Chapter 1:





Hope yawned sleepily. It was Saturday. She loved Saturdays. No school, no responsibilities. . . . Just her and her father.

He had brought home a new game the night before, for their reality simulator. Newly developed, it was a rerelease of an old classic, The Ocarina of Time, a game once played with hand held controllers. New twists had been added, allowing the player to chose to be Princess Zelda, a.k.a. Shiek, or Link, or the mystery character, who had to be unlocked by completing quests.

Hope was a simulator addict, and she knew it. Her father was a paranoid man. He never let her go anywhere. She used the simulator to communicate with her teachers, and her friends, but she had only met two classmates in real time, in real life. The rest of her time she spent in the games her father brought home to her. That was his job: designing video games. She had every game before it went out on the market. The revamped version of Ocarina of Time was not scheduled for release for another six months.

Hope found her father alone in the kitchen, reading the newspaper. Hope grinned at him, and put two frozen waffles in the toaster. Her father was a creature of habit, doing almost everything according to his preset schedule.

"I can't wait to try out that game," Hope said.

"I spent all night playing it," he admitted sheepishly. "It was my favourite as a kid."

"How far did you get?" she asked. She knew how the game was supposed to go. She had spent most of the night reading an old strategy guide.

"I've got the Master Sword, and I'm halfway through the Water Temple. But, I already unlocked all the secrets at work."



After breakfast the two of them headed down the stairs. Hope smiled, watching her father prance around like an excited child. After all, the man was nearly fifty years old, and he stilled loved to play. She grinned, knowing that her two friends thought much the same about her. She was nearly seventeen, and she still delighted, even looked forward to, playing games.

Her father opened up the simulator, and fitted her with the gear. His cell phone rang. He heaved a sigh, and answered it.

"What?" Murmuring on the other end. . . "Can't you handle it without me?" More murmuring, apologetic in tone. "Fine. I'll be there shortly."

He turned back to Hope.

"Sorry, kiddo, looks like we'll have to leave the two player adventure for another time. But, you go ahead. I'll be back later. Don't forget about lunch, eh?"

"All right, dad. Love you. See you later."

"Love ya too. Oh, and honey, you might want to adjust the settings. I took it down to Level One so I could play all night."

"'Kay dad. See ya."



Hope slipped the helmet and gloves on, then she entered the chamber.

"Computer, new file, Ocarina of Time."

"Name?"

"Random."

"Player?"

"Random."

"Level?"

"True to life."

"Pain threshold?"

"Zero."

"File name?"

"Hope."

"Processing."



Hope leaned back on the balls of her feet, eager for the simulation to start. She had set the level to True to life, which meant everything in the game would be as hard to accomplish as if it were real life: target were harder to hit, things were heavier, and everything was realistic. Except pain. That, she had set it to nothing, so she would only get the barest tingle. When playing a fantasy game, or a shoot out for that matter, it was best to set the pain threshold as low as possible. There were originally five thresholds, the fifth being True to Life, but that had resulted in heart attacks in two people, and so that technology was banned from the simulators.

Hope jumped to attention as the scenery began to form around her: lush hills, green, velvety grass, a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds floating along merrily. She bent down and ran her fingers through the grass. It felt like real grass, smooth, a little wet from the dew. The sunshine was warm, like spring sunshine in early June. There was a slight breeze, and it ruffled Hope's hair. She grabbed a strand of her hair, and pulled it forward. It was blond, just like her own hair. For a moment, Hope was slightly disappointed, when she suddenly realized that both Zelda and Link had blond hair. It would have been blond then any how, unless the hidden character had different coloured hair.

Hope sat down in the grass, and pulled her pack off her back. She rummaged through it, finding a piece of paper.

"Welcome to Hyrule," said the paper. "Commands are as follows: 'Shadow child' changes you into your Shiekah form, 'Hide' causes Shiekah form to disappear so that you can only be seen by another Shiekah. Hyrule's child causes change into Hylian form. When in Hylian form, you may use Din's Fire, Fiore's Wind and Nayru's Love." Hope crocked her head to the side. So she was Zelda. That was good. She read on. "When in Kokiri form, you may use slingshot, and deku sticks. To access Kokiri form, say 'Forest child.' " She stopped

"Kokiri form?" she wondered softly. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Hope stood up, and brushed off her pants. She looked at them for the first time. They were blue. She looked at her tunic. It was blue too. SHE realized She was in Hylian form. Curiously, she rummaged through her bag for clues on what to do next. She had a Fairy Ocarina in her bag. Throughly confused, Hope set out toward the Kokiri Forest.

A strange smell in the air caught her attention. Hope turned, and saw a thick column of smoke rising near the Castle. She paused. She did not want to go running in where she could easily be seen.

"Shadow child," she whispered. A strange feeling washed through her. She transformed, her bones stretching, her muscles expanding. She grabbed the sword at her side, a thin blade with the Eye of Truth painted in black on the hilt. "Hide!"

She came over the hill, and saw where the fire came from. A funeral pyre. The King and Queen, dressed in their finery, stood on a platform. Hope edged nearer quietly. She heard a peasant turn to his neighbour.

"Terrible it is, just terrible," he said softly. "To be cut down like that, so young an' all."

"T' will break the Queen's heart, t' is sure," the woman agreed sadly. "What will become of us, with the Princess dead?"

"Aye, and the King beside himself with grief?"

Hope stared in amazement. The Princess, dead? It couldn't be! Zelda couldn't be dead!

"Quiet," said an old man, stooped low, leaning on his cane for support. "Have you got no respect for the dead? T' is bad enough that Princess Amelia is gone." Hope shook her head, now throughly confused. Who was Amelia? She must have gained access to the hidden character! This could be very interesting indeed.