Author's Note: I am really not proud of this chapter, so say what you like about it; as I want to know how I could make it better. Still, please sit back and enjoy this chapter. And please say if you do not understand something.

Extra Note: I have a new poll on my page concerning the third part of the Demon Trilogy, so please check it out if you are interested.

'Discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.'

-Marcel Proust-

Shards Of Time

An Ocarina of Time FanFiction

Chapter 7: Discovery

~Link~

"Link, for the sake of the Goddesses themselves, stop holding your mouth open like that! You're going to swallow a house if you keep that up any longer, or you'll stick like it!" I smirk to myself as Navi shouts again at how my face is due to my amazement. She apparently doesn't get how amazed one can be when looking at a place which you have never been to before.

"You can't say that you aren't excited too!" I retort, pointing at her. "Admit it, you're more excited than I am but you just don't want to admit it."

She shrugs and flies back above my head, signalling the end of our conversation. The grass moves out into a dusty pathway that leads through a set of incredibly small trees before moving outwards into a very open terrain; Navi called it "Hyrule Field", I think. "This is incredible..." I whisper to myself as I break off into a full out run. "This is the "world" then..." I note Navi smiling broadly at me. "What? It's not like you've seen all of this as well!"

"I may not have, but at least I don't look look like a kid on their birthday." I pass a look and roll my eyes as I look back around. The sky is so blue out here compared to being covered by the canopy of trees in the Forest, and the grass is so much greener out here too. If anything, I would probably almost start blending in with the grass itself...

Over to the right, I start to see a massive chunk of rock rise above the field itself, a big ring of cloud circling it; and large stretch of water flowing across the ground underneath. "Did the Great Deku Tree tell you what any of this is is out here?" I ask bluntly, getting a look from her and a shake of her head. "I was just wondering... you never know, he could have told you when he told you to come and get me."

She soon finds herself laughing as we reach the top of a small hill, despite both of us thinking about the Great Deku Tree's demise, places soon popping up in front of me. In what seems to be the very centre of the terrain is a few houses made with something other than wood like my house was – looking a lot fancier too – however, a random wall ahead of me is stopping me from seeing more of what it is; so I rush over to it to grab a better view.

The houses are rather cut off by thick walls around it, but it looks cosy and safe – so I really should consider staying there later if I can't find Hyrule Castle before sundown. I don't think travelling through an unknown area in the middle of the night is a good idea...

Still, off to my right now seems to be a very familiar place.

The wall from my dream is back, with the torches and wooden bridge down still there like nothing has changed. Still, the clouds aren't dark any longer and it doesn't look near as scary as it did in my dream. I soon fall into a daydream, however, so I shake myself out of it as quickly as I can. "Stop acting so crazy, Link!" Navi hisses in my ear.

"Well excuse me, Navi." I hiss back. "But this is a big deal, okay? I'd rather have you state the obvious over acting so annoying."

She rolls her eyes and bobs in front of my face in a wild panic. "What like: look Link, that must be Hyrule Castle ahead, that must be where Princess Zelda is! Or: look Link, the day is already ticking by, so get your ass towards the place ahead before I force you there myself!" I shake my head, but find myself laughing straight at her as we fall into a fit of giggles.

I smirk as I pass her a look, which she raises her eyebrow at. "What?"

"And that is why I have been waiting for a Guardian Fairy..."


~Interlude~

The air was cool against Malon's face as the cart moved along softly. She lay with her small back against the wooden cart, crates of produce around her body as she let her legs dangle off of the edge. She loved nights like this, especially when she could see all of the stars above her and the moon rising into the midnight purple sky.

She sighed as she drew her hands behind her head, beginning to point out the particular constellations in her head. There was almost too many to count as some of the dust spewed upwards from one of the wheels catching a rock made of sand. The cart jerked for a moment before reverting back to how the ride was before: comfortable.

"Sorry dear!" Her father, Talon, called from the back as he snapped the reigns in front of him. "Almost home now."

A tiny smile cracked the surface of her face as she called back a simple: "Okay!" The smell of the grass filled her senses, reminding her of how badly it had rained earlier. Hyrule was not a stranger to rain, especially in the current summer, but that rainfall was crazy. Thunder and lightning carried on for so long that the animals couldn't go back out to graze for a good eight hours.

That only meant that Malon had to be holed up in the barn then, with nothing else to do but hear about Ingo's countless moans about her father's lack of work in the Ranch. Still, life on Lon Lon Ranch – the only Ranch in Hyrule, and run by her family for generations – wasn't all that bad. She was able to be "one with nature", as her late mother had told her, and could have fun while helping out her family too.

She sighed again as the stars winked and twinkled down on her, the brightest one being called "Malinda's Star" by Malon herself after her late mother. She had the honour of having a name combined with her father's to create Malon's name, and life on the Ranch became incredibly hard when her mother died.

The songs that Malon sung all of the time over the Ranch reminded her of her mother, especially with horses like Epona – who Malinda had trusted to Malon before passing away. The pounding of hooves ahead of her began lulling her to sleep as her late mother's face appeared before her closed lids. She was almost about to drop off when she heard a sound in the very distant night, drawing her up into an upright position.

It was the sound of another, much more distressed sounding, horse.

She searched around through the bleak night for the location of the horse. It wasn't unusual to have horses moving around Hyrule wildly, but not one sounding so distressed. When her eyes finally found the mare, the lights of the Ranch reflected across the grass to expose both the horse and the mysterious rider above it.

The chestnut horse, she soon realised was a stallion with its build, with white tufts of hair down the bridge of his nose looked around the Field hesitantly; as if he had never been in in a place like Hyrule Field before. She shrugged for a moment, merely thinking that the horse had lost its way from the group which he was from – until she realised that the horse's rider was slumped over the horse's back, something red staining the stallion's fur.

They could be asleep... She told herself simply, only to soon add: But very few sleep on horses when on a long trip. What if the red stuff is...?

"Father!" Malon called to her father, hesitation deep within her voice. "There's someone over there, and they're hurt!" The cart jerked into a stop after a few moments, Talon looking over his shoulder to see what was going on. When his eyes caught on to the incoming horse, who had apparently spotted them in hopes of helping the rider, his eyes widened.

He grabbed his mare's reigns again uncomfortably. "Malon, honey, we can't help them. They're Gerudo, I can tell by the horse's garments and the rider's clothes. You know about the stories, Malon... helping them will only bring pain to us and the Ranch."

Yes, Malon had heard about all of the stories. The Gerudo only came out of the Desert to either steal or conceive a child. Many Hylians saw and called them many things that Malon was never allowed to say aloud – she had once, but never found out the meaning of it, only that it sounded like "horse".

"I don't care Father. Only because Mom was a Gerudo and left you after doesn't mean that I should hate them as well!" Malon couldn't let someone in need alone, not after she couldn't help her mother when she got sick. She was determined to help this person, no matter what their race was, and she wasn't going to let her racist father stop her.

Malinda, her mother, was a Gerudo by default; and had fallen in love with Talon only to conceive a child. Malon's father had realised this when Malinda had tried to take Malon to the Desert so she could be raised as a Gerudo, which Talon objected to. They argued and Malinda left, Malon only seeing her a few times before Malinda passed away from old age.

With a deep breath, she leapt off of the cart and towards the distressed horse. Her father called for her many times as her tiny boots squelched through the muddy Field, yet she paid no regard to him as she near the stallion. Her courage wasn't going to fail her now.

It couldn't...


~Link~

Navi tugs at my sleeve and screams: "Come on, Link! The bridge is going up!"

"Navi, when I told you to be more obvious over being annoying; I didn't meant for you to be both!" I roll my eyes. "I think I can see for myself, dear!" She huffs but doesn't say anything, making me grin when I realise that I've actually won the argument – something different from when I argued with Mido, but that was Mido after all; and he always thought that he was right, so he twisted it.

"I can be whatever I want to be." She scoffs, although still smiling. A few moments pass before she quietly says: "I really am glad that I'm your Guardian Fairy, you know. I don't what I would be like if I was following a person like Mido. I'm sure that he's not as bad if he would let people in... but you're a lot kinder."

I smile genuinely for once. "Thank-you. And if there's a chance that I really am a Kokiri, then I'm glad that I got to—"

"Stop it." She cuts in, raising her hand. "You're not getting away from me that easily."

I keep quiet as we carry on further towards the bridge, the sun setting quicker and quicker which is making me even more anxious. We could go back to where those houses were before, but I want to get to where the Deku Tree wanted me to as fast as possible - as much as I want to get sidetracked by the wonders of the world. Nonetheless, I can see the sky darkening from here; and it doesn't bode—

Something, I have no idea what it is, howls in the distance as the sun soon drags across the darkening sky – and I can see the bridge ahead of us moving upwards.

"Come on, Link!" Navi cries, tugging me along again. "We've gotta get there before the bridges goes up!" I try and speed myself up as much as I can, my mind forcing my legs onwards as hope rises within me that we will make it before the bridge goes up. My hope fades, however, when I reach the bit of water separating me from the town ahead when the bridge slams shut against the wall; stopping anyone from entering from after sundown.

I stare at the large slab of wood for a very long time, my heart sinking as the lights of the torches flicker mockingly at my face. "Try and get over here now, kid" I can hear then whisper. "You can't, can you?" As strange as it may seem already that torches have voices, it sounds a little like Mido in my mind; but I guess that's what you get after living with him for so long...

"You've got to be joking!" Navi almost screams as she flies straight into the bridge, pounding her entire body against it numerous times in hope of it opening. No prevail occurs. "We've got to get in there!"

"Navi..." I say quietly.

She whirls back around. "No, Link, we need to get in there and—what the Hell is that look for?!" I hear something halfway through her miniature rant, and my face must have shown it. It sounded much like twigs were snapping in half, but lots of them at once and sounding a little too close to for comfort too. "Watch out!" She zips over my head and turns into a yellow orb as I spin around, my eyes focusing on a moving skeleton.

How can that thing even be alive?!

My mind tells me that when a Guardian Fairy goes yellow, it's not a good thing – so my instincts shift accordingly as I roll out of the way of one of the skeletons, only to find another one rising from the ground in front of me. "Link, don't be afraid of the Stalchild!" I hear Navi cry from ahead. "Just attack it repeatedly!"

"How the Hell do you know what it's called?!" I can't help but ask in the blur of bones as I rip out the Kokiri Sword for protection, a tiny voice in the back of my head telling me that it must be a human – like people becoming Stalfos when they get lost in the Lost Woods back in the Forest – but the main part of my brain screaming at me to attack as much as I can so I can save my own skin.

Welcome to Hyrule, Link...

"Link, pay attention!" I slash at a Stalchild without a second thought as a set of bones comes down to strike me, sending shattered bones and dust across the grass so I can get onto my feet and run – if there is anywhere to. "Thank-you..." Her voice is more relieved than sarcastic, which brings a small smile onto my face.

My smile, however, is soon wiped off when I hear the twig-snapping sound again and a scream in the distance. Even as a Fairy, I can feel Navi tensing up against my neck as I dodge another swing of a Stalchild as one of those animals from the dream comes barrelling across the grassy terrain – the chestnut coloured horse pulling along a cart of goods behind it while trying to frantically dodge the Stalchildren rising from the earth.

"We need to help them!" I cry out, bursting into a run as one of the Stalchildren hoist itself onto the goods cart where two girls with fiery red hair sit; one of them letting out a screech while the other lies across the cart, apparently unconscious.

I sheathe the sword and stuff my hand into my bag to see if I have anything to help me, feeling the familiar handle of my Slingshot resting next to the Ocarina. When the Hell did that get in there? I soon shrug as I pull it out, grabbing some ammunition from inside and aiming at the Stalchild on the cart; the animal now stopping fully to try and fight off the Stalchildren itself.

I release the string, watching as the Deku Seed slams into the side of the Stalchild's head and sending it toppling off of the cart in a heap of bones. Taking a deep breath, Navi flies out to distract the other Stalchildren while I go off and take care of that other Stalchild before it can start terrorising those girls again.

I slash at the Stalchild only a few times before it dissolves away in a bright green light; like the spirit orbs back in the Forest. My heart feels a shot of pain for a few moments at the memory, but the conscious girl is holding her hand up to me and snaps me away from my thoughts before the can consume me fully. I watch her for a long few moments, taken away by her gesture. However, she understands this and says: "Grab on!" with a shake of her hand.

Her blue eyes bore into my own, her crimson hair slightly messy and falling onto her white dress; a pale orange scarf over her shoulders held together by a bronze medallion. After a while, I grab onto her hand and allow her to hoist me onto the cart. "Are you okay?" I ask quietly. "I saw them attack you and..."

"I'm fine, whoever you are. Dad, go!" She calls over to the man holding the reigns of the animal, hearing him snapping the reigns as both the animal and the cart jerks into motion. I almost fall over at how fast we speed off. She kneels down to the other girl on the cart, a liquid staining the wooden structure. "I found her with her horse like this, and I just had to help her..."

She looks a little like the girl from my dream, only in a purple coloured uniform instead.

I kneel down as well. "Horse?"

"You don't know what a horse is?" She doesn't look up, only turns back to the brown coloured animal following behind us which the girl must have been on when she was found. "That's a horse." Her eyes flicker up as I slam the Kokiri Sword into a passing Stalchild before it can get near us, hitting another one ahead with the Slingshot. "When we get to the Ranch, they won't bother us. But they've never been like this before in the few months that they have been here."

"What are they?"

She shrugs. "No idea. Father says that they're formed of magic, as his Sheikah side acts up when there's magic about." She pauses as she takes off her scarf and puts it on the injured girl's back. "I saw you locked out of Castle Town, so you can stay with us for a while if you like." Her hand is stuck out me again. "I'm Malon. I would have told you earlier, but the Stalchildren were a bit of a bother."

I breathe out a laugh as I shake her hand. "I'm Link. I came from the Kokiri Forest today, but I guess I wasn't fast enough to get into "Castle Town" before the sun went down."

"The Forest?" I nod, her eyes finding Navi. "So that's why you have a Fairy. Well, Fairy Boy, I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship when all of this chaos is over." My smile grows as we release hands, watching as she addresses the knife stuck in the girl's back still. Fairy Boy? I don't understand why I seem to like it, as it only reminds me of the Forest even more. Even if I did die out here, I managed to meet somebody nice first.

Welcome to Hyrule, Link.