HOLY CRAPPISH TINGES!! I FINISHED IT!!! IT'S ALL OVER!!! Well not yet, it will be when you read the note at the bottom. BUT DUDE!!

Disclaimer: Should I do a serious one for change? ::thinks::.Nah.

Chapter 26

I flopped down on the bed in the room Zelda had given me to stay in. It had been two days since Rauru's story, and I was amazed at how much had happened. The castle had been restored (thanks to the powers of the Sages), Rauru had been locked up with his brother (both of them without any powers), and Malon, Link and I were staying at Zelda's castle. In the rest of the time, Link had introduced Malon and I to Zelda's (and his) Father, the King of Hyrule, showed us around the entire castle (which was HUGE), and generally we all hung out. Life actually seemed to be going.well, good. Anyway, after a few minutes of staring at the ceiling and just being content with life, there was a light knock on the door. Before I could reply, Zelda came in, now dressed in the proper princessy dress. I sat up quickly and faced her. "Evalyn, I need to talk to you about something." She said, sweeping in a sitting in a chair opposite the bed. "What?" I asked, unnecessarily. Zelda took a deep breath. "Well.you must be eager to return to your own world." She said by way of introduction. I stared at her. The thought hadn't really occurred to me- I mean, I felt like I'd lived in Hyrule, but it'd only been-well, two weeks at the most. "Well, the spell has to be done at the full moon-that will be tomorrow night." She continued, ignoring my blank stare. 'Tomorrow night? That's.that's too soon! .but don't I want to get home?' I thought. "Umm.okay.do I have to do anything?" I said, even though my mind was protesting the entire thing. "No. I'll have Link help me set up the area-he already did it before." She replied. 'No!' I thought wildly. 'No, don't send me back! I'm HAPPY here! I don't want to go, I want to stay! Say no, ask to stay, do ANYTHING-' "All right. I'll say my good-bye's today, I guess." I said instead. "That might be wisest." Zelda agreed. "I assume you don't have to pack or anything?" She continued. 'Yes! I have to pack, it'll take too long, and I'll have to stay longer!' "No, I don't have anything." "All right." She got up and stood to leave. 'Say something-' She started walking towards the door. 'Anything-' Closer. 'If she goes out that door, it's lost!' She reached the door. 'Ask to stay!' She reached for the knob. 'DEMAND to stay!' She was gone. I stared at the door, the realization finally hitting me. "Back there.well, it's home." 'Isn't it?' * * * Malon and Link looked as shocked as I had felt when I told them. I wondered if they really wanted me to stay, or if I was just imagining the looks on their faces. "Tomorrow night? But-that's so soon!" Malon protested, her eyes wide. Link didn't say anything, but just looked at the ground. I wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but at the same time almost didn't want to. "Yeah, but.well.I kind of have to get back." I said lamely, not really sure what I wanted. Malon nodded glumly, and Link continued to stare at the ground. "Um, Link? Zelda said she wanted your help in setting up the area for the spell," I said, trying to make him say something. "Um.yeah.I'll go find her," He muttered, heading off. "Was it something I said?" I asked worriedly once he'd left. Malon shook her head. "No.I just don't think he really knows what to say. It's.well, this sucks!" She exclaimed. I stared at her in shock, and she laughed at the expression on my face. "Oh come on! It's been, what, three times now?" She giggled. I laughed too, and soon we were both gasping for breath. Not because it was funny-it really wasn't-but we just needed a relief from feeling bad. It felt good to laugh. * * * Just before the ceremony, I sat in my room, waiting for someone to be sent to tell me to come down. They didn't take long in arriving. "Come in," I called at the expected knock. Link walked in, smiling sheepishly. "Hey," he said softly. I smiled back. "Hey." I replied. We hadn't really talked a lot since I'd told him when I was leaving. ".is it time?" I asked hesitantly. "We've got a couple minutes. Um, I kind of wanted to give you something." I looked at him questioningly. "It's.well, it's not a lot, but it's something to remember Hyrule by," He said, digging in a pouch. He pulled out a small ocarina, kind of like the one he had. "Here," He said, handing it to me. Speechless, I turned it over in my hands, my fingers running over the weird design over the mouthpiece. "Link, I-what's this?" I asked, turning it over. On the back was what looked like a bunch of dots. "It's a song-well, it's supposed to be a spell through a song. Each dot is a note-see?" He asked. I nodded. "What's the spell for?" I asked, running a finger over the carved dots. Link shrugged. "I'm not sure-Saria was the one who made it. She didn't tell me." I shrugged. "Either way, thank you so much-I'll keep it always," I promised, beaming up at him. He smiled back at me. "I wish I could give you something in return-wait, I know!" I said, taking a necklace from around my neck. It was a thin silver chain with a matching silver dragon pendant hanging from it. "This is supposed to be a friendship charm. I want you to have it," I said. Link blushed. "Er-thanks, Evalyn," He said, allowing me to attach it around his neck. He stared at it a moment, then suddenly wrapped his arms around me in a rough hug. "I'm gonna miss you," He said, letting me go. I nodded. "Me too." "We should probably get down there-they'll be wondering where we are," Link said, heading for the door. I followed, dreading what I knew must be. When we got there, it was just the six Sages, Malon, and Zelda waiting for us. I shared another hug with Malon, who was trying hard to stop the tears that were rolling down her cheeks, and I knew I was crying too. Zelda directed me to the center of a large star, with a candle on each leg. Wiping at my eyes, and holding on tightly to the ocarina, I waited as Zelda said a few magical words. I had just enough time to wave at my friends before a sudden lurching movement made me realize I was staring into blackness. "I'll miss you," I said, a moment too late, the thought echoing around my head. Miss you.miss.miss. * * * "Miss?" A voice suddenly asked. I jerked awake, and realized I was sitting on the bus again. I looked up at the young woman, who was holding up my travel bag. "Miss, this dropped on the floor," She continued, handing it to me. Throat dry, I nodded, lowering my eyes. I quickly checked my digital watch for the date and time-it was eight hours later on the same day I'd left. So.it was all a dream.? Link, Malon, Zelda.I just made them up? But two weeks worth.and I'd felt pain. A lump rose in my throat. A dream. I should have known. Everyone who I'd ever cared about eventually left me-even when they aren't real. Managing to swallow the lump, I opened my bag to get out a book. Rummaging for a minute, my hand closed around a hard, cool object. "Passengers, we are arriving at our stop. Please pick up your bags and get off the bus in an orderly fashion," Came a mechanical overhead announcement. Leaving the object for later observation, I stood up and got off the bus, and waited for my luggage to be fetched from the compartment under the vehicle. A young man, obviously someone who worked for the orphanage, was holding a sign that held my name. I walked up to him and introduced myself, and he led me to a car. About an hour later and having been settled into a room, I dropped my suitcase in front of the dresser and lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling- like I had supposedly done a day before. Now the lump in my throat came back, and this time I didn't stop it-I just wept silently. After a minute, I remembered the strange object I had felt in my bag. I picked it up and searched around for the object, then pulled it out. When I did, it took me a moment to recognize it, then my throat and mouth went completely dry. Staring wide-eyed, I flipped it over, and yes-the song was still engraved on the back of the ocarina. Still staring at it, I started crying again, the tears dropping on the one object that proved it wasn't a dream. My last lingering thread of happiness.
Yeah.that was a really really sad ending. BUT There IS a light at the end of the tunnel, gentle readers! For, even though I am doing a poll, THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!! Will Evalyn return? Will she not? Will Link come to Earth? Will it have anything to do with the original? WHO KNOWS? BUT there will be a sequel, even with this sad ending! And with that, I bid you ADIEU! ::disappears in a cloud of mauve smoke:: ~Dekustar the Mad Author