Chapter 3: Sweet Dreams

Good morning, sleepyhead, the note read. Why she called me that I'll never know. Sure I slept a little bit more than most people, but still. I know how much you like to sleep in, so I'm guessing this letter I sent with my Loftwing was your wake up call. Was I right? How did she know that?

Anyway, today is the Wing Ceremony (you didn't forget did you?) and you promised to meet me before it starts.

Oh man. I've hardly trained at all. But Zelda doesn't know that. Does she? Can she tell how often a Loftwing has been ridden? No, she couldn't possibly be able to notice something like that. The only people even remotely close to being that observant with Loftwings are Orielle and Parrow.

So when you get this letter, don't go back to sleep, okay? Come meet me at the Goddess Statue; I have something I want to show you. Don't keep me waiting.

- Zelda

"Hey. Wake up. Hellooooo. Wake up, sleepyhead."

"Zelda?" Link asked, his eyelids slowly peeling back.

"Who's that?"

"What do you mean? Aren't you-" Link cut himself off as his vision came into focus and he could clearly see the girl standing over him. Aside from the red hair, she looked very similar to Zelda, so much so that they could've been sisters.

"Yes?" the girl asked.

"Nothing," Link replied as he slowly sat up. "I thought you were someone else."

"Zelda?"

"What? No."

"Then why did you call me by that name?"

"I-look, you don't even know who she is, so just drop it."

"Jeez, no need to get touchy. How'd you get here anyway? I don't see a boat, and I know you couldn't have swam all the way here."

"Where is 'here' exactly?"

"You don't know?" the girl asked as if the answer should have been obvious.

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking."

"It's just that this island is pretty well known. After all, this is pretty much the greatest place in the world."

"But what is this place called?" Link asked, slight irritation seeping through his voice.

"Toronbo Shores."

"That's a weird name give an island."

"Well it's not the island's name."

"Then why did you tell me the name of this place is Trobo-Torbo-Whatever Shores?"

"Because it is."

"What?"

"This place-" the girl said, now growing irritated herself, "the ground you're sitting on top of-it's a beach called Toronbo Shores."

"So what's the name of this island?"

"You sure you don't want to really want know the name of the villages here?"

"Listen whoever you are-"

"Marin."

"What?"

"Marin. My name is Marin."

"Okay then, Marin. Can you-"

"What's your name?"

"Huh?

"What's your name? You know mine, so tell me yours."

"Link."

"Link. I like the sound of that. It has a nice ring to it."

"I don't mean to be rude, Marin, but can you tell me where I am so I can have some sort of idea of how to get home?"

"Of course I will," Marin said winking. "All you had to do was ask. You're on Koholint Island."

"Great," Link said running his hand through his hair. "I have no idea where that is."

"Well I have a map back at my house. Maybe you can use it to get back to wherever it is you're from. Where is that exactly?"

"A place called Hyrule."

"What a strange name."

"Yeah," Link said starting to get up, "because Koholint is such a-" Pain shot through his body as he tried to stand, forcing him to fall onto his hands and knees.

"You're hurt," Marin said, kneeling next to Link. "Let me take you back to my house. My father and I will be able to have you up and walking in no time."

"You'd help someone you just found on the beach without expecting something in return?"

"Well, now that you mention it . . ."

"Look," Link said, shifting himself back into a seated position, "I don't have anything of value to give you. I was caught in a storm, and my boat was destroyed. If you want, I could-"

"Relax," Marin said laughing. "I was just giving you a hard time. Of course I'll help you. I couldn't live with myself if I ignored someone who needed my help. But if you want, maybe you can tell a little bit about this Zelda person you seem so find of."

"Oh," Link said, his face turning bright red. "I, uh . . ." He struggled to think of something to say as he swallowed past the lump in his throat.

"Again," Marin said, placing one arm behind Link's back and the other under his knees, "I'm just giving you a hard time. Now try not to move too much or I might accidentally drop you." In one swift move, Marin lifted Link as if he was made of feathers. "Surprised?" she asked, catching the stunned look on Link's face.

"No, of course not" Link said, looking away from Marin. "I'm not surprised in the least bit."

"Really?"

"Yes really. I mean, I didn't think you were weak or anything. You actually do look very strong."

"Oh?"

"That's not to say you look unattractive. I mean, you look strong but you don't look big and bulky so as to make you look unattractive. Not that you have to look thin to be attractive. What I mean is-"

"Don't feel bad," Marin said, taking a small bit of amusement in Link's flustered state. "I get that look a lot. People think that you have to be big and brawny to be strong, but that's not always true."

For the next twenty four minutes and thirty six seconds it took Marin to carry Link back to her house, she talked on about the time she fell asleep while watching the sunset on Toronbo Shores and had to spend hours digging herself out of pounds of sand because some of her friends decided to bury her up to her neck.

"To this day I still don't know how in the world they managed to do it without waking me up. I've never been a light sleeper, so either they were super careful moving me or I was just really tired. What do you think?" She turned her head to look at Link only to see that he was fast asleep and likely had been for more than just a couple of minutes given the small amount drool that already started to pool around his mouth.

"Sweet dreams, Link."