Chapter Two:
The town, like the castle, was utterly devoid of life. Trees were dead, leaves rustled pleadingly on the ground, begging to be taken back onto their branches. Even birds were missing for the air as far as she could see. Seeing it all reminded her of when…she couldn't bear to think about it. He was gone now. She and the other six sages had sent him to the Sacred Realm. It probably was not so sacred anymore. Not after an entire year.
Rauru, Saria, Darunia, Ruto, Nabooru…she hadn't seen any of them in months. Besides Impa, Sage of Shadow, she hadn't corresponded with any of the other sages in a very long time. All things considered now, she probably should have kept in touch better.
The temple stood out, a beacon of hope, the only thing that seemed unchanged. Light shone valiantly from the windows, keeping the shadows that had overrun the rest of the town at bay. She actually had begun to wonder if there was a way Ganondorf could have escaped, but it didn't seem possible.
Zelda had almost reached her destination when she saw a figure standing in the doorway of the temple. With her head cocked in confusion, she sped Kale up to a trot. In disbelief she hopped off her horse when he reached the steps and cautiously walked up to the man.
"Rauru!"
The stout elderly man merely nodded.
"The Goddesses must have been with you" he said solemnly. "I was fearful you wouldn't make it." He put a hand on her back and guided her inside the Temple of Time.
"Rauru, why are you…"she trailed off as she noticed something significantly wrong. Gasping, she rushed over to where the Door of Time should have been. The enormous stone slab had moved aside to reveal the chamber of the Master Sword. She had only seen this place once before…when Link had awakened from a seven year long sleep.
"We had agreed that the Master Sword should be returned to its pedestal" Zelda said quietly. "Rauru…why did he open it again?"
"It had to be taken out once again Zelda" Rauru explained in his deep voice, pausing for a minute to let the meaning sink in, then continuing. "When Link left town for the temples, he thought it best to bring it with him."
"You mean…he KNEW all this was going to happen!" she cried. "Why did he not say anything?"
"No! No. You are mistaken. He took it out only to clear the temples. The sages have been having problems with monsters again."
Zelda looked away, towards the pedestal, and let the events of the afternoon sink in.
"All the townspeople have vanished, haven't they?"
Rauru looked up, surprised at the question. "They are gone at the castle as well?"
The princess nodded absently.
"Rauru," she started, remembering the question she had wanted to ask upon entering. "What are you doing here, in Hyrule? Why aren't you in the Light Temple?"
The Sage of Light took a deep breathe.
"A short while ago, I just blacked out. I'm guessing I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I was here…in the Temple of Time. I cannot get back. I have been barred from the temple and the Chamber of Sages."
The words fell heavily. Neither of them spoke for a while. Zelda continued to stare at the empty pedestal, as if it would return if she concentrated on it long enough.
He must have broken free somehow. That had to be it.
A rosy glow reflected off the gleaming marble floor and shook her from her meditative state. Her eyes, blue pools of complete calm, rose to meet a solitary window which framed the setting sun.
"Where is he?" she inquired softly.
Rauru's eyes were dark for a second, then cleared with understanding. He had been thinking about who could be responsible for the events as well.
"The Spirit Temple" his deep voice answered. "And…he told me to give you these if anything were to happen." At this last part he went to the door of the chamber and picked up something beside it. He returned with Link's bow and a quiver of light arrows. Zelda's wide eyes darted between the bow and quiver as she opened her mouth to speak…but no sound came out.
No sooner had she taken the items than a great boom came from the door of the Temple.
Both Sages looked at each other in panic. Rauru, acting quickly, grabbed Zelda's arm and pulled her towards the right side of the room. A door was a door there. She was positive it hadn't been there before.
"Quickly, out this way! Get to the front!" He spoke in a frantic whisper. "Get to your horse, but you cannot be seen. Ride hard…and don't look back." He pushed her hurridly out the door.
"Rauru! I can't leave y…" but he had already shoved the door shut.
Throwing the quiver over her shoulder, she did as Rauru told her and bolted. Soon after, she gasped and ground to a halt as she reached the front. Next to a pitch black warhorse lay her own stallion, writhing in agony on its side, with all four of its legs at unnatural angles.
"Goddesses…" she whispered, on the verge of tears. Sounds of a struggle were coming from inside.
She was out of time.
"I'm so sorry Kale" she told the miserable creature as she climbed onto the massive black stallion. He was reluctant to leave without his true master at first, but in the end he was obedient.
Zelda rode off as fast as she could, but could not resist glancing back when a sudden blast of light engulfed the Temple of Time, then faded into and inky blackness.
A million thoughts rushed in and out of her head, but she could not make sense of any of them. And suddenly, she felt very tired.
Darkness settled quickly on Hyrule's fields. The rosy glow that had earlier bathed the earth in a rich warm light had now faded to a cool settling shadow.
It was risky to ride at dark. It would be riskier to stop now.