I welcome comments and criticizm, but flaming is not helpful. Thank you! <3
The Stone Princess
Chapter 1
The sun cast eerie shadows across the wood. Dense trees provided a haven for humming insects, and wildlife. A young boy kicked a rock across a stream, taking in the simple joys of being a child. No responisibilites, other than his few daily chores. Every day, his mother sent him to market to buy bread and milk, and every time, he took a walk through the woods to save time off of his walk.
A bird chirped happily, hopping from branch to branch teetering his tail with sheer delight. His sing-song voice seemed to chant... "have a good morning, a good day, a good life...!" The boy always felt happy anyhow, but he still found the creature adorable. The creature reminded him of the tiny pixie that assisted the Kingdom's great hero in the stories his mother told him every night.
"Tell me why Hylians have long ears again, mother?" He would ask, wide-eyed as she tucked him into his poor, but comfortable, bed. She always would kiss his forehead tenderly, and push the blonde hair out of his eyes, before she sat next to him, and began.
"Long before time began, three sisters from the heavens decided they were going to create a planet of thier own. The first, Din, created the earth. She created a planet and scorched the hard clay it was made of, and began to sculpt mountains, valleys, and vast plateaus. Faerore took her arms, waving them wildly, created trees, rivers, snow, wind, rain, and wildlife to live on the tiny world. Nayru created the races of the Gerudo, Kokiri, Zoras, and Gorons, but her favorite people were the Hylians.... she gave them graceful ears, taller than the other tribes, so they would be a mark of how close we are to perfection, how close we are to the heavens themselves."
He swished a branch back and forth vigorusly, shouting into the woods... "I am the hero! I will kill the evil demon kings and save the princess!" The trees seemed to back away as the tiny wanna-be hero came darting through. "AHA!" His boots stomped in a puddle, scaring a frog. "Oh, mister frog, I am so sorry." He whispered, as he watched the warted fellow hop away. "I hope I didn't hurt you!"
"Mister frog...." His voice rang, as he followed the creature. It jumped into a hole in the ground, and the inquisitive boy followed, digging at the burrow with his hands. He sent a silent call up to the goddesses... praying that the tiny reptile had not been harmed by his clumsiness; how angry Nayru would be with him. The ground pulled away, revealing hollwness beneath. Complete hollowness, so much so he was intrigued to see what lie in this frog's underground lair.
His eyes adjusted to the darkness, as he slid down. His soft-soled feet thumped against stone. Light trickled though the hole, enough for him to see that it was a hidden ruin. He saw walls, worn and weathered, and images carved into them. Through the darkness, he could barely make out anything other than the fact that this area was huge, and in disarray. There were many frogs down here, all croaking and scattering at his presence.
"I want to see your home, so badly mister frog, but I must first fetch a torch or a candle." He squinted as he returned to the much brighter outdide world. As if he had wings on his feet, he dashed to the market. He knew his mother would be fine with his adventure as long as he brought home what she needed. He had plenty of his own allowance saved up to buy some supplies of his own; candles, maybe a snack, and a glass bottle to store something sweet to sip on.
"Hallo Tallon!" The baker cried, as he passed. "What is it, lad? Is something so dire you have forgotten the bread for your mother's plate?"
The boy paused, and smiled at the round pastry-salesman. "Mr. baker! I found a lair, filled with frogs. It looks like the remains of an ancient temple. But I do need three nice loaves of bread while I am here."
The baker tausled the kid's hair, and smiled. "What a wild imagination. When I was a boy, I always pretended I was the hero of legend, and wished I could be the one to marry the princess, become king, and save our land from the demon lords. but alas, who is to know if there ever was a kingdom anyhow. Only sages and magicians still believe. it is all fairy tales, my lad." He took the rupee from the boy, and wrapped the bread in a bundle of paper, and tied it up nice and secure.
The boy smiled. "I really did find a hidden room of stone. I am going to buy a torch and flint. I want to see if there is any treasure. If there is, i could help mama get better. And then, I could go train to become a hero, without worrying about my family so much." He opened his backpack, and stuffed in the bread quickly.
The baker paused, and wondered if the boy spoke the truth about the cavern. if so, then perhaps his son could become a hero for discovering it. "Ho there boy! Mailo, my son, has many torches,a nd he is your friend. He is free today, why not go find him? He is most likely in my shop drawing.."
The boy paused. "Fine. Have him come to my home in an hour, and we can go together. I need to make my mother some tea and lunch before I can go out again."
The baker chuckled, and smiled, reaching into his rickety cart once more, and handing the boy his rupee back. "Here, you're a good customer. It is free today. Give your mother my regards, and Mailo will be there in a bit, I promise. He needs to get out and play like a normal boy."
The boy's eyes grew wide. Now he could buy his mother her herb tea, milk, and have some left over. He might even surprise her with a chocolate, or something pretty for her hair.
As the boy hustled off, the baker shook his head, and sighed deeply. That poor little urchin had no idea how horrible off his mother was. It wouldn't be much longer until she died.
