A/N: I'm a little bummed. Word randomly shut down while working on this chapter and I lost half of what I had or so.

Chapter 2

Meeting Shiomo and Hyrule Castle

Link woke up in a strange bed. As he wiped his sleepy eyes, he recalled all of the strange events of the previous day: Rusl's request, the sword, and the foreboding cloud. He moved out of the bed from the inn he was at and walked over to the door, opening it quietly. He hadn't changed before nodding off the night before. As he snuck down the wooden stairs, an unusual smell reached him. It was that of stale bread, decomposing meat, and spilled ale.

The only person in the main room was a woman, with the most bizarre staff ever. It was an icy blue and the top was curved into an opened circle. Her black cloak covered her face, along with most of her orange hair. She silently stood.

"So you're the Hero?" Her cloak moved with her body, almost as if it was part of it.

Link gave her a questioning look. "Who are you?" His body tensed.

She removed her hood, letting him get a good look of her face. "I am Shiomo, the court mage for King Zant and Queen Midna, the rulers of the Twilight Kingdom. A…prophecy of ours tells of a young man who'd be able to stop us from taking what was once ours." Her lips pushed together tightly.

He was dumbfounded. "So you think that I'm some sorta…hero?" He laughed at the thought. Him, Link the goat herder from Ordon, being a hero? "I think you have me confused with somebody else."

"No. I have found who I have been looking for. You smell just like the man who killed my father." Shiomo hissed at Link, making sure to get a little bit of spit to shoot out.

"I have no clue what you're talking about. I'm just a goat herder from Ordon sent on a journey to deliver a gift for the Royal Family." He looked at her with hope that she'd see through her own lies and realize the truth.

A throaty groan came from her. "No, not you you. The last incarnation of your soul! He killed my father, the great Bongo Bongo in the Shadow Temple near Kakariko. He is your grandfather, the legendary Hero of Time."

Link just looked at her dumbfounded. He blinked a couple of times before laughing at her. "So, what. I'm some reincarnated hero? Excuse me Shiomo, but I really need to attend to some things." He tried to walk past her, but a mysterious wall kept him from moving further. He could see the other side, but he couldn't reach it.

"Where do you think your going, boy? I have big things for you to do…like get my leaders some much needed info on the castle." She twirled her staff and softly approached him. "You'll need my help", she seductively whispered in his ear, "to get into the castle." She then slowly stepped back.

He glanced in her direction. "How could you get me in?"

"You forget that I'm a mage. It's really simple, actually. I just make you invisible until you reach the Throne room, obviously. Plus, I get the knowledge my 'employers' require, since you'll wander around for a couple hours." She waved her hand and whispered an incantation.

Link felt a bizarre bubbling in his body. After a couple seconds, it stopped. He took a long glance at her before taking off for the stables. He hadn't asked for Epona to be there, but he had a feeling. He was quickly caught by the overpowering smell of horse manure and rotten hay. His horse was in a left hand stall and Link quickly jumped over the fence.

A couple minutes later he was walking towards the front gates of Hyrule Castle with the gift strapped to his back. He glanced at the guards who'd stopped him yesterday, but they didn't appear to even notice him. Apparently Shiomo had done her job. Now he would do his; getting up to the Throne room as quickly as possible.

The entry hall was the most magnificent thing Link had ever seen. He felt his breath momentarily go away. Two guards in different uniforms were leading an elderly man up one of the spiral staircases. Instead of a silver and blue coloring, theirs were gold and a deep red. Their spears looked more ornamental than practical, but had swords strapped onto their backs. He guessed they were Royal guards, from their attire and their guest. Link followed them, randomly gazing up at portraits of rulers and landscapes, even one of the Imprisoning War. When they reached the throne room, he took a step back.

The throne room of Hyrule Castle easily outmatched the entrance hall. The massive throne was made of pure gold and went almost up to the ceiling. A huge statue of a golden version of his birthmark surrounded by three women towered over the room. At most twenty guards surrounded the throne, which held not an old king, but a young princess. Link stepped forward and the bubbly feeling returned, signaling that the spell was dissipating. All eyes turned towards him before a strong, feminine voice called out:

"Seize him."

A/N: it's Saturday! Hey hey hey…yeah I'm gonna shut up. Review, fav, or add an alert!