I have no excuses.

Disclaimer: If LOZ were mine, Twilight Princess would take three times longer to come out.

--------------------

"99 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, 99 BOTTLES OF BEER! TAKE ON E DOWN AND PASS IT AROUND, 98 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL!"

Julia's off-key singing resounded across Hyrule Field, scaring away anyone who heard it. Her ultra-short attention span meant she got bored the moment they left Lon Lon Ranch, and naturally she had to do something about it.

Singing.

And of course Link had to endure what would be the most terribly annoying ride of his life. He was considering chopping her head off with the Master Sword, but she was currently holding tight around his waist with her arms, and a struggle atop a moving horse was the last thing he wanted. Plus, she could be of some use.

Or not.

But as Kakariko came into view, and Julia reached 56 bottles, she once more got bored and quieted down, to the relief of every living creature within a 100-mile radius. They arrived at the village just as the sun started to sink to about midway across the sky, which was tinged with yellow, looking as if it were painted with watercolors.

Oh, the beauty!

Link headed off somewhere, and Julia wandered about around the small village, realizing for the first time since she arrived in Hyrule that she was hungry.

But she still had plenty of energy to spend, and decided to chase a couple butterflies fluttering around the place. Everyone looked at her as if she were crazy, and after running around in circles for a few minutes, her head started spinning. She sat down for a bit to rest on the grass, and before she knew it, her eyes were closed and she drifted off to dreamland.

-+-+-+-

Julia's eyes opened slowly.

White.

That was the first thing she saw.

Something white.

It looked like a wall, or a ceiling; her half-awake brain couldn't decide. Something underneath her was soft, but not like grass; more like straw covered with a sheet. She tried moving her arms, but they flailed helplessly to the side and not up like she wanted.

It was always that way when she woke up.

She growled, feeling her stomach stick to her back pleading for food. Something smelled awfully delicious. Forcing her brain to get in gear, she sat up.

The white thing she had seen had indeed been a wall. She was sitting on and old bed with a mattress made out of straw. There was another bed right across from hers, and to her right was a tablet set for two. In the far corner was a rudimentary kitchen, where an old lady added ingredients to a pot.

So that's where the smell came from!

The lady turned around when she heard the girl stirring. She smiled, said something Julia couldn't understand and pointed to the table as if to say, "Come on, take a seat!"

Julia jumped at this and quickly sat down at the table, eager to fill her empty tummy. Her lovely dinner consisted of soup, some meat on a stick, bread, and mashed potatoes. Julia tore a piece of bread, soaked it in soup, wrapped it around the meat and bit through like an angry wolf. She left the potatoes untouched.

It took her a while to realize the lady was saying something. But, since she couldn't understand anything anyway, she munched quietly and listened, trying to extract some meaning from all the gibberish.

Now that she had eaten, however, she realized Link was nowhere around. And how long had she been sleeping? Had Link gone off to the next temple without her?

Was she all alone in a world full of people she could not understand?

"I'msorryexcusemepleaseIhavetogobye!" she said, jolting up, stuffing some bread in her jacket pocket and bowing quickly, leaving through the door in a clumsy yet swift manner.

Outside, the sky was creeping purple, not quite day, not quite night. Was this what they called the twilight? She walked hastily up the trail that would lead to Death Mountain. Darkness would be falling fast and Death Mountain didn't get its name for nothing.

Up the trail she trekked, feeling the cool evening breeze sweep down. It was awfully quiet there, and it was making her nervous. Suddenly, in the shadows, she saw something move.

It was a Tektite, and a very big one at that. Julia froze, watching the creature scamper along. It seemed uninterested in her. But just as she sighed in relief, the Tektite came back, likely hoping for an easy dinner.

"STAY RIGHT THERE! I DO KARATE, JUDO, KUNG FU AND TAE-KWON-DO!" she shouted, jumping into a fighting stance that didn't seem very intimidating. She was actually a terrible fighter, and she never took judo, karate, kung fu or tae-kwon-do, but what do Tektites know about martial arts anyway? The Tektite backed off, and Julia shook her fist at it.

"YEAH, YOU BETTER RUN!" she shouted, smiling in satisfaction, only to look up and see Link shooing the critter away and swinging his sword.

"My hero!" Julia whooped, swaying dramatically with sparkles in her eyes. Link turned around and gave Julia a look that said, "you must be crazy to have come here after me at night."

Julia shrugged.

He sighed and nodded his head up the trail. Navi buzzed out of his hat and zipped over to where Julia was, ramming lightly against the back of her head.

"Okay! Sheesh! I'm going," Julia groaned, walking up to Link. And so they hiked up the mountain, ready for their next challenge.

-----------------

Um... I'll try writing over the weekend... I have no idea when I'm going to update... Ugh.