Hope I'm doing a good job with this story, so far. Please review! It's pretty long with not very many reviews! I don't care if what you say about my story is good or bad. I take all sorts o' criticism! Both types will help me improve my writing style!
Dusk had long passed by the time we reached Ordon Village. The town was quiet and dark. Even Haunch, the man who had been keeping watch over the town since the children were kidnapped, wasn't at his post.
Link must have seen me looking around at the unusually quiet town, cause he turned to me and said, "It's late. The town rises early, so they sleep early as well."
"Wouldn't you think that everyone would have a hard time sleeping, what with the children gone and all?"
"Most likely." Link turned and looked toward a house that was tucked into a corner, in between two cliffs.
"Do you think we should wake them?" I asked.
"No, waking them wouldn't be good. We should just wait 'til morning."
"But, don't you think that informing them that their children are safe would help them sleep restfully?"
Link was quiet for a few moments. "I guess... Yes, waking them to tell them would probably be best." I noticed that he didn't turn to look me in the eye. I began to wonder if my rejection of him had hurt him more than I had thought...
We then began walking around to everyone's house, telling them that the kids were safe. All reacted with enthusiasm and seemed to be happy about where they were. They weren't home, but they were safe. One man, whom Link called Rusl, was injured and wasn't able to speak when we entered the home. His very pregnant wife, Uli, greeted us, since she wasn't asleep. She greeted us with more care and excitement than the others had, which I took to mean that she trusted Link with the life of her child.
Link then started heading back toward his house, which, oddly enough, was just a tree.
"There are two more houses we haven't stopped at? Why don't we go there?"
"One belongs to the Mayor, Bo. His house is always locked, and he is a heavy sleeper, so I just figure that I would wake up early to tell him the news. The other belongs to Fado, the guy I used to work with. He doesn't have kids, and he will most likely be awake before us, so I figured I would tell him when I go to check on how he's treating the goats tomorrow morning."
"Oh, I see. Are we staying at your place tonight?"
Link nodded. "Yes. I can take the floor, you can take my bed." He looked back at me (finally) looking me in the eyes. "No arguments about the sleeping arrangements, alright?"
"Um... Okay... I just don't feel comfortable taking your bed and all..."
"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Link started climbing the ladder that led to his front door. "Now, come. I'm tired and have to get up early to catch the Mayor and Fado. I don't want to spend all night waiting up for you," He said as he turned and smiled at me. He helped me the rest of the way up the ladder and then opened his door. It opened with a strange 'creak,' which told me that it had been awhile since he had last gone in there. Plus, the smell of dust in the house was strong as well.
His house was simply decorated with little furniture. Actually, it reminded me of a small cottage, and I couldn't help but smile at the cozy atmosphere.
"The bed is on the second floor." He pointed to yet another ladder just in front of us. "I can take the third floor. There's no furniture up there, so it'll be easy for me to set up a few blankets."
"Are you sure? I really don't mind if I just take the floor..."
Link smiled as he pushed me toward the ladder. "No arguing, remember? Go get comfortable. I need to just check around the house and make sure everything is still where it's supposed to be. Then, I'll be up to make sure you're okay, then I'll head up to bed."
I nodded as I grabbed the nearest step of the ladder and started pulling myself up. I felt Link steady me as I got closer to the top, so I was able to pull myself up with relative ease. Actually, climbing a ladder was easy for me. I just had to keep up with the whole 'I'm a normal girl' act I had going on, so pretending that I wasn't able to climb a ladder on my own without fear was an easy way to accomplish this.
Reluctantly, I stopped myself from climbing the last ladder to the top floor to make up a bed. I instead pulled back the covers of Link's bed and climbed in, wrapping the blankets around me as I did. I had to admit, sleeping in a bed for the first time in over two weeks was nice...even if it wasn't my own...
I didn't even hear Link come up the ladder.
I had a strange dream, which really wasn't all that strange, since 'strange' was practically my middle name. It was one of those dreams that you could swear really happened, because of how real everything in it seemed to be. Even when I woke up and realized it was just a dream, I couldn't help but wonder...
I was standing next to the Hero of Time, in front of the princess that had ruled at the time. Her name had been Zelda as well. All three of us were hovering above the Earth, standing on a cloud.
Princess Zelda was playing the Ocarina of Time as a strange, blue light engulfed the Hero and I.
I remembered this... It was something from my past... Right after the three of us had managed to vanquish Ganondorf. She was sending us back in time, seven-years before... Letting us live the time we had missed. I knew what would happen next. The Hero and I would wake up in the Temple of Time, just before he had pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal. We would then leave together and live the life that I wished I could live all over again...
But, that's not what happened. Instead, I looked up at the Hero to see his eyes close. I then side-stepped out of the ring of light, letting the Hero disappear without me. I felt desperate sadness wash over me, yet I turned to the startled princess with a composed posture.
"I cannot go back," I said.
"But why, my Goddess?" Princess Zelda asked as she lowered her Ocarina.
"This world needs me. I cannot leave it."
"But what of the Hero? He will surely notice your absence..."
"No... I will not let that happen. The other me, the one in the past, will awaken to believe that she has lived the last seven-years and helped the Hero. She will have all of my memories, without knowing that she never really lived them. She will go with the Hero and protect the world in her time."
The Princess just stared at me with wide-eyes and an open mouth. She eventually spoke. "How can this be?"
"I have cast a spell on my past-self. It is full-proof, and will only be broken when she has discovered the truth of the past..."
"What will happen to you?"
"I will live my life here, protecting this broken and destroyed Hyrule with all of my power."
Princess Zelda stared at me for a brief moment, and then slowly bowed her head. "Let your will be done, my Goddess... Let your path in this time be guided by your sisters... And may your past-self be guided by your sisters, as well."
A blinding light filled the area. When it cleared, I found myself atop the ruins of Hyrule Castle.
I stood there for a brief moment, and then fell to the ground and cried. I had left my one, true love behind. I couldn't believe that I had done it, but it had been necessary. My sisters had told me that I would be needed here more than I would be needed there... At least eventually...
I finally stood and walked across the rainbow path that allowed me to pass over the pit of death below me, tears still running down my face.
My vision began to flicker. At first, I began to panic. But, then I realized that time had just sped up, because when my vision cleared, Hyrule had been somewhat restored. The rebuilt-castle could be seen in the distance...
I was riding my trusty Midnight across Hyrule Field. We were running at top speed, and I realized that there was an urgency behind our pace. Both of us were breathing heavily as we pushed ourselves to our limits...
My vision flickered again, and I found myself before my sisters inside of the Temple of Time. They were telling me that Hyrule would need to be buried to stop the evil that had once been imprisoned. They were telling me to gather together groups to retreat to the tallest points in Hyrule, where they would be safe. They were telling me where to lead them...
My vision flickered, and I was standing before a great statue of the Hero of Time, inside of Hyrule Castle. There were monsters everywhere, ambushing the royal family. But, I lifted my hand, causing them to temporarily freeze in place, their eyes still moving around in fright. My spell would only work until the Sages completed their task, so I had to act quickly. I then turned and ran up the nearest set of stairs, where I turned a corner and entered a room. Inside, the princess of the time was hiding, holding her deceased mother's necklace in her hands, as if she would give her life to protect the gold triangle...
My vision flickered one last time. It stopped to reveal that I was standing atop a great mountain, the Princess at my side. It was raining, and not just the little amount of rain that comes with a storm... These drops were huge, and were quickly filling up the land far below us...
"What will happen to our beloved Hyrule?" The Princess asked me.
"I do not know, young one. I do not know."
I woke up screaming...
Yes, I know, it's a little shorter than my chapters have been lately, but I dragged out the dream as long as I could without rambling too much :) And, yes, I do believe in the whole 'split-time' theory that many people debate about.