The Sister
By Megan

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.

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