Hi! I'm Emily, and I just wanted to share with everyone a story that has been going on in my head for about 2 years now. I have always loved Zelda, and I would always imagine what would happen after everything in my two favourite N64 games (I haven't tried the new game…as I don't have a Wii

But anyways, I know this will seem like a slow start, but please give me some feedback on this story, and what you think of it so far! This will take place after MM and will not incorporate anything from any of the games after that, sorry! Thank you very much! OH, and of course…

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about Zelda, I just like imagining stories about it in my head :D

Heavy boots fell upon the damp earth with deep thuds, disturbing the birds that flew into the air at the sound. Out of the mist that engulfed the Lost Woods emerged a young man, with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing Kokiri clothing of dark green. The Hero, Link, walked out of the woods, and set his eyes on the village that he had not seen for seven years, the village of the Kokiri children. It seemed to him that nothing had changed, the same children from seven years before remained as children, and still did the same things that they had done when Link was a child with them.

Except Link had changed. He had grown up; he was not a Kokiri like he believed himself to be long ago. He remembered to when the New Deku Tree had told him that he was a Hyrulian, after he had defeated the Forest Temple, how impossible the quest he had to complete seemed, and how much he had learned about himself. He laughed to himself taking in the sight before him. He had no need to worry about temples anymore. After his adventures in Clock Town, and after travelling around the vast world around him, he had decided that he had had enough. It was time to settle down, maybe run a farm, or gain a real job. He was a hero that was not needed anymore. There was no Ganondorf, or Majora.

He sighed and walked through the village; the children all stopped their jobs and took in the sight of seeing an actual adult in their lands. None of them recognised him, and Link did not want to try to explain who he really was, so he ducked his head and swiftly moved through the village to the passage that took him to the only person that he could go to for advice, for help.

The sun blinded him as he walked into the bright Hyrule field. His eyes stung after the sun being so dim underneath the foliage of the trees. But as Link's eyes adjusted and he looked around, he saw that it seemed that also here nothing had changed. He could not believe how similar everything was even after so much time had passed. The giant farm, owned by Malon's family, stood in the centre of Hyrule field. To the North lay the mountains and Death Mountain with its ring of smoke. The Zora River still floated lazily past, leading from the East where the Zoras resided. And to the West, though not in sight, he knew lay the desert in which the Gerudo, the all-women tribe, resided. He spotted what he needed first though: a sparkling white castle in the distance, and he headed towards it.

As he entered the market, the bustling of the townspeople reminded him of Clock Town, which was so full of life. Like there, nobody recognised that this was the hero who saved them all from the Dark King, for they had gone back in time so none of the travesties that occurred were known to anyone but him. So he walked through the town, like any other person, and made his way to the castle.

'No matter how much dung you tell me about how you know the Queen, I am not going to let you in!' The guard stood his ground at the iron gates that stood between Link and his one friend for any distance.

'But you don't understand…I know the Princess, I mean, Queen…And she knows me, just go tell her that Link needs to talk to her-'

'Ha! You think I'm going to get in trouble for disturbing the Queen over a commoner like you? Get lost!' Link, stood there, fuming. But finally, he remembered about something he had kept from long ago, something that was somewhat sacred to him. He remembered back to so long ago, when Zelda had handed him a letter to get him into the top of Death Mountain…Link pulled the letter out of his shirt, and handed it to the guard, reminding himself of so long ago…The guard stared at the letter then relented, 'Fine, you may go through, but I'm watching you,' he turned to his other guard, 'take this man to the castle.' Link reluctantly thanked the man, and the other, younger, guard took Link through the gate,

'Don't listen to that other guard, his head just grew three times bigger when he gained a higher position as a guard, we're not all like that.' Link smiled at the man. The guard looked at his clothing, 'So where exactly are you from, that's not the normal fashion I see in the market, though I must even question what some people there wear.' Link looked at his trusty fighting gear, did he really look that odd?

'I was originally from here, but I have been travelling for many years around the world, so I guess I got accustomed to other clothing.' The guard acknowledged his statement, and they arrived at the heavy drawbridge that was (supposedly) the only way into the castle.

'Sorry about the high security here,' the guard said, 'but you can't beat this security, this is the only way someone can get in or out of this castle.'

'Ah, I see, very nice,' said Link as he tried to keep the humour out of his voice. Link sure did know another way to get into this castle…

After the guard talked to another guard, the drawbridge lowered, and for the first time he began to feel a bit nervous about what was about to happen. He hadn't seen Zelda for seven years, and now she was Queen of Hyrule. A lot had changed. Thinking of royalty, he looked at his quite grubby clothes, and tried to tidy his hair up under his cap. He hoped he didn't look unacceptable for a Queen. But it didn't seem to be as a servant led Link, once he was in the castle, to a seating area. Link had never been in the castle, and he could not believe the richness of it, the gold, the ancient artefacts, it was an amazing castle. Once he was seated in a chair that seemed to be painted in gold, yet the cushions were made of burgundy velvet, the servant bowed to him,

'The Queen will be with you soon, she is in a meeting at the moment. May I get you anything to drink?' Link declined and he was left alone in the giant room.

Just as he was about to get sick of waiting around, the door opened, and in walked the woman Link had not seen for so long. Her long, blonde hair fell to her mid-back, and her beautiful pale skin shone in the light as if she was heavenly. She wore a beautiful dark blue dress, with the Triforce designed around the edges and on her chest. She was just as beautiful as he always remembered. She looked taken aback at the sight of Link.

'When my servant told me a boy named Link had come, I did not dare believe for a moment that it was you…but it is!' She came up to Link, and Link jumped from his chair and bowed. 'Oh please do not insult me with bowing to me, you are my friend!' She hugged Link, and the smell of lavender ran into Link's nostrils. Once they had both sat down, she turned to him, 'Where have you been? I have not heard anything from you for seven long years. I thought for a while that you would never be coming back…'

'I have been travelling the world, I have defeated other enemies in other lands, and I've just been searching the world; trying to find my place…' Link sighed, 'But now it is time that I came back to where I belong, to my home. I just wanted to hear from someone I trusted about what has changed. Since the timeline has of course changed since when Ganondorf existed, I guessed that things are different from the present we saw when Ganondorf ruled.'

'You are quite right to think so,' Zelda said, 'Hyrule has prospered since you have left, until a bit ago we were becoming stronger, and more united, than we had ever been before. We have new lands that were brought together to be called a part of the land of Hyrule. New species! We have fairies, but not like Navi, they are almost human-like, with the feathers of birds, and creatures that are more humanlike than the Zora's but also similar to fish, far past the realm of the Zora's. A lot has changed.

'I have also learned more about this land being Queen. I have seen that there are more than just Sages and the three goddesses, Nayru, Din, and Farore, protecting our land. I have found out from ancient passages that there are also Demi-Gods, in a way, that the Sages are actually supposed to serve. They also protect this world, but are more powerful than Sages, and deep within our land, hidden, are the castles and temples in which they reside, giving their power to keep Hyrule in balance. I have seen one of them once…Since I am a sage, as you know, I saw a beautiful woman, a Demi-Goddess, that resided in the land near the fairies, in the Sacred Realm. She called herself the Goddess of the Wind, and that was all she said to me. I guess they only appear when they are absolutely needed. They do not even present themselves to their own Sage servants.' She sighed and smiled at Link, 'Sorry, this must be quite a lot to take in.'

'No I'm fine. Well, it seems we won't need these Goddesses anytime in the future...' Link saw Zelda's expression, full of anxiety, and worry, '…will we?'

Zelda stood up and walked to the window overlooking Hyrule, 'Something dark is appearing upon these lands. I fear that it might still be Ganondorf.' Link started to speak but Zelda interrupted him, 'You forget that he still has the Triforce of Power, even in the realm that we have trapped him in. With that sort of power he could be manipulating the world outside from his prison. This discovery of more Goddesses has frightened me. What happens if he knows more than us about them? We do not know what he could be capable of. And we cannot take anything for granted. We must be weary of anything that changes, even in this land, or within the realm in which Ganondor is captured.' She smiled at link, 'I am glad that you have returned, it's nice to have someone to talk to who realises the true power of Ganondorf.'

'So where are the sages? If you are afraid of Ganondorf somehow getting to the Goddesses then why not have the sages do their job and protect the Goddesses?'

Zelda sighed, 'I cannot do that to them. The sages also have duties outside of this one; Ruto is Queen of the Zoras. Darunia is King of the Gorons…We cannot just keep to this single job. I could only ask them for their help if I was certain of something going on. But all I have now is a hunch. I would not worry about it for now Link…So what are you going to do now that you are back here? I could get you a job here in the castle, or like we joked seven years ago, you could be the Royal Messenger.'

'I think I want to start up a farm, somewhere near the forest, which was my home for so long. After so long I am ready to settle down,' Link stood up as did Zelda, 'Thank you for explaining this all to me, and expressing your concerns. If you do figure out anything else about Ganondorf, and if he is up to anything, you'll know where to find me, and I will put it as my first duty to help you,' The servant entered the room and stood waiting to lead Link out of the castle, 'Goodbye your Majesty, until we meet again.'

'Thank you Link, I hope our next meeting is not as long as a gap as this last one has been. I will contact you if I learn of anything. Goodbye.'

Link stood on the hill leading up to Hyrule castle, and he watched the sun, oozing what almost seemed like blood from its pores, set along the horizon. Link started walking away from the castle, and was ready to start a very different life from the one that he had been living for so long…

Next Chapter: Six months has passed in Hyrule since the day the Hero of Time had once again met the Queen of Hyrule. What has happened to Link and his dreams of a quiet life? Was the threat of Ganondorf real, is he really up to anything?? Find out in the next chapter of The Legend of Zelda: Trials with Time, 'The Messenger'