Ganon's Apprentice (Part I)

[Vaati]

The pouring rain didn't bother Link at all. Both he and Epona were drenched, and his tunic clung tightly to his skin.  Epona whinnied, wanting to get out of the rain, but Link's mission was far too important for that.
   It had been several days since the two had left civilization, and Link wondered to himself if he would ever find his destination, or even a village to stop and rest in.  He was weary and hungry, and the rain kept pouring down on him. But still he rode on into the night.
   The death of Malon was still fresh on his mind; the brutal way in which she and many of the townspeople had been slaughtered had been etched into his memory for all eternity, as though carved in stone.  A lone tear came to Links eye and fell onto Epona's long, though already wet, mane.
   Link rode on for a few hours until he found a faint light glowing in the distance.  Could it be a village, perhaps?  Link thought to himself.  Eager to reach that light and hopefully somewhere where he could rest, he gently kicked his right leg against Epona's side and yelled, "Giddy up!"  And so Link and Epona rode off into the night towards the glow, hoping it was maybe an inn.
   The glow became stronger and stronger as Link rode nearer and nearer.  His spirits lifted when he saw that it was indeed somewhere to rest.  As he rode up to the building, he immediately recognized it from a few years before: it was the "Stock Pot Inn" in which he had stayed during his time in Termina.  
   He wondered where all the other buildings, and indeed the entire realm of the four Clock Towns, had gone.  But when he arrived at the site of the former East Clock Town, he looked away; the scene was too terrible to bear.  The buildings lay in ruins.  It was evident that they had been burned down.  By whom, he didn't want to think about, but he had been riding for so long and he was happy just to find somewhere, anywhere, to rest.
   The Stock Pot Inn was the last standing building in the town.  The ragged exterior suggested that although it still stood, it had not been immune to the trials and tribulations the rest of the town had been subjected to.  Part of the roof had collapsed.  The sides had been singed.  Even its warm, homey glow, though not entirely extinguished, had been damaged.  Though he recognized the building, it was not the same building he had known all those years ago.  It had lost its youth and its old confidence.
   Link dismounted and strode up to the door.  It was already midnight, long after closing, so he knocked on the door and hoped for a response.  When none came, he knocked again, this time louder.  He put his long pointy ear up to the door and listened.  He could swear he heard footsteps, and sure enough, someone came to the door.
   "Can I help you?"  asked a scared, ragged-looking old woman.  Her scraggly gray hair and her crooked yellow teeth gave the impression that this woman had seen better days.  She shivered from the cold and rain, and asked again, "Can I help you?"
   Link, not remembering this strange woman nodded.  "Is...is this the..."
   "The what?" the old woman hissed.
   "The Stock–"
   "The Stock Pot Inn?" she cackled with a sinister-looking grin.  "This was...  What business do you have here?"
   Link shifted uncomfortably in his boots.  His sturdy, courageous facade almost seemed to melt under the woman's harsh gaze.
   The woman stared at Link, her eyes roaming up and down his body until she caught sight of something that seemed to particularly fascinate her: a mark on Link's left hand.  She stared at it for some time with increasing interest.  Her stern exterior began to give way to her utter curiosity.
   "Tell me, young man, where have you come from?"  
   "...I don't see what that has to do with anything," Link answered hesitantly.
   "Oh, but where are my manners?" the woman asked.  "You must be soaked to the bone!  Come inside!  Come inside before you catch a death of cold!"
   The woman slid aside to allow Link to pass through.  Link hesitated, not knowing if he should trust this woman.  He peered inside to make sure it was safe.  Then he clutched at his sword and entered the inn.  
   The room inside seemed cozy enough.  Large, beaten, over-stuffed, green chairs lined one of the walls.  Across from the chairs stood the same old desk behind which Anju had once stood.  The same nicks and slashes lined the dark wood desk.  Behind it was the same old clock–the very one that, years ago, had counted down the time left for Link to prevent the moon from falling.  That clock now stood still.  Many of the steps of the staircase had been broken, and Link decided that it was no longer safe to go up them.
   The old woman closed and locked the door, then turned and stared at Link.  Who was this woman? Link couldn't help but think.
   "Please, sit down," she said and motioned towards one of the chairs.  "I'll...I'll be back in a minute."
   Link did not know whether he should do as the old woman said and sit down, or whether he should try to make a run for it while he still could.  
   A sweet scent wafted down the hall from the room that the old woman had disappeared into.  This scent was just heavenly; it was like nothing he had ever smelled before.  It filled Link's nostrils and immediately put him at ease.  He sat down and enjoyed this wonderful aroma. His eyes fluttered closed and then snapped back open, fluttered closed and then snapped back open, and finally stayed closed.  His long journey across the fields, deserts, and forests was finally catching up with him, and he let his heavy eyelids drop.

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So what'd you think? I know it seems a little boring, probably, but assure you it gets better!  :)

[Takun]

I liked it.

[raymundo]

Yeah,its awsome.

[Mysterious F.]

Very good. I can't wait to see what happens.

[Takun]

I only discovered it when Vaati said that her old story, Ganon's Apprintice, never got any replies so wanted to check it out.

[Vaati]

I saw you replied, thanks!  :)