Chapter 3 - The Evil Begins

  Link and Saria sat on Link’s treehouse "balcony", looking up at the star-filled sky. Link was so glad she was back; things could get so boring around here. There was no one to talk to. He sighed heavily.

  "This is a great thing you’re doing for Dorian," Saria said.

  "Well thanks, but I don’t see why the Deku Tree is so worried about him," Link replied. "He seems like just a normal Kokiri. Why he’s no smaller than those twins and-"

  Saria looked frightened as Link said that. "What? What’s wrong?" Link asked worriedly. "And what happened when you went inside the Deku Tree? You looked terrified when you came out of there."

  Saria swallowed hard. "Oh Link it was nothing, it was just," she paused. "Its so hard to explain, it was kind of, like, this feeling inside, trying to tell me something about him. And it seemed so important."

  "But he’s just a Kokiri!" Link cried, exasperated. "Why is he so important? You and Navi and the Deku Tree, all act so weird about him!"

  "Link, it’s not like that. It’s just&ldots;" Saria trailed off.

  Link calmed down a bit. "I know. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just so used to being the center of attention," he smiled.

  "You wish, Mr. Hero of Time!" Saria teased. Link laughed. He wished Saria didn’t have to go back to the Sacred Realm.

  "Well I’d better get some sleep," Saria said yawning.

  "Right. Me too," Link said. Saria climbed down the stairs. Link stood up and waved good-bye to her as she walked into her old house next door.

  "So, let me get this straight," Darunia said. "He is doing this?"

  "Well not exactly, in Rauru’s case," Zelda replied. "Old age played a part as well. But for the rest of us it might be different. Mostly it was his doing."

  "I can’t believe this!" Nabooru said. "I thought that Link kid took care of that guy four years ago!"

  Zelda sighed at the mention of his name. She felt absolutely horrible about that incident. If only she hadn’t been so foolish as to think two 10 year olds could rid the world of such a strong evil.

  But if you hadn’t, she thought, he would probably be in control now, you never would have even met Link, and your father would be dead.

  Well he might as well be, she thought. She only got to leave this realm once or twice a year. She hardly ever got to see her father at all. She missed him terribly.

  Not that the Realm was a bad place to be. It was beautiful and perfect. Sickeningly perfect. From her spot at the Sages’ round gathering table, she surveyed her surroundings. To her right was Nabooru, Sage of Spirit. She was a Gerudo and a former thief. It was kind of strange how such a formerly devious and reckless person could become a Sage. But that was fate, she supposed.

  Next to her was Impa, Sage of Shadow and Zelda’s former nursemaid. Having the Sheikah woman here made Zelda feel a little better, as Impa was almost like a mother to her.

  Next to Impa was the Water Sage, Ruto. Like Zelda herself, Ruto was a princess: princess of the aquatic Zoras and daughter of King Zora, a long-time ally of Zelda’s father, the king of all Hyrule.

  Beside Ruto sat Darunia, Sage of Fire. He was king of the Gorons on Death Mountain. He had taken such a liking to the Hero of Time that he had named his own son after him.

  Next came two empty spots, the first being for Saria, Sage of the Forest. She would be back soon, though; she had gone to assist with the Kokirian Naming Ceremony. It sounded like an important job. Zelda would have given anything to go, just to leave this place and see&ldots;

  Well, it didn’t matter. Zelda’s gaze fell on the seat to her left. It was empty. That had been Rauru’s place; the Sage of Light was gone. But for how long? They had been weak before; they were all new Sages except him. What would become of them now? They needed seven to be strong.

  Zelda felt a tear trickle down her right cheek as she thought of Rauru. She quickly wiped it away. Zelda you don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself, she scolded herself. You have much more important things to worry about.

  "So you’re saying," she heard Darunia say, "that he has gotten stronger?"

  "Well yes," Impa said. "That was the story from Rauru. Right Zelda?"

  "Well, sort of," Zelda said. "You see, he is becoming very, well, angry for some reason. Even Rauru wasn’t exactly sure why, but anyway he is trying to escape. His rage has apparently increased his magic abilities. Unless there is some other way&ldots;"

  "But that is impossible!" Darunia cried. "He has been locked up in there for four full years now! He is alone in there as well. What could possibly be increasing his magic abilities???"

  "Well what if he created like, I don’t know, some spell or something, like before he was banished, and is only now activating it?" Ruto offered. "Like, if he had a magical, oh I don’t know, a necklace or something, that could unleash the power when we least expected it?"

  Impa chuckled at that. Ruto had a very overactive imagination. "That is highly unlikely," she said.

  "Well not necessarily," Nabooru interjected. "I knew this guy better than any of you. And if you ask me, there is no telling what he might try to pull, or what he’s capable of!"

  "His power comes from the Triforce piece he has," Zelda said. "Without it his powers would surely be greatly lessened, if not nonexistent."

  "So why is he coming after us now?" Darunia shouted. "What have we done to him? He is lucky we let him live!"

  "Well, perhaps he feels his power is being threatened?" Impa said thoughtfully.

  Link rose early the next morning. He quickly got dressed and left his house to see if he could talk to the Deku Tree before Saria had to leave. A voice in his head told him to grab a sword for some reason. He had no idea why, but he decided to trust his instinct. He started walking across the forest toward the Deku Tree’s meadow. Suddenly a sharp sound caught his ear. He paused to listen. It sounded like someone was screaming- and it was coming from the Deku Tree’s meadow.

  He broke into a run and jetted across the forest toward the meadow. Suddenly a voice in his head stopped him in his tracks.

  Link, Link! It’s me, Saria. She was trying to communicate with him. Link, can you hear me?

  Yes Saria, what’s wrong? Link winced. His telepathic abilities weren’t too great.

  Link something is not right here. The Deku Tree looks awful and there are, skeletons Link, they are everywhere, all around the meadow. I think it is, oh Link it can’t be!

  What what? he asked worriedly. What’s wrong?

  Just hurry Link. I am here in the meadow. Please just hurry!

  Link ran faster than he ever had in his life. Finally after what seemed like ages he reached the meadow. Saria had been right; there were huge skeletons with swords everywhere. One seemed to be in charge of the outfit, as his sword was larger and more decorated and the others seemed to be watching him. Stalfos? Link wondered. But they disappeared with-

  Link was snapped to attention when a Stalfos came charging at him. Thank the gods he had picked up his sword! He slashed at the oncoming Stalfos and cut him right across the middle. The top half of his body came crashing down to the ground, bones scattering everywhere.

  "All right," Link challenged, "which one of you punks is next?" The Stalfos looked at their leader questioningly. He snapped his bony fingers and all the Stalfos disappeared.

  Link looked around in surprise. "What the&ldots;"

  "Oh Link! Thank you!" Saria cried, running out from behind the Deku Tree.

  "Saria are you OK?" Link asked with true concern.

  "Oh I’m fine Link, but I was so scared, I&ldots;"

  "Don’t worry, they won’t be back for a long time," Link said proudly.

  "I wouldn’t be too sure of that," the Deku Tree said.

  "Oh Deku Tree are you OK?" Link asked, feeling embarrassed that he had forgotten about the Deku Tree.

  "I am fine, Link, but I am afraid they will return. They fortunately did not find what they were looking for," the Tree replied.

  "What did they want?" Link asked. "How did they get here? I thought they were all killed when Gan-"

  "Don’t worry Link," the Deku Tree reassured him. "We are all safe here, for now. The protective magic surrounding the forest is too strong for them to penetrate."

  "Well, do you know why they were here? What did they want? Who sent them?" Link was getting impatient.

  "You are babbling again boy," the Deku Tree cautioned. "That is not a good habit for you to get into."

  "Sorry," Link apologized. "It’s just so, strange. What would they want here in the forest?"

  "Don’t trouble yourself with it," the Deku Tree said. "For now at least, we will all be fine. I think that now you might want to say good-bye to Saria."

  Link turned to Saria. "You’re leaving so early?"

  Saria nodded. "I have already stayed too long. I have to get back. I’ll miss you Link."

  "I hope you get to come back soon," he said.

  "Link, just remember," she said solemnly, "remember not to loose your patience. It is very important that you stay calm."

  Link was puzzled by this, but he figured Saia knew what she was talking about. "OK, whatever you say," he reasurred her.

  "Thank you Link. Good-bye. Good-bye Deku Tree."

  The Deku Tree smiled a little. "Good-bye little one," he said. "Please come back soon."

  "I will. Good-bye," she said as the blue light carried her away.

  Link took his time in trudging back to his treehouse. He was already missing Saria terribly. He decided he would go visit Malon the next day. Talking to her would make him feel a little better.

  He climbed up the ladder and slowly tiptoed inside, remembering that Dorian was still asleep. Navi’s brilliant idea that Dorian should live with Link had sounded like a wonderful plan to the Deku Tree, but it hadn’t settled too well with Link. But at least he’d gotten something out of the deal; the Deku Tree had hired the carpenters from Kakariko Village to make an addition to the treehouse. The second story was mostly Dorian’s, but it did make the house look, well, a little, cooler, at least.

  Link sat down on his bed and pulled out his sword. He looked at it intently. It was a nice sword, a gift from the Goron king, Darunia, through his son, Prince Link. The handle was gold, studded with striking Death Mountain rubies. It was a beautiful sword, but Link really missed the Master Sword. Yeah, that and everything else locked up in that Realm. Link sighed and grabbed a cloth to polish the blade. He was concentrating so hard that he didn’t see Dorian stumble sleepily down the stairs, and he jumped with a start when he heard an earth-shattering scream.

  Link looked about, searching for the source of the terrible noise, only to find Dorian curled up in a ball at the foot of the stairs, white as a sheet and sucking his thumb. Link slowly approached the small Kokiri.

  "Hey, don’t worry," he said soothingly as he crouched down next to Dorian. "What’s wrong?"

  Dorian looked up at Link with his icy blue eyes. Link shuttered. "Y- y- you were g- gonna hurt me," the boy sniffled.

  Link looked over at the sword he realized was still in his hand. He slowly put the sword down in a gesture of peace. For the love of Nayru, Link thought. He’s scared of me!

  "Hey don’t worry Dorian. I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m here to help you out, just like Navi, remember?" Link tried to reassure him.

  "But, but," the boy stuttered, "it was just like when-" he suddenly stopped himself.

  "When what Dorian? What are you talking about?" Link asked, thoroughly exasperated and confused.

  Dorian slowly stood up. "Excuse me Mr. Link," he said quite calmly before he turned and bolted up the stairs.

  Link watched him go, completely dumbfounded. He sat down on the stairs and sighed heavily. He was already beginning to understand what Saria had meant about patience.

  The boy slowly climbed the stone wall, wondering what was on the other side. Very carefully, so as not to make a sound, he crept to the top, silently cursing his eye patch. It itched like crazy, but it was necessary. Without it he would surely be recognized, if he got caught.

  Finally he reached the top. He hoisted himself up and crouched on the top of the wall. Looking around, he could tell where he was. He spied a girl with long red hair standing in the middle of the field and- was she- singing? Yes, her voice was absolutely beautiful. It was really too bad, what he would have to do. Well you gotta live somehow, he thought. He took one last glance at the girl before jumping back over the wall.

  Zelda sank down onto her bed, which was, well, floating, in the Sacred Realm, in the Castle of Sages. Each sage had their own wing, forest wing, fire wing, and so forth. Zelda’s was the largest, the main wing, and in her personal opinion, the most beautiful. It had been rather peaceful in Hyrule until recently, with Ganon gone. She had had to find something to keep her occupied, so she had developed a decorating fetish. Unlike the other sages, each sticking to the designs of their own people, Zelda had a little of everything: blue Zora’s fire lit the main hall’s lamps, casting an eerie glow on the Sheikah rug with beautiful intricate designs. Her bed was made of Deku wood, with four posts and a canopy; her sheets and blankets were woven of wool from Gerudo-raised sheep. The painting on her wall was a gift from her father, the Triforce on a beautiful indigo background. But her favorite room was the library. The shelves were lined with rows and rows of ancient Hylian books of legend and prophecy, as well as some modern tales. She could spend hours there and be fully content.

  But today, despite her luxurious surroundings, she just couldn’t seem to get comfortable.

  Something was bothering her, but she just couldn’t put her finger on it. It was like something was just, wrong.

  "I wonder if Saria is back yet," she thought out loud, and headed to the forest wing to pay her a visit.

  Zelda walked briskly down the hall, admiring the paintings on the walls as she went. Each depicted a deceased Sage, and they were done in the same odd style as the one in her own room. She liked to look at the pictures and wonder what great things the Sages had done in their lifetimes. Someday I’ll be up there, she thought to herself. She sighed. I wonder if anyone will ever think I did great things.

  Suddenly, Zelda’s thoughts were interrupted by an ear-piercing shriek from the direction of the forest wing.

  Zelda quickened her steps to a run, and spied the turn to the forest wing just ahead. She sped around the corner and ran smack into a Stalfos. The impact sent her flying back.

  The Stalfos spun around. "Well, well, what have we here?" he said in a hoarse voice that made Zelda cringe. Looking around she saw that there were three other Stalfos in the room, and one was holding Saria up by her collar.

  Zelda jumped to her feet, a little dizzy. "I am Zelda, princess of Hyrule, and I demand that you let her go!" she commanded.

  "Ahh, the princess!" the Stalfos said. He bowed low, mockingly. "My lady, I am very honored to make your acquaintance. May I introduce myself? I am Flarnon, Stalfos captain, and these are my fellow minions."

  "Flarnon? What kind of name is that?" Zelda asked, hands on hips.

  "Don’t try to intimidate me, girlie," Flarnon said. "I don’t want no trouble from ya. We’re just here on a little business."

  "What kind of business?" Zelda asked cautiously.

  Flarnon smiled. "We’re just lookin for the Sage of Light."

  "There is no Sage of Light. He’s dead and no one has taken his place yet," Zelda retorted smugly.

  "Oh, but that is where you are wrong, girlie," Flarnon said even more smugly. "According to the Master, there is a Sage of Light, and this little girl," he pointed to Saria, "knows just where that Sage is."

  "I don’t know anything!" Saria shouted. "Just let me go!" The Stalfos tightened his grip on her collar.

  "Master? Who is your master?" Zelda asked, not really sure she wanted to know.

  "Why none other than his majesty, the Gerudo king," Flarnon smiled.

  "Ganon is gone!" Zelda cried. "I locked him up myself! Hey how did you get into this Realm anyway?!"

  Flarnon lowered his head to Zelda’s level. "Ganon is gone, Ganondorf is not," he whispered.

  Zelda’s eyes grew huge. "NO!" she screamed angrily. "You are wrong!"

  Flarnon grinned evily. "We have only one more thing to take care of here. Sleep well princess." With that Flarnon pulled out a small pouch and threw its contents on Zelda. She heard a high-pitched scream and then it all went black.

  Navi sighed. "Oh Deku Tree, are we ever going to be able to pull this off?" she whined.

  "Oh my dear," the Deku Tree consoled. "It will all be fine. We still have a little time."

  "I mean, we had a hard enough time with one, but two? I don’t think I can take it."

  "Child do not worry," the Deku Tree said. "But perhaps you are right, maybe Link should know. He could be help."

  "He already is helping, " Navi said. "And the girls in the shop seem to understand, they are helping as well."

  "But Link has much more to do then just baby-sit, dear. Have I not told you of his fate?" the Deku Tree asked, alarmed. He was becoming very forgetful these days.

  "Yes Deku Tree, you have, and I understand," Navi reassured him. "But I worry. They can’t do it alone, surely."

  "They will not be alone," the Deku Tree said. "You will go, and there is another."

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