Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda. Leave me be. -sigh-

.:.Chapter Nine: Memories Unfurled.:.

Zelda woke up not too long after she went back to sleep, her peaceful sleep. She didn't have sweat trickling down her forehead, and she didn't feel excruciatingly hot, but she still woke up because of her newfound fear of sleeping. She stood up after wrapping her pink robe around herself and slipping on her pink sandals and walked out to her balcony. The princess stared past the gates of Hyrule, past Hyrule Town, and just gazed upon Hyrule field. She felt different, as if someone grabbed her heart and molded it into something totally and completely foreign to her.

The moonlight lit her calm, yet scared features, giving her an unearthly glow. Suddenly faint screaming processed into her ears and, unless she was imagining it, it sounded very much like Link. No... I must still be half asleep. He's probably long gone into Gerudo Valley by now... and nothing can be heard there, what with those Gerudo girls screaming and dancing day in and day out now that they don't have anything to worry about...

Zelda sighed as she walked back into her bedroom, still wondering about her nightmare, or recurring reality, better said. Why did I have that dream? Why did it all of a sudden resurface like that without hints or anything? I haven't even thought about that day since the day of Hyrule's celebration. So why now? Why did I have that dream now of all times? And...the curious thing is... I saw what happened to Link after I rode out... or was that simply made up? Would he have really risked himself like that... just to protect my whereabouts? He was so young and... I don't understand...

Zelda shook her head softly, trying to shake all of her thoughts out with it, and lay back down. She began getting drowsy once more, and her eyes began getting heavy. Unfortunately for Zelda, the wind began picking up outside, causing her room to become too cold for her liking. She arose from her bed and closed the door to the balcony, but not before noticing something in her room.

"What... what is that?" Zelda asked herself quietly. She walked over to what looked like a ghastly figure, but she wasn't quite sure. That looks very much like a Poe, but... what business would it have in my room? Zelda pondered about this until she was near enough to the ghastly image to speak to it. "Um... hello? Are you a Poe?" Zelda asked, half curious if it would answer, half hoping it would just leave so that she could go to sleep.

The ghost chuckled evilly. "Why yes, my fair princess, I am. Why do you ask? Does my presence bother you, Your Highness? Would you prefer it if I leave?" the ghost asked, its orange-yellow eyes piercing right through her. The Poe looked ordinary enough, but for some odd reason, Zelda felt a twinge of fear as it looked at her, as if she was supposed to be frightened by it.

"Yes... I would prefer it if you leave, thank you. But first, what business have you here in the first place, Poe?" Zelda questioned, trying to enforce her voice with confidence, but winced as her voice slightly quavered instead. Damn it... why am I so afraid of this Poe? It usually only takes one or two arrows to kill it, so why do I fear it so much? As if it has caused me a sort of pain? I don't want to anger it; I have no reason to fight it, but... something about this ghost is unnerving. I just can't understand what...

The Poe's stare intensified, causing Zelda's insides to tighten in knots. He thought over the question a while longer, until he decided upon his answer. "Well, milady, a friend of yours has offended me, and in doing so, I'm merely being a good ghost and doing him a favor. If you ask me, he didn't take my... offer... seriously." the ghost smirked at the end of his statement, which apparently confused Zelda even more.

"A... friend? I haven't seen any friends in--" Zelda stopped in id-sentence when her thoughts roamed around her head and eventually found their way to Link. "By a friend... do you mean Link?" Zelda asked, wondering what Link could've done to upset a Poe. Knowing him he probably tried to kill it... and knowing him... he probably didn't succeed... ugh... I hate his archery skills... they suck.

The Poe once again just floated in silence, not particularly caring whether or not the princess had to wait. Why does this wench continue to ask questions? I just want her to go back to sleep and then... my little 'favor' shall proceed. The ghost looked up from his 'reverie' so to speak, and glared at Zelda, who looked paler than she usually did for some reason unknown to her. "By your friend, I simply mean a friend. Whether or not they be this 'Link' of which you speak, I do not know, for I didn't ask his name. I can only tell you that a departed soul such as I has yet to find piece and just wishes to fulfill the favors of they who are still alive, to... help make their lives easier." The Poe stared at Zelda, trying to convince her that he was being honest, and continued. "Why don't you go to sleep now, Princess? I'm sure you have a lot to do in the morning, and it would be best if you took in appropriate sleep."

Zelda eyed him cautiously, wondering what she should do. She wasn't sure if she should trust the Poe or not, since most Poes she had come to meet weren't the friendliest... or the most honest... but this one was confusing. Though his words seemed fairly considerate, the way he stared at her, better said pierced right through her, unnerved every last one of Zelda's senses. However, Zelda's body didn't disagree with the ghost at all, and before Zelda could lift a finger in protest, she was soundly asleep on her bed, not the least bit conscious to her surroundings.

The Poe flew by her and stayed there, not moving an inch. I guess I should continue my little game from where I left off. Now... where were we... ah yes, right after her escape and Link's so called 'daring' encounter with Ganon. Ah... Ganon... he was quite the leader. Anyhow, her next hellish memory was right about when she began her training with that woman, Impa, and was caught... ah yes, wonderful nightmares to have if I do say so myself.

The Poe began to chant quietly, so as not to wake the princess lying before him, when suddenly his eyes turned a glowing white color, and the area around him seemed somewhat foggy. Soon after this, Zelda began tossing once more in her sleep, groans of agony and pain escaping her lips, as her body fought her bed, not knowing what to do in her now apparent nightmare. After finishing what seemed to be a spell, the Poe stared at her, grinning evilly. And so the torture continues...

Meanwhile with Link

"MFFT! MFFT! MFFFFFFFFFFFT!"

"Yeah, yeah Navi, I know... you want the tape off." Link replied to the frustrated fairy, who had been bobbing up and down in front of Link's face for twenty minutes trying to catch his attention and have him get the tape off her mouth. Link sighed. "That's just too damn bad, Navi... I really don't feel like hearing your voice right now. Actually, right now the only thing I want to do is grab Fluffy by the tail and beat the hell out of hi-"

"SQUEE!" Fluffy yelled as he jumped onto Link's shoulder and bit him. The squirrel's eyes turned into a demonic red color and a sudden cold feeling climbed its way up Link's back. Foolish human... thinking you can even hope to harm me! Idiot! Moron! Just who do you think I am? Fluffy thought as he jumped off Link's now swollen shoulder and onto the ground once more.

Navi was staring at Link's shoulder, which was near the size of a small goron now, with pure fear. What kind of demonic squirrel IS Fluffy? Is he a demon? Is he even qualified to be a squirrel? Can he EAT me! Navi was finally shaken out of her reverie when Link passed a hand in front of Navi's face.

"Hellloooo..." Link said as he continued to wave his hand in front of the already conscious fairy. "Naaaviii...ARE YOU THE--OW!" Link yelled as Navi slapped him in the face for being such an oblivious moron. "What'd you do that for you puny fairy!" Link semi-yelled, since they were very close to Gerudo Valley -they had just passed the semi-gated area- and he didn't feel like dealing with a bunch of offended Gerudo chicks.

"Link you moron! Can you NOT see that I'm with you? Jeez... you really ARE oblivious to everything... idiot." Navi stated bluntly as she flew on ahead of Fluffy and Link, deciding she didn't want to stick around Hyrule's half-witted 'hero' or the demonic squirrel.

Link continued moving forward after giving a 'Hmph!' to Navi, who was already entering the Valley. Stupid, little fairy... if I wouldn't have been with her for the past seven years, she'd have been eaten by some random monster a LONG time ago... malagradecia... Link thought as he also began entering Gerudo Valley. Link grabbed his bag of rupees and sighed. 'Thanks to that good for nothing Fluffy, all I have are 200 rupees, when I left with 500! Ignorant little fool... I don't care if he IS a squirrel... he's LETHAL! Heheh... he'll be gone after my round of gambling is up...'

Fluffy wasn't far behind the fairy or Link, but he wasn't trying to catch up either. He decided he would go at his own pace and create another plan to take Link's rupees before they arrived at the gambling area. My mistresses wouldn't be very happy if Link had rupees to gamble with... now would they? Then again, I could just tell them he was robbed and keep the rupees for myself... but if they look inside my bandana...feh. No matter, I'll take the rupees and go to my tree quickly to store them... then my masters won't be able to find them... excellent. After thinking this, Fluffy found himself right behind Link, giving him the perfect opportunity to strike.

Link began walking across the narrow bridge (a/n: the one that's right next to the tiny waterfall) at the entrance of Gerudo Valley without taking note that Fluffy was right behind him. He ran across it as he usually did, but unfortunately for Link, there was a rather large at the end that he somehow didn't notice, and when arriving at it, he tripped and landed on the small fairy that was waiting patiently in the air, lost in thought.

"OWWWWW! DAMN YOU LINK! CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT? AUGH!" Navi yelled at Link, gasping for air afterwards. Navi's small body was trapped under Link's (in her opinion rather heavy) forearm, while her head stuck out the inner side of his elbow. "LINK YOU BIG OAF! GET OFF ALREADY!" Navi yelled after gulping in an ample supply of air, which she immediately repeated after yelling that last command.

Link had swirls in his eyes since his head hit the ground rather hard. He was completely unconscious to anything around him and, to Fluffy's delight, completely oblivious to any sound around him as well. Since Link was knocked out at the moment, Fluffy decided to seize the opportunity and rushed over to the rupee bag that was made, to his horror, of a squirrel's hide. What a foul human this one is…I'll be glad to let the Gerudo girls have him to themselves…the dirty bastard of a fool. How dare he use a SQUIRREL'S hide no less as a rupee bag? HAS HE NO DIGNITY WHATSOEVER! Fluffy questioned himself mentally as he untied the rupee bag from Link's belt and opened it greedily. After peering inside and making sure the 200 rupees were safely inside the bag, he tied it closed, ignored the cursing fairy who was begging-commanding him to let her free of Link's clutches, and ran off to his tree just outside the entrance to Gerudo Valley.

"COME BACK HERE YOU EVIL LITTLE SQUIRREL! IF YOU DON'T I SWEAR TO IT THAT I'LL MAKE LINK CUT YOUR LITTLE THROAT OFF AND STUFF IT UP YOU'RE A—" but Navi was unable to complete that sentence, due to the fact that a nearby Gerudo guard ran up to the unconscious Link, grabbed Navi's wings from beneath Link's arms rather roughly, walked to the edge of the cliff, and tossed her down the canyon. "Stupid fairy." the Gerudo said to herself as she ran back to Link's limp form. Heh…all the girls will definitely more than happy to see him. Just wait till Sasha sees him…she'll go crazy.

Meanwhile with Zelda

Zelda had fallen into another nightmarish reality that had passed long ago. She was at the entrance to Lake Hylia, resting her weight on her knees as she pressed her hands over them and huffing as if undergoing rigorous training. She was wearing something of a tight blue and silver suit with the lens of truth imprint in pink on the chest area. She had been training for hours under the hot sun, sweating like she never had before, feeling pain and physical agony like none other. Her feet were on fire as well as her knees. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and moved her bangs out of her reddish pink eyes. "What do I…do now, Impa?" Zelda said as she took a breath in the middle of her sentence.

Impa stared at her through a stern gaze, her arms crossed at her chest. Impa's hair was now faded silver with streaks of white mixing in as well. There were a few wrinkles forming at the corner of Impa's eyes, which not only looked weary and tired, but also less alert than when they had left the castle three years before. She merely nodded her head in approval. "Fine work, Sheik. However, I am very displeased with your disappearing performances. I expect you to work on those." Impa said as she mounted her white horse and looked down at Zelda, then rode off.

Zelda stood there, stunned. What did she mean she was displeased with her disappearing performances? She had disappeared within two seconds time after throwing the deku nut. Zelda sighed, not knowing what to do. Oh well…anyways…tonight's a full moon. Zelda thought as she looked at the sky gleefully. This means I can visit the Temple of Time tonight! Finally, something to look forward to! Better hurry and wash up… the young girl though as she raced toward the lake, stripping herself of her clothes and diving in.

The water felt refreshing against her hot and tired body. Her muscles relaxed as she sunk deeper into the water, enjoying its feel more and more as the water finally reached her chin. "Mm…I wonder…where that boy is…the boy I threw the ocarina to. I wonder…if he ever got it." Zelda murmured to herself as she rose out of the water and grabbed her rag that she brought around with her to dry. Did he ever get it? Did Ganondorf retrieve it instead? Is the boy even still alive? And why in the WORLD is Impa having me do all this training? She keeps telling me that I''ll find out when the time comes, but jeez…she'd think it got a little repetitive after three years… Zelda thought as she redressed herself in a different set of clothing: a white blouse two sizes too big, white pants that were a little loose around the waist, and shoes that were much too big for Zelda. However, these were the clothes she had been able to obtain from a merchant passing through Hyrule, and were currently the only clothes that fit her besides the blue and silver suit, for everything she had packed three years prior had been outgrown far too quickly for Zelda's liking.

After stuffing her training clothes into a bag she had found near the entrance to Death Mountain one day (it appeared to be made from a Dodongo's stomach), she threw the short strap over her shoulder and began traveling towards the bridge between Kakariko Village and Hyrule Castle Town. Heh...good thing I lived there a long time and was curious enough to wonder how Dad managed to get in when he came back so late at night sometimes… Zelda thought happily as she reached the small bridge. "All right. Now…let's see which block it was now." Zelda said as she began feeling for a couple of choice bricks on the bottom of the bridge after leaning over carefully. Finally, she pushed in a brick, causing the gate where the river ran through to open, and a ticking sound was heard. Better hurry then before one of those redeads find their way into that somehow…ugh.

And with that, Zelda dived into the ice-cold water, baggy clothes and all, and swam into the once small-gated entrance. After swimming inside, Zelda arrived in a shallow, smaller entrance to a sewer that she was all too familiar with. The sewer was, unfortunately for Zelda, infested with green and blue Bubbles, and they didn't look too welcoming. You've got to be kidding me…not again! Ugh…these stupid Bubbles come every other full moon. Why is it that they come? Sigh…better finish them off before they notice I'm hear and report to that King of Scum. Zelda thought ruefully as she hid behind a small iron box, which held the operating controls from within, and retrieved her deku nuts. After gathering a total of about five, Zelda dashed out from behind the box, threw two of the nuts, which then released a blinding light that appeared to have stunned the Bubbles, who were completely oblivious to her presence. Zelda had her left hand stretched out, the same hand that held the imprint of the Triforce of Wisdom, while yelling something. Domiscus Lumos! The blonde yelled, which caused a pure white light to fill the room, being too pure for the Bubbles to handle, resulting in their deaths.

Zelda looked around at the now empty sewer type passage. She sighed in relief after confirming that no more monsters or creatures were looming around. "Well…" she began to herself, "that's definitely a load off." She then walked ahead, checking every once in a while after hearing sounds or clatters for any more enemies or foes. After about half an hour of walking, she finally made it to an exit. It was right below a caged opening, which she moved out of the way easily, thanks to her ruthless training that she had been going through every day for the past three years. Zelda's training involved running at least five miles within thirty minutes' time, swimming across Lake Hylia and back about twenty times, riding Impa's horse around Hyrule Field every day for one or two hours, which would help increase her knowledge of the land, and finally, completing whatever task Impa had specifically assigned for that day. All of this physical exercise and work obviously increased Zelda's strength immensely, which came in quite conveniently at the moment.

After lifting the bars of steel from the exit of the sewer, Zelda climbed out cautiously, looking about for enemies, expecting anything from a deku scrub to a Stalfos. After knowing for a fact that nothing was nearby, Zelda sprinted to the Temple of Time, which was about half a mile away from the sewer exit. Sweat trickled down her face, but she didn't care, even though she had just showered. Her heart thumped wildly while she sprinted; she did this, sprinting, for she already knew that soon, the redeads of Hyrule Castle Town, the ones that actually wandered, would be catching up to her if she didn't move swiftly enough.

Zelda arrived at the Temple through the backside. When she was inside the Temple grounds, she walked around the small area of stone that was once, in a more prosperous Hyrule, a small pond, and walked into the Temple of Time. She grabbed the bottom half of her shirt and wiped the sweat off her face, then looked up and realized what she hadn't the last time she had visited the Temple after hers and Impa's departure. There, on the small black stone altar at the foot of the steps inside the Temple, stood the three spiritual stone: the Kokiri Emerald, the Goron Ruby, and Zora's Sapphire.

"He…" Zelda whispered to herself. She was staring in awe at what was before her.