A note from the Hime no Argh herself-

SSJ Psycho Link: Don't you hate it when readers review not to comment on the chapter, but to berate you for not putting out the chapters fast enough for their liking?

Seriously, guys, I'm sorry if I'm just being stubborn and making you wait, but this is the way I planned to do it from the start and this is the way I'm going to keep doing it. This is a serial story, not a novel, and I'm not going to post all the chapters at once. A reader once told me that my strong point is suspense; my chapters are structured so that every chapter leaves you hanging, some with just a thread of suspense and some with full-blown cliffhangers. Well, the most important part of suspense in a story like this is the wait.

Was that a lecture? Damn. I apologize. I humble myself before you. I'm just tired of some people (not all people) berating me about a) the chapter length, and b) the wait in between chapters. I do have school and college plans and things like that to worry about. I will try to post again when I can, but please understand that I am busy and I really don't want to post it all at once. Call me thick-headed, but I'd rather draw it out. I'm sure most of you would feel the same in this situation.

Anyway, this is a pretty long chapter, so I hope it'll tie you guys over for now. Before we get into it, I'd like to just say what a delight it is to finally be able to write a couple of chapters where Link and Zelda actually interact. Forgive me if this chapter is a bit melodramatic, I may have gotten carried away. It's been lots of fun writing with these two. I have Hayao Miyazaki to thank- without him and his manga Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds, these two chapters would probably not exist. The inspiration came entirely from the third volume of his wonderful manga (if any of my readers have read Nausicaa, I'm sure they know which part I'm talking about). Anyway, I've greatly enjoyed writing chapters 22 and 23 and I hope you all enjoy reading them.

* * *

Chapter 23

Decision

Another pool soon materialized before us, and I found myself halting in my tracks. A strange sort of chill crept up my spine. I suddenly sensed that I was near the end of my journey. How I felt about this, I wasn't sure.

After a moment or two, Link took me by the arm and led me forward, gently but firmly. "Don't hesitate now, Zelda. You've come this far."

He was right, I supposed. I knelt at the pool's edge and looked. The water began to ripple, and there appeared a bird's eye view of a vast land, rich and diverse, covered by forest, mountain, lake, river, desert, city, and field.

"Hyrule," Link said softly. "Your homeland." He touched the water with a forefinger and it began to ripple. "And these are Hyrule's secrets."

I stared at the water, wide-eyed, as a figure appeared beneath the surface. It was a very young girl with green hair and blue eyes, her smile enchanting. Plants of all species entwined themselves around her, and suddenly I perceived a word for her: Kokiri.

"This is Saria," Link told me. "A childhood friend of mine. She is the Sage of Forest."

Her face burned into my mind. Then the water rippled and she disappeared, only to be replaced by a much larger figure.

This creature was enormous, relatively; squat and big-bellied, with arms as thick as tree trunks. He was covered by tawny skin, hard as a rock. His scowl concealed the intelligence in his beetle-black eyes. I thought for a moment he was a demon, then another word came to me: Goron.

"Darunia," said Link. "The Sage of Fire. Your uncle by royalty and oath, and my sworn brother."

I watched as Darunia's wide mouth stretched in an enormous grin. Then he faded away.

A beautiful female took his place. She looked as though she had fish blood in her with her blue-tinged, almost transparent skin and the shimmery fins on her arms and legs. She was naked, modestly covering her womanly curves with her fins. Yet there was nothing modest in her dewy, blue-eyed gaze or the seductive pout on her perfect lips. A Zora.

"Ruto. Your cousin by royalty, and the Sage of Water."

I memorized her face before she, too, faded away. There appeared another woman, lithe and slim, wiry muscles defined under darkly tanned skin. Her ruby red hair was tied back and set with an elaborate jewel; a long nose and proud chin completed her features. In her hands were two curved, wicked blades. My newfound perception told me that she was a Gerudo.

"She's Nabooru." I detected a wry note in Link's voice. "The Sage of Spirit. In my past I helped her steal a pair of silver gauntlets."

I looked at him reproachfully. "That's an immoral thing to do."

He laughed. "It was for a good cause. It was either her or Ganondorf."

I blinked. "Ganondorf?"

We stared at each other in silence. Then Link smiled. "Keep looking, Zelda. There's more to come."

I sighed and turned back to the pool. Nabooru was gone and Rauru, the old man who wept for me, was in her place.

"Rauru?" I asked, surprised. "He's one of Hyrule's secrets?"

Link smiled. "Indeed he is, and a well-preserved one. He's the Sage of Light."

I liked that title. "He's Hylian," I perceived.

Link said, "Just like you."

The water rippled, and the old man disappeared, replaced by another woman. I recognized her blood-red eyes immediately.

"It's Impa," I said.

Link nodded. "She's the Sage of Shadow."

I spoke the word that came to me, and it sent chills up my spine. "Sheikah."

I felt Link's hand on my shoulder. "Try not to hate them," he said gently. "They lead cursed lives."

I looked up at him and into his eyes, and grasped at the truth I saw there. "I know them, don't I? Sheikah, I mean."

"You birthed one," Link told me gravely. "Created one. He turned on you and consumed your body. It is he who is responsible for your loss of memory. He who made you forget yourself." The words rang in my ears, in my mind, and for a moment it seemed like I was speaking them, not him. I felt the world around me melting, falling away, reality's grip on me slipping. Then Link grasped my shoulders, and he and I, at least, were solid.

"Believe me now, Zelda," Link whispered to me. "Believe yourself, and look."

I turned. I looked into the water, now smooth and clear as glass. And a young woman looked back.

She looked...hollow. Like she were only a shell, and the real person inside, the core of her, was missing. Her eyes were deep and soulless, yet they were beautiful, the darkest blue I had ever seen, like the color of the sky at midnight. Her face was thin and gaunt, her features delicate, her skin perfectly smooth and so pale it was nearly translucent. Hair of the palest gold tumbled down her shoulders.

I looked into her eyes, and there, deep inside, past the stars that lit her midnight gaze, was a reflection of myself. There, I found the truth.

She was me. I was her. My name was Zelda, Princess of Hyrule.

* * *

I opened my eyes and found myself in a very strange place. I stood on a smooth, flat surface floating in the middle of a night sky, where columns of water fell from nowhere and rose from nowhere, reflecting the delicate light of the stars. I stood in the center of my small plane, surrounded by six circular talismans etched into the material below my feet. I looked at them, and knew instantly that they were symbols of the Sages. This place was the Chamber of Sages, and it was in the Sacred Realm.

The fog was lifted from my mind. There was not a single truth I did not perceive. Thus, when a naked woman appeared before me, surrounded by a blue halo, I knew immediately that she was a goddess of the Triforce, the Goddess of Wisdom, and her name was Nayru.

"We meet again, Zelda." The goddess's lips did not move, yet her voice was everywhere- ringing in my ears, whispering in my mind, bellowing all around me.

I remembered a dream from long ago. "You tried to warn me, once."

The goddess nodded. "I did. Yet you were already entangled in your fate. Only the strong can change their path."

"Does that mean that I cannot break away from this fate?" I demanded. "Fate confines me as a lost soul?"

Nayru tilted her head to one side and looked at me with piercingly blue eyes. I found I could not meet her gaze for very long.

"You are already found, are you not? Link has done his job well."

"So you sent him," I said thoughtfully.

"No. He begged to go, when he felt your spirit wander by on the way to the void."

I looked at her, astonished. "Link begged to come and find me?"

"He had finally perceived how imperative you are to Hyrule's future."

I felt something close to pain pull at my heart. "I see."

Nayru sighed. "He loves you dearly, but that is a mortal affair. We let him go for you only for Hyrule's sake, but made him understand that he is merely the guide. It is your shoulders on which your destiny rests, not his."

"So I can break away from my fate," I concluded.

"You can indeed, but doing so depends on your strength of will. You are a grown woman, capable of making your own decisions, and your journey is not yet finished. What lies ahead is your choice."

"I know my choice," I said with certainty.

"Of course you do, child. In this place, things are as clear as glass. Yet mist seeps through the Lost Woods. Your heart is already clouded. The truth is not always so easy to perceive." Nayru smiled, painfully beautiful. "Zelda Harkinian, Princess of Hyrule, choose as you will."

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, a canopy of trees overhead blotted out the night sky. I lay in the grass in a clearing in the Lost Woods, and Link was leaning over me. I blinked and looked at him.

"That was strange," I remarked in a faraway voice.

"What happened?" Link asked curiously. I became aware that he was gripping my hand very tightly.

"I went to the Chamber of Sages and spoke to Nayru," I said.

"And you remember?"

"Everything," I said quietly.

"Good." Link stood and pulled me to my feet after him. I swayed a little on my feet, still reeling from all that had happened.

"Why am I here again?" I asked. "I thought it was all over."

"Not quite," Link said gently. He pointed to our right, to an endless stretch of trees, and two paths through the trees lay side by side, veering off into different directions. One obviously led further on into the Lost Woods, like a dark tunnel burrowing into the green, lit by the yellow glow of the fireflies. The other path led straight into white fog, so thick that it was impenetrable to the eye.

"This is the end of your journey, and these are your choices," Link said.

I looked at him, confused. "My choices?"

He nodded and pointed to the path on the right, the clear path. "This path leads deeper into the Lost Woods. Take it and you'll remain here forever, a soul drifting on the wind, never to feel fear or worry again." Link hesitated for a moment, then added softly, "Or anything."

I swallowed. "The other path?"

"It leads to your future," Link said quietly. "The path is covered in mist because the future is impenetrable to everyone, even the goddesses."

"But Nayru told me I'm imperative to Hyrule's future," I protested. "If I go back I'll save Hyrule, won't I?"

"You might," Link replied evenly. "Or you might not. You might be killed by Ganondorf. You might never even reclaim your body from the shadows. There are countless possibilities, none more likely than the other."

I met his eyes with my own, feeling my heart ache at his blue-eyed gaze. "And you?" I asked softly. "What happens to you when I make my choice?"

Link smiled gently. "When the goddesses allowed me to come for you, I swore that I wouldn't return without you. If you choose to stay, then so do I. If you go to face the future, so do I. Anywhere you go, I'll follow."

"Then we can be together in Hyrule," I said optimistically, but Link laid his hands on my shoulders, silencing me.

He said to me, "I won't remember this."

I stared at him. "You won't?"

"I won't remember anything from my time in the Sacred Realm. It will be just as though I've woken from a normal sleep." He sighed. "That's the way it has to be. If only I knew why."

"Then you won't remember me at all?" I whispered.

"I'll remember you from seven years ago, before I went to sleep," Link said earnestly. "Just not this." He paused, then went on hesitatingly, "And I won't…I might not remember…"

I hugged him tightly around the ribs, burying my face in his shoulder. "Don't say it. I couldn't bear to hear it."

Link wrapped his arms around me and held me close, stroking my hair gently. "Don't worry about that," he whispered. "I've loved you forever, Zelda. That will never change."

"Then let's just stay here," I pleaded. "Let's stay together."

Link was silent for several moments, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe. At last he said bitterly, "Wouldn't that be selfish of us."

I knew immediately that he was right. How could I leave Hyrule to destruction when there was still a chance, however small, that I might save it? There was simply no question.

I pushed away from Link. "I'm sorry," I muttered. "You're right, of course."

His smile broke my heart. "I wish to the goddesses that I wasn't."

"If there's no other way, there's no other way." I hesitated. "But I'll miss you."

Link touched my cheek, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. "It isn't goodbye," he said quietly. "We'll see each other again."

"Of course we will." I managed a smile. "And until then, I'll be brave."

Link smiled back at me. "I know you will."

I hesitated. "And, Link…I…"

He kissed my forehead. "I know. Go on, now. You mustn't hesitate."

He was right, of course. I met his eyes one more time, then turned and faced the mist swirling across the path to my future.

"Goodbye, Link." I didn't wait for him to reply. I couldn't. I squared my shoulders, and walked through the fog into my future.

* * *

Continued in Chapter 24.