Chapter 4:



Hope woke early. Her father had to go into work again. He would not tell her what was wrong. She had shown him the marks on her arm. He explained them away, suggesting she had scratched them earlier. He could not explain why the marks were exactly where she had been hit, but he had convinced her that it was all in her mind.



Hope slipped on the equipment.

"Simulator, start," she commanded. The machine roared to life. "Resume file, Hope." Darkness filled her vision, but no more. Hope sighed. The simulator was malfunctioning again. Then it occurred to her. The fairy had said she could return to Hyrule if she said "I am needed elsewhere." She took a deep breath, hoping that would solve her problems.

"I am needed elsewhere," she said in a loud, clear voice. The world flashed with colours.



Hope looked around. She was back outside the castle of Hyrule. She could hear sounds of life drifting from the market. She walked through the gates into the city. The market was a bustle of activity. Two children chased each other. She saw a woman with flaming hair step into the street.

"That's Malon," Hope realized. The woman pulled a twelve year old girl after her.

"Mom, I don't wanna round up your silly old cuccos," she wined.

"Kalon, it's your turn," piped a little boy. She stuck her tongue out at the boy. Hope laughed to herself.



Hope explored the town. There were many games within the game, archery and bombchu bowling. Hope knew that she did not need to be there. She needed to find the next Daemon. She didn't dare go into the village: surely Impa would sense if she ventured into the Sheikah's domain. Saria would help her, but did she know enough about the Daemons, being shut in her Forest? Who else could help? Hope looked up. Of course. Zelda was the Seventh Sage. She would know!



Hope went up toward the castle. She spotted guards at the gates around the corner. Hope looked over at wall. She reasoned she could climb it. After all, that's how Link got into the castle. She grabbed onto the vines, but they bent when she pulled on them. Hope heaved a sigh. They would not hold up her weight. She was simply too heavy. She would need to be a child. . . or a Kokiri! She grinned at the thought.

"Forest child," she whispered. Her body shrank. Hope climbed up the vines. They held her weight without difficulty.



She pulled herself up, and wiped her dirty hands on her pants. She peered at the guards around the perimeter. They were stationed much closer together then they had been in the old game. She shook her head. The programers were certainly making it hard for her.

"Shadow child," she whispered, assuming her shiekah form. She turned herself invisible, and she glided past the guards into the castle.



The castle was huge. Hope gaped up at the great windows, the triforce made in coloured glass. The flowers were fragrant, their blossoms bright. She bent down to admire one, when a shadow crossed her path. Hope rolled to the side. Nothing. She shook her head, realizing she was simply imagining things. Suddenly she felt a hand clasp over her mouth. She could feel something sharp pressing into her back.

"Move, or speak and I will kill you," hissed a voice. Impa's voice. Hope felt a torrent of magic tear through her, unlike anything she had ever felt before in any simulator game.



Hope suddenly found herself back in the Kokiri forest. Impa reached into her bag, pulling out all her equipment: her slingshot, her deku nuts, her deku sticks, her lyre. Impa reached for Hope's sword. Her hand pulled back suddenly.

"The sword won't let me touch it," she growled. Hope saw two figures in the shadows.

"Never mind, Impa." The voice had a familiar ring to it. Out of the shadows stepped a Sheikah. Hope gasped in realization. It was Shiek! "Look at the sword. She has been blessed by a fairy."

"She could still be a threat."

"Let the girl go, Impa," said the second figure, who remained in the shadows. Hope knew instantly, it was Link, the Hero of Time. But he was old, her father's age.

"I failed the King and Queen once. I will not let danger pass me by again."

"Impa let her go." Saria came from the meadow below. "She's harmless."

"Harmless? She destroyed a Daemon!"

"And the Daemons are our enemies. Therefore, she is our alli."



Hope looked from Impa to Link then to Shiek. She looked over at Saria.

"I am not a threat to you," Hope said softly. "Princess Zelda, Link, the Hero of Time, I come to help you." Shiek was staring at her.

"How did you know that he is the Hero of Time?"

"I just know," she replied.

"You are far too young to remember the Hero of Time. That was almost twenty years ago," Saria whispered. She looked nervous. "Unless you are older then you appear."

"I know you can change forms," Impa whispered fiercely. She grabbed Hope's shirt. "Assume your true form, girl." Hope nodded. A wave of apprehension washed over her, but she did her best to ignore it.



She took a deep breath.

"Hyrule's child," she whispered. There was a flash of light, and she was back in her normal body. Impa dropped her shirt. Hope blinked in wonder, as Impa dropped to her knee.

"Princess Amelia," Saria breathed. "You're alive!"