Sol: Wow! This place is BIG!
Aria: I'm glad you like it.
Sol: You're Lady Aria! Neat!
Aria: This is Anri's little brother, Sol. He'll be staying with us because
his and Anri's master has a crisis to take care of.
Anri: I hope he'll be alright.
Aria: Knowing your master, he'll be fine, Anri. Don't worry.
Farore: But, you've never talked to him directly.
Aria: I already know that! I'm making judgments from the things he's said
in his reviews.
Farore: Oh.
Kaepora: CAN I DO THE BLOODY DISCLAIMERS NOW IF YOU'RE DONE TALKING?!
Sol: Eek! Anri! He's scary!
Aria: Kaepora, do the disclaimers and STOP SCARING SOL!
Kaepora: Humph! Aria Zephyr is the authoress and owner of this story, but
she does not own the Legend of Zelda games, their characters, or such
pertaining to that.
Aria: Thank you, Mr. Obvious. You can go now.
Kaepora: Humph! *flies away*
Sol: Is he always that creepy?
Aria: Only when he thinks we've been talking too long. Don't worry; he's
gone during most of the time.
Sol: That's good.
Aria: Okay. Back to the story: I'm sorry if anyone thinks they skipped a
section when Link said that he and the bottled Hero of Time talked. Let me
phrase things this way: while Link was being held in the dungeons, the
witch would occasionally come in to harass him, trying to get him to tell
her where Zelda was. Afterwards, the Hero of Time tried to tell him to
just not tell her anything and he kept Link company. They chatted and Link
eventually asked who the Hero of Time was. He mumbled something about him
not being important, but Link insisted and found out. Is that
satisfactory? I hope so, because I need to take a breath now.
Sol: Can I start the story?
Aria: Sure.
Sol: Yay! Here is chapter number forty!

Chapter 40: Attempt at Escape from the Witch's Fortress

"Um, what do you think she meant by that?" Link asked, after the princess
had left. Suddenly, they heard a roar of triumph. "I don't know, but we'd
better get out of here! She knows I'm here!" Zelda cried in panic. Link
nodded and shoved the door open.

"That witch took my weapons and things and put them in another one of the
cells. I'd like to get those back," Link said. "Fine! I'll find them and
you get the bottle! Hurry!" Zelda said.

She hastily pulled out her Star Light and lit it. She used it to find the
items by watching for the light reflecting off the shiny metal of Link's
mirror shield. She used Din's fire to open the door and Link ran over to
her, clutching the bottle. She took it while he quickly grabbed his
things.

"Is there any other way out of here other than that door?" Zelda asked, her
mind racing. "I'm afraid not, young princess. The only way out of the
dungeons is through the direct route," the bottle said. "That's not good!
The witch is probably coming this way!" Link said. "Calm down. Just get
into the hallway and I'll tell you where you can hide if she comes this
way," the bottle said.

"Ouch!" Zelda suddenly yelped. "What's the. . . ow! What in the world?"
Link said. "Uh oh. . . Is that coming from your hands?" the bottle asked.
"Yes," they replied. "She's getting closer," the bottle warned. Link and
Zelda exchanged glances and rushed into the hall.

They heard the sound of a slamming door and they saw a shadow on the wall
up ahead. "Here she comes!" Zelda whispered. "Quick! Open the door to
your left and get in!" the bottle instructed.

They did so and found themselves in another hallway. "What?" Link asked.
"When Hyrule originally made a raid on this place to catch the witch, a
hotshot magician installed it. Only people who are pure of heart can see
the door and it gives them exactly what they need. And, might I add, what
you need is an escape route," the bottle explained. "Nifty," Link
remarked. "We can admire the genius of an ancient magician later! Let's
go!" Zelda said.

As they hurried along the hallway, Zelda was able to calm down without the
witch being right behind them. "You were being bossy again," Link teased.
"Was not!" Zelda retorted. "Was too!" Link countered. "Ah, the simplicity
of having a mock argument," the bottle said playfully. "Though, it one
didn't know any better, one would say that you're flirting," it added.
Link and Zelda both glanced at each other, turned red, and went silent.
The bottle laughed.

While they ran along the twisting tunnel, Zelda quickly told Link about the
Forest and what had happened to her after his kidnapping. When they
finally reached the end of the tunnel, Zelda sighed in relief. However,
when she opened the door, a dark hand darted through it and dragged her
away. "Link!" she screamed as the door slammed shut. Link tried to open
the door to go after her captor, but it wouldn't open.

'Now, what do I do?! Zelda is being kidnapped and I can't open this door!
What do I do now?!' Link thought. Suddenly, an idea came to mind and he
pulled out a single bomb. 'This better work,' Link thought, lighting the
fuse with a flint. He dropped the bomb next to the door and ran out of the
way. The bomb blew open the door with tremendous force, spraying chips of
stone everywhere.

"Yes!" Link said, running through the doorway. "Well done, boy!" said a
voice. Link looked up. He was outside of the fortress and the witch was
standing on the top of one of the towers. Link felt his heart stop when he
saw who she was restraining. Zelda's arms were behind her back, as if they
were tied, and she was trying to break free from the witch.

The witch laughed in her despicable way and said, "It seems I've captured a
pretty prize here, don't you think?" Link glared at her angrily. "I
wouldn't worry; your precious princess will come to no harm," the witch
said.
"You can have this! I have no more need of him!" She threw a glittering
object down towards Link and he barely caught it. It was the bottle.
"Meet me at the top of the highest tower at the center of my fortress!
That is, if you ever want to see her again!" she laughed. "Don't fail my
expectations, boy!" she added before she dissolved into black smoke.

Tiana: Zelda's been kidnapped! Again! This isn't good!
Sol: Is she gonna be okay? I mean, that mean old witch isn't going to hurt
her, is she?
Aria: Of course not! Zelda will be fine. The next chapter won't give any
hints as to what's going on, but she'll be fine.
Anri: What IS in the next chapter?
Aria: Something that people have been asking about.
Tiana: I'm drawing a blank here.
Aria: Sorry, but I can't be any clearer than that. See you all soon!