The Moon's Grin; Zelda's Dream
Time, as always, was a fickle being. Dreams were no different. It's only natural for the two to overlap.
Night swept through Hyrule. A small princess peaked from her window in her room. Of all the windows of Zelda's home, hers looked over the meadows and moon of her beloved homeland. Drowsiness took over her, as it has been lately. Ever since that evil man, Ganondorf, arrived, she felt darkness leisurely drifting, casually taking hold of everything. What a silly thing this evil was, as if knowing it had all the time in the world.
Zelda could feel the dusk slowly aching at her bones, and she wished for the pure light to hurry and save Hyrule. But Link, the Chosen Hero, was still gathering the gems, while she sat and prayed and tried to convince her father to see the truth, feeling useless. She sighed, thinking of her Hero.
Poor Link, the princess often thought, he must feel like the Goddesses' plaything.
She sighed again and began counting the stars. It helped her go to sleep. Sometimes, she considered naming them. A tedious task, but the princess knew, deeply, that she would have centuries to do so, perhaps watch new ones be birthed. Pushing aside her fate and things she shouldn't know, Zelda continued counting, eyes drooping with each syllable.
She yawned at "Seventy-six."
Zelda unfurled the comforter, blankets, and sheets from her bed. She sighed, wishing her father would listen when saying she didn't need for her bed to fall through the floor with its weight. Funny how her father didn't listen to the simplest of things. She got in and pulled one blanket up before falling asleep.
'I don't want to dream of that evil man.'
Her thoughts dribbled out as her dreams took over. Her nightly prayer was answered, sort of, which she was grateful for. Ganondorf did not plague her dreams; fire did not spread through Hyrule, nor did the dead plague the market streets. Another dark entity did; something of which she hadn't encountered before. Which she supposed was natural when considering her small age. Yet how did she feel so ancient?
A masked man—a kid really, jumped up and down in unfiltered laughter. He appeared around Link's age, give or take a few years. He shook his butt (such crudeness!) and raised his hands to the air. That's when Zelda saw it, the moon.
Its grin was lunatic, laughing.
She turned over in her sleep, absently clenching the blanket to her chest.
In the dream, wherever it was, Zelda focuses herself into existence. Impa taught her to do such things in dreams. She was grateful to her guardian and mother figure, and noted to repay her one day.
The first thing she noticed was the grass, scratchy against her bare feet. And the wind, cold. She folded her arms against her chest, wanting her blanket's warmth, but that was back in reality. She was in a field of some sort that looked like it was circling a town. So far, minus the kid and moon, the place seemed okay in her opinion.
The masked kid vanished, leaving her with the moon and the strange place.
Plop. Plop.
She turned her head, seeing jelly like monster, another thing Hyrule didn't have. There were two green jelly blobs, bottom heavy, and appeared to have magic jars lodged inside. How this was possible, Zelda wasn't sure. Then again, many things didn't make sense back home. She could only accept it as part of life. Not wanting to find out anything else about the monster creatures, the princess quickly went to venture inside the town.
She fell before reaching the entrance, tripping on her lengthy gown (or was it dream physics?) crashing on the cobblestone stairs. Wearily, she touched head, checking for damage. 'This is a dream,' she reminded herself. She rolled over, exhausted from this dream and reality itself.
The damn moon grinned down at her, mocking her, she thought. But Zelda felt something else. The thing, the moon, knew fear, the kind one knew when death grew near. The kind felt when one was near Ganondorf. But Ganondorf had nothing to do with the moon, just that masked kid. She felt it in her gut.
Sow what could she do? This place was surely not Hyrule. It felt wrong.
'Damn moon.'
They stared at each other, Zelda knowing she would lose the contest. She positioned herself, head resting on her head. She didn't want to move, far too tired.
'This place is weird.'
Weird? No, no, that's the wrong word. Strange? Bizarre? Yes, bizarre. And despite how bizarre this place was, she felt a connection with it.
"Hello, Mr. Moon."
It had a mouth to grin madly and eyes to widen. Surely, it was conscious being. But could it hear her? Maybe if she talked to it…
"My name is Zelda."
What if the moon wasn't conscious, an empty shell heading towards doom?
"You seem so close to the earth. Why is that, Mr. Moon?"
Yet it was most likely alive. How else could the eyes look so fearful, so knowing of its literal downfall?
"I wish I could do something. But I can't. Evil is threatening my own world."
She continued lying there like an idiot, talking to a rock in the sky. If the guards stationed at the entrance saw her, they said or did nothing. She preferred it that way.
It must have been an hour or maybe half, merely minutes back in her bed. She talked and talked, awaiting a response from the rock in the sky.
She thought of Link, her braved hero tasked with saving Hyrule. She thought of Impa, the last of her kind, tasked with babysitting a princess. She thought of her father, tasked with protecting his kingdom, no matter how futile. Then she thought of the moon, wondering what it would be doing if it weren't tasked with destruction. After all this, she came to herself. What was she tasked to do? Was she to sit and wait for Link?
Just like the moon and this place's inhabitants. Waiting for their land's downfall, while praying for their hero, their savior.
Did the moon, this land, have a savior?
A part of her, maybe just her imagination, saw the fear residing in its eyes. It was all a dream, so it didn't even matter. How hopeless.
A familiar lullaby washes over as white washes over the bizarre land.
Zelda awoke, Impa watching over her. As her mind adjusted to reality, she sits up. The comfort of her plush bed replaced the cobblestone as sun raised against the moon… the normal, unfaced moon. Her eyes became downcast, not wanting to Impa to see the tears welling.
Impa notices, as she sees everything, but doesn't mention it. "It is dawn, my princess, and you would not awake. Another premonition dream, I take it?"
Zelda nodded, involuntarily having her tears trickle. "Even in my dreams, all I see is fright and terror and I can't even save people myself."
Her guardian placed a hand on her princess's shoulder. Zelda felt at ease with the cool fingers on her skin. "Do not fret," Impa said in a low, soft tone, "your time will come, as does everybody's."
She clenched her gown. Tears still trickled down her chin, but her eyes glowed with determination. "When that time comes, I will be prepared." With a light thump, her feet planted on the floor. She wiped the tears using her arm. There was no time for childish actions. Her head tilted toward the firm, loving face of her guardian.
"Please, Impa, teach me further of the ways of your forgotten people."
Impa smiled at the will of her princess. "It is time."
The princess nodded happily, ready for whatever would happen and to play a part in saving her beloved land. Hopefully somebody could do the same for the moon's lunatic, sad smile.
Oh yes, time and dreams were devious beings that had tendencies to keep players guessing, never quite knowing. What does one expect of beings created by the Goddesses?