Chapter Two: Into the Unknown

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Sheik: OracleVortex STILL doesn't own anything to do with the Legends of Zelda.

Link: Yeah, and she doesn't get credit for coming up with her own ideas that lead to this parody.

Sheik: So don't sue.

Link: Because she has no money.

OV: '________`;;;; I can't even buy a Pepsi. ~Boo hoo~

Minor sap and heartbreak at the beginning, here. * sigh* It must be done. BUT JUST WAIT TILL AFTER THAT!!!!! YAY!!!

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Link reached one hand out to the forest girl. "Saria, wait!"

"No!" She backed up, tears brimming in her eyes. "It can't be true! You can't leave the forest!"

"Saria, please..." Link said weakly, "You don't understand. I'm not like you."

"You don't think I know that?" She cried in despair. Link stopped, staring at her in confusion. "I always knew that you would leave this place, Link, that you were different than the rest of us." Green eyes sought out his blue ones. "Never has a Kokiri had Nayru's eyes...we are completely Farore's children." As if she had revealed something that she shouldn't have, Saria looked away.

"Listen, Saria...I just have to do something for the Deku Tree." He pulled his friend into a hug, like he always did when she was upset. "Then I'll come back and everything will be all better. Everything will be back to normal."

Saria pushed him away lightly. "No, Link. It won't." She stared up at him, her green eyes glittering. "You are a Hylian. You are fifteen. If you grow any older while in this forest, you will fall to the curse of the Staflos." She turned away from him. "It is the destiny of the outsiders who come here." She dropped something into the grassy meadow at his feet. "Good bye Link." Without another word, she sprinted away, leaving a broken hearted boy behind.

Outsiders..."Saria..." He bent to retrieve the item she had dropped. It was an ocarina. It was her ocarina. Link ran smooth fingers down its spine, sorrowfully admiring the tan and pale green wood. Because Saria belonged to the peaceful sect of the Kokiri, the diplomatic part, she believed in the value of music and literature. To give up her instrument, especially to him; one of the fighter sect, was an incredibly tender thing. "Saria."

"It is time to leave. Are you ready?" Navi's voice sounded out from behind him. Link had not even heard her approach him.

"Not really." Link replied hollowly. "Let's go."

"We must travel to the Forest Temple." Navi said, her colourless eyes flickering to the passageway to the Sacred Forest Meadow. "A messenger will come to take us to the Castle."

"A messenger?" Link asked, his curiosity piped, despite the previous events. "A...Hylian?"

"Not quite." Navi replied. She wouldn't say anything more.

They arrived at the Sacred Forest Meadow, where two Kokiri were standing guard just outside the open gate. The one on the left was Gaeil, and the one on the right was his twin sister, Faeris. Both were of the fighter sect. Faeris sent Link a small smile as they passed through, though her companion merely glanced the other way. Gaeil, after finding out that Link was leaving the forest, and was not even a Kokiri, had not even given Link the time of day. He was very particular in the company he kept.

Link and Navi passed through the hedge maze, both equally aware of where they were going. Link had trained there ever since he could remember...as for Navi, well...who knew?

Mido met them at the entrance to the temple stairs. His usual scowl that marked Link's arrival was ever-present, but it seemed to be deeper than usual.

Farore's Wind...what did I do now? Link sighed inwardly. This was one thing that he wouldn't miss-Mido and his constant hate for him.

"You." He growled. "You lying son of a Wolfos." Mido's eyes narrowed. "You aren't even one of us!" Grabbing a fistful of Link's tunic, he jerked the Hylian forward. Sinew showed under the misleading appearance of thin arms. "If it were up to me, I'd-"

"But it's not." Link hissed at him in return. "So let me through."

Mido snarled at him, letting him go. "It's too bad that you are under the protection of the Great Deku Tree. I would have enjoyed giving you a lesson in Kokiri fighting, outsider."

Link's eyes flared and his fists clenched. Outsider...That would be his tag, his new name...even Saria had said it... "You blasted ass...I've lived here for almost all of my life. I know the art of Kokiri fighting."

Mido leapt forward, staff twirling in front of him. Link parried the first strike, and dodged the second. Having been beat up by the elder for all his life, Link had learned speed and nimbleness rather than brute strength and ferocity. Ducking under a forward stab, Link slid under Mido's reach and scrambled up the stairs, to where Navi was already waiting.

"Come on, Link!"

When did she get the time to get there? Link wondered. His train of thought was switched, as Mido grabbed a hold of one ankle and tugged hard. Link lost purchase on the ground and slammed down hard on the stone steps. As one of them dug into his spine, Link gasped for air; he had the wind knocked out of him.

Mido knelt on the stomach of the taller boy, the tip of his pole digging into Link's neck. "You know the art?" He scoffed. "If so, then I will swallow my staff."

Link grunted. "Get chewing, Mido." Mido sneered, pushing down on his weapon.

The Kokiri was suddenly knocked aside as a blue flash pushed him out of the way. Mido tumbled down the staircase, landing in a heap at the bottom. Link sat up quickly, taking in deep breaths. Then he looked at his rescuer.

It was a young boy, perhaps as old as Link was, with pale blonde hair. He wore a navy, cloth jerkin, and tight navy pants. Matching boots rose to his knees, and at the base of his neck was a strange red tattoo, in the form of an eye. The most disturbing feature about him was not the tattoo, however, it was his eyes.

His deep, mysterious crimson eyes.

Link skittered backwards as the young man leaned forward. "Are you alright?" Link didn't answer, and the light tenor voice went on. "I am sorry for interfering, but I didn't like what he was doing...are you all right?"

Link opened and closed his mouth like a fish, but only a thin garble leaked out. Crimson eyes. They were just like the ones in his dreams. They stared at him curiously, in a head tilting like an amused bird. "Y-yeah. T-thanks." The boy smiled at him and offered a hand up. Link accepted, and found a warm, callused hand gripping his own.

"My name is Sheik. I am the messenger that was sent to escort you to the Castle."

"Link. Uh...representative of the Kokiri...I guess." Link threw Sheik a half smile.

Mido stood, getting up from the spot of which he was unceremoniously sprawled to the earth. "I will get you for this, outsider." He scowled, his face twisting into a nasty figure. "Just you wait..." Having regained his composure, he stalked away.

Sheik watched him, one eyebrow quirked and unimpressed. "Who was that, anyway?"

Link sighed, going past the messenger and into the main area of the temple. "Mido."

"He isn't very pleasant."

"He's a giant bigot." Link said bitterly, stopping at the foot of the main temple stairs. "But he's an elder. I can't do anything about it."

"You could have kicked his ass, back there." Sheik examined Link critically with a stern expression. "You were holding back."

Link looked at him, surprised. How had he known? "I was not."

"You were so." Sheik said knowingly. "In the outside world, you must learn to drop that habit. If not, you will be eaten alive. Literally." He indicated for Link to stand next to him, on the Temple platform. "Let us leave." Navi had appeared at his side, a nonchalant expression on her face. Link hesitated, glancing back at his former home. That was all he knewit was all he had.

Sheik's expression softened. "Please, I know that this must be hard for you, to have your whole world flipped around..." His eyes darkened at this remark. "But I assure you...you will be perfectly welcome and safe at the Castle." He pulled out a harp from a previously unseen case at his back. "Trust me."

Link took one more look at the forest, imprinting it in his memory. He knew that somewhere Mido was waiting for his return, and Saria was crying her heart out. He would miss the latter, of course, but he was eager to leave the first in the dust. Link stepped beside Navi and Sheik. "Let's go."

~*~*~*~

"Welcome, Link of the Kokiri. We receive you with open arms, and hope that you enjoy your stay here. Pray tell, what is the reason for your most abrupt request for an audience with us?"

Link nervously knelt before the royal family of Castle Town, and the Hylian leaders of Hyrule. Immediately after his arrival, he had been swept away from Sheik to be groomed and cleaned up before meeting the King. Navi, as embarrassing as it was, stayed at his side the whole time. It seemed that the Kokiri had no shame or sense of modesty. An hour later, he had been literally pushed into a grand hall, where the King, Queen and Princess were ready to hear him out.

"Your majesties, a serious incident has occurred in the Forests of Farore." Link's mind scrambled for a dignified vocabulary. Why hadn't the Deku Tree sent a diplomat instead? "And, uh..."

Navi, as if sensing his troubles, elaborated for him. "Your Highness, whilst overseeing the birth of a newborn Kokiri, a dark man rode into the inner sanctum of the Deku Tree and set upon one of the three jewels of the Goddesses."

The King gasped. "No, please say it isn't so! The life-giver has been stolen away from you?"

Navi nodded. "Yes, your Highness. We would have pursued the man, but we are the Kokiri. We cannot stray from the forest of our energy. The Deku Tree has asked us to plead our case to you, in hopes that you may recover the stone. The thief called himself Ganon. He said he would take the other two for his own."

The king pursed his lips in thought. "Ganon." He tapped his fingers on the side of his throne. "The leader of the Gerudos." His gaze was suddenly direct as he looked at Navi and Link. "Are you sure of this? The Gerudo are skilled fighters. We cannot take the chance to wage a war on them without proper reassurance."

Navi nodded. "He clearly said that his name was Ganon." She paused. "Your Highness, there is one more thing."

"What is it?"

Navi indicated Link. "This, the Deku Tree has determined, is the Child of Destiny."

The King's eyes lit up as he glanced sidewards at the Queen. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"He is not of the Kokiri. He is a Hylian that grew up with them."

Link shifted uncomfortably, staring down at the royal blue carpet that he was standing on. What was the big deal? So what if he was not really a Kokiri...did they all have to rub it in? He glanced up at the three royal persons. The King and Queen were looking at him in wonder, but the princess...she was staring at him with something else in her eyes.

She had long pale blonde hair, pulled back under a silk kerchief, and bright sky blue eyes. She wore a simple silk gown, quite plain by royal standards. She gazed at him in curiosity, yes, but also like there was a plan forming in her mind. Link didn't like it.

The King sighed heavily, waving a hand at them. "This will take more than one night to think over. Please, rest a while. We will accommodate you as well as we can." He nodded his head at them, and Link and Navi both bowed. "I will call for you when I have made my decision."

Link and Navi followed a guard out of the hall, and deeper into the castle. They crossed a courtyard, and went up a flight of stairs into a private house, set apart from the rest of the palace rooms. It over saw a small wading pool, hidden in a forested place. All in all, it was comfy. It reminded Link of home.

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YAY!!! I LOVE SHEIK!!!! HE'S SO COOL!! IF HE WERE REAL, HE'D BE HOT TOO!!!!! YAY FOR THE SHEIKAH!!

SHEIK: QUIT IT WITH THE CAPS, ALREADY!!!!

Me: Whupps. Sorry. I just get so excited when I introduce you!! Your personality is different in this one, tho.

Sheik: Oh well. I think I have three, really.

Me: Oh? How so?

Sheik: There is the real persona, the one I use in A/N's, the persona I have in Reset into the Game, and the one that I have in this fic.

Me: Wow. You really think about this stuff, doncha?

Sheik: Yeah, well.I have a lot of time when you are aren't writing chapps about me.

Me: Awwww.... Poor Sheik... {Hugs him}

Sheik: Oh, don't do that...you'll make me blush...{Looks around} ^_______^

Me: Hee-hee-hee!

;) Heh... I luv this character.... Anyway, working on the next chap, so see you in a little while. This was a short chapter, so I'll get the next one out extra-super-quick for all of ya.

Luv ya all to pieces,

OracleVortex

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