Link opened his eyes slowly, his mind in a whirl. It took a minuet for
everything to come into focus and him to realize that he was on his back,
staring at the sky. Only.
"The sky is grey?" He said out loud. Slowly he rolled onto his side and pushed himself onto his elbows wincing as he felt the dull throb in his head more clearly. That's when he got a good look at his surroundings.
"A forest? Where am I?" Link's eyes widened and he suddenly realized something else. "King of Red Lions! Where, where are you? King of Red Lions!!?" Link cupped his hands to his mouth. But his voice echoed as if he were the only living thing in the silent forest. As Link's vision panned out the whole area he saw only grey, soundless forest. His hands dropped to his sides as something else hit him.
"This looks as Hyrule Castle was in it's sealed state. Where am I? Is this a dream or a memory?" But silence only answered him. As the young hero walked around, he realized that the forest was vast, far bigger than the Forest Haven. And after a bit more walking, he found small structures constructed out of the bases of trees. Interesting enough, they were all the perfect size for Link, and he walked in and out of the small houses looking around.
The still life waterfall he spied beside some more houses only confirmed his growing suspicions. Link saw small suspension bridges running all over the forest village, obviously constructed by small hands. Why, it seemed that children had inhabited the village! However, while a small search turned up nothing, Link came across a small tree house that stood out against the rest. Stood out, because it's base was adorned with little pictures. Interested, he came to the base of this particular tree house, taking notice of a sign staked at it's front.
The green -clad boy ran a hand along it's rough edges examining it's writing.
"It's in. Hylian." Link sighed. He wasn't sure but it was a pretty good bet it was. Moving on he looked upon the tree's base to inspect it's drawings more closely. It was a child's picture, the different shades suggested color, and it showed a person that was clothed very much like himself. Link didn't know what to make of this discovery, but he got very excited.
"Maybe there's something else up there that I can find that may explain things better." And the boy was up the ladder in no time, finding a small cozy room not unlike the other houses he had already seen below. It came equipped with the usual wooden bed, tables and chairs. He looked upon the walls to find a few papers tacked to them, but like before he couldn't read them.
Discouraged, Link plopped ungracefully onto the bed and wondered what he should do now.
"What is this place? Where am I?"
Link.
Link's head shot up and he looked around alarmed.
"Who said that!? Who's there?!"
Link.
There was a small movement at the corner of his eye, and Link flew from his seat into the opposite direction, body poised and ready. But he didn't see what it was, and Link looked around confused.
Suddenly he felt a hard slap in the back of his head and he flew forward, kissing the ground. He heard a faint laughter; small, almost sounding like bells. As the poor boy picked himself up from the floor, he caught something whisking out the door, leaving a trail of white light behind in its wake.
It was a fairy.
"Wait..Fairy wait!" Link raised a hand and was about to run after it when he noticed a paper upon the table. Upon it was written letters that he could not recognize and he realized it was in Hylian again. He stared at the parchment and felt that there was some kind of urgency to it. But he couldn't read it. Frustrated he shoved it into his pocket and ran out.
"Fairy! Fairy where are you?" The boy called. Link's eyes darted every which way trying to catch sight of it. "Fairy!" He shouted.
I have waited so long Link.
The soft female voice floated to him, sounding happy yet, sad.
"How do you know my name?" The boy looked around trying to find where she hid. "Who are you?"
It's been a long time.
Finally, he spotted her, the fairy. She danced playfully at the entrance of a tunnel at the other end of the village. Link saw why it had been so hard to find her; she like everything else in this world was totally drained of color so familiar to fairies.
He ran to where she was as fast as his small legs could carry him, but she did not wait for him, instead she fled into the tunnel making it clearly obvious that he was to follow her. Laughter trailed after like sounds of dainty bells.
"Fairy! Wait for me!" Link cried out as he was loosing sight of her through the twists and turns in the tunnels. Soon, he could not tell where he had come from or what direction was which, and as he had feared, he lost her.
He looked around but every direction looked the same and he could not pin point a direct route.
"I don't even know where I'm going." Link murmured under his breath. An involuntary shudder ran up his spine as he realized he was very lost, and very much alone. It was a terrible feeling that gripped his heart with cold claws. "I'm lost. Where do I go now?" The small boy picked a direction and walked forward forcing the lump in his throat down. Bravely, he held his head up determined not to lose heart. But every turn he took seemed to lead nowhere at all, and he began to wonder if he was going in a circle. As Link began to slip into despair, he heard a faint music. It was so faint that he wondered if it was even there, and strained his ears.
It was.
"If I use the music, I can probably get out of here."
It was easier said than done, and many times Link had to close his eyes and trust only his ears to find the way. Much to his relief the scenery began to change and the music got louder.
"That music, it's the same instrument I heard before. But the song is different. It's more.."
Familiar.
His heart skipped a beat as he ran forward out of the forest maze and into another one. But he was not scared, for he heard the music and it encouraged him, guiding him. And soon he stepped out into a small clearing, a tree stump centered and the ruins of a temple a little farther ahead. Its stairs had long since been destroyed showing no visible way up. But the song was clearer now and told Link that it's source was here.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" He asked knowing full well there was. The song kept playing away unmindful of the boy's question. Link realized that the music was floating from somewhere above probably from the top of the plat form of the broken stair well. But he could not see even on his tiptoes.
"Um, excuse me. Are you the same one from before? Sir?"
Music, happy and sweet came back down to him. Link thought of something and reached into his pocket producing the paper left behind.
"Sir, did you leave this for me?" More music.
Link wasn't sure how to continue or even if he should. Was the guy even listening? Was it even the same one? He was about to put the paper away when he noticed the writings upon it began to spin, it morphed and conformed into something different, and slowly the writing became legible.
"H, E, L.." Link read out the letters as they came but at last, when the paper could be fully readable, his eyes widened as his mind took in the one word message.
"Help. Who needs help? Are you asking me for help?"
The Music kept playing but Link could feel something different now, but he didn't know how to describe it. Like the Player was waiting. The song became commanding then, and seemed to wrap itself around Link. Despite all the questions he had in his mind, and the pain it caused his head to think of it all, Link raised his hands once more and began to move with each note, indicating all the highs and lows of the song.
And it seemed the player was pleased, for the song moved to the boy's rhythm. In the middle of it all Link heard the distinctive sounds of tiny bells, and he opened his eyes to find the fairy hovering near by. She said nothing but hovered to and fro. He wanted to call to her, and had the sudden impulse to shout her name. But he did not know her name. As if reading his mind the Fairy took to the air high above him and disappeared from sight above the Stair less platform.
A sudden gust of winds picked up from beneath Link causing him to stop his conducting, and with it so did the music. A whirlwind of leaves swirled angrily about him blinding his vision of the forest, soon it became too thick to see through, and in a blink of an eye, and Link felt the sudden rush as he was ripped away from the forest with such force. He wondered in that moment if someone was trying to prevent him from staying longer.
But he didn't have long to play with the thought when he looked back and saw that he was being whisked high above the forest. Link for a fleeting moment saw a figure standing in the shadows of the Temple's entrance, the fairy bobbing by its side.
It was the last image Link saw as the darkness engulfed him and then shattered.
And then he awoke.
"The sky is grey?" He said out loud. Slowly he rolled onto his side and pushed himself onto his elbows wincing as he felt the dull throb in his head more clearly. That's when he got a good look at his surroundings.
"A forest? Where am I?" Link's eyes widened and he suddenly realized something else. "King of Red Lions! Where, where are you? King of Red Lions!!?" Link cupped his hands to his mouth. But his voice echoed as if he were the only living thing in the silent forest. As Link's vision panned out the whole area he saw only grey, soundless forest. His hands dropped to his sides as something else hit him.
"This looks as Hyrule Castle was in it's sealed state. Where am I? Is this a dream or a memory?" But silence only answered him. As the young hero walked around, he realized that the forest was vast, far bigger than the Forest Haven. And after a bit more walking, he found small structures constructed out of the bases of trees. Interesting enough, they were all the perfect size for Link, and he walked in and out of the small houses looking around.
The still life waterfall he spied beside some more houses only confirmed his growing suspicions. Link saw small suspension bridges running all over the forest village, obviously constructed by small hands. Why, it seemed that children had inhabited the village! However, while a small search turned up nothing, Link came across a small tree house that stood out against the rest. Stood out, because it's base was adorned with little pictures. Interested, he came to the base of this particular tree house, taking notice of a sign staked at it's front.
The green -clad boy ran a hand along it's rough edges examining it's writing.
"It's in. Hylian." Link sighed. He wasn't sure but it was a pretty good bet it was. Moving on he looked upon the tree's base to inspect it's drawings more closely. It was a child's picture, the different shades suggested color, and it showed a person that was clothed very much like himself. Link didn't know what to make of this discovery, but he got very excited.
"Maybe there's something else up there that I can find that may explain things better." And the boy was up the ladder in no time, finding a small cozy room not unlike the other houses he had already seen below. It came equipped with the usual wooden bed, tables and chairs. He looked upon the walls to find a few papers tacked to them, but like before he couldn't read them.
Discouraged, Link plopped ungracefully onto the bed and wondered what he should do now.
"What is this place? Where am I?"
Link.
Link's head shot up and he looked around alarmed.
"Who said that!? Who's there?!"
Link.
There was a small movement at the corner of his eye, and Link flew from his seat into the opposite direction, body poised and ready. But he didn't see what it was, and Link looked around confused.
Suddenly he felt a hard slap in the back of his head and he flew forward, kissing the ground. He heard a faint laughter; small, almost sounding like bells. As the poor boy picked himself up from the floor, he caught something whisking out the door, leaving a trail of white light behind in its wake.
It was a fairy.
"Wait..Fairy wait!" Link raised a hand and was about to run after it when he noticed a paper upon the table. Upon it was written letters that he could not recognize and he realized it was in Hylian again. He stared at the parchment and felt that there was some kind of urgency to it. But he couldn't read it. Frustrated he shoved it into his pocket and ran out.
"Fairy! Fairy where are you?" The boy called. Link's eyes darted every which way trying to catch sight of it. "Fairy!" He shouted.
I have waited so long Link.
The soft female voice floated to him, sounding happy yet, sad.
"How do you know my name?" The boy looked around trying to find where she hid. "Who are you?"
It's been a long time.
Finally, he spotted her, the fairy. She danced playfully at the entrance of a tunnel at the other end of the village. Link saw why it had been so hard to find her; she like everything else in this world was totally drained of color so familiar to fairies.
He ran to where she was as fast as his small legs could carry him, but she did not wait for him, instead she fled into the tunnel making it clearly obvious that he was to follow her. Laughter trailed after like sounds of dainty bells.
"Fairy! Wait for me!" Link cried out as he was loosing sight of her through the twists and turns in the tunnels. Soon, he could not tell where he had come from or what direction was which, and as he had feared, he lost her.
He looked around but every direction looked the same and he could not pin point a direct route.
"I don't even know where I'm going." Link murmured under his breath. An involuntary shudder ran up his spine as he realized he was very lost, and very much alone. It was a terrible feeling that gripped his heart with cold claws. "I'm lost. Where do I go now?" The small boy picked a direction and walked forward forcing the lump in his throat down. Bravely, he held his head up determined not to lose heart. But every turn he took seemed to lead nowhere at all, and he began to wonder if he was going in a circle. As Link began to slip into despair, he heard a faint music. It was so faint that he wondered if it was even there, and strained his ears.
It was.
"If I use the music, I can probably get out of here."
It was easier said than done, and many times Link had to close his eyes and trust only his ears to find the way. Much to his relief the scenery began to change and the music got louder.
"That music, it's the same instrument I heard before. But the song is different. It's more.."
Familiar.
His heart skipped a beat as he ran forward out of the forest maze and into another one. But he was not scared, for he heard the music and it encouraged him, guiding him. And soon he stepped out into a small clearing, a tree stump centered and the ruins of a temple a little farther ahead. Its stairs had long since been destroyed showing no visible way up. But the song was clearer now and told Link that it's source was here.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" He asked knowing full well there was. The song kept playing away unmindful of the boy's question. Link realized that the music was floating from somewhere above probably from the top of the plat form of the broken stair well. But he could not see even on his tiptoes.
"Um, excuse me. Are you the same one from before? Sir?"
Music, happy and sweet came back down to him. Link thought of something and reached into his pocket producing the paper left behind.
"Sir, did you leave this for me?" More music.
Link wasn't sure how to continue or even if he should. Was the guy even listening? Was it even the same one? He was about to put the paper away when he noticed the writings upon it began to spin, it morphed and conformed into something different, and slowly the writing became legible.
"H, E, L.." Link read out the letters as they came but at last, when the paper could be fully readable, his eyes widened as his mind took in the one word message.
"Help. Who needs help? Are you asking me for help?"
The Music kept playing but Link could feel something different now, but he didn't know how to describe it. Like the Player was waiting. The song became commanding then, and seemed to wrap itself around Link. Despite all the questions he had in his mind, and the pain it caused his head to think of it all, Link raised his hands once more and began to move with each note, indicating all the highs and lows of the song.
And it seemed the player was pleased, for the song moved to the boy's rhythm. In the middle of it all Link heard the distinctive sounds of tiny bells, and he opened his eyes to find the fairy hovering near by. She said nothing but hovered to and fro. He wanted to call to her, and had the sudden impulse to shout her name. But he did not know her name. As if reading his mind the Fairy took to the air high above him and disappeared from sight above the Stair less platform.
A sudden gust of winds picked up from beneath Link causing him to stop his conducting, and with it so did the music. A whirlwind of leaves swirled angrily about him blinding his vision of the forest, soon it became too thick to see through, and in a blink of an eye, and Link felt the sudden rush as he was ripped away from the forest with such force. He wondered in that moment if someone was trying to prevent him from staying longer.
But he didn't have long to play with the thought when he looked back and saw that he was being whisked high above the forest. Link for a fleeting moment saw a figure standing in the shadows of the Temple's entrance, the fairy bobbing by its side.
It was the last image Link saw as the darkness engulfed him and then shattered.
And then he awoke.
