding the others towards it. They sat down at a circular table, and pudgy man approached them. After telling him their orders (and he walked away), Link said to Zelda, "Was it your chicken that led us here?"
"Yeah," Zelda answered, seeming proud. "I think it was her we were following, at least. Lucky for us that she felt like going home, eh?"
"Yes, but I'd still like to know a thing or two about that thug we met in the woods," Malon said, shivering. "It seems that he knew who you were, Zelda, and he was quite keen on seeing you destroyed."
"Gee, thanks, I'll sleep so soundly tonight, knowing that," Zelda said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"We'll have to see if anyone here knows who he was," Saria decided. "Maybe they know if he's part of a cult or something."
"Yeah, we can ask the waiter when he gets back," Link said.
They waited around for the waiter to return. When he did, and had set down all their drinks, he realized that they were all staring at him.
"Um....is there something else I can do for you?" he asked uncertainly.
"Yes, pull up a seat," Malon replied, motioning towards a chair near her.
The waiter nervously dragged the chair towards their table and looked at the four of them. Malon and Link sat opposite each other, both slumped in their seats with their arms crossed (and both looking intimidating, with their respective dagger and sword tucked in their belts); Saria sat fidgeting between Malon and Zelda, with her chin in her palms; and the Princess was next to Link, sitting perfectly straight and frowning at Link's bad posture. The waiter waited for one of them to say something.
"SO," Link said loudly, breaking the silence around them. The word hung in the air alone, until Link sat up straighter and looked at the man. "We had a little mishap in the woods and we were wondering if you could help us at all."
"What happened?" the waiter, whose name happens to be Daniel, asked.
"Well, Daniel," Malon said, reading his nametag, "it's a very tragic story, but I'm sure you're up to it. We came across an assassin."
Daniel's eyes widened. "You mean .... was he very big?"
"Huge," Saria answered. "Oh, you should've heard the man rumble--!"
"Like a coach on cobblestones," Malon sniggered. "Anyway, this guy seemed intent upon getting rid of our palsy walsy here." She pointed at Zelda. "So we were wondering if you would know anything about this strange occurance ..... or was he just some man who enjoyed randomly killing royalty?"
"Royalty?" their waiter repeated, staring at Zelda.
"Hello; Princess Zelda of Hyrule, nice to meet you," Zelda said, reaching out and shaking his hand.
Nervously, Daniel grasped her hand briefly, then immediately drew his arm back in, as if afraid he would spontaneously combust if he touched her. "W-well, I think I know who it was that you met in the woods."
"Who?" asked Zelda.
"Um...well you know, Death Mountain isn't very far from here, and--"
"It ISN'T?!" Link asked incredulously, whipping out his map. He looked around for their present location, pinpointed it, then gasped loudly. "Good Goddesses, he's RIGHT!!"
"Yes, um, well recently, G-Ganondorf has been very frustrated with the moblins and so he--"
"Frustrated? With moblins?" Saria asked. "Hmmmm, that's interesting."
"Yes," Daniel said. "So lately, he's been hiring the biggest mercenaries he can find, and they've been causing all s-sorts of trouble recently." Daniel gulped and continued. "I hear that Ganon's told them to hide out in the woods and wait for any people entering the town. I guess one of them saw you."
"Yeah, but we took care of him," Link said.
"When they die," Daniel said, "Ganondorf resurrects them."
"He resurrects them?" Zelda asked in disbelief, stressing the middle word.
"Y-Yes," Daniel answered, nodding. "Or at least their skeletons. As Skullkids."
Zelda snorted. "I bet those kinds of skeletons could sure give Hyrule's Skullkids a run for their money."
"Princess, I should like to inform you that you are in grave danger here," Daniel warned her. "I strongly suggest that you leave as soon as possible."
"I'm a Princess, I'm not safe anywhere," Zelda said. "At least, not really."
"Besides, we wouldn't let her get in any danger of any kind," Saria told Daniel. "We try our best to protect our friends." Zelda smiled at her.
"And besides that, we're on the way to Death Mountain as it is," Link said.
"WHY?!" Daniel erupted. "ARE YOU INSANE?!"
"Nah, we're just looking for an ancient artifact that happens to be rather important," Malon said casually. "It just happens to be located in a ratherr inconvenient spot."
"But--but--BUT--!!"
"Listen, pal, we've handled this guy before," Link said, starting to get annoyed by Daniel. "And true, this time he has the home advantage, but that doesn't matter! We've beaten him before, and we'll do it again!!" He paused. "Of course, we always had whole armies at those times, but I'm sure we can still handle this guy."
Daniel rolled his eyes and stood up. "All right. Just don't say I didn't warn ya."
"We didn't plan on it," Malon muttered bitterly, as he walked away. She took out her dagger and used it to pick the dirt out from under her fingernails.
"Malon, I don't think that's very wise," Link counsled her.
"Pffft," Malon sighed. "I do it all the time. I'm not gonna cut myself."
"I'm beginning to think we should've brought more people on this journey," Zelda thought aloud. "I mean, these assassins will be a lot more trouble than moblins."
"What d'you mean?" Saria asked. "We wiped out that guy before."
"One, yes," Zelda pointed out. "But there could be whole multitudes of them out there, waiting for us, and we're not ready for them."
"Zelda, don't dwell on it," Malon sighed. "You know what, we should really just worry about this in the morning." She yawned. "I am beat; I dunno about you guys."
"No, I am too," Link agreed. "Chicken chasing has got me all tired out."
"I can't just STOP thinking about it!" Zelda protested (it took a moment for the others to realize she was talking about assassins instead of chickens). "It's going to haunt me for the rest of my life until we settle it."
"Zelda, we can settle it in the morning," Link assured her. "Don't sweat it. You can live through one night."
The Princess sighed in defeat. "I'm going to have terrible nightmares."
"If you do, you can come and sleep with .... in my room," Link finished uncomfortably. "I could sleep on the floor."
"Link, you know I wouldn't put you in that kind of situation. Besides, switching rooms won't do much for me."
"Perhaps not, but maybe it would provide with you some comfort; just knowing that I'd be right there if anything happened."
Zelda stared at him as he massaged her hand, and she smiled gratefully. "Oh, you're wonderful. Thank you so much." She leaned over and kissed him quickly; then the four of them stood up to go to their rooms.
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A/N: that okay? i hope so!! b/c it took me 4ever 2 write. plz review!!
