Link awoke in a cold sweat, his body shaking from the nightmare. Leaning over, he could see that it was, surprisingly, 7 A.M. Falling back on his pillow, he took deep breaths. 'Why is this stuff happening to me?' Dragging himself out of bed, Link walked down the hall to the kitchen. His dad was at work already and his mom was still sleeping, so nothing else was moving. Getting a bowl, milk, spoon, and some cereal, he sat down at the table and ate his breakfast.
Half an hour later, Link was all ready for school. As he slung his backpack over his shoulder, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. Nothing had changed physically as far as he could tell. Other than showing some slight sleep depravation, Link was Link. 'Why do I feel so different?' Letting out a sigh and shaking his head, he closed the door to his house and walked down to the bus stop.
A group of twenty kids stood at the corner, most of them talking but a few of them were playing hackey. Link looked around and spotted Keith standing on the corner of the road. Link walked over to him. "Hey Keith." "Hm." "What's wrong?" "Nothing. It's just." Keith looked down at the ground. "I don't know. I just feel like I'm missing something." Link instantly thought about the spiritual stone.
"Did you lose the stone?" Link asked, keeping his voice low. "No, it's in a safe place." Link was relieved by that. "Well then, what are you missing?" "Like I said, I don't know." Link shook his head and looked up at the sky. It was a typical morning, the sun just starting to appear over the hillside. On all normal measures, today was going to be like any other. However, at that time, the measures were anything but normal.
The bus arrived on time and everyone piled in. Most people took out their books and started doing what was left of their weekend assignments. 'Oh man.' Link's head banged against the seat. 'I got all caught up in this stuff that I forgot about my homework.' Looking back a couple of seats, he could see Keith sitting there with his books wide open. Groaning, Link took out his books and set to work.
The kids on the bus didn't have much time, only about an hour, to do all of their homework. The bus pulled up next to the sidewalk outside the door of Hyrule City High. Link and Keith were among the last to get off. Pausing only to put their books in their lockers, they were sitting down in their first period class, history.
Link's and Keith's desks were right next to each other by pure coincidence because the school assigned its students their seats. The kids were doing the usual. Talking, doing some last minute things, and throwing around paper airplanes. Link was trying to remember what his assignment had been. The door opened and in stepped their teacher Mr. Green. He was in his fifties, quite a bit overweight, and clean-shaven. (A/N: This is the history teacher I had in my last year of JH.)
Mr. Green sat at his desk, took out a few papers, and looked them over. The whole class sat in silence, no one daring to do more than cough. After a few minutes, he put down the papers. "Alright class. Last week, your assignment was to look up your family's ancestry. It was to be a two page essay, single spaced." A few groans erupted from the class, one of them belonging to Link. 'Oh shit. I'm going to get it today.'
"Let's do something for a change today. We'll start from the bottom of the alphabet." Frank Zipelli got out of his desk, got to the front of the room, and started from the top. Time passed and the line of kids decreased slowly. In the middle of the fourth person's oration, the door opened and someone stepped in. Without even looking up from his notebook, Mr. Green addressed the person. "Ms. King, you are late." "I'm sorry Mr. Green. I haven't been sleeping well."
"That may be, but you are still supposed to be here at eight o' clock sharp. Since this is your first day in my class, I'll let it slide this time only. Now take your seat." "Thank you." Zelda walked over to her seat in the second row. "Class, I'm sure you all have heard of Ms. King. The fact that she comes from a rich family means nothing to me, as it WILL for you. She will be in our class for the rest of the year, so I expect that you will treat her the same way as you like yourself to be treated."
While Mr. Green was making his little speech, Link leaned a little to Keith. "Man, she looks wiped out." "Yeah, I know." He replied, leaning to his left. "Do you think she's having that weird dream as well?" "Maybe, but she could just be nervous." Mr. Green noticed the two boys whispering. "Do have something to add to this gentlemen?" Shooting straight up in their desks, Link and Keith replied. "No Mr. Green." "No sir."
The class ended forty-five minutes later. Surprising to them, Link and Keith weren't the only ones to have not done their assignment. "Mr. Kokirin, Mr. Subron, and Ms. King, I would like to speak with the three of you." Mr. Green said as the class ended. After everyone had left, he went over and closed the door. The three teenagers stood in silence, each one knowing that they were in some serious trouble.
"Now, can each of you tell me exactly why the homework I gave wasn't important enough to do? You two boys had a whole week to research on your family's past. Ms. King, you had five days, still plenty of time." The room was silent until Keith spoke up. "Sir, I've got no excuses. I just plain didn't do it. While I can't speak for Link, I'm sure Zelda was just too busy to do hers. What, with being rich and all. Plus the fact that she just moved here."
Link couldn't believe his ears. 'Keith can talk his way out of most things and he usually does.' What puzzled him even more is that he was almost trying to protect Zelda. Mr. Green let out an audible breath. "It seems that you are finally maturing Mr. Subron, as you are taking full responsibility for your actions. I think that we can let Ms. King answer for herself however." He turned to Zelda and waited for her response.
Zelda's mouth hung open for a moment before she pulled herself together. "He's right Mr. Green. I've had to spend a lot of my time unpacking in our new house." He nodded to that. "A satisfactory response. Mr. Kokirin?" Link felt that he was backed into a corner. 'Thanks a lot Keith. Now I have to be honest too.' "I'm waiting." Casting a quick look to Keith, Link answered. "I just forgot about it. My weekend was busy."
Mr. Green got up and paced back and forth a few times. "I have an idea. I want the THREE of you to work on a report concerning our country's past. As this will take some time, I'm willing to give you another week for the research. I expect the project to be on my desk when I come in next Monday morning. Is that understood?" Link, Keith, and Zelda immediately nodded. "Good. You're now dismissed." The three of them quickly gathered their books and left.
"What's with you? Never in a million years did I expect you to something like that." Link nearly yelled to Keith. It was lunchtime now and they were sitting at the table eating. Keith took a bite out of his sandwich as he responded. "I don't know. I just suddenly blurted it out. I don't know what came over me." Link shook his head and took a sip of his milk.
After they had finished, Link and Keith dumped their bags in a trashcan and went outside. The yard was noisy enough that a person could talk about anything without fear of anyone eavesdropping. "So Keith, any idea where we can find the other two stones?" "Maybe. In the past, most of Hyrule concentrated near the capitol because that is where the castle was. If the drawbridge was pulled up, then an invading army would've had one hell of a time trying to get in."
They started walking with Keith in the lead. "I'm listening." "Back then, three races made up most of the kingdom. Hylians, Zoras, and Gorons. The Kokiri were always there, but they weren't a part of it. Now what I'm about to say is just and educated guess." At that moment, Keith bumped into someone. "Sor-" He looked up to see Zelda's face. Link saw that the both of them were stunned.
"Are you following me around or something?" Zelda asked. "No way. This was an accident" Giving Keith and Link a suspicious look, Zelda left. "Weird." Keith said. "What's weird?" "This is the third time this morning I've literally bumped into her." "Are you following her?" "No, it's always by accident." Keith shook his head and continued walking.
"Anyways, you were saying?" "Now my guess is that the Hylians guarded the Master Sword, while the other three races guarded the stones." Link shook his head in agreement. "That makes sense, so what do we do?" "Well, we've already got the Kokiri's stone, and they haven't moved from the woods." "Why do you say that?" "The Great Deku Tree is their guardian and I highly doubt a tree could move."
"So, where do we find the other two stones?" "We look at wherever the Gorons and the Zoras were at that time period." Link brought Keith to a stop. "One problem. Although Hyrule wasn't as big as it is now, it was still huge. The Gorons and Zoras were nearly everywhere." "Well, it has to be somewhere near the capitol. If the Master Sword was ever needed, the stones had to be brought together quickly." Link let out a sigh. "Well at least we won't have to travel far, but we can't look during the week. We'll have to wait until Saturday."
The next few days passed rather quickly, school occupying most of Link's and Keith's time. However, each of them noticed some changes about themselves. Link began to show greater strength and endurance in PE while Keith became very honest and straightforward about anything. He also found himself scaring the hell about of people. They always said that they couldn't hear him walking up to them.
Keith took advantage of his constant run ins with Zelda to set up a time when they would get to work on their project. Since Zelda's family was one of Hyrule's oldest, their private library was only rivaled by the Library of Congress. After clearing it with their parents, Link and Keith took the bus to Kakiriko Heights after school on Thursday. Link had to somewhat drag Keith to Zelda's mansion.
They were greeted by one of the butlers and led up to the library. Link and Keith stared in awe as they saw various works of art, some of them hundreds of years old. The butler let them in and closed the door behind them. The room was huge, as big as their own houses put together. With the exception of the oak table in its middle, the entire room was covered with bookshelves. Even the walls were covered in books. The room was lit by several chandelier style lights.
"WOW." The two boys were awe-struck at the sight. "Thanks. It took a hundred people two weeks to do this room alone." Zelda was sitting at the table, a few books already piled up in front of her. Link and Keith walked up and sat down. "So, uh, where do we start?" Zelda motioned to the books in front of them. "I spent all of yesterday afternoon to find the right books. Pick one and start looking."
Link and Keith each picked up a book and started looking through it. After about half an hour, Keith put down his book. "Not to be rude, but do you have anything that dates back a few hundred years?" Zelda was at first startled by the question, and then a little uneasy. "Well, yes we do. But we can't look at it?" "Why not?" Link added, barging in on the conversation. "You see, it's written in ancient Hylian, and none of the translators consider it important enough to translate."
"That's not a problem-" "LINK!" He ignored Keith. "because Keith can read it." Zelda was stunned at that. "You can?!?" Giving Link a dirty look, Keith answered. "Yeah, I can. I have no idea how, I just can." Zelda beamed. "That's great! I'll go get it." She took off down the aisles of bookcases. "Thanks a lot Link. You know that's supposed to be a secret between you and me." All he did was laugh. "That was payback for Monday."
Zelda came running back, holding a large, old leather book in her hands. "Got it!" Putting it down on the center of the table, she blew off a layer of dust. Keith leaned over and examined it. "Well, what does it say?" Zelda asked, visibly excited. Running his finger under the letters, Keith translated the title. "Great Wars During the Reign of the Royal Family" Zelda smiled. "This is great! This book can help us on our report AND we didn't have to pay any stuck-ups a hundred thousand."
Keith began reading the introductions to each of the various wars. Eventually, he came to the most important one. "The War of Imprisonment" He read. "Hyrule had just recovered from a bloody civil war as opposing factions vied for control of the crown. King Harakian II sat on his rightful throne and the people looked to the future with hope. A princess had been born, securing the line of the royal family. The Gorons and the Zoras swore allegiance to the royal family.
"Then out of the Gerudo controlled deserts to the west, he came. He was the King of the Gerudos, the King of Thieves. His name was Ganondorf, and he came to swear loyalty to the King." Link and Keith exchanged glances. "It was merely a ruse however, as he was after a specific object. The sacred Triforce which the goddesses left when they created Hyrule. He caused various disasters to those that held the sacred stones which opened the way to the Sacred Realm.
"The princess of Hyrule had a dream in which a light came from the forest and dispelled dark clouds that covered all of Hyrule. She believed that Ganondorf represented the dark clouds and that the light from the forest meant that the one who would defeat him would come from the forest. Just as she had predicted, a young boy came from the forest and collected the sacred stones.
"However just as the boy returned to report to the princess, Ganondorf waited no longer and showed his true colors. The princess was carried away by her guardian and Ganondorf followed in hot pursuit. The young hero went to the Temple of Time and retrieved the Master Sword. Ganondorf had been waiting in the shadows however and entered the Sacred Realm, retrieving the Triforce.
"The hero's body and spirit were locked away in the Sacred Realm until he was finally old enough to rightfully bear the title, 'Hero of Time'. He awoke seven years later in the Chamber of Sages. The hero then embarked on his quest to defeat Ganondorf, who had become the King of Evil during those seven long years. After many hardships and trials, the hero defeated Ganondorf and restored peace to Hyrule."
The room was silent as Keith finished the introduction. "Wow, that Ganondorf was a real son of a bitch." Link and Keith looked in amazement at Zelda. "What? Just because I'm rich, doesn't mean that I don't my share of foul language." "Zelda, how did you get this book?" Keith asked. "Well, it just so happens that I am part of the royal blood line of Hyrule." She said with an air of pride.
"After my family relinquished the throne to Congress, we remained a wealthy family as you can see." The butler then chose that moment to step into the room. "Ms. King, your father as just received a letter from the school. You aren't in any trouble now, are you?" Before Zelda could respond, Keith stepped in front of her. "No, she's not in any trouble." Zelda was surprised at what Keith was doing.
"Madam, are you?" "No, I haven't done anything yet." The butler gave Keith an odd look. 'Strange. His hands are clenched into fist, like he was protecting her.' He nodded and left. Zelda gave Keith a good push from behind. "What was that all about?" "Sorry, I don't know what came over me."
Zelda simply turned around and looked at the book. "This is was a strange war. It sounds more like a myth or legend." She began turning the pages until she let out a cry. "What? What's wrong?" Keith asked, instantly at her side. "The picture in the book! It looks exactly like the one I've been seeming in my dream!" Link and Keith looked at the book and were stunned. "Ganondorf's Tower" Keith read.
"Every night since last Friday, I've been having the same nightmare. And it always ends with me hearing a man laughing in that tower." Zelda said, still in a little bit of a shock. "Zelda, I've got a news flash for you. You're not the only one who's been having the same nightmare since Friday." Link said. "Keith and I have been having the same nightmare that you're having."
"It's true." Keith added. "Link and I went looking around the old castle that afternoon. And let's just say some weird things happened." Zelda looked at them with astonishment. "Over the weekend, we went on a bit of a wild adventure and found some really weird stuff." Link said. "For instance, on Sunday we found a talking tree and a village full of kids." "You've got to kidding!"
Link shook his head. "I wish we were." "Prove it." Zelda said, still not believing them. "Alright, I will." Keith reached into his coat pocket it and pulled out the Spiritual Stone of the Forest. "Keith! I thought you said you had it in a safe place!" He simply shrugged. "I couldn't think of a safer place than with me." Zelda however, was mesmerized by the stone. "It's so beautiful. And you said you got this from a talking tree?"
They shook their heads. "So, what are you going to do with it?" Zelda asked. "We were going to complete the collection this weekend. After that, I don't know." Link answered. "We only know that the other two stones are somewhere in Hyrule City." Zelda got up, went over, and closed the book. "Well, why don't we finish this at school tomorrow?" Link and Keith looked at each other. "Sure, why not?"
The next day Link was woken up at six by someone throwing things at his window. Moving aside his curtain, Link looked down and saw Keith standing on his lawn, motioning for him to get out. He shook his head and tapped his watched, signaling the time. Keith jerked his thumb behind him. Moving the curtain even more, Link became fully awake when he saw what was parked in the road.
A stretch limo with Zelda standing at the door, smiling and waving to him. In a flash, Link was ready to go and sitting in the limo. "I thought we might get a head start on our assignment. Plus, I wanted to hear more about these stones, so I brought the book." Link turned to his friend who was sitting right next to him. "Did you know anything about this?" Keith shook his head. "Not a clue."
Handing him the book, Zelda listened as Keith read the section about the stones. "It says here that the other two stones were kept in the Zoras and the Gorons capitals as well. What was the capitals back then, is probably the water treatment plant at the mouth of the river and the mines up on Death Mountain." "Great. Now we have a place to look this weekend." Link said.
The three kids finished their assignment and put it into Mr. Green's mailbox in the front office. On Saturday morning, as Link and Keith were getting their mopeds ready, they heard another moped coming closer in the distance. Barreling down the road, the rider pulled to a stop right in front of Link's house, pelting the boys with gravel.
"When are you two gonna be ready?" Zelda asked as she pulled her helmet off. Link's and Keith's mouth's hit the ground. "What? Just because I'm rich, doesn't mean that I'm all high class. The reason why I'm in the public school now is because I got thrown out of all the others due to my behavior. I can't stand all those snobs, acting like their better than everyone else."
Link and Keith looked at each other and without even saying a word, they finished up and headed out.