"There you are."
I spun around. I thought the voice would be coming from a person. But it was just a shadow. It was shaped like a figure, a little, but it was mostly just a puff of smoke. Red dots for eyes, it approaches me.
"Why did you run from me?"
Is it angry with me?
"You can run, but you can never hide."
I back up, but I'm trapped. I really am trapped. But somehow, I'm not scared. The rose's aura is stronger, and the red of it is smaller now, more black than anything.
"I once heard a philosophy. It went; 'If you love something, you have to let it be free'."
It laughed, and came up behind me. Shadows encircle my waist, and I feel the cold shadow's face next to my ear.
"But I don't think I believe in that."
And then we went down, into freezing cold darkness.

I awoke with a jump, sweat trickling down my face. I shook. I was terrified.
'The dream continued. But this time, it was anything but lovely.' I thought.
I shakily rose, opening the curtains and window. I breathed in the fresh breeze that blew in, and it calmed me. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I walk to the mirror.
My hair was an absolute mess. I had tossed so much in my sleep, I didn't know if I'd ever getthe knots out.
I grabbed the brush anyway, and worked with it. In seemingly no time, I had it smooth and pretty once more.
I shuffled through the many dresses, settling with a light pink one. Puffed sleeves, a v-neck, and it stopped at my knees. I tied the sash, fingering the white embroidery along the edges of the neck and hem.
I braided my hair once more, finding it was easiest to handle that way. I picked a pair of pink satin flats, and made my way out of the room.
I was still a bit shaken by my dream, but I made my way to Zelda's room, not sure where to go.
As I reached the spiral stairs to her tower, I saw her making her way down in a simple dress.
She lit up when she saw me.
"You look cute today." she said, picking up one of the ends on the bow at my back.
"Thanks." I said, smiling. "You look nice, too."
She smiled.
"To breakfast, then?"

~-~-~-~-~

After we ate, I followed Zelda to the gardens. We sat on the fountain, and she prompted me to tell her of what happened last night.

"Well, I told him of my dream. He seemed a bit weary at first, but... oh, I don't know."

Zelda looked at me, a strange look in her eyes.

"Why? What was your dream about?" she asked. "You said you would tell me, anyway."

I sighed. I proceeded to tell Zelda of my dream, and of all the events that night, along with Link's reactions. She sat there silently for a while, taking it all in. I then proceeded to tell her of last night's dream.

"I don't know what to make of it," I said. "It was so strange. I felt like I should've been horrified, but I wasn't."

Zelda shook her head.

"These dreams may be phrophetic." she said, finally looking at me.
I nodded, solomly.
"I know. That's what Link had said. But he said your dreams and his were much more vague."
She thought for a moment, looking onward to the sky.
"Maybe the goddesses..." she trailed. "Are giving you a hint? Some kind of message, that once the time comes, you'll know?"
She sighed.
"I don't know what to make of it either." she said, finally.
She stood, brushing herself off.
"Though, because I took the day off yesterday, I have a few things I need to attend to."
She smiled.
"Feel free to roam, if you wish!"
And with that, she walked off. But, not before looking back at me one final time.
"Do try not to think of it too much, okay?" she said, with a worried look.
I watched as she left, leaving the large doors slightly open behind her.

I sighed, toying with my braid.
'I'd better find something to occupy myself with..'

~-~-~-~-~

Somehow, I found myself wandering the town. A guard had persisted that he come with me, or at least follow at a distance, but I insisted that the guards already roaming the town were plenty of protection. He had finally agreed, and I had left the gates of the castle.

People stared. A few whispered, and I realized people must know me now, the news must've spread. I tried to pay no attention, and continued strolling through.

I looked down at the the little white, silken sac in my hand, embroidered with a yellow rupee.
I sighed. Zelda had ended up giving me more money than I was comfortable carrying, but she didn't take no for an answer.
'Seems like everyone else is like that, too.' I thought, thinking of the guard, and a few others.
I hadn't seen Impa since yesterday evening, where she stood in the shadows of the ballroom, watching protectively.
She was a strange woman...

I stopped in front of the strange purple hut, the one Link had said a strange woman told fortunes in. And against my better judgement, I went in.

Heavy inscence filled the air, smoking in one place of the tent. A single chair sat in front of a table, with an old woman behind it, stroking a glass ball. Smoke curled inside of it, and I stared for a moment before realizing this was probably a big mistake.

The woman looked up, her eyes mere slits. Those same slits widened, seeing me.

"Ah, the Sun of Hyrule has finally arrived. Well? Come, sit." she said, urging me inside.
I let the curtain fall into place, darkening the room more. The only light came from the strange ball. It swirled as she placed her hands closer, moving rhythmically.
"I knew you'd come." she said, smiling to me.
I was a bit unnerved, but I decided to ask something.
"Ah... do you know anything of recovering memories?"
The woman cackled.
"Oh no, old Agatha knows nothing of that. That sort of magic is beyond me. I can only predict fortunes."
I sighed, halfway excpecting that answer.
"I can tell you of your fortune, if you'd like."
She smiled coyly, and I sighed.
"Well, alright."
She closed her eyes, and began humming. The smoke in the ball swirled, and I felt a tension in the air.
Her face scrunched as the smoke turned black, then cleared away.

"Hmm." she hummed, eyebrows raising. "Interesting, very interesting."
I looked on in earnest.
She cleared her throat.
"Your heart's song will cure the one who needs healing. The winds will blow, and their soul will be lifted. But beware," she said, giving me a glare hard as stone. "One decision, or lack there of, will lead to devistation and failure."

My face held shock, and confusion.
'That certainly isn't what I was expecting..'

"Don't dwell on it too much, dear."
She then looked over to a small box with a blue rupee symbol on it, with a smile.
I shook my head, and placed a rupee in, taking my leave.
The smell of the inscence lingered on me as I contnued my way around the town.

I found myself outside of the lttle flower shop, looking at all of the flowers again.
There were still the white roses, plus others. I saw a pretty little basket, just for flowers when you pick them.
'Perfect!' I thought, picking it up. I looked at the flowers a while, then brought the basket to the woman at the stand.
"Oh, it's you! The girl from yesterday...with.." she said.
I smiled, and nodded.
"Just this, please." I said.
She looked, wide eyed, before asking for the money. I gave it to her, took my basket, and left. I could still feel her eyes on my back.
I walked around a bit longer before reaching the drawbridge. I saw, off in the near distance, a pretty patch of flowers.
'Ah! And I have this basket, too..' I thought. 'But...Link's note..'
I shook my head.
'I'm not going far. Besides, these guards near the entrance are right here if anything happens!'
The guards nodded to me as I walked out of the safety of Castle Town. I marched straight over to the little patch, near a tree and bridge over a stream that ran into the moat.
'Pretty...'
I found myself taken in, and a small breeze drifted through the grass.
I softly sang the song from my dream, my thoughts wandering to the woman, Agatha, as I settled in the flowers.
I picked one, feeling the petals.
As my song cotinued, so did the breeze, cooling me in the hot sun.
'My heart's song...will heal...what does it mean?'
I sighed, stopping as suddenly as the breeze.
"Is it literal? The song from my dream, is that it?" I whispered. "And, whom I heal...is it the voice?"
I was starteled to hear footsteps right in front of me. I looked up, a bit surprised.

"I thought that my note said if you left the safety of those walls, you were to take that sword with you?" I heard him say, teasing, but still a bit firm.

I smiled.
"Oh, I didn't go far. I didn't even plan to come out here, but I saw these from the gate, and..."
I trailed, and began putting some in the basket.
"You want to know something?" Link asked, sitting with me, playing with the grass.
"Hmm?"
"I think that song of yours controlls the wind."
I looked up, mild surprise.
"Whatever do you mean?" I asked.
He chuckled.
"Well, everytime you sing it, a breeze blows. Haven't you noticed? There could be no wind, and then suddenly there is."
I hummed, questioning.
"I've never really paid much attention, no.."
"Try it."
Another sudden glance.
"Well..."
He laughed.
"It's not like this is a dangerous experiment."
I laughed, then sang.
And, sure enough, a wind blew. Strong and sure, and seemingly around me.
I gasped. He was right.
"You can cast magic by song.." he said, looking at me, happy. "I knew it."
I smiled, and my heart swelled.
'Amazing..'
A breeze floated by.
I suddenly thought.
"Is it influenced by my emotions as well, I wonder?" I asked, to myself.
"Whatever do you mean?" he asked, playfully mimicking me.
"Well, just now, I felt really happy," I said, a bit embarrassed to talk of feelings. "And then, there have been other times like this, and a breeze always comes.."
He only shook his head.
"Mayhap. I suppose we'll see."
He stood then, offering me his hand.
"Where did you come from?" I asked. It had semed as if he'd appeared from no where.
He nodded behind him.
"Oh, from Kakariko. Impa's hometown, she's become a leader of sorts there. Now that the princess really doesn't need a nursemaid, she spends most of her time there.
'Well, that explains why I haven't seen her.'
I peered behind him at the stone steps leading upward on a hill into the trees. I saw rooves peeking over the tops of the trees, and most visible of them all, a windmill.

"Even a windmil, huh.." I said, absentmindedly.
He looked on, too.
"I'll need to show you around Hyrule some day." he said, decidedly.
My eyes lit up.
"Truly?"
He laughed.
"Well, of course. It may seem a bit small this kindom, but there are so many places to go..."
We turned, making our way back to the drawbridge.

"What kinds of places?" I asked, wonderous.
"Well, theres that mountain you can see ove there," he said, nodding again to Kakariko. But I did see it this time. A ring of white smoke circled at the top of a huge mountain, the center glowing even in the daylight.
"Oh, and, by the way, I've been in the crater. Well, I've been in and to all of these places."
I knew that, but I was still astounded.
The guards nodded to us as we passed back to the town.
"Then there's the deep forest, the Lost Woods, where I come from. There's Zora's Domain, though it's still partially frozen over.."
He frowned at that.
"Oh, and beneath the mountain is Goron City. You'll either love or hate that place." he said, laughing.
"There's Lon Lon Ranch, too, where Epona's from. Oh! You'll have to meet Malon, you two would get along great, your love of nature.."
His smile returned, and suddenly reached out to steady a little boy who bumped into him.
"Watch out." he said, smiling.
The boy looked at him in awe, before returning the smile and ran off.
"There's also Gerudo Valley, but, though Nabooru is their leader now, and as a sage very trustworthy, I may be a bit weary to take you there."
He chuckled, then.
"Though, those women would just die over your hair."
I laughed with him.
"Is there any place with water? A lake? I seem to recall..." I said, my face scrunching.
His laughter faded then, and his smile wasn't as strong.
"Oh, yes. Lake Hylia. A beautiful place, truly."
His words were odd, a bit short.
I looked up at him, sensing his emotion.
"What is it that you don't like about that place?" I asked. "A lake seems like a place I'd love, and you too, really."
He laughed a little.

"Well, yes, you're right. It just happened to hold the most trying, confusing, and if I didn't have the Zora's tunic, most dangerous temple I had to go through."
My eyes widened.
"The Water Temple." he finished.
"It was an extravagent temple. The Zoras used it as a place of worship before Gannondorf corrupted it."
He nodded over to a small bench beneath an awning on the side of a building, and we sat, knowing our talk would be longer than the walk to the castle.
He looked up to the sky.
"But...I.." he looked down, his calm blue pools of eyes getting one little ripple.
I didn't want to push, but I silently urged him to continue.
"I..met?" he shook his head. "Yes. Met someone that.."
He sighed.
"Well, it was a room of illusions. It looked like I'd been put outside, minus the barred doors. Which, I knew, meant dager. But there was none. The water on the floor reflected the single dead tree, the plot of sand, and...Navi.." his eyes saddened at the unknown name, "..and I. And my shadow."
He looked at me, trying to explain.
"I walked across the room, asking Navi for her advice. She had none, she was as confused as I was. But then..."
He closed his eyes, and tried, but coudn't go on.
"I'm sorry. This isn't the time to be talking of such things." he said, trying to lighten the mood with laughter.
I wanted to know, but I was't going to press.
'Who dd he meet? Why..was he so hesitant to say meet? And..who is Navi?'
I shook my head.
"You're right." I said, smiling and standing. "Those bad days are behind you. You needn't worry about them."
I offered my hand this time, and he took it with a weary smile.
"Shall we?"

We made it back, and said our goodbyes. The rest of the day was uneventful, and I walked into my bedroom, only to find the clothes still laying on my dresser, but folded, and with a note.
"I never cared for this dress on me. You looked amazing in it. Keep it.
-Zelda"
I sighed, and began to hang it and put away the rest of it's accessories. There was no arguing with her, once her mind was set. I arranged the little wildflowers in the vase with Link's rose, complimenting it nicely. I prepared for bed, letting my hair dwn, it coming out in waves from being braided all day long.
I sighed, the information of the day weighing on my shoulders like a ton of bricks. I decided not to think of it tonight, and instead, get rest.
I let out the lamp, decided to leave my widow open, it being hot, but curtains closed. I crawled into bed, melting away. Before I finally fell into sleep, a sudden sinking fear of what my dreams may bring almost made me lie awake the rest of the night..

-end chapter-

I really don't have too much to say about this chapter, other than mild plot. I should (keyword, should.) be writing more, now that I have a keyboard external to the one in my laptop. I've replaced the one in it once, and it's glitching out again, some keys only working sometimes. And it wasn't the keys sticking, they just weren't respondng. I have a feeling it's just a bad connection, but, laziness prevails again, and I bought a USB keyboard for 5 dollars. So yay.

And I KNOOOOOW I need to update Water's Mirror. My. Goddeses. I've been thinking about it sooo much, butI just can't get going on it as easily as I can in this story for some damned reason. Whatevs.

Also, Aella's song is a mix of Midna's Lament and the Ballad of the Windfish.
Yeah, I don't get it either. But somehow I hear it. Maybe I'll try to pt it together in Frutiy Loops someday.

*pff
that'll never happen.*

~bye