Welcome

There are two things you'll notice right off the bat...

The first thing is…I deleted all the chapters – I intend to merge and re-arrange some things...It's bugged for a long time - so since I've re-written almost half of this - I may as well fix it up completely.

The second thing: It really is better...

Know that this is not 'High Fantasy' by any stretch of my over active imagination and you should keep in mind, there is an odd little time loop that affects the characters in this story. If you become lost between the time streams, don't feel bad. I am time loop is actually explained over several chapters and I don't expect you to see that without reading them all.

If this causes confusion, the author chick apologizes in advance, as she knows this is unavoidable.

You will also find this is an unusually long piece of fan fiction, but who knew time travel could be so complicated. But now that I’ve started it, I’ll just have to finish it. I hope you will too...

Please Note: this takes place about seven years after the end of The Wind Waker.

Serious Disclaimer --- As I intend to only say this once: I own none of the fine characters of the Legend of Zelda series of Games, Manga, toys ect, ect, ect. All are property of the fine folks at Nintendo or possibly some other mysterious entity of which I am not aware. I am not even sure I own the rest of this or how it gets into my head to begin with. (It just leaks out when I am not looking.)

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Nagori, Saimon and Senkyoku
by Achitka

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Ere winter's solstice
relations lost
remembered pain
Gone
the promise
of one day to return
journey into time's murky fold
condemned to hell by one command
darkness pierced with light
sent by true love's hand
shining above all
needs reflected
a life
completed
as times sage
will free the memory
bound by departed hope
to protect the future
rescue expectation
pass the test
of loss,
grief,
and sacrifice
returning to life
a thought
lost
by magic
bindings are broken
bringing back to light
one wish forgotten
to surrender
joy,
the gull and
speed the ravens flight
whispered once to kindle hope
from childlike hands
it is granted
as spoken
anon.

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Prologue: Link Who?

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Zelda wound down the path as she followed the sounds of the gentle melody that drew her even farther into the garden. The music was soft and tentative, as if the player was unsure of the next note. It lilted through the trees and made her ever more curious as to its source and as quietly as it began, it stopped and so did she.

The cool night breeze blew gently past her and she wished she'd grabbed her robe, a shawl, or something. She rubbed her arms to warm them and she looked around at where she ended up. Though she was sure she’d never been here in her life, she knew this place. Confused, she frowned and meandered further down the path.

"Hey!" a man's voice called out in disbelief behind her.

Startled she turned around to see who had spoken, but there was no one there, just the trees. Her nervousness heightened when from the other side she heard, "Is it really you?" the voice continued, "Are you there?"

There was a very audible sigh and the voice said, "Well, even if you are just a figment of my imagination, it's the best I've had in weeks." More silence.

Puzzled now, Zelda realized she knew that voice and there was something else about it...him, but her memory of it was clouded. It irritated her that she could not figure out why just the sound of it, made her feel intense anger. A familiar face popped into her head that she almost recognized. The answer was so tantalizingly close, she could see it, but she could not quite figure it out. Her frustration built and the garden that seemed so familiar to her before, began to close in around her.

She wanted to run, but the path that led her here was gone. Zelda squashed her panic and forced herself to stay put. As she fought the urge to dash into the woods, the melody began again. It jarred at her senses and sounded almost as disjointed as her fragmented memories. Even stranger, she now was able to put a name to that voice, Link, the music stopped. She looked around she did not realize she'd spoken aloud.

The Princess stood there at the base of the hill and looked at the trees. They looked like normal trees, but some part of her kept reminding her, those trees were not supposed to be there. Something was missing. This made no sense, of course there were trees in the forest...right? It was late and Zelda thought that maybe she should head back when the music started up again but this time it sounded note perfect. She closed her eyes when brilliant light surrounded her for a moment. When Zelda opened them, she was amazed. The scenery all around her had altered dramatically.

Night turned to day and the garden now held a small reflecting pond. Near its edge sat a young man wearing a style of clothing she'd only seen on the statue in the great hall of the castle. He played an ocarina, which resonated the sounds of quiet spring morning. He looked so carefree as he played, though he was quite dusty and had the look of someone who’d traveled a great distance. A sword and shield propped nearby within easy reach and it was in this moment Zelda realized, this must be Link.

The intense anger flared again and the Princess wondered why she’d this angry with this person she was quite sure she'd never met. She fought it down and watched him as he played. Oblivious to everything around him, he continued to play the poignant, sweet song that had drawn her out of her bed. Not inclined to go anywhere, Zelda listened for a while and enjoyed the beauty and warmth of the morning sun when there came from somewhere nearby, an answering refrain. Zelda scanned the trees around them for the source, but could not find one. It sounded as if it were coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. As the new music wove itself into the other, the harmonies intertwined with strange descant, which almost perfectly echoed the anger she first felt when she heard his voice.

Even now, her irritation for this person made no sense to her. Zelda was beginning to feel very annoyed, so much so, that she hadn't even noticed that the young man had stopped playing and the only music that could be heard now, came from the angry sounds of the harmony. Zelda looked toward him again and was a little startled as he stared directly at her. No movement at all; as if he expected her to turn into something unnatural. It left her more than a little unnerved.

"What are you staring at?" Zelda asked irritated.

As soon as she spoke, the harmony stopped. She tensed up as she looked around nervously, half-expecting something to jump out at her. The young man looked around warily as well, as if he anticipated the same, but when he looked back; she was greeted by a look of complete surprise. He shook his head a little, looked at her and smiled. Something in that expression made her heart skip a beat and she noted he looked at her with a familiarity that chased away what remained of the menace from his dark eyes.

"It's good to see you too, Tetra," he said and lay back.

Well, she thought, wherever you came from you certainly appear to be very relieved. He smiled with eyes closed drinking up the warm glow of the sun and without warning began to fade away.

"Sir?" Zelda felt an unusual moment of dread. "Excuse me?" she just could not shake the feeling she should not be here. "HEY!" she shouted, then in a calmer tone, "Umm... Link?" He solidified a bit. He wasn't just going to leave her here was he? "Hold on a second... "

He did not move or even open his eyes but replied, "Yeah?"

"Where am I?" she asked.

Link turned his head toward her and gave her an odd look for a moment, took a good look around and replied, "Where are we?" he mused. "Well that I don't actually know, but this place does seem familiar somehow. Like I've been here before...kinda weird really." He gave her that odd look again, "and to be perfectly honest, I don't really care it's probably all just a dream." He looked her up and down, cocked an eyebrow and added, "Nice dress by the way."

She took a quick look at her clothes and started. Her nightgown was gone, replaced by a light blue skirt and white linen blouse. Well that’s odd, she thought; still they were nothing unusual or even fancy. She was beginning to see why this Link person bothered her. As a Princess of the Royal family of Hyrule, Zelda was not accustomed to being chided about fashion by unkempt young men and said in sarcastic tone, "You're a fine one to talk about clothes. What's with that get up? Aren’t you a little old to be playing Hero of Time? I hope you don't go around Castletown in those clothes, you'll frighten the children."

Link, it appeared, was also completely unaware of his clothes. He gave the hat on his head a little tug, as came it off a tightly wrapped ponytail of sun bleached blonde hair fell out. His eyebrow shot up as he looked at the long green cap. A quirky half smile crept on to his face and he chuckled, "Well, what do you know about that?" he asked no one in particular and replaced the hat on his head. He sat up then and pulled out an old leather pack, where he’d kept it until now was a mystery, for she was sure it wasn't there before. Without another word began to rummage through it.

"Do you always ignore people when they speak to you?"

After a moment he said, "Depends on who it is."

"So, it's just me you're ignoring. Some hero you'll turn out to be."

"Well Princess, here's a secret; I never play at being a hero. In fact," he said as he reached deeper inside. "I've been avoiding that lately." He scowled and continued his search and said, "Let's face it, Tetra, if any of this were real, which by the way it's not. I wouldn't have that sword," he said with a gesture behind him. She looked at the sword and her eyes widened as she recognized the legendary blade of evil's bane. That was the Master Sword, only the Legendary Hero could pull that from the Pedestal of Time.

Zelda looked back at him and realized he did bear a remarkable resemblance to the statue of the Hero. The young man did not seem to notice her intense gaze and continued his search. All she knew was he shouldn't have that.

As he continued to sift, the memory of another time crept in. It showed her this man, when he was still a boy as he fought another man twice his size. She snapped back out of her thoughts when he said:

"The last time either of us saw that, it was happily stuck-"

"...in Ganondorf's head at the bottom of the ocean..." she finished for him. "Ocean?" Zelda blinked when she realized what she'd said.

The young man nodded and said, "Uh, yeah..." he paused and gave her another odd look. He shrugged and pulled at the green material of the tunic and said, "As for this? Well, I haven't a clue, but I know I haven't had clothes like these since I was twelve. Good fit though." He upended his pack on the grass and started to sift through an odd assortment of items.

"What are you looking for?" she hated being ignored.

"A box," he replied without looking up.

"Well, could you hurry it up?" He was really getting on her nerves. "I'm in a hurry and while you're at it, tell me why do you keep calling me Tetra. My name is Zelda."

"In a hurry now, to get where? Did you hit your head or something? You know your name isn't Zelda…Well, not in the real world anyway..." He shook his head and continued to sift through his pile. After a moment he frowned. "Crap," he said and absently poked at an errant item that rolled away from him. "Anyway, why am I arguing with you? You're the dread pirate remember? Exactly who you've chosen to be, and your name is Tetra."

That did it, now she really was mad. "Look, you arrogant...stupid...flaming little fairy boy! I know my own-" She covered her mouth, stunned at her language.

"Flaming?” he barked out a laugh. "There's a new one…nice Princess, but-" he stopped when he looked up and saw her look of utter confusion.

"My name is...It's...not Zelda?"

He raised and eyebrow and shook his head.

"You're sure?"

He nodded.

"I could have sworn..."

"You really aren't sure, are you…well there's a good sign." He said and ceased his search as he sat upright to face her. The Princess blinked and stared back at him. "You know, I hate to say I told you so, but boy, you really need a holiday. I think maybe you should sit down for a minute and get your bearings."

The Princess rubbed her temples in a effort to figure out what was going on. Thoughts spun wildly around in her head, how could she have forgotten her name? A look of genuine worry crossed his face and even though she felt she was on the verge of throwing a rock, she was even further irritated that she felt comforted by his presence.

“AUUGGHHH!" she yelled at him. "Will you stop looking at me like that?"

This time she did throw a rock, which he dodged easily. She fumed and glared at him and struggled with a sudden urge to shoot him out of a cannon. He shifted uneasily.

"Tetra, are you gonna be alright?"

She stood there, glaring at him and savagely squelched the voices in her head that yelled at her to run back the way she'd come. When he looked like he might get up she glared at him again. He sighed and sat back while she sat down on the spot and shot him a look that dared him to come any closer. After a moment, she shut her eyes in an effort to calm herself as her anger rose up again and made her heart beat faster.

What the hell was happening to her? Something inside her told her she was bound to this person, but an almost unnatural anger she felt was working to undo that. After a few deep breaths, she looked to see if he still watched but he seemed to have lost all interest in her. He quietly put his assortment of oddities back into his pack, all but the ocarina, which he set aside.

With the rest of his things neatly stowed away, he picked up the instrument. The song he played this time had an eerie, calm quality to it. She let the tranquil sounds wash over her and calm her anger feeling great relief as it ebbed away like the tide. She smiled when she realized the other music had returned as well. This time though, the harmony, so discordant before took on a more melodic quality.

Just when she was sure she was able to think again, images of him ran through her head. She could tell from the variations in age that they were all disjointed and out of order. Her anger returned and Tetra rubbed her head in frustration. "I can't... I just can't seem to remember anything. It's all fractured. I see your face in my mind, but it's all mixed up and angry. I don't understand...You seem to know me so well. Who are you?" she demanded. Tetra's voice echoed her anger though she hadn't meant to say it that way. It just came out all angry further heightening her irritation.

Her tone made the expression on Link's face change to one of disappointment and Tetra wondered again. It was obvious this was not a topic he wished to discuss. When he did speak again, his voice sounded tired, as if this were a conversation they'd already had many times in the past. "Just who I've always been Tetra, your friend." He almost said something else, but instead he rubbed his face with his hands.

Why couldn’t she remember him properly? "Just my friend?" she coaxed, but this time he only gave her the barest of smiles in reply. Tetra realized she was now even more confused than her fractured memories. Behind her anger, that something else, the something she needed was there, but when she tried to reach out to it, it slipped even further from her.

Her head hurt and noticed as she looked down, that she was in her own clothing again. No more dress, just the shirt, vest and trousers. This whole mess was getting weirder by the minute. Tetra pulled her knees up under her chin and said, "You said this was a dream, but if this is just a dream, why would just the sound of your voice make me so angry?"

"Well," he said, "it may be because we had an argument the last time I saw you." He tapped the ocarina before putting it away and added, "A very loud and very angry one. It seems like that's all we're good at anymore."

That she supposed would explain some things. "We really don't get along well do we."

He shook his head and for some reason that made her feel sad and a little lonely. They said nothing for a time and Tetra watched him as he looked out over the water. Tetra felt her anger evaporate as she sensed the something she needed, was there again. It taunted her and left her with the impression that once he had been more than ‘just a friend’. The why of it was missing and when he did finally look back at her he asked, "Where have you been? I've been looking for almost three weeks. I was actually on my way back when I got sidetracked."

Tetra felt suddenly very light headed and closed her eyes again with the hope it would help clear her head.

It didn't.

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3/24/06