Key Quest: Air and Fire by Judy Colella (first color ebook reader TXT) 📕

What a confusing place! He found a spot on the fountain that wasn’t too close to anyone, and ate some of his fruit, continuing to watch the activity around him. Everyone was taller than any Kokiri, and he looked for differences that might show how Hylians were unlike humans – whatever they were. After a while, he recognized one main dissimilarity; one race had regular, normal pointy ears, but the other’s ears were slightly rounded at the top.

“How strange,” he murmured through the large walnut on which he was chewing. He hadn’t been able to see the guard’s ears because of the man’s helmet, so he wasn’t sure which race had ears like his.

“Excuse me, young man.”

He looked up to find the woman who had lost her dog staring down at him. She was even larger than the guard, at least in terms of girth, he thought. “Yes?”

“Have you seen a small, white dog?”

Link wasn’t sure what to say. There were dogs all over the market, many of which were white. Was she joking? “I’ve seen a few…”

“They’re nothing like my dog! And of course, he’s the only one who answers to the name Richard.”

Richard? What kind of name is that? Link wondered. “Well, no, I just got here, but I’ll look for him, if you wish.”

The woman nodded, appearing satisfied. “Wonderful. You do that, boy, and if you find him, bring him to my house and I’ll give you a reward.”

“Your…I don’t know where you live.”

“Go down the alley near the Happy Mask Shop, follow it around, and my door is the one not facing directly into the alley. Easy.” She smiled and trundled off, leaving Link speechless.

“We don’t have time to look for lost Richards!” Navi had turned an angry shade of dark pink.

Link stood, nodding. He’d finished eating, and found himself wanting to get away from this noisy place, at least for now. It was overwhelming, and he knew he’d need time to adjust to being around so many people, all of whom were completely unlike him.

Except one…not far away and on the other side of the fountain stood a little girl with long red hair. She was about the same size as Link, and like him, was what he’d identified as “disproportionate.” Was she a Kokiri? No, he’d never seen her before, and couldn’t imagine any of them leaving the forest. Further, if she had come from the forest, she certainly would have been dressed in green rather than the pastel frock she had on. And she wouldn’t be standing there looking completely at ease, either, unless she’d lived here for a while. Most telling, though, was her obvious lack of a fairy. Curiosity was suddenly stronger than his desire to get away from the crowd, so he went around the curve of the fountain and stood in front of her.

“Oh! Hello.” She smiled.

“Hello. Who are you?”

“I’m Malon. My father owns Lon Lon Ranch. Why don’t you know that?”

“I’ve never been here before.” Malon?! That name was even stranger than “Richard”! And what was a “ranch”?

“What’s your name?”

“Link.”

She giggled. “What a funny name! And…wow, is that a fairy? I’ve heard of such things but never saw one.”

Nope. Not a Kokiri. “Yes, she’s a fairy. I think your name is funny, too, and I’ve never seen a ranch. In fact, I never even heard of such a thing.”

“Why not? Where do you live – on the moon?”

“The...are there people here who do?” He couldn’t imagine something like that – for one thing, how would they have gotten to Hyrule?

“Oh, my! You really are a funny person, Link!” She broke into peals of laughter.

That she’d been joking about the moon thing became painfully clear, and he blushed, mortified at his own ignorance. “Heh-heh, yeah. I was fooling…” He cleared his throat. “Um, how do I get to the Castle?”

“The Castle! Why would you want to go there?”

“I have to meet the Princess.”

“I see.” She gave him a knowing look. “Of course. All the boys want to meet her. I hear she’s very, very pretty. Never saw her myself, but I guess it’s normal to think she is. Pretty, I mean.”

“No, that’s…I have to talk to her.”

Malon crossed her arms and looked down for a moment. When she looked back at him, her expression was unexpectedly one of worry. “Tell you what, Link. If you do get into the Castle grounds, look for my father. He went to deliver milk from our ranch early this morning and never came back. I’m afraid he got lazy and fell asleep or something. I’d like you to tell him to get home right now. Can you help me?"

“I don’t know. I’ll try.” And then I have to go find a dog named Richard…

“Thank you, Link! And good luck!” She picked up a basket that had been perched on the edge of the fountain, gave him a wave, and walked off into the crowd.

He waved back and headed away down the road that appeared to lead out of town and toward the distant Castle. That was when he realized something. Between spending time talking to the guard, having his meal, his brief encounter with the chubby woman, and the conversation with Malon, enough time had certainly passed for the sun to have gone down, yet it was still early twilight. What was going on? How was this even possible?

And then he thought of what he’d seen inside the Great Deku Tree. Apparently, a lot more things were possible than he had ever imagined.

Link was muttering. Still smarting from his roll into the crate and then the wall in the storage building, he’d stopped at some likely-looking grass on the way out of town, tore off a handful and placed it on his shoulder, then eaten a couple of blades. The pain disappeared, giving him one less thing to have to deal with.

The fact was, so much information had been poured into his head over the past ten hours or so, he feared that if he didn’t let some of it out, his brain would explode. “Humans…what are they? Okay, they’re bigger than Kokiri, I suppose, because the lady with the missing dog had round ears, so she wasn’t a Hylian. On the other hand, I’m not sure the guard had ears like mine, but some of the people in the town did, and I could very well have it reversed. How confusing! But then there are, um, Morons? No, that’s not right. Ah! Gorons! And those other things, Zor, uh, Zoras? Whatever. Wonder what they look like? And magic, lots of magic, it seems. Like fairies and nature aren’t magic enough! Ha!”

“Link!”

“What!”

“Look at the sky!”

Now what? he groaned silently and looked up. “It’s – there’s nothing unusual there, Navi.”

“Yes, Link! It’s getting dark here!”

He stopped. She was absolutely correct. Whereas the sun hadn’t seemed to move when he was in the town, it was most definitely making its descent now. He hurried forward, not exactly sure why.

“Look, Link! A gate!”

Oh, you mean that stretch of metal bars across the opening between two huge boulders? “Yes, Navi. And a guard, too.” At least he assumed so since the man was wearing a suit of metallic clothes like the guard in the storage building.

“Good evening, young sir,” the man greeted when Link was closer.

“Good evening. Tell me, please – are you a guard? And are you Hylian?”

“Yes to both.”

“Could I see your ears?”

The man gave him a disconcerted look, but then his expression cleared and he smiled. “You must be from the forest. I understand you Kokiri-types don’t get out too often, eh?” He removed his headgear, revealing a pair of nicely pointed ears.

Link nodded. “So I was right. Humans have round-topped ears.”

“That they do. Now tell me what I can do for you, my boy.”

“I’m supposed to go see the Princess. Could you let me in?”

After gaping for a second, the man burst out laughing. “You’re a funny one, you are! See the Princess! Ha! You…wait.” He sobered instantly. “You’re serious, aren’t you.”

“Of course.”

“And who told you that? Some other kid, maybe?”

“No. The Great Deku Tree. Am I supposed to pay you?”

The guard shook his head. “No one gets by without a Royal Order. I’m sorry this Deku fella misinformed you. Now, if you wait a week or so, you might catch a glimpse of our Princess when she goes through town for the Mid-Summer Parade.”

“You don’t understand. There’s evil, and bad things are going to happen, and I have to – ”

“Look, kid, it’s getting late and you should be home in bed soon. Now go on. It’s been fun chatting with you, but I need to get back to work.” With that, he slapped the silver covering back on his head, stood straighter, and turned away.

“Come on, Link!”

“But – ”

“Listen! We have to go!” Navi turned reddish and began twinking up and down in front of him.

“Fine.” This was most upsetting.

When they were a few feet from the guard, Navi said, “I think there’s another way in!”

“Fine.” Link was getting discouraged. None of this was going the way he thought it would, and as he tried to work out his next possible move, he stared at the ground without seeing it.

In fact, he wasn’t seeing much at all, which explained why he suddenly crashed into a tree and landed on his backside. “Ow!”

Thud! Scratchity-scratch. Scratchity-scratch.

“Link! Look out! A Gold ‘tula!”

Really, Navi? he thought, getting up and rubbing his rear. Where was your warning to look out when I was about to hit that tree? Crap.

He drew his Sword, slashed angrily at the ‘tula, and a moment later collected its medallion.

“This way, Link!”

He glared in her general direction, but followed her around an outcropping of rock.

“Hello, again! Did you find my father?” It was Malon, who may have been on her way to find the man herself.

“Sorry, no. I couldn’t get past the guard to get in.”

“I thought that might happen. See these vines?” She turned and indicated a trail of them leading up the side of the outcropping. “If you climb them, you’ll find a way in but you have to be careful. Do this for me, and I’ll give you a cool gift!”

He didn’t want a gift. He wanted to see the Princess. But maybe if he talked to Malon’s father about getting into the Castle, the man could help him. “Okay.”

The girl clapped her hands, her face lighting with a grin. At her feet was the basket he’d seen her retrieve from the edge of the fountain; she reached inside and took out what looked like a nest holding a large egg. “This is a Weird Egg. Keep it warm, and it will soon hatch for you!”

Great, he thought. What am I supposed to do with whatever comes out of it? Eat