Chapter 2: Lost Woods
Later that night, Link was sleeping soundly in his bed when all of a sudden he felt a hand placed over his mouth and nose forcing him to wake up. He saw a shadowy figure standing over him but couldn't see who it was.
"Don't make a sound, boy," the figure said, moving two fingers off of Link's nostrils. "Not that you can."
Immediately, Link recognized the figure's voice as being the same one from the dark-cloaked figure in Clocktown who was called 'Impa' by her blue-haired companion.
"There isn't much time," the figure known as Impa said. "You must come with us. The fate of our world depends on you, the Hero of Infinite Possibilities."
As the moon's light shined through the curtains above Link's bed, he saw Impa more clearly. She had pale skin, red eyes, silver hair pulled back into a tight bun, wearing a black leather vest over a white blouse with leather fingerless gloves, matching pants, and knee-length boots. After getting a sense of where her face was, Link attempted to knee Impa under the chin. Unprepared, Impa was hit and the impact forced her to let go of Link's mouth. Link then used this opportunity to grab a wooden sword by his bedside that he used for practice and stood up on the bed ready to strike. When Impa recovered, she looked up and Link and laughed.
"My, my," Impa responded. "You stance is just like the Hero's on the mural back home."
Confused, Link started to lower his sword. Meanwhile, Impa reached for a small crossbow at her side and quickly fired a glass arrow filled with a clear liquid. It hit Link at the base of his neck causing him to flinch. Then in a matter of seconds after pulling the arrow out, Link's knees gave out.
"I didn't want to have to do this," Impa said walking toward Link as his vision started to become blurry. "But you left me no choice."
Link then thought he heard Marlene calling his name before everything went black.
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When Link came to, he found himself tied to a tree near a campfire set in a clearing within an unfamiliar forest. In front of Link stood the blue-haired girl with her cloak parted revealing a short white dress with frills on the ends, a sky-blue corset, white fingerless gloves, thigh-long baby blue stockings, and dark blue ankle-length boots. Behind her sat Impa who was tending the fire with a short stick.
"I'm sorry we had to take you by force, Link," the blue-haired girl said looking concerned. "It was Impa's idea, not mine."
"Don't put all the blame on me," Impa said sharply. "You also had that vision, remember?"
Link gave the blue-haired girl a confused look, which caught her attention.
"Oh, I guess we haven't introduced ourselves," the blue-haired girl said thoughtfully and made a slight curtsey before Link. "My name is Lana, Inventor and Sorceress Extraordinaire, while my companion by the fire is Impa, a member of the Shiekah Tribe and former nurse."
Link's eyes blinked but he didn't say anything.
"I take it you're still confused." When Link nodded, Lana reached into a hidden pocket in her dress. "Maybe these photographs will help you understand."
Lana then pulled out a handful of pictures that looked so real they made Link stare in awe.
"Judging from your expression, I see that you've never seen photographs before," Lana said looking embarrassed. "It would take too long to explain how these things are made but bare with me as I explain their contents."
The first picture Lana held up showed a floating city in the sky with a rocky foundation surrounded by other buildings and landscapes that seemed to be suspended in air while people rode large birds and other strange devices around it.
"This is Skyloft, a floating city that lies just above the Kingdom of Hyrule and it's where Impa and I are actually from."
Lana flipped to another picture showing a young girl who was about ten years old with braided blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, pointy ears, and wearing a pink dress with white frilly sleeves and trimming. On the front of her dress was an elaborately embroidered design consisting of three triangles forming one triangle, the outline of a bird, and a vase-shape.
"There, a young woman named Zelda is being held captive against her will by an evil man," Lana said flipping to another photograph showing a sinister-looking man with red hair tied back in a ponytail, dark skin, and wearing a black frock-coat with gold trimmings, matching trousers and polished black knee-length boots. "That man is Ganon, who secretly murdered Zelda's father and took his place as the Mayor of Skyloft. Now, according to a vision I just had, Ganon wants to use Zelda to create a device that will alter time to create different outcomes which, if completed, will have serious consequences not only on Skyloft but also the world."
Link's eyebrows furrowed in deep concern as Lana put the photographs away.
"How you fit into this, Link, is much more simple," Lana responded after the photographs were safely tucked into her dress-pocket. "Seven years ago, a carved mural was discovered inside a cave on one of the floating islands of Skyloft. It depicted a youth wearing a green tunic holding a shining sword above his head with a female figure standing over him and a dark being below him. The man who found the mural also found a passage written below it in the language of Skyloft's original occupants, who are all gone now, which stated this: 'When Skyloft is in Peril, a Hero from a the Land Below shall come Clad in Green bearing the Sword of Destiny and with the Goddess' Aid they shall Vanquish the Evil that has Appeared in Many Forms across Time and Space.'"
"Lana thinks this passage is a prophecy that was written by the occupants of Skyloft long ago," Impa said as she got up and approached Link. "So far the passage has been right about Skyloft being in peril, now we shall see if you're the Hero it's referring to."
In response, Link's eyes widened and his mouth was gaping. He then tried to speak, but no words came out of his mouth as he struggled to untie his hands which were bound behind them.
"I think he's trying to say something," Impa said as Link started making loud grunts and yells.
"Too bad he can't speak," Lana said pitifully. Then she took a small glass jar from a leather-belt around her waist which contained a small glowing orb with tiny wings. "But I have a solution for that."
Lana unscrewed the jar, and the small orb flew out.
"Sigh! I thought I was going to die in there!" cried a tiny female voice that seemed to be coming from the small orb. "Can't you put air-holes on those things?"
"Sorry, Proxi," Lana said apologetically to the small floating orb.
The small floating orb, which was apparently named Proxi, suddenly noticed Link and flew right up to him. "Who's this?"
"That's Link," Lana answered. "We think he's the Hero of Infinite Possibilities."
"Oh, well, nice to meet you, Link!" Proxi said flying up and down excitedly. "I'm Proxi, and I'll be your Translator Fairy."
Link raised an eyebrow, and then before he knew it the tiny orb suddenly flew right up to his mouth. He felt something soft briefly touch his lips before the orb flew away. Lana and Impa watched nervously as coughing noises erupted from the orb as Proxi's voice changed from a little girl's to that of a teenage boy's.
"What in Termina was that?" Link flinched, hearing his thoughts being echoed by Proxi. Then he thought, "Holy Giants! I can talk!"
"Proxi's specialty is being able to translate the thoughts of others into words by simply 'kissing' the person she's translating for," Lana explained. "Now you can speak freely through Proxi."
"This is great!" Link thought as he grinned happily. Then he looked at Impa and Lana. "How can I repay you, ladies?"
"By rescuing Zelda, of course," Lana said cheerfully.
"But we have to hurry," Impa said turning towards the eastern sky. "It will be dawn soon, and we need to be out of the Lost Woods if we want to reach the Sky Elevator in time."
"Yes, but I think Link could do with a change of clothes," Lana said and waved her hand causing the ropes that bound Link to come loose. "We can't have Zelda's future Hero walking around in his pajamas, now can we?"
As Link stood up, Lana snapped her thumb causing a green aura to surround him. He was initially surprised, but then the aura faded as quickly as it had come. In place of his farm clothes which also served as his pajamas, Link was now wearing a green tunic with chain-mail underneath, a pointed cap, brown leather fingerless gloves, white trousers, and brown leather knee-length boots.
"There, now that looks more like a proper Hero," Lana mused. "Now all he needs is the Hylian Shield and the Master Sword."
Lana held her hands outward as blue sparks emanated from her hands. In a few seconds, she was holding a large shield with an intricate design on the cover and a sword in a dark-blue scabbard. She walked over to Link and presented these things to him.
"These will be your primary weapons, Hero of Infinite Possibilities," Lana said. "Use them wisely on your travels."
In response, Link nodded and took the weapons from Lana.
"Once you're done suiting up, Link, let's get going," Impa said heading off to tend to the horse that was tethered nearby.
"So why are you guys interested in rescuing Zelda?" Link asked. "Is it just because of Ganon?"
"It's a long story," Lana said sounding remorseful. "We'll tell you once we're on the move."
To be continued…