Time Cannot Erase

When you need a friend, don't look to a stranger,
You know in the end, I'll always be there.
But when you're in doubt, and when you're in danger,
Take a look all around, and I'll be there.
And if I had to walk the world, I'd make you fall for me,
I promise you, I promise you I will.

I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say.
I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be.
But if you'll wait around awhile, I'll make you fall for me,
I promise you, I promise you I will.
~When in Rome "The Promise

Chapter 3
Someday A Legend

"So there I was, hanging on to Epona, dragging on the ground beside her. Finally, I had to let go. The Skull Kid escaped with the Ocarina and Epona, but I followed him. I cornered him, but I wasn't ready for what came next. He cursed me and turned me into a Deku Scrub."

"He turned you into a what?" Zelda gasped.

"A scrub," Link smiled at the look of shock on Zelda's face. "He left me alone in a dark cave. His fairy, Tatl, got left behind with me, and together we found our way out- but it was strange. It was like stepping into another world. The next thing I knew I was in a dank clock tower and the Happy Mask Shopkeeper was there. He told me if I would help him get back a mask the Skull Kid had stolen from him, he would return me to my true form- that is, if I could get the Ocarina of Time back too. He also told me that Termina, the land I had entered, was in trouble. In three days time the Moon would crash into Termina, destroying it and all of its people. I had only 3 days to save the world from destruction, and I was stuck as a Deku Scrub!

"I met the Skull Kid once more, but in my weak form, all I could do was shoot the Ocarina out of his hands and use it to go back in time to the moment I had entered Termina. Using the Ocarina, the Happy Mask Man healed me and returned me to my real body. I couldn't leave, though. The people of Termina nedded help, and I couldn't leave them in danger."

"So, what did you do?" Zelda asked, her eyes wide and enchanted.

Link began a fantastic story of his adventures in Termina. Zelda was enthralled. Link had left the day after they had returned from the Sacred Realm. So she had not seen Link in over a month. He had just returned from his latest adventure and she was anxious to hear about all he had been up to.

He spoke of using the Ocarina to repeat the same three days. He told of using his new ability to transform into a Scrub to his advantage as he found his way through a cursed temple and battled with a strange creature called Odolwa. As he spoke he reenacted the battle, jumping to and fro on the grass, swinging his sword emphatically. The longer Link talked, the more spellbound Zelda became, and the more animated Link's oration become.

"The moon was crashing down upon us!" Link was standing up, Zelda sitting in the grass hugging her knees and peering up at him. "There was no time left- no time at all. I had defeated all four temples and awakened all four of the guardians. There was only one thing left to do: I met the Skull Kid, face to face, once more. I used the Ocarina to summon the four giants. The moon was growing closer and closer- but the giants appeared and held the moon up- keeping it from falling," Link enacted the giants' struggle, putting his hands in the air, cringing under the imaginary weight of the falling moon.

"So they stopped the Skull Kid?" Zelda asked.

"I thought they would. I thought it was over- but then the mask that the Skull Kid was wearing, Majora's Mask, came alive. It referred to the Skull Kid as its puppet. The Mask was the true enemy all along! It dropped the Skull Kid's body to the ground and then the mask actually went inside the moon- to make sure the moon destroyed Termina. So, I followed him."

Link was immensely pleased by the look of silent captivation on Zelda's face.

He carefully detailed his "playtime" with the four mysterious children, and his acquisition of the Fierce Deity Mask. He took great care in his description of his final battle with evil, performing every motion of the fight, not letting any detail go. She was the perfect audience, gasping at all the right times, looking worried when Link told of the dangers he faced, and sharing his joy as he told of his ultimate victory.

"Once I knew Termina was safe I returned home," Link, his story finished, stood still now, waiting for Zelda's reaction.

"Amazing," Zelda exclaimed. "Link, you always manage to find the most wonderful adventures," she looked at him longingly. Link was beaming. He flopped down on the grass beside her.

"Well, Termina was a pretty cool place. They have mountains there, much taller than Death Mountain even, covered in snow. And the ocean! Have you ever seen the ocean, Zelda?"

"I've never left Hyrule," Zelda replied. "Father has never taken me on his trips to different lands," She said longingly. "What is it like?"

"Amazing," Link replied thoughtfully. "Bigger than anything you could ever imagine. It seemed to go on forever..."

"I would love to see the ocean someday," Zelda replied.

"Even then, I couldn't wait to come home. Termina was great, but it is no Hyrule," Link mused. "It is strange though…" Link trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Zelda prompted.

"Well, do you promise not to laugh?" Link asked cautiously.

"Of course."

"I think that Termina is, how can I put this, not just a different land than Hyrule. It is a different world. A different dimension: a mirror world of Hyrule. There were so many strange similarities. People I know from Hyrule were there, but it wasn't them, if you understand me."

Zelda looked at him, puzzled.

"Malon was there," Link explained. "I've told you about Malon. She was in Termina, but she wasn't Malon. Kume and Kotake were there, but they weren't Kume and Kotake. It looked like them, but it wasn't them…" Link cut off, afraid he wasn't making any sense.

"So, this Princess you saved…." Zelda asked. If Link didn't know better, he would have sworn she sounded jealous. "Was she me?"

"No!" Link pulled a face. "She was a Deku princess. She wasn't nearly as pretty as you." Zelda smiled, and Link blushed furiously and the two fell into an awkward silence.

"So," Zelda began after a moment, "Did you find her?"

Link's face fell. "Yes."

"And…" she urged.

"I had been on my way to Kokiri Forest when the Skull Kid attacked me. When I returned from Termina I went strait to my village. Navi was there," his voice was strained and his eyes sorrowful. "She has a new Kokiri- a girl named Ashi. She's not my fairy anymore. She's forgotten me," he whispered.

"Forgotten you? How can that be?" Zelda asked in shock.

"I don't know," Link replied. "I tried to talk to her, and all she did was yell at me, telling me to leave Ashi alone. I tried to tell her she was my fairy and she hit me on the head and she and Ashi vanished. If she had just yelled at me that would have seemed normal, but she didn't recognize me at all. She didn't know who I was or what we did together."

"Link, I'm so sorry," Zelda said softly. "I just don't understand it, though."

"I've thought about it a lot," Link said. "I'm not a Kokiri. The Deku tree sent Navi to help me, but she was never truly my fairy. She couldn't be. Once our quest was over she knew she had to return to the forest and go to a true Kokiri.

"I understand all that, it's just the fact that she forgot me that is so upsetting. There are so few people left who know what we did for Hyrule. Now my best friend, the one who stood by my side through it all, has forgotten it."

"How?" Zelda asked in frustration. "How could she forget all that you went through? It doesn't seem possible."

"That's part of what bothers me about it," Link replied.

Zelda nodded sadly. This was disturbing news.

"I hope I don't forget," Link said quietly.

"How could you?" Zelda asked, but she looked concerned.

"If Navi could… what if we all forget?" Link had sincere worry in his eyes now.

Zelda didn't have an answer. A sudden dread overcame her, and she had no words of comfort. So they sat in silence, left with worries no one could dispel.

******************************

Link had stayed in Hyrule castle town for only few days. Though, under Zelda's orders, the guards were compelled to allow Link free access to the castle, Link did not like to draw attention to his presence there. He would sneak in and meet Zelda in the castle courtyard every afternoon. Though he hinted that he wouldn't be staying long he never told Zelda when he was leaving. Zelda had asked him where he planned to go and he replied that he wanted to visit the other Sages and check on their people. He wanted to visit the Deku Tree once more too.

Still, Zelda had been sure that he would say goodbye. So, like she had grown accustomed to, just after noon she went out into the courtyard and waited. The sun got lower and still she waited. The sky turned pink, then red, then purple and finally darkness fell. Impa found her late in the evening, dozing under the stars, leaning against a pillar, her body facing the entrance through which Link usually came through.

"Princess," Impa said as she shook Zelda's shoulder softly.

"Link," Zelda said as she woke up with a start.

"I don't think he's coming today," Impa replied.

"Oh," Zelda sighed.

"He must have left this morning."

"I suppose," Zelda replied downheartedly.

"You should come in, it's getting late."

Zelda nodded silently and followed Impa into the castle. Her head instinctively turned, gazing through the gate through which Link had not come.

"No matter," she thought. She had been thinking hard all day about Link's worries concerning Navi's forgetfulness, and she finally had come up with a solution. First thing in the morning she would start work on it. The thought of Link's expression when he would see it brightened her heart.

It ended up taking Zelda longer than she expected. It was an enormous undertaking: much more than she had anticipated. Link returned a month later, announcing his arrival with a stream of deku seeds flying from his slingshot to her bedroom window one morning. Zelda didn't tell him what she was up to, but she used his return to her advantage. She would casually ask him questions or bring up certain events, taking careful notes in her head all the while.

Then, one morning, Link was gone. Zelda's heart fell, but she got right back to work. When she was busy, it wasn't so hard to bear. The truth was she was lonely. She had never been allowed the opportunity to make many friends. She was seldom allowed out of the castle. Impa was the closest friend she had had before Link had come along. Now, though, much of her time was occupied with business in the Sacred Realm. Impa's absence and Link's constant departures left Zelda more starved for companionship than ever.

She would have given anything to go out into the town like a normal girl, but the townspeople always recognized her, and once recognized she was no longer Zelda, she was the Princess. It was impossible at that point to be treated with any sense of normalcy. Then there was the issue of her father. Though he never paid much attention to her whereabouts, unless he needed her for some reason, she knew he didn't like her leaving the castle. While he had never expressly forbidden it, she did not risk it too often. It seemed safer to not draw attention to it. If it never became an issue, she would be free to take the risk each time Link came back to town. It was a delicate situation which Zelda was trying desperately to keep in balance.

So she was stuck in the castle almost all of the time, with no one but her father. He allowed her to see him only if he wished it- and those times were never pleasant. He only summoned for her to complain to her, to give her an order or to ensure she was living by his rules. It was those times, after her father sent her out of his presence, with Impa gone and Link off on another adventure, that it hurt the most.

She always wondered what it would be like if her mother were alive. Surely she would not have treated her the way he did. She remembered her, a little at least. She had been gentle, always loving.

She never allowed herself to dwell on those sad thoughts. When they would come she would immediately go to work, immersing herself. Idleness never came easily to Zelda. When she was busy, she was happy. The more she worked the more good she could see coming from her toil. Just wait until Link would see it!

She consulted Impa whenever possible. Impa's memory was impeccable and she had been there for some things Zelda had not seen. She contacted Saria, Darunia, Ruto, and even Nabooru when possible.

In the end it took her over three years to complete it. She finished in the late summer of her thirteenth year. Link was gone once more, and Zelda could never remember being so excited to have him come back. He had been gone for 3 months, and each day was filled with anticipation for his return.

When she finally awoke to the sound of Link's slingshot she was out of bed in the blink of an eye. She met him in the courtyard with an enormous smile on her face and a large parcel covered in cloth under her arm.

Link greeted her enthusiastically. Zelda was shocked to see how much he had grown. He was much taller now, and his features not so round and childish. His chubby, youthful figure had stretched and thinned. He was much taller than her now and thin as a post. His legs were long, his arms were long and his face maturing. Now there was even a hint of muscle toning appearing on his legs and arms, but, if her memory served her right, he had a long way to go before he was the hero she remembered.

Link was stunned when he saw her. In those few months since he had last been with her she had changed so much. Her hair was getting longer, and she was wearing it down today. In her face the beauty and wisdom of the young lady he remembered from another life was slowly replacing her wide-eyed youthful countenance. The sight of her put butterflies in his stomach, and left him feeling confused.

"I have something for you!" Zelda said immediately as he approached her, without so much as a hello.

"What?" Link was visibly excited.

"Guess," Zelda giggled playfully.

"A new sword?" He tried.

"No." His face fell slightly.

"A new shield?"

"No."

He screwed up his face, thinking hard. "Some Deku nuts?

"No!" she exclaimed, scrunching her nose in mock disgust. She decided she couldn't wait any longer so she pulled the cloth off of the object in her arms and thrust it into his hands. "Here!" she exclaimed.

Link looked down and saw a book, bound in a leather cover with the symbol of the Triforce on the cover.

"What is it?" Link asked, looking up.

"Open it," Zelda was bursting with anticipation.

Link opened the cover and began to read. It was slow and laborious. Link had no where near the schooling that Zelda had. It took him a minute, but finally he understood.

"You wrote it all down," Link smiled. "All of it?"

"All of it," Zelda smiled. "Everything, from the moment you met Navi, all of your journeys, the last battle with Ganon and everything until we met after I sent you back.

"You said you were afraid of forgetting. Now you never will. Now everyone will know what you did."

"But, no one believes us," Link replied.

"No, not now, but someday they will. When this book passes down through time until you are a legend: everyone will believe. We just have to give them a chance. I couldn't sit by while people overlooked you and the sages and all you've done. You risked your life to save Hyrule. Our friends risked their lives to help you. Hyrule owes it to you to believe in what you did."

"Thank you," Link said sincerely, "but I didn't do it to become a legend."

"I know you didn't, but you deserve to be."

From somewhere nearby Zelda thought she heard the sound of footsteps. Link must have heard it too, for he turned his head toward the entrance to the courtyard, but there was no one there.

"Now, all it needs is a title," Zelda said after a moment of silence.

"I know!" Link laid the book down and, in his wobbly, ungainly hand, he wrote a title across the cover. "The Legend of Zelda and the Ocarina of Time," he proclaimed.

Zelda giggled, "But it's about you."

"But you wrote it, and I wouldn't be here without you."

"I think that's a wonderful title," like she so often did, Impa had appeared out of nowhere. Zelda, being used to it, simply smiled and greeted her, but Link nearly jumped out of his skin.

"I wish you wouldn't do that!" Link panted, catching his breath.

Impa just smiled slyly. "Zelda has worked very hard on that, Link. Take good care of it."

"I will," Link replied.

"I had one of the scribes make me a copy. Now we both have one."

"Thank you," Link said again, and he truly meant it.

"Link enacted the giants' struggle, putting his hands in the air, cringing under the imaginary weight of the falling moon."

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