I do not own The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Chapter 2

I opened my eyes to see a tunnel above me. A circular opening revealed bright blue sky and a few clouds. That's when my head started to hurt. Badly. It radiated from the back of my head, to the front. I closed my eyes, and realized that there was a particularly sharp object my head was rested on. Slowly, and very carefully, I sat up and felt the back of my head. It was warm and sticky, and I groaned.

"What the hell?" I whispered to myself. I was at the bottom of some hole. There was a small puddle of water next to me, only visible by the reflection of the sky above. I looked around, and saw a large opening in the wall. It looked incredibly dark, so I ignored it and found a ladder that went all the way to the top of the hole.

While climbing the wooden planks that were unevenly placed in the stone, I realized the extent of my injuries. My head was bleeding, obviously. I could feel the wooziness, and the darkness was spinning around me, but I was intent to get to the top before passing out. Not to mention, I was incredibly sore in my arms and legs. I realized I must have some bruises or scratches.

Sooner or later, I reached the top and toppled over the entrance to the hole (which I realized was a well) and onto sun drenched grass. The noises around me were that of a small town. Chickens clucked somewhere in the distance, and there were various people talking somewhere around the corner. I stood up and looked around to find myself somewhere unexpected. I had to blink. I had to pinch myself. Rub my eyes, close them, and open them again.

There was no way.

"Excuse me young lady?" a feeble voice asked from my right side. I turned my gaze to a small old man looking concerned.

"Yes?" My voice came out small and in a hoarse whisper.

"Are you alright? You look a little…bruised." He said.

I blinked, and answered slowly, "Do you know…where I am?" I asked.

The man gave me a questioning look. His big, bushy white eyebrow raised, he answered, "Well, your in Kakariko Village, dear. Are you all right? Should I call a doctor for you?"

I groaned, and fell to my knees on the green grass. There was no way this was happening. It was impossible. The village in front of me was spinning, and then it was the ground. It spun and it made me dizzy until darkness just swept me up and took me away.

---

"-yes. Her injuries weren't major. However, she'll need some rest." I saw darkness, but I heard a voice. It was a female's, and it sounded kind.

"Well, you are very good at this Malon. Helpin' all those soldiers comin' in from the desert, and you're here to nurse 'em back to health. This girl was jus' comin' from nowhere." A man said.

I opened my eyes slowly, and stared at a ceiling that was too low to be normal. "What's going on?" I asked, reaching up to feel the back of my head. It was dry, and my headache was gone.

"Oh!" The girl's surprised squeal made me jump up. "Shoo! Get out!" A red headed girl was pushing an older man out the door. He nodded to me before the door was shut in his face. The girl, Malon, turned around and smiled.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

I blinked at her. So, everything was real? Her face almost matched the ones in the videogame. Only, it was real. She was real. I swallowed, and answered. "Fine. I feel fine. What happened? Where am I?"

Malon laughed. "You passed out by the well in Kakariko. Old Man Yoji said you'd appeared out of nowhere. He is a little old though. Kind of crazy these days, I guess." Her voice was light, and it seemed to brighten the room.

"Where am I?" I asked again.

"Well, you're at Lon Lon Ranch. They had to bring you here because the doctor there was sick. He couldn't do much at all. Poor dear. It was a good thing Fairy Boy was there. He was on an errand, but he went out of his way to bring you here on Epona, his horse." She explained.

I stared in horror at her. Link had seen me? All passed out and bloody? He'd taken me to Lon Lon Ranch? I fell back on the bed and groaned. My luck was not exactly the best right then. I was embarrassed.

"Oh. Are you alright? You've been unconscious since noon; it's near four o'clock now. Do you need some fresh air?" Malon sat on the bed and folded her hands in her lap. A look of true concern passed over her features.

"Um…yeah. I guess. I'm overwhelmed, I think." I sat back up and rubbed my eyes. Malon smiled and jumped up to walk towards the closet.

I got out of the bed, and noticed her pulling out a few clothes from the wardrobe. My first instinct was to watch in complete confusion, but when she turned around and walked towards me with a bundle in her hands, I didn't have the chance. She handed me a dress, much like hers, only a little less colorful and a little too big.

"Here. You can change into this. Your clothes are a little…strange. Where do you come from? What is your name?" she asked, obviously not leaving the room. I noticed a wooden screen in the corner, and put myself behind it before answering.

"Well, my name is Anna. I come from…far away. I don't know." I mentally hit myself. If I was to have a life here, I needed a story. I quickly saved myself. "Well, I come from a forest town. Not near Hyrule at all."

Malon didn't say anything for a second, and I was worried. Was she thinking that I was an imposter? That I was something evil like Ganandorf?

"I see. Most of the forest civilizations were wiped out in the fires a few years ago. Are you an orphan?" she asked.

"Y-yes. I've been alone for a while. I arrived in Kakariko from the mountains. No wonder no one saw me." I laughed silently as I slipped on the last of the dress.

"Oh, that is terrible Anna. I am so sorry. You are welcome to stay at Lon Lon Ranch if you wish. We have plenty of things to do, so you'll never feel useless, and it's comfortable. I'm sure Papa wouldn't mind." She said, as I stepped out from behind the screen.

"That would be so nice." I said, and meant it. Maybe I could do this. If there was no other way to get home, I could accept this life.

Malon smiled, "You look so nice in that dress. Now let's go outside." She said.

"Alright." I said, and followed her out the door, down the stairs and into the fading sunlight of the day.

---

Everything was just as I had seen it. Only, it was a lot older. Malon was older; she'd grown to be about seventeen if I had to guess. That got me thinking. If everything had already happened, then Link would be seventeen and Ganandorf would be defeated. Everything was peaceful in Hyrule. It was no wonder that Malon was so happy, because the ranch was still her father's.

"Anna! Come quickly! Link is here! You can talk to him!" Malon ran forward from the gates of the field, and she grabbed my arm to drag me towards the green clad boy on his horse. He was jumping with Epona over posts. I gulped.

"He was very kind to bring you, here. We met when we were little. He had a fairy then, A real live one! You've seen real fairies haven't you Anna? Living in the forest?" Malon went on and on. I almost had to laugh.

Link was still practicing when we got to the fence. Malon was admiring him, and I was just looking at the ground, moving my foot in the grass. The dress I had on was comfortable, but annoying. How was I supposed to do anything in a dress? This whole situation made me feel moody. There was no way this was going to go well. Something bad was going to happen, I could feel it in my bones.

"Thanks, Malon. Your ranch is a nice place to practice. Epona likes to be home." His voice was deeper than that of a boy's, and I realized that he was, indeed, older. I looked up to see him hopping off Epona and leading her to the fence.

Malon smiled wide, "Epona loves you Link. You two are at home with each other." She said, and then turned to me. "I gave him Epona when he turned fifteen. He had to race Papa for it, though." She said.

"She's a really nice horse." I said, to both of them. I felt strange, seeing this unfold in front of me. I was talking to videogame characters.

"Thank you. You're that girl that passed out in Kakariko aren't you?" Link asked, tying Epona to a post, and then exiting the field through the gate entrance.

I laughed awkwardly, still embarrassed. "Yeah. Sorry about that. Thanks for the ride though." I said, and looked at him.

His blonde hair was messily hanging out of his green cap, and his eyes were a bright blue. The signature green tunic still covered him, only now he was much older and he had to be at least 5' 11''. He caught me looking, and shifted nervously.

"Sorry…you just look like…someone I know." I said. He seemed to relax at that, and smiled.

"Link! Anna is from a forest town that was destroyed in the fires." Malon said. She turned to me. "Link's traveled a lot! Even before we met, he used to go around helping people everywhere."

I glanced at the Hero, knowing all too well what he had been through. My glance must have been strange, because Link's eyes narrowed. He must notice something strange about me. He'd seen too much monsters and other worlds to not notice something. I smiled at him kindly, trying to relieve him of suspicion.

"Have you met Gorons?" I asked. Link nodded.

"They live up on Death Mountain. I go there sometimes because the King likes to hear me play." He said.

"Play what?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"The ocarina." He fished it out of his belt and held it out for me to see.

Before I even reached out to touch it, I felt an eerie chill pass through the area. I went pale, and Link withdrew his hand to reach for his sword. The sun had gone down, and the dark night was strangely darker than it should be. It reminded me of the dream I had while sleeping in my living room, so long ago.

"Um…I think something's wrong." I said. I reached out for Malon's arm, but found she was not there. Something was wrong, because I could not find her anywhere.

"Obviously. You should get to the house. I'll be there soon. Try to find Malon." Link motioned to the house and I obeyed, quickly running the short distance to get to the front door.

The house was empty, and I was thankful. Something strange was going on. Malon had disappeared into thin air, and the night was thick with some dark feeling. It almost swarmed me as I had run through it to get to the house.

Before it could get in the way, I ran upstairs and searched for something to replace the dress. I found my jeans, which sat folded nicely on the bed. I reached for them and quickly took off the dress. My shirt was dirty and covered in blood on the shoulders, so I searched the drawers for something. I found a big brown tunic that almost went to my knees. It was clean, so I put it on. There were some belts on the top of the screen, and as I made my way down the stairs, I put it on to avoid too much looseness in the shirt.

Almost dreading it, I stole a look out the window. It was almost too dark to see anything. However, there were figures moving in the darkness. They looked like shadows, only they were large and seemed to ooze with dark slime. I didn't want to go out, but Link was out there. What if he was hurt?

Shaking, I rushed into the small kitchen and searched for something to protect myself with. I found a large cutting knife, and took a deep breath. I could do this. After all, I must have been put in this place for a reason. I made my way to the door, but before I could open it, Link stormed in. His clothes seemed to be ripped in some places, and he was panting hard. His sword was loosely hanging in his hand.

"We're being attacked." He said.

"What are they?" I asked, my voice frantic.

"I can't tell. It's too dark. You can't see anything." He looked at me, and narrowed his eyes. "Did you find Malon?"

I shook my head. "She's gone." I said.

He glanced at the knife in my hand. "Were you going to go out there?" he asked.

I reluctantly nodded. He shook his head.

"We have to get out of here. We can't fight them. There's too many, and they seem to…regenerate." He said.

I pushed my hair out of face in anger. "Why can't we?! Jeez, all we have to do is fight our way out of the ranch." I said.

Link shook his head. "No. There could be more in the field. Actually, I'm sure of it. There are more out there."

I groaned and put my head against a wall. This was not happening. Something was not right here. There had to be some way out-

"Link, use your ocarina." I said.

"What?" he asked. There were banging noises coming from the other side of the door.

"Your ocarina!" I shouted. "Play it and take us to The Temple of Time!" I faced him and waved my arms dramatically.

"Wait. How did you-?" he was interrupted by a large bang that shook the door.

"Don't ask any questions. Just do it." I said, giving him a determined stare.

He didn't ask anymore questions. "I haven't ever warped two people before. Hold on." He said, and pulled out the tiny instrument.

I grabbed his arm, and he put the ocarina to his lips. The tune came out terrifically, and I felt a silence around us. Everything was the same, only it was on mute. Just as the door was pushed in I saw a flash of light that blinded me. I closed my eyes and buried my face into Link's arm. I felt as though I was floating, the light gone. I dared not open my eyes until solid ground found my feet again.

Thanks for reading! Sorry for the long wait. I hope to update regularly now. An extra long chapter for you, to make it up.