The Witch Clans of Tore are an unpredictable sort. Their stated goal is to create a new Race, yet they often go many generations of one family staying within the confines of a single kind, only to suddenly interbreed the whole generation.
-Professor Immanuel Frisenti, teacher of "Outside Races" at the University of Miral.
Chapter 5: Paths Are Set
Din had been wandering through the castle (For what else could a building of such a size be?) for hours now. Normally Din, who had never been in a palace before, would have felt somewhat exited to be in this new place. Yet, the wrongness that filled the castle kept her from even remotely enjoying it. The fact that she had yet to see one window disturbed her further. Opening a door, she found herself standing in a grand entrance hall. Huge doors could be seen on the other side, revealing an exit!
"Finally!" Din ran over to the doors, quite a feat considering the size of the hall. Reaching the doors, she pushed them open, eager to reach the outside world.
Din ran inside the room she had started out it.
"What the heck?" Din looked around, peering out the door she had just ran through. She found the hallway she had started her little adventure in. "This can't be right!"
Something tapped her on the shoulder. Din spun around and nearly screamed when she saw a Moblin. The huge pig-man creature looked intimidating, despite the fact that it was wearing...the clothing of a butler? The Moblin spoke in a polite tone, "I'm terribly sorry Madam, but the Master does not wish for anybody to leave the castle."
Din stared at the Moblin, "What the freaking crap?" her jaw dropped as far as it could go, "What is this place, and why am I being help prisoner here?"
The Moblin shook his ugly head, "Madam, it is not that you are a prisoner, the Master seeks to protect you from the outside world."
"Well take me to this 'Master,' right now!" Din placed her arms on her hips.
"That is what I came here to do Madam." The Moblin turned around, "Follow me Madam." He said.
Din shrugged, "Might as well..."
"Alright, we now are the proud new owners of a dragon's horde." Makan said, floating around the huge piles of treasure, "I think even the Kokiri Holding Bags would get full if we tried take it all."
Link shrugged, "Even part of it would make us rich." He pulled out the Noble Sword, "But right now, we need to find the treasure that this sword wants us to find." Link began climbing up the pile, "I hope it isn't buried."
"Wait for me!" Saria scrambled up beside him, "Hey, I found the bracelet!" She held up her arm, revealing the piece of jewelry, "Pretty nice, huh?"
"Yeah..." Link nodded, "So, what are we going to do once we take care of this?"
Saria pulled herself up, "Well, how about we just go home? I want to start restoring the Forest Temple, it's going to be our new house."
Link blushed slightly, "That might be the right idea..." Link looked at Saria as they climbed up, she was so...perfect. How could he have ever...
"Link?" Saria called to him, "You zonked out or something?"
"Oh!" Link shook his head, "Sorry, just thinking."
"Well, the sword's flashing really bright over that chest." Saria pointed down, she giggled, "I wonder what it is?"
Link looked at the chest, it was a dark red chest covered with gold trimming. A lock held it shut, Link jammed the Noble Sword through it. The lock fell off, "Well, this must be the easy part." He pulled open the chest.
"Wow, it's pretty." Saria reached down into the chest and pulled out the strange item. It was a gold circle with a ruby red sun in the center. Beautiful symbols were carved around the edges, like a large coin. "Weird..." The whole thing suddenly burst into white flames. "Ahh!" Saria tried to drop it, but it seemed to attach itself to her arms.
"Saria!" Link grabbed her and tried to help her, tugging at large flaming circle, "What the hell is this thing!" Link pulled back and pressed some of his Mana into her, trying to give her the strength she needed to push it off.
"It hurts..." Saria whispered, a faint red triangle forming on her, "Is this what...holding the power of the Gods is like?" She passed out, falling back, sliding down to the ground. The white flames vanished. Saria was no longer holding anything, but her hands were still burnt, and a bright red triangle had formed on her left hand.
"Saria!" Link slid down the pile of gold, "Kalo! She's hurt!"
"What's going on!" Kalo shouted, floating over her, "Heal!" Bright sparkles drifted off him, using his natural healing powers as a Fairy. "It's not doing anything!"
"This is strange..." Makan whispered, "Din has touched her, and being touched by a god is never pleasant. You hold the Triforce of Courage, correct? Surely you experienced something like this."
Link shook his head, "I was in a deep sleep when the Triforce entered me..."
Makan frowned, "Well then, I guess we'll just have to wait for her to wake up."
Saria found herself standing in a misty room, the whole area was very undefined. She moved forward, as she did, the area became more defined. Soon, she found that the room she was in looked like a restaurant of some kind, yet restaurants didn't have scripture on the tables instead of menus. Sitting down, Saria opened on of the books.
"And the Goddess Din, with her strong arms of flame, crafted the Earth, formed the mighty fires that exist within it. The deep shadows became real as she worked. And Nayru and Farore saw that their sister's work was good, yet incomplete. So they set forth to finish it."
"I always did like that part." A gentle voice said.
Saria looked up from her reading, standing next to her was a beautiful woman. She looked oddly like Diran, yet more perfect. Deep red hair dropped down to her feet, wrapping around her beautiful silk clothing that defied description. Strapped to her side was a powerful looking sword, and in her right hand was a beautiful scepter. Her eyes glowed a bright silver, highlighting her gentle smile. For a moment nothing happened as the two stared at each other. The beautiful woman tilted her head to the side, "Can I sit down?" she asked.
"Um, sure." Saria said quietly.
"Thank you." The woman said cheerfully, she sat down in the chair oppasite of her. She picked up the book where her menu should be, flipping through it for a moment, she pushed it over to Saria. "Does this passage fit you?" she asked.
"Farore came down to Tilla, and the Forest Child was struck dumb at her might. The Goddess comforted the Forest Child, saying 'Do not worry, I have come to you my daughter. I have a task for you, you shall be the Sage of this mighty Forest. A Sage of Life, of gentle duty.' And Farore conferred the power of the Sages upon the Forest Child Tilla."
Saria looked up at the woman, "Who...?"
"Tilla, the first Forest Sage." The woman said, "Sweet girl." She smiled, "You remind me of her, though the green hair makes you look a bit like Farore."
Saria would have fallen down if she hadn't been sitting down, "You're...a..."
"Goddess?" The woman smiled, "Yup, the name's Din. Please to meet you, little Saria."
"My..." Saria paled, "My Lady..." She quickly felt very inadequate.
Din laughed, a gentle chime, "Aren't you the sweetest little thing!" Din leaned in closer, "You Kokiri are so adorable, you know that?"
Saria blushed slightly, "Um, er, thanks..."
Din grinned, "Oh your so cute like this!" She ran a hand through Saria's hair, "Anyway, I guess I should tell you why your here."
Saria looked up at the Goddess, "That would be nice my Lady."
"So polite too," Din smiled, "Well, first off, I'm sorry that you had to go through that unpleasantness to get here. But I can't exactly come down to earth all the time. So I pulled you into this dream realm."
Saria shuddered, "Why'd you do that?" she asked, "It hurt!"
Din shook her head, "Things are sometimes painful, but it's for the better good."
Saria looked at Din, "So, what am I here for? What better good is there for me?"
Din shrugged, "Well, as far as I can tell, you called to me when you absorbed the Warm Sun."
"The Warm Sun?" Saria asked.
"One of seven Essences of the Earth. The Warm Sun contains the Fire's of the Earth." Din explained, "The Essences are pieces of my power, put out in a solid form. Like a weaker version of the Triforce. They were made by my Avatar a few thousand years ago, just in case anything would happen to us." Din frowned, "Well, something happened, now my Noble Sword will guide you to them."
Saria shook her head, "Wow, it seems so unreal."
"Really?" Din smiled faintly, "Well, your a smart girl." She picked up her book again, "Hey, I have a gift for you." She flipped through some pages, "You want it?" she asked casually.
"Of course I would!" Saria tried to sound patient, after all, one wouldn't want to offend a goddess.
Din smiled, "OK, now where did I put that thing?" She began digging through a pocket of hers, "Ah-ha!" Din pulled out a golden pendant, the pendant had seven holes in it, six around the edges and one in the center. "Here." Din handed the pendant to Saria.
"Thank you, my Lady." Saria took the jewelry, there was a flash of white fire, and a small ruby sun appeared in one of the wholes. "Oh wow!" Saria placed it around her neck, "Wait, what is it?"
Din ruffled Saria's hair, "It's a little thing that'll let you gather the Essences easier, the rest won't be as painful."
"Oh," Saria pulled Din's hand off her hair, "Wait, I have to get them?"
"'Fraid so." Din shrugged, "You get the job, but don't worry, I like you."
"That's good to know!" Saria laughed, "Wait, why do I need to get the Essences anyway?"
"Because Onox is using my power, through my avatar, to keep himself sealed away from the world." Din sighed, "With the Essences you'll be able to get past the seal, but don't expect it to be easy."
Saria nodded, then she noticed that she was fading away. "I'm going?"
"Yup, see ya later, Little Saria." Din laughed softly, "Good Luck, I'll talk to you again once you get the next Essence, OK?"
"OK! Bye!" Saria waved as she faded from the strange dream world back into reality.
Din smiled and stood up. She sensed another presence behind her, she really didn't need to look to tell though. "I can see why you like her Thente."
"Din, am I that noticeable?" Thente asked, amused.
"You were crafted from my power, I tend to notice my own creations." Din laughed.
"Well, Nameless is pissed at me." Thente said cheerfully, "Said something about bothering Saria."
Din shook her head, "Well, in that case, you have my permission to do what you feel is needed." Din continued, "I have some plans for that girl, so she'll need some guidance from someone I trust. If the Nameless One complains, tell him to take it to me. Do not reveal who you are, they don't need to know that Death is acting as their gaurdian angel."
Thente laughed, "With great pleasure, Lady Din, I shall do what you ask of me." His presence left the room.
Din smiled sadly, "It's begun."
"Unnn..." Saria opened her eyes, "Link?" she asked, sitting up.
"You're OK!" Link said excitedly, coming into her view with a relieved look on his face. "What happened?"
Saria frowned, "Well," it was odd, the whole thing felt somewhat blurry, "Oh!" she reached under her shirt, "Here it is!" She pulled out the pendant, "Ahh, it's here."
"Hey, where'd you get that?" Kalo asked, "You weren't wearing it before..."
Saria looked at it, "I got it in the weird dream I had, I just felt that it was real, and it is."
Makan looked at it, "How strange..." he shook his head, "Well, I beleive we should leave now." He vanished back into his sword.
"Lets grab some gold first." Link suggested helpfully.
Saria grinned and stood up, "Yes, lets grab some before we go. Besides, we can come back later." She winked.
Onox looked with surprise as five people appeared in front of him. "Who are you!" he demanded.
"We are servants who were created when you formed this palace." One of them said, "We have come to warn you," he wrapped his red cloak around himself, "The Hero of Time is gathering items that will allow him to enter your safe haven."
"What?" Onox shouted, "How dare he! I want you to find those items, and destroy them!"
"As you wish." The red cloaked man said, "We shall go now." They vanished just as suddenly as they came.
Onox turned to the mirror, "Show me the Hero of Time!" he ordered. He watched as the image on the mirror shifted to that of Link, he was walking through a scorched tunnel, talking to a green haired girl about something. "If you think you can take my beloved away from me..." he growled, "You shall see how fatal your mistake is!" Roaring, he punched a hole through a wall. "You shall die along with everyone else..." he hissed. "Die like everyone who caused me pain!"
Shadow looked through the void, there was a section of the world cut off from all acsses. From it came out five beings, and from there they spread out and began to randomly move around, clearly searching for something.
"Interesting." Shadow grinned, "Perhaps they are searching for the way to plug up a weak point." Shadow began to trail on of the beings.
He knew that he would find a weakness somewhere, and now he had the first clue.
Din had been following the Moblin through the twisted paths of this castle for quite some time. Yet the creature had not said anything or done anything other then walk and occasionally remind her to keep up.
Finally, they reached a small door. "The Master is in this room." The Moblin said.
"OK, I want to talk to him!" Din said.
"Of course, Madam." The Moblin opened the door.
Din walked into the room. Like the rest of the castle, it was plain. The only decoration being a table, chairs, and a mirror. Sitting at the head of the table was the man who had been causing trouble in Horon, Onox.
"Ah, Din!" He said jovially, "Come in, sit down. Would you like something to eat?"
"No thanks." Din sat down in one of the chairs, they felt cold. "What is this place?"
Onox laughed freely, "This is my home, what else would it be?"
Din sighed, "But why can't I leave it?"
"It's for your own protection." Onox said, "I did all this to protect you. So, don't worry about anything."
Din stared at Onox, "I don't need protecting! And I don't need to be trapped in a building that is committing a crime just by existing!"
Onox shook his head, "You need to be protected from yourself."
"Let me go!" Din could feel the same kind of fear filling her body that she had felt when she had seen that horrible color.
"Din...Diran...don't you know who I am?" Onox whispered.
"No! And I don't want to know!" She screamed, standing up and storming out of the room.
This whole area was hell, no doubt about it.
They had reached the end of the tunnel, "I'm tired..." Saria muttered, slumping against Link, "Do you always feel like this after a day of exploring?" She said.
Link looked at the girl he was now practically carrying, "Well, at first. But after a while your stamina goes up."
"So I won't die..." She mumbled, "I just wannna sleep...can we sleep?"
Kalo was sitting on Saria's head, which showed how tired she was, "I agree, we've done enough for the day."
"Get off my head you lazy fairy..." Saria said, lazily swatting at Kalo.
"Never!" Kalo grinned, "I don't get to sit down all that often, and you're to weak to stop me!" He laughed evilly.
"Link, stop him." Saria ordered.
"I'm busy carrying you." Link said dryly.
"Men are so useless these days." Saria mumbled, as she decided to snuggle into Link's arm.
Link smiled fondly, "I guess we can rest, we'll head back to the village and find an inn or something."
"Yay!" Saria cheered.
"But you need to walk." Link let Saria go, she fell to the ground due to suddenly being without support.
"Meanie!" Saria stuck her tongue out at him, "Fine, you're just going to let a poor tired girl stumble ahead on her own? What kind of man are you?"
"This coming from the girl who chased down a Wolfos once because it took her hairband." Link gave Saria an amused look.
"I like my hairband." Saria countered.
"Give up Link," Kalo muttered, having fallen off Saria when Link dropped her, "She's as strange as they come."
"Malon's stranger." Link countered.
"You've just gotten used to my quirks." Saria smirked.
"Maybe." Link said, "Come on, let's get out of this cramped place." Link climbed up the tunnel, reaching the exit. He stopped once he saw the outside. "What the freaking crappy hell?"
"What is it?" Saria scrambled up, and saw what had shocked Link so much. "What in the name of Din?"
Outside was no longer a cold scene, filled with snow and ice. Instead, it was like a hot summer day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun was pressing it's heat down upon them. Not a single sign of the massive blizzard remained.
"This is not normal..." Kalo said.
"This just keeps getting weirder and weirder." Link groaned, "Come on, let's go ask some people what's going on."
Maple was close to Horon Village, she could see Lelon Lake. The small lake (More of a very large pond, to tell the truth.) looked somewhat different today though. Maple found curiosity overcoming her, again, so she started circling over it. She saw it, a small island with a dead tree on it now had a land bridge connecting it to the shore. "Huh? First the crazy weather and now the landscape is changing?" Maple groaned, "What's going on here?" She shook her head, "Ignore it, just head to Horon." Of course, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew her off balance. "Whoa!" Maple struggled to pull up her broom, but it just kept on dropping. "Daaaammmmnnnnnn iiiiit!" She screamed as she fell.
Maple had been in quite a few crashes in her life, but this one looked like it would be a record setter. She was spiraling down towards the ground at such high speeds that the world was a blur. Of course, Maple was doing her best to regain control, she didn't panic.
"Oh Goddesses I'm going to die I don't want to die oh why am I cursed!"
Well, maybe she was slightly panicking. But she didn't need to worry. Because just a few moments before she would have collided with the ground, she managed to regain control, and straighten herself out. "Whew!" She sighed with relief, "I can't believe I managed to pull out of that." She smiled, feeling pretty good about herself.
Maple heard a new voice, "What the fu-"
WHAM!
Maple hit something. This something threw her off the broom, and she began tumbling on the ground along with whatever she had hit. The two objects, Maple and her unwitting brake, rolled forward at a rather high speed. They finally stopped when they hit a tree.
"Link!" A girls voice shouted, "Are you OK?"
"Link?" Maple muttered, she was currently lieing on the ground, her behind pressed against the tree. Lieing on top of her was a dazed looking boy, well Maple assumed he was dazed. He wasn't moving, after all, and his head was rammed in between her breasts.
Wait a minute.
"Pervert!" She shouted, hitting the boy as hard as she could on the head. Which is pretty hard. The boy seemed to be knocked back into reality by the blow. He pulled his head up (Causing a popping sound like a suction cup being pulled off, he must have been lodged in pretty deep.) and looked around.
"Wha?" He said, still slightly confused, "What happened?"
"Get off of me you lecher!" Maple shouted, glaring at the boy. Something was familiar about the blond Hylian. To tell the truth, he was rather handsome. Not as good looking as Shadow though...wait, why am I thinking of him?
"Huh?" the boy looked down at her, "Who the hell are you?"
"Your executioner unless you get off me!" Maple shouted again.
"What?" the boy looked around and noticed his position, "Oh..." he quickly got off her, "Sorry." he said quickly.
"I'm sure you are." Maple said sarcastically. "Pervert."
The boy stared at her, "What who's a pervert?" he asked.
"You." Maple hissed.
"What did I do?" he asked, "I think Zelda said something about this once..." he muttered to himself.
Maple rolled her eyes, "Great, he's an idiot as well as a grabby little gnome."
"Excuse me?" the boy glared at her, "Weren't you the one who crashed into me? And I don't want to know how it happened..."
"Don't change the subject!" Maple shouted, she finally stood up. She was a little sore, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.
The boy shook his head, "Weirdo..." he muttered.
Maple whacked him on the head again.
"What was that for!" He shouted.
"You exist." Maple snarled, she hated this guy already.
"Link! Link!" That girl's voice Maple had heard earlier. She turned and saw the source of the voice, and instantly felt loathing.
The girl calling for the boy, apparently named Link, had perfect hair, it's emerald green color spreading softly around her face. Her clothing, a soft blue blouse and a dark green skirt, screamed "beautiful." Her face looked worried, yet Maple could tell that look wasn't the norm. No, Maple knew what type of girl this was.
That girl is the type to always be cheerful and helpful, willing to help anybody. She's a paragon of virtue and kindness. She doesn't have to worry about her looks, because she has "natural" beauty. Never having to worry about her hair, it'll always fall into place. Never having to worry about clothing, she could be dressed in rags and she'd still look stunning. She is the type of girl that the guys drool over and would do anything to get her attention, if just to see her smile at them. But she doesn't notice it because she's so pure and nice.
Maple hated girl's like that. A white hot hate, they had always drove her insane. Are they dead to the world or something? Of course, those types of girl's are always bubble-headed morons. But they still breeze through life. Now, Maple is confident of her skills, but she had earned them, along with everything else about her.
"I'm fine..." Link said, "I wouldn't be hurt by some crazy girl crashing into me."
"What did you say!" Maple yelled, "Do you want to keep your head attached to your body?"
"Lovely girl..." A glowing ball of light appeared over the girl.
"Huh?" Maple looked at the light, "A fairy!" Amazing! Maple had only seen a fairy twice before.
"Give the girl a prize." Link muttered.
"Link!" The girl gave Link a brief glare before turning back to Maple. "Hi there, I'm Saria." She smiled in that all-to-sweet way.
"Hello," Maple said icily "My name is Maple Relom."
Saria frowned, she obviously was to dumb to understand why Maple was angry. "Um, OK..." she shrugged, "Can you tell us how you managed to crash into Link?"
"He was in my way." Maple glared at Saria. "But I think I'll be leaving now." She stood up slowly.
A glint of gold caught her eye. It was a sword...a golden sword. Strapped to Saria's side. A green haired girl, with a golden sword.
"Ah ha!" Link said, "Here it is!" Maple watched as Link picked up a green hat off the ground and placed it on his head.
"Green...hat?" Maple noticed that Link also had a sword strapped to his back. "Oh...goddesses." A perverted jerk and an airhead, they were the one's who she had to find! "Damn it all!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
Kalo found the inn they had found a rather comfortable place. It was a small cozy one located at the edge of Horon.
Inside the inn there was an amusing sight to the fairy. The rude flying girl, Maple, was sitting at an end of the room. She was clearly trying to look like she wasn't aware that Link, eating a sandwich at a table, even existed. She was failing miserably. Finally, Link seemed to tire of the little game, and turned to Maple. "Alright, what is it? First you follow us, and now your staring at me?"
Maple instantly got defensive, "I'm not staring at you, you pervert! It just so happens that this is the only inn in Horon."
Link shook his head, "You're lieing."
"What makes you so sure?" Maple glared at Link.
"Believe me, Link can tell." Kalo answered.
Maple's eyes widened again as her gaze turned to Kalo, "Oh, I forgot you were here..." She shook her head, "Now listen here, there's no way that he can tell if I'm lieing."
"Try it out." Kalo smirked and winked at Link.
"Yeah, why not." Link nodded at Kalo.
"Fine!" Maple huffed, "I'll say something, and you tell me if it's true or false."
"Got it." Link nodded.
Maple took a deep breath, "My Dad's dead." She said.
"Lie." Link answered.
Maple winced, "Lucky guess." She shook her head, "My family is famous around Torre."
Link tilted his head to the side, "True."
"I know Spirit Magic."
"False."
"I have exactly one hundred rupees in my pocket."
"False."
"I can't sing."
"True."
"I have relatives in Hyrule and Protricen."
"True."
"I hate ham."
"True."
Maple shook her head, "OK! I get it! You're a walking lie detector!"
Kalo snickered, "So, are you going to tell us why you followed us?"
"No." Maple answered, "I don't feel like revealing details of my life to you."
"Fine by me." Link shrugged and went back to his sandwich.
A few minutes passed in silence, before Maple decided to make conversation again. "So, what exactly are you and that Saria girl doing here for? You're not from Holodrum, you have Hyrulean accents, so I'm guessing you're from Hyrule. What are two Hyrulean kids doing so far from their homes?"
Kalo saw Link smirk, "I don't feel like revealing details of my life to you."
Maple chuckled, "Cute, you've been around the block a few times. I can tell."
Kalo shook his head, "What are you getting at?"
Maple smirked, "Nothing bad Fairy, just saying that this guy looks street smart. He knows how the world works, and knows how to get what he wants."
"I'm flattered." Link said sarcastically.
Maple laughed, "How'd a kid like you get so knowledgeable, and so perverted?"
"I'm older then I look." Link said mysteriously.
Kalo groaned, Link and Maple were too similar. It him a headache.
"Oh really?" Maple raised an eyebrow, apparently something clicked in her mind, but she changed the subject. "So, if you're not going to tell me why your here, can you at least tell me what that Saria girl is doing here?"
Kalo noticed the distaste that entered Maple's voice when she talked about Saria, but Link seemed to miss it. "Um, she came along with me? Why do you care?"
Maple shrugged, "Call it a natural curiosity on my part. We've established that I'm going to be following you, and I want to know more about that girl."
"I don't think I should tell you about her life." Link said evenly, "If you want to know, ask her."
Kalo frowned, while Maple just seemed to dislike Link for some stupid pride. She genuinely felt nothing by contempt for Saria. He could tell by the way she acted around the Kokiri girl. Kalo couldn't tell why, but Maple had just hated Saria from the moment they met.
"No thanks." Maple said casually, "I don't want to deal with her. Besides, isn't she asleep? She went up to the room you rented. I notice, you only rented one room."
Link turned a little red, "So?" He looked at Maple, "What's your point? It's cheaper to get one room."
"Uh huh, right." Maple grinned, "Don't tell me that you had nothing but the purest intentions. I know better."
"Oh shut up." Link said.
"Of course, I can understand why you keep her around." Maple said lightly, "She is pretty cute, after all."
Kalo didn't like what Maple was saying, "Just what are you implying?"
"Oh come on," Maple waved her hand dismissively, "I know her type."
"Her...type?" Link now sounded confused.
"You know, pretty, but lacking brainpower." Maple smirked.
"Now wait just a minute here!" Kalo flashed an angry red.
"What!" Link snarled, standing up.
"Oh come one, don't deny it." Maple grinned, "I'm guessing by the way she so casually accepted the one room that you've got her wrapped around your finger. You seem a little young, yes, but you've seen the world and probably know your way around." Maple seemed to have her forgotten her dislike for Link, "Are you still leading her to it? Or have you already-"
Link didn't let Maple finish her sentence. He suddenly blurred out of sight. In less then a second, he was in front of Maple. His sword pressed against her throat.
"Link! What are you doing!" Kalo screamed, the whole inn instantly noticed the spectacle.
"Listen here, bitch," Link snarled, "Saria is the most intelligent, compassionate, wonderful person anyone can hope to meet. To speak of her like she's come kind of sex object is to insult her. And when you insult her, you insult me"! Link pressed the sword against Maple's jugular. "And people who insult me have the nasty habit of ending up dismembered." He looked straight into Maple's eyes, "Do you understand?"
Maple, now white as a sheet, nodded slowly.
"Link, that's enough!" Kalo shouted, but he was just ignored.
"Now Maple." Link said casually, "You say that you want to follow us? Well guess what, you better give me a fucking good reason to let you."
Maple gulped, "I can fry you right now...you know that?" She said shakily, Her hands were beginning to glow, Kalo could see Mana building up around Maple.
"I'm shaking in my boots." Link said sarcastically, "Tell me, how would you like to be stabed in the neck. Then have Din's Fire flow through your entire body through the wound. It's quite a painful way to die. Of course, I could keep you alive through it all."
"Link stop this right now!" Kalo shouted, "That is an order! You stop now, or the Deku Tree will hear about this!"
Link looked at Kalo, before finally pulling his sword away. "Fine, whatever you say Kalo."
Maple looked at Link, the fear on her face quickly shifting to anger. She released the Mana she has built up. "Flare Sphere!"
The people in the inn, already on edge from the scene with Link, gasped with fear as a ball of flame shot out of Maple's hands. The blast struck Link in the back, causing a small, contained, explosion. The bright light blinded most of the people, but Kalo could still see. He shook his head at the stupidity of the two children.
Finally, everyone else could see Link, and see that he was unharmed. He didn't even look singed. He slowly turned to the terrified Maple, "I'm going to assume that you didn't think that through." Link said coldly, "That you didn't mean to attack me. Because, to put it bluntly, Saria would be ticked at me if I killed you."
"Oh Goddesses..." Maple whispered.
"Tell me why you want to follow me!" Link shouted, "It better be a really good reason!"
"My...my grandmother..." Maple said, "She can see the future, she saw me with you two. That's all!"
Kalo looked back and forth between the two. Link's face was neutral, while Maple's was filled with horror.
"I see, so it's destiny." Link spat, "Freak!" he suddenly shouted, "Next time you show your ugly face, tell me if what this bitch is right!" He looked at Maple, "I'll be in my room, see you tomorrow Maple. We've got quite a bit of dangerous journey ahead of us, you never know when you might die..." Link stormed upstairs.
"Oh Goddesses!what have I gotten myself into!" Maple shuddered.
"Quite a bit." Kalo said dryly, "You two are way to similar."
"You're comparing me to that psycho?" Maple shrieked.
"Link isn't a psycho." Kalo shook his head, "I don't think anybody knows everything, but he's been through a lot. He's pretty reliant on Saria, you attacked his anchor to the world. That's why he reacted so violently."
"He said he could kill me!" Maple shouted, Kalo could tell that she wasn't being totally rational.
"He probably could, easily." Kalo shook his head, "He is quite possibly the deadliest person alive today."
"How!he's just a kid!" Maple whispered.
Kalo sighed, "He's a lot older then he looks, he's eighty-three years old."
Maple stared at him, "I'm not even going to ask!"
"You know, you and Link have the potential to be friends. As I said, the two of you are a lot alike." Kalo said.
"But he hates me now, just because I insulted his ditzy girlfriend!" Maple muttered, "This is going to be a long journey!"
Kalo groaned, "Get to know Saria, OK? Believe me, you'll be better off. Then again, you will be with her if you decide to continue on your mission. So I guess you'll have no choice."
Maple sighed, "This is going to be a long job!"
Thente appeared in the small room. Saria could be seen sleeping on one of the two small beds. He smiled softly, "One day, you'll be recorded in legends." He whispered, brushing her cheek. "I'll make sure of it, people will sing your praises." He laughed softly, "I'll always take care of you." he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
"Huh?" Saria's eyes fluttered open for a moment.
"It's just a dream my dear." Thente whispered.
"Oh!OK!" Saria closed her eyes, falling asleep again.
Thente sat up just as the door opened, he grinned as the door opened. Link stared at him. "Who the hell are you?" Link asked.
"Just someone concerned for your welfare, Link." Thente said. He hovered in the air, spinning slowly around him.
"OK!" Link stared at him, "So, who are you?"
"I feel it is in my best interests not to reveal my identity." Thente said in a sing-song voice. "Besides, I am mysterious by nature. Also confusing, contradictory, and just plain illogical." he laughed. "I'll see you later, but will you see me?" He vanished, saying one final thing as he faded.
"Good luck, and take care of Little Saria.
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