Link parted the thick, dense foliage. The rabbit was right
there, in front of him. Good. Aiming with his arrow, Link drew
back the bowstring, ready to let the arrow fly. Just as he was
about to release the bowstring, a faint sound reached his ears.
He turned to the source of the sound. It was a faint, musical
sound. A beautiful humming. He wanted to find out what it was,
but he couldn't let the game he was hunting get away..... He drew
the bowstring back again, and this time, let the arrow fly. The
rabbit, startled, ran off and out of sight as the arrow landed
just short of its intended target. Letting curiosity get the
better of him, Link rose, walking across the dirt path that cut
through the trees. There was foliage on either side of the path,
and he headed toward the source of the sound. Silently, he parted
the foliage, and crouching, saw the maker of the sound. A young
girl, just a few years younger than he, sat on a wide, flat rock,
singing softly. " Hey..." Link said, half rising.
However, he stepped on a twig, making it snap loudly. The girl
turned, and he caught a faint glimpse of her.. Her golden hair
sparkled in the sunlight, and her green eyes shone with fear. She
rose, then fled. Before Link knew it, she was gone. The next day,
Link went to Hyrule castle. He was supposed to meet Princess
Zelda so they could have a picnic in the Lost Woods, where he had
been hunting the day before. She came out through the castle
archway, smiling at him, carrying the basket full of food. As
they walked to the Lost Woods, Link told her about the mysterious
girl. " ...and as I got up to talk to her, she ran
off," he finished. " I wouldn't worry about it, Link.
I'm sure she'll come back to where you saw her, eventually,"
Zelda said. Link nodded, but was busy thinking. Somehow, he knew
he'd see the girl again. And indeed he did. It was a few days
later, a stormy afternoon. Link and Zelda were in his cottage,
having lunch together again. " You know, Zelda, I keep
thinking about that wierd girl. I keep getting the strange
feeling Gannon is going to return soon, and that girl will be
back." " I've been thinking about that, too,"
Zelda said, thoughtfully. She was about to say more, but she gave
a sudden, sharp cry. " Zelda!" Link exclaimed. "
I'm fine," she said weakly, a moment later. " I just
saw a girl. Blond hair, green eyes. She's hurt. Gannon's
definately behind this." Link's mind swayed with the impact
of the news. He felt the feeling he dreaded he'd feel for awhile
now....Gannon was back. He knew Zelda felt it, too. " We
don't have time to lose," he said quickly to Zelda. They
both headed out, only to recieve the full effects of the raging
wind and cold drops of rain. " Oh, great, the storm's
getting worse," Link muttered. He followed Zelda to Hyrule
castle. As they walked past the rose hedges on their way to the
front doors, Zelda gave a low cry and knelt. Link ran to her side
and knelt beside her. Laying in front of them was the girl Link
had seen. An arrow stuck up out of her back, and blood stained
her dress. " She's still alive," Zelda said, as Link
removed the arrow. He carefully turned her onto her back. She was
pale, her breathing shallow and raspy. Her soaked hair spread out
on either side of her head, reduced to a dripping mess. "
Get Impa," Link said. Zelda nodded, and hurried inside. Impa
arrived with Zelda a moment later. " Let's get her
inside," Impa said,and Link lifted the girl's body off the
ground. Later, Link and Zelda sat at the girl's bed side. Impa
had been rushing in and out of the castle's guest room with
medicines and herbal treatments. "Oh, I hope she'll be all
right," Zelda said worriedly. Link nodded. Suddenly,
something on the girl's neck flashed gold in the flickering
candlelight. Link slowly pulled the cover back a little to reveal
a gold chain around her neck. At the end of it was a pendent. It
was as blue as Lake Hylia itself, and an image of the Triforce
shone from inside it. Link took it off her neck and held it up to
the light. "Hey, I wonder where she got this," Link
said, and laid it on the bedside table. Zelda picked it up.
" There's something special about this, but I don't know
what," Zelda said, slowly. For the rest of the night, Link
stayed beside the girl's bed. He felt as if he already knew her,
but he'd never seen her before. He felt as if he needed to
protect her, to stay beside her, although he knew not why. The
next morning, Link awoke to see the girl open her eyes. She said,
her voice strained and weak, " Wh..where am I?" Link
explained it all to her. "I'm Anna. I was raised by my aunt,
my mother's sister. I was left with her as a baby. I don't
remember my parents. After awhile, I decided to go out on my own.
But Gannon came back. I was being chased by one of his soldiers,
and he wounded me as I came here." Link felt sorry for the
girl. Like him, she'd never known who her parents were, and was
raised by another relative. He picked up the pendant from the
bedside table and handed it to her. " My mother gave it to
me before she left," Anna explained. Over the next few
weeks, Anna recovered. Link and Zelda were surprised that she
knew magic, and could do many things. One day, while Link, Zelda,
and Anna were in the castle talking, Anna said, "
Gannon...he's found the Triforce." Just as she said this,
the sky grew black. Link felt Gannon's evil. So did Zelda. "
How did you..." Link started to ask. " I had a
vision," Anna said. The three of them set out to stop
Gannon. Stepping onto a tile, they went to the Golden Land. The
sky was inky, and Link knew the Golden Land was the Dark World
again. Dropping in through the hole in the Piramid of Power, they
came face to face with Gannon. " So, you've come to stop me
again," Gannon grunted. " Let's get this over
with," Link said, and the fight began. It was fierce. Link
swung with the Master Sword, Gannon with his trident. Gannon's
firebats swooped down on them. At one point, Link moved in closer
than was safe to deliver a blow. Gannon saw, and with a mighty
swing of his trident, sent Link flying. He struck the wall, then
lay, out cold. Zelda and Anna were both frightened, but went on
battling Gannon. It was Anna who fought hardest, striving to put
Gannon away for good. She was wounded, but kept fighting. At one
point, a pause in the battle, Gannon turned to Link, who still
lay inert by the wall. Gannon moved toward Link, trident held
high above him. His deadly intent was all too clear. Just as he
was about to spear Link with it, Anna shouted at him. "Don't
touch him, Gannon.. Leave my brother alone!!!!!!!!" Zelda
gasped. Anna was Link's sister? Just then, Anna's pendant took on
a faint glow. It grew stronger and stronger, lighting up the
entire chamber. A white-hot beam shot out at Gannon, freezing
him. Anna quickly took up the silver arrows and bow, and fired a
single shot. It hit Gannon, destroying him. Link slowly came to a
moment later. He was amazed Anna had defeated Gannon. He was
shocked to find Anna laying on the floor, out of breath, a score
of wounds covering her body. He stood, reaching her as quickly as
he could. " Link...." she whispered, hand clutching
his. He knew at that moment she wasn't going to make it.
"Nooooooo!" he screamed. Just then, the chamber
containing the Triforce opened, its light spilling out on all of
them. At that moment, Anna took her last breath. Link left her,
and he and Zelda entered the chamber. The Triforce shone high and
golden above them. " Make a wish......" the Triforce
whispered. Link took the Triforce, making a wish. A few days
passed, and Link and Zelda were in Hyrule castle. " How did
you figure out that Anna was your sister?" Zelda asked.
"Well....when I saw her for the first time, she brought back
memories. Of my old home. Of my parents. And of the day she was
born. I was only a few years old. I still remember my mother
saying'Link, this is your little sister, Anna.' She was only a
few weeks old when our parents left. At first, it was just a
feeling I had. But after she told me her name, I remembered it
all, in bits and pieces." Just then, the door opened, and
Anna walked in. Link had wished for her to live, and she had. As
he continued his story, Anna sat and listened, content.
"....and when she told me she was raised by her aunt, our
mother's sister, I remembered my uncle was our father's brother.
For some reason, our parents left us with different realatives. I
also remember the pendant....it was our mother's." Anna
added, "Half the reason I left home was to find the brother
my aunt said I had,and I did." She smiled up at Link, and he
smiled back.
|