Alex was a pretty average girl. She wasn’t the prettiest girl in school, or the most popular, or the smartest. She didn’t like sports, preferring to play video games alone or with friends. She was probably what most people would consider a nerd, especially when it came to things she really liked. She’d learn all she could about that particular topic, and would draw pictures of it or write fanfics. She didn’t have many friends, but that was fine, since she liked to be alone a lot. Her mom was concerned about her being alone so much and spending so much time on the computer, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do.

One day, she was bored, so she started her file over on the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and started to re-play it for the umpteenth time. She beat the first three levels in one day (since she knew them inside and out) and the next day she was starting on the Forest Temple when her mom came down to the bonus room. “Don’t you think you’ve been playing that game long enough?” asked her mother.

“I haven’t played for an hour yet today,” replied Alex as she made Link shoot a skulltula with his hookshot, not looking away from the screen.

“But you were on all day yesterday,” replied her mother. “Go outside and take a walk. No more videogames today.” Her mother turned and walked up the stairs, leaving Alex to glare after her.

“Nag,” Alex mumbled as she saved her game. She turned off her N64, then slipped on her shoes and went outside. It was a warm summer day, perfect weather to take a walk. Alex strolled along the sidewalk, watching little kids play tag on their front lawns. Ah, to be young and innocent, thought Alex, half joking. She turned a corner in the street and headed for the park, hoping she might meet her friend there.

Her friend was there, in fact. Amy was an even bigger Zelda fan than Alex, but in a different way. Instead of being an artsy fan, she was a collector: she had every Zelda game, including the CD Zeldas that didn’t do too well. She had all sorts of Zelda merchandise, including a closet full of collector’s items that were never supposed to be taken out of the box. She always wore Zelda T-shirts to school, and if she was teased about them, she’d just blow it off, saying that she was proud to be what she was. Alex envied her for that; Alex could never blow off an insult.

Amy was sitting on the broken swing in the park, wearing a shirt that said, “Don’t make me go Zelda on you!” She looked funny, sitting all leaned over like that, but Alex was too bored to say anything. Instead, she sat down on the swing next to her friend and used her feet to rock back and forth. They sat like that for a minute, until Amy said in a monotonous voice, “Hi.”

“Hey,” replied Alex. “You bored too?”

“Yep.”

“Yeah, me too.”

A pause. “Hey, did you see that over there?”

“No, over where?”

“In the woods over there.”

Alex strained her eyes, but couldn’t see anything. The woods that bordered the park were said to harbor homeless people and kidnappers who would attack anyone who went in, but Alex and Amy had gone in lots of times when they were younger, and nothing had happened to them. They had liked Zelda back then too, and were always pretending that they were Kokiri or Skullkids or something. They had nicknamed that place the Lost Woods for that very reason, but they barely ever called it by that name now, especially when other people were around.

“No I don’t see anything… Wait! What was that?”

“I don’t know. It looked like a light of some sort, like a flashlight or something.”

“Maybe somebody’s in there. You want to go check it out?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They hopped off the swings and hurried over to the edge of the woods, stopping near a tree to look in. They didn’t see anything except trees and branches, but now they could almost hear a song coming from deep in the forest.

“Do you hear that?” asked Alex.

“Yeah. Where have I heard that before?”

“… Isn’t that Saria’s Song?”

“No way! It is! How weird.”

“Who’d be playing a song like that in the middle of the Lost Woods?” She’d asked it as a rhetorical question, using the nickname they’d given for the woods without really thinking about it, but as soon as she said it, they both looked at each other and answered together. “Saria would.”

“But it’s impossible!” cried Amy. “It’s a videogame! It’s not real.”

“It’s real in the hearts of fans like us,” said Alex.

“That was really corny, Alex.”

“But true! Besides, nothing is impossible. I say we just go and have a look. If it’s not Saria, it’s probably a fan like us, and a potential member of that fan club we were talking about. But if it is…”

“It won’t be.”

“If it isn’t, I owe you a soda every day for the next week.”

“Alright, let’s go! Soda heaven, here I come!” They started off through the woods, shunning the path they’d blazed as children and going strait forward. They walked further than they’d ever dared before, and it felt good to bravely go where people didn’t usually go. They hopped over fallen logs and ducked under low branches, and didn’t even notice that the woods were getting thicker around them every step they took. It became more of a game than a leisurely stroll, and they hadn’t noticed how far they’d gone until one of them spun around and couldn’t see the park anymore.

“Great,” grumbled Alex. “Which way did we come from?”

“I’m not sure,” said Amy worriedly, looking around. “Do you see the park?”

“No. Curse my terrible sense of direction.” She looked at her watch. “It’s getting kind of late. Let’s just keep going the way we were going, and we’ll hit the road in like ten minutes. I’m sure this forest isn’t all that big. I mean, it is in the middle of a neighborhood.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” agreed Amy. “Let’s go.” They began at a quick pace, eager to get out of the forest. They were both silent, but it seemed that the song in the distance was getting louder and louder.

“Where is that coming from?” Alex wondered aloud, looking around. She nearly bumped into Amy, who had stopped right in front of her. “Amy, what…?” she began, and then she saw what her friend was staring at. Right in front of them was a giant hollowed-out log, almost like a tunnel, and it was too dark and too long to see the other side. The music was coming from inside the log. “That wasn’t there before,” Alex stated, perplexed.

“Alex, do you know what this is?” Amy seemed frightened and amazed at the same time.

Alex shrugged. “The world’s largest didgeridoo?” she guessed.

Amy turned around and gave Alex an angry look. “This is not the worlds largest didgeridoo! It’s a tunnel into the Lost Woods, the real Lost Woods in Zelda!”

“Oh, come on. I was joking. We both know that’s not possible.”

“It is!”

“Alright. I’ll just have to show you then. Come on.” Alex took Amy by the arm and began to drag her into the tunnel.

“Wait! I don’t think we should…” But Alex wouldn’t listen. They were soon traveling through the tunnel, stepping tentatively along through the darkness. The song was much louder now, and there could be no mistake about it: it was Saria’s Song, and it was being played on a woodwind instrument, like a flute… or an ocarina, Alex found herself thinking.

Soon, the end of the tunnel was in sight, and they hurried forward into the sunlight. Looking around, they were dismayed to find that there were three other tunnels in the small clearing, one in front of them, and one on either side. “Do you believe me now?” asked Amy, looking fearfully at the tunnels.

“It is uncanny,” admitted Alex, “but it’s probably just a coincidence.”

“How!? How can it possibly be a coincidence!?” cried Amy. “Just look at it! It has to be the real deal!”

“Well, we can’t go back, so the only thing to do is try a passage and see where it leads. Assuming that this is the first clearing, I’d have to go right to get to the Forest Temple, so…” Alex went into the right-hand tunnel and Amy followed close behind. They emerged in another clearing that looked a bit different from the one they’d just left. “I knew it! Now we go up…”

“Alex, I really think we should go back…”

“Do you know which way is back?”

After some thought, Amy was forced to reply, “No, not quite…”

“Onward, then!” Alex was really enjoying herself. She was convinced that some Zelda fan had built the whole thing, and she was eager to see what was at the end. She had played the game so many times she knew the correct path by heart, and in a few minutes, she had got them all the way to the Sacred Forest Meadow.

“This is amazing!” she said, looking around. “There must be some rich cat in our neighbor hood who really likes Zelda. I hope he doesn’t find out that we’ve been snooping around on his property.” She headed through the hedge maze with renewed enthusiasm, and Amy simply followed silently, hoping that nothing would pop out at them. It wasn’t long before they reached a long flight of stairs, and Alex ran up them as if she’d been offered a million dollars to reach the top in the shortest time possible. Amy followed, protesting, and they reached the top of the stairs at the same time.

In the clearing in front of them, they could see the ancient structure of the Forest Temple sticking out of the forest, and in front of it, a little girl in green was playing her ocarina with a couple of Skullkids. When Alex saw them, she laughed and walked over to them, ignoring Amy’s begging her not to. The three looked over at her and Amy in confusion, and when Alex said, “Wow, those are great costumes!” they just blinked and looked at each other blankly. “Where did you get them?” asked Alex. “Or did you make them yourselves?” Same response. “Oh, I’m sorry, you’re probably angry at us for trespassing. We just got lost, and then we saw your tunnels, and I couldn’t help myself…” They were still staring at her blankly.

Then the girl spoke up, speaking in a language Alex and Amy didn’t understand. Alex stared at her for a moment, and then said, “What is that, some sort of made-up language?” The girl replied in the same way, sounding confused, and Alex looked at Amy, who just stared. It was like nothing either of them had heard before. Alex began to feel uncomfortable. “Look,” she said, starting to turn around, “we’ll just leave, ok? Sorry to, erm… bother you.” She began to go back the way they came, when Amy gasped and pointed.

“Look!” she cried, and Alex turned to see what looked like a trial of green fireflies spiraling down from the sky. She watched as the display floated down to the enormous disk at her feet (which had a Triforce symbol on it) and began to swirl around at an incredibly fast pace. Then it disappeared, and a teenage boy appeared from thin air. He was dressed in green, with a long green hood and a longer green shirt, and he was holding an egg-shaped instrument in his hand. He greeted Saria in the same language she had spoken, and then gestured to Alex and Amy, as though asking who they were. Amy looked at Alex in disbelieve, just in time to see her faint and fall strait backwards.

Alex woke up, and saw the face of the Hero of Time very close to hers. She flushed hotly as she realized just how good-looking he was in person. He smiled and helped her back onto her feet, then spoke to Saria and Amy, who were talking together a short distance away. Amy came over with a worried look on her face, asking Alex, “Are you ok? You fainted.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Alex. Link was looking at her and trying not to smile, and it made her even more embarrassed. He probably thinks I’m such a spaz, she thought to herself. Then she noticed that Amy was wearing a necklace with a strange stone on it. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing.

“Oh!” said Amy, digging in her pocket, “They’re translator stones. Here, I have one for you.” She gave Alex one. “They help us understand and speak Hylian!”

“ ‘Hylian’?” echoed Alex, eying her stone. “So, we’re really in Hyrule, aren’t we?”

“Yeah! Isn’t it nuts?” Amy waved at Saria and the Skullkids as Alex slipped the necklace over her head, and they came over. “I’m sure you know who Saria is,” began Amy. Saria extended her hand with a friendly, “Hello!” and Alex shook it, feeling awkward. “The two Skullkids are Gibo and Jakal,” continued Amy, “but… I’m not sure which is which.” They both took one of Alex’s hands and gave them a hearty shake, giggling as Alex’s whole body shook. “And you know who Link is, of course.” Link also shook Alex’s hand, but much more gently than the Skullkids had.

“We were expecting you,” he said, and Alex’s heart jumped at actually hearing his voice. “A traveling magician came to our castle yesterday and told us when you would arrive. We didn’t believe him at first, but when Saria contacted us a few minutes ago telling us that you had come to the forest and was headed her way, he gave me the translator stones and told me to meet you here. So I went!” He smiled again, and Alex began to get red in the face again. That smile…

“I’m glad to see you’ve both arrived safely!” said Saria. “There have been sightings of monsters lately, and we were worried you might be attacked.” Alex and Amy looked at each other worriedly, but Saria reassured them. “It’s ok. You’re safe while Link is around. A few monsters never bothered him!” She laughed in that funny way she had of laughing, and the Skullkids staged a mock battle between Link and a monster with their flutes.

“I just explained to them all that happened,” said Amy, “and they’ve decided that we get to go to Hyrule Castle and meet Princess Zelda! Isn’t that exciting?” Alex made a noise like a half-hearted woot. The truth was, she wasn’t nearly as excited about the situation as Amy was. She just wanted to wake up home in her bed, and pretend that it was a bizarre but interesting dream.

Link seemed to pick up on her thoughts, and he placed a hand on her shoulder, saying, “Don’t worry. We’ll get all of this straitened out once we’ve had a talk with Lupus. He’s the wizard I was telling you about.”

“Ok,” said Alex weakly, giving him an appreciative grin. She was glad to see that he was nice in real life, and not a jerk like in some fanfics she’d read.

“Come on, let’s get going!” said Amy, who was eager to see the castle and meet the Princess. “Are we going to warp there?”

Link looked at her for a moment, and then asked, “Do you… want to?” Alex didn’t answer, but Amy was nodding her head vigorously, so he said, “Ok. Hold tight to me.” He pulled out his Ocarina, and the girls put their arms into his. They waved good-bye to Saria as he played Prelude of Light, and when he’d finished, the three of them disappeared.

Alex felt as though she was being pulled like taffy and spun around in a tilt-a-whirl. Her head seemed miles away from her toes as she was flung through space, and she held tight to what she was sure was Link’s arm, desperate not to let go and fall into oblivion. Their ride ended with a jolt that forced Alex onto her knees, clutching her stomach and trying not to vomit. “Sorry,” said Link sheepishly as Alex looked over to see that Amy was no better off. “You kinda need to get used to it.”

“I think I’ll pass,” muttered Alex, struggling to her feet. She looked around, and saw that they had indeed warped to the Temple of Time, just like in the game. She helped Amy to her feet, and the three of them headed outside.

The marketplace was very busy that day, but the group didn’t stop to chat or play any of the games. They walked right up the road to the castle, and the guards tipped their hats as they passed. Zelda was waiting for them at the gate. “Welcome to Hyrule Castle!” she said brightly. She seemed amused at their appearance, and now that Alex thought about it, she had full right to be: they had round ears, and they were wearing jeans and T-shirts. Not exactly proper garb for ladies of that world, excusing Impa, who was standing directly behind the Princess and looking equally amused. Alex was just glad they couldn’t read Amy’s T-shirt; it would only raise awkward questions.

“Thank you for your kind hospitality, Your Highness,” said Alex, trying to mask how nervous she was. She looked back at Amy, and saw that she was too excited to speak, as though she were meeting a celebrity.

“Of course!” said Zelda warmly. “It’s not every day we get visitors from another world, you know.” She turned and motioned for them to follow. “I’ll show you to your room, where you can freshen up. Dinner will be served promptly.” She walked into the keep, and the girls followed close behind, waving good-bye to Link, who was going to ride Epona, his horse.

The castle was even grander up close and personal than in the game; the stone walls reached so high that the ceilings were lost in darkness, and the halls seemed to stretch on and on. They were lead up a spiral staircase to the second floor, and stopped at the first door on the right. “This will be your room,” said the Princess, allowing the girls to walk past her. “I put you two together so that you would not be lonely. Is it to your liking?”

The room had two beds and two wardrobes, and a small fountain where they could wash up. It also had a lovely view of the grounds from the single ornate window on the far wall. “It’s great!” said Amy, speaking for the first time. Alex nodded in agreement.

Zelda smiled. “Very good. There are some clothes in the wardrobe if you would like to change before dinner, and I will send a nurse up to keep an eye on you in case you need anything.” Zelda closed the door softly, and her light footsteps disappeared down the hall.

When she was sure the Princess was gone, Amy gave a squeak of joy and jumped onto the bed to the right, farthest from the door. “Isn’t this amazing?” she asked Alex, eyes wide with excitement. “We’re actually here! In Hyrule! In Hyrule Castle even!!”

“Yeah, it’s great,” mumbled Alex, sitting down on the remaining bed and staring at her feet.

“What’s wrong?” asked her friend. “You’re not still embarrassed about fainting, are you? Because I talked to Saria, and she said it was perfectly understandable…”

“No, I mean, yes, a little, but that’s not…” Alex sighed and looked at her friend. “I’m scared, ok? This is all just, really weird.” She looked back at her feet. “I just want to go home.”

Amy stared at her. “What? How…”

“I just do, ok?” Alex snapped. She kicked off her shoes and lay down on her bed, facing the wall. Amy looked at her, troubled, then looked at the floor.

They were like this when the nurse came and knocked on their door a few minutes later. “Ladies!” came her squeaky voice. “Are you decent?” When no answer came, she opened the door and waddled in. She was a portly woman, but had a kind face and an even kinder heart. “ Here you are m’dears!” she said, going over and placing some things on a table near the fountain. “Some fresh towels for ye, and some bars of soap…” She saw that they weren’t happy, and said, “Oh my! What’s wrong?”

“Alex is homesick,” explained Amy. Alex sat up, but still faced the wall, arms crossed.

“Oh, no,” said the nurse, moving over to sit with Alex on the bed. “Don’t worry, deary,” she said. “We’ll figure out a way to get ya home very soon.” She saw a tear trickle down the girl’s cheek, and placed a pudgy arm around her shoulders, allowing Alex to rest her head on her shoulder. “There there, dear. It’ll be alright, you’ll see. There there.”

Amy sat on her bed, fiddling with her translator stone and watching as the nurse comforted her friend. The woman then came over and said in a low voice, “Don’t worry about her. She’ll be alright. She just has to be sure it’s safe here, then she’ll feel better.” The nurse gave her a pat on the shoulder, then walked out of the room, saying, “I’ll be right here if you need anythin’!”

Amy looked over at Alex, who was still staring at the wall, then got up and went over to the wardrobe on her side of the room. She opened it up, and then gasped when she saw its contents. “Oh, how pretty!” she said, removing one of the dresses and putting it up to her to see how it looked. Alex looked over, and Amy could see that her eyes were red from crying. “Aren’t these lovely?” Amy asked tentatively.

“Yeah,” said Alex, rubbing her eyes. She got up and went to her wardrobe, opening and having the same reaction Amy had. “Wow! These are really nice…” She pulled out a blue one. “They even got our sizes. I wonder how?”

“Maybe the warlock told them,” Amy guessed. “He knew we were coming. He might have known our sizes, too.” They looked at each other, blushing with the thought, then forced it out of their minds.

“I’ve been thinking about him,” said Alex, putting the dress on her bed. “There’s a pattern concerning wizards in Hyrule: they’re all evil. Aghnim, Wizrobe, all of them. Why should this one be any different?”

“You’re right,” said Amy fearfully. “I don’t know if we should trust this Lupus person.”

“Dearies! Dinner will be starting soon!” The nurse was calling to them from the other side of the door. “Do you need help getting ready?”

“We’re fine!” called Alex, running over to the fountain. “I don’t trust him, either,” she said to Amy. “Let’s keep an eye on him. If anything funny starts happening, we’ll tell Zelda or Link or someone.”

“Princess Zelda,” corrected Amy, hurrying to join her. “I can’t believe we’ll be dining with Link! It’s so nuts!” Alex reddened at the mention of his name, and focused on washing her hands very thoroughly. Amy caught this and smiled. “You have a crush on him, don’t you?”

“No!” cried Alex, drying her hands off on a towel. She was even redder than before.

“Yes you do!” insisted Amy, laughing. “I can’t believe it! You don’t ever get crushes. Although, I don’t blame you. He is good-looking.”

“I do not have a crush on him!” Alex said defensively, trying to slip on the dress she’d picked out. “Button me up in the back, will you?” She moved her hair so that Amy could get at the buttons on the back of the dress, then helped Amy with hers. “You know, I don’t usually like to wear dresses, but these are incredibly comfortable, not to mention beautiful.” They looked each other over, and then headed for the door.

“You do so have a crush on him.”

“Do not!”



Alex had been worried that she wouldn’t know which fork to use that night at dinner, but it turned out they were having soup and bread rolls anyway, and there was only a spoon. She was also worried that she wouldn’t be able to make small talk with her hostess and the Hero of Time, but they were both very friendly. They chatted about normal, everyday subjects, and Link told stories of some of the adventures he’d had, as well as ones about the soldiers and knights of the castle. These made the girls laugh, especially the way he told them. They could tell even Zelda was trying hard not to laugh too hard. The food was good as well, and they had eaten their fill before sitting back from the table. They remembered their appetite, however, when dessert was brought in by the head chef.

After dinner, they relaxed in a small sitting room where a cozy fired was blazing, content to sit and dose without talking. The girls fell asleep in front of the fire, and where briefly woken up by the nurse, who escorted them to their room. It wasn’t long after they slipped on their nightgowns and climbed into bed that they fell back asleep, and their dreams were bright and blissful.

Outside their window, two glowing eyes peered out of the darkness, looking in at them as they slept. Then they left as the figure who owned them bounded away over the rooftops, disappearing into the night.

When the girls awoke the next day, the nurse was bustling about in their bedroom, fussing over them. “Come come, girls! Let’s have you up and ready for breakfast, no lazing about now!” She shook each of them in turn when they didn’t get up. “Come on, you silly girls! You sleepyheads! Get washed up and get downstairs!” She hurried out of the room, and the girls struggled out of bed and over to the fountain.

“I was certain I was back home until she came in,” said Alex groggily, referring to the nurse. She shuddered as she splashed cold water over her face.

“You’re not still homesick, are you?” Amy asked incredulously. “After last night? I thought you were enjoying yourself?”

“Well, I was,” admitted Alex, “but… I don’t know. I just feel like we don’t belong here, or we shouldn’t be here.”

“Princess Zelda seems to like us. She won’t let anything happen to us.” Alex hoped she was right.




That morning at breakfast, as the girls entered the dining room, they saw a hooded figure seated at the table. Even though his face was hidden in shadow from the nose up, they could tell he was male by his build. He was carefully eating his breakfast so that his food wouldn’t drop onto his robes, and didn’t even look up as the two entered.

“Ah, good to see you girls on time for breakfast,” said Princess Zelda, who was sitting at the head of the table to the figure’s left. “Sir Link still hasn’t arrived.” She motioned to the hooded figure beside her, saying, “This is mister Lupus, the one who predicted your arrival.” The warlock dabbed at his mouth with a napkin, then finally looked at the girls.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” said the man quietly. His voice was raspy, as though he didn’t use it very often. The girls curtsied as the nurse had shown them, not knowing what to say. They were still suspicious about him, and his mysterious behavior didn’t help much.

“Lupus,” said Princess Zelda, moving over to the girls, “this is Amy,” she came and put a hand on Amy’s shoulder, “and this is Alexandria.” She did the same with Alex. Lupus had shown little to no interest in Amy, but seemed to be staring at Alex, who suddenly self-conscious. It seemed he was looking into her very soul.

The awkward silence was broken as the cook swept in, bearing the two girls’ plates. “Breakfast is served!” he said grandly, and Alex thought that she detected a hint of a French accent in his voice. But maybe it was just her imagination. She sat down in her chair gratefully and began to eat, all the while aware of the constant staring gaze of Lupus.

Link bustled in shortly, and received a frustrated glare from the Princess for being late. “Sorry,” he said, slipping into the seat opposite Lupus. “I forgot the time.” His plate was brought out, and he began to eat ravenously. Zelda rolled her eyes, and then turned her attention to the girls.

“Now that we’re all here,” she began, “I would like to discuss the means for your returning home. Now, don’t look at me that way!” she said sympathetically to Amy. “We are not trying to get rid of you! We simply want what is best for you, and if you feel like you need to return home immediately, we will do anything in our power to help.” Alex found that she had mixed feelings about this whole situation: She wanted to go home, but she knew that Amy wanted to stay, and she didn’t want to ruin it for her.

“In any case,” Lupus said, interrupting her thoughts, “I’m afraid any immediate action is impossible. The portal that the girls entered through is now closed, and it will not open for another five days. It would be both difficult and dangerous to try to use a different portal, were there any open at this time, and to try and open one would take a full week, without any definite results.” He took a sip of his drink. “Our only logical course of action would be to keep them safe until the portal they entered through opens again, as I said, five days from now.”

Amy looked excited, and Alex decided to keep an open mind. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here. After all, it was Hyrule, a land she thought previously to only exist in a video game!

“Very well,” said Princess Zelda. “I trust you, Lupus, and so we will follow your advice. For now, girls, you are more than welcome to stay at the castle, and you may explore this beautiful land to your heart’s content, but I would advise taking Sir Link with you. Hyrule, though wonderful and mysterious, is a dangerous place, even during peacetimes. However, Link has dealt with an army of monsters during his lifetime, and you will be safe with him.”

Alex stole a glance at Link, and saw that he was looking at her an Amy. He winked, and she reddened and became suddenly focused on her breakfast.


They didn’t see much of Lupus after that. He spent that entire day in his room in a castle tower, preferring solitude to company, and the girls hardly missed him. Aside from not trusting him (even though the Princess had clearly stated her trust in him), they were much too busy having fun. Link was keeping them entertained with his archery and horseback riding skills, and even let them take turns riding with him around the track. After lunch, they went back to visit Saria and the Skullkids, who treated them to a small concert, dancing about as they energetically played a happy tune on their ocarina and flutes. At sunset, they left the forest and rode out over Hyrule Field, just the three of them on Epona. Alex was amazed at the sheer beauty of Hyrulian sunsets, the red sun sending splashes of gold and orange across the sky and the grass. It was evening when they finally got back to the castle, and after supper they all shuffled up to bed. Other than a few complaints from Amy about not feeling good, it had been a perfect day. Alex fell asleep that night feeling a lot better about being away from home.


That night, Alex awoke in the early hours of the morning, shivering. She realized groggily that she’d kicked her covers off, and sat up to retrieve them, but stopped. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and her body was tense, listening for any sign of movement in the darkness. She heard someone draw in a breath, and she looked around. Right outside her window were two glowing red eyes, and a crouching shadowy figure. She opened her mouth to scream, but then the figure disappeared, and with it the glowing eyes. She stared out the window in horror for a moment, and then moved over to Amy’s bed. “Amy!” she hissed, whispering and trying not to yell. “There’s something outside our window!” When she didn’t get a response, she shook her friend by the arm. “Amy!” she said, forgetting about being quiet, “Amy, wake up! AMY!”

She started to panic. Her friend wasn’t waking up. “Ohmygod…she’s dead!” she said, not thinking to check for a pulse. She ran out of her room, yelling, “LINK! NURSE! SOMEBODY, HELP!”

Link burst from his room, hair tussled and wearing only pajama bottoms. Alex would’ve been extremely embarrassed if she wasn’t so scared. “What’s going on?” he asked worriedly.

“It’s Amy!” said Alex, growing hysterical. “She won’t wake up! And there was something outside my window! It was like, a demon or something!” The nurse had joined them by now, and she was trying to comfort Alex, who was starting to cry. “Link, hurry!” the girl said. “Something’s wrong with Amy! Hurry!” Link was off in a flash, and Zelda had come out to join them. Alex collapsed into the nurse’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably. The nurse did her best to calm her down, and Zelda hurried off to see to Amy once the nurse had explained the situation.

Alex stayed there like that for several agonizing minutes, sobbing quietly into the kind old lady’s shoulder as Link and Zelda checked up on her friend. After a short while, they came back down the hall, and Link knelt next to the poor girl, saying softly, “Alex?”

She lifted her head, and wasn’t embarrassed to see him so close to her. She was too frightened. “Is she, dead?” Alex could barely get the words past her lips.

Link face softened. “No, she’s alive,” he said gently, wiping away a tear that threatened to fall from her reddened eyes. “But something has happened to her. We think she’s been cursed. Don’t worry, she’ll be ok. It just keeps her from waking up, nothing else.” He smiled, and then helped her up. “Come on. We’ll get you a new room, one without a window. The nurse will be in to keep an eye on you.” He escorted her to her room, and she slipped into bed tiredly. “Goodnight,” he said, then began to leave.

“Wait!” said Alex, and he turned around. “Um, could you stay here? Just until I fall asleep.”

Link smiled again. “Sure,” he said, pulling up a chair next to her bed and sitting down. She smiled back, then pulled the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes. It wasn’t long before she was sound asleep, and Link quietly left her room, meeting Zelda in the hall.

“I’m sure you’re thinking the same as me,” said Zelda, a worried expression on her face.

“Yeah,” replied Link, staring at his toes. “Someone wants something to do with the girls. But who? And what?”

“Do you think…” began Zelda hesitantly, “maybe… Lupus had something to do with it?”

“To think such a thing would be ignorance,” said a voice behind them. Even as they looked, Lupus appeared out of the darkness. “I actually put a spell of protection on young Alexandria.”

“Why didn’t you put one on Amy?” asked Link angrily.

“Because her presence is of little consequence,” replied Lupus matter-of-factly. “It’s Alexandria they want, not Amy.”

“Why?” asked Zelda. “What’s the difference between the two?”

“I’ve been trying to figure that out all day,” said Lupus. “As far as I can tell, there is hardly any difference. But the enemy sees a difference, and that is what counts.”

“But who is the enemy?”

“I’m not sure. It is not the Ganondorf who I have read about, the one who once plagued this land with monsters and black magic. If my sources are correct, he was sealed up in the Sacred Realm, and there is no energy escaping that place as far as I can tell. It must then be some new threat, an outsider like me. Though I’m not sure why he, or she, would want either of the girls, but it stands as obvious fact that they are both in danger, and should be kept under close watch.” He bowed. “It is late, and I have had a most trying day. I believe it would be wise for me to get some sleep.” He turned and began to walk away.

“But, what about the visitor at the window?” asked Link. “Who was that?”

“I believe it was someone you know,” said Lupus vaguely. “Perhaps you should ask Alex in the morning. Her description of the unwanted guest may surprise you.” He disappeared into the darkness, leaving Link and Zelda staring after him in confusion.

Finally, Link said, “Let’s get some sleep, Princess. I have a feeling that it’s going to be a very long five days.”