Chapter 7: Hero of Time

I was sooooo excited about this chapter!!! This will definitely be a good one but not as good as the last chapter of the book tee hee but you'll have to wait till the end muhahahaha.

"No way," I said looking around the same temple but it was strange. A different feeling most definitely. I looked around and Midna wasn't there so I knew I wasn't in the New Hyrule anymore.

I walked out of the room and into another where a platform held three beautiful glowing stones. One red, one blue, and one green. They all sparkled and were cut differently. I walked to a marking in the middle of the floor and noticed that it was the platform that I had played the song of time on. I felt my empty sheath and felt kind of empty inside for I had always carried the master sword with me. I walked down a long hallway and out the door into a courtyard with a few gravestones on it. I walked forward and found an exit until I was in a small town that I had recognized almost instantly except it was way smaller then the last time I saw it and the giant fountain was very small. I smiled at this as men hoisting wood passed by. That's when I noticed how beat up the town really was. Houses were being cleaned and renewed from their battered states.

"You look familiar," said a voice from behind me and I turned around to see Zelda dusting off her pink dress. People around didn't seem to be affected by the young woman's presence at all.

"Zelda?" I said surprised. What was she doing here? And that's when it hit me. She was the princess Zelda of this time.

"Are you related to a boy named Link by chance?" she asked lightly.

"Oh, I…well...he's my…cousin!" I said thinking up something quickly. "My name is…Kiera."

"Well it is very nice to meet you Kiera," Zelda said with a smile. "I am princess Zelda. If you are looking for your cousin he is at Lon Lon ranch not to far from here. It's just a short hike off the castle."

I nodded. "Thank you very much princess." I then turned and walked out of town. What else was I supposed to do? I walked out of the castle and saw the field that I had come to know so well. I smiled widely as it was so much different then it was today. I walked around a bit curiously and felt inside my pocket for the ocarina. I thought of the melody for Epona and wished that she was here with me right now. I saw a large part of the field was taken up by a circular area enclosed in tall rock walls. I saw an entrance in the front and ran towards it. I heard laughing and horse whimpering as I saw the sign saying Lon Lon on it. I walked up the entrance and found myself in a ranch.

"I know you can do better then that!" I heard a girly voice yell laughing loudly.

"I'd like to see you try," said a voice that sounded a lot like my own. I walked closer to the voices passing by two barns and into a giant field with a giant circle of it gated but the gate was open. A red-headed girl stood at the entrance of the gates laughing and wiping the dust of her peasant's gown and a boy about the same age as me was riding a horse around the gates jumping over a set up jumps. He jumped of his horse by the girl with a smile. "Going on, show me."

"Funny," she said putting her hands against his chest like Zelda had done with me many a times. Watching this made me miss Zelda so much.

"I'm not kidding," he laughed picking her up and spinning around laughing.

I then noticed that he looked exactly like me. He stopped all of a sudden and I knew he had spotted me.

"What's wrong Link?" the red-head asked lightly.

"Who are you?" the one Link asked.

"I'm Link," I said scratching the back of my head pulling off the hood of the black cloak quickly. The red-head looked totally shocked but the Link put the girl down and his hand on the hilt of his blade. He sprinted over to me quickly.

He looked at me surprised as I did him. He looked exactly like me in a green tunic and green cap. He had bright blue eyes like mine and his facial structure was the same as mine. The only difference between us was that his hair was cornfield blonde while mine was a light dirty blonde.

"But you…are me…" he said totally shocked.

"I need your help Hero of Time," I said more confidently. "I am your predecessor of 200 years. I am Link, Hero of the Twilight and I need your help to save Hyrule."

"But how did you get here?" Link asked.

"I think you will recognize this," I said pulling the blue ocarina out of my pocket and he stepped back in total shock.

"This couldn't be possible," he said lightly as I pocketed the ocarina again. "You can't be here. I must be dreaming this up."

"I need you to train me Link," I pleaded. "I need the help of the hero of time or I will lose everything I ever cared about. I beg of you to show me the ways of the master blade. I have used it before but never have I been as good as you. I will leave as soon as I know how."

"Link?" the red-head said lightly walking over to him.

"So I guess this means that you're the son of one of my great, great grandchildren or something?" he said with a smile. "That means I lived long enough to have children."

I looked at him a little surprised.

"What do you mean you lived long enough to have children?" I asked confused.

"I'm a hero," Link said brushing a piece of his hair out of his eyes. "I fight for what is right and someday I believe that it will be the death of me."

"You will live a glorious life," I said reassuringly. "That I know for sure. So will you train me and send me home when the time comes?"

"I'm guessing you'll need to put my blade in the pedestal or you can't get back can you?" Link said. "Let me see the ocarina."

I handed him the ocarina reluctantly not really sure I was supposed to. He put the tip to his lips and played a quick note then began to play Epona's song which surprised me beyond belief. The horse he was riding earlier had reacted immediately. He then played the song of time clearly.

"You really are the Hero of Twilight," Link said. "I had a dream that this would happen so I will teach you everything that you need to know. We will start tomorrow morning."

"You know Epona's song," I said.

"We of course I do," Link said with a smile. "Malon's mother composed it and Epona has come to the call of it ever since. How do you know the name of my horse anyways?"

"Because Epona is the name of my horse," I said with a smile. "And she comes to the call of that song as well. We really are quite alike aren't we?"

"I believe so," Link said with another shocked expression on his face.

"So is there a special lady in your life?" Link asked me curiously. Link, Malon (the red-headed girl), and I sat around a table with mugs of ale. That afternoon after I had come I had learned that Lon Lon ranch was owned by a man named Talon, Malon's father, but Talon passed away a year ago and Malon has been in charge of the ranch ever since. Malon had been running the ranch alone for Ingo left to Kakariko in search of a better life. That's when Link had come and helped Malon with the ranching. Of course they had connected instantly and fell in love.

"I guess so," I said a little embarrassed feeling my cheeks burn bright red.

"Oh tell us about her," Malon said with a wide smile. "Is she beautiful?"

I froze up. I thought about talking about Zelda but every time I tried to think up things to say about her I kept seeing Midna and when I tried to see Midna I could see only Zelda. I didn't know what to say.

"I'm in love with two," I said surprising myself more then Link and Malon who were pretty surprised. "Both are connected neither together nor apart. One is light, hair cornfield blonde, eyes brilliant blue, and skin pale. The other is dark, hair chestnut brown, eyes fierce piercing green, skin black as Ebony with green lines delicately wrapping around her. One is a Hyilian girl who rules over all of Hyrule while the other is a creature of the darkness who rules the twilight. Neither are better nor worse because they connect by their trust that good will always prevail over evil."

"That is so cute!" Malon said with a big smile.

"I cannot choose one nor the other because they each balance each other out," I said. "I just don't know what to do anymore."

"Are they really connected?" Link said surprised.

"While one is in Hyrule the other has to be in the twilight ruling over the darkness," I said.

"Describe them more," Malon said sitting down beside me with a grin.

"Do you know your princess Zelda?" I asked which made Link turn his eyes to me quickly. "The princess Zelda from my time is the one that I am in love with. She looks exactly like yours."

"Really?" Malon said cuddling up to me which I didn't much like. "You must be quite the catch if you've got the princess going after you. You must be something special."

"I guess," I said scratching my head a bit. I stood up and paced the room so I wasn't sitting next to Malon anymore.

"So this war that is about to go on," Link said. "Who are your allies?"

"The gorons have lost," I said bowing my head shamefully. "As well as the Kakariko forces. That leaves me with the smaller villages like my home town Ordon."

"How about Kokiri?" Link asked.

"They have hidden themselves and the Great Deku tree away so that they will not be disturbed any longer by the threat of destruction. They haven't been seen in many years."

"That is terribly sad," Link said thinking about all the Kokiri he had grown up with especially Sara. "And how many of these creatures are you to fight?"

"50,000," I said regretfully. "That means at least 75 creatures per person."

"And the Zora's? Have they been defeated as well?" Link asked thinking it though thoroughly.

"The Zora's are a peaceful nation," I said. "They would not willingly endanger themselves if it is not necessary. Asking them to join the war is no better then asking the creatures themselves to give up and leave. It's just not going to happen. That is why I have to be as strong as possible or there is no hope even though really there is no hope no matter how you put it."

"There's always hope," Link said with a smile. "But your training will be tough. How much time do we have left until you need to be back in your time?"

"3 days," I said (Yahh I forgot to add that part in too…wups).

"That is not nearly enough time but it will have to do," Link said nodding his head. "Malon, I'll need you to get Link a good strong horse and a blade. Tomorrow morning is when we start and we don't finish till sun down."

Malon nodded.

"It best you get some rest hero," Malon said. "I will escort you to your room if you like."

"Thank you," I said following Malon up the stairs.

"Remember, as soon as the roosters call we need to be out there alright?" Link said as I disappeared up the stairs.

"Aye," I said. I walked up some more stairs until we reached the upstairs floor where three bedrooms were. Malon opened the door to the first room. "I'm guessing this is my room then?"

"Yup," Malon said lightly. She then walked to the room beside it and disappeared into it. I went into my room looking around inquisitively. It was a small room with a straw mattress and a set of drawers. I dropped my bag of weapons by the drawers and undid the cloak letting it slide down to the floor. I pulled off the tunic and laid down on the bed. It was comfortable enough for it was what I was used to living in Ordon. I fell asleep almost instantly.

"It's time to wake up Link," I heard a girly voice say above me. I blinked my eyes open and Malon had walked in the room already dressed in a clean peasants dress and her hair was done up in a ponytail. "I have a horse waiting for you outside."

I got up slowly looking around the semi-dark room. I grabbed my tunic off the floor and pulled it on quickly then grabbed my bag and headed out the door behind Malon and into to living room. Malon passed me a bottle of Milk and bagel.

"That's fresh Lon Lon milk," Malon said. "It is good for regaining some of that energy of yours. You don't want to die out on Link during training do you?"

I pocketed the bottle and scarfed the bagel then ran outside where a brown horse with black hooves stood waiting for me.

"Here," Malon said passing me a long silver blade that looked like it had just been polished. "Link told me to get you this one for the master sword would cut through all the rest we've got. He'll be over by the track. I nodded and got on the horse with relative ease. I looked around and pulled the reins back lightly and trotted over to the tracks were Link was sitting on Epona waiting.

"We'll start with jumping," Link said. "Pretty basic stuff. I want you to jump all the jumps around the course two times, one handed, with your bow in your left hand."

I was a little surprised at how fast we were really getting into this but I didn't complain and grabbed my bow out of my bag. I strung it without question and put the 50 arrow quiver on my back.

"Do you know how to jump?" Link asked as I mounted the horse again with ease.

"Well back home in Ordon I worked at a ranch and once the work was done I would get to do some jumping so I think I got the hang of it," I said remembering the late nights where Epona and I would jump. It seemed like so long ago.

"You have 50 seconds to get around the course twice then," Link said standing by the entrance of the gate. The sun was already peaking up over the horizon so I did not fear blindness of the poles. "Stand your horse behind this white line and when I say go you go. Alright, Ready…steady…GO!"

I pulled back the reins heavily and the horse charged forward dangerously but I was used to this by now. The first jump was ahead of me so I shifted my weight back, standing up, then shifting my weight forward as I went over the jump so I made a perfect landing. Pulling the reins back more I went over two smaller jumps and then there was to more larger jumps. Those were tough for they were so close together and I could feel my stomach muscles tensing but I kept going. Then I saw the really tall jump. I stood up shifting all the weight I could without falling off backwards and the horse jumped high in the air. I felt weightlessness as I soared gently over the gate and landing with a load thump of hooves shifting my weight entirely forward and regaining my balance. I charged forward over the last large gate and across the finish line, bow grasped in my left hand. Again I rode over the track with relative ease and stopped after crossing the white line with an amazed look on Link's face.

"You beat that in 37 seconds," Link said lightly totally shocked. "You nearly beat my record and I've been working with Epona for at least 2 years!"

I scratched the back of my head embarrassed. I didn't really think I was that good at riding at all but I guess training with Epona so long made me this good.

"I guess he's a natural like you Link," Malon smiled sweetly at Link. "Remember that in 2 years you've only improved by 4 seconds. You beat the record on your first try too."

"But it was only 48 seconds!" Link said in a total shock mode. "Why is he coming here to train with me if he's surpassing me in both riding and riding with bow in hand? I have no clue what I'm supposed to teach him if he's better then me!"

"What about sword combat," I said lifting the sliver blade out from my master sword sheath. "I heard that you were the best of the best. Your soul taught me everything I know and that isn't even the extent of his knowledge. Teach me what your soul did not. Show me the secrets that have gone untold for generations." Now I knew what Midna meant by secrets untold for generations. I kind of smiled to myself about that.

"So you want to know the ways of the sword I see," Link said with a smile. "So does this really make me the best of the best? That's a little overwhelming but I will teach you all I know. Of course you know the five basic moves."

I nodded dismounting off the horse.

"You are a good stead," I said lightly to the horse.

"Then be prepared to fight hard," Link said pulling out his master sword which gleamed gently in the light. I suddenly felt that same void inside. The master sword was my blade. I had defeated Ganondwarf with it and saved all of Hyrule. Without it I felt weak and defenceless but I had to forget about it.

"I was prepared when I plunged my blade into the pedestal," I said nodding my head.