Link walked through Kakariko Gorge. It'd been a long time since he'd seen a single monster anywhere, except in the Cave of Ordeals, which didn't have many worthwhile opponents anyway.

Hey, who can blame him for being a bit rusty when he can't even train?

"Watch out!" a girl screamed. Link wheeled around. A bokoblin had managed to sneak up on him.

Then, without warning, three arrows protruded from the side of its head with a shhlnk!, causing the monster to fall and explode in a cloud of black smoke. Link looked to his right, where the arrows came from.

"Don't. . .move." she warned. She had another arrow nocked and was aiming right at him. He took a step toward her. "Stop! I don't want to hit you!" she yelled. Link froze and she let the arrow fly. It went so close to him he heard it whistle in his ear. He heard it hit something behind him. Not bothering to find out what it was, Link sprinted over to the girl.

"Thanks. You're a good shot." he said. "There hasn't been a single monster here for a long time, so I haven't been able to practice."

"Yeah. I know. And I know the Cave of Ordeals presents no challenge whatsoever; I've gone there in search of a worthy opponent."

"Then how are you so good?"

"I practice by shooting floating leaves. It's enough of a challenge. It's good practice. You should try it." she said before walking off.

"Wait! What's your name?" Link shouted. The girl turned around and smirked.

"Think of Twilight. When?" she said, leaving our Hero of Twilight highly puzzled.

"Think of Twilight. . ." Link was still thinking weeks later. "When?" He sat on the ledge at the top of the stairs in Kakariko Graveyard, his legs dangling.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Link shouted, startling a few crows in the dead trees, making the few remaining leaves flutter to the ground.

"I practice by shooting floating leaves."

Link took out his bow, nocked an arrow, aimed, and fired.

Miss.

Link tried again.

Almost.

And again.

This time, he actually hit the leaf. Link sighed. He began to head to Castle Town.

"Is something troubling you?" Renado said before Link left. He turned.

"Yeah. I'm really out of practice with my fighting. I nearly got whupped by a bokoblin and something else a few weeks ago."

"What stopped them?"

"A girl. Better than me with a bow at the moment. Shot the bokoblin with three arrows at once and when she shot the other monster, the arrow went so close to my ear I heard it whistle."

"This isn't what's troubling you, is it?" Leave it to Renado to be insightful. Link sighed.

"No, it's not. She didn't give me her name when I asked. She gave me a cryptic message instead. It's bothering me."

"You look like a lot of weight has just been lifted off your shoulders."

"I bet I do."

"Don't let it bother you so much. Only think about it now and then. Allow time for other things as well." he said. Link smiled for the first time in two weeks.

"Thanks." he called back as he jogged off to Kakariko Gorge.

Link went to Castle Town. It was a lot busier than usual, probably because of the lack of monsters to prevent foot travel.

"Wow, mister! You look cool!" a little girl exclaimed to Link. He looked down. She was making those googly-eyes at him that little kids make when they see something interesting.

"Thanks."

"Come along, Dawn." an older girl said, pushing the little girl, Dawn, ahead of her.

"I know you." Link said to the older girl. She bent down to the younger girl.

"Why don't you go find mommy? I'll be back is a second." she whispered. Once Dawn was out of earshot, the girl slapped Link. The look on her face was pure rage.

"You don't know me. Don't delude yourself into thinking so." she threatened. She walked off without another word, a large smile on her face when she rejoined Dawn.

"Link! Didn't think I'd run into you!" a voice shouted. Link spun around.

"Rusl!" he replied. "Great to see you!" When they got to each other, they shook hands. Rusl patted Link on the back.

"Havin' girl trouble?"

"Huh?"

"Don't think I didn't see that! What'd you say?"

"The girl who slapped me? I just said 'I know you' and after that little girl, Dawn, was far enough away, she slapped me!"

"Ah, girls are very sensitive, you should know that, Link. Remember when Ilia accused you of injuring Epona?"

"Oh. Yeah. You're right. But what that girl said to me post-slap, that's what's bothering me."

"What'd she say?"

"'You don't know me. Don't delude yourself into thinkig so.'"

"I see. That does sound a little too upset for just something like that. Almost suspicious."

"She scares me."

"I can see why." Link eyed the girl's head as she disappeared onto the west street of Castle Town.

"Just who exactly are you?" Link asked himself.