Zelda stood just outside the entrance to the Earth Temple. She took a deep breath, relieved that she had already visited the spring at Skyview Temple.

The spring had been one of the most beautiful sights she had witnessed on the surface so far, but she didn't have the time to enjoy it for long. Once she had purified herself, a portal of light had opened up for her. She had been hesitant to approach the portal, but then she had heard a commotion coming from the next room. She had panicked and ran into the portal.

I wish I knew who or what made that sound, but there's no way I'm going back to find out. I probably couldn't get back there even if I tried...but what if it was Link?

The sound of a horn snapped Zelda out of her thoughts. She was soon horrified to see she was surrounded by three red creatures that were roughly her height. Zelda froze, holding the harp close to her chest. She turned to run, but there was no clear path to escape. One of them advanced towards her with a club in hand. Zelda screamed as the bokoblin brought down the club over her head.

...

Zelda came to in a sweltering heat. Her head was pounding, and her ears were ringing. She slowly sat up and looked around to realize she was chained to the floor.

No!

She came to the realization that she must be deep inside the Earth Temple. If only she could get free, she couldn't be far from the second purification spring. A few bokoblins stood around her as if waiting for someone to arrive. Zelda pulled at the chain with all her strength. It was no good. Zelda buried her face into her knees with dread growing inside her. Then she heard the bokoblins begin to scream and shriek. When she raised her head she saw a tall, slender woman with tan skin holding an orb of energy in her hand. The monsters lay dead around them and soon disappeared in a puff of dark purple smoke.

The woman had very short blonde hair. She had a long section of hair on one side of her head. She also had a teardrop tattoo on one cheek. Zelda couldn't help but feel like this woman was familiar, almost as if they had met in a previous life.

"Greetings, Your Grace. Let me introduce myself. My name is Impa, and I am a servant of the goddess. Hylia, or shall I say "you" entrusted me to assist you on this journey. It is my duty to help you remember what the goddess set out to do."

Cutting the chain binding Zelda, Impa urged, "There's no time to waste. The Earth Spring is in the next room." She pointed ahead to show Zelda the door.

Zelda felt overwhelmed by everything she wanted to ask, but she followed Impa into the Earth Spring and eagerly listened to everything she had to say. The Earth Spring was much like the first. A stone walkway lead up to a statue of the goddess, which was surrounded by shallow, clear water.

"I will accompany you from here on out. After you purify yourself in this spring, we must go to the Temple of Time in Lanayru. You cannot let anyone interfere with this process, even if they're on our side."

"Impa, I want to ask you something."

"hmm?"

"It's concerning how I got here…to the surface. Before I came here, I kept hearing a voice calling out to me…a man's voice."

Impa's face became uncharacteristically pale.

"The voice you heard belongs to a follower of the Demon King, named Ghirahim. He calls himself the demon lord. As you know by now, you are the goddess reborn as a mortal. He seeks to use your soul to resurrect his master. Your Grace, do you remember your life as Hylia? Anything at all?"

"No...I'm very sorry, but I really don't remember much...if anything."

"You'll remember. Just be patient."

Zelda went quiet.

"Your Grace?"

"I don't want to think about what would have happened if you weren't here. Thank you."

"Don't thank me for fulfilling my mission. There's no time to dwell on that. It's time for you to purify yourself."

Zelda approached the nearby statue of the goddess and knelt down to pray.