The Legend of Fairies.
Chapter Five: Kakariko Village.
Destruction.
Pure, utter destruction is what greeted Natsu and Link the moment they stepped out of the Temple of Time with Happy, who was still sleeping and was now in Link's shirt with his head poking out. The duo stared at the sights before them in pure horror and shock, not believing what they're seeing at all. They couldn't even form words from seeing such destruction. They then began to look around.
The ground that was once filled with green grass and flowers were now burnt and brown, completely devoid of any life that could've be regrown. The sky that was once blue was now blood-red with very dark clouds, causing no light to shine upon the Kingdom. Houses were either destroyed or burned to the ground and the air was so stale and rotting that it caused Natsu and Link to gag horribly. It was like dead corpses were infested in the area to make the air smell so horribly.
It wasn't even a Kingdom anymore.
It was a wasteland.
"Oh…my…god…" Link breathed out, as she and Natsu continued to stare at the destruction before them. Tears were pooling at the corner of her eyes when she can't hear no happiness coming from the Castle Town, only eerie silence and a loud, howling wind. "Ganondorf…how could you?"
"That bastard…" Natsu snarled, as he balled his fist tightly. "When I get my hands on him…"
"Natsu, there's nothing we can do about him for now." Link said, wiping the tears in her eyes away and became deadly serious. "But we need to search Castle Town for survivors."
Natsu nodded, and he and Link rushed into the center of Castle Town to try and look for survivors. However, the moment they entered the Castle Town, they heard low moaning sound that caused the duo to turned to their left to see what was causing it, only to freeze in horror.
The thing that was making the low moaning sound was a very tall, very thin creature that had rotting-brown skin and sharp nails. It looked like a zombie, considering that it hasn't seen the light for so many years and doesn't have clothes on. However, what really made the creature scary was the mask on its face, or what appears to be a mask. It was slowly walking towards the freezing Link and Natsu.
"W-w-w-what the fuck is that?!" Natsu screamed, staring at the hideous creature in horror. His body was shaking uncontrollably. Never before had he been this terrified, not since he met Acnologia.
"It's a Redead!" Link shrieked, quickly reaching into her pouch to pull out an instrument that was royal blue with a triangular symbol on it, the same one that Natsu saw in the Temple of Time.
"A-a-a what?" Natsu stuttered out, still staring at the hideous creature that was still walking towards the duo.
"No time to repeat myself!" Link shouted, as she raised the blue instrument up to her lips and began to play music. A song that was beautiful and filled with warmth like the sun can be heard in the air, and Natsu couldn't help but close his eyes to enjoy the music, completely forgetting about the Redead. That was a very big mistake since it was now very close to him, ready to wrap its long arms around the Dragon Slayer's throat.
However, the moment the Redead heard Link's music, it let out a pain moan that caused Natsu to snap his eyes open to see the creature in front of him and he jumped back with a feminine shriek.
"What happened to the zombie?" Natsu asked, as he tried to calm his rapid beating heart down from the sudden jump-scare.
"Strike it, Natsu!" Link exclaimed after pulling the blue instrument out of her lips. "It's paralyzed!"
Natsu didn't waste any time as he ignited his hand on fire, something that made Link incredibly shock, and sent the fire fist at the paralyzed Redead's head. "[Fire Dragon Iron Fist!]" The Dragon Slayer's attack met its mark, and the Redead was sent flying in the air before it collided into a wall that had a sharp point sticking out, which killed it instantly.
Link couldn't form words as she stared at Natsu with an expression of awe and shock, though it was the latter part. She knew that Natsu has magic, but to see his hand ignited in fire, it caused her to become worried and shocked from seeing two things. One, Natsu wasn't screaming in pain when his hand became on fire. And two, he sent the Redead flying with just a single punch. A single punch! No sword, no spear, no kind of weapons. Just a single punch.
'How in the name of Farore did Natsu did that?!' Link thought, her eyes wide as saucers, as she still stared at Natsu. 'He didn't scream when his hand caught-on fire, or when he punched the Redead! In fact, he looked completely calm! I know he uses magic, but this is the first time I seen the magic up close. Just what are you, Natsu?'
"H-h-h-how?" Link finally said, furiously rubbing her eyes to see if she was dreaming, but no matter how many times she rubbed her eyes, Natsu's hand was still on fire. "How did you do that?!"
"That…is the power of my magic, Link." Natsu replied, a proud smirk on his face, as he turned around to stare at the gob-smack Heroine of Time after he extinguished the flames in his hand. "The power to slay dragons and the power to control fire with ease and will. I am known as a Fire Dragon Slayer."
"A…a what?" Link asked, completely confused about what Natsu said. What on Earth is a Dragon Slayer?
"No time to explain my magic! We got company!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed, pointing a finger behind Link, who spun around to see more Redeads slowly walking towards them, either to avenge the fallen Redead or tried to kill Natsu and Link. Said woman was about to put the blue instrument to her mouth again when Natsu had other plans. "Link, let me handle the Redeads!"
Link turned to look at Natsu with shock on her face. "Are you crazy, Natsu?! You can't handle them all by punching them! They had an ability to stun people!"
"I can handle them with my magic!" Natsu explained. "I can do more than just punching them! In fact, let me show you!" He quickly gathered magic into his mouth to do his signature roar. "[Fire Dragon Roar!]" A tornado of swirling, orange flames came out of Natsu's mouth and headed straight at the Redeads, where they instantly turned to ashes when the attacked reached them.
If Link wasn't stunned before, she was now, as she stared at the Redead's ashes with a look that describe as pure bafflement. Which was understanding, considering that she'd seen something that was very hard to believe.
"Wha…how…"
"Come on, Link. Let's get out of here." Natsu said, interrupted Link's gaping and proceeded to drag the woman out of Castle Town, while using his Dragon Slayer abilities to tell him if more Redeads are around. "I'm pretty sure the survivors had long abandoned this place before it got burned down." Since Link couldn't talk as she was still thinking about Natsu's Dragon Slayer Roar, she nodded her head.
It wasn't long until Natsu and Link exited Castle Town and entered the largest field Natsu had ever seen. The said field was covered in endless green grass and dirt roads that either leaded to a ranch in the middle of the field, the castle Natsu and Link were just at, a forest, a huge lake, a rocky valley or a stone bridge that was to the left of the castle.
"Holy crap, this field…" Natsu said, looking around the huge field in amazement. "It's so large and endless."
"It's called Hyrule Field." Link explained with a smile, as a memory of entering the large field for the first time flashed into her mind.
"Why name the field after the Kingdom?"
"I don't know." Link replied with a shrug. "But I think the goddesses named it after they created the world."
"Created the world?" Natsu asked with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"
"The world we're standing in, Natsu, wasn't always like this. It was an empty world with no life." Link began explaining, earning Natsu's attention. "Until one day, just when the world was in chaos, three goddesses descended from the heavens and began making Hyrule. The goddesses' names were Din, Nayru and Farore, and each goddess had their own roles. Din, the goddess of Power, created the land. Nayru, the goddess of Wisdom, poured her wisdom onto the land to rid of chaos, and with her knowledge, she created laws and order. And Farore, the goddess of Courage, produced the land with life and created life forms to uphold the laws and order Nayru created."
"When the goddesses finished created Hyrule," Link continued. "They departed to the heavens, not before leaving a golden relic that was called the Triforce."
"The Triforce?" Natsu asked, thinking about the goddesses and their roles they did to create Hyrule. He had to admit, the goddesses did a very good job of creating Hyrule and he wondered if goddesses created Earthland.
"The Triforce is the scared relic the goddesses left behind for Hyrule." Link explained. "It's the triangular symbol you saw when we were in the Temple of Time."
"Is it a good thing for Hyrule to have? The Triforce?"
"It is, but it's also a bad thing because of the Triforce's power. If a person with a pure heart touches the relic, it can bring Hyrule into an era of peace and rid of the evil. But if a person with an evil heart touches the relic, it will bring Hyrule to its darkest hour and the world will be filled with monsters."
Silence reigned over as Natsu thought about the information he just heard, and he couldn't help but grimace. He didn't want to imagine having that kind of power, the Triforce, in the Kingdom of Fiore, and if it was there, the Kingdom would be in chaos.
"I suppose we should head to this Kakariko Village to get the item we need to enter one of the five temples." Natsu said, breaking the silence. "And once we get the item, we can go and save Saria from the evil that's in the temple!"
The thought of the green-hair girl made Link clenched her fists tightly and tears to pool at the corner of her eyes. She couldn't believe that Saria was one of the Sages, and she couldn't believe she haven't thought of the girl for a while. But Link was going to save Saria, and she will slaughter her enemies with her sword if they get in her way.
"Yeah, let's go, Natsu." Link said, as she wiped her tears away and began walking towards the stone bridge that was on the left. "Kakariko Village is this way, so follow me and keep up. I don't want a single moment wasted because of your questions and your observatory."
'Note to self: Never make Link angry…' Natsu thought, as he followed Link with a slight scared expression on his face. 'She could be the next generation of a scary Erza.'
Even though Link was supposed to tell Natsu about herself and her past, she was too focused on getting this item and saving Saria, which was causing an uncomfortable silence to reign over the duo. Natsu had multiply times to start a conversation, but his words would either be ignored or fell on deaf ears, and he didn't bother to start a conversation.
Just as the Dragon Slayer and the Heroine of Time passed over the bridge and began walking up the stone stairs that lead to Kakariko Village, Link finally spoke.
"Is this little guy going to wake up soon?" Link asked, looking down at the blue Exceed that was still in her shirt, or more especially, in-between her breasts. "Not that I hate him, but he's starting to drool on my breasts."
An awkward chuckle escaped Natsu's mouth. "Hehe, sorry, Link. He doesn't often drool when he sleeps."
"It's fine." Link assured, as she and Natsu turned a corner to walk up more stairs. "But when is he going to wake up?"
"When he sees or smells fish." Natsu replied.
"Fish?"
"If there's one thing Happy loves in the world, it's any kind of fish." Natsu explained, remembering all the times he had to buy fish for Happy. "And when I mean fish, I mean a lot of fish."
"Seems very expensive to buy a lot of fish for this guy." Link said, gesturing to the cat in her shirt, as she reached a hand up to scratch the head, making the cat to release a purr.
"Oh, you have no idea." Natsu muttered under his breath.
Natsu and Link climbed up the rest of the stairs in silence before they walked past a wooden gate that was open. And it was then Natsu got a look at Kakariko Village.
The village had a couple of medium-size, colorful houses, along with some shops, a giant well that was filled with water, and a windmill that was probably the source of power for the houses. Citizens that resided in the village were moving around and carrying their businesses.
"So, this is Kakariko Village." Natsu said, as he looked at the village before him. He had a curious expression on his face. 'It's certainly different than the villages back in my Kingdom.'
"Yep, and I'm glad that it's still in one piece after seven years." Link said with a bright grin. "This is the second village I visited, and legend has it that the village was formed by the Sheikah who worked for the Royal Family of Hyrule. Their symbol was a single eye with a long tear trailing downwards and three triangles above the eye."
"And Sheik was a Sheikah, right?" Natsu asked, remembering the red symbol on Sheik's garments.
Link nodded her head, still having that bright grin on her face. "Yep, she was a Sheikah." However, the bright grin on her face faded to replace a pensive look, while a distant look appeared in her blue eyes. "Though…I thought that Impa was the last of the Sheikah Tribe. She told me about the Tribe when I was a kid…"
Link still had that pensive look on her face, along with that distant eye look, which was making Natsu uncomfortable. But luckily for him, the pensive expression, along with the distant look, vanished.
"Anyway, I supposed I should go get the item we need to enter the temple." Link said, as she turned around and began walking up a set of stairs. "Natsu, why don't you stay here and get some supplies we need for our journey?"
"Link, what is the currency for this world?" Natsu asked, as he followed Link. "I may know money in my Kingdom, but not for this Kingdom."
"Oh, I forgot about that." Link said, face-palming herself before she dug into her pouch and pulled out a medium-size bag. Inside the said bag was a bunch of colorful gems that were green, blue, yellow, red, purple, silver and gold.
"Gems?" Natsu asked, examining the colorful gems with a curious expression.
"No, they're Rupees." Link corrected Natsu. "The green Rupee represents a one, the blue Rupee represents a five, the yellow Rupee represents a ten, the red Rupee represents a twenty, the purple Rupee represents a fifty, the silver Rupee represents a hundred and the gold Rupee represents three hundred."
Natsu couldn't help but whistled at the last part. "That last Rupee, the gold one, must be very rare to find, huh?"
"They are, so I'm planning to collect a lot of gold Rupees to help with the repairs in Castle Town." Link said, as she pulled out the gold Rupee and put it in her pouch. "So, until then, just let me have the gold Rupees."
"Okay, got it." Natsu said, putting the bag of money in his pocket. 'What do we need for our journey?"
"Well, we're going to need food, medical supplies, a couple of bombs, healing potions, magic potions and a sword for you, along with some clothes." Link listed off the items she and Natsu were going to need.
"A sword?" Natsu repeated with a frown. "Why do I need a sword when I can just use my magic?"
"Because while your magic is powerful, Natsu, it can be destructive, and we really, really don't want the temples to fall down on us." Link said, grimacing at the thought of being squished to death by falling debris. "And besides, I think it's best we keep your magic about being a Dragon Slayer a secret. Many people could think that you're one of Ganondorf's minions."
"But I'm not!" Natsu exclaimed, heavily offended from the last part, about him being Ganondorf's minions.
"That's not what I'm implying, Natsu!" Link quickly said. "But you must understand, Hyrule is in its darkness hour, and peace is long gone. Nowadays, Hyrule is filled with fear and paranoid, and those two emotions are clouding people's mind. If they even see something they considered as dangerous, such as your magic, they will do their best to kill you."
Natsu really didn't want to believe Link's words at all, even though what she said was true. But he still didn't want to believe it, that people would kill him just by using his Dragon Slayer magic. In his old Kingdom, people did love Natsu's Dragon Slayer magic, even though they can be angry with the destruction he caused. Sure, people can be scared from seeing his magic at first, but their opinion would change later after Natsu and his team completed a mission.
But…Natsu wasn't in his Kingdom anymore. He was in a new Kingdom that he never heard before, and he was sure that Hyrule won't be on a map of all the Kingdoms in Earthland. And to make things worse, he has to hide his magic from the citizens of Hyrule, something that he doesn't like at all. But what choice does he have? Can he not use his magic for the rest of the journey? Or can he risk everything and use his magic?
'Can I really not use my magic?' Natsu thought, biting his lip and balling his fists. 'I always use it in every battle I go against. To not use magic is insulting, and I'll never get stronger to surpassed Gray or Erza.' A deep sigh left Natsu's nose as he thought about the two people he liked being with, even though he can barely tolerate the former. But the latter…he wanted the friendship between them to be more, as in a boyfriend and girlfriend relationship. 'But if it's the only way to find my friends, then I won't use my magic.'
"Alright, I won't use my magic." Natsu finally said, much to Link's relief. "But I will use my magic if its necessary, like melting ice or eating fire."
"That's fine, Natsu, as long as you keep you magic a secret." Link said with a smile before she blinked owlishly when she registered the last part. "Wait, eating fire?"
"Oh, did I not mention that?" Natsu confusingly asked. "I could've sworn I said that when I said showed you my magic."
"No…no, you didn't." Link said, struggling not to laugh at the confused look on Natsu's face, which was adorable and cute.
"Oh…then I'll guess I'll tell you my magic later after we get the supplies and the item we need."
"Right, so I'll go get the item." Link announced. "Meet back here in thirty minutes?"
"Yep, but can you give me Happy and point out the shops for me?" Natsu asked. "I don't want to go in some strangers home."
After pointing out the shops and giving Happy to the Dragon Slayer, Link and Natsu went their separate ways, with the former heading to the graveyard of Kakariko Village and the latter heading to the shops to buy supplies.
Alright, that is the end of the chapter. Sorry if this chapter took long to complete, I've been busy lately and been having headaches lately. But in the end, I've finished the chapter.
Write a review if you like this story and enjoy the chapter.
Next Chapter: Journey to the Forest.