Okay, I know it's been nearly three months since my last update, but now that the holidays are done with, I might try to update weekly. Let's hope I can.

Chapter 6: Departure

I awoke early in the morning, slung my belongings over my back, and ate a light breakfast I spared from dinner last night. I quietly exited my room, and down from the basin. everyone must still be asleep, because all was silent, except the sound of the water.

But when I reached the central lake, probably every Zora in the entire kingdom was gathered. It didn’t take long for them to notice me, and when they did, they erupted into cheers. I noticed Ralek, leaning against the wall, eyes closed, and walked towards him.

“You planned this, didn’t you?” He had slipped away sometime last night, he could have done it easily. He opened his eyes and smiled.

“Who else? Besides, I wanted to make sure they have plenty to remember us by.”

“Us... Does that mean you’re coming too?”

“You bet!” We shook hands.

“Good. It’d be awfully dull without you.” We walked among the crowds,
met with plenty “Good luck’s,” and “We’ll miss you’s.” I was surprised when I saw the king standing at the edge of the crowd.

I walked up to him, and he presented me with the Zora sapphire. “Zelda might need it,” he said, “That was really the only reason I wanted you to get it.”

After nearly half an hour of goodbyes, we were ready to go. Ralek produced a sleep roll out of seemingly nowhere, and we jump into the large cavern, and underground river, the only way out of the river.

We swam along this river for fifteen minutes, then climbed up the ledge to the left that just then cropped out of the wall. We walked along the ledge, which grew to about five feet at it’s largest point, until we emerged from the cavern.

What I saw on the other side nearly brought tears to my eyes. I saw rolling green fields and lush trees everywhere I looked, and the river branched off to the north towards the northern settlements, and south to Lake Hylia. In the distance I saw the shadowy figure of Hyrule castle and its surrounding city, and to the right, there was death mountain, whose silhouette almost seemed to glow red. In the distance, I could faintly hear the roar of a train engine.

“Woah....” Ralek said from behind me. It seemed like the only thing he was able to say, which was more than I could say for myself. Finally, I forced my gaze away from the landscape and said: “C’mon, let’s get moving.” We crossed a bridge just outside the entrance, and set off in the direction of Hyrule castle town.
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We traveled on until nightfall without anything notable happening. I tuned my guitar and practiced a new song I’d been working on, then we both turned in for sleep. We reached castle town at about noon. I saw people- Hylians, everywhere. A few children ran past, but I figured the rest must be in school.

I also noted with surprise that I saw some huge, rocky creatures that must have been gorons mingling around. As we walked, Ralek spoke up.

“Hey, don’t hit me for saying this, but, did you ever fell, like, out of place back home?”

I turned to face him, glaring, and said: “You’re lucky you told me not to hit you.”

“Whatever. I’m just now understanding that....” We made our way to the center of town, where the gate to Hyrule castle stood, guarded by two royal knights.

“I’m guessing we’re not getting in there anytime soon...” I said, trying to figure out how I would go about getting to see Zelda. The answer came to me an instant later. “We could play music for a while. She’s sure to hear it in the castle, and if we’re lucky, she might stick around to congratulate us. Then we can talk with her.”

“Hmm... Couldn’t hurt, I guess.” Ralek said. We stood, backs to the large fountain in the center of the square, and took out our instruments. I immediately launched into one of the first songs we had written. For about thirty seconds it’s just my guitar. Then the verse repeats, and Ralek added his harp. As this verse comes to a close, I cleared my throat, and began to sing:
Come, ride with me,
Through the veins- of history,
I’ll show- you a guard,
Falls asleep, on the job,
And how can we win,
When fools- can be kings,
Don’t waste your time,
Or time will, waste, you!
We launched back into the opening, then the music droped, then stops dead as it leads up to the chorus:
No-one’s gonna take me alive,
The time has come to make things right,
You and I must fight, for our rights,
You and I must fight, to, survive.
This repeated, the music from both instruments rising to a climax. I launched into a crazy but well-practiced guitar solo, halfway through which the chorus repeats. This time, though, the enormous crowd which had gathered sung along with it. The solo carried on fifteen seconds longer, then I finish the song.

The crowd lets out a huge cheer, and I turned to Ralek. “Just like back home, huh?”

“Yeah, it is! Let’s make sure they know just how awesome we are there!” We played five more songs, the crowd growing bigger by the minute. I saw that the knights who had been standing watch at the door had abandoned their post, and were among the audience.

I glanced back at the gate, and see a woman of around my age (eighteen), who, with her elegant clothes, could only be Princess Zelda herself. When we finished with our seventh and final song, she approached us, the crowd filing out of her way. She fixed her gaze on my left had for a split second, her eyes betraying the surprise she tried to supress.

“My, my.” She said, turning her gaze to the both of us. “It’s not every day we get live music, let alone from someone as skilled as yourselves. And a Zora!” She gestured toward Ralek. “You’re probably the first Zora most people here have ever seen! Could I trouble you to join me for lunch in the castle?”

At the mention of food, I realized just how hungry I am, having skipped lunch tto reach castle town quicker. “Of course, your highness.” I said with a slight bow. Ralek and I quickly stored our instruments, and followed her into the gate. The knights followed and closed the huge wooden doors behind us, staying outside.

Immediately after they closed, Zelda sighed and abandoned her royal attitude completely. She looked up at us, looking quite tired. “Boy, are you two a sight for sore eyes. This means your king must have found a solution.”

“My lady?” I asked, considerably confused.

“Markus, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but all of Hyrule itself is on the brink of oblivion.”

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Did anyone recognize the song they sang? If not,Here it is.