Hi, thanks for choosing my fanfic.  I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda.

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Linked Dreams"

            Zelda was wandering through the halls not knowing where she was going.  She had no particular destination.  She did, however, have a peculiar feeling.   Something wasn't right.  She continued her meandering and found herself at the doorway to the kitchen.   A guard stood there, not one of the best.   He was strong but boorish.  In fact, as she continued to look at him he looked more and more like a boar.  He seriously had a piggish nose and eyes.  Zelda looked away.  Surely her eyes were playing tricks on her.  Perhaps it was the light.  That's it!  It was the lack of light.  Zelda continued through the door and went into the kitchen.  The kitchen is usually filled with spiteful yet yielding women who make catty remarks whenever they saw the opportunity.  So of course this is what Zelda heard, but it wasn't what she saw.  These women had the faces to fit their personality. Cats!  Zelda totally flipped!  Now she knew there was something wrong.  There was no possible way the light was playing tricks on her eyes now.  This was the strangest scenario she had ever seen.  Not knowing how to handle the situation, she did the only logical thing she could do.  She ran out of the kitchen.  This time when she ran through the hallways she knew exactly where she was going.  She was going to her chambers.  She had to figure out what was going on.

            "It must be a spell!" she thought, "It must be.  How else could all this happen—,"suddenly she stopped.  She had nearly run into a servant. There was a loud crash.

           

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I'm terribly sorry! Here let me help clean up!"

" Thank you, Your Highness." said the servant.

Zelda noticed the mess was a mixture of different colored liquids and broken glass.  One shard had a picture on it.  Zelda picked it up to examine it further.  It was a skull and crossbones!

"Poison!" she cried. " You were carrying poison! Why?"  Zelda looked up and shrieked in horror and surprise.  The servant had a face of a hideous snake!

"It's your breakfast Your Highness," he hissed.

"You're…you're trying to kill me!" Zelda stammered.  She was more confused than scared.  What on earth was going on!  She looked around trying to find a route of escape.  Something caught her eye, a tall blond man wearing a dark green tunic.

"Link!" she screamed, "help!  Help me Link!"

The snake-man suddenly jumped in front of her, dagger in hand and ready to stab.  Zelda shrieked and then awoke.

" A dream.  It was all a dream," she said aloud to make sure she was truly awake.  Zelda got up from her bed and put on her dressing gown.  She looked at the clock. It read two o'clock.  "That dream was too vivid," she thought, "too real.  I must tell Impa."

Zelda traveled down the corridor to Impa's quarters, which wasn't to far from her chambers.  She knocked on the door.  There was silence.  She tried to open it, locked.

" I believe Impa is getting a little paranoid," she thought.  Now was a good time to use her magic.  " Open unto me," she said.  The door obeyed her command.  Zelda rushed to Impa's bedside.  "Impa," she cried," wake up!"  Nothing happened.  "Impa please wake up!"  Still nothing.  Zelda leaned over her nursemaid and shook her shoulders.  "Impa, WAKE UP!"

Impa shot up and grabbed Zelda's arms, her eyes were wide as can be.   She looked around quickly and planted her sight on Zelda.  "What is it child?" she asked, still in shock.  "Are we in danger?  Under attack?  Don't just stare at me, tell me what's going on!"

Zelda felt a little insecure.  She knew she had to tell Impa about the dream, but she never thought how she was going to do it.  All the words that came to her were, "I had a dream."

Impa gave her a very annoyed look.  "Please tell me there's more."

"It was scary," said Zelda.  Now she felt foolish.  Zelda saw the current situation was doing her no good.  She quickly took charge of it and stated, "I think it means something."

Impa's facial expression didn't change but now she stared more intently.  Zelda knew she had her attention.

"Tell me this dream," said Impa in a serious tone.

Zelda closed her eyes and tried to remember.  The dream was still as vivid as ever.  Slowly and calmly she recited the dream.  Impa listened intently at every detail Zelda gave.  She contemplated deeply on how such a dream came to pass.  She had been training more intensively in magic lately; maybe it was taking its toll.  In fact, she was sure of it.  "Zelda," she interrupted, " I think your magic lessons are straining you.  You're obviously overworked.  Why don't you go back to bed.  In the morning you'll be nice and refreshed and will probably forget about it."

Zelda was shocked at her protector's behavior.  "What's wrong?  Why don't you believe me?  You did the last time."

"Last time you waited till morning to tell me.  I can't think logically at this hour and neither can you.  Be a good girl and go back to bed.  In the morning tell me the dream again and maybe I'll change my judgment.  All right?"

            "All right," said Zelda as she left the room.  Now that she thought about it, it was rather foolish to tell Impa then and there.  What had made her run to her in the first place?  She can't remember her reasoning now.  Zelda entered her chambers but did not go to bed.  She sat at her writing desk and pondered what had happened.

*  *  *  *  *

            Link was sitting at the table of his house, repeating to himself the same words over and over, "Don't go to sleep.  Don't go to sleep.  Don't go to sleep."  It wasn't working very well.  Drowsiness was setting in and he could barely keep his eyes open.   He just couldn't stay up on end like he could when he was twelve.  He laid his head down onto the tabletop.  Maybe he should just give in.  Maybe the dream wouldn't come back.  After all, it was terribly bad for his health if he didn't get some sleep.  What if—, oh who cares.  He just had to get some sleep.  And so he did.

            Link was in Hyrule Castle again, wandering the halls.  Suddenly there was a crash.  It sounded like metal and broken glass.  Instinctively, he ran to the source of the sound.  On the way there he heard some conversation, but he couldn't make out the words or the voices.  He came upon an intersection and soon found the site of the crash.  At the corner opposite from him was a dirty looking servant.  What he looked like he did not know for his back was facing towards him.  He did see however the lovely Princess Zelda.  The Princess saw Link and screamed for help.  Link removed his sword from its sheath.  He ran toward her but was stopped short.  A glass wall was in between them.  Link took his sword and stuck the wall but his efforts were in vain. He started to worry.  He looked back at the Princess.  The unknown servant had taken a dagger out and was ready to stab.  Now Link was frantic.  He couldn't let anything happen to Zelda.  He let go of the sword and tried to break down the transparent wall with himself.  "I have to save her," he thought every time ran into it, " I must!"

           

            Link then heard Zelda scream.  He stopped what he was doing and looked at the situation.  The servant took the dagger and jabbed into the fair princess.  Link felt as if his heart stopped.  He had failed to protect the one person in his life whom he gave his solemn vow to die for.  All he did was stand there in shock as he saw Zelda's lifeless body fall to the floor.

            Link woke up in a cold sweat.  Or was it?  He felt his face and found the water his body was producing came from his eyes not his skin.  Goddesses!  Why did he let himself go to sleep?  "What makes me think I can fight against villains if I can't even fight myself," he thought.  Link suddenly remembered his dream.  " I have to go and see if Zelda is all right," he said to himself.  " Navi, oh Navi!"  he cried looking for the luminous orb.  He soon found her sleeping in her miniature bed upon the mantle.

" Navi wake up!" he said.

" What is it?" she mumbled. "What's wrong?"

" We're going to Hyrule Castle," Link stated.

" What for?" Navi asked, " The gate's closed.  We'll never get in."

" There's a secret entrance on the west side through the water drain."

" Why are we going to the city?" asked Navi, fully awake.  Link said nothing.  All he did was look at his feet as he picked up his sword.

" You had the dream again, didn't you?"  Navi asked.  She got up from her bed and flew to his shoulder.  " You really care for her."

Link looked at Navi and said, "I care about everybody," and turned to get his shield.  Navi knew better than to press the subject any further.  " C'mon let's go," she stated.  The two of them stepped into the alfresco.  Link looked at the star's position.

" It's about two o'clock," he said.

" It'll take three hours to get there on foot," said Navi.

" Who said we're going on foot?" questioned Link. " We're taking Epona."

Navi and Link rode on Epona in the darkness to Hyrule Castle.  Soon they approached the west side to the secret entrance.  The two of them traveled through the draining pipe and the market.  At the approach of the palace they were quite cautious.  Even though getting by the guards was now as easy as it has ever been.  It was not long before the duo was in the courtyard.  Link looked at the stars again.  Three forty-five, they read. He looked around For Zelda's bedroom window.  "There, the balcony!" he pointed out.

" How can you tell?" asked Navi.

" The flowers growing on the trellis are wild roses.  Those were her mother's favorite.  She would never part with them," Link answered.

" I guess that mean's we can't climb then," Navi declared.

" On the contrary, on the other side of the balcony is another trellis containing morning glories.  Those are Zelda's personal favorite."

" Convenient," stated Navi.

" Indeed, she planted them for that purpose."

" So she just happened to like morning glories enough to conveniently place them on a trellis," stated Navi.  Link heard the nuance.

" Exactly," he said as he darted towards the trellis.  He started climbing almost instantly.  He didn't even have to refigure a path to climb.  It was as if his muscles knew where they were and what to do.  Unfortunately, Link had gained quite a few pounds of muscle over the past few years, and the trellis was not built to support his kind of weight so…" Ahh!"

Zelda was awakened by the scream of alarm.  "Goodness," she thought, "I must have been more tired than I thought.  What woke me up?  It sounded like a scream."

Zelda thought nothing of it until she heard a clank of metal against the wooden frame of her balcony doors.  She whisked around to see them and saw a human figure through her chiffon curtains.  Her heart stated pounding in her ears.  An intruder in the castle!  What should she do?  Zelda wasn't one to run away from a fight, her nursemaid saw to that.  Instinctively, she ran back to her writing desk and opened the top drawer.  It was empty.  She placed her hand at the bottom and pressed slightly to reveal a secret compartment.  Inside was a short-bladed knife slightly longer than a dagger, archaically known as a dirk.   There wasn't any time to lose.  For the second time that night she used her magic for the same charm.  "Open unto me!" she yelled, and as the doors obeyed her command she raised the dirk and charged towards the unsuspecting intruder nearly knocking him off the balcony.

Link had just enough time to grab the edge of the balcony rail.  "Zelda!" he cried, "what are you doing?"

Zelda, who was still leaned over Link ready to stab, took a moment to analyze the situation.  She looked into Link's eyes and saw that it was indeed her friend.

"Link! It's you!" she said

" Yeah it's me!  Who'd you think it was?"

" I thought you were a desperate servant!"

" Well, I'm not," said Link trying to express a smile.  It was hard though.  His fingers were slipping.  " Zelda, could you do me a favor?"

" Anything," she stated with the utmost sincerity.

" Could you get off me? I'm falling off."

" Oh!" she gasped, "I'm sorry."  She quickly withdrew from her stabbing stance.  She was a little embarrassed for not realizing it sooner.  Link pulled himself up by his fingertips.  He was still in a state of shock at Zelda's actions.  He knew Zelda was brave and headstrong but not so violent.  Wait a minute servant?  " What did you say about a servant?" he asked.

"I dreamed a servant tried to kill me.  It's really silly.  Impa thinks it's nothing," Zelda replied.

" Did you see his face?" he asked.

" In a way," she replied hesitantly

" Well, what did he look like?"

" He, he—he had the face of a snake okay!  Why are you asking these questions?"

"Can we go inside first?"

"Er—yeah, sure," Zelda said as she led Link into her chambers.  " Now tell me, why are you so curious about this dream?"

" Because I dreamt a servant tried to kill you too.  Only in my dream, he succeeded. "

Zelda's eyes widened in terror, "How? How did the servant—kill me?" she asked tentatively.

" He stabbed you with his dagger," said Link in a more serious tone.  He looked directly at the princess.  He remembered the look of pain she had when she was stabbed.  He jerked his head away.

"That's interesting.  In my dream he had a dagger also.  Could it be that our dreams are, pardon the pun, linked together?" she asked.

" I don't know," Link replied.

" Well, this doesn't explain why you're her in the middle of the night," she said airily.  " Your concern for me could have waited till morning."

" I've had this dream for over two weeks.  Tonight it finished and I couldn't stand it.  I had to see if you were all right." Link had stopped thinking for the moment.  His feelings from the vision had overcome him.  "I have very few friends Zelda," he continued, " and the ones I do have I hold very dear to me."  Link moved closer to Zelda.  She looked into his deep blue eyes and saw them to be very sad.  She thought of what it would be like if she had to watch her fiend die.  She supposed she would leave in the dead of night too.

"You're one of my friends," said Link taking her hand in to his.  "I especially hold you dear.  I don't know what I would do if you weren't 't here with me."  He started to lean towards Zelda.  All she did was stand there, not knowing what to do or how to feel.  She had always considered Link a good friend.  She never thought of him as anything else.  But if such is the case, why then is her breath increasing rapidly?  Why is she so comfortable with him close to her?  Why is his touch making her want to melt?  He's getting closer.  And, as though she had no control over her actions, Zelda found herself moving towards him.

" I told you you cared for her," said a high-pitched melodious voice.  Zelda and Link moved away from each other.  Zelda looked down shyly and realized her weapon was still in her hand.  She quickly went to put it up.  " Where have you been Navi?" she asked flustered and angry at the same time.

" Giving you two some down time.  Didn't think it would end up this way."

" Were you spying on us?" questioned Link.

" Oh no!  I've been zooming around here and there, and when I got bored I came back here."

" Navi, you're in deep trouble.  I suggest you sleep outside tonight," Link said coldly.  Navi knew she had crossed the line so she obeyed.  Zelda came over and closed the doors behind her.  She knew better than to discuss the topic further. 

"Link," she started," I think you should sleep in here tonight.  I have a chaise on the other side of my room.  You may sleep there.  Don't ask any questions either.  It would be improbable to get you a room at this hour of the night."

"Thanks!" he said," You sure you don't mind? "

"Yes I'm sure," she answered.  Link laid down on the plush chaise.  It was very comfy.  Zelda came over throw and covered him.

"There now.  Are you comfortable?" she asked.

" Um-hmm, thank you."

Zelda knelt at Link's side so she would be at eye level.  "Link, about what you said before," she stated timidly.

"Yes," he said not knowing where this was going.

"I feel the same way," and she leaned over and gave him kiss on the cheek.  Link had a wide-eyed expression on his face as he watched Zelda go back to bed.  He touched the spot where her lips had touched.  He closed his eyes, and for the first time in two weeks, he slept peacefully.

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