Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda. Nintendo does.
Author's Note: Okay this is mostly pointing out why Garen took up warriors training. This is a key point of much later chapters so I suggest you don't skip this. Link has basic training from books and such, but is not as battle hardened as Garen.
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Ocarina of Time: Rebirth
Chapter Ten: Staying at Kakariko
The crown princess of Hyrule, Zelda looked out over Hyrule Field from her bedroom. She was dressed way differently that nobody would recognize her, he long golden hair was carefully done in a perfect braid behind her head and she had some special drops placed in her eyes to darken the blue of them temporarily. She also wore a blue tunic that she was to use during a time of war as not to be noticed. She also wore white cloth over her legs and arms as not to show off her well kept skin as it was considered trampish to her parents.
She had the Kokiri Calibur on her back held by a leather shoulder strap along with the blue Kokiri Shield. Impa had cleared it with the King and Queen telling them that they were going to go check on the Gorons and find out just what the full story was. Zelda placed a hand on the rear of her belt where the third Deku Dagger was, Impa had trained her is self protection and it had paid off as the lightweight Kokiri Caliber was nothing to her. She may have been a princess but in no way helpless unless over numbered.
Zelda looked across the field seeing a pair of ponies leaving Lon Lon Ranch, she closed her eyes as she spoke through telepathy "Thank you Malon." she said simply as she turned to her door. Impa was preparing her horse and they were to leave in just a few minutes for Kakariko. Kasumi had been watching her and she knew that Gannondorf was planning something. He had been all over Hyrule recently and he was obviously planning something that involved all the races of Hyrule. Zelda turned and left her room hoping that she could catch Link and Garen before night fell.
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Speaking of Gannondorf.....he was just entering back into Hyrule Field from a small stream in the east. This was the road to Zora's Domain where he was trying to get the Spiritual Stone of Water. He was, however spurned by the great Zora King and was even talked down to by his young daughter. This was a large insult to Gannondorf who rubbed the bruise on his face where he had been hit by some stupid Zora guard, that probably had suffered many broken bones after being thrown off the waterfall.
Gannondorf had been foolish enough to enter the resting place of their guardian spirit, the great fish, Lord Jabu-Jabu. He demanded the Spiritual Stone but the guardian god of the Zoras didn't respond, he simply flared his nostrils and sent Gannondorf falling back into the water, it was obvious that he wouldn't be getting it. Then the Zoras viciously beat him down as they found him in the fountain, ruler of the Gerudos or not, outsiders were not permitted to enter Zora's Fountain. Gannondorf just escaped not showing his face which had been hit with a blast of salt stun powder. But the punishment for the crime of entering was alot worse than a little eye irritation.
Gannondorf looked back down the river and flashed a toothy smirk that could scare a crying baby into silence. He crossed his arms "If those foolish fish-people think they can talk down to me as if they can solve any problem lets see what they do with a messed up deity. As long as that pathetic race dies that will make my job easier." he then continued to onto his horse Endbringer that waited by the river with patience.
Gannondorf with a mighty jumped sattled the mighty, ruthless stallion and headed north back to Hyrule Castle where he was to attend yet another meeting with the king. Gannondorf grunted as he squinted his eyes he could barley make out what was in front of him because of the Zora's salt powder. The worst thing was that if somebody was in front of him he wouldn't see, and the king respected him for being a great horseman. Such a mistake would turn him into a laughing stock and that would result in him getting pissed off. And nobody who knew him wanted that.
Suddenly Endbringer came to a hasty stop as Gannondorf spotted a large spot of white in front of him. It turned out to be a white horse ridden by a girl with braided hair. She rode the young horse barebacked and the horse only seemed to have the reigns on, no bit, no stirrups. Whoever this girl was she was either really talented, very trusting of her ability with the snow white horse or very gutsy.
The disguised Princess Zelda gulped as Gannondorf dismounted and approached her not at all to pleased with her not seeing him, but then again he didn't see her. He stopped as he got closer to her and narrowed his eyes as if he tried to focus. He shook his head 'Blast those Zoras and that damned salt powder. I don't think I'll ever see straight again. I'll head to Lake Hylia right after I'm done with that meeting.' he thought as he pretended to focus on the rider.
Zelda decided to act natural and more like the attitude she had observed from Malon and some of her other friend who weren't royalty. Gannondorf spoke to her but suddenly didn't seem angry "Young lady, you should watch where you make your way. The fields can be dangerous at night." Zelda simply nodded her unbrushed bangs falling over her eyes. Gannondorf suddenly felt a strange feeling as if he had met her before "Where are you headed, girl? And what is your name?" he asked suspiciously.
Princess Zelda thought knowing that Gannondorf wouldn't give a rat's ass where she was going but her name could give her trouble "I'm heading back to Kakariko Village." she said still trying to think up a name. Gannondorf walked back to his horse and once again requested her name, Zelda suddenly remembered the name of Impa's grandfather who was a great warrior to the Sheikah almost a century ago. Zelda looked over to Gannondorf "I'm going back home, and my name is Sheik if its any buisness or yours. Now if you would please move along." she said in a deeper voice straining her vocal cords, but putting forward the same pride of the Sheikah.
Gannondorf Dragmire cursed silently as he knew he couldn't see well enough to look for reddish-brown eyes especially in this weather. He decided he didn't need to know if she was a Sheikah or not and headed back to the north, hoping that he had made a good impression. As much as it disgusted him, he needed as much trust among the Hylians that he could get.
Zelda watched as Gannondorf bid her farewell using her name that had hit her. She felt like the goddesses were watching over her, Impa getting the idea to send her ahead to Kakariko and the cloak that she had decided to put on that covered her face. She knew that he would suspect something with Impa being with her. Noticing another white horse appearing from the drawbridge as Gannondorf entered, she decided to go on ahead to Kakariko and meet Link and Garen.
She patted her horse that she and Malon had raised together. This horse was the original bond that made the two of them friends "Come on Shimmer. We gotta keep moving." the horse nayed and at her command continued on to Kakariko Village. Though it was just a swift cover up, Zelda for some reason couldn't help but tell herself to hold on to that alias. Zelda smiled as she rode her horse "Sheik of the Sheikah. I had better remember that." she said as she felt a strange feeling about that name. She suddenly heard the clanging of swords, shocked she kicked Shimmer in the side causing her to speed up.
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Link Masters and Garen Sheikan were at the entrance of Kakariko Village, just at the bottom of the large stairs that were carved into the side of the mountain that would lead up to the village. Epona and Shen were more loyal than Malon had told them they would be, they refused to be tied up when their riders disembarked, but they didn't run off they simply grazed on some of the taller grass across the river that lead down to the eastern river. Meanwhile Link and Garen had decided to test one anothers skill with the blade with a practice art used by combat partners for ages: The art of sparring.
Garen jumped into the air swinging the Kokiri Saber with his right hand screaming in a battle cry. Link brought up his sword followed by his left which moved to have the flat end of the tip against his palm. Garen's blade was forced off and he stumbled back. Link then swung hard at his opponent's head which was blocked by the Deku Dagger Garen held in his left hand. Garen's style was different from Link's, he rarely went about using his shield and seemed to use the dagger more often as a sort of secondary weapon. Garen could manuever very well with both hands which showed in his two blade style.
Link pulled his blade back and swung his foot at Garen's head, Link missed his target as he backflipped and came at Link again. Link swung hard with the Kokiri Sword and in an impact of metal against metal both blades flew away stabbing into the ground. Garen went into a defensive stance that was of the Sheikah martial arts. Link just brought up his fist, on up at his chest the other down at his abdomen. They were ready to get the real sparring on now.
Suddenly the sound of a slingshot was heard and both of the young warriors turned to see a large flash erupt at their feet sending them back, somebody was using Deku Nuts as ammunition. They both looked up to see a rider on a white horse who wore a cloak. Link could see the blond ponytail over her shoulder and he could also tell that a sword and shield was on her back just like Link and Garen wore them. Link got out of stance as did Garen as the rider jumped from her white horse and approached them.
Link Masters put a hand on his hip as she walked closer. She drew a staff from behind her back that glowed azure before expanding to a six foot bo staff. It wasn't something that either of them had seen before, but it looked very impressive. On one end was a crystal head in the shape of an ovel and on the other end was a spear head outlineing another crystal. Link smiled as he saw the perfect blue eyes under the hair darkened just a little bit "It's about time Zelda. We were beginning to get worried." Link said.
Garen scoffed as he resheathed his dagger on his belt "Speak for yourself Link. She can obviously take care of herself." he grunted. Zelda threw off her hood and looked to Garen as she placed her right hand on her upper left arm and smiled "You would know Sheikan. I'm the one that put you on your back just over a day ago." Garen lightly chuckled at this as he looked to the sky seeing heavy clouds gathering around the field. He looked back to his friends motioning to the dark sky "Looks like rain. We'd better get back to the village from there we can at least keep dry." he lead them up the stairs into the village. The horses trailing behind them.
The young princess of Hyrule looked around as they entered the village wanting to know just how much the carpenters had progressed in enlarging the village. Garen turned to her as she asked that and cracked a grin "Don't be surprised to be disappointed. Everybody working for Enrico (The Head Carpenter) are amateurs and don't know what work really is." Zelda looked around seeing that only two buildings had been completed and one was still under construction. Impa was not going to be very happy with this when she caught up with the trio.
Garen lead them to a small cabin about the size of Link's House that was built on the same hill that the Windmill had been erected into. This gave him privacy as the city's founder would allow Sheikah to set up residence anywhere in the village and basically he had owned this land since his parents passed away. He didn't know what had happened to them but knew that something pretty bad must have happened as none of the villagers who knew them ever wanted to talk about it, although they knew he was pretty much over it and just lived there.
Garen entered the house followed by Zelda and Link. It wasn't all too shabby, it was actually quite nice. Two beds, a small place for cooking, a dresser, a treasure chest with a combination lock and a ladder leading to the second floor. Garen pointed up saying that Zelda could spend the night there as it was alot more private that down stairs. Zelda smiled "You don't have to go to any trouble for me. I didn't know you lived here and Impa said she would prepare the guest rooms at her house. Impa lives in that house up on that small hill. She is the founder of this town you know." Garen knew this and shrugged. He knew just about everything the public knew about Impa, their relationship was alot closer than he enjoyed letting out.
Garen Sheikan just chuckled as he started going through the dresser, Zelda eyed this as she saw that all he really had were several red tunics and a few dark purple tunics which was the color of the Sheikah race. But from what Zelda had learned from Impa, Garen's mother had been Hyrulian. So he was in fact half Hyrulian and half Sheikah meaning that he legally had all the rights of the Hyrulians and didn't have forced alliance to the Royal Family, but still he had already declared his allegiance to them.
After stuffing a weeks worth of cloths in to a case and then into the Sacred Realm, Garen walked over to his treasure chest where he basically kept his savings. He turned the dial a few times then simply kicked it under the lock and the top popped up. Garen went into the treasure chest digging out several rupees of green, blue and red. Once they were all over the floor Garen counted them up coming up with over five thousand rupees.
Garen sighed as he remembered he could only carry two hundred-fifty and started shoveling them back in the treasure chest. He allowed Link to fill his wallet back up to the max and then invited Zelda to do so. She removed a different kind of wallet that had a rare golden gem on it and it looked like it could hold much more than theirs could. Garen suddenly stopped her "Zelda. How much can that thing hold?" he asked.
Zelda looked up to him as she held up "It's a rare Giants Wallet. It can hold up to five hundred rupees. The capacity of its magic is much more powerful than your own. I can have Impa grab you some when we get to her house. They are pretty much standard for servants of the Royal Family. " she then proceeded to take three hundred rupees from the stash. Link looked at his apparent partner as he just looked off to the side as they filled their wallets to the brim "Are you sure that you want to give us all this?" Link questioned him. Garen breathed out lightly "Zelda's father isn't about to give us anything for this. Besides it was just left here and I did nothing to earn it. I have no regrets about using it for a cause. Besides once this is over we'll probably be rewarded for revealing the Gerudo's treachery." Zelda looked up and nodded. Garen requested a minute and the other two left the house.
While Garen took a few minutes in his house Link looked to Zelda's staff asking where she got such a weapon. She took it out "This is one of the three trinity staffs. I have identified the three who would collect the spiritual stones as the Trinity. These weapons were used long ago and have a number of ties to the land of Hyrule. They can make magic active in even those who have yet to study it, so they should aid us well." Link nodded and looked at Zelda who looked back at him "Princess. Doesn't it worry you that you may not be walking back from this?" he asked out of concern.
Zelda looked to him with her beautiful sapphire eyes "Doesn't it concern you that you, yourself, may not walk from this?" Link was silent with confussion "Link. Your doing this because you know you must. And so must I. Either way everything is lost." Link nodded. He looked as the rain fell pelting them "I guess thats true. Heros are remembered but legends never die." Zelda nodded placing a hand on his shoulder telling him that she trusted him. He nodded. Garen stepped out of his house and caught their attention suggesting they head to Impa's house.
The group soon found themselves at Impa's House where she waited with fresh bread and fruit that was ready on the table. After putting the horses in a small pen that was provided, Zelda told her of the favor that they needed and it only took the Sheikah guardian five minutes to go into the back room and present Link and Garen with a pair of Giants Wallets. Garen smiled to himself as he transferred all his money from his Adult Wallet to his new wallet, Link did the same. It was strange to see so many green gems expand from one and shrink as they entered the next but then again those in Hyrule were used to this kind of magic.
Link and Garen then traded over their old wallets to Impa who just threw them into the back room and closed the door, obviously she couldn't afford to give them away and it was illegal for people to carry multiple wallets. Impa then sat at the table as the three young ones ate, Zelda ate with natural manners that had become a reflex over the years but Link and Garen were a different story. Both of them weren't as bad as some of the Gerudos and some Kokiri, but she could tell that they were trying to watch themselves around her obviously fearing embarrassment.
Suddenly a man with gray hair who looked younger than Impa walked into the dinning room. He wore a dark purple tunic with long blue slacks, he had the Sheikah paint under his eyes much like Garen had before he washed it off to hide his affiliation with Kakariko. He wasn't old enough yet to get the perminate deal like Impa had. The man had dark red eyes and seemed to be more of a hardened warrior that their generous hostess. He gave a light bow "Good evening. I am Aiden, Impa's brother." he introduced himself as he stepped around the table.
He looked over them with his piercing eyes until he spoke "Are these the ones, sister?" he asked, Impa simply nodded as she sipped from a small cup of green tea. Link looked at Aiden as he noticed that he had a scar across his forehead, this intimidated him from the man as it was a sign he had seen more battle than Link could have imagined. He spoke to then in a stern voice "So your going to save the world. What do you say to something like that?" he ask. None of them could tell if he was being sarcastic or serious.
Impa broke the silence as she stood up motioning to her brother "Don't mind his doubting nature. We both believe in you. We have experienced these dreams that are generated from the building darkness as well." she held a hand lightly to her older brother "You should be prepared to work with him. Aiden is the commander of the Sheikah secret army that will counter Gannondorf if he trys anything against our kingdom." Aiden bowed and left the room, but turned his head as he walked away looking directly at Garen and then left recognizing the boy from somewhere.
As Impa prepared to talk some more Garen stood up and started to follow Aiden out of curiosity, but Impa grabbed his arm and looked directly at him "Don't worry about my brother, Garen. He is a social disaster when it comes to counting on other people. Don't worry about anything he does or says." she then released him. Garen remained standing as Impa walked once again into the back room at Zelda's request. Garen looked to Link "I don't know if I trust that guy." he said referring to Aiden. Zelda shrugged and told him to calm down as she took a bite out of an apple.
Impa returned to the room within moments carrying the other two staffs which appeared to be no more than two feet in lenth. Zelda took them from Impa reading off the ancient Hyrulian engraved on the side, essentially this was a short reading of the legend that they were connected to. Satisfied with her find, she tossed one to Garen who caught it and inspected it. It was just like Zelda's right down to every last detail. They were all black and had a spear head on the lower part of it and at the head of the spear it contained a strange oval shapped head that looked as if it would react in someway. He still didn't under stand how it could become a six foot weapon as Zelda's was.
Zelda then inspected the other one with was just like Garen's. They all had the spear heads on the lower side and the magical gem in the head at the upper part of the staff. The shafts were all black with azure runes, while both heads were made from a powerful mix gold and silver that would not bend. While the shaft of the weapon was clearly very durable it wasn't the only thing that caught eyes. Each of them bore a pair of glowing blue sapphires on the spear heads and the head that appeared to be the staff of a spell binder, neither would know until more information was given.
Link inspected it and looked at Zelda after a few moments "Alright. I understand that you somehow can make this expand. How?" he asked. Garen butted in "And what would be the limit of the stretch?" Zelda smiled bringing out her staff and holding it in one hand. She gripped it in the center explaining that it was quite simple for anybody who understood their own energy. She examined her own staff which had been hanging at her side at around two feet "You simply channel your energy through it by gripping here. After you have taken hold of it simply will it and it will expand to six feet, that is the limit I'm afraid." they were both impressed and gave it a try. At their simple will the magic that compacted it would expand and the staff would snap outwards into a solid six foot spear staff. They both thanked, Impa but she just explained that it only got better.
She looked the room over again even scanning the rafters as she brought out something that was wrapped in a hand-made silk cloth. She placed it on the table and started to speak "I know that most the laws say that this must be given under some sort of a price as it can't be easy to obtain entry to the Sacred Realm. But in these critical times I must go against this." she looked to the disguised Princess Zelda asking her to do the honors. Link watched from his seat watched as did Garen from his place in the corner but he was a little more edgy about something else.
Zelda slowly unwrapped the cloth from the object slowly uncovering the edges of a golden oval until eventually only one piece of cloth covered the center. As Zelda removed that there was a rather large flash of purple light that changed the color of the entire room. It was the Spiritual Stone of Shadow, passed down by the Sheikah. It was called the Sheikah Amethyst as it was basically a golden eye with a large purple gem where the pupil would be. This was the seal of the shadow folk, the Sheikah.
Link Masters jumped up from his seat raising his arm "Haha! Yes! Thats three out of seven. This is too sweet!" he laughed looking behind him. But he found that Garen was missing "Huh. Garen?" he asked into thin air. Zelda figured he had probably just slipped out and gone home. She picked up the stone and looked at it with wide amazed eyes. Only now did she notice that Impa was also gone from the large living room.
Zelda in her confusion looked up to Link and was thankful that he was still there "I guess the shadow folk are getting a little to good for the likes of us, eh princess." Link said with a chuckle. She laughed in that delightful giggle she had as she looked at the Spiritual Stone and spoke "Don't use my title, it could cause trouble. By the way what did you mean by three out of seven, Link? Did you already get one of the others." she asked.
Link went into the sacred realm removing the Deku Moonstone and placing it into Zelda's soft hands. Link scratched the back of his head "To be honest I had nothing to do with it. Garen had such a good connection with Malon that she just handed it over. Just asking that he didn't lose it." Zelda wasn't exactly expecting this as she placed the two spiritual stones on the table "Garen Sheikan knows Malon Moonstar? Well that explains how you managed to get into the castle through her so easily." Link nodded.
Zelda handed Link the two spiritual stones which he placed in his backpack "I don't think I should put these in the sacred realm. For all we know somebody could tap into it and you did say that rupees couldn't be stored so I'm just gonna keep them with me." Zelda nodded thinking it was a good idea and watched as Link placed the Kokiri Emerald in with them. Zelda stood up and started away from the dinner table stretching as she went.
Link stood up placing a hand on his hip "Good night, beautiful." he said as he got up alot of guts. Zelda stopped dead in her tracks looking back at Link "Excuse me? Did you just call me beautiful?" she asked turning a deep shade of crimson. Link mentally kicked himself as he looked for a way out of what he had just said. He closed his eyes smirking slightly "Well you told me not to use your title. So what else am I supposed to call you?" he said hoping she would buy it.
Zelda smiled back as she started back over to him placing a hand on his shoulder "Just call me Zelda. After all you obviously have favor with the Royal Family after saving me. And I am pretty sick of people throwing respect at me like I would kill anybody who didn't." Link smiled as she walked away. Link spoke again as she was about to close the door "But then I would be lying to say that you were anything slightly less." Zelda giggled as she continued through the door. -
Garen had been watching through the window from the outside on another roof, knowing that they had another spiritual stone in their possession he felt proud of this. He had also seen Link flirting with Zelda which would give him plenty of revenge if he ever laughed about him and Malon again. He couldn't believe his luck. He had seen something from the window and had to leave. He looked down on the motionless body at his feet, a Gerudo soldier had been spying on Impa and was armed. Upon checking her body he found that she was send to eliminate Impa and steal the spiritual stone. This was figured from a piece of rolled leather that had the words 'Impa' and 'Sheikah Amethyst' on it. It was hard and to the point, but gave no proof against Gannondorf.
She was only unconscious sent into it by a stiff smack to her head by Garen's newest weapon. Its primary use was as a non-lethal weapon. Garen looked to her as he held the orders, he breathed before tossing them off into a nearby torch to burn. He looked to the beautiful yet deadly woman again and smiled "If you weren't going to wake up thinking it was last month you would thank me for saving your life. Impa is not one to take prisoners." he left her on the roof and headed back to his house ready for the long hike up Death Mountain tomorrow morning.
As Garen Sheikan reached his house he didn't exactly feel alone, as he unlocked the door and prepared to walk through he heard steps on the ladder that went to the top of the hill on which he lived. He turned to see Impa standing there not exactly looking pleased about his leaving "Garen Sheikan. Why do you avoid everybody in this village?" Garen narrowed his eyes as he continued to the door not answering. Impa wouldn't take this for an answer as she suddenly dashed over and pulled him from the door.
Garen backflipped as he was thrown from the door and rubbed his shoulder that had just been pulled rather sharply and looked back at her "I'm not going to ask again Garen. Why do you avoid everybody in this village instead of trusting them?" Garen narrowed his eyes again as he put his hands on his hips "I've noticed this for some time. Does it by chance have something to do with your parent's tragic disappearance?" Garen looked up at her as this was mentioned, complete surprise in his eyes. But this soon turned to annoyance and then anger.
Garen glared at her as he placed his hand on his saber "Yes! Everybody keeps it from me! I want to know what really happened! I know they know and I don't trust anybody that doesn't trust me to take it!" Impa sighed as she looked at him and crossed her arms listening to him further "I know that they were targeted and killed! It was in their diary I found a year ago, there had been many attemps on their lives and they were prepared! Why won't you people tell me who did it!" he yelled at her.
Impa shook her head as she knew how he felt "And just what will you do if you find out who was responsible if anybody was? Try to make them pay? What if you were outmatched? Do you think they would spare you? Your not as invincible as you think you are Garen. No Sheikah is." Garen narrowed his eyes as he lowered his head thinking this over, hating that he had to face the facts. Impa walked over slowly placing a hand on his shoulder "The people of this village don't want you to do anything stupid. One should never waste his life on revenge, unless he knows that he can achieve it and not be taken by the desire to destroy again." Garen looked up to her "I would never." he breathed.
Impa spoke more to the young Sheikah boy "All I can tell you is that if you were to fight him now you would be greatly out of your league. If the goddesses intend for you the reach your refreshing revenge, it will come in time. In the meantime, trust your elders. We don't like keeping some truth from you but it is necessary sometimes, discipline and patience is the way of our people Garen. And fate rewards the devoted." she walked away telling him to remember that and vanished in a flash of light.
Garen fell back against the stone walls of the Kakariko Windmill and placed his hands on his face. What in the name of Din was he to do? All he knew was that the murderer was one of the three shadow knights that terrorized the Sheikah for many years. One was a mad man who fancied himself as the grim reaper of the Sheikah, another was a dark knight who terrorized the Sheikah with awsome power, and the third was a dark seductress that apparently lead all men to their doom. They were supposed to have been killed in the great war, but Garen wanted to know just one thing. Which one? Which one? Which one?!
This was the life of Garen Sheikan: Avenging the loved ones of days long past.
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Next Chapter: Problems The World Over
Gannondorf as well as the representatives of the other races attend a meeting. The subject? The strange disasters that are occuring the world over. Gannondorf also finds a target that may convince another race to give up the stone for their life. Also Link, Garen and Zelda leave Kakariko and head up the mountain.
(For an idea about what the staffs look like that are recieved in this chapter think the one Fox uses in STARFOX ADVENTURES. So it has an end used for attacking and a spear end. And also if you didn't catch it, Gomess is a Grim Reaper style sub-boss in Majora's Mask. It will develope later.)
Author's Note: Okay this is mostly pointing out why Garen took up warriors training. This is a key point of much later chapters so I suggest you don't skip this. Link has basic training from books and such, but is not as battle hardened as Garen.
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Ocarina of Time: Rebirth
Chapter Ten: Staying at Kakariko
The crown princess of Hyrule, Zelda looked out over Hyrule Field from her bedroom. She was dressed way differently that nobody would recognize her, he long golden hair was carefully done in a perfect braid behind her head and she had some special drops placed in her eyes to darken the blue of them temporarily. She also wore a blue tunic that she was to use during a time of war as not to be noticed. She also wore white cloth over her legs and arms as not to show off her well kept skin as it was considered trampish to her parents.
She had the Kokiri Calibur on her back held by a leather shoulder strap along with the blue Kokiri Shield. Impa had cleared it with the King and Queen telling them that they were going to go check on the Gorons and find out just what the full story was. Zelda placed a hand on the rear of her belt where the third Deku Dagger was, Impa had trained her is self protection and it had paid off as the lightweight Kokiri Caliber was nothing to her. She may have been a princess but in no way helpless unless over numbered.
Zelda looked across the field seeing a pair of ponies leaving Lon Lon Ranch, she closed her eyes as she spoke through telepathy "Thank you Malon." she said simply as she turned to her door. Impa was preparing her horse and they were to leave in just a few minutes for Kakariko. Kasumi had been watching her and she knew that Gannondorf was planning something. He had been all over Hyrule recently and he was obviously planning something that involved all the races of Hyrule. Zelda turned and left her room hoping that she could catch Link and Garen before night fell.
-
Speaking of Gannondorf.....he was just entering back into Hyrule Field from a small stream in the east. This was the road to Zora's Domain where he was trying to get the Spiritual Stone of Water. He was, however spurned by the great Zora King and was even talked down to by his young daughter. This was a large insult to Gannondorf who rubbed the bruise on his face where he had been hit by some stupid Zora guard, that probably had suffered many broken bones after being thrown off the waterfall.
Gannondorf had been foolish enough to enter the resting place of their guardian spirit, the great fish, Lord Jabu-Jabu. He demanded the Spiritual Stone but the guardian god of the Zoras didn't respond, he simply flared his nostrils and sent Gannondorf falling back into the water, it was obvious that he wouldn't be getting it. Then the Zoras viciously beat him down as they found him in the fountain, ruler of the Gerudos or not, outsiders were not permitted to enter Zora's Fountain. Gannondorf just escaped not showing his face which had been hit with a blast of salt stun powder. But the punishment for the crime of entering was alot worse than a little eye irritation.
Gannondorf looked back down the river and flashed a toothy smirk that could scare a crying baby into silence. He crossed his arms "If those foolish fish-people think they can talk down to me as if they can solve any problem lets see what they do with a messed up deity. As long as that pathetic race dies that will make my job easier." he then continued to onto his horse Endbringer that waited by the river with patience.
Gannondorf with a mighty jumped sattled the mighty, ruthless stallion and headed north back to Hyrule Castle where he was to attend yet another meeting with the king. Gannondorf grunted as he squinted his eyes he could barley make out what was in front of him because of the Zora's salt powder. The worst thing was that if somebody was in front of him he wouldn't see, and the king respected him for being a great horseman. Such a mistake would turn him into a laughing stock and that would result in him getting pissed off. And nobody who knew him wanted that.
Suddenly Endbringer came to a hasty stop as Gannondorf spotted a large spot of white in front of him. It turned out to be a white horse ridden by a girl with braided hair. She rode the young horse barebacked and the horse only seemed to have the reigns on, no bit, no stirrups. Whoever this girl was she was either really talented, very trusting of her ability with the snow white horse or very gutsy.
The disguised Princess Zelda gulped as Gannondorf dismounted and approached her not at all to pleased with her not seeing him, but then again he didn't see her. He stopped as he got closer to her and narrowed his eyes as if he tried to focus. He shook his head 'Blast those Zoras and that damned salt powder. I don't think I'll ever see straight again. I'll head to Lake Hylia right after I'm done with that meeting.' he thought as he pretended to focus on the rider.
Zelda decided to act natural and more like the attitude she had observed from Malon and some of her other friend who weren't royalty. Gannondorf spoke to her but suddenly didn't seem angry "Young lady, you should watch where you make your way. The fields can be dangerous at night." Zelda simply nodded her unbrushed bangs falling over her eyes. Gannondorf suddenly felt a strange feeling as if he had met her before "Where are you headed, girl? And what is your name?" he asked suspiciously.
Princess Zelda thought knowing that Gannondorf wouldn't give a rat's ass where she was going but her name could give her trouble "I'm heading back to Kakariko Village." she said still trying to think up a name. Gannondorf walked back to his horse and once again requested her name, Zelda suddenly remembered the name of Impa's grandfather who was a great warrior to the Sheikah almost a century ago. Zelda looked over to Gannondorf "I'm going back home, and my name is Sheik if its any buisness or yours. Now if you would please move along." she said in a deeper voice straining her vocal cords, but putting forward the same pride of the Sheikah.
Gannondorf Dragmire cursed silently as he knew he couldn't see well enough to look for reddish-brown eyes especially in this weather. He decided he didn't need to know if she was a Sheikah or not and headed back to the north, hoping that he had made a good impression. As much as it disgusted him, he needed as much trust among the Hylians that he could get.
Zelda watched as Gannondorf bid her farewell using her name that had hit her. She felt like the goddesses were watching over her, Impa getting the idea to send her ahead to Kakariko and the cloak that she had decided to put on that covered her face. She knew that he would suspect something with Impa being with her. Noticing another white horse appearing from the drawbridge as Gannondorf entered, she decided to go on ahead to Kakariko and meet Link and Garen.
She patted her horse that she and Malon had raised together. This horse was the original bond that made the two of them friends "Come on Shimmer. We gotta keep moving." the horse nayed and at her command continued on to Kakariko Village. Though it was just a swift cover up, Zelda for some reason couldn't help but tell herself to hold on to that alias. Zelda smiled as she rode her horse "Sheik of the Sheikah. I had better remember that." she said as she felt a strange feeling about that name. She suddenly heard the clanging of swords, shocked she kicked Shimmer in the side causing her to speed up.
-
Link Masters and Garen Sheikan were at the entrance of Kakariko Village, just at the bottom of the large stairs that were carved into the side of the mountain that would lead up to the village. Epona and Shen were more loyal than Malon had told them they would be, they refused to be tied up when their riders disembarked, but they didn't run off they simply grazed on some of the taller grass across the river that lead down to the eastern river. Meanwhile Link and Garen had decided to test one anothers skill with the blade with a practice art used by combat partners for ages: The art of sparring.
Garen jumped into the air swinging the Kokiri Saber with his right hand screaming in a battle cry. Link brought up his sword followed by his left which moved to have the flat end of the tip against his palm. Garen's blade was forced off and he stumbled back. Link then swung hard at his opponent's head which was blocked by the Deku Dagger Garen held in his left hand. Garen's style was different from Link's, he rarely went about using his shield and seemed to use the dagger more often as a sort of secondary weapon. Garen could manuever very well with both hands which showed in his two blade style.
Link pulled his blade back and swung his foot at Garen's head, Link missed his target as he backflipped and came at Link again. Link swung hard with the Kokiri Sword and in an impact of metal against metal both blades flew away stabbing into the ground. Garen went into a defensive stance that was of the Sheikah martial arts. Link just brought up his fist, on up at his chest the other down at his abdomen. They were ready to get the real sparring on now.
Suddenly the sound of a slingshot was heard and both of the young warriors turned to see a large flash erupt at their feet sending them back, somebody was using Deku Nuts as ammunition. They both looked up to see a rider on a white horse who wore a cloak. Link could see the blond ponytail over her shoulder and he could also tell that a sword and shield was on her back just like Link and Garen wore them. Link got out of stance as did Garen as the rider jumped from her white horse and approached them.
Link Masters put a hand on his hip as she walked closer. She drew a staff from behind her back that glowed azure before expanding to a six foot bo staff. It wasn't something that either of them had seen before, but it looked very impressive. On one end was a crystal head in the shape of an ovel and on the other end was a spear head outlineing another crystal. Link smiled as he saw the perfect blue eyes under the hair darkened just a little bit "It's about time Zelda. We were beginning to get worried." Link said.
Garen scoffed as he resheathed his dagger on his belt "Speak for yourself Link. She can obviously take care of herself." he grunted. Zelda threw off her hood and looked to Garen as she placed her right hand on her upper left arm and smiled "You would know Sheikan. I'm the one that put you on your back just over a day ago." Garen lightly chuckled at this as he looked to the sky seeing heavy clouds gathering around the field. He looked back to his friends motioning to the dark sky "Looks like rain. We'd better get back to the village from there we can at least keep dry." he lead them up the stairs into the village. The horses trailing behind them.
The young princess of Hyrule looked around as they entered the village wanting to know just how much the carpenters had progressed in enlarging the village. Garen turned to her as she asked that and cracked a grin "Don't be surprised to be disappointed. Everybody working for Enrico (The Head Carpenter) are amateurs and don't know what work really is." Zelda looked around seeing that only two buildings had been completed and one was still under construction. Impa was not going to be very happy with this when she caught up with the trio.
Garen lead them to a small cabin about the size of Link's House that was built on the same hill that the Windmill had been erected into. This gave him privacy as the city's founder would allow Sheikah to set up residence anywhere in the village and basically he had owned this land since his parents passed away. He didn't know what had happened to them but knew that something pretty bad must have happened as none of the villagers who knew them ever wanted to talk about it, although they knew he was pretty much over it and just lived there.
Garen entered the house followed by Zelda and Link. It wasn't all too shabby, it was actually quite nice. Two beds, a small place for cooking, a dresser, a treasure chest with a combination lock and a ladder leading to the second floor. Garen pointed up saying that Zelda could spend the night there as it was alot more private that down stairs. Zelda smiled "You don't have to go to any trouble for me. I didn't know you lived here and Impa said she would prepare the guest rooms at her house. Impa lives in that house up on that small hill. She is the founder of this town you know." Garen knew this and shrugged. He knew just about everything the public knew about Impa, their relationship was alot closer than he enjoyed letting out.
Garen Sheikan just chuckled as he started going through the dresser, Zelda eyed this as she saw that all he really had were several red tunics and a few dark purple tunics which was the color of the Sheikah race. But from what Zelda had learned from Impa, Garen's mother had been Hyrulian. So he was in fact half Hyrulian and half Sheikah meaning that he legally had all the rights of the Hyrulians and didn't have forced alliance to the Royal Family, but still he had already declared his allegiance to them.
After stuffing a weeks worth of cloths in to a case and then into the Sacred Realm, Garen walked over to his treasure chest where he basically kept his savings. He turned the dial a few times then simply kicked it under the lock and the top popped up. Garen went into the treasure chest digging out several rupees of green, blue and red. Once they were all over the floor Garen counted them up coming up with over five thousand rupees.
Garen sighed as he remembered he could only carry two hundred-fifty and started shoveling them back in the treasure chest. He allowed Link to fill his wallet back up to the max and then invited Zelda to do so. She removed a different kind of wallet that had a rare golden gem on it and it looked like it could hold much more than theirs could. Garen suddenly stopped her "Zelda. How much can that thing hold?" he asked.
Zelda looked up to him as she held up "It's a rare Giants Wallet. It can hold up to five hundred rupees. The capacity of its magic is much more powerful than your own. I can have Impa grab you some when we get to her house. They are pretty much standard for servants of the Royal Family. " she then proceeded to take three hundred rupees from the stash. Link looked at his apparent partner as he just looked off to the side as they filled their wallets to the brim "Are you sure that you want to give us all this?" Link questioned him. Garen breathed out lightly "Zelda's father isn't about to give us anything for this. Besides it was just left here and I did nothing to earn it. I have no regrets about using it for a cause. Besides once this is over we'll probably be rewarded for revealing the Gerudo's treachery." Zelda looked up and nodded. Garen requested a minute and the other two left the house.
While Garen took a few minutes in his house Link looked to Zelda's staff asking where she got such a weapon. She took it out "This is one of the three trinity staffs. I have identified the three who would collect the spiritual stones as the Trinity. These weapons were used long ago and have a number of ties to the land of Hyrule. They can make magic active in even those who have yet to study it, so they should aid us well." Link nodded and looked at Zelda who looked back at him "Princess. Doesn't it worry you that you may not be walking back from this?" he asked out of concern.
Zelda looked to him with her beautiful sapphire eyes "Doesn't it concern you that you, yourself, may not walk from this?" Link was silent with confussion "Link. Your doing this because you know you must. And so must I. Either way everything is lost." Link nodded. He looked as the rain fell pelting them "I guess thats true. Heros are remembered but legends never die." Zelda nodded placing a hand on his shoulder telling him that she trusted him. He nodded. Garen stepped out of his house and caught their attention suggesting they head to Impa's house.
The group soon found themselves at Impa's House where she waited with fresh bread and fruit that was ready on the table. After putting the horses in a small pen that was provided, Zelda told her of the favor that they needed and it only took the Sheikah guardian five minutes to go into the back room and present Link and Garen with a pair of Giants Wallets. Garen smiled to himself as he transferred all his money from his Adult Wallet to his new wallet, Link did the same. It was strange to see so many green gems expand from one and shrink as they entered the next but then again those in Hyrule were used to this kind of magic.
Link and Garen then traded over their old wallets to Impa who just threw them into the back room and closed the door, obviously she couldn't afford to give them away and it was illegal for people to carry multiple wallets. Impa then sat at the table as the three young ones ate, Zelda ate with natural manners that had become a reflex over the years but Link and Garen were a different story. Both of them weren't as bad as some of the Gerudos and some Kokiri, but she could tell that they were trying to watch themselves around her obviously fearing embarrassment.
Suddenly a man with gray hair who looked younger than Impa walked into the dinning room. He wore a dark purple tunic with long blue slacks, he had the Sheikah paint under his eyes much like Garen had before he washed it off to hide his affiliation with Kakariko. He wasn't old enough yet to get the perminate deal like Impa had. The man had dark red eyes and seemed to be more of a hardened warrior that their generous hostess. He gave a light bow "Good evening. I am Aiden, Impa's brother." he introduced himself as he stepped around the table.
He looked over them with his piercing eyes until he spoke "Are these the ones, sister?" he asked, Impa simply nodded as she sipped from a small cup of green tea. Link looked at Aiden as he noticed that he had a scar across his forehead, this intimidated him from the man as it was a sign he had seen more battle than Link could have imagined. He spoke to then in a stern voice "So your going to save the world. What do you say to something like that?" he ask. None of them could tell if he was being sarcastic or serious.
Impa broke the silence as she stood up motioning to her brother "Don't mind his doubting nature. We both believe in you. We have experienced these dreams that are generated from the building darkness as well." she held a hand lightly to her older brother "You should be prepared to work with him. Aiden is the commander of the Sheikah secret army that will counter Gannondorf if he trys anything against our kingdom." Aiden bowed and left the room, but turned his head as he walked away looking directly at Garen and then left recognizing the boy from somewhere.
As Impa prepared to talk some more Garen stood up and started to follow Aiden out of curiosity, but Impa grabbed his arm and looked directly at him "Don't worry about my brother, Garen. He is a social disaster when it comes to counting on other people. Don't worry about anything he does or says." she then released him. Garen remained standing as Impa walked once again into the back room at Zelda's request. Garen looked to Link "I don't know if I trust that guy." he said referring to Aiden. Zelda shrugged and told him to calm down as she took a bite out of an apple.
Impa returned to the room within moments carrying the other two staffs which appeared to be no more than two feet in lenth. Zelda took them from Impa reading off the ancient Hyrulian engraved on the side, essentially this was a short reading of the legend that they were connected to. Satisfied with her find, she tossed one to Garen who caught it and inspected it. It was just like Zelda's right down to every last detail. They were all black and had a spear head on the lower part of it and at the head of the spear it contained a strange oval shapped head that looked as if it would react in someway. He still didn't under stand how it could become a six foot weapon as Zelda's was.
Zelda then inspected the other one with was just like Garen's. They all had the spear heads on the lower side and the magical gem in the head at the upper part of the staff. The shafts were all black with azure runes, while both heads were made from a powerful mix gold and silver that would not bend. While the shaft of the weapon was clearly very durable it wasn't the only thing that caught eyes. Each of them bore a pair of glowing blue sapphires on the spear heads and the head that appeared to be the staff of a spell binder, neither would know until more information was given.
Link inspected it and looked at Zelda after a few moments "Alright. I understand that you somehow can make this expand. How?" he asked. Garen butted in "And what would be the limit of the stretch?" Zelda smiled bringing out her staff and holding it in one hand. She gripped it in the center explaining that it was quite simple for anybody who understood their own energy. She examined her own staff which had been hanging at her side at around two feet "You simply channel your energy through it by gripping here. After you have taken hold of it simply will it and it will expand to six feet, that is the limit I'm afraid." they were both impressed and gave it a try. At their simple will the magic that compacted it would expand and the staff would snap outwards into a solid six foot spear staff. They both thanked, Impa but she just explained that it only got better.
She looked the room over again even scanning the rafters as she brought out something that was wrapped in a hand-made silk cloth. She placed it on the table and started to speak "I know that most the laws say that this must be given under some sort of a price as it can't be easy to obtain entry to the Sacred Realm. But in these critical times I must go against this." she looked to the disguised Princess Zelda asking her to do the honors. Link watched from his seat watched as did Garen from his place in the corner but he was a little more edgy about something else.
Zelda slowly unwrapped the cloth from the object slowly uncovering the edges of a golden oval until eventually only one piece of cloth covered the center. As Zelda removed that there was a rather large flash of purple light that changed the color of the entire room. It was the Spiritual Stone of Shadow, passed down by the Sheikah. It was called the Sheikah Amethyst as it was basically a golden eye with a large purple gem where the pupil would be. This was the seal of the shadow folk, the Sheikah.
Link Masters jumped up from his seat raising his arm "Haha! Yes! Thats three out of seven. This is too sweet!" he laughed looking behind him. But he found that Garen was missing "Huh. Garen?" he asked into thin air. Zelda figured he had probably just slipped out and gone home. She picked up the stone and looked at it with wide amazed eyes. Only now did she notice that Impa was also gone from the large living room.
Zelda in her confusion looked up to Link and was thankful that he was still there "I guess the shadow folk are getting a little to good for the likes of us, eh princess." Link said with a chuckle. She laughed in that delightful giggle she had as she looked at the Spiritual Stone and spoke "Don't use my title, it could cause trouble. By the way what did you mean by three out of seven, Link? Did you already get one of the others." she asked.
Link went into the sacred realm removing the Deku Moonstone and placing it into Zelda's soft hands. Link scratched the back of his head "To be honest I had nothing to do with it. Garen had such a good connection with Malon that she just handed it over. Just asking that he didn't lose it." Zelda wasn't exactly expecting this as she placed the two spiritual stones on the table "Garen Sheikan knows Malon Moonstar? Well that explains how you managed to get into the castle through her so easily." Link nodded.
Zelda handed Link the two spiritual stones which he placed in his backpack "I don't think I should put these in the sacred realm. For all we know somebody could tap into it and you did say that rupees couldn't be stored so I'm just gonna keep them with me." Zelda nodded thinking it was a good idea and watched as Link placed the Kokiri Emerald in with them. Zelda stood up and started away from the dinner table stretching as she went.
Link stood up placing a hand on his hip "Good night, beautiful." he said as he got up alot of guts. Zelda stopped dead in her tracks looking back at Link "Excuse me? Did you just call me beautiful?" she asked turning a deep shade of crimson. Link mentally kicked himself as he looked for a way out of what he had just said. He closed his eyes smirking slightly "Well you told me not to use your title. So what else am I supposed to call you?" he said hoping she would buy it.
Zelda smiled back as she started back over to him placing a hand on his shoulder "Just call me Zelda. After all you obviously have favor with the Royal Family after saving me. And I am pretty sick of people throwing respect at me like I would kill anybody who didn't." Link smiled as she walked away. Link spoke again as she was about to close the door "But then I would be lying to say that you were anything slightly less." Zelda giggled as she continued through the door. -
Garen had been watching through the window from the outside on another roof, knowing that they had another spiritual stone in their possession he felt proud of this. He had also seen Link flirting with Zelda which would give him plenty of revenge if he ever laughed about him and Malon again. He couldn't believe his luck. He had seen something from the window and had to leave. He looked down on the motionless body at his feet, a Gerudo soldier had been spying on Impa and was armed. Upon checking her body he found that she was send to eliminate Impa and steal the spiritual stone. This was figured from a piece of rolled leather that had the words 'Impa' and 'Sheikah Amethyst' on it. It was hard and to the point, but gave no proof against Gannondorf.
She was only unconscious sent into it by a stiff smack to her head by Garen's newest weapon. Its primary use was as a non-lethal weapon. Garen looked to her as he held the orders, he breathed before tossing them off into a nearby torch to burn. He looked to the beautiful yet deadly woman again and smiled "If you weren't going to wake up thinking it was last month you would thank me for saving your life. Impa is not one to take prisoners." he left her on the roof and headed back to his house ready for the long hike up Death Mountain tomorrow morning.
As Garen Sheikan reached his house he didn't exactly feel alone, as he unlocked the door and prepared to walk through he heard steps on the ladder that went to the top of the hill on which he lived. He turned to see Impa standing there not exactly looking pleased about his leaving "Garen Sheikan. Why do you avoid everybody in this village?" Garen narrowed his eyes as he continued to the door not answering. Impa wouldn't take this for an answer as she suddenly dashed over and pulled him from the door.
Garen backflipped as he was thrown from the door and rubbed his shoulder that had just been pulled rather sharply and looked back at her "I'm not going to ask again Garen. Why do you avoid everybody in this village instead of trusting them?" Garen narrowed his eyes again as he put his hands on his hips "I've noticed this for some time. Does it by chance have something to do with your parent's tragic disappearance?" Garen looked up at her as this was mentioned, complete surprise in his eyes. But this soon turned to annoyance and then anger.
Garen glared at her as he placed his hand on his saber "Yes! Everybody keeps it from me! I want to know what really happened! I know they know and I don't trust anybody that doesn't trust me to take it!" Impa sighed as she looked at him and crossed her arms listening to him further "I know that they were targeted and killed! It was in their diary I found a year ago, there had been many attemps on their lives and they were prepared! Why won't you people tell me who did it!" he yelled at her.
Impa shook her head as she knew how he felt "And just what will you do if you find out who was responsible if anybody was? Try to make them pay? What if you were outmatched? Do you think they would spare you? Your not as invincible as you think you are Garen. No Sheikah is." Garen narrowed his eyes as he lowered his head thinking this over, hating that he had to face the facts. Impa walked over slowly placing a hand on his shoulder "The people of this village don't want you to do anything stupid. One should never waste his life on revenge, unless he knows that he can achieve it and not be taken by the desire to destroy again." Garen looked up to her "I would never." he breathed.
Impa spoke more to the young Sheikah boy "All I can tell you is that if you were to fight him now you would be greatly out of your league. If the goddesses intend for you the reach your refreshing revenge, it will come in time. In the meantime, trust your elders. We don't like keeping some truth from you but it is necessary sometimes, discipline and patience is the way of our people Garen. And fate rewards the devoted." she walked away telling him to remember that and vanished in a flash of light.
Garen fell back against the stone walls of the Kakariko Windmill and placed his hands on his face. What in the name of Din was he to do? All he knew was that the murderer was one of the three shadow knights that terrorized the Sheikah for many years. One was a mad man who fancied himself as the grim reaper of the Sheikah, another was a dark knight who terrorized the Sheikah with awsome power, and the third was a dark seductress that apparently lead all men to their doom. They were supposed to have been killed in the great war, but Garen wanted to know just one thing. Which one? Which one? Which one?!
This was the life of Garen Sheikan: Avenging the loved ones of days long past.
-
Next Chapter: Problems The World Over
Gannondorf as well as the representatives of the other races attend a meeting. The subject? The strange disasters that are occuring the world over. Gannondorf also finds a target that may convince another race to give up the stone for their life. Also Link, Garen and Zelda leave Kakariko and head up the mountain.
(For an idea about what the staffs look like that are recieved in this chapter think the one Fox uses in STARFOX ADVENTURES. So it has an end used for attacking and a spear end. And also if you didn't catch it, Gomess is a Grim Reaper style sub-boss in Majora's Mask. It will develope later.)