Hyrule Field was full of life as the sun gently set over the horizon. The sun’s gilded rays met with the tranquil blue sky creating an orange tint, which hung lightly in the breezy night sky. The sounds of wildlife were everywhere. Birds could be heard nestling in for bed. Crickets were warming up for their ‘Moonlight Sonata’ they played every night. The tall trees and field grasses swayed amiably in the cool night breezes that blew down from Death Mountain, just strong enough to drown out the weaker of the night sounds. In the distance, an unfamiliar sound could be heard coming from the edge of the Kokiri Forest.

Link focused intensely on the stalchild in front of him. He drew his sword and shield, then prepared for battle. "GO!!" yelled a familiar voice from a near-by tree. With that, Link charged the stalchild with incredible speed. However, devoid of any real emotions, surprise was eminent in the dim eye-fires of this undead creature. With a quick slash, the head fell and so did the body. When the bones hit the floor, they sank under to fight another day. Link turned around to see the claw of another stalchild heading for him. Link jumped to the side, and then swung his sword. You could see the flash of the blade against the dim moonlight as he sheathed his sword. The body fell into two and hit the floor, disappearing soon after. Thoughts of his previous battle against that Undead army roamed throughout his minds eye. Thinking even further back, he remembered when he was saving Hyrule from Ganondorf. He fought these creatures.

"You’re five seconds faster!" yelled the same voice from the tree. Saria climbed down from the tree and walked over to Link who was gathering his stuff.

"Great!" said Link enthusiastically, "Soon I’ll be the best swordsman in all of Hyrule. I told you it was my destiny, right?" He smiled proudly at that thought and slowly drifted into another one of his daydreams. Daydreaming was something Link did more and more over the course of the past year. Link would frequently tell Saria and some of the other Kokiri about his adventures as "Hero of Time", or when he saved Termina from the Skullkid who bought his mask. Most of the Kokiri loved to hear his stories ‘cause they’ve never left the forest, but few, if any, believed his stories. Saria could only surmise that Link was daydreaming about saving Hyrule from some unstoppable evil. Growing impatient, Saria slapped Link across the back of his head, abruptly ending his daydream.

"Ouch!" gripped Link, rubbing his head, "What was that for?" The moon was now fully exposed and more stalchildren were soon to come out. Saria grabbed Link’s arm and forcefully dragged him deeper into the forest.

"If we keep standing here, you’re going to get more that you bargained for," she pointed towards Lon Lon Ranch in the distance. Ten stalchildren were heading their way. Link grabbed hold of a tree branch causing Saria to jerk to a halt.

"You’re afraid of that," he said sarcastically, "Please, do you have that little faith in my abilities?" Link shook his hand free from Saria’s grasp then went to do battle, again. As Link ran to meet his enemy, Saria sighed deeply to herself as she sat down amongst the tall forest grass.

As Link approached the ranks of stalchildren, Link soon realized there were more than ten of them. Doubt soon plagued Link’s mind about his rather rash decision. ‘Perhaps I should’ve taken Saria’s advice’, Link thought. He reached into his bag to see what he had, he had three bombs and a Deku Nut. Link grabbed the Deku Nut and slammed it down; paralyzing half the stalchildren. He threw a bomb into that group and watched bones fly. In the middle of all this excitement, Link forgot to back off and was hit by shrapnel. The shrapnel hit his leg, leaving a gaping gash in his left thigh. Link fell back and grabbed his leg in pain. The eight remaining stalchildren would soon close in on his position. Thinking fast, he pulled out his last remaining bombs and lobbed them. One landed a few feet in front of the group of stalchildren, and the other landed in a pile of dirt. When that one went off, Link made a break for the forest, using the dust it kicked up as a smoke screen. As Link ran towards the forest, he heard the other bomb go off. Five more were taken out. Every step was full of excruciating pain, causing Link to limp the rest of the way into the forest. Link struggled into the forest and collapsed from the tremendous amount of pain.

Link awoke to find himself on his bed. He sat up to get a better view, but every time he tried a surge of pain ran throughout his body. Saria walked over to see how Link was doing. She removed the bandages only to turn away in disgust. Link lifted his head to see what was so repulsive. There was pus, dirt, and dried blood all over his leg. "Go into my medicine cabinet and get a red potion," ordered Link. Gladly Saria turned away and did as she was asked. Once Link had the potion he drank half, and poured the other half on his leg. Link grabbed a nearby towel and wiped off all the dried blood and puss. All the potion did was return Link’s strength and fasten the healing process of his wound.

"What time is it?" asked Link while attempting to stand. Saria pushed him back onto his bed and tucked him in.

"It’s nine-something. You were out for a day," she said running her fingers through Link’s dirty hair. "I told you you’d get more than you bargained for," she said in a scolding voice.

"I made a mistake by standing too close to the explosion," said Link in his defense, "Otherwise I could’ve taken ‘em all out. Even with this wound only three were left standing." Even when he was defeated, Link still found a way to make his loss sound like a victory. Saria brought Link his dinner, then left for her own home. She was very tired and had gotten very little sleep over the last day. Somberly Saria climbed out of Link’s house and headed home. Link waited for a few minutes to make sure she wasn’t coming back, before he attempted to stand. The wound was healing nicely, and Link could now stand with the aide of a crutch. Link sat back and, against better judgement, unwrapped his bandages. For a while he just stared at the wound in his leg. The frustration was clear on his face. ‘How could I have done something so stupid’, he thought. For a while longer he mentally scolded himself before eating his dinner and going off to bed.

The first warm rays of the morning sun poked through the foliage, and tenderly straddled Zelda’s soft cheeks. Slowly she tossed to rid herself of the bothersome light. Impa soon walked in to wake Zelda, but found she had a difficult task at hand. Quietly she crept over to Zelda’s bedside and rocked her in a pathetic attempt to wake her. When Impa got no response, she got an idea. ‘I always wanted to do this’, she thought as she pinched Zelda’s noise shut. For a while, nothing happened. A low mumble arose from Zelda’s throat. Her mouth flung open as she noisily sucked in air. Impa couldn’t believe that that didn’t wake her. She decided to bring out the heavy artillery. Impa walked over to the curtains and ripped then open. Sunlight exploded into the room; covering every conceivable spot and crevice.

"Arise, oh princess of Hyrule!!" shouted Impa with a smile. Scared half to death, Zelda shot up and fell out of her bed. She took her covers and at least three other objects with her, crashing to the floor. Soon Impa was overwhelmed by laughter and fell onto a chair directly behind her. Still in a confused state, Zelda vaulted up to see what was going on. She nervously gazed around the room to see what happened. All she saw was Impa wiping the tears from her eyes as she occasionally giggled to herself. Zelda let out a huge groan and turned to leave, but tripped and fell over her cover, which was still on the floor. Again, Impa burst out into laughter as she now fell out of the chair and rolled around on the floor.

"You Impa…are boring me," remarked Zelda with her chin held high, "I’m leaving. Good day to you," Zelda stood up and stormed out of the room, her cheeks bright and red. Impa arose from her prone position and slowly regained her composure.

"It’s a good day now," Impa giggled to her self. She decided to make Zelda’s bed because with the mood Zelda was in, she wasn’t going to do it. Once finished, she went to go help make breakfast.

Zelda grumbled to herself as she walked down the hall to get to the dining room. ‘I’ll show her a thing or two about a thing or two’, griped Zelda to herself. Then a sinister smirk emerged from Zelda’s once sour face. She had to get to the dining room before Impa did. Impa was a creature of habit. You could set your clock by her she was so predictable. Zelda burst through the dining room door. ‘Good, she’s still making breakfast’, thought Zelda as she entered the room. Like if someone was watching; Zelda silently crept over to the chair Impa always sat on. She grabbed a fork and began to pry the nail from the main support rod of the chair. After destroying over 20 forks, she finally got the nail out. A noise startled Zelda causing her to jump up and sit in her seat. Upon seeing this, the cook gave a suspicious look.

"More trouble brewing, huh princess?" he asked smiling towards Zelda. Zelda looked up innocently at the cook and smiled back.

"You know it," she said stretching the smile even further across her face. The cook placed the food down and went back to the kitchen. He glanced to his left and saw a pile of 20-odd broken and/or bent forks.

"Kids, always getting into trouble," he said as he went through the door, "Some how I’ll get in trouble for this too." He sighed and continued through the door. Zelda began to eat her breakfast. Eggs and ham were her favorite along with fresh milk. She loaded up her plate and started to chow down. Shortly after beginning her breakfast, Impa walked in and grabbed a plate.

"Please, please Zelda," Impa pleaded aloud, "Slow down or you’re going to choke," Zelda smiled then continued on her feeding frenzy. "It’s good to see you don’t waste precious time chewing you food," Impa said sarcastically. Zelda looked up and gave her a evil eye then realized Impa was about to sit in the chair she rigged. ‘This is going to be great’, Zelda thought as she unconsciously started to grin. It was like slow motion for Zelda. She could see Impa inching her butt closer and closer to the chair. Zelda had never actually succeeded in playing a successful prank on Impa. She always seemed to know when something was amiss. Impa glanced over to see Zelda staring her down intensely. That’s also when she noticed the pile of broken forks hidden in the corner of the room. Impa stopped just short of the chair before rising to a full stand. "You know I’m not really hungry," she said smiling at Zelda, "I think I’ll get an early start on my paperwork, maybe next time sweetie." With that she left the room, and when she passed by Zelda she patted her on her head. Zelda continued to smile until Impa had left out of earshot before expressing her displeasure.

"Crap!! She’s going down!" Zelda’s face turned beet red as her anger rose. She flung her plate aside and stormed out of the room. ‘I’ll get her even if it’s the last thing I do’, she thought.

The dry wind blew hard at Link’s face as he climbed a hill. The sun was beating down intensely causing great discomfort. The wind began to pick up as it rustled through the dead grass and trees. Link glanced around, taking in the scenery. Kokiri Forest was nothing but dead trees rotting away in their places. The Zora’s river had dried up. The Ranch had been completely destroyed and was now abandoned. Most of the ground looked like the Gerudo flooring. As he neared the top, the sounds of a battle were going on below on the other side. The clanging of sword-on-sword and sword-on-shield echoed throughout the field. When he’d reached the top, his eyes focused on a massive figure holding a weapon of immense size and power. With one swing of the weapon six men fell. Then the figure stopped cold in his tracks and looked up towards Link. The glare he sent Link ran shivers down his spine, but Link was helpless to do anything as the unholy red glare pierced deep into his soul. A voice echoed inside Link’s head, "Soon…soon I’ll come. You…will…"

Link shot up out of his bed. Sweat was running down his face in great amount. His clothes were moist from hours of perspiration. Link was breathing hard. He had been having that same dream for the past week. Every time he had it, it became more realistic. Link wiped the cold sweat off his face. "Damn, hate those things," he said as he got out of bed. Link slowly limped his way down the stairs to get a drink; he was parched after a night of severe sweating. He dipped his hands into the cool water and began to splash it on his face. Saria stopped washing her clothes and walked over to say hi to Link. As she approached, she noticed he was whiter than usual.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned tone, "You look like crap," She put her hand on his back as he drank water. Link leaned back and wiped his face. He took a deep breath then began to relax.

"I’m okay, I guess," he started, "I had that same weird dream again," Link began to stair at the water, transfixed by the shimmer of sunlight that was bouncing off it. Saria had a look of concern in her eye as she watched him gaze into the serene stream. "Most of the time when I have these dreams they’re prophecies. And my prophecies usually always come true." He bent over to the edge of the river and looked at his reflection. Finished, he looked at the scar on his leg. It was healing, but very slowly. He got up and crept away from Saria who was fixing her hair in her reflection by the stream. Link tiptoed towards the back of his house and began to tinker with a lock on the ground. ‘I guess it’s a good thing I kept these’, he thought as the images of that colossal man from his dream plagued his mind. He began to walk down a flight of dusty, old, creaking stairs. As he walked down the staircase, he quietly closed the door. Only a few candles, and the sparse sunlight that shot through the cracks in the door above him illuminated the mini-cave Link entered. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he stopped and looked around. All sorts of weapons were hanging on the walls. To his left was his Biggeron’s Sword and Great Fairies Sword. In front of him were all his shields. To his right were all the items he picked up in his travels. In the middle of the room sat a pedestal with a wooden box around it. A noise coming from the door startled him.

"What was that?" asked Saria to Caradryan.

"I think the floor is hollow were I’m standing," responded Caradryan. They both looked at the spot were he was standing. No doubt, it was a fake floor. Holes could be seen in the ground as dust gently floated upwards. Caradryan got off the door and they opened it.

"Damn it," cursed Link aloud. He saw two people coming down the stairs. ‘I hope it’s not Mido. I don’t know how I could explain this to him’, he thought as he glanced around at all the weapons on the wall. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Saria and Caradryan coming down the steps. "Thank the Gods it’s you guys," he said covering the pedestal with a silk cloth. Link couldn’t help but smile when both of their mouths dropped open at what was down there.

"Is all this stuff yours?" asked Saria and Caradryan in unison. Link nodded then walked to the left. There was a table with a huge chest under it. He dragged it out and opened the chest. It was full of rolled-up scrolls. Link pulled one out and opened it.

"This is one of the many maps I collected along my journeys," he said smiling. He noticed Saria was paying attention, but Caradryan was removing the cloth off the pedestal. Link’s eyes opened in fear as Caradryan lifted the box. "No!!" yelled Link, but it was to late. He had removed the box and a barely audible moan came from his voice as he admired the mask that sat there. Saria turned to see what all the commotion was about. She saw a beautiful mask that looked exactly like Link.

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Caradryan, "This looks like you, Link. Where’d you get this and why was it hidden under the box and cloth?" Link quickly snatched the mask from Caradryan’s grip and put it under the box and cloth.

"You never go through my stuff like that, you hear!" raged Link. He got blank looks from both Saria and Caradryan. They both backed off, giving Link some breathing space.

"I’m…I’m sorry ‘bout that Link," Caradryan said a little shaken up at Link’s response to his touching the mask. "I had know idea that it was that special to you," he apologized. All Link did was take a deep breath.

"No, I should apologize to you both. I’m sorry about that outburst," Link threw the silk cloth over the box. "It’s just that…Well, that mask has powers. I used it once and it was as if the mask possessed me. It was…

Link looked around the room in a disordered state. Before him loomed the evil mask of Majora, hovering silently in place. He drew his sword and charged, but the mask proved to be more mobile than it led on. Majora knocked down Link, blow after blow.

"Quick Link!" yelled Tatl, "Use the mask you got from that kid."

"Are you crazy?!" asked Link, "That’s a accident waiting to happen." Link jumped to the side; barely missing Majora’s spin attack.

"You don’t have a choice!" she answered, "You’re out of arrows, and if this keeps going on, you’ll die." Link threw up his shield to block another attack. The blow sent him flying to the other side of the room. Realizing that Tatl was right, he pulled it out and put it on. He could feel the mask grab his face and wrap around. The mask began to blend to his face making them one in the same.

Link felt dizzy and the room felt like it was spinning.

"What happened?" he asked dazed. In front of Link stood an exact copy of Link when he was an adult. Except his eyes were pure white and his hair was a light-sky blue color. He wore an armor breastplate and his eyes were as white as a blinding, white-hot sun.

"Hello," Oni Link answered, "Welcome to my world, boy." Link shot him a look of confusion.

"Where am I and who are you?" he asked tightening the grip on his sword, ready to strike at any minute. Oni Link began to laugh hysterically at Link’s actions.

"Do you think you can take me, boy!" Oni Link bellowed, "You can’t even take out that person." He waved his hand and a blurry picture of Majora appeared on the wall. He waved again, then it disappeared "You need me and I need you, now hold still. This won’t hurt…much." Oni Link’s eyes began to glow a white, hot, blinding light. He opened his mouth and the light shot out and hit Link in his face. Link let out a scream that could’ve woke the dead. Next thing he new, Link was in the body of the one guy.

"What the Hell’s going on here?" he said looking over his new body. He felt something weird on his back and reached for it. Out came this huge double-helix shaped sword. "Holy mother of the goddesses." but his dialog was cut short as a voice rang inside his head.

"What are you doing.?" Oni link asked, "Stop gawking and kill him or I’ll do it my self!" Link felt his body begin to move even though he wasn’t doing it. Link fought for control and won.

"Okay…okay I’m going." Link swiped his sword at Majora and a light-green energy disk shot out at him…

"And that is what happened," Link said as he finished the story. "Now if you’ll both excuse me, I have other things I need to do." Link began to leave, but was stopped by Saria.

"You just can’t leave off there," she said, "Who was he?" Link spun around and told them.

"He’s the fourth piece of the Triforce," Link held up a picture of the Triforce and pointed to the space in between the three triangles, "That space is his. You have the Goddess of Power, Wisdom, and Courage, but he is their brother, the God of Destruction. After they created the races of Hyrule, he would toy with their lives and make life in Hyrule a living Hell. The Goddesses, seeing their hard work being destroyed, tried to stop him. He was more powerful than they thought. For years they battled to get him under control, and when they did, his power was so great that they sealed him in a mask, and discarded his eternal body, forever condemning him to live in the mask. Then they banished a mask to a different, secluded area of the world. Where they hoped no one would find it. The only reason I found it was because it was on Termina’s moon, and the Skull Kid stupidly gave it to me." Gently Link pushed them out of his cellar and locked it up.

"Why are you in a hurry?" asked Caradryan as he watched Link pick up firewood. Link turned to answer.

"Because I can feel a strong wind start to blow in," claimed Link, "It’s bringing cold weather. That’s something we don’t have that often, and I hate the cold."

Later that night Link slowly made his way to the castle. The air was growing cooler by the hour, and the wind was cold as well. It ruffled through Link’s lose-fitting tunic. Link’s face grew red as the cold wind pounded against his face. His boots made a crunch noise as he walked over dried grass. ‘Surely, winter is arriving. I hate this time of year. Good thing I live in the Kokiri Forest. It never gets to cold there’, Link lost his train of thought as he approached the castle gate guard.

"I’m here to see…" said Link. The guard opened the gate before he had a chance to finish. Link came by so often that all the guards knew him by now. Link was escorted to the castle and told to wait for her. He sat down in a huge chair that wasn’t there a couple days ago. ‘They must get new furniture every other day’, he thought. Link waited patiently, but Zelda was taking a while. The chair was so soft and fluffy that Link began to nod off. Soon he was sleeping like a baby in the chair. As go figure, this happened as Zelda was coming down the stairs. She turned the corner to the sound of something weird.

"Guards!" she yelled, "I think there’s an intruder in the waiting room." Soon a guard came in with spear in hand, ready for action. He pushed the princess behind him before slowly heading for the room. He plastered himself against the wall and slowly made his way to the corner. When he peered past the corner, he looked back and released a huge sigh before sliding down the wall.

"Take a look at your intruder, ma’ lady," he said with smile on his face. Zelda looked at him with a look of confusion. When she glanced past the corner, she couldn’t help but smile herself. There she saw Link sleeping in the chair, snoring, and with drool dripping from his mouth. Zelda turned the corner silently and proceeded to sneak up on Link. When she reached him, she found herself starring at him. Her gaze was focused solely on Link. She bent over and shook him to try and wake him up.

"Link," she said, "Link, you need to wake." But she still had no response. She shook him a little harder causing him to stir from his peaceful slumber. He sat up and yawned quite loudly, after rubbing his eyes.

"What happened?" asked Link.

"You were sleeping silly," replied Zelda as she helped him up.

"Oh," Link answered back, "Well your chairs are real comfortable and you took so long, you know. So what’d ya think was gonna to happen?" he smiled and took her hand in his. She looked back at him and they both smiled. Impa turned the corner and briefed one of the guards before facing them.

"Okay you two," said Impa with a mock-disgusted face on, "Lets get going." With that, they made there way to the door, but stopped as a man and a child came through. When the man saw Zelda he stopped and bowed, but the child stood in his place. The man glanced at him and mumbled something. When he finished, he slapped the kid in the back of his head, causing him to bow as well. They rose and continued on their way. Link noticed that as they passed, Zelda and that boy starred at each other until they were out of sight. Link began to grow apprehensive about what he saw, and tried to bring her back down to his level.

"So," Link started, "I got a great night planed for us. You’re gonna have a blast." His words fell on deaf ears though as they continued down the path. Link began to think that he now had some competition.

The Town Market was full of life despite the fact the sun was setting fast. Zelda and Link walked hand in hand towards the Bombchu Bowling Ally. When they walked in, they were more than surprised to see a whole mess of people there bowling and having fun. Link walked up to the lady and paid for the both of them.

"Well there goes my pay," said Link with an accusing tone in his voice. Zelda looked up and smiled at him.

"And what do you want me to do about it?" she asked coyly, while rubbing her hands against his shoulders. Link placed his hands on her waist and pulled her in closer.

"Well," started Link, "You could start by paying me back." Zelda looked into his eyes and slowly they drew their lips closer, when Malon interrupted them.

"Get a room you two," she said walking up to them while she draped herself on a young boy’s arm. Link and Zelda smiled as they saw Malon approach. Zelda and Malon hugged and said hi as Link and Malon’s date shook hands. "So what brings you two to this place?" she asked while her date paid for another game.

"Well, I wanted to go out for a ‘normal’ date," replied Zelda, "We spend so much time doing that romantic stuff. Not that I don’t like that, but I would like to do something different." Zelda shrugged showing she didn’t really care. Then she leaned in closer to Malon and whispered into her ear. "Can I talk to you later?" asked Zelda. Malon nodded.

"Sure," she said. Then Malon pulled in towards Zelda, "Why, is it important?" she asked. Before Zelda could answer, Link and Malon’s date were walking back towards them.

"What are you two ladies hatching over there?" inquired Link with a smile on his face. Zelda spun around startled by his voice.

"A…a, we’re…" stuttered Zelda.

"Were secretly planning your demise," joked Malon. All of them giggled except Zelda who just kind of smiled.

"Well, lets do some bowling," said Zelda as she clapped her hands. The group went over to there lanes and began a night of fun. Malon and Link had no problem. Each trying to out-do the other. While Zelda and Malon’s date weren’t doing so well, but Zelda still had fun. She had never done anything like this before and though she was bowling horribly, she couldn’t help but smile.

"Damn it!" complained Malon’s date, "How can you be having fun when you suck worst than me?" Zelda looked over to see his face beet-red with anger.

"Because I’ve never done this before," she replied calmly. By now Link and Malon were starring at the two of them.

"That’s the stupidest reason I’ve heard!" he bitched, "And why the Hell are you wearing those clothes? We’re bowling, not ballroom dancing!" By now Link had had enough and was walking over there.

"Hey!" said Link, "Don’t try to suck the fun out of this just ‘cause you aren’t having any." Impa was coming over to see what the problem was when Zelda stuck her arm out to stop her.

"Don’t worry Impa," whispered Zelda, "Link can hold his own." With that, Impa stopped and watched like the rest. Link and Malon’s date were now arguing with each other when Malon interrupted.

"Stop it, both of you!" cried Malon, "Capulon, you need to grow up. It’s a game, not a life of death struggle." Capulon averted his attention from Link to Malon. Soon she was now the front for his verbal thrashings.

"You need to stay out of this," he said pointing his finger at her, "This is between me and the green boy over there." With that, he shoved Malon. Zelda walked over to them and put in her two cents.

"Who do you think you are pushing a woman?" she asked. Capulon turned and pushed Zelda causing her to fall to the floor. He turned to yell at Malon some more when he got punched in the face. Capulon stuttered back a few feet before getting punched again, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Don’t you ever treat a woman that way!" screamed Malon with tears swimming in her eyes. Link walked over and helped Zelda up off the floor. They turned and left to go somewhere else, leaving Capulon on the ground. They left the Bowling Ally and found fewer people outside, but it was still full of hustle and bustle.

"How about we go for something to eat," said Link rubbing his stomach. Link ran over to a cart selling pastries.

"I’ll go with him to make sure he doesn’t eat all of ‘em," said Impa with a smile, "Are you okay?" Zelda nodded and sent Impa after Link. There was a slam of a door causing Zelda and Malon to turn around. There stood Capulon with a trickle of blood coming from his mouth. He ran over to Malon and hit her, sending her to the floor. Zelda, in turn, kicked him in his shin. She went to slap him, but Capulon caught it and hit her as well. Upon seeing this Link ran over and helped them up, then turned to face Capulon.

"You’ve really done it this time," said Link, "Why do you have to hit girls? Does it make you feel big hitting someone who can’t fight back? Why don’t you hit me." Link just stood there egging him on by not doing anything.

"Well are you going to do something about him or not!?" cried Zelda and Malon in unison. Link turned and told them to wait then turned back around, but when he did so, he got hit hard in his face. Link only moved his right leg back to catch himself from falling.

"How’d you like that you little pris?" asked Capulon smiling. Link simply wiped the blood from his mouth before answering.

"The first one’s always free," answered Link. Capulon grew angry and began to throw a fury of punches, which Link dodged with ease. Growing tired, Capulon stopped.

"Why don’t you fight back," he complained, "Make a move!" with that Link threw a punch straight into his face. It hit him square on the nose. Capulon grabbed his face and fell back on the floor screaming and rolling around.

"My nose!" he yelled, "You broke my nose!" Link just smiled at him though.

"What happened?" patronized Link, "I thought you were ready to go." By that time guards were there and broke it up. Impa walked over to Link and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you for standing up for her Link," she said. Link was very modest about it though. "Still I think you should go." She turned towards Malon; "You should probably go to sweetie." Malon began to leave when Zelda stopped her.

"I’ll get you tomorrow," she said as Impa hauled her off. With that, Zelda and Impa were gone. Malon began to leave when Link ran and caught up.

"Are you okay?" he asked, examining her face. It was cut on the lower lip with dried blood. She rubbed it causing the blood to flake off. She turned to face Link with tears in her eyes. Link put his arm around her and let her cry onto his shoulder. "It’ll be okay," he soothed, "He won’t bother you again. And if he does, tell me and I’ll handle him." Malon looked up and smiled. Tears were streaming down her face, and her eyes were puffy and red.

"Zelda’s a lucky girl to have you Link," she replied. She rest her head on his shoulder as they finished their walk home under the moonlight; stars shining brightly above like a million little candles being lit by the goddesses themselves.

Malon awoke and greeted the morning sun with a smile on her face. She sat on the wall just outside the ranch and watched the sun’s brilliant, radiant rays peak over the horizon. A thick fog hung low over the ground as the sun warmed it up. The nights were getting increasingly colder. Last night had been one of the coldest yet. ‘I wonder what Zelda wanted to talk to me about’, she thought as she jumped off the wall and headed home. She reached into her pocket and found a pouch and note. It read:

Malon,

Don’t forget to go to the market place and pick up the bottles. And get some bread, flour, and juice. You may pick the kind of juice you want.

Malon slapped her head as she ran for the Town Market. ‘I was suppose to pick this stuff up yesterday’, she though as she ran as fast as her tinny little legs could carry her. Though it was quite early in the morning, there were a lot of people there. She ran threw the town and picked up all the bottles, then made her way to the Market. There, she haggled for over an hour before she could get the items she needed for the money she had. It meant trading in one of her bottles. Glass is hard to find and therefore, very valuable. As she was leaving, she heard her name being called out. She turned around to find Zelda there along with Impa walking over to her.

"Hey Malon," Zelda said.

"Hey Zelda," replied Malon shoving her groceries into a basket, "Did you want to talk now?" Zelda looked into Malon’s eyes and nodded. They walked over to the fountain and sat down. By now, the market place was bustling with life. "What did you want to talk about Zelda?" asked Malon as she care-freely played with a stick in the water. Zelda sighed heavily before she began.

"It’s about me and Link," she started, "I’ve been having different feelings towards Link." Malon gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Zelda took in a deep breath and began again.

"Ever since this guy and his son have been at my house, I’ll catch him looking at me when we pass. The problem is, that I catch myself doing the same thing. My face goes red, I start to sweat, and act stupid." Zelda paused as she broke out into a daydream. Malon looked on as Zelda’s face began to turn a bright red. Malon rolled her eyes then splashed the freezing cold water at Zelda’s face. When the water hit Zelda, she jumped up and screamed out.

"Ahhhh! That’s cold!" she shrieked. She looked at Malon to se her giggling. "Big mistake little missy," exclaimed Zelda. She rolled up her sleeves and began to splash at Malon. Soon a full-blown water war broke out. People watched on with laughter, as the two girls played carefree in the late morning sun.

Link awoke feeling refreshed; except for his face, which was sore from being punched the night before. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his jaw. "Damn, this hurts," said Link moving his mouth back and fourth. He put on his tunic and left to do his laundry. It had been a month since the last time he’d done his laundry. Link had himself a couple dozen Kokiri Tunics ‘cause he hated having to wash his clothes. He never minded cleaning his house, doing dishes, cooking, or anything else; but laundry was a pain in the ass. Link pushed his bag of dirty clothes out his door and off his balcony. It hit the floor with a thud and kicked up a cloud of dust. He slid down his ladder and began to drag his clothes down to the laundry pool. When Link got there he was surprised to see Mido doing his laundry too. When Link entered, Mido turned to face Link.

"Hello Mido," replied Link as he glowered towards Mido, then proceeded to open his laundry bag.

"Link," said Mido as he tipped his hat, "close your bag, the smell is making me gag." Link couldn’t help but smile at the thought that ran through his mind. Mido looked up to see Link wearing a sinister grin. "What is so funny?" asked Mido with a look of nervousness about his face. The only response he got was a bigger grin from Link. That’s when he noticed Link was pulling out a pair of his underwear. Mido began to back away, shaking his head as he stumbled to the floor.

"Seeing as you love the smell of my clothes so much," claimed Link, "I think you deserve a better smell." With that Link flung his underwear at Mido. It hit him square in the face, creating a loud smack. Mido jumped up, and with a shrill only a school-girl could produce, pulled the drawers off his face and into the laundry pool. Mido’s face grew red as laughter erupted from the entrance -way to the pool.

"You’ll pay for that Link!" shouted Mido in frustration, "No one challenges my authority like that! You here me, no one!" Mido picked up a Deku stick and charged at Link. Link looked a little surprised that Mido would actually challenge him like that. He knew Mido has heard his stories about saving Hyrule and Termina. Link could only guess that Mido didn’t believe his stories. Mido jumped high into the air, and swung and Link with all his might. Link side stepped the attack and stepped on his stick when it hit the floor. Try as Mido might, he couldn’t lift the stick from underneath Link’s foot. Link just stood there smiling at Mido.

"Are we done now, or do you want to dance some more?" asked Link. In a fit of pure rage, Mido let go of the stick and began to swing a fury of punches. Link smiled as he slapped them away with ease. "When I was younger Mido you use to scare me," said Link in between breaths, "I was always afraid of the constant teasing and ridicule you used to put me through, but that’s all over with. You hear me?" Link decided to end this game and caught Mido’s last punch. Slowly he began to squeeze Mido’s fist until he had him on his knees. "I’m going to do the forest and the Kokiri a favor and release you of your command. Then we’re going to have a vote on who thinks someone else should be in charge." With that, Link released Mido then dragged him, by his collar, out to the middle of the village. Every Kokiri followed him, as they had heard Mido was fighting Link and rushed to watch. He dropped Mido and talked loud enough so every Kokiri could here him, but was interrupted by Saria…

"Link," she asked, "What’s going on here?" her question was followed by agreement from the other Kokiri. Link sighed and picked up a Deku stick, then began to point to various spots around the village.

"Don’t you people see," Link said wiping the sweat from his brow, "Mido has brought ruin to the village. Just look around." With that he pointed to the same spots as before. Houses had pieces falling off, paint was chipping, the floor had dead spots of grass, the fence in the sword training area was busted, the stream, which runs by the shop, was almost dry. Only Mido’s house and lawn was in perfect shape. "Haven’t you noticed any of this. Of course not! He’s keeping everyone busy so we won’t notice." Soon talk and chatter broke-out as they began to see Link’s point. "I think we need a new leader!" Link shouted, "Who’s with me!" A loud cheer broke about as Mido slouched behind Link. People began yelling out names of people that they wanted to see as leader. Suddenly someone yelled out Link’s name and the crowd grew silent.

"Link! Link! Link!" screamed Akuma, one of the Know-it-all brothers, "I say Link should be leader!" Link held up his hands to silence the crowd, but they only got louder as he did so.

"Please, please!" Link yelled, "Though I’d love to be leader, I’m not a Kokiri, so it wouldn’t be fair. I nominate Saria!" the crowd turned and faced her as her face grew redder by the second. She went to speak, but was cut off by the crowd as they cheered her name, "Then I think that settles it then." He walked over to her and took her hand. "Looks like you’re the new leader," he whispered into her ear.

"She’ll be the end of all of us!" yelled Mido, "Don’t be fooled by…" suddenly Mido shut-up as he staggered forward. His face grew white with every step he took, until he reached Link with blood seeping from his mouth. That’s when he fell down, face first into the dried up stream bed. He hit with a loud squish as his face and chest hit the mud, but the sound was overcome with a shrill scream as they soon saw why he fell.

Link felt an emotion the thought he would never feel for Mido…Sorrow. Underneath Mido’s left shoulder blade was a poorly made arrow. Blood oozed from the protruding arrow’s hole. The girls turned as the dark purple blood gushed from the hole in his back. From the edge of the woods, a pair of beat-red eyes stared at Link. ‘What’s that over there’, Link thought. He caught a flash of something metallic whinnying threw the air. An arrow flew just centimeters from his face, leaving a small red gash on his left cheek. Out from the concealing shade of the trees stepped out five Staflos.

"Oh shit," exclaimed Link, "That could be a problem." The Staflos charged forth from the forest sending all the Kokiri, including Link, running for cover. "Everyone!" Link choked between breaths, "Go to my house!" With that they all ran towards Link’s house. Link got there first and opened up his cellar door. As he shuffled everyone in he watched as two Kokiri weren’t so lucky. As he watched, tears swam in his eyes as he slowly shut the cellar door. There was nothing he could do, yet. Growing determined, Link flew down the stairs and picked up his Great Fairies Sword. "All of you stay here," he commanded, "I’m going to go help Akuma and Yugi!" Link charged up and out of the cellar; charging the Staflos at full speed. When he reached the fight, only Yugi was standing. Link didn’t have time to feel sorry, he had to help Yugi or she would be overcome. Link ran just short of the battle and charged his sword, but didn’t have time to charge it fully because he was attacked. He unleashed a powerful wave of pure energy, destroying two Staflos. This caused the other three to charge him. A smile came across his face as the odds were stacked against him.

He charged too and jumped high into the air and brought the sword down on the closest Staflos. As soon as the blade hit the floor, Link side-jumped an attack and countered with a clean slash; causing the Staflos to fall into two. ‘Two down, one to go’, Link though, but was caught off guard and was cut in the shoulder area. Link jumped back to look at the wound. There was a deep gash, from his elbow to his armpit, which bled profusely.

"Damn it!" Link swore as he sized up his opponent. The Staflos gave an unholy smile as it stared at Link through his empty eye sockets. It began to grunt in some distant language, which Link couldn’t understand. Soon a dozen pairs of eyes began to glow behind the towering Staflos. More and more appeared through the thicket until Link lost count. A Deku Nut grabbed his attention on the floor. Slowly Link worked his foot underneath it. The Staflos let lose a bellow, which shook the ground and a large mass of green creatures charged towards Link; making their way around the Staflos. Seeing his chance, Link flung the Deku Need into the air and swiped the nut. It exploded with a blinding flash of white light, stopping every one of the green creatures. Link had enough time to get a better look at these creatures. He’d never seen any of these things before.

They were about the size of Link, wearing black tunics with hoods draped over their heads. Their hands and faces were green, which looked rough, almost leathery, and probably felt that way to the touch. Green wart-like bumps covered their bodies. Link held the sword up and in a charge position and began to draw power from the surrounding area. The forest began to go dark as the weapon took the light-energy in. The roses began to glow showing they were fully charged. Link forced some of the power into his own body, numbing the pain in his arm and healing it to a degree. Feeling pumped he let out a battle cry and charged the goblins. The front rank of goblins fell as the others around began to become unanalyzed. Link cut them down and continued to hack away. He moved with inconceivable speed for someone his size and considering the weapon he was holding. But the goblin amount was to great and the rest left paralyzed were not so anymore. Link decided to unleash the full power of the sword and let lose a spin attack. This cut down all the goblins, but left the Staflos.

"This not done yet, boy," said the Staflos in shaky Hylian. Link and the Staflos exchanged a few blows before Link got the best and cut him down. His breathing slowing down, the weight of the sword and battle began to take it’s toll. He fell to his knees and released the sword from his grip. Slowly, the Kokiri hidden in Link’s cellar, emerged like snakes from their eggs.

"Is it over?" asked Saria, holding the door open so everyone could leave, "Did you kill all of ‘em?" Link wearily looked over his shoulder and nodded as Yugi helped him up. Link looked over and asked her if she was okay. She nodded as she wiped blood from a cut she had on her stomach.

"My Goddesses!" bellowed Link, "Your stomach!" He bent down and lifted her shirt so he could better see the wound. It was deep, but not lethal. Moaning was heard coming from Mido’s direction, sending everyone in his direction. Soon a crowd of Kokiri gathered around him as he coughed up blood.

"Please…help…me…" sputtered Mido as he grabbed Link’s tunic, "Please…help…" Link could hear the talk of the others as he pulled out a bottle containing a fairy.

"Look over there!" screamed a voice. Everyone turned to see where he was talking about. "Akuma is still alive!" Sure enough, he was right. There lay Akuma, twitching on the ground. ‘What should I do? Who should I use it on’, thought Link. Link opened the bottle and grabbed the fairy. Slowly he walked in between the two dying Kokiri, and released the fairy in the direction on one of them. There was no surprise in who Link choose. Seconds later, Akuma stood to his feet and brushed off the dirt from his clothes. Once he was done, everyone turned their attention to the dying Mido.

"Link…wait…" Mido pleaded, "I’m…I’m sorry. Please forgive…me." Link stopped and slowly turned around, before spitting.

Link walked over, picked up his sword, and went to put it away. Saria watched on as Mido took his last breath of life and passed away. She gazed at his lifeless face and saw something she never thought she would she come from Mido, tears. Mido died with tears hanging on in his eyes. There was no rejoicing, yet no sorrow either. The Kokiri saw a side of Link they never thought he even had. Some asked how he could do such a thing, but then thoughts of how Mido used to treat him flooded their minds.

‘Spring was fresh in the air as the birds sang, and the bugs could be heard buzzing away. Tiny strands of sunlight could be seen penetrating the deep foliage of the forest canopy above. Link awoke and began his chores, which Mido had set about for him to do every day. While Link cut their grass, cleaned their houses, and did their laundry, the rest of the Kokiri would play worry free. One day Link finished a little early and sat in front of his ladder, watching the others play tag. He was only five at the time and was often called ‘Runt’ by Mido and his lackeys, thereby, not allowing him to participate in any games they held for fear of being ridiculed and laughed at. On this day though, Link was feeling a bit ambitious, and decided to ask if he could play. Slowly he made his way over to Mido. He watched and waited for an opportune time to ask him. Mido had stopped just in front of him and Link tapped him on his shoulder.

"Um…Mido," Link said in a shaky voice, "Can I please play too?" Mido turned around and looked at him for only a moment, before someone ran up and tagged him on his head.

"You’re it loser!" he yelled, "Catch me if you can!" Mido’s face grew red with anger causing Link began to back off, but was stopped by Mido’s two lackey sidekicks. They grabbed his arms to keep him from running away while Mido got into his face…

"Sure you can play!" he sneered then punched Link square in the face, "Your It!!" he screamed and began to pummel Link with blows to the face and mid-section. For five whole minutes, Mido beat him senseless before Saria came over and stopped it. She stared in complete disbelief at what Mido had done to him. There Link lay on the floor, almost unconscious from the beating he’d just received. Blood gushing from his noise and mouth. His cheeks were bruised as he slowly began to bathe in his own blood…’

Those memories flowed back to some of the Kokiri as they began to see where Link was coming from. They still never could’ve even fathomed that Link could do such a thing. Some Kokiri Picked up Mido and began to carry him to the cemetery were they buried their dead.

Link emerged from his cellar and began to leave before he was stopped by Saria,

"Are you okay?" she asked, noticing his puffy red eyes and stuffy noise, "Either way, one of them was going to die." Link sniffled and tried to speak, but only a faint squeak came out. Saria saw the encore of tears beginning to flood back to Link’s eyes. She grabbed Link and gave him a tight hug. She felt relived that Link felt bad for his decision. She had never seen him be so heartless to someone. This moment was short-lived as horse laughter was heard coming from the Staflos.

"Kokiri leader dead," he sputtered, "My job done." Link walked over there and kicked him in the face. The Staflos’s head flew off and landed twenty feet from the stream in front of the shop. More laughter came as the head continued to jabber.

"Does Ganondorf know you’re outside playing?" asked Link sarcastically. This question only provoked more laughter from the creature. "What’s so freakin’ funny?" he asked.

"I serve not him, boy," he slurred, "I serve more power…power…stronger man." This aroused Link’s curiosity.

"Who," questioned Link, "Who do you serve that’s stronger than Ganondorf?" A evil smile streaked across the face of the dying Staflos as he answered,

"Worry not ‘bout him," responded the Staflos, "To far away. Soon he come and kill you all he will. Five thousand years made him strong; stronger than stupid Ganondorf. Soon…soon he will come. You…shall…" but before he could finish he disappeared in a cloud off blue smoke. Those words echoed in his head. With those words, Link ran as fast as he could for the castle. He had to see Zelda.

Zelda quietly sat under a tree in the courtyard as she read a book. The sun was hidden from view by the tree’s thick foliage. It was still an almost unbearably hot day. The high humidity made matters all the worse. She couldn’t see how Link though Fall was coming. Not when the days still felt like this. She sighed at the thought of Link. Her feelings were still undecided towards him. She grew angry at the boy and his father, which were staying at the castle. ‘Why did they have to come anyway’ she pouted to herself. As if on cue, the very boy she was thinking about entered the courtyard. He somberly walked passed her and flashed her a seductive smile, then winked. Zelda smiled back then realized her face must be redder than the dress she was wearing. She threw her hands up to try and hide her cheeks, but all was in vain. Upon seeing this, the young boy made his way over towards Zelda and sat next to her.

"How’s it going?" he asked, but making sure to avoid eye contact.

"I hope you know," started Zelda, "I already have a boyfriend, so you can stop right there." Zelda turned her back to him and continued to read her book. The young man got on his knees and looked over Zelda’s shoulder.

"Ahh…that’s a good book," he said. Zelda looked over her shoulder to see his face hanging there. "Another thing you should know is that I will win you over. From the first moment I saw you till right now, I’ve thought you were the most beautiful person I’ve ever laid eyes on. You deserve the best and I can give you that. Just think about it, alright." With those words he slipped a beautiful white rose onto her lap and began to leave, before Zelda stopped him.

"Wait!" she yelled, causing him to do so, "Maybe if you wanted to go do something later…"

"How ‘bout right now?" he interrupted. This caught Zelda off-guard and she didn’t know how to answer. Ever so slowly, she began to shake her head. "Great!" he shouted, "I know a place were we can go. It’s beautiful, but not as beautiful as you, that is." Again, he flashed that brilliant smile causing Zelda to melt. "My name is Ahsien, son of Neisha." Together they walked off to have lunch, all-the-while never realizing they were being watched by Link. There he sat in the shadows of the hallway, watching that event unfold in front of him. Leaving her to do what she will, Link slowly made his way home. Storm clouds were forming and he wanted to get home before it started raining.

Chapter Three

The sound of glass shattering into tiny crystal fragments upon his dirt-ridden floor; awoke Link with a start. He glanced around to see what had happened. He glimpsed over his shoulder to see his window had blown open. The breeze that blew in chilled Link to the bone. Goosebumps soon flowered all across his entire body. He swung his legs off his bed and made haste to the window. After closing it, he continued back to his warm bed. However, his reflection in the mirror caught his attention. For some reason, he liked what he saw. Link’s blond hair was strewn about his head as if it had seen a tornado. The scar on his right cheek, which had healed by now, made him look tough and scary. Moreover, he was in good physical shape. That’s what caught his attention in the first place. Link brought up his puny arm and began to flex his even more frail muscle. ‘Soon it’ll be the size of a python’, thought Link as he flexed that muscle. He soon heard giggling coming from his doorway. He cast a glance in that direction to see Saria leaning on his door pain, with her hand over her mouth and holding in her laughter as best she could.

"What are you doing?" she said mimicking the look Link had on his face while he flexed, "Are you enjoying your self?" As Link began to walk towards her, he acted as if he was a bodybuilder.

"Of course I’m having fun," retorted Link, "How could you not have fun looking at this," he then set his arm in front of her face, and showed his pathetic bicep to Saria. She rolled her eyes and pushed his arm away. She then gave him a look of disgust, and followed it up with a gagging noise.

"Please," griped Saria, "if your ego grows any larger, your brain wouldn’t fit in your head." She placed her index finger on his forehead and gave it a little push. Link thought for a moment.

"Well, at least there’s something in my head," replied Link, as he stuck out his tongue at Saria.

"Is that the best you can think of, Link?" snickered Saria, "I wouldn’t want you to think to hard. Wouldn’t want you to wrack the pea inside." Saria knocked on Links head, which made a hollow sound. Link’s cheeks flushed like a fresh apple. Link always lost to Saria in a verbal fight. Saria would always end up making Link look like a simpleton, but she was at least courteous enough to do it when they were alone; so he was refined enough to wrestle her when they were alone. Without warning, Link got Saria in a headlock and gave her a barrage of nouggies atop her dark emerald hair. Saria struggled, but to no avail; she couldn’t get free of his vice-like grip. Link laughed aloud as her hair went every which-way. Link finally stopped and released her after listening to her beg. When Saria brought her head up it looked worst than Link’s hair did. She didn’t enjoy those, but she did enjoy wrestling with Link.

"Did you have enough, or are you hungry for more?" said Link in a playful tone. Saria looked over at Link and gave him a sinister smile.

"I’m starving, Link. It’s go time!" Saria leaped at Link getting him in a headlock just like the one she was in minutes ago. Saria reached down with her free hand and proceeded to grab what little fat clung to Link’s side. She had a hard time because Link was bones covered in muscle and skin. Link stood up with Saria still struggling to hold on, and he dragged her over to his bed. Link gave Saria a taste of her own medicine by grabbing the chunk of flab that hung off Saria’s waste. She squealed, as he grabbed hold and squeezed. Immediately she let go of Link’s head, falling on to his bed while laughing all the way down. Link started tickling Saria on her sides and her armpits. She struggled to be lose, but she had no such luck.

"Please…stop…" Saria managed to choke out, "…you win. I give …up." She struggled to regain her composure. Link withdrew and looked down at Saria’s face. Her face was a scarlet color, while tears rushed down her cheeks. Link looked at her as if she was crazy. Although she was older than most adults he knew, Saria still loved to play around as if she was five. Saria sat up and wiped the tears from her face. Her face, still a bright red color from all the laughing and giggling she did. Saria got off his bed and fixed her dress. "Do you want to go for a walk?" asked Saria, fixing her hair in Link’s mirror. Link shrugged, he didn’t care. There were still a couple hours to kill before his date with Zelda.

"Sure, why not," Link said putting on his boots, "I’ve got nothing better to do." They made there way from Link’s house and headed for the Lost Woods. Leisurely, they made there way through the tranquil woods; enjoying the sights and sounds it had to offer. The diminutive rays of life giving sunlight broke through the thick foliage of the forest canopy above. The placid songs of birds perched in the trees were beautiful to the ear. The aroma of the wild flowers added to this soothing effect. Link and Saria settled along side of a meandering stream to further enjoy these sights and sounds. They sat next to a log whose age was obvious.

"So how are things with you and Zelda?" inquired Saria looking towards Link. Link was staring at the water that slowly made its way down the mini-waterfall.

"They’re going…okay I suppose," responded Link, "I really like her a lot. When I’m with her, I feel so happy and joyous. She’s my reason for being here." Link thought about the way Zelda talked to him. Her voice was that of an angel or goddess. Her eyes were as blue as the sky on a crystalline day. When he gazed into them, he felt as if he could see her soul. Zelda’s soul was so pure and righteous. The way her silky, golden strands of hair flowed in the gentile breeze on cold nights. Her milk-soft skin was so pleasant to touch; it gave him goose bumps just thinking about it. When Zelda walked into a room, her golden rays would part the clouds of depression that occasionally hung over Link’s head. Saria looked at the stupid look Link sported on his face.

"Sounds like you really like her," Saria smiled at Link, as a small ray of sunlight broke through and landed at her feet.

"What about you and Caradryan?" smirked Link. Saria began to blush as she thought about him. "Do you ‘love’ him?" Link began to make kissy faces and noises towards Saria. She started to giggle and shook her head in agreement. Link looked astonished that Saria admitted it. He loved teasing her, but it would be no fun if she openly admitted that she liked him. Link stood up and helped Saria. He then brushed the dirt and dried leaves off his butt, and then they headed back. "You should take him on a picnic or something." said Link putting his arm around Saria’s shoulder.

"You think I should?" she asked.

Link nodded, "Sure…I bet he would do almost anything to be around you. You should ask him when we get back." Link stopped and ran over to a patch of wild flowers. The ones he had seen and smelt on their way here. He began sifting threw them until he smiled and knelt besides a patch of white roses. Slowly, and painfully, he picked fourteen white roses. Once done, he walked back over to Saria and they made there way to her house. Before Link left, he gave a rose to Saria. "Are you going to ask him?" investigated Link. Saria blushed and nodded, "Good then that rose should give you good luck," Link kissed her on her forehead and, at a leisurely pace, made his way to Hyrule Castle.

Zelda sat next to her window, bored out of her wits. It was so dull around here. She sat and watched the children play in the market place. Zelda sighed and wished that she had friends to play with like that. Impa walked in and Zelda turned to greet her with an unenthusiastic smile. Impa could tell that Zelda was forcing the smile.

"What’s wrong, sweetie?" asked Impa.

"There’s nothing to do," replied Zelda standing up and shuffling her body towards her bed.

"Does that mean I should tell your guest that they need to go home?" snickered Impa. Zelda’s eyes shot open as she ran towards the main waiting room. She burst in only to see Malon standing there, waving at her as she ran. The excitement soon faded from Zelda’s face as she saw whom it was.

"Oh…it’s you," claimed Zelda, whose smile dissolved away.

"Well, I’m glad to see you too," said Malon sarcastically. Zelda realized the tone of her voice and how it must’ve sounded to Malon.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that." apologized Zelda, "I thought you were Link." Malon shrugged and said it was all right. They left and went outside the castle to play in front. The clouds that were overhead started to break up, letting insignificant rays of sunlight shine through, creating shreds of shaded earth and sunlit ground. Bugs and the sounds of birds could be heard as they played. The heat was horrible, but the strong, cold breeze made it tolerable. They both stopped as a boy left the castle and walked towards them. He wore white tights with a bright blue tunic over it. His boots were black with gold buckles. It matched with the belt he wore. One silver earring was in each ear. His black hair was in a small ponytail in the back. He looked a lot like Link.

He knelt on one knee and took the princess’s hand, and kissed it gently. Zelda blushed and removed her hand from his cold grip. "And who is your lovely friend?" Malon blushed as he too took her hand and kissed it.

"This is…a…" Zelda was so nervous she couldn’t remember Malon’s name.

"Malon! My name is Malon." she replied giving Zelda a cold look. Zelda looked at Malon and whispered ‘sorry’ which was which was out of earshot from Ahsien’s position. Ahsien stood up and asked them if they didn’t mind him joining in their fun.

"No, not at all," replied Malon and Zelda in unison, "Do you know how to play…" Malon ran up to him and tagged him on the chest hard, then ran, "Tag! You’re it!" Zelda and Malon ran away, but Ahsien just stood there stupefied as what to do. The girls stopped and stared at him; "Well are you just going to stand there or wait for an invitation?" asked Zelda.

"What do I do?" questioned Ahsien, shrugging his shoulders. Zelda walked over to him to tell Ahsien what to do, but when she got with in arms length, he tagged her and ran. "Sucker!" yelled Ahsien as he bolted towards Malon who was laughing. Zelda quickly ran after them both while yelling,

"I’m going to get you!" Malon and Ahsien just ran away from her. The King and Neisha looked on as their children played together. They both smiled and laughed as the children played their little game. Time flies by when you’re having fun. Soon Malon had to go home which left Zelda and Ahsien, who sat down in the shade of a tree and talked to each other. Zelda felt weird around Ahsien. He made her feel safe and good. Just as if she were with Link, only better. He was better looking than Link was too. Zelda mentally scolded herself for thinking that, but Ahsien had some kind of effect on her. They spent all morning talking and laughing at the stories each one had to tell.

"One time my boyfriend, Link, came over to eat dinner so he could met my father and get to know him better. Anyway, father had some unexpected company he had to attend to first. Link and I were stuck in there eating dinner by ourselves. Link decided to lighten the mood by doing something funny. He put a soggy piece of fish in his spoon and lunched it against the wall. It stuck and slowly started to ooze down the wall. ‘ Ten rupees says it hits the floor before the king is done,’ he said. We all started laughing. It was a riot. Even the guards started laughing," Zelda started giggling at that happy memory. Just then, Ahsien heard his father call him to come in, so he helped Zelda up and they headed in. He told Ahsien to get ready to leave, so he went with Zelda to go get his stuff. Impa, the king, and Neisha were talking in the Ballroom, when Link came walking through the door, escorted by a guard. Impa dismissed the guard and led Link into the Main Castle Hall Way.

"Is Zelda ready?" asked Link handing Impa a rose while they walked down the hall.

"Oh thank you Link, but I can’t take this…"

"I picked an extra for you. Keep it, please." Link gave Impa a sad and pathetic look. Impa smiled and led Link further down the hall to the room Zelda was inside. As they approached the room, they could hear Zelda talking and laughing. Impa put her finger to her mouth, and crept silently towards the door. It was slightly cracked open, so Impa opened it and was overwhelmed by what she saw. Zelda and Ahsien were kissing each other. Impa let out a startled small gasp then covered her mouth with her hands. Zelda and Ahsien stopped and turned to see Impa and Link staring. Zelda’s eyes focused on Link who was holding a beautiful bouquet of white roses in his right hand. She looked up to his face slowly meeting his eyes with hers. Zelda saw the pain and heartache etched on his face. Small crimson drops of blood dripped from the roses. He forgot to strip them of their pointy thorns. Link clenched them so tight that his knuckles were as white as the roses he held. Zelda slowly approached Link, but for every step she took towards him, he took one step back.

"Link, I…I can explain," said Zelda holding out her hands. Link shook his head in complete and utter disbelief.

"How could you do this to me?" His eyes began to swim in tears as they soon overflowed, and found their way down his cheeks. "I thought we were meant to be, but…" Link sniffled, "Good bye…Zelda!" Link threw the flowers on the floor and ran. As he ran he broke out into a fit of sobs for his once dearly loved princess. He could hear Zelda screaming his name in the back round, but he didn’t care. She had destroyed the trust, friendship, and their relationship when she kissed that boy. What made it worse was she had done it thinking no one would find out. Link looked up to see he was at the entrance of the Kokiri Forest. He ran past all the Kokiri looking at him and jumped up his ladder into his house. Once he entered his house, he stopped and fell to his hands and knees then sobbed uncontrollably into his hands. He crawled lethargically to his bed and mounted onto it. He planted his tear-stricken face into his pillow. Slowly he cried himself to sleep on his bed as his world imploded and crashed in all around him. His world as he knew it was dead and devoid of any life. Link slowly embraced the calmness and serenity that sleep had to offer him as his mind raced with a thousand thoughts. ‘Why? How could she? How long had this been going on? What did I do wrong?’

His breathing grew harder and faster as he ran through the woods. Skillfully he dogged the branches, stones, and other plethora of things that could do bodily harm. The thought of his family and their well being raced in his head, as he ran through the forest. Soon Caradryan emerged from the forest and raced towards the pond just outside Zora’s Domain. As he climbed the hill, a pillar of charcoal-black smoke rose tediously from the other side of the hill. Fear filled his face when he reached the top. His village was burnt to the ground. Straight-ahead was the temple of Farore. The flames undulated in the cool breeze that soon picked up. "NO!" cried Caradryan as he made haste to the burning temple. Before he reached it, the roof began to collapse in on itself. Caradryan removed the bar in front of the door, and gazed inside. The smell radiating inside made him throw-up violently. What he saw would be burned in his mind forever….

"Hyrule to Caradryan, we’re losing you." joked Saria, "Are you okay? What’s wrong?" he put his arm around her and looked into those sparkling emerald eyes that he loved so much.

"Nothing…just lost in the memories of the past. I’m fine now, thank you." uttered Caradryan slowly. Saria gave him a look of concern.He more frequently went off into space. What was he daydreaming about?

"Are you sure you’re okay?" prodded Saria, "You seem to drift into LaLa Land more often." with his arm wrapped tightly around Saria, he brought her face up to meet his in an attempt to silence her unrelenting questioning. Slowly he ran his index finger across her blushing cheeks, until he pushed her green strands of hair behind her ear. Their eyes met and locked into a deep embrace, as he gradually pushed his lips against hers. Time froze for Saria. She had wanted this for so many years, and now it was really happening. As quickly as it had started, it was soon over. He pushed her head back ever so slowly, and again rubbed his finger on her cheek.

"Saria…I…" Caradryan choked on his words. This kept Saria in emotional suspense, "I love you. I have always loved you. From the first time, we met until just now. I hope I didn’t over step my boundaries by kissing you." Saria’s eyes were still closed as she was still in the moment. Slowly they opened, and she hugged him tightly, taking her head and resting it on his chest. A single tear rolled down her face. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"You don’t know how long I’ve yearned to hear those words come from your lips." she whispered quietly, looking up onto his face. A warm smile came from Caradryan’s face. Saria smiled back and put her head back onto his chest. There they sat and watched the sun slowly set over the horizon, as they were serenaded by the gentile songs of birds above their heads. The silence was soon broken by Caradryan,

"I promise to protect you for all time." said Caradryan. He followed it up with something that was nearly audible. "I won’t let it happen again." Saria looked up at him and showed a look of confusion.

"Won’t let what happen again?" she asked. Caradryan now gave her a look of confusion.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, "I don’t follow."

"You said ‘I won’t let it happen again.’ What does that mean?" said Saria, sitting up straight now. She was getting edgy and wondered if this had to be his ‘memories of the past.’ Caradryan tried to change the subject, but Saria was relentless on the subject. "Please tell me what it means. You’re beginning to worry me." she pleaded. Caradryan sighed as he turned to face the setting sun that was now hidden behind the deep canopy of the forest.

"There are some things you should know about me before we get involved any further." He said, "My story isn’t entirely true. Though I did have a curse brought upon me, I didn’t get it hunting in the forest. I’m older than you could ever fathom." Saria looked at him, waiting for him to tell the answer. "I’m 978 years old." Saria’s jaw dropped to the floor. He was older than even Mido. "I used to live outside Zoras Domain with a group of Hylians in a small, but comfy town…

The sight of burned carrion inside was what he saw. All his friends were burned to a crisp. Frantically he searched through the carcasses looking for his wife and child. Though saddened by the loss of his close friends, his family was not in the temple. A sigh of relief overcame him. The roof began to cave-in so he exited the building just as it collapsed. He ran all over the village, but couldn’t find them. When he turned a corner, the sight of his wife and child burned and crucified on a pole brought him to his knees. Tears came forth from his eyes as he trekked on his knees through the thick mud to his wife’s body. He ran his hands across her warm, burnt, muddy feet as if she would awaken from death. There he fell to his hands, vomited once more, and then continued to cry uncontrollably. He heard faint laughing coming from his backside. He stood up and turned around to see strange looking men standing there, laughing at him. They looked like him, but they were taller and had strange, rounded-off ears.

"I take it you were this fine woman’s husband?" snickered a bearded man wearing strange clothing. "She put up a bit of a fight, so we burned her and her son out her for the village to watch. All the while she told us that her husband would be back and show us a thing or two," the group of men began laughing at what he’d said. Anger filled Caradryan’s eyes. His blood boiling, Caradryan charged the nearest person to him. He tackled him and smashed his face in with a rock he grabbed from the floor. He took the bloodied rock and threw it to the side, as he saw two men advancing for him. He pulled the sword from the dead mans belt and in three fluid movements, cut those men down. Then he felt a sharp pain in his left knee. He looked to see an arrow sticking out of it. He peered to see the bearded man holding a bow and smiling at him. "One more step and you get it boy." he said pointing the sword Caradryan’s way, "I have some news that might interest you. Did you know that when we nailed your son to the pole, he cried out like a little girl." That made Caradryan’s blood boil even more, but he stayed put; as he was in no position to fight with a wounded leg. "And your wife…this is the best part. I wasn’t there to hear or see it, but my men say your wife moaned like a hoar as they ravaged her over and over again."

"Damn you, you son of a bitch! I’m going to kill you!" with that, Caradryan charged the man, but never made it. He collapsed in pain. He could hear the man laughing at him. Frustrated, and seeing no other option, Caradryan reached into his pocket, pulled out a wooden figurine of a minitor, and placed it on the ground. The bearded man watched as Caradryan began to whisper to himself. Once done, he then threw the model into the flames of the burring temple. The bearded man began to change before Caradryan’s eyes. He screamed at the pain that transforming caused him.

"What have you done to me?" he asked, as his feet turned into hooves.

"I placed the curse of our village upon you, you bastard." shot Caradryan, "For the rest of eternity you shall wear that appearance. Because of your looks, you will be ostracized from the world, and I will hunt you down for all eternity too. Live in fear my friend, and listen to my words well. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and cold your corpse will be after I slit your throat with my sword." The bearded man took flight into the woods, screaming that this wasn’t over. Caradryan could now focus on his leg. He snapped the arrow in half, and proceeded push the arrowhead through his leg. He placed the broken part in his mouth and bit down hard. Blood came pouring out of the hole that was now in his leg. After treating it, he crawled into a burned house and cried; thinking about what he had done.

"…that’s why I said I wouldn’t let it happen again. I was thinking about that." Saria inhaled everything she had heard. That story was so heart wrenching. Some tears fell from her eyes, landing on to grass.

"I had no idea that you went through anything like that. I’m so sorry," said Saria hugging Caradryan tightly. They embraced each other as the songs of the birds were soon replaced by the chirping of crickets. Each one of them needed the love the other had to offer.

Malon hummed Epona’s Song as she frolicked back towards the ranch. It was getting dark and she would have to hurry. A cold wind picked up and jingled her skirt around her legs as she walked home. After dark is when the psychos came out to play, and she didn’t enjoy playing with them. She remembered that one time her father said she couldn’t play outside anymore ‘cause it was getting late. She stayed out past dark any ways and was attacked by five stalchildren. Luckily Link came out and saved her. The thought of being attacked again made her move a little faster. As she turned to the right to go home, she saw a little green blob on the wall next to the ranch. The strange thing about this blob was that music was coming from it. It’ll be dark soon, thought Malon, Curiosity killed the cat you know. But…then again, I’m not a cat. Malon stealthily walked towards the thing. Soon the outline became clear, and she could see that it was Link lying down on top of the wall. Link sat up and looked behind him to see Malon a short distance and closing. He let out a sigh. So much for clearing up his thoughts. She put her milk basket on the floor and climbed on the wall.

"How’s it going fairy-boy?" Malon said in a playful tone, oblivious to the fact Link was in a bad mood. "Why you up here all by your self?" still no answer came from Link. She looked over at him to see he had been crying. His cheeks and eyes were red and puffy. Wet trails where tears had slid down could be seen on the red cheeks. Malon slid closer to him and gave him the last bottle on milk. "Here you look like you’re thirsty. You can have it." she shoved the bottle in his face. Reluctantly Link put down his fairy ocarina and drank the milk in record time. Once done, he wiped his mouth with the back of his bottle hand and gave the bottle a good throw. It hit a rock and smashed into tiny pieces.

"Thanks." mumbled Link before he let out a belch which echoed threw-out Hyrule Field. He glanced at Malon to see her giggling. "What’s so funny?" threatened Link. Malon stopped and gave Link a menacing look.

"God, you’re such a jack-ass. You know that?" protested Malon. Link was shocked that she had said that to him. It was true though, she was just trying to lighten the mood, and his attitude pissed her off.

"Your right." apologized Link, "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you mad. I had a horrible day." Malon put her arm around his shoulders and brought him in close. Link rested his head on her right shoulder and told her about everything that had happened to him today. After his story, she squeezed him a little tighter to show that she was sorry for everything that happened to him. She also did it to show she was here for him. Again, tears ran down Links face and found their way onto Malon’s lap, leaving tearstains on her new skirt.

"I don’t believe Zelda did that," said Malon dumbfounded.

"Well, believe it. I saw it and so did Impa." claimed Link. For a while they sat there watching their shadows creep slowly towards Kokiri Forest. The silence was broken by Link.

"Malon?" she looked at him when he said her name, "Why is it that when everyone gets to feast on the pleasures of life, I get the indigestion?" Malon started laughing at what Link said.

Malon chuckled a little more to herself, "That’s a good way of putting it. Different, but good."

"I feel like the plaything for the goddesses." remarked Link, "Stuff like this always happens to me. I watch people have healthy relationships, good childhood’s, normal friends, and boring lives. Why can’t I have that?" Malon gave him an evil eye.

"What do you mean normal friends?" she said, playfully poking his side. Link smiled at her.

"You know what I mean," he said. They both started laughing. Once done, Link pointed out that it was dark, and that Malon should get home. He helped her off the wall then got down himself.

"Thanks for cheering me up, Malon." said Link. Malon gave him a hug and a little peck on the cheek. The bright orange light given off by the sky hid her face as it soon began to blush. Link was a bit flabbergasted that Malon had done that. Malon gazed blankly at the floor; her face growing evermore red by the second. Malon decided she should go, turned, said bye, and headed home in a hurry, but Link caught up to her. "It’s not safe for you to walk around Hyrule Field this late at night. I remember what happened last time you tried." he joked allowed.

"Ha ha…very funny." she punched him on the arm. Link winced, but kept smiling. They made their way back to Lon Lon Ranch. After Malon went inside, Link drowsily made his way back home to ponder the days past events.

Zelda stared at her moonlit ceiling thinking about what had happened today. Link’s tear-stricken face flashed through her mind’s eye. Link’s voice echoed softly in her head, "Good bye…ZELDA." She rolled over, and began to weep quietly into her pillow as a gentle, warm breeze blew into her room via-her balcony. She cursed into her pillow, venting her anger. After she cried, Zelda walked over to her desk and opened her journal. There was no entry for today. There was no entry because she thought maybe if she didn’t write, today wouldn’t have happened. Common sense said that that was stupid, but deep down Zelda really believed it. She lit the candle next to her journal, and began to read previous entries.

Dear journal,

Today I met a boy from the forest, just as my dream foretold. He said his name was Link and it sounded somehow familiar. Anyway, he said he would help me stop Ganondorf. He was kinda cute too. He was nice and sweet. He also had the Kokiri Emerald and a fairy with him, so I knew he was the boy from my dreams. Zelda sat back in her chair and thought about that day. It was still fresh in her head like it was yesterday. She flipped through a couple of pages and continued to read,

Dear journal,

Today I saw Link at the Market place buying something. He has grown up so much from the last time I saw him, but still just as cute. I saw him from my window. How I wished I could’ve been down there, instead of up here with daddy’s guest, but there’s nothing I could do. Malon is going to come over and we’re going shopping latter. She’s my best friend and I enjoy spending time with her. She flipped the page.

Dear journal,

Yesterday, Link saved some little girl from a mad man in the ally way in the Castle Town. He was so brave to rush in there and help her. The cut on his face only makes his courage stand out more. Especially since he ran after the guy, then saved Hyrule from Kain and Shanaar. I asked my father to hold a party in his honor, and Link can invite as many people he wants. Father still hasn’t given an answer, but I think he’ll say yes. That’s when I’m going to profess my love to Link. I can’t lie to myself anymore. He has to know how I feel, and I must know how he feels. The goddesses willing, he’ll feel the same way. Only time will tell.

Dear journal,

Link took me on a date, our first official one. It was so romantic. He took me to the forest to meet his friend, Saria. Then we went to some huge clearing, and watched the sun set. The best part was still to come. Once the sun set, the lone tree in the middle of the clearing, lit up with what seemed to be hundreds of little candles. Then music started playing and we danced the entire night. Once done he took me to his house and we had dinner. Impa came and picked me up, but not before I got to kiss him. It was so magical. I can’t wait to see him again. He’s such a gentleman. I know why I feel in love with him. Zelda reminisced about all those times together with Link. Tears came down her cheeks, but she wiped them before they could do any harm. Why did she kiss Ahsien? What was she thinking? That’s when it became clear to her, did she love Link or Ahsien? ‘Why does love have to be so hard’, thought Zelda blowing her noise into a handkerchief. She dipped her pen in ink and began to write today’s journal entry.

Dear journal,

Today I did something I’m not proud of, I kissed another boy. What makes it worse is that Link saw it, and to top this incredible day off I don’t even know if I love Link anymore. I don’t know what to… Zelda stopped writing as her emotions overcame her and she began to cry uncontrollably. She threw the journal against the wall and cried into her arms. Just as Link had before her, she also cried herself to sleep. She too, was pondering the days past events.

The sound of Ahsien’s footsteps echoed through the dark, cold hallway of the castle. The moonlight blasted through the windows casting eerie shadows along the wall. ‘What does Neisha want with me at this hour’, thought Ahsien as he opened the door to Neisha’s room. He saw Neisha reading what looked like a scroll, but he couldn’t tell cause the room was poorly lit up.

"Come in my son." said Neisha reading the scroll.

"I’m not your son." replied Ahsien rudely. Neisha gave him an evil smile then continued to read the scroll.

"Our plan will take to long." stated Neisha, "Were you successful in getting her to love you?" time passed without an answer. Losing his patience, he asked again, "Well…did you or didn’t you?!"

"N…No sir, not yet. She’s torn between me and some boy named Link." answered Ahsien nervously. Neisha’s eyes widened with shock. Slowly a smile emerged from his sweaty face. His eyes giving a piercing gaze.

"Perfect." exclaimed Neisha, "Here’s what you’re going to do."

Zelda abruptly awoke from her sleep due to a tapping at her window. Torpidly Zelda shuffled her body towards her window. When she gazed down, she saw Ahsien down there throwing pebbles at her window. Zelda opened the window and asked him what he wanted. "What do you want?" asked Zelda in a frustrated voice.

"I need to speak to you." replied Ahsien, "It’s very important." Zelda sighed then closed her window. Zelda’s image raced through Ahsien’s mind. ‘What’s this feeling’, he thought. Lately he had been feeling strange about Zelda. He’d never felt this way about anyone. Could this be love? He shook that thought from his head as Zelda crept silently from the castle.

"What’s so important that you have to get me out of bed and into trouble?" asked Zelda curtly. He could tell that she wasn’t to thrilled about what’d happened earlier today. Again that strange feeling overcame his body, but he was able to force the feeling aside. Slowly he raised his head to met his eyes with hers. He gently grabbed Zelda’s hand in his icy-cold grasp. Slowly he whispered into her left ear.

"Please, forgive me." Zelda pulled her head away and looked at him with confusion. A hand came across her face from behind and a cloth was wrapped around her face to keep her from calling out. Ahsien looked into Zelda’s eyes as they swam in tears. The look of fear ran deep in her eyes and spread across her face. Zelda gazed into his eyes before things got blurred. She passed out and fell into Ahsien’s arms. He ran his fingers threw her golden hair before the henchman took her away. As Zelda was being carried off, Ahsien whispered to himself, "I’m sorry."

When Zelda awoke, she was in a damp, dark, cold dungeon cell. Towards the top of the back wall, there was a small slit with rusted iron bars on it. She could hear the raindrops smacking against the muddy ground. Her head felt like it had been ran over by a trade cart. The pain wasn’t very bad, but the constant throbbing was what she disliked. The sound of footsteps could be heard in the distance. They were getting closer to Zelda’s position. Her vision was still a bit blurred, but she could make out who it was. "Ahsien!" yelled Zelda, "Let me out of here at once." Ahsien watched on as Zelda struggled to stand. She looked like she had a bit too much to drink last night.

"A hang-over’s a bitch, isn’t it princess? You were out for a few days." mocked Ahsien. Zelda struggled to stand, but fell onto her knees and hands. Slowly she crawled over to the door where Ahsien was sitting. She brought her head up and squeezed her cute little face in between the bars.

"I wouldn’t know," replied Zelda, "I’m not a pathetic loser who has to find his answers to life’s questions at the bottom of a beer mug." Zelda smiled then spit into his face, hitting in his left eye. She fell onto her back and began to giggle. Ahsien just sat there wiping the spit from his face.

"Fair enough." replied Ahsien humbly to himself. Zelda sat up with a serious look on her face.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she said looking deeply into his eyes. A lowly tear emerged from her eye and rolled slowly down her face. They gazed at each other for a while longer before Ahsien broke off their staring contest.

Ahsien took a deep breath then started "It’s a long and complicated story." Ahsien began, "I come from a different dimension. The goddesses created four dimensions. Two were for us to live in for a short time and the other two were made for us to live in for all eternity. You see you either live in the third or fourth dimension. When you die, depending on how well you lived, you travel to the first or second dimension." Zelda sat there drooling over what she had heard. She took her hand and flung it across the top of her head.

"Whoosh…strike one," she said. Ahsien ran his hand threw his jet- black hair and began again.

"You live in the third dimension. I live in the fourth dimension. If you led a good life, you go to the first dimension. If you led a bad life, you go to the second dimension." Ahsien was broke off by Zelda.

"How do you know all of this?" questioned Zelda.

"When you transgress a dimension were you don’t belong, you gain something the goddesses call ‘infinite knowledge’" explained Ahsien. Again, Zelda sat there dumbfounded.

"Whoosh…strike two," she said again. Ahsien sighed loudly.

"I can’t break it down any further." he said, growing evermore angry. "If you don’t understand now, you never will, but I’ll try one more time. When you travel to a dimension you were not born in, you gain the knowledge of what happened." Ahsien drew a diamond on the floor, then continued, "The top is the first dimension, the bottom is the second dimension, the left side is the third, and the right side is the fourth." He circled the third and fourth dimension, "You live in one of these two areas." He then pointed to the top and bottom, "When you die you go to one of these places."

"I get it now," said Zelda shaking her head.

Ahsien smiled, "Great, finally you understand."

"There’s just one more thing." Zelda said, "You still haven’t told me why you did this to me." once Ahsien heard that, he stared off into space.

"He said that if I don’t do what he says, he’ll kill my family." said Ahsien clenching his fist tightly at that thought.

"Who?" questioned Zelda.

"Neisha…"

Link sluggishly crawled out of his warm, soft bed. The sound of the gentle raindrops tapped at his roof, as he shuffled his way over to a pile of tunics balled up in a corner of his room. Slowly he began to sniff and sift through them. All of them stunk with the exception of one, which he put on. He opened the curtains, that made up his door, and he stepped outside. The weather reflected his mood perfectly, dark and crappy. He did enjoy the rain though. Feeling the cool drops of precious water gently embracing his body, while he walked about the foul weather. Slowly he made his way to the Market Place. Today would be the day he changed his looks. Link knew subconsciously that the purpose of this was to try to win back Zelda, but he kept denying it to himself. It had been a while since anyone had seen him. He never went out and never let anyone come in. He cut to the left and headed to the back ally of the Market Town. He remembered reading an advertisement a few weeks prior: If you have it, I’ll pierce it. Come to the back ally of the Hyrule Town Market. Shop 34b, -second floor. He found himself standing at the front door to that very place. He sucked in a deep breath and walked in to meet his new fate. Cautiously, Link climbed the steep stair well. His heart was racing as doubt plagued his mind. A colorful sign grabbed his attention. It read: 34b Tattoo’s & Body Piercing. The doorway had strings with beads dangling from the ceiling as the door. When Link passed threw, they made noise telling the owner he had a client. A tall, thin man came from the back of the place. He had a tattoo of a snake biting a man in his butt, on his right arm. A smile unfolded across Link’s face. He couldn’t help but do so. The tattoo was so whimsical.

"What can I do for you, sir?" asked the man in a polite tone. Hearing the man speak had calmed Link down a bit.

"Yes, I…I would like a tattoo, I mean piercing please." Link said still nervous. The man put a hand to his chin and proceeded to look Link up and down. The man removed his hand from his chin then turned around, and began to dig threw a drawer.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"I’m thirteen, why?" answered Link. The man turned around holding a box and set it next to a chair to Link’s right.

"Come." He motioned link to sit in the chair, "Sit down please." Link did as he was told. He sat in the chair, gripping the arms tightly. "Don’t worry." reassured the man, "It won’t hurt to much. I numb the area being pierced first. So, what am I piercing?"

"My ears please." muttered Link softly, "One in each ear, sir." The man began to laugh. "What’s so funny." questioned Link angrily.

"You are, boy!" he said in between breaths, "You look like you’re going to piss your tunic." Link began to blush as the man apologized. He had Link pick out what kind of earrings he wanted. Two simple, silver, ring-shaped ones were what he picked. After about 15 minutes of numbing the ears, he pierced them. Link winced to the pain, but it wasn’t as bad as he originally thought it would be. Link paid the man 50 rupees then proceeded home, but before he did, he looked at himself in the mirror next to his chair.

His earrings went well with his new haircut. Link had let his hair grow then faded the back and sides of his hair to match the top. He then parted his hair down the middle. He also noticed his constant training had been paying off. That was the main reason no one could find him. He was out in the woods working out, and practicing his swordplay almost constantly. Link’s new appearance pleased him deeply. He was more determined than ever to show that boy he had some competition.

The tension was hanging thick in the air. Impa sat and watched anxiously as the king paced around his throne. Zelda had been missing for more than a week. To keep the population from going crazy, they kept it under wraps. This tension was broken when a man came through the door. Impa and the king looked towards the man. The man looked to the floor and shook his head.

"Damn it!" bellowed the king, "You’re supposed to be the ‘best of the best.’ So why haven’t you found any leads?"

"Well, she disappeared over night." stated the man, "By the looks of it, she just up and walked out of here. I mean there’s no evidence of a struggle, no kidnapping note, or anything. You may have to except the fact that your daughter ran away." The king began to shake his head. He dismissed the man, but another came through the door. It was a front-gate guard.

"Excuse me you highness, but you have a visitor." he started.

"I don’t want to be disturbed!" yelled the king.

"But it’s Link, he wants to…"

"I don’t care who it…" the king paused, "Did you say Link?" the guard nodded. "Let him in." ordered the king. The guard bowed and left at once to let Link in. After a short while Link walked through the throne-room door. At the sight of the king, Link began to kneel but the king told him not to.

"Impa." Link tipped his hat then continued, "Sir I’ve come to see Zelda." Impa slowly walked over to Link and put her arm around his shoulders.

"Link there’s something you should know." she started.

"I know, I know. She has a new love interest, but I ain’t given her up without a fight." Link slammed his fist into his hand.

"No, not that." she began, "Zelda isn’t here."

"So…where is she?" asked Link.

"We don’t know. She’s disappeared." said Impa. Link looked at the king to see if it were true. The king’s head dropped to the floor, as he walked towards Link.

"Okay, okay, when was the last time you saw her?" asked Link.

"After you ran off, she ran up the stairs to her room and never came out." said Impa. Link nodded and began to think.

"Have you asked her boy-toy were she is?" asked Link cynically. Impa and the king glanced at each other.

"No," started Impa, "They left that night. When we woke up and found Zelda missing, they were already gone." Link let out a big sigh.

"Hello!" yelled Link, "Doesn’t that seem fishy to you people? Two-guest leave and the next day the princess is missing. Think about it." Impa glared at Link menacingly.

"I know you pissed-off ‘cause you got dumped like last weeks garbage, so I’ll pretend like I didn’t hear that." barked Impa.

"No, think about it. That doesn’t strike you as odd?" asked Link. They could both see that Link was being serious, so they thought about it. "Did any of you actually see them leave?" questioned Link.

"No." answered Impa and the king in unison.

"There you go. This wreaks of foul-play all over it." said Link. Just then, a guard came running through the door.

"Your majesty!" yelled the guard, "I found this stuck to a tree outside. Believe me, ‘twas not there five minutes ago." He handed the king an arrow with a piece of paper wrapped around it. He unrolled it and read aloud:

Your princess is safe and sound. Do as this letter asks or she’ll be in the ground. I hath do this ‘cause I’d rather hold fast the mortal sword and, like all good men, bestride our downfall’n birthdom. Bleed, bleed, poor country! Great tyranny, the title is affeered! Bring the three spiritual stones and the Ocarina of Time. Deliver these keys of the goddesses to 87^th St. and look for a Dumpster. Place these items there. Once they’re hath harvested, your daughter will be returned unharmed. Deliver upon this time:

"What the hell was he talking about?" asked Link. Impa shook her head.

"I did a little research. Loren is a country that we took control over during the Great War. We don’t own it, but it is a protectorate of Hyrule. What he said in short is I’m a tyrant and he is doing this to gain Loren’s independence," said the king, "Plus, he’s a military man ‘cause he wrote the time in military format." The king walked over and sat down on his throne to think. He thought long and hard on what to do. Link was told to come here at 1:30 in the afternoon. Then, and only then, would his plan be unraveled.

The sun was blistering hot the next day. Heat waves could be seen radiating off the ground as the king, Impa, Link, and five guards sat in ambush. Link was dressed as a beggar in rags so he couldn’t be recognized. The king and Impa sat in a broken-house watching through a window; the guards in there with them. Slowly the time passed to and from the appointed time. The shadow of the Dumpster shrunk then grew. The king grew worried that the kidnappers caught on to his scheme. Link, growing sick of this farce, threw off his garments and walked over to the Dumpster.

"Look, they’re not coming." stated Link, "Lets just grab the stuff and leave." Link flung the lid open only the gawk in dismay. Impa and the king came out to see what he was looking at.

"Nothing!" screeched Link, "There’s nothing in here. We watched all day. No one came. How’d this happen?" then Link noticed a small note stuck on the side. He ripped it off and read:

How stupid do you think I am? I know you’re waiting for me so I cheated. The princess will be returned when her use is no longer required. Link, come to the Temple of Time tonight at 1800. Come alone or else. Check the bottom of the Dumpster. You ignorant fools!

Link threw the note aside and lifted the bottom of the Dumpster. It came lose and there was a tunnel. Link ran into a shop and looked at the time. He had five minutes to leave. "I’m going now, but follow just incase. Stay out of sight though. Okay?" Link departed for the Temple of Time at once. There he stood, the entrance in front of him. With a deep breath, he walked inside. "Link!" a familiar voice screamed. He saw Zelda held at spear-point by two guards. Neisha and Ahsien stood by the Master Sword.

"Come Link, or should I show some respect, Hero of Time." bellowed Neisha. Link cautiously began towards them. "Good, now that you’re here, pull the sword." he ordered.

"No!" said Link defiantly.

"Thou shall take my advice which hath been both grave and prosperous. Worthy Link, we stay upon your leisure." Neisha swung his arms towards the sword. Link was confused. He had no clue what he was talking about.

"We’re waiting for you is what he’s saying." blurted Ahsien. Link’s eyebrows rose as he now understood.

"And what if I don’t." threatened Link, crossing his arms.

"Well," Neisha drew a knife from his belt and held it to Zelda’s throat, "Come, think night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of Hell. That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, to cry, ‘Hold, Hold!’" Link slapped his forehead.

"Will you stop that and speak so I can understand you!" yelled Link.

"Do as I ask or Zelda dies!" screamed Neisha. His words echoed through the temple. Seeing no other option, Link did as he was told. Slowly he grasped the hilt of the Master Sword. Within seconds of the sword being pulled, Link disappeared in a blue cylinder of magic. With Link now gone, Neisha grabbed Zelda and dragged her with him in the cylinder. Almost instantaneously, they arrived in an exact duplicate of the Temple of Time.

"Where are we?" asked Neisha, holding Zelda’s wrist tightly.

"The Temple of Light." she answered curtly.

"Are we in the Sacred Realm?" he asked. She gave him a look as if saying, duh. "Don’t give me that, for I shallot smite that smirk from thine face." threatened Neisha, "Were is the Triforce?" Zelda pointed towards the room to the back. He saw a raised platform with a pedestal in the middle. A picture of the Triforce was on top of it, dawdling around in circles. Dragging Zelda with him, he made his way to the Triforce. The tension hung thick as his palms grew sweaty. Every muscle tightened in anticipation. He thought about the power he would soon possess. He closed his eyes and reached out for the Triforce.

Link found himself in a familiar setting. ‘The Chamber of Sages’, he thought.

"Welcome Link." sounded a familiar voice, "To what do I owe this pleasure?" Link turned to see an old friend, Rauru.

"Quick, you have to get me to the Temple of Light, and fast." ordered Link. Rauru looked confused, but did as he was asked.

Neisha closed his eyes and reached out for the Triforce.

"You know, it works better when there’s something there to grab." said Link. Neisha opened his eyes to see a translucent outline of the Triforce.

"What source of trickery is this!" yelled Neisha.

"You should really research your schemes before you do them." smirked Link. Neisha gave a perplexed expression. "You see," began Link, "When Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm and tried to seize the Triforce, it broke into three pieces: power, wisdom, and courage. Ganondorf holds the Triforce of power, Zelda has wisdom, and I have courage." Link grasped the Master Sword tightly in his hands. He wielded it like a double-handed weapon. Neisha released a cackle, which echoed through-out the temple.

"Well then." started Neisha, "It seems I have two with-in my grasp." He tossed Zelda aside and charged Link. "Don’t think I shalt present thee eminence!" he blurted out. Soon they clashed in a mighty battle. The training Link did helped him immensely, for his sword was heavy. Zelda watched on silently cheering for Link. A figure could be seen running towards the two fighting figures. He soon passed them and was heading in her direction. It was Ahsien.

"Quickly Zelda," he held out his hand, "We must fly now before ‘tis to late." Zelda hesitated to go with him though. "Why do you hesitate?" he asked. Zelda looked into his eyes. She could see he was being sincere. She grabbed his hand and they ran towards the entrance.

"No!" yelled Neisha, "Why hath thou sweared and lied?" he shoved Link to the side and pulled out a bow. "Stop, or I shall fire!" Ahsien stopped and turned to see Neisha with an arrow notched and pointed towards him. "Step away from the girl!" yelled Neisha. Ahsien reluctantly did as he was told. "Yes! Revenge is mine!" He released the arrow at Zelda. Time went in slow motion as the arrow flew by Link. Seeing his chance, Ahsien jumped in front of the fated arrow.

"No!" yelled Zelda as Ahsien landed with a thud in front of her. She rolled him over to see the arrow protruding from his chest.

"You fool! Doth thou know what thy hast done?!" screamed Neisha. Ahsien began to laugh humbly. He struggled to sit, using the wall for support.

"‘Tis better thee without than me within. I am done." said Ahsien before coughing up blood. Neisha dropped to his knees, grasping his chest. Link ran over to the both of them. "I’m sorry for the pain I caused the both of you." he said looking at Link. "But I do, and will always, love you…Zelda." Calmly he took his last breath of life and passed into the afterlife, gazing into Zelda’s eyes. Tears streamed from her face. The screams of death and pain brought them to look at Neisha. A bright red sphere appeared 20-something feet in front of Neisha. There a boy walked out of it. The person surprised all of them, for it was Ahsien. He was followed by a cloaked figure that stood eight feet tall, carrying a scythe. Neisha looked on in absolute horror.

"Thou canst not say I did it; never shake thy gory locks at me." squealed Neisha, pointing towards Ahsien. Slowly the cloaked figure moved towards Neisha. He tried to run, but the mysterious figure flung out his hand, exposing it. That sight shocked everyone in the room. Underneath that cloak was a skeleton.

"Come." said the cloaked man in a hoarse voice. "Beelzebub waits for thee on the banks of Acheron." He swung back his scythe and ran it threw Neisha. His body fell and his spirit arose from the lifeless corpse. The cloaked man put his free hand in his cloak and brought out a lantern. He opened it and Neisha’s soul was slurped into the lantern. Neisha’s screams were silenced when the lantern was closed. Ahsien walked into the red sphere.

"Wait!" hollered Link, "Why did Ahsien risk his life for Zelda. He was a traitor." The cloaked man stopped and turned towards Link. The darkness in his hood was penetrated by two faint red glares. For a while no words were exchanged between either side.

"There is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. He was a gentleman on whom Zelda built an absolute trust." Slowly the cloaked figure disappeared in the sphere. Once through, it departed in a white blinding flash. Gradually Ahsien’s body vanished.

Impa, the king, and some solders waited anxiously for the outcome of what ever was going on in there. Zelda came running out and hugged her father tightly. "Zelda my darling," started the king, "I was worried about you, but I knew with Link in there you were in capable hands." Zelda had completely forgotten about Link. She turned to see him leaning against the alter holding a bag with the spiritual stones. He was leisurely leaning against it. The king walked over and embraced Link tightly. Once done, Link handed him the bag and began to walk home.

"Link!" shouted Zelda, "Wait, I want to talk to you." She asked everyone to leave except Link. She said it was a private moment she needed with Link. Once the temple had cleared, she walked over towards Link. "You look different," she said gazing towards the floor, "Did you do something with your hair?" Slowly a smile grew across Link’s face.

"Yea, I did something with my hair." he said, "Is this what you wanted to talk about?" Zelda looked up to notice that he had also pierced his ears. That was something she never would’ve expected Link to do. It was different, but also rebellious at the same time; she liked it.

"No that wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about." she started, "I’m…I’m sorry about what happened between us. I don’t know why I did what…" Link cut her off.

"You don’t need to explain or dignify your actions to me." Link caught his breath and calmed down. "What you did Zelda was of your own choosing, and nothing can change what’s happened." He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. All Zelda could do was look at the floor. "I’m sorry he died, but he did what I always swore I would do. He died defending your life. That makes him a good man. You can’t help the way you felt towards him, but the way you went about it was wrong."

"He made me feel weird when I was around him." Zelda was still looking at the floor during her excuse, "He made me unsure of my feelings towards you because I felt the same way with him that I feel with you, or that’s what I thought. I just made a bad decision." Disappointment spread across Link’s face as his hands slowly slipped off her shoulders. He turned around and began to leave, but he stopped half way to the door.

"You should go home, it’s getting late," said Link. "And don’t make excuses for yourself. It’ll never be the same between us, but we can still be friends. If you loved him, then you loved him. That’s all there is to it.

Zelda looked up to see him leaving. She ran over, grabbed his arm, and spun him around. "You told me that love is something that is precious. When you love someone you’ll do anything for them regardless of any situation." Link paused and thought for a moment,

"I’ll do anything for you Zelda because I love you. I’ve always known it, but the trust I had in you is all but gone." He freed his arm from Zelda’s grasp, "It’ll never be the same between us. I have to go; I’m tired. Good night Zelda." He turned to leave, but heard Zelda yell for him.

"Link wait!" she yelled, "I just want to say one more thing in my defense. I’ve made many mistakes in my life. Some for better and some for worse, but the biggest mistake I’ve ever made was to let you go. You must believe me Link, I’m sorry." Link gave a look of little concern towards what Zelda had said. He turned and left the temple leaving Zelda by herself. Slowly Link made his way home, sheding a tear for the woman who he had once given his entire heart to. His lost love…Zelda.

THE END