The Chief of the Guards stood up on the walls of the castle boundary, talking of idle nothings to the other guards and waiting for the long midday shift to be over. Link was feeling rather hungry and he ran to the gate, saying to himself The Happy Mask Man's Riddle.
The Chief of the Guards noticed Link run up and stopped him, his sharp eyes spotted Link's right hand.
"Lay down your arms, boy!" He shouted and Link looked up.
"If you mean by what you say, I shall not." he said.
"WHAT?" Shouted the Chief of the Guard, annoyed at Link's pure ignorance.
"I cannot, you see, for my arms are firmly attached to my body!" Shouted Link, swinging his arms. He had learnt from the Happy Mask Man. Quite a few of the guards were beginning to laugh, but the Chief of the Guards seemed to become more annoyed.
"Your weapon! Lay down your weapon!" Shouted the Chief.
"I would barely call this stick a weapon!" Called Link, holding up his sword.
"IT IS A SWORD. A WEAPON. PUT IT DOWN AND WE MAY LET YOU PASS."
"It is a present."
The chief laughed to himself.
"For who is this 'present' for?"
"It is for my master. I am the private messenger of Sir Ganondorf."
"And what proof do you have of this, so called messenger?"
"If you will not let me past, my master will not have this sword for his wide collection. And this is the only sword of its kind, a rare treasure of the forest. It took him a long time to receive and I have orders to destroy if something has happened to him and he doesn't receive it. So in turn, you would be to blame for the destruction of this rare-"
"Yes, yes, ok, you have poured out a senseless language from your mouth for long enough. I shall let you pass, messenger, but I want you out within an hour. If not my guards will be told to kill."
Link didn't say anymore to the Chief of the Guards, just ran into the courtyard. There were hedges lined up in a maze. Link sighed and began to walk. Meanwhile, the guards went back to their idle gossip and a cloaked figure ran up to the gates.
"I am a messenger of Ganondorf, here to bring him news." It said in a deep voice.
"We have already seen one of his messengers enter the castle." The chief of the guards snapped. The figure pulled down its hood to make sure it wasn't seen.
"I have no time for this." it shouted. "Let me in now, Gannondorf has news to be told to him."
Then the cloaked figure lowered its voice.
"The boy you just let in, with the green tunic and the sword, is a spy."
The guards jumped and panicked. The Chief opened the gates and the others called out an alarm.
"A BOY IN GREEN MUST BE KILLED QUICKLY. BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR HIM."
Quickly the figure ran into the courtyard. A blue-gloved hand stuck out of its sleeves, and wicked laughter came from the midst of its hood.
Link jumped at the sound of horns being blasted at full volume, and then he saw some guards dressed like Trojan run around the corner.
"THERE HE IS! GET HIM!"
Link screamed and ran for his life, the guards following him. Quickly he dodged and ducked his way through hedges. Navi flew out of Link's hat to see what was going on, saw the angry guards run after Link and quickly flew back in. Link was running as fast as he did with a giant boulder on his tail. Suddenly he jumped, grabbed a flag-post that hung above him and flung himself over the hedges into some water (to Link's disgust). He stood up and looked around him. It was vast amounts of grass and flowers, all happily gazing in the sun. Walls stood all around them and, to Link's surprise, someone stood with their back to him, looking into a large window. Link rose from the water and Navi flew out his hat, drenched wing to wing. Slowly Link walked to the person, a strange feeling entering his body. He drew closer, and then he stood on a stick on the ground. The person turned round to face Link.
"What? But you're... the person from my nightmares!" Said Link, standing back in fear. To his surprise, he found he wasn't the only one to say that. The girl had also said this. She was the same age as Link, with long blonde hair covered in a white veil and a white dress with symbols printed onto it. She took a step back in fear.
"Who-" Link began only to be interrupted.
"I am Princess Zelda, owner of the garden you see around you, and next to the royal throne."
"PRINCESS ZELDA?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I...expected a Zelda to look like... more of... a Deku Scrub..."
"A Zelda? What do you mean A Zelda?"
"Your... a Zelda, right? Your name is Princess and your species Zelda."
The girl laughed at this, making Link look confused.
"My name is Zelda, Princess is my title and Hylian is my species." She giggled. Link blushed.
"I...I'm sorry... I... I lived in the forest most of my life..."
"Listen," Said Zelda, putting on a more serious face. "You must be the chosen one. My friend Kaepora Gaebora told me you where coming. I understand you have heard of him?"
"Yes-" Link started, but a voice from behind him stopped his talking.
"Princess, the guards are saying there's a boy in the grounds, we better go insi-AAHH!"
Link turned around slowly to see the bulky woman of whom he pictured in his nightmares standing at the exit of the maze; the entrance of the garden. She was not only standing, but also drawing a blade and staring at him.
She ran to Link, sword above head, screaming. Link automatically drew his sword in defense, but Princess Zelda jumped in front of him.
"NO IMPA! This boy is a guest!"
Impa stopped in her tracks, only a few seconds away from swinging at Link. She eyed the boy's sword, of which he hid behind his back and laughed with fake innocence. Impa took a step backwards, slipping his sword into her sheath.
"Are you sure about this, Princess?" She asked.
"Yes, Impa. The boy is from the nightmare's I keep having. I told you they meant something!"
"If your sure, Princess. But I am starting to think about stopping you 'inviting' your 'guests'... For all we know this little boy could be a spy."
"HEY!" Link shouted. "I WAS SENT HERE BY THE LIKES OF THE GREAT DEKU TREE AND KAEPORA GAEBORA!"
"Hush!" Impa snapped. "Your not meant to be here! The king is in that room talking with a visitor from the desert. If you ARE going to stay a while, you have to keep it down..."
"Come with me!" Cried Zelda in delight, grabbing the boy's arm and running down the path. "I'll show you around the castle!"
Inside, a man was on one knee in front of the king. He turned to his left to see Princess Zelda and another child running from the window. He narrowed his bushy red eyebrows and hummed to himself in thought. Then he looked over his shoulder to see his minion, Stalfos, in a cloak standing in the hall behind him, peering from behind a pillar, nodding to the man. He smiled to himself and rose to speak with the king.
"I am sorry, sire," Said he, "But I was distracted by the great structure of this fine castle. I cannot stop looking at it, and I wish some day maybe I myself would rule in it"
"Yes, Ganondorf," Laughed the King. "I do hope my family will be in the castle for many years longer, mind."
"I shall hope not for much longer" Muttered Ganondorf to himself, before changing to different topics.
"These are Shields that the knights of Hyrule used in battles past in different reigns of different Kings." Said Zelda. Both she and Link were now inside the castle, looking along the long-stood walls with historic items hung along, running down until the wall met the fine red carpet and huge, awe-striking pillars stood towering to the gigantic ceiling. Paintings, shields, swords, armor, goblets and lots more amazing items were on display in the hallway and Link was lapping the information up in joy.
Impa, who had been watching the two as they gazed merrily, suddenly lifted off a shield and handed it to the boy. It was shinning brightly as if it was new, but was obviously, by its markings, old and used. Link looked up in confusion and Impa laughed.
"You remind me of your father." Impa said. Link gasped.
"You knew my father?"
"Yes. I grew up with him. He was a smart boy, but always feared the dark. When he took that final blow for the king, he conquered his fear."
Link looked down into his hand, seeing Navi was fast asleep. He then looked back up to Impa.
"I understand you were afraid of caves, Link?" she asked.
"I was... I entered a cave three... no, four days ago for the first time. It was to prove I was strong and brave, although I wasn't."
Impa thought and looked at Link in thought.
"The third night went by without you knowing, correct?" Impa asked.
"Yes." Sighed Link. "I spent the whole of the night walking in the forest without knowing it. By the time I got to Hyrule Field, it was midday."
Link turned to see Zelda was totally engrossed in the boy and listening to his every word. Link blushed and handed Impa the shield back.
"How come you knew I was from the forest?" Link asked suddenly, realizing he hadn't actually told Impa anything about where he came from, or even the fact he went into a cave.
"I am not just a pretty face." She laughed. "Green Tunic, Kokiri Sword, Deku Shield. Your obviously from the forest."
"How come you can identify my sword and shield?" Link asked.
"I trained for a while in swordsmanship." She answered in a strange tone. "Anyway, lets go look at some more of the castle."
The three walked down the hall, and as they turned the corner, they saw guards marching towards them, not actually looking at them though; they were fully in a conversation about the visitor Ganondorf. Impa pulled the children back and plotted the situation out quickly in her head.
"Quickly. Hurry!" She said, running down away from the guards. Zelda grabbed Links left hand and the two ran together. Impa threw open a large set of tall doors and hurried both Link and Zelda inside, before realizing where they had entered. There sat at a table Ganondorf, and to his left Stalfos.
Ganondorf's hair was a furious red, his eyebrows leading from it. Sinister red pupils sat below a jewel that was set to his forehead, and his nose pointed and long. His smile grew as they entered, and Stalfos spoke up.
"That's him!" He announced, drawing his battered sword. "That's the kid from the forest."
"You are wrongly mistaken!" Impa shouted. "This boy is a friend with Princess Zelda. You cannot prove he is who you say he is."
"Come now..." Said Ganondorf as he stood, his gruff voice sending shivers down the three's spines as if a shadow of darkness had just bit into them each. "...Come now, my fair lady, will you join us for some ale?"
"Certainly not!" Impa cried. "You are a wicked man, and the king will see that soon." Princess Zelda hid herself behind Impa, gripping her legs in protection. Ganondorf laughed to himself and walked to Impa, bending down to Zelda.
"My, you are as the songs do tell." He said, causing Princess Zelda to take a step more behind Impa. "She's a shy one." He said, standing to face Impa, who was not pleased of his actions and had pulled Zelda into her arms. "But she will grow to be much stronger. She will have to. I fear war is almost upon us."
"A war that you bring?" Impa snapped.
"A WAR IS FORTOLD." Ganondorf shouted back. "A war happened ten years ago when my species attacked. A dreadful thing indeed, but I hope we may live in peace again some day."
"The day the likes of you may never speak again will be the day we may live in peace." Impa said, looking away from Ganondorf. The man then turned to Link.
"Why are you here?" He said with a wicked tone in his voice and a look of disgust.
"He is a friend to Zelda." Impa said, holding the girl tightly and stepping to the boy. "I dare say you would know of friends, if that worthless pile of bones is the only thing you have close to one."
Navi had finally awaked, but had not stirred. She was terrified at the man of which she knew so much about. Although she pictured him as the Great Deku Tree told of him, she was not prepared to see the vile face of which he owned. Link had pictured his nightmare many times in his mind now, since he had entered this room, but this was much worse. He could smell Ganondorf's breath as he spoke, hear Ganondorf's grunts as he spoke, and now he was addressing Link in an outraged way.
"He is no friend." Ganondorf said. "The guards say a boy of his description has just entered the castle without permission. HE IS A SPY!"
With those last words, Ganondorf had hit the boy ever the face, and had sent him flying across to the foot of the table. Zelda screamed in fear, watching the boy fall to the ground without motion, and Impa placed her on to the ground, drawing her sword. As for Navi, she had made an exit through a window.
Ganondorf turned to Impa, who had not yet taken action against him. His wicked grin had long-since faded from his face and he cast his cloak over his shoulder. He beckoned Stalfos without words, which pulled up a hood over his face. Ganondorf said no more, and exited with Stalfos. Impa knelt down to Link, his face was still and movement of his body was little. Zelda walked slowly to Impa's side with tears in her eyes. Impa put her hand along his neck, turning to the Princess.
"He's alive." She said. "But I fear he may be too weak to leave Hyrule Market today."
"He can stay with me." Came a voice, and in walked in Trojan. He bent down to check out Link's status, and Impa looked at him strangely.
"You know him?" She asked, not putting it past him that he may be a threat to the boy's safety.
"I am Trojan." He replied. "Link stayed with me last night."
Trojan lifted up Link in his arms and Zelda looked up to him with fear in her eyes.
"Will he be ok?" she asked with a weak tone of voice.
"Sure, this kid will always bounce back. He's been through tough times, maybe more than I know, but he has a way of being all right for the next step."
Link, meanwhile, had something pictured in his mind. The Happy Mask Man, who was dancing on his own in Hyrule Market, was singing a song. Slowly the market was shaken and stirred as if an earthquake had hit. The ground was rugged and the Happy Mask Man disappeared. Then Link found himself surrounded by a ring of fire. He pulled off his back what he thought would be his own shield, but instead pulled off the shield Impa had let him hold.
Link threw it into the fire for an odd reason, but alas nothing happened. He then tried to draw his sword, but for some reason it was merely a stick. Without thinking he ran into the fire. He could feel the heat around him and the flames turned bright yellow, then blue, then they disappeared. He stood in the forest again. He could see his house; in front of it were Navi and Saria. Link began to run forwards to them both when Stalfos appeared in front of him. Stalfos flung his sword over his shoulder and then he sliced down at the boy.
"Link? Link, are you awake?"
"Uh... Princess Zelda?"
"Zelda? No, it's me, Trojan!"
Link sat up. He found himself in the bed he was in at the start of the day, in Trojans house. Trojan sat afoot of his bed and Navi beside him. Link's dozy eyes looked at them and then he fell back onto his pillow.
"You have a bad bruise on the side of your head and you've been stirring and moaning in your sleep." Navi said.
"What...day is... it?" Link asked weakly.
"It's the day after your visit to the castle."
"WHAT?"
Link shot out of his bed and slipped on his boots. His face screwed up as a cramp in his leg became apparent to him, and Trojan put his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Trojan asked.
"I'm going to find Death Mountain." Link said, as if he thought Trojan should have known. "Mr. Mosspea needs help."
Trojan looked confused at the boy, who had a serious look on his face. Then Trojan smiled and removed his hand.
"You have a kind heart." Trojan said. "You must be the..."
Link looked up at Trojan, half way from buckling his sheath. Trojan thought for a second, then looked back down at Link.
"You must head towards Kakariko village, west from Hyrule Market." Trojan said. "You'll wind up at the lost woods. Once at the heart of the woods, which you should find easy with your background, you'll be pretty much on your own. I haven't been to Kakariko before, but there is a guard up there who knows me. Ask him where to go once you find the village."
Link had other things on his mind, apart from asking what a village was.
The Lost Woods... he thought to himself, looking out the window at a midday sun. So close to my old home. So close to my old friends.
The Lost Woods joined to the Kokiri Forest. Large and full of adventure it may be, but darkness was upon it in many ways. Kokiri Children who had entered in the past had never returned, and Saria and Pannie, another Kokiri boy who was hard to wake up in the morning, had talked of what happens to Kokiri Children when they get lost.
Skull Kids.
That's what they called themselves. Their clothes and lifestyle very weird, living only to their music of the flute. Link had often woke up after his nightmares and heard an eerie tune drift from the forest, which would halt suddenly in a mysterious way. Kokiri were afraid of the Lost Woods, but Saria had been in plenty of times, and had told Link one thing to remember about navigation.
"Music is the only thing that will drift through dark trees. Skull Kids are afraid of anything that isn't harmonic."
Link looked down at his Ocarina, now sitting on his bed. He picked it up and played a few notes, trying to play the song Saria would. He had almost got it, but his fingering was bad and would sometimes drop the clay flute on the third note. He smiled and put it away, standing up to speak to Trojan.
"I'll be back soon." Link said. "I don't really want to go into the Lost Woods, but I have this strange feeling old friends will be there to help me."
"I will be!" Said Navi, flying to Link's side. "I have seen the Lost Woods many of times before. This shall be easy!"
"The village is on the other side of the woods." Said Trojan. "I would advise you to follow the setting sun, but walking in the woods at night may be dangerous. So walk away from the rising sun!"
"The forest joins the Kokiri Forest!" Navi shouted in happiness. "We could go and see Saria!"
"I was thinking the same thing." Sighed Link. "But I might not find my way home for a while, no matter how close I get. Mr. Mosspea needs his sugar!"
Navi hummed and landed on the window frame. Link looked up at her, his smile dissolving from his face.
"What's wrong?" Link asked, lifting his shield up from a chair.
"I keep thinking how the Kokiri have been living ever since the death of the Great Deku Tree." She sighed. "But his protective spell of the forest will stay alive for ever, so I'd say the Kokiri are all right."
"I hope so." Said Link. "I should like to see even Mido soon. But I don't think we will be able to go home just yet. We must travel around Hyrule first."
"How do you know that?" Navi asked. Link didn't answer, but collected some more of his items. He then turned to Trojan.
"I'll come back." he said, feeling guilty. "You have helped me out for the past days, and I haven't really been able to thank you as much as I want, so I'll come back."
"Don't worried about it." Said Trojan. "I'll always be here for you, if you need me."
"And I'll return when I can!" Link laughed. He said his final goodbyes and walked out into the town.
He's grown up allot, Trojan thought, And if the prophecy is correct, he must be Hyrules Legacy. If so, the future looks like its tomorrow, but he will be strong.
Link walked out of Hyrule Market and past the castle's boundaries, which he hadn't seen before, and he hopped over a drawbridge. If he knew the truth, he may not have been so happy.
That would be the last time Link ever saw Trojan.
"Hey..." Link said suddenly as he and Navi walked along Hyrule Field. The sun was beginning to set, but the forest didn't look so far away. The fairy looked around to see what Link wanted.
"How come you didn't protect me when Ganondorf hit me?"
"Well..." Said Navi, hoping Link wouldn't see her as a coward. "When you went in the Happy Mask Man's Shop, Trojan told me he'd wait outside the castle so if you get in trouble, I would go get him. That's where I went and how Trojan got to you when he did."
"You were certainly lucky!" A loud voice called out suddenly. Link looked upwards quickly to see a dark tree in front of the pink sky.
"KAEPORA!" Link shouted happily. The owl sat in the tree, near the top, looking down with a glint of happiness in his eye.
"HOO! You have met Ganondorf Dragmire, I hear." Kaepora Gaebora asked.
"Yes." Link said. "But my past nightmares have involved him, even before I was unfortunate to see him."
"That was a vision of the future, my boy." Said Kaepora, twisting his head. "Unfortunately you have an adventure a long way ahead of you. Sit, lad. Time shall not pass as I tell you all I know.
"HOO... where to begin, where to begin..." Kaepora fussed, flapping his wings. "Do you remember the imprints on Princess Zelda's clothes?"
"Yes." Answered Link.
"And did you notice the imprints on the shield Impa handed you were the same?"
Link realized they were, and his jaw opened in thought. He said nothing, but Kaepora carried on telling the tale.
"Atop was the holy Triforce, the three golden triangles of power, courage and wisdom. Below a red bird, with it's wings spread around it, and under that another triangle, representing the king of Hyrule."
Suddenly a shield appeared in mid-air and clashed to the ground. Kaepora Gaebora was the only one there that was not startled by it. Link picked it up and examined it; the same marking that had been described was on it. He rubbed his finger over the red bird, and then looked up at Kaepora.
"Hoho! Not a very good likeness, I admit!" The owl laughed. Link looked back at the picture and opened his mouth to speak, but Kaepora Gaebora spoke first. "The bird is the protector of the king, and is close to the Triforce." He said. "I am a sage, but I am a rebirth of a great Hylian. There are seven sages, of who I hope you will meet. Yes, it is an old shield, but our king wasn't slew in the war, so it speaks mainly the truth."
Kaepora Gaebora flapped again, trying to remember what he was going to say. Link looked on the back of the shield and found there was an engraving on the back.
"To Arn, New Guard of Hyrule. May you live long with your new wife, Medila."
"Were you once called Arn?" Asked Navi, who had also been reading the inscription? Kaepora Gaebora looked confused.
"HOO! Why would you think that?" He asked, twisting his head. "After all, 'The Messenger Of Royalty May Not Be The King', as my father once told me. This is simply a gift from a guard. I was of a higher rank, you see. HOO!"
Again Kaepora Gaebora's head twisted, and his brow shook.
"The Lost Woods spread from the East of the Kokiri forest, when you measure facing away from the Great Deku Tree, and past a river, its density halting then-onwards. The Kakariko village lies before Death Mountain." Said Kaepora.
"Where is Death Mountain?" Asked Link, resting his head in one palm.
"HOO!" The owl called. "You don't mean to tell me you have never looked away from the castle? Oh my, my, my! A shame, boy, a shame! Follow my wing!"
Kaepora Gaebora cast his wing over to face Hyrule Castle, which looked peaceful under the pink sky. He then only had to drift it slightly to the right before Link noticed something he hadn't before. A tall mountain, bigger than any others, stood above the height of the Lost Woods. Below its top some fresh and crisp clouds hovered, circling it magically.
"It's a volcano, Link." Said Navi. "I have been told by other fairy's."
"Volcano?" Said Link, casting his eyes from the landmark.
"My! Don't we have something to learn! HOO!" Said Kaepora Gaebora. "But you must cross that bridge when you come to it, for you have to scale The Lost Woods."
The boy groaned.
"Trojan could only tell me of the woods up to the heart of them. After that he said I'd be on my own." He said.
"Oh?" Said Kaepora, turning to the left. "And did he mean that in the since of friends, for if he did he was very much mistaken."
And with that, Kaepora Gaebora took to the skies. Link realized he still had the shield Kaepora had made appear, and he called up to the owl.
"KAEPORA! YOU FORGOT THIS!"
"Hoo! I do not forget things, my boy!" He called back, his voice and indeed himself fading into the sky. Link scratched his head and picked up the shield. He fount it was far too heavy to slip onto his arm and use it like the Deku Shield, but he slipped it onto his back and stretched.
"Mr. Gaebora didn't tell us everything he knows," Said Link, "Just left us both with some un-answered riddles." In that instant Link tried to walk and found himself loosing his footing because of the new item.
"Well, you're going to need allot of exercise to carry that Hyrule Shield around." Navi laughed. Link looked over his shoulder at her with a smile.
"I am the chosen one, after all." He said. "I'm not exactly going to give up a metal shield so I can run faster. I will just have to push myself. You coming? We may have to sleep on the borders of the Lost Woods for tonight, but we should not be under much threat."
With that, Navi flew to the boy's side. As the purple sky turned into a dark and deep nothingness, stars appeared faintly and randomly.
The Chief of the Guards noticed Link run up and stopped him, his sharp eyes spotted Link's right hand.
"Lay down your arms, boy!" He shouted and Link looked up.
"If you mean by what you say, I shall not." he said.
"WHAT?" Shouted the Chief of the Guard, annoyed at Link's pure ignorance.
"I cannot, you see, for my arms are firmly attached to my body!" Shouted Link, swinging his arms. He had learnt from the Happy Mask Man. Quite a few of the guards were beginning to laugh, but the Chief of the Guards seemed to become more annoyed.
"Your weapon! Lay down your weapon!" Shouted the Chief.
"I would barely call this stick a weapon!" Called Link, holding up his sword.
"IT IS A SWORD. A WEAPON. PUT IT DOWN AND WE MAY LET YOU PASS."
"It is a present."
The chief laughed to himself.
"For who is this 'present' for?"
"It is for my master. I am the private messenger of Sir Ganondorf."
"And what proof do you have of this, so called messenger?"
"If you will not let me past, my master will not have this sword for his wide collection. And this is the only sword of its kind, a rare treasure of the forest. It took him a long time to receive and I have orders to destroy if something has happened to him and he doesn't receive it. So in turn, you would be to blame for the destruction of this rare-"
"Yes, yes, ok, you have poured out a senseless language from your mouth for long enough. I shall let you pass, messenger, but I want you out within an hour. If not my guards will be told to kill."
Link didn't say anymore to the Chief of the Guards, just ran into the courtyard. There were hedges lined up in a maze. Link sighed and began to walk. Meanwhile, the guards went back to their idle gossip and a cloaked figure ran up to the gates.
"I am a messenger of Ganondorf, here to bring him news." It said in a deep voice.
"We have already seen one of his messengers enter the castle." The chief of the guards snapped. The figure pulled down its hood to make sure it wasn't seen.
"I have no time for this." it shouted. "Let me in now, Gannondorf has news to be told to him."
Then the cloaked figure lowered its voice.
"The boy you just let in, with the green tunic and the sword, is a spy."
The guards jumped and panicked. The Chief opened the gates and the others called out an alarm.
"A BOY IN GREEN MUST BE KILLED QUICKLY. BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR HIM."
Quickly the figure ran into the courtyard. A blue-gloved hand stuck out of its sleeves, and wicked laughter came from the midst of its hood.
Link jumped at the sound of horns being blasted at full volume, and then he saw some guards dressed like Trojan run around the corner.
"THERE HE IS! GET HIM!"
Link screamed and ran for his life, the guards following him. Quickly he dodged and ducked his way through hedges. Navi flew out of Link's hat to see what was going on, saw the angry guards run after Link and quickly flew back in. Link was running as fast as he did with a giant boulder on his tail. Suddenly he jumped, grabbed a flag-post that hung above him and flung himself over the hedges into some water (to Link's disgust). He stood up and looked around him. It was vast amounts of grass and flowers, all happily gazing in the sun. Walls stood all around them and, to Link's surprise, someone stood with their back to him, looking into a large window. Link rose from the water and Navi flew out his hat, drenched wing to wing. Slowly Link walked to the person, a strange feeling entering his body. He drew closer, and then he stood on a stick on the ground. The person turned round to face Link.
"What? But you're... the person from my nightmares!" Said Link, standing back in fear. To his surprise, he found he wasn't the only one to say that. The girl had also said this. She was the same age as Link, with long blonde hair covered in a white veil and a white dress with symbols printed onto it. She took a step back in fear.
"Who-" Link began only to be interrupted.
"I am Princess Zelda, owner of the garden you see around you, and next to the royal throne."
"PRINCESS ZELDA?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I...expected a Zelda to look like... more of... a Deku Scrub..."
"A Zelda? What do you mean A Zelda?"
"Your... a Zelda, right? Your name is Princess and your species Zelda."
The girl laughed at this, making Link look confused.
"My name is Zelda, Princess is my title and Hylian is my species." She giggled. Link blushed.
"I...I'm sorry... I... I lived in the forest most of my life..."
"Listen," Said Zelda, putting on a more serious face. "You must be the chosen one. My friend Kaepora Gaebora told me you where coming. I understand you have heard of him?"
"Yes-" Link started, but a voice from behind him stopped his talking.
"Princess, the guards are saying there's a boy in the grounds, we better go insi-AAHH!"
Link turned around slowly to see the bulky woman of whom he pictured in his nightmares standing at the exit of the maze; the entrance of the garden. She was not only standing, but also drawing a blade and staring at him.
She ran to Link, sword above head, screaming. Link automatically drew his sword in defense, but Princess Zelda jumped in front of him.
"NO IMPA! This boy is a guest!"
Impa stopped in her tracks, only a few seconds away from swinging at Link. She eyed the boy's sword, of which he hid behind his back and laughed with fake innocence. Impa took a step backwards, slipping his sword into her sheath.
"Are you sure about this, Princess?" She asked.
"Yes, Impa. The boy is from the nightmare's I keep having. I told you they meant something!"
"If your sure, Princess. But I am starting to think about stopping you 'inviting' your 'guests'... For all we know this little boy could be a spy."
"HEY!" Link shouted. "I WAS SENT HERE BY THE LIKES OF THE GREAT DEKU TREE AND KAEPORA GAEBORA!"
"Hush!" Impa snapped. "Your not meant to be here! The king is in that room talking with a visitor from the desert. If you ARE going to stay a while, you have to keep it down..."
"Come with me!" Cried Zelda in delight, grabbing the boy's arm and running down the path. "I'll show you around the castle!"
Inside, a man was on one knee in front of the king. He turned to his left to see Princess Zelda and another child running from the window. He narrowed his bushy red eyebrows and hummed to himself in thought. Then he looked over his shoulder to see his minion, Stalfos, in a cloak standing in the hall behind him, peering from behind a pillar, nodding to the man. He smiled to himself and rose to speak with the king.
"I am sorry, sire," Said he, "But I was distracted by the great structure of this fine castle. I cannot stop looking at it, and I wish some day maybe I myself would rule in it"
"Yes, Ganondorf," Laughed the King. "I do hope my family will be in the castle for many years longer, mind."
"I shall hope not for much longer" Muttered Ganondorf to himself, before changing to different topics.
"These are Shields that the knights of Hyrule used in battles past in different reigns of different Kings." Said Zelda. Both she and Link were now inside the castle, looking along the long-stood walls with historic items hung along, running down until the wall met the fine red carpet and huge, awe-striking pillars stood towering to the gigantic ceiling. Paintings, shields, swords, armor, goblets and lots more amazing items were on display in the hallway and Link was lapping the information up in joy.
Impa, who had been watching the two as they gazed merrily, suddenly lifted off a shield and handed it to the boy. It was shinning brightly as if it was new, but was obviously, by its markings, old and used. Link looked up in confusion and Impa laughed.
"You remind me of your father." Impa said. Link gasped.
"You knew my father?"
"Yes. I grew up with him. He was a smart boy, but always feared the dark. When he took that final blow for the king, he conquered his fear."
Link looked down into his hand, seeing Navi was fast asleep. He then looked back up to Impa.
"I understand you were afraid of caves, Link?" she asked.
"I was... I entered a cave three... no, four days ago for the first time. It was to prove I was strong and brave, although I wasn't."
Impa thought and looked at Link in thought.
"The third night went by without you knowing, correct?" Impa asked.
"Yes." Sighed Link. "I spent the whole of the night walking in the forest without knowing it. By the time I got to Hyrule Field, it was midday."
Link turned to see Zelda was totally engrossed in the boy and listening to his every word. Link blushed and handed Impa the shield back.
"How come you knew I was from the forest?" Link asked suddenly, realizing he hadn't actually told Impa anything about where he came from, or even the fact he went into a cave.
"I am not just a pretty face." She laughed. "Green Tunic, Kokiri Sword, Deku Shield. Your obviously from the forest."
"How come you can identify my sword and shield?" Link asked.
"I trained for a while in swordsmanship." She answered in a strange tone. "Anyway, lets go look at some more of the castle."
The three walked down the hall, and as they turned the corner, they saw guards marching towards them, not actually looking at them though; they were fully in a conversation about the visitor Ganondorf. Impa pulled the children back and plotted the situation out quickly in her head.
"Quickly. Hurry!" She said, running down away from the guards. Zelda grabbed Links left hand and the two ran together. Impa threw open a large set of tall doors and hurried both Link and Zelda inside, before realizing where they had entered. There sat at a table Ganondorf, and to his left Stalfos.
Ganondorf's hair was a furious red, his eyebrows leading from it. Sinister red pupils sat below a jewel that was set to his forehead, and his nose pointed and long. His smile grew as they entered, and Stalfos spoke up.
"That's him!" He announced, drawing his battered sword. "That's the kid from the forest."
"You are wrongly mistaken!" Impa shouted. "This boy is a friend with Princess Zelda. You cannot prove he is who you say he is."
"Come now..." Said Ganondorf as he stood, his gruff voice sending shivers down the three's spines as if a shadow of darkness had just bit into them each. "...Come now, my fair lady, will you join us for some ale?"
"Certainly not!" Impa cried. "You are a wicked man, and the king will see that soon." Princess Zelda hid herself behind Impa, gripping her legs in protection. Ganondorf laughed to himself and walked to Impa, bending down to Zelda.
"My, you are as the songs do tell." He said, causing Princess Zelda to take a step more behind Impa. "She's a shy one." He said, standing to face Impa, who was not pleased of his actions and had pulled Zelda into her arms. "But she will grow to be much stronger. She will have to. I fear war is almost upon us."
"A war that you bring?" Impa snapped.
"A WAR IS FORTOLD." Ganondorf shouted back. "A war happened ten years ago when my species attacked. A dreadful thing indeed, but I hope we may live in peace again some day."
"The day the likes of you may never speak again will be the day we may live in peace." Impa said, looking away from Ganondorf. The man then turned to Link.
"Why are you here?" He said with a wicked tone in his voice and a look of disgust.
"He is a friend to Zelda." Impa said, holding the girl tightly and stepping to the boy. "I dare say you would know of friends, if that worthless pile of bones is the only thing you have close to one."
Navi had finally awaked, but had not stirred. She was terrified at the man of which she knew so much about. Although she pictured him as the Great Deku Tree told of him, she was not prepared to see the vile face of which he owned. Link had pictured his nightmare many times in his mind now, since he had entered this room, but this was much worse. He could smell Ganondorf's breath as he spoke, hear Ganondorf's grunts as he spoke, and now he was addressing Link in an outraged way.
"He is no friend." Ganondorf said. "The guards say a boy of his description has just entered the castle without permission. HE IS A SPY!"
With those last words, Ganondorf had hit the boy ever the face, and had sent him flying across to the foot of the table. Zelda screamed in fear, watching the boy fall to the ground without motion, and Impa placed her on to the ground, drawing her sword. As for Navi, she had made an exit through a window.
Ganondorf turned to Impa, who had not yet taken action against him. His wicked grin had long-since faded from his face and he cast his cloak over his shoulder. He beckoned Stalfos without words, which pulled up a hood over his face. Ganondorf said no more, and exited with Stalfos. Impa knelt down to Link, his face was still and movement of his body was little. Zelda walked slowly to Impa's side with tears in her eyes. Impa put her hand along his neck, turning to the Princess.
"He's alive." She said. "But I fear he may be too weak to leave Hyrule Market today."
"He can stay with me." Came a voice, and in walked in Trojan. He bent down to check out Link's status, and Impa looked at him strangely.
"You know him?" She asked, not putting it past him that he may be a threat to the boy's safety.
"I am Trojan." He replied. "Link stayed with me last night."
Trojan lifted up Link in his arms and Zelda looked up to him with fear in her eyes.
"Will he be ok?" she asked with a weak tone of voice.
"Sure, this kid will always bounce back. He's been through tough times, maybe more than I know, but he has a way of being all right for the next step."
Link, meanwhile, had something pictured in his mind. The Happy Mask Man, who was dancing on his own in Hyrule Market, was singing a song. Slowly the market was shaken and stirred as if an earthquake had hit. The ground was rugged and the Happy Mask Man disappeared. Then Link found himself surrounded by a ring of fire. He pulled off his back what he thought would be his own shield, but instead pulled off the shield Impa had let him hold.
Link threw it into the fire for an odd reason, but alas nothing happened. He then tried to draw his sword, but for some reason it was merely a stick. Without thinking he ran into the fire. He could feel the heat around him and the flames turned bright yellow, then blue, then they disappeared. He stood in the forest again. He could see his house; in front of it were Navi and Saria. Link began to run forwards to them both when Stalfos appeared in front of him. Stalfos flung his sword over his shoulder and then he sliced down at the boy.
"Link? Link, are you awake?"
"Uh... Princess Zelda?"
"Zelda? No, it's me, Trojan!"
Link sat up. He found himself in the bed he was in at the start of the day, in Trojans house. Trojan sat afoot of his bed and Navi beside him. Link's dozy eyes looked at them and then he fell back onto his pillow.
"You have a bad bruise on the side of your head and you've been stirring and moaning in your sleep." Navi said.
"What...day is... it?" Link asked weakly.
"It's the day after your visit to the castle."
"WHAT?"
Link shot out of his bed and slipped on his boots. His face screwed up as a cramp in his leg became apparent to him, and Trojan put his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Trojan asked.
"I'm going to find Death Mountain." Link said, as if he thought Trojan should have known. "Mr. Mosspea needs help."
Trojan looked confused at the boy, who had a serious look on his face. Then Trojan smiled and removed his hand.
"You have a kind heart." Trojan said. "You must be the..."
Link looked up at Trojan, half way from buckling his sheath. Trojan thought for a second, then looked back down at Link.
"You must head towards Kakariko village, west from Hyrule Market." Trojan said. "You'll wind up at the lost woods. Once at the heart of the woods, which you should find easy with your background, you'll be pretty much on your own. I haven't been to Kakariko before, but there is a guard up there who knows me. Ask him where to go once you find the village."
Link had other things on his mind, apart from asking what a village was.
The Lost Woods... he thought to himself, looking out the window at a midday sun. So close to my old home. So close to my old friends.
The Lost Woods joined to the Kokiri Forest. Large and full of adventure it may be, but darkness was upon it in many ways. Kokiri Children who had entered in the past had never returned, and Saria and Pannie, another Kokiri boy who was hard to wake up in the morning, had talked of what happens to Kokiri Children when they get lost.
Skull Kids.
That's what they called themselves. Their clothes and lifestyle very weird, living only to their music of the flute. Link had often woke up after his nightmares and heard an eerie tune drift from the forest, which would halt suddenly in a mysterious way. Kokiri were afraid of the Lost Woods, but Saria had been in plenty of times, and had told Link one thing to remember about navigation.
"Music is the only thing that will drift through dark trees. Skull Kids are afraid of anything that isn't harmonic."
Link looked down at his Ocarina, now sitting on his bed. He picked it up and played a few notes, trying to play the song Saria would. He had almost got it, but his fingering was bad and would sometimes drop the clay flute on the third note. He smiled and put it away, standing up to speak to Trojan.
"I'll be back soon." Link said. "I don't really want to go into the Lost Woods, but I have this strange feeling old friends will be there to help me."
"I will be!" Said Navi, flying to Link's side. "I have seen the Lost Woods many of times before. This shall be easy!"
"The village is on the other side of the woods." Said Trojan. "I would advise you to follow the setting sun, but walking in the woods at night may be dangerous. So walk away from the rising sun!"
"The forest joins the Kokiri Forest!" Navi shouted in happiness. "We could go and see Saria!"
"I was thinking the same thing." Sighed Link. "But I might not find my way home for a while, no matter how close I get. Mr. Mosspea needs his sugar!"
Navi hummed and landed on the window frame. Link looked up at her, his smile dissolving from his face.
"What's wrong?" Link asked, lifting his shield up from a chair.
"I keep thinking how the Kokiri have been living ever since the death of the Great Deku Tree." She sighed. "But his protective spell of the forest will stay alive for ever, so I'd say the Kokiri are all right."
"I hope so." Said Link. "I should like to see even Mido soon. But I don't think we will be able to go home just yet. We must travel around Hyrule first."
"How do you know that?" Navi asked. Link didn't answer, but collected some more of his items. He then turned to Trojan.
"I'll come back." he said, feeling guilty. "You have helped me out for the past days, and I haven't really been able to thank you as much as I want, so I'll come back."
"Don't worried about it." Said Trojan. "I'll always be here for you, if you need me."
"And I'll return when I can!" Link laughed. He said his final goodbyes and walked out into the town.
He's grown up allot, Trojan thought, And if the prophecy is correct, he must be Hyrules Legacy. If so, the future looks like its tomorrow, but he will be strong.
Link walked out of Hyrule Market and past the castle's boundaries, which he hadn't seen before, and he hopped over a drawbridge. If he knew the truth, he may not have been so happy.
That would be the last time Link ever saw Trojan.
"Hey..." Link said suddenly as he and Navi walked along Hyrule Field. The sun was beginning to set, but the forest didn't look so far away. The fairy looked around to see what Link wanted.
"How come you didn't protect me when Ganondorf hit me?"
"Well..." Said Navi, hoping Link wouldn't see her as a coward. "When you went in the Happy Mask Man's Shop, Trojan told me he'd wait outside the castle so if you get in trouble, I would go get him. That's where I went and how Trojan got to you when he did."
"You were certainly lucky!" A loud voice called out suddenly. Link looked upwards quickly to see a dark tree in front of the pink sky.
"KAEPORA!" Link shouted happily. The owl sat in the tree, near the top, looking down with a glint of happiness in his eye.
"HOO! You have met Ganondorf Dragmire, I hear." Kaepora Gaebora asked.
"Yes." Link said. "But my past nightmares have involved him, even before I was unfortunate to see him."
"That was a vision of the future, my boy." Said Kaepora, twisting his head. "Unfortunately you have an adventure a long way ahead of you. Sit, lad. Time shall not pass as I tell you all I know.
"HOO... where to begin, where to begin..." Kaepora fussed, flapping his wings. "Do you remember the imprints on Princess Zelda's clothes?"
"Yes." Answered Link.
"And did you notice the imprints on the shield Impa handed you were the same?"
Link realized they were, and his jaw opened in thought. He said nothing, but Kaepora carried on telling the tale.
"Atop was the holy Triforce, the three golden triangles of power, courage and wisdom. Below a red bird, with it's wings spread around it, and under that another triangle, representing the king of Hyrule."
Suddenly a shield appeared in mid-air and clashed to the ground. Kaepora Gaebora was the only one there that was not startled by it. Link picked it up and examined it; the same marking that had been described was on it. He rubbed his finger over the red bird, and then looked up at Kaepora.
"Hoho! Not a very good likeness, I admit!" The owl laughed. Link looked back at the picture and opened his mouth to speak, but Kaepora Gaebora spoke first. "The bird is the protector of the king, and is close to the Triforce." He said. "I am a sage, but I am a rebirth of a great Hylian. There are seven sages, of who I hope you will meet. Yes, it is an old shield, but our king wasn't slew in the war, so it speaks mainly the truth."
Kaepora Gaebora flapped again, trying to remember what he was going to say. Link looked on the back of the shield and found there was an engraving on the back.
"To Arn, New Guard of Hyrule. May you live long with your new wife, Medila."
"Were you once called Arn?" Asked Navi, who had also been reading the inscription? Kaepora Gaebora looked confused.
"HOO! Why would you think that?" He asked, twisting his head. "After all, 'The Messenger Of Royalty May Not Be The King', as my father once told me. This is simply a gift from a guard. I was of a higher rank, you see. HOO!"
Again Kaepora Gaebora's head twisted, and his brow shook.
"The Lost Woods spread from the East of the Kokiri forest, when you measure facing away from the Great Deku Tree, and past a river, its density halting then-onwards. The Kakariko village lies before Death Mountain." Said Kaepora.
"Where is Death Mountain?" Asked Link, resting his head in one palm.
"HOO!" The owl called. "You don't mean to tell me you have never looked away from the castle? Oh my, my, my! A shame, boy, a shame! Follow my wing!"
Kaepora Gaebora cast his wing over to face Hyrule Castle, which looked peaceful under the pink sky. He then only had to drift it slightly to the right before Link noticed something he hadn't before. A tall mountain, bigger than any others, stood above the height of the Lost Woods. Below its top some fresh and crisp clouds hovered, circling it magically.
"It's a volcano, Link." Said Navi. "I have been told by other fairy's."
"Volcano?" Said Link, casting his eyes from the landmark.
"My! Don't we have something to learn! HOO!" Said Kaepora Gaebora. "But you must cross that bridge when you come to it, for you have to scale The Lost Woods."
The boy groaned.
"Trojan could only tell me of the woods up to the heart of them. After that he said I'd be on my own." He said.
"Oh?" Said Kaepora, turning to the left. "And did he mean that in the since of friends, for if he did he was very much mistaken."
And with that, Kaepora Gaebora took to the skies. Link realized he still had the shield Kaepora had made appear, and he called up to the owl.
"KAEPORA! YOU FORGOT THIS!"
"Hoo! I do not forget things, my boy!" He called back, his voice and indeed himself fading into the sky. Link scratched his head and picked up the shield. He fount it was far too heavy to slip onto his arm and use it like the Deku Shield, but he slipped it onto his back and stretched.
"Mr. Gaebora didn't tell us everything he knows," Said Link, "Just left us both with some un-answered riddles." In that instant Link tried to walk and found himself loosing his footing because of the new item.
"Well, you're going to need allot of exercise to carry that Hyrule Shield around." Navi laughed. Link looked over his shoulder at her with a smile.
"I am the chosen one, after all." He said. "I'm not exactly going to give up a metal shield so I can run faster. I will just have to push myself. You coming? We may have to sleep on the borders of the Lost Woods for tonight, but we should not be under much threat."
With that, Navi flew to the boy's side. As the purple sky turned into a dark and deep nothingness, stars appeared faintly and randomly.