It is the third day out from Hyrule Plains, deep in folded mountains on the shoulders of the world when Link notices he is being followed. On a ridge to the north a small speck of white has been paralleling them for the last day and a half. "Look Link! There, where those two ridges meet. If we hurry we could ambush him." This is from Navi who rides in his hat. Link shields his eyes and says "And figure out if they`re peaceful or not."
It is twilight and the skies echo with a dark purple as Link shivers in the lowering temperature. He and Navi have hidden in a small bowl of rocky gravel next to the trail proper. Link lies on his back listening for any sound of footsteps and gazes out from the high slopes at the distant Fire Mountain. It is a glaring, red eye tonight, leaking rivers of red tears. "I`ll be there soon," he thinks.
The sound of footsteps coming up the trail brings Link alert and ready. His breath grows slow and calm and his hand rests loosely on his sword. Now! And he springs up on the path expecting a startled figure. But, instead, there is just the empty night and Link whips his head around, frantically searching. He feels a very cold sensation on his neck and looks down to find a metal sword pressed to his neck. A cold, high voice rings out, "And you`re supposed to be the one? Ha! Can`t even get the drop on lonely me."
Navi, silently fluttering above, drops down and flares a brilliant blue directly in front of the figure`s eyes. Link drops, pivots and dives for the assailant. They roll together over the rough ground and slam against a large boulder. "Ugh!" A very feminine grunt escapes from underneath Link and he opens his eyes to see a black-haired young girl about his age staring back angrily. Her sword lies on the ground ten feet away and Link holds her arms down tightly. "Who are you," he yells, pushing her into the rock. In this sudden anger the tattoo on his arm glows and a green fire engulfs his hand, burning into the arm of the girl.
A surprised Link jumps back, the fire going out and the girl clutching her arm. Link runs back and grabs the sword from the ground and holds it pointed at the girl. "Sorry for that. I can`t seem to control it yet. Navi, can you shed some more light?" Navi glows a bit brighter and the girl becomes clearer. Wearing a white and blue costume of wrapped cloth, she has long black hair and a scar running vertically over one eye. Upon her chest, worked in golden thread, is a single eye dripping a tear. She sits up against the rock, moving slowly and looking hurt. "A fairy! She didn`t tell me about a fairy! Doesn`t matter I guess. Hey you, boy, give me back my sword, I`m not looking for a fight." So saying, she holds out her hand expectantly.
Who is this girl! "No way, I`m keeping this after you attacked me. But listen let's move out of the open wind and into a small depression nearby. You look hurt and I could use a fire." Link turns away and starts downhill and a second later the girl follows. Even with a fire going she sits just outside the firelight, watching Link with a hateful glare. "I`m Kylia and I have a message for you, the bearer of the Triforce tattoo. My clan harbors a certain person who also bears the same mark. She bade us to find you in these mountains and say this, "Hope is the dream of men and women fully awake. Your dream was real. Play the music of my ancestors and we shall meet." She also told me to give you this." Kylia reaches into the folds of her wrap and brings out a small metal pendant. Link takes it, and in the firelight opens his hand. "This is the Royal Hyrule crest! Who is this that gave it to you?"
"I will not tell you. We of the Sheikah have honor you know. I may be young but I am not naïve. Why does she trust you so much? We may be few in number but we are strong. Why are we not enough to protect her?" Kylia, speaking to herself, grows angrier, forgetting Link. "She comes in the night, riding hard with her mai-," she stops, perhaps realizing who she is talking about.
Link sees her rub her ribs and thinks he will get no sleep this night watching her. "What is your clan? I have never heard of them." Kylia reaches to adjust her boots, "we stand behind the curtains of the world; watching, influencing, acting at certain times. Every time a dagger cuts the strings of some great nation, we are the whisper of wind in the night that threw it. We are the silent, the hidden and the so very old." Her hand suddenly whips up towards the fire and there is a loud bang and smoke fills the small depression. When Link clears his eyes the firelight shines only on him and he can hear the far-off tumble of rocks cascading down valley. "I truly attract the strange girls, huh Navi. Well, at least I can sleep tonight. But that message?"
He thinks about this until he falls asleep; runs through the waking-dream he had while he climbs steep crags and crosses patches of snow, getting ever closer to Fire Mountain. Two days pass and he stands on a shelf of jutting-rock, the slopes of Fire Mountain directly opposite. It is morning and the sun is still hidden behind the smoking top of the mountain. The shade is cool and he rests before starting the final climb to the summit and the crater of what must be red lava. It clicks then; the blue ocarina, the blackened room of a princess, the message and the haunting melody every child learns. He takes off his shield, stabs the metal sword deep into the volcanic soil and hangs his pack on the pommel. He reaches deep in the pack and pulls out the blue ocarina and looks at it. Painted the blue of summer skies it sparkles with the occasional small, red ruby inset. "The Melody of Zelda? It could be." And he put the ocarina to his lips and fumbles a few times before his fingers find the right holes. There are not many notes and it starts simple, rising and falling like a summer breeze. But it turns suddenly, like life, into an ascending melody of complex harmony. Still Link continues to puff into it and his fingers remember the tune his father taught him so long ago.
The song ends and he lowers the ocarina, but strangely he still hears the tune softly, echoing in the background. A scent of sweet flowers and perfumed air swirl around him and suddenly, before him, the face of a young girl with piercing eyes appears. She stands before an open window of stone and looks weary and tired. But she looks up and their eyes meet for a second time. "You!" says this strange girl. She holds up her hand and the triangles glow out through the vision. Link holds up his own hand and together they seem to share some deep connection through this sole moment. "You are that girl on the horse. I got your message!" Link can hardly believe it, that same girls stands before him and she is no less beautiful. "Yes," she responds, "and you got my message. I hope Kylia did not hurt you. She is very head-strong."
Link blushes and wishes he wasn`t so young and could be something other than "boy" to her. "No, quite the opposite. But wait, what`s your name? I`m Link."
"Link? A nice name, an apt name, for we are linked in a way. I am called Zelda, though once I was a princess and heir to a throne." There is sadness in her eyes then, some painful memory. "There may not be much time, keep my crest guarded. Some may still recognize it among this kingdom and give help. But be careful, there is a man out there; he chases me with hatred and will never give up. His name is-," she looks up and away as the vision disappears.
Links reaches out with his hand as if he can bring her back. "No, Zelda! I have so many questions." It had only been a moment in time but when she turned those eyes upon him the world had stopped. There had been such warmth and strength in that face and more. He thinks that if she had been there in person he would have knelt at her feet and kissed her hand a thousand times. "A princess? Truly, she changes the world just with her presence. Oh!, what has happened to her? Is she ok?" And he grimaces at the pain of not knowing, aware all he can do is press on towards finding further help.
So he stores the ocarina away, shoulders his pack and shield and holds up the sword to the sky. It catches the glint of a sun, newly arisen from behind the volcano and it shines brightly. Link sees his reflection in the metal before putting it away; his blue eyes and tanned face staring defiantly back. "At least I have a good sword now."
