Chapter 2

Dad was right, after almost a week my limp is basically gone. But I still haven't actually been able to play the game. I've only gotten to the prologue.

It starts off by saying that after years of prosperity and peace in Hyrule, one day an evil warlord named Ganondorf invaded the peaceful land and laid siege to Hyrule Castle. After blocking off the entrance to Castletown he imprisoned the Royal Family, including the beautiful Princess Zelda. But, though the situation seemed lost, there was still hope. For just outside Castletown, in a small cottage with his uncle, lived a young man named Link. The hero chosen by the gods. In order to protect Hyrule, and fulfill his destiny as a hero, Link must embark on a journey through many areas of Hyrule to find the Master Sword, aided by his newly acquired fairy friend Navi. Once armed with the Master Sword and Sacred Weapons from the Goddesses, Link must storm the Dark Castle and return peace to Hyrule. I can't wait to start playing this game.

I mean, you know, after I finish all my stupid homework.

I'm sitting on our couch watching T.V. and finishing my Math homework (it seems endless) when my mom walks in, absolutely frantic.

"I can't believe they could even think of doing that to me on such short notice!" She mutters under her breath. My parents both work at the hospital, and sometimes they get called in for emergencies, which they both despise. From the looks of it they've just gotten such a call.

"You need to go in?" I ask as I try to flip through the channels and push numbers into my calculator at the same time.

Dad walks in. "I'm sorry kiddo, but a man just came in from a car accident with very serious injuries, they need us."

I understand. Someone needs them, they have to go.

"Hey, by the way, how did Jason and Corri's date go?" Mom asks.

I smile. "Fantabulous, of course, to quote Corri."

"We'll be home by eleven,"

"Okay," I say getting off the couch and hugging them both. "Drive safe, I'll see you both when you get home."

Mom grabs the keys from the counter. "We will. No friends over, okay? You can play Zelda to your heart's content, after homework's done. David called and said that he'd be over for dinner tomorrow, so could you do the dishes?"

David is my brother, three years older than me and in college. The college is only 15 minutes from our home, so he comes over for dinner and to do laundry all the time. I absolutely love him, and we're super close, so it's pretty hard with him away. But I'm adapting.

My heart lifts at this. "Really? Sure, I will."

Dad kisses my forehead. "We'll be home soon."

"Okay," I say. "Love you both."

"Love you too," They yell from the car.

After they've gone, I finish up the (evil) Math homework and quickly do the dishes. After that's all finished, I run over to our game drawer and pull out Dark Castle. I smile in excitement. Finally! I can play some of it.

I pop it into the Wii, get the controls and sink into the couch. As I pick it on the Wii menu a headache comes on and I start to feel feverish. I push it off, thinking that it'll go away. But the longer I play the worse it becomes. When it gets to be more than I can handle I finally get up from the couch and go into the kitchen, rummaging through the medicine cabinet until I find the Aspirin bottle. I swallow the pill and walk back to the couch to try to play again. But somehow it gets even worse.

Just when I'm about to call my mom and ask her if anything else can help the world tints with gold.

I blink. Umm, I'm pretty sure that's not normal.

I blink a few more times, not sure if the headache is making me delusional or if I'm going crazy or maybe both. The gold becomes more and more pronounced each time I blink, until the world around me explodes in a golden flash. The color is too much for me with my headache and I black out.

When I come to I can tell that I've fallen off the couch, but it doesn't feel like the carpet. It feels more like grass. How is that possible? How did I get outside? The sun makes the inside of my eyelids red, but I can't open them. I can't move anything, as a matter of fact.

So, great. How long am I going to be stuck here?

After a few minutes that feel like years I'm aware of multiple footsteps. No, not feet, hooves. A horse. A horse? Where the heck did a horse come from? I live in the middle of the suburbs, not on a ranch.

The animal stops somewhere close to me. There's a thud like someone landing on the ground, followed by the sound of quick footsteps approaching me. A shadow blocks the sun.

"Is she alive?" A high melodic voice asks.

"Yeah, I think so," Another voice answers, this time male. "I'll take her back to the cottage. Alac will know what to do."

Strong arms lift me up off the ground as if I was a rag doll and I feel my conscience fading again.

Where on earth am I? I think groggily before darkness over takes me.