A.N.: dodges rotten apples thrown by angry would-be fans

Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry! I'm a horrible author for making you wait, like, a year, I know T.T;; But then, that makes you the greatest readers for having faith in me. ; Anyway, here it is. I'll try hard to type more, but it isn't easy for me for a variety of reasons. However, your enthusiasm makes it worthwhile! And don't worry, even though it's not my greatest work in the world, it's a looong one, like, 25 pages, so enjoy! -

"TETRA, QUIT IT!"

Tetra grinned, dipping her paintbrush into the bucket, and then smacking it once more on her wrist so that yellow flecks of paint flew everywhere, splattering Link and my homework. Link, who had been painstakingly painting in the black pupil of the King of Red Lions, glared at her, his hand trembling so much out of anxiety and rage that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't paint in a straight line. It was the sixth time today that he'd had to repaint it, and it was beginning to look like there'd be a seventh.

Absently, I dunked the tip of my quill in a potion I now had sitting open and ready beside me on the rock. I touched the tip of it to the eye as Link reloaded his brush, instantly wiping the color from it so that it returned to being blank wood. "You guys better shape up, or you'll be sailing The King of White Lions this weekend."

"He isn't messing up the whole thing," Tetra said thickly through a mouthful of apple as she attacked her lunch. "Just the eye. You've got to hold your brush steady, Link."

"Oh, so now it's me doing everything wrong, is it? And I suppose that you weren't doing anything at all, huh?"

She shrugged. "Just trying to help."

Link rolled his eyes, but smiled vaguely as he turned away from her to the paint cans.

The morning after I had talked to Tetra a couple nights ago, she'd emerged from our room as if nothing had happened at all. The lot of us now seemed to have an unspoken agreement, completely avoiding the matter of the Chichimara and various other uncomfortable subjects. It was easy enough to keep though, as our days were now filled up with the preparation for the Tournament.

I sighed and wiped the spell from my quill, dipped it in the ink bottle, and tried to concentrate on my homework. It was easy stuff; I wrote so fast that my writing got all splotchy and I poked several holes through the parchment and into my leg.

Muu rose majestically from the lake, stretching her long neck as far as it would go, loosening up from her morning slumber. I watched her for a moment, wondering a million different things, and then a tugging on my sleeve brought me to my senses.

Daystar growled beside me, disgruntled; evidently I had spilled my ink on him in my mental absence. I laughed and rubbed his inky fur, oblivious to his protests. With my free hand, I signed in the air, muttering a spell under my breath. The spill reversed itself; every little drop of ink came speeding off his back and into the bottle.

I smiled to myself. Clever trick, that. Saigon knew her stuff.

I watched Daystar roll his eyes and trot off before I became aware of a second tug, this time on my opposite sleeve. La'vi the seagull stood there on my lap, pointing with his beak at a prominent spelling error on my homework.

This came as a bit of a shock.

A bit dazed, I waved La'vi off my knee and crossing the word out, cast the phenomenon aside as a coincidence.

Link, despite Tetra's constant assaults on his paint job, finally finished the repairs of his sailboat, and within an hour or two it was upright and afloat in the lake, looking the closest thing to alive as it bobbed in the deep, dark waters. Muu nudged it curiously with her nose as she dove around, investigating.

"Not bad, not bad!" cried Tetra as the wind picked up. Link smiled and wiped his hands on the hem of his tunic.

"No thanks to you, I might add," he laughed, looking over his shoulder at her. He slung his sack of supplies over his shoulder and began picking his way over the rocks on his way back to the Spilled Goblet.

"Hey!" Tetra yelled after him. "I was helping! You just don't appreciate my type of help, you- you… non- appreciator!" She turned to me, grinning, and added, quieter, "He's insane, you know that?"

I sighed and smiled. "Whatever you say, Tetra."

She looked very satisfied with herself.

The rest of the gang was overjoyed with the news of the repaired ship. Even Medli, despite her quiet, calm manner, could hardly contain her happiness- she was trembling with newfound positive energy.

"I- I can't believe it! You'll be able to race! O- on the sea! Magnificently, too!" She said this all very fast. Swirling with ecstasy, she flopped onto a couch and lay there breathing hard and giggling. "Oh, I remember my first ride in a sailboat- that very one, of course, of course- like reliving my first flight again! Oh, the sea and the spray! It was lovely, Anni, wonderful!" With a sigh, she fainted. Link sat down beside her and waved his hand frantically before her face.

"Well, wouldja look at that! I think we've lost her!"

He and I laughed. As he moved Medli's feet onto his lap to give himself more room, he whispered something to Makar, who was sitting on the arm of the couch. Makar let out a soft little churr of laughter, and Link grinned and looked up at me rather sheepishly.

"What?" I demanded. "What are you saying about me?"

He looked away sharply and shrugged. "Us? Nothing! We're planning- er, discussing the Tournament."

"Well, you could just as easily include me then, now couldn't you?"

His grin grew a little wider. "You? Um, no! That would ruin our, let's say, element of surprise, now wouldn't it?" He winked at Makar.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" I stood up before him, indignant.

Link didn't answer; but he did clap a hand to his head to keep his hat on as a small gale blew through the open window behind me, scattering papers and leaving me considerably ruffled.

"Whoops," he said, the tips of his ears going pink. I stood there utterly stunned. "You understand, it's nervous energy? After all, tonight's the night- y'know, the night before the Tournament?"

I straightened out my hair and sat down, vaguely aware that he was changing the subject. "Yeah. Yeah, I know," I sighed.

He sighed too, and slumped back on the couch so vigorously, Makar was knocked onto the floor. The little Korok rocked there miserably on his round back, stubby legs kicking at the air with no avail. "Tetra's convinced that this is my last night alive. I mean, she's come out of her room, but she's still worried…"

"Honestly, Link, she knows as well as you do that you have to do it, and that's that." I couldn't think of anything else to say; everything I could think of was half-hearted and without much faith. I somehow couldn't quite catch his eye. Wordlessly, Link reached over the edge of the couch and flipped Makar carelessly onto his lap. Hurriedly, I added, "Let's not think about it until it happens, alright? It's the Tournament, for Din's sake, a merry thing; I don't see the point in brooding on it any longer."

Medli murmured, half-conscious. We both grinned slightly, and Link nodded, "Yeah, we'll wait until tomorrow."

Long after everyone had gone to bed, I was sitting on the couch, reading. You'd think sleep would come easy after staying up so late the night before, but despite the burning ring of fatigue around each eye, I was restless.

I jumped as the door opened with a creak, breaking the silence.

Saigon entered with a pile of books on her lap. "I somehow knew you'd be here." She smiled. Rolling past, she thrust a red lacquered box onto the couch beside me. "I think it's time you started it this year."

I paused a moment in my reading. "You don't mean…?" She cocked an ear toward me as she passed, but didn't answer. I put down my book with one hand and felt around for the box with the other. It was absolutely reeking of magic, even vibrating with it. I fumbled for the gold latch, fingers shaking. I knew what it was, of course. I'd seen it a dozen times before. Pulling back the layers of dusty velvet, I revealed a crystal hourglass. Long, slim and sparkling, it lay there, filling the cup of each hand. Beneath the glass on one bulb, separated by thin strips of metal, were four different colors of sand. A white, streaked with pale blue, and a vivid orange were in one half, filling their sections almost to the top. The other two, a sunny yellow and a deep emerald, filled their sections about halfway. A gold mechanism in the center made certain that each color fell separately in each section of the other half, which was empty. Each fell at its own time; white, pink, green, red. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall.

Of course, you had to start it early, the day before. Otherwise there wouldn't be a good snow coating the ground by morning. Winter and Fall were the fullest sections because Winter started long before the Tournament, and Fall ended long after. After we woke up, the seasons would seem almost equal. Ingenious, really. And the device had come from long before Saigon's time.

I turned the hourglass so that the empty half was resting on a table and toyed with the switches. After some experimentation, I got one to give, and white sand began to trickle down. I soon realized, after closer inspection, that the sand was imitating tiny snowflakes, floating down and gradually settling at the bottom. I cried out in surprise and released my grip as frost suddenly crackled up the sides and the hourglass grew bitterly cold.

"Oh, yes, you might want to watch out for that magic. It stings."

"Well, thanks for the warning, Sai."

"You're welcome." She laughed, and dumped the books onto her desk with a loud thump. "Now, you know where you're headed tomorrow, of course?"

"Well, yeah," I sighed. "The starting lines, the docks, the fencing grounds, Ariu Alley…"

"Anni, you know where I'm talking about."

I began to massage my forehead, exasperated. "I really don't need this right now Sai. Who doesn't know where Chichimara lives anyway? Well, in theory, anyway. The Point of the Graves isn't exactly an easy-to-miss landmark."

"As I recall, it was your mother's theory, so I'd treat it with more respect." She rolled out to where I could see her. "I'm not sure if you know this, but your mother... Well, she was one of the reasons that men go to fight the Chichimara instead of the Chichimara coming to fight us."

She looked at me as if expecting a reply, but I gave none. She stared at me emotionlessly with unseeing opal eyes "Anni, there's something I should've told you a long time ago…"

"I know. Chichimara killed my mum. He turned into a storm cloud and just… killed her."

She paused, then nodded. "I thought you might. You heard it yesterday, didn't you? Speaking of which…Where were you and Link last night?"

I looked over at her suddenly. "How..?"

She smiled slightly. "Your door was left open. And I heard you close Link's. You weren't being as quiet as you thought you were, in any case. Besides," and here she laughed fondly, "He joined me for a cup of tea before he went out. I was the one who told him to talk to Muu. Apparently, he's been having trouble sleeping, the poor dear."

I slouched over and leaned my head on my hand. "Well, how well would you sleep if you were going to be violently devoured within the next few days?" I sighed and looked over at her. "He has to, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he has to. And no, he doesn't want to, if that was your next question."

I sighed again. "Why don't we just give Tailo permission to chew on him for a couple nights? Would that work for him?"

"I think you've forgotten the entire purpose of this venture, Anni. It isn't about a monster, it's about a sword. A very special sword." Her fingers fumbled around in her blankets, twisting contemplatively. "But of course, you know all about that, don't you, dear?"

I nodded, remembered she couldn't see me, and answered, "Yeah, Tetra told me."

"Yes. If there is any sword this world over that could fell a beast made from a concoction of magic, shadow, and fear, it would be that one."

"Yeah, I know."

"Now, go to bed, Anni. Or else, bring us up some tea, and then go to bed."

I sighed, marked my book. "Yes, Sai-Sai."

All three of us were thrown dizzily into consciousness the next morning by a brisk gust of freezing wind. That last summer night, we'd left the window open a crack to let in the breezes, but it was no longer necessary.

Medli blinked a frosty rime from her long eyelashes. "What's this?"

Tetra climbed down and flung her head out of the window with so much enthusiasm I was afraid she'd fall right out. "It's… Snow!" The word slid off her tongue as if it were a strange and foreign one. I watched her wide blue eyes track each separate snowflake with intense wonder. "It's cold!"

I gathered my blankets around me as I sat up cross-legged and scrutinized them through sleepy eyes. "Yes, yes, it is, close it now, why don't you?" It was in vain. Medli had joined Tetra at the window seat, her pale cheeks already ruddy from the cold. "Don't tell me you've never had snow before."

"Nope," said Tetra, closing the window at last.

"Link's told us about it, though. There was one island where some always falls," Medli mused, sparkly-eyed. "It's impossible- how hot was it last night? The weather here certainly changes quickly."

I flopped backwards onto my bed. "That's Tournament Day for you."

They eventually dragged me out of bed and down to breakfast. Or what Saigon called breakfast, anyway.

"You're going to eat light here today," she said firmly. "You're all going to go stuff your faces out there the moment you leave anyway. Maximum of two rolls each."

Tetra gasped. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

Saigon plucked one of Link's rolls off of his plate as she rolled by. "Oh yes, and just one for our young hero. Wouldn't want to weigh him down."

Link's jaw dropped and stayed that way for several minutes.

I laughed. "Don't worry about it, young hero." I put my hands on his shoulders playfully. "After your contests, I'll show you where to find some real food."

My'chel chuckled, muffled by the gigantic bundles of pastries he was carrying. "Well, it's not as if we don't have real food here, Anni." A bundle started to slip, but he caught it again. "We have our own booth again this year."

I looked up suddenly. "Really? Where?"

"Ariu Alley, of course."

"I hope you're not going to charge kisses instead of rupees again then, My'chel," I laughed. "Last year it took forever to get all the lipstick off of you."

His face went scarlet. "Well, you know me, always trying to fall into a mantrap before Autumn Leaves'."

Lona appeared beside him and bumped him mischeviously with one of the laden fruit baskets that she carried on each hip. "Oh, yes, what a difficult feat for you, Mr. Handsome."

"Well, you can't talk, Lona! You're the one who caught me last year!"

She looked away coyly. "Oh, yes, and if I'm lucky I'll get you this year as well."

I rolled my eyes as they staggered away, immersed in silly teenage love. "She'll catch him again, all right. She always does."

"What's a mantrap?" asked Link between bites. "It sounds dangerous."

"Oh, it's not. Well, I guess you could say it is, but…" I shook my head. "All the teenage girls try to 'catch' a boy of their choice so that they can go to the dance together at Autumn Leaves'. It's for older kids though, so you don't need to worry. Yet." I laughed, "Lona's been catching My'chel for what?- three years?-four years? Well, a long time. She won't fail this year either, I'll bet."

I strode to the coat closet. Its hinges protested loudly at the rude awakening from the sleepy summer days when no one had bothered to visit it. As I began to dig through the coats and heavy furs, sheets of dust rose into the hall, and the moths fluttered away in a frenzy. Behind me, Link and Medli sneezed.

"Sorry," I said, coughing a bit myself, "We don't often open this closet. Even in the winter here in Boulviddar we don't usually need coats." I pulled out a stack of sweaters from the shelves near the bottom and produced a large brown box. "Medli, look through this case and see if you can find a little purse made of black leather.."

"Hey, how 'bout me?" Link peered anxiously into the closet.

"Be patient." I pushed around hangars for a few minutes, trying to find something that would fit him. "Ah, here we go." I lifted out a small, heavy jacket of an earthy red material. It had simple round brass buttons and was lined with grey rabbit fur. It also had loops for a belt so that the cold air couldn't come in under the hem. Smiling , I beat the dust out of it and held it up to Link's shoulders to see how long it was. "Perfect! Now, try it on."

He obligingly slid it on over his slight frame. He adjusted his sleeve, a bit uncomfortable with all eyes on him. "It's very comfy, but quite hot."

"Well, it's quite cold outside, so that should suit you just fine," I laughed. "Now let me find something for me." After some scrounging around, I found the trench coat I had worn last year, which was of a soft material the color of old ivory. I tried to put it on, but found that it was now too small for me. "Aww, Din, I loved this coat…"

Tetra slipped in from the kitchen, accompanied by Komali, Makar, and a number of her pirates. "Hey, Link, whatcha wearin' a jacket for?"

"He's trying it on to see if it fits him. And it does." Biting my lip, I held my old coat up and looked it over sadly. "Why don't you take this one, Tetra, and see how it feels."

"Awright, don't mind if I do." She took it delicately from me, feeling the fabric; she slipped it on and stepped before the dirty old mirror that was mounted in the closet door. Vainly, she twisted and turned, laughed, and said "Yeah, this one suits me just fine."

"Glad you like it," I replied with a halfhearted smile.

"Hey, what about us?" asked Komali.

"Yes, surely we get coats too. You certainly can't think our down's all we need to keep us warm in a blizzard," added Medli.

"Hey, don't forget about us, either, yeah?" chided Gonzo with a playful punch on the shoulder that nearly knocked me over.

I laughed. "Well, hold it there. Let me find Link something else first, and then you guys can check out the closet yourselves."

I turned to straighten Link's collar, then returned to the closet. Pushing away a few heavy coats, I felt around in the back until I found a pair of grey rabbit skin mittens that looked suitably warm. I took them into the light where I could see them better. Perfect. Smiling down at them, I strode over to Link and handed them to him. "Here, try these on."

He obliged. "Wow, these are soft!" he exclaimed, wriggling his fingers.

"Yeah, I know," I beamed. I turned to Medli, who was wearing a pale green jacket and engaged in tying a blue scarf around her neck. "Hey, Med, did you find that purse I asked you for?"

"Oh!" She let the scarf drop and looked back and forth, trying to find where she'd placed it. It fell off her lap and hit the floor, a couple spools of thread rolling out. I was on the ground picking everything up before another sound could leave her mouth.

"Thanks, Medli." I found a needle in the purse and inspected it. Tied into its eye were eight little threads, one for each color of the rainbow and then a black one. I nodded to her in thanks, then turned to Link again.

He eyed it curiously. "What's that for?"

I raised my eyebrows mysteriously. "I'll show you. Here, put out your arm." Obligingly, he placed his left arm on table. I took a grey patch from the purse and placed it on the sleeve of his coat, then delicately tapped it in the middle with the eye end of the needle. The patch gently curved and stuck itself onto the jacket, its frayed edges weaving and knotting with the fibers of the heavy red cloth.

Amazed, Link raised his arm and inspected it. "That's amazing." His brow furrowed. "But what is it for?"

I placed the needle on the table and spread the contents of the purse onto the table. "We're going to put a symbol of some kind on this patch, and also draw one on the back of your hand. Then I'm going to put a couple on everyone else. All the other competitors and their families'll have them too." I smiled. "It's supposed to show who we're rooting for."

"Oh, I see." He paused. "Whatcha going to put on it?"

I raised the needle halfway, then paused. "I'm not sure. What do you think?"

"The Triforce," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck thoughtfully. "But with something green on it, for luck of course." He winked, imitating Tetra. We laughed.

I thought it over a moment and nodded. "Okay, let me try." Deftly, I pulled the green thread on the needle, then touched the eye of it to the patch. Instantly, the color flowed through it, changing it to green. Then I pulled the yellow thread and sketched in the outline of a Triforce. Each time I closed a triangle, the empty space inside filled in with fine yellow embroidery, as if I had done it by hand. Finished, I paused to inspect my work. Satisfied, I smiled. "Does that work?"

Link raised his arm and goggled at it upside down. "Wow! Yeah, it's perfect!"

I stroked the needle three times across my sleeve and smiled. "Great, now take off your mitten and I'll draw it on the back of your hand." While he wriggled out of his gloves, I took a small set of pigments from the pouch. Carefully, I chose a brush and blew the old powder off of it. "They'll do more of this at your contests," I explained as I brushed on the design. "You'll have a big one across your back for the first two, and they'll put one on your sail later."

Link nodded, locking eyes with the Rito, who were behind me. "Well, you better start on everyone else now," he laughed, pulling on his mitten with his teeth as he pointed at them. "There's a lot to do!"

"Oh, yeah." Sheepishly I turned to Komali, who was in black with white lining, to repeat the process with him.

In maybe ten minutes of me working as fast as I could, I got everyone marked and ready for the big day. We had finally congregated around the door. The islanders looked a bit hesitant about what lay beyond it. "C'mon guys, it's all right." With a shove, I managed to push it open against the frigid wind. Smiling, I took the first few steps outside.

The Tournament illusion had been cast perfectly. The ground was a blanket of crisp, clean, white; soft, and for the most part, completely without footprints. The sky was a deep slate blue, and the world was so dark it seemed almost as if it were nighttime, even though it was well past nine-o'-clock. The sun peered reluctantly over the hills, gathering close its robes of rose and peach, and the sky was made complete with a clever imitation of the Northern Lights, which illuminated everything with shifting greens, yellows, and reds. The empty trees raised their skeletal fingers high into the air. In the distance, there were sounds of music and busy crowds drifting around.

Tetra looked like she was going to faint in awe. I grabbed her shoulder to support her, and grinned. "Isn't it amazing?"

"Yes," she breathed. She gathered her coat around herself to keep out the bitter cold.

"I've never seen such a beautiful sky!" Medli remarked, stepping off the porch to get a better look. Soon she was up to her shins in snow. She cocked her head, looking down. "Well, isn't that odd?"

I got the impression that Link was the only one who had ever seen snow before. He took Komali by the shoulder and dragged him backwards off into a deep snow bank. "Isn't this great?" he laughed, halfway buried.

"Lovely," muttered Komali, getting to his feet and shaking out the feathers he had lovingly combed all morning. Link grinned, then bent to pick some snow up. "Hey, Tetra, think fast!"

"Wha…?"A ball of slush spattered across her shoulder. Her eyes widened, shocked, then narrowed, slowly, dangerously. "Oh, you're gonna pay! C'mon, guys!" She and her pirates plowed into the snow. She paused, then carefully lifted some, looked it over in her hands, and then gave Link her trademark you're-in-trouble wink. Each pirate took a handful as well.

Link made a little squeak, tried to run away, and fell face-first into the deep snow.

Tetra opened her mouth to shout an order- and then just cracked up. The pieces of snowball slipped, forgotten, from her mitts, and it was all Gonzo could do to keep her from falling over backward in her spasms of laughter.

Link pushed himself up, spat out the slush that had gotten into his mouth, and grinned up at Tetra. He seemed happy to have made her smile. His nose had become bright pink, and it was hard to tell whether this was from embarrassment or from the cold.

Suddenly, Komali sprinted by, pelting Link in the back of the head as he passed. "HA! There you go, that's payback for pushing me into this stuff!"

Medli winked at me, and I nodded. I took a position beside her. She and I both ducked down to pick up handfuls of snow. Shifting hers in her hands experimentally, she stood between Link and Komali and beamed. "Now, Komali, where'd your sense of honor go? Surely you know not to hit someone while they're down?"

His feathers bristled nervously. "Hey, what?"

We bombarded him with snow. She hit him in the stomach, and I hit him in the shoulder, and we both laughed so hard we had to support each other to stay up.

He folded his arms in a very disciplined fashion and stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "Oh, so that's how it's going to be, eh?" He flashed us a grin before he knelt down for more ammo. Goddesses, he was fast! Medli and I screamed and ran off, and Link, who had just stood up, had to duck down quickly to avoid getting nailed again in the face. Link's expression contorted into a dangerous smirk, and he crouched. He and Komali stared each other down. The Prince casually tossed and caught a snowball. Link dug his fingers into the snow threateningly.

Before Komali even got his arm raised to throw, Link had launched himself at him from the side and knocked him over- then got up and scuttled away as if he had just lit a firework.

Disgruntled, Komali sat up cross-legged in the snow, his arms folded. Medli couldn't help but giggle at his frosty demeanor. He shook his head, rolling his eyes good- naturedly. He threw up his hands in exasperation. "Alright, alright, I surrender! Let's call it a truce from now on! Just don't tackle me again!" He held out his hand, and Link hesitantly reappeared from behind Medli and me. They shook on it, laughing all the while.

Medli approached and hugged Komali from behind. "See, there's the honorable Prince we know and love." I knew for sure that was a genuine blush behind his beak.

While I was occupied, Tetra took the opportunity to nail me in the small of the back. "Wha?" I took Link by the shoulders and slid him around in front of me. "Hey, T, I wouldn't try that again. I got a short Hylian boy, and I'm not afraid to use 'im!" Behind me, the Rito laughed.

"Hey, I'm not that short!" he protested, looking up at me before turning his eyes to the grinning pirate and her crew. They all still held snowballs. "Whoa, Anni, you're not planning on using me as a shield, are you?" he asked nervously.

I looked up at the ridiculous amount of ammo aimed at us. "Uh… It's a strong possibility."

"Hey!" He slid one of his thumbs underneath his belt. "I'm a weapon, not armor!"

I smirked, crouching to get a few handfuls of snow. "Suit yourself then, Link."

He picked up some slush as well. "Gladly," he replied, grinning, raising two handfuls of ammo threateningly just beyond the tips of his ears.

Tetra's smirk twitched slightly at the edges.

All of us let loose at the same time. I was hit at least four times as I flung both snowballs towards the enemy, not able to see where they landed. Link unexpectedly slid towards them, first hitting Nudge in the cheek, then pelting Mako in the back, and finally throwing Niko into the snow. On his way down, Link grabbed Tetra's wrist, bringing her with him into a frosty heap.

After much thrashing of limbs and feet crunching, Link and Tetra both sighed, laying spread-eagled in the snow, absolutely covered in the icy stuff. I had never seen anyone looking more defeated than I saw Tetra now. Her eyes were closed, her brows furrowed, a frosty rime melting softly on her pink lips. Every once and a while, her nostrils would flare with a sigh. Link sat up, curious, and lifted her arm. Then he let it fall limply back into the snow. He turned and gave me a thumbs up.

Then, his eyes widened and an electric jolt seemed to shoot through his body. While he had had his back turned, Tetra had dumped a handful of ice down his shirt. She was now laughing her head off as Link shuddered and squirmed, making faces.

I laughed, and consulted one of the clocks that had been put up for Tournament Day. Ten-forty-five. "Hey, guys, we'd better stop goofing off. You do realize we have to get Link to his race, right?"

"Yeah, Tetra," Link groaned, rolling his eyes. He pulled her to her feet. She was still fighting to keep down a grin. She began violently rubbing Link's back. "Ah! Stop it…!"

"I'm trying to warm you up," she laughed.

"No, you're not. Get away!" He shoved her playfully.

Medli folded her arms across her chest. "Do I have to separate you two?" Komali and I tried not to snigger as the two goofballs blushed.

We called up the horses and started on the road into town. The ice had covered everything, including the rivers and canals, rendering the gondolas useless. We had to go on foot, using the land route which was rarely used. The horses were gloomy and sluggish, picking their way hesitantly across the sea of snow- that is, besides Epona, who pulled ahead spiritedly, her hot breath rising in puffs from her flared nostrils.

As we pulled ever closer to the hills just outside of town where the races were to be taking place, the stark surroundings gradually gave way to muddy, heavily trodden slush and colorful banners which swayed in the wind like the skirts of dancers. Small tents began to pop up everywhere. It was rather difficult to keep Link away from the delicate allure of the warm, rich, burnt-sugar aromas that wafted out of the small businesses.

Everywhere there was a fantastic jumble of color and commerce. Families set up shops, waving the insignias of their boys high in the air and wearing it on all their clothing, cooking warm food and serving tankards of spicy wassail, selling masks or strings of jewelry, singing together, or just sitting around a merry fire to wait for the next season. Girls gossiped and braided each other's hair. Boys stood around in their jackets and masks, trying to look impressive while their mothers fussed over them. The world was given soft illumination from lanterns and torches hung up everywhere.

And the sounds! A phantasmagoria of pure high pipes and singing violins, harps and fire crackling, singing and sighing, barkers calling out and scolding and beads rattling, and all the other market sounds that made a sort of music as it rose into the whistling winds of the strange shifting sky. In the distance, people cheered and hissed as they watched the races run by.

"I've never seen so many people in one place!" Link exclaimed, sitting as tall on his horse as he could, trying to peer over the tops of the tents and heads of the crowd. Most passersby didn't notice the odd ears of the New Hylians, or even the beaks and feathers of the Rito. However, I wasn't really surprised. Strange people showed up on Tournament Day. You saw many an odd folk with locks of yellow or red poking out from beneath their caps sneaking around and playing music for small amounts of Rupees. Sometimes, there were people who were nine feet tall, or unnaturally thin, or had strange pointed noses and queer skin tones beneath the hoods they peered from under.

The Tournament Moon attracted folks of all sorts into its light.

As we approached the competition grounds, this entire merry atmosphere suddenly changed. A woman stood in front of a shop, calling out to customers alongside her husband. The moment she saw us, she seemed to choke on her words, and her eyes widened. The burly man beside her glared at us before taking her under his arm and pulling her into the tent.

We strode on. I realized similar things were happening all around us. People whispered. Mothers dragged their children out of the shadows of the horses. Groups of boys who stood around flashing their prizes immediately lost their composure and scattered as we passed. We were given a wide berth, to say the least. Link seemed unaffected, still dazzled by the newness of everything; but his friends began to realize something was wrong.

"Same to you, Jerkface," Tetra snarled, making a rude face at a small glowering child.

Medli looked as if she were trying to hide her face. The feathers at her wrists bristled with tension, and her restless fingers picked at the lining of her coat. Komali rode close enough to put a hand on her shoulder to console her. As I looked around, I began to feel a deep foreboding rise in my chest. We would have to be careful.

At long last, we finally arrived at the gates to the competition. A man appeared immediately to take our horses. He grabbed the passes I held out to him without a word or even a glance, before ushering us violently on through to the registration booth. I caught up to Link and handed him the Keaton mask from my backpack. "You'll need to wear this during the competitions, kid," I reminded him, punching him playfully in the shoulder.

"Awright," he nodded, sliding it on over his elfin features. His eyes sparkled through the slits. "Now no one will recognize me!" he declared, laughing and goggling around at his friends.

"I wouldn't be so sure," I murmured, as a man walked briskly by, giving us a grim look as he passed. "Well, c'mon, then. Your race is starts in, like-" I consulted a clock, "-Fifteen minutes." I led him up to the registration desk.

The bespectacled man that sat there was fast asleep. Mounds of paperwork surrounded him, all piled with various paperweights to keep them from floating away in the winter wind. We waited a few moments, watching him snore.

"Uhhh….?" Tetra said, raising an eyebrow.

"He's asleep…" Link murmured in disbelief.

"Let's poke him!" Tetra suggested, rubbing her fingers together devilishly.

Medli shrugged and donated a feather. Tetra took it between her fingers- we had to convince her to use the soft end instead of the quill- and ran it back and forth along the plump man's sizeable moustache until…

"AAACHOIIII!" the man sneezed loudly into a deftly positioned handkerchief. Tetra dropped the feather immediately and put her hands innocently behind her back. He blinked several times, adjusted his spectacles, and cleared his throat noisily before finally squinting down at us. He scanned each one of us absently. However, his tiny eyes almost opened when he saw Link.

"Good heavens!" he exclaimed in a rather irritatingly nasal voice before sneezing again. He hefted himself up and thrust his face over the desk to scrutinize Link nearsightedly. The boy leaned back and nearly fell over backwards. "Good heavens indeed! Hmmmm…" He cleared his throat again. "Take off your mittens and hold up your hands, son."

Link, very much at a loss, obliged, raising up his palms.

"Turn them," the secretary continued, adjusting his glasses contemplatively. Link showed him the Triforce on the back of his left hand, and the bare surface of his right. The man coughed into his handkerchief with one hand, and gestured in a circle with the other as he wheezed, "Turn around now, son, let me look you over." Link obliged again.

The man's eyebrow's furrowed as he wiped his nose contemplatively. "I guess you're clean," he muttered. "Hmmmm. You are wearing a different mask…" He shook himself. "I apologize, son. You see," he sneezed, "There's been a lot of hype this morning, mmyes. Apparently, some kid in a green cap like yours went crazy and mauled several of his opponents during his race." He went into a coughing fit that lasted a minute or two. "No one could really tell, but they say he was either using a short blade or his fingers… Hem, nearly killed a few of them. Naturally, hands would be covered in blood." He adjusted his glasses. "I'm assuming he disappeared somehow before the judges could get a hold of him, mmyes."

"Man, that doesn't sound good," I murmured. Chichimara. It had to be. Maybe if we were in luck, he was long gone…

The man shook himself again. "Well, anyway, I'm assuming you're here to register, hm?" He picked up a few forms and placed them on the table along with a quill. "I shall need you to sign these on the dotted line… Good, yes." He put the forms underneath a paperweight, covering his mouth as he wheezed again. "Now, all I need is your patch, and you're good to go, mmyes." I produced a copy of the Triforce patch we all bore on our left arms, which he took with his handkerchief hand. "Thank you muchly, little lady. Now, turn, son." He touched it with a silver knitting needle he had on his desk, then touched Link's coat with it. A large copy of the patch spread across his back. He then touched the tent wall, and a copy of the patch appeared to be displayed there with all the other insignias of contestants entered in the Tournament. He returned the patch. "Thank you," he wheezed, "Good luck."

Link nodded his thanks just as the bugles sounded in the distance.

"Goddesses, we only have five minutes! C'mon!" I took Link by the arm and ran as fast as I could towards the starting line. I hesitated as we approached the crowd of thirty-some boys milling around. "Er, uh, I guess I leave you here."

He nodded enthusiastically. "Wish me luck!" he called, beginning to walk into the crowd.

I grabbed him by the shoulder. "Whoops, I almost forgot." It had almost slipped my mind. Hardly thinking, I pulled the mask gently away from his face and kissed the warm cheek beneath. He inhaled sharply and tensed with surprise, and even as I drew away the skin began to sizzle with heat. The tips of his ears began to burn bright pink. "Good luck, Link."

"Er… Uh, thanks…?" he managed, dazedly reaching up to rub the cheek of his mask before stumbling off disjointedly to mingle with the other boys.

When he was out of sight, Tetra kicked me viciously in the shin.

"OW! What was that for?" I cried, fighting valiantly to balance on one foot before falling onto my backside.

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry, my foot slipped." Medli stifled a giggle. The pirate folded her arms across her chest, not looking at me. "What was that?"

"Tradition." I spat, rubbing my leg.

"Tradition, my foot." she growled. "And I suppose that's meant to warm him up, is it?"

I bit my lip against the pain, only just managing, "That's one of the theories, yes."

"And you didn't give the poor kid any warning. May I ask why?"

I grit my teeth, reaching up the leg of my pants to check for swelling. "I've only just remembered, you see?"

She nodded sarcastically. "Sure, we know you're just so conveniently forgetful…"

"Well, I'm very sorry Tetra!" I said ultra- sweetly. "I had no way of knowing you wanted to be the one to send him off with the long, ancient tradition of my people. My mistake!"

She said nothing, only blushed. Medli and Makar began to snicker, and Komali was struggling to fight down a grin. She whirled around and glared at them. "Hey, what's so funny?"

Komali focused his eyes up at the Lights, while Medli put her hands innocently behind her back and swayed back and forth in her boots. I laughed. It was mutually understood that we had caught on to Tetra, and the pirate shifted awkwardly in the snow before finally muttering, "Let's ditch this joint. The thing's probably going to start any minute."

"It's a plan, Tetra," I grinned, winking as I walked beside her. Then, I added softly, still half-chuckling, "I'll let you do it next year."

She looked like she wanted to sock me in the face, but didn't, either out of self-control, or the exaggerated faces and gestures Nudge was wildly making at her. My bet's on the latter. "Poor kid's so love-drunk, he'll probably trip over his own feet…" I heard her mutter through her teeth to herself.

Somehow, we managed to push ourselves through the crowd of spectators until we were near the front and had a clear view of the valley where the races took place. The trail was beaten flat by hundreds of boots already, so this race would have it easy. From here, you could see how the track twisted and turned up and around hills, using what was an old cow path in the summers and falls. Really, you could only see about half of the race here; later on, most spectators ran or rode to the second spot set off for crowds, which was just over a snowy hill spotted with trees that lay to the west.

I turned my eyes to the starting line, trying to pick out Link. Finally, I found a flash of red and yellow, just behind a burly-looking older boy in blue. "There he is!" I told them, handing Tetra a telescope, and pointing him out to the rest.

Tetra blinked, adjusting the lens. "That bloke there's picking his nose with his gloves on."

Komali narrowed his eyes. "Are you going to watch Link, or what? Because I wouldn't mind taking that telescope off your hands if you're not."

"Okay, okay, I'm going. Don't get yer feathers all tied up in a knot." She quickly redirected her scope elsewhere.

Komali nodded his consent as dignified-looking as he could with Makar balanced precariously on his head.

The race was about to start. A man in the gold trim and bright blue garb of a Tournament official was pacing back and forth in front of the boys, telling them all the rules. The combination of the distance and the crowd's noises hindered us from hearing what he said, but you could tell from his flailing gestures and erect posture that he was being very serious with them. Finally, after a few minutes, he was called off, and he sprinted to the edge again so the race could begin. Some of the boys touched the ground, preparing to run; others just leaned forward looking awkward but ready.

Everyone went silent as the official raised a pistol into the air, and then-

BOOM!

They were off!

There was a sound like thunder as a hundred feet beat into the hard snow, and the stampede of boys lurched forward like a bunch of wild horses. Immediately some were left behind, and some darted ahead; sometimes the outcome of the entire race relied on those first few moments. I was pleased to see that Link was somewhere towards the front, though he still had a distance to go before he would be tasting first prize. Several of his adversaries were tireless and ran effortlessly with the gait of a gazelle- yet, occasionally one or two lost their initial endurance and began to drag behind.

The crowd really began their noise-making when the race hit the first hill, and the tides changed. Some of the boys who possessed wonderful speed did not possess the strength to quickly ascend the icy slope, and they fell back while the stronger ones forced themselves ahead. The spectators collectively cheered, booed, hissed, screamed, whistled, a dysfunctional symphony of human noise, under-toned by the deepness of murmurs and gossip and groans. Medli and I were jumping up and down, crying out at the tops of our lungs in the desperate hopes that Link would hear us as he slowly but forcefully fought his way ever closer to the front. Tetra and Komali rocked back and forth on the wood barrier, and the pirates joined in their loud obnoxious chant, "Kill them! Kill them!" which was getting very odd glances from the people around them. Several of the spectators decided to give us a few extra feet on all sides after that.

Then the race reached the problem of going down the steep hill. Many stopped and hesitated at the top. Some started running for it and tripped around on the slippery snow. But a few had prepared for this sort of thing.

One boy, who had been dragging behind because of the weight, took a large piece of wood from his back and thrust it into the snow, using it to zip quickly downhill. A select few others did the similar; one on a shovel, one on a large piece of thinly pounded metal, and even a third who actually took off his coat and slid down on it.

"Heeeyyy!" said Tetra. "That's not fair! They can't do that."

I smiled. "Oh, they can. The rules say they can bring anything they want as long as they don't hurt anyone with it." Nodding, I turned my eyes again to the race.

Link paused for a moment at the top of the hill like the rest, then watched a couple of the sliders with interest. He took his overlarge shield from his back, inspected it, then backed up a few steps experimentally.

Then, he suddenly bolted forward, throwing the shield down before him. The smooth metal surface slid across the ice like a hot knife through butter, zipping along at incredible speed. It took him a few moments to figure out how to control the thing, which wove back and forth as it went, but when he did, he managed to pass up a few more people, even a couple of those who had brought things to slide on.

At the bottom of the hill, he jumped from the shield and replaced it swiftly on his back as he hit the ground running.

Komali hit Tetra in the shoulder. "And you're always going on about how dull Link is! Seems to me he's been catching on rather quickly these days."

"Eh, that out there wasn't smarts, that was imitation, Bird Boy," she countered, rolling her eyes.

Komali looked as if he were considering a witty comeback involving the kiss earlier, but made himself refrain. Even so, Tetra knew a risky situation when she saw one, and reluctantly pulled herself out of the argument. The Rito prince took the hint and did the same.

The race went on for a few more minutes, up and down the hills in a similar fashion, the running order shifting unpredictably, but Link steadfastly keeping his place toward the front. Finally, Medli stood as tall as she could on the barrier, shielding her eyes. "Goddesses, I can hardly see them anymore."

I looked after the race too, and saw that they were now climbing the crest of the fourth hill, which led them almost out of sight. I rubbed the back of my head. "I guess we should be going to the second point now." Sure enough, parts of the crowd were already beginning to disperse to head up the path. I nodded to the rest, and we joined them.

A few steps up the slope, Komali handed me Makar. "What's this?" I said, gently receiving the creature, wrapping him in my scarf and cuddling him in my arms. Komali cocked his head and smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

"I was thinking I would take a quick wing overhead, you know, get a better look, give Link my encouragements- if that's okay, of course." He raised a white eyebrow in question as he flicked out his feathers.

I put my palm over the leaf on Makar's head, worried that the cold would be taking its toll on the little guy. Trying to recall the rules, I nodded. "I guess that would be okay, as long as you don't fly too low. They would probably get after you for that."

He rubbed the side of his beak smugly with his thumb, nodding at me and Medli. "No problem," he said, pocketing his gloves before leaping into the air. "Wouldn't want to frighten off the young doves too much, eh?" he laughed spiritedly, as he glided skillfully down into the Tournament valley with hardly a flick of the wing.

Medli smiled fondly after him, rubbing her delicate gloved fingers together. "Never met a boy as proud of his plummels as that one."

When we reached the top of the hill, Tetra paused and gave the landscape one more pass over through the lens of the telescope. She laughed, suddenly, pointing. "I bet that boy there hasn't ever seen a bird that big before." Sure enough, one of the kids near the back happened to run through the huge shadow Komali cast on the ground, and while he was looking up to find the source of it, was unfortunate enough to trip over a lump of snow. The prince showed a bit more discretion after that, being extra careful to fly just off to the side so as not to bother the competitors. I took one more moment to admire and envy the ease at which he rode the wintry winds before I continued down the hill after the others.

The second point was deep down in the valley, just in front of the place where the boys would break through the finishing line. Maybe three yards away from it laid the icy bank of a frozen river which snaked through the hills. The competitors would all have to cross the wide expanse to get to the finish.

I looked up to relocate Link before glancing at a clock. "Hm. Sort of running late."

"What do you mean?" asked the muffled voice of Makar.

"Spring will be here any minute," I murmured. "The race'll be a muddy mess unless they finish soon."

I glanced up. Link was really pulling through. There only were five boys in front of him now.

Komali landed swiftly off to the side of the point, and then ran out to meet us. "I'm back!" he breathed, flipping on his gloves as he turned his eye to watch with us. Not one person in the crowd even noticed, being too caught up in the competition to care. Strangely, they were all going silent, tense.

"Shh, there he is," whispered Medli, as the group ascended the last hill.

Link pulled off his shield and leaped off of the side. Now good at this sledding, he zipped past the first of his opponents, then was slipping along, neck and neck with the next, who was sledding on a large sheet of wood. The other boy reached a rough point on the hill, which slowed him down, and Link was quick to avoid the same fate, darting ahead.

Only three left to go! He leaped from the slope and hit the ground in a sprint, as if he had been saving his real speed up until the end, which was a broad flat stretch. The strangely- masked boy in third puffed along as quickly as he could, trying to maintain his position, but didn't have enough stamina to continue the dash, and was soon left behind.

Two to go! They were evenly matched now, and it was difficult to say for sure who would take first, since the odds were continuously changing.

A mother screamed out a chant of approval, and the crowd suddenly broke its silence, bursting into bellows and hurrahs once more. I was surprised and pleased to hear that some of them had taken up cheering for our own unknown hero, nicknaming him Keaton, and holding their own in the great screaming contest between the fans of the three boys competing for first. We joined them with our own cries, first with the aggressive chant the pirates bellowed, then the clapping and yelling that Medli particularly favored.

Soon the three of them approached the river. However, strangely enough, the older bird- masked boy who was currently in first suddenly stopped and hesitated at the edge. Link, watching him, did the same, but the third ploughed forward onto the surface of the ice.

Tetra was furious. "HEY! C'mon, Link, CHASE THAT KID DOWN!" I put a hand on her shoulder to try to calm her down.

"Don't you see?" I murmured. "Something's wrong."

The small boy on the river was booking it across nimbly, getting ever closer to the center, when suddenly-

CRACK!

The ice broke with a sound like a thousand lightening bolts penetrating the sky. And, indeed, the sky split open. In a matter of seconds, the Northern Lights and the dusky clouds were replaced with a clear blue horizon, and a white diamond of a sun. A warm wind gust through the valley, and the boy cried out as he fell through the ice and was swallowed by the waves beneath. But even as he flailed in the water, the ice disintegrated within a matter of seconds, and the current began to take him downstream.

The snow melted, and everyone groaned as the slush fell from the trees to land on their heads. The grass rose, simple and green and studded with flowers, and the trees burst out into pink and white blossoms. Spring was here. But no one was interested. Usually, families would be staking claims on the cherry trees so they could use the fruit in the summer, shedding their coats and picking flowers, slipping around on the mud; but no one so much as removed his gloves. Boys who had been running the race began to gather at the shore beside the bird-masked boy. All eyes were trying to follow the drowning boy.

Link shoved his shield into the hands of the bird- masked boy, threw aside his boots, hat, and mask, and then dove into the river after the kid. He disappeared beneath its shimmering surface for a moment, then reappeared a few feet away, struggling to keep his head above the water as he reached to help the boy, who was starting to go under. Suddenly, there was a change in the strength of the current and the two of them disappeared.

The crowd gasped.

Tetra fidgeted. "C'mon, buddy, c'mon!"

The Rito feathers bristled as if with a static charge, and even a shiver rose through me and the Korok.

There was a moment's pause that seemed to last an eternity of breath, sweat, tension.

Then the surface of the water broke just a bit downstream, and Link appeared, helping the boy along on his shoulder. The crowd was silent as they walked slowly along the edge of the river where the current was weaker, up to their necks in water. Occasionally he lost his footing and drifted a while, then regained it and continued on. Finally, he found his way onto the shore, sliding into the wet grass and stumbling forward, half carrying the kid.

The crowd cheered again, with so much vigor some had to clap hands over their ears. A woman, who I assumed was the kid's mother, burst out in tears of joy.

The two boys were numb. A few feet away from the finish line, they both fell to the ground. The kid nodded sleepily, half-conscious.

Delicately, Link took the kid's hand in his, and with one final thrust, forced it across the finish line.

It was a perfect tie.

Link rolled over on his back as the officials ran out to make sure they were all right.

After a few moments of watching them scamper around doing nothing, I couldn't take it anymore, so I jumped the barrier, and many others followed to get a closer look. Link sat up as he saw us coming, wobbling a little, but the kid just lay there breathing on the ground.

"Hey, are you all right, boy?" yelled Tetra, punching him in the shoulder.

"We were so worried about you!" cried Medli, giving him a great big hug that knocked him over. Then, with a jolt, she sat up, gesturing as if she were dusting herself off. "Goddesses, you're all wet!"

He raised his eyebrows, amused. "Why yes, I reckon I did just take a plunge in the water there." He laughed, but the way he was shivering worried me. "I'm alright. I'm just worried about that one, there." He gestured to his companion.

The officials tried to revive him with little luck. His mother sat on the ground and put his head on her lap, removing the purple mask to peer at his delicate features through her long straight sheet of black hair. As another official shoved his way through, he passed Link a pair of prize badges. "One of those is yours, and one is his, if we can get him woke up, that is." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "But, we weren't really prepared for a tie, you know, and, well…"

"Didn't have the right medals?" finished Link calmly.

"Well…. Yeah." The young official shook his head apologetically. "We don't have you in the books yet for any prizes, so technically, they can go to anyone." He smiled, "but we at the table all agree that you deserve the first." He affirmed this with a solid nod. "Nice work out there, lad."

Link smiled and nodded back as the official left. Carefully, he scooted a bit closer to the kid, then pocketed one of the medals. The other, he dangled just above the boy's forehead. He poked the kid in the temple a couple of times, saying softly, "Hey, you. You! Wake up!"

Finally, the boy opened his eyes. "Wha? A medal?"

"Yeah." Link grinned. "First place, all yours."

The boy sat up suddenly, taking the medal. "Huh? Wait, I didn't- No, I can't take this." He looked confused. "Why, you can swim- you rescued me, didn't you? No, no, I can't take this." He shoved it back into Link's hand.

"No," Link said softly. "I want you to have it. The goddesses know you would've beaten me if it hadn't been for that bad luck, and fair's fair."

After a bit more arguing, Link finally got the boy to take the first place medal.

The boy took it in his hands and admired it, then bowed his head. "Well, thank you, I guess. I owe you my life."

The kid's mother thanked him as well, rather more aggressively. "Oh, thank the goddesses for sending this little spirit to save my boy!" she cried, embracing him. Then she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"MOOOM!" sighed the boy with utter disgust.

Link shrugged good- naturedly, which did nothing to hide the blush flourishing across his face. I smirked- I could almost see the torture that was burning in Tetra.

"Yo, kid." Someone tapped Link's shoulder. Turning, we saw the bird- masked boy who had come in third. He, along with the other competitors, had finally been ferried across the river. Under his arm, he carried Link's stuff. He cocked his head. "You're the craziest kid I've ever seen, and I've seen some strange'uns. Just crazy." He nodded in a sort of approval, and handed Link his things.

"Thanks!" Link called out to the boy as he withdrew.

"No prob, kid," laughed the guy, who raised both hands in a pointing gesture. "Anytime you're pulling your stunts, I'm there!" He threw back his head and laughed some more, and was eventually swallowed by the crowd.

I whispered an incantation, and all the water in Link's clothes disappeared in a puff of steam. Thanking me, he slid on his boots and hat, then took out the second place medal to look at for a moment.

Tetra sat down next to him. "You could've taken the first, you know."

He nodded. "Yeah, I could've. But it wasn't really mine- and besides," he laughed, raising it up, "I like this one better." The second place medal was a small disk of silver tied to a brilliant emerald ribbon, which shone in a way not unlike his sparkling eyes.

After we had laughed with Link for a moment, Komali put in a good observation. "Hey, guys, doesn't it feel a bit hot out here to you?"

I blushed. "Er, yeah, I guess we should probably take off our coats now." With so much going on, no one had really adjusted to the warmer temperatures of springtime yet. Sheepishly, we all shed our winter garments and placed them in the magically- expanding pack I had brought along. We began to talk as we made our way off the grounds, eager to talk about the race.

"Oh, Link, there was this kid behind you, I was sure he would pass you up, but…" rambled Medli.

"Fantastic, just rocking from above, you know," exclaimed Komali.

"Never doubted you for an instant, kid," proclaimed Tetra, polishing her nails on the front of her vest.

I laughed and listened along with the rest- that is, until I saw a clock. "Din, Nayru, Farore!" I cursed.

"What?" asked Niko.

"We're going to be late for Link's next competition, don't you see? We've got ten minutes to get him to town and ready!"

Link paled. "Are you serious?"

I grabbed his arm and started to run. "Dead serious. I did warn you, you know."

"Yes, but," he put a hand on his stomach sheepishly. "I was really hoping we could get something to eat, what with that small breakfast and all…"

I ploughed on. "No time, sorry."

"Awwww! Not even something small?" he insisted. "I'm exhausted, you know."

I shook my head. "Really, you don't want to be late, trust me. You're going to have to tell your stomach to wait. It's going to be a while."

"Awwww, man!" he whined, as I half- dragged him toward the city.

We would soon find out that food was the least of our worries.