A/N: I'm really sorry for the delay. I got a really nasty case of writer's block. I'm also sorry for how short this is, but at least I got it up.

Matters of the Mind

Storm clouds crept up from the north, east, and southwest, crackling with electricity. From the north, the lightning was tinged faintly blue; from the east, it was green, and from the southwest it came vaguely red. From these three directions the clouds came rushing in, and over Hyrule they crashed together. Lightning flashed from cloud to cloud, and in their feuding the three storms set fire to the land of Hyrule, destroying it, tearing it apart...

Elizabeth awoke with a gasp to find herself looking up into Impa's worried face. Already unnerved by the dream, it frightened her even more that she had found a situation in which the stoic warrior would show emotion -- especially that one in particular. "Wh-what happened?" the teen asked, trying to ignore the unpleasant twinge of fear in her gut.

"You fainted," Impa answered. "Was it a vision?" Her voice was grim.

"I... guess," Elizabeth said uncertainly, beginning to sit up. "Whoa!" A wave of dizziness struck, sending the world spinning out of sight. Remembering what her brother had told her to do in this sort of situation, she pressed down on her stomach with the hand that wasn't currently propping her torso up off the ground.

"Are you feeling all right?" Impa asked, concerned. Elizabeth felt a hand appear on her upper back.

"Yeah, I'm just dizzy." The disorientation was fading, and in its place Elizabeth's sight returned. "Pressing on your stomach helps," she explained.

"I see." The Shiekah rose. "Come, we must speak to Queen Zelda." She extended a tough, sinewy hand to Elizabeth.

"Don't you want to know what I saw?" the girl asked, taking hold of it and pulling herself up. She hurried off after the older woman, who had already set off.

"You may tell us all when we arrive."

"Us, as in...?" Elizabeth pressed, though she thought she knew the answer. Impa stopped and turned to face her.

"Look, child--" Elizabeth's face snapped into a scowl at this reference to her age, which really wasn't all that diminutive "--your questions will be answered in due time. I do not have time to explain at the moment. All I ask is that you come with me as quickly as possible so that preparations may begin." Impa turned back around and kept walking. As Elizabeth hurriedly followed, she had to bite her lip to keep from asking: Preparations for what?

A lone platform floated in a vast expanse of nothingness. Water that didn't seem to have an origin swirled about it, bluer than any water in the mortal realms, and spilled over the edges into the abyss below. Arranged in a circle amidst these fantastic currents stood six multicolored, circular, medallion-like platforms, each about three feet in diameter and each bearing both a different design...

And a completely different person.

The yellow one held an aging yet clearly powerful Hylian man, clad in heavy orange and red robes. A thick white moustache and thick white eyebrows sat upon a face that seemed permanently set in an expression of severity and seriousness. Rauru, Elizabeth realized, mouthing the name soundlessly as it entered her mind.

To his right, upon the green medallion, stood a young girl clad in a simple forest green tunic, probably no older than ten. Her young face, framed by short-cropped green hair, was filled with both aged serenity and a childish liveliness that shone in her sparkling emerald eyes. Saria.

The person next to her on the red medallion was more like a giant yellow boulder than anything else - a Goron. His face was surrounded by a wild gray mane, and on his face below his small black eyes on each side were two little white streaks, most likely tattoos. On his left arm, all over which veins stood out starkly against the powerful muscles, was a black tattoo consisting of a diamond with three triangles over it -- one over either of the two top sides, and one above its point. His expression was fierce and strong, as though daring the world to do its worst. Darunia.

Then came the blue medallion, and with it the strangest person yet. This individual was a member of that species known as the Zoras, a creature that resembled humans but with distinctly fish-like qualities. Most of the anatomy was similar to human structure (including the parts that only females get), but there were a few key differences. For instance, the head was oddly triangular above the face where the hair should be (in fact something like a hairline was denoted by a change in color from light blue to dark green) and a set of long, graceful fins in different shades of green and blue sprang from the forearms and the waist in back. The toes were webbed, though the fingers stood as individual digits, and almost everything was covered in a slick, shiny, light blue skin. Adorning her ears were a pair of black, diamond-shaped earrings. Ruto. Elizabeth fought the urge to stare and moved her gaze to the purple medallion. There stood Impa, with whom the teen was already familiar. She moved on.

The woman standing on the orange medallion was dressed in clothes clearly intended mainly to withstand intense heat like that of the Gerudo desert. Loose white pants hung from a golden waistband set low on her hips and were secured around her ankles. Upon said waistband sat a brilliantly orange fire opal, and its match stood atop her head to mark the beginning of her vibrant red ponytail. A multitude of thin gold bands encircled said ponytail, along with the woman's neck and arms. Delicate gold hoops also adorned both ears -- which, unlike the long and pointed ears of all the other humanoids present, were small and rounded. A simple white piece of cloth patterned with geometric shapes was wrapped around her chest, leaving her copper-toned stomach exposed. Her pointed, delicate face held an expression of intense concentration, as she stood, feet braced and arms crossed in a cocky, challenging stance. Nabooru. Ruler of the desert people.

And directly in the center, on a gold medallion with a Triforce on it, stood Elizabeth, turning in a slow circle as she stared at them.

They looked almost exactly the same way they did in the game. It was unnerving. Am I inside the game, Elizabeth wondered, or is this some kind of alternate universe? Looking around, she found herself a fan of the second option. These were not video game characters. These were people -- living, breathing people. But how did Miyamoto find out, then? It wasn't as if it really mattered, but...

"So are we going to find out what this is all about, or are we just going to stand here all day?" Elizabeth jumped, startled at this interruption to her thoughts -- then flushed, stung both by the words and the tone of voice in which they were said. She turned to see Nabooru looking expectantly at her.

The words came out before she could stop them: "Well I'm sorry if none of this is like anything I've ever actually encountered before," she snapped. "It's not like you'd do better if you suddenly found yourself in my world and had to attend a meeting of Congress or something."

"Peace!" The voice was like a bell, powerful and commanding. "We have much to speak of, and little time for it." Though she still seethed, Elizabeth turned to him with the same obedience she would have shown one of her teachers back home. "Now," he continued, "tell us what you saw."

"Um..." shaking her head, Elizabeth started to organize her thoughts in such a way that she could coherently describe the vision. But then, the strangest thing happened. A moment ago, the vision had been right there in her mind's eye, clear as the image on a plasma-screen TV. but now, she couldn't remember any of it. She remembered having it, and she remembered remembering it, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't recall exactly what the dream was about. "I..." she furrowed her brow, confused -- and at this point, a little frustrated. "I... don't remember." The Chamber erupted in an incoherent babble.

"Are you sure?"

"Maybe it's a sign."

"Ugh, typical."

"I don't like this."

"Do you think this is a joke?" Stung once again, Elizabeth turned to retort to this remark (it was, unsurprisingly, from Nabooru), but then Rauru spoke:

"Calm yourselves!" The Chamber fell silent, and Elizabeth took this opportunity to speak.

"I'm not lying, I swear to -- I swear!" she cried, tripped up by the religious reference she almost made. Who was she supposed to swear to now, anyway? "I know this is serious. I'm not an idiot, in spite of what some of you seem to think." Here she turned a particularly fierce glare on Nabooru, "I seriously do not remember." The Sages let out a collective sigh.

"Then there is nothing more we can do at the moment," Rauru said heavily. "We will reconvene at the royal castle as soon as all those present can be certain their various responsibilities can be taken care of while they're gone. Perhaps Link or the Princess can shed some light on the situation." The meeting apparently over, the Sages began one-by-one to disappear; then the Chamber itself wavered, and vanished from Elizabeth's vision.

A/N: Ugh. Terrible cut-off, but it's the best I can do. Here's hoping the next chapter doesn't take this long.