PROLOGUE

It ought never to have been so swift, so much like a song or a fleeting dream. Words were whispered to him there, just gently on the fringes of overwhelming perception, but not quite heard. He remembered now—recalled a flash of turquoise light and a burst of wind—and then he was falling.

The blooming skies tore open to a ray of peeling light, parting the very clouds themselves. The greeting firmament ripped violently at his ancient tunic, and the reforged Master Sword shook fervently on his back, stinging him with soundless words more sheer than the rippling wind. And below him, he saw glittering gold in the distance, a colour unmistakably belonging to the misty shape of someone most dear to him. So he strained his eyes to see past the blinding sunlight, to see who was spiralling downward to the earth, going helplessly into their own demise. And it came to him suddenly then, as a passing fantasy or vision would, realizing the descending figure was none other than his princess, Zelda Hyrule.

His brow furrowed with resolve hard as steel. He straightened and tucked his body in. The wind blew. He looked hard, facing into it. She was so far away—so distant and small—but he was not going to let her go this time. The vibrating sword on his back screamed in his mind, alerting him to the impending danger, but he paid no heed to it. He would catch her this time, he swore to himself, as his entire world and vision centred on the faraway princess; and yet faraway as she was, Zelda was still just so close, here at the end of his journey.

The world around him shifted and blurred. A mixture of colours passed by him now, far too many on a palette much too small. She became his world—there and forever—as he outstretched his freshly-cleansed arm, and then reached even further than that. Their fingertips had touched fleetingly. He was so close now; perhaps he could breathe her enthralling scent, even falling as they were. For a second he saw her chin-length hair shimmering golden-like in the cast of twinkling sunlight shooting out from the distance. And he could see her lidded eyes and gentle mouth slightly agape, so still it was. His heart pounded, and he reached even further. Finally his hand found an ingress against her own, and the two became one, like two puzzle pieces, perfectly joining. Then with all his strength—and he had plenty in the moment—he pulled her limp body to his own, wrapping his arms around her as they descended to the surface. She felt lifeless there, as he tucked her by the nape and shoulders into the safeguard of his embrace.

And if his heart could beat any harder, it did.

For the first time in a minute, he drew a real breath. He had not been aware he was holding it until he felt the blistering air fill his famished lungs once more. Nevertheless, he burrowed his own face then into the crook of her neck, squeezing hard. He listened to her sweet sounds of life like that, felt her warmth, and relished it. There was little he could do, save inhale her joyous scent of flowers and cherish it forever.

A long time passed—an eternity, it seemed—before he had opened his eyes once more to see the smallest landmarks of Hyrule become large and present again. Which made him fully aware they were, in fact, freefalling toward a lake.

His glider was useless now. They were travelling much too fast, and he could not hold onto her. He had seconds to react, he realized. And so, he turned over until she was above him. If anything, he thought, his body could at least break her fall. He could do nothing but grit his teeth and ready himself . . . and then he felt Zelda shift against him on her own.

The next thing Link remembered was feeling odd. And unmistakably wet. There was a rush of cold water, and then everything darkened softly for a time. A brief moment passed before he had regained his composure. Their splash into the lake, he determined, had gone mostly well. He half-expected to be knocked unconscious by the fall, but by the good grace of the Goddess, he recovered quickly. And Zelda never strayed from his arms, nor would she again, if he had any say in the matter.

Lake water trickled modestly from his tunic as he took careful steps, making sure to keep his footing. The princess was there in his arms, her damp, golden-crowned head resting softly against his bare chest. His right arm, wrapped underneath her rear, pulled her up against him possessively. He eyed her there, as his muddied sandals trod the bed of the lake and onto the grassy meadows of Hyrule Field. She looked peaceful almost, as if she dreamt beautifully and happily there in his arms. And when he saw her eyes scrunch up, and her long dark lashes flicker, he knelt to set her down.

With her now safe and on the ground, he retreated slightly, observing closely. Against his better judgement, he desired greatly to feel her again, but it was right to provide her space. With that in mind, he waited, patiently so, until he could see something change in her demeanour; and once he saw her eyes flutter again, Link crouched nearer to her. Then, the steady motion of her modest chest turned erratic, and her eyes opened to reveal those two emerald jewels he longed to look upon once again.

Gazing silently as she collected herself, he watched her rise somewhat to look up at him with great surprise painted on her gentle features. And then he heard again, for the first time, the beautiful sound which pervaded his dreams:

"Link, how are you . . . ? But I was . . ."

Yet in her newfound voice spoke bewilderment, and uncertainty.

Curiously, and with an evident wariness, she touched her fingertips to the vaunted jewel dangling just above her breast. Her lower lip was quivering too. He kept to himself, though, allowing her to relax back into the waking world once more. Then, as if in close reflection of his own emotions, the Master Sword trilled happily on his back.

Seeing that, Zelda took a deep breath. "It reached you, after all," she said delicately. The sounds were laboured, dragging a little as if verbal speech was foreign to her. After a passing quiet, he saw her gasp loudly and recoil in distress. "He is gone then," she continued, wavering as if she might faint, "the Demon King?"

Link gave a slight nod of affirmation. It was difficult to respond right now. He could not speak, actually, even if he desired such a thing, and with so many stories he was dying to tell. Words were lost as he looked upon her ethereal beauty with his own eyes once again. Oh, Goddess above! How he desired so much to see her these past months, for her to fill his world with her light.

The princess was not one to stay silent, though, finding her own figurative footing.

"Is this place a dream?" she asked, looking at him inquisitively.

He knew then; Zelda had thought him some strange apparition of her mind. Even so, Link—knowing at once what could be done—offered his hand to abate her fears. He watched thoughtfully as she pondered this a moment, before reaching hesitantly to touch him. There, he felt the trembling ends of timorous fingers skitter across his own. But ever slowly, she eased into him; and with this, her confusion turned to a joyous wonder, partnered with the humble beginnings of a beautiful smile.

He saw her smile grow even wider. "You did it," said Zelda then, eagerly so. "Oh, Link, you really did it!"

And laced in her words was beauty in pure form, her happiness turning his world wonderful like a double rainbow over Cuho Mountain in the afternoon.

More so in that wondrous happiness he thought tears might fall, both from her and himself, but she seemed to turn elsewise to thought:

"But how am I . . . ?" she asked.

Her voice now was softer, more unsure. With her pause followed a short silence between the two, and a strong wispy wind blew out of the east to wake the tall grass and wildflowers, sending ripples across the lake. And then she stood under her own power, and he with her.

"No, I understand," Zelda said evenly, gazing up at the majesty which was Hyrule Castle as it soared in the skies above. "I had been sleeping all this time . . ."

Her lingering voice drifted off with the wind. Time passed slowly, and Link looked over to see the shimmering waterfalls in sunlight pouring into the silent chasm below, and sparrows gliding through the air. Then he heard her rising voice, so sure and strong this time; so resolute . . . a beautiful note keyed with amorous feeling: "But when I felt something, like a warm, loving embrace, I woke up."

All the walls inside him shattered with that admission. The floodgates opened, and whatever he kept within himself poured out in an instant.

"Thank you," she whispered, closing her eyes briefly. He gazed longingly as she turned to him once more, this time showing another wide smile, and with doe-like eyes of emerald beneath a strange, yet alluring crown. "Link, I met such wonderful people," she continued, hinting a growing desperation. "I saw Hyrule as it once was. I have so much to tell you. So much happened!"

He could only watch as Zelda looked at him with tears welling up in the corners of her sparkling eyes, saying:

"Oh, Link . . . I am home!"

Then, after a short moment lasting a lifetime, Link—with tears gathering all his own—embraced her, whispering back:

"Welcome home."