Zelda awoke that morning before the dawn out of what had seemed to be a dreamless sleep. She had slept where she had fallen the night before, on a soft sheep skin couch in Roland's family hall. She lay with her eyes closed as she became fully aware of her surroundings. She could hear, at the table a room away, the hushed voices of the forest dwellers.

"... They will be here soon enough, if you have seen your own picture of the sides of buildings, the guard is hunting you, boy." Said Roland.

"I know... The princess and I will be leaving here as soon as she wakes up and we can get the rest of the supplies together. Nobody else knows who she is. I think from what I saw yesterday that the capitol might be trying to keep all of this quiet. This Sheikah who's trying to take over...he's trying to do it discreetly. He wouldn't want a riot on his hands. I don't think the general public even knows Zelda's missing yet. The rest of the village would probably just assume that she's just a girl visiting from another town." Said Link, softly.

Khai overtly cleared his throat.

"So wake her up and get her out of here, she's endangering the entire village. People have seen her Link, you just kind of waltzed right out into a town wide celebration with her like she was a milk-maid or something. That was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen you do..." Khai paused, noting the agitated look on the younger boy's face. He took another sip of his coffee.

"I think you're being absolutely ridiculous. Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you've involved yourself in?" He asked.

The boys locked eyes.

"What was I supposed to do Khai?" Said Link.

Khai gave exaggerated shrug.

"I don't know, Link! Not steal a princess and and bring her home? She's going to get you killed, for some imaginary, fairy-tale idiocy that you obviously haven't gown out of yet." He snapped

Link kept his eyes on his brother's, his agitation starting to mount.

"...There's something very wrong out there, Khai... If Queen Oona is right, then…"

"Fairies lie, Link! They're supposedly spiteful little beasts, too. How do you know Queen Oona didn't tell you that you were the 'chosen one' just to sit back and laugh at you while you fail miserably? Those stories are not real, Link. The magic triangles, demons, Gods, all that stuff is fake. " Khai interrupted.

The two boys stared at one another. Link watched as Mariana laid a hand on Khai's knee.

"...I saw what happened to King Daphnes myself. I trust Zelda..." Link said, and Khai made a noise in his throat.

"Ugh, and then there's her... I can't believe you would bring her here, let alone be seen with her! I know you're totally oblivious to the dangers because you're a moron and all, but people will come looking for her, Link. You're going to get caught eventually and if she thinks it's in her best interest to give you up, make no mistake, she will. All because you want to think you're special... and because you want to leave... You're bored, and you're restless so you're using this as an excuse to do just that, with a cute girl... a girl that is going to get you killed." Khai spat.

Zelda shrank where she lay at the young man's words as if he had stuck her.

"Khai... come on... too far." Mariana said softly.

The red-head looked over and noticed the burning look Link now gave Khai, each of them refusing to drop the other's gaze. Khai finally softened a bit.

Look...I'm not trying to be harsh, Link, you're just being really stupid right now. You're getting in way over your head, kid…You're going to end up dead." Said Khai.

Yolandae pursed her lips.

"No...I believe that Link is right... and I think that you should stop talking to him like he's green, Khai. Link is a competent swordsman... and there are many, many legends in this kingdom that tell of a boy, pure of heart, rising against evil that blights the land... perhaps there is more truth in those tales than you give credit, Khai." She said.

Roland nodded again as he swallowed another sip of his bitter drink.

"Yes. It does seem odd that both Link and the princess bear the same strange birthmark. Between this and the other things he has told us, I believe it is enough to assume that Oona spoke the truth." He said.

Khai sighed and crossed his arms.

"I don't know, it sounds like a lot of superstitious nonsense." He said.

Link looked up at the black-eyed boy.

"It's not though Khai… I know it... I've seen it in my dreams since I was a little kid. I've lived before… that's what all of these nightmares have been… I'm remembering things. Even if I am wrong, even if none of this is real, it's too big of a risk not to act. " Said Link.

Khai rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, go off and get yourself killed then." He said, sitting back into his chair.

The princess, unwilling to eavesdrop any longer, sat up and looked into the kitchen at the five of them. Khai regarded her with a harsh gaze.

"Good morning, Zelda... Did we wake you?" Link said, quietly.

The princess yawned and stretched her back, trying hard not to let her eyes or posture betray what she'd heard.

"No, you did not." She said.

She pulled herself quickly to her feet, sleep shaking off of her like drops of water. Yolandae stood and curtsied as Zelda made her way to the kitchen table.

"Your grace." She said.

"Link tells me that you two will ride out today. You both must eat before you go." She said, and she offered her chair to the sleepy-eyed princess.

As the sun rose, Yolandae made the five of them a batch of grits with diced plums and sausages which they soberly ate. Zelda could feel Khai's black eyes burning into her from across the table, and she pretended not to notice when Link kicked him underneath it. After breakfast, Link saddled Epona and then he and Zelda returned to his home to pack what would be needed on the road ahead. Without a word, Zelda slipped into Link's room and closed the door. On the edge of the bed, there lay the garment she had taken from the castle still strapped to her sword belt. She kicked off the borrowed slippers and then gently lifted the chemise over her head. In what felt as though it were a dream, Zelda slipped plain, white linen underclothes onto her form. Over this, she layered a sheer blue tunic, the billowy sleaves ending just above her wrists. It buttoned at the elbow, pulling the sleaves a little higher and tightening the loose fabric around her arm. She slid the delicate chainmail over the gauzy fabric and then unfolded the leather garment. The Sheikah armor was light as she hung it about herself, its fit only slightly loose. She inserted her legs into her riding boots and laced them tightly. Then she once again donned the cloak and turned to look at herself in the mirror hanging behind the door. Her thin, frail body suddenly looked agile and lithe; her wild hair obscuring the crimson eye embroidered on the leather beast plate. She pulled it back and continued to look at herself. A memory stirred within her though she could not quite grasp it. She had seen herself this way once. She sighed and opened the door.

Link attached the last of his gear to Epona's saddle. The sleeping palate with his woolen blanket once rolled, fit nicely behind it. Link could feel his nerves in the pit of his stomach. He was rather excited, eager even, to begin the journey that lay before him. As precarious as the situation seemed now, Khai had in part been right, this was what he had been waiting for. He had wanted for so long to ride out on something other than an errand, to see the land and know at last if this restlessness could be quelled, now was the chance. Though, to go he knew not where or to what fate was something that even now, as he prepared to embark, unsettled his mind a bit. Impa's words still lingered with him, as if they stood upon his back and whispered in his ear every so often of the great task that was supposedly his alone. Perhaps it was an errand after all. He shooed the anxious thoughts away and gave Epona her breakfast in the trough beside his house. The horse tossed her head in excitement and Link scratched her affectionately behind the ears. He smiled and walked back inside, stopping short when he beheld the leather arrayed princess looking resolutely at him. He tucked his hair behind his ear.

"So, that's what that bundle you took from the castle was… Does it fit alright? It could be dangerous if it's too loose." Said Link, trying not to stare.

Zelda smiled.

"It is good. It was Impa's once, when she was a little younger than I am now. Link, may I ask you a favor?"

Link shifted where he stood.

"Yes?"

"Can you braid my hair for me? It will not do to have it constantly in my face as we ride." She said.

Link sat down on the couch, motioning for the princess to sit in front of him. She sat down, cross-legged and Link smoothed the golden waves away from her face. His hands felt light and unhurried in her hair.

"Rue used to ask me to do this nearly every morning when I still lived with Roland and Yolandae. I'm actually pretty good at it." Said Link

Zelda closed her eyes, feeling that if it were possible, she would purr.

"You lived with them once?" She asked.

"Yeah... both me and Khai. After my mother died when I was eight, Roland took us in and raised us like his own sons. I owe my life to that family." Said Link.

"Is Khai your brother?" Asked Zelda.

Link laughed softly.

"Not exactly. I guess he might as well be though." He replied.

Zelda shifted forward a little. He sighed, and allowed silence to pass between them as he twisted Zelda's soft, thick waves into two ropes at the sides of her head. At length, he spoke.

"I was thinking... I need to ask you a question... Are you sure that this is what you want? Are you sure that you don't want to find a safe place to hide? If anything happens to you, I don't know if I could live with myself without asking you that." Said Link

Zelda drew a breath and spoke without hesitation.

"I am sure. I will have it no other way than this." She said.

Link finished the braids, connecting them behind her head and tied it with a piece of ribbon.

"Let's go then." He said.

Armed and ready for the road ahead, the princess with her bow and rapier and the hero with his shield and Dìoghaltas; the two of them walked with Epona back to Roland's house in anxious silence. Yolandae waited with Rue, Khai and Mariana on the porch, thoughtfully puffing Roland's pipe and diligently marking a map. She looked up as Link and Zelda approached. Rue fidgeted nervously beside her.

"So you're really leaving this time, huh?" Rue asked, meekly.

Link sat down between Rue and her mother and looked into his little sister's doleful, honey colored eyes.

"Yeah... Try not to worry too much, okay? I'll come back, I swear." Said Link.

"When?" Rue Replied.

"I don't know. When I find what we're looking for and I know everyone's safe, I guess." He said.

Rue looked as if she would cry as she pulled Link tightly into a hug, burrowing her face in his shoulder. Mariana came to him next, he stood as she anxiously regarded him.

"Be safe, Link... Please come back to us in one piece." She said, embracing him.

Khai shifted his weight and lifted his eyes mistrustfully to Zelda as he leaned against the door-frame. He sighed, and crossed his arms as he looked helplessly on. Yolandae gently touched Link's shoulder and he turned to face her. She handed him her map.

"I have marked off every little known road and back passage throughout the realm. If you follow the map the way I have arranged it, it will be very hard for the army to find the two of you, I have seen to that." Said Yolandae, lovingly rubbing Link's back.

Zelda smiled at the wise and lovely older woman.

"You seem very knowledgeable, madam. It is quite a talent you have."

Yolandae grinned.

"Thank you, princess. In my youth I was a mapmaker. I have traveled to every corner of this country and discovered many paths. I only hope that my work will now serve the two of you well and keep you safe." She said.

As she spoke, Roland emerged from behind the house with the same gelding that had borne the cart the day Zelda had journeyed to Kakariko in their company. Roland walked him to Zelda and offered her the reins.

"Your grace, this is Midge, he has been a most faithful horse and now, I wish to pass him along to you. Please, ride him well. May he bear you safely across the land. I took the liberty of attaching my old bedroll and a blanket to his saddle." Said Roland, with a bow.

Zelda smiled appreciatively.

"Thank you sir, you have all been so kind. I truly thank you... from the bottom of my heart." She said.

Link, Rue, Mariana, Roland and Yolandae stood together as a lull passed between them all. Khai, standing guardedly in the doorway at last broke the silence.

"Princess Zelda, may I have a word with you?" He said, and Link shot him a black look.

Her nerves flaring in her chest, Zelda nodded and walked with Khai back into the kitchen. He turned sharply toward the girl and looked crossly at her for a moment before he spoke.

"Don't get Link killed… He's dumb enough to let that happen following you around all over the country. If anything happens to him, his blood is on your hands." He said, roughly.

Zelda swallowed.

"I assure you, I will not let anything happen to him if it is in my power to stop it. I promise you that." She said, straightening.

Khai regarded her with hard black eyes for a moment longer, than he nodded to the door.

"He's waiting for you, princess." He said.

With goodbyes said and Khai's words still ringing in her thoughts, Zelda and Link rode on, leaving behind all that they had ever known for uncertainty and the great task that lay before them. The downcast faces of his friends and family weighed heavily on the boy, and a nagging anxiety hung about him. As he and the princess rode into the lush heart of the forest, Link found that his nightmares had become more troublesome now than ever. If they truly were memories, he supposed, then the various outcomes that had snapped him awake so many a night were surely something to consider. But all of this had seemed so surreal. Dreamlike, as if he had never awoken at all the night that the two fairies had roused him and brought him to their queen. He glanced to Zelda aside, the dappled sun passing over her in bright patches. She looked as if she glowed white and gold. She knew things, even if Link himself wasn't entirely sure of what fate would greet him with. Even though she both unnerved and facinated him, at least he had her and her knowledge. Ultimately, he shook the thoughts away. There was a reason he was doing this, something he would have to follow through with regardless of the outcome. His heart insisted upon this, though his mind seemed to agree at least in part with Khai. They slowed their horses to a soft trot as the trees became nearly wall like with vines and sheer mass, the canopy closing out the light like a vast green ceiling. Link wondered for a moment if he wasn't close to the hill he had met Queen Oona under, and then he turned to Zelda, riding upon Midge at his side.

"What did Khai say to you? If you don't mind me asking." He said

Zelda sighed and continued to look ahead.

"He rather frigidly told me not to let you get yourself killed. That is all." She said.

Link scoffed.

"He would. He thinks that because he's a couple years older that he can talk to me like I'm five. He never trusts me when I make a decision. He acts like I'm stupid or something... I'm sorry if he was rude to you. he doesn't trust city folk. He's always been like that. He's terrible to take into town because all he talks about is how much he hates it the entire time we're there." He said.

"His opinion does not offend me either way." Said Zelda, not taking her eyes from the greenery before her.

Link glanced at her and then back to the path.

"Well, that's good I guess..." He said.

The two rode on in silence for some time and they put miles between themselves and the forest village. After the long quiet between them, the boy looked across to the princess as the golden glow of afternoon penetrated the trees.

"The place we're going is still pretty far yet. Probably another half day's ride. It's a good idea to start looking for a place to camp. We're a few miles into the forest now. I'm pretty sure it'll be safe to light a fire." He said.

The princess nodded, slowing her horse as she watched the gargantuan trees pass by. As the land got hillier and large boulders began to appear jutting from the earth, Zelda saw a small clearing near a fallen tree and shaded by a large jagged boulder. She pulled her horse to a slow trot, calling to Link beside.

"There. That looks like the spot to camp." She said, pointing to the clearing.

The two came upon the place and hopped down from their mounts. They cleared the ground of leaves and sticks and as Link cut wood for the fire, Zelda prepared the pit. Finally, Link assembled the dry logs and leaves and struck a flint to light them ablaze. It took a few tries, but as the sky became dusky purple, the fire was finally lit and the two youths sat down beside it. Each of them pulled off their armor and sat for a moment, breathing freely in their light underclothing and taking turns washing their hands and face from the large water skin Midge carried. Link stood then and handed the princess a cloth wrapped bundle behind his saddle; one of the meat pies Yolandae had baked them the day before. Zelda thanked him and they both ate in silence as the stars began to dot the sky above them.

After dinner was finished and the dark forest night surrounded the two travelers, the boy looked curiously over to Zelda as she toyed with a lock of her long yellow hair. Her eyes seemed very distant, preoccupied with many things as she stared into the fire. The princess had been practically mute for the entirety of the ride into the forest. He noticed her fidgeting now however.

""What's on your mind, princess?" He asked.

She glanced up at him, looking at him as though he had broken her concentration.

"Oh... Nothing really..." She said.

Link shot her an odd look from across the fire.

"Some how I feel like that's not entirely true." He said.

She looked up at him and back to the fire.

"I am concerned for the King of Hyrule...and for his people." She said, dryly.

Link nodded and shifted himself back onto his elbow on his sleeping palate. Silence again passed between them, the crackle of the fire, the songs of frogs and crickets the only sound. Link looked up at her again.

"Did...you have nightmares too?" He asked, hesitantly.

Zelda looked at him.

"...Yes...or visions if you prefer to call them that. I thought they were only dreams until recently... " She said.

She looked up for a moment, the crescent moon just visible now through the tops of the trees.

"I...I have this reoccurring dream. I am walking on an island somewhere. When I get to the edge of the land, I think for a moment I am looking out over the sea...or perhaps a lake. I realize then that it is not water I am looking into, but the sky..." Said Zelda.

She and Link exchanged glances from across the fire.

"I've had that same dream." He said.

Zelda turned her eyes back to the vermilion coals, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

"You are the first person I have ever told about that." She said.

"Really?" Link answered, and Zelda nodded.

"Yes...When you are the daughter of a king, one must be careful of what she says..." She said.

Link sat up, stretching his back and straightening his legs in front of him. Still looking to her as if he expected her to say more. Zelda glanced to the fire and again to the boy.

"... Everyone I come into conversation with is older than me by decades and every word I speak carries weight... is scrutinized for meaning, so I must mind closely what I say..."She paused.

"...My days in the palace were like a parallel universe compared with yours in your village... Though, despite its shortcomings, I suppose I am better for it." Said Zelda.

Link looked on at her for a moment and then back again into the fire.

"You seem like you've been alone for a long time." He said softly, and Zelda seemed to ignore him.

In the morning, the two had been riding for nearly three hours since they had broke camp when they at last came upon the grey stones of the forest ruins; the sprawling, decayed remains of what looked like was once a city street. A dilapidated stairway led down into its alleys. Link and Zelda reined their horses to a stop as Zelda stared in awe at the moss and ivy covered bricks. Link dismounted and looked to Zelda.

"We'll have to go the rest of the way on foot. You can't get a horse down there, this place is like a maze with holes in the floor." Said Link.

Zelda, still enchanted with the strange familiarity of the place, hopped down and followed Link into the ruins. Carefully, using the vines that had grown up the walls for support, the two of them climbed down the broken stairway and walked into what had been a tall, arched thoroughfare. As they moved further in, Link could see in the distance the dead city that he and Khai had discovered when Link was thirteen years old. It was a place that had given him chills even then. They came to an old railing atop another fallen stairway that looked over an indented field of long grasses and broken colored glass with fragmented walls of rock and mortar surrounding it. The large stone door on the other side had nearly crumbled in. Link jumped down first and the princess followed, not taking her eyes off of the weathered slab that bore a sun-like symbol. Zelda walked inquisitively up to the hole in the stone. She stepped cautiously through it, as did Link and the two of them surveyed the large room inside. There seemed to have been something at one time in the center of the room, atop a low circle of steps. Standing there, under the decayed roof and glass-less windows, they both sensed that an object of great magnitude had once resided in that place. Zelda's eyes widened

"Link... do you know what this is?" She said, her voiced hushed.

Link shook his head.

"No, I never came this far in."

Zelda started forward toward the steps.

"This... this was the chamber of the sword, Link... Deep within the emerald sea, the sword is lain by tearful queen... I rememeber it from a poem I read once." She said.

He followed her across the room and up the flight of steps. They stood now before a weathered, empty stone platform. Zelda looked pale.

"What's the matter?" Link asked.

Zelda did not take her eyes off of the stone.

"It's gone..."

Link watched her for a moment, her cryptic statement making him uneasy.

"...What's gone?"

She snapped her gaze to his.

"The sword! The Master Sword!"

The boy looked to the stone and back to the princess, his brows furrowed.

"What?" He said.

Zelda groaned in frustration.

"Your sword, Link! The evil destroying sword that only the one destined to save Hyrule may wield. You are supposed to be the only one who can pull it from the pedestal..." Zelda paused, looking to the stony ground as she thought.

"The stone in which it rested is gone... as if someone just lifted it away. But...how?" She said

Link sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, tangling his fingers in the ends of his hair.

"I have no idea, princess..." He said

Zelda huffed, looking back to the doorway.

"It's no matter. We will find it when the time comes...we must. The sword is forever bound to the soul of the hero. They say it calls to him..." She said.

Link nodded his head and sighed

"Well, we should probably have a look around and see if we can find anything useful." He said, and Zelda agreed.

Finding nothing, they exited and stood in the grass. Link then noticed yet another door, one that was intact, under the crumbled stairwell. This door looked somehow newer than the rest of its surroundings and Link walked curiously to it now. He knocked upon it, and felt the reverberation of a space behind it.

"I think there's something here... But I don't see a way to open it." He called to Zelda.

Zelda stepped forward, looking down at the ground for any sign of a key or of anything that they could pry the door open with. She stepped over something hard and looked down at what appeared to be a kind of slot. She sank to her knees and brushed the grass and dirt away from the strange hole.

"Link, come look at this." She said.

The boy peered down at the oddly positioned, slightly raised aperture; around it was a lustrous gold leafing. On a guess, Link drew his sword and pushed it into the slot. He shifted it from side to side as Zelda watched.

"It feels like it's meant for a bigger sword, but I can definitely feel something in there. If I could just…" Link turned the blade to the left and felt some kind of rumbling beneath him.

Then they heard a loud metallic thud from behind the door. Zelda stood, and made her way over to the strange metal ingress. She pushed it lightly and to her surprise, it swung freely open. She laughed.

"That was clever." She said and Link grinned, quite satisfied with himself.

The air inside the stairway that had lain hidden behind the door was dank and smelled of clay. Link lit the small lantern he had taken from his saddle bag and looked over his shoulder to Zelda. Together they descended, down into the earth until they came to a sort of atrium. Another enormous door stood in front of them, though this time there was no way through. The door was rusted solid and bound with the roots of trees that grown down and wound themselves about its frame, rendering it incapable of opening. Frustrated and leery of traveling further into the maze like underbelly of the ruins, they pressed on; brushing past odd, faintly glowing mushrooms and other mammoth tree roots that veined the walls. Zelda hung back a moment, listening intently. Link stopped and turned to her.

"What is it? Do you hear something?" He asked.

Zelda nodded.

"I hear singing. It sounds like… children singing somewhere." She said.

Link listened closely for a moment and found that he could, indeed, hear the singing that Zelda spoke of. They followed it through the wide, cave-like halls until it began to grow louder as Zelda trailed behind the boy. He stopped in front of a wall of rock, confused and becoming rather irritated. It was as if the voices were right on the other side but there was solid stone in his way. Zelda stood next to him, staring at a particular spot on the wall.

"Well, are you not going to open that door?" She said.

Link looked back at her, puzzled.

"What do you mean? There is no door, Zelda." He said.

She raised an eyebrow.

"You cannot see it?" She asked, and Link shook his head.

Zelda knelt down and put her hand against the wall.

"It must be protected by a glamouring spell. To the eyes of those who do not know magic, it will appear as rocks. I however, see the door." She said.

Seeming to grasp air, Zelda turned the nob and instantly a tiny doorway opened, flooding the tunnel with yellow candle light as a strange breeze ruffled the hair of the two Hylian youths. They stepped warily through it and into the chamber on the other side. The room, full of strange voices and the sound of flutes and string instruments, resembled the court of a castle. Banners embellished with foreign symbols hung loosely over vine-like columns and fixtures, the bright glow of many fairies bobbing to and fro about the heads of the beings. Link and Zelda froze as they were regarded in sudden silence by at least twelve pairs of shiny, black eyes. The tiny, green-skinned children shuffled curiously forward. They appeared to be dressed in fur and foliage and to be, at least to some degree, plants themselves. Some had lacy leaves growing directly out of their arms and legs; their hair the shimmering tones of precious metals. Zelda stepped tentatively forward.

"Hello... I am Princess Zelda, and this is my escort, Link. May we inquire something of you?" She asked.

In a flourish, the black-eyed children went again about their revelry as if the two strangers had never stepped through the door. They came, singing in a strange language even Zelda did not know and took the two of them by the hands, pulling them to a long table.

"Please sit." Said the tiny silver-haired child.

Link and Zelda sat down in chairs far too small for them as the strange being skipped back into the crowd of fairy children. After half a moment, they noticed that the table itself was spread sumptuously with all manner of fruits, breads, wine and what appeared to be a roasted pheasant. Having not eaten anything since the morning Link, with a degree of visible excitement, pulled the plate of bird toward him and inspected it. Zelda nudged hard him with her elbow.

"Do not eat or drink anything." She said, sternly.

Link furrowed his brow at her statement.

"Why not? They invited us. Who says no to free food?" He said.

"Never eat or drink anything offered to you by fairies of any kind. If you do, they could enslave you for the rest of your days or worse." Said Zelda.

Link grudgingly pushed the plate away and shifted uncomfortably in the tiny seat. He watched the strange children dance and ardently play their instruments of bone and wood; jabbering away in their strange, sunny language. A few now stared attentively at him.

"Zelda, what are they?" Said Link.

The princess turned to her companion.

"I cannot be sure, but I think we may have found the Kokiri." She said.

The name turned something over in Link's mind, though he knew not what.

"The Kokiri?" He repeated.

Zelda nodded, not taking her eyes off of the black-eyed children.

"Yes, they were once a race of fairy children who lived in the deep forests of Hyrule, similar in appearance to any Hylian child. They lost their guardian and fell out of touch with the rest of humanity; becoming one again with the forest that had begotten them... making their own kingdom within it, or so the legends say." She said.

They were approached again by the little girl who looked up at them and said nothing for a solid minute. Link stared back with growing discomfort at the black-eyed childlike creature. At last, she turned to Zelda and spoke.

"You said you're a princess?" She asked.

Zelda nodded.

"Yes, and we are on a mission of grave importance, it concerns all beings of this land." She said.

The girl cocked her head and seemed to be thinking.

"Uuummm, okay. I'll take you to the prince." She said, and she took Zelda's hand.

The girl led them through cramped, tiny passageways filled with intricately carved structures resembling leafs and blossoms throughout. At last, they stopped in front of an arched double door almost big enough to walk through at their full height. They heard faint music from within The girl pushed it open and motioned for them to come inside. Warily they followed and they beheld, sitting upon a throne of living vines and stone, the Prince of the Kokiri. He lay sprawled across the arms, playing a violin. The tune was something arcane, eerie and beautiful that tapered off as they approched. As Link, Zelda and the girl stepped forward he stopped and regarded them mirthfully.

"What are these?" He asked, standing. He wore a robe of many furs, and a crown of twisted greenery beaded with tiny stones adorned his head.

"I dunno. They said something about a great mission, so I brought them to you." Said the girl.

The prince nodded and shambled forward. He looked back and forth between Zelda and Link, after a few moments he began to speak.

"Well, what do you want? Why did you come here? We haven't seen the Hylians in hundreds of years." Said the prince.

Link cleared his throat.

"We're looking for a piece of something called the Elemental Key. Please, if you know where it is, we'd be very grateful to you if you could show us." He said.

The prince laughed merrily.

"So, you seek the key shard? Well alright then, follow me. Queen Oona told me to give it to a swordsman in green who would ask after it a few centuries ago. You must be the knight she spoke of." Said the prince.

He directed them through an archway at the back of the throne room. The two of them ducked through it and crouching, followed the prince. They came at last to an enormous door, its façade exquisitely carved into the shapes of trees and blossoms. The prince handed Link a key.

"Now, when you lay a hand on the shard with the intention of taking it, the shard will take on a protective form. Each is imbued with these guardian spirits and you must defeat them in order to claim the key shard. Do you understand?" He said.

Link and Zelda looked at each other and then back to the prince.

"We do." Said Zelda.

"Well, good luck to you then." The prince said, laughingly.

Link turned to the door and slid the key into the lock. They heard a loud clank as the tumbler clicked into place and the door creaked open. The two of them stepped vigilantly inside. To their surprise, the room was enormous and the root laden walls glowed with a supernatural green light that seemed to dim and brighten as they stepped across the earthen floor. The door slammed shut as they entered, causing both of them to jump. On the other side of the room on a stone pedestal, there hovered the green and gold key shard. Mist began to flood the room as they drew near it and both the princess and the boy readied their weapons. Link stared down at the beautiful, fragile looking shard of emerald and gold. Slowly, he reached a hand out to take it. As soon as his fingers had grazed it, the shard shot into the air and began to glow with a blinding white radiance. Both Link and Zelda staggered back, shielding their eyes from the brilliance. As the light began to fade, in place of the key shard there stood a monstrous, ghostly white stag; its antlers so immense and numerous that they resembled the branches of an ancient tree. Its eyes began to glow bright green as its head turned toward slowly toward the one who had woke it. It stamped the ground angrily, its breath like fog. It let out a high-pitched wail and charged forward to gore the boy with its many antlers and razor-sharp hooves. Zelda dove out of its way as it thundered past. Link raised his shield and stood his ground as he attempted to bash the stag in the head. With a loud clang, the impact blew him off of his feet as the stag, an antler cracked, shook its head in rage and turned to come again. Link caught its horns this time with the sword as he scrambled to his knees. Standing, he held the monster fast as it tossed its head and pushed him backwards on his feet.

"Zelda! Quick!" He yelled across the room.

Zelda pulled back the bow and shot three arrows one by one into the back of the stag. Screaming, it freed itself from Link's sword, knocking the boy to the side and charged Zelda who dove away again in a hasty somersault. She rebounded off of the wall and frantically loosed arrows from the floor, hitting the raging animal in the neck and chest. As it charged her, the princess quickly drew her sword, stepping to the side and landing a precise hit as the wailing stag whipped back around. It turned toward her again, bleeding and full of wrath as Zelda stepped backward. To her horror, she realized she had been backed into a corner. She held her sword in a guard, bracing herself. It was then that Link ran up behind the great, white beast. As it readied itself again to charge, the boy managed to stab it in the back of the neck, severing its spine. The stag let out one last mournful howl and crumpled to the ground. Link, his chest heaving, inched cautiously up to the felled creature. He stared down at the dead stag, a memory stirring suddenly somewhere deep within him. Zelda joined him at his side as they watched the bloodied animal turn once again into white light. The glowing stag stood, and began to speak.

"I am the spirit who resided in the forest shard… I yield to thee… youth who gives me rest. Take up this shard and go to the mountain dwellers, it is there that the fire shard lies." Said the stag.

With that, the light pulsed and began to dissipate, leaving the forest shard upon the floor. Link picked it up and examined it closely. Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of clapping as the prince and a few of the other woodland children filed into the room.

"Bravo, Bravo! Great show you two! I have never seen such skill with a bow or blade! I'd never seen the beast that dwelt within the shard. What a magnificent monstrosity it was indeed! You two have most definitely earned the key shard as well as some wine." The prince clapped his hands impatiently and one of the children brought a goblet of wine so red it looked as though it were blood.

"Here, drink." Said the prince laughingly.

Zelda and Link looked at each other.

"No, but thank you." Said the princess.

After they had left the Kokiri to their underground kingdom, Link and Zelda made camp. They ate a modest dinner of dried fruit and meat from Yolandae's pantry and now they sat upon their palates; sleepily staring into the orange glow of the fire while the sounds of the forest night chirred around them. Zelda turned to Link.

"That was certainly one of the stranger things I have seen." She said.

Link laid back on his palate, propping himself up with his elbows. The tunic, chain mail and the rest of his gear lay in a heap next to him.

"Yeah… It's not every day that you have a fight to the death with a ten-foot tall stag." Said Link.

Zelda played absently with the white lace of her undershirt.

"Thank you for being so quick on your feet, I think it may have killed me had you not felled it when you did. Though...I suppose that's the territory we are in now. We will have to depend on each other this way." She said.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Zelda... Not unless I die or something." Said Link, staring wistfully into the fire.

The princess glanced up at him, her companion in this dire quest. He was still only a boy wasn't he? This great, ancient hero Impa had spoken so staidly of. Seventeen, the same as her.

"Do you fear death, Link?" She asked him, quietly.

The boy thought for a moment and then gave a small shrug.

"Yes and no. I'd be lying if I said the actual dying part didn't scare me but... it's a necessary part of life. There's really no point in dreading it. It'll come whether you accept it or not. What about you?"

Zelda laughed wearily.

"I have begun to think that death is meaningless, at least for us. If what Impa says is true, then you and I are eons old." She said.

Link mirrored her exhausted laughter.

"I think that scares me more to be honest… Though, the stag made me think of something... the first time I ever really thought about my own mortality... It was something my mother and I did together... " He said.

The princess turned to look at the boy as he spoke.

"Tell me?" She said.

Link smoothed his hair back and breathed a heavy sigh, the light of the flame reflected in his eyes.

"When I was five or six, my mother took me with her into the woods to the apple trees that're a few miles in. I remember...it was right where one of the creeks come out of the mountains, so there's this little waterfall stream next to the thicket. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to back in the deep woods. While she picked apples, I ran around and probably got in her way because I was too small to really help her. While I was playing, I nearly tripped and fell into a deer carcass in the tall grass. I'd never see a corpse before, aside from a plucked, headless cucco or maybe a butchered cow. Everything about it scared me, the way it looked, the smell... everything. I started crying. My mother saw me and came over to see what my problem was and then she saw what I saw. I asked her if that's what happened when people die... and she explained that our bodies are made from all of the same things that the earth is... so we all return to it after death... Then I realized for the first time that I was going die one day and I really understood that time's limited. Not just for me but for everyone and everything around me. I remember being kind of scared and depressed at first... The longer I thought about it though, I realized that it's our limited time here that makes us special. It's the condition of being alive, I guess...it's the deal you make to experience the world. We're all heading to the same place... together." He said.

Zelda looked curiously at him, eventually he turned his face from the fire and his eyes found hers. She smiled

"You are actually quite insightful, Link." She said.

He smiled ruefully, thinking now of his mother.

"I try..." He said.

The two of them watched the fire in silence for a moment more before they each laid down. As they listened to the whirring of the darkened forest, they drifted into sleep.