Chapter Ten

Search for The Great Fairy

I awoke feeling a little sick. Perhaps the cold weather from last night and the skimpy clothes I had worn didn't put up much of a fight against the flu I could feel coming. I groaned drowsily as I unwillingly got out of my warm bed. I felt restless and even more exhausted than I had been before. It took me half of the night just to fall asleep, and once I had; I was constantly reawakened by the slightest noise.

I had been jumpy and uneasy ever since The Great Fairy's words. Was Hyrule really in danger again? And if so, what was the threat this time? Surely Link would save Hyrule and restore its peace. He could do anything... couldn't he?

I rolled over to see him just entering the room. He carried packed lunches and several canteens of water along with a few heavy cloaks that would hopefully shelter us a bit from the wind I could hear howling outside. He had slept on his top bunk and I had slept on the mattress on the floor. We didn't even mention his confession or my ridiculous outburst of emotions. Between us, neither of those things ever happened.

'Change into these,' he said gruffly, not meeting my gaze. 'It's cold outside. We're leaving as soon as you're decent.' He stacked the items of clothing on the desk beside the door before he left the room without a parting glance.

I grumbled involuntarily to myself as I started to change into the winter outfit he had left me. I wanted to have a bath, but after listening to the wild wind I shuddered at the thought of just how cold it must be out there. Once I was dressed in my thick pants and heavy cloak, I took a deep breath and bravely stepped out into the cold.

Link was with Epona and Apples outside his house. He was attaching warm-looking saddles to their backs. I didn't know if they were designed to keep the horses themselves warm, or their riders, but either way they looked comfortable. He saw me approaching and he quickly mounted Epona. 'Follow me,' he said as he impatiently kicked his horse to a start.

I tried to ignore the cold breeze and my still-sore muscles as I climbed aboard Apples. I petted the back of her neck soothingly before heading off in the direction Link had gone. As I was passing the Ordon Spring, I poked my head around the corner to check if The Great Fairy had returned. I sighed when the spring came up as empty as Link's expression while he waited for me at the bridge.

Without saying a word, he turned and continued the journey. He seemed very annoyed that I had fallen behind, so I made a mental note to stay on his heels for the rest of the journey.

We passed the sleeping Coro yet again and I only then noticed just how early it was. It looked like it was almost dawn, not even six in the morning yet. No wonder I was so dreadfully tired.

The journey was silent and boring as we headed to Kakariko Village. I was frustrated at mine and Link's attitudes. Why did we have to be so childish? Was the lack of conversation and social interaction as annoying to him as it was to me?

When we finally reached Kakariko it was about eight AM. As I dismounted Apples and allowed her to drink from the empty spring, my stomach grumbled.

'What are you doing?' Link asked, frustrated, as I began to head for the Inn.

'I'm hungry. I think I deserve some breakfast,' I snapped back at him, continuing my stride.

Link and Epona were beside me in an instant. He brought his horse to a trot as they walked alongside me. 'We didn't come here for breakfast. The Great Fairy obviously isn't here so we must move on to Lanyuru's spring,' he said as he scowled down at me.

I returned the unfriendly expression as I reached the Inn. 'Well, unlike you, I haven't had any breakfast. So just relax, it will only take a minute.'

He cussed under his breath as he turned Epona around and headed back for the spring.

I gritted my teeth in anger as I walked into the warm Inn. Why was Link suddenly such a jerk? Couldn't he at least try making an effort?

I could smell the familiar scent of vegetable and chicken soup brewing from the kitchen and I headed over there quickly, eager to end my hunger pains. To my surprise the kitchen was not empty. A large and intimidating Goron stood in front of the big cauldron, mixing the soup with a wooden spoon. The sound of my entrance made him turn around in surprise.

'Oh, um, hello,' I said, feeling out of place.

'Hello,' the Goron said, a little taken aback.

'Err, would it be okay if I got some of that soup? I'm on a rather long journey and I haven't eaten anything yet.'

The Goron turned and immediately began filling up an empty bottle with the soup. When he turned back around to hand me the bottle, he was smiling. 'You're the Princess, aren't you?'

I nodded as I took the glass bottle from him. I unscrewed the lid and took a long gulp. The soup itself was average, but the fact that I was so hungry made it taste at least ten times better. 'Mmm, yum. Thank you,' I said after I wiped my mouth. 'This is great.'

The Goron's smile widened. 'It's an honour to make soup for the Princess of Hyrule.'

I smiled weakly at him. 'Well, I better head off now. Thanks again,' I said as I held up the soup and began to walk back the way I came. I took another large mouthful of the liquid.

I closed the door and shivered in the wind, heading towards Link, Epona, and Apples in the spring. The two horses didn't seem very bothered by the cold. They lapped at the water eagerly, not at all afraid to get wet.

Link, on the other hand, was standing inside the small cave that led up to the top of the spring, his arms were huddled around his chest and he was shivering uncontrollably.

As I passed him I thrust the remaining soup into his chest. 'Drink this, you big baby. It'll warm you up.' I climbed on top of Apples once she was done drinking and watched with a satisfactory smile as Link downed the contents of the glass bottle.

'Ugh, I hate chicken,' he complained as he tossed the bottle to the side, letting it splash into the water of the spring. He mounted Epona but before he took off again he turned to me and smiled warily. 'But thanks, it did warm me up a little.'

I nodded at him in acknowledgement and then we headed out the way we came and towards the Lanyuru Province. But as we turned right at the gorge, avoiding crossing it, Link halted Epona's gallop and stared intently at the ground.

I pulled roughly on Apples' reigns to get her to stop alongside him. 'What are you doing?' I asked in annoyance. 'I almost crashed right into you!'

He held his hand up to shush me as he slid down Epona and took a closer look at the ground.

'What's your problem? First you get up at me for wanting to stop to get breakfast and here you are smelling the flowers?'

Link ignored me as he bent and retrieved something off the ground. He examined it closely before holding it up for me to see. 'Look,' he said softly. A golden bug lay gently in the palm of his hand. It looked cold and scared.

'It's beautiful,' I said, momentarily mesmerised by its soft golden glow. 'But so what? We have to get to the Lanyuru Spring!' I quickly snapped out of my trance.

'There's another one,' Link noticed as he tucked the bug into his pocket. He began to pick up several of the golden bugs. 'There are heaps!' he exclaimed as he continued to grab them all and put them in his pockets.

I watched with a frustrated frown as he made his way across the gorge, stopping every few seconds to save another bug. I climbed off Apples and grabbed both hers and Epona's reigns, walking them over to where Link stood.

He had just reached the wall on the far left side of the area. There was an opening to a cave there, and as the entrance extended deeper into the mountain, it grew darker, making it easier to see the line of golden bugs that continued on throughout the trail.

Link glanced at me and then we simultaneously entered, consumed by curiosity. We trekked deeper into the cave, the bugs providing the light that we needed to see with. Link grabbed them all and tucked them in his roomy pockets.

Eventually we came to a stop at the end of the cavern, and just as it seemed like there were no more bugs left, one last golden grasshopper leapt past us. Link and I both turned and chased after it. I felt like a little kid, chasing bugs around as if I hadn't a care in the world.

Link bent to grab the bug once it was cornered, but as he did so his head smacked against someone else's.

He groaned in pain and jumped back, instinctively drawing his sword, ready to strike.

I saw as a person appeared from the blackness, clutching at their head. 'Ow!' It was the voice of a little girl.

Link sheathed his sword just as quickly as he had drawn it; he seemed to have recognized the voice. 'Agitha?'

The girl who owned the voice stepped forward so that we could dimly see her. 'Link!' She said in shock. 'How did you find me?' Her voice reminded me of honey on a summer's day. She sounded so young and innocent. She gave me hope.

Without warning the little girl ran over to Link and hugged his legs. 'Oh, Link! Something terrible has happened!'

'What is it, Agitha?' He asked as he kneeled to her level.

'My bugs!' She wailed. 'They've escaped, all twenty four of them!' It sounded as if she was crying.

I felt myself frown. Her bugs have escaped?

'Calm down, Agitha,' Link said gently as he released her hold off his body. 'Look.' He moved his hand to his pocket and began to place all of the bugs out in front of the little girl. I counted them as they appeared from his hand. There were exactly twenty four of them.

The little girl gasped and dropped to her knees beside Link. 'Oh, thank the Goddesses!' She crooned excitedly. 'Now the Royal Bug Ball can continue! Thank you so much, Link!' She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug.

He hugged her back but pulled away quickly. 'Agitha, what are you doing in here?'

The girl looked up sheepishly at him. 'Well, I had to leave Castle Town because everyone there was in danger.'

I perked up, wondering if this danger was the same as the one that The Great Fairy had spoken of.

Link's thoughts seemed to echo mine. 'Danger? What danger? What happened at Castle Town?'

'Well, about a week ago, there was all this noise and scary stuff happening in the castle so the guards evacuated everyone. And as we were all leaving, the castle exploded! Like, nothing was left. Everyone was scared and the guards told us to go to Lake Hylia.'

I pouted my bottom lip, upset that this was not new news. Agitha was simply talking about the battle Link had fought with Ganondorf, when the castle had been destroyed.

'If you were told to go to Lake Hylia, why are you here?' Link asked with the sort of disapproved tone a father would use towards his naughty daughter.

I could see Agitha blush from the light of the golden bugs. 'I never liked Lake Hylia. The moist air isn't very healthy for most of my pets. Golden bugs prefer dark and warm places, so I came here. But then this morning they were all gone!'

Link sighed, standing up again. 'Is everyone still at Lake Hylia?'

Agitha nodded. 'I'd assume so.'

'Good,' he said as he turned to me. 'You hear that, Zelda? In no time Castle Town will be back to normal.'

Agitha looked over at me, only then noticing my presence. She gasped when she saw me. 'Omigosh! You're Princess Zelda!'

I smiled slightly at her reaction. 'Hello, Agitha.'

She flushed tomato red. 'I'm a Princess too, you know?'

'Oh really?' I asked as Link rolled his eyes.

She nodded excitedly. 'I'm the Princess of Bugs.'

'Well, from one Princess to another; it's nice to meet you,' I said warmly, following along with her little game.

She beamed at me, her teeth white in the darkness. 'Pleased to meet you.' She gave me a little curtsy.

'Okay, come on,' Link said as he headed back for the entrance. 'Castle Town is fine and you can return there, Agitha. Grab your bugs and let's go.'

The little Princess obeyed and collected her bugs, placing them all in a sort of picnic basket which was slung around her arm before following us out into the open. The wind had died down a little bit, to my relief. I loosened the knot on my cloak slightly.

Link mounted Epona and he looked down at Agitha. 'You can make it back alone, right?'

She laughed; the sound was like melting butter. 'Of course I can. And besides, if anything were to happen, my bugs would protect me,' she said, tapping the basket.

Link smiled half-heartedly at her. 'I'll see you soon. Take care.'

Agitha waved at him before turning to me. 'I guess I'll see you again, too?' She asked me, her crystal blue eyes hopeful.

I knelt to her level and smiled. 'Whenever I'm in Castle Town, I'll drop by for some Princess activities.'

She grinned at me, pulling me into a hug. 'Bye!' She called out as I climbed Apples.

Both Link and I waved to her before steering our horses towards Lake Hylia. 'Well, at least we know where everyone has fled off to,' I said with the hopes of starting a conversation as we rode away from Agitha and her cave.

'All it means is that there's one less thing we need to worry about right now,' Link said, his tone ending the conversation. We rode in silence again until we reached the entrance to Lake Hylia.

Link and I both dismounted our steeds and then began walking towards a small building with a sign that read "Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fascination".

As Link opened the door and we stepped inside, my nose crinkled up in confusion as I saw several cuccos walking around on the bottom floor. What is this place?

Link casually walked past the clucking cuccos and towards the far right side of the room where a man who looked like a clown was standing. There was a sort of jumping point where I imagined people would dive off and land in the water from. Was Link taking me bungee jumping? What was going on here?

'Well HI there, partner!' The clown said happily as Link and I approached. 'Welcome to Falbi's Flight-by-Fowl. What have we got here? TWO customers? Oh my how lovely!'

Link wordlessly reached into his pocket at pulled out his wallet. He handed the strange clown two red rupees.

The clown clapped his hands together excitedly and skipped off to the side of the platform, leaving the jumping point open for me and Link.

Link turned and grabbed one of the cuccos before walking to the edge of the platform. He twisted to face me as he held the cucco above his head. 'Grab one and follow me.' Without another word, he leapt off the platform and began floating down into the lake with the cucco carrying him.

I gasped. 'I can't do that!' I confessed to the clown who was watching Link like I was.

He turned to me and smiled a big grin. 'Sure you can, partner! Grab a cucco and give it a go!'

I stepped onto the platform, watching as Link landed in the water. He fell a few metres away from where he had jumped from; the wind had pushed him a little. I gulped. 'No, I can't.'

The clown walked closer to me. 'We don't give refunds,' he said, and his voice was dramatically less happy.

'That's fine but isn't there another way into the lake other than this?'

The phony smile returned back to the clown's lips. 'Not unless you have warping abilities!' He laughed at his own joke, where as I frowned. Well, that's not impossible, you stupid clown.

'Now,' he said once he had controlled his chuckles. 'Are you going to grab a cucco or not?'

I shook my head. 'No.'

The clown shrugged. 'Well then I hope you land in the water.' I felt something shove me roughly against my back and then before I knew it I was sailing through the air, heading towards the lake.

I screamed the whole way down, completely terrified.

I landed in the water with a loud and painful splash, and I quickly resurfaced, coughing profusely and struggling to catch my breath. I heard a slight chuckle and then a hand appeared in front of my face. I looked up and saw Link smirking that familiar smirk at me. I grimaced as he pulled me up onto the bridge he stood on. I was dripping wet and freezing.

Once I was safely on, I looked up at the clown and glared at him. He smiled and waved down at me before skipping back off into the cabin. 'That son of a-' I started to say under my breath but Link ushered me forward towards the Spirit Spring. I grumbled in anger under my breath until we reached the end of the bridge. Both Link and I stopped as we saw a large crowd of people dotting the grassy plains of Lake Hylia.

There had to be everyone from Castle Town here! Thank the Goddesses they were all okay. I had started to worry that they had been captured or imprisoned somewhere.

'Well, we found everyone,' Link said in a bleak voice. 'Do you want to go tell them that it's okay to head back to Castle Town?'

I nodded. 'But you're coming with me. Like you said ages ago, the Castle Town folk are sometimes nut jobs and I don't want them to get too excited and tackle me when they realize I'm their Princess.'

Link rolled his eyes but followed me up to where the majority of them were. 'Hey!' He called out once we were within ear shot. Most of them turned to see who had made the noise, and their jaws dropped once they saw who it was.

'It's the Hero!' A woman shrieked from the back of the crowd.

Several people began shouting excitedly amongst themselves while others hooted out to Link.

'Praise the Hero!' People cheered.

By now everyone in Lake Hylia had their eyes on us, and the group that resigned on the top area of the land began hollering, too.

'Hey!' Link shouted again, capturing everyone's attention. 'Head back to Castle Town, everything is fine there!'

'Hey, look, it's the Princess!' A man shouted from the top area, ignoring Link.

'Where've ya been, darl?' Another called out.

'We've missed you!'

'So you and the Hero, eh?'

'Give us a kiss, c'mon!'

'Come and have a drink!'

'Don't be shy!'

'Be quiet!' Link boomed, silencing everyone. 'We don't have time for this nonsense. Head back to Castle Town. Now!'

No one moved, still shocked from Link's outburst.

'That's an order!' I finished for him, my authority more powerful than his intimidation.

The people slowly began gathering their things and within ten minutes they had all left their camping areas and were lining up to get back to the bridge. Several people murmured as they passed me and Link. I could have sworn I heard someone say that we were married. I rolled my eyes, sighing at how idiotic some people were these days. I was busy scanning the crowd, feeling their eyes on me and listening to their murmured voices as they gossiped about me and their Hero, so I didn't hear the approaching footsteps until they were right beside me.

'Well, it if isn't Link,' a female said with a very friendly voice. A little too friendly for my liking.

I turned and saw a woman around the age of thirty leaning close to Link as she grinned. I tried not to notice her bulging chest and she leaned forward, shamelessly exposing the top of her bra as she did so.

Link averted his eyes, too, staring only at her face. He smiled a genuine smile at her. 'Good to see you again, Telma.'

The woman's grin grew wider. 'How's Ilia doing, honey?'

Link nodded. 'She's good, her memory has completely restored.'

'Oh, that's lovely. How nice of you to have come all this way just to tell us that we're safe to return back to Castle Town.' If I wasn't mistaken, I could have sworn that this lady, who was at least ten years older than Link, was boldly flirting with him.

He simply smiled. 'It was no trouble. Zelda and I were just passing through,' he lied smoothly.

Telma turned her gaze away from him and towards me. She bowed her head. 'What an honour to meet you, You're Highness. My name is Telma.'

A smiled a reserved smile, a little wary about this woman. 'The pleasure is all mine.'

She smiled at me once more before turning back to Link. 'So, are you just going to disappear back to your little village now?' She asked with a hint of disapproval.

He shook his head. 'There's some errands we need to take care of,' he said as he gestured to me.

'Oh.' Telma's eyes widened. Something flashed across her face but before I could put a finger on just what emotion had passed her features, it disappeared. 'Well then I won't keep you any longer,' she said with a playful tone, implying that Link and I wanted to be left alone.

I suppressed the urge to wrinkle my nose. Why did everyone suddenly have the idea that the Hero and I were together?

Link opened his mouth to say something but Telma cut him off. 'Well, if you're ever in the area and need a place to stay, or perhaps you just want to kick your feet up and have a drink, stop by my bar, honey.' She turned to me and bowed once more. 'You're Majesty,' she said before waving to Link and heading off with the rest of the Castle Town folk.

Once they had all been shot up through Fyer's cannon, Link and I headed back towards the Spirit Spring. I decided not to ask any questions about Telma; Link didn't seem to be in the mood for a conversation, anyway.

I guess we were both expecting the spring to be empty, because when we got there and The Great Fairy was missing, we simply sighed in exhaustion and headed back the way we came.

We stopped to sit outside the spring, worn out. I wrapped my arms around my knees, grateful as the sun warmed me up a little bit. I was surprised it had even made an appearance today. It must have broken through the clouds while we were sorting out the Castle Town folk.

'Now what do we do?' I sighed to Link, who was scratching the back of his neck absentmindedly.

'I have no idea. Got any ideas that could help us solve this riddle?'

I thought hard, not wanting to have spent all this time searching for answers only to come up empty handed and then just give up. I was determined to find what we sought.

'I guess you've got nothing,' Link said impatiently as he got up and began walking towards Fyer's cannon. 'Hurry up. If we're quick, we might just be able to make it back to Ordon before dinner time.'

I looked up at the sky. It was about three in the afternoon. I doubted we'd make it back in time for supper. As I stared up at the sky I saw a swarm of birds flying around near the Gerudo Desert look out.

Then it hit me.

'Wait, Link!' I called out to him.

He turned and faced me slowly, tired and frustrated. 'What?'

'We could go to the desert! The Sages must know about this, I could ask them for their assistance.'

He paused for a minute, mulling it over. 'Hey, that's not a bad idea,' he said, stepping closer to where I stood. 'And while you're talking to the Sages I could go see if The Great Fairy is in the Cave of Ordeals, where I first found her.'

I nodded eagerly. 'We could find the answers we've been looking for!'

'Come on,' Link said as he started for the canon.

'Wait... Where are we going?' I suddenly remembered that without Midna, getting to and from the desert would be impossible.

'Just follow me,' Link said, guessing what I was stalling over.

'But...' I wanted to argue but he was already rushing to Fyer. Once he got to the old man he spoke briefly with him and then paid him a red rupee. Fyer chuckled and ushered the two of us into the canon.

Dread etched my features as I stiffly entered the opening. This thing was used to get back to the bridge above the lake, what were we doing in here when we needed to get to the desert? 'Link, what's going on?' I whispered harshly as the door locked behind us.

'Just... Try to relax. The first time is always the hardest.'

'Wha-' I wanted to finish my sentence but before I could even catch my breath, the platform under mine and Link's feet dropped and we were shot out of the canon, headed straight for the Gerudo Desert.

I screamed much louder than I had before, even more frightened.

Both Link and I landed in a heap on the hot desert sand. It seemed as if the cold weather had been left behind with the lake.

The wind was stronger here than it was in the lake and the sand grazed at my skin as I struggled to get back up onto my feet.

Link was already making his way to the lone boar that seemed to be waiting for us. He didn't seem bothered by the heat. He was probably used to it.

I coughed and choked on the hair that had gotten stuck in my throat and I almost gagged. 'That was the scariest thing I've ever done!' I exclaimed as I gingerly made my way towards Link and the intimidating boar.

'Just hurry up,' he snapped, his patience wearing off. 'It's getting late and who knows how long it's going to take to reach the Sages?' So for the third time today we travelled in silence. Except the only difference was that we both rode on the same boar, and we trekked through the desert instead of across the grassy plains of Hyrule.

It took about forty minutes for us to reach the place where the Cave of Ordeals was hidden. Link started to dismount the boar, but he turned and glanced at me. He sighed as he examined my terrified expression. 'I'm guessing you won't be able to ride this towards Arbiter's Grounds?'

I shook my head quickly. 'I don't know how.' That wasn't the only thing I was worried about... Arbiter's Grounds was used as a prison for those who tried to steal dominion over the Sacred Realm. It was a place where those who disobeyed the laws of the Goddesses themselves were sent; easily the most evil people in all of Hyrule had once been behind those walls. Link was nuts if he thought I was going to go through there alone!

He sighed heavily, adjusting himself on the animal before he started to take us in the direction we needed to go.

I felt useless, wishing I wasn't so wimpy. Why couldn't I be born with some cool power like Midna? Why did she have the ability to warp across Hyrule and I didn't?

It took about twenty five minutes to reach the grounds, and when we did, both Link and I were sweaty and thirsty. Our bodies were confused with the sudden change of climate, it seemed. 'I don't suppose there's any water in this place?' I asked in a raspy voice.

Link shook his head but removed something from his pocket. It was red potion. 'It's not water but that's one of the ingredients in it.' He tossed the jar to me, and although I didn't like the strong medicine taste that potions gave off, I was so thirsty I would have drunk anything. I downed the liquid in one gulp and then felt as if I had enough energy to do what I had to be done.

I followed Link through the welcomely cool and yet unwelcomely dangerous Arbiter's Grounds. It took us about ten minutes to reach the Sages' quarters, and when we did, they appeared almost instantly.

'We knew you would come,' one of them said as they gestured for us to sit.

'Well then it would have been nice if you met us at the entrance,' Link said hoarsely, obviously extremely thirsty and even more so agitated.

One of the Sages closed his eyes and covered his hands under the sleeve of his robe. He remained still for a moment and then when he removed his hands from the cloth, they both held two canteens of cold, pure water.

Link gasped at the sight and almost ran over to the Sage. The Sage gently handed Link the glass bottles and he downed them both quickly. Once he was done he wiped his mouth and thanked the Sage gratefully, taking back his smart remark from earlier.

The Sage bowed his head, handing Link two more bottles of water. 'It is the least we can do. Now, Hero, go to the Cave of Ordeals to search for The Great Fairy.'

Link took the bottles out of the Sage's hands and started for the exit, but before he could leave completely he turned back around and addressed the Sage. 'Do you know if she will be there?'

The Sage took a moment to answer, but then bowed his head once again. 'Go search for her, Hero.'

Link raised his eyebrows in confusion but he didn't argue. He turned and left the chamber, and to my surprise he didn't even glance at the empty mirror container like I was expecting him to. Perhaps he had too much on his mind to reminisce about Midna?

I turned towards the Sages once Link had disappeared. 'She won't be there, will she?'

The Sage shook his head slowly, handing me a bottle of cool water. I almost snatched the canteen from him, still achingly thirsty.

'Princess, sit down,' another Sage said, and with a wave of his ghostly hand, a small desk and table appeared in front of where I stood, much like the desk I had used when I was still a student to these Sages.

I downed half of the contents of my bottle as I took a seat in the ancient yet comfortable chair, ridding my tongue of the foul aftertaste red potion gave off.

'It has been many years since your last lesson, Princess,' one of the Sages said as they all formed a semi circle around my desk.

I nodded. The last time I had been here for learning purposes was when I was Link's age. It was now almost three years later. I felt as if I was going back in time a little bit.

The Sages moved closer to where I sat, and one of them reached over and lifted up my hands. He closed his eyes and my right hand, the one with the Triforce Symbol glowed at his touch. He opened his eyes again before gently placing both of my hands back on the desk. 'Princess, your Triforce Piece can feel the evil approaching, just like we can. As the weather gets colder, and as your Triforce Piece glows more prominently, the closer the evil has become. That is how you will know how much time you have left. Use this time wisely to help Link save Hyrule once more.'

'What are we fighting against? And what are they after?'

The Sages looked at one another briefly before moving away from where I sat. One of the seven Sages looked me directly in the eye. 'This threat has been on the side lines for a long time, Princess. It watched as Link grew more powerful each day, and it saw when he was finally strong enough to rid this realm of Ganondorf. It knows what to expect, and just like the Hero has come a long way; it has, too.'

'So it's not Ganondorf or Zant?' I asked warily.

All of the Sages shook their heads. 'What we are dealing with is far more powerful than those two men combined.'

I felt my eyes grow wide. Stronger than Ganondorf and Zant combined? How will we ever be able to stop it?

'What do we do?' I asked hopelessly.

The Sages looked at one another, uneasy. 'There's nothing you can do; it has already become too strong. Hyrule is doomed.'