Between a Forest and a Mountain

Zelda and Peach went to Kokiri Forest to rest at Link's house. Though Peach was relatively fine, Zelda was still upset over the events that had passed. She was so quiet and morose, Peach specifically made it a point to use Therapy on her every few hours. Zelda refused to leave the house for the entire day.

While Peach went out to meet the Kokiri, the Deku Sprout, and find food, Zelda idled in Link's small tree house. She looked through his collection of items that he had gathered along his travels. In his boredom, he had gone back to visit some temples and recover some of their treasures. They had been much less dangerous when Ganondorf was not around, though a few sentinels remained. The four masks he had brought from Termina had captured most of Zelda's attention. She often stared into the Fierce Deity Mask. Its resemblance to Link only worsened her mood, yet she found herself going back to look at it sooner or later.

When she came across the Fairy Ocarina Saria had carved for Link, her eyes watered and she could do nothing more than sulk. She eventually cried herself to sleep in his bed.

She awakened to the sound of birds chirping lightly outside. A beam of sunlight was shining directly on her through the window. For some reason, she was in better spirits. She heard gentle breathing nearby and noticed that Peach was sleeping in a kneeling position, lying her head on the bed. She had one arm draped across Zelda's form and the other was on Zelda's pillow. Zelda gently released herself and got out of bed. She soon discovered that Peach had left her a bowl of forest berries, fruits, Lon Lon Milk, and a few sandwiches she had packed before. Zelda quietly ate her fill.

"She's quite a considerate maiden, isn't she?" Sheik said.

"I really don't deserve to be treated so well," Zelda replied. "Not after…"

"Stop," Sheik said abruptly. "You've sulked enough for now. Peach has worked hard to help you. Don't undo her work." Zelda agreed. If she was to save Kakariko Village, she would have to get back to work. She went outside and climbed down the ladder. It was sunny today and all the Kokiri were out. Strangely, though, they were all quiet and none seemed to be playing. They barely noticed her as she passed by. It was as if somberness had overtaken the entire forest. She walked into the shadow of someone standing on one of the stone pillars in the center of the village.

What appeared to be a somewhat out of place girl was sitting on the ledge, staring into the sky thoughtfully. She was out of place for several reasons: She wore a green vest over a white shirt, which was irregular dress for their people. She had blonde hair and Zelda knew for a fact that there was only one Kokiri with blonde hair; she was standing on another pillar a short distance away. The last quality was that this girl was much too tall and adolescent looking to be a Kokiri. Whereas the other blonde girl had a puff of hair on both sides of her head, this one had her hair tied back while allowing it to drape along her shoulders slightly. She dusted off her skirt and hopped down and glanced into the sky again. She was almost exactly as tall as Zelda.

"The forest is dying," the girl said, turning to Zelda. "Great work."

"What?"

"Saria," the girl said, picking up a small sack from behind the pillar. "If she's not around, then this forest will decline. The Deku Sprout isn't strong enough to support everything on its own yet."

"How do you know…Who are you?"

"The name's Fado," the girl said, crossing her arms. "See how everyone is all bummed out? They're connected with the forest, which isn't in great shape right now. It's a real shame. This place used to be great. Of course, that isn't the only reason they have to be sad. Notice anything missing?"

Zelda had noticed that something else was wrong with the scene. The area seemed much darker than usual, even though it was another sunny day. "I'm not sure…"

"The fairies are all gone," Fado said, leaning against the pillar. "Not even a grain of fairy dust…"

"Where are they?"

"Heck if I know," Fado shrugged. "They were always here before. It would take something pretty major for all of them to leave."

"How do you know all of this?" Zelda asked. "Most Hylians don't even know that this area exists."

"I'm a Kokiri," Fado said simply. "Or at least…I used to be."

"Like…Link?" Zelda asked.

"No, he's a born Hylian. I was created by the Great Deku Tree just like all the others. I used to be the boss here, before Mido…That guy's missing too, come to think of it… Anyway, I was one of the few here that actually helped raise Link. Eventually, I got bored with this place. I wanted to see the what was outside the forest."

"Don't Kokiri die when they leave the forest?" Zelda asked.

"Technically," Fado said cryptically. "We don't just drop dead when we set foot outside though. More like, we lose our immortality. I thought it was worth it though…still do. Until things settle in Hyrule though, I'll just be hanging out here most of the time…You had a nice kingdom." She smiled and walked to the shop, leaving Zelda standing there. Zelda had no idea how the girl knew who she was, especially since not even most Hylians knew what she looked like.

"Zelda?" Peach said from behind her. Zelda turned around to face her. "Feeling better?"

"Much," Zelda smiled. "I'm not sure why, but I feel somewhat more at peace…Did you do anything?"

"My power is to heal," Peach smiled. "When you didn't react much to my other attempts, I put all my energy into making you feel better while we slept. I'm still a little tired from that Therapy, actually. It's nothing a little food won't fix though."

"Eat up," Zelda said, patting her back. "I think we've done enough here."

Zelda was having a bit more trouble navigating the Lost Woods than before. There were no vines to keep her from making the wrong turns. Similarly, there was no music from Saria's ocarina to guide the way either. It was only by chance that she and Peach encountered a Goron fighting off a Skull Kid in front of the secret entrance to Goron City. They watched as the angered Goron repeatedly attempted to pound the nimble imp, which repeatedly shot blow darts into the rock-man's thick skin. The Skull Kid had amazing speed that allowed him to dash from one spot to another. Just as it seemed the Goron had finally cornered the Skull Kid and was about to flatten him, the imp mysteriously disappeared with a single back flip.

"What is that?" Peach asked quietly.

"A Goron," Zelda answered. "They live in the mountains, which is where we need to go. Normally, they'd be very friendly. But according to Rauru…"

"Who's there?" the still angry Goron yelled. "Come out where I can see you!" Peach and Zelda crept back a few steps so that he would not see them. He was an average-looking Goron, but the anger they saw, which was rare for most Gorons, was frightening.

Soon, they heard footsteps coming from elsewhere. Another Goron walked out of another path and said, "You ran into those imps, didn't you?"

"I thought the forest children were supposed to be nice…" the scratched up Goron replied. "Nothing's going right at all! The forest is a maze; the only people here attack us; and that great music is gone!"

"…I found a way out," the other Goron offered.

"Really?"

"Yep. It goes right out into a huge field, but the area is flooded."

"Oh, well. We'll manage. Medi and Big should be able to make something. Let's get back home and tell the others." As the two Gorons began to walk away, Zelda and Peach followed quietly. It was only a few minutes before they reached the stone gate that led into Goron City.

Once the Gorons had entered, Zelda finished explaining that the Gorons were at war at war with the Hylians for some reason. "They really are a gentle people. But I've heard so many stories from Impa about how powerful they can be on the battlefield. If we are to reach the Fire Temple in Death Mountain Crater, we'll have to go through their territory. This gate should take us there."

"But the mountains are so far away," Peach said worriedly. "And that looks like a really dark cave. I'm not sure I like the idea of walking for miles in the dark."

"It's not an underground passage," Zelda smiled. "You aren't the only one with warps in her land."

"This still seems really dangerous…"

"I don't plan to fight any of them," Zelda smirked, taking out her pink and gold lyre. "We'll need to put them to sleep to avoid fighting them."

"I can only put them to sleep one by one," Peach said.

"I happen to know the Goron Lullaby, thanks to Link," Zelda smirked.

Goron City was a huge chamber full of a series of caverns underneath Death Mountain. There were ropes anchored to the walls to hold up a central platform at the top where the Goron Ruby had once been. The main curiosity was a giant Goron pot that held a huge flame in the center, lighting the entire city from the bottom. The Gorons were unusually active. By that, it is meant that they were actually walking around somewhat guardedly instead of being balled up into sleeping rocks as they usually were. They were still caught by surprise, however, when Zelda and Peach sprinted out of the cave. Zelda slowed to carefully walk across the ropes to the small platform, while Peach jumped and floated over.

Zelda closed her eyes and strummed the golden strings of her lyre as she sang the Goron Lullaby. Peach and the Gorons all stared at her in wonder. The end was signaled by a final strum of the instrument. "There."

"Um, Zelda…"

Zelda opened her eyes and was shocked to see very angry Gorons staring back at her from everywhere. "What did I do wrong? Did I use the wrong instrument?"

"Aaah! Such terrible singing!" one Goron roared.

"That Hylian ruined my childhood song!" another screamed.

"Get her!"

"My singing!" Zelda said, completely insulted. She was red with embarrassment. The Gorons began tug on the ropes, shaking the platform dangerously. Zelda looked around and could not see and good places to run. The Gorons had the area too well covered.

"Let me try," Peach said, taking the lyre. "Could you use your magic to make this louder?"

"I suppose so," Zelda said, grounding herself so that she would not fall off. Peach strummed the notes that she had just heard Zelda play and hummed them out loud. Zelda noticed pink heart shapes rising away from her as she hummed. The Gorons became quiet and ceased pulling the ropes. She noticed the sleepily enamored looks on their faces. Then, they all sat down and rolled up into sleeping balls.

"Sleep tight," Peach said softly.

Zelda was annoyed, to say the least. Not only could Peach apparently sing better, but she could also play the lyre at least as well. She closed her eyes and massaged her temples quietly.

"Something wrong?" Peach asked.

"…Nothing at all," Zelda said, returning to normal. "Now, we need to get some fire resistant clothing."

"Why?" Peach asked innocently enough.

"Well, I suppose you could always just walk into a volcano in flammable clothing."

"It's not as if we're going to burst into flames or anything," Peach said. "…Right?"

"Just follow me." Zelda jumped off the platform and rolled upon landing at the bottom of the city to soften her fall. Peach followed her a little too easily by dropping down and pausing in mid-air to flip into a hip drop.

Zelda led her to the shop cave and found the shopkeeper in a sleeping ball like the other Gorons. Once Peach saw the dull red tunics, she frowned and said, "I liked my Fire Dress more…"

"Fire Dress?"

"It was something I wore while Mario and a few others went into Barrel Volcano to retrieve one of the Seven Stars. It was probably the darkest thing I've ever worn. It was black with fire designs all over it. It was fire resistant and better looking than…this."

"This is strong enough to let you move through lava for a few seconds unharmed," Zelda said. "Could your Fire Dress do that?"

"Hmm…Well, we did fall into the lava a lot, but it really hurt…"

"Just put the blasted thing on," Zelda sighed, tossing the tunic into her face. They wore the clothing on the outside and Peach had to admit that it was comfortable. Having learned a secret entrance to the crater from Link, Zelda led Peach to Darunia's room. They walked through a short, but dark tunnel until they encountered the somewhat dim light from wall-mounted torches. There was a great deal of heat emanating from the room. The secret entrance to the crater must have been open. Peach was the first to freeze at the sight of a trail of dried blood in the middle of the floor. What little furniture there was in the room was smashed to bits. The statue that blocked the secret entrance was in ruins.

"What happened here?" Zelda asked herself. She looked to Peach, who was still frozen in trembling shock and mumbling to herself. Zelda covered Peach's eyes, gently saying, "It's okay. Let's just move along, so we can get this over with." Keeping her hands over Peach's eyes, she led her through the secret entrance and into Death Mountain Crater.

Zelda removed her hand and sighed as she felt the wave of heat overtake her. Peach glanced around and said, "I kind of missed the lava pits."

"What?"

"Bowser always took me to a place full of boiling lava at some point," Peach said nostalgically. "I've been around lava pits so many times, it's not even scary anymore. If you just take a second to look into that ruby orange molten rock fizzing down there, you might see how romantic lava pits can be. They're like hot springs with red water."

"Red water that usually kills you on contact," Zelda muttered.

"How would you know?" Peach challenged her. "You've never even been around lava before, let alone fallen into it."

"As if you have," Zelda said. Then, before Peach could say anything, "You have, haven't you?"

Peach nodded.

"As expected…Anyway, the Fire Temple should be under that shrine over there." They walked to a broken bridge and could see the shrine and the Triforce pedestal on the other side.

"Would you like me to carry you across?" Peach offered.

"No, thank you," Zelda said, revealing the Hookshot she had taken from Link's house. She pointed it at the wooden post above the bridge. With a press of the button, the chained tip sprung out and into the post, pulling her to it and landing her on the other side of the bridge. Peach quickly floated over to join her and they walked to the Fire Temple. While Peach seemed strangely at ease in the inferno, perhaps from experience, Zelda was soaked in her own sweat.

Upon reaching the back of the shrine, they found a stone face with a strange expression on a pedestal. Staring at the face, Zelda suddenly shuddered unexplainably. Peach raised an eyebrow, sensing something. She grabbed Zelda's arm and pulled her away from pedestal. There was a brief rumble and the face was blown off a hidden hatch by a pillar of fire. The shock put cracks in the walls and sent the two royals flying. The pillar of fire disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Seen those plenty of times," Peach said, helping Zelda up. She peeked into the hatch and saw a metal ladder. It was a long way down, and the walls were smoldering, but it looked safe enough. "I think it's okay to go down."

Zelda looked for herself and, satisfied, hopped down, sliding along the wall to slow her descent. While Peach climbed down the ladder, Zelda made sure the immediate area was truly safe. Again, everything was smoking and covered in ash, but otherwise it was acceptable.