Chapter 3

"Youth still shall he take the journey,

the path he is set by the princess."

Where am I? Link thought, looking around. He was standing in the center of a massive chamber. Tall, elaborately designed pillars decorated the hall, and Link quickly got dizzy trying to see where the pillars connected to the ceiling; the room seemed to stretch all the way to the heavens. Stained glass windows could be seen at the far end of the hall, grey light shining out from the gloom. The room seemed normal at first glance, but Link soon realized that there was something strangely unearthly about the place. First of all, the colors all seemed faded. Link realized, as he took a second look, that he couldn't see any color at all. Everything was a bleak shade of grey. Even the light coming through the windows seemed somber and dreary. For a second, Link panicked. Am I going blind? He calmed quickly when he saw his jacket; the blue texture seemed alien from the world around it. His skin too, had not lost its fleshy hue.

He took another look around the room. The world seemed to swirl sickeningly around the edges of his vision as he did so. The vertigo it brought on made him feel as if there was somebody watching him, moving around the corners of his sight. No matter where he looked though, he couldn't find a single soul. What is this place?

He couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that he had somehow been here before. Something caught his eye and he began walking toward the far end of the chamber. He thought that he could see a sword sticking up out of the ground underneath the embellished glass windows, and right now, he really could go for a nice blade in his hands. This place gives me the creeps. His feet seemed to shatter the noiseless environment that he found himself in. Every step sounded too loud, ever rustle of his clothing made him cringe. Fear gripped him, fear of his hidden watchers, fear of the unknown.

It felt like it took forever to reach his goal. It was as if the room was stretching before him, trying somehow to remain out of his reach. Then, suddenly, he was at his destination, gazing upon a magnificent sword. It was set in a pedestal, the hilt up, and the pedestal was placed in the center of a dais. The raised area was at least twenty feet across, and around the edges were six engraved discs that contained foreign symbols imprinted upon them.

The symbols caught Link's eye, and for a moment he examined the discs. As he scrutinized each one, he began to feel comforted. It was a strange feeling, and one that he could not explain, but before he knew it, he felt almost at home. Link shook his head to clear his thoughts, and immediately wished he hadn't when the room spun dangerously around him. Slowly, very slowly he walked onto the dais and toward the monochrome sword. Even though he no longer felt as fearful, the blade drew him in; it was calling to him. Or was he calling to it? Strangely, he couldn't help but think that if the elaborate hilt could have shown color, it would have sported a stunning royal blue. Now where did that thought come from? he wondered. He sure was having strange ideas lately. His hand inched forward, fingers open wide to receive the blade.

"Link?"

Link spun around, sword forgotten. On the stone platform behind him stood a woman. Her blonde hair and pale skin, accompanied by her pink blouse and light blue apron, provided a stark contrast to the grey world behind her. Link's mouth worked furiously, he hadn't even heard her approach.

"How did you get here?" the woman asked. Her voice seemed more than a little frantic, and Link could tell that she was upset. Finally, he managed to work some moisture back into his mouth.

"Umm…I don't—" he began, but was cut off.

"Has Ganon truly weakened the seal that far?" the woman interrupted. She was speaking to herself now more than to Link. Her eyes closed in what appeared to be deep thought for a moment before re-opening and scrutinizing the blonde haired boy before her. Link couldn't tell what her opinion was of what she saw.

"Wait, did you say Gan—" Link began to ask, thinking that he must have misheard her.

"Link, you must listen to me. We don't have much time." She sounded urgent. Link wondered what was going on. How did he get here? How did she even know his name?

Suddenly the ground began to rumble. A deep, booming roar filled the chamber, coming from everywhere at once. The woman's eyes widened in alarm and she quickly closed the space between them.

"Link listen!" she repeated, more urgently than before. "You need to flee this place! The only hope we have left is for you to free me!" The rumbling was growing fiercer. "Take this," she said, pushing something into Link's hand. "Now go!"

Link was about to ask just how he was supposed to do that when his vision began to blur as if he was falling into a deep sleep. The rumbling quieted and he felt himself drifting away.

"Link…please…free me…" The woman's voice was the last thing he heard before he faded away.

Link woke with a gasp, sitting up so fast that it took a few moments to catch his breath. Looking around, he realized that he was back at his own house, the porch swing still swaying from his violent arousal. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and the morning birds were beginning their cheerful songs to welcome the coming day. A sudden breeze made Link shiver. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and he was still trembling from the dream he had woken from.

Was it really just a dream? he asked himself fitfully. After a few minutes his breathing returned to normal and he swung his legs off the bench. As he did so, something heavy fell off of his legs and onto the ground; it was the book. So it really was a dream, he thought to himself as he reached down to grab the text. He was surprised however, to realize that he already held something in his hand.

His breath caught. Trembling, he slowly opened his hand to reveal an instrument colored sky blue and adorned with intricate silver and gold embellishment that glittered fantastically in the morning light. Link had never seen something crafted so delicately—so beautifully.

His mind immediately flashed back to the dream, back to the woman he'd almost recognized, back to the object she'd thrown in his hands before he'd faded away.

An ocarina.

"How long ago did you have this dream?" Malon asked. After a few fitful nights of sleeplessness, Link had finally broken down and had decided to tell Malon about the disconcerting dream. He was infinitely grateful that she hadn't laughed at him; he felt stupid enough already.

"It was four nights ago, right after the picnic," Link replied. He and Malon were sitting up in Malon's hayloft to escape the frenzy of farm animals below. At least the hayloft had a semblance of quiet. Link often rode over to Malon's farm to help her out with some of her chores, but today he just wanted to talk. "Every night since then I've heard her voice pleading with me to set her free." He left some things out, like how he'd heard the woman use the word "Ganon," and how he'd woken up with her ocarina in his hands. He didn't want Malon to think that he was completely crazy. Oh no, I wouldn't want that, he thought sarcastically to himself.

On the other hand, she kept looking at him worriedly, like he was going to collapse at any moment. After four nights without sleep, he supposed it was a safe bet.

"How?" Malon interjected, making Link lose his train of thought.

"What?"

"How are you supposed to free her?"

"Huh?" Link said, confused.

"Well, either I can assume that you're stark raving mad and I call the men in white coats…or I can believe you and try to help you free her." Link was stunned. Trust Malon to get right to the heart of the problem.

"She didn't—she didn't say how," Link mumbled. He still didn't mention the ocarina, although he did have a lingering suspicion that it was the key to the mysterious woman's salvation.

"Then I wouldn't worry too much about it," Malon said after a moment of thought. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." Link just nodded.

Should I tell her about the ocarina?

"I need to go feed the goats," Malon said before he had a chance to say anything. "Be right back." She swung her legs off the side of the hayloft and dropped down to the ground, leaving Link alone with his thoughts. A few quite minutes passed before Link slowly reached into his front pocket and pulled out the flawless instrument that seemed to be the cause of all his mental strife. As he had done so many times in the last few nights, he just stared at it, engrossed in its elegance. Beauty defined its every curve, but there was something else there too, something deeper. If only he knew what to do.

The instrument began to hum quietly in his hands. His eyes lost focus and he could see the mysterious woman standing before him, as if in a dream. He knew what he had to do. Bringing the flute to his lips, he took a deep breath and blew. Link's fingers seemed to move of their own accord, covering and uncovering holes without thought. A sound arose that seemed to Link to bring the world alive for the very first time. The melody swirled around him, piercing his foggy mind and nearly driving him to tears by the mere beauty in it. Colors blended together with the notes: blue, green, red. The song created a masterpiece beyond any that Link had ever seen, colors sweeping together to paint a mural that boasted the beauty of life itself.

Link's mind spun. Along with the appearance of the colors was the sudden fluctuation of his emotions. Hate, joy, sadness, love; they all tore rampant through his body, tugging at his very soul. He wanted to scream, he wanted to laugh, but he couldn't move his lips from the ocarina. He couldn't stop the song.

As suddenly as it had started, it stopped, and Link slumped to the ground, physically and emotionally exhausted. What was that? he asked himself. Slowly he began to lose consciousness, his fatigued body needed rest. Strangely though, it wasn't darkness that enveloped his blurring vision, it was light.

"Link, thank you."

Link could see the woman in front of him, wearing the same royal garb that he had seen her in the night in the temple. This time though, he didn't have any idea what the place they were in was. Everywhere he looked there was the same white expanse. In fact, the woman in front of him was the only thing he really could see. After glancing around, he returned his gaze to the lady. She seemed misty, almost as if she wasn't really there.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "But I will not be able to appear to you for some time. It is not safe, for either of us."

"Why?" Link asked, confused. The questions that he'd been harboring sprung forward. "Who are you? Who are you running from? What's going on?"

"Everything will be explained in good time," she replied. "Time…" she continued. "As always it is both my salvation and my curse." For a moment her eyes lost focus, but she quickly recovered. "Link, time is short. I bring you a warning."

"A warning?" Link replied. The woman nodded.

"A darkness—a shadow approaches. Both you and your brother are in great danger. You must go to him."

"How do you know about Sam?" Link exclaimed. Has she been watching me?

"Link, I've been watching you since birth. Our fates have always been intertwined." Link's eyes widened. Could she read his mind? The woman merely smiled. "I wish that I could tell you everything, but we are out of time." Her eyes spoke to him, telling him of sorrow and guilt, of compassion and despair. Link could tell that it was with a heavy heart that she set her hand on his shoulder.

"Go!" She said the last word with such clarity and power that it thrust Link back into consciousness.

He gasped as he woke, hearing an echoing gasp from somewhere beside him. "Link? Link are you alright?" Malon asked anxiously, running over to his side. "I heard a—a song…" her voice got airy, the music had obviously affected her too. Within seconds though, she was back to normal. "But when I got up here, you were unconscious and I couldn't wake you." She put a hand on his forehead. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm fine. I—" Suddenly he shot up, discreetly shoving the ocarina back into his pocket. "I have to go!" He vaulted off of the hayloft and sprinted over to his bike.

"Link, what's going on?" He could hear Malon yelling from behind him, but he didn't have time to stop. His heart was beating more and more rapidly, and he broke out in cold sweat as fear began to grip him. He raced home as quickly as he could.

"Sam," he whispered. "hang on…"