Zelda was falling. Far, far, down. Her body felt numb, her clothing rippled, and the air rushed by her ears and dishevelled her hair. Ribbons of electrifying cyan energy swirled around and hypnotised her.
There didn't seem to be an end to the bright tunnel of light she travelled through. She wasn't sure how long she was falling for, only that she did until she wasn't sure of anything anymore.
'Where did I fall from? Had anyone been there? Is this going to hurt?'.
Her questions remained unanswered as her eyes drifted close.
"Goodness! Are you alright, dear?", a slightly panicked voice awoke her.
Slowly blinking her eyes open, Zelda was met with someone leaning over her.
The woman's warm aura made her presence alone feel like being bathed in gentle sunlight. Zelda wasn't sure if it was due to her dewy sunkissed skin, her hair whiter and even more voluminous than the mane of the legendary satori, or the brightness of her irises but it was almost as if she was glowing.
Ethereal as she was, Zelda was quick to realise that she was still a stranger. Springing up, she backed away with her palms meeting soft grass.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you", the mysterious woman spoke again, even her voice was soothing.
Zelda tried to recall if she had met the woman before. But her mind was only met with a blurry light like she had been staring directly at the sun for too long.
"Oh, it's a little lady". Zelda heard another voice and looked up to see a tall man joining them.
The first thing she noticed about him was his eyes. They matched the blue sky with wispy clouds above and contained a kindness to them that calmed her. The second was his golden-coloured hair, which appeared so perfectly shaggy and fluffy that she was certain that it must have been made to be ruffled. The third was that he was holding the reins of a horse beside him and by the goddess, was she a beautiful one. Her coat a deep chestnut colour, her long mane a pearly shade and partially braided with small flowers tucked in, and the markings above her hooves snow-white like she was wearing socks.
"Nice place for a nap, huh?", the man said, beaming a bright smile.
'Had I been napping? Why can't I remember?', Zelda asked herself but her mind came up blank yet again.
"How long have you been out here, dear?", the woman asked.
Zelda's lips parted to answer the stranger but her voice hesitated. She had barely taken in her surroundings never mind the situation.
Looking around, she noticed that they were by the outskirts of a lush forest. It was midday judging by the sun up high in the sky, and the birds were swooping by. There was also something under her hand which felt like an engraved, strangely-shaped pebble.
'My skin doesn't feel hot but the air does? I can't have been here long', Zelda realised and searched around for any buildings but spotted none.
'Why is my skin so cold? How could have I gotten out here without facing the heat?'. The more questions she asked herself the more confused she became.
"I... I don't know", she ultimately answered.
'So that's what I sound like', she thought as she sat up straighter and put her hand to her throat to distract the pair from her other hand pocketing the peculiar stone.
"Would you like some water?", the pretty lady asked her.
Zelda nodded in reply, prompting the woman to turn to her friend so he could pass along the bottle that was attached to the saddle.
Zelda grasped it and brought it up to her parched lips. The stream of cool water soothed her sore throat which stinged like she had recently breathed in something nasty.
"Thank you", she coughed as she handed the bottle back.
The man then reached into one of the bags the horse carried on her back and pulled out a shiny, red sphere.
"Here, have an apple too," he said, holding out the fruit.
But before Zelda could even reach for it, the horse dove in and munched away at it directly from his hand.
The man looked offended on Zelda's behalf whilst the woman chuckled like she had expected that to happen.
"Okay, have this one then", he said offering another but the horse beat Zelda to it yet again, being in no mood for charitable donations.
"Epona!", he scolded the horse who must beautifully be named Epona.
Zelda merely giggled along with the woman at the beast's greedy defiance but he was a determined lad.
"Hang on a second", he said and walked over to the trees closest to them.
The shade they provided the ground was practically calling her over as the world still seemed too bright.
"Your gaze seems slightly dazed, flower. Are you feeling alright?", the angelic woman asked bringing Zelda's attention back to her.
"A little strange actually", Zelda answered but it was an understatement, to say the least. Her head felt fuzzier than pollen and cloudier than a blizzard. She almost wanted to stop using it entirely.
"Quickly! Take it!", she suddenly heard the man beckon her from where he had climbed up a tree to pluck an apple but Epona was already on the move.
He tossed the apple over which Zelda was miraculously able to catch before he dropped back to the ground.
"I'll fend her off!", he declared before jumping up to Epona by wrapping his arms and legs around her neck the way a sloth would cling to a branch.
Epona seemed to be an incredibly strong horse since she wasn't fazed in the slightest and trotted over to Zelda with nonchalance.
The catcher happily offered the apple out to her and giggled at the strange sensation of having it slopped up from her hand.
"Wha- You didn't even try to protect it!", he gasped.
Zelda ignored his protests to stroke the Epona's forehead with a smile.
"Hello there", she greeted to which Epona gave her a tiny neigh back.
"Forgive me for all the questions, dear. But do you remember how you got here?", the woman spoke again.
By her bafflement, Zelda was beginning to suspect that she truly had shown up out of nowhere.
"No, I don't... But who are you? Have we met before?", Zelda asked.
"Oh, my apologies. My name is Hylia", the woman told. "May I know yours?".
Although Zelda wanted to tell her, she found herself unable to.
"I'm not sure what it is... I don't think I even know who I am", she admitted as her predicament sunk in and the thought of dealing with such a matter alone began to panic her.
"Identity crisis, huh", the blonde man said whilst dropping from Epona to lie on his side and pose as if he was waiting to be fed fruit and become the muse of a painter.
"Hey, we've all been there. My first one began in the summer of-".
"Link, I don't think that's what she meant, dear", Hylia cut him off in a tone of amusement.
Switching her attention back to the lost girl Hylia asked, "Can you remember anything at all, dear?".
Zelda tried to think back but found her head throbbing in pain when she did so, causing her to clutch her forehead.
"It's alright, no need to rush yourself", Hylia reassured and placed her hand on Zelda's shoulder. "We have plenty of time. You're safe here".
Zelda's brows furrowed. From Hylia's presence to her voice and even her touch, there was something about the woman that seemed to relax her, but she couldn't figure out why.
"Still, we better ask Rauru to weigh in on this, don't you think?", Link chimed in.
"Who's that?", Zelda asked.
"Super smart, magical llama. He's over there by the campfire", Link answered, pointing downhill towards the smoke rising. "We were having a tea party with the koroks before you showed up".
"Koroks?", Zelda echoed.
'Do I know what they are?', she wondered since the term sounded familiar.
"Those guys". Link pointed back toward the trees but when Zelda looked she only saw the leaves shake.
"Eh, you'll find out soon enough". Link shrugged off as the koroks seemed to be hiding from her.
"If you'd like to that is", Hylia added as they both pushed themselves up to stand.
"Do you want to come with us? We may be able to help you", she asked as they both offered a hand to help her stand.
Zelda looked up at the two figures bathed in sunlight and beaming smiles so sweet. With nothing to lose, the lost girl took their hands.
And so began the journey that they could have never known would almost bring about the end of the world...