The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina

Chapter Three

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"Who are you?" she said softly, the filtered sunlight landing gently on her blonde hair.

He simply stared, choosing his preferred speech: silence. He knew, just by looking at her, that she was truly a bright girl. She would figure it out.

"Y-you… you're a Kokiri. I know you…"

In shock, his jaw dropped and he stepped back a little. How did she know him? He had never met her before, and he certainly had never expected to…

Especially with all the trouble getting here caused him.

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"So, you want a mask, do you?" he said, a wide and creepy grin stretching across his face. His elbows rested on the wooden counter, his fingers laced.

Link stayed silent, gazing uninterestedly at the mask salesman, who still held his freaky smile. They stayed like that for a solid half-minute before the mask salesman finally moved and grabbed a strange, spiky-eared mask from a shelf behind him. It looked like some sort of yellow animal with closed eyes.

"Here. The first time you take a mask, you're renting. If you return without it, you gotta pay. And you'll be surprised how many times you'll come back missing my mask—a lot of people are interested in my wares."

Personally, Link hoped he would never return, but he took the spiky-eared mask anyway. He moved normally, so as not to arouse the salesman's suspicions that Link was utterly freaked out. When Link exited into the bright sunlight of Castle Town, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Shielding his eyes, the forest boy looked up into the orange-tinted sky. Navi, who had stayed in Link's hat for his time in the mask shop wriggled out and said, "Link! It's getting late."

"I noticed, Navi," said the boy gently, a soft smile gracing his lips. Navi fluttered about in mild irritation at Link's reply, but then calmed down.

"Do you want to wait until tomorrow to see the Princess, or…?"

Link kept quiet, sidestepping a frantic woman running about who was screaming about her missing dog. Link paid her no heed and moved towards the center of the plaza as the sun died down and people began moving into dwellings for the night.

Once everyone was safely bedded and only the dogs were left, Link sat and tried to relax. From his earlier explorations of the town, he had found no hotel to stay in and apparently had to spend the night's length outside. Navi fluttered about Link's head, entertaining herself by blowing about a floating leaf so it wouldn't touch the ground.

After an hour of this monotony (and a multitude of dogs rushing up to Link, finding he had a wild scent about him then shying away) Link finally fell into a light, fitful sleep.

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Clop-clop. Clop-clop.

"No…" Link murmured at his dream. "Please, not this again…"

Clop-clop.

Link dove out of the way of the oncoming horse, carrying a woman and a girl. The girl threw something… it landed in the moat outside Castle Town…

The man came, then. He was tall, dark, imposing. He let out a bellow of a laugh as he saw the small, green-clad boy. From his vantage point atop his raven-black horse, the 'hero' before him was no more than an ant.

Link gasped, and awoke.

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Link drew back the nut in its strap, and released when the strap was at its highest tension. With a sharp cry, the guard fell amid the clanking of armor and his spear. Link moved quickly to get out of the way of the crime scene so he wouldn't be discovered and moved to the side of the castle, skirting along the castle's moat.

He was honestly surprised he'd gotten this far, seeing as the castle's outer grounds were crawling with guards. He'd had to use the slingshot stored in his shield more times than he wanted to in order to get out of a tough spot. Apparently the Deku nuts were more powerful at stunning than Link had thought.

Link wrapped around the moat and found himself facing a sleeping man with a naked crown and a voluminous moustache. His blue overalls layered on top of his red shirt, and Link noticed a small cow patch sewn on its left side. If Link remembered correctly, that was a symbol of the Lon-Lon Ranch.

Link cautiously moved toward the man, who was snoring at a very high volume. Link considered using some of the moat water to awaken him, but what if he got in trouble?

He sneaked past the man to the tower behind a stack of boxes and tried the wooden door. Of course, it was locked. The Lon-Lon Rancher kept on sleeping. Link scanned the area and noticed a chink in a high wall to his left, across the moat. The forest boy eyed the boxes near the tower.

Mustering all his strength (and all of his silent power) Link pushed on the box. Unfortunately, he wasn't quiet enough and the crate slammed to the ground with a crunching sound. The man on the ground snapped awake and to his feet, his eyes already trained on Link.

"Whuh—it's midday?" he cried, consulting the sky for the sun's position. "Ahh, Malon will be so worried! This shipment was supposed to take only until nine!"

The man ran off, and Link gazed at his retreating back quizzically. That was certainly… odd. He shook it off, and continued the strenuous task of shoving the crates into the water for a makeshift bridge.

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Link bit back a yelp as he almost slammed into the back of some patrolling guard, and he fortuitously didn't look back. Link slinked along behind him until he turned the corner (why did he need to patrol a hedge, anyway?) and continued his guarding duties. Link dashed away. He had finally reached a large chamber.

It was open, allowing sunlight to enter but it had to make its way through a small amount of foliage, creating a forest-like effect to the area. Arched windows lay on the walls to the side of Link, looking in on a high-profile palace. Beautiful and fragile flowers lay dotted around the sides of a platform, upon which a girl stood.

She was a blonde girl, pointy ears on full display, and she stood in an elegant yet simple dress with her back to Link. She was leaning forward, looking through a window of some kind. Link moved up to the girl, his feet crushing the lush grass. The reflection of sunlight practically blinded him as it showed itself in a window to the side.

The girl shifted, as if to improve her view of something, and Link reached the platform she stood on. The sound of boot on marble made her turn.

Her delicate eyes widened as she drunk in the sight of Link. He smiled gently, in a reassuring way, and opened his arms as if welcoming her to speak.

"Who are you?" she said softly, the filtered sunlight landing gently on her blonde hair.

He simply stared, choosing his preferred speech: silence. He knew, just by looking at her, that she was truly a bright girl. She would figure it out.

"Y-you… you're a Kokiri. I know you…"

In shock, his jaw dropped and he stepped back a little. How did she know him? He had never met her before, and he certainly had never expected to…

"My vision…" she murmured vaguely, and Link finally decided to speak up.

"I'm Link," he said gently, and a blonde lock fell frustratingly into his eyes. He slowly pried it out of the way as the girl let her hands fall and began twisting them.

"Zelda," she said simply. Link nodded, letting his silence invite her to continue speaking.

"I saw you in a dream… Link. You were outside Castle Town, while I fled… from a man." She turned to the window she'd been peeking through, and pointed at someone inside. Link neared the glass and looked in, seeing a man with green skin and red hair kneeling at the throne of Hyrule. "That man."

It was the same man Link had seen in his nightmares. He had a cruel visage, a pointy nose and permanent sneer. His ears were pointed, but in a more curved way than Link's own. He seemed the embodiment of all Link's fears, all put together in one rough package.

"I know that man is evil. I know it! He won't believe me, though…" said Zelda finally, turning back to the forest boy. "My father, that is. But you… you believe me. Don't you?"

Link nodded, a simple "Of course," falling from his lips. Zelda's face split into a soft smile. It was troubled, though, as if it could transform into a frown at any second.

"Somehow, Link, I know we were fated to meet. I don't know exactly what we need to do, but it has something to do with that man. I'm sure." Zelda slowly, gently laid her hand on Link's shoulder. "I need your help, Link. To save Hyrule."

It had escalated so quickly. Link's journey had been to meet the princess Zelda, because that's what the Deku Tree had told him to do. Now, the entire destiny of Hyrule apparently rested on Link's small shoulders.

A small sound echoing behind Link in the silence made him whirl around. Standing with them was someone that hadn't been there before, but who Link had seen before.

She was tall, with a white braid and tattoos lying on her tanned face. Her bodysuit appeared to provide open mobility while still offering some protection. Her poise was that of an experienced warrior. It was the woman Link had seen in his sleep.

All of a sudden, it hit Link that all of the members of his dreams had appeared, all in one place. Somehow Link knew that that dream would come to fruition.

"Hello, Kokiri child," said the woman.

And Link also knew that he would have to be ready when it did.

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Blargh! Please excuse this cruddy chapter! This was, like, terrible. But I've rewritten this twice now and they were even worse. Tell me what you thought so I can improve for next chapter. And I apologize, I'm definitely not used to third person view, and writing as a more omniscient narrator. So, yeah. Blargh.

Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope to see you soon in chapter four.

-Shinigami out.