Author's Note: *sigh* I'm sleepy... Not much to say except that I still hate school. I still hate all the work and studies and the pressure to do well with grades... Ugh, too much work... Anyway, thanks to all those who are so faithful to my story, and even more thanks to those who leave reviews. They're very appreciated! And thank you to those who wanted to help design Theresa's new outfit (even though only one person participated). And one person wanted to draw it, but I got nothing so... yeah... You get the Super Special Cookie of Awesomeness! (I think that's how it went...?)

Okay, new chapter!

Chapter 11 - Training

I was completely revitalized from Zelda's hospitality; she offered me to stay for one night in order to regain my strength, and I gotta say, I haven't slept that well in a long time! I slept like a baby! Anyway, her guards gave me a better, stronger bag to carry and it had a lot more space as well. I was able to fit in a couple of bags of food and a flask of water, which I assumed would last me some time, and along with those I got a hooded overcoat for cold weather. Then they also gave me a sleeping bag to carry; I didn't think they had any sleeping bags in Hyrule, but then I remembered how Link always had one on Epona's saddle.

I was looking at myself in the mirror as I wore my new attire I received from the Princess's maid. It was a dark purple tunic, similar to Link's except without chainmail. It would protect me from monsters, however I don't think I'll last long walking around in that uncomfortable "undershirt." It was styled almost the same way as Link's, but with no hat and the top seemed to have some sort of "mini-poncho". What I mean by that is that it looks similar to a poncho back in my world, but it stopped right at the bottom of my breast. It had three dark stones on that part of the tunic, and it was said to bring good luck. Honestly, it looked more ominous to me, but I was okay with it because black and purple go well together. There was white lining that went all around the bottom of the tunic, and the bottom ended around my thigh. Its sides were slit, which was convenient for running. Underneath the tunic was the usual white long-sleeve shirt and white tights, however they weren't as flimsy as the ones I usually wore back home. These were a tad thicker and warmer, but not too thick to where I burn up in the next few seconds. The purple clothing was really baggy on me; once the maid put a belt around me, however, it made it much more slim. The belt consisted of one of those strange bags that seemed to be able to hold anything and everything. You know how Link would somehow be able to fit that gigantic Ball and Chain inside and take it out with ease? Yeah, that. I put my bombs inside the very, very deep bag and placed my dagger inside my right boot, with its sheath on of course. I wanted to be cautious and make sure I had a back-up weapon anyway. The belt came with the sheath of a short sword that one of the guards gave me. Turned out it was the guy I hit in the head on my way to Zelda's room. Being the overly-guilty girl I am, I apologized a lot more this time, but he dismissed the matter with a hearty laugh.

The short sword was clearly made of steel from its shiny appearance and somewhat heavy weight; the hilt was made of a beautiful bronze material, but sadly, it also contributed more weight to it. The blade extended upwards in a straight fashion, but after a third of the blade it curves outward slightly before it curves back into a deadly, sharp point. The part of the hilt that kept me from cutting myself with the sharp steel looked like a type of "U" shape, similar to Viking or Roman style. I forget which one. Moving on, the end of the hilt had a round circle (not a sphere) that had the sign of the Triforce engraved in it. In fact, it was on both sides of that circle. I swung it with ease with my right hand, but still, for me it is still rather difficult to handle a sword. It was much easier and faster with both hands; perhaps I should train that way until I can hold it with one. If not, I'll stick with my hidden dagger.

Gathering my things and sheathing my new weapon, I thanked the Princess once more for her kindness. She was still rather weak, but was able to speak much better and even walk for some time.

"Ah, I have a few more things to give you," Zelda stated. She made a gesture to three of her soldiers to bring some boxes. They did so and brought three smooth wooden boxes, each guard holding a separate one. They all opened it, revealing three bottles of Blue Potion. I began to get excited once more, but I had to pretend I had no idea what it was.

"What is it, Princess?" I asked, smirking to myself in my head.

"These are Blue Potions. Very expensive in the Markets, but very beneficial and rewarding. When you feel tired and worn-out, drink a bottle and it will replenish you instantly. And since you can use magic, this can also replenish your magic power."

I had forgotten which Potions do what. The only one I remembered was the Red Potion, which filled up the Health bar. Or... At least, that's what I think it does... I gently took one bottle from its container and held it in my hand. The bottle was bigger than I had anticipated, and I needed my whole hand just to hold one side of it, and it was somewhat tall. A wide bottle like this will come in handy in the future. The blue liquid inside didn't look thick or anything. Rather, it looked like Blueberry Kool-Aid juice, or just like any other fruit drink I'd have back home. I carefully placed all three inside my bag and thanked her again. Zelda nodded and sat up on her bed.

"Now go. Aid Link in any way you can... Please..." I could tell she truly trusted me and relied on me. I guess the fact that I survived on my own showed my courage, whatever amount I actually have in me. I gave her a huge, confident smile.

"Don't worry, Princess. I won't let you down!" She nodded once more and gently smiled at me. As I left her room, she waved to me and wished me good luck. Even Kappa waved back at her as it followed me out the door. I still don't know why it doesn't want to return to my soul...

As I exited the Princess's large abode, the sunlight hit me in the eyes and I had to shade them. Now that I had more energy, I had more determination as well, and walked amongst the crowd. Well, before I go on and find Link, there's one very, very important thing to do:

Find my horse.

I remembered I ditched her at some gate to enter Castle Town, then disappeared to the Hidden Village for who-knows-how-long and then spent the night at Zelda's. Geez, I'm such a terrible horse owner... As I passed through hordes and hordes of strolling citizens, I was still able to see their souls. Well, not exactly; rather, they were still glowing. And in fact, they were glowing the same eerie, light blue color... The same color as when they were turned into spirits in the Twilight. I wondered why they were all the same color, and I figured it was probably because they were only minor characters. That would make sense anyway. I headed to the gate where I left my dear horse, and I saw that Epona was missing. Obviously it was because Link had to go retrieve the Master Sword. He must be having lots of fun with Skull Kid and his puppets... Despite my long disappearance, Mei still recognized me and neighed happily at my return. It caused me to smile and hug her neck; I was glad she still loved me. In fact, I think she's the only animal that does not hate me... Seriously, all pets and animals avoid me for some reason... Anyway, even if riding Niro would probably be a shorter way of travel, I didn't want to risk him being seen, nor did I want to risk falling at a great height. I was already scarred for life by that damn Kargaroc.

After attaching my sleeping bag to the saddle along with my bag, I climbed up and made her turn around. Kappa ran in front of Mei with sad eyes and extended its arms toward me like it wanted to be carried. Again, my inner girliness came out and I felt sorry for it, but I had no room in my bag this time, and I didn't want it to sit in front of me, otherwise it can lose the water in its head.

"Just return to my soul," I asked kindly. Kappa stared for a bit, that is, before it shook its head. He really reminded me of Pikachu from the "Pokemon" cartoon. Pikachu never wanted to get into its PokeBall... Kappa is exactly the same way, and unfortunately for Kappa, I wasn't as kind as Ash. In fact, I was getting annoyed at its stubborn personality.

"Why not?" It only stared. Apparently, it didn't want to speak. I had no idea why... "Just return to my soul like Niro did, goddamnit!!" Before I knew it, Kappa glowed a type of blue, similar to Sepherene, and turned into light which I absorbed. Did that just happen? Did I just force Kappa to come into my soul? Now I felt like such a jerk, but I knew it was for the best. In order to make myself feel better, I blamed Dyten for his overpowering emotion of anger, which actually rewarded me with an insult from him. Shaking my head, I focused on the main task at hand. I took out a map I received from one of the Princess's guards and scanned through it. It was clear that I was at Castle Town, and even if I had no way of reading Hylian, it seemed like Faron Woods shouldn't be too far.

~ : ~ : ~

My breathing was heavy, and beads of sweat rolled down my face as the sun continuously beat down on my back. My legs were soaking wet and I was so, so tired.

"Oooh, you nearly got it, Theresa!" said Sepherene, clapping her hands excitedly, "Try again!"

"Sepherene," I whined, "That's, like, the 20th time you said that!" My legs were shaking in the water and I felt like I was ready to collapse. After some thought (which I wondered why it even required any thinking at all in my current state), Sepherene finally allowed me to have a break. I stepped out of the water and fell back onto the grass. Dyten sat cross-legged underneath a shady tree, glowing red of course, shaking his head.

"You're so weak," he said, "No wonder Niro had to lend his own power to you..."

"Shut up! I got tired of running from him anyway. And besides, this was your damn idea!" Dyten only gave me a "Hmph..." before standing. What was going on? Oh nothing, just that Dyten somehow persuaded me to train in magic before heading to Faron Woods.

"Taking the risk head-on is a foolish idea," he said. To me, listening to him was a foolish idea! I decided to let Sepherene teach me first since she was the first soul I collected, so I went ahead and rode on to Lake Hylia. Oh, how beautiful it is! The water was so clear and the lake itself was so vast and large! If only Kappa didn't give me a fear of swimming, I'd be more comfortable. Though spending more time in the shallow side of the water gave me a better feeling rather than going to the darker, deeper side. Anyway, since Sepherene is a soul that controls Water, I'd start training in water magic. I was actually surprised to find out that I am in control of her powers now. I remembered Zelda giving some lecture about the connection of souls and magic at some point, but of course I didn't pay much attention; it felt too much like school, and that is something that I do not want to repeat!

Anyway, the first thing that Sepherene decided to teach me was how to lift water and control it. I was able to carry a small orb of water about the size of a marble. Easy. But she challenged me to something larger, and I found the largest I could hold was the size of a basketball, and heck, that took a LOT of effort! In fact, bending it to a different shape was even more difficult! That already got me breathing unevenly. Despite the slow progress, Sepherene thought otherwise. She commented that I was learning pretty fast, but I wasn't satisfied with the results at all. She decided to move on and review that later with me. The next thing she taught me...

How to walk on water.

Now that sounded cool if I was okay with getting exhausted like I was doing the worst workout of my life... But since I'm most definitely not okay with getting easily exhausted, I couldn't hold my balance for more than a second! That's why my legs got wet. Very wet. Thankfully, I took off my boots beforehand. On the down side, my legs and feet were freezing now.

"S-Sepherene..." I managed to breathe. She floated over immediately. "Why am I... so tired...?" She opened her mouth to answer, but the smart-ass pervert had to intervene.

"Magic takes the concentration of a great mind. Full-fledged mages can bend things to their will very easily. And every magic spell has a price. Using magic normally would stress your mind, or your mana if you have a decent amount. If not used responsibly, your own power would eventually make you collapse."

Yeah, that's what's happening to me... He continued.

"However, it seems that your mind cannot take whatever spell you are using, and you don't have much mana either. So, when YOU use magic, it takes physical strength."

"Ain't that peachy..." I complained. Dyten only smirked.

"You really aren't quite the athlete, are you?"

"I got better things to do than exercise..." Seriously, I'm that lazy.

"I'm actually surprised you managed to survive two Forbidden Gates."

"Oh, thanks a lot! And besides..." I looked towards the sky at that point. "I'm pretty surprised myself..." Finally, he stopped harrassing me, but continued smirking triumphantly, like he took great pleasure in picking on me. He was like the stereotypical bully or something... But that's not important. I looked towards the clear blue sky, wondering if the goddesses were real. Really, a normal girl like me that came from a world of technology and constant entertainment couldn't possibly survive ordeals like I just went through, or at least I didn't believe I could. But I did survive. I'm still breathing. Was I just lucky? Do I know too much about the game to actually know how to survive? Or...

Were Din, Nayru, and Farore watching over me?

I tried to shrug it off, deciding to find out later, and closed my eyes. I wanted to rest...

...

About 10 minutes passed since I shut my eyes, and Sepherene was determined to continue my training. Ugh, how I hated this... I was knee-deep in the water once more, still tired, still wanting a nap. But hey, aren't all teens like that?

"Alright, Theresa. How about we go over lifting water again?" I groaned in reply. I lifted my hands and concentrated on the water once more. Breathing deeply, I focused. The water began to float in midair, right in front of me. It never stayed in a perfect sphere; it would instead... Sort of... move around or wave around. It's hard to describe, but it never ceased to amaze me. I never felt this excitement before; it was thrilling!

"Good, good!" she said. Without her permission or command, I decided to challenge myself. Somehow, I gained more confidence in myself through seeing my small achievements despite my growing sloth. Heh, ten minutes of napping must've changed me or something... I began to shape the water into a weapon, sort of like what I'd see Waterbenders do from "Avatar: The Last Airbender." Because I was slowly gaining control over the four elements, I couldn't help but think of that show that I would see at times of complete boredom. I made a clear, detailed image in my mind, eventually leading to the shape of a spear. The water spear was still just as clear and blue and, well, wet, but it wasn't difficult for me to hold it in my hand. I breathed in and out, holding the weapon with my two hands. But then a question came up.

"Hey, Sepherene... Is it possible to make this frozen solid?" The blue soul had a questioning look upon her face, but of course knew the answer.

"No. Water is liquid; to make it solid, you obviously need control over ice. Although you can control water very nicely, in your state, you can't freeze it." Oh darn, I guess I can't base everything from "Avatar: The Last Airbender"... I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed. After all, wouldn't it be a more effective attack if it were solid? I didn't think splashing around in water would help me out in the field of battle at all.

"Oh well, beggars can't be choosers, I suppose." Again, Sepherene looked puzzled. I guess she didn't understand what that meant, but I decided to ignore it. With a mischievous smile crawling across my face, I turned to where Dyten was. He was sitting down once more, but with his eyes shut and pondering something, if not resting. Lifting the spear in the air, I used a sudden burst of energy to throw it at him; and it worked!!

But it never hit him. By the time the spear was within five feet of his range, he merely turned his head to the side, the liquid weapon spalshing on the tree behind him.

His cold, red eyes slowly opened, glaring at me. I think he was trying to scare me, but on the contrary, I still held that playful smirk on my face.

"I'm a warrior of the proud Shiekah tribe," he began, "Destined to protect the Royal Family from any danger. Did you really think I would be unable to dodge such an obvious attack?"

"Then why didn't you dodge my kick while you were hitting on the princess?" Immediately, he lost his cold stare, changing to one of surprise and slight embarrassment. He was at a loss for words. "Ha! Gotcha!!" I yelled triumphantly. Sepherene and I laughed heartily as he was still unable to explain that contradiction. But... It wasn't long before the world began to spin around me. Soon enough, my legs gave in, hearing Sepherene's alarmed voice right before I passed out from using too much of my physical energy.

~ : ~ : ~

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking to clear up my vision. I was... Floating? I had no control of where I could go, or how I could move. I was only floating, descending slowly in an eternal darkness.

"Oh, it must be a dream..." I figured. It was true; ever since I arrived in Hyrule, my dreams have been consisting of me floating in an endless void. Like there was never any world to begin with... I remembered that my dream before I came to Hyrule, I witnessed its creation. From there, I couldn't recall anything else...

I began to slowly straighten up, until I landed gently on my feet on something solid. It was still pitch black though. I looked around me, but there was still nothing. But finally, a light emerged from behind me. Turning, I found a large purple sphere with flames of a lighter shade. It was taller than me, in fact. Around it spun two other orbs: one a calming blue, and one a dark red. I could feel the energy coming from the two. Very familiar energies as well...

It was Sepherene and Dyten.

They were not taking their human shape, however, and just... Circled slowly around that huge purple thing. Then I finally remembered: the goddesses told me that was my soul! I walked closer to it, feeling warmth coming from it. I held out my hands and closed my eyes, looking back at the memories I shared with my loved ones.

My soul was pouring that into my head.

I cried softly. I missed home, I missed my annoying siblings, and I missed my strict parents. My friends, my relatives... They must all be looking for me. I made no sound, I made neither a whimper nor a sniffle. Salty tears merely rolled down my red cheeks, silently and gently. But when I opened my eyes again, I saw something within that comforting soul. I narrowed my eyes and wiped my face dry, realizing it was yet another glowing orb. But...

It was an ominous yellow shade.

Before I knew it, my legs were being drawn to it. I walked towards it, to the center of my own soul. What was that inside? Extending my hand to it, my fingers flinched back a bit, hesitant. But curiousity was overcoming my senses, and slowly, I touched it.

As soon as I did, though, my eyes shot wide open, my serenity and peace completely shattered. I held my head tightly in my hands, gritting my teeth and enduring a strong pain. It was like a migraine, only worse! Or even like my head was splitting open and I was desperately trying to keep it together. Either way, it was a large amount of agony, and multiple emotions overflowed me, similar to when I first met Sepherene and Dyten. With those two, I only felt specific ones: sadness and anger. But this one... It had so many... So many that I never thought I would ever feel in my life:

Bloodlust... Revenge... Extreme and never-ending hatred!

They were all coming into me! Along with those, I saw terrible things. Things that I knew were too horrible and grim for me to ever wish for something like those. And yet... I felt like I wanted it to happen at the same time. Those visions included the agony of innocent people, mass murders, torturing. Everything was too much for me! I couldn't take it! My face raised to the heavens, if there was any, and I screamed. I yelled like it would take the pain away, but it wouldn't.

Collapsing, I curled up, still holding on to my head.

"Leave me alone..." I begged. "Leave me alone!" I had no idea who or what I was talking to... Maybe I was just speaking to the pain? I didn't know what caused it, or what that thing was in my soul. But it seemed too horrid to actually be a part of me.

"Leave me alone... Leave me alone..." I repeated, rocking back and forth, until the darkness swallowed me up.

~ : ~ : ~

The day passed slowly after I awoke. I didn't have the will to eat, and I treaded slowly through Hyrule Field even if I was riding a horse. I forced her to slow down to a walk, like I had no will to do anything. I was... lifeless.

"Theresa, what is wrong?!" Sepherene demanded for the millionth time. "What's happened to you?" Apparently even souls in my body had no idea what's going on in my own dreams. How strange... Throughout this whole slow, sluggish time, she was the only one trying to get answers from me. Finally, it was time for Dyten to step in.

"Link won't recognize you if you return to him like this..." he stated, completely unemotional and uncaring. And yet at the same time, it was like he was doing his best to bring me back. It really did help though. That one statement hit me. I stopped Mei's slow trot and tightened my grip on the reins. Dyten continued, "You seemed so confident with your 'wonderful' speech to the Princess. You had that feeling that you could help him. Now, in your current state, you can't even speak."

This was... confusing. Even I did not know what was going on with me. But that name that he said...

"Link..." I muttered. The two souls' heads shot up as I finally said something. That name... That man... I began to remember what he's done for me, what he's tried to do for me to get home. Me, a perfect stranger. And yet he showed kindness to me... I breathed slowly. Perhaps if I held on to that name, if I held on to my few memories of him, I'll actually be able to think straight. I made Mei go forward, slowly gaining speed, going faster and faster each second. Sepherene was completely relieved and smiled excitedly as she returned inside me. Dyten flew with me shortly, commenting,

"You're a strange one, you know that?" I was able to beam at him.

"Thank you... Dyten..." His eyes widened just slightly before he returned my smile. Soon afterwards, he, too, came back into my soul. I rode on to Faron Woods, finally making my stop where the gamer makes his/her way through to get to the ruins of the Temple of Time. There, I found Epona chewing on some grass along with the golden cuckoo. Dismounting Mei, I put a hand to my chest, breathing once more and closing my eyes.

"Link... Wait for me."

Yeah, I was pretty much half-dead while writing this. Sorry if it's a tad confusing to you guys, but stress really changes a person, especially someone buried underneath homework...

R&R, pwease!