Hello, readers, welcome to a brand new story!

I've always loved the Zelda series, but only recently have I actually gotten into it enough to where I'm writing fanfics and such. I hope it goes over well. Consider yourself warned: this isn't a happy story, and I doubt it will end happily. Perhaps a sequel will come of it that will have a lighter note, but we'll see.

So this fic is rather short, since, as the title implies, the story takes place over the span of a mere hour. It should go for about ten chapters.

FYI: at the beginning of each chapter is a little note to say how much time has passed.

Okay, enough of me talking. There's a story to read here.

Zora's Waters

Time :00

The sky had never looked so blue. And what few clouds that were in his line of vision shone pearlescent. Life seemed to take on an unrealistic lustre. He must really be fading...

But no, he had to stay awake...somehow. He had to keep his breathing steady. He was, after all, floating on the surface of deep water. In his state, any faulty or panicked move would kill him. It's not as bad as it sounds, being that he was already half dead. But he wanted to live. He had already gone through so much during his young life. He wanted to know what else was out there to experience. He had just lived through the worst nightmare, anyway. Well, to be honest with himself, he was still living through this worst nightmare.

Link floated in the middle of Termina's Great Bay. His limbs were spread out as he floated. There was nothing else he could do. Numerous wounds marred his body, but the two deep gashes in his midsection were what really had his blood flowing. He had nothing to staunch his injuries, but even if he did, he wouldn't have the strength to treat himself. He couldn't even swim to shore. He could hardly breathe. This feeling of helplessness was new to him, being out in the open, with two buildings in earshot that housed people who would gladly help him. But still he bled.

Though his mind was fading, it still rang out a single urgent message: get to Hyrule. Link had no idea why he had to. At this point, all he wanted was an end for the pain. An end that did not lead to death. It already seemed that he wouldn't see his homeland again if he delayed any longer. Still he floated, however. There was nothing he could do to move, unless he wanted to drown.

And then Link felt the water ripple against him. Something had surfaced nearby. He slowly turned his head from side to side, trying to locate the source of the disturbance. Another skullfish? A desbreko? He felt panic begin to well up in him. He was in no shape to be attacked. Link kept still, hoping whatever it was would pass him by.

But it didn't. The next moment, he felt two hands take hold of his shoulders. Without thinking, Link reacted, flailing his arms. The effort didn't amount to much, except for submerging his head completely. He struggled with a little more strength, but only managed to feebly wave his limbs. The hands had relinquished their grip, but Link was now faced with the task of getting out from under water. His body wouldn't surface despite his efforts, and Link felt his heart sink along with the rest of him.

And then the hands were back, one under his shoulders, the other under his head. He was lifted up quickly, and his face broke above the surface of water. Gasping and sputtering, he managed to get the water out of his mouth and nose, but found it difficult to regain balance. He didn't have to, however, as whatever was holding him helped keep him steady.

And then it spoke, "Stay calm, there. I think I owe you this favour anyway."

Link did calm down, and took slow, deep breaths, partly to get more oxygen in, and partly out of relief. He could sense no foul intent from the speaker.

"Now just relax," came the unknown voice again. "And let me bring you out of the water. You can be on your way then."

Link felt the hands on his shoulders again, and this time he let himself be taken, dragged along the surface towards the shore. He craned his head back to see who it was that was rescuing him, and caught a glimpse of a Zoran figure. Link blinked hard, and tried to get a closer look. He couldn't quite focus on the creature. It was definitely there, but was somehow semi-transparent. A spirit, perhaps. But how would a ghost be able to touch and move him?

He felt himself grow suddenly dizzy, and closed his eyes and dropped the subject. He didn't have the energy to worry over whether he was seeing a ghost or not. The fact was that he was being brought out of the water.

And then he was on dry sand, laying on his back. He pressed his hand against his wound.

Link rolled gradually over and slowly lifted himself to his knees, and inspected his side. It was dripping red and caked with wet sand. He felt himself grow faint again, and returned his hand to the injury. There was still nothing to stop the bleeding; he only carrying a few weapons and his treasured instrument. The midsection of his shirt was reddening with blood; his wet body coated with the fine sand. Link looked up to quickly inspect the beach, but it was empty even of the Leevers. Only the seagulls flew overhead, circling over the fish skeleton erected in Mikau's memory.

Another wave of nausea came over him, and he knew he had to hurry. Link attempted to lift himself further, but only resulted to falling all the way back onto his face. He let out a pained sigh, his breath blowing the sand from around his mouth. After a moment, he rolled himself over slightly, just enough to lift his face out of the dirt.

A soft shade fell over his face, and he opened his eyes slowly. A figure stood to the side of him, looking him over. He turned to meet the other's gaze, but his view was obscured by sunlight. The figure wasn't entirely there...

Link gazed at the apparition, the Zora who had saved him. It wasn't some trick of his mind, for though the figure's opacity was minimal, it still casted its own shadow. A song was playing; the song that a young girl had written, a girl from some distant land. The Zora had its guitar out. Link looked into the creature's eyes, past the glare of the bright sun. A realization vaguely struck him. Was this him? Is this what the Zora mask had transformed him into? Or perhaps it was Mikau, remembering what the figure had told him out on the water. ...I owe you this favour anyway...

Whatever the truth was, Link still had enough awareness to know that he only had about an hour before any trace of strength left him altogether. Whether he would make it home in time or not depended on his ability to get across the beach, over the field, and through the town. And then what? Home wasn't exactly just on the other side of that door under the clock tower...

The Lost Woods...

Maybe he wouldn't make it back...

A horse's neigh broke through his growing despair. Link almost smiled in relief, but his pain still restrained him. Hoofbeats on sand sounded, though Link more felt it through the earth than he did hear it. He glanced over at his Zoran self, or Mikau, whoever it really was. The apparition had finished playing the tune, and was now calmly staring at him as the coming horse's galloping drew nearer. The Zora's presence began to fade, and though Link knew his ghostly companion was leaving, he felt calmness slowly flow through him.

The Zora nodded to him just as it disappeared altogether, and then the hoofbeats suddenly stopped, followed by a spray of sand as the horse skidded to a halt. Epona's neigh resounded from directly above. Link closed his eyes as his steed nudged him gently. He winced. Gentle though the touch may have been, the pain still intensified in his injured body.

But he had to get up and on his horse somehow. Mikau's spirit had brought him out of the water and played Epona's Song, and he didn't want that effort to go to waste. It was, after all, quite difficult for a spirit to manifest, not to mention play music and interact with the physical.

Link drew one long breath and steeled himself. To his knees. That was his first goal. He had to just get to his knees. Ignoring the pain for an instant, he rolled back over onto his stomach. Step one finished. Now he had the minute to think about his pain. He grunted as the wound in his midsection flared in protest to the pressure of Link lying on it. Maybe if he could just stand, he could alleviate the pain.

Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fists and put forth the greatest effort he could. He was on his knees. And then he was on one knee. Pushing one more time, he fell all the way down, face in the sand.

His head was swimming, telling him only that he had tried too much too quickly. His consciousness faded.

No idea when I'll have the next chapter ready.

If you're interested, let me know!

If you see an error, let me know!

See you next time...