Chapter Two: Zelda

Link opened his eyes and saw a face not two inches away from him. Its large bug-like blue eyes blinked in surprise, and drew backwards. Link realized the eyes belonged to a lady with brown hair in a maid uniform. Her eyes did not look as bug-like from a normal distance.

The maid clasped her hands together, "You're finally awake! Her Majesty is awaiting you. Wash yourself quickly in the spring and put these clothes on." Link sat up and looked questioningly at the servant clothes she held out. "Your clothes got turned into stone too. These were the only things available."

Link nodded and took the clothes from her as he got out of the queen-sized bed. He was wondering how to ask her where the spring was in a way that she'd understand, when she said, "My name's Darmé. Follow me, I'll show you where the spring is." He nodded once again, wondering if it really had been a bad idea to come here with no form of communication.

She led him outside the fancy guest room into the extravagant hallway. There was a guard at every door. Link heard a couple whispering something about a boy who had turned into stone.

She led him outside and down towards a small body of water that formed from a river. "Souspew Spring isn't as cold as Lake Hylia, but they both have the same water source so there isn't much difference. Now, wash up and come back to the room. You can find your way back, can't you," Darmé said, throwing him a white fluffy towel from nowhere. He nodded, then Darmé headed back inside.

He momentarily looked down at the white nightgown and pyjama bottoms he was wearing, wondering who exactly had changed his clothes. He pushed it out of his mind for now as he took them off and got in the water. He wasn't too sure what Darmé had meant by 'not as cold as Lake Hylia' but he couldn't imagine a body of water being this cold in the first place. He shivered as he submerged himself to his shoulders and stared into space, wondering what had happened at Orlet Village. He looked upwards and admired the clear blue sky.

"Won't be clear for a while after today. Troubled times are heading this way," said a voice, and Link jumped, splashing water. "Oh, did I catch you unawares?" Link turned his head to look and immediately turned it back afterwards. It was a naked female with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Maybe it had thought he was also female because his hair was quite long?

"You're not ignoring me are you? You do know it's almost a crime to ignore royalty when they address you," she said playfully. Link practically froze in his place. He had seen a member of the royal family naked? Was the king going to execute him in front of everyone? His life seemed to be slipping away before his eyes.

He glanced over his shoulder to see if she was still there. She was, so he hastily climbed out and grabbed the towel and wrapped it around his waist as protection.

"Oh, you're probably not familiar with the customs here," she said. He glanced again to see that she had also climbed out and had a towel around her. He stiffened, and she said, "Relax, I'm just pulling your leg."

He sighed in relief, and she looked at him strangely. He tilted his head at her strange expression. "That's the first noise I've heard you make. You're really quiet. Can't you speak?" He shook his head, and for a moment a flash of worry and despair flew across her face before disappearing into a small smile. "Well, doesn't that make you the perfect slave for me? Someone who can't talk back or complain," she grinned as he glared at her. "Turn around so we can both change," she said and he flushed, and turned around, hastily pulling on the khaki trousers and cream tunic.

"Are you done? Oh, I forgot you couldn't speak, sorry," she said, tapping his shoulder as an okay to turn around. She had taken less time to dress, seeing as she only had a dress to put on. It was white with purple ribbons on the frilly hems of the sleeves and skirt. "Follow me," she grabbed his hand and ran off towards the direction he had come from, and he stopped momentarily, staring in awe at the castle that seemed to tower over him. "Hurry up," she said, pulling him along. He shook his head and followed her into the hallways where two escort guards waited. The four of them headed in a different direction from the one Link had come before, and he wasn't too sure where they were going now.

The escort guards pulled ahead and opened the doors of an enormous hall. Link's jaw dropped. He had never seen a room this big before in his life. The girl walked down the aisle to the end of the room and sat down on a small throne to the left of the large one in the middle. A large man sat in it with a crown on his head. He had brown hair, and brown eyes. Link wondered if he should follow the girl or stay where he was. He took a couple of hesitant steps forward, and stopped.

The girl said something to the man, and he frowned. "You boy, come over here," he called. His voice boomed in the quiet hall. Link quickly trotted up, thinking it was bad to keep royalty waiting. He stopped a couple of feet away from the steps leading up to the throne. "So you're the one who jumped into Hyrule at sundown and got turned to stone, then. Don't worry, your horse was healed too."

Link jolted. 'Turned to... stone? Me?' He pointed at himself in doubt. "Yes, you got turned to stone by those monsters roaming Hyrule Field at night. You probably can't remember since you seemed so exhausted, you'd fallen unconscious before you turned to stone completely," the girl added in. "No one was infected before you could be treated because you were carried back here by Impa, who used her magic to make you float on the air so that no one would have to touch you. Darmé was so surprised when you woke up this morning, as it normally takes others at least two days to recover fully-."

Link gasped. He knew he wasn't communicating properly, and they wouldn't understand what he wanted to say. He motioned writing in the air frantically, and then on his hand when they stared at him blankly.

"Please fetch some paper and a quill," the girl called to one of the guards, and he ran off to fetch it.

"Ah, while we're waiting, we haven't introduced ourselves yet, have we? It seems you're not from around here," the man said. "I am King Gaepora, and this is my daughter, Princess Zelda." Link glanced at the empty throne to the right of the king. "Ah, the queen is... no longer in this world."

The guard ran up and handed a pile of papers, a quill and an inkpot to Link. Link leaned down and wrote on the paper against the floor, 'My name is Link. How long have I been unconscious for?' and then handed it to the king.

"Just a day," Princess Zelda said, reading over her father's shoulder. "Where are you from? This style of writing is definitely not from here. It's quite rare to be left-handed, too."

'I'm from Orlet Village. Two people had already been turned to stone for a day by the time I arrived in Hyrule. I need to find someone who can save them before it's too late.'

"It's already the third day," the king said, frowning. "You need to leave immediately if you want to save them. Zelda, take Impa with you and go with him. Link, was it? Hurry, but first, can I see your hand?"

Link tilted his head, came closer to the king and put out his left hand. The king clasped it and squeezed it until his hand wasn't getting enough blood. He gritted his teeth as he felt it going numb.

"Zelda, can you see it?" the king asked, after examining it closely.

"Yes, that has to be it," she said, looking quite pale and worried. "If that dream I had was true, then," she held out her right hand and clasped Link's so that their palms were touching. Link stopped gritting his teeth as the king let go and his blood circulation continued as usual.

He tried to twitch away from her grasp as something like an electric shock travelled up his arm from his hand. "Yes, it's reacting. It hasn't been awakened yet."

He slowly looked back at his hand that was twitching uncontrollably in Zelda's hand. 'My birthmark ... It's glowing?' he thought. 'Why?'

"This is Farore's piece indeed. Ah!" she gasped, her eyes rolling back into her skull so only the whites were seen. Link jumped up, his hand still trapped in her hand, wondering if she was having a fit. He then saw her hand also had a triangle on it, but it was glowing much more fiercely. No, wait, it had three triangles, but only one was glowing.

His eyes widened in shock as he realized something. If she had the same shaped birthmark as him, and in the same place (the back of their hands), did that mean... They were twins?!

As Zelda blinked and came back to reality, her father laughed as he read the message that Link had hastily written.

"That dream I had before... That wasn't a dream, it was a memory!" she exclaimed.

"Ha ah, you just crack me up, laddy!" the king said, slapping his back hard. "He really thought you two were long lost twins because you 'have the same birthmark'!"

"Ah?" she looked at Link in amazement for a moment before she too burst out laughing. "Then we'd be triplets if the Triforce was a simple birthmark. You really are an idiot!"

Link felt a bit hurt that someone who he'd only met today had called him an idiot before even getting to know him properly. He decided not to react to it, since if he did it might cause repercussions.

"Ah, stop this!" King Gaepora said. "Wasn't there an urgent matter to be taken care of?"

"Oh, yes. Link, you are the only one who can help Hyrule now. There is someone out there who is trying to gain the Triforce of Power. Well, not gain it, but rather 'Awaken' if you know what I mean. We need to stop him before he does."

Link's eyes narrowed slightly. 'Triforce of Power...' He scribbled down on a piece of paper. 'What is that? What is the Triforce?'

"Ah. Once upon a tim-" Zelda began. She never finished the sentence. With a deafening crack, a monster appeared from a warped hole in the air, in between Link and the royalty. It leaked out a dark cloud-like substance, almost like dark mist or fog. It was a giant black frog, with poisonous-looking purple spots.

The guards reacted immediately, but Link knew they wouldn't make it in time, as they ran down the aisle from the entrance. He saw the frog look at Zelda, and he took a couple of steps forward, knowing that if it tried to kidnap her, he would jump on it. It barely glanced at King Gaepora, and then it looked at him. 'Uh oh,' he thought, taking a couple of steps backwards as he realized it was locking on its target. It took a huge leap, and Link turned around and ran even though he knew he couldn't make it. As it made contact with him, it warped to another location, outside in a forest, and then it slam-dunked him into the ground with its weight.