Chapter 10
Don't Get Caught

Maron nervously took Link around the backside of the castle walls where the sewer entrance was.
"Impa had these tunnels closed to stop Zelda escaping." The girl explained as Link stepped up into the tunnel to have a look himself. "I'm sorry Link…"

Link grabbed the bars and gave it a pull. The ones secured to the ground were rock solid, but Navi pointed out the part that would be the gateway.

To Maron's shock, the gate actually swung open at Link's pull.
"How did you do that?" Maron demanded.

"I just pulled," With his path unblocked, Link looked into the dark tunnel.

"If it's open, then people might be working in there…" Maron's heart was pounding. "If we get caught, we'll be in big trouble."

Navi could hear how scared the girl was. She'd done enough to get them this far. It was time to let her go.
"We'll take it from here. We'll meet you back at the market if all goes well."

"But what if you get caught?" She grabbed Link's wrist. "they'll arrest you! They'll lock you up… they might even…" Maron's chin shook as she tried to force herself to say the words. It's not common in Hyrule for an execution to happen, but it's not unheard of.

"I'll be fine, I promise." Link managed to get free of her hold. "If they catch me, I'll just tell them we're friends."

"WHAT?" Maron screamed, panicked beyond belief.

"What?"

Navi was almost in tears from laughing at the pair's conversation.

"Please don't! I'll get in trouble too!" Maron pleaded.

Link could see tears forming in the girl's eyes. He didn't mean to scare her, he only assumed being friends with someone who knows the princess would make people inside the castle back off.

"I'm sorry…" He could see her tremble in fear as he spoke. "I don't want you to get in trouble. If I get caught, I won't tell anyone about you."

"But they'll still arrest you, why don't you just wait until I'm allowed back in? I could tell Zelda for you. Maybe even introduce you properly."

"You could?" Link thought about it for a moment. It's a safer idea, but the Deku tree gave him this task. He cannot call himself a Kokiri if he refuses.
But more importantly, by the time Maron sees Zelda again, it might be too late.

"This isn't your job, Maron…" He shook his head. "We'll be back soon."

Maron lowered her head. Despite her promises to get them in, she was terrified that she'd actually done it now.
Link is taking this on like it's nothing. Even though he could get arrested or killed in there, he was pressing on with a grin on his face oblivious to the grave danger he faces.
And she helped him get there.
"Don't go! Please!" Maron pleaded as Link and Navi started running through the tunnels.

"We won't be long-ong, promise-omise!" Link's voice along with his footsteps echoed back until they were silent. Leaving the terrified girl to stand alone, terrified for what might happen.

"Link…" She wept… "Please don't get yourself killed…" A moment later, she heard steps again. As she lifted her head, she saw Navi's blue glow come back into focus as the boy and fairy remerged.

"It's too dark. We can't see a thing." Link grumbled.

"Do you know another way?" Navi asked.

Maron shook her head. Even if she did know, she wouldn't tell them.
"Let's go back to the town. We could warn everyone else about Ganondorf! The sage, the guards, everyone! The king and Zelda will find out eventually."

"Can't do that." Navi exclaimed as she and Link looked over the wall between them and their goal.
The masonry was well kept, giving little for Link to hold onto. But a tree growing from the road however, looked very climbable.

"Why are you talking off your belt?" Maron tilted her head, watching him approach the tree trunk.

Link swung his belt around the tree and grabbed the end with his other hand. Using it with his legs wrapped around the bark, he started working his way up the tree.

"L, Link?"

Navi chuckled to herself as she flew up beside him. Tree climbing comes second nature to the Kokiri, but little Maron was in disbelief.
At the top, Link pulled in his heels as tight as he could before reaching up for the branch above.
Hanging twenty feet off the ground while facing the tree, Link kicked off the trunk, swishing his legs back before swinging forward and lifting himself so his feet could latch on to the branch too.
From there, he just had to pull himself upright before putting on his belt again.
After climbing the Deku Tree, ascending this tree felt like a casual walk.

The only downside, his sword slid from his collar as he was swinging.
Maron wasn't hurt when it fell, but it did leave her wondering what to do with it. There was no way she could accurately and safely throw it up to him. But maybe it would be good leverage to help bring him to his senses.

"I'll, I'll not give this back until you come back down!" She called up. Hoping blackmail would convince him to abandon this plan.

"Okay, hold onto it for me until I get back! Thanks, Maron!"

"N- no, I meant… Link!" Too late. Link had already jumped from the tree branch and had vanished over the wall.

The drop on the other side was a hard landing. Certainly not as soft as the forest soil Link was used to.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine…" Link had a quick look around. The castle grounds looked similar to the backstreets of the city with boxes and barrows stacked by the side of the path. Only much cleaner.

While Link picked himself from the ground, Navi flew off on her own to check where the path led. As she kept an eye out, Link waited behind the corner with her.

"I just realised, we don't know where we're going, or what Zelda looks like." Navi looked down to him, expecting him to maybe be feeling some of the fear Maron was exhibiting. But instead, "Are you enjoying this?"
Navi looked back at Link's bright smile. It still felt strange. When she was summoned to be a guardian fairy, she had expected to be like all the others. A shadow to watch over him forever.

Her thoughts were stopped by mumbling on the other side of the wall.
"Crap!" She flew down to Link. "Hide! Now!" She yelled to him.

Link froze up, looking for anywhere to crawl under or get behind.
One of the boxes at the side of the road had a lid hanging open. Link quickly got inside and shut the lid over while Navi stayed overhead and watched the patrol of four guards march by.

Once they'd passed, the fairy whispered into the box for Link to stay hidden until she was sure the path was clear. She flew back and forth, checking every pathway to get a good idea of where Link should go next.
After Navi returned to give Link the all-clear to creep behind her, they made their way around the castle and keeping out of everyone's sight.

Although Navi didn't have to worry about being seen herself, she'd instinctively hide behind a wall if she saw someone. Which gave Link a bit more warning to either run back or find a place to hide.

"I don't suppose Zelda is inside the castle?" Link asked rather breathlessly. Although he had the stamina to spare, the adrenaline was coming at a cost and the fear of getting caught was getting to him with every passing patrol.

"You better hope she's not!" Navi sighed. "I checked the windows it's way too crowded for us to get in without being seen."

Navi went ahead to check the next corner. "Safe. I think we should head go right, next." She called back before flying down the left path, which gave Link something to smirk about as he followed his fairy into the greenest part in all the city that he'd seen so far.

"What makes you think Zelda will be here?" Link did enjoy the fresh living environment as opposed to the square and stone buildings he'd been seeing all day.

"I don't. I want you to hide while I keep looking. As soon as I find her, I'll bring her to you."

Agreeing to separate for now, Navi flew off on her own to find the princess.
Without the fear of Link being spotted, she felt more at ease she allowed herself to fly freely in front of the guards.
Even if they stared at her, she's just another bug to them.
"Don't mind me, just looking for the princess!" She laughed as she passed by their metal-clad heads.
The guards suddenly stood to attention.
"no…" Navi gasped, wondering if she's just given herself away.
But that's surely impossible.

"Whos' this?" A guard asked reaching for the door handle behind him.

"An intruder."

Navi hovered by, watching a tall silver-haired woman approaching, pulling a young, scarlet haired woman by her arm.

"This one managed to get into the castle with her weapons, I want guards to do a full sweep of the grounds, but don't scare our guests."

"At once, Lady Impa."

"Impa…" Navi tailed her best lead. If Maron is to be believed, and there's no reason why she shouldn't, Impa won't be far behind Zelda.

No one minded if a small fairy flew into the castle keep any more than they would a dragonfly. Had Navi been a wasp however, that would be a different story for some of the guards.

"Do you have to twist my arm like this? I'm complying aren't I?"

"If you didn't want to be treated like a criminal, you shouldn't have broken in."

On the wall opposite the cells were a row of keys on hooks. Each one corresponds to the cell in front. Impa grabbed a key and threw her prisoner into a cell.

"Well… seven, eight, nine… Nine whole cells in the castle alone? That's six more than my entire city." The darker-skinned woman leaned on the bars, keeping eye contact with Impa. "Can't keep your people under control, huh?"

"Spend a lot of time in a Gerudo jail, do you?"

"Well, I'm a guard, so yes."

"Hmph. And why would someone who swore to uphold the law be breaking into Hyrule castle?"

"I was told there'd be cake."

"You think you're being cute?" Impa growled.

The woman in the cell pulled a face, clearly enjoying the situation far too much.
It might not be helping the mission, but Navi found their discussion amusing as she listened from a high corner of the room.

"Tell me the truth, Nabooru," Impa demanded but this time with a softer tone. "You surrendered your weapons. Even the one I didn't see. If it's not to delegate on behalf of your people, and it's not to cause harm, why did you come here?"

Nabooru pushed herself from the bars and walked to the mat on the floor. There she lay back and crosses her legs.
"Zelda should have a note on her. It explains why I'm here. I'd tell you myself but, I'm very tired. And I doubt you'd believe my spoken words any more than my written ones."

Impa crossed her arms and promised to continue their talk tomorrow, after which she placed the key back on its hook and left to find Zelda, unaware of the fairy following her along the way.

Navi didn't expect to get inside the castle, nor did she expect to see so many of the different races of Hyrule under one ceiling.
She was only a little familiar with the Zora, as most of their city is submerged underwater. But their home is always very serine to see.
The Gorons on the other hand were a rare sighting for Navi as their volcanic home is a little too hot for a fairy to visit, so she'd only ever see one that was travelling Hyrule and if they cross paths.

"Focus Navi," She told herself. Rock-trolls and fish-people can wait. Impa was the priority, and it seemed she was already leaving the grand hall. "where are you going…" Navi pursued behind, flying out from a higher-up window as it was easier than going through the same door as Zelda's nanny.

Impa walked about the castle grounds for some time before eventually finding a blond girl sitting on a bench and looking blankly at the ground.
It didn't take long for Zelda to be identified by name during their talk, so with a big smile, Navi continued to watch them.

From the air, she could see where Link was hiding behind small shrubbery and tall flowers, oblivious to how close he'd been to Zelda this whole time.
All the fairy had to do was wait for an opportunity to talk to Zelda and arrange a meeting between the two.

Zelda was escorted further away from Link by Impa though. The two were talking about escape routes, and it was making Navi worried they might go back inside.
Navi even considered talking to Zelda with Impa present, but luckily it didn't come to that, as when Impa descended into the tunnels beneath the castle, Navi saw her opportunity.

Keeping at a safe distance, the fairy circled the princess's head, getting her attention slowly.

Like with most children, the mere sight of a fairy brought a small smile to Zelda's face.
"Hello." Zelda delicately put out her hand.

"Hi."

Zelda's smile faded. Her hand recoiled and she backed away in shock.
"Y-you can talk?" She took a breath. "no, no…" Zelda had to assume the more likely truth that someone else must be nearby and pulling some elaborate prank. "Who's there!"

Navi flew around to her face again.
"Me, I'm Navi."

Zelda shook her head.
"fairies can't talk…" She told herself over and over.

"Half true. We can't talk to some, and don't talk to others."

"Well, what do you want?" Zelda demanded, keeping her distance just in case she was being tricked.

Navi understood Zelda's uncertainty, but she seemed like she was afraid.
"My friend and I were sent to find you. Please, follow me."

Zelda looked down at the manhole on the ground. Impa would be back soon, but what harm can a pair of fairies do? "Okay. Where's your friend?"

As Navi led Zelda to where Link was hiding, she felt excited to know that their quest was almost finished.
After they tell Zelda about Ganondorf, she and Link can go home. Link will be a true Kokiri, and it'll be simple easy life from then on.

The simple life? She thought to herself, realising that nothing is more simple than the life of a wild fairy.
Wake up, forage for berries, nap, talk to other fairies, go to sleep.
Navi found that life boring. It's why she liked exploring Hyrule.
She accepted she'd need to leave that life behind when she was summoned to be a guardian.
It's always been understood that Kokiri die if they leave the forest. But Link seems to be the exception to this rule.
Maybe the adventure doesn't have to stop?

As Zelda followed the fairy, she kept her eyes open for anything she didn't trust. Her hands were at her sides, but itching to reach back for the knife on a second's notice.

"This is it," Navi flew over the flower beds and called out for Link.

Zelda stood by, nervously looking around as she waited.
Although Impa would be back soon, Zelda was still worried about an intruder jumping out at her from behind somewhere.

"Hello, Zelda!" Announced a young intruder as he jumped out at her from behind the shrubbery.

Zelda reached behind her waist, taking a defensive stance as the strange boy approached.

"Who are you?" She demanded, narrowing her eyes and feeling her fingers tighten around the dagger in her sash.

"This is my friend, Zelda." Navi sat on the boy's shoulder.

"My name is Link." He said. "I was sent here to warn you that you're in danger."
"The whole word is!" Navi corrected.

Zelda shut her eyes.
Why now? She wondered, wishing strangers would stop coming to her about these warnings until after she's of an age and authority to actually act on them.

"you have until the count of 10." Zelda told him.

"Until what?" Link asked, genuinely not picking up on the warning.

"1!" Zelda spat, locking eyes with his.- "2!" -She had no intention of striking him down if he just stands there- "3," -but she will call the guards. "4..." Why is he just standing there? "5-?"

Link didn't know why she was counting, it felt rude to interrupt but she isn't the one in danger of being caught. "Zelda, do you know what Ganondorf is?" Link asked.

Stopping at 9, Zelda blinked at him suddenly finding his voice. "Ganondorf? It's the personification of malice and evil… why?" Her face showed a small smirk. "Are you telling me that Ganondorf is what threatens the world?"

Link nodded.
"We don't know much about it ourselves," He stated, wishing he had more to tell. "I never even heard of Ganondorf before yesterday."

"We were sent to warn you to prepare for it. We don't know when or how, it's just a matter of time before it comes."

"well that's helpful…" Zelda sighed looking away for just a moment. "my home is full of diplomats, I've got more on the way. My kingdom is fending off monsters, there's a new chief in the desert whom I have to meet and according to some unknown intruder, he might be a warmongering traitor. And to top it all off, the greatest evil this world has ever known is coming to pluck all my flowers!"
Zelda looked up to her castle. Her bed-chamber window was just a few floors up and at the end at the corner.
She wished she could just go up there and sleep the day off.
But she had responsibilities to uphold.

"Is that all you have to say?" She asked, giving the boy and the fairy a look.

"I, think so..." The boy looked for confirmation form Navi. "Yes, that's all."

"Then you better get out of here…" She sighed, but quickly remembered her manners. "Thank you for delivering the message. I'll pass it on to someone who can see about preventing Ganondorf from…" She coughed a nervous laugh. The warning didn't even specify what Ganondorf would do to her country. Maybe it is coming to pluck the daises.

"Zelda!" Impa's voice called out, bringing a sudden urgency to the young princess.

"You need to go!" She told him again. If Impa saw him, there's no telling how she'd act to a second intruder getting in. "Wait, how did you get in?"

"I climbed a tree to get over the wall."

"Really?" Zelda made a mental note of looking for that path herself, but later. "Go, now!"

"C'mon, Link!"

Following his fairy's lead, Link ran from the gardens.

Zelda took a moment to process what just happened.
Even leaving out the detail about another person breaking into the castle, how is she to begin telling Impa that in the ten minutes she was gone, a talking fairy appeared to warn her about Ganondorf arrival?
She already knew what Impa would say.

Now's not the time to play games. We need to focus on keeping our guests safe from any more intruders.

"Now's not the time to play games. I need to focus on keeping you safe from any more intruders." Impa told her.

Close enough, Zelda thought to herself, now fully cemented in the notion of Not telling Impa about Link.

"This way, I think we're almost there." Navi led Link down much the same path as she followed Impa before. With a slight deviation, they'd arrive back where they dropped into the castle grounds.

"Oh no…" Navi could already tell his hands weren't going to reach the ledge, even if he could jump the height of himself he'd be too low down. "We could look for another tree. There has to be a way out!" Navi began flying down the path.

"Wait, I can climb this…" She heard Link say.

Navi returned, staring at the wall with Link.
To make the wall more pleasing to look at, they'd smoothed over the brickwork with cement.
This took away fingerholds for Link, but he could still manage another way up if he was careful.

"Don't hurt yourself…" Navi told him as she flew away once more to check for guards on patrol.

As the fairy whizzed back and forth to keep an eye on all the paths someone could walk down and see Link trying to escape, Link had started stacking boxes on top of one another.
They weren't too heavy. Anyone from his home forest could have lifted them into position.
The last box he needed to stack however was too heavy as it was still full. Frustrated, Link had to rearrange the boxes he'd already moved and stack them on the heavy one instead.

"We're trying to escape, and you're moving boxes?" Navi asked on her way by to check the other path. But seeing him close to being finished, she could see his escape plan in action. "Oh… well done."

"Heheh~" Link began climbing the boxes.
When he was stacking them, he of course put the lightest one on top. What he didn't check, was just how strong it was.

"Almost there!" Navi urged, right before the weak frame beneath him broke into splinters. "Link!"
Link fell off the stack and landed hard on his side, letting out a sharp cry of pain.

"That really hurt…!" Link wiped a tear from his eye as he tried to stand.

Navi looked him over. She'd gotten so used to seeing him succeed, she'd almost forgotten he's still just a little boy. "I, I don't know how to help…"

Link hissed out a deep breath as he pulled himself up to his feet, still clutching his banged elbow. He looked at his stack of boxes, all but the top one were still intact and stable.
"I'll do it this time…" He grunted.

Navi watched him carefully.
So focused on projecting her hopes for him to not fall again, she didn't hear the charging footsteps coming from behind until she was batted aside with one flick of a wrist.

Hitting the wall then falling to the ground just as hard as Link had, Navi was too hurt to take flight right away.
She could only watch helplessly as Link was apprehended and dragged away by the guards.
Last she saw before he was taken behind a corner was his scared eyes looking back while she desperately tried to get her wings to carry her.