Disclaimer: the usual: I do not own anything Zelda or Nintendo related, but I do own MY characters.

Longer Summary- Nearly every Hero has experienced some degree of help in his adventure, but none know who is responsible, or why, except the one known only as the Guardian. This silent sentinal has watched the Heroes during the course of their travels, never revealing herself to anyone willingly. This is her story; one almost as old as the Legend itself.

Stabbing his sword through the tongue, Link held his breath as the giant frog vanished into a giant puff of black smoke. Immediately a chest appeared, one Link eagerly approached; usually chests that appeared out of nowhere held something useful in these death traps someone called temples. He wedged his fingers under the lid and threw it up as Midna popped out of his shadow to take a look. "What is that?" she asked, staring at the object in the chest.

Link shrugged as he picked up what appeared to be a metal glove with a three-pronged claw at the end. As he tilted it to examine the claw, he saw a scrap of paper that fall out of the inside. Balancing the glove in one hand, he picked up the paper to find it covered in writing written in a firm hand:

Link, this is a claw-shot. It can pull items towards you if they're lighter than you, or, if you shoot it at a grate, a clump of vines, or something the claw can latch onto that is heavier than you, it will pull you towards it, allowing you to reach recently inaccessible ledges. How it works is simple; just put it on your left hand (or right, whichever you use most) aim the claw where you want it to go, and squeeze the two rods inside together to launch the claw. Stop squeezing the rods to make the claw let go. However, the chain has a limited reach, so you'll need to be in range for the claw to latch on, and please be careful where you aim it; that claw does have sharp blades. And try to keep your feet in front of you before you hit the wall.

Link looked around and saw a high ledge with a grate on one wall before returning his attention to the paper. How did the writer know that he would need something like this now? And how did they know his name, and that he was left-handed? The shade of a former Hero teaching him forgotten skills he could understand, a mysterious person leaving behind useful items (with instructions!) he could not. He hoped that he would find this person soon; he hated mysteries. Until then, he had a new weapon to try out.

Slipping his left hand into the claw-shot, he aimed at the grate over the ledge. "Uh, Mr. Hero, do you know what you're doing?" Midna asked from his shadow.

"Yes," he replied, working his fingers around the thin rods he felt inside. I hope, he added silently. He squeezed the rods together and watched the claw shoot off with a slight whirrr, trailing a fine chain behind it. A loud click echoed throughout the chamber as the claw latched onto the grate.

Link only had a second to marvel at the perfect shot before the glove-like half dragged him into the air to rejoin the claw. He laughed at the sensation of flying and didn't notice the wall coming until too late. He tried to get his feet in front of him…

…and slammed face-first into the wall.

Hysterical laughter erupted from his shadow as Link released the rods, and therefore the claw, and dropped lightly to the ground. "Oh shut up," he growled. "I'd like to see to try that." The laughter only increased as he scowled at the claw-shot. Obviously he needed to practice with this one before going up against whatever terror lay in wait at the bottom of this goddess-forsaken place.

Giving his shadow one last glare, the Hero stalked out of the empty room…or at least what he thought was an empty room.

ooo000ooo

Concealed in a hidden alcove from where she had watched the fight, the cloaked figure slowly removed her hand from where she had slapped it to her forehead the minute Link had slammed himself into the wall. Honestly, she'd thought she had made it clear that he needed to keep his feet in front of him just for that reason! Men! Why didn't any of them listen to her directions? What did she have to do to make them understand: draw a picture?

Pulling on her lower lip, she thought reconsidered what she'd done. Maybe she should have given him the hook-shot instead (it was safer)…but that was only good for wood, and he needed something to latch onto metal. No, he need the claw-shot was what he needed right now, even if he had ignored her warning.

She sighed and calmed herself. It would've happened one way or another, and it was better that happened here instead of the boss chamber. At least she remembered the instructions this time, unlike when the Hero of Time got the Hover Boots in the old Shadow Temple and she didn't leave him a note saying the boots didn't have any traction. He had run straight into a wall trying to stop after crossing one of the numerous pits littering that place the first time he had them on. She still remembered his interesting choice of curses he'd unknowingly aimed at her for not leaving directions.

Smiling slightly at the memory, she slipped a blue instrument out of her pocket and played a short, bright song. She vanished in a flash of golden light, leaving the Hero and his guide to finish clearing the Lakebed Temple alone. Although it pained her to do it, she knew she had to. The only way she had remained anonymous was by remaining in the shadows, guiding the Heroes without ever revealing her part in their legends. She watched from the edge of the battlefield as Hyrule's last lines of defense pit themselves against a relentless evil.

The golden light took her to the ruins of a once impressive temple, but she was not distracted by the remains of the intricate masonry or by the memory of how it had once looked many years ago. Instead she walked right through a false wall at the back and up a short flight of stairs. There, in a large clearing, rested the object that had started it all. It gleamed dully in the dapple light that shone through the trees, giving the mist around it an ethereal glow.

"Only a little while longer, my friend," she said. "He will be here soon enough." She looked up at the sheltering trees. "And then his true trials will begin."

She had never wanted this, but there was no one else who could relieve her of her duty. Only she could guard the Heroes on their impossible quests. She knew that all too well. She knew it the moment Danielle had been murdered. No, that was not right; she knew it the day she first met him.

Author's Note: So...um...yeah, that's the prologue. Please read and review, but be kind: this is my first one, but before you asked, I know I said this was supposed to be in-between Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time, and this scene's in Twilight Princess, but this is to just set up how the Guardian works. And yes, you will find out who she is in later chapters.