Chapter 3: The Disease

Link awoke to more people running around again. This time Zelda woke up with him. He sat up in the bed feeling incredibly sore. His back ached with the bruises accumulated from the Bomb-Ball yesterday.
"How you feel?" Zelda asked, looking at Link's pained expression as he tried getting out of his bed.
"Like those Dodongos we were throwing bombs at landed directly on my back." Link replied as he attempted to put on his tunic. Zelda finished getting ready by the time Link had put on the rest of clothes and one boot. As he pulled on the other boot, he felt a sharp pain run through his spine. He gasped out in pain and nearly fell to the floor.
"Looks like you need a potion, or a fairy." Zelda said as she tugged Link's arm over her shoulder.
The two went down to the Castle's first floor and entered the dining room. The servants were rushing in every direction, carrying food and running into different rooms. Many had panicked looks and looked severely overworked. Zelda then set Link down in a large chair and went into the kitched to look for the chef. Link watched as several servants went by carrying what appeared to be a large roasted peahat from the field. He then turned his wincing gaze to outside the window. He saw Castle Town and the field beyond. Both shimmered in the morning sunlight. Link smiled at the sight.
"To think this kingdom would have been a world of shadow if Zelda and I didn't stop Ganondorf." Link thought to himself. He continued to look outside the window when his attention turned to mountain overlooking the path to Castle Town. He then saw a shadow jump over and into Castle Town. Link jumped up and was forced to sit back down as a sharp pain ran through his spine again. Zelda walked in as Link shrank back down into his chair.
"Link, drink this." Zelda said as she gave him the bottle of red potion. Link drank the whole thing in one gulp and felt incredibly better. He then coughed out as the pain started to subside in his back.
"Why did you try to get up?" Zelda asked Link as he started to get back up.
"I saw a shadow. It jumped over that cliff, started heading for town." Link choked out through his coughing fits.
"It was probably a guay, Link. There isn't anything to worry about. Feeling better?" Zelda asked. Link nodded
"Good, now we head to Zora's Domain, and Kokiri Forest today." Zelda said, excited. Link was dragged along by the hand by the Princess. His mind was still focused on that shadow that he saw.
"She's right, it was probably a guay. Do guays have jumping flight patterns, though?" Link thought to himself as he went out onto the path to Castle Town. He continued to look at the roofs as they went pass the buildings in Castle Town and out the gate. He allowed the thought to slip his mind as he went out into Hyrule Field with the Princess.
"Come on, Link. Keep up." Zelda laughed out as she ran into Hyrule Field. Link then picked up his pace and passed the laughing Princess as they make their way to the entrance to Zora's River.

The shrouded figure made his way to the Gerudo Valley. He knew the Gerudos wouldn't allow a hooded figure to approach their fortress at night, so he waited until morning.
"Halt, who is there!" a female guard yelled out as she noticed a hooded figure walking towards the fortress. Three more guards ran up beside the first one, their weapons held at the ready.
"Identify yourself!" the same guard yelled out. The others tensed their arms holding their weapons steady.
"I wish to speak with the leader of the fortress." the hooded figure yelled back. He had a calm voice.
"No one meets with the leader upon request, you speak with her if she wills it!" the guard yelled out again.
"Well, I will it." the hooded figure said. He then ran straight at the guards and held out his sleeved arms. He took out two of the guards as he dodged past their weapons.
"Intruder! Intruder!" the remaining two guards yelled out as they ran after the hooded figure. The figure jumped up to a window of the fortress and went in. He ducked behind a crate he found the moment his feet hit the floor. When the coast was clear, he made his way through a hallway. He found himself in a large room with a prison cell set off to the side. Suddenly, a female warrior armed with two scimitars jumped down from the ceiling. She blocked the stairs leading to the upper levels. Aggravated, the hooded figure stopped. When the warrior lunged at the hooded figure, he backflipped and in one swift motion, tripped the warrior. As she fell, the figure swung around and kicked her with the heel of the same foot directly in her stomach. The warrior crashed down to the floor with a thud as her swords went sliding into two separate directions.
"Hey, I heard something from up there!" a voice called from the hallway below. The hooded figure heard them and ran up the now unguarded stairs. Several footsteps could be heard coming from the hallway the figure was headed, so he jumped out of the window, hanging on to the ledge with his fingers. Once he heard the guards run by he climbed back in and proceeded heading up. He finally reached a large, wooden door and went in. There he saw a Gerudo sitting in a large couch, with a finely crafted table in front of her. She was sipping from a specially crafted glass designed for her fingers. She stopped drinking as she saw the figure enter her room.
"So you're the one causing all the commotion within my fortress." the leader said in an imperialistic voice.
"Yes." the hooded figure said showing no more emotion in his voice than he had before.
"You must be either pretty bold or pretty stupid to come running in here. Did you get lost? The bathroom's on the right." the leader said in a mocking tone.
"My leaders sent me to give you and your followers an assignment." the hooded figure said, again lacking emotion or tone.
"Who do you and your leaders think you are?! We are the Gerudo! The proud thieves of the desert! We do anything we please! We don't need to be told what to do! That is, unless it's the right price." the leader with a wry smile growing across her face.
"800 rupees." the figure said holding out a wallet and shaking it to make the rupees in it clink and clang.
"Let me see it." the leader said. The figure tossed the wallet right over to the leader.
"You handle your money loosely. How do you know I won't just take it? I am a thief after all." the Gerudo leader said, weighing the wallet in her hand.
"I could just take it back if need be. So do we have a deal?" the figure replied.
"Fine. What's the job?" the leader asked.
"This..." the figure said as he reached under robe and pulled out the the purple vial.

Link and Zelda reached Zora's Domain at 9 A.M. due to Link's Magic Plant again.
"I never get tired of riding those." Zelda said as the two walked up to the waterfall marking the entrance to Zora's Domain.
"I like the part where you jump off." Link said with a big smirk on his face.
Zelda pushed him as he pulled out the Ocarina of Time and played Zelda's Lullaby. The waterfall started to part and showed the entrance to the domain.
"I still get sleepy from those notes." Zelda said, her eyelids starting to close.
"Well, we're going to get a wake-up call." Link said as he pushed Zelda under the remnants of the waterfall and jumping through himself.
"Don't push!" Zelda yelled as Link came through the waterfall. He had another big grin on his face as he squeezed the water out from his hat.
"You were getting sleepy, cold water usually gets people right up." Link said, still smiling. Zelda pushed him again and he fell over the edge and landed right in the water. He then noticed that the water level of Zora's Domain had become significantly deeper. There were coral beds lining the pool, giving the domain the illusion of being fire submerged underwater. He floated up to the top and spit out water from his mouth.
"I thought you said no pushing?" Link called up as he swam to the ladder leading back up.
"I had to get you back!" Zelda said laughing as Link hat flopped over his face. Ruto came running down as she heard Link and Zelda's voices.
"I was wondering when you two would be coming!" Ruto said as she ran down the curvature of the domain. "There's much for you two to see!"
Ruto then showed Link and Zelda the changes done to Zora's Domain. The Zoras had prepared a garment for Zelda made of the same material as Link's Zora Tunic sa she could breathe underwater as well.
"You can go ahead and use the rooms we keep aside for travelers to change." Ruto said to Zelda. Zelda took her garment and went into the room as suggested.
"It's been a long time, Link." Ruto said as Link sat down to wait for Zelda. He had his tunic on already because they were set out by the servants this morning.
"Yeah. Real long." Link said as Ruto sat down next to him. He started to feel uncomfortable without Zelda being there. He suddenly remembered what Ruto had said to him those seven years ago.
"You know, the Zora's Sapphire was cut from the same stone as some other Zora artifacts." Ruto said smiling.
"Really? I didn't know that." Link said continuing the conversation.
"Yes. My mother told me that long ago as well. She also gave me a crown embedded with the jewel." Ruto continued.
"Didn't know that either." Link said, still continuing the conversation.
"I proposed to a Zora." Ruto blurted out. She was smiling.
"Real-what!?" Link said, shocked by the sudden statement.
"Yes, a very nice Zora. His name is Maivu. I'm afraid we're just going to have to break off our previous engagement." Ruto said, now looking at the newly garbed Zelda.
"Ready?" Zelda asked.
"Yeah." said Link, still in awe about the fact that Ruto would stop chasing after him.
"Let's go then!" Ruto said, diving into the pool. Link and Zelda dove after her. Link turned in midair to see Zelda. He remembered her this age seven years ago when he defeated Ganon and returned the timeline to normal, but she was Sheik most of the time and he never had the chance to get a real good look at her. She really looked like a princess. He noticed her hair and her cheeks and the way the light reflected of them. It was like the water they were jumping into. Zelda then turned to meet his gaze as they were in the air. She smiled. He was about to smile back when they suddenly hit the water.
"Come on! This way!" Ruto yelled out under the water. She started swimming to the bottom of the pool and went into a tunnel underground. Link and Zelda followed her. There were many paths in the tunnel branching off into separate directions.
"That one leads to the armory, that one to the dining hall, that one to the fish grounds, the bedrooms..." Ruto pointed out as they passed each hallway.
"We even have a route to Gerudo Valley's waterways now." Ruto exclaimed.
"But we're heading to Lake Hylia." Ruto said, swimming off. Almost in an instant they were at Lake Hylia. There were several more buildings since the last time Link was here. The lake size has expanded and now had a lakeside resort. The fishing spot had grown into a profitable franchise, and the laboratory now had several stations branching out to test fish and other marine creatures.
Ruto showed them all of the spots where rare fish were said to gather. The fish they saw formed rainbows and many different combinations of colors. There were exceptionally large fish, and large freshwater eels in the lake now.
"Without the evil affecting the lake, many new species were able to thrive here." Ruto explained.
The three then make their way back to the Domain via the waterway.
"Must you leave? There is still much to see!" Ruto asked as Link and Zelda went to their rooms to change.
"Sorry, we have to go to Kokiri Forest now." Zelda said from her room.
"Oh, okay, see you around, you two." Ruto said as she went back to the throne room.
"Ready for the forest now?" Zelda asked Link.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Link replied.
The two then dove into the waterway outside the waterfall that led to the Lost Woods.

The two resurfaced at the Lost Woods. Once they got back on to the solid ground, their clothes immediately dried. Accepting the sudden change, the two proceeded into the forest. Zelda followed Link, as he remembered the route back to Kokiri Forest.
"The trees are taller than I remember..." Link said drifting off looking at the trees surrounding him with a forlorn expression on his face.
"A lot changes in seven years, but it's all still here." Zelda told Link in an attempt to console him.
The two entered Kokiri Forest and jumped down the ledges into village. The Kokiri were going about their daily business as the two entered the town.
"Hello, Princess." Several of the Kokiri said as they passed.
"Hello, Princess and Link!" Saria said as she saw the two coming.
"Hello, Saria. We came to show Link the Forest now." Zelda explained to Saria.
"Yes, of course! Come on, there's a lot to see now!" Saria said, dragging the two behind her. Saria showed them the Great Deku Tree meadow first. There, the Deku Tree Sprout was significantly taller than the one that grew during the Dark Reign.
"Ah, hello Princess, Link. It's good to see you two. It's been quite a while." the Sprout said.
"Hello, O Great Deku Tree. You're much bigger than the other one." Zelda said to the large Sprout.
"Thanks to you two and the disappearance of Ganondorf from this realm, I was able to grow at an earlier time so that's why I'm bigger now." the Sprout explained. "Go explore the rest of the forest now, there's much more to see than just this immobile hedge." the Sprout said as he hurried them along. "Saria, show them the sights of this new forest!" the Sprout exclaimed.
"Yes, O Great Deku Tree!" Saria said as she pulled the two along.
Link's house had been designated a landmark and had a fence around it. The Forest itself though had expanded. The training area had become a large field. There were forest animals gathering in the field and the Kokiri's houses had become bigger.
"After the Sprout grew, we were able to create more things." Saria explained. "The limbs we gathered from the Great Deku Tree make very effective building materials."
"Here is where we play our games now, in the training ground." Saria said as Mido lost control of a forest boar and was flung off.
"Hi Saria, Princess, and.... Link! It's good to see you're back!" Mido said as he got up and rushed over. "Sorry about being mean before. Who knew you'd end up saving all of Hyrule!" Mido continued.
"Trying to get that boar, still?" Saria asked, looking at all the various cuts Mido had accumulated.
"It just won't stop attacking other animals." Mido explained.
"Oh dear, what's wrong?" Zelda asked.
"We don't know, it just attacks anything that gets near it." Saria explained.
Link watched the boar patrolling a certain area and jumped inside the pen.
"Link, where are you going?" Zelda called out after him.
"Don't worry, Princess, he was always good at stuff like this." Saria assured Zelda. "Just watch."
Link pulled out several cooked Deku Nuts from his pocket and shook them in his hand. The boar snarled, but didn't attack. Link drew closer and closer, to the boar, all the while shaking the nuts in his hand. As eh got within distance to the boar, he gave it the nuts in his hand. The boar started eating and Link was able to pat it on the head. It then calmed down and went back to a bush. Link followed it and saw several baby boars. He waved the others over, and they all saw the little boars.
"So that's what its protecting? Its children?" Mido asked in astonishment.
"Guess so, should've tried that first, huh Mido?" Saria joked.
"It's starting to get dark now, isn't it?" Zelda said aloud.
"Yeah we better go." Link said. "Bye everyone."
"See ya, Link." Saria said.
"Come back soon." Mido said waving.
The two then left the forest. They left slightly earlier than usual, but figured that the Castle would be harder to navigate due to the day of the feast drawing near. They made it into the Castle and went immediately to bed.

"Do you understand the plan?" the hooded figure asked.
"What do you think I am, stupid?" the leader said.
"It's easy, get into the forest, pour this on the ground, get out." the leader rehearsed.
"Remember don't get caught." The hooded figure said and disappeared into the shadows.
"Easy money." the Gerudo leader laughed. The laughter echoed out into the dark and faded into the night

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Throughout history there have been heroes who appeared in times of despair. Are you one?