"How can you help me?" Zelda asked cautiously. It was strange that he would say he knew the location of the Sacred Grove when so few did.

"I can tell you how to get into the Grove," Rusl said smiling.

"Then tell me," she said.

"I will… But only if you help me in return."

"With what?"

"Finding my way home," he said sadly.

"But I thought you said you were from Ordon village?"

"I am, though not originally."

"Where are you from then?" Zelda asked, slowly losing patience, for she was in pain and she knew the Hero of Time needed her help.

"Earth."

"What?" Zelda said automatically, completely shocked by his answer. "How did you find your way into Hyrule?" She asked him.

"I'm not too sure, really… My wife and I, we were archaeologists searching for the secrets of Hyrule. One day we found a ruin that was radiating some sort of ancient power… Next thing we knew, we were standing in the Sacred Grove – in Hyrule."

"A Portal… That is incredible!" Zelda exclaimed. Rusl shook his head.

"No, it's not. Not when your life was ripped from your hands. We had a little son – Colin was his name. It has been seventeen years since we saw him… He'd be twenty now," Rusl said sadly.

"I'm so sorry," Zelda said. "Will your wife be joining us then?" She asked.

"No… My wife was killed – murdered by a Bulblin horde just last year," he said. Zelda's heart skipped a beat; this poor man – losing so much in such a short amount of time – but he continued on. "We were completely unarmed when we arrived here: had nothing but the clothes on our backs when we first entered Faron Woods. Luckily for us, Bo – the mayor of Ordon – was out that day. He took us into the village without question, gave us a life. I was always searching for a way back home… It looks like you are the key to it."

"What do you mean the key?" Zelda asked.

"Well, I visited the Sacred Grove several times afterwards to find my way back home, but the door would not open – for anyone. I knew I needed something more, for there is a Golden Triforce painted on the stone."

"A connection to the Royal Family," Zelda concluded. Rusl nodded.

"And you are that connection."

"I will be of service to you in any way that I can be," Zelda said.

"Then let us be off," Rusl said, picking up a crate off of the ground that Zelda hadn't noticed previously.

"What is in there?" Zelda asked with a nod towards the crate.

"The way in," Rusl said with a grin. She remained seated on the log as Rusl walked towards the edge of the tree. He placed the crate down. He opened the crate and pulled out…

A golden chicken?

"What is that?" Zelda asked.

"It is a Golden Cucco – capable of flying distances with great weight upon them! This little guy… He flies like a dream!" Rusl said, still smiling away.

"How is this cucco the way into the Sacred Grove?" Zelda asked, completely perplexed.

"Well, it's not that people don't know where the Grove is, it's that they don't know how to get in."

"And the cucco can lead us there?" She asked. Rusl shook his head.

"Watch," he said as he grabbed the cucco and leaped off the edge. Zelda stifled the shocked, high-pitched scream that escaped her lips. But, Rusl and the cucco glided with ease towards a little outcropping of a branch, safely landing on it. Rusl turned around and looked at her, his grin becoming wider. "Your turn!" He called as he tossed the cucco into the air, allowing it to fly back to where Zelda was.

"I don't know if I can!" She called to Rusl.

"It's easy! Don't be afraid!"

"It's my shoulder," Zelda said as she touched it.

"You must, Zelda," Rusl said so earnestly that Zelda found herself checking that all of her supplies were tucked into the satchel and her sword was secured tightly. The sky was beginning to grow lighter as she picked up the cucco, the creature warm beneath her fingers. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster, pounding in her chest. With a deep breath, she leapt from the edge of the tree and smoothly glided – just as Rusl had – to the little outcropping. Her shoulder throbbed, but she knew this was the only way into the Sacred Grove without using magic, though she still didn't know its location.

Zelda turned to Rusl, this time smiling herself. "That was incredible!" Zelda said.

"Then please, take the next jump!" Rusl said motioning her to the edge of the branch they currently stood on.

"What am I aiming for?" Zelda asked. Rusl came up beside her and pointed just a little ahead to another outcropping. Zelda nodded to him and jumped off the edge, the cucco smoothly guiding her to next branch. Zelda turned and threw the cucco into the air, back towards Rusl, her shoulder burning. He leapt from the branch and came towards her. He leaped again, and then threw the cucco back to Zelda and she followed, gritting her teeth against the pain growing in her shoulder.

"One more branch ahead of us right there," Rusl said as he pointed. "That will get us around the curve, you see," he said.

"Great," Zelda said, smiling as best she could. She leapt from branch and glided safely onto the next. She turned to her right and saw a wide opening made of stone which was hidden from view everywhere else because of the curvature of the tree. Zelda smiled. The entrance was hidden in plain sight, if one looked hard enough.

She turned and threw the cucco back for Rusl, her shoulder igniting in such great pain she fell to her knees. She heard Rusl shout but couldn't look up. Within a few seconds he was beside her.

"What happened?" Rusl asked.

"My shoulder," Zelda gasped.

"I thought you only fell," Rusl inquired.

"Well I did fall… But I was knocked off of a galloping horse by a Kargarok which had caused my fall."

"You foolish girl… You need a doctor!"

"I have to get to the Sacred Grove," Zelda said, gritting her teeth.

"Why? What is more important than your well-being?" Rusl asked.

"I must retrieve the Hero of Time," Zelda said quietly.

"The Hero –" Rusl said, cutting himself off. "Has Hyrule reached its time of disparity?" Rusl asked with concern ringing in his voice.

"My father won't believe it, but he was not chosen by the Goddess," Zelda said.

"Well, if the King believes –" Rusl tried before Zelda cut him off.

"He is being a fool! He will not admit what is right in front of him!" Zelda said angrily.

"I do realize that he is you father, but he is also my King," Rusl said defensively. Zelda knew there was no other way to get Rusl to listen. Slowly, she raised herself to her feet and stood tall, ignoring the pain in her shoulder.

"And I am your Princess, chosen by the Goddess Hylia," Zelda said as she raised her right hand and summoned just enough of her magic to ignite the Golden Triforce on her hand. Rusl's eyes widened – the archaeologist from within taking interest.

"In all my years…" he mumbled. He began shaking his head, clearly thinking. "I cannot leave Hyrule during this time! I am part of the Resistance, I can't just go running off…" He said. He looked at Zelda. "I will go with you to the Grove, but promise me when Hyrule is once again safe that you will take me home," Rusl asked with pleading eyes.

"Of course," Zelda said with a nod.