Part Two: The Quest

Chapter One: Conflict of Interest

"What took you so long?" Navi muttered as Link finally came out of the woods. He made no sign of hearing her; instead his full attention was fixed on the scene before him. For the first time in his life, for miles and miles, he was seeing open, empty space, with only a few, small trees dotting the landscape. His face broke into a wide, excited smile. This was the world he had dreamed of seeing. This was the world that stories were told of, myths and legends were held of, fables were written of. And now, he was the first Kokiri to be a part of it.

He laughed, running forward and leaving Navi trailing behind. He never thought it was so big! This was more than he had ever hoped it would be!

"Link! Link, quit playing around and focus on what we're supposed to be doing!"

He finally came to a stop, panting from the sudden exertion. He kneeled down, feeling the ground with is hands, the individual stalks of grass slipping through his fingers. It was dryer than the forest, but still fresh and alive. The sun was strong here, he realized then. It was hotter out in the open, wind or no.

He sighed, hearing Navi's wings flutter beside him and stop as she landed on his shoulder. She was right, of course, they were here because they were charged with a task, and they were to see that task through. Go to some castle and find some princess...

He looked up suddenly, squinting as he looked over the horizon. Where was there a castle? Where were there even people? He had no idea where he was, except alone with a fairy in the middle of a field. He had no way to pinpoint his location or direction. He knew nothing.

"Son of a Scrub, where by the spirits are we?" He asked aloud. Navi sighed.

"This is why I told you to stop. Lucky for you, I know where we are, and fortunately you were going the right way.

"So why'd you tell me to stop?"

"Because it's not a straight line, you numbskull!" she snapped, sighing in irritation. He shrugged, giving in.

"So, where to?"

"We won't be able to make it to Hyrule Castle Town before dark, and the gates close before then and don't open till morning. That is why we will be turning to the northeast, gradually turning to the east, to find an establishment in the middle of this Hyrule Field."

There was a pause of silence, then...

"So...I go left until I see a building?"

Navi sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Yes Link, we go left. And ahead of us somewhere a dirt path should appear. We can follow that left. Does that help?"

Link nodded, satisfied. "So can I run now?"

"No!"

~0~

The light was fading fast behind him as he drew closer to his destination. A very high, circular wall, made mostly of stone, topped with wooden spikes, sat right on top of a giant hill, in the middle of Hyrule field.

The size alone left him in awe. He couldn't even imagine the size of the house, with one of its stories peeking out over the top. It had to be huge. Navi had explained the place was actually a ranch that also doubled as an inn. She was forced to explain what an inn was too; the concept was brand new to him.

"So, wait, how do you know all this stuff?" Link asked, suddenly curious. "Have you left the forest before?"

"No, I read about it, and the Great Deku tree told us a lot of things too. Granted, that doesn't mean I know everything, there's a lot I don't know."

"Like what?"

"Like who owns this place, for instance. Or what it looks like. We're going to find out."

"Fair enough."

The sun was set by now, and lights could be seen from the top floor. Already he could feel the temperature dropping, and he gave a momentary shiver.

A shiver? Now he noticed something strange. He could feel his hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. He slowed his brisk pace to a stop, ignoring Navi's protests and questioning. He was too busy staring, watching for anything out of the ordinary.

"Navi, do you have the feeling you're being watched?"

"What? No, why?"

"Because I do. Something's not right." She fell silent too then, looking around. Something about how he said it made her sure something was off. How he could tell and her miss it was odd indeed; was his intuition higher than hers?

Link was first to recognize the danger. He leapt back from where he had been standing, drawing his sword and shield to the fore as the ground exploded, sending dirt flying in all directions. A second mound to his right suggested there was more than one enemy.

An inhuman squeal came from the ground, almost like laughter, before the creature revealed itself. It was the same size as he was, except for the fact that its head was half of its body, and its clawed hands were huge. What made it truly vile though, was that the creature, whatever it was, was dead. All it was was bone and sinew. And the smell made him want to gag and retch.

"Stalchildren, Link!"

"Good to know!" he called back, not really paying attention. The second one had revealed itself now, and another inhuman shriek came from its mouth. Both were turned on him, and the first one suddenly charged.

He was ready for it. The monster swung his huge, taloned hand, only to have it slam into his shield, He grunted with the effort, surprised how something made of only bone and tendons could be so strong. This was not natural. He should be afraid.

Should be. But strangely, he wasn't. There was fear, to be sure. But not the same kind of fear that made your heart pound and brought about the sense of self-preservation. It was more like… nervous fear? He was on edge, aware of the danger, but not fazed by it.

The monster swung again. This time, he ducked, raising his shield above him to make room for the wide arc he made with his sword. It connected with its sternum, slicing it clean in half. It screeched loudly, expressing its irritation. It never finished; Link jumped up, ramming his shield as hard as he could into its head. The result: the head went flying, while the rest of the body collapsed in a heap of bones.

His luck ran out there. A screech rang in his ears as the sensation of blinding, white-hot pain arched down his back. His vision flickered as he dropped to his knees, struggling to hold back the scream in his lungs. Now he was afraid. He could feel his pulse pounding in his ears. Somewhere he heard another voice scream. Navi?

With a growl and immense effort, He swung around, nearly crippling himself with the pain, slamming both sword and shield into the creature. It fell back and screeched as one of its hands was cut off, and Link once again was on his knees, panting from the effort. At least now I'm facing it. How did I miss it before? His vision flickered again. He knew he was close to passing out, but he willed himself to stay awake. To fall asleep here was to die. It can't end like this, I made a promise!

The monster glared at him with its nonexistent eyes. It was preparing for the final strike. Link raised his shield in front of him, ready for his last stand.

A whistling sound flew by him, and the monster suddenly shrieked as one of its shoulders collapsed, losing its whole other arm. Another whistle, and the head came flying off, and the body collapsed into dust.

He could hear someone shouting. The voice was deeper than any he had heard come from a person. His vision flickered again, and this time it wasn't coming back. The last thing he recognized was being grabbed before he fell.

~0~

He had no idea when he awoke, or how long he had been out. All he knew was that he awoke in a bed, his head and shoulders propped up by several pillows, and that he had an enormous headache and his back hurt. He could feel his torso and part of his shoulders were wrapped, and his tunic and cap were removed. He winced as he opened his eyes, the bright candlelight irritating them.

The room he was in was larger than any room he had been in. In fact, everything was oversized. The bed he was in, the dresser directly across from him, the low-lying set of drawers beside it...at least that was what he assumed it was supposed to be. It was easily more than half his height. A window closed and shuttered was beside the oversized bed, and beside that a strange oval object with a short neck, open at the top, hanging from the wall. It held a candle at its base, lit, which provided some of the light in the room.

Another odd feature that drew his attention, without moving is head that is, was a part of the ceiling that slanted away from him. Rather than wood, like the rest of it, it instead was fitted with glass. He could not imagine any other purpose for it other than to allow light in, so assumed that was what it was for. Beyond the glass was black, so he could only presume it was still night. The fact that the roof slanted in two different directions down the middle was a new concept as well. It provided a lot more room, but room that could not be used, really. It made no sense to him.

He winced, sucking in air, as he turned his head. His neck hurt bad, and it only made the headache pound harder against his skull. At least he was getting used to the gratuitous amounts of light. On each wall he could see now there was one of those strange candle holders, and each one was lit. There were two more windows like his on the opposite wall, both shut as well. Beside him a ways was a large wooden table and three chairs, all looking like tree stumps that were hollowed into seats. The table had a cloth covering it, white mostly with a reddish-pink trim. At the center of the table a small blue vase was present, with red flowers, though he did not know what kind. The wooden floor was also largely covered by a thick rug, tan with brown trim. On the far corner from him, below the glass ceiling, was a single wooden door. His second door he had ever seen in his life.

A familiar tinkling sound met his ears, and he smiled, if only a small forced one, as Navi came into view. He did not feel like smiling at all, really, the pain he was in was putting him in a foul mood. But he needed to at least reassure Navi he was at least somewhat okay. She returned the smile, but he could tell it as the same as his. Reassuring, but not much effort to hide her worry and concern.

"How do you feel?"

"Like I just got hit in the head with a Deku stick and my back was sliced open by a stalchild."

"How bad does it hurt?"

"On a scale of one to ten? Din's fiery butt.

She gave a curious cross between a frown and a smirk, one eye arched, and sighed. "It feels worse than it actually was, but it was still pretty bad."

"You don't say?" he muttered. She continued, ignoring him.

"The man who owns this ranch came out and took out the last one with a crossbow. He did the best he could to patch you up, him and his daughter."

"How long have I been out?"

"About two hours. They're pretty worried about you. The daughter seems especially so, for whatever reason." She shrugged, and landed cross-legged in front of him, resting on his chest. "They've been coming in to check up on you every ten or fifteen minutes. Kind of annoying, because the girl just stares at you then me, but nice to know they care all the same."

He shrugged, grimacing at the pain it caused him. The details didn't matter to him. He knew he was where he intended to be, but not in the way he at all expected. He frowned, silently cursing himself. How had he been so easily caught off guard? True, he was no swordsman; he had only picked up a sword yesterday. But he had been in enough fights, particularly with Mido, to learn to be aware of one's surroundings, what may be behind you where you can't see. His senses were honed from years of relying on them in the forest. And as soon as he stepped out of the forest, he makes the most amateur of mistakes. He left his back wide open, and he lost his focus.

How had he let it happen? That single thought dominated his thoughts in that room. What had caused him to slip? He thought back on the encounter. Two of those strange horrid creatures against him. The first few moments seemed as if he had the upper hand. He had disposed of the first creature quickly enough, but then...

He cursed himself again, realizing his error. From the very beginning he had erred. He attempted to take them on one at a time. And the beasts had expected him to. He had fallen right into their trap. When dealing with two, keep both in your sights. He had disregarded that rule.

The monsters appeared in his mind again, along with every feature that made it foreign and strange, the stuff of fears and nightmares. He saw himself pitted against the first one, boldly facing the assault, repelling it, and then launching himself at the beast with sudden ferocity. There was no hesitation, no pause, only action and reaction. He had wanted it dead, and there was grim satisfaction in the killing. He had felt the same thing with the great beast inside the Great Deku Tree; Queen Gohma, Navi had called it when it was spoken of on their trek through the country. It had not been as strong, granted, but it was there nonetheless, lessened probably only because he had been charged with the slaying of the beast.

He felt a cold shudder settle over him. The thought of him enjoying the kill...it sickened him. He was raised as a Kokiri. He was raised under their law, and their traditions. One such mantra was that all life was sacred, for they all were created by the Gods. Take care of the earth and all life, and it will in turn care for you. Yet here he was, twice now having disregarded life, and had killed. His instinct had told him to kill. How had he so easily abandoned the teachings? He tossed them like blades of grass on the wind; without a thought, they were gone.

"Link?"

He opened his eyes, glancing down to where she sat.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

He paused a moment, then shrugged, ignoring the pain. "I don't know, Navi."

She stared at him a few moments more, then sighed. "You aren't going to tell me, are you?"

"…I'm afraid, I think."

"How so?"

"I…I'm afraid of killing."

There was silence then, his words hanging in the air. Navi stared at him, her face expressionless, while he returned his gaze to the ceiling. What was she supposed to say to him? What did she know about killing? She had never done it.

"I have not killed, Link, but I have seen death, like you have now. Some were natural, others were not. Some of those were justified, others were not. All were cruel in their own ways. Death is not to be taken lightly. It is good that you do not, but it will consume you if you do not learn to bear it."

"But you have not killed."

She shook her head. "I have not, nor do I wish to. But I have seen you kill. Cruel as it was, they were just. The Deku Tree gave you permission to hunt and kill the monster in him when he asked you to break the curse. He did not force you to, yet you did. Was it not by a sense of justice, or duty?"

"But today was diff-"

"It was no different. You were just in your actions because the monsters you faced were creatures who only wanted your death. It was kill or be killed. This is one of the laws of nature. Do you see yourself apart from it? Were you not born of the gods like all other creatures? You killed because you had to. The first act was duty to the spirit of the forest; the second was duty to yourself."

"But, the Kokiri..."

"Care for all creatures, for they were born of the gods? Link, not all creatures are good, and not all of those are meant to live. Care for the earth, and care for its inhabitants, even by ridding them of such creatures that threaten them. That is what you were doing. Did they forget to teach you that?

"If you cut the grass in your yard, are you not caring for it? You are not murdering the grass, you are tending to it, so that it may grow strong and fresh. You tend to it so that it does not hinder your way.

"If a Deku Scrub means you harm, do you not defend yourself, and possibly attack as well? Either one will escape and you both live, or you will be pitted until one no longer lives. This is the nature of things. Do not take it to heart so harshly."

He nodded in understanding. It made sense he supposed. He never thought of it that way, at least. But, there was still one thing that bothered him.

"When I was fighting the Stalchild, and somewhat the other monster...I felt...excitement. There was a thrill in the killing... That's why I'm afraid. I will kill if I must, but I don't want to be a killer."

"You're not a killer, Link."

He let her words hang. She said it with sincerity and assurance, and while he accepted them without complaint, he still had to wonder.