Before I start this story, I would like to thank Fanfiction user InquisitorDovah, for helping me out with writing this part of the story. Next chapter I will finally get to the first temple, and the first "official" action scene. Also, I have written Deku exactly 25 times! When I am done with Woodfall, I am never going back here again unless I have to.
Ch. IX
Woodfall Palace
As Link ran into the Deku Palace, he began to smell something burning, and he knew something must be VERY wrong. Deku Scrubs hated fire, and would only use it in dire situations. He ran through a hallway with potted plants to either side, and many doors going in and out of it. At the end of the hall, he saw the throne room of the Deku King. However, something was very wrong. There was a huge bonfire in the center of the large round room, and on top of that, was a giant cauldron of water that was coming to a boil. Surrounding the pot were dozens of Deku Scrubs, all shaking angrily. Some in the crowd were shouting.
"Punish him!-No, we should interrogate him again, then punish him!-No!-Kill the monkey who kidnapped our princess!". Link stared aghast at the scene. They were arguing about how they were going to kill an innocent monkey! He knew at that moment, that he had to stop them.
Link was about to step forward when he noticed a large cage that was constructed in the corner of the room. Tied to a pole in the center of it was a monkey! Link immediately rushed over and asked in a hushed tone.
"Are you OK, Monkey?", he asked the monkey. The monkey was struggling in his bonds, but when he heard Link speak, he looked up.
"Help me! Please! I didn't kidnap the Deku Princess! You have got to believe me!", he exclaimed. Link stepped closer and replied:
"I believe you, and I am here to help. How can I get you out of there?". The monkey seemed to calm down.
"Phew, I thought I might be a goner. I need you to go through the palace gardens on the right side of the hallway until you reach the hole up there. But please hurry!". He nodded to a doorway that was right above the cage. Link nodded in return, then ran back out of the room before any Deku's became suspicious.
Link had nothing to worry about, as all Deku's who were present were too busy whipping themselves into a murderous frenzy. He had little time left. Link ran through the first door that he could find on the right side of the hallway and entered into a large garden. The garden had many beautiful flowers and fountains, with what seemed to be a hedge maze throughout the whole thing. Interspersed among the shrubbery were many large flowers that Link and Tatl recognized.
"Hey, those are Deku Flowers! Why don't you do the thing that you did before, in the caves below clock town?", Tatl cried. Link hurried to do so, quickly grasping some of the flower petals, then jumping inside. He felt squished inside, somehow fitting into the center of the flower, but he felt no pain. It looked like Deku's were more flexible than they were given credit for.
When he finally activated the flower, he was launched many meters off the ground, and he saw a series of walkways above the garden that he could finally get to. He landed on one but quickly crouched down before a passing guard saw him. After a few minutes of dodging, hiding, and running Link finally saw a doorway into the palace that looked to be the same one that he had seen inside of the Deku Palace. He looked down into the cage below, then jumped down. There was a Deku Flower in a corner of the cage, so he was certain that he could get back out.
When Link landed, the monkey looked at him, then used one of his unbound feet to beckon him closer. When Link had gotten as close as he could, the monkey spoke.
"You will have to stay quiet, or else they will hear you. I don't suppose you could untie me, or cut my rope?". Link shook his head.
"It is too far up. I can't reach it, even with a sword.", he said. The monkey sighed, then replied:
"I thought not, but I had to check. As you probably know, I did not kidnap the princess. I was trying to find out how the poison was getting into the swamp, so I went to Woodfall Temple above the waterfall outside the palace with the Deku Princess to figure out what is going on. The temple had become a monster's lair though, and the Deku Princess was captured by the monster! And since the Deku King thinks I kidnapped the Princess, he won't listen to a word I say. Now, the Princess is in trouble, so I need to hurry to the temple! Do you understand my plight?". Link nodded his head, but Tatl spoke up.
"Hey guys, I think the Deku King has noticed us!", she cried. She was right. Link had not noticed before, but now he saw the Deku King at the end of the room, sitting on a wooden throne decorated with leaves, staring in their direction. The monkey hurriedly continued his pleading.
"Hurry, do you have a musical instrument? If you do, take it out, quickly! I must teach you the song that will open the temple. It is called the Sonata of Awakening! You must go in my place!". With this, the monkey let out some musical-sounding yips. Link hurriedly pulled out his ocarina, which promptly turned into Deku Pipes. He copied the song that the monkey was humming, and the clear notes sang loudly from his instrument.
As Link played the song, he felt like he was being woken from a deep sleep. The song was loud and clear on his Deku Pipes, and he thought that it could wake the dead! It was then that the Deku King shouted:
"That is our precious song that opens our sacred temple! This is proof that the monkey tricked my beloved princess into teaching him the song! Let the punishment commence more quickly! Add more water to the cauldron! By the time we are done with him, his fur will boil off and his eyes will melt". Link's eyes widened. There was something very wrong with the Deku King at the moment, and Link knew that he needed to stop the punishment from happening. He ran towards the Deku Flower and shouted behind his back:
"Don't worry, I'll find the princess and save you from your punishment!". Link then promptly jumped into the flower and launched out of the doorway towards the poison-filled temple.
By the time that Link had escaped the palace, he noticed that half of his day was gone! He only had about one and a half days until the moon came crashing down! He knew that he needed to hurry even more. He went through a tunnel that led to the waterfall, and would have used another Deku Flower he found to get to a higher spot on the path when a voice called out.
"Ho-ho-ho-ho-hoot! This is a rare sight. You are a fairy child, correct? What business might you have in this poisoned swamp? If you dare not venture further, I shall pass no-", at this point, Link had blown a Deku Bubble at the owl that was speaking, and it fell off its perch on a tree. When it fell, Link shoved a Deku Nut into its beak and tied it up with a piece of rope that he had bought.
After Link was done and was admiring his handiwork, Tatl spoke up.
"You really hate that owl. Why is that?", she questioned. Link shuddered.
"You don't want to know. I know this owl, and he is one of the most annoying people I know. If he counts as a person anyway.", he replied. Tatl looked again at the owl, and murmured under her breath:
"Note to self, never annoy Link too much.".
Link was about to continue forward, but he saw that there were musical notes carved on the rocky wall nearby. He pulled out the Ocarina of Time and copied the song on the wall. It was a wild song that reminded him of a rushing wind. As he played the song, white beams of light shot into the sky from various locations across Termina, and a nearby statue in the shape of an owl glowed, then shot a white beam of light into the sky as well. Link was thinking about the statue, when suddenly giant white wings appeared on either side of him, then spun around him at an incredible speed. When he could finally see again, he and Tatl had moved a few meters away from his current location, all the way right in front of the owl. He had another teleportation song!
Link grinned with delight. He hadn't used a teleportation song since his adventures in his old timeline! He still occasionally got a headache when he thought about the fact that he had split the universe into two parallel timelines, which would never meet. He had gone to the past, and he had told Princess Zelda about Ganondorf's plan to steal to Triforce. Zelda had told her father, and Ganondorf was going to be executed. During the execution, something went wrong. Somehow, Ganondorf had retrieved the Triforce of Power! Link suspected that it had something to do with his Triforce piece.
He glanced down at his hand, where he knew his Triforce piece was sleeping for the time being. He was not old enough to wield its power, so it would be sleeping for the next 5 years. He had been 17 the last time that he had used its power, so he assumed that it would be the same. He had turned 12 (Mentally)by the time that his adventures in Hyrule were over, so there was a while until he could use it once more.
Link cleared his head, then continued toward the temple, with a confident stride in his step, and a confused fairy by his side.
