Chapter Text
Three slowly opened her eyes. She was in a...field? But she was just in the Fourtress...She sat up. It was a wide field, just outside the castle. She wondered how she ever wandered outside while asleep. As far as she was aware, she never sleepwalked before.
Three stood, placing a hand against her head to prevent glitching out again. Black clouds gathered around the castle, sending the sky into a dark, silent, rage. In the distance, Three could spot two people on horseback. Both were shades of blue, and one looked to be quite young. She recognized this, somehow, but it was a bit vague. She decided to move closer.
A third person on horseback trotted out the castle. She was tall, wearing a long, black cape that fluttered as she chased the others. Thee surely recognized this now, but was still uncertain where. The Object with the cape looked Three's way. She raised a hand, then fired something at Three. Three flinched, covering her face.
She slowly opened her eyes again, seeing she was laying down on a little wooden bed. A small fire with glittering wings made of embers probed her face with his thin hand, demanding she wake up.
“Get up, stupid!”
Three screamed and fell off the bed.
“Good, you're awake! We need to head off, like now! The Great Four Tree requested your audience!”
Three stared at him in silence.
“Oho, a 'silent protagonist' type, huh? Whatever. Just get up.”
Three stood, causing the fire to grab her wrist and begin tugging her along. “Come on! We can't be late!”
She shooed him off her arm and left the house. She was high in a tree in the Fourest, on the balcony of a cozy wooden tree house. She climbed down the ladder and looked around. The fire followed her, circling around her, almost joyfully.
“My name's Firey Jr! Now, enough of that. Tree. Now.”
A tall Object stood by the tree house, hands tucked politely on her front. She resembled a match, and despite not seeing the caped Object's face, Three knew this was not her. Three approached her, Firey Jr still following.
“Like, hey! It's nice to see you! I heard you were, like, summoned by the Great Four Tree? That's like, like, awesome! You have to, like, go through the town to get there, but that should be, like, super easy for you.”
Three glanced past her, towards the forested town. She knew that did not exist before. Was Four switching things around, and wanted her to get familiar with her new surroundings? It wouldn't feel familiar, then. This was strange. She decided pressing onward was the best way to figure out what was happening.
She entered the town, immediately finding the exit on the other side. A yellow cube stood guard, spotting Three from his post. He said nothing, but continued looking around, as if he were expecting somebody else. Three went to him. He crossed his arms.
“You can't go past here, sorry.” He wheezed as he spoke, making him sound much older than he probably was. “There's some dangerous things wandering around outside, so unless you're properly armed, I won't let you through.”
Three pointed towards herself.
“Sorry, no exceptions. I don't want you getting hurt.”
Three wandered nearly blindly until she found a building labeled as a Training Center. She knew about a shortcut here, and forced herself into a small passageway. She crawled, cramped, through until she came to the other side. She forced herself out and dusted the dirt off her front. She made her way past some boulders, finding a giant treasure chest sitting in a small clearing. She opened it and pulled out a childish sword.
You got the Kokiri Sword! Cut grass! Slay your enemies! You'll need this to survive.
“Cool, you got a weapon. That brat said you needed a shield too, through.” Firey Jr sighed. “Time to start looking again, I guess.”
Three looked around for a rope or vine. She found a leather strap and sheathe sitting on the bottom of the chest. She pulled them out, sheathed the sword, and tied it around herself. She made her way back through the tunnel.
The shield resided in a store, and cost quite a bit. Firey Jr mumbled about “unfair pricing,” but Three ignored him and began searching for ways to get enough to buy it. After twenty minutes, she finally had enough, and brought the pile into the store to buy both the shield and the pouch next to it; which was significantly cheaper than the shield. She put her remaining money, which wasn't much, into the pouch, and put the shield on.
“Great! Now, to the Great Four Tree!” Firey Jr fluttered off.
Three looked to the Object behind the counter and gave him a gentle smile.
He avoided eye contact. “I don't have a favorite number, but thanks.”
She exited.
Firey Jr was waiting by the yellow cube by the exit, clearly impatient.
Three caught up to him, and showed the sword and shield to the cube.
“Now let us through, Loser!” Firey Jr smacked Loser in the face, receiving a mean glare from Three.
He cleared his throat. “Okay, you can come through. Just be careful, okay?” Loser opened the gate and moved to the side.
Three nodded.
“Great, finally!” Firey Jr tossed his small arms into the air. “Let's stop the waiting and go already!”
Three went through the gate, into the woods.
