Okay...although no one has said anything, I'll go ahead and post the revamped version of chapter 1, because I feel like it.
Chapter 1: The Return
It was a late afternoon and Link rode his horse, Epona through a thick, dense forest, the setting sun to his left. Ever since he saved the land of Termina seven years before, he had been on a search for his old guardian fairy, Navi. He searched day and night for her, only stopping to let himself and Epona take a rest from the long journey. Then whenever he saw a town or village, Link would continue to look for Navi there too. Right now, he was finally thinking about giving up the search. However, he knew he shouldn’t. No matter how long or what it took to succeed, Link wanted to see his friend again.
As he slowed Epona to a stop to take a look around the forest he was in, Link scanned his surroundings. His blonde bangs swayed back and forth in the light breeze that had begun to blow as he looked. Soon, his eyes watered and a tear trickled down his cheek. He missed his friend very much, even if she had been a little annoying at times. However, the fairy’s friendly personality and helpful tips made up for the slight annoyances, enabling Link to build up the friendship the two now share.
Link wiped his tears away as he moved on. Navi was out there somewhere, maybe even looking for him. He continued on his way, thinking of the great adventure he had with her in his homeland of Hyrule. Navi’s advice had been so helpful to him, even if she did repeat it occasionally. Though, Link could tell she only did it so he wouldn’t forget. He actually enjoyed listening to her exclaim “Hey!” or “Listen!” or “Watch out!” or “Look!” It was because he knew Navi cared about him just as he did her.
As the sky grew darker and darker with the night, Link was having difficulty seeing through the darkened woods. However, he didn’t let it hold him back. Pretty soon, he became so focused on his thoughts of Navi that he didn’t realize he was steering himself and Epona right towards the wall of a rocky cliff. When he finally snapped out of it, Link gasped and suddenly pulled Epona’s reins, causing her to come to a complete stop.
“Whoa, girl,” he said, relieved he realized what he was doing before trying to make Epona walk right into rock. Link started to turn Epona around when he thought he heard a rumbling noise coming from the top of the cliff. Suddenly, rocks started sliding off the edge and falling down straight for Link and Epona. His eyes widened with fear as he gripped the reins.
“Oh man, c’mon Epona, GO!” Link shouted as he had the horse dash off as quickly as he’d stopped her. He turned a different route than where he’d come, but it only caused Link to arrive at another section of the cliff, with more rocks sliding. The two were off again down another trail, Link wondering where he could go if this would lead him back there again, but the green-clothed warrior was so worried about where the path would take him that he wasn’t looking where he was going. It took Link moments to run head first into a low tree branch, knocking him right off Epona and causing him to land on his back in the dirt. He immediately went out cold from the blow.
Various images began to scatter around in Link’s dreaming as he stayed unconscious for moments on in. First he saw the sun and then the moon in a grayed, darkened sky full of evil. Below the sun and moon stood a blonde girl wielding a sword and shield, both golden orange in color. Link himself stood opposite to her, but he wasn’t wielding the sword he currently carried, which was the Great Fairy’s Sword, a blade he obtained in Termina. Instead, the weapon he carried was a dark blue-hilted sword he’d never seen before. Without any warning, Link and the blonde girl held up their swords and the sun and moon began to glow…
“Link!” a feminine voice suddenly called. “Link! Hey, are you alright?”
Link’s eyes fluttered open. A bluish white ball with wings was flying above him: Navi the fairy. His eyes popped open at the sight before him.
“Link!” Navi said again, sounding as happy as ever. Her wings flapped faster. “Oh Link, I’m so relieved you’ve awoken!”
“Oh, what happened? …Navi?” Link said, sitting up and still looking for his senses. “Navi! It is you!”
“Yes! I found you here unconscious. Oh Link, I can’t believe this is happening after such a long time!” Navi replied.
“Neither can I. Navi, where have you been during these seven long years?” Link wondered, wanting to cry with joy at seeing his beloved fairy partner again. “My adventures have never been the same without you flying around my head!”
“I…I’m so sorry, Link. I returned to the Kokiri Forest…” Navi reluctantly admitted, knowing how long Link had been away from Hyrule looking for her.
“What? You mean to tell me you never even left Hyrule?!” Link said in shock. “I left and never saw my home again for years, Navi!” Navi stopped flapping her wings so hard and felt the most regret she ever had in her life.
“I know, Link…it’s all my fault,” she said in a sad tone. “I should have said something before we parted ways back at the Temple of Time. I never thought of you actually leaving Hyrule to go find me…”
Link went deep into thought about what Navi said. She was right, but then again, he never thought she might have remained in Hyrule. Now he began to feel his own share of regret over the entire misunderstanding. He could have searched Hyrule first instead of leaving completely, but why didn’t he? And why did Navi appear to randomly fly out of the window of the Temple of Time and not come back? Unable to answer these questions floating in his mind, Link decided to in instead focus on what was more important about Navi’s return.
“You know what? I have to apologize as well,” Link added. “I never considered the idea that you might have stayed. But although we’re both at fault here, I’m merely glad we’re reunited after these years have gone by.”
“Yes, so am I!” Navi responded in a cheerful voice. “I miss Hyrule. How about we go back together?” Link smiled at the idea and gripped Epona’s reins again.
“Definitely!” he agreed. He also missed Hyrule a lot and returning with the friend he had been searching for so long and hard had to be the best idea ever. Link and Navi almost immediately started their journey home, however, Link still had some questions on his mind as they were traveling.
“But hey, did you eventually leave yourself in search of me?” he asked.
“Yes. I heard from Zelda that you left to look for me three months after we parted ways, and I couldn’t feel more guilty and at fault,” Navi explained. She continued to say that she, too, had not seen Hyrule in seven years because she had been searching for Link to apologize for everything.
“Oh…I’m truly sorry I caused you to do that,” Link replied, feeling as much guilt as Navi must have felt. “Zelda…I thank her for letting you know where I’d gone.”
After he had said those words, Zelda, the princess of Hyrule, kept floating around in Link’s mind. She was the one whom he had spent his final three months with before beginning his search for Navi. Knowing Zelda, she would be happier than ever to see Link again. However, that brought up a new question for Link to ask. How Zelda knew where Navi had gone and why she didn’t give Link the knowledge.
“But wait a second, why didn’t Zelda tell me?” Link asked in a slightly confused tone.
“She didn’t know at first. Saria told her I’d gone home.”
“Yeah, that makes sense, with Saria being one of the sages and all,” Link agreed. “Now I really feel ashamed of myself.” Not only had Link left Hyrule, but he’d left his friends as well, and Saria, a Kokiri and sage of the Kokiri Forest, was one of them.
“Don’t punish yourself, Link. We’re together again,” Navi assured. “Everything’s fine now.”
“Yeah, you’re right. No use pouting about it even more,” Link agreed. “But still, nothing’s been the same without you. Especially since I had another fairy following me around in this land called Termina.” He went on to say that even though the fairy, whose name was Tatl, had helped him, Link hated her attitude and the way she treated him.
“She treated me like I was an idiot,” Link finished. “I needed you back too much afterwards, and left that land without a second thought. Don’t ever leave me like this again…”
“Oh…of course I won’t,” Navi promised. “I didn’t know you needed me so much. I thought you had no use for me because you’re a Hylian, not a Kokiri. But I promise I won’t think such things ever again!”
“Thank you, Navi…I may be a Hylian, but that doesn’t change anything.”
“It certainly doesn’t.” At that, Navi flew close to Link and huddled against his shoulder in a fairy hug. Link smiled and brought his hand around her as he kept steering Epona. They were definitely inseparable friends.
Not much time had passed after Link and Navi had finished their conversation when the faint sound of a horse’s hooves could be heard from elsewhere in the woods. Link looked around to see where it was coming from, but could not quite figure it out. Pretty soon, a Palomino horse came in to view, running towards him and Navi. Link shook his head when he saw the rider upon the horse. It was a blonde girl who appeared to be no older than him and looked just like the person from his vision. The girl had a sword and shield at her back, telling Link she was a warrior like himself. The girl made her horse come to a halt in front of Epona and Link, her teal blue eyes looking into his. Feeling too shocked to say anything, Link simply concentrated on how he could see a girl he did not know in a dream. Finally, the girl herself spoke up.
“Excuse me, your name is Link, right?” she asked gently. The girl had a concerned look on her face as Link began looking for his own words. Waiting for an answer, the girl perked up her pointed ears. Having trouble getting a sentence out, Link finally spoke.
“I…oh, yes, I’m Link,” he responded, finally snapping out of it. “H-how did you know?”
“I was given your identity by the King of Hyrule. He sent me to find you. …Is something wrong?” the girl wondered, sensing Link’s current feelings.
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just that you look a lot like someone I saw in a dream. And…and she was holding a sword just like yours!” Link exclaimed, feeling a wave of shock go through his body once again when he got a closer look at the hilt of the girl’s blade. It indeed had the same golden aura as the one from the vision.
“Well, well, excellent,” the girl replied, not seeming the least bit surprised. “You’re definitely the man I’m looking for.”
“Huh? Now I’m really confused,” Link replied, scratching the top of his head. The girl smiled, hinting to Link that she knew something he didn’t.
“Ah, let me explain. My name is Kelli. I’m a Hylian warrior and protector of Hyrule. As I said, the King assigned me to find a man named Link, who became the Hero of Time seven years ago,” the girl explained. Kelli said she had been given details about Link to help her search become easier. The King had told her he is affected by evil presences and cause him to have nightmares based on them, rendering it a good idea to ask if he’d had any such dreams lately. Kelli was also given a brief physical description of him as well, although it wasn’t much due to Link having not been seen in a long time.
“I see,” Link replied. “But what does his majesty want me for? What’s going on?” Kelli looked away for a minute. Link could tell something was very wrong.
“I’ll explain later. We have to hurry,” Kelli replied. Link nodded with concern as the two warriors began their journey back to Hyrule together.
Link found Kelli easy to get along with, talking and having conversation with her on the way back to Hyrule. He learned her horse’s name was Sunfire and that Zelda had given Kelli the horse. Sunfire was a very pretty horse. Her curly blonde mane and tail radiated beauty. Her saddle was light blue and red brown in color and bore the emblem of the Hyrulean Royal Family, the Triforce mark. The straps were colored gold. It showed the beauty of a royal saddle. Link shared tales of his past adventures in Termina and Hyrule, explaining how he wielded the legendary blade, the Master Sword, and even about his time traveling to stop the reign of Ganondorf, the evil king of the Gerudo tribe in the west. Kelli refused to give many details about herself, however, and whenever Link mentioned the Kokiri Forest or Zelda, she could cut him off and change the topic. Although he found this to be rather odd, Link decided to leave it alone for the time being.
Around half an hour later, Kelli suddenly brought Sunfire to a halt, causing Link to stop Epona as well. She looked around as if to sense something nearby, but Link couldn’t hear or see anything but themselves. He decided to speak up.
“Kel, why are we stopping?” he asked.
“Shush. I heard something,” Kelli replied. The two were silent for a little while until Kelli put a rather terrified look on her face.
“Oh no…we’re being pursued. Follow me quickly!” she instructed. “Fight only if you absolutely have to! We can’t lose any time!”
Link, deciding Kelli knew what she was doing, he obeyed and followed behind the warrior closely and quickly. In no time at all, however, Lizalfos, humanoid lizard creatures who fought with swords, riding atop White Wolfos had appeared waiting in ambush and gave chase to Link and Kelli. These monsters were familiar to Link, but something seemed different about them this time. They acted more intelligent than the last time he’d run into them, and their eye colors were completely different. Most of them had golden eyes, but a select few bore navy blue eyes as well. Hoping Kelli knew what exactly was going on, Link kept following her every path choice and helped battle off the monsters gaining up until they could lose them.
“We should be safe now,” Kelli finally said a few minutes later. The monster numbers had by then dropped a lot. The remaining ones began to flee.
“Can I ask what that was all about?” Link wondered in confusion. “I’ve never seen Lizalfos riding Wolfos before, nor have I seen them act this smart or have those eye colors.”
“It’s part of what I have to tell you in Hyrule,” Kelli replied. Taking her word for it, Link decided to keep quiet until they finished their journey.
About an hour after Link and Kelli first left, they finally arrived in the vast land of Hyrule. However, Link couldn’t believe what he was seeing around him. Dark clouds were hovering over Death Mountain, Hyrule Castle could be seen completely consumed by evil, the drawbridge into the town was destroyed, the town walls were full of holes and were partially torn down, and monsters were appearing all over Hyrule Field. Link’s mouth hung partially open as his fear for his homeland grew. Who or what could have done this? The question kept ringing through his head. Then he turned to Kelli, who also looked quite concerned.
“Oh no…this can’t be,” Link said in a worried tone. “Is this why we were being chased?” Kelli closed her eyes and looked down at the ground.
“I’m afraid so. A mysterious evil did this…” she said as she opened her eyes and looked back up. “No one knows who, but this evil attacked the land and let loose a raid of these monsters without warning. I didn’t think any had gone so far outside of Hyrule, though.”
“Then we have to do something about this and fast,” Link replied. “Does anyone have any clue to this evil’s identity?”
“No…that’s what we need to find out,” Kelli told him. Link could tell she had confidence in finding out who exactly this evil was. She then bravely said, “The first thing we must do is see his majesty and receive our next tasks.” Link nodded in agreement.
“Where is he?”
“Everyone, including his majesty, have taken shelter in Kakariko. Somehow, the village is the only place that has hardly been touched by evil.”
“Hm…”
Link’s concern still stayed in his mind even though Kelli had said everyone was safe at the moment. With things the way they were, monsters could attack anywhere at any time whatsoever, which meant Link and Kelli would have to be ready for anything. Link also thought about who could be behind such evil acts, but no reasonable ideas came to mind besides Ganondorf, the evil Gerudo king who was defeated by the young hero when he held the Master Sword. And even he didn’t seem possible because how could the man have broken out of the seal he was sent into so soon? Link decided, as a result, it had to be a new evil not known by anyone.
As Link and Kelli rode their horses across the haunted Hyrule Field, Link noticed Lon Lon Ranch looked like it had seen some evil too. There were breaks in the walls and pieces from where it broke were lying in the grass. Link grew nervous as he lightly scanned his surroundings. He hoped Malon, Talon, Ingo, and the animals were okay. Nearly getting hit by a couple bird-like monsters known as Guays, Link and Kelli arrived at the entrance to Kakariko. However, before the two warriors could even dismount their horses, a voice crying aloud came running down the stairs leading to the village. The voice belonged to the guard who usually stood at the village entrance.
“Lady Kelli!” he exclaimed. “You’ve returned with Link in impeccable timing, but I’m afraid I have bad news!”
“What’s going on?” Kelli asked, sensing big trouble.
“The village was raided and his majesty was taken by monsters! We tried to stop them, but they were much too strong.”
“What?! Where did they go?”
“I spotted them heading for the castle. I fear they’ve locked the King up in the dungeon.”
“Blast…I knew we had little time, but I never imagined how little,” Kelli said with concern. “Link, you’ve heard all of this, right?”
“Yes. I think we should go rescue the King as a team. The guard said the monsters were very strong,” Link proposed. “One of us may not be good enough.”
“Exactly my thoughts. Let’s go,” Kelli agreed. “As for you and the few other guards, it seems the monsters have already come for what they want and shouldn’t be back for awhile, if at all. But just in case, keep your guard heavy!”
“Yes ma’am!” the guard replied and returned to his post as quickly as he’d come out. Link and Kelli turned their horses in the direction of Hyrule Castle Town and headed off, much concern in their minds.
Well, there you have it. The edited version of chapter 2 should be up soon. I've gotten most of it done.