Tatl couldn't help but screw her eyes against dizziness as she and her partner materialized before the Clock Tower. Time travel had that effect on you.

"So… swamp and mountain. If I remember right, the next place your brother mentioned was the ocean. So which way do we go to get there?" asked Link.

Tatl looked him over critically. No more than ten minutes ago (well, really it was three days in the future, but thinking like that too much screws with your head), Link had battled the mechanical monster Goht and freed the Guardian of Snowhead. It was plain to see the exhaustion on his face, but Tatl knew he'd kiss a Chuchu before admitting it. Not that that meant she was going to let him have his way.

"Heck no. Not until you've gotten some rest."

"I'm fine," countered Link defiantly.

"We spent almost three whole days in Snowhead Temple, and we were too busy trying to survive to get any rest there. You just got finished beating that bull thing. And you want to journey all the way to Great Bay this very instant?"

"There's no time like the present. And I'm fine."

"You tried to pull this crap on me last time. It didn't work then, and it's not working now."

Link simply began walking ahead.

"Hey!" He froze abruptly for some reason, and turned back. Tatl got in his face. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To ask someone for directions to Great Bay."

"Oh, no you don't!" The fairy began flying erratically about his person, purposely colliding with his head.

"Ah! Argh! Tatl! Quit it!"

Tatl pretended not to hear him and continued.

"Alright! Alright! I surrender! I'll get a room at the inn! Now stop!"

Link was lying on the bed, but his eyes were still open.

"You should get some sleep," suggested Tatl.

"I should be making my way to the bay," he returned. "I need to help the other Guardians as quickly as possible."

"You've got a magic ocarina song that lets you go back in time."

"Yeah, but…"

Tatl sighed. "Look, you're no use to this town if you're more than half-dead, Link. It may seem selfish at first glance, but if you don't take care of yourself, Clock Town won't survive."

He didn't answer for a long time. "I guess you're right." He shifted to his side and closed his eyes.

Tatl couldn't remember falling asleep herself, but she was wakened by a quiet melody—an ocarina. Link was still on his bed, and sure enough there was his ocarina in his hands. He didn't seem to notice Tatl at all.

She listened. She had heard him play that tune before, but she had no idea what it was. Suddenly Link noticed her and ceased playing. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "Did I wake you?"

"No, you didn't," Tatl lied. The song had intrigued her. "Don't stop because of me."

Absently he put the instrument back to his lips and began playing the song again, though at a slower tempo than what Tatl had heard before. He seemed to forget where he was, as if he were lost in a memory.

Tatl didn't know how long she just floated there, listening. "You know, you always have such a faraway look on your face whenever you play that song on your ocarina," she commented after a while. "Like when you were playing just now—what were you thinking about?"

"An old friend taught me that song. I was thinking about her… as well as other things. But that was a long time ago."

Tatl couldn't help but snort. "A long time ago? You're what, twelve years old?"

"The flow of time is always cruel... its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it..."

Tatl wasn't sure how to react to this unexpected depth in her partner. "Y-yeah, I'll agree with you, but… are you alright?"

"I am twelve years old, yet at the same time, I'm not. I told you before, I come from Hyrule. Well, I was a Hero there once."

"That doesn't surprise me much, actually, after what I've seen you accomplish this far."

"I haven't gotten to the twist yet. I was chosen as the Hero of Time, but because of my youth, I was sealed away until I was old enough. For seven years."

"Wait, what?"

"After I helped seal away the evil man who had seized control of Hyrule, I was sent back so that I might regain the time I had lost. Technically, that was two years ago."

Tatl was speechless. "I…"

"I was a child in an adult's body, charged to do an adult's job. But now I feel like an adult in a child's body. I've seen too much to be anything else."

Tatl didn't know how to respond.

"…Masks seem to be a big deal in this country," Link said after a moment.

"Y, Yeah, they are," Tatl replied, thrown off by the change of topic.

Link went on. "It's fascinating. Walking around, totally concealed, with people passing you by without an inkling that you're deceiving them."

"…You have an interesting point."

"And it's liberating," he added after a moment, "going around without having to explain yourself. Hiding in plain sight." He sighed. "Not that all masks are made of wood or cloth; sometimes our own faces are masks."

Tatl was a bit unnerved, but out of curiosity she asked, "And… do you wear those types of masks a lot?"

"Always," Link answered. "I'm not given much of a choice, really."

"Because your… Because of what happened to you?"

"Yes." His gaze turned distant. "The few people I've told—the few people who believe me—they sympathize with me, they feel for me… but no one truly knows. Not a soul knows what it feels like… save perhaps one."

"That… sounds pretty lonely," admitted Tatl. "But who's this one person, if I'm allowed to ask?"

"…My companion. My dear friend, who was by my side through all my battles in Hyrule. I never would have made it through without her. But when it was over… she left."

"…Oh," said Tatl.

"I was on a journey searching for her, before I ended up here."

Tatl was silent for a long time. "…I'm sorry," she finally said.

Link shook his head. "It's not your fault."

Tatl wanted to argue, but the boy leaned back on the pillow and closed his eyes, eventually drifting back to sleep. She couldn't help but look him over. The story he told her was so fantastical—but then, wasn't this journey they were on equally as fantastic? She wouldn't have admitted it, but she was looking for some sort of sign, physical proof of his claim. The only thing Tatl's search yielded was a few worry lines on Link's face—and she could not remember if those had been there when she first met him or not. Other than that, he looked like a twelve-year-old kid you could find anywhere.

But then, that was part of his mask, she supposed.