Chapter 1: Beginning Fates
The marketplace buzzed with activity. People of all races moved around, buying, selling, simply enjoying the sights and sounds. Wandering amongst the crowd, was someone who stood out, for some reason. It was a boy, one who was starting the possess of becoming a man. His dirty blond hair extended down, covering one of his eyes. The eye that could be seen was a ruby-red, identifying him as a Sheikah, the race of Shadows. He was wearing a loose blue shirt, with black denim pants, and brown shoes. Some young girls turned their gaze over to him, because he was very handsome, the boy heard their giggles, but he really didn't care. He didn't feel the need to discourage them, but he wouldn't give them his notice anyway. This boy was in the market because he was trying to get used to this state.
That is, the state of being a boy.
The boys name was Sheik Abbar. A name given by himself.
The name he had been given by his parents was Zelda Hyrule. He was born a girl, he could turn into a boy.
And you thought you had problems in your teenage years.
"Thank you, that will be fifty rupees." The young red haired woman said. She was a young Hylian girl, dark red hair dropped down to her waist, wearing a practical black shirt with blue overalls, she was selling milk in the market place, milk that she had gotten herself straight from the cow. Of course, she was testing the milk out, testing out a refrigeration spell she had read about. So far it seemed to be working, keeping the milk cool and fresh in the bottles.Suddenly the bottle of milk she had just sold froze solid. The customer looked at it for a moment, then turned to the girl, eyebrow raised.
"Um, oops?" She giggled sheepishly. "Guess it worked too well."
"I can tell that." The man said, with some amusement.
"Um, I'll fix it." The girl quickly grabbed the frozen bottle, reaching inside herself, and from there reaching into the world, and the power of the Goddesses that created this world, a red glow emitted from her hands. As she called forth the Fire Magic, hopefully nullifying the Water Magic she had cast on it earlier. "Now it will thaw out, I'll give you ten rupees back to make up for the inconvenience-" she stopped talking when she let out a shriek when the bottle suddenly became very hot, she quickly dropped the bottle, it broke as it hit the stone ground, and boiling milk spilled out. "Um, how about I give you a refund?" she asked.
"How about I just take a new bottle?" the man asked, smiling at the young girl.
"Um, OK." She grabbed a new bottle, handing him another one.
"Thank you Miss." He walked away with his milk in hand.
"Right, still need some practice." She mumbled. She had been practicing for a month, and yet she still couldn't get much right, she understood the theory but she couldn't do the actions yet. "Oh well, sloth always means no food." Echoing a Holodrum saying.
Her name was Malon Lon, heir to the Lon fortune. The Lon family is minor nobility from the old days before the War of Unification. However by this time such things mattered little. So she was pretty much a normal girl, if a bit of a tomboy, OK, a big tomboy, and proud of it. At the moment she was practicing magic, but it was taking work, mainly because things kept on backfiring on her, such as the frozen milk.
"Well, can't say I'm doing badly." After all, nothing had blown up yet.
As if one queue, all the other bottles froze, and ice spread all over the cart.
"Um..." Malon sighed, "I don't think I should use the Ice Rod as a magical focus for that spell anymore."
She moved through the dark storeroom, browsing through the many masks. There were so many stored in here, of all different types and sizes, her tanned skin blended into the dark wood of the building. Her dark, almost black, red hair shined as the single lamp illuminated it. Dark green clothing covered her body loosely, making her seem strangely exotic, her golden eyes, a Gerudos eyes, shined in the faint shadows. Her height made her appear older then she really was. She was really a young girl, just starting blossom into womanhood. She pulled out a mask, this one looking like the face of a Wolfos.Wolfos, her clan, her mothers family. One that abandoned her when her mother died.
Her name was Kasuto Lilla, of the Wolfos clan. She was an orphan, her mother had died when she was six, and she didn't know what had happened to her father. Her life hadn't been one that would be remembered, she wasn't strong, nor was she skilled in most things, in fact, she was rather mediocre over all, learning things from books being the only thing she was truly good at. Of course, that ended a month ago. Now she had, unknowingly to her, become intertwined with the paths of destiny. Now Kasuto had roles to fulfill. Not that she knew that, in fact, all she was worried about was a boy, one which she had fallen for. Hard. He was a wonderful person, in fact, there was only one problem with him, he was born a girl.
Remember what I said about teenage years?
After thawing the Milk cart (And a lengthy explanation on why it happened to a Guard.) Malon had taken to wandering around the market, looking for something to do. Shopping wasn't any fun without a victim to buy stuff for. And she wasn't hungry, so she couldn't just go to a restaurant. How was she going to spend the next two hours until her father picked her up?"Hey, there's something." Malon had come across the Happy Mask Shop, maybe she could browse in there for a while. "I don't think I've ever been in there." She commented, as she pushed open the door.
Inside the shop there were masks, lining the shelves that covered the walls. Malon had expected this, under each mask was a price. In the back there were the more expensive masks on display behind the counter, standing at the counter, was a girl Malon recognized.
"Kasuto?" She asked, remembering the name. "Is that you?"
"Hmm?" Kasuto turned to Malon, before smiling. "Oh, it's you, Malon, it's nice to see you again." Malon wasn't surprised to see that Kasuto recognized her, after all, she had saved the Gerudo's life. "It's good to see someone I know."
"Yeah, I haven't seen Link or Saria for two weeks." Malon leaned against the counter, getting ready for a hopefully long chat. "Have you seen...err..." Malon tried to remember the name of the boy, who was somehow a girl.
"Sheik?" Kasuto answered, a small amount of sorrow entering her voice. "No, I haven't seen him since...you know..." A month ago, a strange being who called himself Shadow, had attempted to end the world. He had been a clever foe, manipulating everybody to do what he wanted. Thanks to him all the races had been attacked. (The outer wall of the city was still being repaired.) Among other things, Malon had gotten a Fire Rod and an Ice Rod in the processes.
"Um, right." Malon suddenly remembered something about the boy/girl. "Wait, do you know that-"
"Yes, I know that Sheik is really Princess Zelda." Kasuto sighed, "Believe me, I know." Her voice trailed off sadly.
"Oh." Malon looked at Kasuto, her face showed nothing, but her eyes shined with sadness. She realized something, "You liked Sheik, didn't you?" she asked, hoping that she was right.
"I like Sheik, I still do." Kasuto replied.
Malon took this in with a little shock. "But- But you know he's-"
"Malon," Kasuto interrupted, giving the farm girl a hard look. "I am a Gerudo. Do you really think that a race that is all female for most of the time cares about things like that?" Kasuto gave Malon a dry look.
"Oh, um, I guess not." Malon placed her hand behind her head, "I guess not, but then how come I've never heard of it?"
"Because," Kasuto continued, "It's not common, we just don't care when it happens, we don't call attention to it, we don't scream ‘Oh lookie there! It's two girls doing the nasty to each other!' it just happens. I never felt like that, and it was a boy who gave me the feelings, to see him turn into a girl, it just confuses me." Kasuto sighed, "I bet I'm boring you now."
"Are you kidding!" Malon grinned, "I love this kind of stuff! Link calls me a ‘hopeless romantic' and I agree."
Kasuto shook her head, "Malon, it's not that simple. Sheik- Err, Zelda knows how I feel, but its just..."
"Just what? Has she told you she wants nothing to do with you?"
...I'm not supposed to feel this way!...
Kasuto sighed, I don't know, maybe he did, but, I-"
"But nothing!" Malon stood up straight, she was in full "Love-Mode" as Link called it. "If you really do feel this way about someone and there is a chance for you, then take it!" Malon thrust out her hand dramatically, pointing towards the ceiling. Kasuto could almost see the shining light behind her, making a ‘dramatic' scene. "Come on!" she grabbed Kasuto's hand, "Lets go!"
"But-" Kasuto mumbled, Malon was tugging at her hard. "I don't-" She tried to make an excuse that work with this girl. (Somehow she thought not much would work against Malon.) "I have a job to do! I can't just leave!" Kasuto knew that would work.
"Oh, Kasuto, I couldn't take away time from your friends." Her boss said. (For some reason Kasuto had never asked for his name.) "Go, you've been working hard, go take a day off." He gave her that strange smile.
"Thanks!" Malon laughed, and continued to drag the Gerudo "Hey, where'd he come from?" Malon whispered.
"I don't know." Kasuto answered, "He just appears, you never know when he'll come and go."
"Anyway, it's time to go!" Malon continued to drag Kasuto.
"Are you always like this?" Kasuto groaned.
"Pretty much." Malon chirped. "You'd better get used to it if you plan to be friends with me."
Kasuto groaned again.
He moved through the castle, after walking around through the Market Sheik had returned home.How much things had changed in the past seven months, Din was bringing Autumn to them by now. Trees were taking the color from their leaves to next years use. The chill of Winter was hiding and would soon come to the forefront.
"I remember, this winter will be pretty bad, though I was in hiding last time it came around." Sheik remembered, it was strange, the future was being overridden as time went by, wiping out any trace of Ganondorfs reign, soon the River of Time would be free of his images. As the Time Sage, he could see the Past, Present, and all Futures at all times. Except his own, of course. So he was tiring of seeing the madman's rule pressed against the future, the strongest one of all, because it had actually happened.
"Ah, Sheik, I see you're back." Impa walking into his room, it was a sparse room, filled mostly with books and weapons. One would never expect that this was a room of a princess. The only thing which stood out was a small pictograph, of him leaning over a Gerudo girl. It was an important possession, given to him by Link. Sure, he had hit the boy with a Bo Staff after it had been taken, but he appreciated it none the less. "Sheik?" Impa asked, "You look distracted."
"Oh, I'm just thinking Impa." Sheik sighed, "I'm going to go back to being Zelda for now, thanks for the idea." He held up his hand, letting the glow of the powerful spell wash over him. When the light faded, Zelda stood there, shaking her long hair back, looking around. "I'm getting something a bit more feminine on. OK?"
Impa smiled, "Lunch is in ten minutes, be there, OK?"
"Got it." Zelda hugged her guardian, "I'll be fine, I'm a lot better now."
"See you soon." Impa walked out of her bedroom, heading to the dining room.
Zelda's smile faded as her gaze turned to the pictograph. "Thank you...Kasuto."
He waited, how long had he been waiting? Years, it had taken a long time to get everything ready. Soon, the traitors that ruled this country would pay for their crimes. And everything would be made right again, as the Goddesses intended.But first...he would have to remind them that he and his followers were here...
The followers of the One Right Way.
"So, tell me what are we doing?" Kasuto rubbed her arm, Malon was strong. The two of them were standing on the path that led to the Royal Castle. They weren't at the gate, instead they were standing in front of a small cliff side. Just beyond the sight of the Guard at the gate."We're sneaking into the castle, duh." Malon said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're going to see Zelda, and that's that."
"What!" Kasuto stumbled back, "Are you insane?"
"Let me think about that." Malon placed her finger on her chin in a thoughtful pose. "No, just a girl too nosy for her own good."
Kasuto felt like beating her head against the cliff side, this girl was frustrating! "OK, fine, since you seem so determined to interfere with my life."
"I wouldn't be me if I wasn't, ask anybody who knows me." Malon added.
"Whatever, the point is, how are we going to sneak in?" Kasuto grinned, that would stop Malons little stunt.
"Link taught me how, it's quite easy, security isn't designed to keep kids out. Sure, I've never done it before, but Link said it was pretty easy." What Malon didn't say was that Link told her that he had been caught about a dozen times, the first times he had just been thrown out, but sometimes he had been thrown in jail. Malon had no desire to experience that. "Anyway, we just have to scale this wall, keep out of the Gossip Stones sight, then jump down across the gate, keeping out of the patrols way. From there we'll improvise."
Kasuto stared at Malon. "Is this feeling of impending doom normal?"
"Pretty much." Malon said, and began to climb."
It was set, soon, that traitor would pay, it would be a nice warning to him and others. It would also tell them that they were still here."Sir, it's ready, when should I set it off?" one of his followers asked.
"At Three O' Clock." He answered. "And double check everything. We don't want to go wrong."
"Yes sir." His follower left.
Lunch time was a cheerful time for Zelda, it was one of the few times when her father was able to devote all his time to her and her alone, Breakfast was often skipped for various reasons, dinner was reserved for meeting diplomats, wealthy business owners, and Perlamene members. So she treasured this time of day. "Daddy," she began "I'm a bit worried, things have been a little troubled lately, you know?" Zelda, of course, was talking about the aftermath of Shadows attack, it had not ended with Shadow giving up, instead people had panicked, the Zoras had rioted, resulting in three deaths. Gorons were holing themselves up again, as is their nature when they feel threatened. The Sheikah were having some internal problems, the Moonlight and Deepness clans, the two in Hyrule not in service to the Royal family, were being blamed by many, due to the nature of the creatures that attacked Hyrule Castle City. This was causing some stress between the clans, which have always had a troubled history, unlike Gerudo clans which are used as a unifying force, Sheikah clans have traditionally been enemies to each other, it wasn't until the War of The Southern Gods that clan wars ended. So all in all, only the Gerudo seemed unaffected, and even they had to rebuild a village that had been destroyed by a Moldorm. So Shadow had caused a lot of trouble, that Soul Wraith was in for a lot of pain if she ever caught him."Well, Zelda, this is just a little setback, I'm sure that everything will turn out fine." Her father gave her a reassuring smile, "It'll take a lot more then this to bring us down!"
"I know that daddy..." Zelda sighed, "I'm just worried about the problems this is causing." She sighed, picking at her food, "But I guess you're right, we'll survive this." Zelda felt her mood return to cheerfulness return. "Anyway, you know the cake? I helped make it." Zelda beamed, "It's good right?" Zelda had taken to cooking as of late, it seemed to help soothe her troubled mind in a way that training or studying couldn't.
"It's good." Her dad laughed, "You didn't burn it this time you're getting better."
Zelda groaned, "I don't need a reminder of my past failures daddy."
"Learn from you're mistakes Zelda, it's the only way you can succeed in life."
Zelda rolled her eyes, "Must you turn everything into a lesson?"
"I'm your father Zelda, it's my job, it's a lot more satisfying then my other one." He winked at her.
Zelda rolled her eyes, again.
Kasuto did not believe that Malons plan worked, the fact that they had to jump into a moat to do it didn't deter the farm girl, she had simply cast a drying spell on them."Well, it's better then walking around soaking." She commented.
"Yeah, I read about it in a book last week, I got it right this time too!" Malon said cheerfully.
"Wait, what?" Kasuto looked at Malon, "Did you just say what I thought you just said? You tested that spell on me?"
"Er..well, I did test it once before, on a wet rag, it kinda burst into flames...but I got it right this time!" Malon gave Kasuto a pat on the back. "I'm new at the whole magic thing, but don't worry! We'll be fine, nothing too bad will happen to us." Malon continued on her way.
Kasuto held in a scream, and began to follow Malon.
"Well, we made it, now was that so hard?" Malon smiled, they were now in a small garden. Hundreds of flowers, few of which Kasuto even recognized, filled the area. A small artificial stream ran through the whole place, splitting to produce a small island, with nothing but a simple tree on it, with the leaves turning a golden color. It was a place tat was filled with a kind of simple beauty and a feeling of peace."What- What is this place?" Kasuto asked, taking in the appearance of the garden, it was an amazing thing.
"I've never been here, I was just following Links directions, but I think this is Zelda's private garden." Malon answered.
"Sheik..." Kasuto whispered, the garden seemed to fit him, quiet peaceful, but strangely beautiful in a way hat can't be measured by normal means. Her face grew hot, how could she be here? She felt like she was intruding upon a scared place. "Malon...please, let's just go, quickly, before..."
"Before what? We'll be fine; we're not going to get caught."
"It's not that..." Kasuto felt terrified, now that she was here; ready to confront something that had haunted her thoughts for a month. Could she do it? Was she still...in love with the person who would enter this garden? "I'm scared." Why was she saying this? She barely knew Malon, yet she was telling her everything. "You know, there's something about you that is trustworthy, do people usually tell you about their problems?"
Malon laughed, "I guess so, Kalo says I have a strong empathy, whatever that means. He says I have a knack for telling how people feel, and how to fix them." Malon shook her head, "I just like helping people, though Saria calls it meddling." Malon walked over to a corner of the garden. "I think we need to wait here, just to be safe."
Zelda got up, lunch had been, as usual, a nice thing. But now she would probably be alone the rest of the day. "What to do?" It wasn't like she had anything to do, it was frustrating, she actually wished that Link would visit, for the first time in a month. "I guess I'm over him." She sighed; it was actually a relief, though she doubted she would ever forget the first person she had fallen for. "Well, now what?" she really didn't know what to do, but her mind, focused on the subject of love, drifted over to the Gerudo girl, Kasuto."Why me?" she asked, Zelda was so confused, why did have to have these feelings for a Gerudo. A girl? Sure, as Sheik she was a boy, but she had never expected for it to affect her in the way she had. "I'm sure she hates me now though." After all, why wouldn't she? Zelda wasn't able to find her even. Nabooru had said Kasuto never returned to Gerudo Valley. But after the lies she had told the Gerudo, who wouldn't hate her?
"I'm sorry..." she said to someone who wasn't there, and might never be.
They waited in a corner, sitting alone, waiting for someone to arrive. "Kasuto, remember, if you turn back now, you might never get another chance at this." Malon encouraged Kasuto. "Be brave."Someone entered...a Hylian girl, wearing a simple white shirt and grey pants. Someone Kasuto recognized...
"There..." Kasuto whispered. "I- I can't do it!"
"Yes you can!" Malon shoved Kasuto, "Go! You'll never know unless you try!"
Zelda was sitting down, leaning against the tree, her eyes were closed, and she looked so peaceful...
Kasuto walked foreword, stopping a few steps in front of the girl. For a moment, everything froze, she gathered her courage. Finally, she spoke.
"Hello...Zelda..."
Authors note: Alright, here we go, another Zelda story!
If you want to know, this is a sequel to my Zelda fic, "Tales of a Lost Kokiri" if you want to understand what's going on, read that. Because I'm not going to explain much.