Caranril: Hello, everybody! I find it irritating when people say "Oh this is my first fic", so I'm not gonna say it. I've written plenty of stories and even plan to publish one as a novel. I will say that you might find "Dark B4 Dawn" very confusing at first and you might not. I plan to explain everything within time, but if you do have questions go ahead and put them in your reviews. Maybe I'll make a checklist or something so that I cover everything.

Legolas: Stop talking and get on with the story.

Caranril: I will, I will. Don't go shooting arrows into the air.

Legolas: rolls eyes

Caranril: Okay, first of all, I own EVERYTHING about the Legend of Zelda! It's mine! All mine! Muwahahahahahaha!

Legolas: raises brow In your dreams.

Caranril: Actually, you're right. Only in my dreams...so don't any of you lawyers hunt me down for dreaming.

Legolas: Too bad they won't hunt you down for insanity.

Caranril: grabs Legolas and gives him a noogy Aw, is my wittle Lego-chan in need of a big squishy hug?

Legolas: Help!

Caranril: Okay, guys, read the story! By the way, you will come across a section in italics. That's a dream sequence.

The Dark Before The Dawn - Chapter 1: Mistress of the Mind

A lone figure slid through the stone passageway, barely lit by the flickering torches as it seemed to absorb all light. There was no poorly cast shadow to dance alongside, for these people were themselves shadows, sly and prudent and lacking in distinct appearances. Except for those who were powerful enough to bend their shadow forms to their mind's will and take any humanoid form called upon.

The figure continued from the light and into the darkness, relishing the void before entering another dimly lit area which could hardly be called a room, for the far wall dropped into an abyss that steamed with horrifying secrets. To the right of the door was a guard, relaxed in a chair, yet piercing, glowing yellow eyes indicated the sense of repose was false. The head bowed slightly, acknowledging the man who passed through the doorway. If one could call him a man. There were genders amongst the shadow people, but they were far from human.

At the guard's side were the prisoner's weapons. The shield, tunic, and sword would be useless to the prisoner now, for they were child-sized implements. Ten years worth of rust, moth holes, and cobwebs had conquered the once shining tools of the Hero of Time.

He ignored the arms, for he'd seen them countless times, and headed immediately for the two figures on the left. One was chained in a rather uncomfortable manner to the wall, while the other was sitting on the floor, cushioned by a long, silk pillow that could have held three people. Her long, purple hair flowed down her stiffened back, trailing the floor ever so slightly. She was sitting in the same meditative position she had been in for days now. As he sat next to her, she kept her eyes closed, but he knew she was waiting.

He looked at the prisoner, who's pale face was distorted with the activities of his mind. "Dreams are the mistress of the mind," he began.

"Yes, but the dreams he is having are far from pleasurable," she responded shortly.

"Do I detect remorse in your voice?" he chuckled. "Attachment does not really suite you, Genicca."

Genicca opened her eyes to glare at him. "For ten years? Wouldn't you be sick of dreaming about the Lost Woods, the Master Sword, and searching for something only to end up fighting long lines of Redead, Gibdos, and other monstrosities that only the subconscious could create?"

"So it's not attachment. Pity, then?"

Genicca glared at him, then closed her purple eyes. "As time has passed, and especially within this last year, his dreams have changed. Different elements, people, even enemies have arisen. Fairies, giants, everyday people, but always that blond girl."

He became interested. "Blond girl?"

Genicca nodded. "I didn't pay close attention to the dreams at first, for we knew it would be many years before he was the right age, but since this is the final year, I've studied closely, and I've noticed that this blond girl is always lingering in his dreams, be it in the fore or in the distance. She wears a white dress with purple bodice and a white head covering. I would say she's about as old as he was when he came to us."

"The Princess..." he mused. "Well, you haven't left his side for eight weeks now. You really should give yourself a personal holiday."

She opened one purple eye and looked at him. "Sorry, Jeric, but we've come too far to let anything go wrong. We can't manipulate Time, after all."

"Of course not, my mistake." Jeric gave her an almost wicked smile. Genicca ignored his emphasis towards the Hero and returned to her monitoring.

"But we can change the past..." he whispered to himself as he left the room. He basked in the darkness outside, then headed down the same corridor to attend to other matters. Such as finding the Princess.

Genicca sensed that Jeric had left and opened her eyes and sighed with relief. She rose and stood next to the prisoner, reaching up to push the limp blond hair out of his face.

"You're ready to be awoken, and I would do so if your life were not in danger. But I feel as though I know you now, like we've been sitting here talking to one another rather than me reading your dreams." She sighed once more and studied him. It was amazing to recall that ten years ago he had been a small boy when he came to them. Actually, that was just how she liked to think of it. Jeric had found him in the forest and brought him back bloodied and dying. He had claimed that the boy was found that way, but Genicca knew better. A little healing did the trick, and now it was Genicca's mental ministrations alone that were keeping the fighting spirit of the young man from awakening. And every day, the spirit was growing harder to keep under her will. If Jeric didn't make her wake him, the young man would do it himself very soon.

And then the real difficult task would begin. Before awakening, she had to force upon his mind the beliefs that they were the ones to trust, essentially brainwashing him, and that he must find the Princess before the appointed time. The appointed time would be exactly ten thousand years after Lord Meltose's imprisonment and the bonds that sealed him from the world would be weakened. Weakened, and ready for the Breaking.

Genicca sat down and focused her mind on the prisoner's. She then began her lengthy task of purging his mind of independent thought.

He staggered forth another painful step. He'd been fighting so many creatures, so many abominations, for such a long time. He had never really needed sleep since his christening of the title "Hero of Time", yet at the moment he felt he could go no further without it. The one thing that kept him on his shaking legs was the voice that kept calling him. She sounded urgent, not necessarily in trouble, but she did need help. A long stairway appeared before him, twisting and winding up into the blackness overhead. He sighed and took one step at a time. Fortunately, there weren't any foes to be dealt with...No sooner than the thought had passed his mind did a hundred mutated Kees fly down the stairs. Instead of their bat-like heads, these Kees bore large fangs dripping with venom. He had yet to be punctured by these teeth, but he certainly didn't want to find out what would happen if he did.

He sighed once more, only this time in exasperation, pulling out a bomb and lighting the fuse. He tossed it over his shoulder and continued up the stairs as all the Kees swarmed the spark of the bomb. Seconds later, a large explosion sounded, collapsing the stairs behind him.

"There's no going back," he said to himself. There never was any chance of going back. Ever since he'd tried to save the Great Deku Tree, his life had been filled with legends, danger, and battles. The only time he'd gotten to sleep was when he'd accidently listened to Anju's grandmother tell him a story without purchasing the All-Night Mask at the Curiosity Shop. Saving the earth from Majora's Mask had seemed like years ago, for everywhere he turned there was something waiting for him. No eleven year old should have to go through everything he had. He wished he could find Epona and escape all the horrors, but he seemed to be missing his ocarina. Which was a shame, because Zelda had given it to him as a present and it had been the royal treasure of her family.

"Zelda..." He recognized the plea and his energy swelled. "I'm coming!" he shouted to the voice, sprinting up the stairs two at a time. What little light had been available was now non-existent as he plunged into the darkness. He stepped once more to continue up, only to find that there wasn't a step there. With a cry, he teetered over the edge and fell through the depths below...

Link awoke with a gasp, struggling against the current that he had fallen into, only to cease struggling as he found himself not in a raging river but in a dungeon. A little more observation showed that his arms and legs were chained to the wall. He tugged against them, surprised to find that his arms were strong after all that battling.

Wait a minute... Link thought. All those battles, all those monsters...they were just dreams? He stopped yanking at the chains and glanced around, startled to see a woman sitting in front of him. She had pale skin and long purple hair, and when she sensed him looking at her, she opened her eyes to reveal their shocking purple.

"I knew you would awaken soon," she said quietly.

"H-how long have I been asleep?" Link said, finding his voice to sound strange.

"A little over ten years now."

Link's blue eyes widened. "T-ten years? But why? How?"

Genicca took a deep breath. Here went nothing. "You were found in the forest, unconscious, with naught but your clothes, shield and sword, and this little musical instrument." With that, she pulled a shiny blue ocarina out of her pocket. "I'm afraid within ten years your clothes and your weapon have fallen to disarray, but I felt that this was special and decided to take care of it until you awoke."

Link stared at her, then shook his chains. "If I was found and you took care of me, why am I chained to a wall?"

"Well that's simple. You've been having nightmares, correct?"

"Not really nightmares, just...dreams."

"At any rate, you were thrashing wildly and often, and we were afraid you'd hurt yourself or someone else. But seeing as you're awake now..." Genicca stood up and pulled a key out. She unlocked his hands first, holding his arms upright and slowly letting them fall to his side. Link closed his eyes and cut back a grunt of pain as the blood flowed back to his fingertips. She then released his ankles and stood back. Link squatted and stood, stretching his stiff limbs. As he reached up to take his hat off and scratch his head, Link noticed something was different. He pulled the black bandana off of his head and stared at it.

"What happened to my hat?"

"It is too small for you now," Genicca said, pointing to a small pile of cotton and steel. Just like anyone your age, you've grown in ten years."

Link approached the pile in disbelief, not noticing the guard as he slipped out to tell Jeric that the prisoner had awoken. Link knelt beside his childhood implements and pulled the cobwebs from them. He held the gilded sword in his hand, noticing that the blade was rust-free, but it was as big as a kitchen knife in his hand. He returned the sword to its position and stood, putting the bandana back over his blond hair. His fingers noticed the hoops that now hung one from each ear lobe.

"That's instar, a metal we've found in these caverns. It turns black once cooled off."

Link turned to face Genicca, thousands of questions filling his mind. "Why-"

"Genicca, you may leave us now." Link looked at the man that had suddenly appeared in the doorway. He word a black cloak over his black robes, and his hair was black while his skin ashen, but his eyes were a piercing yellow that cut into Link's own eyes and made him shiver. Genicca bowed her head, gave Link one last look, then slipped past the man, who was still staring at Link.

"At last we meet, Hero of Time." His lip curled into a nasty smile. The way he said "Hero of Time" with near scorn caught Link's attention. "I trust you have many questions."

Link simply nodded, biding his time as he observed this strange man.

"Such as, what am I doing here, why am I here, what really happened in the forest, what is happening on the surface... The answer to those questions don't really matter. What you should be asking is if your life is in danger."

Link started at this, then decided to amuse him. "Well, is my life in danger?"

"I'm afraid it is. You see, nearly ten thousand years ago, a person by the name Lord Meltose nearly succeeded in destroying the world. However, Meltose was chained inside a void inaccessible to immortals and mortals alike. The bonds that held him there were destined to fade after ten thousand years. When the seal is weak enough, Lord Meltose will escape. Because you are host to one of the pieces of the Triforce, he will want you dead."

Genicca listened to the conversation. This part was quite true, but the next part...

"Another person in danger of Lord Meltose is none other than the Crown Princess Zelda. After you disappeared, because you've been here, she went into hiding, and no one has been able to find her. Every inhabitant of Hyrule has been searching for the Princess, hoping to find her and bring her to safety within these caverns. Unfortunately, after ten years, we've had no success."

"And you want me to go find her," Link said simply. Genicca held her breath. This would be the moment they'd know whether her ministrations upon his mind were effective or not. Link shrugged. "I'd do it, but if things are as bad as you say they are, I'm afraid I won't do much good without weapons."

Jeric allowed a small smile. "That's exactly what we were hoping you'd say." He turned around to take a bundle from the guard, his smile growing into a wicked grin. His face was composed when he turned back to Link and handed him the leather-wrapped bundle. "I hope you will find these satisfactory."

Link grasped the handle of a sword and yanked it free. Much to his disappointment, it was shoddily made and looked like it would break with one swipe at a Stalfos. The bow wasn't much better, as it hadn't been filed to remove splinters or properly strung.

"They'll do," was all Link said. The belt and scabbard were a different story. Made of a white silver, they felt almost soft to the touch and shone with a light like the stars. Link returned the sword to the scabbard, noting the misfit of the smaller sword and the singular disparity between the two. Link noticed strange markings on the scabbard that weren't on the sword. All in all, this sword obviously did not belong to this belt and scabbard, as neither did the bow to the quiver, which was the green of fresh wood and smelt of it too, though it was old as well, for there were strange markings on it that were similar to those on the scabbard.

"What happened to the weapons that belong with these items?" Link asked, putting the silver belt around his waist, noticing a familiar eye symbol on the buckle as he tucked his ocarina under the belt. He admired the contrast it gave to the black tunic that he was wearing. He wouldn't be able to wear his sword strapped to his back like he was used to, but that couldn't be helped at the moment.

"They are long lost. They were weapons of the Sheikah, no doubt buried with whoever their owners were."

The Sheikah. That would explain the eye symbol's familiarity. Zelda had had a red eye such as this on her Sheik clothing. "Why weren't these items buried?"

Jeric gave Link his nasty grin again. "Not a tradition."

As he put his forearm armour on, Link was about to ask how people who live in underground caverns obtained such equipment when Genicca walked in with black fabric in her arms.

"For travel by night..." She held up a black cloak, "or by day." She turned the cloak around to reveal a forest green that was so dark it was almost brown. Link accepted the cloak and fastened it around his neck, making sure there was enough space for his Sheikah quiver to peek through. He set his bow about his shoulders, then looked at Genicca and Jeric expectantly.

"I'm sorry we don't have any arrows for you to fill your quiver with," Genicca apologized.

"It's not that, I'm just wondering if you have any suggestions for me before I start, like where to look for the Princess."

"That's why we want you on the search for her," Jeric grinned. He had an annoying habit of doing that. "You know her so much better than anyone else, so you ought to know where she might be."

Link shook his head. "A Princess ought to be in the castle, not in hiding."

"True enough."

Link turned towards Genicca before he saw Jeric smile again, ignoring his cryptic response. She gave him a sad smile before stepping out the door.

"If you'll follow me..." She turned and headed into blackness. Fortunately, the little light in the room he'd been in didn't make the dark such a shock. Link's sharp ears caught her footsteps and he followed cautiously, instinct in the dark taking hold. They entered a passage with flickering torches before arriving at a staircase.

"You will climb this for a long time, but it will end, I promise. When you reach the dead end, place your hand on the door. It will sense that you are not dead and will open for you."

"Protection against the dead?" Link asked, only slightly worried.

Genicca gave him a remorseful look. "Yes, ever since the fall of the...oh I cannot tell you. Just go."

Link eyed the stairs, then turned to ask one last thing of Genicca, only to find her gone. He glanced about, but there were only shadows. He looked at the stairs, and just like in his dream, he sighed and began to climb.

Caranril: lights fireworks Hooray! And that's chappie number one!

Legolas: Pyromaniac.

Caranril: Well what about you? You're obsessed with the Sea, what does that make you?

Legolas: A hydromaniac.

Caranril: Mm'K. (to readers) Didja like it? If not, I promise it'll get much better.

Legolas: Though not better for the characters, no doubt.

Caranril: Course not! That's what makes great stories, the suffering, angst, blood, gore!...

Legolas: Okay, you're done.

Caranril: Well you should know! Lord of the Rings...

Legolas: Yeah, and why am I here again? I'm supposed to be in Valinor with those of my kindred.

Caranril: Manwe and Varda sent you to be my muse. Lucky you!

Legolas: mutters Luck has nothing to do with it.

Caranril: Don't forget your job.

Legolas: rolls eyes How can I? I am an Elf, I remember everything. Readers, please do the author a favour and review so that she won't need inspiration from me.

Caranril: Hear the Elf? Please review! Go ahead and flame, too, 'cause I could use a good laugh. :D