Chapter Seven:
"He's here!" Nabooru shouted and rushed to help Link stand. He glanced about, disoriented and unsure about what had happened. Link saw Saria and Darunia appear from their places on the pedestal. Link definitely knew something was wrong when he looked at them. How tired and worn they looked! Nabooru got him to his feet and checked to make sure he was okay.
"Link!" Saria shouted and ran to him, holding tightly onto his legs with no sign that she was going to let go. "Link! It's you! It's really you!" She chanted, rubbing her face into the soft fabric of his tunic. Link looked around the room to what once had been beautiful blue walls, but instead found them cracked and broken. The chamber had lost its brilliant shine and glimmer, and was left dark, dry and depressing. He saw on the faces of his old friends concern and worry, and even bits of fright if he looked close enough. Nabooru smiled at him as best as she could manage and gently extracted Saria from about Link's legs.
"You know it's not our Link Kid," Nabooru soothed, or at least tried to. "Ours has been gone for a long time now, he's not our Link." Link looked very confused as he stared at Nabooru and she stared at him.
"Where am I?" he asked with a bit of impatience in his voice as he looked around the room, trying to recollect his senses again. "What happened here?"
"It's a long story," Nabooru replied and moved away from Saria and circling him instead as if to inspect him somehow.
"What are you doing?" He asked. "What date is this and where are the others?"
"The others are gone," a quiet, soft voice came from the shadows. Link turned around to see Zelda standing there, as royal looking as ever. But her face had lost its once innocent appearance, and, as he could see in her eyes, her hope. They stared at one another for a moment, Link awestruck with what he saw.
"They are gone, dead, and so are you this time line. But that will all change now," she did not smile, did not express anything with her eyes, she seemed emotionless while she spoke.
"Do you think that this will really work?" Darunia uttered under his breath.
"It has to, or Hyrule has no future," Nabooru snapped back.
A familiar figure appeared next to Zelda, and Zelda held out her hand to it, guiding it as it walked. She led it over to him, and the figure lifted up its hands to feel his face.
"It really is you Hero of Time," Impa said calmly, her vacant eyes focusing on Link's chin as her fingers ran over his nose, then eyes, and then lips. "We prayed this would work."
"Wha---what happened to you?" Link said out of shock, grabbing hold of Impa's wrists. She smiled and patted his hand, her eyes still not able to find his face. A long, ugly scar ran up the side of her face and disappeared into her white hair. The Sheikah tattoos under her eyes had become worn and faded with the lines of worry. If Link had not known that it was impossible, he would have said she had aged forty years since the last time he had seen her, but looking at the others, he knew it couldn't have been that long.
"Ganondorf," Saria whispered, hugging her arms as if afraid to speak the name. "He's done all of this."
"That no good, black hearted bastard!" Nabooru clenched her teeth and fists. "He'll pay for all of this, I swear by it!"
Impa waved her arm and Nabooru fell silent. She groped around behind her for a moment until she felt Zelda and grabbed onto her. Zelda looked at her lovingly and gave Impa's upper arm a gentle squeeze before turning her attention to Link.
"Ruto and Rauru? Dead? He killed them?!" Link's voice wavered as he felt his legs go a bit weak and he fell back onto the platform behind him. "And Impa…blind? How did this all happen?!"
"Along time ago Kid," Nabooru sighed. "A little over a year now." The others were silent for a long time as if trying to think of where to begin. Saria came forth, her blue eyes faint and her eternally young face worn with the lines of sorrow and knelt at Link's feet.
"Ganondorf started to siege the Sacred Realm," she began, " he found a way by trying to destroy the Dark Realm. It was awful. Death Mountain erupted, almost destroying Kakariko and Goron City. Then Lake Hylia started to dry up and there was no water for the crops," Saria spoke forlornly, and Link noticed how gaunt she had become. The image sent shivers down Link's spine.
"Not only that," Darunia continued, "but all of that punched a hole into the earthbound plane and Ganondorf was released," Darunia shook his head, "Ruto was the first to fall, Ganondorf's hate has made him become much stronger. It wasn't long before it was to late."
"And then we lost you Kid, and Ganondorf took the Triforce of Courage from you. We lost all chance after that," Nabooru folded her arms and sat down crossly at the memory of it all. "It was right at the Temple of Time, you tried to stop him from entering back into Hyrule, it was a long battle…but you didn't have the Master Sword…" Nabooru stopped there and looked away. Link blinked in a daze as if trying to wake up from a bad dream.
"With the two Triforce pieces, and both Ruto and Rauru gone, we were not strong enough to put up a fight, we only had enough power to keep him from entering the Chamber of Sages, but even now, it won't be long." Zelda stared into his eyes and Link could see the sorrow of what they had all been through. "We had to stand by and watch Ganondorf destroy everything and everybody we loved, and we were powerless…Including my father." Now Zelda turned away so Link could not see the tear that welted up in her eye. She had seen both him and her father killed by Ganondorf's powerful magic, seen the look on their faces as it hit them, heard the scream and was not able to save them. To see Link standing there, alive, brought her great hope, but at the same time great sorrow.
"It did not take long for Ganondorf to start satisfying his blood lust, he killed so many, only sparing the Gerudo who swore loyalty to him." Nabooru spat, "treacherous harlots, all of them. No warrior of mine would swear loyalty to that bastard."
"Calm yourself Nabooru," Impa said softly. "We're all angry, but now that Link is here, this will never happen."
"What do you mean?" Link asked, holding onto Saria's hand as she placed it in his. His voice trembled and his shoulders shuttered a bit as he breathed. Impa smiled and turned her head in the direction of Link's voice, her eyes still not able to fix directly on him.
"You are going to stop all this from ever happening Hero of Time."
"He's here!" Nabooru shouted and rushed to help Link stand. He glanced about, disoriented and unsure about what had happened. Link saw Saria and Darunia appear from their places on the pedestal. Link definitely knew something was wrong when he looked at them. How tired and worn they looked! Nabooru got him to his feet and checked to make sure he was okay.
"Link!" Saria shouted and ran to him, holding tightly onto his legs with no sign that she was going to let go. "Link! It's you! It's really you!" She chanted, rubbing her face into the soft fabric of his tunic. Link looked around the room to what once had been beautiful blue walls, but instead found them cracked and broken. The chamber had lost its brilliant shine and glimmer, and was left dark, dry and depressing. He saw on the faces of his old friends concern and worry, and even bits of fright if he looked close enough. Nabooru smiled at him as best as she could manage and gently extracted Saria from about Link's legs.
"You know it's not our Link Kid," Nabooru soothed, or at least tried to. "Ours has been gone for a long time now, he's not our Link." Link looked very confused as he stared at Nabooru and she stared at him.
"Where am I?" he asked with a bit of impatience in his voice as he looked around the room, trying to recollect his senses again. "What happened here?"
"It's a long story," Nabooru replied and moved away from Saria and circling him instead as if to inspect him somehow.
"What are you doing?" He asked. "What date is this and where are the others?"
"The others are gone," a quiet, soft voice came from the shadows. Link turned around to see Zelda standing there, as royal looking as ever. But her face had lost its once innocent appearance, and, as he could see in her eyes, her hope. They stared at one another for a moment, Link awestruck with what he saw.
"They are gone, dead, and so are you this time line. But that will all change now," she did not smile, did not express anything with her eyes, she seemed emotionless while she spoke.
"Do you think that this will really work?" Darunia uttered under his breath.
"It has to, or Hyrule has no future," Nabooru snapped back.
A familiar figure appeared next to Zelda, and Zelda held out her hand to it, guiding it as it walked. She led it over to him, and the figure lifted up its hands to feel his face.
"It really is you Hero of Time," Impa said calmly, her vacant eyes focusing on Link's chin as her fingers ran over his nose, then eyes, and then lips. "We prayed this would work."
"Wha---what happened to you?" Link said out of shock, grabbing hold of Impa's wrists. She smiled and patted his hand, her eyes still not able to find his face. A long, ugly scar ran up the side of her face and disappeared into her white hair. The Sheikah tattoos under her eyes had become worn and faded with the lines of worry. If Link had not known that it was impossible, he would have said she had aged forty years since the last time he had seen her, but looking at the others, he knew it couldn't have been that long.
"Ganondorf," Saria whispered, hugging her arms as if afraid to speak the name. "He's done all of this."
"That no good, black hearted bastard!" Nabooru clenched her teeth and fists. "He'll pay for all of this, I swear by it!"
Impa waved her arm and Nabooru fell silent. She groped around behind her for a moment until she felt Zelda and grabbed onto her. Zelda looked at her lovingly and gave Impa's upper arm a gentle squeeze before turning her attention to Link.
"Ruto and Rauru? Dead? He killed them?!" Link's voice wavered as he felt his legs go a bit weak and he fell back onto the platform behind him. "And Impa…blind? How did this all happen?!"
"Along time ago Kid," Nabooru sighed. "A little over a year now." The others were silent for a long time as if trying to think of where to begin. Saria came forth, her blue eyes faint and her eternally young face worn with the lines of sorrow and knelt at Link's feet.
"Ganondorf started to siege the Sacred Realm," she began, " he found a way by trying to destroy the Dark Realm. It was awful. Death Mountain erupted, almost destroying Kakariko and Goron City. Then Lake Hylia started to dry up and there was no water for the crops," Saria spoke forlornly, and Link noticed how gaunt she had become. The image sent shivers down Link's spine.
"Not only that," Darunia continued, "but all of that punched a hole into the earthbound plane and Ganondorf was released," Darunia shook his head, "Ruto was the first to fall, Ganondorf's hate has made him become much stronger. It wasn't long before it was to late."
"And then we lost you Kid, and Ganondorf took the Triforce of Courage from you. We lost all chance after that," Nabooru folded her arms and sat down crossly at the memory of it all. "It was right at the Temple of Time, you tried to stop him from entering back into Hyrule, it was a long battle…but you didn't have the Master Sword…" Nabooru stopped there and looked away. Link blinked in a daze as if trying to wake up from a bad dream.
"With the two Triforce pieces, and both Ruto and Rauru gone, we were not strong enough to put up a fight, we only had enough power to keep him from entering the Chamber of Sages, but even now, it won't be long." Zelda stared into his eyes and Link could see the sorrow of what they had all been through. "We had to stand by and watch Ganondorf destroy everything and everybody we loved, and we were powerless…Including my father." Now Zelda turned away so Link could not see the tear that welted up in her eye. She had seen both him and her father killed by Ganondorf's powerful magic, seen the look on their faces as it hit them, heard the scream and was not able to save them. To see Link standing there, alive, brought her great hope, but at the same time great sorrow.
"It did not take long for Ganondorf to start satisfying his blood lust, he killed so many, only sparing the Gerudo who swore loyalty to him." Nabooru spat, "treacherous harlots, all of them. No warrior of mine would swear loyalty to that bastard."
"Calm yourself Nabooru," Impa said softly. "We're all angry, but now that Link is here, this will never happen."
"What do you mean?" Link asked, holding onto Saria's hand as she placed it in his. His voice trembled and his shoulders shuttered a bit as he breathed. Impa smiled and turned her head in the direction of Link's voice, her eyes still not able to fix directly on him.
"You are going to stop all this from ever happening Hero of Time."