Hey! It's my first time writing a Legend of Zelda story. It's kinda nerve-racking to write for a new fandom. Hopefully everything turns out well.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the references used in this story. I heavily borrow from adamwestslapdog. If you haven't seen his Legend of Zelda: Abridged Series on Youtube, you're missing out.

-Chapter 1-
Dreaming of the Past

The sound of frantic hooves clamored along the market pebble street as horse and riders bolted straight for the wooden drawbridge. As it lowered, slowly, Princess Zelda took a peek behind her, craning her neck past Impa's leaning body. Behind them was the obscured outline of Gannon giving chase, whipping his horse hard to catch up. She could hear his horse snorting loudly, the metal horseshoes banging like thunder on the ground. Zelda shivered. She had a bad feeling about that man the moment she first laid eyes on him. I knew he was only after the throne.

Her thoughts flashed back to her mother and father. In her memory, she could see them smiling. Zelda closed her eyes, shutting out any thoughts that didn't revolve around survival and prayed to the goddesses for strength and vengeance. She felt bad about leaving the castle, and every step the horse took forward made her worry about the people she was leaving behind. Pride prevented her from running away; fear kept her moving.

She had seen Gannon bow gracefully before the king's throne his first day in town. A tiny smirk was on his face. His eyes were constantly moving as if he was looking for something, and of course, his vile presence unnerved her. He had easily disposed of her father and mother and destroyed the castle. Now, he was coming for her. Zelda crouched forward, locking her eyes in the direction of the drawbridge.

Please open. Hurry.

Outside the fortified white walls, Link stood. His attention was pointed forwards, the sounds of horses coming at him from the distance. It was a very dark night, and he scolded himself for not reaching the marketplace before the sun fell. He blamed it all on Talon. Coaxed into milking the cows and searching for chickens, Link's afternoon visit to the ranch had turned into a long work day. The bottles of milk he received as compensation, and the new song Malon had taught him were hardly worth the trouble. It would be years before he would be able to ride Epona, and the milk would probably sour before tomorrow.

Link looked up into the cloud filled sky. It began to rain. Just my luck… There was no place he could find to use as shelter, and he feared he would catch a cold. Kakariko Village was many miles to the east, and in his fatigued state, he wouldn't be able to make before dropping. He turned his head towards Hyrule Castle, once again wishing he hadn't arrived late. The lone drawbridge of the town was raised at sunset and lowered at sunrise. It would be hours before Link could find a decent place to rest.

To his surprise, the drawbridge slowly came down. He took off running, the thoughts of a warm fire and bed filling his mind. However, as he approached the shallow moat, he stopped. The relived look on his face turned into utter shock as a white mare came dashing past. Link quickly jumped out of the way and snapped his head to look at the reckless driver. Surprise overtook him and he gasped.

Zelda.

He saw fear and worry in her crystal blue eyes. At that moment, Link knew something was definitely wrong. He turned around and found himself face to face with a black stallion. It was dressed in war attire, and it raised itself on two powerful hind legs letting out a terrifying neigh. Link jumped back as his eyes caught the rider. Gannon. Link's eyes grew wide as the Gerudo king extended an open palm, a ball of purple magic swirling in front of him. Link let out a yell as the magic spell crashed into his body, sending him sprawling on the wet grass.

Link opened his eyes and frantically jumped out of his bed. Head on a swivel, he looked around. Gannon was nowhere to be seen. Senses finally coming back, Link sheathed his tiny blade and tossed it on his table. It was only a dream. This was the fourth time this week, the second of back-to-back nights. Link closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. It was all too real as if it was happening all over again. Zelda had sent him back to recover his lost time, but instead he was reliving his nightmare.

He walked outside and stood on his porch. It was still dark, and the overgrown canopy shielded him from the raindrops. This was all too reminiscent of that fateful day, and Link wondered if Zelda, too, had trouble sleeping at night. A playful smile returned to his boyish face. Maybe dropping by for a visit wouldn't be so bad.

"Hey!"

Link stirred as he kicked the blanket with his feet. He turned to the other side, not yet ready to wake up.

"Hey!"

"Five more minutes, mommy," Link muttered as he snuggled tighter into the covers. However, a hard kick knocked him off his bed, and he went crashing into the wooden floor.

"Ow…" Link slowly opened his eyes, struggling to adapt to the sunlight that had permeated into his tree home. He tossed off the covers and rose to his feet. Shaking off the cobwebs, he found a fairy fluttering beside him.

"Morning Link!" the puffball greeted.

"Navi!" Link startledly yelped. "What are you doing here? I thought I'd never see you again."

"Yeah, I just wanted to drop by and say 'hello'. It's been ages."

Link smiled, happy to see his traveling companion again. He had feared that her departure in the Temple of Time would be the last he would see of her. The days were fine, but the nights were awfully painful. Crashing into tables and chests were now common without the fairy to light up the room. Once again, he was the "boy without a fairy".

They spent some time talking about all their adventures, catching up on everything. Link still had permission to leave the forest, and he happily told Navi all the things he had been up to. Fishing at Lake Hylia and running around with Epona, to playing games with Saria, he definitely had been making up for lost time. For Navi, she had been busy tending to the Deku Tree's every whim, even going out on a limb to perform these tasks.

The two recalled memories from their previous adventure, laughing heartily at the strange characters they had befriended.

"Remember Sheik?"

"Yeah," Link replied. "I still can't believe he was actually Zelda. He doesn't look anything like her."

"I told you, didn't I? We girls like to play dress-up. It was easy for me to tell who he was. I still have no idea why you couldn't figure it out. Even as an adult, your recognition skills were pretty horrible. Remember when you thought I was one of those healing fairies, and you stuck me in a bottle?"

"I remember that. You have to admit that was pretty funny," he reminisced. "All you fairies do look the same."

"The only difference is that they have a pinkish outline," Navi corrected. "I'm purely white."

"But I thought you were a girl."

Navi frowned. "I could say the same for you. I don't see any guys running around wearing a skirt and leggings."

"I already explained that to you. It's purely a comfort thing!"

The two erupted in a fit of laughter. Link dabbed away a tear as he stood to his feet. "Speaking of girls, I'm thinking of heading to the Castle." He looped his tiny dagger over his shoulder and grabbed his sturdy Deku shield.

"To see Zelda, eh?"

"Well…" little Link blushed. "I haven't seen her in a while."

"What about Ruto? You haven't seen her in a longgggg time either," the fairy teased. She was now twinkling, probably thinking how the Hero of Time turned out to be a little heartbreaker. Ruto and Saria had no chance.

Link felt his spine tingle. That was a memory that still bothered him. Sure, he was grateful that Ruto gave him her treasured Zora's Sapphire and helped construct that rainbow bridge that allowed him to fight Gannon, but he wasn't ready for marriage (not at his age).

"I'll visit Ruto some other time," Link said, dismissingly. "Well, I got to go. Say 'hi' to the Great Deku Tree for me."

-LoZ-

Hyrule Field was larger than he last remembered, probably because he was so used to warping everywhere. Link jumped up on the short L-shaped stone wall to catch a glimpse of where he was going. According to his instincts, he was half-way there, and the sun was still shining bright overhead. Still, he wished he could ride Epona. She was the fastest horse he ever came across, and not to mention, the most fearless. Still she had her share of antics. Her wicked temper made it impossible for anyone other than Link to mount her. Ghosts terrified her, and she couldn't cross water or climb/descend steps. Yup, she was a great horse.

Link closed his eyes as a gentle breeze wind blew fast his face. He always enjoyed the excitement and the amount of freedom he had traveling across the plains. Whenever Epona jumped over a gate or a fence, Link literally felt like he was flying, and the rocky landing gave him a sense of dangerous delight.

Too young and too short to mount a horse, Link had been reduced to traveling on foot. He had been fortunate that he kept his stamina and strength. Pacing himself with a light jog, he would be at Castle Town just before lunch.

Link could hear the chatter all around the marketplace the moment he set foot on the drawbridge. Castle Town was always lively, he recalled. It was never uncommon to see couples dance into the night, or see stray dogs create havoc in the alleyways. With the new opening of the Mask Shop, kids were given the opportunity to frolic and play since most didn't own slingshots or have permission to launch a bombchu. The fox masks were popular as the number one bestseller. Goron masks were a close second. Link owned the Mask of Truth, a one-of-a-kind item and especially rare. Personally, he liked the Fox Masks. Link always intended to get a new one, but sadly they wouldn't fit his older face.

Link slipped past a crowd that congregated by the fountain, careful not to bump into anyone. As he found himself in the clearing, he made a quick left and entered the Shooting Gallery. He figured he had time to spare, and it had been a while since he played. Opening the door, he found that there weren't very many people here. A couple of kids and a group of adults were stationed at the stall at the far end. Link turned to find the proprietor standing calmly behind the counter, watching the kids shoot rupees that came from behind the screen. They were unpolished, Link saw. Their hesitation and lack of timing made it hard to hit the targets accurately.

"How many have they shot?" Link asked.

"Five," the owner said. "Not good enough for another round, I say."

Link bit his lip as he watched one of the taller boys miss the next two targets that would have allowed him another try.

"Safe to say, it'll be a long time since we see another one like you, kid."

The boy smiled as he looked at the plaque over the door. Emblazoned in shiny gold, was his name. He was given a larger bullet bag that could hold 50 seeds.

"I'll shoot a round," Link said as he reached for his old fairy slingshot. He tossed twenty rupees on the counter and walked over to the booth.

He drew back the sling, fingers taut and ready. The burly man gave the signal and the first target was launched in the air. Link fired, hitting the rupee at its apex. As it shattered into tiny pieces, Link reloaded and shot another bullet hitting the next target that was to his right. With a short pivot, he hit the one to his left. Two more rupees were strung in, dangling in the air by a rope. The results were the same, two shots and two hits. His success continued throughout the round as Link ended with a perfect game. Ten targets up. Ten targets down.

Link put away his slingshot as he backed away from the booth. He could hear whispers of astonishment around him, but he paid them no attention. His skills were sharp as ever from shooting bats, skultullas, and the occasional owl.

"You still have another round if you want it."

Link shook his head. "I'll pass."

"Suit yourself," the man shrugged. He pulled out a slingshot that was beneath the counter and aimed for the farthest rupee he could see. Yawning, he fired a seed, hitting the target perfectly. He nodded his head as Link closed the door behind him.

However, the fun wasn't over yet. There was still his favorite game to play. Link took the road up to the castle, unsurprised to find two guards stationed by the black gate. They were immoveable. Link sighed as he remembered his exploits here. For useless guards, they sure had the power of immobility. Their shrieking whistles could stop anyone cold, and Link still had remorse for being throw out on his backside. Turning around, he found the coiled vines that he could climb to the top of the gates. There, a ladder would be positioned for him to get down.

Link stealthily maneuvered past the guards that were stationed along the castle grounds. As he climbed up a wall, he jumped forward into the moat and let the water carry him to the side entrance of the castle. Here was where Talon would drop off the boxes of milk. True to form, the boxes were delivered and after deliberate pushing and pulling, Link managed to construct a platform that would enable him to jump through the hole in the wall. Crawling through, he waded through the pool of water. He was in.

The castle garden was heavily guarded but easily accessed with precise timing and speed. Link bursted forward like a horse out of the starting gate, and after going through a couple bushes, he found himself in the courtyard.

Huh, it wasn't as scary as I thought. Legend of Zelda fans don't bite, right?

The story will pick up in the next chapter in terms of plot. Review if you'd like. However, I'm just glad you stopped by. I don't really say much in my author notes, but thank you so much for reading, and take it easy.

P.S. There is now a small excerpt from the next chapter in my tumblr. To access it, go to my profile, and hit that homepage link. I'll continue posting up more sneak peaks throughout. Consider it as a thank you for reading.

Rock out, party hard, live hardcore