A.N.: Another chapter is rewritten! The next you will get will be the tenth chapter, and after that I will rewrite the third. Nothing more to say.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Link slowed Epona's cantering down into brisk trot as she entered the village. She smiled at the idyllic beauty of it, nodding good mornings to Sera who was opening her shop. The children had not yet woken up, the only sound filling in the air was vivid singing of a finch.
Ordon was timeless, had always been. Every morning Link heard a familiar screech of a hawk greeting her. Every time arriving to the village in the morning, Sera's cat would run up to her, and Link would catch her some fish from the small river pond if she had time to. Link would sit down on the edge of the pond and let her gaze fall onto its surface glistening in the light of rising sun. The life there was peaceful and simple, everyone helped each other in need.
Fado came out of the barn just as Link rode through the gates and into the ranch. She lightly smiled as he sighed deep in relief. "Finally you came!" he panted, wiping sweat off his forehead with a towel.
"Have you already had trouble with them?" Link chuckled, halting Epona a few feet away from him. "You can't even imagine!" he shook his head a bit. "I have already opened the pens, you just have to get them in. I left half of them inside, to make your work easier, so it won't take too long."
Link nodded and smiled gratefully at the man, who shifted himself aside to let her do her work. She urged Epona to canter, rounding behind the goats so they were directly in between her and the barn. With a couple of whoops she got them in the barn with ease, Fado hurrying to close the pens right after Link had halted the mare.
"Thank you Link, once again, for helping me!" he half-shouted as striding towards her and Epona. She smiled.
"You're welcome, it was my pleasure to help you."
"I just wish there would be a way to do all this myself..." he complained sighing and scratching his neck.
"Don't worry, at least I have a job!" Link laughed, patting Epona's neck. "And she has too." The horse quietly whinnied, her white mane and bronze-brown coat shining bright, competing with the sunlight despite the fact that the mare was a bit sweaty, a layer of dust attaching to the sweat. It was unnaturally hot already.
"Well, have a good day!" Fado shouted after Link as she was trotting back to the village. "I will!"
When she arrived to the village, there was a lot of things going on. She halted Epona near the mayor's house when the mayor himself, Bo as said, strode towards her. She smiled a little, dismounting of Epona.
"Um... Morning, Link!" Bo greeted, a uncomfortable grin on his face. Link nodded quickly with questioning eyes.
"Sorry for asking but... Would you mind to do some extra-job for villagers? I mean, it looks like almost each of them have some-kind-of problems, and they'd love to get help from someone... So, I thought you, of course." he carefully asked, Link immediately seeing his eyes apologizing for even asking her for so much work at once.
"Oh it's okay, Bo. The goat herding was easy today, I will help the villagers gladly." she replied, a wide smile half caused by the bright sunlight pulling her lips apart.
"That's good to hear, thank you already! I could help them, too, but I'm a bit too busy now. I'll head to Kakariko Village soon, for I have some business with Renado, and I'll take Ilia with me. She had been there only once before, and she'd like to see her childhood friend Luda."
Ilia hasn't told me anything... was her first thought, but then it hit her. Of course her friend hadn't, Link would not let her leave alone with only her father for such a long trip.
"However, I have to go and pack up for the trip. A big thank you for helping the denizens, have a good day!" the mayor waved yawning deep, and shutting the double doors of his stupendous house which was entirely made of rare dark wood found only within the deepest parts of southern Faron Woods. Link had never been allowed to roam those forbidden forests, for they were full of danger and mysterious creatures no one knew a thing. She had only read about the tales told by those who were said to have been visited the place forgotten by the goddesses, where the forces of pure darkness were said to prowl.
Link patted Epona's reddish coat, inducing a grey cloud of dust and dried sweat whirl up around her hand. She would have to take her to the spring later today. The mare snorted pleased, throwing her large head up as knowing the girl's thoughts and agreeing. Link chuckled as she nuzzled her with her soft chub, forcing her to take a step back to keep her balance. "Should we now go and look if someone needs help, my girl?" she whispered, getting the mare's left ear twist towards her, right hoof stamping the ground loudly.
Epona followed right behind her as she strode forward.
Uli was sitting on the board-like platform by the stream that flowed through Ordon, coming from the southern mountains and later conjoining with Faron Flow.
The woman seemed rather sad, lifting her soft gaze as Link paced closer.
"I've lost my cradle. The one you and my husband crafted for my future baby." she said before Link could ask. "I'm sorry." she added.
"Don't worry Uli, I'll go and search for it around the village. I'm sure it will be found in no time!" The girl gave her a wide smile, which the woman could only return.
When Link continued along the dirt path with Epona at her heel she saw Hanch standing high on a earth-pillar, looking towards a big tree on the other side of the village. Hanch was the husband of Sera's, who was the woman who kept up a little shop on the right side of the village's entrance. The shop was called 'Sera's Sundries', and Link always bought some milk from there. The little shop had everything for the villager's daily needs despite its small size. Sera and Hanch had a daughter, Beth, who was a huge fan of Link.
She made her way to vines growing on the one side of the pillar, and climbed up. Hanch turned to her and nodded good mornings, he actually didn't speak a lot. Link nodded back then turning her head to the direction where the man had looked, lifting her eyes higher until she saw a beehive. It was hanging on a big branch, and holy god it was big! Link bet it was even bigger than her.
"So, you were thinking how to get that beehive down, right?" Link asked, glancing the man next to him. He nodded.
"Sera has lost her cat and is now upset, so I think she would feel a bit better if I bring her some bee larva. But I don't get it how to get that hive down." he said, not looking at Link.
"I can get it down." she replied, leaping onto the second pillar. There were some hawk-shaped grass growing there, and Link picked up one of them, placing it on her lips careful not to break it, and blew. A sweet melody resembling a sharp whistle reached every corner of the village, echoing back from the walls of houses and glistening waters, and soon a screech was audible. Link reach out her right hand, and a brown hawk settled on it. The hawk looked at Link and waited what he was supposed to do. Link pointed at the beehive, and the hawk spread out his wings and flew straight towards the hive, knocking it to the ground. Angry bees flew after hawk, chasing it a few seconds, but then scattering somewhere into the woods when the hawk had flew way too high for them to reach him. Hanch gave a thankful smile to Link and climbed down the vines, hurrying towards the broken hive.
Link smiled, then remembering the cradle and looking around for it. Nothing. Then, suddenly, she heard weird shrieking behind her. She turned around for the source of the noise, but found nothing. The shrieking continued, and Link jumped to the shop's purplish tile roof, and then from there to the third earth-pillar, and then again to the next pillar which was in the middle of the river pond. There she was able to detect a monkey, bouncing up and down on a pretty high rock in the end of a short water-corridor, in the middle of even smaller pond. The monkey held something in herarms that were stretched out straight over her head. Link realized that the thing was the missing cradle. Her eyes narrowed, those monkeys were a real nuisance to the villagers, all the time eating pumpkins, teasing goats or stealing other things, like that cradle there. Link picked up the hawk-shaped grass once more, calling the hawk. Soon the hawk landed on her right arm, and straight away was send to the monkey's direction. The hawk grabbed the cradle in his talons and flew back to Link, dropping the cradle in her arms. The shrieking monkey was left there, and without a route back, she, apparently being a female if judging by the red rose behind her ear, leapt on the edge, disappearing into the surrounding woods.
The hawk flew back to the bright-blue sky, whistling loudly as doing so. Link carefully jumped from pillar to pillar ending up on the shop's roof. There she halted, thinking where it would be safe to jump onto the ground. She decided to jump to the lower part of the roof, and then to the ground, so she didn't need to drop the cradle down or break her ankles. She then rushed back to Uli.
As soon as noticed her, the woman stood up with an effort. "Oh you found it! Thank you Link, without your help it would still be missing."
Link smiled as handing the cradle back to Uli.
"Come with me, I think I have something to give to you." she beckoned with her head, wobbling a little when walking towards her house. Link, Epona still right behind her, followed her.
"Oh no, you don't need to. It was all my pleasure to help." Link hindered, she didn't want to burden people. Uli just shook her head.
"Don't worry, you don't burden me." she said like she had read Link's mind. Link sighed, halting Epona with a small move of her hand, so the mare would not come and eat Uli's little garden. Uli went inside while Link waited outside, and soon came back with a fishing rod. Link raised her eyebrows as Uli gave it to her.
"For.. Me? I... I can't take it... It have certainly taken a long time to made such a fine rod." Link hesitated, but Uli shoved it in her hands. The rod was pretty long, painted with yellowish-brown and designed with black horizontal stripes.
"In fact, Colin made it. He would give it to you anyway, so it could make him happy if you take it now." Uli said with a smile. Link nodded hesitantly and smiled.
"Thank you, I'll use it everyday." Link answered and turned, waving at her. Link had never been a person who would wait for a reward from her work nor the help she offered for the people. She always felt uncomfortable of receiving any kind of gifts, feeling like the people had wasted their precious time just to craft or buy her things. Because of that, anyone seldom gave her anything self-crafted, the more preferable was just to give her some pumpkins to make a soup of, or delicious goat cheese.
Uli had returned into her house with the cradle and Link headed towards the first earth-pillar, turning to the left and passing a small pumpkin-field. She stopped before crossing a bridge which led to Jaggle's and Pergie's house. They were Talo's and Malo's parents, and had a big wooden waterwheel on the left side of their house. They also owned a field higher in the mountains, where they grew oat and some vegetables. During the harvesting, they would bring the crops down to the village and grind the oat in the small mill they had inside their house.
They had an another pumpkin-field near their house, and a wooden table and two bench on the both sides of it. Jaggle had made the table and the benches by himself, he loved woodwork.
Link had stopped by the stream, and was watching the light flow in front of her toes. A small greengill was struggling there, in a shallow water, almost on-land. Link carefully reached her hand towards the little fish and picked it up, standing up and half-running near to the deeper water, placing the fish there. With a splash it dove underwater and then jumped half-feet over the water's surface, as thanking Link for saving its life. Link smiled at the fish, then turning away and walked across the said bridge, to the yard of Jaggle and Pergie.
Some pumpkins were lifted on the table, obviously by the man who was chopping them with a large knife. Sweat drops glistened on his forehead, some of them streaming down across his cheeks and dripping to the ground from his bearded chin.
"Oh, good morning, Link! How are you?" the man greeted as noticed her. Link wiped a thin tress behind her pointed ear, smiling. The air over the village was pretty muggy, like always before a storm. But the storm had raged there at last night and the new one would not be coming for a while. Link could felt that something was wrong, and that's what got her worried. She didn't want to worry other villagers, so she hadn't mentioned about it to others.
"Morning, Jaggle. I'm fine, thanks. How about you? You look pretty tired." Link chuckled, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. Huh, it was totally hot! Link panted heavily just because of it. Jaggle grinned.
"Well, I'm good, but tired as you said. Pumpkins are pretty heavy. And here's really hot today... This kind of heat is unnatural here in the woods." he said, viewing at the sky, a hand on his forehead like a visor. Link just nodded, her face reverting serious as she looked down to the loamy ground below her brown sandals.
"And oh, could you help me get that cat back to his owner. I guess she is Sera's cat." Jaggle turned around and pointed the cat among the long, yellowed grass. Immediately, when Link noticed her, she turned around and rushed to the opposite direction. Link nodded, walking after cat and took out her new fishing rod. She threw the hook in the water and waited for a few minutes, then pulling out a greengill. Link dropped it onto the ground, and the cat hissed, jumping backwards. Link sighed, soon getting another greengill. At the same second when the fish touched the ground, the cat swooped towards it and took it in her mouth, running away as fast as she could. Link saw him disappear through a cat flap next to the shop's door. Link rolled her eyes, carefully kicking the another fish back into water, and walking to the shop.
Inside she saw Sera, watching her cat eating fish happier than ever. When the woman noticed Link, she just smiled the biggest smile Link had ever seen.
"Oh look at him, he caught a fish on his own! Oh my little kitty, am I proud of you? Oh momma is proud of you yeah I am!" she slobbered, then lifting her head.
"Oh and you, take what you want, it won't cost any..." the sentence stopped as she started slobbering again. Link sighed, rolled her eyes and grabbed a slingshot from the shelf. She said her thanks and exited the shop. As she closed the door behind her, something nudged her on a shoulder, getting her out of balance and almost poured her to the ground. At the last moment she grabbed her fingers around a wreath made from a goat's circle-like horn with pink and white flowers circling it. Link sighed and placed a hand on her chest, she almost had a heart attack. When she turned to face the person or thing that had nudged her, she only saw a giant chub inches away from her face. Again she took a step back, before realizing that it was Epona that was standing straight in front of her, ears forward and friendly, dark-brown eyes staring into her blue ones. Link smiled at her, she was funny sometimes, especially when she wanted attention. Link had left her standing still for too long, so she obviously wanted to find her. Link patted her grey, soft chub with her hand and walked past the mare, towards her house.
As she arrived there, there were a bunch of kids arguing for something. Link grinned, striding towards them. As the kids noticed her, the one named Talo noticed the slingshot in her hand. Immediately they all ran to her, bouncing up and down.
"Woah! You got a slingshot!" Talo shouted at her face, getting Link close her eyes before she would got saliva into them. The boy stared at the slingshot with glowing eyes.
"You bought it from my mom's shop didn't you? Is it good enough?" Beth, the only girl in that 'bunch of kids' as Link always said, asked curiously yet a bit nervous if the weapon would work all right. Link hadn't test her new weapon yet, she grinned and glanced the dummy-scarecrow on the right side of her house.
"I haven't test it yet, but I'm sure it's great!" Link examined the weapon in her hand and smiled to herself. When she lifted her eyes up the kids were staring at her, and the slingshot, with a little disappointed looks. Link knew they would want to see her use it in practically.
At the moment she was opening her mouth to consent to their voiceless call, her eyes spotted Colin. The boy was standing behind the others, gazing his toes, hands tied together behind his back. The grin that had risen on her lips disappeared at the very moment as she pushed the other kids aside and strode to him. Hearing the steps drawing close, he lifted his gaze to meet Link's. In the middle of his eyes filled with silent sadness lit a flame as soon as he saw her blue eyes, a slight smile rising on his lips.
"Hey Colin, is something wrong? You look so melancholy today, and it's so beautiful day! You should be playing with others." She smiled at him, wrapping her right arm around his shoulders and squatting down to same level as he was. Colin was hesitating, and had opened his mouth, but shut it immediately.
"Tell me the truth, boy. You know you can tell me everything" Link rubbed his back calmly, looking deep into his baby-blue eyes. The boy looked back and nodded lightly. To Colin Link was like a big sister he never had, and it was just the thing he needed the most; someone who supports, someone who loves, someone who cares. Someone who was always there, with him, even if they were away from each others. He smiled.
"Those guys just won't let me alone, always teasing me. Well, Beth isn't, but she's always with Talo and Malo..." Link interrupted him by standing up and creating a death-look at Talo and Malo. The boys looked guilty, gazes dropping at the level of their toes. Beth viewed at a stone next to her.
"What I've said about teasing Colin? Why can't you play with him normally, like you do with each others? I'll promise you, if this isn't the last time you bully him, I will tell Ordona!"
Their eyes widened in shock as she threatened to tell Ordona, the deified spirit protecting Ordon. It was the worst threat to be known, for if the spirit was told that in his province someone was bullied, it would stop protecting them and let the darkness fill their souls. Of course, it was a legend, and a tale told to kids if they couldn't behave. But at least it was effective.
In Link's eyes flashed a slight regret for the sudden outburst, her gaze gradually softening.
"I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean to yell at you like that, but you should know that behaviour like that isn't allowed at all. I'll talk with your parents, yours too Beth." she said. The girl gulped getting Link chuckle quietly.
"Don't worry, I will just talk about this. I bet they will forgive you if this was the last time. And this was, wasn't it?" The kids nodded in row, all sighing in relief.
Suddenly there was a shriek behind her, and Talo's eyes were widened. Link turned around and saw the monkey. It was the same that was in the village a while ago and had stolen the cradle of Uli's. "Hey! That is the monkey which has caused trouble in the village! I will get you, you little.. – " The rest of Talo's sentence faded off as he dashed after the monkey, disappearing into the woods.
"Talo!" Link shouted after, the voice not reaching the boy's ears. She growled frustrated, crying out for Epona who soon cantered in sight and slid to a halt right in front of her, half-rearing with a neigh. Just as she was throwing herself on the mare's saddle, the door of her house creaked open, Rusl coming outside. Link's eyes widened in surprise as the man climbed down the ladders and half ran to her. Epona threw her head, bored, forcing Link to hold tight onto her reins to keep her still.
"Oh, there you are, my girl! I've tried to find you to give you a little gift for the trip to the Castle Town. You are going, aren't you?" Rusl asked, rising his eyebrows.
"Yes, I am going." Link replied in a hurried tone. Rusl nodded and handed her the gift that had been hiding behind his back. Link's eyes widened even more if possible as she took a wooden sword in her hands. It was made of dark wood, the same as Bo's house, and was beautifully designed with carvings along the blade and the hilt. Link held it in her hands, amazed and not sure how to react.
"Oh... Rusl, I can't take it, it's..." she hesitated, but the man cut her off.
"Don't worry, I made it for you, and only for you. You should take it. You said you need a sword for the trip, so here it is, in your hand. What do you like?"
"Rusl... It's amazing! Even if it's wooden, it doesn't matter. It's still amazing! Thank you, Rusl, thank you!" Link was smiling more than in her entire life she ever had. That was a perfect gift!
"Well, Colin. Are you coming home already?" Rusl asked his son. The boy was just opening his mouth to say 'yes', but Link interrupted.
"He's coming with me to the woods for a while, we'll come back in a hour or so." she said, nodding. Rusl smiled at his son and then returned to the village. Colin looked shocked.
"What do you mean, Link? To the woods? Why? I can't run alongside you and Epona, she's too fast!" the boy wavered. Link laughed a little.
"We are going after Talo, Malo and Beth. And no, you don't need to run. You will ride with me, come on!" Link beckoned with her right hand while holding Epona's reins in the other. Colin looked even more shocked, but walked to her. "B-but... I can't ride!" he complained, hesitantly taking a tight grip of Link's free hand.
"You can with me, I'll sit right behind you and hold you on her saddle, don't worry. I know how much you've wanted me to teach you to ride, so now you'll have a lesson." Link smiled and patted Epona. A big smile rose on Colin's face as he nodded. Link helped him on the saddle and swung herself behind him soon after. Epona threw her head, stepping still and biting her bit.
"The first lesson you'll have is that..." Link kicked the mare's sides with her heels, letting her to plunge forward and gain speed. "... whenever Epona is nervous, there is something wrong."