A/N

Thanks to all the favorites! ^_^ I was really nervous about my first story… But here's (a slightly longer) Chapter 2!

Disclaimer: Zelda is the property of Nintendo; much of the dialogue in this chapter is straight from the game for accuracy, and belongs to Shigeru Miyamoto and the Zelda franchise. Game script provided by .

…

Eyelids heavy with exhaustion, the girl slammed her hand down on the snooze button. How was it that she felt MORE tired than before? It felt as though she had a run a marathon through her dreams.

With a delicate sigh, she pulled herself out of bed. Still confused with sleep, it was hard to recognize her surroundings, and she made three failed attempts at finding the light switch. 'Why do mornings have to be so hard?' she wondered grumpily. After finally gaining full consciousness, the girl threw on a dress and shoes, grabbed a bagel and water bottle, and was out the door.

The subway was crowded as ever that morning, and personal space was something from a fairytale. Wedged in between a large man with an enormous mustache and two elementary school boys, the girl, unlike her fellow passengers, seemed unperturbed by the lack of space. Her attention was focused, instead, on a small pocket mirror she held in her hands. Attempting to get her long gold hair to cooperate, she couldn't stop from thinking how easy it would be just to cut it off. A picture of her holding the scissors and cut hair triumphantly came to mind, but she quickly pushed it away. She instead settled to braid it neatly down her back, tossing the end away from her shoulder in distaste. Lacing her fingers together, she took a calming breath and watched the landscape go by.

"HYRULE!" a voice cried. Images of endless fields of dark green grass and forests flooded her mind, the girl just focusing on the castle in the distance when she snapped back to reality. With a shake of her head the girl turned to look at the young boy sitting next to her who was laughing triumphantly. "I said 'I RULE!'" he repeated to his sulking friend, waving the winning card in his face. It took the rest of the ride to calm her heart, until finally, the girl exited the train.

Her feet moving of their own accord, the girl found herself in front of a small antique building with gold lettering that read "Lost in Time: Your Ancient Clocks and Timepieces Authority". A young woman with unruly red hair hurried past her, "Come on Ella, we have a meeting this morning!" Ella straightened her skirt and followed the woman inside.

The meeting was, as all meetings are by a general rule, extremely long and incredibly dull. Ella, however, experienced a certain highpoint within, when, as an intern, her opinion was asked from the Board of Executives in a new marketing procedure. Apparently, they had heard of her wisdom in the business, and wished to test it out. She passed. A satisfied smile playing at her lips, Ella made her way back to her cubicle, ready for another full day's work.

When the sun hung low in the sky, Ella found herself on the now abandoned subway. A man in the corner had set up a makeshift pawn shop and was busy asking passerby if they had anything to sell. With nothing but her purse on her, Ella dropped her spare change on his box and boarded the train home.

Bed, more than usual, was calling to her. Twenty minutes after walking in the door, Ella was already sliding beneath the covers. Her body relaxed gratefully, and she drifted off to sleep.

…

He is an extremely quiet boy. Not that I know much about them, but he at least seems quiet to me. But… I believe he can save my land.

While I was in the courtyard, secretly "observing" the council meeting, I heard soft footfalls behind me. Expecting Impa to be standing there ready to scold me, I was caught off guard at the sight of a young boy in green. To be quite honest, I was more than alarmed. I rarely had contact with children my own age, and this boy had single-handedly evaded all of my guards patrolling the gardens. And then there was the sword and shield strapped to his back… What could a boy not much older than myself need with such dangerous weapons? But something about his blue eyes disarmed me.

"Who? Who are? How did you get past the guards?" He smiled, a boyish smile, and opened his mouth to speak, when a little orb of light with wings began to circle my face.

"Oh? What's that?" I asked with a laugh as the orb continued to circle me. Realization dawned with the force of a hurricane, "Is that… a fairy?" My excitement mounting, I never gave him a chance to reply. "Then, are you… Are you from the forest?" My mind was reeling as he gave a confused little nod. "Then… then… you wouldn't happen to have…" was it too much to hope, "the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would you? That green and shining stone… Do you have it?" Heart racing, hands clasped tightly, I waited for him to answer.

"Uh, yea, I do," he affirmed in a meek voice.

Overjoyed, I clapped my hands together, ready for someone to finally believe me. I couldn't stop the smile that was rapidly spreading across my face. He was here, really here!

"Just as I thought!" I exclaimed to his bewilderment.

"I had a dream… In the dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule… But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds and lit up the ground… The light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy…" Everything was finally fitting together.

"I know this is a prophecy that someone would come from the forest… Yes, I thought you might be the one…"

A little cough brought me out of my reverie. The boy was standing there sheepishly, running a hand through his sandy blonde hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I got carried away with my story and I didn't even properly introduce myself! I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule," I added with a smile. Relief stole across the boy's face.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Uh, me?" he asked with a little jump, "It's Link, princess, my name is Link." He smiled at me once again, and I found myself smiling back.

"…..Link… Strange it sounds somehow… familiar…"

"I was sent here, ya know? The guardian of the forest sent me to find you! The Great Deku Tree, he was cursed, and I had to go inside him, and kill this big spider thing, but then he died anyways, and everyone blamed me, and I met this awful owl that wouldn't stop talking, and…" he trailed off, blushing at his rambling. Again I began to laugh. Somehow, Link was making me feel like a normal girl, a girl with friends and sunshine, and no frightening dreams of dark clouds.

"Ok then, Link… I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm that has been passed down by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Please keep this a secret from everyone…" And then I found myself explaining the legend of the creation of the earth by the goddesses, and the sacred relic known as the Triforce that they left behind. I explained how in order to open the gate to the Sacred Realm, one would first have to gather all three Spiritual Stones, as well as the Ocarina of Time, which I kept in my own possession.

"Did you understand well the story I just told you?" Face screwed up in concentration, Link nodded. I heaved a sigh of relief.

"That's great!"

"But princess, what does this have to do with me?" Link asked, when sounds from the council meeting began to drift out of the window, reminding me of the man I had come to observe. A wave of nausea hit me as I thought of the man's horrible yellow eyes. My smile began to fade and Link's face began to show signs of concern.

"I forgot to tell you…" I began, dread creeping in, "I was spying through this window just now… The other element from my dream… the dark clouds… I believe they symbolize… that man in there! Will you look through the window at him?" Link shook his head anxiously.

"Please! If you don't hurry he'll be gone!"

"Fine," he said, and with a giant exhale, he stepped up to the window.

As soon as Link peered into the window, his face hardened into a look so fierce, I could scarcely understand how one so young could feel such emotions.

"Can you see the man with the evil eyes? That is Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudos. They hail from the desert far to the west."

"That's… That's the man from my dream," Link admitted darkly.

"Though he swears allegiance to my father, I am sure he is not sincere. The dark clouds that covered Hyrule in my dream… They must symbolize that man!"

Link suddenly moved away from the window, almost tripping over me in the process.

"What happened? Did he see you?" Eyes downcast, Link was shaking, either with fear or loathing I could not tell.

"Yea.."

"Don't worry. He doesn't have any idea what we're planning… yet!" Confusion back in his eyes, Link turned to face me.

"Um, and what, exactly, ARE we planning?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to get to the Triforce before he can!"

"Us? But no offense, we're just kids… Wouldn't your father rather take care of it? Have you told him?" My heart sank.

"….Yes, I told my father about the dream.. However, he didn't believe it was a prophecy… But… I can sense that man's evil intentions, can't you?" Link nodded.

"What Ganondorf is after must be nothing less than the Triforce of the Sacred Realm. He must have come to Hyrule to obtain it! And, he wants to conquer Hyrule… no, the entire world!" No longer able to contain my distress, tears began to prick at my eyes. A warm hand came to rest on my head, and Link gave a little smile.

"He won't get anywhere with us around! Just tell me what to do."

As Impa taught Link my lullaby, my heart stirred inexplicably in my chest. I knew then that we could save the world. He smiled and waved back at me before disappearing with her… My lullaby now had new meaning.