The three crouched in a far corner of the stables, waiting for the groomers to leave. Link had spotted his horse easily, the only draft horse in a stable of racehorses and war horses. But Ganondorf scowled at the old mare. "We'll never outrun anyone on that bag of bones. Where's my horse? I'm sure the blasted guards took him somewhere, but I don't see any other stables around here."

Suddenly shouts rang through the air, pierced by bellowing neighs that sounded unlike any creature the two children had ever heard. A wide smile broke over the warlord's face. "Well, that answers my question. Should have known he wouldn't go quietly." He crept toward the door, beckoning toward the others.

Link drew in his breath as he saw the massive black creature reared on its hind legs and whipped its head back and forth, scattering grooms trying to grasp its metal bridle. The muscles stood out in its legs - as much as he could see with all the armor - and yet the enormous animal moved with a quick, fierce grace.

Ganondorf shouted to his steed and the horse bucked off the remainder of the soldiers clutching its restraints. As Link led his own horse out from the stables, Ganondorf unfettered his own and climbed aboard, pulling Zelda up after him. "Eh, boy, are you sure you can keep up?"

"I'll be fine," Link retorted. "Stop talking and start moving!"

With a bark of a laugh, Ganondorf uttered a single word of command and the black horse bolted forward. "I'll clear a path for you!" he shouted cheerfully as Link nudged his mare forward.

Zelda clung to her fellow Bearer as they thundered out of the stables, over the small field and into the town, bowling people over as they went. "Stop that!" Zelda snapped as one of the guards went careening off to the side. "My people imprisoned me out of ignorance. There's no need to treat them this way!"

"Sorry, Milady," Ganondorf said with a grim smile. "But even if we're too fast for them to stop us, we still need to get to the Fortress as quickly as possible. I can't imagine they'll just let their Princess leave, even if you're a Princess in exile. I need to prepare my people for the inevitable battle." He looked over his shoulder. "Well, I'll be. The boy seems to be keeping pace quite well."

Link rode with his head down as low as possible, willing Epona to go as fast as she could. Though a work horse, she was still much lighter than Ganondorf's steed, and could leap over obstacles that the other had to go around. He grit his teeth in frustration upon seeing the injured townspeople, knowing they would associate him with the one who had carelessly rode into their midst. But that feeling faded slightly when a guard's arrow pierced his upper arm. Link hunkered down even lower behind his wooden shield and kept his gaze fixed on the black horse in front of him.

Too surprised to raise the drawbridge and trap them inside, the guard at the gate simply watched open-mouthed as the two horses sped by, the call to arms sounding behind him.

Ganondorf turned his horse to the east, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Link was still there. Somehow it didn't surprise him that the boy managed to hold his own. Still, he didn't want to count too much on him; Link's righteous personality would likely clash with his own. He slowed his horse down slightly, so it could travel at a more measured pace.

Epona panted hard as her hooves tore up the field, yet Link could see the end of the field coming up before them. A wall of brownish stone greeted them, and the ground turned to stone as well. Ganondorf led them through a passage between the stones, over a rickety bridge spanning a rushing river far below, and onto a mesa full of thorny brush. Finally, Link slowed down as they passed through what looked like had once been a great stone gate, now chewed by the elements with a relatively new wooden sign hanging above. Link didn't know the mark, but he remembered seeing it somewhere on Ganondorf's clothing.

Ganondorf slowed his horse to a canter, and raised his hand in greeting to the guards that stood upon the high cliffs, indicating that the person behind him was not chasing him. Link glanced up and swallowed hard as he noticed the lines of archers, who had their arrows pointed toward his heart until just that moment.

Several women carrying halberds and wearing brightly colored silks ran up to them as they dismounted from their horses. They chattered excitedly to Ganondorf, but looked with slight suspicion upon the two children. The womens' eyes widened as their King gestured toward Link and Zelda.

Link glanced around, puzzled. "Are the warriors women here?"

"All Gerudo, except for Ganondorf, are women," Zelda replied. "Only one male is born every hundred years, and he becomes their King. I don't know why; they seem to function well enough without one."

One of the Gerudo took hold of Epona's bridle. Before Link could object, Ganondorf said to him, "You two are my guests, and will stay here tonight. I must prep my warriors for a possible confrontation; in the meantime, I will have my people give you something to eat and show you where you can sleep." He motioned toward one who wore leather gloves and had a bright ruby tied into her ponytail. "This is my second-in-command, Nabooru. She speaks Hylian and will escort you."

The two children nodded in greeting. Nabooru motioned toward them to follow her. "So, little Princess, my King tells me he rescued you." She laughed. "That must be a complete shock, given his ancestor's history, eh? I'm told my people caused quite a bit of trouble for yours at one time."

"Er…forgive me for my ignorance," said Zelda, "but unfortunately I have not had access to even the simplest of my country's history."

Nabooru stared. "Ganondorf told me that it looked like your people had attempted to wipe out their own history. I'm surprised you know nothing, though. Are you not a member of the Royal Family?"

Zelda looked at the ground. "Yes, but…my uncle requested that I learn nothing…it is only by my mother's grace that I am here at all…"

"Courage!" Nabooru stepped over to an enormous pot straddled over a slightly smaller fire, and ladled out a bowl of something that smelled like spicy beef. "Eat up, and sleep. I doubt the Hylians will attack to-day." She smiled as Link thanked her. "And you, the courageous boy…our fragmented texts state that your doppelganger has always been trouble for ours. So good to have so many powerful people on one side, eh?"

Link had no idea what she meant, and the pull of the food distracted him anyway. He simply nodded and fell upon his dinner as if he had never eaten before.

-&-

"Permission to speak freely, sir," the Western Captain requested.

"Permission granted," Ganondorf grunted.

"My Lord, forgive me, but this seems foolhardy," she said, the other three captains stiffening at her frankness. "The Hylians will fight a lengthy if not fierce war to get their Princess back, exile or not. You have no idea what this mysterious power does, and neither does its supposed keeper of knowledge."

"That last part works to my advantage," Ganondorf insisted. "It will be easier for me to take possession of it. And then we will have no need to worry about Hylians knocking at our Fortress doors."

"Then you must figure it out yourself, if at all," the Southern Captain said, with tentative apprehension. "Forgive me, my Lord, but how long must we defend our walls in a constant siege?"

"We can use the tunnel-spider method. Hide in the secret catacombs until the Hylians have deserted."

The Eastern Captain, the eldest of the five, clicked her tongue. "You would have the Hylians tear down what we worked so hard to build?"

She met and held Ganondorf's gaze. He turned away with a sigh. "Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself," he acquiesced. "But the fact remains that there's no way I could have known what was going on, and now we've got one of their royals here as a result. If only I could find more information…"

"You should not ask us, you should ask the girl you brought," the Northern Captain suggested. "Show her our texts. It may jog her memory and help ferret out the little she knows."

-&-

"It's still a few hours before sunset," Nabooru said as Link and Zelda finished their dinner. "If you are tired, I can show you to your rooms, but…"

She turned around as Ganondorf entered the room. "I need to speak with the two Hylians." He motioned toward them to follow him, and led them into the sad little library with its tattered texts. "There's not much here, but maybe something we have will coincide with something you know, and we can pit the pieces of the puzzle together."

Zelda picked up a scroll, one of a few still whole, with Link leaning over her shoulder. Skimming its words, she set it down and picked up another. "There doesn't seem to be much substance here."

Ganondorf frowned. "I know that. This may be futile…"

Link touched Zelda's hand lightly with his own, and the symbol glowed once more. Curious, Ganondorf did the same. All three cried out in surprise as a blinding light shot forth from their hands. As they blinked back tears, they took a collective step back as they caught sight of three more people in the room.

The first stood in robes of scarlet, with literally flaming red hair. Her skin was the same color as the Gerudo, but she had a Hylian's pointed ears. She stared out from fierce, yet impish amber eyes. The second stood ramrod straight in a deep blue gown, the crown on her head accenting the severe angles of her face. Her eyes were a cold blue, her hair deep black, and she had an aura of timelessness around her. The third stood in a simple robe of forest green, her brown hair in twin braids over her shoulders. She watched them through warm brown eyes with a motherly air.

"Who are you, and how did you get into my Fortress?" Ganondorf demanded.

The fire-woman laughed, a light and airy sound. "How quickly you forget! But then that's not your fault. We are the Three Goddesses of Hyrule, the creators of the power that you hold in your hands. I am Din, Goddess of Power, and these are my sisters; Farore, the Goddess of Courage, and Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom."

Zelda took a tentative step toward the blue-robed woman. "So you are the one who spoke to me when I was imprisoned."

Nayru nodded. "For too long the Three Bearers have been absent from Hyrule. With no one to hold the Triforce, Hyrule's magic has faded. If it fades too far, it will be come a simple country like any other."

"What can we do?" Link asked. "Nobody seems to know anything about the Triforce, other than it causes problems."

Farore nodded. "It can, and yet, it is the backbone of your whole world. It is a perfect balance of Good and Evil. The constant pressure between its forces is the energy that powers the Endless Cycle, the constant rebirth of the Bearers."

"But Hyrule has gone so long without the Three, that much of its history has been forgotten," Din explained. "Every few centuries there is a crisis, that brings back memories of the Hero that stopped it. The people of Hyrule have become dull, weak, and unimaginative."

"The old tales have been forgotten, or in some cases, even destroyed," Nayru added. "You must breathe new life into them."

"So now what?" Ganondorf demanded. "I can play the villain's role, if that's what you want…but it seems like a strange request…"

"That is not enough," Farore told him. "A simple fight between you and the Hero would go unnoticed in these times. Even if you took over the country, the people would not remember that there is a Hero to save them."

"Hyrule's power is contained in its sacred shrines." Nayru held up her hands and a series of multicolored medallions appeared there. "They have not been tended in ages, and have fallen into ruin. You must take these sigils and put them in their proper places. Then the magic channels, like blood vessels, can open up and carry Hyrule's power through them again."

As Nayru placed them on the table before the Three, Din spoke. "There are six elements: Fire, Water, Forest, Spirit, Light, and Shadow. Each of the six races of Hyrule built a shrine to the one that best fit their people." She smiled. "Can you find your own, my Chosen One?"

Ganondorf blinked as he realized she was addressing him. He stepped up to the table, and scanned the medallions. Running his marked hand over them, he noticed it glow as he passed his hand over the copper-colored one. "This one," he said, holding up the Spirit Medallion.

Din nodded, smiling. "The Temple your distant ancestors built lies somewhere in the Wasteland, half-buried by sand. Once it is returned to its proper place, a chapter of Hyrule's forgotten history will be restored."

"With that history, you can restore Hyrule to its former glory," said Nayru. "Do not fail, my children. For if you do, a greater tragedy will befall your country than anything you or your ancestors have ever seen."

And with that, they disappeared without a trace.