Hey, this is Goldenrhino. Thanks for reading! I normally won't update this fast, but I'll try for once a week? We'll see...

I'm actually afraid I didn't make myself clear in the last chapter...so there's some info you should know! This is not a Hyrule in the games. If anything, it's set many years after the games have ended. A couple hundred years in fact. And in a couple hundred years, things change: landscapes, technology...so yeah, it's much different.

The Master Puppeteer is my own character. But you should have known that already. You'll find more about him later.

Enjoy this chapter! And review please! With whipped cream and a giant golden rhino on top!

-Goldenrhino

Murderer. Thief. Assassin.

He remembered the days when he was feared throughout the land. Not because of his skill with the blade alone, but because he had mastered dozens of weapons during his travels. He had traveled to the farthest nations and crossed the widest oceans, hoping to find worthy combatants, but he was found wanting. Few dared to face him in battle, and even fewer survived the duels that followed. He was once an assassin by trade, but found the kills far and few between; so he took the path of the mercenary, fighting for the highest bidder, but in reality fighting to quench the blood-lust in him...

He was a dog then. A bloodthirsty dog. Even now, his blade hungered for blood. He drew his sword, tested the edge with his finger, licked the blood from his hands, felt the adrenaline rise in him...and then die. It was gone.

He sheathed the blade quickly and hung it next to his bed. He shuddered mentally.

Those days were over now...he was possessed then, and now he was free.

Thanks to her.

He owed a great debt.

He stared out a window, sweeping a lock of golden hair away from his eyes, blue as the ocean and just as deep...at last, he had peace in his heart. The world thought he was dead. Now, he could make atonement for the sins he had committed in his past life. And perhaps someday, he could meet her again, and give proper thanks for the second chance he now had.

May the Goddesses have mercy on his soul.

Silently she watched from above as he made his prayers, bowing his head in submission to the higher powers that be. The sun hung low in the sky, casting its last few rays out over the city.

She knew exactly who he was. Few others did so. Many who entered the Halls of Purification were often the most dastardly of criminals, seeking a place of sanctuary; yet out of mercy, the Mage Council granted them asylum and refused to allow any investigations on their pasts.

But she knew.

It was in those eyes. She had seen them but once, and she never forgotten. Then, they were but a cold void, completely empty beyond measure...it had haunted her for the rest of her life.

But now they were filled. No longer empty, instead they were filled with emotions that she thought he could never have: love, compassion, peace, joy...they were still blue, but somehow they were richer, fuller, deeper, in some sense. Something, someone had changed him so utterly completely, that it was like meeting a brand new person.

Regardless, it was him.

She looked up again, and he was gone. She silently moved her left arm so that she could feel the cold, smooth metal that had replaced her right.

Could she forgive?

"Patience," she remembered her nurse saying, long ago in a city far away, "is the crowning characteristic of one of Royal birth."

She stepped out of her room, grasping the railing tightly. She had waited long. She could wait a little longer.

Gail wanted out.

Time-shift capsules. Powerful relics of a more civilized age. When the first was created, no one understood if they had any purpose whatsoever. But eventually one was found...they were forbidden for the chaotic magic used in their creation, and all were destroyed. Except one, perhaps. The one he was in.

He probably deserved this fate. He had taken revenge into his own hands, murdered a bunch of people, and was found guilty. But why did it have to be here? And why did this dagger have to be stuck in his chest, burning endlessly with pain?

How long had he been here? One hundred, two hundred, five hundred years? A prisoner in a cell with no walls, with no constraints except this...void. In here, time stopped its flow. Anything within the capsule when it was sealed was contained in a stasis like state, with even the mind shackled. It made for the perfect dungeon: a prisoner inside could not get out, and needed no food or drink. Magic did not work inside. It was inescapable.

As long as it remained properly sealed.

He could feel the capsule weakening. Even when he was alive—because by all reason, he was now dead—he knew that such stasis spells never stayed at their full strength. Over a period of who knows how long, he began to regain some control in his prison. At first, it was in the form of dreams. Then memories returned. He still had no way to move his body, but he was still able to hone his magic abilities: ones performed using the power of the mind alone. When the spell had weakened further, he discovered he could channel his power into the fabric of the spell containing him, and feel the nature of time and space itself...

There was still no way to escape himself, but he knew that the spell was almost at its breaking point.

Gail wanted out.

"It is time. The Three are here. Will you continue to guide them?"

That was all. No signature, no seal, nothing. Oh, the message was clear enough, of course (to him, not necessarily anyone else). It was from her again: she was taunting him. She had daring, he had to admit, but she was also foolish. And that, he knew, would lead to her own fate in the end...

The Master Puppeteer chuckled to himself. She knew so little, the poor thing. Drawing a scrap of paper from one of his pockets, he quickly scribbled a note back.

He handed it to the postman with a graceful bow. "I thank you for your assistance."

"It was my pleasure."

"The Goddesses do enjoy using us queer ones, don't you think?"

The postman laughed. He placed the note in his pocket and tipped his hat. Then he was gone.

The puppeteer watched as he left. "Things are not as they seem, girl," he murmured quietly. "The day you realize the truth will be the worst day of your life...as it was mine."

I hope you realize that the first guy (you should know him) and the Puppeteer are both talking about the same 'her'. Just clearing things up.

There's something else you should know.

I'm going to change the perspective of the games greatly in this story. Expect surprises.

There's something else you should know.

See that little button down there? Yeah? It says 'review' on it. Click it please. Constructive criticism appreciated. Reviewers may get a sneak peak about her...tempting, eh? Unless you like surprises...

-Goldenrhino