Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE LEGEND OF ZELDA, ANY OF THE LOCATIONS OR OF THE CHARACTERS! THEY BELONG TO NINTENDO AND SHIGERU MIYAMOTO! I AM NOT TRYING TO STEAL ANYTHING!

Note: Some of the characters in this story (like Rain) and some of the places (like Kamar in a later chapter) I created myself. If you like any of them and would like to use them in your own fan-fictions, please ASK BEFORE YOU USE THEM!

Chapter One:

The Grave Keeper's Heir

Link awakened from a deep sleep with a throbbing pain in the front of his head. He kept his eyes closed in fear that any light would increase the pain. However, it was no use, for the light in the room was too great to be blocked out by his eyelids alone. He sat up, rubbing his head, then opened his eyes and looked around.

The room he was in was filled with light, but it didn't seem to have a source. There were also several pillars and waterfalls. But the pillars were suspended in mid air, and the waterfalls ended in a pool beneath the platform that Link was sitting on, but they had no beginning.

Link stood up and looked at the platform beneath him. In the middle of the platform was an emblem of the Triforce, and around the edges were six more emblems. Link began to name them as he looked at each one.

"Forest," he said. Then he stopped. his voice sounded so strange. He cleared his throat and continued.

"Fire, water, spirit, shadow," he stopped again. Someone was standing on the last emblem. Link looked up and saw an old man in a yellow robe looking at him.

"Light," said Link with a surprised look on his face.

"Welcome, Link," said the old man. "I am Raru, the Sage of Light. This is the Chamber of the Sages."

Link looked at him, but said nothing. After a few minutes, the silence began to bother Link, so he asked the first question that came to his mind.

"What happened to my voice?" He asked.

"Take a look at yourself," said Raru.

Link looked at his hands. His fingers were long and thin, not short and stumpy like they were just before he passed out. He looked down into the pool below the platform to see his reflection. The boyish face that he remembered was now gone.

"No," he said. "No, I can't be..." He looked at Raru. "Am I really a...a...a..."

"An adult?" Said Raru, "yes, Link. Since you were only fifteen when you pulled the Master Sword from the pedestal, you had to remain here for three years.

"No!" Said Link. "I have parents and a sister! She was only three when I left! She won't remember me, and I've missed her grow up!"

"You've also missed the birth of your brother," said Raru.

"Send me back now!" Said Link.

"You are the Chosen One, the Hero of Time," said Raru. "Only you can send yourself back.

"How?" Asked Link.

"By placing the Master Sword back in the pedestal," said Raru. "You will return to the day before your adventure began. But before you decide to return, think about the sister that you mentioned. What would happen to her if you went back?" Link thought for a moment.

"You're right," he said. "I'll do what I must."

"Good," said Raru. "Now go to Kakariko Village. The grave keeper there is very sick and will soon join those he looks after."

"NO!" Cried Link. "Dampe was like my grandfather! He told me of my real parents and the day I was born! He cared for me until the Doutours took me as their own child. He cannot die!"

"He will," said Raru. "And soon. You must go to him. He has something that he wishes to give to you."

"Very well," said Link quietly. Raru looked at him with pity, then sent him out of the Chamber of the Sages and into the Temple of Time.

Link looked around. The Temple of Time had two rooms: The main Sanctuary and the Room of Time. The two rooms were separated by a stone door called the Door of Time. In the middle of the Room of Time was a platform that resembled the one that Link had seen in the Chamber of the Sages. In the middle of the platform was the pedestal of the Master Sword.

"Has it really been three years?" he said to himself. He looked into the main Sanctuary. The three Spiritual Stones were still on the Alter of Time where he had placed them.

"Am I really eighteen?" Link thought. He started to leave, when he heard something behind him.

"I've been waiting for you, Link," came a young girl's voice. Link turned around and saw a Sheika girl standing in front of him. She wasn't very tall, about five feet and four inches. Her face was almost completely covered with white cloth, and from the sound of her voice, Link guessed that she was close to his age.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Sheik," said the girl. "You are going to my village, are you not?" Link looked at her with a puzzled look on his face.

"Kakariko," said Sheik. "You are going there to get something from the grave keeper, are you not?"

"He's my grandfather," said Link, "and he's dying."

"After you receive his gift to you," said Sheik, "go to the place you were raised. A girl there needs your help."

"Saria," whispered Link. He looked up at Sheik. "Is she ok?" he asked.

"She's fine," said Sheik. "Now go. Your grandfather is waiting for you."

Link went out of the Temple of Time and into the Market. He had remembered it as a lively place with brightly colored shops and joyful music. Now it was in ruins and the well in the middle of it was filled with stagnant water. The people who lived there had fled and the Market was now inhabited by zombies called Redeads. Link put his ocarina to his lips and played a song called the Sun's Song. The Redeads froze, and Link quickly made his way through the Market and on to Kakariko village.

When he arrived at Dampe's hut, he slowly opened the door and looked around. The hut was small and dark. In the middle there was a stove and in the corner was an old wooden chest. As for furniture, there was a wardrobe, a desk, a chair, and a bed, in which Dampe was lying.

"Grandfather?" said Link, walking over to the bed-ridden grave keeper. Dampe looked up at him.

"Vascal?" he said. "Vascal, is that you? Am I dead?" Then he coughed.

"No, grandfather. It's Link, Vascal's son."

"Link," said Dampe. "You finally came back."

"I came as soon as I heard you were sick," said Link. "I'm sorry it's been so long."

"don't be," said Dampe, followed by another cough. "You being gone kept me alive longer. I wanted to see you again before I pass. I have something that I want you to have."

"Why me?" asked Link.

"Because you gave me the will to live," said Dampe. "After your parents passed, I had no one. I suspected that you too had died. But then, one day, you returned to this village and brought happiness back into my life. Your parents were like the children I never had, just as you are like my grandson." He coughed a third time, and then handed Link a key.

"Here," he said. "Take this key and open that chest in the corner." Link walked over to the chest. It was very old and had strange patterns carved all over it. It was the Hope Chest that Dampe and his late wife had received on their wedding day. Link opened the chest and lifted out a strange device that looked much like a grappling hook on a reel.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I call it the Hookshot," said Dampe. He spoke as though he was speaking of a legend. "Aim it at anything that the hook will stick to, and then pull the trigger to fire it. Release the trigger, and either the object attached to it will be pulled to you, or you will be pulled to that object."

"Thank you," said Link. "I will treasure it forever and keep it in our family."

"I knew you would," said Dampe. "Now, I go to join those who I once looked after."

"No," said Link. "You can still hold on. You can get better."

"No, Link," said Dampe. "My time has come." Link looked at him with a sad expression on his face.

"Then will you do one thing for me?" he asked.

"What, my boy?" asked Dampe.

"Tell my parents that I love them," said Link.

"They already know," said Dampe. Link smiled. Then his smile faded.

"I'll make you proud," he said, trying to hold back tears. "I'll make all of you proud.'' Dampe smiled at his grandson.

"You already have," he said. Then he layed his head back and closed his eyes.

"Grandfather?" said Link. There was no reply. Tears rolled down Link's face. He stood up, walked over to Dampe's desk, and began to write a not to his adoptive parents in Clock Town.

"Mother and Father," the letter began.

"I'm sorry that I haven't made any contact with you for a while. I would try to explain why, but I don't even understand it all.

I'm writing because Dampe the grave keeper had passed, and I'm not quite sure what to do. I know that it would be dangerous to bring Rain back to Hyrule, but if just one of you could come back to help me, it would make this so much easier. Please help.

Tell Rain that I miss her and that Hyrule will soon be safe again.

I'll wait for your reply at our old house in Kakariko Village.

Please hurry,

-Link."

He took the letter to the village post office. Much to his surprise, the Postman from Clock Town was there.

"Link?" said the Postman with great surprise. ''I haven't seen you since you left Clock Town!''

"Yeah, it's me," said Link.

"My how you've grown!" said the Postman. Link looked at him. He looked older, but he still had a sparkle in his eye and a spring in his step.

"You haven't changed that much," Said Link. "Are you still sticking to your schedule?"

"Always, always!" said the Postman putting one hand on his chest and the other one in the air. "Only your grandmother Aroma, the Postmistress, can make me stop following the schedule.'' Both Link and the Postman laughed.

"So," said Link, "What brings you to Hyrule?"

" I come here once a week to see if there is any mail for Termina," said the Postman. "Sadly, there is none this week."

"Wait," said Link, handing his letter to the Postman. "Take this to my parents when you return to Clock Town."

"I shall deliver it the moment I return!" said the Postman as he excitedly took the letter from Link.

"Thank you," said Link.

"Farewell," said the postman giving, Link a slight salute. He left the post office and headed for Termina, while Link headed back to his old house in Kakariko Village and waited for a reply from his parents.

When the Postman arrived in Clock Town early that evening, he went to the Stock Pot Inn and knocked on the door. A red-headed woman with blue eyes answered.

"Hello, Anju," said the Postman as he handed her the letter. "It's from Link." Then he turned and left. Anju's hands shook as she opened the letter. Her eyes quickly scanned the page.

"KAFEI!" she yelled as she ran around the corner and up the stairs. Kafei came out of the room at the top of the stairs carrying a baby.

"What is it?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," said Anju as she handed him the letter. Kafei took it from her and quickly read over it.

"He's alive!" he said.

"Who?" came a small voice from behind him. Kafei turned around and saw his six-year-old daughter, Rain staring up at him with the ruby-red eyes that she had inherited from him. She also had purple hair like his. Kafei handed the baby to Anju and crouched down to Rain's level.

"Who's alive, Papa?" she asked again.

"Your brother, Link," said Kafei. Rain squealed with delight. Kafei picked her up and looked at Anju. Then he looked back at the letter.

"He needs us both," said Anju, "not just one of us." Kafei put Rain back down.

"Go on to bed, Rain," he told her. She did as she was told.

"Kafei, we can't take the children with us," said Anju. Kafei kissed the side of her head.

"We can leave them here with your mother," he said. "We won't be gone all that long." Anju nodded, took the baby back into the bedroom and put him in his cradle. Then she and Kafei went to talk to Anju's mother. They told her that Link was still alive. They also showed her the note and explained that Link and Dampe were very close.

"Oh my word!" said Anju's mother. "Of course you may leave the children with me! Link needs you now, and you must go to him."

Anju and Kafei went upstairs to tell Rain goodbye. Then they left for Hyrule. It was a long, dark trip, and both of them were silent for most of the journey. Kafei looked over at Anju. There was a sparkle in her eyes that said she was happy, but the expression on her face showed that she was sad, scared, and tired all at the same time. Kafei reached down and took her hand. Anju looked at him.

"Are you alright, dearest?" Kafei asked.

"Yes," said Anju. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" asked Kafei.

"About a million things," said Anju. "Mainly, I'm thinking about how happy I am that Link is alive, but how sad I am that he lost someone so close."

"You look frightened, my love," Kafei said.

"Well," said Anju, "Hyrule is a dangerous place."

"Don't worry," said Kafei. "I'll die before I'll let anything happen to you." Anju smiled.

"You're right," she said. "You've faced up to thieves before."

"One thief," said Kafei. "All with the help of an eleven-year-old boy with a fairy that didn't like me."

Anju laughed.

"I feel much better now," she said looking lovingly at Kafei, who returned the gaze.

"Do you remember when we were young," Kafei began, "and we would pretend to go on 'adventures' in Northern Clock Town?"

"Of course," said Anju. "We promised each other that after we got married, we would go on a real adventure." Anju looked down. "We never got to, though." Kafei stopped, picked her up, and looked into her eyes.

"We're on an adventure right now," he said with a smile. Anju smiled back. Kafei kissed her gently on the lips, then began walking again, this time with Anju in his arms.

By dawn, they had made it to Kakariko Village. When they arrived at their old house, Anju burst through the door.

"LINK!" she cried as she ran up the stairs. Link came out of his bedroom.

"Mother!" he said as he and Anju embraced each other. Kafei was right behind Anju, and he, too, joined the embrace.

"We thought you were dead!" said Anju. "When you left Termina, we expected to hear from you in at most a moth. When you didn't write, we began searching everywhere for you. But two years went by, and there was no trace of you anywhere."

"I know," said Link. "I'm so sorry. I know that I've missed so much."

"Yes, you have," said Kafei. "You have a new brother. His name is Shay."

"What does he look like?" said Link.

"He has red hair and blue eyes, just like your mother," said Kafei looking lovingly at his wife.

"I'm so sorry that I missed his birth," said Link. Anju looked at him. He looked exhausted and very sad.

"Why don't you get some rest?" said Anju. "We'll take care of everything else." Link nodded, then he turned and went back to his bedroom.

Anju and Kafei began to make funeral arrangements for Dampe, who was buried the next evening. Many of the villagers attended his funeral, even though not many of them knew Dampe. Most of them were refugees that had fled the Market when it was destroyed. But they came anyway, and that made Link feel a little bit better.

After the funeral, everyone but Link, Anju, and Kafei left the graveyard. Link stared at the grave for a long time.

"I'm so sorry," said Anju as she gave Link a hug. Tears rolled down his face.

"I can't believe he's gone," he said. He crouched down and ran his fingers across the headstone. He didn't know what upset him more, the fact that the last person that knew his real parents was gone, or the fact that he and Dampe had been so close.

"We'll stay as long as you need us to," said Kafei.

"No," said Link quietly as he stood back up. "Go back to Rain and Shay. I can be without parents longer than they can."

"But not right now," said Kafei. Link looked at his father.

"I'm grateful for your offer to stay," he said. "I really am. But Rain and Shay need you more than I do." He looked at his mother. "You should go back to them."

"We're going to stay with you," said Kafei. "At least until morning. I'm your father, and you must do as I say."

"Very well," said Link. "But first thing tomorrow, you must go back to Termina. It would be better for you to travel in the daytime, anyway."

The three of them went back to their old home and went to bed. Early the next morning, Anju and Kafei said goodbye to Link and returned to Termina.