Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters.

Hello, folks! New story! Yays! I am having writer's block on After the War, and I had this story idea that I just had to write! This one is called Fate's Design. I was inspired to write a story that focused more on Twilight Princess Link's wolf form after reading Ember the Wolf's Ember's Story. If you haven't read it yet, you should! It's awesome! :D

If you have already read this chapter, you may notice that it is now slightly different. Thank you for pointing out the detail about the shadow crystal, CodPor.

I hope you enjoy! As always, please review! It makes me a better writer! :)

Chapter 1: Who Finds the Wolf?

I still remember that farewell from Midna, but it didn't make sense to me. If she had feelings for me, which I think she did…, then why did she leave? Why did she leave Zelda and I standing there, instead of giving us more of a chance to say goodbye or to celebrate our accomplishments together? I mean, none of it made sense…

Yeah, we dated for a while…but it didn't work out. It was too uncomfortable…too awkward. I can't do anything about her leaving. We will always be friends, but nonetheless I still miss her. It's hard to think that she is residing in a completely different world, but she is. I hope that we can see each other again…

Zelda and I have dated too, but we didn't make a good couple, and we decided long ago that we'd quit making things too complicated and stay as friends. I thought that maybe dating Ilia would be different. Nope…I was destined to be only friends with all the girls I knew.

With a huff at my racing thoughts interrupting my sleep, I woke up in my bedroom. The rays of the moon were peeking in through the imperfections in the wall panels, shining faint little stripes of light onto my face. I sat up and stretched my arms, throwing the blanket covering me to the side, turning, and bracing myself to stand at the side of the bed. I lazily walked to my dresser and took out one of my green tunics. I looked at the stitching pattern on the shoulder before putting on the article of clothing. I slipped it over my head and then put on my belts. After slinging my sword holster and shield over my shoulders I was finally ready to go…well, except for my hat. I went over to my nightstand and grabbed the hat that I almost carelessly forgot. I walked out the door, got onto Epona, and trotted out of the village, the night air completely silent.

I was hoping that I could have had a better nap before this mission, but alas, I had to leave. My mission is very simple…I have to break into a thief's house and retrieve some items that were stolen from Malo Mart…of all places! It was easy enough. I'd use my wolf form to my advantage so I could go about unnoticed. Yes, even after Midna's leaving for the Twilight Realm, I am still able to change into a wolf at will in order to aid me in my quests. This is good for me; there are many missions where I need the abilities of my wolf form. The house is located in the nearby village of Eldinaire, which is a newer village that had been established shortly after my quest with Midna to save Hyrule. The thief's house is not near the entrance of the village, unfortunately; and I thus have decided to head into the village as a wolf around midnight. I looked at my communication orb, a means of communicating through magic, (Like a cell phone. :) and realized it was 11:45pm. I trotted with Epona out the entrance of Ordon Village and through the forest. Soon I came up to a gate, much like the one that keeps Ordon Village safe at night. It was locked, so I used the shadow crystal to once again gain my canine abilities. I dropped down on all fours as fur began to materialize on my skin. My nose grew into a huge snout and my ears moved from the side of my head to the top of my head. Finally the transformation was over, and I took a minute to walk around and once again get used to my dog-like form.

It always felt weird changing into my wolf form. It was rather unnatural, then again I suppose any sort of magic; light or in my case, dark, would seem unnatural to most. Yes my appearance changes, but so do my senses. I don't think I will ever get used to the first sensation that I get when I transform, that of feeling awkward and unrefined, abnormal. Luckily the feeling quickly fades after a few minutes, until I change back into a human, having to get used to being a human again. I walked over to a vulnerable spot in the ground near the gate and began to dig a hole until I reached the other side. I came up and shook the dirt off of me and then proceeded to walk into the village.

Eldinaire is set up similarly to Ordon Village, a bunch of small humble homes scattered about and strung together by a series of paths. One of the notable differences was that there was one larger home there with an entire farm surrounding it, full of horses, goats, chickens, pigs, etc., not just a simple goat farm like in Ordon Village.

I went up to the thief's house and found another soft spot in the ground, digging at it to get in. The other side of the hole I was digging spat me out into a sparse living room. There was an equally humble kitchen to my left, and doors that I assumed led to bedrooms to my right. I quietly pawed around to find the missing items: some arrows, a purse, and a diamond necklace. It was hard to see inside of the home but finally, sitting alone on the kitchen table, I did find the arrows. I knew they were the right arrows because they had the Malo Mart logo on them, the logo consisting of his name in cursive. Yes; he's created logos for some of his items. Strange…I know, but I'm not complaining! I get free arrows from him all the time! And Goddesses, do I go through those! I left them there and looked for the other items, my plan being to gather all the items together and carry them out to put in one of the packs on Epona's saddle. After having no more luck in the living room or kitchen areas, I went into the bedrooms. The first one had a man and his wife, sleeping soundly as they held onto one another. Over on the nightstand nearest to the wife was the diamond necklace, which also had the Malo Mart logo. I carefully grabbed it in my mouth and went into the kitchen to put it on the dining table with the arrows. I went back into the same bedroom and found the purse, with the Malo Mart logo, inside of the closet. Success! Now to grab the items, take them home, and return them to Malo Mart tomorrow. I can catch up on sleep! Thank the Goddesses! I scooped all the items into my mouth and went out of the house through the same hole I came in from.

When I came out on the other side, I was greeted by the strangest monster which I've never seen before. It was dark grey in hue, and almost looked like a person molded out of clay. Its neck, fingers, and other appendages were not defined, instead they looked sleek and round. Its eyes were completely black and it had an intricate red tattoo on its belly. It reached towards me with its arms, intent to kill. I dropped the items in my mouth and growled at it and leapt up on its arm to bite and attack it, but it wasn't affected at all. In fact, it grabbed me and threw me down to the ground, taking a small sword out from behind its back and attempting to stab me. I rolled over and dodged the attack expertly, but then its arm stretched and wrapped itself around my body. I thrashed about to break free but it was no use; it lifted me into the air and then slammed me to the ground. My head met the ground with great force and I yelped in pain and continued to thrash about. It lifted me up and slammed me to the ground again. I felt so dizzy and discombobulated, giving my foe the chance to stab me in the stomach, and to mash my front paw with its large fist. I stood up, unable to stand on that front paw, convinced that it was broken. So on three legs I tried to attack it again, this time aiming for its belly in hopes that it was a weak spot. It worked, and the monster roared in pain, bringing its hands up to clutch its head and groaning. It stumbled over to Epona and tore at one of the packs off her saddle, ripping it apart. "What is it doing?" I thought to myself. I then realized it was trying to find some red potion, black blood dripping from where I bit it on the stomach. It took out the shadow crystal and clutched it tightly, running away from Epona. I have to get the crystal back; otherwise I won't be able to change back into a human! I chased after it, noticing a beam of white light shining from the hand that carried my stolen possession. The monster stopped and looked down at the item as it shattered before its very eyes. The shards of the shadow crystal floated in the air, flying high above the treetops, and then one by one each shard flew in random directions until there was only one shard left. The last shard fell to the ground, the only trace of the sinister trinket. "Well, so much for being able to change back into a human!" I grunted in my mind, knowing that the shadow crystal needs to be complete in order for me to do this. I saw the monster get down on its knees and yell as it finally disappeared into a cloud of black smoke. I struggled to walk over and gather the little shard, but I was successful; and after retriving it I howled as I fell to the ground in agony, the pain overcoming my body. My sight began to get blurry, the ground and houses around me seemingly dissipating. Just as I closed my eyes and growled in discomfiture, I felt someone's calm and soothing hand stroke my head.

"You poor thing…" The voice belonging to the hand said to me. I struggled to open my eyes, a lantern's light almost blinding me when I did, and I saw that the sweet voice belonged to a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and green eyes. She put the lantern down, knelt at my side and smiled at me, still softly stroking my head. I tried to shake her off and get away, afraid of the repercussions of being a wolf in a village full of people and farm animals, but she continued to stroke my head. "Don't move; you're badly hurt." I obeyed and lied down once again. She continued to pet my head and I selfishly enjoyed it, making me feel at ease. "Why isn't she afraid?" Most cower and even repulse at this beastly form…that is, of course, except for those that know my story and were aiding me in my adventures. But she doesn't know my story, I have never met her. She took off the cloak she was wearing, and while struggling to lift me slightly she carefully wrapped it around my stomach wound. Underneath the cloak she was wearing a long nightgown, the collar coming up to her neck. "Don't leave. I will be right back." She stood up with her lantern and hustled to the large farmhouse.

She came out with her lantern a minute later with an older woman, also in a nightgown and with pink curlers in her hair. The older woman looked at me and scowled, her wrinkles becoming even more noticeable by the frown on her face. She looked at the fearless young woman by her side. "This is what you woke me up to assist? There is no way that I will house this hideous creature!" She grunted and rolled her eyes. "I swear that you are mentally handicapped, Sally! Do you not see the danger?!"

"And I swear you have no heart, mother…" Sally muttered under her breath, a meager trace of annoyance on her face. "It's a black hole of hate…"

Sally's mother grabbed her wrist. "What did you say?!" Her brow twitched in irritation.

Sally sighed. "I love you, mother…can we please care for him? He is injured."

"I will not accept it!" She shouted, pointing at me. "Look at it! It will kill us all in the night, and if you want it to live; I'd get it out of the village!"

"He won't live if he is left alone! He is badly wounded." Sally protested.

Sally's mother noticed Sally's blood-stained cloak around my stomach. "You wasted your good cloak on this creature?!"

"It was stabbed in the stomach." Sally said while looking at me with sadness, and then looking at her mother with repulse. "What do I do? Just let him bleed to death?"

"Yes." Her mother replied, beginning to walk back to the large farmhouse. She turned around to face Sally. "If you want to believe that it won't harm you only to be killed, be my guest!"

"He won't harm me!" Sally attempted to argue. "Give him a chance! The goddesses create every living thing for a reason!"

"No! That is my final answer! I will not hear any more from you, Sally!" Sally's mother opened the door to the house, went inside, and slammed it shut.

God, I wanted to slap the bitch! Sally looked in the direction of the house and shook her head. "God mother…" She whispered. "You don't understand…you never understand." She looked back at me. "I don't want to leave you alone. I am going to grab some medical supplies and come back out." She walked into the house, and minutes later she came back out with a first-aid kit. She gently took my broken front paw in her left hand and wrapped it in a splint that was in her right hand. She spent a few minutes compressing my stomach wound, and then unraveled the cloak. Fear came upon my face when thinking about how much this was going to hurt. "It's okay." She said with a sweet smile. "Nothing to fear. I'm going to give you antibiotics and put fresh bandages on your wound." She took out an antibiotic spray and gently applied it to my wound. Out of sheer soreness I growled. She jumped at my reaction, but then stroked my head in response. "I know it hurts. I'm sorry…" I laid my head down on my paws as she finished treating my wound and wrapping it in bandages. "Can you walk?" She stood up. I stood up as well. "Good." She smiled. "I will take you to the stables." She and I walked over to a gate that she unlocked with a set of keys. We walked across the grass and into some horse stables. We came up to an empty stall that she opened. "You can stay here. I will stay and watch over you." She set up a humble bed out of straw and had me lay there. She left only for a minute and came back in with a journal. She sat in a corner of the stall and began writing in the journal. As she wrote, I could hear the faintest humming coming from her. I watched her as she put the pen to her chin in thought, humming one note, and then shaking her head. She hummed another note and then nodded, continuing to write in her journal. Is she writing music? She looked at me. "I hope you don't mind if I talk to you like a human…I have always loved animals." She grinned.

"I don't mind." I thought to myself. "I am truly human…you just don't know that." I responded by swinging my tail, knowing that people knew it meant happiness.

"I'm glad." She said with delight, sitting nearer to me. "Would you like to see? It's music that I'm writing." I looked at the page with notes written all over it. She began to hum the melody she wrote, which sounded very lovely. She's obviously skilled in music. She continued to write on the page. In the light of the barn I could see her more clearly. Her blonde hair was in a simple ponytail, a few strands at each side framing her face. She had a small nose, faintly rosy lips, and normal rounded ears. She really was very pretty…and she seems to have a good heart. I looked at her for another moment and then fell asleep. I was thankful that she came, I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't come to help me.

How will Link get the shards of the Shadow crystal back? I smell an adventure brewing! XD