CHAPTER 2: A MEETING WITH A HERO
“Child of a different time, of a different place, of a different world, hear us now. We the goddesses of the Triforce: Din, Nayru, and Farore, ask of you. Your destiny is revealed. You are the chosen one… the last of the Faierikin tribe. You will inherit great powers in the next few weeks of your journey.
“These powers, along with the Hero of Time’s courage, will allow you two to defeat the King of Evil when he tries to regain power.
“Your powers, however, will only seem mediocre until you gather the missing pieces of the Staff of Power, which has been broken and scattered throughout this land.
“Believe in us, the goddesses of the Triforce, for we will be your guides. For you are our only hope of saving this beautiful land…”
“Beautiful land?” Serenity mumbled as she began to wake up. She groaned and sat up on her knees. “How long was I out?” she asked herself as she looked around. Then she remembered the dream and thought to herself, "for some reason, it all makes sense now." She felt a weird feeling in her leg and pulled up her pant leg. A symbol had embedded itself on her leg and she knew exactly what it was: the symbol of the Faierikin tribe. She smiled to herself, "now I know." She got to her feet and looked around. To her left was a deep hole, deep enough to where she couldn’t see the bottom of it. She peered over the edge. "Man, at least I didn’t fall in there," she thought to herself. As she began to walk around it, she heard footsteps. Gulping slightly, she glanced around slowly. Suddenly she screamed as someone (or something) landed in front of her. It was a boy, she thought, at least it LOOKED like a boy. He was taller than her, about 5’ 9” with sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes like hers. He was wearing a green tunic and matching hat, with white pants and shirt on underneath. She also thought him to be about her age of 19. The most important thing she noticed, however, was the very sharp sword blade held at her throat.
“Please don’t hurt me!” she begged, not moving an inch.
“Who are you? And what are you doing in the forest after sunset? It is very dangerous to be here right now, don’t you know that?” He saw the desperate look in her quivering eyes, and he let his guard down some, “I’m sorry I startled you like that, but you shouldn’t be here, the Stalchilds will get you.”
“Stal-what? Where exactly am I again?” Serenity was very confused now. She was beginning to understand how Dorothy and Toto felt when they were in Oz.
“Come with me, we must go fast.” He grabbed her arm and started walking. The two of them walked quite briskly, and it was hard for Serenity to keep up, “Where are we going exactly?”
“To get my horse, then to Kakariko Village. The castle gates will be closed by now, but we can get shelter there…” he paused and looked at her, “you are in Hyrule, does any of this seem familiar to you?” Serenity studied him some more as the walked, and she quickly noted something that definitely made him different from her: his ears. They were pointed, almost elf-like. She shook her head and answered, “Uh, not really, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m not where I was five minutes ago, that’s for sure.” Unknowingly, she had pushed her hair back behind her ear and he noticed her rounded ears, “Wow, you really aren’t kidding are you?” He asked as he studied her odd-shaped ears. Serenity shook her head again. Then she noticed a horse standing not far from them, “Is that yours?” He smiled, “Yep, her name’s Epona.”
“You know, speaking of names, do you have one?” He blushed, “Sorry, my name is Link. What’s yours, stranger?”
“My name is Serenity.” He wrinkled his brow, “Serenity? Wow, that’s a really pretty name.” She blushed, “oh I don’t know, it’s just the name my foster parents gave me.” He was blushing a little too, “I have just never heard it before is all. I like it. It suits you.” As they reached Epona, Link walked up to her and patted her neck. She neighed and nuzzled him with her nose. He then turned to Serenity, “Come here, I’ll help you up.” Serenity had been riding a hundred times before. In fact, she had her own horse with which she shared a close bond with: Star Streak. She wished he was with her now. Link put his hands together to give Serenity a boost. She jumped up with pure ease. She scooted closer as Link mounted up behind her and reached around to take the reins. Serenity could feel herself blush a little as the boy’s arms were around her. "Such strong arms," she thought to herself, as his breath went down her neck, "I believe I like this boy." Link kicked Epona into a trot and they found their way out of the woods.
As they exited the forest, they came across a huge field. Across from them was a huge wall, with a castle visible in the background. In the center of the field was a building with a huge stone wall around it, so Serenity couldn't see what it was. There were dirt paths everywhere, and she could barely see what looked like a lake in the distance. Turning her gaze, she saw a rocky slope that headed toward some kind of deep ravine. As the two rode, they were along side a river that flowed along a rocky wall and right by the wall bordering the Market around the Castle. Epona was galloping now, and Link had said that they would be to the village soon. Soon ended up being a couple of hours, but whatever. As they got there, Link tied Epona to a fence post, and the two headed up the stone steps to the village.
“We’ll go to Impa’s house, she’ll have a change of clothes for you there, and probably some food if you’re hungry.” Link told her. Serenity looked down at herself and almost laughed out loud. She must have been a sight for sore Hyrulian eyes: She was wearing low-slung faded jeans (her favorite pair), a thin light pink tank that settled about four inches above her jeans, and covering the tank was a light pink hooded sweatshirt that was unzipped in the front. "Wow, not that I stick out like a sore thumb or anything," Serenity thought to herself sarcastically. Link smiled and led her to the first house in the village. The village was little and quaint, but there were people bustling everywhere, even for it being closing time. This was probably because of the festival getting ready to begin. There was a massive windmill at the back of the village, and a gate up on a hill had a trail behind it leading to a huge mountain peak with clouds swirling around it. The houses were of all shapes and sizes and were positioned on different levels of land, with stone stairways leading up to the different levels. The house that the two entered was home to a dear friend of Link's, whom Serenity was about to get acquainted with.