The Legend of Zelda: On the Brink

Chapter 5: Discovery

Throughout the day, Link and Zelda sat in the courtyard. She told him her dream, the lights, the shadow, everything. There was no doubt in her mind and his that it wasn't just a dream or nightmare. It was a prophecy. It wasn't the first one the Princess of Destiny had. She was the one who foresaw that Link would be the Hero of Time and that they would have to fight together to take down the evil known as Ganondorf.

Link thought that the dream was pretty straight forward about what was going to happen. An army would rise up and enter the kingdom of Hyrule from the northwest. They would travel along the river and then expand into the other areas of Hyrule. But Zelda wasn't so sure. Things never seemed to be as simple as they seemed, and the princess knew that first hand. Of course they couldn't rule out the possibility that the army was coming directly into Hyrule.

Zelda didn't know what to think. She didn't know if they could determine that the shadow was even an army at all. It could be a plague, a disease. It could be anything. One thing was sure though. It wasn't going to leave easily. According to her dream, the Sages, the power of Zelda and Link, and the greatness of the Triforce were not going to be able to defeat the approaching threat.

Then there was the other major issue that Zelda wished to discuss with the Hero of Time. In the dream, the lights of the Triforce were revealed. All three of them, when only two remained in the real world. Zelda held the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link the Triforce of Courage. Ganondorf held the Triforce of Power but he was banished into the Sacred Realm, held in captivity by the power of the Sages.

"In my dream, the red light representing the Triforce of Power shot up from Lon Lon Ranch," Zelda said brushing her way past Link who was trying to calm her down before entering the castle. Zelda had a fixation on figuring out how Ganondorf had escaped from the Sacred Realm.

"Zel, we don't even know if that light represented Ganondorf," Link said following her into the citadel. Zelda chose to ignore him and continued her way through corridors and up staircases. Finally, she reached the library.

The room was dark; the torch that Link brought behind her was the only source of light. Zelda tore the shades from the windows and threw them aside. Dust stirred, and then settled upon more dust that had been collecting for decades. The smell of the aging paper and leather was evident and Zelda was forced to wipe gathering cobwebs out of her path as she walked briskly to the back of the room full of records.

"Zelda," Link said lagging behind her. "How are you sure that the light was Ganondorf?"

"Link!" she said, her voice seeming to be shocked. "What do you mean am I sure? You and I both know that Ganondorf was banished with the Triforce of Power. You were there the day the Sages locked him and the Triforce piece up. Now your asking how I know it was him?" Zelda scoffed and threw open a book that appeared to centuries old.

"What are you looking for?" Link asked waving the torch he held around, looking for something to hold it for him.

"There has to be something about the Sacred Realm in here and I intend to figure out how it is possible to escape," she responded flipping through the pages, first giving each one a steady glance.

Link frowned and shook his head. "Now even if that was written by the Goddesses, what makes you think it would hold a manual about how to escape from the Sacred Realm?"

Zelda looked up from the book to give him a warning glare. "Your sarcasm doesn't help any…General." Zelda's sharp comment shocked Link. Just three hours ago they were lying out in the courtyard sleeping, cuddling, right next to each other and now they were making snide remarks.

"Zel…" Link started but he was cut short as the Princess of Destiny continued.

"Well, if it's not Ganondorf, than who do you suppose it is?" she asked. Her tone had softened and Link could tell that she hadn't meant what she said. She was still nervous with everything that was happening and Link knew that it was adding the stress on. Her voice sounded like she had given up. The look on Zelda's face looked the same as if hope was running out.

"Well," Link started. "You and I, weren't we given our Triforce pieces by the Goddesses?" The princess nodded. "Then what if they took the Triforce of Power was taken away from Ganondorf? What if they gave it to someone else, someone (obviously) more worthy?"

"Who?" Zelda asked closing the book and standing up from the wooden desk. Link shrugged.

"Well, let's think about it. The light in your dream was coming from…"

"…Lon Lon Ranch," the Princess finished the sentence. Her eyes widened and met Link's. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Without even speaking a word Zelda tossed the ancient book aside and flew out of the door not caring whether Link was following her or not. As she ran down the stone steps of the castle, her many trinkets of jewelry and decoration clanged together making a large racket that rang through the hallways. Full of adrenaline and passion, Zelda lifted the thick necklace off of her neck and tossed the gold aside. Link followed behind her, leaving space between them incase she decided to toss more things behind her.

The Hero of Time was tempted to open his mouth and try to make her see things evenly and not jump to any rash conclusions. However, he knew that his suggestions and concerns would go unheard and nothing would stop the motivated Princess. He followed her back outside, past the guards stationed at the front entrance to the castle and down the path that led to the merry market place.

Zelda ignored the excited looks of villagers, who rarely got to their ruling princess, and made her way to the Temple of Time. There was no hesitation in her stride, even when Link came up behind her and grabbed her arm. "Link," she said sternly letting him know that any thoughts of trying to talk her out of her current actions would be frowned upon. "Now is not the time."

As the blonde haired princess reached the door, she tried to pull it open. "I thought we were going to Lon Lon Ranch..." Link said, unsure about what was going on.

Zelda ignored his comment and tugged at the solid wood doors of the sacred temple. It didn't budge. The general resisted the urge to make a humorous comment but kept it to himself, once again. The princess pulled at the handles again, knowing full well the outcome would be the same as the last. "Magic," she said looking at Link. Noticing the hint of confusion in his face she continued, "These doors have bolt locks, they would move back at least enough to make a noise." Then realization struck her. "Link, the goddesses are in there."

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Okay, I know this may seem like its dragging on and I'm just as frustrated as you are! I wanna get to the excitement!