Link
looked around the forest, his blue eyes always on the lookout for
trouble, his blond hair just peeking out from underneath his green
cap. Link was armed with his gilded sword, hookshot and his bow, with
his quiver filled with arrows. Many a careless fool had fallen to the
claws of the forest's wolfos, which explained why he carried so much
weaponry. He now went in search of water. The water in Kokiri Village
was unfit for Hylians, and Link was forced to gather his supply. His
green tunic was clean and non-restricting, allowing him to cover the
distance from his tree house and the water pool very quickly with his
long legs.
As far
as he knew, he was the only Hylian ever to enter the Kokiri Forest
and leave its clutches alive. This explained his reaction. Link was
filling his water skin at the pool that led to Zora's Domain when he
heard the loud "clop, clop, clop," of a walking horse. He
cocked his head and listened. It was still there, he was not
imagining things. Never before had a horse entered the forest, not
even Epona.
Link
ran, his soft leather boots crunching on the sticks and pine needles
on the forest floor, to the ledge overlooking a small bridge. The
bridge was made of pine, and was the only entrance to the Kokiri
Forest.
Link
stared and saw the shadow of a horse and rider coming through the
tunnel. He pulled his golden hookshot from his belt and targeted the
wooden planks of the bridge. He fired just as the rider
entered.
The spear
tip vaulted out, carrying with it a long chain. It flew through the
air and lodged itself in the soft pine and immediately started to
pull Link in. Link flew through the air after it, his gilded sword
from Termina unsheathed. He landed on the walkway only a few seconds
later, and waved the blade menacingly in front of the
animal.
The horse
whinnied and reared, throwing the rider from its back. The cloaked
and hooded rider fell back, and was knocked unconscious when she, for
the build appeared to be that of a woman, struck her head on the
wooden planks. Link then got a good look at the horse; it was a light
brown mare with a white mane and small brown eyes. "Epona,"
Link whispered softly. If Epona was here, that meant the rider
was... Link moved to her and lowered the hood. The cascade of
flaming red hair gave it away. It was Malon. "Oops," Link
whispered. He carefully picked her up in his arms and whistled for
Epona to follow him.
"Uhhhh.
Liinnkk," Malon groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She now
lay in a bed carved of strong oak padded with the softest animal
pelts Malon had ever felt, and with a neatly woven wool blanket
covering her body. She threw the woolen cover from her body and
stood. The house was simple, only a few pieces of furniture were
present, a pair of chairs, a table, and a dresser. One of the chairs
had been moved near her bed, and there sat Link, his head on his
chest, fast asleep.
"No
sense in waking him just yet. I'll look around a bit," Malon
thought as she walked around the small tree house. Malon was amazed
at what hung on its walls. One wall was covered in weaponry that
would make even the Bazaar's owner drool in envy. A golden hook shot,
a boomerang, a leather bag full of bombs, a strong looking bow and
quiver filled with arrows, a giant long sword, a smaller but no less
impressive sword covered in what appeared to her to be gold, and a
large war hammer hung on that one wall.
She
looked at another and gasped. It was covered with twenty four, she
counted them, wooden masks, and they all appeared to be staring at
her. One looked like a goron, while another looked like it was the
face of a zora, while still another appeared to be a deku scrub. One
other though captivated her eye. It was in the shape of a fierce
warrior, whose cheeks were covered in red war paint. Except for the
white hair and eyes, Malon was shocked at how much it looked like
Link.
"Uh,"
Link grunted as his eyes snapped open. He stretched his arms, and
scanned the house. His eyes fell on Malon, and he jumped to his feet.
"Malon!" he shouted as he ran to her. He grabbed Malon in a
tight hug. "Are you all right?" he asked her as they
parted, his eyes staring into hers.
The
words brought back an image of Myron with an arrow in his chest. "No,
I'm not all right," she choked out as she started sobbing. She
buried her head in Link's green tunic and cried until she could not
cry anymore.
"Shhh,"
Link said, trying to comfort her. "It's okay; I'm here to help
you. What happened?" he asked, leading Malon back to the
bed.
"Is
Epona okay?" Malon asked in between sniffles.
"She's
fine," Link answered as they sat down.
"Where
should I start?" she asked as her eyes and tears
dried.
"At
the beginning," he told her
Ardriss
dismounted from the rented mare and slowly walked into the forest,
his black cloak blowing behind him in the slight breeze. Nothing was
heard as he entered the forest. He only heard the "crunch,
crunch, crunch," of his footsteps. Nothing, not even a bird was
to be heard.
Ardriss
was nervous. "Maybe the stories of monsters were true,"
Ardriss thought, drawing his falchion, a blade of Shiekah origin that
many of the sect's members crafted when they ended their
apprenticeship. Ardriss heard the lonely and far off howl of a wolfos
and he cringed. "Stop it," he chided himself. He was the
best. He had trained as a Shiekah; this was almost routine for him,
so nothing about his mission should scare him, he was
Sheikah.
Still
Ardriss walked even slower as he crossed the pine bridge. He did not
expect an ambush from the Kokiri, even with Link among them, but
neither did he think they would give him a warm welcome, or any
welcome at all for that matter. After all, they had never trusted
"big people".
Ardriss
was pleased with his cover. Not even Link would see through it.
Ardriss would pose as a Hyrulian Investigator, and was checking into
the murder of a Myron Drachna of Torgash, and he had received several
eyewitness accounts stating that a young woman had been seen leaving
the scene at high speed on a course that would enter the
forest.
Ardriss
strode through the woods until he glimpsed the village through the
trees. Ardriss was granted a single moment of happy music and
children playing before they spotted him. They and the music stopped
as the Kokiri turned to glare at him.
Ardriss
swallowed and walked toward one of the children. "I am looking
for a young woman with red hair," he said to the child, a boy,
as he sheathed the falchion.
The
child merely pointed to a tree house. "Thank you," Ardriss
said with a smile and a slight bow.
Link
had barely finished apologizing for knocking Malon off Epona after
she told her grim tale, when a deep voice, a voice, called out.
"Hyrulian Investigators!" he shouted.
Link
was startled at yet another Hylian to enter the forest in such a
short time, and replied after a second's hesitation. "What is
it?" he called as he went to the wall to grab his gilded sword
in its scabbard.
"Is
there a Malon Lon up there?" he asked.
"Yes,"
Link answered.
"May
I speak with Miss Lon?" Ardriss asked.
"Come
up," Link said to him.
Ardriss
climbed the ladder and stepped into Link's tree house. "Good
afternoon Miss Lon," Ardriss said in his thick baritone. Malon
glanced at his eyes and gripped Link's arm tightly when she saw they
were hazel. "So, she did see my eyes," Ardriss thought as a
smile blossomed across his face. "A careless move," he
added. "Investigator Romitts," Ardriss spoke clearly,
extending his hand out to Link, who declined.
"You
said you were an investigator?" Link asked, looking at Ardriss.
The investigators were an outfit established by the King of Hyrule
not long ago in order to police the land in this time of relative
peace. The investigators were highly successful, and numbered
approximately two hundred in number. The man was about Link's height
and had sandy blond hair. His face looked cheerful, but was marred by
a nasty looking scar on his the right side of his face, in the skin
next to his eye. It looked like it was from a sword, and was almost
unnoticeable because of where it was due to his hair was.
"I
just said I was," Ardriss replied as he started to feel
uneasy.
"You
are Shiekah," Link spoke as he looked at the blade Ardriss
carried and moved his hand to his sword.
"Great,
he knows something," Ardriss thought as he discreetly reached
for a smoke bomb. "Is there a problem with that?" he
asked.
"There
are no Shiekah Investigators," Link said.
Ardriss
dropped the smoke bomb as he said that, and it exploded, shrouding
the whole house in dense smoke. "Malon, cough. Get back!"
Link ordered.
"Too
late," Ardriss thought with a smirk as he grabbed Malon up in
his arms.
"Aaaiieeeeee!"
Link! Help!" Malon screamed as Ardriss tried to
flee.
"Malon!"
Link roared, swinging his sword at the voice. Link felt the blade
strike flesh but heard no scream.
Ardriss
grimaced as the blade bit his left shoulder, but he hurried on. He
jumped from the tree house and felt the whoosh of a swung sword. He
ran full out, but Malon's squirming was making it difficult. "Lie
still or I'll kill you now," he threatened her
Malon
was immediately still.
Link
had fought his way through the smoke and saw the man jump. Link swung
his sword and missed. "This guy is fast," Link thought as
he saw him halfway to the entrance. Link jumped and took off at top
speed after him. "Stop him!" Link shouted vainly to the
Kokiri, but none of them moved a muscle.
Link
ran faster, but as he crossed the bridge and neared the forest's
exit, he heard the whinny of a horse. Link put every ounce of energy
into his legs, and somehow managed to go faster.
He
streaked out of the forest and saw the black mare galloping away from
him. It was hopeless. Link collapsed on his knees as the rider
laughed and rode away to the northwest. He knelt there crying for a
long time and only stopped once twilight had come. Then he looked up
into the setting sun and roared one thing. "MALON!"
