The young guard shook his head. "Nay, I say. You cannot pass!"
"But why?" Link asked in a voice that sounded almost whiny. "I told you we have an urgent message for Princess Zelda..."
The young man looked down at the boy from the forest with a sneer. "The fair princess' time is much too precious to waste it to a peasant boy like you... Now, why don't you go back to your parents and play?"
"He... he treats me like a child..." Link growled in frustration.
"Hey, we ARE children," Ukyo whispered back. "But that doesn't mean the princess wouldn't speak to us." she spoke out aloud. "And I think she would be pretty upset if a simple GUARD like yourself would send away two ambassadors."
The young man smirked. "Young girl... I may look like any other guard to you... But know that I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of the Royal Palace Guard, am the son of the chancellor himself... So I believe the princess would rather talk to me than to two children that look like they came directly out of the forest..."
"That's exactly where we're from," Link replied angrily. "Now let us through, you stubborn snob!"
----
Ukyo shook her head as the two forest kids walked back to the marketplace. "That was really smooth, Link... You couldn't be a little more discreet, could you?"
"It's not my fault that this guy is such a... such a..."
"Jerk?" Tatl offered helpfully.
Link nodded. "Yeah, that's the word."
"Hey, you two!"
Ukyo and Link turned around their heads and saw a girl about their age with long, reddish-brown hair, who smiled at them.
"Did you talk to us?" Ukyo asked.
"Yup, that was me!" the girl nodded. "Say, I couldn't help but listen to your conversation... You want to enter the castle, right?"
"Well, that's true... but who...?"
The girl smiled. "I am Malon... my Daddy owns the Lon Lon Ranch in the middle of Hyrule Field. You know, you two wear pretty strange clothes. You're not from around here, are you?"
"No, not really!" Ukyo replied.
Malon curiously bent forward and came closer. "Sooooo... wheeeeeere... are you from?"
"Um..." Link stared at the curious girl that looked up at him with those cute little eyes of hers. "We're of the forest children... My name's Link, and this is my friend Ukyo."
"The forest children?" Malon asked. "Ooooh, how exciting. That means you're one of the fairy-boys, right? Doesn't happen too often that you come out of your woods, eh?"
"Well, we have to take care of some business at the castle," Ukyo told her.
"My Daddy's at the castle as well," Malon explained. "He went there to deliver some milk... but I guess he fell asleep again..." She giggled, then shook her head. "It's always the same with him..."
She tilted her head. "Saaayyyy... if I tell you a way how to get into that castle, could you do me a favor and look for him? You might have to wake him up, though... Just tell him I'm waiting, okay?"
"Sure, we can do that," Link nodded. Ukyo gave him a small side glance, but nodded as well.
"Great!" Malon clapped her hands. "Okay, listen... On the right side of the front gate, there's some ivy growing on the wall... Climb up there and you should be able to sneak past the guards. On the right castle wall, there's a small hole used as a water drain... I think you're both small enough to fit through there. Just go ahead and you're in the castle's courtyard... I heard the princess is there very often."
"Sneaking past the guards?" Tatl grinned. "Sounds like fun! Let's do it!"
"I dunno..." Navi pondered. "Isn't that what they call 'illegal'? And what if we get caught...?"
"Hey, if there's no other way, we have to do it," Link said. "We just have to be stealthy enough, right?"
Ukyo grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go!"
"Good luck!" Malon said. "And don't forget about my father, right?"
"Don't worry!" Link shouted back as he and Ukyo ran back towards the castle. "We'll remember it! See ya!"
When they lost sight of the farm girl, he grinned at Ukyo. "She's cute, isn't she?"
"Oh yeah?" Ukyo grumbled. "And what about Saria?"
"Huh? She's cute as well, of course..."
Ukyo sighed. "Never mind..."
'Boys...' she thought. 'Show them a cute face and they forget everything else...'
----
Ryoga was sitting on the ground of the castle courtyard and looked down at his reflection in the water of the fountains...
A noise drew off his attention, and he saw a Sheikah girl enter the courtyard. "Hey Ryoga!" Akane greeted him. "What's up?"
"Oh, hi Akane..." the young Goron murmured. "It's just that... well..." he sighed. "Um, I mean..." Dang, that was hard.
"Akane... I'm your friend, right?"
Akane came closer. "Of course! Why shouldn't you?" she wondered. "I like you: You're nice, brave, strong..." She giggled. "Okay, you can be pretty clueless sometimes... But that's just... Well, it's you! That's how you are! And I like you the way you are!"
Ryoga looked back at his reflection. "So, you like me as I am, right?"
"Of course," she nodded. "You're a great friend... even if I really don't understand how you always manage to get into the castle... or how you always get lost that easily."
"And... would you..." Ryoga blushed as best as a Goron could. "Would you... be upset if... if I..." He took a deep breath. "If I came into your room?"
"My room?" Akane laughed. "Now, Ryoga... don't be silly! You're not planning on sneaking into a girl's bedroom, are you?"
"N-n-no, of course not!" Ryoga quickly replied. "I only wondered..."
'Damn...' he thought. 'What should I do? If she finds out that I am her pet Cucco, I'm done for... She would surely hate me if she realizes how often I've been in her room... in her bed, even...'
"Ryoga? Are you all right?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine! Don't worry!"
Akane didn't say anything else, but in her mind, she wondered...
'You're a poor liar...' she thought.
Suddenly, her sharpened Sheikah senses felt something. Her head turned around and she pricked her ears.
"What's wrong?" the bandana-clad Goron asked and got up from the ground. "Did you hear something?"
"Someone... someone's nearby..." Akane muttered. Her face darkened visibly. "We've got some intruders..."
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(Posted Thu, 07 Dec 2006 12:45)
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