Chapter 1; Impa's Visit

Its early in the morning, maybe 5 or so. The clocks tick fast in Hyrule, so its never easy to tell the time. The cuckoos are opening their eyes, pulling their heads out from under their wings, fluffing their feathers in the process. They look to the quickly rising sun and stretch their wings by flapping them wildly. They sing their trademark sound and Kakariko Village comes to life. The carpenters come out from their temporary homes and begin work on the new building in the middle of the village. They run around, lay brick ontop of brick, and wont stop moving, even for a second. Cuckoos are scattered around the village and are enjoying being free from their pen. Shops are opening and the windmill still turns. Today looks like every other day in Kakariko, but today is a special day for one little girl in particular. She sits off the edge of the stairs to the west of the village and dangles her 10-year-old legs repeatedly and holds her head up in the palm of her hands. Today is the day her mother, Impa, comes to visit. Impa is a very important woman in the castle who attends to the princess's every need. She rarely has the time to leave and be with her daughter. Impa can not raise her, for the father had dissapeared and children were not allowed in the castle, other than princess Zelda. "Hey Shine! Do you think you should be sitting there like that? Other people might see you." A soldier shouted down to her from the Death Mountain gate. Shine twisted her little body around and looked up to him. "I dont care if people see me! Im tired of hiding, I dont even understand why I have to hide from the world in the first place! Im waiting right here for my mommy!" She shouted to him and then looked forward again with a poutty face and folded her arms. The soldier didnt have anything to say back, so he just shook his head in her direction. Shine stared off into space, focused on her own anger and not thinking about her mother for a few moments. When she snapped out of it, she realized she didnt know what time it was. Again, she twisted her waist to look back at the soldier. "Hey, do you know what time it is?" She shouted to him. "It's about a quarter past 7." he shouted back. Shine didnt respond, she just went back to putting her head in her palms. She stared off into space again, but not for long. She noticed a familiar figure entering the village and stood quickly is excitement. "Mommy!" She shouted. Impa quickly turned her head towards Shine and worriedly gestured her to be quiet. Shine slapped a hand over her mouth-realizing that someone from outside the village could have heard her and learned the village secret. Impa walks casually and Shine runs up to her and hugs her legs. "I'v missed you so much mommy, I rarely ever see you!" she said. Impa looked down and patted her on the head. "I know Shine, and Im sorry that you must live this way, but my work at the castle is very important for the both of us." Impa said sounding sad. "How can your job be more important than me! That princess sees you more than I do, its not fair!" Shine cries and punches her mother's legs. Impa kneels down and hugs her daughter, making her stop hitting and crying. "You have to trust me Shine, what I do at the castle is very important. You wont see it now, but you will someday. Now, I have something I want to talk to you about." Impa said letting go and looking Shine in the eye. They walked together to the opposite side of the village and into the house up the flight of stairs. "Now Shine, I need you to listen to everything Im about to tell you. Bad things are happening at the castle." Shine looks at her mother's face, worried and confused. "Whats going on at the castle, mom?" She asks. "A man named Ganondorf is going to cause some big trouble in Hyrule, both I and the princess can sence it. Princess Zelda is in danger. No, all of Hyrule is in trouble! Shine, I have a very important position in all this, which means Zelda needs me to protect her more than ever before. I have to go fullfill my duties, go into hiding with Zelda and give the hero of time power to stop Ganondorf. You wont see me for a very long time. Do you understand what I have told you Shine?" Shine stares at her mother seeming lost and not understanding anything at all and begins to weep. "When will I see you again?" She asked. "I dont know, but listen. Ganondorf is an evil man and you cant let him win. You know that birthmark on your left hand, the triangle?" Impa says. Shine sniffles and nods her head. "It's not a birthmark Shine, its what makes you different than all the rest. It's why you must remain a secret from the world, no one must know you have it. It's a very important peice and if Ganondorf knows about it, he will try to take it from you. If he gets it, Hyrule will never be peacefull again. You must hide this, understand?" Impa says seriously. "Yes mommy, I understand." Shine says and sniffles. Impa walks towards the door to put her hand on the knob and looks back at Shine. "Have hope Shine, you'll see me again." Impa turns and leaves-closing the door behind her. Shine stands still and weeps by herself while staring at the door. "Mommy"
A few minutes later, Shine sits on the stairs to the entrance of the village. Shes all alone and very sad. Shine sits in silence and replays everything her mother told her over in her head. Tears fall from her eyes and onto the steps, leaving dark circles in effect. A blue-ish orb suddenly comes up to Shine's face. Shine looks up and wipes her tears. A closer look reveils that it's a fairy, one with glowing blue skin and greyish wings. "Are you alright little girl?" The fairy asks in a high pitched voice. Before she can answer, a young boy in green clothes approaches. "Leave her alone Navi, it looks like she just wants to be alone." The boy commanded. "Hey! I'm only trying to be nice!" The fairy angrilly flew at him. "You'll never be anything but annoying." The boy commented. Shine stands up and makes a fist below her neck. "Who are you guys?" She interupts. Navi and the boy both turn to face her. "Im Link and this is Navi, my new fairy." Link said. Shine steps forward in excitement-completely forgetting about her sadness. "Wow, a NEW fairy!? I'v never even seen one before and you'v had more than one!" "Actually, she's my first. I'v never had one before now..." Link says embarresed. "Well, it's still amazing that you even have one! Can I touch it!?" She jumps. Navi jerks backwards. "Listen, Im not something to be touched, kid!" "Well, it seems as though your all cheered up now. Let's get going Navi, we have important things to do." Link said as he started to walk past Shine towards the village. Shine watches them leave for a moment before shouting to them-reaching out to them with her free hand. "Wait! What are you guys going to do in this village?" Link and Navi are half-way up the stairs when they turn around. "We're on an important mission to stop an evil man. We need to go through your village to get to Death Mountain, where we can find our next important item." Link says cassually. Shine looks down-past her sheikian dress and at her boots. "Evil man..." she whispers sillently to herself. After a few seconds of deep thought, she jerks her head up to look at Link. "I'm coming with you!" She shouts. Navi and Link are both thrown back in shock. "What?" they both ask. "Theres nothing in this village for me anymore and I want to see the world out there so I can find my mom! I hate that evil man just as much as you do, lemme help!" Shine begged. Both Link and Navi look at eachother for a second. "Alright..." Link said. "You can come with us, just dont get in our way." "Oh, thank you Link! You have no idea how much this means to me!" Shine said and started to run up the steps. "Hey, if your going to be with us, we should at least know your name." Link said. Shine looked embarresed. "Oh right. Sorry. My name is Shine." she blushed. Link smirked. "Alright Shine, let's get going."