Next chapter instantly, like I said.

"Well, I'm certainly glad that's over," Navi snapped. They were back out in Hyrule Field, just passing Lon Lon Ranch on their way to the castle and Zelda. "I really don't like that Zora girl. Betrothed! Really, young people these days…"

All this was passing twelve feet over Link's head, but Navi seemed not to notice.

"I just want to give these stones to the Princess, and then it'll all be over. She'll keep them safe and that man will never get the Triforce. Then we can go home and be with everyone else," Navi continued. "Won't it be nice, when it's all over?"

Link was silent. Somehow life in Kokiri Forest didn't seem as exiting a prospect anymore. It seemed almost… boring. His adventures in the last week or so had been… fun! Even though they had been dangerous, they had been strangely enjoyable. Link had grown accustomed to the weight of the sword and shields across his back, and the feeling of freedom on beautiful evenings like this, just talking with Navi.

The sun was setting behind Death Mountain soon, and Link sped up, hoping that the monsters in the field at night weren't as bad as people said.

Clouds were building in the air above as the light began to fade. It began to drizzle, causing Link to shiver and rub his bare arms vigorously. The rain grew steadily worse as the night darkened. But finally Navi called out that they were just a few seconds away from the relative shelter of the castle walls.

The drawbridge was up, of course. The torches were burning somehow. Link shivered in the cold air. It was raining harder now, and the storm wind was blowing drops into his face. There was something familiar about this whole scene, but he couldn't quite place it.

There was a flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder. The drawbridge thudded down unexpectedly, and Link gasped. It was the dream! He had to be asleep. He reached over swiftly and pinched himself. He waited, but he didn't seem to be waking up. What could this mean?

He heard the clattering of hoofbeats on the cobblestones and threw himself aside as a white horse carrying a rider flashed past. The rider was carrying someone else as well.

A girl.

Zelda.

She gazed at him as she was rushed past and gave a small cry. She leaned back and threw something, which spun and caught the light before falling into the moat. Then the princess vanished out into the darkness of the field.

Link gulped. He knew what came next. Hearing another horse's whinny, he turned back to the castle and...

There he was, just like he had appeared in the dream and through the window of the castle…

The man with the strange golden eyes and dark skin. The man with black armor astride a black horse. The man with the cruel smile who had appeared in every nightmare he had ever had.

"She got away," he growled. Then, appearing to notice Link for the first time, Ganondorf glared down at him coldly.

"You there, boy. You must have seen the white horse gallop past just now. Which way did it go?"

Link didn't respond. He stood his ground, staring defiantly into the Gerudo King's eyes. Ganondorf frowned.

"Do you think you can protect her by not telling me? I don't like your attitude."

Link drew his sword in reply. Ganondorf stared at him for a moment. Then he grinned wickedly. He laughed slowly.

"Heh… You've got guts, kid. But you don't know who you're dealing with. I am Ganondorf, and soon I will rule the world!"

Link hardly had time to think "talk about cliché" before Ganondorf raised him hand. Black and purple fire materialized from the air around it and gathered into a ball. Then the thief hurled the fireball at the boy.

It struck Link full in the chest and he was flung to the ground. It felt like thousands of tiny needles were pricking him all at the same time all over. Ganondorf laughed again and rode off into the darkness in the direction of Gerudo Valley.

The storm had stopped by the time Link managed to pick himself up, wincing at the pain in his chest. He suddenly remembered the sparkling item that Zelda had thrown into the moat. He got to his hands and knees and peered down into the depths, but couldn't see anything. Taking a deep breath, he dove down and grasped something smooth. He brought it back up to the surface and stared at it. It was an ocarina!

The world blurred around him. Link looked around quickly, wondering where Navi had gone. He could vaguely see a large, stone room with an altar at one end. Zelda was standing before it, clasping the very ocarina he now held in his hands.

Link? This is Zelda.

Her voice was faint, as though she were speaking from a long way away.

By the time you hear this, I won't be around anymore. Ganondorf attacked the castle. I wanted to stay and wait for you, but Impa said it was too dangerous and that we had to keep the Ocarina of Time safe.

The ocarina you hold in your hands is the final key to open the Door of Time. It has many magical powers that Ganondorf cannot lay his hands on.

This is the melody that will open the Door of Time and clear the way to the Sacred Realm…

Zelda lifted the Ocarina of Time to her lips and played a slow, beautiful song. It seemed somehow familiar, as though it had been played to Link when he was a little boy and had not quite been forgotten. Without realizing it, he raised the real ocarina and copied the song carefully. For a moment, Zelda's sad blue eyes lingered on him. Then the vision dissipated, and he was again standing before the castle.

Navi fluttered up and down in front of him.

"Come on, Link," she said excitedly. "Let's go to the Temple!"

Link waved her away and sprinted across the drawbridge. In the market, people were clustered in tight groups, whispering anxiously to each other. Link caught a few words of what some of them were saying as he passed.

"Wasn't that a legendary Sheikah?"

"A white horse…"

"Gerudo and his monsters…"

"Killed the king…"

"Killed the king?" Navi whispered to Link. "How can that be?"

"Do you think it's true?" Link whispered back.

"I don't know… there's the temple up there."

Link and Navi went up some steps to find themselves on a green lawn. There was a pond off to one side, flanked by some of those strange stones. The yard was lined with tall trees, but there was no birdsong. Death Mountain was visible behind the huge, grey temple. Link gazed up at the spire on top, shading his eyes. Above the front door, which already stood half open, was yet another Triforce symbol.

As Link and Navi entered the temple, they heard the singing of a men's choir from somewhere below them. It seemed to be the song that Zelda had just taught him, which made sense. He walked slowly across the stone floor, not wanting to make too much noise. This place felt sacred and still, and it felt as though it should not be disturbed by anybody running or even breathing to loudly. It had an ancient feel to it. The temple had been there for centuries, of course.

Halfway through the hall was a raised platform with a Triforce symbol on it. In the center was a design that looked like three thin triangles pointing to the center with three dots in between them.

At the far end of the main chamber was a sort of altar, in which was three indentations and a plaque. It read:

Ye who holds

3 Spiritual Stones

And the Ocarina of Time

Shall open the Door of Time

What did he do now? He stared at the carving with unfocused eyes.

"Play the song, Link, the song!" Navi said in exasperation, flying into his forehead lightly.

"The song... yeah..." Link was getting a strange feeling inside of him. It was a sort of burning, twisting anticipation the likes of which he had never felt before. He slowly pulled out the Ocarina of Time and played the Song of Time along with the choir.

As the last note echoes through the dusty, moonlit hall, the three Spiritual Stones rose from their places in the pouch and hovered over the altar. Then the Kokiri's Emerald sank into the indentation which fit it perfectly. As though it had been waiting for the emerald's command, the Goron's Ruby slipped into its place as well, followed by the Zora's Sapphire. The three of them began to glow. The symbol of the Triforce, which was set in the wall a ways up, glowed in return.

The entire wall simply vanished. It was gradual, so that each section shimmered away one at a time, just like the stones. The opening seemed to beckon him onward, and he walked very slowly around the altar. He stepped through the dark passage and ended up in another room. There was a single shaft of moonlight coming down from the ceiling, illuminating the center.

A magnificent sword was resting in a pedestal on a raised platform, lit by the moonlight. The crosshilt was bent in some odd way, curving down away from the hilt. There was a diamond-shaped golden jewel where the blade began and the hilt ended. The blade stared out slim, then widened where a Triforce was inscribed on the metal. It then tapered to an elegant point which was hidden by the pedestal in which the sword rested. The blade itself was a shimmering silvery-blue, and the moonlight made it shine even more. There was a Triforce symbol on the pedestal itself.

"Link..." Navi whispered breathlessly. "Is that..."

"What?" Link whispered back.

"That legendary blade... the Master Sword!"

Link stepped up onto the first step of the platform. He noticed several strange symbols on the floor and tore his eyes away from the sword to look at them. He was standing on one that was identical to the symbol on the platform in the main chamber of the Temple of Time. To his left was a sort of swirling design that he had seen somewhere before, but didn't know where. Next to that was one that looked like a three-pointed flame. The one to the left of that looked like six drops of water arranged around the center. On the other side of that was a triangle with three dots ranged around the edges. Finally, there was a symbol resembling two curved drops of water intertwining with one another.

Link looked up at the sword again. He had the strangest feeling that it was watching him...

He went up the second step and stood facing the sword. On this platform was another Triforce. The Triforce symbol on the blade seemed to call out to him, and he gazed at it. Without a word to even Navi, he took another step forward. He jumped up to the pedestal itself and wrapped his hands around the hilt. He took a deep breath and pulled the sword out.

Even as he did, a sort of blue light surrounded them, becoming brighter and brighter until he had to shut his eyes to escape it...

Yes...

I thought you might be the one.

The one who held the keys to the Sacred Realm, where rests the object of my desire... the Triforce.

Thanks a bundle, kid.

I could never have done it without you...


End of Part 1. Part 2 coming soon, after I update my other Zelda story.