Chapter 4
It was happening again.
Hyrule was in turmoil. Ganondorf had risen from his ashes and was taking over. The weather was stormy and the skies were dark. Link remembered this weather. This was how it had been those years ago when he had awoken from the Temple of Time only to find Hyrule destroyed completely and Zelda missing, lost.
He was standing in Hyrule Field, not far from the castle. Cold, fast winds blew through his hair and clothes. He shivered.
Looking around, he saw trees bending this way and that, close to breaking, falling apart entirely. Similar to how he felt now. No other living creatures were around. It was only him. The grass was dry and beige. An ugly color. Squeezing his eyes shut, he remembered the way the field had looked when he'd first left Kokiri Forest as a child. Green and lush and shiny in the mid-day sun. Now it was the opposite, dreary and desolate.
He hugged his arms close to his body. There was a clasp of thunder and for a split second the sky lit up, all purple and dazzling, yet deadly. A tree fell to the ground with a thump.
Hyrule was dying, slowly and surely. Link felt hot tears sting his eyes. Dying, falling, collapsing, exploding. Link ran. He was going to Termina, away from his homeland. It was the only safe place he could be. There he could see Anju and Kafei and Mayor Dotour and he could be safe, inside a warm bed with a soft comforter and fluffy pillows, with no bad feelings, only good. Happiness and bliss and laughter only existed outside of Hyrule. Why had he been born in the most miserable, wretched land in the world? Why, goddesses? Link wasn't like that. He was content and secure and fun- loving. So unlike Hyrule. It was as if Hyrule was a human, Dark Link, the real Link's contradiction. Link was surprised at himself for wanting to leave. He had travelled his childhood away, and now he was an adult, at ease to just stay home, be with Zelda and his friends, and most of all, be himself. And alas, now he wanted nothing more than to flee.
Link started run as fast as his legs would carry him. Over the fields, through the river, past the desert. Nabooru's voice echoed in his mind: Are you sure this is the right choice?" she was saying. Yes, he was. He was going to get far away from Hyrule, far, far away...
There was another loud rumbling of thunder, and then lightning struck. Sickening, horrifying sounds of electrocution rang in the air. Though he didn't want to look back, he did anyway. Curiosity got the better of him. It always had. One day it was going to ruin him completely.
The Temple of Time was on fire. Flames burst from all directions, and the once spectacular white marble stone building crumbled before Link's eyes. White dust flew through the air, and the rest of it, it was like watching stones breaking. Much like Link's heart. The Temple had made him feel safe, like he wasn't such a rarity. Now it was leaving him there alone.
Wait. Hadn't Zelda ordered for the Temple of Time to be demolished years ago?
What was going on?
And where was everybody? Had everyone else already left? Why was he always the last to know? He had been last to know about everything his whole life: his childhood, his family, his destiny to save Hyrule. Everything. And now this.
Turning to face forward again, he saw nothing but black abyss. And then Ganondorf's hideously ugly face appeared before him, snarling, laughing that petrifying cackle.
Link screamed. His voice rang out all through Hyrule, and as he watched him homeland burn to a crisp, bleed, die, disintegrate, his shout caused the final blow to all.
~*~
Link woke up to the sound of his own scream.
He sat up in bed fast, breathing heavily, his chest heaving with fear and horror. He felt the urge to run outside and vomit, but he abstained. It was only a dream. A weird, horrible one, true, but a meager dream.
He got to his feet reluctantly, but knowing he had to do so in order to calm down. He wiped sweat off his forehead and realized he was trembling violently. He padded into downstairs and got himself a hot cup of soothing soup Impa had made for him not long ago. Glancing around, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself fown. But he was nervous.
The last thing he remembered from the previous day was Zelda's father, King Elion, waking him up in the library and sending him home to Castle Town. He had watched as the king carried his daughter to her bedroom and laid her there to rest.
The walk home had been chilly and a little lonely. It made him miss his old friends: the Kokiri children, and his faerie friends Navi and Tatl. He never saw them anymore. His heart hurt. Even though he knew marrying Zelda was right, would it take away his life? Would he be able to do the things he liked, such as ride Epona to other lands for the sheer joy of it or fish in Lake Hylia? Or would he be consumed by royal duties? There was so much, too much, to consider.
Link was developing a headache. He was finishing is soup when he thought of something.
His dream had been horrible, yes, because he was especially sensitive to evil forces in Hyrule, and Zelda was even more so. For if Link had felt that dream so intensely, Zelda had felt it a thousand times worse.
Quickly he pulled some clothes on, and this time he fastened his Master Sword around his waist for good measure. Then he shoved his front door open and rushed outside into the cold.
The wind was blowing harder than Link had ever felt it, just like in his dream, and it was blowing against him too, opposing him. Link forced himself through it. He had to get to Zelda.
He crept past the guards. There were only two there, but one looked half asleep and the other was preoccupied by a strange dog that had wandered in. Link almost smiled and shook his head to himself. King Elion was not good at picking night watchers. Slipping past the two men, he found Zelda's window and tossed a few small stones at it. They made a reasonably loud sound, but not so loud that everyone else in the castle could hear it. She was most likely awake anyway.
She must have heard the sound, because she immediately came to her window, opened it, and peered out. "Link!" she called. "What're you doing here?"
He shivered. "Let me in. We have to talk..."
Zelda nodded to her agreement. "Meet me at the front door."
Link hurried to the main entrance to the castle. Zelda, still in her nightgown, opened the door gently and ushered him in. Once inside, she motioned for him to follow her.
They slid upstairs, and at one point Zelda's eyes flashed in anger at all the noise Link's shoes were making. "Take those damn shoes off," she snapped. "And that sword makes a lot of racket too. We haven't much time!"
Not wanting to irritate her more, Link did as he was told. Zelda was a sweet girl, but when something serious was happening, her personality completely changed. She became determined, tough and serious. Link liked and admired her willpower.
Once they were in her room, she closed the door behind them and leaned against it. "What?" she asked without delay.
"I had a dream..." Link started. He was interruped by Zelda's vigorous nodding.
"Yes. Me too. What did you see?" she sat down on her bed, and Link plopped down in a chair by her window.
"Well," he began, "the weather was really bad. Winds, and a little rain, and the sky was completely black. No one was around, but trees were falling and dying. I started to run. I guess...I guess I wanted to get away."
Zelda's expression was so melancholy Link stopped talking. She noticed this and urged him on.
"So I ran, and then I turned around one last time. I think it was to look for you. And I didn't see you, so I turned around to run away again, and I saw Ganondorf's face."
Zelda tucked a lock of long blonde hair behind her ear. Her face was thoughtful and pensive. Then she studied him warily. "That's it?" she asked in disbelief.
"That's it," he confirmed. "Why? What did you see?"
The princess shivered and stood up. "Something much worse," she responded.
Link got up too. "What is it?" he asked, stepping close to her.
Taking a deep breath, Zelda told him about her dream. "I saw the Sacred Realm. And for awhile it was peaceful, just as it was before, with the Triforce all gold and shining. Then suddenly blackness and evil overtook it. It transformed into a world of evil and monsters. I looked around, and I saw Ganondorf sitting in some kind of throne. And..." Her voice trailed off.
Link took her hand. "What is it?" he murmured.
Zelda's lip quivered. "I saw my body," she told him a meek voice. "Mutilated."
Tears filled her clear blue eyes, and Link held her close as she cried. After a long moment of this, she said, "What do you think it all means?"
"It's doesn't mean anything," Link told her. "It was just a dream."
"But..."
"But?"
She stared up at him. Her hair was mussed from being held to tight. "You know how it is."
"Zelda, do you know how long ago that was? We were children. No one sees prophecies anymore. No one."
She huffed, annoyed, and crossed her arms tight over her chest. "How do you know that," she jeered.
"I know," was all he said. "You of all people should know what it's like to just have that feeling. Of just knowing things. You were the only person who saw the bad in Ganondorf when we were kids. No one else did. But I believed you. I...I believed you."
She didn't say anything for a second before rebounding. "You believed me because you didn't know what to believe."
Link's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.
"I mean that you were raised in the forest, Link," Zelda said. "You were eleven years old and being deceived by that tree. You were sheltered from the real world your whole life, and then out of the blue the Deku Tree tells you that you have to go and see me and that you should listen to me. You didn't develop your sense of self until after you had saved Hyrule."
"At least I did something!" Link exploded. "You, with your royal family and palace. You waited around for me to save you half your life!"
"I did what I could," Zelda said through her teeth. "You could've said no, you know."
"No?" asked Link, confused. "To what?"
She glowered at him. "Saving Hyrule."
"Why would I have done that?" he said.
She shrugged. "It would've saved you a lot of trouble."
He smirked. "As if you could've done it on your own."
Zelda's head snapped up to look at him. She was a little bewildered that he had said that to her, apparently. Then she burst out laughing.
Now Link was confused. "What?" he asked.
"We sound like children," she giggled. "I think we had this very conversation as preteens."
Link chuckled. "Yes, I suppose we did."
He helped her up, and then wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry," she murmured into his shoulder. "I didn't mean what I said about you. I'm just nervous about this dream. What if it does mean something?" She sniffed.
"It doesn't," Link reassured her. "And I'm sorry too."
They smiled at each other, and then Link leaned forward and whispered in her pointy little ear. "I love you," he said.
"I love you," she replied.
They kissed a long, lingering kiss that Link could feel from the roots of his hair to his toes. Before long he had moved onto her neck and shoulders, running his lips and tongue down her upper body, his hands stroking her hair and back. Her head lolled back as she let the sensation of his lips on her skin rush through her. His hands slowly unlaced the back of her nightdress. Then, kissing her swollen lips again, they fell back onto the smooth silk of her comforter, Link pouring into Hyrule's princess.
It was happening again.
Hyrule was in turmoil. Ganondorf had risen from his ashes and was taking over. The weather was stormy and the skies were dark. Link remembered this weather. This was how it had been those years ago when he had awoken from the Temple of Time only to find Hyrule destroyed completely and Zelda missing, lost.
He was standing in Hyrule Field, not far from the castle. Cold, fast winds blew through his hair and clothes. He shivered.
Looking around, he saw trees bending this way and that, close to breaking, falling apart entirely. Similar to how he felt now. No other living creatures were around. It was only him. The grass was dry and beige. An ugly color. Squeezing his eyes shut, he remembered the way the field had looked when he'd first left Kokiri Forest as a child. Green and lush and shiny in the mid-day sun. Now it was the opposite, dreary and desolate.
He hugged his arms close to his body. There was a clasp of thunder and for a split second the sky lit up, all purple and dazzling, yet deadly. A tree fell to the ground with a thump.
Hyrule was dying, slowly and surely. Link felt hot tears sting his eyes. Dying, falling, collapsing, exploding. Link ran. He was going to Termina, away from his homeland. It was the only safe place he could be. There he could see Anju and Kafei and Mayor Dotour and he could be safe, inside a warm bed with a soft comforter and fluffy pillows, with no bad feelings, only good. Happiness and bliss and laughter only existed outside of Hyrule. Why had he been born in the most miserable, wretched land in the world? Why, goddesses? Link wasn't like that. He was content and secure and fun- loving. So unlike Hyrule. It was as if Hyrule was a human, Dark Link, the real Link's contradiction. Link was surprised at himself for wanting to leave. He had travelled his childhood away, and now he was an adult, at ease to just stay home, be with Zelda and his friends, and most of all, be himself. And alas, now he wanted nothing more than to flee.
Link started run as fast as his legs would carry him. Over the fields, through the river, past the desert. Nabooru's voice echoed in his mind: Are you sure this is the right choice?" she was saying. Yes, he was. He was going to get far away from Hyrule, far, far away...
There was another loud rumbling of thunder, and then lightning struck. Sickening, horrifying sounds of electrocution rang in the air. Though he didn't want to look back, he did anyway. Curiosity got the better of him. It always had. One day it was going to ruin him completely.
The Temple of Time was on fire. Flames burst from all directions, and the once spectacular white marble stone building crumbled before Link's eyes. White dust flew through the air, and the rest of it, it was like watching stones breaking. Much like Link's heart. The Temple had made him feel safe, like he wasn't such a rarity. Now it was leaving him there alone.
Wait. Hadn't Zelda ordered for the Temple of Time to be demolished years ago?
What was going on?
And where was everybody? Had everyone else already left? Why was he always the last to know? He had been last to know about everything his whole life: his childhood, his family, his destiny to save Hyrule. Everything. And now this.
Turning to face forward again, he saw nothing but black abyss. And then Ganondorf's hideously ugly face appeared before him, snarling, laughing that petrifying cackle.
Link screamed. His voice rang out all through Hyrule, and as he watched him homeland burn to a crisp, bleed, die, disintegrate, his shout caused the final blow to all.
~*~
Link woke up to the sound of his own scream.
He sat up in bed fast, breathing heavily, his chest heaving with fear and horror. He felt the urge to run outside and vomit, but he abstained. It was only a dream. A weird, horrible one, true, but a meager dream.
He got to his feet reluctantly, but knowing he had to do so in order to calm down. He wiped sweat off his forehead and realized he was trembling violently. He padded into downstairs and got himself a hot cup of soothing soup Impa had made for him not long ago. Glancing around, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself fown. But he was nervous.
The last thing he remembered from the previous day was Zelda's father, King Elion, waking him up in the library and sending him home to Castle Town. He had watched as the king carried his daughter to her bedroom and laid her there to rest.
The walk home had been chilly and a little lonely. It made him miss his old friends: the Kokiri children, and his faerie friends Navi and Tatl. He never saw them anymore. His heart hurt. Even though he knew marrying Zelda was right, would it take away his life? Would he be able to do the things he liked, such as ride Epona to other lands for the sheer joy of it or fish in Lake Hylia? Or would he be consumed by royal duties? There was so much, too much, to consider.
Link was developing a headache. He was finishing is soup when he thought of something.
His dream had been horrible, yes, because he was especially sensitive to evil forces in Hyrule, and Zelda was even more so. For if Link had felt that dream so intensely, Zelda had felt it a thousand times worse.
Quickly he pulled some clothes on, and this time he fastened his Master Sword around his waist for good measure. Then he shoved his front door open and rushed outside into the cold.
The wind was blowing harder than Link had ever felt it, just like in his dream, and it was blowing against him too, opposing him. Link forced himself through it. He had to get to Zelda.
He crept past the guards. There were only two there, but one looked half asleep and the other was preoccupied by a strange dog that had wandered in. Link almost smiled and shook his head to himself. King Elion was not good at picking night watchers. Slipping past the two men, he found Zelda's window and tossed a few small stones at it. They made a reasonably loud sound, but not so loud that everyone else in the castle could hear it. She was most likely awake anyway.
She must have heard the sound, because she immediately came to her window, opened it, and peered out. "Link!" she called. "What're you doing here?"
He shivered. "Let me in. We have to talk..."
Zelda nodded to her agreement. "Meet me at the front door."
Link hurried to the main entrance to the castle. Zelda, still in her nightgown, opened the door gently and ushered him in. Once inside, she motioned for him to follow her.
They slid upstairs, and at one point Zelda's eyes flashed in anger at all the noise Link's shoes were making. "Take those damn shoes off," she snapped. "And that sword makes a lot of racket too. We haven't much time!"
Not wanting to irritate her more, Link did as he was told. Zelda was a sweet girl, but when something serious was happening, her personality completely changed. She became determined, tough and serious. Link liked and admired her willpower.
Once they were in her room, she closed the door behind them and leaned against it. "What?" she asked without delay.
"I had a dream..." Link started. He was interruped by Zelda's vigorous nodding.
"Yes. Me too. What did you see?" she sat down on her bed, and Link plopped down in a chair by her window.
"Well," he began, "the weather was really bad. Winds, and a little rain, and the sky was completely black. No one was around, but trees were falling and dying. I started to run. I guess...I guess I wanted to get away."
Zelda's expression was so melancholy Link stopped talking. She noticed this and urged him on.
"So I ran, and then I turned around one last time. I think it was to look for you. And I didn't see you, so I turned around to run away again, and I saw Ganondorf's face."
Zelda tucked a lock of long blonde hair behind her ear. Her face was thoughtful and pensive. Then she studied him warily. "That's it?" she asked in disbelief.
"That's it," he confirmed. "Why? What did you see?"
The princess shivered and stood up. "Something much worse," she responded.
Link got up too. "What is it?" he asked, stepping close to her.
Taking a deep breath, Zelda told him about her dream. "I saw the Sacred Realm. And for awhile it was peaceful, just as it was before, with the Triforce all gold and shining. Then suddenly blackness and evil overtook it. It transformed into a world of evil and monsters. I looked around, and I saw Ganondorf sitting in some kind of throne. And..." Her voice trailed off.
Link took her hand. "What is it?" he murmured.
Zelda's lip quivered. "I saw my body," she told him a meek voice. "Mutilated."
Tears filled her clear blue eyes, and Link held her close as she cried. After a long moment of this, she said, "What do you think it all means?"
"It's doesn't mean anything," Link told her. "It was just a dream."
"But..."
"But?"
She stared up at him. Her hair was mussed from being held to tight. "You know how it is."
"Zelda, do you know how long ago that was? We were children. No one sees prophecies anymore. No one."
She huffed, annoyed, and crossed her arms tight over her chest. "How do you know that," she jeered.
"I know," was all he said. "You of all people should know what it's like to just have that feeling. Of just knowing things. You were the only person who saw the bad in Ganondorf when we were kids. No one else did. But I believed you. I...I believed you."
She didn't say anything for a second before rebounding. "You believed me because you didn't know what to believe."
Link's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.
"I mean that you were raised in the forest, Link," Zelda said. "You were eleven years old and being deceived by that tree. You were sheltered from the real world your whole life, and then out of the blue the Deku Tree tells you that you have to go and see me and that you should listen to me. You didn't develop your sense of self until after you had saved Hyrule."
"At least I did something!" Link exploded. "You, with your royal family and palace. You waited around for me to save you half your life!"
"I did what I could," Zelda said through her teeth. "You could've said no, you know."
"No?" asked Link, confused. "To what?"
She glowered at him. "Saving Hyrule."
"Why would I have done that?" he said.
She shrugged. "It would've saved you a lot of trouble."
He smirked. "As if you could've done it on your own."
Zelda's head snapped up to look at him. She was a little bewildered that he had said that to her, apparently. Then she burst out laughing.
Now Link was confused. "What?" he asked.
"We sound like children," she giggled. "I think we had this very conversation as preteens."
Link chuckled. "Yes, I suppose we did."
He helped her up, and then wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry," she murmured into his shoulder. "I didn't mean what I said about you. I'm just nervous about this dream. What if it does mean something?" She sniffed.
"It doesn't," Link reassured her. "And I'm sorry too."
They smiled at each other, and then Link leaned forward and whispered in her pointy little ear. "I love you," he said.
"I love you," she replied.
They kissed a long, lingering kiss that Link could feel from the roots of his hair to his toes. Before long he had moved onto her neck and shoulders, running his lips and tongue down her upper body, his hands stroking her hair and back. Her head lolled back as she let the sensation of his lips on her skin rush through her. His hands slowly unlaced the back of her nightdress. Then, kissing her swollen lips again, they fell back onto the smooth silk of her comforter, Link pouring into Hyrule's princess.
