Part 9: Blizzaga
Rex, carrying Link, galloped off toward the desert. It wasn’t Epona, but it was better than just walking.
“I hope that impostor doesn’t do anything to Malon… but somehow that doesn’t seem very likely.” he mumbled to himself.
Meanwhile, Malon was having more trouble than she thought, and she hadn’t even gotten inside the castle yet.
“Link said that nobody would be allowed in, and I’m not going to say no. He’s been acting rather angry since that impostor showed up”, said the guard, acting a little annoyed. “Besides, Zelda said not to allow anyone in, and obeying her is my job.”
“But…” Malon was speechless. She knew the impostor wouldn’t be easy to get around, but Zelda was her friend, and it wasn’t like her to do that. Although, with Dark Heart watching Zelda’s every move, it wasn’t very easy to do something he told her not to without Dark Heart killing most of the Royal Family in the process.”
“Fine. I’ll leave then…” She said under her breath as she walked away. Not that she would actually stop trying, but she had to make it at least look like she left.
Rex galloped for an hour or two without resting at all, but they were still nowhere near the desert. It seemed they hadn’t made it more than a mile, but it was much more than that. They stopped to rest, though Link was restless the whole time. They sat under a large tree in the middle of a small patch off woods a few miles away from the shifting sands of Hurrog.
While Link sat under the tree feeding a horse, Malon was busy preparing for her so-called “invasion” of the castle. Really, she just had to sneak past the guards to the point where she could get in through the side, just as she (and once or twice, Link) had done seven years before. She grabbed Deku Nuts, in the case of a diversion being required. She also brought a bottle of Milk and a home-made slingshot. She went from her home to the town, which was within walking distance, and then headed to the vine growing on the mountain (which was at the very beginning of the path), and climbed to the top. She slowly walked over to the gate, and walked about halfway across the arch. She knew there would be a guard stationed at the end of it, if not several. She’d always thought it would be more efficient that way. She knew wasting a slingshot bullet would probably only get her caught, since the guards were smart enough to look where it was shot from, not where it hit. Chances are she was wrong, but that didn’t matter much. She jumped down, amazed that the guards didn’t hear her, and continued.
Link got up and started walking around. He knew Rex would probably want to spend another two hours or so, and honestly it was better that they waited until nightfall anyway. Link wasn’t that tired, so resting wasn’t much of an option. He might as well look around the woods anyway.
“Pssst…”
Link thought he heard something in the distance.
“Pssssst…”
“Who’s there?!” he called. He was certain someone was calling him. He strained to listen for something else, but all he managed to do was hurt his ears as he listened to the sound of tiny animals scurrying across the ground.
“Is anybody here…?” He said, this time a bit quieter and less confident. He decided to walk toward the noise that he heard anyway.
“Who… are… you…” the same voice beckoned him. It was a little louder, but he couldn’t sense any emotion in it.
“An adventurer…” Link said, not very confident what would happen if he said his name.
“Why have you entered our forest?”, called the voice after Link took a few more steps. It was louder, and it sounded a little angry. Link tried to find some kind of life other than plants and animals, but to no avail. He wondered if these were Skull Kids, although he’d never seen them outside of the Lost Woods, save for in Termina, and this one sounded older than anyone he could imagine having the word “kid” in their name.
“Are you going to answer?” The voice asked, clearly annoyed at Link.
“Err…just resting…” That was all Link could manage to muster up. “Who are you, anyway?” It was about then he saw something walking in the bushes. It was about the size of a Deku scrub. “Are you… a Deku Scrub?” He asked. Before there was a chance to answer, he saw something else walk by, much closer this time. It looked a lot like a Korok. “What about a Korok…? Wait… are you a Deku Tree?!” He realized. He was looking for something this whole time, when the thing he searched for was standing in front of him, as plain as day. He looked back at the tree that Rex was resting on, and saw a pair of eyes and a mouth.
Link thought for a few minutes, remembering tales of a group of Kokiri that evolved into a creature with wooden bodies, and how every year the descendant of the Kokiri forest sage would play music until the Deku tree sprouted seeds to be planted across different lands, but he had always thought the Koroks were just a myth…
