Grab Time's Arrow by the Fletching

by KatherineOfArrogant

Summary:

The Kokiri had a saying: “Time’s arrow never stopped or reversed, it only flew forward with deadly accuracy.” It was as fatalistic and rigid as everything else Kokiri, ironic considering the forest was supposed to be a place things grew. That was the folly of Fair Folk like the children of the forest, they were unchanging and uncompromising. They did not understand their mortal neighbors, nor did they want to.

Link liked a Hylian saying much better. Viscen, that stubborn old knight, had told him when he was 17 but not really with a wicked smirk: “When you think you’re powerless and some asshole’s got one over you- grab em’ by the balls, and twist.”

Or: An Ocarina of Time novelization.

Chapter 1

Quick preface:

Since novelizations can vary so much, I want everyone to know what they’re getting into first. For reference, I was inspired by what I believe is the gold standard of Zelda novelizations: The Strength of Courage by Equinoxwolf- a twilight princess novelization. So, This fic will:

1. Expand on Hyrule and add new locations
2. Expand on the vaguely referenced pantheon of gods
3. Expand on the idea of magic, force, and supernatural beings
4. Integrate lore and characters from a lot of different Zelda games. The newer games to a lesser extent since I haven’t played them, but they seem interesting.
5. Strive to get every character an arc or reasonable motivations and personality. 
6. Several events will be added, but the story is mainly the same as in game

This fic will not:

1. Go through every single event in detail, so it expects the reader to know the basic structure of Ocarina of Time.
2. Get bogged down in video-gamey aspects like item drops and NPC dialogue. 
3. My least favorite part of these fics are dungeon crawls, so dungeons will be relegated to only 1 chapter and no boring battles with cannon fodder. This thing is already probably going to be 400 pages long. So far I've written until the forest temple and it's already 200 pages.

Without further Ado, here we go:

Two years ago, Link had asked Saria if he could keep a rabbit that had fallen into one of their traps. It was a white and black harlequin rabbit that was exceptionally rare in the forest, and Link loved it.

It wasn’t unusual that he wanted to save it, many young Kokiri feel bad about hunting cute animals. No matter how many times Saria had explained it was the natural order of things, as was her duty as the oldest among them. 

But, none of them had wanted to keep the animals and take care of them. Saria thought it was because of LInk’s kind nature that was sometimes to his detriment, he wanted to take care of things. He had issues letting nature take its course. Saria’s sure this was normal, he was only 8 at the time and while she didn’t remember the others being like this, he was still young. There was still time for him to learn, especially since he seemed to be developing much slower than the others. 

The Great Deku Tree had assured her time and time again: when Link still could barely talk at 3 or how he hadn’t gotten a fairy yet, that he was anxious alone and rarely slept at his own house, so she didn’t let herself become worried. In a way, Saria loved how different Link was, he was her little snuggle bug that thought the world of her. So, she compromised picking flowers with transplanting in soil-filled bowls in his house to make it more cheerful. 

She let him keep the rabbit, against her better judgment. Maybe it would help him finally learn life magic. 

~~~

Mido didn’t like the rabbit. He had visited Link to express this displeasure, but the kid didn’t care and called Mido mean. 

It really was for his best interest. Link had yet to get a fairy despite already being 8, when most Kokiri got their fairy during their first year of life. He never would if Saira kept letting him ignore their responsibility as children of the forest: maintain the balance. Between life and death, benevolent and malicious, fair and mortal. Never touching, only orbiting. 

That included no meddling in mortal lives! Link already toed the line by keeping plants that should be growing freely in wood cages in his home just so he can hoard them. No wonder he couldn’t make a single seedling sprout and wrecks a basic exorcism when he ignores the balance of nature. The only magic Saria could get him to do was a simple protective blessing, which was hardly life magic to begin with and so simple a mortal could do it. 

The rabbit, which Link had named Fluffy to Mido’s horror, was all of these issues combined.

This could not continue. Hylians had pets, like the wolfo-type animals that would hunt for them. Hylians had enough hubris to spit in the face of nature, and enough selfishness to want to. Fair Folk like Kokiri didn’t. 

Saria had begged him to give it a chance though, so two years afterwards they went over to Link’s house to see “Fluffy”. 

Link had installed a gate on his patio of his tree house to make sure it couldn’t get loose, and a box in the corner Link had trained it to poop in. He was all nervous smiles when Mido came in.

“Hi Mido! Thanks for coming to see Fluffy!” He glanced at Saria, who made an unsubtle encouraging motion with a sappy look on her face. Mido rolled his eyes, “Um, wanna hold him?”

Mido groaned, “FIne.” He sat on the ground, waiting for Link to chase the thing down to present to him. It would make some good entertainment. 

“Fluffy! Here boy!” Link called to the corner, and the gray and white harlequin rabbit came hopping out to him. Laughing, he gave him a carrot and pointed to Mido, “Fluffy! Go!”

Just like that, the rabbit hopped in his direction stopping a little short of him. Saria squealed and clapped her hands, “Isn't that so cute? Link really has a way with animals.” At the sound of her voice, Fluffy hopped over and she scooped him up. 

Mido scoffed, “Probably because he has so much in common with them.”

“Mido!” Saria scolded. How could she not see how wrong this was? Link had a wild animal acting like a human.

“This was a waste of time.”

That night, Mido crept back and cut the wicker keeping Fluffy inside. How was he supposed to know that fall could kill a rabbit?

~~~

Fluffy usually greated Link in the morning to be fed, sometimes he would get impatient and jump on Link’s chest when he slept in. He didn’t mind though, the reminder of his presence made it easier to live alone.

It immediately set Link on edge when he couldn’t see his furry friend anywhere. It was probably just the nightmare that put Link in a weird mood. 

“Fluffy?” He called, but no response. Stretching, he got up to search for him. Eventually his search led him to the balcony, where he spotted a hole in the wicker. His heart lept into his throat, “F-fluffy?” He tried again.

Link delayed looking over the railing and inspected the hole. It was cut cleanly, not busted through. His fingers shook as he pressed the grass between them. When he finally did look over the balcony, he screamed. 

Sliding down the ladder, Link hissed as his ankles jared from the fall. Still, he scrambled over to Fluffy’s limp, lifeless body and cradled it. Dark brown eyes were locked open in fear, and he was so stiff. Link wailed.

Mido found him like that, sauntering over with a self-satisfied smirk, “What’s wrong, Freak?”

Link turned hotly on him and Mido’s eyes widened at Fluffy’s corpse. “You! What did you do!?” Who else could it have been? Nobody hated him as much as Mido, he would do anything to make sure Link was unhappy.

Instead of answering, Mido backed away from the intense look in Link’s eyes, “Relax, it’s just a stupid animal. You’re being ridiculous.” More Kokiri awakened, drawn by the argument, and stood around them indecisively.

“Link!” Saria called and rushed forward, blocking his view of Mido, and gasped. “Oh Link. What happened?” Her words didn’t have the same effect it usually did, and he stepped around her to glare at Mido. Fluffy still clenched in his arms, a cold weight on his heart despite feeling like every part of his body was on fire.

“Ask him.” Link ground out. 

“Mido?” 

He said nothing and looked away, but his silence said everything Link needed to hear. He handed Fluffy to Saria, who looked at him strangely.

Link knew it was wrong. Kokiri were not meant to be violent, they did not care enough about earthy things to get annoyed when somebody breaks them. Link thinks when Saria tells him that, she has never felt anger like he had, the ugly type that demands retribution. 

That said, Link had never felt the desire to hurt somebody like this before. It felt like he was watching himself do it, as he picked up a rock and brought it across Mido’s face

Mido fell hard, holding his bleeding nose and crying loudly. Saria ran to her fallen friend’s side, abandoning Fluffy on the ground. Link tenderly picked him up and ventured into the lost woods. 

~~~

“I thought I’d find you here.”

“Go away.” Link sniffed, cradling Fluffy. 

The sacred forest meadow was Saria’s special place, so it was Link’s too. It was where she would play her ocarina every day through twilight, when Fair Folk and undead spirits were the most agitated and needed her soothing song. An old, human structure loomed over them like the shadow of a great monster- worse than anything Link daydreamed about valiantly fighting. Saria said it was everything evil about mankind, so she played here for its salvation.

When Link asked how a building could be so bad, despite the terrible feeling emanating from it, she said that long ago, when she was his age, they allowed humans into the forest, on the condition they were reverent to the Great Deku Tree. And that was it- she had refused to talk more about it. They are gone now, and Link must never trust a human. Because while there may be such a thing as a “nice human”, there was no such thing as a “lone human”. 

Saria wrapped an arm around his shoulder as she sat down, “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Link glared at the ground, “I’m not sorry, the wicker was cut, not torn. I know he did it.”

Saria sighed deeply, “I talked to Mido and he said he didn’t mean to kill him, he just wanted Fluffy to be free like all the other bunnies in the forest.”

“Free to be eaten.” Link huffed before his face scrunched up in pain, “Why do they hate me so much, Saria? Because I don’t have a fairy?” Tears fell down his cheeks, “So I’m not allowed to be happy?”

“Oh no, that’s not it! Nobody hates you!” Saria was quick to reassure him, enveloping him in a warm hug, “It’s just…what you love we’re just not used to. It took me a while too, but I love you so much I don’t care anymore. They’ll come around, you’re still new here.”

Link hiccuped and pulled away, wiping his face, “Okay…” He turned his dour look back to his stiff friend, “It’s just not fair.”

“Fluffy’s time would have come sooner or later, mortals don’t live as long as us Fair Folk. It’s the natural order of things, and Mido should have known better than to tip the balance, but we all will die and return to the earth, together. It’s important to accept that, because lingering regrets can poison the living.”

“Even you?” Link hardly thought he could have felt worse, but a new cold weight settled in his chest.

“Yes, but not for a very, very long time. That’s why we can’t let the fear of death overshadow our love of life. Would you feel better if you blessed Fluffy? Then we can bury him, and that way nothing malicious will try to hurt him. You’re so good at those.”

Link nodded solemnly, feeling slightly better. He set Fluffy down gently and clasped his hands over him. Clearing his mind, he thought of holy things. Golden triangles, a curtain of equally gold hair that smelled of flowers, purifying flames of strange colors. The wind gently picked up around him, tickling his hair and making him smile, before light shimmered around Fluffy behind his eyelids.

“Perfect as always.” Saria cupped his cheek, “Soon, I think you’ll be ready to try healing a cut again.”

Link sighed, “I hope so, maybe that will make Mido stop picking on me.”

“Don’t worry about Mido, he’ll get glad in the same pants he got mad in, even if it takes awhile.” Link laughed, “Do you want to sleep at my house tonight? You had a long day.”

He really did, but he shook his head, “No, I’m big enough.” Everybody made fun of him so much for living with Saria for so long, he didn’t need to get that started again. If he did, he’d never want to leave her.

Saria frowned at him, and Link wasn’t sure if it was out of concern or because she didn’t believe him, “Ok, keep the window open tonight, moonlight is good for calming a restless mind.”

It’s true that he had been losing out on sleep recently because of strange dreams. Saria told him that dreams are when the natural world is trying to talk to you, since it had no voice of its own. Maybe moonlight would help get the message through.

Chapter 2

Notes:

Link is the only neurotypical in a society of autistic kids.

Navi was woken up early from her rest nestled in a soft flower bud. It had been awhile since she slept in the forest flowers of her youth, it was comforting as it was suffocating. It couldn’t be helped, the Deku Tree’s call had reached her across Lake Hylia yesterday, and she flew all day to get back. Was it so much to sleep in a little after all that?

“Navi…Navi where art thou…come hither…” The ancient diety’s voice carried through the clearing. Something about it didn’t sound right, but Navi still perched herself on his nose.

“I’m here, oh Great Deku Tree.”

“Dost thou sense it? The climate of evil is descending upon this realm. Malevolent forces are gathering.”

Navi’s gaze descended, “I have, but the winds of malice wax and wane. Humans can be fickle.”

“No, this is not the mere tides of human conflict. For so long, the Kokiri forest has been the source of life in Hyrule, and a barrier against outsiders to maintain order. But…before this tremendous evil, even my power is as nothing.”

Decades away did little to help her blabbermouth, “That’s impossible! Only a demon would be able to match your power, and the demon race are only myths now. Er, with all due respect, Great Deku Tree.”

“I can’t say what nature this evil is, but I can tell it bares the corrosive hate of a demon. The time has come for the boy without a fairy to start his journey. Go Navi, find him in Kokiri village now and guide him to me. I do not have much time left…”

Navi’s wings stiffened at that, any protest she had dying at his grave tone.

“I will.” With that, she took off into the forest towards the small settlement, flying low to avoid getting caught up in the forest canopy. That’s when she heard a high pitched call:

“Hey! Stupid fairy!” She jolted and looked down. Navi wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking at, they kinda looked like insects scurrying around a…sword? A small one, as if for a kid.

Navi flew down and settled in the tall grass with the group. Their leader was out of breath and muttered a rude “finally” under her breath. They were all tiny, only coming up to Navi’s hips, and had a rodent-like appearance with feathery tails. The one that hailed her had tan fur with a long tuft of brown on top of her head, giving the impression of human-like hair that peeked out of a bonnet made of a pale purple, bell shaped flower. She had formless dress made with vibrant pink petals and bright green leaves layered over each other, and glasses perched on her snout.

Navi’s eyes suddenly widened when she took in their appearance, before crossing her arms and huffing, “I thought you Minish were too good to sully your hands with the mortal realm’s affairs. Has it already been a hundred years? Pity.”

“It hasn’t, that’s why we're here.” The Minish scoffed, “Something big is going to happen in Hyrule, so big the barrier between our worlds is poked full of holes! I doubt you know this since you are so caught up in yourselves, but every realm is a reflection of Hyrule, so if this realm is in danger all life is! My master sent me here to help the new hero, since apparently you can’t handle yourself. I am Rowena, a blacksmith apprentice.”

Navi raised an eyebrow, “Well, you’re not much use this size, and you can’t even fly.” 

Rowena waved a dismissive paw, “We Minish get by with our blacksmithing, they have special abilities in your world.” She then pointed an accusatory finger at Navi, “You fairies hang around the forest children right?”

“ Guardian fairies do-”

“Good. There is a Hylian child living with them, bring them to this sword! They’ll need it for their quest.”

Shoving her annoyance down at being interrupted, she tried to respond evenly, “That’s impossible. The Great Deku Tree wouldn’t let a human live here, they’re beings of cancer.”

Rowena shrugged, “Well, he did. So bring that child here as soon as possible. The fate of all worlds are at stake!”

“Right. And I’m sure that stake knife is going to make all the difference. Bye now!” She intentionally brightened her light before taking off to briefly blind the annoying minish. 

“How dare you! That blade is-” Her high pitched voice quickly devolved into squeaks as Navi got farther away. 

~~~

All fairies were able to sense each other, all being born from the forest to serve a purpose. It was strange to suddenly be surrounded by her brothers and sisters after so long, adding to the claustrophobic feeling of the forest. It did come in handy when finding a house without a fairy within. 

Navi peaked inside and her suspicions were confirmed, a boy slept fitfully with no fairy. She smiled in relief before flying inside. 

“Hello! Time to wake up! The Great Deku Tree has summoned you!” She sighed when he continued to sleep, “How can such a lazy boy be so important?”

The boy groaned and looked up at her, before his eyes suddenly flew open, “Are you my guardian fairy?” He asked hopefully. 

Navi shifted uncomfortably. Right, he was probably expecting one. She took a moment to take in his aura, a topography of green with something gold sleeping underneath, so deep Navi wouldn’t have seen it with less experience. Unfortunately that annoying Minish girl was right, he was definitely human. Fair Folk like the Kokiri all had smooth auras that cast no shadows, otherwise they could become corrupted.

“No.” She said firmly but she hoped not unkindly, “The Great Deku Tree asked me to get you. My name is Navi, yours?”

“Link.” He tilted his head, “Usually he just uses Ammi, er, Saria’s fairy, if he wants to see me.” He suddenly winced, “Oh no.”

“What?”

“Nothing! Um, let’s get going.” Navi certainly wasn’t going to argue with that. Link grabbed a bar of pemmican to eat on the way. Unfortunately they were stopped almost as soon as Link stepped outside his door by another Kokiri girl.

Navi never paid much mind to the children of the forest. She wasn’t made to be a guardian fairy, and she didn’t want to be. Tied down to one kid for her long life? Sounded like hell to her. This one seemed familiar though, and it had been a hundred years since Navi had last seen a member of the clan. She must have been very old, and since Kokiri only live as long as they can maintain their magical connection to the forest, very powerful. 

“Saria!” Link grinned before sliding down his ladder. 

“Hi Link!” She called before her eyes focused on Navi, “Woah, a fairy! A fairy finally came to you! I’m so happy for you, Link!”

Link looked down and nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “Ah, actually, Navi was just taking me to the Great Deku Tree?”

“Really?” Saria said lightly, she held her hand out and Navi landed on it, dimming her light out of politeness- a poor guest hid their face. Navi felt slightly uncomfortable at her gaze, like she was looking straight through her. Her fairy was perched on her shoulder elegantly, with perfectly silken white hair longer than she was tall and a dress made of Queen Anne’s Lace. She raised an eyebrow at Navi’s appearance, her pink eyes sharp.

Guardian fairies lead a much more peaceful life than her. They typically wore delicate clothes made of fragile plants, while Navi wore a skirt of bluejay feathers, a top of a white hare's fur, and thick wooden clogs. She had long ago cut her raven hair crudely like a human boy’s.

To Fair Folk, age was power. Many different types had their own ways of keeping track, but fairies used their hair length.

Saria eventually smiled brightly, “I sense a great connection between you two, maybe you could be friends instead?”

Link waited for her response, which Navi hesitantly agreed to. He grinned and nodded enthusiastically. 

“Ok Saria, I really need to go now-”

“Ah right, the Great Deku Tree summoned you.” Link stiffened, “Did he say why?”

“No.” Navi answered for him.

Link sighed and hung his head, “Probably about what happened with Mido yesterday.”

“Oh, Link. The Great Deku Tree can see into our hearts, I know he knows you didn’t mean it. He may want to have a few words with you, but he won't be cross.”

“Right.” Saira gave him a hug before urging him forward. Link mumbled something else before they headed off. Navi frowned, but Saria didn’t seem to find it strange. 

“What happened with Mido?” Navi asked once they were out of earshot. Link just shook his head and said that she’d probably learn soon enough.

Kokiri village was small, so it didn’t take long to reach the trail to the Great Deku Tree- the only way to him from an enchantment. So Navi was none too pleased to see another Kokiri boy blocking it with wards made from green vines and sticks, woven together to resemble an eye. He was stringing another line of them up when Link approached him, frowning.

“What are you doing, Mido?”

The boy turned around to reveal a broken nose and two black eyes, making Navi wince. She had a feeling that was connected to why Link was so nervous, humans were violent things, after all. Mido sneered at Link, “None of your business, Mr. No Fairy! What do you need anyway?”

“Move it! We need to see the Great Deku Tree!” Navi reached for a string of the wards that criss crossed across the path.

“Stop that! Link, your new fairy is as dumb as you are!”

“She’s not my guardian fairy, but, um, you probably shouldn’t take down wards against evil.” Link gently pointed out to her. 

Navi growled, “What are they doing here anyway? The Great Deku Tree’s magic should be strongest through there.”

Mido crossed his arms, “Yesterday I tried to go to the Great Deku Tree-”

“Tattle Tale!” 

“You deserve it! Luckily for you I didn’t get very far before monsters appeared. The path is covered in skulltulas and deku babas. As leader of the Kokiri,-” Link rolled his eyes, “-this trail is off limits until the vernal equinox! Since I’m the only one that takes danger seriously.”

“That’s weeks away! The Great Deku Tree summoned Link right away!” Navi gasped. Mido shrugged unsympathetically.

“Too bad. Once winter is over I’m sure the monsters will go away, they always get more active then. I don’t like you Link, but I’d still be a bad leader if I let you die.”

“Oh what do you know?” Link snapped back, “You never saw a monster you didn’t run away from.”

“I know enough that a rock won’t kill them.”

“Hey, hey!” Navi cut in, “What if we get a sword, then can we pass?” Mido huffed but nodded, “Alright then! I saw one Link’s size on my way here.” She hated that that pompous Minish was right.

Navi sighed, did this mean the fate of Hyrule rested on a lazy, impudent little boy? She glanced at him tripping over foliage behind her. They were doomed.  

~~~

“You better show more respect to the Great Deku Tree than you did Mido.” Navi cautioned as they looked through the grass. Navi assured him this was around the area she spotted it, so he was on his hands and knees sifting through the tall grass.

“Yeah, yeah.” Link shrugged, “Mido just annoys me. He takes away everything I like, but still wants me to follow behind him like some- some ant.” He scoffed. Really, the Deku Tree wasn’t much better but at least Link only felt the sting of his indifference. And his lectures.

“You know, that’s the type of thinking that caused the civil war.”

“The what?”

Navi sighed loudly, “It was a huge mortal conflict in Hyrule, as many lives as there are stars were snuffed out.” Despite it being day, Link still looked to the sky and tried to imagine it. He couldn’t, “All because mortals were unsatisfied with how the King of Hyrule did things, so they killed each other.”

Link knew nothing about kings or queens except fairy tales Saria told him, “What were they so mad about?”

“That’s not the point. The royal family is descended from the Goddess Hylia, they have a divine right to rule. Normal mortals would be lost without them.”

“Sure.” Just like with Mido, it was best to just agree when they started on the “I’m smart you're dumb, I’m old you’re young, I’m right you’re wrong!” speech. Finally, his fingers hit something solid and he pulled up the sword in its scabbard. “Woah,” Link breathed. It was heavy, with a handle made of wood inlaid with a shining ruby jewel. Drawing it, the metal was perfectly smooth and polished. He had never seen anything like it, dead Hylians that stumbled into the forest always had tarnished armor. Link had always wanted to take a closer look, but Saria forbade him. Iron had the ability to nullify magic, which was deadly to Fair Folk- beings of pure magic. 

Testing the weight, Link tried swinging it. In his enthusiasm he knocked himself off balance and almost veered into Navi.

“Watch it!”

“Heh, sorry. But we can go to the Great Deku Tree now, right?” 

Navi agreed it was best to get going, but after assessing Link thoroughly thought he should get a shield as well. With no better options, Link grabbed a play shield made of bark from his house. While Navi didn’t say anything directly, it was easy to tell that she didn’t think it would make it through much. He also grabbed his slingshot, which he was good enough with to keep up with local Deku Scrub kids. 

Mido grumbled about it, but he untied enough of the guard's eye wards, which had become a solid wall since they were gone, to let Link crawl through. Link asked sarcastically how long it had taken to weave these, Mido proudly replied he'd been working on it for 50 years once trouble started in the human world. He had heaps more in his house. 

“I’ll water your flower when you die!” Mido called after him as Link ventured deeper. The path seemed more sinister than all the other times he walked it. Link tried not to let Mido’s warning get to him. It didn’t work. 

Small blue buds scattered around the trail in front of him. Deku Babas were adorable little snapping plants that ate flies, so he didn’t pay them much mind as he looked out for wolfos or giant skulltulas. That was until he got close to one and it grew twice his height, its mouth was the size of his skull.

Link’s jaw dropped and he froze. The plant snapped at him, and he just managed to fall on his butt before it got him. He scrambled back.

“What are you doing!?” 

“What am I supposed to do? That thing is huge!” Link screamed back and he hightailed it to the beginning of the trail. He groaned at the wall of guards eye’s in the distance, hopefully Mido didn’t hear that. Out of range, the Daku Baba settled back into the ground. 

“It’s still just a plant.” Navi declared after looking at the bud distrustfully, “If you sever the stem it should die.”

Panting, Link nodded, “Right. And now it’s tall enough that should be easy.”

“RIght so let’s go.” Link didn’t move, “Now!” 

~~~

Link was tried and covered in slight cuts and bruises by the time they broke into the Great Deku Tree’s clearing. He had gotten his left hand nipped by a Deku Baba, which was much less scary now that he knew they couldn’t even break skin. His wrist would definitely bruise, though. Worse, there were a few skulltula’s in the path that were also bigger than usual. Their hard shell made it impossible to defeat without slowing them down, so Link was happy he was able to crawl through the underbrush to ignore them instead. 

He felt weird about so much killing. Saria told him all life was sacred, and should only be ended for sustenance. But, Navi was Fair too and seemed happy to kill whatever got in their way. Besides, it was just a few plants. 

“Here we go.” Link muttered to himself as he walked into the clearing. Navi flew ahead to announce them. He settled in a respectful distance away, the Great Deku Tree liked to talk so much.

“Link…Welcome…” The old tree sighed like creaking wood. He sounded tired, “Listen carefully to what I, the Great Deku Tree am about to tell thee” That’s more what Link was used to, “Thy slumber these past few moons must have been restless and full of nightmares. As servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land and causes nightmares to those sensitive to it…”

Link looked down and nodded. Saria’s suggestion helped and the restless sleep finally coalesced into images. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much to help his confusion. A woman with white hair and a girl in funny clothes running into pitch black storms, and a man with a hideous face and green skin of a corpse grinning at him.

“Link…the time has come to test thy courage.”

Link’s eyes narrowed and his gaze snapped to the Great Deku Tree, “I am brave.”

The tree only smiled, making a sad creaking noise with it, “I have been cursed…I need you to break the curse with wisdom and courage. Thous enter, Brave Link and Navi, you must aid Link in his quest.”

Navi bobbed in the air beside him, “Of course. We will break the curse on you in no time, so just be patient with us, oh Great Deku Tree.”

Slowly, the deity’s mouth opened, releasing a terrible cursed wind. Link ventured forward, but stopped at the threshold hesitantly. It seemed sacrilegious to go forward and tarnish such a sacred space.

He had never been inside the Great Deku Tree before. The others have, for exorcisms of malicious Fair Folk trapped in carved stones or spring rituals. Link, not being able to practice life magic, was never able to join them. 

“What are you doing?” Navi asked as Link closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. 

“Blessing my body, so nothing evil can come in with me.”

Navi hummed skeptically as a gold shimmer encased Link. It seemed a little too late to be worrying about that, at the moment. 

Link supposed this was the moment in the story he should invoke a totem for guidance. The Rabbit who laughs in the face of adversity, although she is small and weak? The sly Keaton that could talk his way out of any situation? The wise Serpent, the keen-eyed Owl, the busy Bee… in the end none of them felt right and he couldn't think of any more. Well, any that wouldn’t do more harm than good. 

They entered the interior, a round chamber lined with unlit torches. To Link’s knowledge this was the extent of the Deku Tree’s interior, so finding the source of a curse should not be difficult. However, where Saria had described an altar in the middle was covered with a giant spider web. It caved when Link put his foot on it, suggesting a pit underneath it, and stuck to his boot when he pulled away.

“Now what?” Link asked, looking around. The chamber was as tall as the Deku Tree was, and a small amount of natural light came in through the top, casting gloomy shadows across thick vines. He couldn’t tell what, but movement on the vines suggested they weren’t alone. Link shivered at the thought.

Navi floated aimlessly around the room, slowly being drawn to the covered abyss below them, “I think I can feel the cursed energy coming from there.” Link knelt down and agreed. How to get through, though?

A spiraling balcony led up the sides of the chamber, also lined with unlit touches. Maybe a Kokiri had left a fire starting kit from a past ceremony up there. 

With that half-idea, Link climbed up the vines to the landing. It looked like it may have extended to the ground at one point, but only broken boards remained now. Link stayed close to the ground to search for a flint and steel.

“What are you looking for?”

“Skulltula webs are stupidly flammable, we collect them for fire starters. Maybe somebody left a flint and steel here.” He nodded towards the touches. 

“Huh, that’s actually pretty smart. Er, not that I’m surprised!”

Link’s eye twitched, “How about you keep a look out for me?”

Navi laughed sheepishly and flew ahead to make sure nothing crept in the darkness. It all looked normal, moss grew in sheets on the planks and on thicker parts of wood. A few shrubs sprung from the rotted wood as well. 

Link suddenly shouted behind her when something hit him in the rump. They both spun around and only saw a leafy shrub behind them. Link frowned as he recognized what it was, pulling his slingshot discretely from his belt and turning around. He pulled it back as he walked slowly forward. 

As soon as the telltale rustling came from behind him, he spun on his heel and plinked the Deku Scrub in the nose before it could fire. Squeaking in displeasure, it fired another nut at Link, who hopped out of the way.

“Hey, no fair!” He called, stomping up to the shrub. Navi protested behind him. It was bigger than any Scrub he’d seen before, mainly the children that liked to play rougher than any of the Kokiri did. They always suited Link fine though. Come to think of it, he’d never seen an adult before, even though he was pretty sure they were mortal. 

It popped up again, only feet away, and knocked the wind out of Link and sent him tumbling backwards. 

“I tried to tell you.” Navi chastised, flying close to his chest to check for blood, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah.” Link wheezed, “I don't think they’re supposed to be here though. Could it be the curse?”

“Deku Scrubs? No way, they can’t even use real magic. They may know something, though.”

Link hummed and got up again. This time he pulled out his shield and waited for the scrub to show itself again. When it did, Navi flew in the blind it and Link tackled it out of its hiding place. It kicked and thrashed but Link held firm.

“Let me go! Let me go!”

While large, it was still light enough for Link to hold it a distance away by its armpits, “Tell me why you’re in the Great Deku Tree, only Kokiri are allowed inside!” Navi demanded.

“I don’t care about you stupid Kokiri or you stupid fairies! You are so full of yourselves just because this tree loves you so much! Well, that’s about to end soon.” It laughed, high pitched and terrible. 

Link, too shocked to notice, dropped the Scrub when it thrashed again and ran back to its hole. No amount of cajoling from Navi coaxed it into talking more. 

“What did that mean?” Link asked quietly, “This isn’t- the Great Deku Tree couldn’t die…could he?”

“No!” Navi was quick to reassure in a frantic tone, “the Great Deku Tree is too powerful to die from some silly curse. Let’s keep going and end this, okay?”

Her tone was far from reassuring, but looking down he swallowed the lump in his throat before continuing anyway. Saria said everything had to die, eventually.

~~~

They found a fire starter eventually and the web quickly went up in flames. The chasm it covered went so deep no light could reach it. When Navi scouted it, she said there was deep water at the bottom so he could jump inside.

Navi provided a meager amount of light in the endless darkness. The water was deep enough Link couldn’t touch the bottom, so he had to follow Navi to the promise of land. He was sure he felt something against his legs. It smelled awful down there, like rotting wood and a terrible feeling prevailed in the air. Was this what a curse felt like? That sick feeling in your stomach, waiting for the other shoe to drop and something terrible to happen. Like that moment between when he realized something was wrong and when he found Fluffy’s corpse. 

When they reached land, dirt was under his feet. His hands sunk into the wood walls, which were slick with rot. The feeling made Link gag. 

A blue shine suddenly cut through the darkness, forming the image of a giant eye. Three more followed it. When it swiveled to a frozen Link, it turned bright red and hissed before charging at him. 

Shouting, he kicked the first one away. It slammed into a wall and was only dizzy for a second before it resumed the charge. Horrified, Link finally remembered his sword and swung wildly at ankle level. It thunked against exo-skeletons but cleaved cleanly through the creatures’ giant eyeball. One of them latched onto his ankle and bit hard, making Link gasp clumsily crush it with his other foot. 

The onslaught was finally over, leaving Link covered in sweat and blue goo. Finally, he lost his breakfast. He sat back on his rear and panted, tears filled his eyes as his ankle stung. 

He looked sadly at the dimly illuminated corpses as Navi inspected his ankle. Their eyes were covered in a thin shell, but the insides were deflated and leaking clear fluid. Otherwise, limbs severed at the joints littered the ground in puddles of the aforementioned blue liquid. He hoped Saria would forgive him, “I think those were Gohmas, they shouldn’t be in Kokiri forest though. Luckily, they aren’t venomous.” She said aloud, “There’s a fang stuck in here, I’ll have to pull it out, okay?”

Biting his bottom lip, Link nodded. He screwed his eyes shut as piercing pain shot up his leg before fading slowly. 

“I’m sorry we don’t have anything to bandage it with. I should have been more prepared, but the Deku Tree didn’t tell me what was happening.”

It was four small puncture holes that lazily dripped blood, “It’ll be fine. Let’s keep going.” He was so done with today.

~~~

 Link needed to play a little rougher to catch the next Deku Scrub they came across for any information about the curse. He winced at the hard impact of his shield across the Scrub’s head. There was no hard crunch of bone like the sound of Mido’s nose that chilled Link, just a deep thunk and surprise at how light his opponent was. 

He felt even more like a bully when he held the screaming thing up by its legs an arms length away. At least that way, if he got free he would fall on his face and not his feet. Eventually, it stopped struggling and started quaking in fear. Deku Scrubs were far from physically imposing, and are notoriously cowardly once they grow into it. Even their nuts were really only meant as a distraction while they made a hasty getaway. 

“We know you Deku Scrubs are up to something.” Navi said, “Tell us what and we’ll let you go.”

Link nodded, “Yeah.” He thought back to the blue goo that spurted out of the Gohmas. How their eyes gave a little resistance before cracking a caving in completely like a popped bladder. He was not in a hurry to find out what Deke Scrub anatomy was like. 

“Okay, okay! Please let me down first!” He gasped, “I won’t run!”

Something about his dire tone made Link comply. Immediately, the Scrub collapsed in desperate breaths.

“Sorry, we can’t breathe upside down- our lungs collapse.”

“The curse?” Navi prompted.

It took a second for him to collect himself enough to answer, “I don’t know much about a curse. All I know is that last time the moon was dark, something appeared that looked like our Sacred Totem of the Dark Wood.” He looked down shamefully, “We took it as a sign our gods hadn’t abandoned us like we feared, especially compared to the Great Deku Tree. Once she came here, we came with her to help her. Many were happy when she began to gut this tree.”

Link gasped, “How could you!?” Navi exclaimed.

The Scrub flinched farther, “I’ll tell you where she is! She’s in the deepest place here, just continue forward. Take a left at the fork or you’ll walk into her nursery…Oh, Queenie, I’m sorry!” He exclaimed before running off. They saw no reason to give chase.

~~~

They encountered more of the gohma’s the deeper they went in the tunnels. Navi and Link fell in a natural rhythm as they went, she would fly ahead and find any to signal Link. She made a bright target compared to the gohma’s reflective eyes, and the sharp stones in the tunnels made good ammunition. He rarely had to get his sword dirty.

When they got to the fork, Navi drifted to the right, “What are you doing?” Link whispered, afraid to break the tense peace around them, “The Scrub said left.”

“I know.” Navi replied grimly, “But he said whatever is causing this curse has a nursery. That means it’s multiplying, and we have to stop it.”

Link frowned, “What’s a nursery?”

Navi was taken off guard, and answered flippantly, “It’s where animals raise their babies.”

“Babies!?” Link gasped, “We can’t kill them! They aren't doing anything wrong!”

“They’re parasites, Link!”

Link shook his head furiously, “No! Saria told me to leave eggs alone and let nature take its course. The others- they were trying to kill me, self defense is okay but she’d never forgive me for this!”

“But they will.” Navi snapped, and sighed at Link’s unyielding expression, “What if we break the curse, but it comes right back because we didn’t finish the job?” Link hesitated, and Navi sighed in relief before continuing the lead the way, “Good.”

 “Hey!” Link snapped, “I didn’t agree to anything!” His fists shook at his sides, “You’re not listening to me! You’re just like Mido!” He stamped his foot, “the Great Deku Tree said you need to aid me !”

Navi’s blue light took a slight purple color, “Why you-” She paused, her color slowly returning, “I am here to aid you, by offering advice. I know more- I’ve been around a lot longer than you, and I know that this is for the best.”

Link looked down, it all felt like a repackaging of the “I’m old, your young, etc.” speech. However, while he didn’t like the logic he couldn’t argue against it. It made him feel so small, like Navi’s hands instead of her companion. Helpless tears formed in his eyes that he hung his head farther to hide, Kokiri shouldn’t cry over things they can’t change. Link nodded.

They soon came to a deep cavern, the walls covered in large red eggs held together with silk. Navi inspected it, “It should burn just as well as the skulltula web. Careful, sometimes movement can cause eggs to hatch.”

That would be far worse, Link agreed. He lit it with the flint and steel and watched the fire crawl slowly across the walls. They stayed until the smoke choked them out, it smelled rancid.

~~~

The air was suffocating now, and slightly hazy from the smoke. They had to be getting closer to the curse, Link supposed. That explained it. 

Navi suddenly stopped in front of him, “Wait.” Link’s grip on his sword tightened, “I think it’s close.”

Link tried to imagine what it would be like. Curses sometimes took the form of phantoms, terrifying monsters that needed to be either defeated with weapons or exorcisms. Link could never weave an exorcism right with the others, he didn’t even have his Ocarina. Not that it mattered, he was alone anyway.

Navi’s breath hitched, “up.” 

Link would do anything not to, his body fighting his better judgment as he slowly craned his neck up. In the faint light Navi provided, an eye the size of his head looked back at him in the same pale blue the gohma’s had. A breath, before it turned red and the creature roared, dropping to the ground.

Screaming, Link lingered just long enough to notice the monster had claws the size of small boulders before turning tail. The monster gave chase, dragging itself by its forelegs as its torso dragged on the ground. Screeching like the dreaded Banshee.

“That thing looks just like the gohmas we fought earlier!”

“Only huge!” 

“Yeah, but it probably has the same weak spot!”

The monster was out of sight, but its clamoring was still shaking the tunnel. Rocks fell from the ceiling behind them. Link's heart was in his throat, but a long day left him winded already. He couldn’t keep up the pace long.

Clumsily sheathing his sword, he got out his slingshot and loaded it, “Show me where to aim!”

“Right!” Link stopped in his tracks and pivoted immediately. Navi called when she was in front of the eye, and Link let the stone fly.

A terrible, pained scream filled the tunnel, making Link’s ears pop. It fell from the ceiling hard, still writhing. Link waited for it to stop. Unfortunately, it only seemed to be trying to regain its senses.

“I think I just made it mad.”

Navi watched closely, “No, she’s blind! This is your chance before she finds you again.”

“I could barely break the small one’s shell!” Link exclaimed, but he looked closer as well. With the others, if he struck a joint just so it would come flying off. Should be even easier with such a large target. Swallowing and trying to smirk, to channel any bravado he didn’t feel, he drew his sword again. After only a moment's hesitation, he charged.

Link targeted one of the arms with the deadly pincers first, but all the flailing made it impossible. The wooden shield caught the impact, wrenching Link’s arm up painfully and sending him careening into the wall. Tears flowed freely as he tried to catch his breath. His shield arm throbbed painfully, he wasn’t even sure if he could lift it again. It didn’t matter much though, because all that remained in his hand was the leather grip and a few splinters.

“No you don’t!” Navi screamed, and kicked its already damaged eye. More shrill sounds echoed around him as it tried to find the tiny fairy. 

It was quickly trying to get its grotesque torso back underself like an improvised leg. It was fleshy and pulsed with the movement, vulnerable. Shouting, he brought the sword down over it, hacking away gory chunks until he was sure it wouldn’t be able to balance on it

Fallen, it roared and tried to reach behind it to get to Link but he backed up in time. Navi quickly drew its attention again.

Link looked instead at the small plated torso in front of him. No joints for him to pry apart, but it’ll just have the work. His grip tightened, “Please! I just want to go home! I want Saria!” It felt like a lifetime ago he’d talked to her or hugged her, what he wouldn’t give to be wrapped in her arms. Safe from the world and shielded from the other Kokiri’s ridicule. Like he was truly loved. He knew he wasn’t really doing this for some guardian he almost never saw, he just wanted Saria to be safe after she’s done so much for him.

Gripping the handle with both hands, a gold light wreathed it before he threw all his weight against it with a war cry.

He was suddenly enveloped in foul smelling goo, but the creature under him stopped moving aside from the odd twitch. 

Navi hovered over him, “You did it.”

Grinning, Link cried in relief, “I did.”

The world tilted under him.

~~~

When the pair opened their eyes again, they were back where they started. The Great Deku Tree didn’t look any better, but he didn’t look any worse. Link collapsed on the ground in relief.

“Well done…Link. Thou has verily demonstrated thy courage. I had no doubts.” Link grinned, “Now, I have more to tell thee…”

Link felt like the story the Great Deku Tree was recounting was a dream. He told of a man from the desert that had animated the Totem of the Dark Wood and set it upon the deity. All in search of the Sacred Realm, which Link had only heard of in the context of gods and goddesses living there. It wasn’t a place you were supposed to be able to reach, and he had never heard of a triforce even if he knew the creation myth. The man from the desert was after that treasure, so he put a curse on the Deku Tree.

The Deku Tree took a long pause, “...It is because of that curse, my end is nigh.”

“But-!” Link protested, words dying on his tongue.

“No, we stopped the curse!” Navi cried.

“Yes, while thoust did defeat the curse, I was doomed from the start. Take heart, young Link, it is because of your efforts this curse will not spread. Do not grieve me, for I have been able to guide thee. You must take this now, for it is Hyrule’s final hope.”

A green light blinded him temporarily, and when he looked a green stone inlaid in gold hovered in front of him. Gingerly, he grasped it.

“Thy must go to Castle Town next, there you are sure to meet The Princess of Destiny. I entreat ye…Navi the fairy…” His words slowly slurred as they became little more than creaking wood, “You must…go with Link… Good…bye…”

It was like the world had deflated, just like those gohma eyes. All the warmth in the air had vanished, with it the sense of safety they all had lived in. Link was too shocked to cry, gaping at the frozen visage of their guardian. Leaves fell from the tree unnaturally, with no wind to guide them. Everything about the scene was wrong.

Scurrying reached Link’s ears as dark shapes poured out of the woods, no bigger than his palm. Navi gasped, “Oh no, Soot sprites! They’ll cause a huge forest fire if they eat The Great Deku Tree’s remains! What can we do?” She said more to herself, whizzing around the clearing trying to think of something.

Link, however, remained calm. His mind slowly caught up with him, but he wasn’t terrified like he knew he should be. In fact, he’d never felt more sure in his life.

He took a deep breath, and clasped his hands in front of him as unfamiliar words poured from his lips, “Great goddess, guiding light and protector of our people,” Gold hair, a bright smile. A winged stone giant. Gentle string music eased his soul, “grant us your blessing and mercy as I act in your stead during this ceremony.” The wind returned to them, “May the blessings of the goddess drift down from the heavens!”

Link opened his eyes just in time to see bright gold radiate from the remains, evaporating every soot spirit in sight. Link collapsed to his knees. 

“H-how did you do that?” Navi asked, amazed, “I’ve never seen a blessing that big before…”

Link shook his head, and promptly spit up bile, “I don’t know…”

Navi hovered over him a second longer, “All right, let’s go to Hyrule Castle, Link!” She looked back at her fallen deity as Link collected himself, “Goodbye…”

Somebody screamed behind them, “You!” Link spun around to see Mido, in front of the rest of the village, except Saria. He felt a stab of worry for her, “I knew you were trouble!”

“Me?” Link echoed, feeling dizzy. The world hadn’t made sense all day, and it wasn’t starting now.

“This is all your falt!” Soral cried, “We should have kicked you out, Unnatural! You brought misfortune to us!”

“I was trying to help!”

“And that’s the problem.” Mido glared at him, “I told you to wait until the equinox, but you wouldn't. T-the Great Deku tree would still be alive if… You don’t know anything! Just get out!”

Any defense died on Link’s tongue. It was true, he invited this by being so wrong. He would fix it if he knew how they were so different, what set him apart. It seemed he was just created broken. A lump formed in his throat.

A stone hit him in the forehead, “We’ll die because of you!” Soral shouted. Hot blood trickled from his temple.

“Hey! You ungrateful lunatics!” Navi shrilled, “We stopped the curse from spreading further!”

“It wouldn’t be here in the first place if it wasn’t for him!” Fado shouted back, picking up her own stone. Link backed away nervously. 

Navi quickly changed tactics, she knew what Fair justice was like, “Come on, I know the path to Hyrule field!” She had to grab one of his fingers and try to drag him along before he snapped out of it. 

~~~

“Link.” 

Frightened, Link jolted at the soft voice. He whirled around and almost collapsed at the sight of Saria. He ran into her waiting arms, tearfully and incomprehensibly explaining what had happened. She held him tight until it passed. 

“I know, you’d never do something like that.”

Link pulled away, sniffling, “But it’s true, I’m a jinx.”

“No, you’re not.” Saria said firmly, “You’re different. Sometimes, people fear what they can’t understand, and that fear makes them look for somebody to blame.” She looked down, “But, this is bigger than them. I can feel it. And somewhere, deep down, I knew the day I got to meet you, you would have to leave one day. It made me so sad…I knew the best day of my life was only inviting the worst.”

“What do you mean…?” Link whispered softly.

She cupped his cheek, “Yes, you are different from me and my friends. But it’s because of that difference I know you’ll be able to face the world outside the forest.” A large pack was forced into his hands, “That should be enough to last a few days. I packed the offering wine too, you’ll have to rely on the kindness of strangers so don’t forget to be a good guest. Do you have your ocarina?” 

“I think I left it in our special place.”

“Then take mine.” She pressed the old thing in his hands, but age held power in the fair world. She squeezed his hands and looked into his eyes, they were glassy, “If you ever need my guidance, just play my song. We will always be friends. Have courage, take heart.”

Blinking away more tears, Link sniffed, “...See you later.” Kokiri never said goodbye, it implied they would never meet again. And that wasn’t true, because even in death they would be reunited. Always. 

Notes:

I based Link's personality on a cross between Edward Elric and Naruto, lol. I also picture him to look like a blue eyed Edward, same voice too. While most depictions have Link as a meek, polite little boy starting out I think the spirit of the hero would make him way too defiant. Some people are just born with a keener bullshit detector- my Mom was ten when she was in Sunday school and suddenly looked up at the teacher and said, "I can't prove it, but I think you're lying to me."

Chapter 3

Notes:

Force in this fic is kinda an amalgamation of ideas across the Zelda franchise. It was called by name in Minish cap, which takes place during the Force Era, where sometime after SS, monsters once again threatened mankind so the Minish came down and “bestowed” the Hero of Men with the “light force”, which then reincarnated into Zelda.

The other mention of force, and again that Zelda’s force is special, is in phantom hourglass. In that game, instead of just being in Zelda, life force is described to be in all living things. While all these have different names in English, they are referred to as the same thing in Japanese.

Then we have PH’s sister game, Spirit Tracks. In spirit tracks, you can do side quests to gain force gems which come from increased feelings of gratitude, that can restore the magical train tracks made by divine spirits. This connects force to something divine, which makes sense since Hyrule has a creation myth.

Finally, we have gratitude crystals in Skyward Sword. These have a magical ability as well, to turn something inhuman, human, by being exposed to so much force. Being from gratitude, this connects them to force gems, and therefore force.

So, I’m putting alll these ideas into one force. Especially connecting it to gratitude crystals, I wonder what that means for our Fair protagonists…?

Every footfall was like walking on jagged rocks, not the flat plains of Hyrule, radiating pain through his body and every scrape and pull he had. His fingers, toes, and eyes all throbbed in time with his heart while his tongue swelled in his mouth.

Link was sick. Not just in the physical way, but it felt like his soul had been ripped out of his body, leaving only fear and longing. The emptiness was so cold he barely noticed his body failing him. 

“We should stop now.” Navi said finally, after her concerned questions had been met with silence the entire evening.

Link stopped and blinked at his surroundings, a collection of a few abandoned buildings made from wood, but not like he knew. He had pictured all human buildings the same as the one that haunted the sacred forest meadow, but these just seemed…sad. While he could never know what it was supposed to look like, he knew to mourn what once was here. 

“Tonight is the last night of full moonlight, the spirits out here should be calm while we sleep.”

Link looked around hopelessly, “Where’s Hyrule Castle?” They had walked all day, it was almost twilight already.

“Oh, well, it’s a long way from here. Another two days, at least…” 

Link looked down and fought tears. Behind the houses was something called a well, which still had cool water in it which Link drank greedily. They chose the least dilapidated house for shelter from the wind. What may have been food was still on the dinner table in crusted over stains on plates.

Link ran his fingers over a delicately made plate displayed over the threshold of the kitchen, revealing wonderful, intricate designs in the very bone white pottery itself.

“This place still feels sad.” Link said.

Navi hummed, “I don’t feel any malice here, I’m sure the family got out alive. This place just longs for the happy memories that once filled it. Melancholy, it’s usually harmless.” 

He nodded, “I’m going to bed.”

“Alright.” Navi paused, “Y-ya know, this really isn’t so different from what Kokiri are supposed to do. You keep the balance in the forest, but now the world needs a little balance too…” She trailed off, as Link left her to find a corner to settle in.

If that was true, why wasn’t Saria chosen? She was the wisest of them all. She had mastered the Great Deku Tree’s own ability to project herself anywhere her magic glimmered. If anybody would know what to do, it would be her. 

~~~

Night time was the best time to think, when all but ghosts and lonely lives roamed. Nothing to distract her, Navi finally let herself digest the day they had. Mainly her confusing new companion.

A human, raised as fair. Goddesses, no wonder he was so twisted up. It seemed cruel that the Great Deku Tree would orchestrate this, he must have as any guardian fairy could tell he was human with one look. Navi could hardly fault him, there was no way they would have even tried to accept him otherwise. It would be dangerous to try, Navi didn’t even know how deep the damage ran! Maybe he believed raising Link to think he was a Kokiri limited the hurt, and it may have.

She sighed and ran her fingers through her short hair. No need to lie now, though, but humans could be as fragile as Fair Folk. They needed white lies to protect themselves and their ego, that was evident enough in that her companion didn’t seem to notice he was surviving outside the forest, even if lies could corrupt a Fair. Link was barely functioning after saying goodbye to his surrogate mother, and Navi wasn’t willing to put the fate of Hyrule on him being strong enough to recover from his identity being stripped away. Even if it went against her very nature.

Suddenly, Navi heard rustling outside, and something jingling together. Desperate for anything to distract herself, she flew between slats in the walls to investigate.

“You again.” Rowena huffed as she walked around the side of the house, “So, you are going to do something useful.”

“The Great Deku Tree asked me to look after Link on his quest… Did you know he was going to die?”

Rowena gave her a sidelong look, “...no, my master only told me tragedy would befall Hyrule. Somehow, I feel that’s just the start of it.”

“Right. What is a blacksmith apprentice doing here anyway? Wouldn’t a mage be more useful?”

“Minish blacksmiths are much more skilled at wielding force than simple mages!” Rowena balked, “We pour our very souls into it!”

Navi crossed her arms, “You could have told me what that sword did, by the way. What even was that glowing stuff? That would have been useful to know.”

“I was going to, but you cut me off! “ A calming breath, “It’s one of our finest works, attributes to never dull or rust, sheds magic like water off a duck's back, light as a feather, and is a perfect conduit for force.”

“Force?”

Rowena rolled her eyes, “Right, I forgot the mortal realm lost how to use it centuries ago. Not that you'd know, stupid fairy.”

“How about you just explain it instead of berating me? You’re so tiny, talking too much could make you pass out.”

Rowena looked like she sucked on a lemon, but continued, “Force is something all mortals have…You know that warm fuzzy feeling when you help someone- no, you wouldn’t- but mortals get that. That’s force: gratitude and generosity, the opposite of malice, but it has a lot of similar properties. It can affect the physical world, and it has a compounding effect when around more force.” Navi was skeptical of that, while she tried to stay clear of humans, her travels have taught her the brutalities of humans more than the generosity, “Long ago we taught humans how to use force as an internal source of magic, instead of what most mortals do now, manipulating the different types of energies around them.” Navi’s eyes widened in surprise, “But, that knowledge was lost along with our presence in this world. Now, only people touched by the divine can do anything useful with it.”

“Divine?” Navi glanced back at the house, “But Link is just some kid from the forest, he can’t even use life magic.” Even if that display with the Great Deku Tree was spectacular.

Rowena stopped and pointed, “Don’t think so lightly of the divine! Just because he isn’t anything now doesn’t mean he won't, and you think gods care about something as frivolous as time? I have no clue what, but he must do something if he could use force with no training.” She unfastened a jingling coin purse from her belt and tossed it down. It shimmered with a rainbow of colors unnaturally in the moonlight. She followed Rowena a ways away. 

“What was that for?”

Rowena sniffed, fishing a dart blower out of her bag, “We Minish have long served heroes of Hyrule when we could.” She preened, “Why, my grandfather was the companion of one such hero, when one of our own went rogue.” She tapped her chin, “Although, I’m sure that was several hundred human years ago, time here moves slower than in the Minish realm. Now, be quiet and observe.”

Rowena brought the dart blower to her snout. It glowed briefly in that same gold light Link had used, before a shining dart flew from it, hitting the bag exactly. The shimmer around it popped like a soap bubble, and suddenly a human sized wallet full of rupees took its place.

“Little trick we used to use, while we still lived here.” She sighed mournfully, “Only works on things that don’t repel magic, unfortunately.”

“Thank you, I was worried about money…”

Rowena nodded in agreement, “Grandfather used his crystal ball to check up on you to see what you would need. We’ll continue to aid as we can, but tell that human not to spend it frivolously! It was such a pain to get my paws on.”

Navi giggled, “I will, but why not tell him yourself?”

Rowena gave her a confused look, before realization dawned on her, “Ah, fairies like yourself have the ability to see the true meaning of things, be it auras or other languages. Unfortunately even the Hylian we do teach is so out of date nobody here could understand me.”

“Ah.” A breath of silence was enough time for Navi’s thoughts to wander again to LInk, “Link truly believes he is a Kokiri. I’m not sure what to tell him.”

Rowena raised an eyebrow at her, “Why ask me?”

“When you said I don’t know about “warm fuzzies” or whatever, you were right. I’m helping LInk because I know it’s right, not because my heart demands it. That’s never been a problem, but now I need to know how to understand humans if I want to work with Link. He’s been…despondent all day. He’d get killed if something had ambushed us. Tell me, should I tell him the ugly truth or let him live a happy lie?”

Rowena frowned deeply and looked at the stars, deep in thought, “...If he’s been trying to live his life as a Forest Fairy, I doubt it’s working out so well,” Navi shook her head, then Rowena nodded, decided, “Sentient mortals, including humans, are very social animals. Even if he doesn’t know it, his force will be calling out to more of it. No need to tell him anything, eventually he’ll understand the human world is where he belongs. Just hope the truth doesn’t come out before then, it could kill his will to go on.”

Navi gasped, “Truely?”

“Mortals find our strength within ourselves and our identity. That’s why many are deaf and blind to the effects of malice or force, we create them, while a Fair could become easily corrupted.”

Worrying her bottom lip, Navi nodded. She only hoped this quest wouldn’t leave her corrupted as well, like so many others who let their guard down around humans. 

~~~

Link whimpered when he woke up, all his body hurt. His limbs felt like lead and his face burned when he grimaced. Panic bubbled in him.

“Navi.” Link called, “I can’t move!”

Shaking off sleep, Navi responded with a bleary “huh?” before rushing over to Link’s struggling form, “Oh, it’s just muscle weakness…” She breathed a sigh of relief, “I bet you never had to walk that far before, huh?”

Link shook his head. He never even ventured very far in the lost woods.

“It’ll wear off as you get going, come on, let's eat..”

Slowly, the stiffness wore off as he hobbled around, but the pain remained. Even worse when in the sun, Navi had tsked and said he had something called “sunburn”. They found a sack in the grass full of gleaming gems, Navi assured Link this was very good but it just felt like extra weight on his already protesting hips.

It took everything Link had not to burst into tears. Everyone back home was annoyed by how quickly he turned to tears, he didn’t want to annoy Navi too and have her leave.

Link’s pace was even slower than yesterday, he didn’t need Navi’s nervous encouragement to notice that. Another full day of this? A few miserable tears slipped down. Navi ignored them.

The trail leading out of the village and to the north was much more well traveled than the one they followed yesterday. With strange twin ruts lining it, but they were almost too shallow to notice. It was also lined with human skeletons and dropped, rusted weapons. Link tried not to look too long.

Eventually, the field started to look different. Instead of the short green grass, it turned into fields of dirt sectioned off with string fences lined with colorful guard’s eye wards. It had made Link stop and stare, the colors of the most vibrant flowers woven into the diamond eye shapes. He’d never seen anything like it, or the vast overturned fields of dirt.

“These are called farms, it’s where humans grow food. we must be getting close to a human settlement. A large one.”

Link anxiously continued forward, remembering all of Saria’s warnings and stories she wouldn’t tell. Soon the wind was tinged with the pungent scent of feces and urine. 

The sound of clomping hooves and creaking wood made Link turn around, “Get off the road!” Navi shouted, urging Link to walk beside, “Don’t stare at it!” She said again, when Link tried to look behind him, “Just keep walking, maybe he won’t bother us.”

“Hey, boy!” A deep voice called, as the strange thing stopped beside him. It looked like a basket on wheels, pulled by a huge animal on four legs, and with a human sitting at the front. He’d seen humans before, well, their bodies in various stages of decomposition. This one was very tall, with tan skin and dark hair peppering his face that was shaded with a wide hat made from grass. Link was fascinated by the deep lines in his face, and was reminded of the Great Deku Tree. His voice was deep like the deity too.

Dark blue eyes squinted at him, “I don’ recognize ya, boy. What are ya doin’ all by yourself?” His voice had a nice, lilting cadence to it that was both novel and soothing. It put Link at ease, just a little. 

Still, his voice failed him. Navi eventually spoke up, “We need to go to castle town.”

The man’s eyes bugged out when he noticed Navi, he rubbed his eyes before blinking several times, “What ‘n tarnation?” He whispered. Link giggled, “A real talkn’ fairy? I done think you were a myth.” He shook his head and looked back at Link, his eyes kind, “Castle Town is a long way from here. ‘specially for someone so little.”

Link found his voice, “I have to go there and see the princess!”

“Really now? Well at least let me take ya to town. Ya look like yer about to keel over!”

Link blushed before nodding. There was a small step on the side, but it was still too high for him. The man reached out a callosed, dirty hand and hauled Link up like he weighed nothing. He blinked in surprise as he was suddenly sitting down beside him. 

“You sure are big.” Link said in wonder. Sitting next to him, he looked even larger. 

The man burst out in warm laughter, “Ya will be too one day! Name’s Jon, you?”

“Link of the Kokiri tribe.” Beside him, he heard Navi furiously whisper something, “And I’m not gonna grow up, Mister, no Kokiri do.”

“Green clothes and a fairy…” Jon breathed, “We always thought Kokiri weren’t real.” He scratched his stubble, “Is it true if one of ya die, a flower blooms in its place that’ll grant eternal life?”

“How dare you!?” Navi screamed, “Link, get off now!” 

“Wait, wait.” He raised a placating hand, “I didn’t mean nothin’ by it, but you should be careful sayin’ you're a forest fairy. People really do believe that, and unfortunately my fellow man can be pretty cruel sometimes.”

Link relaxed. Navi was unswayed, “Don’t believe him, Link. Let’s go.”

Link shook his head firmly, “I believe him.” Then quieter, but not quiet enough, “Saria’s really old and she doesn’t have lines on her face like that. He’s gotta be at least a hundred, he must be full of wisdom!”

More belly laughter, “Im’ not that old kid, but many thanks for believin’ in me. I wouldn’t want eternal life anyway, I’m tired enough already!”

Jon explained that the town they were coming up to was named Celadon, and was about halfway between the forest border and Castle town. He humored all of Link’s questions, from what a horse was to how farming worked. It seemed genius, instead of needing to risk running into monsters in the Lost Woods to hunt and gather they just got their food from their back door! 

Link didn’t say much about life in the woods outside of what Jon asked. He was always chastised for being a blabber mouth when words were precious gifts from the gods, but Jon didn’t mind wasting them at all. It was fun, even if his head started to hurt from talking more than he ever had. 

“There used to be more towns, small settlements with only a few houses when I was a youngin’. Back when the war hadn’t reached the Faron province. When monsters came, we all had to move together or die by ourselves. We wandered from place to place, the war always seemed to find us, when suddenly she came.”

Link’s eyes sparked, “Who?”

“The Great Fairy. It was on a winter day, the land was dry as a bone. Any wells deep enough had been poisoned, and shallow water was frozen. We had nothin’ and my baby brother was mere hours from dying in my mom’s arms, her milk had dried up days ago. With nothing, we found a spring that hadn’t frozen and run clear as palace crystal. We were sure it was a sign.” At this point, Navi had perked up and listened as well, “So, we prayed, and a voice asked us for valuables. We each offered somethin’ to the spring,” He laughed, “I gave her a wooden horse my pa’ had carved for me. Only thing I had, my uncle gave her the shirt off his back.”

“And then what?” Navi asked cautiously.

“Then, the spring overflowed and a beautiful fairy sprung from the depths! With her powers, she healed all our sick and wounded. She told us to settle here, and she will protect us as long as we give her regular offerin’s of precious things. She also taught us how to ward off the monsters that roamed the fields.”

Link grinned, “The gaurd’s eyes!” He pointed to the fences lined with them, “That’s how we ward evil in the forest!”

Jon winked, “Exactly. If you give her an offerin’, she’s sure to bless your journey. And heal that nasty sunburn too.”

Link hesitated, “Umm, Navi?”

“...I think we should go.” She answered finally, and then quietly so only he could hear, “Something seems off about that story.” Gulping, Link nodded.

Soon after the road under them changed from dust to carved stone, and wooden human buildings sprung up around it. Link gawked at all the humans that milled around, and they all looked so different! Some were tall, short, long hair, short hair, with all sorts of clothes! Link noticed that the ones that looked like girls looked strange, with wide hips and lumps on their chest. They were pretty, though.

Guard’s eyes hung over every entry way, some open and some covered by wooden planks. Each one was as bright and colorful as the ones lining the fields. 

In the middle of the hubbub, Jon slowed down where the street widened. In the middle was a small building made of carved stone with a domed roof and an open entryway, “That’s the Great Fairy's fountain” Jon jutted his chin to it, “Stop by there. I’m gonna go back to my place, we live at the very end of Palmyra street, the house with the pink and blue guard’s eye painted on the door. 

Link nodded and hopped off, resisting the urge to groan at the deep ache. He bowed respectfully at the man, “Thank you very much, Jon of the Humans.”

Jon blinked in surprise before laughing again, “Be sure to drop by, Link. The old lady is gonna love you.” With that, he snapped the reins and his horse started again to the right. 

Link took a deep breath and looked into the small shrine. It was the size of Saria’s house at most, and he could see sunlight stream in through the open ceiling. He tamped down his nerves and went inside. 

“What should I give her?” 

“A few rupees from that wallet ought to do.”

Ah, so that’s what they were for. Peering into the gently lapping water that sparked in the sun, Link tipped the entire wallet into it, shaking it out. 

“Link!” Navi gasped.

“What?”

Suddenly, the water surged and overflowed. A black shape shot from the middle of the spring, growing and growing with a howling laugh-

Large moth wings fanned out, mottled blue, gray and black with a pair of yellow eye markings, revealing a beautiful woman with short indigo hair, long locks framing her face. Well, that wasn’t quite right. Her skin was ivory white, two feathery black antennae sprouted from her forehead, but her most striking feature was her eyes. Pure black that reflected the sunlight like stars in the night sky. She wore a sleeveless, indigo dress that only reached the middle of her thighs, with silver fur lining the neck and hem. Link blushed at the sight. 

“Welcome, weary traveler.” She smiled warmly, “I am the Great Fairy of Healing, what have you come here for?”

Link gasped, “I’ve never seen a Great Fairy before…”

“You still haven't.” Navi said beside him, “She’s just some lowly rupee fairy, they hang around human settlements and get power off treasure.” Midnight eyes widened in shock, “Why lie? You must know the consequences of pretending to be something you're not.”

Looking down shamefully, she drifted down and shrunk to the size of a normal human, settling on the edge of the fountain, “I don’t believe I am lying. Not how the humans see it, at least.”

Seeing the pain on her face, Link sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder like Saria had so many times, “I’m Link of the Kokiri Tribe.”

“Dysphania.”

“What happened?”

Some life returned to Dysphania’s face, “It happened not too long ago, for a Fair Person. I was forced to move, as a war drove humans out of my home and I knew I would eventually weaken and die without them. But I couldn’t find any, the war had consumed too much.

“I was on the brink of death. Winter’s chill wore down on me, and I could feel my life fading. I was mere days away from fading entirely, when I suddenly heard voices.” As if she was there again, she reached a hand out wistfully, “I called for help. Foolish, I know, who would help a being as lowly as me? But I was desperate, I so badly didn’t want to die. Then-!” A grin broke on her face and she stood, “A huge amount of energy suddenly filled me. A king's ransom! I thought that maybe a merciful deity like the Great Deku Tree had taken pity me, but when I looked around, all I saw were worn, sick human faces.” She breathed, “I didn’t know what to do. It was enough energy to live a millennium if I had conserved it, but these people- they bowed to me! Called me a Great Fairy and pleaded for aid. For their sick and wounded.” Sighing, Dysphania placed a hand on her heart, “I never felt such a thing before.

“Well, they needed a Great Fairy so I did just that! I used up most of my power to heal all of them, and promised that if they settled here I would teach them how to deal with malicious Fair Folk and undead.”

“But,” Navi protested, “Fair Folk shouldn’t live so close to humans, it could corrupt them.”

Dysphania shrugged, “That’s what the other’s told me too. I think it only made me stronger, I’ve never had so many offerings before, I never had a purpose like this before.”

“You can do that?” Link asked timidly, “You can just, decide to become great and you do? Everybody always told me you can only be what you’re born as.” And he was born a Kokiri, a being that could never leave the forest. It was wrong, impossible, but the Great Deku Tree- no, all these nice people needed him to.

Dysphania smiled and sat back down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder like he did her, “I was scared, when I saw all those faces waiting for me to do something. I looked all around me, and there was nobody else who could help them, and I certainly wasn’t going to let them die.” Link nodded, “So yes, when needs must, you will be shocked at what you can do. Now, tell me what brings a Child of the Forest all the way out here?”

Sighing, Link recounted everything from the Great Deku Tree summoning him to his horrifying death, and his last task. 

  Dysphania looked troubled when he finished, “Dark forces…?” She muttered

“rivaling a demon.” Navi agreed.

Dysphania looked terribly scared for a moment, then took a deep breath, eyes hardening, “Okay. We’ll need more than just guard’s eyes, I’ll tell the mayor to buy iron, lots of it, and…” She trailed off, shaking her head, “No matter. Here.” In her hands, half the rupees Link gifted her appeared, “You’ll need this for your quest. Money can make people do a lot of things and get a lot.”

Link chuckled, “You make this sound really bad, but I just need to talk to the Princess and…” He didn’t know what next, but then everything would be over, right?

Dysphania shook her head, “Hyrule has been free from the demon clan’s oppression for millenia, if there’s even a chance that evil will walk again we must take it very, very seriously.”

“Panicking him will do nothing.” Navi spoke up. 

“Yes, panic can kill somebody, but fear keeps them alive.”

Link didn’t know exactly what that meant, but slowly reached for the rupees with a shaking hand- then pushed them back to her chest.

“Link-” Navi started, but he firmly shook his head.

“Dysphania, you said these shiny rocks can buy nice things, but I heard what Jon said. You can use these to save lives, isn’t that much more important than things? Especially if… if something terrible is coming for us.”

Dysphania blinked rapidly before smiling and reabsorbing the rupees, “Heroic Link, I’ll remember your words for centuries to come.” Leaning in, she kissed his forehead. Warmth spread from it, easing every ounce of fatigue in him. Even his scrapes had healed. 

“The people of Celadon are generous and kind, please spend the night here. With the moon waning, monsters will roam the field at night and you can't make it to Castle Town in half a day.”

Even Navi couldn’t protest when he agreed. 

~~~

Jon lived with his wife, a round, matronly woman who was strong enough to lift Link and spin him around. Saria still gave the best hugs, but Mari’s were a close second. He wasn’t entirely sure what a wife was, but Jon said it was the woman you love and want to spend forever with. He had thought for a second and gained a wistful smile as he continued, “Somebody who makes everyday worth facin', because you know you’ll be facin’ it together. Somebody you love so much it hurts, but you never want to be away from them, and there’s this fire in your belly that makes you want to give them the world.” Link didn’t quite get it; he loved Saria, but not like that. What Jon said sounded scary. Jon responded that it was a shame Kokiri didn’t grow up, because it was something that made growing up worth doing.

Also that a woman was a grown up girl.

“Kokiri, huh?” Mari said as she appraised him, “I see you saw the Great Fairy, but Jon said you burn in the sun like a noble child. I’ll pack you sunblock too.” She was slowly making a list of things to load him down with.

“You’re very kind Ma’am.” Link bowed, “You don’t need to give me so much.”

“You’re so little,” Mari responded, making Link quietly huff to not offend her, “Are you sure you need to go all the way to Castle Town? Couldn’t you just stay here?” Link got the feeling she didn’t really believe he was a Kokiri, otherwise she’d know he couldn’t. He was lucky to be alive as it is!

“No, Ma’am. The Great Deku Tree said I have to! The fate of the world is at stake!”

Mari looked very sad, suddenly, and Jon squeezed her shoulder, “Yeah. My Pa said the same thing. I always thought the world is an awfully big place for one man giving his life to make a difference. Even bigger to somebody as small as you.”

Boy, didn’t that sound like the truth? Link made himself smile, “Kokiri maintain the balance of the forest, and if I have to leave to do that then-” His voice cracked, but held firm, “Then that’s just what I’ll do!” And if he said it a hundred more times, then maybe he’ll believe it.

They smiled at him warmly, “We’ll do all we can to help then, right dear?” Jon smiled down at her. Mari’s eyes were still sad, but she nodded. 

That night, they began dinner with a shared sip of forest wine to honor the Spirit of Hospitality, and Link slept well. 

Notes:

There will be a few more towns added to Hyrule to flesh out the world in this fic. The sage’s names in oot are derived from towns in the first zelda game, and I liked the idea they were named after the sages (since it’s in the downfall timeline). I wanted to extend the idea to towns here, the last game in this timeline was 4 swords, who had unnamed, color-coded maidens instead of sages…so all towns will be named after colors. Celadon is a minty, sage green color for the green maiden.

Dysphania is based on the more insect-like rupee fairies in A Link Between Worlds. She’s based off the moth Dysphania Palmyra (I like to think all the streets in Celadon are named after moths). I love her so much, and I think she’s the perfect person to inspire Link. Kokiri are obligate bystanders, and it can be really hard to break out of the bystander mindset. I think we can all use the reminder as well that it’s okay to fake it till you make it.

Chapter 4

Link left at the first rays of dawn, Navi expected they’d be in Castle Town in the late afternoon- 10 hours of walking including stops. So, naturally, Link was a bit annoyed when Navi stopped them just at the draw bridge. 

“Link, this place is going to be huge and busy. You should take a break now, eat, and recover.”

No. Link did not come this far just to rest, “You can. I’m going in.” He said curtly.

“You don’t even know where the princess is.”

“At the top of the tallest tower of the castle.” Link responded haughtily. Navi deadpanned.

“Maybe, but it’ll still take a while to get there and there’s going to be a lot of people. Picture ten times Celadon in as much space, and you have the just southern part of town. It’ll be overwhelming.”

That did give Link pause. Humans talked so much, and adults were so tall some tripped over Link! Then blamed him while they were the ones not being mindful! And that was just in Celadon, he could get crushed in there. He peered in, and could already see so many adults milling around. 

But Link was tired, and mad, and so past caring about what they thought of him. Saria taught him that being polite in the forest ment being quiet, slow, and listening to those around you. Humans were not very polite anyway. Skull Kids had better manners! No, he needed to be the most self-righteous, pushy, annoying person he knew. 

He needed to be Mido if he wanted to make it through there. 

Not far, he found a long stick on the ground. Putting his hat on it as a flag, he marched, like a standard bearer representing an army.

“Coming through!”

“Or we can just make a giant scene.” Navi muttered, tucking herself in one of his pockets and out of sight.

“Yep!”

~~~

Nobody stopped Link. Maybe they would have, if he looked like a meek, lost little boy. One woman asked him why he wasn’t in school, and Link had no idea what that was so he just responded, “I’m trying to save Hyrule, Lady, so out of the way!” waving his hat in her face and leaving her sputtering behind him.

Ignoring cool shops and delicious smells, Link forged on past tall gates and stone walls and stepped into another world. Castle Town was shaped a bit like a thick ring. A circle of city with a hole of gardens and fields punched in the middle. This new place led to a footpath with iron bars lining it that Link took care to stay away from for fear of being burned. 

His gaze was drawn by rustling in a nearby tree. An owl fluffed its feathers, “Hello Link.” It said, “It is good to see you again.”

“Again?” Link echoed.

“He tried to talk to us when we left the forest.” Navi said, before flying closer to whisper in his ear, “You were pretty distracted, and he didn’t say anything important…”

“Ah.”

“The princess you seek is inside the castle up ahead-”

Trusting Navi was paying attention for him, Link’s gaze traveled down the tree. Its roots had warped the iron fencing, prying it up just enough for somebody his size to squeeze through and get scratched.

“Did you understand what I just said?” The owl finished, and Navi nudged him. 

“Huh? Yeah, sure.”

“I wish you luck in your journey. Have courage, take heart!”

Link frowned at the familiar phrase, remembering Saria. Weird that owl would know it, though, but apparently Link missed him the first time. He may have overheard them, “Who was that?”

“I don’t know… he isn’t fair but mortal owls don’t talk. Transmutation magic?” Navi wondered aloud.

Link didn’t really care, “Did he say anything interesting?”

“Not really.”

The pair continued down the path, gazing at the gardens and guards on patrol. Link asked what they were doing, “They keep people away from the royal family, to protect them.”

“I thought you said the royal family was their ruler? Shouldn’t people get to see them?” He’d be pretty annoyed if Mido got to make decisions without the tribe’s input first, bossy-ness could only solve so many problems. “What are they being protected from?”

Navi sighed, “It’s…complicated. Human stuff.” Link paused to look at her expectantly, “Fine. Humans are silly things, they’re not always so smart. But the Royal family is descended from a goddess, they know better so people would only get in their way. As for why they need protection, humans can also be violent if they don’t get what they want.”

It seemed like there was an obvious solution, but Link wasn’t about to argue. Navi had gotten mad the first time this came up, and he didn’t want her to leave him. 

They rounded a corner, “Please sir, my Dad was supposed to deliver milk this morning but he hasn’t come back yet. I bet he fell asleep if I could just get him…”

“No unauthorized personnel are allowed inside.”

“Please?”

“No.”

A cute girl that looked his age, with sunset orange hair and a white dress turned away from the gate guard. Link didn’t pay her much mind as he walked up to the guard nervously. 

“Should I show him the Kokiri Emerald?” Link asked.

“And let him know you’re a Kokiri? Besides, I doubt some random human would know what it was.”

Swallowing, Link nodded. The last thing he wanted was for the guard to try to kill him for some stupid magic flower. Right, that sweet girl didn’t get through, so just be Mido and overwhelm him with his annoying bossy-ness. 

“I’m here to see Princess Zelda.” Link declared.

The guard laughed, “Scram kid, you think you’re the only one to want to see Zelda?”

“Well, maybe they had good reasons too..?” Link tried to sound haughty, but his voice trailed off like a question.

“Right. Go take your crush somewhere else, kid.”

Link wasn’t sure what that meant, but the tone made him flush in anger, “Hey-”

Something pulled at his ear, “Come on, we’re not getting anywhere. Let’s find another way in.” Navi urged. Link growled but left turned around.

“You just got lucky.” Link called over his shoulder, making Navi groan. 

Kicking stones down the road, Link thought back to the hole in the fence. He would probably get burns on his back if he wasn’t careful, but he could get inside that way. Only, the castle looked really, really big and Link had no clue where Zelda was in there. 

Angelic singing brought him out of his thoughts. Link stopped and looked at the girl, bent over and drawing in the dirt, it sounded like nothing he ever heard before. Music was integral to the Kokiri, it was how they weaved life magic and performed exorcisms, but his tribe favored instruments and throat singing Link used to be good at, but now he couldn’t hold the notes without his voice cracking. Nothing like this light and simple song.

She must have felt his stare because she turned to look at him, “Did the guards turn you away too?”

Link cleared his throat awkwardly, “Yeah, but that’s not going to stop me.”

She stood and brushed her white dress off, “Like, break in? I think you’ll get in a lot of trouble for that.”

“So?” Saria wasn’t here to give him the disappointed eyes, and Navi seemed on board for anything that got them to the princess quicker. 

The girl giggled like bells on the wind, “I like you, my name is Malon-” Her stomach growled loudly. She blushed and held it, “S-sorry about that…”

That made Link remember his own hunger, he still hadn’t eaten lunch, “I was about to sit down and have lunch, you want some?”

Malon nodded sadly, “Yes, please, thank you.” They got settled in the shade of a nearby tree as Link fumbled with the ritual wine gourd. He held out a sip for Malon in the gourd's cap, “That smells like adult juice.”

Link shook his head, “It’s ritual wine, to honor the Spirit of Hospitality. To solidify a first meal between new friends.” When Malon didn’t look convinced, he added, “It’s bad luck to refuse, and we won’t be friends.”

Decided, Malon drunk the small sip as Link poured one of his own and shivered. Laughing, Link handed her his canteen before getting their meals out, giving them both a proper meal’s worth. Navi came out to have a dried berry as well, making Malon gasp.

“A fairy! Wait, green clothes and a fairy, you must be one of the forest children!” She grinned, clapping her hands together excitedly. 

“Whaaat? Navi isn’t my guardian fairy, she’s just a…helper.” Link decided, patting the blue fairy on the head. Her light turned purple. 

“Oooh, I get it. You have to hide so humans won’t try to hurt you. I’m sorry.”

Link sighed, “Yeah. The Great Deku Tree, our father, told me to come here to find the princess. That’s why I need to get in there.”

Malon nodded sadly, “My father went in there this morning too. He said it would just be a quick milk delivery and told me to wait in town. That was hours ago, and I got really hungry so I wanted to find him but those mean guards wouldn’t let me.”

“If you’re worried about him, you should come with me to try to find him.”

Malon seemed excited at the idea, “Yeah! Plus, I’ve been inside the castle to help him with deliveries a few times, I can show you how to get in!” She squealed, “This is so exciting, like a play!”

Link showed her where the gap in the fence was. She shimmied in first, and Link nervously followed expecting burns to rake across his back. While he felt the sharpened points drag against him, they didn’t burn. 

“Are you okay?” Malon asked when she saw him inspecting his back.

“Yeah, actually. Iron is supposed to burn us. Navi?” Link asked as she joined him, flying high above the fence to avoid being burned.

“Um, well, it must be the same blessing the Deku Tree gave you to leave the forest! If I had to guess.”

“That makes sense.”

“Fairies can’t touch iron?” Malon asked, mystified. Then frowned, “No wonder no fairies come to visit us, our ranch is surrounded by a big iron fence! Stupid Dad!”

“It’s probably for the best, Malon.” Navi said gently, landing on her shoulder, “Some of us can be…not very nice. Especially to farmers who change the land, many of my brothers and sisters think it’s wrong.”

At Malon’s large, disappointed eyes, Link nodded sadly. He hadn’t thought about it, but of course they wouldn’t like that either. So much for bringing farming to Kokiri forest, “The others got mad at me just for keeping a wild rabbit as a friend.” Her hurt gaze stopped him from finishing that story.

“That’s terrible. I’d be lost without Bobby or Bean.”

“Well, I think all this farming thing is a great idea. Way easier than hunting and gathering.” 

She broke out into a grin and threw her arms around his neck, making his face flare for some reason, “Yay! At least I have two fairy friends, that’s all I need.” Malon giggled. 

The garden was full of thick hedges and flower bushes, providing ample cover for the two as Navi scouted out guards from high in the air. In the bright light of late afternoon, she was invisible. Malon informed them the scullery entrance where her father would be was around the east side of the castle. 

It didn’t take long, but Link became more daunted the closer he got. It was way bigger than the building in the Sacred Forest Meadow. How would he ever find a princess in all of that? To make matters worse, the closer they got the more guards there were. 

Eventually they came to the side of the castle, but there were guards everywhere. Link grit his teeth as he searched for a solution. Only one came to mind, as he looked at the palace moat.

“Can you swim?” He whispered to Malon. She looked at the moat and nodded, they crept towards it simultaneously, staring at the guards for any movement. When there was none, they lept in, the bottom just far enough Link could graze it with his tip toe. He whimpered under his breath when he saw one of the guards move, and hastily grabbed Malon and a heavy rock on the wall. Pulling her close to huddle against it. 

Just as the clanking of armored footsteps got closer, a voice startled them: “Captain Viscen.” A stern, female voice said, “Has Princess Zelda come through here?”

“Lady Impa.” The guard responded, leaving them to talk to the woman, “No, none of my men have seen her. They would have reported if they had, has she been gone long?”

“Just since the meeting with Ganondorf started. His presence has…upset her.”

“Upset me too.” Viscen huffed, “If the King was going to invite one of them here, could he have at least gotten one of the hot ones? The Gerudo scared me more than anything in the war, but at least they had the decency to leave me with a…captivating memory.”

“And you haven’t been able to be with a woman since, I got it.” The woman said, without a trace of humor, “I’m going to check the interior gardens, if anything changes, come find me.”

“You wound me, Lady Impa, you know those sand broads don’t hold a candle to you…” A pregnant pause, “I’ll tell my men to stay on guard.”

“Do so.” Link and Malon hid their faces against the rock as the tall woman strode across the lower drawbridge into the keep. Breathing twin sighs of relief, they drifted down the moat until they reached the scullery entrance. A terrible, grating noise that came gurgling from above them made Link wince. 

“Is there a bear sleeping up there?”

Malon looked furious, and scrambled up the wall by the strength of her rage, “Papa!” She screamed. Link trailed after her, and saw her running up to a balding man lounging on some crates and snoring. He gawked as she tipped him over into the moat. Splashing and an array of Hylian curses ensued. 

Link blanched, “What do those words mean?” 

“Um…when you’re older. Just don’t repeat them.” Navi sighed next to him. 

“M-Malon!” The man sputtered and tried to haul himself up, “What are you doing here?”

“Do you have any idea what time it is, Papa!? You didn’t even get the milk in! The Castle isn’t gonna want to buy from us if you’re so lazy! You left me with nothing to eat, I would have died if Fairy Boy didn’t save me!”

“Come on now, Malon, that’s not how it works.” He huffed. He was half-way up the moat now and squinted at Link in confusion. Link blinked back. Looked at Malon, who still fumed behind him, sputtering for words. Then tipped him back in the water with the sheath of his sword. 

He windmilled his arms goofily before he crashed back in, and Malon erupted into giggles. “Come on,” She declared, “Let’s help him out, then I’ll chew him out propper.” Each taking a hand, they helped the portly man wrestle himself back on dry land. 

“Do you know how to get inside the castle?” Navi asked Malon, she nodded.

“Well, that scary lady said she may be in the garden. Maybe she meant that big hedge maze inside,” She pointed to a small hole in the wall of the walkway across from them that lazily dripped water, “I got in from there, it goes right to the hedge maze.”

Link bowed, “Thank you for your help, Malon of the Humans.”

“You’re welcome Fairy Boy. Our farm is just on the edge of the Faron province, will you come visit us?”

“Sure!” Link grinned, “As soon as I get done with the Princess.”

~~~

There weren’t many guards in the maze, Link only saw two at the proper entrance. They passed huge statues of figures Link didn’t recognize. Of large animals: A snake, an eagle, and a monkey in the three sections of the maze over fountains. Another one, as tall as the high walls, stood between him and a large stone arch. Depicting a man with long hair and armor, followed by two women reaching for the heavens with chains bound to their ankles. 

“That’s the God of War: Enmity. And his captured brides, Prosperity and Progress.” 

Link kept his eyes to the ground as he walked past the statue, into the small alcove where the water flowed in. The smell of flowers drifted to him. 

He gaped. There was a girl in there, pressed against a window and her back to him. She wore much fancier, brighter colored clothes than anyone else he’d seen in this strange world. He accidentally kicked a rock as he walked forward.

Startled, the girl turned around and gasped, “Who!?-” Her shocked face turned into something more contemplative as she looked him over, “Who are you?” Her sharp eyes noticed Navi immediately, “And a fairy…”

“We come from the forest.” Navi explained, “We need to see Princess Zelda…are you her?”

“The forest!” Her eyes widened, “That means you must have the spiritual stone, the Kokiri’s emerald. A stone that shines radiant green even with no light.” 

Link nodded and got the stone out of his pack, “Yes. Here.” She ran her fingers against it, feeling the unnatural warmth it gave off. 

“Many nights ago, I had a dream.” Zelda explained, “In it, dark storm clouds billowed over our lands from the direction of the desert. But then, a ray of light shot up from the forest, and made the storm clouds go away. The light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, just like this one, with a fairy.”

“Uh…” 

“I know this was a prophecy.” She said finally, and gave the stone back to him. Link’s face must have said it all because she blanched suddenly, “Oh, right! I haven’t even introduced myself, I am Zelda, princess of Hyrule. What’s your name?”

“Link.”

“Link. Huh, it sounds so familiar somehow. Well, Link, look through this window behind me. I believe the man in there is the other part of my dream, but Father will not listen to me.” She moved so Link could peer in the window she was looking through. Inside, a tall beast of a man knelt on the red velvet carpet, wIth fiery red hair and bronze skin. Link squinted, something about the man seemed off but he couldn’t tell what.

Suddenly, gold eyes met his and he pulled away from the window, heart hammering. 

“Who is that?” He asked shakily.

“That’s Ganondorf, the king of the Gerudo. Seven years ago, when the civil war was finally over, the Gerudo were able to win their freedom from Hyrule, but now this man wants to pledge allegiance to my father. It makes no sense, I’m sure he’s what my dream was warning me about.”

This all sounded insane, “I don’t get it.”

“Link,” Zelda insisted, putting her face in his, “You must never tell another soul what I am about to tell you, okay? The information can, and has , torn this kingdom apart.” Paling, Link nodded urgently, “Good. Have you heard of the legend of the Triforce?”

“The Great Deku Tree told me, something about the three Goddesses?”

“Yes, but that’s not what’s important. What matters is that legends say it has the power to grant any wish, but no mortal can get to it. It wasn’t always like that, though, before our family founded Hyrule the triforce existed in this world, but so many came to covet it we had to make a grave decision. My ancestor sealed the Triforce in the sacred realm, so nobody else would turn to darkness to try to get it. With it, humans’ connection to the Gods.” Zelda sighed sadly, “My family made sure it faded into obscurity, that nobody believed it was real, but it looks like Ganondorf still believes it. There is only one way to get into the sacred realm, and that is to collect all spiritual stones and possess the Ocarina of Time.”

“The Great Deku Tree died because of him, because he wanted that stone.” Link spat.

Zelda nodded, “Impa’s spies said similar things are happening on Death Mountain and Zora’s Domain. That must mean Ganondorf knows how to open the sacred realm, and it’s only a matter of time before he figures out where the door is.”

“If you know that, why won’t the King listen?”

Zelda scowled, “Father doesn’t care, he’s so wrapped up in himself he doesn’t care about the races he fought so hard to bring under his rule. We’re alone on this, so here’s what we do: I’m trusting you to get the two other spiritual stones from the Gorons and Zoras, I’ll stay here and make sure nobody is the wiser while I protect the Ocarina of Time.”

“Then what?”

“Meet me at the Temple of Time in Castle Town. That’s where the door to the sacred realm is. Then, we will find the triforce and wish for the destruction of evil in Hyrule.”  Zelda paused and looked past him. Link turned and startled at a dark figure in the entrance, grabbing his sword. 

“Impa…” Zelda winced, “Sorry for avoiding you.” 

The tall imposing figure of a woman walked into the garden. She had on dark blue, skin tight shorts and a silver chestplate with shoulder guards, attached by a black choker. Though her face was young and fierce, her hair was white and snow and her eyes as red as blood. Link’s grip on his sword tightened as she regarded him coldly.

“Who is this one? Relax child, I mean you no harm, only curiosity.”

“My name is Link of the Kokiri tribe.” He answered defiantly, cutting Zelda’s hesitant answer off. 

“I see. And the going ons were too exciting for you to miss out on, Princess Zelda?”

“Impa, I know father doesn’t believe me but I’m sure the man in there is the one my dream warned me of! And Link is the one who will stop him!”

Impa smiled, and it made her look very pretty, “I believe you, Princess. I’m only sad you did not trust me right away to help you.” She sounded so much like Saria in that moment Link thought he may cry. 

Chastened, Zelda looked down, “I’m sorry Impa, I did not want to put you in a bad spot with Father. He dislikes I know about the rumors with the Zora and Gorons already”

Impa responded tenderly, and looked for a second she may hug Zelda before flicking her gaze to Link, “You could never. Now that that’s settled, what can I do for you?” Link got the sense Impa was like the Kokiri, and did not believe in wasting words. 

Zelda gestured to him, “Link needs to get the two other spiritual stones, can you tell him how and escort him out of the castle?”

“I will see to it, Princess Zelda.” She gestured for Link to follow, which he did after a moment.

“I’m glad that worked out.” Navi muttered to him. 

“I still don’t know what happened.” Link groaned back. 

~~~

Impa took him a secret way out, through the walls of the palace and an underground tunnel before they popped out of the cliffside at a random point along the trail. Only then did she talk.

“As Princess Zelda explained, there are two other spiritual stones. The Goron’s Ruby and the Zora Sapphire, each are guarded by their leader. The Gorons live at the top of Death Mountain, the biggest Volcano in Hyrule to the east, while Zora’s domain sits at the top of Zora’s river in the Lanayru mountain range to the far north of here. I’m from the town at the base of Death Mountain, Kakariko village. The way is blocked to outsiders, but take this letter and the guard will open it for you.”

Link nodded along, feeling overwhelmed with all the new information. Less than an hour ago, he was sure he would be able to go home soon! Now he had to go all over Hyrule for some stupid rocks? Because some guy looked really ugly? 

Impa eventually stopped and appraised him, “Let’s get you a hotel room and some dinner. I’ll write down everything I just said for once you’ve slept. Can you read?”

“I can.” Navi said, “I’ll remind him.”

“Good. Remember this song as well, it is a secret within the royal family and will assure anyone of the status of your quest. These notes carry a sacred power, it doesn’t matter if you choose to sing them or use an instrument. It’s called Zelda’s lullaby.” She whistled the notes, and it seemed somehow familiar to him. He knew he’d have no issues remembering them.

As soon as she left Link closed the door and leaned against it, his eyes wide and unseeing as he slid down the wood. “What the fuck just happened!”

“I told you not to repeat that word!”

“That’s the least of our problems! Goddesses, do I really have to do this two more times?”

At a loss for words, Navi settled on his knee, “Looks like it.”

“So that’s it then? I don’t get a say?” 

“...Let’s get some rest.”

Link sighed and mumbled agreement. He eased himself onto the bed and pulled out his ocarina. 

“Are you going to practice?” Navi asked, settling on the corner of his bed.

“I’m going to tell Saria I won’t be home for a while, she’ll worry.” The child’s face was wan from exhaustion, with his usual cherubic features, it painted a sad picture. Navi looked away quickly and hunched in on herself. 

“Good idea.”

Many moments passed, and he did not bring the Ocarina to his lips. The mere idea of saying out loud what he had to do was too much. How could he tell her how much more he knew, deep down, this path would take him from her? 

“Why are you crying?” Navi gasped, and flew forward. After a moment of indecision, she settled for awkwardly trying to wipe the tears away with one hand. Link just sobbed more hunched over, all his grief inside felt like a creature trying to tear itself from him. “We can try to call Saria another time, okay?”  

Notes:

If you like Viscen: good, because we’ll be seeing a lot more of him. If you don’t like Viscen: good, because I’m going to torture this man.

Chapter 5

Notes:

People that are interested in cut content, there was an early female npc in Oot’s development. She had brown hair and either a white or green dress. Also named Aria. I’ll go ahead and let you do your own research for any hints about her.

Link rolled out of bed when the first, harsh rays of sun met him. The dirty, shiplap walls and musty bed reminded him of his situation, and he screamed into his pillow. 

“Link! What’s wrong?!” Navi asked, voice still slurred with sleep. 

“I’m still alive.” Link groaned as he threw his blanket off and dragged himself up. 

Navi sighed, “Well, let’s try to keep it that way. You have the letter Impa gave you?” Link nodded. It didn’t take long to gather his meager belongings, and Impa had prepaid for breakfast last night so he was able to eat something hot. The white gruel wasn’t as delicious as the other foods the human world had to offer, but at least it was free. Apparently those gems he gave away could make food appear. 

The district was quiet as they left, it was still early enough. Navi suggested the east exit of town, but they were turned away by the guards.

“Too many monsters in the Eldin province.” The guard had said, “The Lanayru province too, only the south gate is open right now. Easier for the guards.”

Navi muttered something rude, but they headed south anyway.

“How much longer will it take?” 

“An extra day.” Navi sighed, and that was on top of the three days they were looking at already. Neither said it, but they both wondered if Link’s unconditioned body could last that long. 

As he passed the stables at the entrance to the walled city, a familiar voice called out to him, “Fairy Boy! Where are you going?”

Link perked up a bit and walked over, “I need to go to Kakariko village now.”

Malon frowned, “Did you not find the princess?”

“She told me to go there. Something about a ruby.”

The cart Malon was standing by shook suddenly as her Dad threw a heavy bag in it, “That sounds like a woman.” He shook his head, “I’d do it boy, she’d bite your head off otherwise.”

Link paled and nodded.

“If you’re going to Kakariko,” Malon continued, “You should ride with us to our ranch. It’s not far from the mountain pass to Kakariko. They’ve got a government school there Papa’s gonna send me to next year to learn how to read and do math.” She looked very proud of herself, “A guy in poofy clothes said I’m very smart cuz Mama already taught me letters and how to add.”

“That would be wonderful Malon, thank you.” Navi said.

“What’s school?” Link asked as they got settled in the back of the wagon alongside full burlap bags. Soon, her Dad climbed in the front and got on their way. 

“It’s where they send kids to learn things that will help their families. You wear a uniform that looks so fancy!” Malon sighed, “I can’t wait, and I’ll finally make more friends my age!”

Ahead, Navi took a seat by Talon’s head and introduced herself. He seemed a little surprised, but he wasn’t rude.

“Do you really run a ranch in the middle of Hyrule field? I would have guessed it was too dangerous.”

Talon nodded, “Aye, well, we got very lucky. I’m from Celadon, and me and my late wife Lonnie ran a dairy there. One day while she was singin’ in the field a cow walked right up to her, darndest thing! It didn’ have a brand or nothin’, so we kept her. She could produce twice as much milk as our best one, and it lasted three times as long! Somethin’ is magic about her, and she’s still alive today with no signs of slowing down! So, we decided to strike out on our own. We found our little grotto and hired some hands, and the rest is history.”

“That’s a wonderful story.” Navi responded plainly, “What about the monsters?”

“They were a problem at first, but once we built some fortifications and got things goin’, they didn' pay us any mind.”

“Good.”

“But enough about my boring life,” Malon continued, “what’s it like living in the forest?”

“Well, there’s lots of big trees and shade.” Link remarked, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked over Hyrule field, “And there are no adults, only children.”

“What about parents?” Malon asked sadly.

“Oh, well, we were all created by the Great Deku Tree and we called him Father but… he wasn’t like you’re Dad, he didn’t even pretend to care about us.”

“What about a Mom?”

“Mom?”

“Yeah, she wraps you up in the warmest hugs that make everything else bad go away. And she hugs you after nightmares and gets you warm milk and makes awesome food!”

“I do my best, okay!” Talon called from the front.

Malon huffed, “I know Papa, that’s not the issue!”

Link laughed and thought deeply, “I guess Saria would be my Mom. She raised me since I was a baby and was my best friend.” He sighed, “I had to leave her behind” And it felt like every time he went against her teachings, he was farther from her than ever. It didn’t look like that would be changing anytime soon. 

“I’m sorry.” Malon put a warm hand on his shoulder, “A few years ago, Mama died and I was really sad. But I had a dream where Mama told me to look after Papa and be brave, because there were still stalls that needed shoveling and horses that needed feeding.” She swallowed, “I’m still sad, but it’s easier knowing I’m doing what she wanted.”

Link smiled back, but did not speak, too busy blinking back tears. 

~~~

Lon Lon ranch was huge, located in an alcove surrounded by rock on the edge of the Faron Province, with a narrow choke point protected with an iron gate. It looked bigger than Castle Town. 

The only buildings in sight were tucked against the cliff wall to one side, a house and some run down barns. Otherwise the only other structures were fences that separated the dairy cows and horses. 

Malon pointed out buildings as they rolled past, “Those are Mama’s horses, she taught me how to take care of them. Folks all the way from St. Bayern came to buy them from us! Then there are Papa’s dairy cows, we have the best milk! Most spoils in just a few days, but our milk lasts weeks . That’s why everyone in Castle Town loves to buy ours.”

They came to a stop next to one of the run down barns, where Talon got started on unloading the sacks of flour. Almost immediately a huge wolfos ran up to sniff him, making Link stumble and land on her rear. Malon rubbed the huge, gray animal behind the ears.

“Link, this is Bobby. Our Livestock guardian dog, he keeps all the animals safe while we’re asleep. Go on, you can pet him.”

Getting back to his feet, Link noticed Bobby’s teeth were level with his neck. Hesitantly he scratched the huge dog under the chin, sinking his hands into long, soft fur. Bobby softly wuffed at him, “Good Bobby.” Link grinned.

Malon gave Bobby a huge hug, “See, he’s super snuggly.” She giggled as he licked her face. Link laughed. 

Malon quickly pulled him away to show him everything up close, Bobby loping after them. Many cuccos milled about, eating bugs off the ground, but they paid Bobby no mind. Between the house and a long building was a fenced off area of tilled land that had small green shoots coming up: their garden. She showed him the barracks where the ranch hands slept, but now they were attending the animals and garden. 

One of them tipped their hat to Malon as she walked past, “Happy to see you back, Lady Malon. Think you can tell Ingo to stop being so mean to us?” He laughed, but Link got the sense he was only half joking.

Malon puffed up and nodded, “I’ll be right on it, Mr. Colt.” She turned to Link, “Papa likes to drink a lot of special milk and sleep during the day, sometimes I feel like the real boss here.”

“Aye.” Mr. Colt laughed, “She’s firm but fair with us. Who’s this now, you find a boyfriend in Castle Town?”

Malon turned red for some reason, “This is my new friend Link, he’s from the forest…He won’t be able to stay long though, he needs to get to Kakariko village right away.”

“Actually,” Navi spoke up, “We could probably wait to leave until tomorrow. One less night spent on the field the better.”

“Really!?” Link and Malon cheered at the same time. 

Navi bobbed in the air, imitating a nod. 

“That’s awesome, you can stay for dinner too! Come on, let’s go to the house and get some grape juice for Uncle Ingo, that always puts him in a good mood.”

Her house stood out among the rest of the run-down buildings as the nicest. With white adobe walls adorned with wood detailing on the outside and elegant molding on the inside. Link had never seen a house this nice before. Malon quickly poured a ceramic cup full of deep red liquid like wine. 

“This is grape juice, it’s way better than that stuff you made me drink, what was that about anyway?” She asked as she held to bottle out to Link to drink some. It was much sweeter and milder than the ceremony wine.

“To honor the Spirit of Hospitality. Saria taught me that it invites good luck, to bring wine to share when somebody hosts you.”

“But you gave me food.”

“Yeah, well… your company was offering enough.” Link rubbed his neck awkwardly. Malon giggled again, but softer.

“Sooo…what’s the Spirit of Hospitality?”

Link perked up, and explained as they walked out of the house, “I can’t believe humans had never heard of it, but Saria warned me you’ve lost a lot of the old ways. So, there’s lot’s of spirits in the world, they’re forces of nature, so they aren't very smart, and they need a sage that embodies their power to do anything purposeful with it. Fair Folk can learn how to harness it for our magic.”

“That sounds made up.” 

Navi laughed and landed on her head, “Lot’s of humans think fairies are made up too.”

“Just take all the monsters in the field,” Link continued, “The light spirits are supposed to keep the boundaries between us, Tir Na Nog and the Underworld strong, but their power wanes in places of darkness. Happiness makes them stronger, so that’s why you should always make time for games!”

“I wish I had time for games,” Malon sighed as they came to the stable. Inside, a tall, balding man with a mustache and a pot belly was shoveling hay while muttering loudly. A handful of others were working as well in tense silence.

“Uncle Ingo! Are you working our poor boys too hard again?”

He glared at her, “You’re good for nothing father must be back, you were supposed to be home yesterday.”

Malon gave him her best puppy dog eyes, “Don’t be mean, Uncle Ingo, Papa just got caught up talking with the folks at the castle. You work so hard, please take a break.” She smiled and offered him the glass of grape juice. 

Huffing, Ingo sat on a hay bail and took the offered juice, “At least somebody here realizes how hard I work to cover for my useless brother. Alright everybody, it’s time for lunch anyway.” 

Sighs of relief and several pitchforks hitting the ground. One of the men said he’ll go get started on lunch.

“Please make enough for my guest.” Malon called after him.

“Anything for you, Lady Malon!”

Ingo’s bloodshot eyes turned to Link, and he felt a chill down his spine. A quick glance said Navi had made herself scarce, probably sensing the bad aura around Ingo before he did. 

“I’m Link,” He introduced himself before Ingo could ask, “Of Celadon.”

Ingo huffed, “Celadon, I never should have left to follow my fool of a brother. But all my money’s here, what can I do?” The children gave each other bewildered looks, “Damn it, go bother someone else!”

Once they left Navi returned. Link gave her a questioning look to ask where she went and not bother Malon. She whispered in his ear, “Try to stay away from that man. His aura isn’t good.”

~~~

Talon was passed out on the couch, so deep asleep he missed dinner. Malon left a bowl for him anyway. 

“You can sleep in my room.” Malon grinned, “My bed is big enough for both of us.”

“Right now?” Link asked, “It’s beautiful out, let’s go look at the stars instead!” he grabbed her hand and took her downstairs. All the animals and men were asleep, leaving only the sounds of crickets to keep them company. They laid on the ground and looked up past the high rock walls to the clear sky.

“It’s beautiful.” Malon breathed

“Yeah, I know, look!” He pointed to the white band of stars that ran across the sky like a river, “We can see the Silver River, they say the Golden Goddesses left it as a trail to the Sacred Realm.” Too bad Ganondorf didn’t believe that myth and went riding into the night instead of terrorizing everyone. 

“You know a lot, Mama said that’s called the Milky Way by scientists.” Malon thought for a second and pointed at the waning moon, “Is there a story about the moon too?”

“You don’t know about the Faceless Moon Goddess: Serenity?” It was a favorite among the Kokiri, because it wasn’t just the story of how they got the moon, but a cautionary tale too. No wonder humans are so defenseless against anything outside their narrow understanding.

Malon shook her head.

“Ok, well, first you need to know the story of the sun too.” Link said, and slipped into a cadence the Know-it-all brothers would use during story hour every night, where their oral traditions were passed on, “While the Golden Goddesses created the land and all the Gods, they didn’t create the sun. In fact, they didn’t even create mortals. That was decided by Gods who crafted children from dust, like Hylia did for the Hylians. And these new mortals needed a way for time to pass. And so the Goddess of Time: Tempest, declared the Gods to make a sun. 

“They elected for the most beautiful of all of them, Serenity, to be that sun. With beauty so radiant everything felt warm just gazing upon her face. She was a wonderful, kind sun, and beloved by all in Hyrule. However, where there is radiant light is the darkest shadow, and some of the other gods began to grow jealous of the worship the humans showered on her. That’s when one of the minor gods decided to get revenge on her.

“He snuck up into the sky when she was asleep, and cut her face off to cast far, far away from this world. Now, your face is your identity- your soul. Without it, her light dimmed and though she breathed she did not live. She had no reaction to others, felt no love and no hate. Feeling pity for her, the other gods created a swaddle of silver cloth for her and let her continue her job of watching over the humans from the sky, while her son took her place as the sun. Her long dark blue hair became the night sky, and her unshed tears became the stars.”

“That’s really sad.” Malon said eventually. Link winced.

“Sorry, but it has an important lesson. You must guard your face from dark forces.”

Malon nodded, but she still looked sad. Link frowned. 

“Hey, I know a little bit of magic.”

That got Malon’s attention, she sat up with sparkling eyes, “Really? What can you do?”

Blushing, Link shrugged bashfully, “Just a blessing, but it’ll make sure evil can’t touch you. Would you like to see?”

Malon nodded eagerly. Link took stock of his surroundings. Should he…try to bless everything? He’s never done a blessing that big before, but he also never tried. The Great Deku tree was still the largest he’d ever done. He looked again at Malon’s smiling face, and any hesitations vanished. 

Link shifted to a kneeling position and clasped his hands under his nose. Like before, the words sprung to his lips unbidden, “Great goddess, guiding light and protector of our people,” This time, the gold hair and ocean blue eyes had a face, Zelda’s face. Except, it wasn’t, “grant us your blessing and mercy as I act in your stead during this ceremony. May the blessings of the goddess drift down from the heavens!”

“Wow!” Malon gasped, Link opened his eyes to see the retreating tidal wave of golden shimmers dissipate over the land. He sagged back on the ground, exhausted.

“I’ve never done one that big before…”

“That was so cool! I could feel it! Like- like sun through leaves!” Malon squealed in delight, making it all worth it.

The window to the boarding house suddenly flew open, banging against the siding, “Keep it down you stupid kids!” Ingo shouted, and Malon immediately withered. 

“We should go back inside.” She mumbled, and then yawned.

Link didn’t think he could get up, “Go ahead, I’ll be a bit.” He waved off her concern until she went back inside, promising to stay up.

After a few beats of silence, Link looked at the fairy looking up at the stars next to him, her light dimmed to see the stars so Link could see her small face. Even the little scar on her chin.

Dark blue eyes eventually turned to him, “Rupee for your thoughts?”

“I’m sorry you had to leave the forest because of me. And whatever destiny I’ve stumbled into.”

“Oh…That’s okay. To be honest, I never really liked the forest very much. It was always too small for me, I’m glad I get to see the world.”

“Ah, that’s good.” Link responded lamely. He remembered thinking like that too, not too long ago, but the world was way too big and unknown. All the storytelling with Malon today reminded him of everything he loved about the forest. He rolled over so his back was to Navi, hugging himself tightly. 

“Did you hear that?” Navi asked. Link glanced at her and shook his head. Something made Navi perk up again, “I hear someone calling out! Come on!”

He followed her ball of blue light to the barn, but all he could hear was a cow mooing. That was odd, Malon said they should all be asleep. As he opened the door to the barn, Navi’s cool light guiding him, he saw one of the cows standing. 

“Mooo! My, what a powerful holy spell! That startled me!”

“Gah!” Link stumbled and landed on his butt in a pile of hay and dung. He started up at the cow in disbelief. “S-Saria never told me mortal animals could talk!” He gawked. 

“What’s a Saria? Sounds like a yummy type of grass.” The cow remarked. 

“T-they can’t.” Navi sounded just as mystified as she flew in slow circles to take in the cow's appearance, “That smooth aura, you’re one of us. But, it’s dimming.” 

“Mooo! Yes, I was once a Fair, one who hunted and followed humans for fun and food. But I hated that life! We always had to be on the move to follow the humans, and it was so hard! I envied the livestock they kept and desired their life! I wanted to do nothing all day but eat and relax in the sun.”

“If you stay in this life, you’ll truly become it!”

“Good!” The cow said primly, laying back down on her hay pile and flicking her tail, “The humans love me, they will take care of me for a very long time and I have many children. As long as I can hear that wonderful song the human sings, I will be happy.”

Link finally found his footing and stood back up, “How can you say that!? Who would want an empty life stuck in the same place forever like that! Who would want to do nothing but laze around all day, never wanting for anything!?”

“Mooo!”

Too late. Whatever sentience his blessing had shocked into the former Fair was already gone. She seemed to realize this too, and put her head down to close her eyes. 

“Come on, we should get some sleep.” Navi eventually said after a horrified silence. Link nodded numbly and left, “Takes all kinds, huh?” Navi tried weakly, Link stayed silent. 

~~~

Lon Lon Ranch had the best food in all of Hyrule, as far as Link knew. Their breakfast consisted of cheesy eggs, stips of spiced beef, and the first strawberries of spring in cream. Just like yesterday, the food left his soul warm and rested. 

Malon had gotten up early to sing to the cows as the men milked them for breakfast, and Link joined her. 

“I know it seems superstitious, but I swear the cows produce sweeter milk when she sings!” Mr. Colt laughed. 

Link bit his lip and reached for his ocarina, “Can I help you?” Malon’s face lit up and she nodded happily. The Fairy Ocarina took her notes farther than just her voice ever could, waking up men still asleep and horses in the stable next to the barn. 

“Moo! What a lovely song!” A familiar voice said as they finished. Link jumped, but nobody else seemed to hear the cow. A chorus of agreement from the other animals rang up as well, but the humans seemed none the wiser. Soon, all speech returned to incoherent “moo”’s

“That was wonderful!” Malon clapped happily, “You have a really good ear for music.” She turned at the sound of a horse whinny, “Oh, come on! Come meet my friend!”

“I thought you were the only kid here?” Link asked as she dragged him out and brought him to the fence of the horse corral. A red filly pressed her snout against the wood to get closer to them, nickering plaintively. 

“Link, this is my best friend, Epona!” Malon said happily, unperturbed by his comment, “She’s the first horse I ever raised by myself, she was born right as Mama got sick, and she wanted us to be good friends.” She smiled softly to herself, “Mama named her Epona, and taught me that song we played. It’s Epona’s favorite.”

“Epona: the protector of women and children.” Link wondered aloud. 

“It fits very well.” Navi smiled, seating herself on Malon’s shoulder and resting a warm hand on her chin. 

Her sky blue eyes got glossy for a moment before she wiped any tears away, “I- I didn’t know that’s what it meant. That’s really pretty.”

Unfortunately, as Navi reminded him, he needed to get going again. Talon had forgotten why he was there in the first place, and had burst into laughter at his declaration of “saving the world!” But, he gave Link a map of the Eldin province anyway to help him on his way to Kakariko. 

Malon walked him to the gate and pointed to the far-off mountain range, most of which seemed to bleed seamlessly from one peak to the other, never touching the ground.The tallest in the distance disappeared behind clouds before tapering. Malon’s finger directed him to the one cleavage in the formation, “That’s the pass to Kakariko, there should be a pretty well-marked trail through there that takes you to the town.”

They hugged, and Link started walking before the fog of morning lifted. He wasn’t far down the fading trail before Link tripped on a small satchel. 

Frowning, he bent to pick it up, “It’s more rupees! Not as much as last time…” He laughed, “But see Navi? You were worried over nothing!”

His fairy companion sighed deeply, “Oh wait, there’s a note on the ground.” She said in surprise, and landed on the ground to get a better look. Link couldn’t read anyway, so he didn’t bother to pick it up.

“It says: “To anyone finding this, they better be very careful with it because money doesn’t grow on trees and they better have a responsible adult that will stop them from wasting it on stupid things!””

Link’s expression turned bewildered, “Who would write something like that?”

Navi just laughed. 

Going to Lon Lon cut two days off their journey, they should reach the mountains by nightfall. While malice haunted the passes as well, at least they would have plenty of cover. With not much else to do as they walked, Link squinted at the map. It looked like Kakariko was nestled in the middle of the mountain range (after Navi explained what the triangles ment), on the border of the Eldin province. 

He grew up surrounded by trees, Celadon was in an open field, while Castle Town and Lon Lon ranch were behind stone walls. He wondered what a town in the middle of mountains would look like. 

“Have you ever been to Kakariko?” Link asked

Navi had taken a break from flying and rested on the top of his head. Fairies didn’t sleep like most, instead they spent time in meditation to rest. She was preparing for the dreaded night, where she would try to keep watch while Link slept.

It took her so long to answer Link figured she was too deep asleep, “...Once. Not long before I left Hyrule.”

Her tone made a chill go down Link’s spine, “Oh?” He asked casually, “What was it like?”

Navi sighed deeply, “It was over 30 years ago now, so I’m sure it’s different. But…the war made this land very sick. Monsters weren’t confined to the shadows of night, and walked in the sun in the form of men, looking no more threatening than Jon or Talon…Kakariko was the stronghold in the Eldin province, where the Sheika clan carried out the will of the Royal family. When I was there, everybody was quiet. Nobody would look at each other for too long, and when one of their officers turned their back they’d often try to kill each other. Or themselves.”

“...Ah.” He tried to picture all the nice people he met looking like that: soulless, stripped of love and hope until all that remained was the animal that lived in all mortals. It hurt to think about. 

“Sorry, it’s probably not like that anymore. I guess everything going on has reminded me of that time.”

“If Ganondorf wins, then will the world go back to that?”

Navi didn’t hesitate or try to soften the blow, “Yes. And worse.”

Link glanced at another run down house they passed, “Then we won’t let that happen.”

“Let’s just hope Princess Zelda knows what she's doing.” Navi settled on, “You remember that song Impa taught you? I’m sure we’ll need it for the Goron patriarch to listen to us.”

He did, and he had Impa’s letter tucked into his breast as well. By the time they rested by the road for lunch, the Eldin mountains didn’t look any closer. Navi was still hoping they could make it to the mountains by sundown, but he could tell she was getting jittery. While they hadn’t known each other long, Link was already accustomed to her constant worrying, but it didn’t make it any less contagious. They ate quickly and got back to walking. 

~~~

As the sun began to set, a bad feeling prickled at the back of Link’s neck that didn’t before when he spent the day in the field. Despite his feet blistering once again, he pushed himself faster. The red rock of the mountains was finally within reach, they could see the details of the gradual staircase etched into the mountainside for travelers. 

The sky was lit aflame with brilliant orange that slowly faded to lavender then blue again. Link drew his sword and ran. Every few moments he glanced to his side where the final slivers of holy yellow light was greedily eaten away by the horizon. Until, inevitably, the last was gone. 

The duo were already to the staircase and bounding up it. Navi flew ahead hastily to find an alcove for Link to find refuge in, leaving him dreadfully alone. The ground rustled behind him, and skeletal hands began to claw themselves out. As he was looking back, one of the hands grabbed his ankle and tripped him. 

Just as the clattering mouth began to unearth itself, Link drove his sword home, making it dissolve into nothing. Looking up, he realized it had slowed him down just enough for more of the creatures to come for him. 

They came in a variety of decomposition and ware. Some were tall and held spears while some couldn’t have been taller than he was and armed with nothing but bony claws. While the gruesome sight made Link want to run or freeze, he forced himself to fight after a moment to catch his breath. The Kokiri sword made their weak bodies crumble to dust.

Saria had cautioned him about the undead. They are common in the woods, unwelcome humans that get lost will fade quickly, and they nasty ones are able to hang on after death. It’s not uncommon for humans killed by curses to feel resentment towards the world.

But, they are unwelcome. The mortal world will reject them if given the chance, and it’s a Kokiri’s job to restore balance by offering that chance through an exorcism. 

Well, Link didn’t know how to do that, but he can do the next best thing. Just like before against Gohma, his sword began to glow as his confidence surged. Holding out the blade, he spun around on his heel, banishing the undead around him in one go. 

“Link, come on!” Navi called. Exhausted, he followed her light to a small alcove on a cliff. A human had left behind a net he was able to scramble up as double the amount of undead as before came up around them. He pulled the back up as soon as he was in. The alcove was just big enough for Link to lie down in; it looked man made. He gasped loudly to reclaim his breath, and prayed they were too stupid to know how to climb. 

Their rasps and gurgles were still below him, as they clawed uselessly at the cliff. After several minutes, Navi flew back inside, “They won’t be able to get up here. Try to get some sleep.”

The idea seemed absurd, but with nothing else to do Link leaned back anyway. Navi extinguished her light and kept watch over the cliff. 

~~~

Link’s eyes were closed, but he was far from sleep when the sun’s light finally returned. He was ready to get moving and get to Kakariko long before sundown this time. 

In the light of day, he could see the cliffs were littered with small alcoves like the one he slept in. The trail had some weeds growing around it and through cobblestones. The now uneven stones made his feet hurt even more.

The night kept replaying in his head, unbidden. He fingered the hilt of his sword absentmindedly. 

“When I was fighting those monsters my sword glowed gold and I felt a lot more powerful. The same thing happened with that thing in the Great Deku tree.” Even though Link wanted to avoid thinking about it, ”What was it?”

“Ah, well, I think that’s force. The sword you have is meant to channel it more efficiently.”

Link’s tired eyes were suddenly wide open, “No it’s not.” He said simply, “Saria said only mortals can use force.”

Navi wavered beside him in surprise, “You know what force it? I thought it was lost knowledge.”

“Saira knows everything.” he beamed, “But it must be something else. Force isn’t even very powerful. Sure, humans can use it to change the world around them to a point, but nothing more than a suggestion.”

Navi crossed her arms in annoyance, “Well, that’s the only thing I can think of.”

It wasn’t until noon they saw large white sails spinning over a ridge. Celadon had told him it was called a windmill, the villagers use it to grind grain into flour before selling it to Castle Town and other villages. While he didn’t put much immediate thought into it, his subconscious noted it as odd. There were no vast farmlands in the middle of the mountains to even get grain from, so what could they possibly need it for?

The cobblestone path opened up into grassy hills as the cliffs thinned out. In the distance he could see shepherds herding fluffy white animals through the grasslands. Eventually the path crested and descended again, leading to the foot of the tallest mountain of the range, making the rest look like mere foothills. 

“That’s Death Mountain.” Navi declared, “We’re getting close.”

Link nodded, but could not ask about the ominous title between labored gasps. The trek uphill made every muscle in his body scream, but fear of the night spurred him on. He hoped it was just a name. 

Eventually they made it to the settlement. It was about the size of Celadon, but it looked completely different. Carved in a valley, it was oddly shaped and precariously stacked on cliffs and rock piles while both Celadon and Castle Town were in grids. At the back of the town, atop a high stone piling, was the windmill. Closest to the entrance were a handful of buildings that looked more like hotels than homes built several meters off the ground. Link continued into town, in the dead center was a large well, he noted with relief.

He rushed to its side, not heeding the few villagers, and sat on the edge, immediately feeling better with the weight off his feet. Grimacing, he began to pull his boots off.

“This place is really different.” Navi mused, “It’s full of civilians, in fact I don’t see a single Sheika here. They even turned the barracks into apartments.” 

Link’s boots made a terrible sucking sound as he pulled them off, white hot pain shooting up his leg. His feet had been feeling wet all day, he assumed it was sweat.

“Oh Goddesses, Link!” Navi cried. His feet were covered in bloody and popped blisters, “Why didn’t you say anything!? We have bandages!”

“I knew my feet hurt, I didn’t think…” Link trailed off and shook his head, “Doesn’t matter.” The well was high, filled all the way to the top with crystal clear water. He began rinsing his boots out, pouring pink water onto the ground as he did. He rinsed his feet off too, revealing the damage for all to see. The skin was soft and wrinkled, like the surface of a half-rotted apple. Bright red muscle peaked out in some places, still lazily oozing blood. 

Link’s stomach flipped and he had to look away. 

Behind him, there was some commotion with lots of squawking and flapping wings. It wasn’t long before a cucco beat feet past him, followed by a frazzled woman. She was very tall, her hair, while scarlet red, reminded Link a lot of Saria’s with its style. She had a simple blue skirt and tan vest over a white blouse on, the modest style more like Celadon than Castle Town. She looked positively frazzled, her clothes a mess and for some reason she had huge potholders over her hands. 

She called after the cucco, but it didn’t seem to mind her. After a few heaving breaths, she finally looked over and made eye contact with Link. She gasped and straightened up, turning bright red.

“I-um- my cucco’s got out- allergic- um” She sputtered, waving her potholders around frantically. Until she finally took in Link’s bedraggled appearance, and she panicked even more, “Goddesses! You’re feet! Wait, I’m so sorry! That was super rude!”

Link stared at her in bewilderment as she continued to make a fool of herself. Eventually he decided to let her keep her dignity and looked away from the spectacle, retrieving a roll of bandages from his pouch with shaking hands. 

Suddenly she popped up in front of him, “Let me help you!” Still dumbfounded, Link handed her the bandages. 

“Thank you.” Navi eventually spoke up, sparking even more babbling, which Navi eventually cut off with a curt, “My name is Navi, and this is my companion Link.”

“O-oh! How rude of me! My name is Anju.” Despite her demeanor, she wrapped Link’s feet more deftly than he ever could. While she wrapped his toes she sang some strange rhyme about piggies, “There you go! All better! But make sure you take the bandages off regularly to let your feet breathe!” Anju declared, before looking at his boots. She gasped, “These boots are terrible! They’re practically slippers! Don’t tell me you walked up the mountain with these!?”

Link nodded, “Well…” He kicked his foot slightly, proving her point. 

“This won’t do at all!” Anju cried, “Wait here, I’ll get some of my brother’s old boots! Mountain folk like us know how to make a good shoe!”

“Wait-!” Navi tried, but she was gone. 

“She kinda reminds me of a cucco.” Link said softly, wide eyes tracing her retreating form. The little birds were just as frantic yet empty-headed as Anju. 

Navi giggled, “You got that right. Come on, let’s go to the market, I’ll bet they have medicine for you.”

There was a large general store near the gate to Death Mountain, on the opposite side of the village from a large stone structure that stood on a ledge overlooking the village. Link didn’t notice it at first, strangely. Maybe because it didn’t look like any other building he’d seen. It was about as big as the hotel in Castle Town, but it had no windows, no visible door and no noticeable way to get to it. The only discernible feature was a painted crest that vaguely remembered the royal family and some words under it.

He pointed, “What’s that?”

“Hm? Oh, that was the command center of the fort. It’s where officers would live and meet and discuss strategy and stuff. The sign says it’s “Impa’s Royal Academy for Rural Citizens.””

Satisfied, Link nodded and entered the general store. Navi explained it used to hold the food stores, but like many buildings it was retrofitted to be suitable for civilians. It was packed with food, books, cloth, seeds, anything Link could think of. Navi pointed out more bandages and a bottle of something that smelled strange. “Witch-Hazel”, Navi had called it, for cleaning wounds.

They couldn’t find any magical remedies, though, so they went to the counter to pay. A woman with brown hair and tired honey-brown eyes stood behind the desk, but Link froze when he saw what was behind her. 

The wall was covered with small, hanging bird cages. Inside some, pink fairies floated lazily. 

“Are those…?” Link trailed off, the thought too horrifying to accidentally speak into existence.

“Healing fairies.” Navi agreed, and grimaced, “They can’t talk, and it’s…debated how much intelligence they have. Come on, maybe we can buy one.” She flew forward, and, with little choice, Link followed. 

The woman smiled at him, and seemed nice despite the scene behind her. Link didn’t smile back, and set the items down. Navi hovered near him, far from her reach. 

“Hello, you look new around here. My name is Aria, how can I help you?”

“How much for one of the healing fairies?” 

“200 rupees.”

Link stared at the gems in his wallet, confused. There were a variety of colors, and he knew they meant something but he wasn’t sure what. 

“That’s absurd!” Navi gasped.

“Sorry, they’ve become harder to come by recently. They usually appear over the well or in some mountain springs, but my suppliers have come dry recently. It’s strange, they didn’t even ebb during the war.”

“Healing fairies just appear in the water here?” Navi asked in a stupified voice. 

Aria shrugged, “Local legends say there used to be a sacred spring on Death Mountain, blessed by Hylia herself, but that’s just the story. Even though we don’t have a lot of fairies at the moment, the herbs that grow here make the best potions.” She bent down and retrieved a wood flask labeled with a splash of red paint, “Here, freshly brewed by the local Witch, Granny. Only 30 rupees. Will cure any flesh wounds in an instant, to a point.”

Navi peered into Link’s wallet and sighed, “We’ll take two.”

~~~

When they left, Anju was running around town again, looking furiously for something. When she spotted him, she waved her hands frantically and ran to him at a dizzying speed. Link almost ran himself, but he stayed firm. 

Anju now had her large oven mitts under her arm, and a pair of boots in her hand, “There you are! I was looking all over for you, I told you I’d only take a second!”For a brief second her expression was annoyed, before she beamed and held up the shoes proudly, “I found my brother’s old boots, they should fit you just fine.”

Link blinked in surprise, “Oh, thank you very much.” He took the boots and tried them on, they fit perfectly.

“See the soles? Nice and thick so rocks won’t poke through. Good traction too for hiking!” They shared a happy smile, before her face suddenly fell, “Well, alright then. Back to what I was doing.” With a heavy sigh, she put the pot-holder’s back on.

“What were you doing?” Link asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow at the mitts.

“My cucco’s escaped from their pen. I was trying to collect them, but I’m terribly allergic! I break out in hives if I touch them! So…” She held up her hands lamely. 

As much as Link wanted to find a place to stay and sleep forever, he smiled uncertainly, “I’ll help you, in thanks for the shoes.”

“Really!? Thank you, that would help me so much! Do you have a place to stay tonight? You can crash at my apartment, I have a futon for guests!

Chapter 6

Death Mountain, the local name, folks in Castle Town call it more affably Eldin Volcano, was a wasteland of red rock as soon as Link left the calm of Kakariko. Which had been a pain in and of itself, after a drawn out debate with the gate guard. 

“Come on kid, I know there’s not much to do in town but you can’t go up the mountain. Try the graveyard, my son thinks it’s buckets of fun. Haha…” 

Only Impa’s letter was able to convince him, but even then it was begrudgingly and with some choice words for Sheika recruitment ages. 

They came across their first Goron after a few hours of walking. While he had heard stories, it was shocking to see the rock-creatures in person. It had sprung up and scared the heck out of the pair by uncurling from a boulder. Its entire back was a rocky hide, with tan, leathery skin over thin limbs and a round belly. It had a wide, flat face with a snub nose and wide mouth. In comparison, the literally emerald eyes looked beady. Rust colored, swirling patterns decorated its belly.

“What’s a human doing here?” it wondered lightly. Probably because it knew it could rip Link in half easily.

“I need to talk to your patriarch,” He thought back to Impa’s letter, “Darunia.”

It scratched its belly idly, “You must be the human he sent for a while ago, after that Gerudo came here…You know, I’m always so surprised how small Hylia makes you. Our God makes sure we are big and strong.”

“Yeah, haha…So, Darunia?”

“Right, right. Big Brother is probably still in Goron City after…hmm. If you follow this trail, and take the low road when it forks, you’ll reach it.”

As they left, the Goron yawned loudly and flopped back into his ball. 

~~~

Carved in a deep cave of the red rock, Goron city was cool compared to the afternoon sun outside. It may even be to the point of gloomy, with almost no light except from the door. Rudimentary murals covered the walls in fading paint, reminding The pair of Kokiri carved wood images. Depicting fire breathing monsters, dancing Gorons, a heroic figure wielding a hammer. Link followed a spiraling walkway to the heart of the city, passing cubbies carved into the wall where some Gorons slept. All of them seemed sluggish and lazy, despite it being the middle of the day. Link wrinkled his nose at that.

Darunia was apparently in his room at the deepest part of the village. He’s been stewing in there for days, they said, waiting for the royal family messenger.

“What’s he so upset about?” Navi asked the onyx-eyed Goron, who sat listlessly against the wall.

“Somebody came and demanded the red stone. Big Brother refused and he did something to make all the Dodongo’s we killed a long time ago come back, they just keep coming back no matter how many we threw at them. It’s been weeks. I’m so hungry ....”

“That must be the Spiritual Stone of Fire.” Navi theorized aloud. 

“But you eat rocks, and we’re on a mountain.” Link pointed out. 

“You humans live in a field and eat grass, yet you’re always complaining about starvation.” He bit back harshly.

Link winced, “Yeesh…” 

“I’m sorry, I’m rude when I’m hungry”

“That’s okay, I get it..” 

Eventually they made it to the deepest, darkest part of the city. It was honestly a little creepy, with only Navi’s light, but he confirmed with other sleepy Gorons this was where the patriarch would be. Figuring that was his cue, he played the somehow new and old song clearly. The notes took an obliquely powerful tone as they filtered through the old fairy ocarina. 

The ground shook, and the door in front of him ground open. A soft orange glow came from inside.They pair shared a look before Navi started forward, forcing Link to follow. He swallowed thickly as they did.

The figure of a Goron became clear. He sat cross legged and stood as they approached. He looked like the others, but thick, stone bristles grew from his face and head like a lion’s mane. The only markings he had were two white streaks on his cheek.

The other glaring fact was that he looked like a caricature of what a muscular human looked like. His biceps were as thick as Link’s waist, and his chest was deep and big.

Normally this wouldn't phase Link, but his expression was much less friendly than the rest of his tribe. 

Link stepped into the light. The child didn’t even get a chance to speak before Daurina’s expression soured even more and was already booming irately, “What is this insult!? I asked the King to send men, and all I get is this punny little human boy!? Does our brotherhood mean nothing to him!?”

Honestly, Link agreed with him. He’d come to that rather obvious conclusion sometime when he was running from the undead and bleeding through his boots. None of that changed the fact he was here, though, “The King didn’t send me, Princess Zelda did. She told me-”

“He didn’t even find me worthy to deal with himself!?” Navi winced next to him at the volume,  “He delegated the fate of Death Mountain to a child!? This won’t stand! You go back and tell your King he will come himself or our treaty is off!”

“Hey, hey!” Navi protested, using her size advantage to get in his face, “Let’s not do anything drastic! We’re just here for the Spiritual Stone of Fire! We didn’t mean any offense.”

Daurina crossed his arms, “The last human here too wanted it. I didn’t give it to him after he threatened to kill us. You won’t get it either.”

“Ganondorf.” Link thought aloud, and looked at Darunia with renewed determination, “He killed my Father looking for-”

“I already said I don’t want to hear it! Out! Now! Or I’ll throw you out!”

Sitting against the cavern wall outside, Link pouted. It was completely unfair Daruina was throwing him out just because he was sad- that was the problem with mortals. A good, sensible Fair Folk would never get so wrapped up in themselves. 

Of course, being in this dark hole all day wasn’t going to make things any better. A soul weighed by hopeless melancholy, and Saria said that’s all anger really is, needed sunlight, fresh air, and tribe. Daruina was getting none of that. His aura was probably bringing down everyone else too, that’s why all the other Gorons were being so lethargic. 

Link looked at the unlit torches around the room that had also lined the walkway down. 

“Well, just because he’s a kill-joy doesn’t mean everyone else has to be miserable.” Link declared before starting to solve the gloom issue. 

~~~

Goron City looked a lot brighter with the torches lit. They illuminated more bright paintings and banners. Unfortunately, there were no signs except the one in front of Darunia’s chambers, so they had to guess what certain symbols over doors meant. This suited Link fine since he couldn’t read anyway. 

“The Gorons have no written language, as far as I’m aware.” Navi explained between complaining about it. “They don’t have the…capacity for things like reading and writing. Or anything that requires delicacy, really.”

“I thought Fairies could read any language.”

“Yeah, but it’s not even a language. It’s just a concept, which is annoyingly vague.” 

Link didn’t see the issue with it, but Saria was like that too. She always impressed upon him the importance of precise, direct language. Mortals didn’t care nearly as much, and so fell prey to many Fair Folk’s not-quite-lies and dirty deals. 

Two excited voices came from one of the corridors as he lit the torch at the mouth. He paid them no mind, and moved on to the next torch.

“Hey, you’re a human!” Link turned to see a pair of tiny Gorons, meaning they were his height, “What are you doing here?” 

Link pouted, “I came to see Darunia, but he won’t listen to me.”

The one with the snub nose, onyx eyes and tall, geometric hair crossed his arms and nodded sagely, “Yeah, Big Brother has been really stupid lately. He won’t even let us play on the mountain.”

The other one had spinny hair brushed to the back and jade eyes. He crossed his arms and huffed,  “He’s just stressed about the monsters, Big Brother knows what’s best for us.”

The first one stuck up his tongue, “If we were cowards, maybe.” There was a feeling this was a typical argument for them.

Link remembered the terrible night he spent in the mountains, “The undead are pretty nasty.”

“Ha! Those things don’t mess with us!” The first preened, “They are cowards, they don’t start a fight they think they can’t win. As long as you’re in our territory, you're fine, little human.”

The second nodded in agreement, they seemed united in mutual pity for him, at least. Link’s eyebrow twitched, but took it as a blessing, “What’s your name, Little Human?”

“We’re the same height.” Link couldn’t stop himself from pointing out, before he sighed, “My name is Link.”

“I’m Darbus!” The loud one proclaimed.

“Gabbro.” The calmer stated.

“We’re the only kids around here,” Darbus explained, “Not many of us hatched the last Firestorm.” Link blinked in bafflement at the idea of Gorons hatching like birds, “Wanna play with us? Being around Gabbro all the time is making me lame like him.”

Gabbro elbowed him, which he shoved back. Before it could get any worse, Link happily agreed. 

~~~

“Link,” Navi hissed, “We should be figuring out how to get the Spiritual Stone. Not…this.”

The trio had broken into one of the store rooms. After a tour of the city, showing off all the cool things Gorons have that Humans don’t. Like the large, black, spherical fruit that grew on the ground and could blow up- they had gotten the smaller buds that only made a small crackle to demonstrate. The slingshot added a new dimension of fun to the game.

The adults had chased them after getting pelted with the Spark Buds from higher balconies. Link had gotten caught immediately, of course since he couldn’t roll away, but then Darbus and Gabbro staged a valiant rescue featuring a borax powder cloud, even more Spark Buds, and hundreds of metal ball bearings.

The kids have also already been kicked out from Medigoron’s forge, but that was Darbus’ fault for swinging around equipment his size. Gabbro was not happy with Link for egging him on. Link innocently replied he just thought Goron’s were stronger than that, but rumors were always exaggerated…

That led them to here. This new room was just a dark space lined with ceramic jars on shelves too high for them. 

“Darn it, they moved them too high.” Darbus huffed, “We’ll never reach them.”

“Why don’t you just climb up?”

Gabbro seemed abashed, “Well, Goron’s aren't really known for climbing for a reason…” He pointed to a broken shelf in the corner, “We tried the same thing, they keep the cool lava paint on the highest shelves.”

Link hummed and experimentally put his weight on one of the stone shelves, testing it just like a tree branch. It didn’t even creak. He grinned at them triumphantly before easily climbing up.

“Woah, humans can do cool stuff!” Darbus cheered, sounding insultingly surprised.

“This is nothing! You should see the trees we climbed in the forest. So, top shelf?”

“Yes!”

All the jars on the highest shelf were brightly colored and shiny in Navi’s light. His new friends down below called out what colors they wanted. Red for Darbus, blue for Gabbro, and Link grabbed a green jar for himself. He dropped the jars down for the others to catch, before Link hopped down too.

Link cracked open his jar and peered inside, it didn’t look anything like the outside. Instead of emerald green, it was this gross, muted, gray-green.

“Why does it look like this?” He asked, as the others eagerly spread the thick, chalky mixture on their skin.

“Cuz it’s lava paint.” Gabbro answered, “It turns all sorts of pretty colors, once we jump in the lava with it.” He laughed at Link’s rapidly paling face, “Don’t worry, we know humans will die in lava.”

“It’s war paint!” Darbus grinned, showing off the random shapes painted on his belly, “It’s essential before we sumo fight!”

“Oh, okay.” Link took his tunic off, leaving only his shorts, and drew swirls and flowers and leaf designs on his chest and thighs. 

“Link.” Navi tried again, “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

“Why not?” He frowned, “Darunia doesn’t even want to talk with me, can’t I play while he’s cooling down?”

“I guess but, that’s not why-”

“Great!” Link chirped, cutting her off. Navi liked to talk so much, and it’s usually just to boss him around. He turned to his friends, who had finished adorning themselves, “let’s go!”

They made their way out of Goron city, where Link could see the sun was setting. On top of the cave was a flat area with a circle carved out. 

“This is our sumo ring! There’s a lot of rules and junk, but Gabbro and I will just show you how. Basically, just push the other guy out of the ring.”

The two squared up in the center, and when Link said go they moved to shove the other. After a while of slapping and shoving, Darbus got Gabbro by the chest so he couldn’t fight back and pushed him out.

Darbus grinned and helped his friend up, “Ok, Link, your turn!”

“Okay!” The boy jogged to the center of the ring with Darbus. They assumed the beginning position, ready to move as soon as Gabbro counted down. 

“Fight!”

They came at each other at the same time, but Link went flying out of the ring with one shove. Darbus gaped at his own strength, as a disoriented Link got his bearings.

“That’s why this wasn’t a good idea.” Navi chided. Link glared. 

“What was that!?” Darbus exclaimed.

Gabbro wore a thoughtful look, “Humans are much lighter and weaker than us Gorons. I guess Link can’t fight.”

Link winced and looked at his boots sadly. His new friends probably wouldn’t want to play with him anymore, since he couldn’t join their games. Although, he did get a small taste of why all the other Kokiri boys didn’t like to play rough with him- he was always the strongest. It… didn’t feel nice. 

“But I wanted to sumo wrestle with Link! This is so unfair!” 

“Wait!” Gabbro gasped, “I just had a great idea! Big Brother Darunia was working on a gift for Princess Zelda to celebrate her birthday! They can give even a little human girl the strength of a Goron! I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if we borrowed them, just for a little while.”

Link brightened and hauled himself up, “Good idea!”

“Wait, wait!” Navi flew in front of their faces, “That’s an awful idea! What if you get caught!?”

But, the little Gorons heeded Navi’s words even less than Link, who was already terribly disrespectful. They ignored her completely. 

Darbus beat his chest, “Let’s go!”

Navi groaned. 

~~~

Navi wasn’t entirely oblivious to others, just mostly. She wasn’t born right, she knew that, she didn’t share the same hive-mind-like mentality of the other Fair Folk in the forest. All working towards the same goal in harmony, peacefully under the Great Deku Tree.

Before she left the forest, The Great Deku tree had spoken to her in a soft voice like wind through leaves, “Look, child, at the wildflowers. While different, they are beautiful. Most importantly, they are all important to life in our forest.” 

Well, she knew her purpose now. To guide a feckless hero through an unknown world, yet she was already failing. Link didn’t take a word she said seriously. 

But what could she do? Her small size made her useless for stopping him just as it did comforting him. She would have never dreamed of disobeying an order from the Great Deku Tree, but Link still showed him little respect and he was all powerful. The only one he seemed to look up to and obey was Saria. 

If only the Kokiri was here now to give her some insight. 

Sighing heavily, Navi went to go find her charge. Even if she couldn’t save him from himself, she could try to talk him out of trouble.

~~~

By some miracle, the trio had managed to pull off the heist. Everyone was so used to them causing a ruckus, as long as they were quiet nobody seemed to pay them any mind, too wrapped up in their own melancholy. 

It was hidden in one of Medigoron’s storage rooms, which he didn’t mind letting them poke around as long as they didn’t touch any of his tools. Like the sweet cherubs they were, they caused no trouble. 

“I can’t believe that worked” Darbus giggled as they huddled in an alcove.

“Neither can I.” Navi drawled, and was ignored. 

“Try them on!”

“Okay, okay.” Grinning, Link slipped the oversized gold bracelets on. They were heavy, and inlaid with rubies in the shape of the Goron insignia, but didn’t feel so when they were on his wrists. Somehow, it shrunk to fit his wrist perfectly, not too tight but not slipping off either. 

“Do you feel stronger?” Darbus asked.

The child experimentally flexed his arms, not sure what to look for, “...Not really.”

Darbus wilted, but Gabbro seemed unperturbed. He held out his hand, “Try to pull me over!” Link gripped his hand firmly and pulled, the Goron actually stumbled .

“Wow!”

“I wasn’t even trying very hard!”

“Let’s go sumo!” Darbus screamed, curling and rolling to the top of the city. Laughing, the other two sprinted after him. 

Unfortunately, while he was now debatably stronger than Darbus, he was still the weight of a human child. Link was covered in cuts and bruises before he got the whole dodge thing down, but he was grinning. 

After hours, they needed to take a break. Link had his own lunch of dried meat and berries while the others drank the spring water they rested in. While far from a real meal, it helped them regain their energy. The hot spring smelled terrible and was cloudy with minerals, but he couldn’t deny it soothed his cuts and aches.  

“That was so much fun!” Darbus grinned, lounging lazily in the water, “None of the adults have wanted to play with us recently.”

“They’ve all been so worried about Dondongo’s cavern.” Gabbro added, “It’s a bummer.”

Link grinned, “Wanna hear a secret?” he asked, the others perked up, “I’m not actually a human. I’m Fair, a Kokiri. So, I never have to grow up!” He finished smugly.

Instead of being jealous, the Goron’s looked horrified, “Wha- you’ll never grow up? I’m so sorry.” Gabbro’s eyes looked genuinely pitying.

Laughing nervously, Link pressed on, “Huh? Why is that a bad thing? I never have to grow up and be boring!”

“But, you’ll never grow up to be a great warrior for the tribe.” Darbus frowned

“Or a great blacksmith.” Gabbro added. 

“What’s the point of being a kid, if you can’t grow up?” Darbus was so genuinely confused, it made Link’s stomach twist.

“I-uh…”

“Hey,” Gabbro said in an easy tone, “Let’s not dwell on it. It’s almost sunset, we’ll have to go back before anyone notices we’re gone.”

Link nodded, grateful, “Where can I sleep? It’s too late to go back to Kakariko.”

Darbus scratched his chin, “You can just sleep with us. We still live in the nursery where everyone can keep an eye on us, there’s plenty of room!”

It couldn’t be worse than what else he’s slept on, as long as the ground was flat. Link agreed and they went back into the gloomy city. This time more people were out and about, looking around like it was the first time they’ve seen it.

“It really improves the mood, having all those torches lit.” One said to another, stretching like after a long nap, standing in front of their cubbies.

“It’s been so dark down here for so long…I forgot what paintings were here.” The other agreed. 

Link smirked, looks like Saria’s forest remedies were already beating out Darunia’s forceful aura. If only he could get to the heart of the issue, but even with these bracelets, he doubted he could drag Darunia into the sun. 

“You should go outside and take a dip in one of the mountain streams.” He took the time to inform them, smiling, “Wash away the melancholy to make room for the new, it’s refreshing.”

“A bath does sound good.” The first one agreed. 

Darbus and Gabbro shared a look at their new friends smug look, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

~~~

When a particularly round, shorter Goron came in with rations for the littlest members, he did a double take at Link’s bed. The child blinked up at him with owlish sapphire eyes, seemingly in the middle of conversing with a glowing blue ball. His tunic was off for bed, so his blue and purple blossoming bruises were in full view. 

“No, no, no.” The Goron gasped, “Humans should be in the room for humans. Big Brother said that was very important, when the last human came here.” He handed the large rocks to the children, “Get packed, I’ll take you there.”

Lamely scraping together his belongings in his arms, Link waddled after the Goron. His friends unhelpfully shrugged when he sent them a questioning look. 

The “human room” was the first room to have a door carved into the rocks, made of heavy steel. The Goron opened the door for him, revealing a dark, musty room that smelled old. A plush rug greeted him as he stepped in. 

He looked hesitantly back at his guide, “Are you gonna tell Darunia about this?”

The Goron suddenly looked very put upon, “...Tomorrow, after breakfast…” He said eventually. He left without closing the door again. Using Navi as a guide, Link lit the candelabras mounted around the walls. It quickly became clear this was much fancier than anything Link had seen before.

Tapestries depicting the crest of Hyrule hung around the room. A large, reptile skin rug covered the room, while a huge, fluffy bed with a gold bed frame sat in the middle. All sorts of pretty trinkets line shelves and stands. Such as a pitcher and bowl on a desk with a huge mirror on it. In Awe, Link wiped the dust off and blinked at himself. He’d seen his reflection in water or tarnished metal, but had never seen a clear mirror before. 

“This must be where the King would stay, when he visited.” Navi said in amazement, still taking in the room in large circles. 

Link experimented with the bed, it was as soft as a cloud, and the blankets were thin and breathable in the stagnant air. He wondered if he could sew himself a new tunic with the plain white fabric. It would be summer before he knew it…and who knew how long he’d be out here. 

He sighed and let the cloth drop, flopping back on the bed with a dusty puff. 

“How are we going to get Darunia to help us?” Link asked. 

Navi huffed as she settled on a cushion for some type of gold jewelry, which she shoved aside to make room, “We don’t, you can’t reason with someone like that. His aura is completely black, we need to avoid him if anything or else we could end up the same. Tomorrow we should start looking for where he could have hid the stone. It’s not like there’s anywhere on his body to hide it,” She shuddered, “I hope.” 

“How do we do that?”

“Simple, if it’s anything like the Kokiri emerald, I and any other Fair Folk will be able to feel it. So, first off, it’s probably somewhere with a lot of iron- otherwise all sorts of nasty things will be here for it. That’s where we’ll start.” 

Link nodded, although the solution didn’t feel right. He felt like he should be helping Darunia, at least for the sake of his new friends, and he doubted the patriarch’s mood would improve if he got robbed. 

If only he knew any life magic. With that thought, he rolled over and tried to get some sleep. 

~~~

Link was trying to nonchalantly bring up the topic of any pure iron vaults in Goron city with Gabbro and Darbus when a Goron found him. They said Darunia wanted to see him. 

He walked with the Goron like a prisoner into the depths of the city, until he was brought in front of Darunia. He looked even worse than yesterday, maybe it was a trick of the eye, but it looked like the torch light didn’t even want to be near him, as he stood in shadow. 

The child definitely met the giant’s cold eyes before he spoke, “I told you to get out of my city. Then I hear you spent the night in our most honored guest chamber and spent the day wreaking havoc on my people!”

“If “havoc” is what you call having fun then yeah, I havoc-ed it up!” 

“Link, stop.” Navi whispered, but he batted her away.

“We’re already suffering-”

“Yeah, and whose fault is that!? Because, last I checked, Ganondorf hasn’t been here in weeks! You are making them miserable by locking yourself in here! The Great Deku Tree sent me to get help when Ganondorf cursed him, and what did you do!? Nothing! Everyone is just moping!”

“Insolent brat-! You know nothing! I’ve sent good warriors into Dondongo’s cavern to get eaten! There’s nothing else to do but wait for that useless King!”

“Well, maybe if you looked past your grief, you’d think of something! How are you going to do that with no sunlight? No wind? No friends? You’re barely more than the living dead!” Link blinked at that remark, something sparked in his memory. 

Enraged, Darunia took a step forward, “You will leave my city- what now!?”

Link took the fairy ocarina out of his pouch and remembered all the times he’d listen to Saria play on it. Dutifully taking up vigil every twilight to sooth the wandering spirits of the lost woods. He raised it to his lips to play the ingrained melody.

Her signature life magic made the room feel bigger and brighter. Darunia glowered at him for a moment, taking the display as an insult, before his feet started to move. Link couldn’t resist either, and he was soon dancing like he would with the Kokiri, a lifetime ago. The Goron was soon grinning as he busted out the craziest dance moves Link had ever seen before, but they looked like so much fun he’d need to try them. 

Both of them were panting when he finished. Fairy lights shimmered in the air, and for a second it looked like Saria smiling at him, but he couldn’t be sure. He wondered if she was proud of him. 

Darunia pounded his chest, “That was one HOT beat! I feel better already! Like all my depression has disappeared! What was that?” 

Link laughed, “Good. It was Kokiri life magic”

“Kokiri? Ah, green clothes and a fairy, that makes sense. So, you’re not here on behalf of the king,” He ran a hand through his beard, making dull “ pings ” like running fingers over a comb, “No wonder, useless cur.”

“I’m here on behalf of the late Great Deku Tree, he told me to do whatever Princess Zelda bids. She told me to come here and get the Spiritual Stone before Ganondorf’s can…take it.”

“Late…” Darunia’s face once more weighed down, “So, that man managed to kill a minor god?”

“Worse.” Navi spoke up, “Before he passed, The Great Deku tree sensed a foul malice in the wind. On par with a demon. Ganondorf looked human enough last time I saw him, but he has something bigger behind him.”

Daruina huffed, “Our tribe have withered the demon scourge without help before, we shall do it again.”

“Will you give us the stone?” 

Darunia, to his credit, actually considered the offer before answering, “I can’t. The Spiritual Stone of Fire offers us protection from dark forces, while the curse festers in Dondongo’s Cavern, it would be suicide to remove it. I’ve already lost good people. But…we may be able to make an arrangement.”

“Arrangement?” Link asked hesitantly.

“It pains me to admit this, but these Dodongo's are like nothing we’ve fought before. The Goron tribe have fought them for Death Mountain for generations, and we have been evenly matched. We are both strong and resistant to fire, but these won’t stay down for long.”

“An undead curse.” Navi confirmed. 

“Exactly. While we Gorons are mighty, there is one thing we lack, speed. You may be the only ones that can match them.”

Despite somehow expecting this, Link still broke out into a cold sweat at the proposition, “I-I can’t. I don’t know anything about fighting, I can barely use a sword!”

“I will teach you how to fight.” Darunia said, “I happen to have a set of Goron power bracelets around here…”

Link laughed nervously, and held his wrists up meekly, “You mean these…?” Darunia raised an eyebrow and chuckled. 

“Alright.” He put his hands on his hips, “Looks like you’re ready to prove yourself worthy of training, then.

Notes:

Link gets friends! Specifically male friends, and Gorons are a very many race so he’ll have good examples of positive masculinity.

Chapter 7

Notes:

I feel like skyward sword Link would have the thinnest patience of all Links, so if anything was going to be unearthed of Time’s spirit first it would be that. “Link, go track down Zelda in 2 springs in treacherous areas, she isn’t going to wait for you.” “Link, fight this spiky thing!” “Link, go collect some magic flame-things, but first you need to do some bullshit trial where your weapons are gone and you need to collect more things!” “Oh shit, the spiky thing is back!” “Oooops, your stupid adorable girlfriend just put herself in a crystal.” “Last thing, go collect parts of a song scattered across the world” “No, you need to fight the spiky thing again.” “Ok, last last thing, you need to find the triforce.”...

All with Siri pointing out the obvious every five seconds.

Rocks tumbled down as he Link probed with sweaty palms for a firm handhold. The trick was not to look down, and also not to die. Navi did her best to guide him to safe footing, but there was only so much a fairy that weighed less than a feather could do. Skultullas tickled his knuckles, but he stayed calm and ignored them until they passed, preventing a nasty bite. 

Eventually, mercifully, he reached the top of the last cliff. The air on the summit of Death Mountain was thin, so Link had to heave even more than usual to recover. He sent a prayer to every god or goddess out there for making it up there safely. 

After long moments, he pushed himself up. The platform he was on had two entrances into the rock, one just a carved hole and the other was an ornate stone entrance. That must be where the Great Fairy was. Link was so focused he missed the brown-feathered owl perched on a rock. 

“Hoot hoot, hello Link. You look like you’ve grown some.”

He startled before relaxing, “Hello, Weird Owl.”

“Ho ho ho, aren't you…frank. Of course, utmost honesty is an admirable trait of the Fair of the forest. How have your travels been?”

“Um, I’m kinda in the middle of them right now.” Link lamely pointed to the entrance of the fairy fountain, trying to keep down his annoyance with a polite face. 

“Then I won’t keep you long. When you are done, I can fly you back to where Daurina waits for you.”

“...Really?”

“Of course. Your wish is my command.”

But Saria had warned Link about older Fair with slippery, sweet words that lured in the innocent. The boy looked away and entered the fountain.

The white marble chamber was illuminated by a pool shimmering with power like a thousand crystals.  Link stepped up to the edge of the pool, where the image of the triforce was carved. 

“The only higher authority in the Fair world in Hyrule is the divine blood of the royal family.” Navi explained, “Try playing Zelda’s lullaby.”

Link nodded and let the notes fill the space, echoing around him. When he was done, he glanced around, “Now w-”

“HA HA HA HA HA!” If Link thought Dysphania’s outfit was scandalous, he gawked openly at the Great Fairy. She had no wings, only three ponytails of scarlet hair billowed around her, floating with shimmering yellow magic. Most striking was her absurdly curvy figure hidden only by vines and knee-high boots. If she noticed his rudeness, she didn’t seem to mind, and only looked at him like something akin to a puppy, “Welcome to my fountain, traveler. You called?” She cooed.

 “I-Uh-Um…”

Navi facepalmed, “Yes. Daurina sent us to get magic power for Link.”

“Hm, that was wise of him. To open one’s mind to the Kinetic magic of the Gorons naturally can take a human lifetime, but I sense you do not have that time. However, my assistance does come at a cost. Touching a soul always does.”

Link found his voice again, “What…. Kind of cost?” 

“Oh,” She waved a hand flippantly, reclining in the air, “You’ll be woozy for a few days, and a little sensitive emotionally.”

Navi’s slight warmth on his shoulder was grounding, and Link took a deep breath, “Ok. I’ll do it.”

“Perfect.” She straightened, and spread her arms wide like she was going to hug Link. Instead, an orange light engulfed him, reaching deeper each moment. Link screwed his eyes shut against the sensation, like something was bubbling out of him he couldn’t control. 

Then, it came in a torrent of images and emotions. visions flashed in his mind's eye faster than he could comprehend. He felt a terrible, poisonous hate directed at him from something he couldn’t see. It made him feel naked and blind, disconnected from his body- his identity- in a horrible way. 

As soon as it came, it left Link in darkness. 

~~~

“What happened!? What did you do to him!?” Navi shrieked hysterically. 

“I had to put him to sleep, to stop the flood. I’ve never seen this before…” The Great Fairy said with little more than mild curiosity, as Link still wept in his fitful sleep. 

“Never seen what before?”

“Look at him again, little fairy. What’s different?”

“I…” That gold Navi had seen sleeping deep in his aura when they first met, it shone a little brighter now. She bit her lip, “I still don’t get it.”

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of, you are still young. Most humans don’t remember their past lives, their souls are given ample time to rest and recover from the trauma of living in the Pure Land. Something is binding him to his past, powerful enough to violate the order of the world the Goddess Nayru created long ago.” She ran a hand through his blond hair, “I wonder if he’s had a moment's rest, since this started.”

Navi swallowed, looking again at the depths of molten gold in her ward’s aura. It was mesmerizing, the way it swam, and unnatural. She tore her gaze away, “Now what?”

Painted lips curved, and she propped her head on an elegant hand, “What a strange question, little fairy. What happens next is what always happens next. Magma will keep churning beneath the earth, as it always has. Life is in constant motion!” Like she knew how unhelpful she was, The Great Fairy laughed again and disappeared in the shallow depths of the fountain. 

~~~

Link woke up in his bed in Goron City. His head was still pounding, made worse by his dry mouth. Just opening his eyes took an absurd amount of effort. 

Something…something felt different. In his blood or in his psyche, he wasn’t sure. Everything past getting to the top of death mountain was gone. 

He groaned hoarsely. It alerted Navi, who he didn’t realize was sitting on his bedside table. She flew out and asked an attendant to get Link some water and help him sit up. 

After quenching his thirst, he asked, “T-the Great Fairy…”

“Yeah, she, uh, did something for you to access fire magic. Are you…are you okay. Do you remember anything?”

“Nuh-uh.”

Navi sighed deeply, “Just get some rest.”

Darunia came later to check on him, and declared he could feel the spark in him. They will start training the next day. 

He got no help as they walked miles up the mountain, despite his lungs heaving and trembling body. Navi tried complaining for him, but he stopped her. He knew he needed to prove himself. They finally stopped on a barren piece of rock high on a cliff. To one side, a lazy river of magma oozed by. Link could feel the heat even several paces back. 

“What’s here?” 

“Fire power comes from channeling the limitless energy of the magna churning under the earth. Feel the energy from Death Mountain, and the energy in yourself. Reach out to it, and let your heart beat in time!” In demonstration, the Goron Patriarch cupped a hand and a small orange flame appeared, “Doing it still can be challenging, it’s easier to move while you find it.” Darunia smiled and took the bongo set off his back, “The most pure form of movement, dance!”

Link giggled as Darunia started to tap out a fast tune, much deeper and earthier than Saria’s song. It turned into a full blown laugh as he danced, and he forgot what he was supposed to be doing for a while. He focused on his footfalls as they changed the energy in the ground around them. 

The Sun moved across the sky, Link continued to dance. The earth continued to churn. In time, licks of golden flame followed his stomps. Fire danced around him, higher and higher with each movement. 

It was evening by the time Daruina stopped, cutting off his trance. Sweat poured down his face and back as every muscle began to scream at him. He heard Navi scream as he wobbled, but Darunia caught him with a large hand. 

“You’re ready. Strike the stone with all you have.” He was gravely serious. 

Shakily, the boy stood. He pulled his fist back and in a winding arc brought it to the ground. A ring of golden fire as tall as he was expanded out from him. 

Darunia clapped enthusiastically, “That was amazing, little human! I didn’t know human flames were that color. You picked that up much faster than anybody I’ve ever seen! This is a sign from our Mountain Father, I know it!”

Still shaking, Link blushed and rubbed his neck at the praise. He gasped as he was suddenly being swung on top of Darunia’s shoulders, before he started the trek down the mountain. 

~~~

But, of course, that was only the first step. Darunia worked him hard every day to master fire magic and combat. The best Goron Warriors use fire magic to make their punches as powerful as possible. There was also the fact that Link had never had a formal sword lesson in his life, but Goron’s would not be able to make the best blades in Hyrule if they did not know how to use them, at least in theory. Even if they preferred hammers and clubs.

“In return for agreeing to save my tribe, I guess I should make sure you don’t die.” Daruina had said with a smile when Link complained about the long days, “Besides, you’re of even less use to us then!” 

Darunia believed in hands-on practice over drills. Many monsters inhabited the hills around Death Mountain, mainly hostile wildlife like giant moldorms and flying kargaroks. Link had been baffled by the command, killing for practice rather than necessity. 

“I won’t do it.”

Navi sighed, “Link…”

Rather than being mad like Link had expected, like Navi had been, Darunia looked genuinely bewildered, “Why not?”

Link tried to find the words, “That’s not what I was taught. Saria, my caretaker, taught me to only hunt what we need and keep the balance of the world.”

Darunia stroked his beard in thought, “I see, traditions are very important, but if what the Great Deku Tree foretold is true…” He sighed, “I understand your position. The Death Mountain tribe has always been strong and independent, it was a dark time when the King of Hyrule demanded I surrender. It was out of respect for the Mighty Impa I bowed without bloodshed, while it went against everything my forefathers taught me, it kept my tribe alive.” Amethyst eyes looked down, lost in thought, “I thought I may die of shame, but I knew death was not a path to glory.”

The Goron paused, and waited for the story to sink in. Link’s face crumpled, “Neither is letting malice win against balance…”

“You must become strong, for the world will become very harsh, little brother. Besides,” He grinned broadly, “I’m sure this Saria would much rather you return home alive.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because she raised you, so she loves you very much.”

The back of the boy’s throat burned as he fought against tears. He nodded tersely and drew his sword, wondering if Darunia was right.

~~~

The kargoroks were the worst, flying just out of reach of sword or fire magic until they saw fit to swoop down. At first Link was nearly paralyzed at the idea of fighting monsters his own size. Maybe it was the fire magic the Great Fairy gave him, but recently his patience with most things, even his own fears, wore out quickly. 

“Come on already!”

Darunia laughed heartily, “That’s it the spirit! But, your skin isn’t as thick as ours, so don’t get too ahead of yourself!”

“Ahhh-!”

Darunia exploded the kargorock’s fragile body with a rock before Link could get an inch off the ground. 

Eventually, after days, Darunia sent Link into town for a shield and more food for himself. 

Navi giggled at the Gate guards stunned face as they came to the fence. Link crossed his arms and glared at him, “I didn’t die.”

Gobsmacked, the guard opened the gate for him, and Link strut past with his head high. They knew they wouldn’t make it up and down the mountain in one day, so they brought a bedroll to camp in the peaceful village. 

In the mid morning, more people milled about than before, getting ready to open shops and bringing children to school. He spotted Anju pushing a crate with a wheelbarrow, after a moment of indecision, Link approached her. She did show him a great kindness for letting him stay the night with her. Even if it wasn’t a very peaceful night between her and her grouchy grandma. 

She did a double take when she saw him, before waving excitedly, “Hey Link, glad you’re back! I was pretty worried when you decided to go up Death Mountain.”

“The Goron’s were really nice, they’re teaching me how to use fire magic!” To demonstrate, Link proudly ran his fingers through the air, gold flames trailing after them. Anju smiled and clapped.

“That’s awesome. Did you take care of what you needed?”

Link shook his head, “No, they just don’t have a lot of human food in Goron city. I’ll go back tomorrow, after I get a new shield and food.”

“You can stay the night at my place again!”

“T-that’s okay! I’d rather sleep under the stars.”

Anju hummed and looked at the sky, “It’s hard to predict the weather here, it may rain.”

“Ah, well, I think it’ll be okay.” 

“Alright, just don’t camp in the graveyard, they say poes hang around there at night.” She winked like she was joking, before picking up the handles of the wheelbarrow again, “I need to get these eggs to Aria’s, see you around Link!”

He waved as she faded from view, and turned to Navi, “What’s a graveyard?”

“Oh, it’s where humans collect their dead. They bury them in the ground together.”

Humans did what ? Link gaped, “That’s terrible! The dead should be scattered to the wind, not collected! No wonder humans have so many problems with monsters.” He looked around, “Where is this graveyard?”

“Huh? You want to go there? You just said it was horrible!”

“Yeah, but I’m a Kokiri! Part of my job is making sure the dead rest peacefully.” 

Navi sighed, “Fine. You wouldn’t listen to me anyway. Follow me.”

They walked across town, to a small hole in the cliff with a paved path winding down to the foot of a large, terraced clearing. Each terrace was lined with carved stones and a walkway along the edge. Otherwise, it looked fine. Fresh spring grass grew everywhere that wasn’t paved, and tall pines lined the clearing, behind a tall wooden fence. Still, something in the air made the hair on his arms stand up. 

Well, it felt like an undead presence, just beneath the surface and rotting. 

The only other living person there was some kid with a tuft of red hair on a bald head, stomping up and down the rows waving a stick around. Link may have given him the benefit of the doubt and said it was a wand or staff, but he was flailing it around like a toy.

Link climbed the terraces to inspect the individual graves, which Navi explained marked each person’s burial place. The grass was undisturbed, no evidence of something trying to claw out. Link narrowed his eyes and placed a hand against the grass, the feeling persisted. 

“Well, no undead.” Navi said half heartedly. She was even more affected by the terrible energy than he was, and looked ready to flee.

“Maybe not above ground. This grass is way too patchy. Even in winter, grass in the Lost Woods is always so green from feeding off curses.” Link pulled one of the strands up, taking the root with it. It was short, “Maybe, it’s leaking deeper into the earth.”

Navi shivered, Link did too, despite himself. Everything came from the earth: food, water, materials. To have something so essential corrupted was-

“Hey! You better not be messing with the graves! I’ll tell Dampe!”

Link and Navi screamed and scrambled back. Link’s hand was on his sword before he realized it was just that kid. He looked very happy with himself, “That’s right! So don’t mess around!”

“Listen kid, do you know how rude it is to startle people like that!? Where are your parents anyway?” Navi chastised, turning a slight purple from embarrassment. Link hid a smile behind his hand.

“At work, so I get to play in the graveyard all day! Are you one of the kids that came here for school?”

Link shook his head, “I’m actually in town to get more food and a shield.” 

The boy brightened, “Ok, I’ll show you Dampe’s treasure pile! It has all sorts of cool stuff, you never need to go to the store for toys again!”

“Who’s Dampe?”

“The gravekeeper,” the boy explained as he pulled Link away, “He’s super cool and scary. He only works at night, so he’s asleep right now. I’m August, by the way.”

“Link, and the fairy is Navi.”

August took Link behind an old shed, that was apparently Dampe’s house, to a lean-to tucked away from the public. The bad feeling immediately increased as he looked at the pile of old things. Some children’s toys, spears, armor, and even a handful of small shields for parrying, but they fit Link like a real shield. There were marks on the wood from where metal was stripped off it. 

“Link.” Navi said softly, as the boy picked up a wooden bird and mimicked flying with it, “I think they were taken from the dead.”

They reeked of malice. Link nodded grimly, “Me too. This place is terrible.”

“Yeah.”

“We need to stop it from spreading.” 

“How?”

“I don’t know.” He could take days out of his schedule to craft hundreds of guard’s eyes, but that was impractical. Taking the shield with him, he assessed the perimeter. There was a hint of magic already there, scorched into the rocks with flame patterns every few feet. They looked completely unremarkable, if you weren’t looking for a barrier. 

“They’re taper burn marks, it’s what the Sheika use to ward off evil. They’re so old though…” Navi wondered aloud. 

“Maybe they just need a little more power to them.” Link said, smirking. He laid a hand against the one closest to him, and channeled a bit of his newfound fire magic in it. Like a water channel, he could feel his magic redirected immediately and strung around the perimeter. The marks glowed gold for a split second before fading. All the grime had been burned off them. 

The boy gasped, “That’s so cool! Did a ghost do that?”

Link laughed and leaned hard against the wall, exhausted. 

~~~

A storm set it in not long after dark. The pair ran for cover until they reached the only public building that was unlocked: the windmill. 

Link didn’t want to. While there was nothing obvious about the windmill, it still gave off a sense of wrongness. The cheery music was the first thing he noticed, then that the interior room was lit harshly with torches. A man with a strange instrument that looked like a box with a crank on the side played along happily, humming to the tune. 

In the center of the room, a platform spun away in time with the music, attached to a pole that ran deeper into the earth. There was no millstone, which made Link wonder what it was doing down there. 

Link shared a look with Navi, who shrugged. No bad intent then. “Erm, is it ok if I sleep in here?” 

“Yes! Yes! More music lovers the better!” The man agreed happily. He was thin and balding with ragged clothes that were at one point nice. “Round and round! Round and round! Isn’t it perfect? La, la, la. No matter what, the windmill will always keep spinning.”

Link was considering his chances with the rain or breaking in somewhere, “I guess so.” He stared a moment longer, the man showed no signs of tiring, “Is this what you do all day? And night?”

“Of course! Who needs sleep when you have music! La, la, la. Nobody liked me in Castle Town, so I left. Then nobody liked me here, but the windmill likes me! How will it know how to spin without me? La, la, la.”

Right. Link felt the need to put distance between them, in case whatever spell he was under was catching. Link glanced at the spinning platform again, before looking away. He was reminded of the Mansion in the Sacred Forest Meadow, which had a look-away spell cast on it long before it was like that. They acted on instinct, like how everyone knew not to look into the sun, but if they did it would turn them insane. Fair Folk weren’t affected by them, given they exist from nature and have keener perception of reality, so he should in theory be safe, but…

Link backed away and left. Rain it was, tonight.

“What was that?” Navi asked.

Link shook his head, “I got a bad feeling from that place, that’s all. I feel bad for that man, though…” Maybe he could have left him some food and water, but if he intended to ever stop to drink he could get his own. 

He remembered a tall tree by the entrance of the town, a pine with foliage thick enough it could shelter Link. When he got there he saw it was already occupied. 

“Everyone here is disgusting. Even my own mother and father are disgusting. You must be disgusting too.”

Link’s eye twitched, was anyone in this town normal? “Ok, I’m disgusting. Can you scoot over, now? I need a place to sleep out of the rain.”

Grumbling, the thin man complied. 

~~~

Navi watched with clawing anxiety as Link practiced his sword strikes in his room in Goron city. He was better than a novice, with a decent sense of stability and gravity, but his moves lacked refinement. 

Her ward growled in frustration as he swung slopilly, “I don’t get it! Why can’t I get this stupid thing to glow again? Gah!” He let the blade fall to the ground. Navi winced, and a world away she felt a huffy minish cry in despair.

“You’re too focused on the motions. Magic comes from nature, not from yourself.”

Link rounded on her immediately, “What, so I’m selfish now? Since I’m here, you’d think “ nature ”” He spat, “would see just how un-selfish I am!” Petulantly, he kicked the wall for good measure and immediately fell to the ground, clutching his foot. 

“Don’t yell at me!” Navi snapped back, “I’m just trying to help you! The Great Deke Tree said-”

“The Great Deku Tree is dead! And so will everyone here if I don’t figure this out! Darunia didn’t even know what I was talking about, but I know it happened! Twice!”

Link’s aura looked like a storm, and Navi knew enough that letting it mellow from a squall to a sob was the best she could do. She didn’t hold it against him, she could tell his anger was directed more at himself. It probably wouldn’t be far-fetched that this was a common discussion back in Kokiri forest with his tribe. Humans liked to assign blame for even the smallest problems, even when there was nobody to blame, even on themselves. 

Navi just wished she could make him listen to her without all the… human getting in the way.

She wasn’t sure how Darunia of all people managed to make him see reason. How did he do it? He talked about himself a lot, but mortals are self-centered creatures. That’s why it would take a mortal a lifetime to master magic where Fair Folk are born to it. 

Or, instead of getting tangled up in her mind, she could simply ask him. That in mind, she flew under the wooden door and to Daruina’s chambers where he fussed over the dwindling rations. 

They had never really talked much before, Navi found Link’s magic training a little boring and had no clue what was happening. The combat lessons were slightly more interesting since there was something for her to watch, but it got repetitive quickly. It made sense Daruina was perplexed to spot her in the long shadows of his chamber. 

“Hello, Mrs. Navi. Is there something wrong?” He asked politely, but Navi was easily able to read the short, unamused tone of his voice, through no falt of his own. One of the lessons traveling the mortal world had taught her was oftentimes deciphering intentions were more complicated than mere emotions. It was strange to her, and a little remarkable, how mortals often ignored what they wanted in the interest of the greater good. 

She settled close to him and dimmed her light so he could see her face in a show of humility. He blinked like he hadn’t realized she was more than a ball of light and regarded her with more interest, “I, ah, actually wanted to ask you something. About Link.”

“Of course, he’s under your protection, yes?”

Navi winced, “That’s the thing. The Great Deku Tree wanted me to guide him on the journey ahead, but I don’t know how to get him to listen to me! I try and I try to guide him, but he couldn’t care less about what I have to say! I think…you’ve probably noticed he’s not really a Kokiri, right?”

 Darunia nodded grimly, “I suspected. Fair Folk are rare around here since my tribe drove them off hundreds of years ago, but I understand your magic is completely different than our own.”

Navi half shrugged, “I don’t know. Maybe, Link was never able to learn Kokiri life magic without aids like the Fairy Ocarina he uses. The Great Deku Tree lied to all of them, Link still doesn’t know. I know how this sounds but…I, no, we, can’t afford the distraction. But, he listens to you like he never has with me. How did you do it?”

“Ah, yes, I’ve noticed that as well…” The Goron Patriarch suddenly looked deeply uncomfortable, and Navi had to wait several moments before he put his thoughts to words, “Your criticism comes off as a bit…” He eventually gave up on trying to soften the bow, “naggy.”

Navi’s jaw dropped, and her light flared pink in a lapse of control, “I am not a nag! All my points are reasonable, well thought out, and most of all,” Her voice climbed in pitch,  “keeps him alive the few times he’s actually listened to me!”

Darunia suddenly found his clasped hands very interesting, “I believe you. However, you can’t ask a man to follow you into battle and not even tell him why.”

The fairy crossed her arms, “He should know why.”

“But, he doesn’t.” Darunia sighed, “I don’t know much about Fair Folk, but I’ll tell you what makes a good leader. A good leader understands his- er, or her- men. They need to find some common ground, and build mutual loyalty from there. He needs to put his men’s wellbeing at, at the very least, the same value as his own. He needs to listen to them when they have feedback, and consult them before a big battle. They must respect one another.”

Navi nodded solemnly, “That’s why you don’t like the King of Hyrule?”

Darunia seemed startled she noticed his shift of focus, “Is it true he invited that Gerudo into his home?”

“Yes. But Princess Zelda sees beyond that, she went behind her nanny’s back to check in on your people.”

“Perhaps in ten years, that will mean something.” Daruina said ruefully,  before forcing a smile, “See? you are a very perceptive little fairy. With effort, I’m sure you’ll become a fine leader for Link. He’ll need you, especially in Dondongo’s cavern.” He looked thoughtful, “Maybe a good place to start is an apology.”

Navi winced.

~~~

“Hey, Link…”

The boy peeked out from behind his arm as he laid in the bed. Navi settled on the bedpost with her light dimmed. He pushed down a flash of annoyance, “Yeah?”

“I just want to say I’m sorry for dismissing you. Obviously whatever we’ve been trying hasn’t been working, so we’ll need to change tactics.” She paused, “What were you thinking about when you got it to work?”

Link shrugged, “I dunno. Saria, I guess.”

“Maybe you can draw it from those happy memories. Like that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you help somebody.” She nodded to herself, smiling.

Sitting up, Link considered his sword again. He held it, the feeling of deep wanting responded to him, like it usually did. Like it wanted something from him, Link just had no clue what. 

Closing his eyes, he focused much like when he did a blessing. Except, he focused on Saria and everybody else in the Kokiri forest. Alone and scared without the Great Deku Tree, but he’d make it up to them. He’d save them from the evil coming to them. The more he thought about the good times and glimpses of affection they shared, the more his will strengthened. 

The Kokiri blade seemed to read his mind, and pulled that burning resolve into itself. Link gasped and opened his eyes, it held a dull gold shimmer. He posed for an attack, picturing that terrible parasite that had taken so much from him, and swung. The the magic on the blade lashed out powerfully and dissipated. 

Navi rubbed her arms, “Are you okay?” Link asked.

“Yeah, just got chills.” She gave a half-hearted smile, “Now that we figured that out, let’s go to bed.”

Smiling, Link nodded. 

Notes:

Navi gets some important insight in human nature and kids in general. I definitely think the Hero’s spirit helped Link maintain his defiant nature even with the Kokiri, but that makes it very difficult for Navi to connect with him.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Zelda Novelizations