A/N: Couple things. First of all an outpouring of gratitude: over 500 views! It makes me so happy to think that people are actually enjoying this! Second, shoutout to luisAM21 who has posted two lovely reviews. Thank you. You said you like longer chapters, so consider this one at least partly dedicated to you :)

-o-

Later that night Link lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling in the dark. He was still working through what had happened, or rather nearly happened, with Zelda. And, although he didn't want to admit it, he was considering taking Quin's advice. He didn't know how he felt about Zelda – two weeks ago he hadn't even known she existed, and yet now he was thinking about telling her he loved her? Link shook his head, trying to clear it.

He wasn't sure he loved her though, that was the problem. He felt happy whenever she was around, he thought about her constantly, and a large part of him was angry with Quin for interrupting their almost-kiss, but he didn't know for sure and he didn't think he could risk it. He reminded himself that he still needed her help to free the final dragon and defeat Casineb. If he told her he loved her and she didn't feel the same way, he might lose his friend, and he couldn't afford to do that right now. But if she did feel the same way… Link got up from his bed and started pacing the room, ignoring the sleeping figure of Faru in the other bed.

'I shouldn't… I'm not sure about her yet… If it goes wrong…' he muttered to himself under his breath.

'Wha?' a sleepy voice asked. Clearly Faru wasn't as deep asleep as Link thought.

'Nothing. It's just… nothing,' Link replied, sitting back down on his bed. Part of him wanted to talk about it, but he overruled it. A good night's sleep, he decided, would solve all his problems. He just hoped Zelda wouldn't bring it up in the morning.

'You okay, bud?' Faru asked. Link sighed.

'As much as ever.' Silence, then,

'Girl problems?'

'Yep.' Another pause.

'You want to talk about it?'

'Nope.' More silence, much longer this time, and Link realised Faru had gone back to sleep. He lay back on his bed and sighed, wishing it was as easy for him. But when his lids drifted shut he saw Zelda's face again as she moved closer, eyes closed, about to kiss him. Pressing the heels of his hands over his eyes hard in a bid to make the images go away, Link prepared himself for a long night.

-o-

'Link?' He opened his eyes and gasped. Zelda was standing in front of him, but not the Zelda he knew. Zelda, the goddess Hylia in Hylian form, was watching him with concern. 'Link? Are you alright?' Link was too stunned to answer. This was another dream, but different to the ones he'd had before.

He looked around: he and Zelda were standing in the hands of an enormous statue, showing a graceful, winged woman: the Statue of the Goddess. Link had heard about it from legend; supposedly it crashed to earth to fulfil the Hero's wish to destroy Demise. Below the statue was temple, but not like the ones Link had visited. This one was looked as though it was designed not as a trap, but as a place of worship. It looked very old, but well looked after. But from his great distance Link couldn't tell anything else.

'Link?' Zelda asked again, and Link's head snapped back to her. She looked different from before, dressed in white this time. She looked very much like old drawings of Hylia in her goddess form.

'I'm alri-' Link started to say, but stopped when no sound came out. Zelda didn't look fazed, and it occurred to Link that her eyes were actually focused on something over Link's shoulder.

'I'm fine, Zelda. Just thinking,' another voice behind Link said. He spun round and found himself face to face with the Hero of the Skies. As Link gaped at him Zelda continued, seeming not to notice the younger Link's presence.

'That's good. Look around us! Look how beautiful this place is! I… I think I want to stay down here, to protect the Triforce.' Link tried to speak, tried to get the attention of one of the other Hylians, but they either couldn't see him or ignored him. In desperation Link tried to touch the other Link's shoulder, but to his shock his hand passed right through. The Hero was still staring at Zelda, completely unaware of his descendant's attempts to contact him. Zelda spoke again.

'What about you?' The younger Link stopped, for the first time taking notice of what she was saying. He knew that after Demise was defeated both Hylia and the Hero decided to stay on the Surface. It looked as though this decision was being made right in front of him. The Hero was staring, open-mouthed, but seemed to come to a decision. He said nothing, just smiled at Zelda. She smiled back and embraced her friend. Link the younger smiled too, but it faded as he remembered what Impa had told him. For some reason, Link and Zelda never ended up together, meaning that their happiness now wouldn't last. Link opened his mouth to say something, to try to find some way to warn the two, but suddenly the scene before him was replaced by blackness.

-o-

He woke up panting and drenched with sweat, and it took him a moment to realise that he had broken out of the dream.

'Are you okay bud? And don't say you are, 'cause you're clearly not.' Link turned and saw Faru sitting on the other bed, watching him with concern.

'Er… bad dream. I'm fine now,' he said hurriedly. Faru didn't look convinced but got up anyway.

'Mylin says breakfast's ready, by the way,' he said on his way to the door. Link nodded his thanks and pulled on his tunic, but more slowly than usual. His head was buzzing with the memory of the dream. Inspiration struck him suddenly as he remembered that every night he'd had a dream, Zelda had had one too. Hopefully she could help him understand his. But then Link remembered how he had left things with Zelda the night before, and suddenly a long deep conversation with her didn't sound so attractive. He sighed, but shrugged and went downstairs. He and Zelda were supposed to leave for Faron Woods this morning, and there would be plenty of time to talk about his dream later. All he had to do was avoid her until the embarrassment died down.

-o-

When he eventually made it out into the hall he immediately saw Zelda coming out of her room. She stared at him for a moment then dropped her eyes to the floor. They headed for the stairs in silence, provoking an awkward moment when both reached them at the same time.

'You go first,' Link said.

'No, you go.'

'Really, you.'

'You go.'

'That's pathetic,' a voice chimed in behind them. Link turned to see Quin watching them, hands on her hips. 'Ladies first. Zelda, go down.' Zelda obeyed gladly, and Link was about to follow when Quin grabbed his arm. 'I'm guessing you haven't talked to her?' Link muttered something about 'no time'. Quin sighed. 'This isn't going to work! You and her have adventuring to do. You know, slaying monsters, fighting dragons. Heroic stuff. You need to be able to count on each other to cooperate, and not stand around looking awkward. Talk to her, or I will.' With the threat hanging in the air she went down, leaving a despondent Link standing alone.

'As if it's that easy,' he muttered. Sighing, he went downstairs. The rest of his friends were already awake, despite the fact that it was before dawn. Zelda was standing in a corner and met Link's eyes briefly, then hurriedly turned away and started talking to Cariad. Link joined Faru at the table and started picking at his breakfast. Quin sat down opposite him and glared.

'Talk. To. Her.'

'I will,' Link muttered. 'Just not yet.' Quin huffed and rolled her eyes.

'Fine. I give up on you two. Just hurry up and get a move on. Don't you have something to do?' Link nodded, and bolted down the rest of the food. He sighed, steeling himself, then went over to Zelda and cleared his throat. She turned in surprise and blushed deeply.

'We should probably get going,' he told her. She nodded and went back upstairs to gather her things. Link followed, catching sight of Quin winking at him as he went. When they were safely out of sight, Link grabbed Zelda's arm. 'Zelda. We need to talk about what happened.'

'No, we don't,' she replied. 'Nothing happened. And nothing's going to happen.' Link was dumbfounded.

'But… last night, I thought you wanted to-'

'Yes, so did I. And then I thought about it for a bit, and I realised how close we were to making a really stupid mistake. I was… vulnerable last night. Worried. Scared about Casineb and Demise. It's not going to happen again.' Link sighed.

'So you really don't want to-' Zelda looked at him.

'I don't know. Maybe there is an "us", or there could be someday, or maybe there couldn't be. What I do know is that right now, we have a job to do. And we can't afford to get distracted by personal stuff. Let's just focus on freeing Faron and defeating Casineb. After that… well, we'll see.' With that she went into her room and closed the door.

Link watched her go, deflated. He knew what she said made sense, and it relieved him of the stress of trying to make a relationship work. But he was also disappointed that she regarded their almost-kiss as a mistake. Sighing, he went to get his equipment. A small candle of hope still burned inside of him though, thinking about what might happen after Casineb was defeated. It was as good as incentive as any to keep going.

-o-

A few minutes later he and Zelda were back downstairs, bidding their friends farewell. While Zelda hugged Mylin Quin drew Link to one side.

'Well? Did you talk to her?' she asked eagerly.

'Yes. It's complicated.' Quin sighed.

'When isn't it? But at least you did it. I'm proud of you,' she said, hugging Link. He smiled and returned to the group.

'Any idea when you'll be back, bud?' Faru asked. Link shrugged.

'Not sure. Hopefully we'll be a few days at most, but it could take longer. We don't know what we're going to find in the forest.' Faru smiled grimly.

'Take care of yourself, bud.' Link nodded. Having said their last goodbyes, Link and Zelda left the inn and went out into the courtyard, untying the horses in silence. Finally Zelda stopped and looked at Link.

'This is weird.'

'You don't say,' Link replied, not meeting her eyes. She gave him a Look.

'Okay… well, how about we just forget it ever happened. Go back to before, when we were just friends.' Link looked up at this.

'You mean, now we're more than just friends?'

'You know we are,' Zelda replied, frustrated. 'We're… weird now. But we need to stop being weird, so from now on, we don't talk about it, we don't think about it, we pretend it never happened. Alright?' Link sighed.

'Alright.' Zelda nodded in satisfaction and led Rhiannon back out into the crowded early-morning streets of Hyrule Town. Link shook his head and looked at Epona.

'Girls, eh?' he asked her. Epona whinnied and tossed her head impatiently. 'Oh, don't tell me you're on her side!' Link said with a smile. The mare stared at him with one brown eye.

'Link? Are you talking to your horse?' a voice asked from above. Link looked up and saw Cariad leaning out a window above him, staring down in concern.

'No, of course not. I was just… thinking aloud.'

'Right…' Cariad didn't look convinced. Link stuck his tongue out at her, making the younger girl laugh, and led Epona out of the courtyard, following Zelda.

-o-

By the time the sun rose they were already galloping across Hyrule Field to the south, leaving Hyrule Town far behind them. The noise of the pounding hooves and the wind whistling in their ears made it impossible to talk, which Link was glad about. Zelda had insisted they head for the forest as quickly as possible, hoping to make it there before sunset. Link agreed; he hadn't forgotten about Hyra.

Suddenly he thought he heard another set of hoofbeats behind him. Turning round in confusion his eyes widened when he saw a large boar-like creature with burning red eyes close behind him, with two green, horned, Hylianoid creatures riding on its back. As Link watched in horror, one of the green creatures raised a bow and released an arrow straight at Link's head. He ducked just in time, but the thing was already reloading.

'Zelda! Turn around!' he yelled, but his friend didn't hear him. Turning, he saw that the monster was now aiming at Zelda. Link panicked, but managed to draw his own bow. The boar creature tossed its head, momentarily throwing the green monsters off balance and giving Link time to shoot an arrow of his own. It hit the first, unarmed monster in the chest, which fell off its mount and was instantly trampled under its hooves. But the second one re-aimed at Link, an evil grin on its face. Suddenly the boar realised that the monster steering it was no longer on its back, causing it to veer off in a different direction and throwing the other monster off its back. The noise of this made Zelda finally turn around, and Link saw the shock on her face as she saw their pursuers. Turning back to face forward he yelled,

'What were those things?'

'The beasts are Bullbos, and the monsters- Bulblins!' she yelled back.

'Okay,' Link nodded.

'No, Link, Bulblins! There!' Link looked where she was pointing and saw three more Bullbos, each with two riders, catching up fast. He drew his bow again and took out one of the archers, but two more arrows whistled past his head. Fortunately throughout the chase Epona had the sense to keep galloping at full speed, but the Bullbos were surprisingly fast for such heavy creatures. As one drew up beside Link he drew his sword and slashed at the Bulblins, causing the Bullbo to roar and dash off away from the riders. Zelda had pulled out her own bow and quickly dispatched another two Bulblins, making the other Bullbo join its friend in its rampage.

The riders on the final Bullbo seemed to reach an agreement of some kind, as the one in front hauled on the reins and steered their mount away, galloping off to the north-east. Once he was sure they were gone, Link slowed Epona to a halt, allowing his exhausted horse to rest.

'You did great, girl,' he reassured her. Zelda also stopped, patting Rhiannon gently. But she was staring at Link's horse.

'Link! Epona's hurt!' Link looked in shock and saw a Bulblin arrow sticking out of Epona's flank, which was already stained with blood. He quickly dismounted and pulled the arrow out, causing Epona to whinny in pain and fear. As he patted her soothingly, trying to reassure her, Zelda hurried over with a bottle of red potion in her hand. She poured it over Epona's wounds, the potion mixing with the blood. Link held Epona's reins as she reared up, hoping that the potion had the same effect on animals as it did on Hylians. It seemed as though it did, as the arrow-puncture healed over instantly. Link sighed in relief, then looked at Zelda.

'Thank you,' he said. She smiled, but it turned to a frown as she looked off in the direction the Bulblins had fled in. 'Do you think they'll come back?' Link asked her.

'I don't know,' she replied. 'I've never seen monsters like that before, only read about them in books. There's supposed to be some kind of badlands to the east, where monsters of all kinds roam. But no-one's been there for years, and the monsters have never come out before. If those Bulblins are from there, they're a long way from home. I think I can guess why that is.' Link nodded. The monsters were likely a sign of Casineb's growing power. He shivered.

'And those other Bullbos? Where are they going to go?' Zelda shrugged.

'They're hardly the most intelligent of creatures. They might find their way back to their home, or they might just wander around aimlessly.'

'Aren't they dangerous?'

'Not without a rider. Actually, left to their own devices, they're pretty peaceful creatures.' Link raised a doubting eyebrow at her.

'Those hell-hogs are peaceful? Why am I finding that hard to believe?' Zelda glared at him.

'Apparently, the Bulblins train their Bullbos with cruelty, using whips and starvation to teach them. If they're left alone, they just mind their own business. If you don't provoke them, they're quite happy.'

'Right…' Link said. Whatever Zelda claimed to have read in a book, he didn't think those monsters were 'peaceful' by any stretch.

'We should stop by Mara's house,' Zelda continued. 'Epona needs her attention and Rhiannon could use a rest too. And anyway, it would be unwise to take them to the House of the Fallen with us, so her house is the safest place.' Link agreed, and led Epona on foot to the hills where their friend's house was. As they approached they could hear the redhead's voice talking to someone. Link frowned.

'Is she talking to Taro?'

'More likely to be Macha,' Zelda said with a grin. She was proved right as they caught sight of Mara deep in conversation with her own dappled-grey horse. But when she saw her friends she squealed with delight and ran over, enveloping both of them in a hug.

'What are you two doing here?' she asked, but her joy turned to anger when she caught sight of Epona. Link followed her gaze to the blood that still stained Epona's flank. He had done his best to wipe it off, but some still remained. 'What in Din's name did you do to her? She's hurt!'

'We ran into some monsters on the way here, she-' Link began, but Mara wasn't listening.

'Oh, you poor, poor thing. Come on, I'll take care of you,' she said with a glare at Link. His shoulders sagged, but Zelda put a hand on his arm.

'You know Mara's crazy about that horse,' she said. Link conceded this, and followed Mara into the paddock behind her house where Rhiannon and Macha were already greeting each other.

'Mara-' he began.

'I hope you've come to apologise!' she said angrily.

'It wasn't Link's fault, really,' Zelda came to Link's aid. 'He's sorry she's hurt, but we know she'll in good hands here while we're away, right?' she said, elbowing Link, who nodded frantically. Mara turned.

'You mean you're not staying?'

'Sorry Mara,' Zelda said. 'We need to go to Faron Woods. It's important. But on the bright side, that means you get to spend more time with Epona, and that's good, right?'

'I guess…' Mara said. 'Just be careful, alright?' Link nodded as she hugged them goodbye. 'I'll look after Epona for you. But don't be too long, or I might not give her back!' she joked. Link looked back one last time as Epona neighed loudly.

'I'll miss you too,' he said with a smile as he and Zelda headed for the forest.

-o-

As they approached on foot Link felt a certain amount of apprehension. He was happy to return to his forest home, but it also made him think of Fallhollow Village, which he was in no hurry to return to. He also wondered how much the forest had changed in his absence. He noticed Zelda watching him.

'Nervous?'

'A bit,' he admitted. 'You?' She nodded.

'Yeah. A bit.' Taking a deep breath, Link stepped beneath the trees once more. It all looked the same, the green leaves, the dappled shade, the bright blue sky above, but Link felt ill at ease.

'Something's different,' he whispered. Zelda nodded. Link had a strange feeling, a kind of intangible pressure, like the calm before a storm. 'Which way?' he asked, trying to ignore the sensation.

'The House of the Fallen is that way, I think,' Zelda replied. Link set off briskly in the direction she indicated. Soon he began to see fallen leaves on the ground, and lifeless trees replaced the fresh green ones.

'We're getting close!' he said happily, but Zelda looked worried.

'No, we're not. We're still a few hours away from the House.' Link frowned.

'Then why does everything look like this?'

'I think the curse is expanding. You know, the one from the House. Maybe now we freed the other dragons, Casineb is channelling all its power into this place.' Link balled his hands into fists. How dare the demon kill his forest? But he stopped and turned when he saw Zelda looking up at the sky. 'Link, we should turn back.'

'Why? We have to help Faron! We have to break the curse!' Zelda shook her head slowly.

'Look. The sun is nearly setting.'

'So?'

'So, we won't be able to break the curse before nightfall. We shouldn't be near the House after dark. We need to get away from the cursed forest.' Link was confused.

'What are you so afraid of?'

'Link, remember when we first saw the House and I told you about the fallen things there? Well, those things stay in the House in the day, but they come out at night.' Link shrugged.

'So what? We've fought monsters before.' Zelda shook her head again.

'Not like these ones. I know running away doesn't come naturally to you, but please just trust me on this. We need to get away from here, now.' Link sighed in frustration, but whatever the fallen monsters that lived in the House were, they scared Zelda, which Link knew should probably scare him too. Reluctantly, he followed Zelda back the way they had come.

-o-

Soon they stumbled across a small track, nearly completely obscured by the leaf litter.

'An animal?' Zelda asked.

'No, this is Hylian,' Link replied, excited. He remembered what Faru and Quin had said, that the other villagers had fled from Fallhollow Village but stayed in the forest. The track looked fresh, and Link hoped it would lead to his friends. 'This way!' he said, taking off through the trees. In the fading light Zelda struggled to follow him, but eventually she realised where the track was leading.

'Link! They went to that huge tree!' Link looked up, and saw that they were indeed heading straight for the massive tree where Faru had hidden Link's sword on the day of the Ceremony. Grinning, he sped up. Other tracks were now converging with the one they were one, making a large trail. Finally he burst out into the clearing, and a very welcome sight greeted his eyes. Surrounding the tree were campfires, with people gathered around them, laughing and smiling. He counted quickly, and laughed out loud with relief as he realised that all the villagers were here. Everyone had survived the fire, and they were all safe. As he stood there, a small girl caught sight of him and ran over.

'LINK!' He smiled and picked her up as she ran to him.

'Lia! You're okay!' Lia's twin sister Voxa joined her and Link hugged them both. By now the adults had seen him and they all rushed over to him, talking at full volume. Link smiled, but looked around for the one person who was missing. He caught sight of Zelda hovering at the edge of the clearing. She met his eyes and nodded, then turned away and went back into the forest. He smiled gratefully as he realised she was leaving him to let him appreciate the time with his friends alone.

He couldn't watch her for long however as he was quickly hustled over to the nearest campfire. A bowl of warm soup was placed in his hands and a blanket was draped over his shoulders. Lia sat on one knee and Voxa on the other, with the other villagers crowded around them.

'Link! Tell us what happened!' Voxa demanded, and Link happily obliged. He told his friends everything, leaving out the scariest and saddest bits for the sake of the children, who enjoyed his tale thoroughly. After he finished Link was allowed to drink his soup in peace while Jorin, the twins' mother, filled Link in on what had happened to them since he left. Her story tied in with Faru and Quin's, except that when those two had left, the other villagers had decided to stay in the forest, unwilling to leave their lifelong home. Jorin was relieved to hear that the other teenagers were safe in Hyrule Town, but everyone had been most worried about Link.

By this time the sun had set and a warm evening breeze floated through the clearing.

'So how is everyone?' Link asked. Jorin shrugged.

'As well as can be expected. Don't worry about us though. We're used to surviving in the forest, and at least we're all together.' Link nodded, but the setting sun had worried him. The trees around the clearing were all fresh and green, so Link knew the curse was still a long way from them, but he didn't know how long it would last. He had only been gone for about a week, but already the curse had spread through much of the forest. When the twins were safely asleep and no-one seemed to be listening, Link pulled Jorin to one side.

'Jorin, I don't want to worry you, but there's something you should know.' He proceeded to tell her about the curse, and the monsters that followed. 'I'm going to try to fix this tomorrow, but if I don't manage, you and the others need to get away from here. Out of the forest, I mean. Hopefully it won't come to that, but if the curse spreads much more Faron Woods won't be safe anymore. There's a town to the north, you'll be safe there.'

Link wasn't sure about sending his friends straight towards Casineb, but he still thought Hyrule Town was quite safe - and anyway, it was better than the forest. He just hoped he and Zelda would be able to break the curse before it got to his friends. He sighed as he wondered where Zelda was. He knew she was more than able to care of herself, but Link still worried. But eventually, exhaustion overtook him and he fell asleep by the embers of the dying fire.

-o-

Link woke before dawn the next morning and tried to get up without waking anyone. This proved difficult however as Lia and Voxa had snuggled up to him at some point during the night. When he finally made it upright he was greeted by Jorin, apparently the only other person awake.

'Sleep well?' she asked, and Link nodded. 'Good. I'm glad you're up early, because I think you should probably get going.' Link was alarmed by this.

'What's happened?'

'Remember that curse you were talking about? Well…' She turned and gestured to the south side of the clearing, the part closest to the House of the Fallen. Link gasped. The night before the trees had been full and green, but now they were turning orange. The ground was already littered with dead leaves. Link shook his head in disbelief. The curse had moved faster than he had thought possible. Clearly, it was accelerating.

'Jorin, this is worse than I thought. You don't have time to see if I can do this or not, you can't risk spending another night in the forest. You need to get everyone out, now.' Jorin looked saddened, but nodded.

'Alright.' Link smiled grimly and gathered his things, ready to go, but her hand on his shoulder stopped him. 'Link… You've grown into a real man now. Your parents would be honoured to have you as their son.' Link stared at her, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He had never known his parents; growing up, he had been raised by Jorin and the other adults, but it wasn't the same as real parents. The thought of them now, watching him with pride, made him indescribably happy.

'Thank you,' he whispered. Jorin smiled and hugged him.

'Go do them proud.' Link nodded, and left the clearing silently.

-o-

He set off in the approximate direction of the House of the Fallen, guided by the ever-sicker forest. Soon the trees around him were rotten and completely bare of leaves. The only sound was Link's footsteps through the rustling leaves; all animals in this part of the forest had left a long time ago. A cracking sound to his left made Link turn, sword drawn. The sun wasn't quite up yet so he was still wary of monsters. But a thick mist had gathered, wrapping round Link's legs and making it hard to see. The cracking sound came again, like something stepping on a rotten branch. Link narrowed his eyes.

'Who's there?' he yelled, half-hoping there would be no answer. But he was relieved with the one he got.

'Link? Is that you?' Zelda's voice asked.

'Zelda! Over here!' The mist parted and Zelda stood in front of Link, her sword also drawn. 'Zelda! Thank the Goddesses you're okay! I didn't know where you were.'

'Me neither! When I saw the curse advancing I went to the clearing, but I couldn't see you there. I guessed you'd already headed for the House, but I couldn't find you anywhere.'

'Well, we've found each other now,' Link said. As Zelda approached he saw she had a mark on her arm, almost like a bite. 'What happened?'

'I was attacked. And apparently red potions don't heal the wounds from these monsters.' Link gulped at the bad news.

'Well… I guess we'd better be extra careful then, right?' he said nervously. Zelda made a face.

'I suppose. Or just avoid fighting these things at all costs.' Link nodded, and they started walking towards the House.

'So… what are these things?'

'The one that got me was a Deku Baba. They're carnivorous plants, very aggressive. They best way to kill them is to slice through their stem, but that means getting close, within range of the teeth, and… well, you can see how that worked out.' Link nodded.

'And what else? What are the terrifying monsters that come out after dark?'

'There are Bokoblins here-' Link scoffed.

'Bokoblins? They're nothing to be afraid of!' But Zelda shook her head.

'These ones are. They're like… zombies or something. They take a lot of hits to knock down, and after a while they just get back up again. They can't be defeated, you have to run away from them, but that's not always possible.' Link nodded.

'So carnivorous plants and zombie Bokoblins. I'm starting to see why you avoid this place.' Zelda smiled grimly, then stopped.

'Link! Did you see that?'

'See what?' Link asked, alarmed.

'Over there! I saw something green moving.' Link peered through the thick fog.

'I'm not seeing anything…' he said slowly, but drew his sword nonetheless. 'Wait here,' he instructed Zelda. He crept cautiously forward through the trees, waiting tensely for a glimpse of the mysterious creature. He doubted it was friendly. Suddenly a green blur rushed past him, knocking him to the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet, but his assailant was nowhere to be seen. He heard an angelic laugh behind him, and spun round, sword raised to strike. But he nearly dropped it in surprise when he saw who it was. A glowing green light hovered in front of his eyes, giggling.

'Tam!' he said in relief. 'You frightened the life out of me!' She giggled harder.

'Sorr-ee. I just wanted a bit of fun! It's been so boring here since you and Zelda left.' Zelda, Link thought, remembering his friend back in the fog. It surrounded him, so that he had no idea which direction he had come from. He gave up trying to see through it, then looked back at Tam, glowing brightly. Hmm, he thought.

'Tam, I may have an idea,' he said with a grin. 'How about a race?'

-o-

'Hurry up!' Tam yelled, running off between the trees. She was in her child form now, making her an easy-to-follow beacon. Link laughed as he tried to keep up with her. Her glowing shape made the perfect guide through the fog. Soon they were back at the clearing where Link had left Zelda. The two girls hugged each other while Link tried to catch his breath. As he did so he caught sight of the sky, where the sun shone brightly. However, its rays did nothing to disperse the fog. Link caught Zelda's eye, and she nodded.

'The fog is part of the curse from the House,' she said. By this time Tam had calmed down somewhat. In her sprite form she flew over to Link and orbited his head at high speed.

'Where are we going? What are we going to do?' she asked excitedly. Link laughed.

'We are going somewhere very dangerous to do something very risky. You are going to stay here and be good.' Tam pouted.

'I don't see why you two get to have all the fun. I'm coming too!' Link exchanged a look with Zelda.

'Tam, it's too dangerous. We just don't want you to get hurt,' she said gently. Tam huffed.

'That's a stupid excuse! You just don't want me to come with you because you think I'll spoil everything for you!' She looked dejected and her glow faded slightly. Link looked at Zelda again, who gave him a How bad could it be? look. Link sighed.

'Alright. You can come with us.' Tam immediately regained her energy.

'Yippee! Come on, the House is this way!' she said, shooting off between the trees, leaving Link and Zelda to race after her.

-o-

Before long they stood on the bridge above the House of the Fallen, Tam hovering above Link's shoulder. The fog gathered in the valley below them, so only the tip of the House could be seen. The pressure Link had felt the day before was back, and the thick air deadened all sound.

'How do we get down there?' Link asked. Zelda shrugged.

'Not sure. We could jump, but there could be anything down there in that fog. We could land right in the middle of a bunch of Deku Babas.'

'I'll go first then!' Tam said happily, dropping down through the mist.

'No!' Link and Zelda yelled simultaneously, but Tam vanished from their sight. But then her voice floated up from below.

'Um, guys? It's not that bad down here, really. Just some weird rocks.' Link sighed in relief, then considered how to join the sprite. Zelda was, as usual, way ahead of him. She pulled out one of her clawshots and shot it into the edge of the bridge, then jumped over the edge. Link could hear the chain creaking as she disappeared into the haze below, but soon he heard the thump of her feet hitting solid ground.

'Are you coming, Link?' she yelled up.

'Give me a minute!' Link muttered to himself. He did the same as Zelda and soon his friends reappeared as he descended. Releasing his clawshot, he fell the last few feet and looked cautiously around him. As Tam had said, the valley floor was deserted apart from several piles of curiously shaped rocks. He stepped closer to one pile and examined it carefully. It looked almost like…

'Is it just me, or do these rocks look like bones?' he said aloud. Zelda and Tam joined him.

'You're right, they do a bit. I wonder what from?' Tam asked. Zelda was thoughtful.

'Looks like a monster. Well, whatever it is, at least it can't hurt us anymore.' But she spoke too soon as suddenly purple smoke billowed through the skeleton, and as they watched in horror it rose into the air, reforming the shape it had once had in life. The smoke gathered more thickly, and when it dispersed a Bokoblin appeared, but not like the ones Link had seen before. This one was a dark pink, with a tuft of white hair and one glowing yellow eye. It didn't carry a weapon, instead stretching its skeletal hands out towards the trio, tongue sticking out and moaning as it walked.

'Eek!' Tam cried and flew up to Link's shoulder, hovering close to his head for protection.

'Zelda? What… is that?' Link asked, dreading the answer.

'It's a cursed Bokoblin!' Zelda said. 'You can't fight it! Run!' Link obeyed instantly, following Zelda up the valley to the relative safety of the House. But the other piles of bones began to reanimate as they passed by. The lurching totter of the Bokoblins was deceptively fast, and one soon caught up to Link. He nearly fell as in leapt onto his back, trying to bite at his head. Tam flew from her perch on Link's shoulder straight into the Bokoblin's face, momentarily disorientating it and allowing Link to throw it off. As it fell he drew his sword and stabbed it through, knocking it onto its back. But mere moments after it hit the ground it picked itself back up and began lurching towards Link again. As he stood in shock Zelda grabbed his arm.

'I told you! They keep coming back to life!' she yelled as she dragged him up the slope. Suddenly the dark entrance of the House of the Fallen loomed out of the mist, and for a moment Link faltered. But the moans behind him told him he had no choice, so he and Zelda ran inside, Tam following. They stopped just beyond the entrance, but turning Link saw to his horror that the Bokoblins showed no signs of stopping. The nearest was just about to enter the House when a wall of stone shot out of the ceiling, blocking the entrance.

Link, Zelda and Tam all sighed in relief, but stopped as they realised they were now sealed inside.

-o-

A/N: Yay, Tam's back! I think she's probably my favourite character in this story. Her or Quin.

Oh, and remember those Bullbos from before? Well, keep remembering them. They may return...