Part V: "Familiar Faces"

Link did not know how long had past since he had stepped into the portal. All he knew was that he was no longer experiencing his own time. He couls sense it, feel it in the air.

Quickly, he took in his surroundings. It was definately Hyrule, but different. Many more trees dotted Hyrule Field. The sounds of birds that no longer called Hyrule their home could be heard in the distance. To his left, Link could see Hyrule Castle, or at least a smaller predecessor of it. It was only then that Link finally realized that he was not standing, but floating above it all. Rauru floated beside him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Rauru asked, obviously admiring the view. "And look, there's Death Mountain. Still has that same blasted cloud!"

A loud thud shook the air, and Link looked down and noticed the drawbridge had been lowered for the day. Rauru noticed it as well.

"Looks like they're welcoming visitors!" Rauru commented gleefully. "Let's have a look, shall we?"

There was a momentary flash and suddenly Link and Rauru were standing in the king's chamber. Seeing as how nobody noticed their arrival, Link reasoned that he and Rauru were not visible to the people of this time, merely spectators. Still, he wanted to be sure.

"They cannot see us?" he asked Rauru.

"That is correct," the sage replied. "In fact, we have not even left our own time. We are just viewing the past instead of reliving it."

Alone in his chamber sat the king. He was a tall, yet burly man wth a balding head and growing beard. His youth was obviously far behind him.

"Your majesty?"

The voice called out from just outside the chamber. The king looke dup from the papers he was reading.

"Come!" {Author's Note: Apparently this guy is an ancestor of Captain Jean-Luc Picard...}

A young man, barely five feet tall, entered the room. His short blonde hair seemed to quiver in the presence of the king.

"Your majesty," the boy said, "your men in the Castanerean Deserts have made a discovery. It's some sort of green liquid that they found in the caverns. I brought back a sample."

"Bring it here," the king replied, interested.

The boy was shaking noticebly now but still managed to follow his orders. The king stared at the dark green substance sitting within a small green pot.

Finally, the king spoke, "Bringit to the overseers, and have them test it on the slaves. We must see if it has nay purpose."

"Yes, your majesty," the boy replied.

The king handed the container back to the boy who proceeded to scurry out of the chamber as fast as he could.

There was another blinding flash of light as Link and Rauru disappeared once again.

"Assemble for morning roll call!!!" yelled a short, but powerful, man in front of the huts. Link figured that he was one of the overseers that the king had spoken of.

One by one, the slaves filed out of their individual huts, twenty in all. It was not until the last man stepped out that Link got the shock of his life. It was the same tall, bearded man, albeit much more ragged looking, that now stood within the walls of Hyrule Castle in his own time. It was Arthur Blavidus.

"That's...him!" Link stammered.

"Oh yes," Rauru replied, "that's him..."

Link and Rauru watched as, one by one, the slaves were injected with the mysterious green liquid...