Early chapter. Yay! I'M GONNA GO BACK TO PLAYING THE POKEMANS NAO.

They had remained at the inn for a while longer, problematic as it was since Vega had stolen a red rupee from Link's wallet. Link couldn't go back to the castle now, after all. He'd managed to escape Odran one time; a second time would be too chancy.

To see if they could find Vega quickly, Link would often check on Zelda in her room. She was mostly in a state of meditation, claiming that would help her find Vega faster. It didn't seem to be working up until that moment.

He was confused. What Zelda had just said seemed highly unlikely.

"Why would be heading northwest?" Link asked, utterly and completely confused. It had been a few days since he and Zelda had lost track of Vega. The witch's sense of the star was still weak so she couldn't hone in on him until that moment. But northwest made no sense at all. "There's nothing there but sand and women thieves. I'm pretty sure even he couldn't live off sand. Not to mention the days are unbearably hot."

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Think carefully about it; it would be the last place we would look. But it all makes sense. He doesn't like to travel during the day – he's nocturnal, one usually travels the desert at night to avoid heatstroke. Also, normal people couldn't last in the desert for long - even the Gerudo have a hard time living there - but he's not a normal person, he's a star being! By all intents and purposes, he's practically immortal! He can probably go much longer without food and water than we ever could. Simply put, he's using everything that makes us human against us and taking advantage of the fact that he's not human." She explained.

The page suddenly felt very stupid. When one put it that way, then it did make sense… But a grimmer thought passed his mind then. "What if he didn't go that way willingly?"

The young witch forked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Hyrule, whether anyone likes to admit it or not, is in the middle of a cold war with the Gerudo. They haven't been doing anything for years now… The officers in the Guard are worrying about that and they've been proposing stricter training regimens… None of them have been approved but I know Odran – he's the Captain of the Guard – has been going through with them anyways… But I'm pretty sure the Gerudo aren't just doing nothing. They have to have spies all around… What if one them took Vega?"

"Why would anyone want to take him?" Asked the witch incredulously.

The collared page gave her a flat look. "He doesn't exactly blend in. There aren't that many men around with long silver-white hair – and even a hood can't hide that for long. I'm pretty sure we aren't the only ones that know what a star looks like either."

"Oh…" She hadn't thought about it that way. She'd been so focused on actually really knowing his personality that she had completely forgotten he was valuable as a wish-granting tool and that a greedy enough person could overlook all those flaws. "Well, I don't sense him in any distress."

"If your bond with him is so significantly weakened, can you tell what he feels?" Asked Link skeptically.

"Well if I can sense the direction he's going in I'm pretty sure I still have some idea of his feelings!" Zelda snarled. Which was true enough. Through all the craziness of the past three days she hadn't felt much from him except overwhelming satisfaction and concern. Lately there was more concern, but she was sure it was his emotion and not hers, though she did share in it. An ever growing feeling of concern didn't come across as a good thing.

The page held up his hands in surrender. "I can only take your word for it. Forgive me if I'm skeptical of a wo-" He stopped, knowing if he finished it would probably end with him on four legs and not two.

"Then don't be skeptical." She said firmly. And then more gently. "Trust me."

"Again, forgive me if I'm skeptical." He said while gesturing to the collar on his neck. He had more than enough reasons not to trust her.

With a tired sigh, Zelda felt she might as well tell him. "I can undo the curse, you know. The only reason I'm not undoing it now is because I don't trust you enough to help me if I let you go now."

"Then why should I trust you now if you don't trust me now?" Asked Link.

It was a good point.

With a sigh, she said, "What else have we to go on aside from my word?"

Another good point.

Growling under his breath, the page said, "Fine. But we should be prepare for the journey into the desert before taking off."

With a brightened smile, the witch said, "Alright. I'm sure you could take care of that!"

He forked an eyebrow. "You want me to gather all the supplies for two people by myself?"

Laying down on her bed and closing her eyes she said, "I've been trying to find Vega for three days. I may have just been sitting around but trying to track a soul bond is much more difficult than you'd think… And every step he takes further away from me is a step he weakens both of us. I need the rest. Now don't argue and go get the supplies, unless you want to do it as a wolf."

"Tch," was all Link dared mumble. His face, had she been paying attention, would have said a lot more about what he really wanted to say to her, though. Had she said it in a way that didn't make it sound like he was a pack mule, he would've done it by himself.

As he left the inn, he headed for the market place, hoping that no one he knew would be there. Well, from the castle at least. He needed the vendors he knew to be there.

The market place was crowded, as usual, when he arrived. He reviewed the things they would need for a trip to the desert. Cloaks for sure, preferably light ones. Extra canteens, or bigger ones at least; lots of travel food, a new sewing kit would be useful too. Luckily, he knew one vendor that could handle all of that. The vendor's place was always crowded but he had the best goods cheap, so he was worth the fight.

The page wiggled his way through the crowd in front of the vendor's tent. He was about halfway through the crowd when he felt something brush against his arm… like a hand pulling him away. The collared page looked back to snarl at whoever was trying to hinder his progress only to stare unblinkingly for a second. When he finally did blink, the person was gone and he had been pushed to the street again. But that didn't bother him so much anymore. He looked furtively around for the man that had pulled him out of the mess.

It couldn't be him… it just couldn't but… he was absolutely sure of it. It was him, unchanged from the day he last saw him.

"This way." Link heard.

He turned on his heel. The voice sounded as if it was right next to him, but when he looked he saw the man walking into an alleyway.

Father!

Link ran after him. He turned into the alley, empty and surprisingly clean. There was no one there.

"Father!" He called out. No answer.

The wind blew behind him, as if pushing him down the alley. He didn't need the wind's encouragement. He continued to run down the alley.

His father was dead… But if he was dead how come he had just seen him?

He had come to a fork in the alley, leading into more back roads. He was unsure which way to go until he saw a man with dirty-blond hair turn in the alley to the left. That was his father, he was sure of it… but where was he leading him? And for what purpose? He went into the alley and then turned at the fork where he had seen his father go. He ran down the narrow, deserted road until he froze and stared at what lay at the end of the alley.

It was large stone-structure, like a temple. And it was old. Very old. Probably built a long time before and forgotten as Castle Town kept expanding. Now that he really thought of it, he had heard stories of an old temple in the back roads of town. It went back into the time of his grandfather's grandfather… and it was unused. It was always locked so no one knew what lay inside of it. Well, a library probably knew but he wasn't about to waste his time going to a library when he was right there.

But how do I get in? Why lead me somewhere I can't get into, Father? He thought as he neared the great temple. The doors didn't look as old the rest of the temple. The temple looked old and decrepit. The doors looked brand new, ready to stand up against a siege of a thousand, maybe more, soldiers. There was no way he could get inside…

But someone from the inside had opened the doors. Slowly and quietly, but the doors opened. He caught sight of his father's silhouette behind the doors. He ran in.

"Father!"

The only response was his echo bouncing off the walls of the temple. Even as he looked around, there was no sign that his father had been there. There were just walls, walls that had once been white but were now graying with the passage of time. In the center of the foyer, if that was what it was, was a low dais. Inside the dais it looked as if there had once been something painted onto it, but time had taken that as well. He walked forward over the dais and to the stand a few yards in front of it. Inside of the stand were three jewels. One blue, one green, one red. They looked as if they had been fused into the stone. Above the jewels was an obsidian plate. There was an inscription there but it was unreadable. It wasn't worn away or anything like that… it was just in a really old Hylian script. It had to have been centuries old…

Why lead me here?

Something glinted yet deeper in the temple. He looked above the stand he had been studying and saw that in the chamber beyond the stand was another dais… with something on it. He went around the stand and up the slopes into the next chamber. Glass windows, real glass windows, were high up on the walls. The window in the wall directly in front of him was pouring sunlight onto the dais, which was higher than the first in the foyer. In the dais was a pedestal. And in that pedestal was a sword.

Link looked around the chamber, to see if there was anything else. It was empty. Reluctantly, he went up the steps of the dais and towards the sword. He extended a hand to it, but hesitated at the last moment and pulled it back. He looked over it. At the front of the pedestal was a scabbard of blue and gold, intricately carved and designed. It had to have taken years. The hilt was a solid purple-blue with a small etching of the Triforce (something he only knew as being a part of the emblem of Hyrule) on it. Dust had gathered on the hilt but not on the actual blade, he noticed. It was strange. He wasn't sure if it was a trick of the light or not but the blade almost seemed to be glowing. And something about the sword just… it just seemed like it demanded respect.

"Take it."

He looked back.

His father was there… not quite. He was translucent. A ghost? His father smiled at him. "Go on, take it. It was meant for you, Link."

All he could was just stare, though. Stare at the man he had strived so hard to be exactly like one day. They looked the same, save that Link's hair was lighter, like his mother's, and that he had no facial hair - not that he wasn't trying.

His father's ghost chuckled. "Take the sword, Link."

He finally snapped back into reality and then turned back to the sword. He extended his hand out to it. He still hesitated, but this time his hand firmly gripped the hilt. He pulled it out and he was surpised at how easy it was. The sword had just slipped out; it never even made a sound. And it was so light in his hand… He'd always heard that one knew if a sword was right for them when it felt right. And it really felt right.

The page swung it once, twice. He smiled, feeling an overwhelming sense of pride come over him. This sword was perfect… and it had this sort of power to it he couldn't describe. And it was his… No, that wasn't right. It had chosen him.

That thought made him frown. This sword had chosen him… but for what?

"Father-" he turned and saw that he was alone again. His father had left… This time he knew he wasn't even in the same realm.

A heavy feeling came upon his heart. His father was truly dead…

He gripped the sword in his left hand again and then turned on his heel and picked up the scabbard. His father had led him to this sword, though. That was the last thing his father saw fit to do before he went into the afterlife. And for whatever reason his father had led him to the sword and the sword had chosen him… He would make sure that whatever came with the sword would be done.

"I'm proud of you, Link."

Hurr, that's right. No big epic mission to get the Master Sword this time! Mwhahaha!