Chapter 17
Uneasy night.

"I think that's enough."
"One more."
"Fine…" Navi picked up the same pebble for the millionth time before dropping it over the moss at Link's feet.
The Mosstrap sprang out ready for the kill, but Link sliced through the neck and watched the remaining stem get pulled back into the roots.

"Seventeen Mosstraps and nine Skulltulas dead." Navi looked at their trail, littered with plant heads and just a few of the dead spiders. "Well done."

Link could imagine a poor rabbit being crushed and snatched up for standing on the wrong part of the moss, or a little fairy being eaten in a Skulltula's pincer jaws. It's horrible.
"I'm just glad we could stop them before they could hurt anyone."

"I get it. But the edge of the woods is Right there." Pointing to the break in the trees, Hyrule Field beckons. "Don't tell me you're afraid again~"

"no…" Link wandered up to peek outside.
A small village was in plain view, just a few miles across the green grass and yellow grains of wheat waiting to be harvested.
A windmill turned, grinding the wheat to flower which would be made into that fresh bread that even from the woods, Link could smell baking away.

Link could see farmers swinging their hoes and a few people waving thin sticks at a shallow riverbed.
The truth was that he was a little intimidated by the idea of meeting strangers.
If only Maron was with them, she knew how to make sense of things.

"Link, something is going on over there…" Navi flew higher to get a better look.

Link took his careful steps from the woods for the second time in his life, it wasn't as hard as the first time, but he was looking back on himself as if the woods might disappear if he didn't check often enough.
"What do you see?"

"Hard to tell, I think something's moving in that yellow grass, it's being trampled…"

In the wheat, two Bokoblins tried to follow a trail.
When they entered the farmland looking for meat, they found it attached to the bones of a small girl running for her life.
She could hear their steps and every look back almost leads to tripping over.

Eventually, she made it to the edge with two options before her, run around the outside and try to make it home, or escape through the fence and hope Bokiblins won't be able to follow.

She climbed the wooden beams and hopped over the top, but her dress caught on a nail, leaving her head hanging just off the ground.
Out from the wheat, she saw the muddy red skin of the piglike creatures charging forward.
Their hungry eyes fell on the trapped girl as they reached through the fence to grab her as she flailed and kicked to get free.

The girl's scream reached the farming village. Spyglass in hand, the guard post captain looked over the fields and signalled to his men below.

As an armed patrol ran around the wheat fields, they found trails and splatters of blood, but all they could hear was the whimpering cries of a little girl.

"What happened?"
"Who did this?"

The girl was white in the face, looking frantically as she tried to cover herself with her torn dress.
"Th- the boy… where did the boy go?"

"Why are you running away?" Navi demanded, looking back at the spot where Link had slain the two Bokoblins.

"I got beaten up last time I helped someone, those men looked scary." He panted, running swiftly with his bloody sword still tightly clung in his hand.

"I suppose. But what did I tell you about getting into fights?"

"Oh C'mon!" Link ducked in behind a set of thorny bushes, waiting to catch his breath. "She was in trouble, I had to do something."

"Link, I'm not mad you saved that little girl. It's just, we're not even ten minutes out the woods."

"Yeah…" He gasped through a grin. "Exciting, isn't it?" He wiped the sword on the grass… The sound of his heart was still thumping in his ears as his eyes swelled from the adrenaline. "Think they're okay?"

"They'll just be licking their wounds somewhere." Navi flew up a little. "But just know, they wouldn't have shown you, or that little girl mercy. Those monsters are out for blood." Navi flew higher to see if anyone was chasing them. The guards were checking the immediate area, but not going far enough to find Link.
"You're good to go."

Slipping his sword away, Link carried on his merry way.
Their little battle meant he'd left the edges of the river he'd been following, but Navi was quick to point him in the right direction.

While Link and Navi were having an exciting start to their day, things were also stirring up for Zelda at the castle.
"pay attention," Impa whispered, waking the girl from her daydream.

Zelda had been listening to strangers talk for days, she was so bored. But Impa's tone conveyed meaning to what was happening, and indeed. There did seem to be tension for the Goron delegates.

"Monsters have cut off miners from the path near Goronbi River. Can a Goron escort bring them off the mountain safely?" Asked a representative of the mining corporation industry for Hyrule.
As a financier of a lot of Hylian infrastructure, he'd secured an invitation to the castle for events and gathering such as this.

But the Goron delegates were unhappy and rather coldly declined the request to save the miners.
"Mining rights were given only as far as Gortram Cliffs. The southern mines and above are ours by right and law. Why are your miners on our territory?"

"They were chased! Dodongos are ferocious. And if they're not rescued soon, they'll die of thirst or worse."

"Are their minds as thin as their skin?" Asked the Goron. "You don't like fire, but when chased by a big lizard, you run towards the river of lava, as opposed to escaping the mountain. So can I assume that the ore deposits that we left unattended to help in fortifications around Hyrule will be just as we left them when we finally return?"

While the two argued, Impa was testing Zelda's knowledge of the situation.
"If you're going to be Queen, you need to know what's going on."

Zelda recalled as much as she had learned from observing the other guests over the last week.
The Goron village up in the Eldin mountains has some of the richest ore deposits in the land.
The consistent flow of spewing lava from the volcano above means that deposits from deep within the ground are constantly resurfacing.
Their entire economy is built on trading raw minerals with outsiders.

However, the Hylian mining company has a contract monopoly on all the smiths and jewellers in the kingdom.
With the disaster that happened to a neighbouring country nearly a decade ago eliminating most of their contracts, the Gorons have to rely on the Gerudo smiths in the desert on the opposite side of Hyrule.

"The Gerudo used to buy from us, but the quality from the Gorons is better. So that was a blow to us." Impa explained, looking at the arguing pair. "Then a tax was introduced. Meaning any trade that cuts through our land that hurt domestic businesses compensates the offended party."

"So they have to pay us, because they're Not trading with our merchants?"

Impa shrugged.
"It's been the subject of much debate since before you were learning to walk."

"Speaking of learning…" Zelda grinned. "You promised."

Sighing to herself, Impa nodded.
The preparations had been made and plans to visit Kakariko were being finalised.

"Will I be Namé? Or Zelda?"

"Neither, we'll get you a proper alias." Walking Zelda from the reception and up to her room, Impa explained finer points about who she'll be posing as while escorting the young princess to Kakariko.

Zelda's smile was predicted, she was so ecstatic about the details of their relationship.
"Mother?"

"Just pretend, while we're there," Impa explained while Zelda puffed her cheeks. "Don't get carried away, Zelda. It's important that you can separate your personal feelings from what is real."

"Yes, Impa." Zelda drew her sparring sword, giving it a few swishes and twirls before bowing to her instructor. "Who is the Master of the Sheikah?"

"That's not for me to say." Impa answered with a cocky smile as she bowed to her opponent. She then dodged Zelda's lunge before even drawing her own weapon.
Normally, Zelda wouldn't attack an undefended foe, but Impa had told her many times.
If your opponent returns the bow during a grading, attack without mercy.
Being unprepared in battle is a flaw that falls on anyone idiotic enough to do so.
But Impa was far from an idiot. She just liked to show off.

Zelda deflected Impa's sudden jab from the hip, finally drawing her own weapon.
"What kind of training do you do?"

"There's tests of mindfulness, tests of strength and tests of bravery."

Dodging another attack, and deflecting two more, Zelda considered Impa's choice of words.
"Wisdom, Power, and Courage… Are the Sheikah devout followers of the goddesses?"

"You can find faiths and philosophies from all over Hyrule that originate to the Trinity. But while the Sheikah honour the theory of mere faith, our focus is on the practical application."

"What does that mean?" Zelda suddenly gasped, Impa moved so fast.

With a flick of her wrist, Impa disarmed Zelda and brought the blade to the girl's little neck.
"If an assassin tried to harm you, I wouldn't hope for a goddess to save your life. I'd use my years of knowledge and training to assess the threat before it comes, I'd use my skills to protect you and defend Hyrule. And even at the cost of my own life, my determination will keep me going until my last breath."

Zelda gulped as she felt the razer against her skin.
But a cheeky smile appeared.
"Nabooru got to me, you failed to assess her~"
The young princess fully expected a scolding or telling off, but Impa did neither. Instead, she just lowered her arms and dropped to her knee.

Holding Zelda by the shoulders, Impa nodded.
"You're right. And I have no excuse."

"Impa, I jest. You don't have to apologise to me."

"No. She was armed, unknown, and could have murdered you under my watch. You are right to be disappointed in me, Zelda. The very least I can offer you is my most sincere apology." The woman wouldn't even look Zelda in the eye.

"Impa…"

"The fact that you're not angry with me, it's proof of how immature you still are. You don't comprehend how serious it is. I swear, I won't fail you a third time."

"Third?"

"There was another arrest after Nabooru, someone else got into the castle."

Zelda's mind immediately became filled with worry. She was on edge when she met the boy, but never considered him to be a bad person.
If anything, he was kinda naïve.
"What will be done to him?" Zelda asked. If the boy has already been interrogated and found innocent, then she knew she had to see about getting him freed.

"him? Why are you so sure it was a him?"

"uh…" Zelda thought for a moment. "Well, two women breaking in doesn't make that much sense."

Impa's eyes narrowed.
"For Gerudo, it would be expected for them to be women. Unless you suspect their chief is the other intruder."

Zelda sighed. There was no way she could lie her way out of this.
"don't be mad at me…"

"I'll make no such promise." Impa led Zelda to a lounge seat. "Start talking."

Zelda could not find a comfortable position to sit as she sheepishly explained what happened when she met Link.
After all, the long seat is often Impa's choice place to punish Zelda. So she knew better than to leave anything out.
Everything about Link, the warning he gave, and how he broke in was spilt for Impa to hear.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because he's just a boy," Zelda explained.

"That doesn't matter!" Impa boomed, before taking a second to compose herself. "Nabooru was my fault. But this boy, Link. You should have run away and called for me. Called for the guards. Anyone. He could have been an Assassin!"

"He wasn't even armed," Zelda muttered under her breath.

"What did you say?" Impa demanded.

"He didn't even have a weapon. What harm could he do?"
Zelda quickly learned that saying this to Impa, wasn't the smartest thing in the world.
For Impa herself is a trained assassin, as well Zelda knew.
She also knew that Impa's hands were more than capable of causing harm, especially when she loses her patients and brings the girl over her knee.
The rug below had soaked up many princess tears in the past and was soaking up fresh ones today.

"I really hope you'll never see another intruder in this castle for the rest of your life. But if you ever do…"

"I'll Tell you! I promise I will!" Zelda bellowed, pleading for mercy.

Standing the girl up, Impa sent her to bed while she had a think of what to do next.
With a name to go with the description from the guards, she could try to paint a better outline of who he was and his relation to Nabooru if there is one.
But the identity of another still eludes her.
The guards mentioned how Link was accusing them of killing his friend, which they deny outright.

"Was Link with anyone else, Zelda?" Impa asked, looking over at the sobbing princess in her bed.

Rubbing her tears, and sniffling, Zelda shook her head.
"He had a fairy with him, that's all." Although to call her just a fairy is unfair. "Her name was Navi."

Impa rolled her eyes.
Although…
"You said a fairy warned you about Ganondorf. You deliberately left out the fact that a boy was with her?"

"I'm sorry…"

"Zelda..." Impa sighed. "I could have had a chance to talk to him myself. If you had told me, this mess could have been settled right away."

Zelda apologised again and again.

Impa shook her head.
"This behaviour is not the making of a Sheikah. You do well to straighten out what's more important before we head to Kakariko."

Zelda rolled over, staring at her mentor.
"You mean, you'll still take me?"

"Yes. But your attitude and behaviour better be perfect." Impa warned. "The Goddesses themselves better hand you the Triforce on a diamond-crested golden platter, because any less and I'll call it off."

Impa sat on the bed and lay back as Zelda lay under the covers.
Desperate not to displease, Zelda kept herself hushed save for snuggling into her long-serving nanny.

Impa closed her eyes too as the girl dozed off. Her mind tried to see how the pieces fit together while her other senses homed in on every sound in the room around them, inside and out.

A pin wouldn't drop without Impa hearing it.
So if anyone from a Gerudo to a tiny fairy tried to get near Zelda, Impa would reach for her knife before they even enter the room.

In the wilds of Hyrule Field, Link had settled for the night in a small grove of trees.

With the orange sky still bright enough for Navi to offer some assistance.
She was able to fly around the trees and look out for any dangers on the approach.
"Looks like we're safe, I can't see anyone- wow!" Navi was stunned for a second.

Last she'd seen, Link had started gathering boulders from the banks of a shallow stream as well as using his sword to cut a small narrow tree down into a single log before stripping the branches.
But now, the fairy was staring down at his constructed shelter being layered on with extra branches and bushels of long grass.

"I'll get started on the fire now." Offering his hand to her, he let her land before gently guiding her to his hat which was hanging on the wall of the shelter.

She climbed in, hanging over the lip so she could still talk to him as he cooked dinner.

"oh, what do you have there?"

Link had skewered an apple with his sword to roast over the fire.
Unlike mushrooms, the juices inside the apple held their heat well after blowing on it.

"YAAH!" Link yelped. The newly freed apple rolled down the banks and landed in the water.

"There goes your dinner~!" Navi laughed but leapt from her hidey-hood and followed Link to the banks.
At first, she thought he was chasing the apple, but instead, he just stuck his burnt hand in the water.
"Oh… did that really hurt?"

"Yes," Link hissed, tears leaking from his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Navi looked ahead for the apple. "I don't see it,"

"Forget it…" Link grunted. He could see the apple, bobbing along its way downstream.
Then in a surprising turn, it got sucked under the water and never remerged.
"Did you see that?"

"Stop being funny." Navi stuck her tongue out at him. All she could see was the orange skies, the reflecting river, and the ever-darkening ground.

"Navi… Something is coming…"

"A Bokoblin?" Navi told him to retreat. "Grab your sword!"

"No, it's not a Bokoblin…" Link backed away from the banks. "I think it's a big fish, it's swimming this way."

Navi rolled her eyes.
"Then you're fine. Just relax~"

The croaking snarl from the river made Navi's world feel even darker.
"Has it seen you?" She demanded, flying low to him. "Hide!"

"Why? Didn't you say I can relax?"

"It can crawl out of the water, and it's faster than you are!"

Link looked around.
He'd never seen this creature before but if Navi thinks it's dangerous, then he has to believe her.

Without warning, his fire was doused completely by a jet of water.

"oh no…" Under foliage, and without a fire, Navi was almost completely blind.

"Don't move from that spot!" Link told her as he ran behind the trees.

"It's a Lizalfos! Watch for its horn!" Navi screamed to him, covering her face as she hovered in the air. "and watch for its tongue!"

A second. It would only take a second for its gaze to fall on her.
Being a large creature that preys on anything from fish to full-grown adults if given the chance, one stretch of the tongue is all it would take before she finds herself in its jaws.

But the same is equally true for Link.

The giant lizard charged at Link, narrowly missing when the boy dodged.
When his feet touched the ground, Link ran back towards the water, ducking into his shelter.

He could see Navi hovering above near the sizzling ash soup that was once his fire. He feared for her, but the Lizalfos was clearly targeting him.
Sword in hand, he waited for it to crawl in after him. But instead, it spat out its tongue, latching onto Link and pulling him from his hiding place.

In a panic, Link dug his feet into the ground trying to stop himself from being eaten, then swung his sword, slicing the foe's tongue two-thirds through.

The monster screeched, hopping on its four legs in pain, eventually snapping the tongue clean off and scurrying away, leaving a trail of blood behind.
It all went quiet.

"Link? Please tell me you're okay!" Navi looked around, aimlessly. Desperation clear as day in her voice.

"I'm here, I'm fine." Link grabbed the tongue still attached to his shirt. Only now it was stuck to his hand like tree sap, only much more painful to remove.
He had the idea of dipping in the river hoping to dissolve the adhesive much like they did with the webbing that snagged Navi, but being near the water seemed like the best way to get killed.

"What's that sound?"

"It's my water bottle." Even after emptying the entire bottle, Link was unable to remove the tongue from his tunic, so he stripped out of his wet clothes and changed into some dry ones from his bag before gathering up his belongings and reaching up for Navi. "I think we should go."

"Yes." Navi felt most ashamed. Her only job was to look out for monsters, and there Link nearly got eaten. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Link looked at his little fairy for a moment before lifting her to his hood. "The Lizafos only came because my apple lured it, and then it saw me. You did nothing wrong."

"Liz-al-fos." Navi meekly crawled into her hiding spot. She still felt bad. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know. But I see smoke over the field. Is that Hyrule Castle?"

"Doubt it, we're going the wrong way. It's probably another village or town. But Link, you'll need to find somewhere to sleep before it gets too dark."

Marching through sunset, Link followed the distant lit-up windows and burning lanterns until finally arriving at a local town.
It was a long, tiring walk, but he got there just as the entire world behind him had been vailed in complete blackness.
"Navi, are you awake?"

"Mmm-Hmm." She nodded, poking her head out from his hat. "You made it?"

"This place is spooky." Link muttered as he wandered the empty paths.

Every window had been closed over for the night, and although the town wasn't completely void of sound, Link was the only person on the road.

"I think I hear singing?" Navi crawled from the hood and flew ahead.
The torches lit her way easily enough, and as she suspected, she saw an inn in the centre of town by the main road.
She took time considering it as an option while Link caught up.

"Remember those coins you needed to buy those tarts? Well, you need more to live in these places." She looked at him with a hint of sadness. "We may have to keep away from there for now."

Link looked on at the glow of the in. He could hear the people inside. It sounded like there was music and laughter.
"Okay." He turned towards the darker streets and looked for a place, anywhere that would be okay.

Between two houses was a lone tree. The canopy of branches blocked out the stars as he lay against his head on his bag at the base of the trunk.
Not the most comfortable place to sleep in the world, but at least there won't be any monsters about.