"I try to tell myself that I can keep going, maybe for what it's worth...I'll be remembered. I'm called the Hero of Time...yet I still don't know what that really means. I'm not much of a hero. I try to do what I think is right. I try to right the wrongs. I...try to survive. I can transcend time...yet I still can't transcend destiny."

(Link)

Chapter 3
"Saria's 'Link'"

Zelda stood within the deepest chambers of the hidden Temple of Sages. Books lined the walls of the dimly lit room. Across from her, Rauru, the Sage of Light, was looking through various old scrolls, there was a knock on the iron door, Zelda and Rauru glanced at the door as the other sages, all wearing cloaks of different designs, entered.

Zelda shuts one of the books she was looking at and nodded at each of them while they filed into the room.

"I take it that you've all heard the news?" Zelda asked. One of the sages removed their hood, to reveal Impa's face. Impa nodded, "We all came as soon as we could."

Rauru straightened out, "I assume all sages are present?"

Impa nodded, "Impa, Sage of Shadow, present."

The other sages nodded from under their hoods, and answered the role call.

"Darunia," Darunia removed his hood, "Sage of Fire."

"Nabooru," Nabooru followed Darunia's example, "Sage of Spirit, here."

"Ruto," Ruto said, "Sage of Water, at your service."

Zelda looked around, "We're missing Saria." The others glanced towards the door. There was no sound of anyone approaching. Impa shook her head, "Princess..."

Ruto and Zelda looked up. Impa sighed, "Princess Zelda," Ruto shrugged, and Impa continued "Saria is a Kokiri, and leaving the forest will mean death to a Kokiri."

Zelda nodded, agreeing, "Oh, I'm sorry...I've forgotten."

Suddenly, there was a creak as the last cloaked sage stepped through its opening, Zelda and the newcomer stood there, looking at each other. All the other sages knew of the silent rivalry between these two. They both wanted Link's Love...and only one was the true winner.

"Saria..." Zelda began, but was interrupted. Saria finished the sentence, pulling back her hood, "Sage of Forest, present."

They both stood there for a long time, neither moving nor making a sound. The silence that enveloped the room was terrible.

Saria, Link's life-long friend, who had secretly loved Link for a long time now, was looking at the girl who took him away. Zelda, the Princess of Destiny, who couldn't marry anyone without royal blood, decided in her heart to love Link anyways.

One knew, because of her child-like appearance, she wouldn't have a chance, the other knew that she and Link couldn't marry and have a family.

"Saria," Zelda said, "have you realized what you've done?"

Saria was silent, contemplating Zelda's words. Finally, she looked up and said, "Yes...I, like Link, have given up my childhood. I'm not going to be a child forever anymore. I've given it a lot of thought...and I've realized that, staying a child and living forever wouldn't be worth it, if it took away my chance at being happy."

Zelda's eyes met Saria's, the two girls silently hated each other, they had tried their best to get along, but they had hurt each other's hearts for much too long to even be friends.

Rauru cleared his throat, hoping to break the tension, "Ahem...as you all know, Link, the Hero of Time, has disappeared. There have been no trace, and an eye-witness reports that he simply vanished into thin air. Does anyone here have a theory as to what may have happened?"

Zelda and Saria broke their silent gaze and looked at Rauru, Saria spoke, "I do."

All eyes turned to Saria, "I had a premonition. It told me Link was taken to someplace no normal being can go to. The Great Deku Tree had told me about this place, Link is in another place: A parallel version."

Ruto tilted her head to one side, "What do you mean 'parallel'? Like an alternate world?"

Zelda asked, "You mean, like an opposite world to ours? Like a shadow version of Hyrule?"

Saria nodded, "Yes, Princesses, that's right. Only, it isn't a complete opposite."

Darunia crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, "Explain."

"Well," Saria began, she took out a coin. Both sides had the same icon: a Triforce, "Link hasn't actually gone to another world, but another Reality. There are two realities involved in this. They are both linked together, like this coin."

Saria turned the coin and revealed that one side had a few scratches while the other was relatively clean. "Even though they are alike, both have many differences about them."

Impa joined in on the discussion, "So Link is in a shadow version of our 'reality'?"

Saria flipped the coin and caught it, stowing it into her cloak. She reached over and picked up an object resting on the table beside her. "Here, this will explain it better."

She showed everyone the object, an hourglass, "Lets say our reality is like this: An hourglass. The side with the most sand prospers, while the one with less is driven into shadow: The Shadowed Reality. Right now, this reality is basically prosperous. But once, like during Ganondorf's reign, this world would be considered the shadow world."

"Eventually, though..." Saria turned the hourglass. Sand started to pour into one side, soon emptying out the other completely. "If one side falls too far into shadow, it is destroyed. If that were to happen, both realities will be destroyed." Saria set the hourglass back down.

"Why's that?" Zelda asked.

"Because..." Saria said, "When theres light, theres shadow. If theres good, theres evil. If one side were to disappear, the other one would simply not exist."

Rauru nodded, as if already knowing this, "...which means we'll have to find a way to bring him back."

Saria nodded, "We'll have to send one of us to get him back, I know how..."

Ruto smiled, knowing the answer, "Through the Sacred Realm?"

The others looked at her, surprised. She looked at the others, "What? Just because I spend most of my life underwater, doesn't mean I'm stupid."

Nabooru closed her eyes and said, "So...the Sacred Realm is the link in the hourglass. It's a 'link' to our Link."