I uh, forgot to upload here. This fic is cross-posted on Ao3 and I totally forgot that I had posted it here. Sorry about that!

I'm getting some spam reviews. I have one real review and two spam ones advertising some site or other. Whatever. It is what it is I guess.

Anyway... Please enjoy!

Chapter Two

Out of the Woods, Through the Fields, Into Town

Linkle and Navi, now accompanied by the large and imposing Queen Gohma, emerged from the Deku Tree.

"Well that's unexpected." He mumbled, seeing the parasite trotting alongside the young hero. "Linkle… Well done. I am even more impressed than I have the words for. Not only have you freed me of my curse, you have even broken the spell over her as well…"

Queen Gohma awkwardly scraped at the ground, flustered.

"Erm… No hard feelings?" She mumbled hopefully. The Deku Tree made a noise of amusement.

"It was not your doing. While your kind feeds upon mine, it is only your nature, and you have always respected the laws of the forest and only taken what you needed. It is the blame of the one who cursed us."

He turned his attention towards Linkle. "Please, Linkle, you must listen carefully. What I am about to tell you is of dire importance. It concerns your fate, and indeed the fate of the world itself…"

Once, there were three golden Goddesses.

Din, Goddess of Power. Wild and untamable, but even-tempered and just.

Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, quiet, serene, observant and gentle.

Farore, Goddess of Courage, boundlessly kind and joyful, righteous and all-loving.

Though they had each other, and the sisterly bond between them, the Goddesses were lonely.

And in the chaos of creation, they decided to make something new.

Din, with her powerful arms sculpted a world of earth and rock, crafting it into an intricate and lovely shape.

Nayru poured her wisdom into the new world, creating the spirit of law- the natural order that all things would follow.

And Farore created life- all beings which would uphold that law and live in the world the goddesses had made.

The Goddesses gave their creations, the many different people of the world bits of their own selves to make them whole. Din gave them the power to overcome, Nayru the wisdom to think and learn, and Farore the courage to explore and find joy.

And then, they gifted them the world- it would be up to the life that Farore had made to decide

what the world would be.

Satisfied, and no longer lonely, the goddesses were content. Their labors completed, they returned to the heavens. And at the very place they left, a trace of their power remained… A tiny fraction, but to the mortals below, the power it held was tremendous and incomparable.

Golden, sacred triangles, left at the very point the goddesses left.

The basis for the world's providence.

The resting place became known as the Sacred Realm.

"Linkle… It was that power, those sacred triangles that the one who cursed me… He seeks it. It is his quest for that that led him to lay this death curse upon me. A man from the desert, one in black armor."

Linkle felt a prickly chill down her spine, and tensed.

"The same one who cursed me." Gohma hissed.

"I can see it, Linkle. That man… He has haunted your recent dreams. He is using vile sorceries to seek out the sacred realm, and he must never be allowed to reach it."

Linkle nodded nervously. It was a little much for her, but she was getting the gist of it.

"...Wait… Death Curse?" Navi nervously fluttered.

The great Deku Tree said nothing for a moment.

"...I have not much time left." He admitted finally, voice low and mournful. "Though you were able to stop the curse, and free Queen Gohma… The damage had been done long before I sent for you. I was doomed before your journey inside me could have even begun, Linkle."

Linkle felt a cold chill. "...Y-you're… dying?" She whispered, voice trembling. The great Deku Tree shook his upper leaves, and from them, something began to descend.

"Linkle… Child. I have seen your future, and in it is a world of troubles. Alas, would that I could aid you more." The object drifted slowly downwards, until it came to rest gently in Linkle's hands. "But this is all I can give. The stone is what he sought. He was willing to cast such a curse upon me to find it… But now… I must bequeath it to you. In your hands is the spiritual stone of the forest. It holds the sacred power of these woods. Keep it safe.

Linkle, travel to Hyrule Castle. Seek the princess named Zelda. She will guide you further. Navi…"

"You want me to go with her?" Navi asked, voice a little weak, shaky. "I will. No question. She needs guidance."

"Count me in as well." Gohma chirped softly. "She is strong, but still very small. And perhaps not that bright." There was no malice in her words. "And… I need to atone. Though I was cursed, this is… I still bear some blame."

The Great Deku Tree gave a low, weak chuckle. His voice was weakening. "Linkle… You have great courage, and allies you will be able to rely upon… I-I fear I cannot aid you… any further…"

Linkle was silent, staring open-mouthed at the tree, her expression one of disbelief, horror, and despair. Tears were threatening to form at the corner of her eyes.

The Deku Tree was changing in color, fading to a dull grey, his leaves already turning brown. "G-Goodbye, my child…" He croaked softly, voice weaker with each word. "Navi… Aid Linkle… Guid her… I… entreat… ye…

"Good...bye… Navi..."

And with a low creak of settling wood, the Great Deku Tree was dead. The tree remained, but was lifeless, an empty shell.

The trio stood in silence for a long time, before Navi cleared her throat faintly.

"...L-Let's go to the castle." She murmured, voice hoarse.

Linkle scrubbed her eyes. "R-right. We gotta." She mumbled, turning and trotting off, Gohma lumbering quietly after her. Navi floated for a moment, before heading after them.

"Goodbye, Great Deku Tree…"

"He's dead!?" Mido squawked, eyes wide. "That can't be… What did you do?!" Before Linkle could get a word in edgewise, the self-proclaimed leader of the Kokiri was shaking her violently. "You killed him, didn't you! This is your fault!"

"Actually…" Gohma reared slowly behind Linkle. She didn't quite have a face, but Linkle could swear she was smiling maliciously. "That would be me… "

Mido froze in place, before slowly keeling over into a dead faint. It seemed having a giant scary monster had some perks.

Linkle didn't feel like sticking around. She had no one to say goodbye to, except for Saria, but she had no clue where she was right now. Feeling a bit heavy, Linkle made her way to the entrance to the Kokiri Forest. She had seen the bridge before, but had never found the desire to cross it.

After all, the stories all said that those who left the Kokiri Village would die, but the Great Deku Tree had said it'd be fine, right?

"Ah- hem ."

Linkle jumped a bit, turning with something between nervousness and relief.

"You're leaving, aren't you." Saria hummed, a strange look on her face. Linkle gulped. She'd seen that look before. It was hard to place but it rarely meant well. Even Gohma felt a bit unsettled.

"I have to." Linkle replied carefully. Saria smiled, and Linkle felt a little of the tension fade. Just a little. Gohma huffed, a little put upon that Saria seemed utterly unafraid of her.

"I knew you would leave one day. It was… just a feeling." She suddenly gave Linkle a big hug, squeezing her. "You're different from us, and from my other friends, so I kind of knew… but we'll still be friends, right?" She squeezed a bit tighter, her tone perhaps a little threatening now. "Right? Friends forever. Riiiiight?"

Linkle squirmed. "S-Saria… Can't… breathe." She managed weakly. Saria released her, pressing something into her hands.

"I made this for you. It's an Ocarina! A little goodbye memento." Saria smiled sadly. Linkle blinked, before curiously raising it to her lips, giving it a little toot.

"It's… really nice!" Linkle admitted, beaming.

Saria clasped her hands together. "Remember me when you play it, okay? And don't lose it. " She smiled, but the grin didn't reach her eyes, which held just a little bit of malice. " You won't lose it right? " She leaned uncomfortably close. "After all it's a gift I poured my time, heart and soul into, and if you ever lost it, well then… I guess I'd just have to skin you alive ~!"

"I won't lose it." Linkle promised, reaching forward and squeezing Saria's hand gently, her face a few shades paler than usual. She took a deep breath. "So… um… goodbye." And with that, Linkle let go of Saria's hand and booked it away from the woods as fast as her little legs could go.

Almost immediately upon exiting the forest, Linkle was frozen in place by the sheer vastness that lay before her. Hyrule field was… Hard to take in for someone who had spent her whole life surrounded by trees. She looked around awestruck.

"Welcome to the world kiddo." Gohma chuckled in amusement, flicking a claw to point across the field. "I think if we just follow this road it'll take us straight to Castle Town."

"Hoot Hoot… Indeed!" A booming voice rang out. All eyes turned upwards.

"Bird!" Navi yelped, ducking behind Linkle a bit. Being as small as they were, birds often mistook fairies for insects and tried to eat them. Navi had a particularly bad memory of one that had tried to eat her for ages before it gave up.

"Harumph. No point in hiding. You're a bit small for my taste." The huge owl grumbled, shuffling his feet a bit. "Mhm… I've been watching you, girl."

"That's creepy." Gohma rumbled, threateningly beginning to climb the tree that the owl was perched on.

The bird flashed his talons, backing up a bit. "Not like that, spider-bitch! That girl… I've reason to believe she has the makings of a hero."

Gohma growled, but dropped from the tree. She wasn't normally a meat eater, but she had to admit she was feeling tempted to try on this weird weird creature.

"Well, I've little else to say, since it seems you know your way around." The owl shuffled his feet. "Take this." He ducked a head under a wing, and removed something tied there. It was a rolled up scroll of some kind. "A map. A gift for the young hero, hoo hoo hoo. Just be sure to try and reach Castle Town before nightfall… Things get dangerous at night."

Without much else to say, the bird spread his massive wings and took to the sky.

"...He seemed… nice?" Linkle tilted her head, glancing at the map that he had dropped for her.

"Still creepy that he's watching you." Gohma hummed. "They must not teach you forest children much about stranger danger."

"No adults, just fairies and talking plants." Navi reminded her dryly. "And most of them believe leaving the forest means death, and as for going in… Well, that's even worse."

Gohma didn't like the way Navi just let that statement hang, so she began to trot down the road, skittering along with Linkle in tow. Linkle just was basically following Gohma, she couldn't make head nor tail of the map. Just follow the road and…

Ah. That had to be castle town. It was pretty obvious now that she could see it. The white walls loomed over the field.

The sun was setting, which made them pick up the pace a bit, recalling the owl's warning about the field at night, but it was all for naught- the drawbridge into town was being raised just as Linkle sprinted up to it.

"Ah man…" She sighed, watching it rise slowly.

"Either they do that every night, or I scared the piss out of them." Gohma murmured dryly, shifting her weight a little.

"Nah." Rasped a Stalchild as it dug its way out of the ground. "They do that every night." And with that he casually lashed out towards Linkle, who swatted him away with her sword, barely taking notice. She smacked it so hard that its head was sent spinning off into the distance.

"Nice hit." Gohma remarked, before slamming her claws into another one. She didn't exactly have much finesse, but all it took was a quick slash of those huge limbs and the stalchildren were sent flying.

Seeing that it was a losing battle, the Stalchildren didn't bother the trio for the rest of the night, and the sun began to rise slowly.

"Maybe you should ride my back into town so they don't think I'll eat them." Gohma suggested dryly as the bridge began to slowly drop.

"Will you?" Navi asked warily. Gohma shrugged.

"Humans have too much gristle."

" How do you know that? "

Luckily, nobody attacked them as they went into town, Linkle awkwardly perched on Gohma's back. Unfortunately, a few people did scream and run, but Gohma didn't care and Linkle didn't notice. Some people were brave enough to curiously observe them, but no one really approached.

"Well we're making a spectacle but at least nobody is trying to kill us." Navi sighed, fluttering about. "Although if we head towards the castle, they'll probably really freak out."

"Well as long as I keep my eye closed I don't think they'll be able to hurt me." Gohma smugly proclaimed, trotting towards the back part of castle town on the path to the castle.

"Oh wow… Those clothes… Hey!" A soft female voice called. Linkle peeked down from her place awkwardly perched on Gohma to see a redheaded girl down on the ground, fearlessly walking right up. "You must be from the forest!"

"Huh. Brave one. Or dumb." Gohma rumbled. Linkle lightly bonked the top of Gohma's… Head? It was near her eye, slightly, anyway.

"Be nice." Linkle scolded.

The arachnid responded by bucking forward, tossing Linkle to the ground, right in front of the redheaded girl with a rather unpleasant crack.

"Hello!" Linkle beamed, seemingly unphased by the crack to the back of her skull. She seemed oddly flustered, and it wasn't because she had fallen off of the arthropod monster.

For a moment, the redhead blinked, a little caught off guard.

She isn't phased by the giant monstrous spider, but is confused by Linkle cracking her skull and not being hurt?

That is weird, but the spider is weirder. Navi thought.

"...Hi!" The girl recovered, beaming at Linkle. "I'm Malon, from Lon Lon Ranch. I'm waiting for my dad to get back from the castle. I didn't think I'd see a fairy girl all the way out here…"

"Castle? That's where I'm supposed to go."

Malon sighed, expression going from friendly to utterly dead inside. "Good luck. The guards at the gate are so stupid. I've been waiting forever for dad and he's still there. Probably fell asleep somewhere, again. They won't look for him, they won't let me in to look for him... " She shook her head. "They're even lazier than he is!"

Gohma rattled her claws against the stone walkway, uttering a low growly hum. "We'll see about that."

"Please don't eat anyone, Ms. Gohma." Linkle requested politely. Gohma huffed, but said nothing else on the matter.

"If you see my dad, tell him I'm waiting. And if he keeps making me wait, I'll scream and cry in public and make a big scene just to embarrass him!" Malon waved a fist in the air threateningly.

"Hoot hoot. Up here, Linkle. Time for a tutorial!"

Linkle took careful aim with her slingshot.

"Rude. I'm here to explain important things and you're just going to shoot at me-? awk! "

"Nice! You got him right inside his mouth!" Navi crowed in delight while the oversized bird began choking on the seed lodged in his throat. Linkle ignored him and waltzed toward the castle gates, with Gohma right behind.

"Hold it, kid, I can't let you- Let you… in…" The guard had started out strong, but his voice petered out at the size of the large arachnid lumbering towards him, the spear tumbling from his nerveless hands.

"Are you actually going to attempt to stop me?" She chuckled darkly, rearing up slowly on her tail.

"No." The guard squeaked, before suddenly bolting inside the guardhouse.

"...He's locked himself in there, hasn't he?"

Navi shifted towards the door.

"...yep."

"Ah. Perhaps I should have grabbed him." Gohma hummed sheepishly. Linkle had already wandered off and begun climbing some nearby vines. "...Perhaps she is cleverer than she looks?"

Navi and Gohma watched a bit as Linkle wandered on the cliffside, before tripping and rolling down the slope until she came to a halt, face-first in the dirt, but past the gate.

"...Perhaps not." Gohma sighed. Navi simply flew through the gate's bars. Gohma attempted to scale the cliffside, but the soft dirt couldn't seem to support her weight all that well, and the archway the gate was mounted in was a little too small for her to get a good hold on.

"Well, I guess it'll be okay." Navi called. "I don't think you'd be especially stealthy, or able to fit through a doorway, since I doubt they'd let us in the front gates…"

"I'll just take a nap." Gohma rumbled with a sigh, trotting over towards the tree with the owl, who had finally managed to spit out the deku seed.

Linkle began making her way to the castle. Most of the guards weren't especially observant, so even when she tripped and fell in the moat with a loud splash, they barely paid her the slightest mind.

"...Maybe this place kinda deserves disaster." Navi sighed, as Linkle fished herself out of the moat. "These people are idiots."

Linkle groaned, flopping on the ground in a soaked heap. "Need to find princess…" She sat up, only seeing a man with a big nose fast asleep.

"...Malon's dad?" Navi suggested. Linkle shook him to try and wake him.

"Excuse me, your daughter is threatening to hurt you if you don't go home."

The man snored loudly. Linkle rolled him into the moat with a loud splash. That did the trick. She could tell because he was screaming as the current began washing him away.

"Have a nice trip!" She waved obliviously.

Navi had found the drain that Linkle could wriggle through, and she did so with ease. She slowly began to creep through the gardens, tiptoeing past the guards who were stationed here and there. In one spot, two guards were patrolling in opposite circles.

"You know what?" The first guard said, before being forced to circle around again, waiting until the pair met at the same spot to continue his thought. "If we just…" Another circle. "Stayed in one spot…" And another. "And waited there…" And another. "No one would…" Circle. "Ever sneak past…" Another. "This spot."

" HERETIC!" The second guard shouted, striking the first guard violently with the butt of his spear.

Linkle wisely decided that getting involved was a bad plan and chose to move on.

Linkle found herself in a small, pleasant little garden area, and on the other side was a girl in a purple dress. Linkle felt a strange sensation, like a faint pulling sensation. It was subtle, but it felt like she was almost being drawn toward her.

Slowly, she walked up before awkwardly opening her mouth to speak.

Before she could even get a word out, the girl turned, and suddenly grabbed Linkle by the collar, slamming her against the stone wall, holding her there threateningly.

"Nice try- Wait, you don't look like an assassin." The girl blinked, still holding Linkle by the collar.

Linkle wasn't sure whether to blush or be intimidated or both. It's hard to tell what the correct course of action is when a pretty girl has you slammed against a wall.

"...Hi? No I'm not. A tree told me to come here!" She offered a big smile.

The princess raised an eyebrow, caught off-guard by Linkle's non-reaction to being threatened like this. "...A tree."

"Yep."

Navi scoffed. "Not a normal tree, obviously."

The girl suddenly dropped Linkle in shock. "W-wait, a fairy? Then… Are you from the forest?"

"Ooh, wow." Linkle squeaked from the ground, looking up at Zelda. "You're psychic too? Can you read my mind?"

"Ten rupees says its blank!" Navi called.

"No, no, that's not it… I- nevermind, just tell me, do you have… The Spiritual Stone of the Forest?"

Linkle fished around in her things for a moment, before pulling it out, keeping a tight grip in case the strange princess was grabby.

"Huh. Well that's… Okay you're going to think I'm crazy, but I swear this is true. I had a dream about you coming… I mean, not you, but… someone from the forest, with a fairy, and that stone."

"I don't think you're crazy. Pretty sure I've had dreams about you before." Linkle volunteered.

"Excuse me? When?" Navi bobbed, surprised.

"Um, they're kind of blurry and confusing but… I definitely remember the face! I think there was a horse."

"Vague, but that does encourage the "not-crazy" theory." The princess smiled for the first time. "...My name is Zelda. Princess of Hyrule."

"Oh! Then you're definitely the one the Great Deku Tree sent us to find." Navi hummed, bobbing up and down. "Uh, what did he say? That Hyrule was in danger, and that you'd know what to do next…"

"Do you want the full story or the short version?" Zelda crossed her arms a bit.

"I mean, the story got left off with three goddesses and some kind of power and evil wanting that power…" Navi hummed, thinking back.

"And a guy in black armor who killed the Great Deku Tree…" Linkle crossed her arms, unconsciously mimicking Zelda a bit. "With a curse."

"Oh. Okay so, the setup. That's good." Zelda grinned sheepishly. "Means I don't have to tell you it all. But… A man in black armor sounds… troubling. Because… Would you peek through this window for me?"

"Uh…" Linkle paused, before nodding and slowly creeping up.

Her blood ran cold.

It was the man she saw in her dreams. Black armor. Dark skin, greenish in color. Red hair and eyes. And an expression that she could only imagine as being one of sheer malice. He was kneeling, and had a slight smile, but it was fake as could be.

"That man is called Ganondorf. I believe… He represents the evil in my dreams. And is the one who may have killed your uh… tree."

Navi would have chewed the princess out for being insensitive, but she calmed herself. It wasn't exactly common for trees to be able to think and talk out of the forest, after all.

"He swears loyalty to my father, but I cannot believe he is sincere. Dad is an idiot to trust him." Zelda huffed, hugging herself with a worried look. Give her a few years and she'd resemble a moody teen.

Ganondorf's eyes flicked slightly and Linkle dropped flat with a panicked look, clasping both hands over her mouth to hold in a yelp. "Gghk. Got goosebumps!" She mumbled, shaking herself a bit. "He saw me…"

"Don't worry. It's not like he knows who you are." Zelda reassured, smiling lightly. "Would you hear me out? I think I have a plan to protect Hyrule, but… I'll need help."

Linkle gave a little salute. "I'm a helper!"

"She's not very bright but she is surprisingly tenacious." Navi lightly bopped the top of Linkle's head. "I can keep her on track."

"Thank goodness." Zelda was smiling, amused by the whole affair. "So… In order to get to the triforce you need two things to unlock the sacred realm. Er. Four things, I guess, but one is a set. You have one actually. The spiritual stones!"

Linkle patted her pocket, where she had re-stuffed the Kokiri Emerald. "Rocks like these, huh…?"

"Yes. There's one for fire and one for water. The Gorons of Death Mountain have the Fire Stone…"

"Oh that sounds friendly." Navi sighed.

"And the Zora's have the stone of water."

"Well I guess we should get those?"

"Mhm!" Zelda nodded. "If we can get them, we can keep Ganondorf from using them… Although there's the other key… The Ocarina of Time. I have that one, though." Zelda smirked a bit. "We could even get to the Sacred Realm first if we have these, since they're the only way to open the Door of Time…"

"That does sound good." Linkle nodded. "Not letting the evil guy do evil stuff is aces with me!"

"That's the important part I guess." Zelda shook her head. "I have to stay here. If I leave, Ganondorf may send assassins out. I could probably handle them but it's not worth the hassle." She smirked dangerously. "And my bodyguard-slash-matron-slash-personal hitwoman could too."

"Whatnow?"

Linkle squeaked as she was suddenly lifted into the air by the back of her collar. She wasn't sure where the tall woman had come from but she was relieved to see a mild expression instead of a violent one.

"Hello Impa. How much did you hear?"

"All of it princess. I've been following this child since she made it into the garden. Remind me to force the guards to do ten thousand laps around the moat tomorrow for the lax security."

"Hello!" Linkle squeaked nervously. "Please don't snap my tiny body in two because you absolutely can, seriously those biceps are big as me."

Impa's expression barely flickered, but Linkle hoped that was a smile.

"Impa, please put her down. I need to write a letter so she can go to Death Mountain."

"Hmm. She might also need the song."

"I can't sing." Linkle groaned.

"Saria gave you that ocarina, you doofus." Navi sighed.

"I'm kind of terrified to play it." Linkle admitted nervously, slowly drawing it out of her bag. "If I break this I just know she'll find out."

" Then just be very very careful ." Navi fluttered, similarly feeling a rush of nerves at the thought of incurring Saria's wrath.

I do hope you liked it! :3 Sorry for the wait. I'll post the others in a day or two.

Goodnight everybody!