-Hyrule Field; Madeline's POV-

The first thing I felt when I came to was the splitting headache as I bumped against Omaha's back. I groaned and held my head in my palms. Link, who was apparently driving, turned his head briefly to glance at me. "Headache?" he guessed.

I groaned again in reply. "Just get me back to my home."

"Where's that?" he asked.

"Near the temple. Omaha knows the way." I lifted my head for a second and patted my horse's side. "Lead us home," I whispered to him.

I held on to Link's waist as Ohama excitedly burst towards the entrance. Branches brushed and hit Link in the face, whipping his cap off onto my head and littering his hair with twigs and leaves.

I laughed as Link dismounted the horse and shook his head vigorously to rid his hair of the leaves. I felt another sharp pain in my head, and I kneeled down, quickly remembering what had happened back at the temple. Feverfew, I thought. I felt the soft herb growing under my hand and hungrily stuffed it into my mouth. Well, at least I know the headache was real, I joked as the pain in my head ebbed.

"So," Link breathed, clearly not noticing the sudden appearance of the feverfew. "Where is this home of yours?"

"Let me show you," I said drily. I pushed past him and hoisted myself onto the vines. "Come on," I beckoned when I had lifted myself off the ground.

I swung my leg over and pushed myself up. Link did the same, and couldn't hold back a surprised, "Whoa."

I smiled. "Do I know."

I never really noticed the beauty of my forest home until now. I guess I acted the same as Link did when I first laid eyes on it. Of course, it had taken a bit of TLC, but it was up and alive in no time. "I've spent years in this forest, learning all I could about plants that grow here."

"Who taught you?" Link asked.

"Eavesdropping," I replied.

Link shifted. "The Kokiri?"

"Yep." I saw his face and blushed. "Well, it wasn't purposely, but..." I trailed off.

Link was wearing a green tunic and a long knit cap. Old news, right? Wrong. That was the same thing the Kokiri wore. I remembered the line from the prophecy.

In the place where time was found,

The Eye of Silver lies unbound

There shall she meet the forgotten hero

Where they join, the two as zero.

"Um, Link?" I inquired. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"What? Uh, uh - no..." he stammered.

I squinted my eyes. "There's something else, isn't there. About the prophecy."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do. Why aren't you telling me?"

Link lowered his gaze and stared at his shoes.

I sighed. Why isn't he telling me? I fiddled with a vine of flowers on one of the rocks.

"Apparently, there's something you aren't telling me, either."

I looked at the vine. Lilac flowers were popping out of the leaves. I dropped my hand. "I'll tell you if you tell me."

"Fair enough."

After explaining briefly about why I lived in the forest and my experience in the dream world when he touched the sword (I left out the part where I had that murderous feeling), he took in a deep breath and told me a story.

"In the land of Hyrule there echoes a legend. A legend held dearly by the Royal Family that tells of a boy...

"Some time ago, before the King of Hyrule unified this country, there was a fierce war in this world. One day, to escape the fires of this war, a Hylian mother and her baby boy entered this forbidden forest. The mother was gravely injured. Her only choice was to entrust the child to the Deku Tree, the guardian spirit of the forest. The Deku Tree could sense this was a child of destiny, whose fate would affect the entire world, so he took the boy into the forest. After the mother died, the baby was raised as a Kokiri. And now, finally, the day of destiny has come...

"'In the vast, deep forest of Hyrule, long have I served as the guardian spirit...I am known as the Deku Tree. The children of the forest, the Kokiri, live here with me. Each Kokiri has his or her own guardian fairy. However, there is one boy who does not have a fairy...

"'Oh, Navi the fairy...dost thou sense it? The climate of evil descending upon this realm. Malevolent forces even now are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule. For so long the Kokiri Forest, the source of life, has stood as a barrier, deterring outsiders and maintaining the order of the world. But before this tremendous evil power, even my power is as nothing. It seems the time has come for the boy without a fairy to begin his journey... The youth whose destiny it is to lead Hyrule to the path of justice and truth...'

"This youth, done with the battles he had waged across time, crept away from the land that had made him a legend. He embarked on a journey. A secret and personal journey. A journey in search of a beloved and invaluable friend. A friend with whom he had parted ways when he finally fulfilled his heroic destiny and took his place among legends..."

Link looked up at me. "I am the forgotten hero. I went looking for that fairy that helped me on my journey."

I shifted, feeling uncomfortable. If Link succeeded, I thought, then Navi must have completed her destiny as well. And we all know what happens to fairies that complete their destiny... I decided to stay silent. We called it a day and went to sleep.

.

The next day when we woke up, it was my eighteenth birthday. We celebrated with sweet pastries and milk. We both knew that this meant that the forest would be saved.

"So," Link started, putting down his bowl. "What's the next part of the prophecy?"

I thought for a minute. "Then a third shall come amidst, and each of the Three becomes transfixed," I quoted.

"Oh," Link faltered. "Lovely." I agreed silently. "Well, I don't know about you," he continued, rising from his seat, "but I think we should see the Great Deku Tree."

"The tree that raised you as a Kokiri?" I asked.

"Yep," Link confirmed. "But first we need to finish a little business at the temple."

I was confused, but didn't question him. We left for the temple after sunset, remembering the prophecy's threatening words. The door was left wide open, and an eerie green light glowed from inside, and a soft groan rose from under the ground. "Are you sure this is a good-"

Link clasped his hand over my mouth. I watched as he slowly crept toward the temple. I followed him hesitantly from behind.

A chest sat in the middle of the main room. The torches had disappeared and a misty fog surrounded the outer walls so the temple looked bare. "Should we open it?" I whispered. By the time I finished the sentence, Link already had his hands on the chest. He stood up and held an extra shield in his hand. "Great," he grunted sarcastically.

A rumble rose from under our feet. It stopped suddenly and a giant deku scrub popped out from the ground. "Of all the bosses..." Link mumbled. "Here," he said, tossing the shield to me.

Why was this the great boss of the temple? I thought as we held up our shields. Nuts bumped up against the surface and were projected back at the scrub with a high-pitched squeak. After a few more hits, the scrub let out one last squeak and collapsed, fire eating at the body and fading into the mist.

The shield in my hand disappeared, and a tall, troll-like green man in a red cape appeared where the deku scrub had died. "Ganondorf," Link growled.

"Fool!" Ganondorf roared. "That's Lord Ganondorf to you! And I would have been King, no thanks to you!" He thrust his hand out and Link flew backwards.

"And you," he hissed, glaring at me. He rushed at me, clutching my neck and raising me above the ground. I clawed at his fingers as they closed around me and screamed as the right side of my neck burned and steam came out around Ganondorf's fingers. He yelled and dropped me on the ground, hard. I coughed and felt the area that had burned. I jerked my fingers back and felt a power growing inside me. My arms flew to the sky and my head jerked back as a green light burst from inside of me. Ganondorf yelled again as he was thrown back into the wall.

Ganon walked slowly to the center. "Heh heh heh..." he laughed. "Very good, Eye of Silver..." He coughed and golden sparks fell out of his throat. "But you'll need more strength than that if you are to survive this adventure." He yelled loudly once more and curled himself into a ball as he was lifted off the ground and burst into a shower of sparks.

The fog evaporated and the torches faded back into view. A blue portal materialized in the middle where the chest used to be. Link walked up to it and gestured me forward. We stepped in the circle and we were lifted up into the sky.

.

The blue light deposited us in front of a small, fat tree sprout. This is the Great Deku Tree? I thought.

The ground began to shake again. The tree sprout bounced up and down. Link's pupils grew and he pulled me away from the sprout. "Move!" he commanded.

When we turned around, the small sprout was not there. In its place was a grand tree with long branches that reached for the stars...and a mustache. "Link..." it spoke. "Thou hast returned...with the Eye of Silver...I thank you for awakening me!"

"The Great Deku Tree!" Link exclaimed. "You're alive again!"

"Yes, Link..." the tree answered. "Thanks to you and the Eye of Silver, the evil that had once lurked in the forest has been driven from the temple, and I have awoken as a grand tree once more."

Link bowed his head. "I know what you seek..." the Deku Tree continued. "And you shall not find your answer here in the forest..."

"Where should we search?" Link inquired.

"To continue your quest...awaken the remaining spirits...one in the surrounding sand, one in the trapping ice, one in the blazing fire, one in the crashing waters, one in the slumbering shadows, and the last in the shining stars. Go there...awaken the remaining spirits..."

"But what about the third hero?" I chimed.

"The Third shall come...in their own time..." the tree answered. "I cannot aid you in your quest...but I leave you these...please take them, Link..." When the Deku Tree finished speaking, a smooth, wooden bow and quiver filled with arrows - either plain, fiery, or tipped with ice, a brown bag full of explosives, a violet-blue weapon with a hook at the end, a red mirrored shield with a moon and star symbol, and golden gauntlets appeared in the air and floated down towards Link.

"Thank you." Link grinned and packed the items onto his belt or into his pouch and pockets.

"And to you...Eye of Silver...I leave you items from the distant past...they are sure to help you in your quest..." A pink hand mirror with an eye in the center...bunny slippers...and a bottle filled with a sparkling green potion appeared and floated down towards me. "Link...you must recognize two of these items...but the potion, Eye of Silver...must wait...for its own time..." I packed the items and nodded to the tree, unsure of what to say.

"Now, go, Link! The fate of Hyrule...rests in your hands..."

Link and I set off for the Gerudo's Fortress as soon as we could. "We'll have to be careful," Link yelled over the wind. "The Gerudo aren't exactly friendly towards outsiders."

I smirked. "I know someone. But we'll have to wait around until noon." I paused. "Unless you have a song that will magically take us to where we want to be," I added.

Link shook his head. "No. The song only works when someone teaches it to you. One of the sages taught me the song to the Temple of Time when I returned."

Link wasn't too happy about waiting around so close to Gerudo territory. I told him to stay near the smaller bridge with the horses. I should have listened when he suggested we just go alone.

Emma walked down to the bridge at the time we agreed. "Finally someone arrives on time," she pronounced.

"And I don't see you carrying a load of supplies from one end of Hyrule to the other," I snapped.

"Chill, I was only relieved."

"Why?" I queried.

"Because-"

She was interrupted when a guard in a purple outfit leaped over her head and landed in front of me, slashing her swords at me and cutting my arm. I was thrown backward and landed flat n my back, clutching the deep cut on my arm. The woman laughed. "Hey, Calandra! Bring the other one!"

The Gerudo, clearly Calandra, joined my attacker, dragging a bound Link. "Should I tie her up, Nahia?"

"What do you think?" Nahia mocked. She put her foot on Link's chest when Calandra threw him down. I was tied up with Link, and the next thing I knew we were dragged into the secret fortress of the Gerudo.

.

"Hey, Madeline! Madeline, wake up!"

I began to stir. I cracked my eyes open to see a blurry image of a woman's face. "Wake up!" she hissed again.

I bumped my head on a stone and jerked my eyes open. The woman wore a white shirt with gold borderlines and puffy pants. Emma, I realized.

My friend took out a knife and began to saw off the bonds around my hands and feet. "Finally," she whispered. "Do you realize how long I've been waiting here trying to get your attention?"

The rope binding my wrists broke free and I rubbed the side of my head. "Link," I whispered. The green man was leaning on my right shoulder. "Link?" I poked him. He snorted, then went limp on my shoulder again. "Link!" I whisper-shouted. Nothing.

I shook my head and sighed, gazing up at the ceiling. Has he always been this deep of a sleeper? "Link!" I hissed, punching his shoulder.

Link snorted again and rubbed his eyes. "Wow, Link," I said ironically. "Just, wow."

Emma undid his bonds and sheathed her knife. "Come on, then. Don't want to be in here forever, now do we?"

"How do we get out?" Link asked. We both stood up and stretched out our backs.

"Easy," Emma replied. "I'm sure you have something in that pouch of yours to latch onto that window up there. I'll meet you outside." With that, Emma stepped back and chucked a Deku Nut out in front of her. Link and I shielded our eyes. Once we looked up, the Gerudo was gone.

I glanced at the window at the top of the holding cell. Moonlight shone in from the outside. "Well, now that was a stupid question Link," Link scolded himself.

"Why?" I inquired.

"Been here before. Before the Spirit Temple. I was caught riding into the fortress on Epona."

"Well, how'd you get out? And how did you even make it to the temple, I thought it was behind a gate?"

"I fought a few of the prison guards to save a few carpenters and the last guard gave me a membership card. I had no reason to come back after Termina, so I never did. As for your first question..." He pulled out the small object with a hook at the tip tat the Deku Tree had gave him and held his hand out to me. "Ready?"

I gave him my hand gingerly. "Yes..."

He pulled me close to him. "Then hold on." He pointed the item at the boarded roof of the window and shot the hook towards it. I yelped as we were jerked up to the ledge.

He set me down, but kept hold of my hand. I gasped and held my left hand to my chest. "What was that?"

"Longshot," Link answered. "On three," he breathed, looking downward. He looked up at me. "One-"

"What?"

"Two-"

I shut my eyes.

"Three!"

We leaped off the ledge and landed sharply on the ground. I swallowed back a scream as I hit the ground. I slowly flexed my legs. Only shock, I reassured myself. Nothing broken.

"So where are the guards?" I asked.

"In the prisons. Or training. They only wander the fields this late at night when the gate on the bridge is gone," he replied.

"Having fun?" Emma said teasingly. "So," she began, "I know you weren't here to deliver the goods. You're never early, much less at the bridge before I am. You do know that's why they captured you, right? They assumed that you'd been spying."

"Why am I not surprised?" I mumbled.

"What do you need?" she concluded.

"We need to go to the Spirit Temple. There's a boss there that we need to fight," Link answered.

She nodded slowly. "If you're going there, then I'm coming with you."

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

"Can you realize how much trouble I'll be in if they ever find out that I helped you escape?" she scoffed. "And trust me, you don't want to know what they do to prisoners, especially you, forest boy."

"Don't they kill us?" Link asked.

Emma shook her head. "Worse. But let's not talk about that." She shivered. "Well, come on then, I know a secret way into the temple.