AN: For those of you who read the prologue when I first posted it, you'll realise that the title has changed from 'One Entrance, One Exit' mainly because of the response I got from your reviews. I decided I would give this a chance to become something more. So bear with me if things go a little odd. From now on the story will be in third person too.

I watched the Japanese film 'sky-high' the other day too, and I was inspired to carry on with the idea of a ghost watching over their lover. If you ever get a chance to see it, I really recommend it, despite it being a bit gory at points (there are some quite graphic murder scenes Xx).

Chapter 1

Time was running short. It was only a matter of months until the entire kingdom would become completely bankrupt. Trade had come to a standstill, and the war at the borders was draining the finances dry. Nothing could be sent elsewhere, and nothing could be brought in. And now, having lost Link, their leading commander, in battle, Hyrule's forces were slowly being beaten back into their own country.

It had been a sad day for everyone in Hyrule Castle that cold November morning. Leaves scarped against the stone floors of the bare courtyards, ploughing through the dead grass, the chill of the wind carrying them on their journey. No birds had been singing in the trees, leaving the unbearable silence weighing down on the palace, amplifying the slow drag and limp of the brave soldier that crawled across the drawbridge. On the man's back slumped his commander, crimson drips washing over the ground and his clothes. Together they stumbled up to the gates, earning many a gasp and whimper from the subdued and wary townspeople going about their daily routines in the quiet market. Many men had been brought back this way, but none had stimulated such a response as seeing Link being carried like a sack on the man's back.

As they reached the castle gate crowds of people had followed, many aiding the soldier in his dreadful duty of presenting, not only their leading commander, but also the heir to the throne and fiancée of Princess Zelda. The guards on duty, few as they were, swung back the gates immediately, one fleeing to inform their superior, who would then carry the message directly to the throne. But no sooner had the soldier crossed over into the stronghold and keep of the castle did the Princess appear, a distressed disbelief quivering in her eyes. The soldier had looked away, feeling emotions within him stir as he laid Link on the floor and watched the Princess cry aloud.

"The commander died in battle, a brave and noble man," the soldier said, insecurity shaking in his voice. "I found commander Link on the battlefield and administered medication to the limit of my knowledge, but alas, I fear I was too late."

Zelda, still holding Link's pale body close, raised her head. "I thank you for your service, dear knight of my father's army. You undertook one of the most dreadful of situations and carried it through to the end. Both my father and I thank you."

But nothing could hide the sorrow and the flood tide about to burst behind her eyes. The soldier bowed and quickly left, only to return to whence he came where he too would inevitably be killed and carried back on the same path. He only prayed that their commander's soul would be watching over them, guiding their actions even in death as they struggled to defend the shrinking borders of Hyrule. And that day proved to become the truth. It had been a long time after Link's solemn burial that a great man on a dark horse rode into the kingdom, a battalion of thousands at his heels.

The sound of heavy footsteps thundered against the dank floor, the flap of material close behind. A single candle lit the way, throwing away the shadows that haunted the deepest dungeons of his castle. Rats squeaked in terror as the ominous giant trod amongst their undisturbed homes, scuttling close against the thin corridor walls in a hope not to be crushed underfoot. The man came to a thick metal door, and with the clanging echo of a key turning, the door groaned as it was pushed open, grating against the floor. Torches lined the walls, their blaze bringing his true face from underneath the cloaked hood as grimy, tanned fingers snubbed out the small flame of the candle. Along the walls were lines of neatly arranged bottles and vials, and rows of old books hidden in a coat of dust. In the centre of the room was a sphere of broken stone held in a saucer ribbed with small teeth. Strong rope was bound around the glowing stone so that it could be worn as a necklace.

Grinning at the profound green light emanating from the stone, the man set the candle aside and lowered his hand into the teeth-rimmed saucer and closed his fingers around it. He stared deeply at the glinting colours emerging within the core, waiting for them to become clear.

"Are you there, Master?" a sudden, shrewd voice said.

"I am here. What news have you, my witch?"

"I must be brief on this gossip stone, my lord, for the castle is in an uproar. Master, the commander of Hyrule has fallen! The time for you to claim the Triforce has come. Ride, master, ride with your armies and defeat the invaders!"

"Is it correct that he died in battle? Did anyone witness his death?"

"Only I, my lord."

"How truly wonderful the art of possession is. I applaud your accomplishment, but your reward is yet to come. I shall now take the time to gather my own armies and, indeed, ride into Hyrule. How ironic it shall be that the one they exiled should be the one to save them."

"I shall await your arrival, Master Ganondorf."

The glow then disappeared and the colours faded, leaving nothing but the torches flickering in the darkness. His cruel grin grew wider and Ganondorf set the gossip stone back on the table and turned aside to a leaf-bound book lying open. It had taken him many, possibly hundreds of long years to harness the complex magic of his gossip stones, as well as to master the spells that lay encrypted in the words of the gods. The old book had once been thrown away in aeons past because of the terrible treachery preached inside, burned and scattered as ashes into the world. Yet even as dirt, the evil held in the words was never lost. Two powerful sorceresses knew of its exact content, but they had been slain and sealed away by the Hero of Legends long ago.

The sages had awakened, and King of Evil banished from Hyrule for an eternity. But being exiled is not to face death. The spirit, the demon that had been Ganon was lost in the Sacred Realm along with every other monster ever slaughtered by the Hero. Millennia passed and the spirit lay dormant and useless against the immense power of the sages guarding the paths to the outside world. But the man, Ganondorf Dragmire had been the one to be exiled, to never step foot on Hyrule's green pastures for the length of his life. Obeying the orders ruled out by the King, he had set out and became prosperous in a far away land, rising to become its law and ruler. Here the sages could do him no harm, for their concern was with Hyrule. Here he was a free man, under no speculation or suspicion from curious children, and it would be here that he would wait until the time was right.

As a new man, he found comfort in the study of old manuscripts and texts dating from the past ages. He became adept in magic and the dark arts, relishing the power that grew within him, replacing what had been taken away when Ganon's spirit had been severed from his soul. His great knowledge of magic grew so large that he learned of a spell to extend his life far beyond mortality. But his spells needed exotic and dangerous elements found in only the most remote of regions of the land, and he would travel across the highest mountains and across the deepest seas, each time wandering into a new country as a stranger.

He became lost from one memory to the next as the time went by, and as Ganondorf travelled he came to a forbidden and abandoned land, devoid of any life or growth. Deep in a canyon of red stone and dusty earth he had travelled when he came to a hill of carefully placed boulders, protruding from the cliff face like a pyramid. As weary and famished as he was, he smiled and began to recite a simple levitation spell to heave away the rocks blocking his path. In the days gone by, the local townspeople had quaked in their shoes as he asked for directions.

"That place is a cursed and forsaken land, sir! Devils and monsters lurk in the canyon of the Witches Tomb. No one has ever returned from there alive, or sane. The heat drives people crazy and there is nothing for food or drink! You will surely die if you venture forward, sir!"

"The Witches Tomb? How dare you speak of such evil!"

Ganondorf had sneered at their fear and had carried on his way regardless. When the last boulder had been removed, before him had stood a mighty gate, engraved straight into the rock rough and hastily carved markings that could only be described as warnings. Whole tree trunks barricaded the way, many falling to the ground, dry and brittle without the support of the rocky capsule. They had been easy enough to remove. But after that, tall stone pillars had been forged, criss-crossing from wall to wall, blocking the way forward once more. Breathing heavily, Ganondorf began reciting another spell, however he paused when he heard a faint breathing hiss in the air from within the darkened chambers.

Light from the outside had squeezed through the minuscule holes in the maze of pillars, shining on into the inside of the tomb, and onto the withered skin of an eyelid. It was warm, heavy with the heat of the desert canyon. It dispelled the chilling freeze in the air, coming into balance after all the years of lying dead. The two elements complimented each other, rousing the fragment of vitality still housed inside their hearts.

"Koume, it seems that someone has disturbed our resting place."

"Indeed, but I ask you this, Kotake, how is it that we are alive?"

"Dear sister, your slumber has affected you greatly. We live not on mortality, but on the searing heat of fire and the cold breath of ice! No one can merely seal us away, hoping that we will disappear. Pitiful humans, there will always be one to revive and awaken us once again!"

"I sense a great magic energy, Kotake…that of Lord Ganondorf!"

"And that one has come, Koume!"

Decades had passed since; Twinrova revived from their sleep. They travelled with their master from country to country, aiding him with his search and dictating the words of the ancient book of Mudora back onto script. Still it was not finished, as it lay there open on the table in his dark room, but there were other matters at hand. Ganondorf had the spells he needed and had placed his pawns on the chessboard. He was the wealthy ruler of a kingdom, the law and order. He had hundreds of loyal soldiers waiting at his command, horses saddled and strong weapons. And now, in his torch lit chamber, he would conduct his final spell before he would mount his horse and ride back to the land of his birth; the land that had exiled him over two thousand years ago.

"How ironic indeed," he muttered as he began to read the ancient language of the Hylians.

AN: If you've ever read any of my other LOZ stories, you'll realise that this is something very different from what I've done before. This has nothing to do with time, or anything to do time travelling. This is a fairytale, and it must be read as if it were a fairytale. Evil magicians are nearly always old geezers who really shouldn't still be alive, and the same thing applies here (except that Ganondorf isn't meant to look old here).

I could put this as an alternate universe, but it really isn't. I'm taking the idea of Ganondorf going to the castle in OoT and presenting himself before the King in slightly different direction. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and thank you to everyone who reviewed! You're the people that made this happen:D

CD: Yeah, the prologue was a little odd, but it will make more sense later.

Sage of Hyrule: They can't be together because I'm an evil, evil person :D. But no, really, it's very relevant to the story.

Isis3110: Thank you! If you want more Legend of Zelda stories, check out the ones on my favourites list.

Devila1024: Thank you, and you needn't worry about me stopping to write. I've got plenty of ideas left :D

Card-Captor: I'm really glad you like it :D

Rainer Aquarias - Sage of Time: I'm glad you liked it! But yes, reading it over again, Link's waking up was probably a weak point in the prologue. Thank you for pointing it out.

Lenipez sideshow: I hope this chapter isn't quite so sad as the last ;

Hououza: I'm glad you liked it!

zeldaisthebest: Thanks!

Lady Kumiko: I wouldn't want to make you sad, so I'm going to carry on! Yay:D