Chapter 2

Rescue

Aragorn could now make out a great gate surrounding the castle. There was also a huge moat encircling the castle to prevent attackers from getting in. Link led them around the great capital of Hyrule to the back. When they reached the back, Link led them to a massive tree. He stopped his horse and got off. He motioned for the other two to get off their horses as well. Aragorn and Gandalf both leapt off their horses and grabbed their weapons. Link had the Master Sword attached next to his lightsabers on his utility belt. He had slung his bow and quiver of arrows on his back. He took a couple of small bags off of Epona as well. He attached theses to his already cluttered utility belt. He removed his hood and dashed for the secret entrance.

"Let's go!" he told the other two.

Gandalf had his staff in hand and his lightsaber secured to his belt as he dashed after the Hylian. Aragorn had his purple lightsabers ignited as he followed slowly after them. His blades were hissing as they were hit by raindrops.

"Remember, look for a diplomatic solution first, Link." Aragorn reminded the Hylian.

Link nodded as he unlatched and opened the wooden door leading into the underground entrance to the castle. The three heroes walked quietly down the dark passage way with Link in the lead with his green blade for light.

"Remember, we are Jedi now. Ganon will never know what hit him. He will come to the light. There will be no more fighting between the two of us." Link told his friends.

Gandalf and Aragorn nodded, impressed. It looked like Link, the Hero of Hyrule, was indeed, a true Jedi Master. Link continued to lead the way down the passage when he thought he heard a voice. A voice that sounded utterly familiar to him!

"Did you two hear that?" he asked his companions.

They both shook their heads. It was the Force! Zelda was contacting him in the Force!

"Zelda?" he sent through the Force.

"Link! I have terrible news! Saria and I have been kidnapped by Agahnim! He has us locked in one of the castle's towers!" Zelda replied in the Force.

The fiend! He had captured Saria! Link calmed himself, knowing a Jedi was always patient. He turned to Gandalf and Aragorn.

"The Princess and the Sage have been captured by the evil wizard, Agahnim." He told them calmly.

Aragorn's eyes bugged out. Gandalf was about to dash into the castle. Link simply raised a hand for silence.

"We need to be calm and patient. A Jedi never rushes into action. We will find a diplomatic solution to this issue." He said in a calm voice.

The legendary hero had returned to Hyrule as a Jedi. He was not going to have his actions or any of his fellow Jedi's actions cause a war. He was here to restore peace and order to his land. Aragorn nodded in agreement to Link's command. Gandalf agreed as well. They all began a Jedi Meditation technique to search for a solution. Link was floating in midair in meditation when he finally managed to immerse himself in the Unifying Force. A distant sounding voice spoke to him. It told him that Hyrule was facing its worst threat yet. It then told him that he was destined to save it. To do this, Link must prevent all out war. Link nodded. The voice then told Link that he must protect the Princess and Sage and rescue them before time ran out. Link nodded once again. All of a sudden he was on the ground again. He nudged the Wizard and Aragorn awake. He explained the situation to them and they all agreed to sneak into the castle together and rescue both of the prisoners.

Link once again led the way. When they reached the door to the castle, he stopped. He very quietly opened the door. He motioned for Aragorn to come in next and for the Wizard to follow. After they were all inside, Link quietly shut the door.

"Now we have to sneak past the guards." He told the two with a gleam in his eyes.

"Something tells me you've done this before and succeeded." Aragorn said catching the look in the young Hylian's eyes.

"You could say that." Link replied roguishly.

Aragorn rubbed his hands in anticipation. This was going to be fun! He had heard the tales of young Link's adventures.

"What do we do first? Knock out the guards?" he asked.

"No, we sneak past them!" Link said with a sly smile.

"How do we do that? You make far too much noise!" Aragorn asked skeptically.

"Well, you haven't seen my sneaky side. Have you?" Link said with a smile.

He closed down his lightsaber and hooked it to his belt once again. He lifted up his hood and hid his face.

"Watch and learn, my friends." He said in a whisper.

And, with that he vanished into the hallway. Suddenly a guard appeared.

"He's done for!" Gandalf whispered.

But to his surprise, Link ducked behind a corner and made a bird call. The guard shrugged his shoulders and moved on. Aragorn nearly laughed aloud. Link was good! Link continued on his way until another guard walked out of a nearby doorway. Link hid behind a tall pillar.

'Who's there?" the guard barked while looking in every direction.

Link made a soft cat noise and the guard shrugged and walked back inside the room he was just in. Link beckoned for the other two to make their way to the pillar. So, Aragorn and Gandalf snuck by the guards and made it to the pillar. Link was already at the entrance of one of the towers. He waved for the two to come over. When the two finally made it to the tower, Link was there with a young Kokiri girl. Link instructed for Aragorn and Gandalf to watch Saria, the young Kokiri sage, while he went and retrieved the Princess. He soon made his way past the various guards to the final tower. He quietly walked up the steps and vanished into the upper room. Gandalf, Aragorn, and Saria waited patiently while every so often dodging the passing guard.

Link dashed up the final pair of steps to the last room of the tower. He swung the door open wide and walked in expecting to find the princess by the window. She was there alright. But, all of a sudden a hand clamped over Link's mouth. Link immediately slumped his shoulders and used a calming technique. He raised his right hand and made a sweeping gesture. With the movement of his hand he sent his attacker flying to the opposite side of the room. The attacker landed in an ungracious heap on the floor. Zelda turned around when she heard the sudden noise. When she saw Link in Jedi robes, she nearly cried. She caressed his cheek with her hand.

"Link, my brother, you've come to rescue me yet again!" she said with a smile.

It was then, that Link noticed that the Princess was dressed in funeral robes. They were all of a deep green color with a Sheikah symbol on the back. She had her hood raised as well.

"What's with the new look, sis?" Link asked as he noticed she had a sword hanging from her belt as well.

Zelda turned back to the window once again, hiding a tear.

"You don't hide your feelings that well, sis." Link commented wryly.

The princess turned back to her brother.

"Oh, Link, it's terrible!" she cried as she embraced him.

Link returned the embrace and patted her on the back.

"Everything will be fine, sis. I, the Hero of Hyrule, have returned!" he said with a tight lipped smile.

He showed her his two lightsabers. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"I am a Jedi Master now." He said solemnly.

He bowed to the princess.

"The Jedi are at your service, Princess Zelda. We shall restore peace to Hyrule." He said with a small smile.

Zelda smiled.

"No, Link, I am at your service." She replied as she bowed.

Link smiled.

"Well, my first priority as a Jedi Master is to get you and Saria to safety." He quickly explained to the princess.

Zelda nodded in understanding.

"Wait, what about our father, the King? He's been turned to stone by Agahnim!" she asked.

Link grabbed her by the arm.

"We have to get you to safety first! Come on!" he said as he led her down the stairway.

They stopped halfway down the tower. Link motioned for Zelda to be quiet. The pair silently descended to the bottom of the tower. They waited on the bottom step until a guard had passed. Link grabbed Zelda's hand and dashed silently for the other tower. There, they met Gandalf, Aragorn, and Saria.

"Come on you three! We have to get these the Princess and Sage to safety now!" Link whispered urgently.

The two Jedi nodded. Aragorn grabbed Saria's hand and dashed after the other three. The company soon met up with a group of guards. Link used the Force to create a distraction. The guards dashed off in the opposite direction. Aragorn sighed in relief. They soon made it to the secret door. Link silently unlocked it and opened it with care. The door swung silently open and Link motioned for them to go in. After all of the company was safely in the passage, Link silently closed and locked the door. He once again took his sister's hand and ignited his green blade and led the way to the exit. The company dashed after him. Several hours later they were once again outside of the castle. Link helped Zelda onto Epona. He shutdown his blade and hooked it to his belt as he jumped on Epona, in front of the Princess. Aragorn had just finished lifting Saria onto Brego and was just jumping on to her as Gandalf rode into action. The company rode for the village of Ordon. They arrived at the distant village early the next morning. Link led them through the quaint rural village to the distant mountains surrounding it.

"I shall take you to a secret hiding place of mine high up in the Ordon Mountains." Link told the Princess and the Sage.

They nodded. Saria looked relieved. She would be safe up here in the distant mountains, far from Hyrule Castle. Ganondorf and his minions would never think to look here.

"I assume you two still have your Ocarinas?" Link asked.

Zelda and Saria nodded while pulling them out.

"Good, I will teach you a new melody." He responded.

"What will this melody do?" they both asked.

"It will summon my old friend, Greyfeather the Hawk to your aid." He replied.

He then taught them a tune similar to Epona's Song. After Saria and Zelda had played it perfectly three times Link was satisfied.

"You are to only play that in times of great peril." He warned them.

The two nodded in understanding. The company rode up the steep, but beautiful mountain. Link led them through a wooded area that led to a great waterfall. He then led them behind the great fall into a cave. He led them farther and farther into the cave until they reached a great stone door. He got off Epona and heaved the door open. He led them inside to a beautifully furnished room. Inside they found two comfortable beds, a roaring fireplace, a small round table with two wooden chairs on opposite sides, several swords hanging on the walls, a small mirror near the other wall, and last but not least, a giant picture of the seven sages standing behind the Hero of Time.

"Welcome to your new home!" Link said as he waved them in.

Zelda and Saria just stood there with jaws dropped. Link beamed. Aragorn and Gandalf were speechless.

"Wow, is all I can think of to describe my feelings." Saria said simply.

Zelda nodded in agreement.

"What about food?" Zelda finally managed to ask.

In reply, Link removed a hidden panel in the stone wall to reveal a huge empty space with frozen and dried fruit, veggies, and meat inside. Zelda nearly fainted.

"Link, you are brilliant!" Saria exclaimed in shock.

Link nodded in thanks. He waved goodbye to Saria and gave his sister, Zelda, a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Stay hidden and out of sight until I send a messenger." He ordered the two.

They both nodded. Link led Aragorn and Gandalf out of the cave and back to their horses. Once they had all mounted, Link led them back to the village. They passed several young villagers and several farm animals such as cows and bulls. Link waved to several of the young villagers. All of a sudden a young beautiful woman rushed up to them. She had short blonde hair and wore a lovely dress. She had a fearful look in her eye. Link abruptly stopped Epona when he saw her approach.

"Ilia, my old friend! What news do you bring me from the rural village of Ordon?" Link greeted Ilia.

"Twilight has been issuing forth from the city of Hyrule!" she said with a cry.

Link looked startled at this news.

"You know this for a fact?" Link asked her with a stern look in his eye.

Ilia nodded sadly.

"It grabbed Colin! I saw it with my own eyes. One minute he was in the fields, the next, he was grabbed by a dark hand and sucked into a portal of darkness! It is called the Twilight Realm!" she finished with another cry.

Link helped Ilia onto Epona.

"We're going to save Colin!" he said with a cry as he held up the master sword for all to see.

"For Colin!" Aragorn said as he held up Anduril, flame of the West.

All the villagers looked at the travelers with smiles.

"The hero of Hyrule has returned!" one boy yelled for all to hear.

"All I have to say is this: Beware Ganon and all evildoers!" Link said as he waved the master sword in the air.

The crowd of villagers cheered. Link led the company out of the village in haste. The last thing the villagers saw of them was a brilliant blur of color.