Okay, this just took FOREVER to write, let alone think of! Don't know what happened with this one, but I'm just glad it's done!

Bren: I thought you got lazy.

No! There was no inspiration for it! Anyway Bren, you know what to do.

Bren: *sigh* Fine. Storm does not own the Legend of Zelda series or anything related to it. All she owns is Adri, so no stealing. Or I'll hurt you. *pulls out sword*

Chapter 3: A Quick Tour

The warmth of sunlight woke her the next morning. Adri stirred, groaning as she began to open her eyes. Okay, it was all a dream. When I open my eyes I'll be back in my room with that picture waiting to be finished on my desk. When she finally opened them and her sight cleared, though, seeing Uli's house and the feeling of the sofa beneath her told her otherwise. Adri let out a deep sigh. Guess it wasn't a dream. She pushed herself up, feeling the blanket fall off her shoulders, and swung her legs over the side of the sofa. She rubbed the back of her head trying to recollect all that had happened.

Alright, let's see. I chased Auron into the woods, got attacked by some black, lizard thing, and now I'm apparently stuck in some other world with no hope of getting back home. She glanced at her arm, seeing it covered in clean, but less bandages. Adri let out yet another sigh groaning, "Well, guess this can't get any worse than it already is."

A knock came at the door. Adri leaped to her feet as Uli's voice drifted in, "Adri? Adri are you awake?"

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, I'm awake."

The door opened and Uli stepped inside, and following behind her was a new face. A young woman entered the house behind her. She was slim and looked about Adri's height, wearing a white dress and brown pants underneath. Strapped around one leg was a small pack. Her hair was pale blond and short like Adri's, but not at all wild like hers. Her light green eyes carried an aura of kindness that matched Uli's, plus something about her caused a calm air to settle over the room.

The girl smiled at Adri saying, "Good morning, Adri. Uli has told me quite a bit about you."

Uli took a seat next to the sofa saying, "Adri, this is Ilia, the mayor's daughter. She has asked me about you and wished to see you today before she started working."

"It's nice to meet you," Ilia said as she took a seat, "Both Link and Rusl were talking about you yesterday."

"Really?"

"Of course, Adri!" laughed Uli, "Everyone has been talking about you since you got here." Before Adri could respond she reached out for her arm and set it in her lap. "But enough about that, let me see to your wound. Ilia, would you give me the bottle and cloth on the table."

Ilia handed the requested materials to Uli. With deft fingers she unwrapped the bandages, revealing the slashes across her forearm. Adri winced when she saw them. Since she had been attacked she hadn't seen them at all, and they looked like they had been pretty bad. Even if they were almost fully healed now as Uli said. Ilia's eyes widened when she saw the bandages pulled back.

"What was it?" she asked as Uli dabbed the wounds with the liquid in the bottle.

Adri frowned as she said, "I really don't remember. Might've been a bear or something from the way the slashes look." If I tell them what I really saw, that could be a one way ticket to the loony house. And there's no way that's going to happen.

Ilia frowned as she leaned in closer. "Hm…the spirit's water really helped them, but I've got something that will help even more." She then looked at Uli and asked, "That is, if it's alright with you Uli."

Uli nodded as she began to wrap new bandages around Adri's forearm. "If it will help, then yes. There," she sighed when she was finished, "that should do for now."

Adri flexed her hand, balling it into a fist as she did. There were no spasms of pain as she did, and she took that as a good sign. I really need to see that spring. It worked wonders on my arm.

"Adri, what do you think?" Ilia's voice cut into her thoughts.

She looked up and nodded. "Sure. Anything that will get this monster to heal is alright with me."

Uli got up, brushing a couple of stray bandages from her lap. To Adri she nodded saying, "You have my permission. Perhaps you can explore the village while you're at it, Adri. Some fresh air will do you some good."

"Okay." Adri turned to Ilia and got to her feet. "I'm ready when you are."

"Oh! And Adri, could you give this to Link?" She handed her a fishing rod. It was rough, but actually well made. Adri nodded as she took the rod. "I'll give it to him, Uli."

Ilia smiled, then made for the door. Adri followed behind her, waving to Uli as she opened the door. As the door shut behind them she thought she heard her say something about Link, but didn't give it much thought as the fresh air hit her face. There was a slight breeze blowing and the sound of the creek could be heard. Adri took a deep breath, then started walking down the road with Ilia. Guess I might as well enjoy this place.

"So Adri, you've met Link already?"

Ilia's voice snapped her out of her revere. Adri looked at the girl stammering, "Y-yeah, actually I have. He came to check on me yesterday."

She smiled. "Good. It's good to know he was keeping an eye on you," she said softly. For a second Adri thought she saw Ilia's face redden a bit, but the color vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Adri quickly came up with a response.

"I take it you and Link go way back?"

"Waa..oh! Yes, we've been friends since we were children. We're both seventeen." Ilia then perked up stating, "Ah, there's my home."

Adri looked up, and could tell she was looking at a house of great importance. Particularly by the size and the impressive horn that were mounted above the door. It was strange, the whole horn forming a complete circle, something Adri had never seen before. Outside the house were two men. One was a portly man wearing only a white tank top and the familiar pants that she had seen Link and Uli wearing. There was not a hair to see on his head, but a small moustache adorned his upper lip. Next to him was a familiar face, one that made Adri smile.

That is, until she felt Ilia's hand on her shoulder. She had it in a death grip. Adri looked at her and saw her eyes wide and totally focused on Link. "Ilia, what's wrong?" she asked.

"He's never up this early. Not on a day off."

"Ilia are you alright?"

Ilia quickly snapped her head at her, an apologetic look in her eyes. "I'm fine, but….could I bring the ointment to you later this evening?"

"Um…Sure." Adri had to say yes when she saw that pleading look on her face.

The older girl smiled gratefully, then ran off toward her house. As she reached the porch though, the ground began to tremble. A voice shouted from atop the hill as a goat came galloping down the road. It had a shaggy bluish hued coat and a rack of horn just like the one on the mayor's house adorned its head. It was headed straight for the two men. Adri ran towards them as Link jumped in the goat's path as if he meant to stop it with his bare hands. Just as Ilia was slipping inside the house. Link looked away for a second as the goat charged at him.

Adri saw what was coming and screamed, "Link get out of the way!"

"Iliahhh!"
The goat's horns slammed into Link's chest, sending him flying. Adri reached him just as he landed face flat in the dirt, the goat galloping away. The man hurried over, helping Link to his feet. He groaned and rubbed his head as he turned to Adri. A sheepish smile was on his face.

"Er, hi Adri. You….you look alright this morning," he said, his face reddening with embarrassment.

Adri crossed her arms. She wanted to slap him across the face so badly, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead she sighed and replied, "And you…..yeah…..what were you thinking!" She couldn't stop herself and the statement just tumbled out.

The man dusted Link off, then looked at Adri. He smiled saying, "I wouldn't worry, lass. Link's going to be fine. He gets tackled by the goats like that almost every day at the ranch." He held out his hand adding, "I am Bo, mayor of Ordon Village. And you must be Adri. Link was telling me about you before the goat came."

How many people has he told about me? Out loud Adri said, "Nice to meet you."

"Adri, was that Ilia with you?"

"Yes, but she had to do something inside."

"Oh." Link's eyes seemed to mist over as if he were thinking about something, but they quickly went back to normal as he said, "So, Uli let you out?"

Adri nodded. "Yeah. She gave me permission to wander around the village for the day."

"Well that's convenient," Link said, "I've got the day off from work today, so I can show you around."

"Cool!"

Bo and Link exchanged looks, confused. Link raised his eyebrows saying, "Cool? Are you cold, Adri?"

Adri felt her face heat up. "Uh…no, that's just a bit of my town's speech." Okay, next time I need to watch it and not be so free with the slang. She added, "Are you ready to go then?"

Link nodded. With a final good-bye to Bo they walked down the road away from the house. Adri looked around her, only half listening to what Link was saying, a sigh of content escaping her. She could feel it as they walked, a sense of calm and comfort that enveloped the whole village. There are worse places I could've ended up, she thought, At least I ended up here.

"Hey Adri, what's your home like?"

"Huh?" For the second time Adri was caught off guard, but managed to respond quickly, "Oh, well….I can say it isn't anywhere near as beautiful as Ordon. I really can't describe it though…." At least in a way you would understand, Link.

"Really? Or are you just jealous of my village?"

Adri laughed and gave him a gentle shove. "Am not! Oh, and by the way, Uli wanted me to give this to you." She held out the fishing rod. Link took it, a grin on his face.

"Thanks! Colin's been telling me he was making this." A mischievous gleam entered Link's eyes. "In fact…." He took off at a brisk pace towards the creek. Adri had no choice but to follow, not sure what he was planning on doing. As an answer to her question Link pointed to the far bank. Seated on the small dock was a little cat, just staring at the river watching the fish. Link smiled and held up the rod.

"That's Sera's, the lady who works at the store, cat. Jaggle told me that he'd been having a staring contest with the river as if he planned on catching a fish." Link checked the hook on the end of the line, then cast it out into the water. "Let's see if I can give him a hand."

It didn't take long for him to get a bite. Link pulled hard and out popped a small fish. It flopped around on the hook for a few seconds before becoming still. Adri winced a bit, but that was the way of life. Link plucked the fish off the line saying, "Okay, now let's see to that cat."

***

"Okay, remind me again why this toy is so important that we went to all that trouble with that cat to get it?"

Their tiny episode with the cat hadn't gone well. When Link had tempted it with the fish, still on the line mind you, the feline had leaped without question. Seeing Link as a rival for its food it did what any creature would do, and that is fight for what it felt was rightfully its property. The end result was a trio of vivid red claw marks across Link's right cheek. The cat got the fish off the hook before either he or Adri could grab it and streaked towards a distant hut, namely its owner's general store. Link wanted to tear the thing to shreds because of the pain it had caused him, but Adri managed to get him to calm down. They found that same cat within the shop, sitting on the counter, drinking from a bowl of milk as if nothing had happened. And all they got out of the ordeal was a slingshot.

Link winced a bit at Adri's statement, tracing the scratches on his cheek gingerly. "Well, I promised the kids I would get it for them. I can't go back on a promise I made to them!"

"What about the monkey?"

"Er…..that has nothing to do with that!" Link raved, not wanting to get into an argument about the situation that had occurred afterwards involving a hawk and monkey, "Look, let's just go see the kids and show them the slingshot. My house is just up the road."

With the disagreement behind them they walked up the road through the village gates. Link had begun explaining everything along the way from the people of the village to the animals that lived in the nearby woods. Particularly a band of mischievous monkeys that had recently moved in. He stressed that they had been playing tricks on the villagers and had stolen food from house stores. But along with this slight nuisance he mentioned the village's main business, the goats. He explained how everything revolved around the Ordonian goats and how he was a wrangler at the ranch up the hill. That would explain why he jumped in front of the goat, Adri mused.

"Link!"

They looked up and saw a man coming towards them. He had light blond hair that curled over a headband on his forehead. Plus he had a complete short beard and mustache. He was dressed in what Adri was beginning to consider the village wardrobe, but strapped to his back was, clearly, a sword. In his hands was a long, narrow package. There was a smile on his face as he approached them.

"Ah! Good to see you up and about, young lady," he said. He must have seen how confused Adri felt for he laughed adding, "I'm Rusl. My home is the one where you've been staying. Surely Uli has mentioned me."

Adri felt a button in her head click as he mentioned Uli. "Oh, right! So you're Rusl! Yes, I'm feeling a lot better today."

"Of course, otherwise my wife wouldn't have let you leave the house." He then turned to Link, eying the fishing rod in his hands. "I see you got the rod. Good, Colin will be happy to here it."

Link nodded. "Would you tell him thank you for me?"

"You can tell him yourself! He's up at your house with the other children. But before you go…"

Rusl held the package out to Link, who took it without hesitation. Adri saw a gleam in his eyes as he tore the cloth away eagerly. In his hands was a wooden sword. It was fairly simple, the wood roughly shaped in the image of a simple one handed sword. Green lines and swirls of old, chipped paint ran the length of the "blade" wrapping around the handle, varying in design and skill. Despite being carved from wood, the edges looked sharp enough to cut through a blade of grass.

Link's eyes sparkled as he took a few experimental swipes at the air. Satisfied, he breathed, "It's as good as new, Rusl. Thank you!"

"It was no trouble. Just don't break again!" he laughed. To Adri he said, "Be sure to be back at the house by sunset, Adri. Uli would not want you wandering the village at night, no matter how well you feel you are." With that said he walked down the road to the village.

Adri looked at the sword, an eyebrow raised. "Do I want to know what you did to that thing?"

"Er, maybe not," Link replied, "Come on, I've got its sheath at my house."

"Link!"

Something told Adri they weren't going to reach the house anytime soon. As soon as Link had finished his sentence three children had come running down the path towards them. Two were boys, one with an almost infantile face, and the third was a girl. The kids surrounded Link, the eldest of the boys practically jumping out of his skin with excitement.

"Didja get it, Link!" he babbled, "Didja!?"

Link sighed and pulled out the slingshot. The boy whooped with joy, snatching it right out of Link's hand to test it. He made experimental shots, one eye closed like a pro, then noticed Adri. Instantly he dropped the toy and turned his focus completely on her along with the other two children. The questions were being fired away.

"You're the girl Link rescued, huh?" he stated and continued without waiting for an answer, "Colin's dad said you fell from the top of the spring! How did you survive that!"

"Talo don't be so rude!" scolded the girl. To Adri she smiled, "Ignore this brat. I'm Beth, that's Talo, and the little one is his brother Malo."

"Er…Okay then. I'm Adri."

Before she knew it Talo began bombarding her with questions like how high her fall was, what she thought of the village, and even where she had come from. Adri refrained from saying much about Blakeston, and didn't even know how to begin answering the cliff question. Still, Link saved her by offering to show Talo a couple sword techniques, which the boy eagerly accepted. As Link went through different forms with him, Adri almost totally ignored the voices of Beth and Malo (seriously, the smaller kid freaked her out a bit). Talo was ranting about the monkeys, but she didn't acknowledge that as she observed the demonstration. She smiled, noticing how easily Link moved through the stances from what he called a horizontal slice to a spin attack. The jump one seemed particularly brutal after seeing what it did to a nearby scarecrow. He was good, she had to admit that. A world of swords and shields.....pft, great. What did I do to end up here?

"Hey!"

Talo's shout brought her back to reality. Adri followed his pointing arm to see a monkey standing only a few feet away from them. It had a rose stuck behind an ear, and it seemed to be watching them intently. However, once all eyes were on it, the monkey let out a startled screech and tore off into the trees. Talo's eyes lit up.

"C'mere you!" He took off running after the animal.

Beth yelled at him to stop and Malo bolted with surprising speed after his brother. Link, who looked like he was ready to laugh, turned to Adri as the kids disappeared into the tunnel. "Come on, we've got to stop them before they hurt themselves."

Adri nodded. Pleased with her response, Link put his fingers to his lips and whistled. A whinny of recognition sounded before a huge horse galloped up to them. It was a Clydesdale mare, at least from what Adri knew, and a deep chestnut color with a white mane, tail, and hoof feathering. The mare tossed her head, her brown eyes focused on Link. He stroked her forehead saying, "This is Epona. She'll help us catch up with the kids." He turned back to Adri questioning, "You ever ridden before?"

"Yeah, once when I was little," she replied. Link nodded and, with one lithe movement, was in the saddle. He held out a hand, helping Adri into the saddle behind him. Epona pranced a little under the new weight, but didn't buck, much to Adri's relief. Link clicked his tongue and the horse trotted into the trees. As they passed under the trees, something was starting to bother Adri. They looked familiar, like she had seen them before somehow, yet she knew there was no way possible she could have seen a place like Ordon. She barely heard Link mention the spring that they had passed by. What did break her focus was the sound of Malo and Beth's voices. Link stopped Epona as they got near, looking down at them. The worry on their faces was not good.

"Beth, Malo, where's Talo?"

"He took off like a crazy person after that monkey!" gasped Beth, "We couldn't keep up with him."

Malo stared at Link for a few seconds, then pointed towards a distant bridge. On the other side of the gorge Adri could see a dark forest. She knew what had happened without the boy having to tell them. "They went….into the woods…," he said, as if it was the end of the world, "It's all up to you, Link."

So there you have it! One very rushed chapter fresh from the oven.

Bren: *rolls eyes* Reviews are appreciated. Anyone who flames eats sword.

I promise to have cookies next time!