"Well girl," he began, "Shall we see if its still fun to gallop around here?" With a loud whinny, the mare was off. Her rider just laughed and let her run, a red streak across the green plains.
"He has returned, my master." A silken voice crooned. A bony hand tapped his chair arm as the owner pondered on the news.
"Very well," he said in a raspy, gravelly voice, "Tell the witches that it is now time." The servant bobbed its head and went to do its master's bidding.
The three witches, once they heard the news, were eager to begin.
"I've never altered time before," one giggled. "Won't this be fun?" Her grey haired sisters nodded, their matching grey eyes twinkling in pure malice. The three were identical in almost every aspect; the only way to tell them apart was to decide which one had darker grey eyes. The eldest, Atro, had the palest eyes. Lacsis, the middle one, had medium grey eyes, and the youngest, Cloto, had eyes so dark they were almost black.
"What time should we send him too?" Lacsis asked.
"Who cares?" Atro replied, "As long as he's out of the way so Lord Ganon can return. That's all the Skull King wants."
"Let's send him far into the past. Say, to when the tribal wars were occurring." The other two stared at Cloto, aghast at the thought.
"But that's when the Skull King was at the height of his power," Lacsis whispered.
"Exactly," nodded Cloto, "Should the Skull King win, the Hero of Time will be dead and no one will be around to defeat Lord Ganon. Should the Hero of Time defeat the Skull King, there will have been no one to enslave us and we can get all the credit. Yet the Hero of Time will still be in the past, where he can not harm nor stop Lord Ganon." She grinned and her sisters joined in. They hated the Skull King, who, after sending in his undead hordes to attack them, forced them into his service. They cackled, as all witches must, and began their preparations. They worked slowly and methodically, for when one wants to alter time, one can never be too careful.
Impa sighed as she felt the magic of the Sacred Realm surround her and lift her up to the Chamber of the Sages. It was becoming harder and harder to hide these visits from the King, even with Zelda's help. The two were old friends, and when Impa was not keeping an eye on the errant princess, she could often be found chatting with him. Well, she chatted as much as a Sheikah could. However, she could not tell him of her visits to the Sacred Realm. For while the Sages remembered what had once happened, the rest of Hyrule did not. Thankfully though, Zelda, Ruto, and Saria had been given a few years of blissful ignorance of the other time before they remembered.
Otherwise all hell would have broken loose, knowing Zelda and Ruto. Impa thought darkly. She looked around the light filled chamber, waiting for her host.
She did not have to wait long; a short, chubby man with white hair and flowing robes appeared before her. Before he could begin his customary salutations, Impa cut him off.
"What is it Rauru?" The sage just shook his head at Impa's bluntness and began.
"He has returned Impa. And while he does not remember now, he will soon." Impa nodded, her stoic expression hiding her inward groan.
This had to happen just as the Princess got over what she did in that other time, she thought.
"Well, you obviously want me to do something, so speak up," she commanded. This time Rauru rolled his eyes at her bluntness. Impa ignored him, waiting.
"I want you to find him. Journey with him to Castle Town, and bring him here. Somewhere along the way he will regain his memories, and I want a familiar and trusted person to be with him. Impa raised an eyebrow.
"Is that all?" she asked, wondering why he did not ask Darunia to do this. The Goron leader had been closer to Link than she had.
Rauru sighed, "No. You are the only one who can keep him from doing something rash."
"What makes you think he will?" she asked, "Link has always had a fairly cool head."
Rauru looked at her, "Please Impa. He's just returned, for a pleasure visit most likely, and finds out that in an alternate time he not only saved Hyrule, but killed the king of evil, Ganon. Add to that, his friend, who he cared very much about, sent him back in time and stripped him of his memories? I would be very surprised if he managed to keep a level head."
Impa held up her hands in defeat. She did not like the idea of leaving Zelda, but it appeared that she had to do this. "Alright, alright. I'll set out tomorrow; my scouts can find him by then."
Rauru nodded, and then asked, "What will you tell the king?"
Impa had already turned to leave when she answered, "That the Sage of Light told me to find a young man in Kokiri clothing and bring him to the Temple of Time. And look, I have this nifty medallion to show him!" The last part was added sarcastically as she held up her Sage's medallion. Rauru laughed and waved good bye, watching her figure depart.
I hope she gets there in time, he thought sadly. He suddenly looked very old as his shoulders sagged. The Hero of Time was old, but the Sage of Light was older.
"Very well Impa, you have my permission to find this young man. How can I not give it, as the Sage of Light himself has given you this task?" The King told her, smiling at his friend. Impa nodded and thanked him.
"No need. You will be leaving someone to watch over Zelda though?" he asked.
"Allya will be here tonight. She will look after the Princess while I'm gone," Impa told him.
"Very well then. I wish you a safe and quick journey." Impa bowed respectively and left the chamber, headed for her own room. She had already sent for Allya and the scouts; Allya was on her way and the scouts were out searching for Link.
When she arrived at her room, she was instantly bombarded with questions from Zelda and a visiting Princess Ruto. The two had become good friends and were a terror when they ganged up.
"No answers unless you two allow me to pack!" Impa declared, and the two obediently got out of her way.
"Where are you going?" Zelda asked, followed by a "What did Rauru say?" from Ruto. Impa sighed, wondering how to put her task without upsetting either girl.
"Rauru wants me to go and bring someone to the Chamber. I'm setting out tomorrow to get that person; the scouts are finding him or her for me." There. That's all she was going to say. Ruto still had a crush on Link, and to say Zelda felt badly about her treatment of Link was an understatement. So Impa let the matter lie, and no amount of questioning would change her mind. Eventually the two princesses gave up, and they began guessing at who this person was. Impa allowed herself a private smile at the people they were guessing. It was just for fun, but some of the people were so ridiculous that one had to smile. Like Ingo, for example.
Later that evening two Sheikah arrived and Impa shooed the two princesses away after introducing Allya and Zelda. Allya followed them, silent and unseen. Impa turned towards the other Sheikah, an eyebrow raised. The scout began his report.
"We found him off the shores of Lake Hylia. His tracks suggest that he came from the forest, and from what he told the old professor on the lake, he heads towards Castle Town tomorrow. However, it looks like he does not mean to arrive here for another seven day or so. He said he wished to visit Lon Lon Ranch and Kakairko village. Apparently he knows relatives of Talon and Malon. From Castle Town he plans to go on to Death Mountain. That is all."
"Very well. You are dismissed, and when you return to the camp, make sure Johen knows that he is in charge until I return." She never left anything to chance, even when she left on a task as simple as this. The scout nodded and left. Impa smiled as she looked at her packs; she would leave early in the morning. It would be good to be on the back of a horse again and ride across the plains. It may even be fun.