✓ | A Change of Heart | An OoT story

~Hyrule~

Link exited on the other side of the hollowed log and stopped.

"This is Hyrule? It's so small!" he exclaimed.

Navi rolled her eyes and pushed Link forward and around a tree. He gasped as they came around and it exposed the green field to them.

"Whoa," he whispered in awe.

"Come on! We have to go find that Princess!"

"Right!"

Link started forward, but a hoot stopped him.

"Hoot Hoot! Link, look up here!"

Link looked up and yelped at the giant owl that looked down at him.

"Hoo Hoo! Looks like your time has come for your adventure! There will be many challenges ahead on this road you're pursuing. It's just your fate! It shouldn't be too much of a problem for you, though. You can get through it."

Link squinted his eyes in confusion as the owl chuckled to himself.

"Follow this here path, behind me. It'll take you to Castletown, where you can then reach Hyrule Castle. The princess lies within its walls. Here's a map of Hyrule, so you don't get lost on your way there."

A map dropped in front of Link, and he picked it up. Navi looked over his shoulder as he opened the map and read over it.

"Well, that's all I have to tell you now. So I'll be off! Hoot Hoot!"

The owl raised his wings and rose from the branch and flew off. Link and Navi watched him go, then started for the path.

"Man, this will be so much fun! I'll get to explore all of Hyrule and meet so many people!" Link exclaimed as he walked down the path.

"It'll take you too long if you keep standing around and staring at every tree we pass! You grew up in a forest, didn't you? Trees shouldn't be such a new thing!"

"Yeah, but these are different!"

Link pressed his hand to the bark of a tree and smiled.

"Awesome!"

He kept going along the path. As they came to a bend, the gates around Castletown came into view.

"Hey look, Navi! It's the Castletown that owl was talking about! Let's go check it out!"

Link burst into a run, Navi flying close behind him. The sun set as they came closer to the gates, and just as it went below the horizon, the gate closed.

"Wha-? Hey! Let me in!" Link exclaimed.

He looked down at the moat, then back up at the gate.

"Why did they even close the gate, anyway?"

Navi shrieked as something scratched behind them. Link turned and saw a Stalchild come out of the ground and start walking for Link. He yelped in surprise and pulled his sword out. As he killed the one Stalchild, several more surfaced.

"N-Navi, help!"

"I can't do anything!"

"I don't think I can hold them off!"

"Just- Just run back to the path!"

Link pushed past the Stalchildren as they slashed in his direction. He made it to the path and kept running, but heard digging. He stopped and turned, to see that the Stalchildren had gone away.

"Huh?"

"I think if you stay on the path at night, then those Stalchildren won't come up."

"Oh..."

Link sat on the edge of the path and waited. He yawned and Navi settled on his shoulder.

"I think we should sleep. We have until morning, and that's still hours away. Just camp out on the path, and we should be safe."

Link nodded, then plopped onto his back. He was out in seconds, and Navi shook her head.

"Adventuring sure is exhausting for a little kid. And a little fairy."

She curled up on Link's hat and slowly fell asleep to the boy's snores.

~ * ~