Link the Wanderer. If any surname could fit me this one would be it. It seems to be all I'm good for at this point. It is more fitting, at least, than "Hero of Time." It is almost as though she gave me that title to mock me. Time has become an enemy more powerful and dangerous than Ganondorf himself. It was Time that forced me to have to leave my homeland...

I expected a hero's welcome. A glorious display of affection for the savior of Hyrule. The only problem was that thanks to the now twisted flow of time, I wasn't a hero quite yet. Hyrule wasn't in any danger. I suspect that Ganondorf won't be able to control the power I unwittingly allowed him access to until he has a little time to adjust. Once he does, however, he will be all but unstoppable. I shuddered slightly at the thought of the damage that he could, and would, cause.

Navi, my personal guardian fairy, came out from her usual resting-place beneath my hat, sensing my discomfort. "Something wrong Link?" I answered with a shake of my head and a weak smile. She was too intelligent to be deceived by my façade.

"With all that we have been through, and as long as this battle has been I know how you behave when you are... when you are upset. Your pace has slowed and your steps have grown heavier. Plus your body just shook violently. What's wrong?"

I opened my mouth to reply but closed it again quickly. I still couldn't force myself to speak.

"I see. You still don't want to confide in me. That's OK." Although an intense glow obscured her face, I could tell she was crying from the sound of her voice. "I guess that you don't need me anymore. Your task is complete so I'll just return to the forest."

She slowly began to fly away. Even within the magically lighted hall of the Temple of Time I could see that her natural light had become much dimmer in her sadness. Stop! Don't leave me! I tried with all of my heart to speak but still my voice was paralyzed. I've fought desperate battles against overwhelming odds and still arose victorious but a residual phobia still plagued me. Ever since my childhood I have feared small flying things. It was about 6 years ago (or 13, depending on your perspective). Back then all the Kokiri kids seemed to tower over me. They actually looked just as they do now come to think of it. They don't seem to ever age at all. Saria was like an older sister to me, always protecting and teaching me. Mido was even more of a bully than he is now. He never missed an opportunity to bother me. One day he stole a bag of deku seeds that I found and wanted to eat. I ran to Saria's house to complain but she wasn't there. Refusing to give up, I ran into the Lost Woods to find her. My mouth was wide open and my eyes were shut because of my crying so I never saw her until it was too late. A fairy flew in front of my path and... I swallowed it.

"Help! Let me out of here!"

Ironically, I was in no position to help her because she was slowly choking the life out of me, her "captor." It turned out that the fairy's liege, who happened to be Saria, was not far behind her.

"Aerith! Where are you? Say something!"

"I'm in here! Help me!"

Saria froze for a moment and attempted to pinpoint the source of the muffled response. Seeing me choking seemed to help her out.

"Hold on, I'll get you out!"

In order to free her comrade, Saria released a kick with surprising power onto my stomach. The fairy was released unharmed, but she kept a strong grudge against me; I can't really blame her. She spread her hatred to the other fairies so none of them wanted to have anything to do with me. Saria however continues to hold nothing against me and didn't tell any one else what had occurred that day. Now, if there are any fairies in the area, I can't bring myself to say more than a few words. That's right everyone: the holder of the triforce of courage, the hero of Hyrule, is afraid of fairies.

A familiar tune coming from the fairy ocarina (I just can't escape them) shook me from my musings. Saria was trying to contact me through the magic of her song. However, the message was in the musical language of the fairies. Unlike the other forest children, I had never learned their language. Navi was one of the few fairies that spoke the Hyrulean language and with out here translation, all I could here was some nice music. I decided then that a hero's welcome was no longer of any importance as long as I could see my friends once again. With that in mind I made my way back to the Kokiri forest.

It was after midnight when I arrived. The village of Kokiri has always been a serene environment, but in the darkness of the newborn day the silence seemed to surround me like a thick, choking fog. Not one of the forest's inhabitants, not even the nocturnal owls or wolves, seemed to be stirring this morning. I crept through the village trying not to disturb its peaceful slumber. I didn't make so much as a rustle as a made my return to my long vacant house. Or at least I thought it was vacant. As I approached the doorway, my finely tuned senses alerted me of the soft sound of breath being drawn in. I slowly reached over my shoulder for the hilt of my sword with my left hand as I peered inside. In the darkness I could make out the form of someone sleeping soundly in my bed. From the body shape I guessed it was a female a little taller than I was. She seemed also to be someone coming from a high walk of life because she had very little bulk or muscle. I also spotted someone seated near the foot of the bed leaning against the wall. It was another female, this one about 6 feet tall and, I surmised, no stranger to combat. Her breathing revealed that she was asleep but not oblivious to her surroundings and I marked her in my mind as a guardian of some sort to the other female. I could think of only one pair in all of Hyrule that could match these dreamers.

"Good morning, Princess."

Immediately the larger female was awake, armed, and standing. At the sight of me her muscles tensed and her breathing ceased.

"And you're looking lovely as always Impa," I said.

"So you do continue to live. We feared that you had been struck down."

"Me? Never. Why would you think that?"

At this point the other sleeper awoke.

"Impa, what on Earth is all of this fuss about? I can't – Link!" She rose to a sitting position, blushing slightly, and wrapped a blanket around herself. "What are you doing in here? You will leave this instant!"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that this is my house. Why don't you leave?"

"You are speaking to Zelda, the princess of Hyrule, Link," Impa stated in a warning tone. "I suggest that you do so with respect."

"I'll tell you what: you start respecting my property, and I'll respect you. Don't forget that this forest isn't part of the Kingdom." Impa looked to the princess for further instruction.

"Well, get out until I have made myself presentable," Zelda said.

Satisfied, I followed her command. As I stood outside with my back to the doorway, I stared across the village as it slowly awakened. It wasn't the way that I remembered it. Mido used to go to visit the Great Deku Tree at around this time. Thanks to Ganondorf's intervening, however, the father of the Kokiri was no more, and his heir would not arise until Saria, the sage of the forest, realized her destiny. As my thoughts turned to Saria, I remembered that she was the main reason that I returned to the forest, other than my fatigue. I wondered what it was that made her call for me. Again my thoughts were interrupted.

"Your village is beautiful. I can see why you like living here rather than a city such as the castle town," Zelda said.

"It wasn't really a choice I made. My mother... uh... moved here during the war."

"We thought you were dead. Your friend Saria tried to contact you but you didn't answer, and then your fairy returned and wouldn't speak to anyone. What's going on?"

"Truth be told I was kind of hoping that you could tell me. I defeated Ganondorf but you sent me back to this time and took the ocarina. It seems like I did all that fighting for nothing."

"Back to this time? What exactly do you mean?"

I explained to her everything that happened after she and Impa ran off that night. How I retrieved the Ocarina of Time from the river. How I used it to gain access to the Master Sword and how Ganondorf was able to enter the Sacred Realm. How I was locked away in the sacred realm for seven years. At this point she stopped me.

"Link, it is important that you tell no one, not even me, about the future of Hyrule. There's no telling what sort of repercussions may occur."

"Well, OK, I guess. No use messing up the future."

"As for the ocarina, I have it here. It appeared out of nowhere one day. I believed it returned to me as a result of your death but now I'm not sure what is transpiring. The flow of time is warped and must be repaired."

"That's great and all but I was kind of hoping that I could get some rest. Ganondorf didn't go down easily you know."

"Of course. Impa and I will locate Fawn, our horse," she added after seeing my puzzled expression, "you will find us in Saria's house when you awake."

With that she called for Impa, climbed carefully down the ladder leading to my balcony, and walked away.