Thunder echoed through Hyrule field as Link stumbled out of the Lost Woods. He had finally returned home. Now only one task was left, to find his lost precious friend.
"I wonder how things have changed." thought Link. "How long has it been since I left? I know one thing though, I should return the Ocarina of Time to Zelda."
Link led Epona out of the woods and then recalled he had to return Epona. He jumped onto his trusted horse and steered her towards her home.
At the same time a boy washed onto the shore Lake Hylia. The two scarecrows that guarded the vegetable garden from the keese.
"Bonoroose what happened to that kid?" gasped Pierre.
"I don't know." shrugged the other scarecrow.
"Ungh, oh my aching head." groaned the boy pushing himself up.
"Hey the kid's alive!" laughed Pierre.
"Thank the goddesses!" cheered Bonoroose.
"Where am I?" moaned the boy rubbing a knot on his head.
"Lake Hylia." answered Bonoroose.
"Damn, I fell into the river?" muttered the boy.
"Where were you trying to go?" asked Pierre.
"The Gerudo Fortress." answered the boy.
"Are you nuts?" gasped Pierre.
"I was chasing a thief." muttered the boy. "She took something very precious to me."
"Well it looks like it's lost." sighed Bonoroose.
"No, I'll get it back." growled the boy. "I swear by the goddesses that I will get my treasure back!"
"Who are you kid?" sighed Pierre.
"My name is Beat Grimsley, and that thief made a mistake stealing from me!" snarled the boy opening his golden eyes.
Navi flitted across the waters of the fairy fountain hidden deep behind Lord Jabu Jabu's home. She had grown bored here. Just like the other springs, they couldn't hold her interest. She missed being able to talk with Link.
"Why'd I have to be such a fool?" sighed Navi.
"No one said you had to leave him." said the Great Fairy of Magic.
"But fairies can only accompany Kokiri!" whined Navi.
"Please, no one ever said fairies couldn't help nonKokiri." growled the Great Fairy. "If you miss him, go find him!"
Navi fluttered up to the Great Fairy and hugged her face. "Thank you!" she cried. She darted out of the fountain and flew into the sky. She soon plummeted down stuck in a large drop of rain. She popped out before it hit the ground, and shook herself dry.
"Oh I can't wait to find Link! I can be snug and dry under his hat." she laughed. She flew in areas with cover and flew over Lake Hylia. As she flew she saw a boy with a tattered black cloak walking away from the area the scarecrows stayed.
"I wonder who he is." she thought. She decided to ignore him and flew off towards the castle to see if the princess had seen Link.
"Fairy Boy!" laughed Malon running up to Link and tackling him off of Epona.
"Hey Malon." laughed Link happily. "Good to see you."
"Hey Link, finally came back to marry Malon?" joked Talon making Link blush as Malon pursed her lips as if she was about to kiss him.
"Malon get off." whined Link.
"Oh c'mon, one kiss won't kill you." laughed Malon.
"Why don't you stay the night and have dinner with us? I doubt you want to stay out in the rain." offered Talon.
"Thanks Talon!" nodded Link. "Its been ages since I had a home-cooked meal."
The boy named Beat trudged through the rain. He was going back to reclaim his lost treasure. He stood before the bridge that led to the desert.
"Alright Grimsley, are you ready to meet our demands?" laughed the guards.
"That depends, are you returning what you had stolen from me?" growled the boy.
"That's up to Nabooru."
"I've already made it clear enough, I'm not a Gerudo." spat Beat.
"Your mother was one of us!" snapped the guard.
"My mother was also the first Gerudo to give birth to a child that wasn't complete Gerudo, I am a Hylian!" shouted Beat.
"Come now Grimsley. Is it really necessary to shout?" laughed a woman dressed differently from the guards.
"Nabooru." growled Beat.
"You know what we want, we know what you want. You know what will happen." laughed Nabooru.
"I'll say no, and get thrown into the river again?"
"You were what?!?" gasped Nabooru. "Scarlett you tossed him off the bridge?"
"No!!!" denied the one named Scarlett shaking violently.
"I don't have time for this." growled Beat. "Just give my violin back!"
"Not until you meet our terms." sighed Nabooru turning her attention back to him.
Zelda sat in her room staring out at the rain descending on the field outside. Somewhere out there was her friend. How long had it been since he left? A year? It seemed like only yesterday when he snuck into the castle courtyard to speak with her. She remembered the innocence she saw in his eyes when they met. When she had to say goodbye to him as he departed to search for Navi, she saw his eyes were no longer innocent. He had explained the pain he felt when he woke up. How he let so many friends get hurt when he was asleep.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a light knock on the door.
"Princess? Your supper is ready." called Impa.
"Right, coming!" replied Zelda hopping down from tue window ledge. She ran up to the door and took one last glance at the rain swept window to see a blue light flying up to it. "Navi?" gasped the princess running up to her window.
Upon hearing the fairy's name Impa opened the door and helped the princess open the window allowing the small creature to come in.
"Navi what are you doing here?" asked Zelda.
"I was coming to see if you had seen Link." explained Navi. "I've realized that I was a fool to leave Link, so now I've decided to search for him."
Impa smiled at the fairy and helped her dry off. "Link will be overjoyed when you find him."
"But it's been quite some time since we last saw him." sighed Zelda.
"Oh." sighed Navi turning pale blue.
"But, you mustn't worry. You should know him better than anyone. He can handle any situation." reassured Impa.
"You're right. I bet Link has total control of the situation he's in right now!" laughed Navi.
"I refuse to come out!" shouted Link from the bathroom.
"Why is that Fairy Boy?" laughed Malon outside the door.
"You stole my tunic! Now give it back!" growled Link.
"It was dirty, so we're washing it. Relax daddy got you some clothes that should fit you." laughed Malon. "Just come outside."
"Malon give the boy a break!" sighed Talon. "He just got back."
"Okay daddy." sighed Malon. She then moped off to the kitchen to prepare for the meal.
"Here you go son, some nice dry clothed to warm you all up." smiled Talon handing Link a sandpaper colored tunic.
"Thank you." nodded Link. "It's been too long since I've gotten to come here."
"I'd say. I was starting to think you stole our best horse." laughed Talon.
"Sorry, I got preoccupied." sighed Link recalling his time in Termina.
"It's not a problem. I think you'll be happy to hear I replaced Ingo." laughed Talon.
"Really? Why?" asked Link in shock.
"Well, he just kept letting things go undone. So I decided to get someone more dedicated to their work to help." sighed Talon. "So I hired a boy by the name of Dominick. He gets twice the work Ingo was supposed to do done."
"Is he here now?" asked Link.
"No, he had some sick family members in need of help so he took some time off." sighed Talon. "But enough about that. C'mon, let's go eat."
"Right, I'm so hungry I could eat an octorok." laughed Link.
Beat walked away from the Desert holding a case close to his chest. He smiled as he hummed a tune his friend had made up.
"I'll take your rupees, I'll take your gold, I ignore every request I'm ever told, I guess I'll be called a thief." sung Beat.
He looked back to see the fortress going into a state of panic. He sighed as he shook his head.
"They should've known better than to think I'd stay there with them. I'm headed for Castle Town. There I'll learn about dad." thought the boy.
His cloak rustled as the wind blew harder. He wiped rain from his eyes as he continued moving forward, towards the castle barely visible in the distance.
