Prologue
"Link!" Zelda cries as Ganon takes her best friend, the person she devotes her life to protecting, away.
"Zelda!" Link's cries get fainter as Ganon carries him farther and farther away. "I'll get out of this! I promise!"
"Oof!" Zelda grunts when she's thrown to the ground by one of Ganon's minions. The world goes black.
Chapter One
I wake up in my small house on a hilltop. The sky is a bright blue and birds are chirping, but I can't enjoy this beautiful day. I remember what happened yesterday...was it yesterday? I cannot recall. My last memory was of crashing onto the hard ground, shoved by a monster.
I walk outside. To my surprise, everyone I know - my friends, my neighbors, my former classmates and teachers - are crowded around my house. When they see me, they hoot and holler.
"Are you okay?"
"Where were you?"
"What happened?"
"Where's Link?"
The last one gets me. I raise my hand to silence the crowd.
"I'll answer all your questions later. All you need to know is that Prince Link and I were ambushed yesterday by Ganon himself. The prince is now being held captive in Ganon's fortress. Any day now, he's going to move in on the royal castle. Will anyone help me find Link?"
One person steps forward.
"I will, fair maiden!" The person is a lanky boy, about my age, with freckles and smooth black hair. He grins at me. I roll my eyes.
"Anyone else?" I question doubtfully. No one responds; the crowd starts to disperse. My thoughts return to the boy.
"Who are you?" I ask him.
"The name's Archer" He winks at me, and I groan.
"Not interested, kiddo. Anyway, are you going to help me or not?"
"Yep," Archer says.
"O-kay. So, Archer, do you have any talents? Hobbies? Habits?" I interrogate him.
"Um…yeah, I guess I'm decent at archery-"
"No kidding," I remark.
"I'm good with a sword," he offers. I nod.
"Perfect." But then I remember something. "Hey, kid, do you have parents? Grandparents? Y'know, people you should ask before going off on an inter-Hyrule escapade?"
"Aunt," he says shortly. "But she doesn't care."
"Are you sure?" I ask worriedly.
"Yeah," he answers, eyes downcast.
We walk for a while in silence, strolling through the dense forest towards the stables. When we reach the stables, we approach the stable master.
"Excuse me? Sir?" Archer is suddenly polite and courteous towards the stable master. "My sister and I are here to purchase horses." This surprises me, but I play along.
"Actually, just for him. I have one – Epona?"
The stable master turns towards us. He's a seemingly kind old man, maybe in his fifties, worn and tired-looking. He takes out a small book from his pocket.
"Yes, I have your Epona here. Bellingham! Epona!" he shouts at a small stable boy of about twelve. The boy nods and takes off towards the stables where they keep horses. "And you need a horse?" He peers at Archer, who nods.
The man takes measurements quickly and precisely, jotting numbers down in his tiny black notebook. Soon, he says, after flipping through pages and pages of notes, he says, "Chance"- supposedly a horse's name. "Bellingham, grab Chance!" he hollers at poor Bellingham, who is just returning with Epona. Bellingham salutes, ties Epona to a pole, and sprints back to the stables for Chance.
I walk over to my beautiful brown steed, who I haven't seen in months. I stroke her mane and whisper to her, calming her nerves over being moved. Epona whinnies and I laugh.
"I got Chance, Mister Greyson!" Greyson claps his hands.
"Thank you, Bellingham. Now, child, mount the horse. Do you know h-"
Greyson's words are cut off by the sight of Archer on the horse, properly mounted. He smiles. "Perfect, boy! That's how it's done. You happy with the feel of 'im?"
"Yeah, thanks. How much will it be?"
"Two hundred fifty Rupees."
My eyes widen at the price, but I pull out my coin purse anyway. Since it's on me for getting the kid into this whole ordeal, I'll pay his way out. I approach the stable master with the money.
"Thank you!" I say cheerily as I mount Epona.
We're off.