Chapter 12
When in Town

"I'm really sorry. He told me to hand it over and, you can't refuse his demands." Maron, Link and Navi looked up at the tall doors leading into the Temple.

On her way back to the market after Link and Navi entered the castle, Maron was confronted by Sage Rauru who asked her to hand over the sword she'd been entrusted with.
She said it wasn't hers to give, but he took it all the same. Demanded that if Link wants it back, he should come to retrieve it himself.

"Myself… Can Navi come too?"

"I don't know…" Before Maron could finish, the doors unlocked from the inside, opening up to reveal the orange-robed man from the lessons Maron and Link attended. "Sage," Maron said with a bow.

"Miss Koopa." Rauru returned the nod. "And young Master Link. Please follow me."

Maron and Link looked at each other before following the sage inside.

The temple was amazing from the outside, but Link looked at the high ceiling and shiny marble floors with awe. Not even the scale of Hyrule castle impressed him like this.
From the outside, the windows looked dark and bland, but standing inside the main hall, he noticed the pretty colours and patterns they made, although his untrained eyes couldn't make out that the patterns told stories and legends. All he saw was brightly coloured shapes casting the same patterns on the floor, then on his own body as he walked through them.

"I've never been in here before, I wish I had." Navi danced in the colours too as she floated around the air, watching her body turn red and green and yellow. "This is fun!"

It tickled Maron a little to see Link and Navi have fun with just the lights, she always used to think they were pretty but it had been a while since she'd felt so giddy about it.

"This way, children," Rauru called from the far side of the hall.

Taking Link's hand, Maron rushed him forward to catch up with the old sage.
They were taken to a back chamber.
Using some engineering with mirrors and lenses, sunlight that hit the tallest steeple would shine brightly and directly down onto a short plinth dead centre. The middle of which was a small marble brick, with a sword standing tall with its brilliant blue handle and flawless blade shining bright.

"This is the Sword of Legend. When Ganondorf threatens Hyrule, this sword will assist in its destruction." Rauru stated proudly, and fondly as he bent a knee before the sword.

"So why not throw it in a river if it's going to destroy Hyrule?"

The Sage narrowed his eyes at the suggestion.
What followed was either the sound of Maron smacking herself in the forehead or smacking Link for not understanding. The bright red handprint on the girl's head made the truth clear.

"He means the sword will destroy Ganondorf, not Hyrule."

"Oh," Link turned to Navi. She was shaking her head disapprovingly at him, but she secretly made the same conclusion as he.

"Indeed," Rauru stated. "Since you sought fit to warn our princess of Ganondorf, I think you should try your hand at raising the sword from its plinth."

The three others in the room took a nervous gasp, each wondering how he could know about that.
It was at this moment that a huge brown owl swooped over them before landing on the sage's shoulder.

"I've kept my eyes on you, children," Rauru stated before gesturing back to the sword. "Maron. You've tried to pull the sword on four separate occasions. Would you care to show Link?"

Giving a small bow to the sword, Maron stepped up on the plinth with both feet before gripping the sword.
Her first time trying it was nerve-racking, as every other child in her lessons was watching her. Of course, she got to see them try too, and although no one in living memory has pulled the sword, she was still embarrassed to fail.

This time, she really put her knees and back into it. But the sword was as stubborn as always.

"I can't…" She sighed before dismounting and returning to Link's side. "Your turn." She crossed her arms, waiting for him to try.

"What do I do?"

"Just try to lift the sword." Maron encouraged, while the sage nodded in agreement.

There wasn't a soul in the city who hadn't tried their hand to lift the sword. Everyone from blacksmiths to farmers, pickpockets to princess Zelda and the king before her.
In times gone by, a whole ceremony would happen for your first attempt at seventeen years of age. But with young children pestering their parents for generations nonstop, the age required to even attempt the sword has been as young as five.
It would be disrespectful if it wasn't so adorable.

Link at ten years old would attempt it for the first time in his life. Like Maron, Link needed to step up on the plinth to properly grip the handle.

"C'mon, Link!" Navi cheered from Maron's side, but was quickly hushed by the girl, who told her one must be meditated and focused to pull the sword. "sorry… do your best, though."

Link closed his eyes and tightened his grip. It felt strange to hold the handle. He could almost feel a pulse in his palm, that gave him the determination to really put his heart into one heavy heave.
When he pulled with everything he had, Link fell back.

Navi couldn't contain her laughter, even Maron was snickering a little.
"Maybe don't try with sweaty hands, next time." Navi teased.

Link rubbed his hands on his tunic before trying again. This time he didn't slip off, but the sword would not move either.
Letting out a defeated sigh, Link backed away from the sword and returned to Maron.

The sage made his way over.
"That is disappointing. But there is at least one sword you can have." From nowhere, Rauru produced Link's sword and handed it back. "Some believe there is a spirit within the sword resting there, a quiet soul waiting for her Master."

"So, it's not us." Maron looked away. She wasn't too disappointed in herself. She knew she'd grow up to inherit her father's land. Fighting evil isn't in her destiny.

Link was too busy watching Navi to pay attention to the sage. The bold fairy standing only nine centimetres tall was trying to pull the sword out herself. She even mimed rolling up her sleeveless arms before she gave it her all.

She returned to Link shrugging her shoulders.
"I tried." She giggled in a whisper in his ear.

"You cannot expect a mountain to bow its head at your feet, so if one wishes to reach the summit, you must be prepared to pull your weight and climb." Rauru started to lead the children from the temple. "The good thing is, even if they never reach the top, everyone gets to choose which mountain they die on. A person's destiny can change on a whim. The will of the Goddesses teaches us this."

As the children left, Link looked back at the sword. He could just see its glint in the light before the door closed.

"I was so sure we were going to be in trouble…"
"I can't believe he knew we saw Zelda!"
Sage Rauru smiled to himself, listening to the not-so-subtle children talking through the door.

"So you got your sword, and you met Zelda. How is she?"

"She's nice, I think. She was very nervous when we met her, I think she was annoyed." Navi admitted. "I'm not too sure she believed us about Ganondorf, though."

"Well, I met a strange boy in town who wouldn't shut up about Ganondorf. Maybe next time I see Zelda, I tell her how much this weirdo believed it was coming." Maron suggested. "I'll make her believe you, I promise."

"If you think it'll help." Link said with a nod. "Navi and I need to head home now."

"aw, do you?" Maron suddenly had an idea. "If you wait around a little longer, I can give you a ride to my farm again."

Navi hovered by. It didn't make much difference to her what Link wanted to do. The urgent part of the task was complete after all. When the royal family acts on the warning is irrelevant to how or when Link arrives home.

Since Link still wanted to see more of the town, he allowed himself to be given a tour by Maron to all her favourite places, except the castle of course.

"I've always liked the fountain." Maron smiled, leaning over the edge, watching the never-ending stream of water pour from four different channels at the top.

"Where is the water coming from?" Link asked, preparing to climb in and have a look before Maron pulled him back.

"This is a drinking fountain, you can't go in."

Navi hovered over the water, carefully dipping her hands in for a sip.
"Hey Maron, what're those shiny things in there?"

"Some people throw rupees in and make a wish." She sighed. "Papa said I'm not allowed to waste money like that, we can't eat wishes."
Maron closed her eyes for just a moment, in that moment, she heard a small splash.

"Here you go,"

"Link!" Maron covered his wet hand to hide the rupees he took from the bottom of the fountain. "That's stealing!"

Link looked around wondering who he stole from. And why they'd throw it away if they intended to keep it. But although he got a few strange looks from the odd person enjoying the fountain with them, everyone else seemed to be too busy to even notice.

"Just, throw them back in!"
At her word, Link tossed the coins back into the water.
"Did you make a wish at least?"

"No, did you?"

Maron slowly shook her head as she smiled into the water.
"You're funny, Link." She giggled.

After some time staring at the fountain, Maron led Link to a small part of the market where music was being played. It was a simple but festive melody. People seemed to enjoy listening to it, and even offered some spare change to the players.

"Are they going to make that many wishes?" Link asked, staring at the many coins lining the coat on the ground.

"I don't think so. They'll be doing this for food." Maron told him.

"Why?"

"People need to eat." Maron told him as she clapped to the music.

Link looked around the stalls of food. There were boxes of fruit and veg all over the place.
"Why don't they just ask them?"

Maron studied Link's face.
"you really, don't know anything do you?" She didn't mean it to sound so nasty, and thankfully, Link didn't take it that way. "Link, all this needs to be paid for. The food in my papa's wagon isn't just given away, people need to pay us."

Link stared blankly at her.
"So you sell food, get rupees, then you can pay for wishes?"

Maron's smile lasted only a second before she composed herself.
"No… we buy other things. Like, different kinds of food. Or clothes, or-…"

"Why not just eat your own food instead of selling it?"

Navi sat on Link's head, listening to the back and forth talk between the two children. It was silly as hell listening to Link's cluelessness and Maron's struggles to explain trade when she herself didn't understand the finer points.

Eventually, Maron suggested Link could play the ocarina to see if he could make money. But first, she decided they should find a quieter place to do it.

"What should I do?" Link had the ocarina to his mouth but didn't know what to do. Normally his friend Saria leads and he backs her up when they play together.

"Okay, maybe I'll try singing and you play music with me?" Maron suggested. She always loved singing to herself back home. So it might be fun.

"After you then," Link put his lips to the mouthpiece and his fingers were ready.

Maron froze. Her face turning bright red.
Caught by stage fright, she didn't know what to sing.

A few people walking by had stopped to stare, but the sight of two spooked children was a novelty for all of two seconds before the busy day called the would-be audience away.

Sucking in a long breath, Link started playing the song of the forest. In his head, it sounded incomplete. After all, it had always been played as a duet back home.
Without an instrument or rehearsed words, Maron hummed and gave 'la la la's wherever she felt they were needed.
Their age and shyness prompted a few people to donate to their performance, which encouraged them both immensely.

When it was time for the song to start over, Link played the notes Saria usually would while Maron simply repeated what she heard the first time around. Together, they were able to make a small symphony that almost sounded like practice had gone in and after a few minutes, there was a small pile of coins that Maron couldn't stop eyeing up.

Once Link needed a break to rest his lungs, Maron counted up the money.

"Is this enough for a wish?"

"Stop asking about wishes, Link. Follow me." Maron led him to the bakers. With Zelda, Maron had tasted many different pasties and cakes. But this would be the first time she'd get to buy for herself. "Which of these do you want to try?"

"The blue one, the blue one! blue blue blue!" Navi muttered in his ear over and over.

"I guess the blue one." Link then heard excited clapping at his side.

Maron bought a strawberry and a blueberry tart, leaving some money left over.
While the girl lovingly tucked into her own cake, Link was letting Navi pick bits off of his.
With his first bite, Link found the intense sweetness a little strong at first, but the juiciness was relieving.
Navi was blissfully holding her cheeks as she enjoyed the blueberry jam in her mouth.

"Oh, Try some of this Navi!" Maron let the small fairy scoop up a handful of the red sticky sauce.

"Aw, Maron got the better one…" Navi, pouted crossing her arms. "You two better start singing again, I want more cakes!"

They did return to the shop, this time to order another strawberry but this time they halved it so Link could try the strawberry one.
"This is better…" He gasped, immediately wanting more once he was done.

"We don't have enough for another one," Malon told him with a sad smile. "But we have enough for one thing,"

Link and Navi found themselves back at the fountain with Maron holding out three coins.

"One each, make a wish."

"I wish for more cake!" Navi cheered.

"… well, there goes that wish." Maron laughed. "You can't tell anyone what you wish for."

"darn it…?" Navi sighed as she selected the lightest of the coins.

Maron held her palm over the water so the little fairy could push the coin off the end of her fingers. The three of them agreed it counted as a throw. Then Link and Maron threw their coins too before all of them made their wishes.

'I wish we get to do this again.'
'I wish to keep these adventures going.'
'I wish I knew what those two wished for…'

The afternoon was coming to a close. Wagons were packing up for the return home.

"Up you go, lil lady." Maron happily let herself be lifted into the back while Link climbed up beside her, insistent on being independent about it.

"There's more room on the way back." Maron took some of the straw used to bed some of the sold produce and made a nice little mat on the floor to sit on. "So, tell me what you did in the castle."

Link sat beside her, with Navi sitting on his bent knee, the boy and fairy retold to the farm girl how they found Zelda, got arrested and met another prisoner.

"She had red hair like yours."

Maron's smile fell.
"Who's is nicer?"

Navi leaned forward. There is the correct answer he could give, and there is the one that gets him killed.

"I like yours." Link said, combing his hand through her locks again. "why is your hair red?"

"My muma's hair was red." Maron shrugged her shoulders as she let him keep playing with her hair. "She died when I was a baby, but papa tells me I look a lot like her." Maron looked at the floor. Every time her father talks about it, he starts crying, which always makes her tear up just thinking about it. "What about you? Do you have parents?"

"Just a fairy." Link smiled at Navi.

"So… where do, you come from…?" Maron asked.

"The forest, I told you already, didn't I?"

"No I mean, where do babies come from?"

"Hey!" Called back the driver. "There'll be none of that talk in my wagon, lil miss!"

Maron's face turned bright red again.
"I'm asking Him!"

"You should be asking your father if you're curious."

Gritting her teeth, Maron stormed over to the end of the wagon, emphasising each word with a stomp.
"Papa, already, told, Meee!" She pulled a few cords that caused the canvas wall to close between them.

She then moved Link over to the far side so they could talk in privacy.
But her curiosity wasn't satisfied.
Kokiri babies apparently show up without warning. It's rare but commonplace enough for there to be roles assigned for children to take care of the newcomers.

"So, where do they come from?" Maron turned to Navi with her question.

"Don't look at me, I've got a mum and dad, and a sister. How Kokiri come to be is a mystery, even to us."

"huh…" Maron looked at the mystery boy. Link seemed very okay with not being sure where he came from.
In fact, he was more than willing to raze out any notion to find his origins altogether. Kokiri come from the forest, mystery over.

"So, what will you do once you're home?"

"Don't know. Back to normal, I guess. Wake up, take a bath with everyone in the river…"

Maron pulled a face at that but didn't get a chance to say anything.

"- go out and pick fruit, nuts and mushrooms. Eat, go to bed… What about you?"

"I've got chores. Help clean the animals, looks for stray eggs…"

Link and Navi pulled a face at that but didn't get a chance to say anything.

"- have supper, go to bed. Then tomorrow I get up, feed the animals, then maybe go for a ride on my horses." She said with glee on the last one. "Sounds a little boring after today though, doesn't it?"

Link started out the back, looking at Hyrule castle getting further away.
From waking up in the mouth of a dead tree, killing a Mosstrap, fighting a Bokoblin, meeting Maron, being chased by chickens, riding a wagon into the busiest place he'd ever seen, attending a Sage lesson, breaking into Hyrule castle, meeting a princess, getting arrested, breaking out of jail, playing music for money, enjoying cakes, and ending it all with a wish at a fountain, how could life in the woods compare?

'Maybe… You could come to see me again?' Maron suggested in her head, but not out loud, lest her face becomes indistinguishable from a tomato.

Author's Note: Had to put this out during a small break in work. I gave it a rough once-over. It should be okay, but I'll give it a proper read tonight and iron out any errors I spot.
I hope you like the story so far, and if so please consider dropping a review and letting me know your honest thoughts and opinions :) Thanks.