Chapter two: Through Time


Link woke up the next morning, refreshed and happy, having not gotten much sleep in a long time. He smiled to himself, as he stared up at the far ceiling, where diamonds were twinkling gently in the early morning light filtering through the high windows. He eased himself out of bed, dressed in his now washed and cleaned green tunic, and slung his full pack onto his back, sword at his side, a comforting weight.

He quietly exited his quarters, and entered Zelda’s, but he did not go into her room. But there was no need, as soon as he entered the large room, Zelda walked out of her room, her hair, though it didn’t have its usual smooth, shiny, silky look, was still very tidy for just waking up. She saw he was in there, and asked, “Why are you in here?”

“Just to check on you,” Link replied, and sat down on one of the squashy red armchairs.

“I’m fine,” assured Zelda, as she walked into her bathroom and began to comb her hair and get her usual clothes on. “I don’t need to bring my Sheik clothes though, because when I transform, it puts them on automatically. I’ll just wear my normal dress.”

She came out about ten minutes later, looking as beautiful as though she hadn’t just waken up at all, but had been awake for several hours.

She waved her hand, and a copy of Hyrule Weekly flew from a lamp beside Link’s chair, and into Zelda’s outstretched hand, now covered in her white, elbow-long gloves. She caught it, and looked at it.

“Are we overdoing it a bit?” Link said with a smile. Zelda ignored him.

She snorted, as she saw the front page, and threw it into the trash.

“Rubbish,” she muttered, checking how tight the gloves were on.

“What does it say?” asked Link.

“Says here that the Gerudo’s are allying themselves with Ganon’s troops. Complete rubbish. We’ve been at peace with them since you rescued Nabooru from the temple.”

“I’m not surprised that they are printing that trash, though,” she continued, “all they can print right now is the fact that they have no freaking clue where Ganon and his troops are. They’ve been desperate for a story for months.”

“Is there anything in there about my arrival?”

“Yes,” she said, “it said ‘valiant heros return: the legend of Hyrule, Link returned to Hylia City last night in a flurry of hoof paddles and clinking as he rode through the Marketplace yesterday morning. We now shall feel safer with our hero back once more as he...’

“Ok,” interrupted Link, embarrased by the words written in the paper. “I get it.”

Zelda gave him a you-knew-you-would-get-this look, before sitting down opposite Link and sharpening her curved dagger.

“This is what I will normally use as Sheik,” she told Link, “but I might use my needles as well.”

Link remembered vividly while they were practicing against each other, she drew four wicked needles each about a foot long, and threw them with wicked speed. Link barely had had time to get his shield up before they reached him. They each had made a hole in his shield, but Zelda had fixed it.

“Or your fists,” pointed out Link, as he drew the Master Sword and examined it’s shining blade. He admired it for a bit, then sheathed it and got up.

“We should eat,” Zelda said, “where should we go?”

“Let’s go to the Sword-bow resteraunt,” suggested Link.

“Ok,” Zelda replied, sheathing her dagger and getting up.

They proceeded out of the castle and into Hylia City. They then went to the Sword-bow resteraunt, and ordered their breakfast.

Once they were done eating, they went back up to the castle, to meet the King.

“Link! I’m so glad to see you!” the King said, smiling at him as they walked in through the main entrance. “Where have you been?”

“Everywhere but here,” said Link. The King laughed.

“I know what you are going to attempt to do, Link,” the King said, “and I wish you the best of luck on your new quest. Failure will mean the end of Hyrule as we know it. I will guard Hylia City as best as I can without you two. You must hurry with your mission, and then return here as soon as possible.”

“And we will,” Zelda said, “but we must go now, before Ganon tears Hyrule apart.”

“I understand,” said the King, “good luck.”

We turned, and left the castle. We walked across the castle grounds, not speaking as much as we might have under normal circumstances. We made our way through the gate, the guards saluting us as we passed. We walked down the path, and into the Marketplace.

“This place is so beautiful,” said Link, watching the people milling around the stores, talking cheerfully and enjoying the bright sunlight, “I can’t understand why Ganon wants to distroy this place.”

“Because he is evil,” said Zelda.

“So I gathered,” Link replied dryly.

“But you defeated him once, and you can defeat him again,” she said to him, as they exited the Marketplace to the left, and made our way toward the Temple of Time, which towered before us. “Do not lose faith in yourself, for that is the worst thing that could happen to you at this point.”

Link listened silently.

“What will we do when we go back?” asked Link.

“I...don’t know,” Zelda said uneasily, “the best thing we can do while we are there is search for Ganon and hope for the best.”

“That’s not a very good plan,” pointed out Link quietly.

“Do you think?” Zelda said sarcastically. “What else do you suggest?”

Link fell silent, embarrassed.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Zelda said. Link was not surprised. She had went through his mind before, and when he knew she was going to, he made sure he hid his feelings for her very well. “It’s just, in these hard times, I become stressed, like all sensible people would.”

They entered the Temple of Time. It was a magnificent place, with walls that reached extremely high heights, and windows in which you could see the dust from the aging building floating. The Altar of Time stood about 30 feet from them, and beyond that, the Door of Time stood. On the Altar, there were three empty spaces, where, Link remembered from 6 years ago, he had placed all three Spiritual Stones there, and opened the Door of Time. He then proceeded to draw the Master Sword from the pedestal. He looked around at the familiar temple, admiring it’s age and beauty.

“Zelda...” Link said slowly, turning to her, “how are we going to do this? The last time I traveled back in time, it was by putting the Master Sword back in the pedestal, but that took me back a whole ten years! And I don’t think it’s possible anymore, now that this is my real age!”

“Be comforted,” she said, “give me the Ocarina.”

Link reached into his belt, and pulled out the sparkling blue Ocarina of Time. He handed it to Zelda.

“I learned a song while you were gone,” she explained, “my father taught it to me. It will take us back any number of years that we want, or any number of years we want into the future. All I have to do is think of the years that I want to go back while I’m playing it, and It’ll happen. Come,” she gestured to the Altar, and they walked through the Temple, and stood upon the Altar.

“Hold my hand,” she said. Link did not need any second bidding.

She lifted the Ocarina to her lips with one hand, and played a soft melody, that sounded oddly familiar to Link. He determinedly memorized it, as she finished.


“Hold on tight,” she said, putting the Ocarina into her dress pocket and putting her arms around Link.

Wind suddenly whirled around them both, whipping Link’s hat about. White mist formed around their ankles, and rose up their bodies very quickly. Link looked at it apprehensively, as the wind began to blow even harder. The mist reached his chest, and looked down at Zelda, who had her eyes closed and was putting her face against his chest. He back at the mist, and was alarmed to see the mist was at his chin. The wind howled loudly, and he felt himself being lifted off his feet. He tried to yell something, but no sound came out over the howling wind. The pair twirled around and around in the white mist that now obscured all of their surroundings, holding tight to each other. They spun gradually faster and faster, the wind howling so loudly now that Link could no longer hear himself think, and he was spinning so fast, that everything was a whirled blur. He was just wishing it would stop, and had closed his eyes, when suddenly, the howling and wind and mist and spinning stopped very abruptly. He felt his feet touch solid ground.

He opened his eyes.

They were in the Temple of Time again, standing on the Altar. Link sighed with relief, glad to not be spinning again. Oddly, however, he was not dizzy. He reflected upon this for a minute as Zelda let go of him, and looked around, and then, they both realized the same thing at once, and let out yells of surprise and anger.

The Temple of Time ceiling was destroyed. It was nothing more than a cracked, scraggly hole, with bits of rubble raining down on their heads softly. Link stared at the open space between the Altar and the entrance of the Temple, and saw littered on the ground were enormous slabs of white marble, surely fallen from the destroyed ceiling. They were piled in great mounds, rising above their heads.


“What the bloody hell in the name of Din happened here?!” Link said loudly into the silence.

Zelda was staring at the dark sky above them.

“We are too late,” she said.

“No,” said Link, “if we were too late, Moblins or Stalfos or Lizalfos or Knuckles of any kind would be walking around here.”

“No, we aren’t to late,” Zelda said, “but this place has definitely been attacked. And I have no doubt in my mind that Ganon sieged Hylia City.”

Link and Zelda ran from the Temple of Time together, and at the same time, he saw Zelda transform into Sheik.

They both sprinted outside.

It was nighttime, and a lot of the surrounding buildings were smashed or broken, but everything seemed calm and OK.

“They failed, I see,” Sheik said with a smile.

“Yes,” said Link, “but we must find where they are.”

They walked out into the Marketplace, and through it, to the castle.

Link and Sheik were very pleased to see that it was unharmed.

They saw the guards, and ran up to them. They quickly explained what had happened, and where they were from. The guards understood.

“We need to know,” Link said, “do you guys know where Ganon’s forces are right now?”

The guards suddenly stopped smiling, and looked at their feet. Sheik waited impatiently for them to speak.

Link looked at the space between their curved plate armor where he could see the guards’ eyes.

“Yes, we do know, unfortunately,” said one guard. “About 2 weeks ago, Ganon’s army showed themselves, and seized the entire east woods, without much resistance.”

Fear shot through Link. His old friends, Saria, Mido, the Twins! The Deku Tree!

“They now own the woods, patrolling it every day and night, never sleeping or resting,” the guard who had said this, suddenly broke into a sob, “they killed them all.”

Link went numb. Sheik did not speak.

Link reached down near Sheik’s belt and pulled out the Ocarina. He played Saria’s song as fast as he could, and waited.

There was no answer.

He played it again, chills leaping from him as he tried to hear Saria’s voice, anybody’s voice.

No answer.

Tears welled in his eyes as he stopped playing it, and stared at the ground. He fell to his knees, and began to silently cry to himself.

Sheik turned back into Zelda, and dropped down beside him.

Link turned his red eyes to her, hot tears streaming down his face.

She hugged him tightly, and put her head on his shoulder, lending him her warmth. He held her there, and the guards turned away, giving them privacy.

When Link was done weeping, he let go of Zelda and stood, anger contorting his face now.

“I do not care if I don’t have the strength to fight him,” Link yelled. “I WILL SLAY HIM, BURN HIS CORPSE, AND BURY THE ASHES IN COW SHIT!”

“You will,” the princess told him assuringly, “but we must wait until we can muster an army big enough to destroy Ganon’s army.”

Zelda then looked at her knees, and said in a regretful voice, “I...I am afraid that the War of Time has begun.”