A/N: Thank you to Miss Piratess, zeldaisthebest, and Malon Aniku! Oh, Malon Aniku, thank you so much for reviewing! Your work is magnificent! Thank you all!

Disclaimer: I still don't own it. But I'm warning you all, if I find out that any of you have stolen my plot lines, characters, or anything related to this story, you will be SO dead! I'll sic my rabid llamas on you! I'll have you pinned to the wall with knives! I'll have my lawyer on you so fast, you'll never know what hits you before you're payin' me! So please, don't give me a reason to do these horrible things. I'm really a very sweet person. (wonders why everyone is staring at her as if she's insane) What's everyone looking at me for? STOP IT!!

Real Disclaimer: "The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time" is © Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. I make no claim to it and have no intention of using this story as a means of profit.

Chapter Three: Oh, Great One!

Impa broke the silence. "You truly don't know what the Hero of Time is?"

Lute shook his head. "Should I?"

"Well, if you wanna marry the princess, you have to," Malon said. Then, she added, "Why you'd want to is beyond me."

"In ANY case, you'll have to find out about it," Impa told him, trying to keep a fight from breaking out between Zelda and Malon. "Why don't you go find Link, even if it's not for the princess? It should be interesting."

"I guess," Lute murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "Where can I find him?"

"In Kokiri Forest, just southwest from here," Malon replied. "He's blonde and wears green clothes. Hard to miss. And you must remember, it's necessary that you call him 'Great One', because that's what King Daphnes Hyrule commanded. Can't offend him if he's your future father-in-law."

Zelda burst into hysterical giggles.

"What's wrong with you?" Lute asked, wide-eyed.

"Oh, it's nothing!" Zelda replied, still laughing a bit.

"Well, how do I get there? The princess injured my horse."

"You can borrow Epona," Malon said. She turned and started to sing. The song had no words, but the melody was like nothing Lute had heard before. A beautiful, white-maned mare trotted up toward her and nuzzled her face.

"Here you go," Malon said, handing him the reins. "Like I said, it's just southwest. Don't forget, call him 'Great One'."

"I won't forget," Lute assured her, still wondering why Zelda was laughing like a crazed idiot. Not that she wasn't one.

It took barely any time at all to get to Kokiri Forest, because Epona was a swift horse. However, no matter how hard he tried to convince her to enter the tunnel that led to the village, she wouldn't go. Exasperated, he dismounted and went inside, hoping with every fabric of his being that she wouldn't be stolen. He crossed a short bridge and entered a large, grassy area filled with small huts. At the other end of the valley was a small boy standing in front of an entrance of some sort. He walked up to the boy, who was dressed in forest green and sported a mop of blonde hair,and bowed.

"Oh, Great One," he began, but he didn't get to finish, because the boy automatically blushed a bright pink and said, "Aw, you don't have to call me that!"

Lute was puzzled, but then he felt someone tugging on his hand. He looked down to see a little girl with green hair looking at him reproachfully. "Are you looking for Link?" she asked. She shook her head. "Everyone does that. I tell you, the only information anyone gives anybody about Link is that he's blonde and wears green clothes. That's not too much help, considering all the Kokiri wear green, and all the boys have blonde hair!"

Lute didn't know what to think, but he figured the girl knew where she was going as she led him to a treehouse. The only treehouse there, in fact. They climbed the ladder and then the little girl knocked on the door. There was no answer at first, so she looked up at him.

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" she asked.

"I was sent by the princess to find Link," he replied. "My name's Prince Lute," he added, holding out a hand.

"A prince, huh?" she said, shaking it. "I'm Saria."

Lute flashed his smile. "It's nice to meet you."

Saria reached over and knocked again. Still, there was no answer. "Hey, Link!" she shouted, beating at the door. There was a vague musical noise coming from the other side, like someone trying to hum a tune that they couldn't remember. "Link, you'd better open this door right now!"

"I can't hear you!" came a singsong voice from the other side.

"Yes, you can!" Saria shouted.

"No, I can't!"

"Link," Saria said, her voice suddenly dropping about fifty decibels, "if you don't open the door, I'm going to throw Mido through the window."

"You wouldn't!" came Link's incredulous answer.

"Oh, I sooo would," Saria guaranteed him.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Lute stepped out of the way just in time. A young man about Lute's own age stood in the doorway. He grinned at Saria in a triumphant way, even though she had won the argument. His blonde hair was tousled-looking, as if he had just woken up, and his blue eyes sparkled in the afternoon sunshine. Lute sighed. This guy looked about as smart as Zelda. What a day this was turning out to be.

Lute bowed low. "Oh, Great One!" he cried, feeling stupid.

"Aw, you don't have to call me that," Link replied.

Lute looked at Saria. "Are they related?" he asked.

"Fortunately, no," she answered. "You've been talking to Malon, haven't you?"

"Yes," Lute said. "What's the problem?"

"Don't listen to her about the Great One thing, okay?" Saria said. "That's what she tells everyone to do. It just boosts his ego, but she gets a kick out of it."

Lute mentally scratched Malon off his list of favorite Hylians. So far it read: zero. Well, no, Impa wasn't all that bad but...nope, no one else.

"Look, Hero of Time, I don't have the patience for this," Lute said, glaring at Link.

"Well, maybe I don't have patience for you!" Link replied in a girly manner.

Lute sighed. "Princess Zelda wants you to come back with me, so can we please get going?"

Link stared at him a moment longer, then tossed his long bangs. "Lead on, dude." He climbed down the ladder, leaving Lute and Saria behind him. Lute looked at Saria, who rolled her eyes. The prince sighed and shook his head, then started off after Link.

When they got across the bridge and back to Epona, Link grinned stupidly and said, "You know, dude, you didn't tell me your name."

"Oh," Lute muttered, swinging astride the bay mare. "I'm Prince Lute of Xenos."

"Nice to meet you, princie," Link said, climbing on behind him.

Lute sighed again. This was going to be a long ride. "Likewise."