The sun nudged at my eyes, shaking the last bits of my nightmare from my memory. I had fallen asleep with my clothes on and everything was rumpled.
"Now I definitely look like a country bumpkin..." I muttered dreary. I tested my ankle and found it to be healing nicely, to my great satisfaction. Perhaps things would turn out all right after all.
After collecting the various things I had sprawled on the table and the floor, I picked my way through the empty dining room, paid the innkeeper, who still enquired after my health, and returned to the stables.
The gray was restless when I finally found him. The stable was surprisingly empty; all the tools still had the glitter that they must have had when they were bought. My horse poked his head over the stall door, and shot me a reproachful look.
"Mmm? What's wrong?" Just a peek inside the stall told me all I needed to know. There was no straw on the ground, no food, no water, and he wasn't even wearing a blanket! The horse snorted impatiently, and pushed at my shoulder.
"Yeah... I know. Let's get out of here. This place makes me nervous," I clipped a lead rope to his harness and lead him out of the back alley. The market square was already bustling with people. Shoppers stared at me strangely, and people began to whisper in each others ears. Uncertainly, I headed out toward the bridge. People streamed in and out of the gate, and I just slipped out along with a caravan heading toward the river. As soon as the horse's hoofs hit the grass, he pranced and reared. Quickly, I unsnapped his lead rope, and let him run. He rolled in the grass, whinnying happily and munching contentedly on grass.
"Is that your horse?" A low voice flowed calmly from behind me. I turned to find the man in black from the earlier night. Even though the sun was in the right position to reveal his face, his hood cast a deep black shadow
"No. Why, pray tell, do you ask?" His eyes glowed from under his hood.
"Not many horses come to Hyrule castle," The man said.
"Yes, I suppose that's true." I agreed, thinking of the stable at the inn. My horse suddenly walked in front of me, separating the man from my view. I tried to walk around him, but whenever I moved, he followed.
"What's wrong?" I smoothed a hand over its side, feeling his heart pounding through its ribs. He was covered in a thin coat of sweat, though I was cold enough to shiver.
"It seems as though my horse is impatient to leave… I must go." I mounted my horse quickly, and was about to gallop off when the man caught my stirrup. An icy feeling spread up my leg.
"Be careful on the road," he warned with a smile. His teeth glowed wetly in his shadow. "These are dangerous times." I nodded faintly. With a click of my tongue, I flew across the ground, following a road toward home. I could return the horse after I put this whole escapade behind me.
"Damn." A man watched the elfish girl ride away from a tower high up on the castle wall. He pounded a fist on the wall and let loose a string of loud curses in a strange language. Even though many people were in hearing range of these loud and colorful words, not one of them turned. If only I was stronger he thought. She should have noticed how he was in shadow, though it is sunny outside.. As he watched silently, a man in black turned and walked back toward the castle. The man nodded up at the window as he passed by. A ray of sunlight glinted off his smile as he walked into the castle and out of sight.
"Oh Narssa, aid us," The man looking out said softly. A picture of the man in black touching Helen's leg came unbidden. He touched her! He shivered in disgust. His hand clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white and a triangle glowed faintly on the back of his hand.
The man in black strode through the gate with a spring in his step and a song in his heart. The guards nodded to him as he passed by the gate and through the plaza. Everything was going exactly as planned, he thought. A satisfied smile curled on his lips. He walked through the gate toward the castle bridge, which the guard on duty had lowered with a smile. A chubby man with a glazed look in his eye bowed stiffly at him as he entered.
"Good evening my lord Ganondorf. And how are you this evening?" the man said, his expression contorting for a moment, but quickly returning to the glazed stare. Ganondorf chuckled.
"Ah, you know as well as I do, that will never work," The other man just stared blankly. They had both reached an inner chamber. A large table with a map and a couple figurines lay in a large beam of light from a candle with a blue flame. Something moved imperceptibly toward Ganondorf, who now looked perfectly at home. The shadow whispered something in his ear, and the man in black's face turned pouty. A sigh of exasperation crossed his face, and he strode toward the map. Without touching the figurine, he lifted it, and it imploded in the air.
"It is of no matter to me. But, it was to you, wasn't it, eh 'King'?" He turned to the man with the blank stare, and smiled. The King's glazed look changed for just a moment; just enough to show the look of a broken man in his eyes.Ganondorf swept off his hood, and put a dusky tan hand through his ruddy hair.
"All will be mine soon." An evil light glinted in his yellow eyes.
In another dimension, the sages watched the proceedings from a rip in the zone. Darunia, a Goron, Impa, a tall gray haired woman with steel gray eyes, and Nabooru, a red haired Gerudo, stood around the rip and murmured softly.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." said Nabooru, the jangles in her hair tinkling gently as she shook her head. The Goron raised his arms angrily and pointed at the flashing images in the rip.
"No, really! Ganondorf is stronger than we have ever seen him. He has taken the whole forest and turned it into the dark enemy's all night dance party, and all we are doing is sitting by and letting him destroy the world! We have to take action!" He looked around pleadingly, but the other sages were silent. Finally, Impa spoke.
"I agree that something isn't right, but Link has always handled it in the past, why should we interfere now?" Darunia was hopping up and down on one leg now.
"Link this, Link that. Link doesn't always have to be the one to do this. Look at the kid! How would you feel if every year you had to go save the world? Don't you think that is a little bit of a burden?" All eyes turned to the rip, which had stopped on an image of a blonde haired elf looking out of a tower window. His hand rested lightly on the sill, and a triangle glowed brightly on the back. The sages shifted uncomfortably. From the back of the room, Sara, a short green haired elf, began to speak.
"We made a mistake," she said slowly, "We made a mistake, and it is time we fixed it. I will go to the forest and stop Helen before she goes too far into it. This is the time for the sages to help Hyrule, and not stand idly by while another does the dirty work." She stamped her foot angrily, and faded into a band of green light.
The sages were silent as they watched the band dissolve, but they could not suppress their shock when a tall gray cloaked person stepped into the center of the ring. She had gray cloth wrapped around her legs, connected to a skin-tight gray shirt. A gray cloth covered her mouth and hair, and the only thing that you would ever be able to use to identify her, was a large red eye centered on her chest. The sages gaped as she removed the cloth obstructing her face, and blonde hair settled around her head.
"Zelda!"
"I got caught tracking Ganondorf over the canyon," she sighed. "He had taken over Link and pushed Helen over the edge." She averted her eyes from the sage's watchful gaze. "He's becoming too practiced at this. He is learning he has powers that we never could imagine. I couldn't fight him" she said. All eyes turned toward the rip, which now sported the image of Helen riding as fast as the wind toward the forest. Darunia shook his head, eyes wide.
"Sara better hurry. Helen won't last alone." He said increduesly.
I flew across the ground like an arrow in the air, or at least as fast as my horse could run comfortably. The land was all the same; trees, rocks, and plains as far as the eye could see. Oh man, I thought uncomfortably, this is going to be monotonous. The only indicator that we were actually going somewhere was the sun; which had curved down to the west by the time the horse began to slow. Instantly, I recognized the entrance to the forest; my home! Overwhelming relief pulsed through my veins, and I pulled the horse up short of the bridge leading to the entrance. Through my happiness, I could feel an air of nervousness coming from him.
"What's wrong, guy? There is nothing here!" The horse bucked agitatedly and snorted. Something had to be wrong for him to do something like this. I peered into the thick darkness beyond the bridge, but nothing stirred. With a sigh, I put one hand on his forehead and tried to calm him
"Nothing is wrong. Look, I'll bring you with me. I've got a sword, even if there is something. Would you quiet down?" He shook his head nervously, but I could feel he was less tense than before. I grabbed a handful of reins, and lead him gently on. But as soon as his hooves hit the bridge, he reared violently, and scrambled away.
"Fine. Have it that way." In a rush, I stomped off, entering the forest, but the sudden darkness that hit me taking away all traces of happiness. I had never seen my homeland so dark before; the forest filtered out light, but nothing like this. The black hummed like something that lived, and took away all of my senses. I went a little further into the glen, until I could at least see my hand in front of my face. The dark seemed to enwrap me, and I found it hard to move any farther, so I halted in front of a large black shape. I reached out a tentative hand, and brushed my fingers over the surface, and found it to be a tree. Abruptly, lights began to blink on all over the darkness. A cold surge rushed down my spine and I swallowed hard. These aren't lights I thought while panic began to spread, they are eyes.
Without warning, all of the eyes began to move, with a frightening speed, at me. I tumbled over a couple that had gathered at my feet, and was instantly pinned down with the weight of another two. I struggled helplessly as the things began to surge all over me, and bind my legs and arms to the ground.
The blackness that had blinded me before, was now giving way to streaks of purple, like long arms that would swallow anything near them. The long tentacles began to reach for me, taking the place of the creatures in holding me down. As soon as one of them wrapped itself completely around my wrist, a sharp pain jolted my arm and flowed down my spine. Slowly, I stopped struggling. My arms and legs felt like lead; I couldn't fight them. My eyelids began to get heavy and I almost allowed myself to sleep.
I barely registered a flash of green off to my right, and the creatures slowly retreating. The tentacles slipped away, leaving me alone on the ground. A short greenish person stood beside me, and whispered something strange into my ear. Blackness filled my mind, and I felt no more.
A cool breath of air lead me to consciousness and I breathed deeply. It smelled like the forest in the rain; moist, dark, and energetic. I stared up at the dimming sky and sighed happily. Suddenly, everything hit me like a slap in the face. My home is gone! Everything I had ever known was gone, gone forever. I sat up with a jolt, and was met face to face with a young girl. She blinked, startled but suddenly clamped a hand over mine, to keep me from moving. I jerked away from her and leaped to my feet.
"What do you want!" I stood my ground, and sent her a venomous glare. She stood unruffled, and then started to laugh. Anger boiled through my veins. I wonder if she would laugh with the point of a sword in her throat... I stood still for a moment, and then leaped at her with all I could muster. She cut laughing before I could touch her, and tried to sidestep my attack, but I had come too quickly. I sliced through what felt like her side, and whipped around, ready for anything. The girl stood surrounded by a green light, unscathed. She laughed; a quick tinkling sound, like bells.
"You are every bit of what I imagined you to be!" She laughed. I shifted my stance.
"I am glad I could lighten your day," I said, my voice dripping with malice, "But I prefer my victims to be dead when I hit them, not chuckling." She blinked, startled, and gaped like a fish. I shot one more glare her way, and strode away into the plain.
The girl recovered from her surprise, and galloped after me; her short legs racing to catch up with my furious gate.
"No, no you have it wrong! I was sent by the sages," she panted as she tried to jog beside me. I snorted.
"I bet you are a sage." She shot me a stunned look and continued to trot beside me.
"Yes, I was trying to t-..."
"No," I cut. "Whatever it is, no. I want no part of whatever grand scheme you have in mind," She grabbed my hand, and pulled me to a stop. Breathing hard, she tried to recover before talking. I noticed she looked like a kid, and an elfish kid at that. Green tunic, green hair, green eyes, all clues pointed in the direction of a Kokiri elf.
"Link...needs you... he's been cap-." I laughed arrogantly.
"I don't want to be a part of that anymore!" I screamed at her. "All this has done for me is to destroy my home, destroy my friendships, and destroy whatever was left of my life!" Not to mention your heart, said my brain. I began to stomp away when she began to shout at me.
"Halt!" She called forcefully. My legs snapped out from under me, and I landed on my knees. "Are you telling me, that you are giving up?" A pulse of sharp pain traveled up my spine as her voice rose.
"I...just want to be left alone," I grimaced as white fire flashed up my spine. The girl's eyes flashed with anger; fair and terrible, angry and confused. Darkness seemed to gather around her, like a dog ready to pounce on an intruder. I turned my head away from her as she came closer. I couldn't bear to be near her any longer, but her power kept me clamped to the ground.
Suddenly, her hold on me loosened, and the dark aura around her had slunk away. She returned to her dull elfin looks, and became suddenly wary.
"Why?" she said simply. I said nothing. "Being alone has only caused yourself pain," she thought aloud, her expression softening, "Why would you want to go back to that?"
"Some pain is easier to withstand then others," I muttered. She sat down beside me, and looked at me thoughtfully.
"Link wouldn't do that," she said slowly, "I don't know..." She was silent for what seemed like a long time; lost in thought. Seizing the opportunity, I slowly began to inch away from her, and she didn't notice. Only a foot away, I sprang foreword, and sprinted away.
"Wait, you don't understand!" she cried, and began to race after me. I ignored her, and continued to run for all I was worth. Suddenly, the thud of feet stopped behind me, and I turned as I ran to see what happened. There was no one there. I stopped and looked around, but there was only empty space. I wanted to cry. "All I want is my life back," I said thickly. Gazing behind me, a dark cloud obscured the entrance to my home. Somehow I have the feeling that I can't go back. What could I do? I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't anymore. I pinched myself hard on the arm, but nothing happened. So, I wasn't dreaming I desperately wanted to wake up, find that this thing had been one huge misunderstanding. Why did Link push me over the edgef? My body began to ache, warning me that I hadn't fully healed yet. I took a deep breath. First, I needed shelter, and food. A memory came back, of a sign behind Link's head as he turned to lead Epona.
"Horses, hm? I can handle that," I said. However uncomfortable the memories would be, I couldn't go back to the shadows. Finding a job was my only option, the farther away from Link the better.