Link awoke and blinked his eyes, expecting a warm, nice heaven to be waiting for him. Nora thought the same thing, since they had both seen monsters at night out here. But while where they found themselves was indeed warm and cozy, it wasn't quite what they'd had in mind.
A lady was standing at a stove, cooking soup. Another lady was standing there, and Nora and Link were in beds. They hopped out, and the lady said, "oh no, you're in no condition to be going anywhere, sit back down". She brought over a large bowl of soup for the two.
"where are we?" "how did we get here?" "who are you?". The lady calmed them down. "my name is Maton. She is Kurabo" Maton indicated the woman next to her, "you are in my house, in Kakariko Village. As for how you got here, it must have been a miracle."
"The young milkmaid, or as you know her, Malon, was running back from a late-night milk delivery. She saw you both, knocked out, with the monsters headed for you. Gasping, Malon grabbed you both and jumped in the river close by. Those skelletons don't like water, you see. Normally, she'd go as close as the river took her to her ranch, then run. But she knew that she'd never make it with you two in her arms. How do I know this? I'll get to that later. But anyway, Malon crept to underneath the Kakarikian bridge, which goes over the river. Slowly, she placed the two of you on the Kakariko side, and got out herself. The creatures saw her, and she grasped both of you up and ran up the steps as hard as she could. Malon appeared at my door, her face flushed and heart beating fast. She told me the entire story and exited before I could stop her."
By now, the twins were fully awake. Nora whispered something to Navi, who slowly floated over to tell Link. Link nodded, and the two raced out as fast as possible, but not without thanking Maton and Kurabo.
"mister guard!" Link called out, "we have a mask!". The guard thanked them and gave them ten rupees. Both the twins were already halfway past the gate. They went stumbling up the mountain, until they finally got a good look back. The guard had closed the gate to Maton, who was trying to get to them. Racing up the mountain, while having no idea where they were going, they didn't pay attention to their surroundings.
"AHHHHHHH" Nora went flying. She landed about 14 feet away and Link pulled out his sword. "woah, woah, I didn't mean to hurt you" the rolling ball that had hit Nora had become some kind of creature. Link eyed the creature, until Navi sided with it.
"it's okay you guys" Navi said, "this is a goron. they can roll up into balls". Nora, having gotten back up and walked back, looked at him. "indeed" the goron said, "my name is Goroko, and as your friend said, I am one of the Goron race".
"in that case" Link asked, letting out a sigh of relief, "can you tell us how to get to Goron City? Navi told us that's where to go". "sure thing" Goroko responded, "just follow the path on the right, and when you come to the cavern, go in". The twins thanked Goroko and ran off.
When they reached the cavern, they followed the orders of Goroko and walked in. It was Goron City for sure, there were gorons all over. There was a long rope heading out to a platform in the middle of the whole place. "I'm gonna go across" Nora said. "careful Nora" Link warned, "it's a long way down".
Nora took a deep breath and began to cross the thin rope. It was easier than she thought, and she began to run. As Link watched in awe, she crossed with a speed of a little more than a jogger. Link began to crawl across, and Nora warned him, "don't look down, Link".
Link obeyed until the very end, when curiousity overwhelmed hime and he glanced downward. Nora screamed as Link began to slowly slip off, his hands covered in cold sweat. Link seemed paralyzed at the height, while Nora grabbed one of her swords and raced to her brother's aid. She reached out the hilt of the sword, extending it out as far as she could reach. Link awoke from his trance and grabbed at it, fully slipping off in the process. But he held tight to the sword, and Nora dragged him in.
Afterward, Link began to talk to the goron. "well, you two must have come up here to eat the shiny red stone". Link glanced down for a moment, and saw Nora's hands bloodied up. Link gasped and looked for any cloth. Nora handed him her headband and Link stripped the green cloth off. They tied it around her hands until it was nearly painted red with blood. "do you know where we might be able to find some bandages?" Link asked the goron desperatedly.
"well, the nearest pharmacy might be able to help you, but that's in Kakariko, so you might want to try the goron shop. It's on the lower level. Nora wasted no time and merely jumped down. Link gasped in shock as his sister hit the ground with enough force to kill Queen Gohma. After seeing a gold skullwalltula heading for Nora, Link screamed and jumped as well, shooting the spider with his slingshot in midair.
Link landed with a suprisingly soft pfft. Nora got up well too. "how?" Link asked. "it's simple" Navi began, "this may look like stone, it is, but you've seen a lot of it. It's pattarnie rock, soft yet hard. you can't get hurt on it. that's what was under the ground in the Kokori Forest. Nora recognized it and jumped. you land with force, but it doesn't hurt".
Nora ran to where the sign of, 'Goron Shop' was, and banged on the rock door, which didn't open. Then she got really ticked and began to attack everything in sight. A goron spotted her and freaked. He rolled after her, and she only just managed to dodge, smashing into a pot.
"hey!" Nora cried out, "when I broke the pot, a heart appeared!". Instantly, she was healed of all injuries. "I'm going back up!" Nora declared. Link nearly fell over in suprise. "are you crazy!" Link screeched, "after what just happened?". "the only reason I was cut was because you were so stupid" Nora responded. "nuh uh!" Link yelled back, "if it was pattery rock or whatever" "pattarnie" "WHATEVER! anyway, if it was that, why'd you risk getting yourself cut?" "because you dolt, if you fell from that height-" "fell? you jumped! that's more impact!".
"QUIET!" Navi screeched, flying between them, "you two have never fought like this! I know, I've been fasctinated by you guys for ages. all this 'save the world' buisness has got you two on edge!".
After getting over the shock, the twins felt guilty. They looked at each other and realized that it was true. "maybe we're the wrong people" Link whispered. "maybe...we're not supposed to save the world" Nora finished.
Navi looked at the children. "you know what the Deku Tree said to me when he told me to fetch you?". The twins shook their heads sadly. (oh, and the goron has left by now) "he told me that it was time for the two without faries to embark on their journey to save Hyrule. do you think that the deku tree would make a mistake on that kind of thing?".
Navi continued as the children were still in denyal, "don't you remember what the tree said to you just before he...passed on? 'you two are truly the children of destiny'. His last words, about two young Kokori, whom he called to free the curse. in his eyes, you two are strong, brave, warriors. You just have to prove that to those around you. now, wipe your tears and save Hyrule!".
Nora nodded, and Link began to make a comprimise. "why do you want to go up there?" he asked. "because, that goron was going to tell you something, and I want to know what" Nora declared.
"so" Link began, "you go up there, get the info, come back down and tell me". Nora nodded again and said, "and you stay down here. I might need you to do something while I'm still up there". Navi began her own statement, "I'll go with one of you, and if a message needs to be sent, I can take it". "great, you come with me" Nora said.
Nora went bolting up the steps to the top level. Link shook in fear as he saw Nora crossing the rope, and breathed a sigh of relief when she made it across. Link waited patiently as Nora ran down a few flights of stairs, and then jumped down.
"okay" Nora began, her face flushed, "the spiritual stone of fire, aka, the Goron's Ruby, used to be on that stand up there. but 'big brother' as they call him, took it to his room and locked it, saying that too many people wanted it". "Gannondorf must have gotten here before we did" Link shook his fist in anger, "now we'll never get to it!". "wait" Nora said, "there's one more thing. He said that Big Brother said 'I will wait for the messenger of the Royal Family'".
"but what will that do?" Link asked. "well, to be honest, I don't know myself" Nora said, "but I'm sure if we get a bite to eat, that will refresh our thinking". "fine by me" Link responded, licking his lips, "I haven't had anything to eat since last night".
"hello you two, I couldn't help but overhear you're conversation" a goron walked up to them, "you can eat at my place. I have a few rocks left over from the days before the famine". "what famine?" Link asked, alarmed. "oh, it's nothing" he said. "no, really, we want to know" Nora said. "oh really, it's nothing, the cavern where we normally get our rocks is blocked up". Nora and Link eyed each other nervously, and the Goron spoke once more, "it's a Goron problem, don't worry about it. now, how about those rocks?". Link shivered at the thought of eating rocks, and said, "Oh, it's okay". He turned to Nora for support, but stopped when he saw her.
Nora was standing perfectly still, which was the first sign that something was up. She was staring at the wall, but her eyes told Link that she wasn't paying attention to the wall. She was thinking, and had just figured something out. "The Royal Family's messenger..." she whispered, tracing the air with her finger. Her hand landed on the ocarina, which she had been carrying on her belt. "Where is 'Big Brother''s room?" she all of a sudden asked the Goron. "That door, over there" he said, pointing across the floor. Nora nodded and took off, stopping only to motion for Link to 'c'mon'.
Link blinked and ran after her, confused. She stopped at the entrance to 'Big Brother''s room and Link stopped, too, huffing and puffing. "All right" he demanded, "What's this all about?". "Hang on and I'll tell you" Nora said, seemingly looking for something.
"NO!" Link cried, "No more 'hang on' or 'wait a minute's! No more secrets! We're partners trying to save Hyrule, and we have to trust each other! I'm sick of being in the dark! I want to know NOW!".
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP FOR JUST ONE MOMENT!" Nora screamed as she whipped around in anger to glare at her brother, then went back to searching. Link fell silent, taken aback by his sister's volume. He just stared at her in complete shock.
"Aha!" Nora cried, spotting something above her. Link wondered what she saw, but kept his mouth shut. He watched Nora take out her ocarina and begin to play. Everything else seemed to go silent as Link listened to his sister play "Zelda's Lullaby". He'd never realized what a natural she was with the ocarina.
When Nora finished, a huge blue light appeared around the door and the door disapeared. Link stared at the now-revealed hallway, but Nora crossed her arms over her chest and nodded, as if she'd been expecting this the whole time. Suddenly, she took off down the hall, and Link tore after her.
"Wait! Nora!" he cried out, "What did you just do?". Nora groaned and stopped running so that Link could catch up to her. "Okay" she began, talking rather fast, "You know how 'Big Brother' said he would open up only for the messengers of the royal family?". Link nodded, still confused.
"Well" she continued, "I remembered that Impa told us it would give us a special connection to the royal family when we learned that song. So I figured if we played it somewhere, it would open the door". "Ohhhh" Link said, begining to understand, "But what were you looking for back there?".
Nora nodded, "Well, I figured you couldn't just play it anywhere, there had to be a designated spot". "That makes sense" Link said, "But how'd you know it was there?". "I'm getting to that" Nora said impatiently, "I figured that if there was a certain spot, it would most likely be by the door. So I raced over there and began to look for a sign of some sort".
"And what was it?" Link once again interrupted as Nora stopped for breath. "Are you incapable of patience?" Nora growled, "There was a Triforce symbol just above the door. You can go check if you want too, I'm going to 'Big Brother''s room". Link growled as Nora stormed off, and then, reluctantly, began to follow her.
As they walked in silence, neither wanting to speak to the other, they reached a doorway. They gave each other nervous glances, the first time they'd acknowledged each other's existence since they'd begun walking again, and walked through the doorway.
Nora gasped and Link stepped backwards. In front of them was a Goron, but he was different than the others. For one thing, he was about three inches taller than the others, which made a big difference if you were already only half the size of a normal Goron. He was a lot more wild-looking, and he was glaring at the twins as if they were imposters.
"What's this?" he demanded, "The royal family's messengers are mere children? Is this some kind of joke, or has my sworn brother, the king of Hyrule, reduced me to this?". The Goron suddenly began to yell, "First that man came and blocked off the cave, and now this!"
Nora and Link looked at each other. "What man?" Link asked. Though he was the same age as Nora, he was a lot more naive, and usually didn't know when to keep his overly-large mouth shut. Nora cringed as the Goron once again began to anger.
"Never mind that!" he barked, "It's a Goron problem. Lemme guess, you're after the Spiritual Stone of Fire, too?". "Well yes" Link said in a panic, "But-" "SILENCE!" the Goron yelled, "I shall not give away the Sacred Stone of Fire to any! Especially not two brats who don't know how to mind their own buisness!".
"But sir!" Link cried, "We only want to help!" "For the last time, this is a Goron problem! I, Darunia, leader of the Goron's, do not need the help of two Hylain children!".
Link was just opening his mouth to say something else when Nora grasped his arm and jerked him out the doorway. She pulled him through the hallway and over to the wall beside the doorway.
"Well, that was smooth!" Link cried out. "Shut up" Nora muttered, deep in thought. "It was going so well, then you just jerked me out!" "Shut up" Nora said, a little louder. "I mean, what was that all about?". "Did you hear me?" Nora asked at a normal volume, "I told you to-" "I mean seriously, he was about to crack!" "SHUT UP!".
For the second time today, Link fell silent. But there was one change, this time, Nora continued screaming. "You call that going well! You have to be kidding me! You were just making him angrier, therefore making it worse! You are so blind, you know that?".
Link looked down at his boots and began to shuffle his feet in embarrassment. "About to crack? Are you joking? You have to be! You cannot possibly be that naive!". Link bit his lip and just continued to take it all in.
"About to crack!" Nora gave a short laugh, "About to explode is more like it! Did you see the look in his eyes?". Suddenly, Nora sank to the floor, her heands on her head in frustration. "I-I'm sorry" Link said, between gasps, "I-I'm sorry I didn't realize it before".
Nora opened her eyes and looked up to see that her brother was crying. She stood up immidiately and held her brother's chin up. "Listen" she began, "I'm really sorry for yelling at you. I was way out of line". Link looked at his sister's eyes and saw that she was being genuine.
"But" she began again, "You really can't push it like that. I know you like to rely on instinct, and, in fact, I envy you for that, but sometimes you truly do have to think things through". Link nodded, then a flash of suprise ran across his face. "What do you mean, you envy me for it?".
Nora blushed, "Well, Link, you have such strong impulses, and you can jump to hunches. Sometimes they're not right, sometimes they are, but you always have the courage to follow through with your emotions. I don't, I'm too scared to, I'm always afriad I'll mess things up, so I think through everything".
Now it was Link's turn to go red. "That's not completely true" he said, "You get plenty of impulses, you just think through which ones to follow. That just makes you cautious. Plus, even when you do hold back, it doesn't matter because you're the logical one of our team".
"And what about me?" the twins jumped as Navi spoke up for the first time in a while. "Well" Link said, "You're the one with the most information, and the voice of reason, therefore making you another asset to team Link!". "And you're the sweet one!" Navi cried, getting close to his cheek in what was obviously meant to be a kiss.
"Wait a minute" Nora said, "What do you mean 'Team Link'? Shouldn't it be 'Team Nora'? After all, I'm so important, according to you". "Yeah, but I came up with the idea of a team name, so it should be named after me". Nora laughed and said, "But really, we should have a cool name".
"How about 'Team Twilight'?" Link suggested. "Why?" Nora asked. "I dunno" Link shrugged, "It just sounded cool". Nora rolled her eyes, when suddenly those eyes lit up. "How about 'Team Sohren'?" she said. "That sounds cool, what does it mean?" "It's the only foreign word I know. It's the Ancient Hylain word for hope".
"Hope huh?" Link asked, his eyebrows raised. "Sounds good to me!" Navi cried. "Link?" Nora asked. "I like it!" he cried. Nora smiled and Link raised his arm in a high-five position. They high-fived and pulled their fists down in a "Yes!" like they'd done since they were little. Navi did a little flip in mid-air, and team Sohren was ready for action.
Hiei-Touya: Hey guys! Yeah, I decided to give them a cute ending to this chapter, but next chapter they'll be going through the whole Dodongo's Cavern and everything.
Flora: That is, if you live to write another chapter.
Hiei-Touya: Huh?
Flora: Well, you haven't updated in forever, and I'm not to sure if the readers are too happy about that.
Hiei-Touya: (looks out to see several people with pitchforks and torches) Oh
Flora: Yeah. So...I can't believe I'm saying this, but please forgive her. Or at least don't kill her.
Hiei-Touya: Thanks
Flora: Then, there'd be no one to openly make fun of at the end of chapters.
Hiei-Touya: Okay forget what I just said.
Flora: I mean, what other author is that much of a push-over?
Hiei-Touya: Okay, that's enough.
Flora: I mean seriously, the girl is so easy to control!
Hiei-Touya: Really, that's enough!
Flora: What's that? You didn't know she was a girl. I don't blame you. After all-
Hiei-Touya: That's it, I'm ending this chapter! Sayonara Bye Bye!