Link sat there, yawning every once and a while, while tilting the ships wheel to turn the ship and keep it on track. It was boring work. Zelda, Wraith, Nohansen and Komali were all below deck, playing cards or something. It had been a couple of hours since they left and the stars were just beginning to be seen. Link yawned again. He was getting a little tired. Thats when Zelda's voice called from the hold's openening. "Link? You still up here?"
"Yeah." Link replied, "Whats up?"
"I forgot to mention this to you, but you do know that you can keep the ship going in a straight line by lashing down the wheel? It keeps the ship from turning." Zelda walked up to the wheel next to Link. Link hated it, but he had to admit, the way her beautiful eyes stared up at him, framed perfectly by that silky hair...Link shook his head.
"Uh...Huh. I guess I should have looked up sailing more before I began the trip." Link pulled out some rope and lashed the wheel into place. He walked down the stairs.
"Where are you going Link?" asked Zelda.
"Crow's nest. I...I need to think about something."
"I'll join you. You think a lot don't you?"
"Sadly, not as often as I should, but..." Link stopped.
"But what?"
"Nothing...it's nothing." Link continued foward. Zelda frowned. She was a little concerned. Link was hiding something from her and she didn't like that.
She caught up to him and turned him around. "Tell me."
Link just shrugged her off and continued up the ladder to the crow's nest. Zelda growled. She didn't like this at all. She shot up the ladder up the crow's nest with him. "Link, tell me now! You're acting weird lately and I want to know what the problem is!" Zelda was looking at Link angrily. Link sighed and sat down.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me." Link streched. Zelda sat down next to him.
"Tell me. I won't laugh. I promise." Zelda looked at Link and Link sighed again.
"All right...I had a vision. Of the first Link. The Hero of Time."
"Wow! You're lucky! But as you are the Hero of Winds, I can belive that."
"Would you believe that I'm the incarnate of the Deity of Shadows?"
Zelda sputtered something as she fell back in surprise. "That I will not believe! My best friend, a deity of the dark? No!"
"Well apperently the original Hero of Time was a incarnate of Shadows...as will I."
"Does that mean..."
"If the original Hero hadn't turned evil because of it, I doubt I will. But...there is an underlying fear...something unnamed that gnaws away at me...a primal force that has existed before time began... the unnamed fear that echo's though millenias showing us the dark facade that we-"
Zelda continued listening to him, getting scared for the first time in her life. He suddenly went into an almost trance. "Link...Link...please...stop...you're scaring me..." Zelda whimpered quietly. Link didn't hear her though.
"Time, Winds, all the way to the Elements, the shadow will appear, and will be conqured..." There was an odd light in Link's eyes, that suddenly faded as did his speech. "I'm going to bed Zelda. I need to calm down."
"All right..." Zelda replied. Link went down the ladder, and into his cabin. Zelda went down and back into the hold where she came to her father. "Dad, we need to talk. It's Link. He's going off about the Deity of Shadows..."
The old king's eyes went wide and he gasped. "Its begun again hasn't it? Never did I think that the Hero would pass down the power of dark...I suppose its time I told you of what will happen to Link..." The old king excused himself from the room with Zelda and they went to a more private area of the hold. "Sit down Zelda, this will take a bit." Zelda obayed and sat down on a nearby barrel.
"Let me begin, shall I? You see, in the world, there are three goddesses, each represented by the Triforce. Nayru, your piece, Din, Gannon's peice; and Faroere, Link's peice. But there are more than the three, each ruling over something. Some are small, like ones that rule over households and such. And there are gods. Some are more powerful than others. There was one though...so powerful, he had to be torn asunder, much less he grow arrogant and attempt to kill the other deities. After a long and vicious stuggle which took the lives of countless celestials and deities, Oni Link, or the Fierce Deity was finally defeated, after a battle that lasted over a millienia."
"Wow, Oni Link must be amazingly powerful." Zelda commented, swinging her legs.
"More than you or I can imagine. You see, he was the Deity of Shadows. Even in death though, Oni Link could never be defeated. As long as there was at least one shadow in the world, Oni Link would survive. And surivive he did. Through the ages, he inhabited his armor, gauntlets, greaves and blade. But he wasn't evil at all. Oni Link was just too powerful. To keep the shadow alive, he began to work and pull at the strings of destiny. What a hand he played though. He managed to cause the legendary keepers of the Triforce of Courage to find his armor, and so gain all his strength. How was he able to do that you ask?" The old king bowed his head. "Because the Triforce of Courage used to be his symbol. Farore is life. Oni Link is courage."
"Oni Link...Feirce Deity...is there any coincedince that Link is well...Oni Link?"
"No mistake. The hero of Time has already contacted him, setting up a chain of events. All we can do now is pray that Link passes the Shadow Deity's test and gains power beyond power."
"You know, now that I think about it, Oni Link does sound a little familiar...like I've heard it before..."
"Gannon's people...the Gerudos...the only male that they would ever worship ever...would be Oni Link. You probably have heard it, in a past life."
"Still I worry about him. Just between you and me, I'm really concerned. I mean, I'm supposed to be the tough pirate...but standing up to Link...well I don't think I can do it very well."
"Do not worry. I'm sure you'll find the right words eventually. Now you might want to go to bed. We have a long day tommorow."
Zelda watched her father walk up the stairs and she sighed, a frown on her face. Link...please...don't ever leave me...