Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Zelda, only the essential plot line I have written here

The Flames of Time

Chapter Eighteen: The Hero's Bow

"So this is the Forest Temple." Frielae eyed the entrance skeptically. The pendant around her neck shone with a small green hue. She looked down and almost rolled her eyes. She wouldn't have even come around if she wasn't getting paid for it. King Ganondorf made sure that she would be paid a hefty sum if she accomplished the task. With a sniff she turned to a giant stone platform that lie in the middle of she had been informed would be the sacred forest meadow.

Without so much as a warning the pendant seemed to attempt to stretch out towards the platform, as if it wanted her to step on it. "Stupid choker." Frielae grumbled, but knew that the pendant seemed to have a mind of its own. Superstition kept her from disobeying it so she stepped forward. It wasn't long before she stood on the stone and felt something almost inviting shroud her mind.

"We've been going through this place all stinking day!" Tessa shouted in frustration. Every time they turned a corner it appeared that they had come back to where they started. The Forest temple was even worse than the Lost Woods when it came to direction. Even Link seemed somewhat peeved at the situation. The blonde wiped his forehead and looked at Navi to see if she had any idea as to where they were going. However, the fairy seemed just as lost as the both of them.

"Just a few more doors." Link tried to encourage the girl. She simply glared at him and grumbled an assent, but he could see that her eyes were drooping ever so slightly. They would need to stop for rest soon. Above them Navi seemed to be searching for anything that looked like it was new to their memory, but she found nothing.

With a groan the Hero of Time led the two females forward. Navi, who had tired from hovering all day, sat on his head and gave just a bit of supporting light. Tessa yawned beside him and it wasn't long until Link felt her head rest on his back. With a suppressed grin the guy turned his head to slightly dozing Tessa. "Wake up." Link semi-ordered and walked forward so that Tessa lost his support. Without him the girl fell flat on her face and with a yelp of pain she grabbed her nose and rolled over onto her back.

"What the hell was that?" Tessa yelled. Link snorted in laughter and she glowered at him.

"You fell asleep." Link explained. Tessa glared daggers at the poor guy and stood up slowly. Her legs felt wobbly. "All right, lets just get through this one door and we'll see if it's safe to sleep in there."

"Thank God." Tessa breathed and started to head forward without Link. The prospect of getting sleep clouded her judgment and she didn't think twice about opening a strange door. Link didn't even believe that there would be much in front of them or behind them to fight, so he didn't stop her. However he ran forward when he heard a little gasp from Tessa. Even Navi seemed to hover a few feet but then fell right back on Link's head.

He stopped when he saw what the next hallway contained. The floor and walls seemed to twist. At one point the floor was even upside down and even though gravity seemed to twist in their favor Tessa could not help but feel the slightly nauseous feeling that started up in the pit of her stomach. When they finally got through to the end the both of them collapsed on the ground from wobbly legs.

"This room is just as bad that hallway." Tessa groaned as she looked around. Staircases led in many different directions, some were upside-down and some were sideways. There were only a couple of stairs that Link and Tessa could actually walk on, unless gravity had been skewed in this room as well. Link didn't reply but the look on his face showed Tessa that he at least agreed with her. Tessa sighed in resignation and started to walk forward. As soon as she was out in the open her ears caught on to a strange noise that she couldn't pinpoint. "Link, do you hear that?"

"I do...but..." He looked around to see where the noise could come from. Navi flew out but also saw nothing. When she turned around she let out a sudden cry.

"Tessa, move!" Navi shouted. Tessa took a moment to register what the fairy had said and bent her legs to begin running. A nanosecond later something large dropped down onto her head and shoulders and began to pull her up off the floor. With a screech Tessa reached up to grip what felt like skin with thin amounts of hair. She struggled to look up and in the end couldn't, but she saw Navi zoom straight towards her. The fairy swirled around Tessa's waist as she blinked red in alarm. Tessa got the message and reached down to grab her sword. She unsheathed it with difficulty and shoved it upward into whatever it was that had grabbed onto her. It let out a deformed scream and dropped Tessa a few feet onto the ground. She landed on her back and looked up to see the Hero of Time split what appeared to be a giant hand in half. It fell to the ground in two pieces. One landed on Tessa's right side and the other didn't make it back onto the platform and fell even farther onto the floor.

"Are you all right?" Link walked over to Tessa and lent her his hand. The Master Sword was sheathed and he held the Kokiri sword in his left hand. She must have left it in the dismembered hand. Tessa's stomach churned even more ferociously as she thought about it. After a moment she groaned and took his hand. He pulled her up quickly and she stumbled in place for a moment before she steadied her legs.

"Fine...just..." Tessa shuddered as Link gave Tessa the Kokiri Sword back. She sheathed it and tried to look steadier than she was when she looked Link in the eye. "Now what?"

"We continue on. You can't say you're tired now, can you?" The Hero of Time grinned a little bit and Tessa rolled her yes. She couldn't deny that he was right, and followed him as he moved. They had to jump on occassion but made it through the strange room quickly enough. The next few rooms felt like a giant maze of ladders and stairs, and the more they walked through the more depressing the temple seemed.

"Link...this is supposed to be a temple that originally protects the forest...right?" Tessa asked at one point.

"Well...I'd say that it hosts the Sage of the Forest, of whom guards the forest." Link had to think about it for a minute. "Why?"

"Oh I dunno...maybe I just thought a temple would be a cheerier place if somebody that powerful was supposed to live here." With a shrug the conversation ended and they continued on.

It felt like forever before they stumbled across an odd circular room. It had a whole cut out of the floor which probably dropped down onto the lower level. As they began to walk around it they heard something above them. Tessa jumped out and away from the circular hole as she expected another hand to drop on her but instead, when she looked back the hole was filled and covered with a round rug. On top of it were two armored skeletons.

"They're Stalfos!" Navi shouted. Tessa felt her blood run cold as she remembered what the fairy had said about Stalfos. They were probably former Hylians who had gotten lost within that enchanted forest. Link didn't seem to think about that as he drew out his sword. One seemed to have locked onto him for battle, but the other had its sights set on Tessa. It came forward with a sword and shield ready. Tessa felt the small sword that was back in its sheath and drew it out. She felt very unprotected. On its back she couldn't help but notice a set of arrows in a quiver and a bow to go with them.

The light of the Stalfos' eyes glowed with ferocious intensity; it caused Tessa to stare unblinkingly into them as it advanced into her. They held an unbelievably angry glare that seemed filled with hatred and sorrow at the same time. Tessa blinked when she saw something almost human within them.

"He's...not..." Tessa began to murmur before the sight of the Stalfos' sword in her peripheral vision knocked whatever it was out of her mind. At the last moment she fell backward and felt the wind of the blade centimeters from her nose. With wide eyes Tessa hit the floor. The Stalfos didn't hesitate a beat and raised the sword up in a position to drive it straight through Tessa. With a scream Tessa rolled out of the way just in time. The sword dug itself deep into the stone floor. Although she hoped that the Stalfos would become stuck as he tried to pry the sword out, he didn't and instead grabbed the back of her tunic and held her up. Her scream cut off when the other skeleton hand wrapped around her throat to cut off her oxygen supply. She gripped the hand around her throat with her own hands and tried to loosen his grip unsuccessfully. A wave of panic surged through her body and she grabbed onto the hand tightly. Her own felt increasingly warm until they felt as hot as fire. For a minute her vision started to blur and black dots speckled her vision. The heat surrounded her and suddenly she was dropped as the Stalfos screeched.

Tessa sucked in air without thinking about the Stalfos. She breathed heavily and it took a minute for her to regain her composure. When she looked behind her there was nothing left of the Stalfos but ash. For a minute she just stared in confusion until the sight of Navi flew into her peripheral vision. The fairy flew up to Tessa's face as quickly as she could and seemed to float there, as if she was staring. "What happened?"

"I don't know..."

Link came towards her with wide eyes. "What did you do?"

With an irritated growl Tessa repeated herself. Link sighed and offered her a hand in order to help her up.

"Hey, look!" Navi shouted. Link dropped Tessa midway through helping her up in order to do see what Navi had been so excited about and she fell flat on her butt. With an snarl Tessa kicked Link's legs out from under him so that he collapsed next to her.

"Try that again and I'll kick your ass." Tessa growled at him and stood up on her own, she hadn't even thought about the fact that if she got into a battle with Link she would be dead within seconds. Link glared back at her but followed suit. They both stared as Navi flew wildly around something in the middle of the carpet. It appeared to be some sort of chest. There were multiple cuts on it, but it didn't seem to have been opened due to the perfect condition of a lock.

"I think this is what the Stalfos were doing when they got sent down here. They probably couldn't figure out how to open a chest with a lock on it." Navi commented. Tessa reached towards it and within moments was thrown back with a jolt of power. Link's face hovered above her head as her vision returned to normal.

"Well...I think we know why they can't open the chest." Link looked almost amused at Tessa, and she kicked his legs out from under him again. He fell down with an 'oomph' and Navi began to hover over the two of them.

"Will the two of you stop goofing around?!" Navi sounded exasperated with the both of them. Tessa growled up at her and Link just began to laugh. The fairy began to grumble and flew back over to the chest, but obviously made sure to stay a safe distance away from whatever had shocked Tessa.

After Link stopped laughing he looked over at Tessa with a somewhat goofy grin on his face. "Are you all right?" Link asked through teary eyes. Tessa rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. Jerk." Tessa grumbled. Link wiped the tears and stood up as well.

"I bet it won't happen with me!" Link jerked his thumb towards his chest. Tessa gave him a weird look, she did not know what was amusing him all of a sudden. After a minute though she couldn't help but give him a challenging glare.

"Go for it. See what happens."

He didn't hesitate a moment and went to reach for the chest. For a moment he tensed but then he touched the chest. Nothing happened. Tessa blinked at him as he removed the lock easily and opened it. She couldn't think to be jealous but instead inched forward slightly. "What's in it?" Link reached into the chest and pulled out a fine wooden bow and a quiver full of arrows.

You won't be fantastic, except for a bow and arrow.

Something clicked in Tessa's head as she watched Link try to fiddle with the bow. She had watched her neighbor use a bow for most of her life, but she never had enough strength to use one. In actuality she had been better with a rifle, but what Din had said suddenly made her realize exactly what Link was doing wrong as he held the bow.

"I miss my slingshot." Link frowned as he once again failed to string the bow properly. Tessa stepped forward and reached out for it silently. For a moment Link didn't notice her but when she cleared her throat he looked up. "You want to try it?"

"No, I want to eat it." Tessa stated sarcastically. Link grinned and handed it over, clearly expecting it to shock her. It didn't and Tessa observed it carefully. Hylian scripture was engraved on it and she didn't understand a word of it, but within a moment she had the bow strung up and an arrow notched.

"You're...good at that." Link's eyes widened. Tessa shrugged but felt goosebumps rise on her arms as she continued to hold the bow and arrow. The whole mess was starting to freak her out.

"I think Tessa should keep that...she's lousy with the sword." Navi stated as if to insult her, but in the end she was right.

The girl looked up at the two and shrugged as she unstrung the weapon and put it conveniently through her belt. She then grabbed the quiver and slung it over her shoulder.

"We better get going."

END OF CHAPPIE

I'm seriously waiting for somebody to kill me right about now. I'm sorry I haven't updated! College is FUN (not) and well...busy. I promise I'll try harder, I wanted to get through to the four poe sisters but once again I felt I should post what I have. Maybe it'll help me update. Or something. Doubtful.

I do love you guys though!! And I work on the plot in my head throughout the days, but I never get to actually writing it because I'm a lazy person.

I'm sorry!