Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, locations, or elements that are found in other Nintendo Zelda games.

Laying in his bed, Link smiled as he felt the warmth of the glowing sun come through his window. It was a blissful moment after a night of uninterrupted sleep, but it was fleeting. He had been acting the previous two days without thinking, and only just remembered what he did the previous night.

I really messed that one up, Link thought, realizing he held Sahasrahla against his will. He tried justifying it to himself, as it was only to get answers to questions he had never asked before. Now that he knew his destiny was rapidly approaching as the Hero of Time, and with a little reassurance from a goddess, he was more curious about the world around him. For too long, he took for granted having someone who knew a United Hyrule, as well as one of the best fighters in the country. Link tossed and turned as his thoughts swirled around. Realizing it was time to get up, he threw off the sheets and stepped onto the wooden floor.

"Ow..." he uttered automatically. He couldn't remember why he was hurting, until he recalled the fight he was in by the cabin of Ingo Boratti.

And I messed that up too, Link thought when he noticed how insensitive he was to Aryll for the loss of her significant other. As good as his day started, it had already turned in the opposite direction. He hoped he could have just a plain, ordinary day, the one he was tired of just two days before.

Feeling his stomach rumble, Link changed into his daily wardrobe - white pants, a brown long-sleeved shirt, and green cloak on top - and started planning his day. He didn't have any food, and so he was hoping he could apologize over breakfast at Sahasrahla's. Although their meal went fine without incident, he just wanted to clarify that the relationship was fine between the old man and student.

When he stepped outside, he took a breath of fresh air and headed toward Sahasrahla's. He was glad that there were no eyes glaring at him, unlike the previous day, and he strolled through the village, casually listening to the passerby's gossip.

"...it was that drunk who lit the town on fire."

"No, I'm telling you, the goddesses caused that fire two nights ago! I better go worship more often..."

"What an unusually warm day today..."

"...and that party this year, for 50 years of independence, should be magnificent!"

Link smiled, listening to the townspeople. He didn't mind telling them what had been going on, such as with the fire, since even he didn't fully know what happened. Link was merely a bystander, and although one day he would be setting the course of history, today he had the chance of enjoying himself without scrutiny of the populace. His stomach grumbled again, and he was glad he was almost at Sahasrahla's house.

"Hey Link, hold up!" a voice called out. Link spun around to see Bouer standing cheerfully. Link wasn't exactly thrilled to see him, since he had shown off his magic abilities in front of the boy, and he wasn't sure whether he could trust him.

"Oh, hi there. I can't talk now, I'm sorry," Link replied, trying to avoid him. He turned around and continued walking toward Sahasrahla's.

"No, it's just that I saw you last night with the queen. Is it true?" Bouer shouted out. Link paused and felt his heart plummet. He was terrified that he let the information slip, how Ambi was not the rightful queen.

"Umm, I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"You know you're a terrible liar, right?"

Link felt dejected for a moment, trying to come up with a proper reply, at least until he looked at the young boy's smiling face. Link let out a laugh, unsure what was so funny, but he found comfort in his company. "I'll catch up with you later. I'm meeting my friend for breakfast," Link noted, reaching the door of Sahasrahla's hut and pulling on the door. It was locked, and he was puzzled. He pulled several times before Bouer spoke up.

"I think I saw him leaving town this morning," the red-haired boy remarked. Link shrugged and walked away from the hut. Sarsa could handle himself, he thought.

"Yea, I was just stopping here on the way to the house of another friend," Link spoke, planning to go to Aryll's instead, although he relished at the thought of her cooking.

"Well, I'll walk with you, but we gotta be careful. Can you believe there was such a sudden death yesterday in a small town like this? Where I come from, the police would be all over it," Bouer spoke casually.

"Why? What is police?"

"Wow, this country is backwards! And I could tell you weren't kidding how you didn't know what police are. They enforce the law of the land, like the soldiers keeping order."

"Wait, so you are from Hyrule then, right?" Link asked, creating a pause in the conversation. The two strolled toward Aryll's house. Link was quite curious about the boy talking to him. It finally sunk in how Bouer was not from Arcadia, that he was from Hyrule. All of Link's teachings from school were that Hyrule and Arcadia were bitter enemies, with little communication between the two nations.

"And you've been all across your country to end up here?"

"Yea... it's funny how things work out, leaving Hyrule for this... so, you're meeting up with Aryll, aren't you?"

"Yea, we were going to have breakfast," Link mentioned, noticing how he was at Aryll's house. Like Sahasrahla's, the hut was quiet and dark, and there was no sign of anyone inside.

"Looks like it's a bust. Do you want to grab something that Nayru provided? The goddesses provide the best food after all," Bouer replied.

Link was surprised how intuitive Bouer was for how young he appeared, but was pleased to have someone tagging along with him, particularly to get some food. With Kafei and Malon out of the picture, Link was glad someone else around his age to keep him company. Feeling more keen to continue socializing with Bouer, Link responded, "sure, that works for me. What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, just follow me." Bouer started to walk quickly, gradually increasing to a run. "Think you can keep up?" he shouted to Link.

"Oh, it's on!" Link yelled back, running with a lethal vengeance to keep up with the boy.

The two dodged the bewildered faces of the villagers, making their way to the outskirts of town.

Twice Link nearly stumbled as he lost his footing, focusing on where the boy was running instead of what was at his feet. He couldn't believe how fast the boy ran, almost as if he had Farore's winds at his back. He was equally impressed with how agile the boy was, as Link was having difficulty with the pathway, littered with broken pots and torn shrubs.

Link tried his hardest not to be outrun by the kid, putting every effort to keep up. He was momentarily distracted as his cloak fluttered in a particularly strong wind gust. In the process, he lost track of where Bouer was, but he finally realized where ended up; he was the abandoned farm on the outskirts of town, where his adventures of the past few days started.

So that's what he meant by what Nayru provided, Link thought. He reasoned to himself that as the barn was abandoned, the food was up for grabs, and after his intense run, he could eat anything he could find. However, as he looked around for Bouer, a glimmer of silver caught his eye.

Ignoring his desire for food and water, Link walked over to the shiny object. He let out a laugh when he realized it was only his silver arrows. He forgot about it once he realized Torrhes was on fire.

Not wanting to lose one of his better birthday gifts, he promptly picked it up and stuffed it into his green cloak. He looked around for the matching bow, and was slightly worried someone else might've taken it, since he always felt special when he used it.

Link made his way to a very shallow stream and was relieved to find it sitting in the grass. He picked it up and placed it in his cloak, next to the arrows.

"There you are! I was wondering when you were going to catch up," Bouer remarked, which startled Link. He hadn't heard his companion walk up behind him. Link bent his hands down into the water and a drink.

"Oh, hey there. I was thirsty after that awesome run!" Link replied back. He didn't want his friend to know about the arrows. For all he knew, they were magical and dangerous in the wrong hands.

"Are you hiding anything?" Bouer asked, eying Link curiously and creating a silence between the two. Link was expecting a boy to be much more gullible, not interrogative.

"You really are fast for a 14 year old," Link deflected, trying to break the quiet while guessing Bouer's age.

"I'm not 14... anyway, here, eat up!" Bouer remarked as he tossed Link an ear of corn with a sudden smile. Once they were closer friends, Link decided, he would share more about himself. In the present, however, the two enjoyed eating the various fruits and vegetables around the abandoned farm.

The two made small, idle chat, although occasionally Link tried prying into Bouer's past. Every time he did it, however, the boy deflected the question, or responded with an unlikely answer, such as Bouer being related to a member of the Hylian parliament who signed a law banishing magic. As if such a practice could be outlawed, Link thought.

After finishing eating, the two men grew bored, and there was a long silence. Link looked toward Torrhes, still in disbelief how the village was set ablaze only nights before. There was question nagging in his head, so he blurted it right out.

"So Bouer, you didn't cause the fire the other night, did you?"

"How could you say that? I thought we were friends," Bouer replied.

"It's just that you showed up a day later, and as far as I've seen, you don't actually know anyone in town," Link rambled, feeling worse as he went on while looking at the boy's dejected face.

"I've been staying at Ilia's house for weeks. I'm sorry I wasn't important enough for you to notice me."

Link was having such a good day until he brought up this conversation. For the first time in a while, he was spending most of his time not with Aryll or Sahasrahla, and he did not want to jeopardize their friendship.

"Listen, I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you by showing you something special," Link remarked, deciding against his original plans. He pulled out the bow and silver arrows from his cloak and showed it to Bouer, who promptly backed away.

"No, it's OK. I got it as a birthday gift, I know how to use them," Link said, forcing a smile when he saw the boy curling up on the ground. He noticed how Bouer was looking sick, and was hoping the boy wasn't afraid of him now.

Bouer pushed his hands on the ground and backed away from Link. Once there was some distance between the two, he stood up and was looking much better.

"That's an amazing item you have there, quite divine, even," Bouer commented.

"Check this out, then."

Link pulled out a single arrow and placed it in the bow. He drew the string and shot it at the scarecrow across the field.

CLICK

The arrow easily hit the target.

"Wow, some aim you have there," Bouer retorted with a quiver of anxiety in his voice.

"That's nothing. Stand up next to that tree and hold an apple over your head. I'll bet you 100 rupees you won't even feel it," Link said, feeling confident and amused to see his friend's reaction.

"No way!" Bouer replied, more scared than he was before. He ran into the barn away from Link.

"I was only kidding! Hey, where did you go?" Link asked, running after the boy into the barn.

He saw Bouer reaching into a bag when he entered the building.

"Listen, we should probably get going, it's getting late and I'm sure you have work to do," Bouer told Link. "If you want, I'll race you back to the village."

"Sure, why not?" Link replied, somewhat uneasy how the day had taken such a sudden turn.

"Here, it'll give you the energy so you might be able to keep up," Bouer remarked, handing Link a bottle with orange liquid inside.

"I'm ready when you are," Link laughed as he gulped down the bottle.

The two raced away from the barn, and for a while both were neck-and-neck. After a minute, Link began feeling sick, and he stumbled, allowing Bouer to gain the lead. Link pushed through his discomfort, but again he stumbled.

Suddenly, a loud noise began ringing in Link's ears. He tripped and fell to the ground, holding his hands against his head. He looked ahead toward Bouer, but his vision became distorted, first turning black and white, then a dark shade of red, forcing him to shut his eyes.

HEH HEH HEH HEH

Link heard an evil laughter surrounding him. He opened his eyes, and saw a flash of images.

A boat on an icy sea...

A couple holding a baby...

A desert with a triangle rock formation...

A prison...

A man with green skin and red hair, laughing...

HEH HEH HEH HEH

Link gasped for air, feeling his lungs turn to ice, and unable to withstand anymore, he passed out.