Chapter One
Link stood straight up against the big oak tree in the back of the castle, looking for Zelda. She was hiding from him. It started when she had served him dinner and quickly excused herself while he began to eat. He ate slowly so he could share dinner with her when she got back. But she didn't come back from where ever she was. So his delicious dinner turned into a solid, empty plate with nothing but a few scraps of mashed potatoes here and there. He shrugged and got up to look at the late sky out the window of the dinning room. As he gazed out, he saw her standing in front of a wooden wagon, looking back up at him, smiling childishly. He smiled the same way back and scurried down the stairs. He swung open the back door and strode out to the wagon. She wasn't there.
He looked around, wondering where she was. Then he heard a giggle from the bushes. He turned to face Zelda, with her usual, playful smile, " Hey, what are you doing there?"
She giggled once more, "Come and find me, Link." And she disappeared behind the bush. Link, thinking she was amusing, crept up to the bush and pushed them to aside.
"Ah-ha!" he said. And then he noticed she had fled. He crept up to another bush and pushed it aside too. But she wasn't there, either. So he went around looking for her, "Come on, Zelda, you've got me good. So just come out and give me a break."
But she still didn't answer. She wanted him to find her; she always liked a good game of Hide and Seek. What Link didn't know was she was following, because she knew that he wouldn't even think about taking a quick second to check behind himself. That's why she was turning red from trying to hold in her laughing because this was making her crack up like mad.
It wasn't long before Link became a little frightened, "Zelda, come on! You're scaring me now! Just show up!" then he thought to himself, ' I'll just go by my ears and not my eyes,' and he sat on the ground and listened carefully to his surroundings. He was always careful about listening. He was told by the Saria, always listen while seated and don't move! You could get your movement confused with others. He closed his eyes and listened closely. Then he heard a slight movement going about the dry leaves behind him. He smirked and slowly got up to his feet and walked backwards as he lunged himself back, he said loudly, "I've got you, Zelda!"
But he didn't fall on a small body, like he thought he would. Instead, he fell plump on his back. Then he heard of screech from the background and before he knew it, something heavy fell upon his body. As he yelped in pain, he managed to turned his head to see what was on him, " Peek-a-boo! I see you!"
"Zelda!" he said as he reached both hands up and pushed her off him. She fell back on her bottom. But it didn't keep her from laughing wildly.
"I so got you!" she said between laughs, "I had you soooooo scared! I wish I could see that again!"
"How could you've seen me in a pure, black night?" he said gesturing the sky above them, "And besides it couldn't be that funny!"
"But it was!"
Link became red with anger as he thought of a way to get himself laughing. But that was before his eyes trailed behind Zelda. He saw something that made him freeze in terror, "Zelda...don't make any sudden moves, there's a Poe behind you," he breathed heavily as she suddenly stopped laughing and froze just like Link, "Turn around very slowly," she swallowed hard before slowly cranking herself behind. That's when Link, about to burst out laughing, lunged towards her and fell on top of her, " Haha! I so got you!"
She slapped his shoulder, "You loony!" she said, "You scared me to death!"
He tried to control himself from laughing too hard, "You scared me to death, Zelda!"
She roughly pushed him off of her. She stood up from the ground with her arms folded over her chest and a cross look on her face. She almost shed a tear. Link thrusts himself off the ground and turned to face her. She turned herself away from him. He then put his hand on her shoulder. She shook it off, "Stop it, Link! I don't want comfort!"
He raised both hands, "Ok, then," he said, "Then if you don't want comfort, how about the truth?" she turned her body half way towards him, " At least we got even, right?"
She smiled and gave a little laugh, "I guess we did."
He smiled back at her as she turned the rest of her body towards him, "I'm sorry, but I think big, fat hero has is a little sensitive sometimes and he likes to get even."
She punched him, "Oh, stop it! I wasn't that scared!"
"You looked that scared!"
"I did not!"
"Then you must be a GREAT actor!" he then looked over the horizon where the sun began to fade away. He then turned his face down, "I've got to go home now, Zelda. The others will think I went out to do something weird."
"But Link..." she said, "You can't...it's too dark, now. There's Stalfos, and Wolfos, and...Poes."
"Poes Shmoes," he said, "I can handle anything."
"But you don't know that for a fact," she said, "It's too late, I won't let you go back. It you had just left earlier..."
"I couldn't leave earlier," he said staring at her right in the eyes, "I didn't know where you were. Therefore, I couldn't just leave."
She replied a short blush, "But, Link..." her voice almost cracked, " Then you'll have to stay here in the guest room. I can't let you go out at night."
"But, Zelda...the Kokiri don't know."
"I'll send Merlin out to tell them," she said, "Now lets just go in." she took his hand and dragged him back into the castle. She pasted Impa, who was sitting still in the rocking chair in the parlor. She smiled nicely at them.
"I see Link is spending the night?" she asked.
"Yes, Impa," Link answered, "It wasn't my idea. It was Zelda's. She doesn't want me out at night."
"And she's right," she said, "We wouldn't want anything happen to our little hero, wouldn't we, Zelda?"
"Heck no!" she said as she grabbed hold of Link's cheeks and shook them left to right, "Our wittle hewo has to be safe. Nothing will happen to you, Link."
Link smacked her hand off his face, "Cut that out, Zelda." She giggled and then waved at Impa before again leading him up the marble stairs to the guest room. As they walked up, Link looked around with curiosity. He had never known the castle was this big, and this pretty. He looked around as he passed paintings and statues aligning the hallways. He felt sort of jealous because he wanted to live here with Zelda and share this beautiful place. He didn't notice that Zelda had stopped walking in front of a door. He was just so wrapped up in this statue that he kept walking, allowing himself to clash into Zelda.
"Hey," he said, "Where did you come from?"
"Hey," she said, "Why don't you keep your head facing forward?" she shot him a dark look. Then she leaned forward and swung open the door. She held open the door for Link as he stepped forward into the room. It was like a room fit for a prince. There was an already lit fireplace right in front of the bed, which was king sized. There was a glass door that led to a balcony. Link looked around and thought about staying here a little longer than just one night.
"The guest room I stayed in last year looked way different than this," he said.
"Oh, that room was number seven," she said, "We have eight guest rooms for eight different guests. I designed this one especially for you. I wanted you to see it."
"Oh..." he was a little speechless.
"I only wanted you to stay here to see the room," she said looking down in embarrassment, "I know that you can handle anything. You don't really have to stay, I don't give a heck if you go out at night."
Link shook his head and jumped on the bed, "No...I think I can just stay here. Just don't forget to send Merlin to tell the other Kokiri that I'm here, ok?"
She shrugged, "Ok," she put her hand on the doorknob, "Good night, Link, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Good night," he said as he placed he sword and shield on the floor and tucked himself under the sating sheets, "I'll see you tomorrow."
She smiled as she closed the door. He leaned down on the soft pillow and imagined himself as if he were Zelda. She had a great life; she lived in a great house. He smiled, she had a great friend. He stuck his left hand out from the covers and flicked off the light and turned to his side. Within a matter of minutes he was asleep. And within a matter of hours he was dreaming.
He had always had dreams. He had never had nightmares. Then, while he was dreaming of fighting a dinosaur, he heard Zelda's voice, Link? Can you hear me, Link? It's me, Zelda. I need to talk to you now! Come up to the highest balcony in the castle. Please, Link, it's urgent.
He woke up in an instant. He knew right away that Zelda had telepathically told him that she needed him. He closed his eyes and tried to remember where she said she was. Come up to the highest balcony in the castle. He swung back the covers and jumped to his feet. He knew that the highest balcony in the castle was the one in her room. He flung the door open and ran through the hallway, trying to reach her. He ran up a round of stairs, fled through endless hallways, and glided around various corners. He knew he had come to Zelda's room when he saw a short, skinny door with her name on it. He opened the door and ran to the balcony where he saw Zelda, looking at the nightly sky.
"Thank you for coming, Link," she said as she closed the door to the balcony and locked it, "I didn't think you'd come."
"I would for you," he said, "Now what is it that you woke me from my dream and dragged me here?"
"I had another dream, Link," she said, "I think it was a prophecy."
Link's face got serious, "What was it?"
She faced him and stared into his ocean colored eyes, "It was you and I in Kakariko Village. The village was on fire. And I saw you standing in front of the well. And I was backing away from it. Then, I seemed to of collapsed and I started to fall to the floor. But someone had caught me. It was a boy, an older boy. He was about seventeen years old. He carried me away and you followed nearby. Then the dream went black."
Link tried to swallow in his dry throat, "What does it mean, Zelda?"
"I don't know. But what I do know is, is that you and I should keep an eye on Kakariko Village. If we don't, something's bound to happen."
"We should start watch tomorrow."
She down at the floor, then back up at him, "Link...although the prophecy seems harmless...I'm afraid it will turn out to be the worst."
He shot his eyes back at her, "I was thinking the same thing, Zelda."
Link stood straight up against the big oak tree in the back of the castle, looking for Zelda. She was hiding from him. It started when she had served him dinner and quickly excused herself while he began to eat. He ate slowly so he could share dinner with her when she got back. But she didn't come back from where ever she was. So his delicious dinner turned into a solid, empty plate with nothing but a few scraps of mashed potatoes here and there. He shrugged and got up to look at the late sky out the window of the dinning room. As he gazed out, he saw her standing in front of a wooden wagon, looking back up at him, smiling childishly. He smiled the same way back and scurried down the stairs. He swung open the back door and strode out to the wagon. She wasn't there.
He looked around, wondering where she was. Then he heard a giggle from the bushes. He turned to face Zelda, with her usual, playful smile, " Hey, what are you doing there?"
She giggled once more, "Come and find me, Link." And she disappeared behind the bush. Link, thinking she was amusing, crept up to the bush and pushed them to aside.
"Ah-ha!" he said. And then he noticed she had fled. He crept up to another bush and pushed it aside too. But she wasn't there, either. So he went around looking for her, "Come on, Zelda, you've got me good. So just come out and give me a break."
But she still didn't answer. She wanted him to find her; she always liked a good game of Hide and Seek. What Link didn't know was she was following, because she knew that he wouldn't even think about taking a quick second to check behind himself. That's why she was turning red from trying to hold in her laughing because this was making her crack up like mad.
It wasn't long before Link became a little frightened, "Zelda, come on! You're scaring me now! Just show up!" then he thought to himself, ' I'll just go by my ears and not my eyes,' and he sat on the ground and listened carefully to his surroundings. He was always careful about listening. He was told by the Saria, always listen while seated and don't move! You could get your movement confused with others. He closed his eyes and listened closely. Then he heard a slight movement going about the dry leaves behind him. He smirked and slowly got up to his feet and walked backwards as he lunged himself back, he said loudly, "I've got you, Zelda!"
But he didn't fall on a small body, like he thought he would. Instead, he fell plump on his back. Then he heard of screech from the background and before he knew it, something heavy fell upon his body. As he yelped in pain, he managed to turned his head to see what was on him, " Peek-a-boo! I see you!"
"Zelda!" he said as he reached both hands up and pushed her off him. She fell back on her bottom. But it didn't keep her from laughing wildly.
"I so got you!" she said between laughs, "I had you soooooo scared! I wish I could see that again!"
"How could you've seen me in a pure, black night?" he said gesturing the sky above them, "And besides it couldn't be that funny!"
"But it was!"
Link became red with anger as he thought of a way to get himself laughing. But that was before his eyes trailed behind Zelda. He saw something that made him freeze in terror, "Zelda...don't make any sudden moves, there's a Poe behind you," he breathed heavily as she suddenly stopped laughing and froze just like Link, "Turn around very slowly," she swallowed hard before slowly cranking herself behind. That's when Link, about to burst out laughing, lunged towards her and fell on top of her, " Haha! I so got you!"
She slapped his shoulder, "You loony!" she said, "You scared me to death!"
He tried to control himself from laughing too hard, "You scared me to death, Zelda!"
She roughly pushed him off of her. She stood up from the ground with her arms folded over her chest and a cross look on her face. She almost shed a tear. Link thrusts himself off the ground and turned to face her. She turned herself away from him. He then put his hand on her shoulder. She shook it off, "Stop it, Link! I don't want comfort!"
He raised both hands, "Ok, then," he said, "Then if you don't want comfort, how about the truth?" she turned her body half way towards him, " At least we got even, right?"
She smiled and gave a little laugh, "I guess we did."
He smiled back at her as she turned the rest of her body towards him, "I'm sorry, but I think big, fat hero has is a little sensitive sometimes and he likes to get even."
She punched him, "Oh, stop it! I wasn't that scared!"
"You looked that scared!"
"I did not!"
"Then you must be a GREAT actor!" he then looked over the horizon where the sun began to fade away. He then turned his face down, "I've got to go home now, Zelda. The others will think I went out to do something weird."
"But Link..." she said, "You can't...it's too dark, now. There's Stalfos, and Wolfos, and...Poes."
"Poes Shmoes," he said, "I can handle anything."
"But you don't know that for a fact," she said, "It's too late, I won't let you go back. It you had just left earlier..."
"I couldn't leave earlier," he said staring at her right in the eyes, "I didn't know where you were. Therefore, I couldn't just leave."
She replied a short blush, "But, Link..." her voice almost cracked, " Then you'll have to stay here in the guest room. I can't let you go out at night."
"But, Zelda...the Kokiri don't know."
"I'll send Merlin out to tell them," she said, "Now lets just go in." she took his hand and dragged him back into the castle. She pasted Impa, who was sitting still in the rocking chair in the parlor. She smiled nicely at them.
"I see Link is spending the night?" she asked.
"Yes, Impa," Link answered, "It wasn't my idea. It was Zelda's. She doesn't want me out at night."
"And she's right," she said, "We wouldn't want anything happen to our little hero, wouldn't we, Zelda?"
"Heck no!" she said as she grabbed hold of Link's cheeks and shook them left to right, "Our wittle hewo has to be safe. Nothing will happen to you, Link."
Link smacked her hand off his face, "Cut that out, Zelda." She giggled and then waved at Impa before again leading him up the marble stairs to the guest room. As they walked up, Link looked around with curiosity. He had never known the castle was this big, and this pretty. He looked around as he passed paintings and statues aligning the hallways. He felt sort of jealous because he wanted to live here with Zelda and share this beautiful place. He didn't notice that Zelda had stopped walking in front of a door. He was just so wrapped up in this statue that he kept walking, allowing himself to clash into Zelda.
"Hey," he said, "Where did you come from?"
"Hey," she said, "Why don't you keep your head facing forward?" she shot him a dark look. Then she leaned forward and swung open the door. She held open the door for Link as he stepped forward into the room. It was like a room fit for a prince. There was an already lit fireplace right in front of the bed, which was king sized. There was a glass door that led to a balcony. Link looked around and thought about staying here a little longer than just one night.
"The guest room I stayed in last year looked way different than this," he said.
"Oh, that room was number seven," she said, "We have eight guest rooms for eight different guests. I designed this one especially for you. I wanted you to see it."
"Oh..." he was a little speechless.
"I only wanted you to stay here to see the room," she said looking down in embarrassment, "I know that you can handle anything. You don't really have to stay, I don't give a heck if you go out at night."
Link shook his head and jumped on the bed, "No...I think I can just stay here. Just don't forget to send Merlin to tell the other Kokiri that I'm here, ok?"
She shrugged, "Ok," she put her hand on the doorknob, "Good night, Link, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Good night," he said as he placed he sword and shield on the floor and tucked himself under the sating sheets, "I'll see you tomorrow."
She smiled as she closed the door. He leaned down on the soft pillow and imagined himself as if he were Zelda. She had a great life; she lived in a great house. He smiled, she had a great friend. He stuck his left hand out from the covers and flicked off the light and turned to his side. Within a matter of minutes he was asleep. And within a matter of hours he was dreaming.
He had always had dreams. He had never had nightmares. Then, while he was dreaming of fighting a dinosaur, he heard Zelda's voice, Link? Can you hear me, Link? It's me, Zelda. I need to talk to you now! Come up to the highest balcony in the castle. Please, Link, it's urgent.
He woke up in an instant. He knew right away that Zelda had telepathically told him that she needed him. He closed his eyes and tried to remember where she said she was. Come up to the highest balcony in the castle. He swung back the covers and jumped to his feet. He knew that the highest balcony in the castle was the one in her room. He flung the door open and ran through the hallway, trying to reach her. He ran up a round of stairs, fled through endless hallways, and glided around various corners. He knew he had come to Zelda's room when he saw a short, skinny door with her name on it. He opened the door and ran to the balcony where he saw Zelda, looking at the nightly sky.
"Thank you for coming, Link," she said as she closed the door to the balcony and locked it, "I didn't think you'd come."
"I would for you," he said, "Now what is it that you woke me from my dream and dragged me here?"
"I had another dream, Link," she said, "I think it was a prophecy."
Link's face got serious, "What was it?"
She faced him and stared into his ocean colored eyes, "It was you and I in Kakariko Village. The village was on fire. And I saw you standing in front of the well. And I was backing away from it. Then, I seemed to of collapsed and I started to fall to the floor. But someone had caught me. It was a boy, an older boy. He was about seventeen years old. He carried me away and you followed nearby. Then the dream went black."
Link tried to swallow in his dry throat, "What does it mean, Zelda?"
"I don't know. But what I do know is, is that you and I should keep an eye on Kakariko Village. If we don't, something's bound to happen."
"We should start watch tomorrow."
She down at the floor, then back up at him, "Link...although the prophecy seems harmless...I'm afraid it will turn out to be the worst."
He shot his eyes back at her, "I was thinking the same thing, Zelda."