Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda, sadly. ):

Author's Note: Please read and review! This is a time traveling story, but it's going to be as original as possible. Or at least I hope since I haven't really read any about Zelda. Anyways, please give this a chance and tell me what you think!

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Prologue: A Goddess With a Bad Case of Curiosity

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Zelda glanced around the forest clearing meekly, her icy azure hued eyes darting back and forth, a golden harp cradled gently in her vanilla colored arms. The orange light from the afternoon sun lit her path through the thicket of woods known as Faron Woods to a withered stone structure covered in vines and ivy. It was such an old building, the foundation nearly being misaligned from age, some of the stones heavily damaged with spider-wed cracks, that she wouldn't be surprised when no one would be allowed inside. The young blonde Goddess let out a heavy breath that she hadn't realized she had held deep within her lungs and sighed.

The coast was clear.

With that affirmed, she took a step towards the stone building known as the Sealed Temple, her heart thumping in her chest with adrenaline as she neared. Ever since she had moved to the Surface after sealing away the darkness that plagued the vast land, her and her Chosen Hero, Link, also known as her best friend and crush, had constructed a small village on the borderline of the forest-clad province of Faron and the sand bearing land of the Lanayru province. Most of those coming from their home town of Skyloft, a floating chunk of land high up in the sky, had come down to the Surface to live with them because of exciting new opportunities, space, and curiosity.

She huffed at the memory.

At first Zelda did not mind the onslaught of settlers, but now she felt smothered with responsibility. Since her and Link knew more about the terrain the others looked to them for guidance and protection. Which was fine and understandable. But ever since she had found out that she was a Goddess trapped inside a mortal body, she had felt different. And not in a good way. She just missed the days her and Link could be idiots together, hanging out up in the clouds, riding atop their Loftwings, side-by-side. Being their age. But a part of her felt as if that was taken from her.

Her life now consisted of answering questions about the Surface and giving tours of the land to her fellow former Skyloftians while Link, Pipit, and Groose traversed the provinces, including the fiery province of Eldin, mapping out the land. And quite frankly, Zelda, felt left out of the loop. She wanted to travel with her best friend and adventure while she was young . . .

That thirst for adventure was exactly why she was avoiding the perimeter set up around the village to keep people from going out too late and sneaking to the Sealed Temple with her harp in tow. The plan being she would play a melody, using the powers she had left as the Goddess Hylia, and traverse through time. She wanted to see what the future was going to be like for herself. She wanted to know if her and Link succeeded in restoring human civilization to the Surface. Even though the Hylia half of her disagreed, scolding her, telling her that she had no business tampering in the future.

But, well, this time she didn't care. She needed excitement in her life at this point. That and she needed to vent. Besides, she told herself, Link was there to watch over the Triforce. He wouldn't allow anyone or anything to harm the divine power bestowed upon them by the Golden Goddesses: Din, Nayru, and Farore. It was their duties as Goddess and Chosen Hero. It was a hand-in-hand kind of situation.

With that in mind, she tip-toed down the thick steps separating her from the stone doors of the Sealed Temple. The moment she was in reach of the heavy doors, she glanced back once more, then slipped inside. Immediately she glanced to her right where she could see light flooding through a ginormous crack in the ceiling and caused a small glint of light to flicker off the hilt of the sheathed Master Sword in its pedestal. She then shifted her gaze to the left where a hard, cold slab of stone stood from the ground, out-of-place. Atop the stone was a gem like substance that shone brightly.

The young Goddess took a deep breath to build her nerve, held her harp up, and shut her eyes, her fingers gliding soundlessly over the thin nylon strings as she readied them. She then quietly walked to the center of the room and began to play a melody from her memory. The music, gentle and full, charmed her ears as she hit a lower combination of notes. Suddenly the harp pulsated in her hands and a light shot from the strings, landing on the floor and forming a circular pool of white light in front of the cold slab of stone that composed the Gate of Time, which was glowing as well.

It actually worked. Zelda thought, her eyes wide, her hands still. She took a step towards the small puddle of light, her heart pounding with a rush of adrenaline and anticipation.

"Zelda, what are you doing?" came a voice from behind her that startled her. She quickly turned on her heels, her harp clutched tightly to her chest only to see that it was Link. He had a confused look upon his handsome, slightly tanned face.

"Nothing." she answered quickly, her soft, pink lips pursed tightly. Link arched a dark, golden eyebrow at her and tugged at his maroon colored tunic.

"Zel, I know you better than that." he pointed out, his stormy blue gaze drifting to the Gate of Time and then to the white pool on the floor. "What the -?"

"Link, please," Zelda said, "just let me do this. I'll be fine. I just need some answers. Nothing else."

"Answers about your past life as Hylia?" Link questioned, his voice more understanding, yet saddened at the same time. Zelda bit her lip and nodded tightly. She hated lying to Link, but he would be more accepting if she was going to the past rather than to the future. Well, probably. "Well, at least let me go with you-"

"No, Link." she interjected hotly, regretting it the moment she saw the hurt look on his face. Zelda sighed and embraced him tightly in her arms. "I would love if you came with me, you know that. You're my best friend . . . and my hero." Link smiled weakly at that. "But as my hero, I need you to stay here, in our time, to watch over the Triforce and the village while I'm away. Okay?"

"Fine." Link said after a moment of hesitation, slumping his shoulders and wrapping his arms around her mid-section, a solemn expression on his face. Zelda blushed at the affectionate gesture and quickly pulled away. "Promise me you'll be safe."

"I promise." Zelda said sternly, flashing him a dazzling smile before she turned back around and stepped towards the light. When she was a step away she turned her head to the side. "Please take care of the Triforce and the others."

"You bet." Link said with a goofy grin. Zelda rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Same old Link." she said before stepping into the light. Immediately she was engulfed into the portal with the familiar sensation of free-falling. She screamed out in surprise, her head tilting up so that she could try to see Link above her out of habit. But all she could see was pure, white light every which way she looked. But then, not even a moment later, could she make out a form.

What in the name of the Goddess is that? She questioned, her eyes widening when she realized just exactly what - well, more like who - it was falling down toward her. "Link?! I thought I told you to stay?"

"I heard you scream!" Link answered, hand outstretched toward her. She shook her head.

"I need you to watch over the Triforce!" she screeched. "Once we get to where we're going I'm going to send you back, okay?"

"But -" Link began but was cut off when they suddenly were jerked away from each other by an invisible force. Zelda reached out for Link.

"Hurry! Try to grab my hand!" she commanded, trying to kick her way to him through the air, but it was to no avail. "Link!" she cried, as the entirety of her Chosen Hero's body was encased in a veil of darkness. "Link!" she hollered again, only to get silence as a response. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest. What had she done?

This had been a stupid, stupid, stupid idea. She should have waited until Link had left the Sealed Temple before she time-traveled. Now she may have lost her closest friend and secret crush. She always hurt him. Whether she was Hylia or Zelda. He deserved so much better. She sniffled, tears falling from her eyes and drifting up from her face into the white air and disintegrating. She closed her eyes and hugged herself, feeling emotionally strained and exhausted all at once.

Then, in a very clichéd manner, she became light-headed and drifted into unconsciousness.

...

Zelda groaned and sat up, her eyes clenched shut tightly, her head throbbing. She cradled her aching head in her hands and blinked, the light pouring from the window to her left the equivalent of daggers piercing her eyes. She mumbled something incoherent before finally forcing her eyes into slants, her eyelids providing a proper amount of shade as she took in her surroundings.

From what she could tell she was laying up on a ledge of some sort with a window directly to her left, the top of a wooden ladder a few feet below the foot of her makeshift bed that would allow her access to the lower level of wherever she was, and from where she sat she could see a wooden table with a matching chairs on either side, a stove, a fire-pit with a pot of what she assumed to be soup boiling over top of it, and a few pictures lining the walls that she couldn't make out due to being a distance away and the fact that she was squinting. Definitely not familiar. I just hope Link's okay. But . . . She shook her head. Sitting around wasn't going to get her anywhere.

With that in mind, the eighteen-year-old Spirit Maiden tossed the thick, wool blanket off of herself and crawled over to the ladder. She blinked rapidly, forcing her eyes to adjust to the light, before she gripped the top, left wooden knob of the ladder and twisted herself around to steady her feet on the second to the top wooden step of the ladder. She then grasped the other wooden knob of the ladder before she descended a step, moving her hands down to the top step to steady herself.

After easing herself down the ladder, Zelda found herself in a somewhat cozy home. She curiously looked around, eyes roaming the open room. There was a couch she had missed along with what people in the past had dubbed as a 'dream catcher' and some other various things she knew of, but had not seen in back in her own time. She was definitely in the future or in the past. But which, she was not sure.

Suddenly a 'creek' sound reached her slender, Hylian ears, sending shivers down her spine. She quickly whipped around on her heels, dropped into a low fighting stance with her legs wide apart for support, her hand flying to where her dagger should be - but it was missing. Of course. She thought bitterly. Who would leave someone they didn't know in the confines of their very home, armed and possibly dangerous? She sure wouldn't risk it.

Zelda immediately dropped her stance when the person entered the small house, her mouth dropped open. It was - it was, "Link?" she inquired in surprise, her eyes wider than saucers. The young and very handsome, Link jumped in surprise. He was clad in his favorite green tunic, beige pants, and knee-high boots, but something seemed off. He was taller than she recalled and more built. That and his hair was even parted on the opposite side. But what shocked her most of all was the fact that the hilt of his sword was protruding from behind his left shoulder. Not that, that would be unusual, after all, her first hero was originally left-handed, and the Link she knew was actually left-handed but was trained to wield a sword in his right hand because it was customary for knights.

"Oh, hey," he finally said, albeit sheepishly, scratching the back of his head in a very Link-like manner, a shy, but cute smile tugging at his lips. "how do you know my name?"

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(Another) Author's Note

Okay, yes, that's all for now. And I apologize that it is sooo, sooo short. But I wanted to leave the first chapter just like that with so many questions and stuff. I know it may not seem like much, but I have a very awesome plot in my head, hopefully it turns out that way! Anyways, there will be more going on in the next chapter and you will eventually find out what happened to SS Link - actually, very soon probably. But that's besides the point. The next chapter will contain at least between 4,000-7,000 words because it will be more detailed and fleshed out.

Anyways, please let me know what you think! Suggestions, flames, love, and constructive criticism would be appreciated greatly. Sadly, like a majority of the author's on here, I like to know if people actually give two shits about my writing. I'm always up for improving and such.