Hey! Disclaimers are in Ch. 1, still! I also want to note that I appreciate all of your feedback, and besides your comments, if you have any questions, ideas, or outraged grumbling, feel free to e-mail or review them.

Ch. 6

The power which resides in him is new in nature,

and none but he knows what that is which he can do,

nor does he know until he has tried.

-Ralph W. Emerson

Link woke early the next morning to sort his supplies together. He was now standing in the barn, and was spending a few last minutes with Epona before he left. He combed her coat slowly, and she whinnied in approval. The other horses snorted jealously at him, but he paid them no mind.

"Well, this is it, girl. I don't think I'll be seeing you anymore. We had some wild times, huh?"

He turned at the soft knock on the doorsill to see Malon standing with a traveling bag in her hands. It was old, and worn, but Link knew it well. It was the only thing he had been carrying with him when he left Kokiri. Folded over her other arm was a deep green tunic, that was rarely seen around Hyrule. It was his old Kokiri tunic.

"I made some slight modifications yesterday," She said, and set the bag down to hold the tunic up. It was bigger now, and the seams were invisible, showing a truly talented sewer's handiwork. He took it, and felt its soft material with his hands. The scents it carried drifted up to him, bringing memories of his childhood back.

"Thank you, Malon," He said softly, "for everything." She nodded, and suddenly swooped in to hug him. He jumped in surprise, but permitted her the affection. She held on tightly for a moment, and then patted his back none-too-gently, before easing away.

"Here," she said, handing him the bag and a pair of boots he had never seen before. "I was going to save them for you birthday, but nows a better time than ever." He took all of it with a grateful smile.

"So now I get to dress up like a homeless tramp again," He said jokingly. "Wonderful."

She laughed through her tears, and wiped them away angrily, finally turning to leave. "Oh, by the way," she said quickly, stopping in the doorway. "Your ride will be waiting outside by the entrance gate when you're finished." She was out the door before he could even look confused, and he shrugged, picking the bag and clothing up to go and change.

*************

He understood what she had meant only when he finally walked left the high Lon Lon gates, and found Epona, saddled and tacked, grazing lazily in the field. His eyes widened, and he stumbled out towards the horse. He touched her to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"She's yours," Said a voice from behind, and he turned to see Talon watching him.

"Mine?" Link echoed blankly.

Talon grinned. "That's right. Malon woulda told ya so, but she was too shaken up ta go and say goodbye ta both her best friends at the same darned time. Silly girl." He shrugged, and turned to head back into his ranch. "See ya 'round, Link, and good luck..."

Link watched him leave, and then turned back to Epona, who was now watching her new master interestedly. She stamped a foot impatiently, as if to tell him that time was wasting, and he laughed happily, the first time he had done so in a long time. He swung up into the beautiful leather saddle, and took the well-oiled reins.

"Hya!" He cried, and Epona started to gallop, until she was again racing across the fields. Behind them, Lon Lon Ranch began to shrink until soon it was merely a blur on the grassy horizon, a memory in the minds of both Hylian and horse.

*************

Link found the rupees in a hidden pocket of his bag, and shook his head, smiling. "Clever Malon. Of course there's more than eighty rupees here," He told Epona conspirationally. "Enough for a fine Hylian shield, and then some."

However, he skirted the store, and all stores, for he had only one destination in mind. Several people looked curiously at the young man leading a horse through town. He was wearing a deep forest green tunic with a hood, and thick leather riding boots. At his belt, he carried a pouch and a wooden ocarina, and stood out sharply against the rather casually dressed townsfolk.

He walked straight through the town, and gave a sharp nod to any soldier he encountered. They were slightly stunned at his cocky appearance, and only watched as he walked by. Several though had run ahead to the castle to report his approach. For that was indeed the direction he was heading.

He led Epona casually up the Castle road, and only stopped when he reached the gatehouse.

"Halt!" The guard called out ferociously. "State your name and business!"

"My name is Link, and I'm here to see the princess."

"Do you have an appointment, or perhaps a royal letter?"

"No," Link said, "But I do have an ocarina."

The guard just looked at him, and, misunderstanding the look on purpose, Link unhooked his ocarina and held it out.

"I'm not kidding, see? I have one. So if you would just open this gate-"

The guard whipped his heavy spear up, and brandished the sharp point at level with Link's throat. "Don't play stupid with me boy," He said in a dangerous tone. Link shrugged, and stepped back.

"Fine, but when your princess wants to know where I am, you'll be the one to explain how you held me up."

The guard glared at him, but went back to his post, and ignored him.

It was several hours later that a runner finally came down from the castle, out of breath, and told the guard that Link was to be permitted in. The guard gave the unfortunate runner a nasty look, for he had come to dislike the arrogant kid who had been waiting around and getting on his nerves since that morning. He grudgingly tapped his the butt of his spear into the earth three times, and the gate started to creak upward. Link thanked him as cheerfully as he could under the strained situation, and led Epona through.

It was strange to be going to the castle in broad view, Link thought. The three other times he had come this far, it had been in secrecy. Now though, the guards along the road only gave a him a cursory glance, before facing forward again. He finally approached the castle, and a young servant came to take Epona's reins. Link hesitated, but finally handed them over. Two guards came out to escort him across the draw bridge, and for once, he entered the castle the right way.

*************

Link's soldier escort led him down a hallway away from the main hall of the Castle. They never spoke a word to him, but looked back every once in awhile in controlled curiosity. He ignored them for the most part, and looked around in interest. The hallways here were bare of decorating, aside from the torch-set sconces in the wall, and he wondered just exactly where he was being taken.

His question was answered soon, though, as he was led to a stairway which wound up until he realized they were climbing a tower. It was a long stairway, and he amused himself with wondering how high it would go. Abruptly, though, it ended in front of a heavy oak door, and the guards squeezed past him to return to their posts downstairs. He looked after them for a moment, before stepping forward, and placing a hand on the doorhandle. He hesitated, and then decided knocking would be looked on more graciously.

Link rapped his knuckles against the solid frame, and waited a moment, until he heard a faint "Enter."

He opened the door, and stepped in, and was immediately made aware that this had to be Zelda's room. Apart from the obvious fact she was standing in it, it was decorated to show royalty and femininity also. Zelda sat in a chair by the window, and bade Link to come sit by her. He opted not to, though, and instead came to stand in the center of the room, arms crossed.

She sighed, and rested her hands in her lap.

"I guess I deserve that." She said. When he made no move to speak, she continued. "I never meant to cause you any grief, Link, please believe that. I am here to help all of the people of Hyrule, not to harm them. Do you believe me?"

Link hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. He did, despite everything. She had shown no reason for him to doubt her abilities as a Princess. He stepped forward and took the chair across from her. It was plush and comfortable, and he sank into it with surprised pleasure. She smiled, and leaned forward.

"Link. You have many questions, I know. And I may have some answers for some of them." It was an invitation to start asking, and he did.

"Why all of this secrecy?" He started, and she blinked in surprise.

"Its not secrecy, Link, only discreteness. Would you rather have everyone knowing your troubles?"

He frowned and leaned back. It did make some sense, though.

"Okay, then, how is it that you should know some of the answers to my questions?" He had thought a lot about what he had wanted to ask her on the way to the castle, and now asked his questions carefully and planned.

Zelda seemed to realize this, and she clasped her hands in her lap in anxiety.

"As you may have heard in rumors before, my family is a direct line of descendants from several powerful mages of the past. We each hold a measure of some magic power in our blood, and mine happens to be prophetic notions. Dreams, visions..." She trailed off, and he nodded, very slowly. "I was faintly aware of some of the dreams you were having, and decided to try and help you if I could. I went to the Royal library, and looked through several books until I could find some information for you."

It seemed legitimate enough to him, and he proceeded.

"The cloaked man... riding the stallion. Who is he?"

"Who was he, actually," Zelda said, warming up to the question-and-answer session. "He was a prince of the Gerudo, long long ago, during the time of the great war in the land of Hyrule. This was in a time when men still walked among Gerudos, and he was a powerful leader, but very evil. He led many forces against the Hylians, but died eventually, slain by a Hylian fighter wielding a great sword..." She hated to lie, hated to steadily deceive him and lead him away from the truth... But it had to be done.

"But the flames-"

"Burning villages, towns, and forests. It was a time of horrific battles, Link, in which no one was spared."

He was quiet for a moment, deep in thought.

"And how is it that I am having these dreams? And that...vision?"

She relaxed slightly. "I asked the Royal Scholar about that, and we discussed this. He believes, and I have agreed, that through learning my lullaby you may have somehow begun to relay flashes of the past through your dreams and visions. The lullaby, is, after all, passed down from mother to daughter, and I would be surprised if it didn't hold such magic."

He nodded numbly. It all fit, all of it. From the dreams of fire and battle, to the vision of the cloaked figure...

He rose slowly, his mind numbed by all of it. Zelda gave an inward sigh of relief, but at the same time felt unhappy about what she had just done. Was it truly worth it? She shook herself. Of course it was. It was for his own good.

He dragged his feet towards the door, his eyes glazed. She followed, and opened it for him, reaching out to touch his shoulder in compassion.

"I hope I have helped you, Link."

He nodded weakly, and started down the stairway. All of it had a simple explanation. Everything did. The questions that had blazed in his mind for so many days had suddenly disappeared. His mind blanked out now, and he descended slowly down the steps.

It did all make sense now... of course it did. She had had all of the answers, all of them... except...

He turned abruptly, to look up at the princess, who had been watching his movement down the stairway.

"Wait," He said, and she looked up in surprise.

"What is it?"

He stopped, and leaned against the wall.

"What about all the other stuff from my dreams?"

She froze, and the expression on her face turned to one of concentration.

"The...other?"

"Yeah," He said as casually as possible, "You said you sensed my dreams..." He let the statement hang in the air. She looked uncomfortable.

"Well, like I said before, Link, I only caught the most important parts from the dreams-"

"You mean the parts that I told you," He guessed shrewdly.

"What?" She was caught off guard, "What do you mean?"

He started back up the stairs, and stood in front of her intimidatingly. He took another quick guess, and hoped his hunch was right. "You're wrong. You didn't 'catch' the most important part, because I never told you about it."

He saw the look of sudden panic flicker across her face, and was both relieved and angered that he had guessed right.

"Link, I don't know what you're talking about, please calm down!"

He pushed her back inside the room, though, and shut the door behind him.

"Sit down," He instructed, pointing towards one of the chairs. She did so slowly. He paced back and forth several times, before finally stopping in front of her.

"Just how much of the things you just told me were a lie?" He hissed.

She said nothing more, and he turned and started pacing again angrily.

"You can't know what this is like," He finally said. "To have these dreams and visions... Its disturbing not to know what's happening, and you know what's going on. Don't pretend that you don't. Now please," He paused. "Help me find out what's happening to me."

Zelda took a deep breath.

"I can tell you no more than I know, Link. I'm sorry."

He stood, looking at her disbelievingly. "You lied to me."

She did not look up.

He came forward, and suddenly knelt in front of her, clasping her smaller hands in his own. "Why, Zelda, why?" She said nothing, but squeezed her eyes shut.

He stood up slowly, backing away, and looked down at her. "I thought I could trust you."

Zelda did not look up. "I told you," She said, in a shaky voice, "Its all just as I said it was. You're looking into it too deeply, Link."

He looked away in pain, and turned to take determined strides towards the door.

She looked up suddenly, panic stricken.

"Where are you going!" She cried out desperately.

He did not look back, but called over his shoulder as he left.

"To find someone who can help me."

*************

The confusion was gone, though the questions remained. Yet now he had a clearer picture in his mind. The Princess had lied to him, that much he knew, but that also meant she knew the truth, and she was hiding it. It gave him a sense of purpose, and he now pressed on with a new-found hope.

*************

"Can't you do anything?" Zelda called out to the Sages, turning around to see all of them.

"We could try and stop these dreams," Ruto said hopefully. Saria, and Nabooru both nodded in agreement. Impa said nothing. Darunia, however, shook his head gruffly.

"We cannot tamper with what we have already done."

Rauru nodded. "This is true. All of our powers are focused on keeping the Seal to the door of Time closed. To lessen the power on the Seal could have further devastating effects that could prove irreversible."

There was silence for a moment, then Ruto spoke up again.

"Then what should we do? Link's a very determined guy. Now he may never stop until he finds the answers he needs."

"He won't find them," Nabooru said. "There is no one, save us, who has the information he needs."

Darunia crossed his arms, and thought hard on it for a moment.

"My brother is smart," He thought aloud, "Very smart. How else could he know how to catch you with his questions? Perhaps he was suspicious to begin with."

"But of what?" Zelda pleaded. "What could have made him so suspicious? How could he have these dreams and visions when all of the forces of Hyrule combined came together to stop this from happening?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Impa finally spoke up.

"What?" Zelda said, as they all turned to look at her.

"It isn't that we are losing strength or that he is gaining it," She said calmly, "Its that someone here, in this Chamber, is tampering with our flow of power."

*************

The storm came quickly, and from nowhere, as the sun had only been shining brightly in a cloudless sky moments ago. It is one of the freak occurrences that happens unexplainably in Nature, and does not last long in its violent downpour.

Link, however, found himself caught in the middle of it, and took the rest of the path in a run. They had refused to give Epona back to him, and after he had demanded her back and refused to cooperate, they threw him out. There he had been blocked off by the gatehouse guard and several others from returning, and had started stalking angrily back down the road towards town, needing to regroup. The storm cut off his plans, though, as the town leaders had only minutes ago ordered the gates shut to keep out any large debris flooding might cause. He halted in front of it, and slammed a fist against the gate furiously, as the rain hammered around his shoulders and head, drenching him to the bone in coldness.

"Could it get any worse?" He groaned, pulling on the gate to no avail. He intwined his arms through the metal cross-hatched bars, and leaned forward, resting his head against it. The rain poured down unmercifully, and the sting of every raindrop on his body seemed to make a jeering sound, until all the sky was filled with mocking laughter.