As Zelda walked through the dark tunnel of trees, she listened hard for any sound that did not come from her. With her sword drawn and pointed in front of her in a fighting stance, she was ready for an assault at any time. She was beginning to think that doing this during the night was an awful idea. She couldn't even see the path ten feet in front of her! She needed a light of some sort, but wouldn't dare call upon her magic in such a monster-infested area.

That thought left her mind as her injured shoulder began to throb. She gritted her teeth through the pain but remained silent. She would have to get it looked at in the next village she came upon. There was nothing she could do for it, except not use it.

As Zelda walked through the tunnel, she began to see a small light, steadily growing closer. The end of the tunnel! Zelda quickened her pace until she reached the end.

She found herself in a small little clearing with a single house. The grass was extremely overgrown, reaching to her knees, and there was a single fire in the middle of the clearing. Cautiously, Zelda approached the fire. There was a cauldron of some sort of grotesque-smelling soup over it.

"Can I help you with something?" A voice to her right said. Startled, Zelda jumped backwards, her hood falling from her head.

"I am so sorry, I did not see you!" She said to the man who sat by the fire.

"No worries young gal," he said with a smile. "The name's Coro! What brings you to the province of Faron so late in the night?" He asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I am seeking something," Zelda replied as she observed him. He had a large, brown afro which appeared to have birds nesting in it and sat upon a large stump.

"Ah, speaking in riddles are we?" He asked.

"No, it is private business… Of the Royal Family," she said, watching Coro's eyes grow wide.

"Off to Ordona Province? Or perhaps the Woods?" Coro asked intently.

"The Woods," Zelda replied.

"In need of a lantern?" He asked with a smile. Zelda gave him a peculiar look.

"Yes, I am."

"Coro's Lantern Shop can offer you just that!" He said in the voice of a salesman. "Buy one right now and I'll fill it with oil for free!"

"I'll take one," she said, just wanting to get back to her journey.

"One hundred rupees!" He said with a grin.

"One hundred rupees?!" Zelda repeated in shock.

"Oh fine… For the Princess: free," he said. Zelda was taken aback.

"How do you know I am the Princess?" She asked him.

"It would be a crime not to recognize the Royal Family!" Coro said as he prepared her lantern. "But you might want to wear your hood when you leave my clearing; there are many evil things that would love to get their hands on you," he said seriously. Zelda reached for her hood and put it back over her head. Coro cleared his throat and handed her the lantern filled with oil, as well as a jar filled with oil.

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "I don't need the extra oil, though," she said as she tried to give it back.

"Believe me, Princess, you will," he said. She smiled stiffly and put the extra oil in her satchel and took out twenty-five rupees. She handed him the money and he smiled at her. Zelda picked the lantern up with her injured arm, the other still holding the sword.

"Thank you again," she said as she bent down to the fire and lit her lantern. She stood up and began walking to the other side of the clearing.

"One more thing!" Coro called.

"Yes?" Zelda asked as she turned around. Coro stood from his stump and walked over to her.

"You will need this key," he said as he handed it to her. "It unlocks the gate to the Woods," he said with a glint of fear in his eyes. Zelda gave him a forced smile and took the key from him. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked to the edge of his clearing.

At the edge, she turned to the left – away from Ordona Province and towards the locked gate. She fumbled with the key until she finally put her lantern down. She unlocked the gate and thought she heard a low growl. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the lantern and walked into the large cave on the other side of the gate.

It was dark and damp inside the cave which caused the flame in the lantern to flicker. She could hear the flapping of wings, most likely coming from the winged-creatures called Keese. They were an easy opponent and could be taken down with a single stroke of her blade. She did not worry about them as she quickly and carefully walked through winding cave, lighting torches that had been placed on the ground as she went. Sooner than she would have thought, she came out of the cave on the other side.

It was dark and clouded. There were several trees, standing so tall she couldn't even see the tops. The cave ended on a bank, and three feet below there was a sea of poisonous purple gas, flowing through the air in coils and letting off a foul stench. Zelda knew she had to cross it, so despite internal protests, called upon her magic. Her Triforce illuminated as she felt the warmth of her magic blossom within her stomach. She formed and shaped her magic into a double pyramidal shape surrounding her; a protective barrier, much like the one her mother had created around her father and her all those years ago.

Zelda walked down into the gas and felt nothing, her barrier working. She had no idea how long she could keep it up, the magic draining her already. She walked fast, taking the most direct route to the other side of the sea of gas. Her shoulder ached even more as her energy supply dwindled from her use of magic. She bit her lip to keep from making any noises from the pain. She didn't need any beasts drawn to her as she weakened.

After walking through the gas sea for five minutes, she could finally see the end within sight. She hurried her pace and collapsed to her knees as she reached the far bank. Her barrier disappeared and she swore she would never use magic when injured again. She got back up, a bit shaky on her legs, and sheathed her sword. She grabbed the lantern with her uninjured arm and walked towards another gate. She pushed against it but it didn't budge. She tried the key that Coro had given her but it did not fit. She looked around out of frustration and saw a Bulblin carrying a crudely made club, slowly walking towards her. A key hung off of its belt, glinting in the light of her lantern.

She put the lantern down and drew her sword, not giving the creature any time to think about its next move. In two paces her sword clashed against its club. She fought it, waiting for an opening, and when it came, didn't hesitate for a moment as she plunged the blade into the beast. She ripped the key from its belt and sheathed her sword. She quickly unlocked the gate, picked up the lantern and walked through.

The ground, she noticed, was different. It was as if she was walking on a giant, flat tree. Up ahead she saw a little shop, which she found to be quite odd being so deep in Faron Woods. She continued walking ahead, ignoring the calls of the shopkeeper, which she noticed was a bird. She shook her head at the oddity of the situation and walked towards the edge of the giant tree.

Zelda knew the path ahead would take her to the Forest Temple which she needn't go. But as she looked around, she realized that there was nowhere else to go. She huffed out a sigh as she sat down on a log, carefully looking around, seeing if she missed anything at all.

Reaching inside her satchel, she retrieved the oil and poured more into the lantern. She set it down and took out "The Rising of the Temple". She flipped to the table of contents and searched the titles the of the chapters, though she wasn't sure what she was searching for. She reopened the book to 'The Portals' chapter and flipped through it until she came across a subheading "Hyrule's Portal".

"Many have searched for the Sacred Grove, but few have found it. Those who did took the secret with them to their graves. Throughout history, most of the people who knew the location were members of the Royal Family, but soon they forgot the exact location. All that is known these days is that it is within Faron Woods.

There have been hundreds of searches led by King Kaeru, but all were unsuccessful."

Zelda frowned at this. That was her father. Why hadn't he told her any of this? Did he not want her finding out? Zelda remembered the angry look on his face when she had pulled the book out from under her pillows. He didn't want her knowing the truth… But now that she had already started to learn, he wouldn't be able to stop her. Zelda continued reading, skipping all that was said about her father.

"The Sacred Grove was hidden well by the great Sages, and left protected by the Goddess Hylia. What they put into the Temple of Time and its Portal was nothing less than their own life-force. It is said that they left a map to the Hero of Time many ages ago."

Zelda closed the book, beginning to get aggravated. It went in circles! She put it back in her bag.

"Need any help?" A deep voice said, scaring Zelda once again. She looked around and saw herself staring at a man with kind blue eyes and light blonde hair. He wore a sword across his back and the clothing of the poor.

"I do, but I do not think you'd be able to aid me," she said with a sad smile.

"You'd be surprised," he said kindly. "My name is Rusl."

"I am Zelda," she said.

"The Princess? Well it is my honor to aid the Royal Family then! I am from the village Ordon, of Ordona Province," he said sticking out his hand. Zelda reached for his but stopped as pain erupted in her shoulder. "Are you hurt?" He asked her.

"I had a fall," she said modestly.

"If you come back with me to Ordon we can fix you up there."

"I need to finish what I am doing first," she said, looking into his eyes.

"Well what are you doing?"

"I am searching for the Sacred Grove."

"You're in luck," Rusl said with a grin.