Chapter Three: What It Is Like To Live a Normal Life

"I never thought this town would be so big!" Link stared around in circles, trying to take everything in. It was so huge! It was so much bigger than the little forest village he had only ever known, and so vastly different. Everything was made with timber and stone, even the ground. And the people! So many, many people! He felt so small, amongst them, they were so big. And there were so many kinds! Tall, short; fat, skinny; pale-skinned and dark-skinned; wealthy and needy – there was no end!

Malon giggled at his astonishment, finding it amusing. The first time she had come to this town she had done the same thing, but that was years ago, and she already knew all about buildings and people and whatnot. She could hardly imagine what it would be like for someone who knew none of those things. Navi too smiled at his actions. While she too was fascinated by it all, she at least knew such things existed.

"Malon, help me set up shop, please," Talon called, placing down one of the crates. They had parked their wagon in the corner of the square, towards the main gates, and they ingeniously used the back as part storage, part display as they would be selling their goods; meats, cuccos, and their prized Lon Lon milk. Malon had explained how she was old enough to manage the store well enough on her own, and her father, Talon, would make any deliveries that had been ordered. They were well-respected, and they made their profit well.

Of course, "profit" and "selling" were completely new terms as well.

"Link, may I have a word?" Talon asked as soon as Malon was out of earshot. Link nodded, curious.

"I'd like to thank you, Link, for doing what I could not do." He knelt down to look at him at eye level, beside the fountain in the center of the square.

"Sir?" he asked, puzzled.

"You've made my daughter laugh again. You may not have known, but before you came, it had been a long time since I had heard her laugh." He glanced over her way, and smiled as he watched her happily arrange the cucco crates and the meats beside one another. "I missed it. I just didn't know how much."

He turned back to link still smiling. "I'd like to give you this as a small token of my appreciation," he continued, extending his hand. In it was a simple leather pouch, complete with draw straps and a belt loop. Taking it in his own hand, he heard a tinkling sound. Curious, he opened the draw strings, and reached in.

"Rupees, Link; it's what we use to exchange for goods and services as opposed to bartering. It's much more convenient because the colors stand for a set amount," he explained, watching Link sift through the small gems in his hand. They were not large, only about as wide and tall as the middle digit of his finger, so it was easy to carry a large amount. He had predominately green and blue ones, but he also held a red one in his hand.

"What do the colors mean?"

"The green ones you see there are worth itself, a single rupee. The blue ones are worth five of those greens, meaning something worth five rupees can be exchanged for one blue rupee as opposed to five green ones, you see? That red one there is worth twenty green rupees, or four blue ones. There are other kinds, as well; purple rupees are hard to come across, and they're worth fifty green rupees, or ten blue rupees, and so on. Rumor has it there are bigger values, though I've never seen them. That pouch there has about sixty rupees; it'll last and do you well if you can manage it."

"I can't take this," Link said as he placed the rupees back in the bag and held it back. "You took care of me when I got hurt. I owe you." Talon shook his head, smiling.

"You owe me nothing, though you are kind for thinking so. Keep this gift, and think of it as a welcoming present from the rest of the world." He patted his shoulder and rose back to his full height. "You don't owe us any favors either. Go do as you'd like, we'll be here until the morning; the inn next door has reserved rooms for us, you're welcome to stay." With a wave and a smile, he turned and walked back to the stall.

"Those two aren't too bad, are they?" Navi asked, smiling as she watched him place the pouch on his belt. "That was very nice of him to do that for you."

"It was. I like them a lot." He smiled, turning around to look around him. There was so much to see and do, where would he even begin? He knew he had to find the castle and the princess, but…

"Navi…Which building is the castle?"

"I…I don't know." She sighed, looking around. "I've heard of castles, but I've never seen one to be able to compare."

"Oh…"

"I guess we just have to start searching."

"Fair enough."

"You're looking for the castle?"

Both Link and Navi turned to see who had spoken. A girl stood a few feet away, looking at him curiously with her blue eyes that were remarkably like his own, he found. She looked the same age as him as well, with blonde hair cut shoulder-length, with a braided design keeping most of it behind. She was dressed plainly, a simple dress with a puff-sleeved mini jacket to cover her shoulders, yet it complimented her well.

"Well yeah, I have to meet a princess there and give her something. Do you know where it is?

"Link," Navi whispered, "do you really think it prudent to be telling a complete stranger our purpose?"

"Why not? She could help us maybe, right?" He asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye as she perched on his shoulder. She sighed, letting it go. He's too trusting, she thought to herself. At least she doesn't seem too bad.

The stranger took note of the fairy on his shoulder, and blinked in surprise. A fairy?! Then…

"You're from the forest, aren't you?" She asked, pointing at the fairy. "That's why she's following you right?"

"Well….yeah, you pretty much guessed it," He replied, glancing back at Navi. Was it that obvious he wasn't from around here?

She continued to gaze curiously at him, then broke into a wide smile, "Will you play with me today? If you do that I can take you to the castle. It's really well guarded, but I can get in really easy, I'm friends with the princess."

"You are?" He asked, looking again to Navi and smiling. Perhaps things would turn out to be pretty easy. Navi returned the smile, but then fluttered over to the girl, seemingly inspecting her.

"Are you? Do you have any proof?"

"Navi, what are you-?"

"I'm looking out for you. You might be trusting, maybe too much, but I still have doubt."

"But-"

"It's ok," The girl spoke up as she reached behind her and fumbled through a small pouch. "I can understand your friends concern. Here, as it happens I do have proof, see?" She smiled, finally coming back around to reveal…

"An ocarina?" Link reached up and pulled out his own, comparing the two. In terms of shape, they were exactly the same, but the one the girl had looked to be made of some other, smoother material, and it was painted blue. And it had a different design too; three golden triangles all connected at the corners to make one larger triangle.

"Yep, and I see you have one too." She smiled, putting it back. "We take turns keeping it, so…oh!" She ducked behind the fountain, Leaving Link and Navi thoroughly confused. He turned, hoping to see what had caused her sudden vanishing act. He found himself face to face with two Hylian Guards and an older woman with white hair and red eyes, and dawned in a strange armor-like garb; she had the chest plate, but that was the only piece of real armor she possessed. The rest of what she wore looked to be similar to leather, dyed various shades of blues, purples and blacks. At her waist behind her she had a short blade, almost like a knife, sheathed.

All in all, it was a very intimidating figure.

"You there, young boy. Have you seen a noble girl around here by any chance? She has blonde hair and blue eyes."

"Uhh…" He looked between her and the two guards and couldn't help but feel a little scared. The look on the woman's face softened.

"There's no need to be frightened, you're wouldn't be in any trouble. We're just looking for her so we can keep her safe. Have you seen her?"

What should I do? If the woman just wanted to keep her safe, then it wouldn't hurt to give her away, would it? But, she had hidden at the first sight of this woman. So, she didn't want whatever this woman wanted.

And she's my only change to getting to see the Princess.

"N-no, I haven't." He finally forced out, still a little afraid of this woman. She sighed, but nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, little one." With that, she continued on her search, the two guards in tow.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," He replied, turning back to see the girl's head peeping over the wall of the fountain. She smiled, coming out from hiding fully now.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Me? I dunno', I guess whatever you want to do-" The words were barely out of his mouth she grabbed his wrist. This is getting to be a little too common.

"Let's check this store out then!" She laughed.

~0~

"Wow, it's night-time already?" Link asked as he stepped outside from the shooting gallery. "That was quick, and here I thought we could try the bombchu bowling again."

"Seriously?! You almost got yourself blown up!" Navi huffed, shrugging her head in disbelief.

"It was an accident though, and the lady there said they're not too dangerous, right…uhh…"

He faltered, turning to look at the girl. That entire day had gone by and he still didn't know her name, but the look on her face stopped him from asking. She was looking up at the sky, her face brightened by the stars. She looked sad.

"The day is…over…Thank you for today, forest boy, I really enjoyed it." She walked over to the fountain in the now-deserted central square. "Just for today…I wanted to be able to play and do things on my own. I didn't want to deal with all the etiquette and formalities. I didn't want anyone fussing over me. I just wanted to be…me. I wanted to know what it was like to live a normal life, like all the other normal girls."

Link stared at her as she gazed into the still water, wondering what he should do. So that was why she was sad; she wasn't a normal girl, he had forgotten earlier. She was a noble; she probably never got to do things like this. She had been so happy before, with the bowling, the shooting, the masks, the different foods.

"Then…Let's do this again sometime, ok? And my name is Link," He said, smiling as he came up beside her. She stared at him with a look of shock; clearly she had not expected him to say this. "I had a lot of fun today too," he continued, "I never knew the world outside the forest was like this. I'm glad we could do this together."

Her smile returned then, and she nodded. "I'm glad too. Thank you again, really."

"You're welcome," He replied. "And thank you."

Behind you

The thought came unbidden.

Danger

Then he heard it: footsteps. And the grating sound of swords leaving scabbards. Whipping around, he drew his own sword and shield, placing himself in front of her. There were three of them, people. And they looked as foreign here as he did, if not more so. All three of them looked the same, from the odd pointy-tipped shoes and balloon pants, to the ridiculous gemstone head and hair pieces. And while their faces were covered by scarves, their eyes still shone, revealing a gratuitous amount of makeup. It looked almost comical…except that each woman, as he realized from their long hair and endowments, possessed two rather dangerous looking scimitars.

"Link," Navi whispered looking at each figure darkly. "I sense blood thirst from them. I think they're assassins; people trained to kill targets"

Link nodded, saying nothing. The three had stopped only yards away, staring first at him, then behind him. They were after her, he knew.

"Who are you?!" He demanded, bringing up his sword, not enough to challenge them, only threaten. They ignored him, saying nothing. The one in the middle stepped forward and pointed one of her swords towards the two of them.

"Girl, we know who you are. Hand over the Ocarina of Time, and we might spare your life."

He glanced back at the girl behind her. She looked frightened, but she had herself composed. She was thinking.

"Don't make this hard. Hand it over, child!"

She gave a hard look at the assassins, then looked at Link. She nodded her head slightly to the left. She was going to try to make a break for it. He nodded, shifting his stance as he looked back at the trio.

He heard her bolt, her feet pounding into the cobblestone. The three figures acted instantly, racing to catch up. Link himself sprinted, trying to keep himself between the two parties. One of the assassins threw on an extra burst of speed and leapt into the air, aiming straight for the girl.

"Oh no you don't!" Link yelled out, throwing himself between the two. The two blades slammed into each other, forcing a stalemate as the girl fell to the ground, having been forced out of the way by Link. The two broke off, each taking on their own defensive stance.

"Tch, and who the hell are you?" the woman scoffed, giving him a dirty look. Link remained silent, maintaining his pose. Navi floated by his side, watching the woman carefully for any subtle movements he might miss.

"Sabiroo, someone is coming," One of the other assassins said, her eyes fixed to an alley off to the side.

"Now?! Damn, this isn't over brat, you got that? Let's move, now!" She jumped away, and the other two followed after, taking off into an alley.

"Wait, get back here!" Link cried, following them into the alley.

~0~

"Wait, Link!" The girl called after him, but he had already vanished behind the corner. She stood up, dusting herself off and moving after him. Behind her the shadows in the alley stirred.

"Princess."

She froze, recognizing the voice. Her caretaker, her teacher, her protector and her friend. She turned around, her fright giving way to relief. She knew she was safe now, for sure.

"Impa."

The woman from the marketplace smiled, placing a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "Thank the Goddesses you are safe. Let us return to the castle, your highness."

The princess nodded. She had had enough for today. Particularly with these assassins, that had brought her happiness to an abrupt end.

Link: he had granted her wish and made her happy. She smiled inwardly. At least she had gotten her one wish. Nothing could veil that from her heart.

"Yes, let's" She finally said, and took Impa's hand, and faded into the night.

~0~

Link huffed, storming back into the square, Navi trailing behind. He had run into the alley hoping to catch up to the trio, but they had long disappeared before he could even make it halfway through. He had quickly given up, and turned back. Perhaps that was best, after all; that girl was still back there it seemed, as well.

Scanning the deserted square though, where the girl should have been though, there was no one.

"Huh? Where'd she go? You don't think she got caught, do you?" He asked nervously, looking around for any clues.

"I don't think so," Navi answered, watching him. "They wanted that ocarina she had, not her; they would've killed her for it if you hadn't jumped in, remember?"

"Mhmm," he nodded, flexing his sword hand. That blow he had parried had hit hard, even numbing his hand temporarily. Clearly they had not been holding back. "So, what happened then?"

"Beats me. Probably went home."

"Without a goodbye or anything huh?" He sighed, seating himself on the fountain wall. "And she had said she would help us see the princess."

"True. Nothing we can do about it now though. We'll just have to find her on our own. She said the castle was straight on from the entrance to this town, right?"

"Yeah, she did, didn't she?" he affirmed, jumping down from the wall. The entrance was to his left, which meant…

"We go right then." He started up the path, Navi coming up to land on his shoulder. He smiled as he walked on. He had gotten to know what it was like to live life as a Hylian.