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Chapter Text

Legend has it, in the mystical land of Hyrule, there was a kingdom that was found by a woman who happened to be the reincarnate of the Goddess Hylia. She reigned the kingdom well, and she later had children, including her first-born child, a daughter whom she is named after the first queen of Hyrule.

The Goddess reincarnate reigned the land peacefully, but when she was a grandmother, a terrible, evil entity emerged from the shadows of the land, and wreaked havoc throughout Hyrule. The Queen couldn’t fight the evil entity because her powers waned down throughout the years, so she was replaced by her granddaughter, who was also named after the first queen of Hyrule.

The granddaughter, a princess of Hyrule Kingdom, joined with a boy who was hailed a hero by the kingdom and together, they attempted to fight the demonic entity. Unfortunately, the evil gained the upper hand, and the heroic duo needed to find another plan.

The hero and the granddaughter attempted to use the Master sword that once sealed the demon, Demise, but the grandmother wouldn’t allow it. She warned them that the Master Sword cannot be used lightly for it could release the evil entity from the blade and then, the situation would get worse.

Just when all hope was lost, and the world was on the verge of being swallowed by the shadows, a race of tiny creatures appeared in Hyrule and aided the Hyruleans in turning the tide against the evil entity. The race of tiny creatures are known as the Picori, and most of the time, they do not make themselves known to the Hyruleans.

To help the war end in favor of the Hyruleans, the Picori gave the hero of Hyrule a sword with extraordinary powers. They even aided the princess with her golden power that was genetically given to her by her Grandmother.

With wisdom, courage, and the aid of the tiny Picori, the hero and the princess drove out the darkness in a small garden at the castle, and then, they banished it in a chest that was locked by the very sword that was given to the hero by the Picori.

The sword ended up being called the Picori Sword to honor the Picori race when the battle against the evil entity was over. When the war was over, the Picori returned to hiding from the Hyruleans… never to be seen again.

When peace returned to Hyrule, the Hyruleans, led by the princess and the hero, enshrined the blade and the chest with care. Some time after the war, the hero left the castle with a promise that his descendant would visit the princess’ descendant someday.

Although the hero have left Hyrule, the country still had a lot of years of peace following the war against evil. Before passing away, the grandmother, the queen, warned her granddaughter that another evil will return someday and that she must ensure that her descendant will be ready when it does return.

The bright side, of course, is that the evil would not return for another hundred years or so. The bad news is that when time goes, certain events become legends or myths and they are treated as not real.

Chapter Text

Link Smith is a twelve-year-old common boy who lives in a house that lies on the outskirts of Hyrule’s Castle Town. He lives with his Grandfather Smith, and he helps him with his work, which happens to be blacksmithing.

KLANG! KLANG! KLANG!

The sound of smithing can be heard a mile from the house where Link and his grandfather lives. Blacksmithing is what they are doing at the present time, and Link is doing the smithing a bit quicker than he used to.

Grandpa Smith noticed Link’s quickness. “Why are you in such a hurry, son?”

”Training, Grandpa,” Link answered. “I want to train and become a warrior. Plus, the Picori Festival is tomorrow, and I want to show my prowess to the people in the tournament.”

”I understand, Link,” replied the grandfather, “but I need your help to get this sword done. It is an important sword.”

”I know, I know,” Link responded. “That sword is to be given to whoever wins the tournament, I know! But I want to go to training. If I show up late, I won’t participate in the tournament; the instructor said so.”

”Alright, alright,” Grandpa Smith replied. “We’ll try to get this done as quickly as we can. Just be patient.”

Link is impatient, but nevertheless, he promised to be patient and he continued helping his grandfather smith the sword that is to be given to the tournament winner. They warmed up the sword some more in the fire, and then they continued hammering it.

KLANG! KLANG! KLANG!

They finally finished hammering the sword and Grandpa Smith placed the red-hot sword in a big bucket of water, and the sword started sizzling, smoke started coming out of the bucket of water. When the sword was sizzling, the grandfather started talking to his son.

”I’m good now, Link. You should hurry on to the training hut before the class starts!”

”Thanks, Grandpa! Bye!” Link quickly replied, and he took off.

When Link left the house, he picked up his long rod , which he uses to train sword fighting. After picking up the long rod, he hopped down from the hill and started running into the forest.

The house where Link and Grandpa Smith live is located on top of a small hill that is not far from the town. That’s why Link had to hop down carefully in order to make up time.

Link hurried and hurried himself through the forest. He hoped that he could make it to training in time. He is often reminded by his peers that being late for training will cost him a ticket to the tournament.

Meanwhile, at a big hut where warrior training takes place, which is called Swiftblade Dojo, training has already begun. Pre-teen boys started training with wooden swords and axes, and they are being trained by a man named Swiftblade.

Swiftblade is a tall, muscular man with a serious look on his face. He wears a light blue robe and dark blue pants. On the robe is a golden symbol in the shape of three triangles.

”Alright, boys!” Said Swiftblade. “I’ve got hours to get you boys ready for the tournament, so you better do yourselves a favor and train as if your life depends on it! And another thing: I want you to be on your best behavior because it would honor the Swiftblade Dojo for the tournament. Am I understood?!”

”Sir, yes, sir!” Everyone answered.

”Good!” Swiftblade replied. “Now keep training! I’m gonna go tinkle!”

And with that, Swiftblade disappeared in another room, and that was when Link suddenly came in. He got his rod ready and he began his training.

Moments later, Swiftblade has returned from the urinal facility, and he is not happy to see Link. “LINK! FRONT AND CENTER!”

Link jumped when Swiftblade called out his name very loudly. Nevertheless, he immediately walked to where his teacher was.

”Yes, Sensei Swiftblade?” Link asked.

”Link, you are observing in the tournament tomorrow,” answered the sensei disappointedly. “You are not participating.”

”What?!”

”You heard me!” Swiftblade responded in annoyance.

”But I registered!” Pleaded Link.

”I don’t care, Link!” Swiftblade retorted, sounding angry and frustrated. “You know the rules, boy! You show up late, and you’re disqualified! I will not tolerate people that show up late for battle!”

”Oh, come on, sensei!” Link complained. “This is not fair! This is my one chance to prove to everyone, including—“

”SILENCE, BOY!!!” Swiftblade yelled; his voice was so loud that it disrupted everybody else’s training. “How DARE you speak to your teacher like that?! Your grandfather may be a respectable blacksmith, especially to the king, but that’s not going to help you get anywhere in life! You want to become a warrior for the kingdom, then you have to respect the code. And so far, your slacker attitude and that wild behavior is not tolerant enough! Until you learn to respect our code, you are better off being a blacksmith who has nowhere to go! Now, get out!”

”But… But—“

”OUT!!!” Swiftblade angrily demanded.

Link’s eyes starting to pool in tears. He cannot believe that this is happening.

Nevertheless, he decided to leave because he doesn’t want to cause any more trouble with the sensei. He walked out of the dojo without creating any more fusses.

When Link was out, and away from the dojo, he finally started to complain again. “It’s not fair! Damn that Swiftblade! ‘Slacker attitude’ he says! It’s not my fault! If I hadn’t stayed and helped Grandpa with that stupid sword, which I am now not going to win, I wouldn’t have been late!”

Link continued his grumbling until he found himself in a secluded glen, and he decided to vent out his frustrations by hitting a tall tree with the rod he was carrying. As he started hitting the tree, he continued his complaining.

”Who does that old fart think he is?! I’ve trained many hours a day, EVERY DAY, just for this one tournament, which only comes once a year! The whole damn festival comes only once a year! This was my chance to prove my worth and now it is gone!”

Link continued hitting the tree for a few moments, and then he did something new. He did a spin attack and the tree was chopped down.

While he was spinning, Link cried out, “Swiftblade School Spin Attack!”

After the tree was cut down, Link stared at the stump. Moments later, he continued ranting.

”I should be in that tournament! I could be the best warrior Hyrule has ever had!”

Suddenly, laughter was heard and it startled Link. He turned to see a strange man in purple staring at him with an amused smirk on his face.

Link felt offended when he noticed the man’s smirk. “Are you laughing at me, Mister?! You think that’s funny!”

”I do,” the man simply replied. “That display you pulled earlier was the most pathetic display I have ever seen in my life. I don’t think you deserve to be in that tournament. Hell, you don’t even belong in the world of warriors.”

Link scoffed in annoyance. “You think you could do any better?!”

”I don’t think, little guy!” The man replied. “I know I can do better than you! Here… Let me show you how to really defeat a tree.”

The strange man stood before a group of tall trees, and he started concentrating, leading Link to believe that he could be a magician of some sort. There are so many classes of warriors in the land: Swordfighter, archers, axe men and even magicians.

Moments later, pure energy seeped out of the strange man and moments later, a strong cyclone emanated and it shoved Link away and it even cut down the group of trees.

Link recovered, and discovered, to his shock, that the man was able to cut down the trees with no problems whatsoever. He also noticed the man’s smirk once more.

”You, little one, are pathetic,” the man said with firm finality, and then, he took off.

Link stared in awe as the man walked away with a huff. He cannot believe that he has encountered someone who has extraordinary magic. And this was after being humiliated at the Swiftblade Dojo.

”Who the heck is that guy?” Link wondered.

Link looked up in the sky and noticed that there is a hint of orange on it, which means that the sun is starting to come down. This made the boy realize that he needs to get home quickly.

Wasting no time, Link hurried home, and when he got home, he didn’t even bother saying hello to Grandpa Smith or sit down for dinner. He just went up the stairs, went inside his room, and he crashed into his bed.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Knocking was heard minutes later, and in walked Grandpa Smith with a worried pout in his face. “What happened, Link? You arrived late?”

Link didn’t say anything. He did, however silently nodded his head, answering his grandfather’s question.

”Son, I’m sorry,” Grandpa said sullenly. “I shouldn’t have kept you in late, but I really needed you to help me smith the prized sword—

”You know something, Grandpa,” Link interrupted. “You know what Swiftblade said to me when he told me that I was late?” Grandpa shook his head no. “He said that I’d rather be a blacksmith who has nowhere to go! It’s not fair! I don’t want to be a blacksmith! I want to be a warrior, a knight! I want to show Princess Zelda that I could do it.”

”Oh, so that’s what’s bothering you?” Grandpa asked. “Look, you don’t have to prove anything! The princess cares for you deeply! If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have kept sneaking out of the castle to come and play with you… a lot until the councilor arrives to retrieve her, that is.”

Link sighed. “Yeah, I know, but still… I want to show her that I am strong.”

”I’m sure you will one day,” Grandpa reassured his grandson. “But for now, you need to prove yourself a good friend to the princess because I am pretty sure that she is going to sneak out again tomorrow and beg you to go to the festival with her.”

Link groaned. “I’m not sure if I want to go this time. I’ll get embarrassed when people tease me that I am the boyfriend the princess will never have.”

”Oh, come now, boy,” Grandpa pleaded. “Just ignore that crap and take her to the festival… if she comes and asks.”

”Alright, alright,” Link relented. “I’ll do it.”

”That’s my boy,” said Grandpa Smith. He then gave Link a bowl of soup. “Now, eat up. Can’t let you sleep on an empty stomach.”

Grandpa Smith left Link alone in his room as the boy started chowing down the soup. When Link finished the soup, he brought the bowl down to the kitchen, cleaned it up, and then he went back up to his room to sleep early.

Link ponders if he should tell Princess Zelda that he failed to get into the tournament. Moments later, he decided not to, and then, finally, Link went to sleep on his bed.

Chapter Text

It is bright and sunny the next morning. The sun shined down through a glass window on the castle, and it also shined in the face of a beautiful girl. The girl happens to be the princess of the entire Hyrule Kingdom; her name is Zelda.

As soon as the sun shined on Zelda’s face, she immediately woke up and let out a really big yawn. After that, she heard knocking on her door.

”Princess Zelda!” A female’s voice was heard from the other side of the closed door. “It is time to get up! It is a really big day today!”

”Come on in, Impa!” Zelda replied.

Impa, an elderly woman wearing dark blue clothing entered the bedchamber. She is the princess’ attendant, and she has silver hair, red eyes, and a strange symbol on her forehead.

”Today is the Picori Festival, Your Grace,” Impa said.

”Yes, I know it is,” Zelda replied. “I’m so excited!”

”Then, shall we get you dressed up?” Impa asked, and Zelda nodded her head eagerly.

The elder woman helped the princess remove her bedtime attire and slipped on a pink and magenta dress. After that, the attendant brushed the princess’ golden hair so it would look as beautiful as an angel’s hair.

While brushing, Impa noticed a warm, loving smile on the princess’ face. “You’re planning on sneaking out of here and seeing that blacksmith boy, are you?”

”Huh?” Zelda asked; she was taken aback.

”You know,” Impa insisted. “Link. You’ve been sweet to him ever since you first met him when you were younger. You always sneak out to go play with him.”

”Impa, I know it is wrong to shirk my duties,” Zelda admitted, “but I can’t help myself. Ever since I first met him, I’ve been liking him. He’s just so… ruggedly handsome.”

Impa chuckled. “Maybe, but he is also a commoner,” she warned suddenly. “Princesses must be married to princes. That’s a rule.”

”I know, I know,” Zelda replied in annoyance. “Ugh! I hate that rule! I really like Link!”

”I know you do, Your Grace,” Impa responded, feeling sorry for Zelda. “I really want to help, but there is nothing I can do.”

Zelda sighed sadly. “I know, Impa. There must be something I can do.”

Impa watched as the princess buried her face with her hands. She then placed a tiara on her golden head; the tiara has beautiful white wings on them.

”I’ll tell you what, Princess Zelda,” Impa finally said. “You know the secret door in your bedroom, right?”

Zelda nodded her head.

”I’ll cover you, so you can sneak out of the castle to see Link,” Impa continued. “However, it must be for a short time. Go to Link, have him escort you to the festival and have some fun, but be quick. You must be present for the tournament’s prize celebration.”

Zelda gasped when Impa suggested she sneak out to see Link. “I will,” she said after Impa warned her to be quick. She then hugged her attendant. “Thank you so much, Impa! I owe you one!”

Zelda finished dressing up by placing formal gloves over her hands and arms, and then she pulled a wall-based candelabra down. A second later, a piece of the stoney wall opened up, revealing a secret passageway.

Zelda waved goodbye to Impa, promising that she’ll be quick with her date with Link. She then disappeared into the passageway, and the door closed behind her.

Zelda quickly started a fire on a torch, and then, she used the torch to light her way. Zelda had to avoid a lot of obstacles in order to eat to where she needed to go. Her least favorite obstacles are the rats that always lurk in the shadows of the passageway.

Despite her fear of rats, she has braved them a bunch of times because her love for Link is stronger than her fear of rats. She walked down the dark halls, avoiding the rats as much as possible.

It took her a bit, but Zelda was able to make it through the dark hallways, and made it to the outside. She made it to where the town gate is, and she checked the upper structures to make sure that there aren’t any guards there.

When Zelda spotted no guards on the upper structures of the gates, she went skipping merrily to the dirt road and she made her way through town. There were some people that were a little suspicious of Zelda’s appearance, but they paid it no mind.

It took a minute or so for Zelda to get clear of the village, and she was happy that she didn’t provide any attention toward her. She continued skipping merrily on the dirt road, and then, she became happy when she spotted her destination: a house on the top of a short hill.

Zelda skipped merrily to the house, and she excitedly opened the door, heading inside. Zelda took a good look around the interior of the house and is nostalgic at seeing the living room.

Zelda remembered playing with Link in the living room every time she snuck out of the castle. She played with Link for long hours until either Impa or the castle minister came to collect her, much to her disappointment.

Zelda heard the clattering of steel as she looked around the living room, and she concluded that Link’s grandfather, the blacksmith, is doing his routine of smithing swords and other weapons for the Hyrulean army. Following the sound of the smithing, Zelda walked through the living room, and she found herself in the smithing room.

In the smithing room, Zelda spotted Link’s grandfather working on a sword. A moment later, she decided to surprise the blacksmith by speaking out.

”Good morning, Master Smith!” Zelda greeted, giggling in the process.

Grandfather Smith stopped working and he glanced at Zelda in surprise. “Goodness me! Princess Zelda! Did you sneak out of the castle and come all this way alone?”

“Mmm-hmmm!” Zelda hummed in affirmation. “It’s been a while since I did this.”

”Yeah, a week,” the blacksmith corrected. “You know, the minister is not going to be happy about this, Princess. You know how he gets.”

”Don’t worry about the minister,” Zelda replied. “He’ll be fine! I want to see Link. I want him to take me on a date to the Picori Festival. Would you mind terribly?”

”I had a feeling you would come for that particular reason, said the blacksmith, smiling at the princess. Link is still asleep. You see, he was up all night bumming about missing his chance to get into the tournament. I told him that a date with you to the festival would cheer him up. Just a sec…” He then started screaming at the top of his lungs. “LIIIIINK!!!”

Meanwhile, up in the bedroom, Link is sleeping like a baby on his bed. He suddenly jolted awake when he heard his grandfather calling out his name.

”LINK! TIME TO GET UP!”

Link stirred in annoyance, but he had no choice but to get up from his bed. He put on some white trousers and he hurried down the stairs.

Link hurried to the smithing room, and he jumped in surprise when he noticed Zelda standing in the center of it. He blushed when the princess smiled lovingly at him.

”Good morning, sleepyhead,” Zelda greeted her friend warmly. “Did you have a good night sleep?”

”Uhhh…” Link hesitated a bit before he spoke clearly. “Yes, I did. Thank you, Your Grace.”

Link bowed politely before the princess, but Zelda responded by rushing toward him and squeezing him in an embrace. Link was rather surprised at this.

”I missed you so much, Link,” Zelda admitted.

”I… missed you, too,” Link replied. “I take it that you snuck out again? The minister is not going to be happy about this, you know.”

”Never mind that, Link,” Zelda replied as she separated herself from Link. “I have a favor to ask of you.”

Grandfather Smith approached the two kids. “The Princess is here today because she was hoping that you would take her to see the festival… as her date.”

Link paused for a moment. He remembered talking with his grandfather about how he should take Zelda to the festival if she ever came to ask.

”Please, Link?!” Zelda said pleadingly to Link. Let’s go see the Picori Festival!”

Link pondered this for a bit more. Even if he hadn’t had that talk with his grandfather about this, he wouldn’t have rejected her anyway because he is so kind and polite to her. He’s always been like this with the princess ever since their first meeting.

”Okay, Princess Zelda, we can go,” Link finally answered with a smile.

”YAAAAAY!!!” Zelda cheered, spinning herself around and around in excitement.

”Good for you to accept the princess’ request, my boy,” Grandfather Smith complimented. “After all, the Picori Festival comes but once a year. Oh, while you’re there, can you do me a favor?”

”What favor, Grandpa?”

”I need you to take the sword we made to the castle minister,” Smith replied. “It must be delivered in time for the tournament.”

”Sure thing, Grandpa,” Link accepted and he took the sword from his grandfather.

”Well, have fun, you two!” Smith said to the children. “And remember, Link: You may be childhood friends, but Zelda is still the princess, so nothing must happen to her. You understand?”

”Yes, sir.”

Zelda took Link’s hand. “Come on, Link! We should hurry! The festival should be starting any minute now!” She started to drag Link out of the smithing room, but before they both disappeared, the princess said something to the blacksmith. “And you need to stop worrying! We’ll be perfectly safe. I just know that Link will keep me safe!”

And with that, Princess Zelda and Link disappeared from the smithing room, and they left the house just mere seconds later. They climbed down the hill and they started walking on the dirt road.

While walking on the dirt road, the kids suddenly hear the bells chiming from the nearby village. This made Zelda squeal in excitement.

”Oooh!” Zelda squealed in excitement. “The festival’s starting! Let’s hurry, Link!”

”Alright, Princess,” Link replied.

Link is rather nervous in entering the Picori Festival with the princess as his date. The reason why is that he would sometimes be teased by other people because even though he is childhood friends with the princess, the chances of him marrying Zelda is remotely close to zero.

At last, the kids made it to the town gate and on the other side, the Picori Festival was already underway. There are a lot of people walking around town, stopping at several different small stalls.

”Well, we’re here, Link!” Zelda said in excitement. “Isn’t this fun?”

”Yes, it is,” Link answered.

”Well, come on!” Zelda demanded. “Let’s look around!”

Zelda took his hand and she began dragging Link deep into the town and they started walking around the festival. The princess is already enjoying the sights, and so does Link.

”Hey, Look!” One of the village residents called out as he pointed at Zelda and Link. “It’s Princess Zelda! And isn’t that the blacksmith boy?”

”You two sure are close, aren’t you, Link?” A female resident asked the blacksmith boy, making him blush and Princess Zelda giggled. “Too bad you two won’t be a married couple in the future.”

That comment immediately washed away the excited looks on Link and Zelda’s faces. The fact that the two cannot marry in the future really hurt them.

Although Zelda was hurt by the comment, she attempted to giggle it off and she dragged Link away from the female resident and stopped at a stall where a man was telling a story to some children.

”Hey, look, Link!” Zelda chimed. “There’s a storyteller! We should stop and listen to—“ Suddenly, Zelda looked at another stall and became more interested in it than the storyteller. “OH! I wonder what’s over there!” She squealed and she moved over to the stall she was staring at.

Link rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Zelda’s highly energetic nature can really annoy him a bit.

The boy eventually caught up to Zelda at the other stall, and she began talking to him in excitement. “The Picori WERE real! I knew they were! My mother said that they were real, and my father believed in it, too!”

”That’s good to know, Princess Zelda,” Link replied.

”Do you believe in the Picori, Link?” Zelda asked hopefully.

Link paused for a moment, and then he considered. He, honestly, doesn’t believe in the Picori, but he didn’t want to hurt the princess’ feelings so he lied that he does believe in them.

”Oh, that’s wonderful, Link!” Zelda squealed in relief. “Say, wasn’t there going to be a sword-fighting tournament later today?”

Link’s eyes widened. He knows that there is a tournament, and he wanted to apply for it so badly, but Swiftblade rejected him for showing up late for training.

”Yes, yes, there is,” Link finally replied.

”Didn’t you want to participate in it, Link?” Zelda asked.

”Nah,” Link lied. “I wasn’t really ready anyway. Hey, uh… what’s happening over here?” Link took Zelda’s hand and he dragged her to a stall where a lottery was taking place.

”Oh, wow!” Zelda reacted in excitement. “There’s a lottery!”

”Oh,” Link replied in a deadpan voice. “Let’s just move on.”

”Why?” Zelda asked. “I want to see who’s won.”

”Nobody EVER wins those, Princess Zelda,” Link replied. “Not the good stuff anyway.”

Zelda ignored Link’s explanation and she removed a ticket from the lotto basket. The ticket was pure gold compared to other people’s white lotto tickets.

Suddenly, the lottery bell rang loudly, startling Link and Zelda. They turned to see the lotto master approaching them.

”We have a winner!” Cried the lotto master. “Congratulations, Princess Zelda!”

Zelda squealed excitedly. She cannot believe that she won the lottery. Link was dumbfounded when Zelda won the lottery.

”You have drawn the winning lotto ticket,” said the lotto master, “and now, you can choose one of these three wonderful grand prizes!” He pointed at the prizes which consist of a heart-shaped stone, a purple rupee, which equals fifty green rupees, and a shield with the Hyrulean symbol on it. “Which will it be, Princess Zelda?”

Link stared at the heart-shaped stone in amazement. He hoped that Zelda would take it for a decor for her room. However, to Link and everyone else’s shock, Zelda picked up the shield.

”I want this,” Zelda declared, staring at the shield.

”But, Princess!” Link protested. “You won First Prize! You should choose something fancier, like that heart-shaped stone.”

”Yeah,” the lotto master agreed. “Listen to the puny kid. You should take the heart-shaped stone.”

Link glared at the lotto master because didn’t like being called puny, but he made no quarrel with the lotto master nevertheless. He glanced at Zelda, who smiled at the shield.

”No… This is what I want,” Zelda repeated with firm finality.

The lotto master and several other participants groaned in disappointment. “Oh, okay…” said the lotto master. “Guess the princess has some… different tastes.”

Link approached Zelda, whispering at her. “Why, Princess Zelda? You don’t even know what to do with it.”

”True,” Zelda replied as she extended the shield toward him, “but you do. That’s why I want you to take this as a gift from me.”

“Huh?”

Link and everyone else stared at Zelda as she extended the shield to him. Link cannot believe that she chose the shield just so she can give it to him as a gift.

”But, why?” Link asked.

”Link,” Zelda began, “I know what happened yesterday. Master Smith told me that Swiftblade rejected you for being late for training.”

Link’s eyes widened more. “Y-You heard?”

Zelda nodded her head in confirmation. “I’m sorry you can’t perform in this year’s tournament. I’ll tell you what. After this, I am going to talk to Daddy and see if I can convince him to convince Swiftblade to cut you some slack.”

”What?” Link gasped. “No, don’t do that. There’s no way that man can be convinced.”

”I will talk to Daddy,” Zelda repeated firmly. “But, for now, you should take this and train better for next year, okay? I’m counting on you to enter the Picori Festival’s tournament and win it in my honor.”

Link gazed at Zelda in shock and wonder. Until now, he had no idea how much he meant to the princess.

Moments later, Link graciously took the shield and he did a pose. Zelda cheered.

”Oh, my!” Zelda squealed. “You look wonderful with it! Now, if anything happens, you can protect me with that shield, my hero!”

Zelda then did something that made the town residents squeal in surprise. Zelda planted a big kiss on Link’s cheek.

There was a stunned pause after Zelda kissed Link on the cheek, but seconds later, there was clapping. Link and Zelda turned to see Impa clapping at them. They are also stunned that Impa’s clapping was followed by the clapping of other by other village residents.

After the clapping and cheering stopped, Link and zelda approached Impa. “What are you doing here?” The Princess asked.

”I came to get you,” Impa answered. “The minister sent me. You are needed at the castle.”

”Oh, right,” Zelda said despondently. “Right.” She suddenly gasped. “Oh, that’s right! Link, we have to deliver the prized sword to the minister! Come on, we should go!”

”Oh, right!” Link gasped, and he led Zelda and Impa out of the village and on the road to the castle.

Chapter Text

Link led Princess Zelda and Impa down the road that should lead them to the castle.

“We better hurry, Your grace,” Link said to the princess. “The minister is going to have a heart attack, and then, your father will have one, too.”

“I know, I know,” Zelda replied.

On the road, they were suddenly ambushed by a Business Scrub, a small black creature with yellow eyes, and green leaves for hair. The Business scrub suddenly spat out a wooden ball and it hit the princess.

“Ouch!” Zelda reacted in pain.

“Your Grace, are you alright?!” Link asked as he hurried to Zelda’s side.

“Ow, that hurt!” Zelda replied as she felt her body.

“Blasted Scrub!” Impa snapped. “Soldiers have been talking about those things causing trouble on these roads! I wish they would actually do something about it. This one has been hassling all of the passersby for a few days now.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” Link promised as he brought out his new shield.

“Link, be careful!” Zelda said warningly.

Link got in front of the Scrub, waiting for it to make a move. When the Scrub spat a nut at Link, he used the shield to not only block it, but to deflect it right back at it, hitting it in the face.

“Owww!” The Scrub reacted. It then became fearful when Link angrily approached it. “Please forgive me! I heard there was a festival nearby and I wanted to hawk my wares. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to spit out nuts when we try to speak!”

Link scoffed. “Obviously!”

“People get scared and try to run away whenever I approach them,” continued the scrub. “Nobody buys anything from me! Maybe I should head back to my cave.”

“Yeah, I think you should!” Agreed Link.

And with that, the Scrub ran away. When the Scrub was out of sight, Link returned to Zelda, asking if she was alright.

“Yes, I’m okay, Link,” Zelda answered. “Thank you for getting rid of that Scrub. I, actually, feel sorry for it, but that nut really hurt!”

“Well, he won’t be hassling anyone else for the time being,” Impa replied. “Come, we better get back to the castle.”

Link continued to lead Zelda and Impa back to the castle. They made it through the castle gates, and they brushed past some soldiers before they made it back to the castle’s front door where the minister was waiting.

“There you are, Princess Zelda!” The minister shouted. “You have got to stop sneaking out of the castle! You could’ve been hurt or kidnapped!”

“Look, I’m sorry,” Zelda replied, “but I was perfectly fine. Link was with me, and he would never let anything happen to me.”

The minister sighed in annoyance. “Whatever,” he said, and then, he turned to Link. “Thank you for escorting the princess back to the castle. And I see that you’ve brought the sword your grandfather forged for the tournament. Thank you!”

The minister took the sword from Link and he urged the princess to follow him before he went inside the castle. Before the princess could do so, she spoke to Link.

“Thank you for the date, Link! I had a wonderful time!”

The princess gave Link another kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye to him. After that, she followed the minister inside the castle, who suddenly went back out to interact with Link once more.

“Hey, Link, since you’re here, why don’t you join us at the tournament?”

Link beamed. “I would be honored, Minister!”

The tournament began minutes after Zelda returned to the castle, and Link already seated himself in the private box where Hyrule’s important people are. Zelda, who was elated to haven’t been separated from Link after all, sat down next to him.

Link and Zelda watched as knights and paladins battled each other to advance to the next rounds of the tournament. While watching, Zelda began a soft conversation with her childhood friend.

“Hey, Link, do you know about the chest that had the magic blade on it?”

“Of course,” Link answered. “It is the Picori Blade. The Picori forged that blade and gave it to the hero of Hyrule to use against a great evil that almost swallowed up Hyrule.”

“Exactly,” Zelda replied. “That Picori Blade is what’s keeping that great evil locked up in that chest. They say that if it is released, evil will break free.”

“Well, let’s hope that there is no one with an evil heart to break free that demonic spirit from that chest,” Link said.

“Yeah,” Zelda replied softly. “Let’s hope.”

Moments later, the final battle commenced and in walked the man in purple, whom Link recognized from last night. Link stared at the man in purple with wide eyes.

“That man!” Link gasped. “I ran into him yesterday!”

“Oh?” Zelda asked. “What’s he like?”

“Rather rude, to be honest,” Link answered. “But he had a heck of a whirlwind attack!”

It didn’t take long for the man in purple to defeat his opponent. He used the same whirlwind attack that he used to show off to Link the day before.

“There, see?!” Link asked as he pointed at the man in purple. “What incredible magic!” He glanced at Zelda and noticed that she is a little cringy. “Princess Zelda, are you okay?”

“There’s something off with that power,” Zelda answered. “I sense something… bad.”

The man in purple was declared the winner, and it didn’t take very long for the chest with the Picori Blade to appear. The king followed the chest.

“Well done, young man!” The king said to the man in purple. “What is your name?”

“Vaati,” replied the man.

“Vaati,” the king began. “As the champion of this year’s Picori Tournament. You have the right to touch the sacred Picori Blade that has kept evil locked in the chest for many, many years. Proceed to touch the blade, dear sir!”

Instead of doing what the king has asked him to do, Vaati just simply chuckled. He then started guffawing like crazy, much to the confusion of the king and everyone in the stands.

“To think that things would go so well!” Vaati said after laughing. “The Picori Blade and the Bound Chest spoken of in Hylian lore… This chest MUST hold that which I seek! I shall relieve you of its contents now!”

Vaati then proceeded to the chest, but he was suddenly ambushed by the guards, who were ordered by the frantic king to detain him. The minute Vaati said that he wanted to open the chest, the king knew that he must be stopped immediately.

WHOOSH!

Vaati used his whirlwind attack to swat away the guards without even breaking a sweat. Hew then chuckled some more.

“Do not interfere!” Vaati warned. “As victor, I have earned the right to approach the blade! I’ve been waiting a long time for this, so do not interfere!”

And with that, Vaati charged up some magic in his hands and he fired it at the Picori Blade. Moments later, the blade fell out of the chest, and the chest immediately opened afterwards.

“OH, NO!” Zelda screamed as the chest opened.

Link watched in horror as black magic creeped out of the chest and started spreading throughout the courtyard. As it approached Link and Zelda, they were suddenly being protected by a strange golden light that is mainly emanating from the princess herself.

After the golden light suddenly disappeared, Zelda darted out of the private box to confront Vaati. Link ran after her to try to protect her.

“Stop!” Zelda screamed at Vaati as she and Link approached the villain in purple clothing. “Why are you doing this?!”

Vaati just chuckled. “You must be the princess with the mystic aura,” he said to Zelda. “It seems that the power that was gifted to the Hylian people still flows within the veins of the women in the royal bloodline. Interesting… If I leave you now, you’ll only be more trouble to me later. That will never do. I must eradicate you.”

Link suddenly got between Zelda and Vaati, brandishing his shield and picking up a sword that was dropped by one of the soldiers. “I will KILL you if you touch her!” He snarled.

“Well, well…” Vaati chuckled. “The pipsqueak from yesterday…”

“Shut up!” Link snarled some more.

“No, YOU shut up, boy!” Vaati snarled back. “You forget: I’m more superior compared to you, a pathetic, little peasant boy who’s sitting at the grownups table!”

And with that, Vaati used his whirlwind attack to swat Link out of the way, leaving Zelda wide open. He then concentrated all his power on his hands.

“LINK!!!” Zelda screamed as she watched Link get thrown to the castle wall by the whirlwind attack. She attempted to run after her childhood friend, but she stopped as she noticed Vaati was concentrating his power, aiming at her.

“To stone with you, Princess!”

Zelda gasped as she heard what Vaati said to her. In a quick instant, she flashed some golden power straight at Link before glancing back at the villain in purple clothing.

It was already too late for Zelda as the magic was shot out of Vaati’s hands and it landed straight at Zelda’s body. Zelda screamed as the magic touched her.

Link recovered slowly and he watched in horror as Zelda began to turn to stone. He had failed to protect her.

Vaati chortled in triumph. “All who stand in my way shall suffer the same fate!” He then approached the chest. “Now to find out what remains in the chest!”

Vaati looked into the chest. He becomes perplexed as he sees that there is nothing else in there.

“Empty?! You mean, there was nothing in there but a trace of black magic?! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!”

Vaati hyperventilates for a moment as he is taking in the failure. Seconds later, he calmed down and spoke softly.

“The black magic may have been the source I am after, and it is now out there somewhere. I’m in no hurry. I can take my time searching for it. After all, nothing is going to stop me now, especially that princess, who is now a statue of stone.”

Vaati chuckled some more before he disappeared in purple smoke. He was no longer where he was.

Link attempts to get up and run to the princess’ side, but he is too hurt to do so. “Zelda!” He gasped softly. “Zelda… forgive me!”

Hurt and tired, Link couldn’t help but slip into unconsciousness. He cannot believe that this terrible tragedy has occurred. He had hoped that it would be a dream, but he was going to get a hell of a reality check when he comes to.

Chapter Text

Link was unconscious for the next hour and a half. Finally he stirred himself awake and he found himself in a castle bedroom that is not as homey as the rooms of the king and the princess.

As he woke up, Link noticed Impa pacing around the room, looking very anxious. He got off the bed and he approached the princess’ handmaiden.

“Impa!” Link called, getting her attention.

“Link!” Impa gasped, and then, she hugged the boy. “Oh, thank goodness, you’re awake!” Seconds later, Impa separated herself from Link and she continued speaking. “Link, I’m supposed to tell you that you are needed in the throne room. The princess has turned to stone!”

Link’s eyes widened. He had hoped that it was just a bad dream, but he is now saddened to realize that what transpired before really did happen.

Link hung his head low. “I know,” he replied. “I saw…”

“You should probably hurry up to the throne room,” Impa suggested. “Your grandfather is there, too. He is speaking with the king as we speak.”

“Right,” Link replied. He then left the room to head for the throne room.

When he got to the throne room, Link noticed a lot of guards standing at attention before their king. Link also spotted his grandfather standing next to the king.

“Grandfather!” Link called out, and he hurried over to where Master Smith was.

“Oh, Link!” Master Smith gasped. “Thank goodness, you’re awake! Are you feeling alright?”

Link merely shrugged. “I’m physically fine, but I’m not mentally fine. The princess… she’s…”

“Shh! Shh!” Smith silenced his grandson. “We’ll talk later. The King is about to address us.”

The King stood before his subjects. He is looking forlorn of the fact that his daughter has turned to stone. Nevertheless, he started to speak kingly.

“It is as you all have heard. A dark sorcerer named Vaati has bewitched my fair daughter and turned her to stone! If we had the sacred Picori Blade, it would’ve ended her curse, but the problem is that it is broken by Vaati’s attacks.Luckily, I am one to never give up, so I need all the help I can get from you. Tell me… How much do you know about the Picori?”

“The Picori?” Master Smith spoke up after a few moments of awkward pause. “Not much, Your Highness, beyond what the fairy tales say… If I remember correctly, they are supposed to be very tiny… as small as a speck of grain.”

“That is correct, Master Smith,” the king replied. “And I must tell you all now that the Picori are not fairy tales. They are most certainly true. I know because when I married the former queen, she’d tell me stories about the Picori and she made me swear to never tell the common people about them.”

“Forgive me, Your Highness,” Link chirped in, “but you’re saying that the legends are indeed true?” The king nodded his head. “Well, where can we find them now?”

“The Picori, who forged the Picori Blade for the hero, live deep in the Minish Woods,” the king answered. “They are the ones who can repair and re-forge the Picori Blade, and with the blade, we can end my daughter’s curse.”

“If that’s the case, Your Highness,” the minister replied, “we must dispatch our troops to these ‘Minish Woods’ and have them fix the blade!”

“No!” The king suddenly spat. “Soldiers will not do… They could spend days searching for them, but they’ll never find traces of them. The Picori show themselves to no one… but children.”

Everyone gasped.

“Children?” Master Smith asked. “You mean–”

“You mean… like me?” Link finished.

“Yes, my dear boy,” the king answered. “You may be twelve years old now, but you are still worthy of seeing the Picori. The age limit ends at thirteen, and luckily, your birthday was just this past week. Master Link, I must personally ask you to find the Picori, fix the blade and turn my precious Zelda back to normal. The Picori should know what to do with the sacred blade.”

“But, Your Highness,” interjected Swiftblade, who was present at the meeting. “Now that those monsters have broken free from the chest, the journey will be a perilous one. Plus… I’m not sure that this boy is combat ready enough for it.”

“Nonsense, Master Swiftblade!” Said the king firmly. “I am confident that this boy is the one for the job. After all… he is childhood friends with my sweet, little girl, who has grown… quite attached to him.”

Link blushed beet red when the king mentioned Zelda’s fondness toward him. He snapped back to reality as the king continued speaking to him.

“However, since it is dangerous to go out with those monsters around, you must be armed with a weapon,” the king said. “Take this sword, the one that was supposed to be given to Vaati. And take the broken Picori blade with you two; you must take it to the Picori and have them fix it.”

The king walked over to Link and handed him the broken Picori Blade. After that, Master Smith walked over to Link holding the sword that was supposed to be given to Vaati.

“I always dreamed of watching you win the tournament and earn this sword as a prize,” Master Smith said to his grandson. “Now, I am honored to give this to you to use against the forces of evil.”

Link’s eyes started pooling in tears as he received the sword from his grandfather. “Thank you, Grandpa!” The two hugged for a few seconds before separating. “I promise, I will not fail you.” He then turned to the king. “I will not fail you, Your Highness. I will find the Picori, fix the blade and save Princess Zelda.”

“Thank you, my boy,” the king said to the twelve-year-old boy. “I know you will make us proud.” He then turned to the minister and Swiftblade. “Right, then. Have our soldiers search for Vaati at once! He must be stopped!”

“At once, Your Highness!” Swiftblade complied. He then turned to Link. “Good luck, boy… You’re going to need it.” He turned to the soldiers. “Spread out and search for the sorcerer!” He ordered.

The soldiers obeyed Swiftblade’s command and they left the throne room with Swiftblade on their tail. Once the soldiers were gone, the king walked to Link to give information to him.

“Deep within the Minish Woods,” the king said, “there is a place called the Deepwood Shrine. Humans and Picori once met there during the time of the Great Evil. I think it is best that you started your search there.”

Master Smith walked up to Link and handed him a map with some markings on it. “Take this map, Link. Check it if you ever get lost.”

“Right,” Link replied as he took the map from his grandfather.

Master Smith couldn’t help but give his grandson another embrace. “Take care of yourself out there, alright?”

“Yes, Grandpa,” Link answered.

Before Link left the throne room, he walked up to Zelda’s statue form and he stared at her with focused, intense eyes. He was trying very hard not to let tears escape them. He also noticed that even though she is turned to stone by Vaati’s curse, her eyes are filled with life.

Link placed a gentle hand on Zelda’s shoulder as he continued staring at her. “I’ll bring you back, Zelda,” he whispered. “I promise! And I promise that I’ll make that jerk, Vaati, pay for what he did to you!”

The king walked up to Link and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Do not worry, my boy. She will be fine here. And remember: you are the one who will end Vaati’s curse and free her. You must hurry and go if you are to get the quest done.”

Link silently nodded his head in agreement, and then, he bowed before the king. After that, he placed everything in his rucksack, and then he left the throne room.

Link has now, officially, started his quest to find the Picori and save Zelda and Hyrule Kingdom.

What many failed to see, however, is that they were being watched by a transparent spirit that no one can see. The spirit is none other than the princess herself.

The princess’ spirit was free from her body when it was turned to stone by the evil sorcerer, Vaati. However, spirits are unable to do anything but watch what transpires before them, so Zelda did nothing but watch as Link received the sword, the Picori Blade and the map.

Zelda’s invisible spirit smiled warmly as she watched him speak to her stone-like body. She wished that there was something she could do to get his attention, but she is sad that it cannot be done.

As Link left the throne room, Zelda decided to follow Link and watch him set out on his journey. That’s the best thing she could do at the time being.

Chapter Text

Link left the castle after receiving his orders from the king. He wanted to trek through town, but he couldn’t because the road was blocked off by soldiers who were fanning out and hoping to find the evil sorcerer that cursed Princess Zelda.

One of the soldiers told Link that the quickest way to get to the Minish Woods is taking a shortcut through the road that was the closest to Lon Lon Ranch. Link remembered Lon Lon Ranch; he and his grandfather were friends with the owner and his daughter, Malon.

Link used to hang out with Malon from time to time. She was like a second best friend to Link compared to Princess Zelda

Even though he would love to visit Lon Lon Ranch sometime, Link could not afford to do it now because he had a mission to do. He appeared on the road that was near the ranch, and he followed it to a point where he needed to go.

Along the way, Link had to use the sword on certain enemies, such as the octoroks, which spit out hard rocks at their enemies and groups of ferret-like creatures that jump out in packs to attack.

As Link trekked further down the road, he eventually came across a bridge. Near the bridge lies a sign that reads:

“This way to the Minish Woods!”

After crossing the bridge, Link eventually found himself walking into the Minish Woods, which looked green and swampy. Inside the forest are the usual enemies and that didn’t bother the new hero a bit.

As he ventured deeper into the forest, Link ran into a new enemy he never encountered. The monster is some form of green colloidal gel that later formed into a jelly-like creature with big yellow eyes and a crazy looking smile.

Link had heard of these monsters; he remembered reading about them. The monster was called a ChuChu.

Link eradicated the ChuChu and several of its allies with a few swipes of the sword he acquired from his grandfather. After that, he continued his journey.

After many minutes of walking, Link suddenly remembered what he came here for. “I wonder where those Picori are?” He said to himself.

Link climbed up on a tree and he started calling out for the Picori, saying that he needs their help. Unfortunately, the hero learned that the Picori won’t just come out because a human child was calling out to them.

Link also remembered that the Picori are known to be tiny creatures, so he gently knelt himself down on the ground and used his eyes to study the ground, hoping to find them. He even looked underneath certain things, such as mushrooms, sticks and even tiny pebbles.

After unsuccessfully looking at the ground for the Picori, Link tried looking for them in the trees. He climbed up on one and he peeked his head through a large hole on it.

“Picori!” The hero called out, but none answered.

Link then hopped down from the tree and he started looking through tall grass and tall bushes. The bushes were proven itchy for the Hylian body, so Link left the bushes and he started calling out for the Picori once more.

“PICORI!!! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?!?!”

Total silence came after Link’s loud calling. The hero felt tired, so he sat down to rest.

Gosh!” Link sighed. “Is this NOT the hundredth year when the Picori world door opens? Maybe the king was wrong, maybe they do NOT reveal themselves to children. Maybe they could if Zelda was with me, but she is not here! She’s stone now, and it’s all my fault!”

Link sighed heavily as he clouds not help but think of his failure to save Zelda from the curse Vaati placed upon her. He wished that he was strong enough to protect her.

Suddenly, Link gasped. “Or maybe… I can’t see the Picori because I never believed in them?!”

Link felt the horror flash in his face. He remembered lying to Zelda that he believed in the legend of the Picori. He knew that if Zelda knew that he never believed in them, it would’ve broken her heart.

“OH, NO! OH, NO!” Link panicked. “Even though I’m a kid, my innocence is gone! THAT must be it! Even though I’m a kid, I just CAN’T see them! Not with these jaded eyes!”

Link started hyperventilating for a few minutes, and then he calmed down as he tried to get a breather going. After that he slumped on a tree for a few minutes, and then, he got up and continued walking.

“What the heck am I going to do?” The hero asked himself. “If I don’t find those Picori soon, Zelda is… doomed.”

Link walked for many more minutes until he stopped near a stone table of some sorts that had a small hole in the bottom. Link studied the table for a bit, but then, a noise suddenly got his attention.

“HELLLLP!!! HELLLLP MEEEE!!!”

Link heard a voice calling for help, and he immediately rushed to wherever the voice was coming from. He eventually reached where he was supposed to go, and he was dumbstruck when he saw a stocking cap being beaten up by a pair of octoroks.

On the top of the stocking cap lies the head of some duck with a large orange bill. Link was startled when he noticed that the duck head was actually talking.

“Won’t somebody stop them?!” Cried the duck head. It then spotted Link. “Hey, you, boy! Help me get rid of these guys, will you?!”

Link didn’t make a move because he was too baffled at the sight of the talking stocking cap with the duck head on it. He was baffled because the thought of a talking stocking cap is absolutely crazy.

“HEY!” Screamed the duck head. “Don’t just stand there, kid! Do something! Help me!!! I mean, come on! Do you find me getting abused amusing to you?!”

Link snapped out of his baffled expression and he went to work in eradicating the octoroks that were bullying the talking stocking cap. After the octoroks were removed from existence, Link checked on the stocking cap, which was shaking off the pain.

Phew!” The cap sighed in relief. “Well done! That was close! Not that I couldn’t handle them myself…”

“Yeah, whatever,” Link replied flatly.

“So, anyway… What’s a child like you doing in the Minish Woods?”

“I’m looking for the Picori people,” Link explained, and then he told the cap about what had happened with Vaati and Zelda and stuff.

“Wait…” The cap said after Link finished his explanation. “So Vaati’s cursed someone and destroyed the Picori Blade?!”

“Yes, that’s right,” Link answered. “That someone happens to be a very important friend of mine and–” He suddenly paused as he realized something. “Hang on… You know Vaati?”

“I do,” replied the cap. “You see, I just realized that you and I have a lot in common.”

“How so?” Link asked.

“I, too, am on a quest to remove a curse left by Vaati,” answered the cap.

“Really?!” Chirped Link.

“Yeah,” the cap confirmed, “and you just told me that reforging the Picori Blade can remove these curses, no?”

“That’s what I was told,” Link answered.

“If that is the case,” replied the cap, “then I hope you do not mind finding me as your companion, boy. My name is Ezlo, and it is my honor to make your acquaintance!”

“Now, wait a minute,” Link replied, sounding a little annoyed. “Give me one good reason why I should let you tag along? Since you were having trouble dealing with those octoroks, you’d probably be useless in battle.”

“How rude!” Ezlo chastised Link. I was hoping to share some secrets about the Picori, but since you do not want my help–”

“No, wait, wait!” Link suddenly interjected. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Please tell me your secrets!”

Ezlo paused for a moment before replying. “Alright, I’ll tell you. Come here; I’ll whisper it.”

Link leaned toward Ezlo, hoping to listen to his secrets. He didn’t get the secrets, however; what he got was a surprise. Ezlo suddenly hopped on top of Link’s scalp.

“There!” Ezlo sighed. “Now, I won’t be able to get left behind! My, it’s comfortable up here!”

“Hey!” Link cried. “You tricked me! Get off!”

“Easy there, kid,” Ezlo replied. “I did not trick you. I will tell you my secret of the Picori. I know where they are and I will guide you to them.”

“You can?” Link asked, forgetting the fact that Ezlo jumped on his scalp without permission. “How?”

“It’s quite simple really,” Ezlo answered, and then, it pointed its head toward a big tree stump. “You see that stump over there?” Link nodded his head. “Hop on top of it and watch an amazing thing.”

“Okay?” Link replied, and he did what he was told to do. “There, I did it. Now what?”

Ezlo suddenly whistled a tune and then there was a strong gust of wind surrounding Link and Ezlo. Suddenly, the gust shrunk Link and Ezlo down to a tiny size and they fell through a hole in the tree stump.

Link bounced on a couple of big mushrooms before finally landing on the ground. “W-W-What was that?!” He gasped in fright.

“That, my boy,” Ezlo started explaining, “was my magic. It’s how we get small. You see, the world of the Minish is very small, and you were far too big to meet them.”

“Minish?” Link repeated the term Ezlo used. “Who are the Minish?”

“They are who you Hylians refer to as the Picori,” answered Ezlo. “‘Minish’ is how they really should be referred to. Anyway, their tiny village was built in this village, and many live there now. In order to get to that village, you’d need to be shrunk first, and the tree stump was the answer. The stump is a portal to the world of the Minish. Do you understand now, boy?”

“First of all, I have a name,” Link responded in annoyance. He was getting tired of being called boy or kid. “My name is Link. And secondly, I think I do understand. So, can we go to this village now?”

“Right, then,” Ezlo replied. “Let’s get moving, Link! Oh, but be careful. Mere puddles at your normal size are bottomless swamps to the Minish.”

“Thanks for the tip,” Link flatly replied.

And with that, Link, with Ezlo on his scalp, walked out of the big tree stump and he trekked through the tall grass. Under the guidance of his new companion, Link went through a log that acts as a tunnel, and then, after crossing the tunnel, Link found himself before a big bottomless pond.

Luckily, there were two leaves that were swimming in the pond, and Link quickly hopped on it in order to use it as a raft. Eventually the leaf-like raft led Link to another part of the dry land, and he walked toward a path that eventually led him and Ezlo to his destination: The Minish Village.

Chapter Text

Link, with Ezlo laying on the boy’s head comfortably, walked through the big dirt path, and he eventually walked upon a land that had a lot of houses and stuff. When they arrived, Ezlo chirped in excitement.

“It appears we have found the Minish Village!”

“That’s good to know!” Link replied happily. “Now, I can get these guys to help me fix the blade and save Zelda!”

After Link said his statement, he and Ezlo just noticed that several tiny people, the Minish, surrounded them. One of them chirped in a language Link didn’t fully understand.

“Pico Picori!”

The Minish got closer to Link, and they started chattering in the same bizarre language. “Ripi Ripico Picori!” Said one of the other Picori.

“Picoco pico ripico!” Said another member.

Link was baffled by the Minish’s language. He was baffled even more when the Minish suddenly scattered away from him.

“What the heck was that all about?”

“I gather,” replied Ezlo, “it’s been quite some time since they last saw a human.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Link said. “And what’s more is that they were speaking in something so bizarre!”

“What’s that?” Ezlo asked. “You mean you didn’t understand what they were saying?”

“No, I didn’t!” Link confirmed. “They were speaking this bizarre language.”

“It’s not bizarre!” Ezlo rebuked. “It’s the language of the Minish! Although, the dialect was a little different from what I was most familiar with. I’m afraid to say that I didn’t really catch most of what they were saying.”

Link sighed. “Well, that’s just great.”

“Look, let’s not panic,” Ezlo chirped, trying to stay positive. “I’m sure one of these individuals can understand your language. Let’s look around and find someone.”

Link silently nodded his head in agreement, and then he started walking around the village. He met with some of the Minish, but they were still speaking the same language he was not familiar with.

It took Link a while, but he came across a very large building, like a castle, and seeing that the door is not guarded by a Minish, like the other houses, Link decided to enter the big building. Once he entered the building, he came across an elder-looking Minish who was sitting on a throne of some sort.

“Hmmm…” The elder Minish hummed as he studied Link. “I’ve never seen an outfit like that before. Tell me… Are you a human?”

“I am, sir,” Link answered. “My name is Link, and I am relieved to see that you can speak my language.”

“Oh, my!” Cried the elder. “It’s been a while since we came into contact with humans! How do you do? My name is Festari and I am the keeper of this sanctuary and the shrine located up north. Oh, by the way, I understand that you were having trouble understanding our language?”

“Yes, sir, that is correct,” Link confirmed.

“Why don’t you try eating a Jabber Nut?” Festari suggested. “That should help you understand our tongue.”

“Where can I find one?” Link asked.

“There should be some in the barrel house south of here,” Festari answered.

Link hurried out of the sanctuary, and then, minutes later, he came across the barrel house. Inside, he was looking around for this Jabber Nut, and then, eventually, he came across a nut that Ezlo suddenly chirped at.

“Look, Link! This must be the one Festari was talking about. Try eating it, and let’s see what happens.”

Link ate the whole Jabber Nut in a nutshell. After that, he came across a Minish who saw everything. It started talking to Link before he could have an opportunity to apologize.

“So, you’ve eaten the Jabber Nut, and now, you can understand what we’re saying, huh?”

Link was baffled for a few seconds before answering. “Yes… Yes, I can.”

“You know,” the Minish continued, “the elder said that humans can no longer see us as they once could. It’s amazing that you can see us.”

“Yes, indeed,” Link replied. “If you’ll excuse me, I must be on my way back to the elder.”

“And with that, Link left the barrel house, and he made his way back to the sanctuary. Inside, he told the elder that he ate the Jabber Nut and he spoke fluently with one of the Minish.

“That’s good!” The elder replied. “Now, state your business.”

“Sir, I need your help,” Link explained. “An evil sorcerer has broken the Picori Blade and has also cursed the princess of my kingdom, turning her to stone. I was sent here to ask you to help restore this blade so we can use it to return the princess to normal.”

Festari paused for a moment and he hummed thoughtfully. “That’s got to be a heck of a situation you and your kingdom is in. I wish I could help, but I don’t know much about swords. However, there is another elder that can be of help.”

“Where can I find him, sir?”

“He lives in a big house that is west of the sanctuary,” answered Festari.

Heeding the elder’s advice, Link left the sanctuary, headed west of the sanctuary and he found a big house that looked like what the elder described. He entered the house, and he came across another elder-looking Minish.

“Oh!” The elder squeaked as Link greeted him. “You speak our language!”

“Yes, and it was thanks to the Jabber Nut,” Link responded.

“Amazing!” The elder chirped excitedly. “It’s been a while since we had outsiders speak our tongue!”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Link replied. “Listen, I came here for your help. My kingdom is in trouble. An evil sorcerer has broken the Picori Blade and has also cursed my princess, turning her to stone. I was sent here to ask for help in restoring the Picori Blade, so we can restore the princess back to normal.”

“And if I may,” Ezlo interrupted. “I, too, was cursed by the same evil sorcerer and I believe the Picori Blade can help me. So… Can you help us?”

“Well, to be honest, I cannot reforge the blade for you, but I know how it works,” the elder answered. “First you need to collect four mystic elements that are located in four different shrines located in four different areas in Hyrule. These elements are the crystalline forms of the energies of this world.Only by infusing the blade with these energies can a new blade be forged.”

“Where can I find these shrines, then?” Link asked.

“Do you have a map of Hyrule?” The elder asked, and Link nodded his head. “I can mark where these elements can be found.” Link handed the map to the elder, who proceeded to leave out four marks on it. “Luckily, one of these shrines, where the Earth Element dwells, happens to be our very own shrine north of Festari’s abbey.”

“Do you suppose that Festari wouldn’t mind leading me and Ezlo to this shrine?” Link asked with hope in his voice.

“Why, of course!” The elder answered. “We Minish are very kind and generous! And since this is an emergency, I’m sure Festari will be honored to help remedy it. But please be careful, young human… For there are evil creatures making home in our shrine. Be sure to come back to me when you’ve obtained the Earth Element, okay?”

“I’ll keep that in mind, sir” Link responded, and then, he left the house.

Link hurried back to the abbey, and he explained to Festari what the elder said to him about how the Picori Blade can be reforged. After Link’s explanation, Festari hummed thoughtfully.

“So, you wish to enter the shrine?”

“Yes,” Link answered.

“Very well, then,” Festari said with a nod of his head. “This way…”

Festari led Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, down his abbey and then they made their way to a back door. Festari opened the back door and then, he turned to Link.

“The shrine is located just outside this door. There should be a path that will take you there. But I have to warn you… Vile beasts have been settling in there recently, so it is very dangerous. Are you armed?”

“I am,” Link answered as he patted the sword and shield on his back.

“Good,” replied Festari. “Then ,you shouldn’t have a problem entering the shrine and finding the Earth Element. Good luck.”

“Thank you,” both Link and Ezlo answered in unison, and then, the boy went past the open back door.

Link had to travel through several tunnels before he got to an area where a big, stone temple stands. Believing that the temple is the shrine he was looking for, Link let out a huge sigh of relief.

“We found it!” Link sighed, and then, he started mumbling softly. “Hang on, Zelda. I’ll bring you back… I promise.”

After that, Link got close to the shrine and he discovered two big words on top of the entryway that reads: “Deepwood Shrine”. Wasting no time, Link, with Ezlo nestled on his scalp, entered through the entryway and made it inside the Deepwood Shrine.

Chapter Text

As Link, with Ezlo nestled in Link’s scalp, entered the Deepwood Shrine, he can see how mossy the place looks. The walls and floors are made of stone, but they are covered in green, red and yellow moss that appears due to how old the place is.

As Link looked around the shrine’s main chamber, Ezlo did the same and then he chirped out. “So, this is the Deepwood Shrine the Minish elder spoke of…”

“Seems to be,” Link replied with full confidence.

“Didn’t the elder said something about monsters dwelling in here?” Ezlo asked.

“Yep,” Link answered. “Why? Does that frighten you?”

“He-Hey now!” Cried Ezlo. “No reason to be afraid or anything… I’ll be waiting right here.”

“But then, you’ll be all alone as I venture deeper into the shrine,” Link warned.

“Good point,” Ezlo replied sheepishly. “I cannot afford to have you leave me alone out here!”

“Then, let’s get going,” Link said, and then he went past a doorway.

Link entered a dark chamber and he spotted several slug-like monsters. He immediately eliminated them with the sword he received from his grandfather.

“Boy, you sure are courageous to fight monsters like that,” Ezlo complimented. After that, Link attempts to open another door, but it is locked. “Blast!” Ezlo complained. “It’s locked! Look around the room for a key!”

Link looked around, but he couldn’t find a key. But he did found something interesting; he found four buttons standing next to four unlit torches. Link pressed on the buttons, igniting the torches, and then, seconds later, a chest appeared out of nowhere.

Link opened the chest to find a small, iron key and Link used it to open the locked door. After that, he came across a chamber where there is a small river of some sort. The chamber also has an incomplete bridge and a lever.

Ezlo looked at the lever, and then chirped something at Link. “Do you see that lever?” Link nodded. “I think you’ll be able to pull it. Let’s do it and see what happens.”

Link pulled the lever and the bridge completed itself. Link crossed the bridge, and then discovered a big, blue mushroom; he pulled it, and he was amazed that it was very elastic.

After pulling on the mushroom far enough, Link let himself go of the floor and he zoomed across a big pond, and when he crossed the pond, he went through another doorway.

In the next chamber, Link discovered a big barrel that he can gain access. He went through the barrel and he pressed some buttons that lit a couple of vines that was holding the barrel on fire. Because of that, Link can move the barrel around to open new pathways.

Link went through one path and he solved a puzzle, in another chamber, where he pulled statues into buttons to make a chest appear. He opened the chest to reveal another small key.

Link also found the map of the shrine and he used it to return to the barrel room. When he got back to the barrel room, he tried another path by moving the barrel around.

In another chamber, Link battled some monsters in order to get a key. After retrieving the key, Link went through another doorway, and then he found a locked door in another chamber and he opened it to enter a room where a big, blue caterpillar-like monster awaits him.

The monster is called a Madderpillar, and it attempted the charge at Link, but the hero swiped its nose with his sword. The Madderpillar turned red, and Link noticed that the tip of its tail became a giant heart or something.

Link swiped the heart-tail a bunch of times, but it wasn’t enough to eliminate the Madderpillar. The monster continued charging against Link, who had to avoid it because hitting it on the nose while it is red is not effective.

As the Madderpillar returned to its normal, blue color, Link hits it on the nose with the sword, and it turned red again. Link then started swiping the heart-tail and then, finally, the monster wailed in immense pain and it exploded in smoke; the Madderpillar was no more.

With the Madderpillar destroyed, a giant chest appeared, and Link opened it to reveal a strange object. ALong with the object was a note that reads:

“Gust Jar: Use it to suck things in. Very useful against monsters, and with the bouncy mushrooms.”

Link used the Gust Jar to vacuum up some sticky webs that was blocking a door, and then he found himself in a room where there was a huge river ahead, and there was also a lily pad on the river. Ezlo studied the lily pad.

“Perhaps we can use this lily pad to get across the river and press further. You’ll need to use the Gust Jar”

“Agreed,” Link replied, and then he hopped on the lily pad and he used the Gust Jar to make it go forward.

The river had two different paths. One led Link to an area where he collected a key after defeating some fly-like monsters, and the other path led him to a locked door, which Link used the key for.

In a big chamber with water on it, Link had to use the Gust Jar to lock on to mushrooms and fly across these waters until he reached another big chest. Inside this chest is the key that will open the door to the boss room.

Along the key was a note that reads:

“Go back to the main chamber and climb up the stairs to reach the boss door.”

After reading the note, Link spotted a button, and he pressed it to reveal a glowing red tile. Link stepped on the tile and it transported him back to the main chamber.

Looking around the chamber, Link noticed some sticky webs on the walls, and then, after getting an idea, he used the Gust Jar to remove the webs. When the webs were removed, Link realized that his theory was correct when there was a stairway hidden behind the webs.

Link climbed the stairs, and he had to use the Gust Jar to lock on to a mushroom and hop across some more water to get to the big door. Once he got to the door, he used the big key to open it, and then, he passed through the doorway to enter a really big chamber.

Meanwhile, outside the shrine, a lone green ChuChu slithered itself to the stoney shrine and the it climbed up on the roof. Noticing a little crack on the roof, the ChuChu decided to slip right through it and surprise the hell out of the hero that came for the Earth Element.

Link was looking for the Earth Element when the giant, green ChuChu appeared before Link. Link and Ezlo were scared out of their minds.

“Holy Hylia!” Link gasped.

“Holy buckets!” Cried Ezlo.

The ChuChu attempted to squash Link and Ezlo by jumping on top of it, but Link dodged the attack. After dodging the attack, Link noticed something about the ChuChu; he noticed that its solo leg is small compared to the rest of the body, and then, he got an idea.

Link fished out the Gust Jar to vacuum up the jelly from the ChuChu’s small leg, and then, it became so small that the ChuChu struggled with its balance and then it fell down.

Seeing that the ChuChu is stunned by falling to the ground, Link quickly used his sword to damage the ChuChu a bunch of times, but it wasn’t enough to kill it. The ChuChu recovered, and then it jumped at Link again, forcing him to jump out of the way.

Link used the same strategy as before, using the Gust Jar to remove the jelly from the ChuChu’s leg and then it stumbled down on the ground again. After that, Link continued to damage the ChuChu with the sword, and this time, the ChuChu stood up as it was exploding from the inside; moments later, it exploded into smoke and it was no more.

Link emerged victorious against the giant ChuChu.

Minutes later, a purple stone fell from the ceiling and it landed before Link, who stared at it in awe. Ezlo also stared at the stone, and he gasped in surprise.

“Link, this must be the Earth Element!” Ezlo cried. “We got the Earth Element!”

“Wahoo!” Link cheered as he got his hands on the element. “One down, three to go! I’m getting close! Hang on, Zelda! Your hero is coming!”

“Now, now,” Ezlo warned. “Don’t get cocky now. We still have a long way to go before we can fix that blade and revert your girlfriend back to normal.”

Link’s face turned as red as a tomato. “Sh– She–” He sputtered. “She’s not my girlfriend! I mean, I wish she was, but it’s impossible! She's the princess and I’m a… a normal blacksmith boy.”

“Keep dreaming, boy,” Ezlo smirked. “I’m sure something good will come out of this after this adventure is over. For now, let’s get that element to the Minish elder.”

“Right,” Link replied.

After the conversation, Link spotted a glowing, green tile on the floor, and he stepped on it. Moments later, Link, with Ezlo still nestled on his scalp, teleported out of the shrine.

What Link and Ezlo failed to notice was that Zelda’s spirit form, who has been following Link every step of the way since the castle, was watching their conversation. She blushed when she heard Link called himself her hero, and then she became sad when Link said that a permanent relationship with her is impossible because of their statuses.

After many moments of consideration, Zelda straightened herself up and she put on her determined face. “When this is all over, Link,” she said. “You and I will be together… one way or another… We will be together.”

And with that, Zelda floated herself out of the boss room, out of the shrine and she already found Link at the entrance of the shrine. He was already getting ready to head back to the Minish Village.

Chapter Text

After receiving the Earth Element from the Deepwood Shrine, Link, with Ezlo still nestled on his scalp, returned to the Minish Village. The first thing he did was returning to the elder’s house, and then, he told him that he got the element.

“So!” Exclaimed the elder. “You have found the Earth Element! How extraordinary! You are blessed with much courage and strength for one so young! The hero we knew centuries ago was older than you. He was a late teenager.”

“I see,” Link replied. “So, now that I have this Earth Element, am I close to getting the Picori Blade fixed?”

“One step closer, to be exact,” the elder answered. “You still have to collect the three other elements in order to gain its full power, but in order to get it fixed halfway, you’ll have to climb up Mount Crenel and speak to the Minish smiths up there. The leader of the smiths is named Melari.”

“Melari?” Link repeated the name.

“Yes,” confirmed the Minish elder. “Among all the Minish, there is no one more qualified to fix that blade than him. If you ask him, I am certain that he will reforge your broken blade.”

“Thank you,” Link said gratefully to the Minish elder. “I’ll be on my way, then.”

“Hold up, boy,” warned the elder. “The sun is coming down and large beasts mostly come out at night and that would be bad for those that are as small as the Minish… Including you. So, why don’t you crash here for the night, and then, you can leave at dawn. In the meantime, I will send word to Melari at Mount Crenel in advance.”

“Thank you, sir,” Link said gratefully. “That would be nice. So, where shall I sleep?”

“You can crash here for the night,” answered the elder. “Just don’t go wandering about. You may be brave, but there are many evils in this world and we have that magician friend of yours to thank for that.”

“He’s NOT my friend!” Link snorted.

“Nor mine,” Ezlo added. “He’s the reason I am stuck in this miserable cap-shaped body!”

“He’s nobody’s friend, to tell you the truth,” replied the elder softly. “Anyone who’s heart is filled with evil and contempt is never a friend to those who have good hearts.” He suddenly yawned. “It’s already starting to get late. I suggest you two get some sack time for tomorrow is a big day.”

“Yes, it is,” agreed Link. “I have to get to Mount Crenel and get this blade fixed so I can revert Princess Zelda back to normal.”

Later that night, Link was given a blanket and a pillow and he lay down on the floor while Ezlo sat down on the table. Ezlo realized how glum Link looks and he started a conversation with him.

“Hey, you alright there, kid?”

Link shrugged. “I can’t stop thinking about the princess. The poor thing… She’s all alone, encased in stone, at the castle. She wouldn’t have been if I was strong enough to protect her. I’ve had so many things to tell her, but I couldn’t do it because…” He stopped speaking and he sighed sadly.

“You love her… don’t you?”

Link looked at Ezlo, his cheeks burning with maroon blushes. “W-What?!” He spluttered.

Ezlo smiled smugly. “You really do… Kid, you really are a little devil.”

“Oh, give me a break!” retorted Link defensively. “I’m just concerned for her well-being! That’s all!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” Ezlo teased. “Come on, kid, we should hit the sack. We need to start our adventure bright and early tomorrow.”

Link immediately shook away the blushes on his face. “Right, right,” he agreed, and then, he laid his head down on the pillow and he closed his eyes in order to fully sleep his brain.

It was already dark when Link and Ezlo went to sleep. Ezlo blew out the candle before he fell asleep.

While Link and his friend was sleeping, the spirit of Zelda floated above them, watching her friend sleep in peace. She smiled peacefully and warmly as she stared at Link. She had wished that she could find a way to speak to him.

Suddenly, a strange glow began to formulate around Zelda’s spirit. She gasped in surprise as she noticed this.

The glow suddenly made her remember some memories she had with her mother. She remembered learning that with this golden power, she can use telepathy with other people while either in her body or in spirit mode.

Realizing this, Zelda concentrated her power, floated down toward Link and she placed a gentle hand on her friend’s forehead. “Link… Link… Can you hear me?” She started calling.

Link was dreaming of himself standing in the cold, dark throne room at Hyrule Kingdom. Realizing where he was, he turned to see Zelda’s statue form, and he approached it silently.

Link touched the stone statue of Zelda gently, and then, he jerked a single tear. “I’m so sorry, Zelda.” He said sadly.

Moments later, the stone glowed gold and Link gasped in surprise. He gasped more as he could suddenly hear Zelda’s voice emanating from the statue.

“Link… Link…” Zelda’s voice rang out from the glowing, stone statue. “Link, can you hear me?”

“Zelda?” Link gasped. “Is that you?!”

“Link?!” Zelda gasped in surprise. “It’s you! Oh, thank goodness, I reached you!”

“Zelda!” Link cried and he embraced the glowing statue tightly.

Zelda sighed heavily and lovingly. “Oh! Even though I am a spirit, I can feel your warmth!”

“Spirit?” Link repeated the term.

“Yes, Link,” Zelda confirmed. “I am a spirit. I became a spirit after that wicked sorcerer placed that wretched curse upon my body, encasing me into stone. Since then, I have been following you after I saw Father entrusting you with the mission to repair the Picori Blade and revert my curse.”

“You…” Link gasped. “You’ve been following me? So, you’ve been observing my journey the whole time?”

“Yes, Link,” Zelda confirmed once more.

Link’s face became sad and forlorn, and he looked down on the cold, dark, stoney floor of the castle chamber. He sniffled a bit before speaking.

“I’m sorry, Zelda… For everything. I even lied to you when you asked me whether I believed in the Picori legends or not. I know how much it meant to you, but I just… wasn’t sure if they were real or not. For that, I am so sorry.”

“Link…” Zelda replied softly. Her tone, to Link’s surprise, was not one of anger, but one of consolation. “I am not angry about your lie. In fact, I am not angry at all. You did what you could; you tried to protect me… because you care for me. I am really proud of you. Besides, I am glad that the discovery of the village has proven you wrong about those legends.” She giggled.

Link glanced away, blushing when Zelda giggled. He felt embarrassed when Zelda pointed out how wrong the boy was when it came to the legend of the Minish.

“Although I am surprised that the tiny people would rather be called Minish instead of the Picori like we used to,” Zelda continued.

“Yeah, that is surprising,” Link agreed.

“Hey, tell me about that friend of yours,” Zelda changed the subject of the conversation. “Ezlo… What’s his story?”

“He was cursed by the same sorcerer that cursed you,” Link explained. “I don’t know what Ezlo was then, but now, he is some cap that is helpless against monsters. He now clings on my scalp for protection.”

Zelda giggled. “That’s kinda cute. I actually prefer you wearing a green stocking cap to go with your attire.”

Link chuckled. “Thank you, Zelda. That’s a really interesting opinion.”

“You’re welcome,” Zelda replied.

The two continued talking for long hours until Zelda realized that the morning sun was coming up. She looked glum as she told Link about what was happening.

“It's going to be morning soon,” Zelda said sadly. “I must leave you now.” Link was about to protest whe Zelda interjected. “But do not worry. We will speak to each other again. Thanks to my power, I can telepathically speak to you in your dreams. I’ll be looking forward to talking to you again, okay?”

It took Link a couple of seconds to process what Zelda was saying to him. When it was processed, Link responded that he understood what she was saying and he said goodbye to her before waking up from his dream.

After waking up from his sleep, Link already felt depressed because he had already missed hearing Zelda’s voice. That was not going to stop him, however, because he heard her promise to speak to him again the next night. Plus, he had to continue his mission to get the Picori Blade fixed so he can revert the curse on her.

Link already felt his scalp squeezed tight as Ezlo sat on it, sighing in relief. “Rise and shine, kid! It’s time to get a move on!”

“Right,” Link agreed and he returned the blanket and pillow to the elder.

As soon as the elder received the blanket and pillow back from Link, he immediately walked over to a part of the house where there’s a big, red curtain on the wall. The elder opened the curtain to reveal a big doorway that leads outside to another part of the village.

“This path shall take you outside of the village,” the elder explained. “Along the way, you’ll come across a stone table that’ll revert you back to normal size. As soon as your back to normal, you’ll be able to leave the forest quickly and continue your quest to Mount Crenel.”

“Great Elder,” Ezlo began, “we are in your debt. We shall head for Mount Crenel at once! Come on, kid! Let’s go!”

“Right,” Link obliged. “Farewell, Great Elder!”

“Farewell,” the elder returned. “And may the Goddesses protect you!”

And with that, Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, took off through the secret doorway to continue his journey to restore the Picori Blade and save Hyrule and Zelda.

Chapter Text

After exiting the village, Link and Ezlo went inside a stone table and grew back to normal. After that they left the Minish Woods, intending on returning to Castle Town.

The first thing Link did as he got back to the town, he visited Master Swiftblade and he informed him of his success of finding the Minish. He also told him about the four elements and how he was able to claim one of them from the Deepwood Shrine.

“Well, I must say,” began Swiftblade, “I am impressed with your sudden performance. I guess your patience for a chance at this warrior/hero gig has finally paid off. I was tasked by the king to help you get better with your skills, and I would like to teach you how to do the spin attack.”

“The spin attack?” Link asked. “That’s a really powerful attack!”

“Indeed,” Swiftblade agreed. “If it were up to me, you wouldn’t be learning this attack until you have gotten older. Since the king trusts you completely, I have to overlook that minor detail. Get out your sword and let’s get to it.”

Link obeyed Swiftblade’s command and he unsheathed the sword he acquired from his grandfather. After that, he got into a fighting stance.

“Before we begin, I think it is important that you FEEL the technique rather than hearing about it,” Swiftblade said. “That’s why I will now possess your body so as to demonstrate the technique!”

“Forgive me, master,” Link replied, “but how do you plan to ‘possess’ me?”

“Simple,” Swiftblade answered. “I have a technique that can help with the possession. I call it the Swiftblade Switcheroo Technique of training! Watch this! Urrrngh!”

Swiftblade groaned and he did a stance. After that, he did a quick front flip and magic was concentrated on his body; the magic then went to Link.

After feeling the magic, Link charged his sword for a few moments and then he twirled himself around with his blade sticking out. “HYAAAH!” He screamed.

Link was able to perform the spin attack thanks to Swiftblade’s possession. After that, Swiftblade spoke to Link.

“Well done! Now you must try it yourself! Good luck!”

After receiving orders from Swiftblade, Link did a fighting stance and he charged up his sword. Letting go of the charge, Link spun himself around and swished his blade. He has performed a brilliant spin attack without help from Swiftblade’s possession.

“Fine work!” Swiftblade congratulated the hero. “You’re a quick study! I will now give you this Tiger Scroll as proof of your mastery!”

Swiftblade handed Link a yellow scroll, which is proof that he has mastered the spin attack. After giving the scroll away, Swiftblade continued speaking to his student.

“This is the first secret technique you have learned from me, Link. It won’t be the last. If you need any more techniques, let me know. For now, the spin attack will help you on your mission to Mt. Crenel. Another piece of advice: The inside of Mt. Crenel is volcanic, and it will be hot and dangerous. Use caution.”

“I will,” promised Link.

After that, Link left the dojo, and he approached a guard that was guarding the path to the mountain he is supposed to go to. The guard spoke severely.

“I’m sorry, young man, but I must let you pass.”

“Sir, you must let me pass,” Link replied. “I am Link, and on a quest to Mt. Crenel to seek out the Picori there. King’s orders. I have also received special permission from Swiftblade, who has taught me the spin attack, one of his most special attacks.”

To prove his words, Link showed the guard the Tiger Scroll to the guard. The guard hummed with a hint of improvement in his tone of voice.

“Oh, so you’ve learned Master Swiftblade’s spin attack?” The guard asked, and Link nodded. “The path to the mountain is still dangerous, but… maybe you can handle it. I’ll let you pass, young man. Good luck!”

The guard stood aside and Link moved on to the path, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, intending to get to the base of Mt. Crenel. The path led him to the Trilby Highlands, and there, Link had to battle some fox hybrids carrying swords, and he was able to eliminate them with the spin attack.

“That spin attack has become very handy!” Ezlo complimented.

“It IS one of Master Swiftblade’s most secret attacks,” Link reminded. “It can also be used as a defense mechanism.” Suddenly, Link saw a Minish portal on the grassy plains, and he also saw a flock of birds eating worms on the ground. “Hey, I’ve got a plan!”

Link hopped on the Minish portal and he shrunk himself and Ezlo to Minish size. Once miniaturized, Link cautiously approached the flock of birds and he attempted to hop on one of them.

“Link, are you sure this is a good idea?” Ezlo asked.

“I heard stories that one of Hyrule’s first heroes flew a crimson Loftwing on his journey to battle evil,” Link explained. “Hearing that story, I always wanted to fly.”

After making his explanation as clear as he can, Link hopped on one of the birds, and he tamed it in order to get it to do his bidding. When the bird was tame, it flew Link and Ezlo up to the sky and now they are flying towards Mt. Crenel.

“Impressive,” Ezlo softly mumbled to himself. “He has all these ideas I could have NEVER imagined. I wonder if all Hylians are as daring as he.”

Link did not hear any of Ezlo’s soft ramblings. He just gazed at the beautiful sky, and he took in a lot of fresh air that was blowing in his face.

Link and Ezlo spotted Mt. Crenel at their sight. It didn’t take long for them to get closer to it, and when they did, Link hopped off of the bird, and Ezlo formed himself into a parachute so that Link could land on the ground safely.

After landing on the ground safely, Link already spotted a Minish being attacked by a giant wasp. Determined to be helpful, Link rushed to a Minish portal to turn himself and Ezlo back to normal size and then he swatted the wasp away.

After swatting away the wasp, Link returned to the portal to become Minish-sized again and then he greeted the Minish he rescued. “Are you alright there?” Link asked in the Picorese language?”

“Jeepers!” Cried the Minish. “A human child that can use portals and speak our language! That has never happened before in a lifetime! What is your business here?”

“I am Link, and the cap on my head is named Ezlo!”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Ezlo followed. “We are here to find Master Merlari. Do you know him?”

“Yeah, he’s my master,” replied the mountain Minish. “He just told me to watch out for a human boy cladded in green clothing. He said he is important. Now that I have found you, I will take you to Master Melari.”

“Thank you, sir,” Link said.

“Never mind the ‘sir’,” advised the Minish. “My name is Chiruta! A pleasure!”

After introducing himself, Chiruta led Link and Ezlo to a mountain of red sand that almost looks like an ant hill. The two went through the hole of the hill and they are now on the inside of the ground where the mountain Picori resides.

Link and Ezlo gasped in surprise at how big the residence was. They can see Minish people working on mining stuff and such.

“This way,” Chiruta said pointedly, and he led the two adventurers down a hall in order to get to the main audience chamber where a lone mountain Minish sits on a throne made of hard, red sand.

Chapter Text

The lone mountain Minish stood up as he spotted Link coming toward him. He raised his hand, gesturing to Link to stop.

“From the look of your green clothing,” began the Minish leader. “You must be Link.” He then pointed at the cap on his head. “And you must be Ezlo, the talking cap.”

“I am!” Ezlo replied. “Are we in the presence of Melari, the leader of the mountain Minish and professional blacksmith?”

“That is correct,” Melari answered. “The Forest Elder sent me a message about your coming here, and of your quest. I am really sorry to say that I cannot help you with your quest.”

Link’s eyes widened and his skin color turned as white as a ghost. “W-What?!” He sputtered. “Why not?! You must help me! Princess Zelda has been cursed by a wicked sorcerer and unless we get this Picori Blade fixed, she’ll be stone forever! There must be something you can do!”

Melari paused for a moment before speaking to the boy in green. “Listen, kid… There are two problems. “One, we are insufficient on the resources to forge or reforge swords. We don’t have enough charcoal, and the reason why is because monsters have been attacking our mines lately. Two: I’m retired from smithing.”

“Retired?” Ezlo repeated the word.

“Why would you retire?” Link asked.

“That’s none of your business!” Melari snapped. “Listen, kid, I’m sorry, but I cannot help you. You have to realize that all is lost! Now, I’d like you to leave me in peace… please.”

Link wanted to protest, but Ezlo tightened himself around Link’s scalp, warning him that it’ll only make matters worse. Finally getting the picture, Link stormed out of the throne room in a huff, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, and Chiruta followed him.

“I’m sorry, Link,” Chiruta apologized. “Listen, I know why Melari retired. For so long, the Minish tribes of the Forest and the Mountains have been friends. Melari and Gentari, the Forest Eder, have been friends for a long time. Melari also had a wife who was a part of the forest tribe. Some time before the monsters arrived, a fight broke out between the two tribes and no matter how hard Melari’s wife tried to intervene, it was no use. To make matters worse was that the tension of the fight forced the wife into sickness and then later, she died.”

Link listened to Chiruta’s story about Melari’s past. Until he listened, he was upset that Melari wouldn’t help, but now, he actually felt sorry for the mountain tribe leader.

“His wife’s death made Melari remorseful about what happened between him and Gentari, so the two made peace and Melari vowed never to forge weapons again,” Chiruta finished.

Link sighed. “I see. Thanks for telling me, Chiruta, but this is not helping me with my own problem.”

Ezlo suddenly perked up after moments of solemness. “So, without charcoal, you can’t make sword-quality steel anymore, right?”

“Right,” Chiruta confirmed.

“Well, maybe we won’t need charcoal,” Ezlo continued. “You see, the element that is located here is the Fire Element, and with it, we could use iron ore instead of charcoal.”

“Really, Ezlo?!” Gasped Link.

“Will it work?” Chiruta followed, wanting confirmation.

“If someone as wise as me says so,” Ezlo answered, “it must be true! Besides, we also came up here to retrieve the Fire Element anyway.”

“Well, great, I’m in!” Link replied. “Let’s go get the Fire Element!”

“I’ll go with you!” Chiruta added.

“Are you sure?” Link asked. “The place in which the element is located will be infested with monsters.”

“You mean, the Cave of Flames?” Chiruta responded with a question. “Yes, it’s true that the cave will be infested, but it is also a place where the big people go, so if you use a portal like you did last time, and you carry me, I’ll be safe.”

“Okay, well if you can handle this,” Link said, “then I’ll bring you along. So, where’s the cave?”

“I’ll show you!”

Chiruta led Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, out of the Minish lair and to an area where a giant hole awaits. Standing next to the cave is a stone table, which is used for size transformation.

“Here we are!” Chiruta said.

Link used the stone table to revert back to his normal size, and then he picked up Chiruta and he entered the Cave of Flames. Inside the cave, Link and Ezlo can already feel the volcanic warmth.

“Whew!” Ezlo exclaimed. “The air is so hot! Let’s just find the element and get out of here!”

Link, with Ezlo on his scalp and Chiruta on his shoulder, went through many chambers in the cave, battling monsters and looking for the relic that is located in the cave alongside the Fire Element. He flew through lava pits, using Ezlo as a parachute, and he also rode on mining carts, much to his and Chiruta’s delight.

“Wow!” Reacted Chiruta after the ride was finished. “You big guys think of the neatest stuff!”

“I know,” Link replied. “That was awesome!”

Ezlo, however, was not a big fan of riding on the fast mine carts. “I knew Hyrulean vehicles were no good!” He mumbled and hoped that Link didn’t hear him.

After riding a cart, Link and the others arrived at a room where the relic is waiting. It is a statue holding a cane of pure gold.

“That cane over there!” Chiruta called out. “That’s the Cane of Pacci! It’s another ancient relic made by the Minish for the hero!”

“What does it do?” Link asked as he picked up the cane.

“Wave it at those jars over there,” Chiruta replied, pointing at a couple of jars.

Link did so, and with a magic swish, the jars instantly turned upside down. Link and Ezlo are rather impressed at this.

“Wow!” Ezlo reacted. “So it flips stuff over, huh?”

“Yep!” Chiruta confirmed. “It can also shoot you up into high places if you leave out its light on a hole in the ground. Like that for example.”

Link looked at the hole on the ground and near it is a high platform where a big chest resides. Link swished the cane at the hole, filling it with light, and then, he jumped down the hole; moments later, the magic launched Link up in the air and then, he landed on the high platform.

Link opened the chest and inside is the big key that will open the door to the boss room. After that, Link and the others trekked through the rest of the cave until they found the big boss door.

Opening the boss door, Link and the others entered a big chamber where there is a lava pool in the middle. Moments later, a rumbling was felt and a giant snake-like monster appeared from the lava pool.

“Holy Hylia!” Cried Ezlo. “That’s a Gleeok! Run, Link! Get away from it!”

Link ran away from the Gleeok as it started breathing fire at him. After taking cover, Link noticed something protruding from the Gleeok’s back. It is a glowing gem covered by a rocky shell.

“That gem over there!” Cried Chiruta. “If you break that, it should be able to kill the Gleeok. Use the cane on the shell!”

Link did so, and when the cane’s magic touched the shell, the rocky surface flipped over and it stunned the monster, knocking it unconscious. After that, using the Gleeok’s neck as a bridge, Link used his sword to damage the gem, breaking it in the process.

“There, I did it!” Link cried as he ran away from Gleeok. “Now, let’s see what happens!”

What happened next was the Gleeok roaring in pain, and it was suddenly filling up with so much thick steam. The steam was blinding the vision of Link and his friends.

“So much steam!” Link complained. “Did it work?”

It took a while for the steam to let up, and when it did, Link and the others gasped in wonder when they saw that the Gleeok turned into a different creature, one that looks more beautiful. It looked at the group and it closed its eyes tight and cracked open a smile.

“I see,” Ezlo said after many moments of stunned silence. “So, this is Gleeok’s true form. It must’ve been cursed by the evil magic that broke free from the chest.”

The lovely creature moved its head towards Link, and then in a surprising instant, gave him a smooch. This made Link blush.

“I think it is saying ‘thank you’,” Ezlo said.

“I think I get the idea, Ezlo,” Link replied.

Suddenly a glowing, red object fell from the ceiling of the chamber. It is the Fire Element.

“Alright!” Cheered Link. “We got the Fire Element!”

“Hurrah!” Cheered Chiruta.

“Now that we have the Fire Element,” Ezlo replied, “we can use it to mine iron ore to reforge the Picori Blade! Let’s head back!”

Link nodded his head with a hum and he left the cave with Ezlo on his scalp and Chiruta on his shoulder. They were heading back to Melari’s cave.

As the group left the cave, Zelda, in her spirit form, floated down toward the beautiful creature that gave Link a smooch on the cheek. “Awww! How cute! You must be a really gentle, delicate creature!”

The creature faced Zelda, much to her surprise, and smiled. The action made Zelda giggle more.

“Well, sorry to leave you,” Zelda apologized, “but I’ve got to follow my hero as he continues his quest. I’ll be sure to visit you when I’m free from this curse. Goodbye!”

And with that, Zelda’s spirit left the creature’s sights and out of the cave. She hoped to see it again once this is all over.

Chapter Text

Link, Ezlo and Chiruta returned to Melari’s place, but not before Link had to turn himself back into Minish size. While in the mines, Link and Chiruta held out the Fire Element and it began to concentrate a lot of energy.

As the element charged up its energy, it later spewed into the machinery, turning it on and lava started coming out. The lava formed into large chunks of pebble and when the pebbles cooled down, Link, Ezlo, Chiruta and the rest of the mountain Minish gasped in surprise as the pebbles are now made of a shiny, new metal, iron ore.

“Hot Diggity-Dug!” Cried Chiruta. “The steel has changed! The Fire Element has changed the steel! Your theory has been proven correct, Mister Ezlo!”

“Of course it’s correct!” Ezlo replied. “I’ve always known that it was correct.”

Chiruta turned to his brethren. “Keep mining this stuff up, do you understand?” The Minish nodded their heads, and then, Chiruta turned to Link and Ezlo. “Come! We must show this to Melari. Maybe this’ll help change his mind. And this time, let me do the talking.”

“Got it,” Link agreed.

Chiruta led Link and Ezlo to Melari’s throne room, and they stood before the leader again as he sat down on his throne, moping like a lost child. When they reached Melari, Chiruta began to speak to him as Link and Ezlo kept their mouths shut as promised.

“Look, Master Melari! This is iron ore! This mining material is a hundred times stronger than the steel we use to make with firewood! With this, we’ll be able to forge stronger swords and even reforge the broken Picori Blade.”

Melari’s eyes widened as Chiruta presented the iron ore. “What?” He mumbled as he picked up one of the chunks of iron ore. “How is this possible?”

“The Fire Element,” Chiruta answered. Link, Ezlo and I walked into the Cave of Flames, and we defeated the Gleeok to make the element appear before our eyes. The element turned the machinery on and it also made the lava change the steel, making the iron ore. Technically, this was Ezlo’s idea. He came up with the idea. It is thanks to his wisdom and Link’s courage that we have a new material to forge weapons without having to cut down trees.”

Melari continued staring at the iron ore, and then, he glanced at Link and Ezlo. He seemed rather impressed at how clever and courageous the two are.

“Please, Master,” Chiruta suddenly pleaded. “You must pick the hammer up and reforge the blade for Link and Ezlo. They need that weapon to reverse the curses that were given by this wicked sorcerer. It would make your wife happy. She always knew how much you loved to work.”

Melari looked at the iron ore some more, and he started thinking about his wife. He realized that Chiruta was right about his wife knowing and adoring how much he loved to work in the mines. Jerking a tear of happiness and excitement, Melari made a decision.

“Alright!” Melari chirped happily as he picked up his large mallet. “Let’s do it. Kid, I’m going to reforge the sword for you. Mind you, though, it’ll take some time. You are most welcome to stay with us until the blade is completed. Give us the broken blade and we’ll get to work.”

“Thank you, Master Melari!” Link said happily as he handed the broken Picori Blade to the lead miner. “Thank you so much!”

Melari returned to the mines, and he approached his workers. “Alright, boys! Keep stoking the fires and inflate the bellows! We’ve got a blade to reforge!”

“YES, MASTER!” The Minish happily replied, and they immediately went to work.

Link and Ezlo watched as Melari and the workers mined and farmed enough iron ore to try to reforge the broken Picori Blade. Knowing that the blade will be done soon, the two went outside for a sniff of air.

As they went outside, Link and Ezlo realized that the sun was almost down. They spent some time eating some food they brought with them during their journey and watching the sun set down.

“I love watching the sun go down,” Link said to Ezlo.

“Yeah, me too,” Ezlo replied. “I love how the colors change from yellow to orange when the sun sets down. Orange is a good color.”

“Yeah, it’s a great color,” Link agreed. “Green, for some reason, is my favorite color. I love to wear green. Green is the color of courage, chivalry and bravery. Those are the traits I’ve always wanted to be. I want to be a knight and be there for Princess Zelda. I can’t wait to free her from that curse and go back to the way things are supposed to be.”

Ezlo smiled at Link. He knows for sure that Link is in love with Zelda, but he also knows that Link is sullen about it because since Zelda is the princess and Link is a commoner, a union between the two would be impossible.

“Whew!” Sighed Ezlo. “I’m full!”

“Me, too.”

“Let’s head back inside before the night sky comes,” Ezlo suggested. “Monsters love to come out during the night.”

“No kidding,” Link replied.

Link and Ezlo went back inside the mines, and they see that Melari and his workers is still working on the Picori Blade, which is now orange due to being in the fires for so long. Link is smiling because they are closer to fixing the blade.

An hour later, Link and Ezlo decided to crash for the night, and they were shown to their bedroom. Ezlo nestled on an end table next to the bed where Link is sleeping in.

Link immediately fell asleep, and he was excited because he’ll be able to see Zelda again in his sleep. Many minutes later, the room darkened and then there was a glow.

Princess Zelda arrived at Link’s bedroom, and she used her power to telepathically get into Link’s mind to see him in his dreams. In the dream, it was the same as before; Link stood in Hyrule Castle’s throne room and he saw the statue of the princess before it glowed gold again.

“Zelda?” Link called out to the statue. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes, I can, Link,” Zelda replied. “Congratulations on acquiring the Fire Element from the Cave of Flames.”

Link blushed. “Thank you, Zelda. It wasn’t easy. I had to battle this monster called–”

“The Gleeok,” Zelda finished. “I know, I saw. I also saw that it transformed into its true form after you defeated it. It was really beautiful. Speaking of which, after you left, I studied the Gleeok, admiring its beauty, and then, to my surprise, it actually noticed me.”

“The Gleeok noticed you?” Link asked. “How is that possible?”

“I remember learning about how Gleeoks have a strong connection to the female members of the Royal Family,” Zelda answered. “Until I noticed the GLeeok looking at me, I never fully believed it. Kinda like how you didn’t believe in the Picori until you actually saw them with your own eyes.”

“Ah, Zelda,” Link winced. “I’m really sorry that I–”

Zelda interjected Link with her teasing giggles. “Just teasing, my hero! You’re so gullible!”

Link rolled his eyes. He could not believe that he fell for her teasing.

“Anyway, you’re already halfway in collecting the elements,” Zelda continued. “Unfortunately, getting the remaining two will be a little more difficult than the other two. Nevertheless, I have great faith in you. I have never lost faith in you. My faith will never die… and neither will my love for you.”

Link smiled. “My love for you will never be fragile either, Princess Zelda.”

Link gave the glowing statue a peck on the cheek, and he could hear the excited giggling Zelda is making. Link chuckled.

“You feel warm… for a stone statue.”

Zelda giggled some more. “You’ve got some teasing in you, too! The sun is coming up. It’s time to wake up now. I’ll see you tomorrow night, okay?”

“Okay,” Link replied, and he woke up moments later.

“Link, Link!” Cried Ezlo. It’s morning already! Let’s go and check to see if the Picori Blade is done!”

Link nodded his head, placed Ezlo on his scalp and he headed out for the mines. There, he met with Melari who placed the newly reforged Picori Blade into the water well to cool it down. Moments later, the blade came out of the water, and through the steam, Link could see how white the blade is.

The hilt on the sword is different, too. Instead of purple, the hilt is now green.

“Link, the blade has been reforged,” Melari said as he placed the sword down on the table, “but since it has not all of the elements yet, it has not reached its full potential, but it can still be very useful to you on your adventure. I call it the White Sword.”

Melari picked up the White Sword and he handed it to Link. The boy admired the sword’s appearance as its white blade sparkled with light.

“Wow, this blade is magnificent!” Link said. “And it is so light, too.”

“Guess this means that you can return your old sword to your grandfather when you go back home,” Ezlo replied.

“Yes, I guess I should,” Link agreed.

“Now, remember,” said Melari, “as I said before, since it only has two elements, the blade hasn’t reached its full potential yet, but once you collect the remaining elements, the blade will become sacred and it will end the curse on Princess Zelda… and you, too, Ezlo.”

“Thank you, Master Melari,” Ezlo thanked.

Melari turned to Link. “I couldn’t save my wife from the fate of death, but at least I was able to make sure that you won’t lose your princess to that similar fate.”

“Thank you, Master Melari,” Link said gratefully.

“By the way, in order to infuse the sword with the elements, you must go to the elemental sanctuary,” said Melari. “The elemental sanctuary is a strange realm trapped between our world and this one. The doorway to the sanctuary only opens once every hundred years.”

“Where can I find this door?” Link asked.

“It is hidden somewhere within Hyrule Castle,” Melari answered. “Once all elements have been infused into the sword, you’ll be able to rescue your princess. I believe that you can do this, kid. After all, you made such a fine work in the Cave of Flames.”

“Thaks, Melari,” Link said gratefully again. “Well, Ezlo and I will be on our way now!”

Link and Ezlo left the mines as the mountain Minish cheered.

“Goodbye Link!” Said Chiruta. “Goodbye, Ezlo!”

“Good luck, you two!” Melari added. “May the Goddess Hylia smile on you both!”

Chapter Text

Using the same bird that flew them to Mt. Crenel, Link and Ezlo flew back to the Trilby Highlands, and there, the duo grew back to normal size and they entered the town. After that, the duo reached Hyrule Castle; Link needed to speak to the king of his progress.

Link, with Ezlo nestled and silent in his scalp, entered the throne room and he spoke with the king of his journey. He told the king of the elements and the elemental sanctuary that he is supposed to go to.

“So…” The king said after many moments of silence after hearing Link’s story. “The curse placed on my daughter must be broken by the sword that’s infused with the four elements gifted by the Minish… and you must place the reforged sword at the elemental sanctuary?”

Link nodded his head.

“I see,” the king went on. “Unfortunately, I know nothing of this elemental sanctuary. All I know is that, according to you, it is located somewhere here in the castle.”

“I see,” Link replied. “In that case, Your Majesty, I will take a look around the place and see what I can find… if you’ll allow me, that is.”

“Of course, my boy!” The king responded. “Feel free! And do not fear for the guards; you are most welcome here. I’ve made sure of that.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Link replied.

Link left the throne room, but not before sneaking a long glance at Zelda, whose body is still encased in strone thanks to Vaati’s curse. After leaving the throne room, there was only one place Link could think of to go.

Link went down a flight of stairs and he came upon a long garden, which made him feel so nostalgic. He took a long walk in the gardens, and then a few moments later, he spoke to Ezlo.

“This is where Zelda and I played together the very first day we met,” Link said. “I remember it well.”

In a flashback, we see a young Link and Zelda playing with each other at the garden. This was moments after the two locked eyes together; Zelda had already fell hard for Link and she requested to her father that she play with him while he did business with Master Smith.

When Zelda received the green light from her father, she took Link to play with her in the gardens. They played there for a good half an hour, and then, a rat showed up and the princess jumped in fear, screaming.

“A RAT!!!” Zelda screamed. “I hate rats!”

Link spotted the rat and, acting quickly, placed a pot over it. After that, he immediately called for the guards.

“We’ve got a rat!” Link said to a guard as he arrived.

“I’ll take it, young man,” the guard responded, and he immediately caught the rat as Link hovered the pot. The guard then turned to Princess Zelda. “I’ll be sure to inform the rat catchers to double their search in the gardens. I am truly sorry for this inconvenience.”

“There is nothing to forgive, dear sir,” Zelda replied. When the guard left with the rat in his hands, the princess instantly wrapped her arms around Link’s nape, locking him in a tight embrace. “Oh, my hero! You were wonderful! Thank you so much!”

“It was nothing, Your Grace,” Link replied in a strained voice.

“Zelda,” the princess insisted as she separated herself from her hero. “From now on, in private, you will address me as Zelda. As a matter of fact, I think that I want you to call me Zelda every time when we grow up because I think I want to marry you someday.”

“M-Marry me?!” Link sputtered. “But, Your G– Zelda, there’s a law that states that only royals can marry either with other royalty or nobility.”

“I never liked that rule!” Zelda spat. “When I am queen, I will write my own laws, and I will choose who I wish to marry, and that is going to be you!”

Young Link stared at Zelda, wide-eyed, for the longest time.

Now, as Link stands at the very spot he was at when Zelda made her love pledge to him, he jerked a tear. “She never faltered from her love for me, even when we grew up a bit,” he continued to Ezlo.

“I guess the princess really does love you,” Ezlo replied. “You should be happy. I mean, a marriage to the princess… Wouldn’t that be exciting?”

Link smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Ezlo gasped as he suddenly spotted something beyond the gardens. It was a large glowing door.

“Hey, Link,” Ezlo called, “have you seen that door before?”

Link looked at the glowing door and he shook his head. “No, that… That wasn’t there before; it was supposed to be a stone wall.”

L:ink, with Ezlo safely nestled on his scalp, walked closer to the door. The color of the gold is pure gold, which is the color of the Goddess Hylia.

“Link, do you see how that doorway glows?” Ezlo asked.

“Yeah, what of it?” Link asked back.

“I think that door could be the one that leads us to the elemental sanctuary,” Ezlo replied. “I mean, you said it yourself that you haven’t seen it before, and that was because you never fully knew that Picori really existed.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Link said. “Now that I believe… I can see this door.”

“You and I,” Ezlo corrected. “Let’s head inside, quickly!”

Link obliged and he walked through the glowing doorway. Inside is a hallway with four large crystals and then after the hallway lies a grand chamber that has a pedestal in the center.

As Link stepped inside the chamber, a stone door was instantly slammed shut to prevent Link from escaping. The door startled the hero and his companion.

“Sheesh!” Ezlo cried. “That was surprising.”

Link glanced at the pedestal at the center of the chamber. He suddenly came up with the idea of how it is used.

“Ezlo, I think that this room really IS the elemental sanctuary,” Link said.

“I agree,” Ezlo replied. “I think you must place the White Sword in that pedestal and it will infuse itself with the energies of the two elements we have acquired on our journey.”

“Right,” Link agreed, and then, he walked up to the pedestal and he placed the sword inside a hole that was on the stone.

The sword fit into the pedestal like a glove on a hand, and then, he placed the two elements he collected onto two of the surrounding columns. The four columns that surrounded the pedestal have symbols on them, and two of them matched what the elements look like.

When the two elements were in place, they began to glow bright colors of red and purple. After that, energies spewed from the elements and they were placed upon the sword, which was still placed in the pedestal.

The sword glowed gold for a long moment and then, after it stopped glowing, the sword looked different than before. Instead of a green hilt, it is now a red hilt.

Link picked up the sword and he hoisted it up in the air. He can see the blade is shining with infused power.

“Alright!” Link cheered. “The two elements have fused its energy into the blade! Now all we need to do is acquire the remaining two elements and the blade will be powerful enough to free Zelda from her curse!”

“And me!” Ezlo chirped in annoyance. “Don’t forget about me!”

“Right, of course,” Link apologized. “I am sorry. I will free you from your curse, too.”

“Thank you, boy,” Ezlo replied, feeling better.

Suddenly, the ground began to quake a bit. A giant stone tablet rose itself from the ground just behind Link and Ezlo.

Mystified at the stone tablet, Link approached it and studied the words that were engraved on it. Ezlo studied the words that were different compared to the Hylian language.

“This is Minish language!” Ezlo chirped excitedly. “Let’s see if I can translate it for you… It reads… ‘Fill your sword with power and walk over the glowing tile.’”

After reading the words, Ezlo glanced down at the floor and noticed two tiles glowing in different colors. This gave him an idea.

“Perhaps the tablet is referring to those flashing spots on the floor around you,” Ezlo said. “Well? What are you waiting for? Try it, Link!”

“Right.”

Link walked over to one of the glowing tiles, hoisted the sword in the air and it glowed with power. Moments later, the glowing tile turned bright white.

“Now what?” Link asked.

“Try walking over to the other tile and see what happens,” Ezlo suggested.

Link did as Ezlo suggested and when he reached the tile, something surprising happened. A transparent clone of Link has suddenly appeared at the tile the real one was standing over before.

“Holy Hylia!” Link and Ezlo cried in unison.

The two Links stared at each other in amazement. Ezlo was also entranced at this sort of magic.

“Whoa!” Ezlo cried. “You’ve split in two! So this is the power of the White Sword!” The clone suddenly disappeared as Ezlo continued talking. “I guess you can double yourself whenever you step in those tiles and power up your sword. This could really come in handy.”

“If there are other tiles like this out there,” Link replied with a pondering tone.

“I’m sure there’ll be tiles like this in the two remaining element dungeons,” Ezlo said with some confidence. “Come. Let’s get out of here and inform the king of our discovery.”

“Right.”

Link left the elemental sanctuary, with Ezlo still nestled warmly in his scalp, and he intended to find the king and inform him of the discovery of the sanctuary.

Chapter Text

Link and Ezlo found the king in the throne room and the hero had to inform him that he found the elemental sanctuary and that he infused the energies of the two elements he had acquired into the sword. The king sighed in heavy relief.

“Thank the Goddesses!” Sighed the king. “That means you just have two more elements to find and my little girl will be alright again.”

“Exactly, Your Majesty,” Link replied.

“So… Where do you suppose the remaining two elements are?” The king asked.

“All I know, Your Majesty, is that I have several markers written down in this map that was given to me by the forest Picori,” Link answered. “These two are located in each bottom corner of our kingdom, but I have no idea who they are.”

“I see,” sighed the king. He seemed sad again. “Well perhaps you should go back to the Minish Woods and speak to the Picori about this.”

“I will, Your Majesty,” Link promised. He said his goodbyes, took one last look at Zelda’s statue form and he left the throne room.

“You know, Link,” Ezlo began as they were out of sight of the king, “we don’t have to return to the Minish Woods and consult Gentari. We can consult with the Minish that have been residing in the town we just walked through to get to the castle.”

Link gasped. “There are Minish residing in town?!”

“Mmm-hmm!” Ezlo hummed positively.

“In that case,” Link continued excitedly, “let’s head to town and try to find them! They can help us find those remaining elements!”

In excitement, Link rushed himself to the entrance of the castle and he rushed past a few guards in order to cross the drawbridge that leads to North Hyrule Field. As soon as he crossed the bridge and got to the field, Link was about to head to town when he suddenly heard a familiar voice chuckling evilly.

“Well, well, well… Interesting. You’re the last person I expected to be here. And just as I was wondering who could be behind this, I find my old master.”

Link gasped as he heard and recognized the voice. Before he and Ezlo knew it, a dark cloud appeared in front of the two and the cloud eventually turned into the body of the sorcerer that cursed Zelda, turning her into stone.

“VAATI!!!” Both Link and Ezlo screamed in unison.

“Hello there, Ezlo,” Greeted Vaati in his most sinister tone. “I see you’re dressed in…” Vaati chuckled a bit before he continued. “...the shabbiest of rags, as always!”

“Shut up, Vaati!” Snapped Ezlo. “You think you can keep me cursed forever?! I will get out of this body and get my old one back!”

“My curses will not be mocked, Ezlo!” Vaati warned. “The one I placed on you is most powerful. No matter what power you or your companion wield, it will never be broken!”

Ezlo scoffed. “You haven’t changed a bit! I never should have created that cap! It only fueled your insane desires!”

“Don’t be absurd, you old fool!” Vaati hissed. “A cap that grants the wishes of its wearer is a spectacular creation! Thanks to you, I have gone from being a meek, miniscule Minish nobody to… THE GREATEST SORCERER ALIVE!!! You cannot stop me now, Ezlo, and I have YOU to thank for it!”

Vaati laughed heartily and evilly for a few moments. Seeing a distraction, Link attempted to attack Vaati with the White Sword, but the sorcerer suddenly vanished.

After Vaati vanished to avoid being wounded by Link’s attack, the hero was suddenly surrounded by walls that were summoned by the sorcerer himself. “Such a feisty brat, aren’t you?” Vaati asked the boy as he came back into sight.

“Vaati, I will end your curse on Ezlo,” Link declared bravely, “and I will free Zelda from the stone curse you placed on her!”

Vaati only chuckled. “Good luck, boy.” He then turned to Ezlo, who was nestled on Link’s scalp. “Please, accept this small gesture of gratitude from me, Ezlo.”

The evil sorcerer snapped his fingers and two Moblins appeared inside the walls surrounding Link and Ezlo. After that, he simply vanished once more; this time for good.

The Moblins attempted to charge Link, but Link dodged them and he charged up the White Sword. Moments later, he performed the spin attack that he learned from Swiftblade and he was able to eliminate the monsters, making them vanish in smoke; after the enemies were defeated the walls surrounding the two heroes vanished, too.

As the duo are in the clear, Ezlo groans in frustration. “That foul Vaati! What could he be scheming now?!”

“Ezlo, forgive me,” Link responded, “but I just heard Vaati call you his ‘old master’. Does it mean that you actually mentored that wicked man?”

Ezlo sighed heavily. “Link… I feel I owe you an explanation of what has happened. You see, Vaati and I… are both Minish.”

Link gasped. “Get outta here! Really?!”

“Yeah,” Ezlo replied solemnly. “I was once a famous sage and a renowned Minish craftsman. Vaati was only a boy when I took him on as my apprentice. As time went by, Vaati became enchanted by the wickedness in the hearts of men.”

“You mean, like the great evil that attacked Hyrule many years ago?” Link asked.

“Yes,” Ezlo answered. “One day, Vaati took a hat that I created for the Hylians, which was my pride and joy, and he used it without my permission.”

“This hat…” Link interjected. “Vaati said that it grants the wishes of its user. I assume that he wished for ultimate power and such?”

“Precisely,” Ezlo answered. “I remember that day as if it was yesterday… The day he stole the Minish Cap and used it to become evil.”

In a flashback, Vaati, who was as small as the Minish came across a red stocking cap with gold trimmings, and he placed it on his head. Just as he put on the hat. Ezlo, in his Minish form, entered the room and he spotted his apprentice with the Minish Cap on.

“Vaati!” Ezlo cried. “What are you doing there?!”

“I’m fulfilling my destiny, Master Ezlo!” Answered Vaati in a dark tone. “I wish that I am the most powerful sorcerer in the WORRRRLD!!!”

Vaati, who was once a black-haired Minish with white skin and a cute button nose, turned black for a few moments and he turned into a monstrosity with pale purple skin, silver hair, red eyes and a long nose. After Vaati transformed, he laughed wickedly.

“Oh!” Ezlo cried in disgust. “Vaati, what a vile form you have taken!”

“‘VILE’?!” Barked an offended Vaati. “I am a sorcerer now! My power is now beyond compare! None can stop me now! No longer will I tire away as your apprentice! Now, all shall call ME master!”

“Why Vaati?” Asked Ezlo. “What are you plotting?!”

“I’ll tell you what I’m plotting,” Vaati responded. “This year, on the day that comes but once a century, the portal will open, and when it does, I will leave the Minish world, gain access to Hyrule Kingdom and take the light source as my own! With the light force, I will transform into something… perfect… and there will be none who can stop me… not even you, Master Ezlo!”

“You monster!” Ezlo snapped. “I won’t let you do this!”

Before Ezlo could do anything, Vaati suddenly charged up his dark magic and he shot it at the Minish elder. As the magic hit Ezlo, he wailed in agony and he transformed into a green stocking cap with a duck’s head on it.

With Ezlo completely transformed into a stocking cap, Vaati laughed wickedly. “So, tell me… How does it feel? My sorcerer’s curse? There is nothing you can do to break it, Ezlo! Or to stop me! And with that, I must be leaving. I have a kingdom to get to.”

And with that, Vaati disappeared in a shadowy essence, leaving Vaati completely alone and helpless.

Back in the present, Ezlo jerked a sad tear as he reminisced that day of days. Moments later, he snapped out of his sad trance and he continued speaking to Link.

“You know the legends, of course. The gifts the Minish gave the Hylians… What you call the Picori Blade was the first of those gifts. The second was the light force, as you call it, but it is a source of limitless magical power. If Vaati gets his hands on that power, it would be devastating.”

“So Vaati believed the light source was located inside the chest that the Picori Blade was used as a key?” Link asked.

“Yes,” Ezlo answered. I was able to escape into the world of men and I had hoped that I could stop Vaati on my own, but unfortunately, this body rendered me weak and I couldn’t do anything when those octoroks ambushed me in the woods. Then you came along.”

“And we’ve been journeying together ever since,” Link finished.

“Precisely,” answered Ezlo. “Anyhow, it seems that we won’t be breaking this curse on me anytime soon.”

“But I’m sure the Picori Blade will break the curse from you once we restore it to its former glory,” Link insisted.

“That’s what I thought at first when I first met you,” Ezlo replied, “but I can’t make any promises; not even to myself. However, it is positive that the sacred blade will restore Princess Zelda to normal. That’s for certain.” There was a slight pause before Ezlo continued. “Link, I want you to know that I am truly sorry. All that has happened has been due to my own pride and folly. That is why I must rely on you, on your power, until we’ve put an end to Vaati and his vile scheme. Come on, now! Let us head to town and search for the Minish! We need them toi tell us where to find the remaining elements.”

“Right!” Link obliged and he raced toward the path that will lead him to Castle Town.

Unbeknownst to Link and Ezlo was that Zelda, in her transparent form, was watching them from the skies. She hummed to herself in thought.

“Light force?” She softly muttered to herself.

Chapter Text

Link and Ezlo made it to Castle Town and they started walking around trying to find something that could be a Minish Portal.

“What am I looking for, Ezlo?” Link whispered to his friend and companion, who’s nestled in his scalp.

“A portal can be in anything,” Ezlo answered. “A rock, a tree stump and even a pot.”

“A pot, huh?” Link asked. “Well, let’s see if we can find some pots.”

Link entered a building and he discovered a big blue and white pot. He flipped it upside down with the Cane of Pacci and he discovered, to his delight, a crack that is the symbol of a Minish Portal.

“Okay, Ezlo,” Link said to his companion. “Work your magic.”

Ezlo recited the spell and then he and Link became Minish-sized. After that, Link exited the house by going through a small knothole of some sort.

When Link exited the house, Link began to ask Ezlo another question. “Say, you knew that there were Minish residing in the town… Do you know anyone in particular who could help us?”

“Yes,” Ezlo answered. “Gentari has a twin brother by the name of Librari.”

“Librari?” Link repeated the name questioningly. “Named after a library, huh?” He chuckled a bit.

“Laugh all you want, boy,” Ezlo flatly responded. “But if there’s anyone who can help us find the last two elements, it’d be him.”

“Right,” Link replied. “So, I’m guessing to find this Librari, we need to go to the library. I know where that is!”

And with that, Link walked all the way across town in order to get to the library. He had to watch out for the big people because he did not want to get stomped.

The two were getting close to the library when suddenly something large and furry appeared from behind them. Stopping in their tracks, the two turned to see a giant cat staring hungrily at them.

“Oh, dear…” Ezlo chirped, his voice squeaking.

Link immediately ran away from the cat, and then microseconds later, the cat began to chase him. Fearing that they are not going to make it to the library before getting caught by the cat, Link and Ezlo took cover in the house next to it; they fit themselves through a knothole in order to enter the house.

Link and Ezlo waited for a while for the cat to go away, but it is refusing to leave because it can smell their scents. This bothered the two.

“Blasted cat!” Link pouted. “It just won’t go away!”

“Well,” Ezlo replied, “I’m afraid we’re stuck here for a while… unless there is another exit we can take.”

“Yeah, I think there may be a–”

Link attempted to reply to Ezlo’s suggestion, but he paused as he turned to see a giant girl on the verge of catching him with her hands. Link and Ezlo screamed and the hero attempted to run away from the girl, but the girl immediately grabbed him.

Link had been caught by the giant daughter of a village couple.

“Hooray!” Cried the girl. “I caught a Picori! They really DO exist!”

“Oh, no!” Link cried in a strained voice as he was being squeezed by the girl’s fingers. “We’re in trouble!”

“We need to get out of here!” Ezlo suggested. “DO something!”

Link fought bravely to try to get free from the girl’s hands. When he was able to slip through, the girl caught him again.

“Ah, ah! Don’t run away!” Said the girl. “I’ll make a really nice, little house for you!” She then skipped merrily out of her room to find her mother. “Mama! Lookee here!”

Link can hear a woman responding to her daughter. “This is serious!”

“I’ll say!” Ezlo replied. “We don’t have time to play ‘house’! DO SOMETHING!”

Seeing no other alternative, Link unsheathed his sword. “I’m sorry, little girl, but I can’t play ‘house’ with you at the moment.”

And with that, Link unwillingly pricked the girl’s finger with his sword, making her cry out in pain and force her to drop him. When Link landed on the floor, he instantly recovered and he rushed out of the door by crawling under the crack between the door and the ground.

“Whew!” Link and Ezlo sighed in relief.

After getting away from the house, Link and Ezlo hurried over to where the library is and they crawled up a vine in order to enter the library via an open window.

Link and Ezlo looked around the library and they gasped in horror as they see that the place is crammed full of books. “I wonder where Elder Librari can be?” Ezlo pondered. “In our size, this place is literally a mountain of books!”

Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, wandered around the humongous library. He eventually climbed a big bookshelf and stepped on an open book. After that, a voice surprised him and Ezlo.

“Excuse me, sir, but you are blocking my path.”

Link turned to see a Minish scholar staring at him with big eyes. He seemed younger compared to Elder Gentari and Melari.

“I’m trying to read this passage,” continued the Minish scholar.

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” Link apologized deeply.

The scholar giggled. “That’s alright. In fact, I was almost done with that passage anyway. Can you help me turn the page?”

“Sure,” Link replied, and he helped the scholar turn the page by running wild on the page. After that, Link spoke with the scholar. “Before you continue reading, could you help me? I’m trying to locate Elder Librari.”

“Wait a minute,” The scholar murmured as he stared at Link and his clothes. “Green clothing… and a sword… You must be Link!”

Link gasped. “You know me?”

“I do!” Replied the scholar. “Elder Librari received a letter from his twin brother, Gentari, yesterday informing him that a hero Hylian boy in green clothing will come to us in the future. Who’d have thought that you would have come to us so quickly! Come, I will take you to him!”

The scholar led Link to a book that almost looked like a Minish house. Moments later, they went through the pages and they saw an elder Minish writing something down in a scroll.

“Master Librari!” Greeted the scholar. “The Hylian boy in green clothing has arrived!”

Elder Librari turned to see Link entering the book with the scholar. “Ah, Link! Welcome! I’ve been expecting you.”

“Forgive me, Elder Librari,” Link said apologetically, “but are you writing a book INSIDE a book?”

“I am, my boy,” Librari answered. “I am chronicling my adventures as a youth. Right now, I am writing of my journey in the Temple of Droplets. It’s where the Element of Water is located.”

Link gasped. “You’ve been to the temple where the water element resides?!” The elder nodded his head. “What of the other element?! The Element of Wind, do you know where it is?!”

“Now, do not be hasty, my boy,” Librari warned. “I have heard of your quest and predicament from my brother, and I want to help you. I must start by warning you that the journey to these temples will be perilous.”

“I am not afraid, Elder Librari,” Link replied with bravery in his tone of voice. “I cannot afford to be afraid. Princess Zelda has been cursed and she is counting on me to revert her back to normal. In order to do that, I need to have the wind and water elements and infuse them in the Picori Blade and restore it to its former glory. I will do what I can to get my hands on those elements, even if the path could kill me.”

There was a brief pause before Elder Librari hummed positively. “A brave response, my boy. Well done. For that, I will tell you where the Element of Wind is. In fact, I suggest you go there before you go to the Temple of Droplets. The wind element is located at the Fortress of the Winds, which is located deep in the Castor Wilds. Mind you, the Castor Wilds is a muddy, swampy area. If you try to walk through the swamps, you will sink and die. I recommend acquiring Pegasus Boots, shoes that will make you run as quick as a flash, from the Minish shoemakers who are located at the shoemaker place in town.”

“The shoemaker place,” Link repeated. “Got it! Thank you so much. By the way, where is the Temple of Droplets?”

“It is located deep in Lake Hylia,” answered Librari, “but again, I recommend that you get the wind element first and the treasure that is located in the Fortress of the Winds.”

“Very well, “ Link replied. “I will head for the shoemaker place and convince the Minish there to build me some Pegasus Boots. Farewell!”

And with that, Link left the book and, eventually, the library. He now intends to get to the shoemaker place to acquire the Pegasus Boots, which will be exactly what he needs for his journey to the Fortress of the Winds.

Chapter Text

As Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, exited the library, he found an upside down pot with the Minish Portal on it, and he used it to turn him and Ezlo back to normal size. After that, Link hurried over to the shoemaker place and he entered it.

As he entered the shoemaker place, Link spotted the shoemaker dozing off in the checkout desk. He attempted to wake him up, but it was no use.

“Strange,” Ezlo chirped in confusion. “What’s with this guy?”

“He’s always been like this,” Link explained. “Rumor has it that he slept for 24 hours without opening his store. Many customers were upset; many wanted him removed but it couldn’t be done because he was the only one who could make shoes.”

“Yeah, well,” Ezlo responded, “we need to get him up so we can get him to give us those Pegasus Boots. Maybe the Minish in the store could help us. There’s a portal in that pot in the corner there. Let’s go!”

Link hopped on the pot in the corner and Ezlo worked his magic to make him and the hero tiny. After that, Link climbed the checkout desk thanks to a makeshift ladder the Minish made and he is now on top of the desk.

There, Link and Ezlo encounter a couple of Minish, who are glad to see the hero. “Hello,” one of them said. “You must be the hero Elder Gentari spoke about. He wanted us to make sure that you were equipped with Pegasus Boots so you would be ready to face the deep, swampy areas of the Castor Wilds. The shoes are almost done, but Rem, the giant shoemaker up there, needs to make some finishing touches and it will be completed.”

“Nuts,” Link moaned. “Rem is asleep now, and I cannot wake him up!”

“There is a way to wake him up,” said one of the Minish. “There’s a mushroom called the wake-up mushroom and it’ll jolt awake those who sniffed its strong aroma only once. There should be some in one of the bookcases. Rem got them while he was visiting Syrup, the potions master who lives outside the town.”

Understanding what he needs to do, Link climbed down the desk, and he climbed several shelves of a nearby bookcase to find the wake-up mushroom. He eventually found it and he went back to the portal to grow back in a bigger size.

Link picked up the mushroom and he placed it near rem’s nose, so he would smell its strong aroma. Moments later, the shoemaker jolted awake and he noticed Link.

“Ugh! Whoa!” Rem reacted in disgust. “I see that you’ve used the wake-up mushroom, Link.”

“Yeah, I did,” Link replied. “Listen, I need your help. I need to have some Pegasus Boots.”

“Oh, right!” Rem gasped. “The Pegasus Boots! I was about to finish them when I suddenly fell asleep again! I’ll tell you what… Since you helped me wake up with that mushroom, I’ll return the favor by giving you some Pegasus Boots for free.”

“Oooh!” Link reacted. “That’s a nice offer! I’ll take it!”

“Excellent!” Cried Rem. “I’ll get working right away! It’ll be done by tomorrow.”

“I see,” Link replied. “I’ll be waiting!”

Rem left the desk and he went to another part of the store to work on the boots. Link, with Ezlo nestled silently on the hero’s scalp, was left alone.

Link and Ezlo used the pot to turn Minish-sized again and he returned to the desk to talk with the Minish. “Well, that’s that,” said one of the Minish. “Your Pegasus Boots will be done in the morning, and you can use them to safely travel the Castor Wilds.”

“Excellent,” Link responded. “I’ll be a step closer to freeing Princess Zelda from her curse.”

Unbeknownst to all, Zelda, in her transparent form, watched Link talk with the Minish about the Pegasus Boots. She is very happy to see that Link is inching himself closer to the end of his goal.

Suddenly, Zelda felt something that made her tremble. This weird feeling was coming from somewhere very familiar to her.

“Father!” The princess cried and she floated out of the house to zoom herself back to the castle.

Zelda hurried as fast as she could and she went through the castle walls to gain entrance. She eventually made it to the throne room where her father was sitting on his throne, brooding.

The king suddenly heard a familiar, evil chuckle. “What?!” The king cried. “Who’s there?!”

A shroud of black smoke suddenly appeared before the king. Moments later, the smoke turned into none other than Vaati himself.

Zelda gasped in shock and horror as she saw Vaati forming right in front of her fater. The king was shocked, too.

“Vaati!” Gasped the king. “How did you get in here?!”

Suddenly, Vaati zoomed toward the king, using his super speed and he cornered him in the throne room. Zelda was surprised to see how fast Vaati was when he zoomed like a flash.

“When did he–” Zelda gasped, but she couldn’t finish the sentence because her father was gasping for air as Vaati began to choke him.

“Wh-What are you doing?!” Choked the king.

Vaati responded with a lot of hearty guffawing. He then started glowing purple and he turned into smoke.

Zelda watched in total horror as the smoke crawled inside her father’s mouth, nose and ears. The smoke was attempting to possess the king.

“Oh, no!” Zelda cried as she watched helplessly. “FATHER!!!”

A moment later, the possession was complete, and the first thing Vaati did after possessing the king was summoning the minister and the army into the throne room. When that was done, Vaati, using the king’s voice, began to speak to the subjects.

“I, the king of Hyrule, have some new orders for you! You all know the power the Picori gave to mankind, do you not? The golden light force of limitless, magical power?” The men responded with shrugs. “Well, I want it! It is somewhere here in Hyrule! Go now, and bring me this power! If you refuse, you will be executed for insubordination and treason!”

The minister and the men were horrified at what the king was saying to them. They cannot believe that their king would be so mean all of a sudden.

Zelda watched in horror as the possessed king threatened execution to those who defy him. If only she wasn’t cursed, then she would’ve stopped him.

“Don’t just stand there!” Barked the possessed king. “Go forth and bring me the light force! Interrogate everyone in town of knowledge of this power, and if there are those that refuse, throw them in the dungeon! Him, and his family, too! And also, the boy named Link… I fear that he is plotting with Vaati to take the light power! Find him, and eliminate him!”

Zelda gasped. Knowing that Link is now in danger thanks to Vaati’s possession to make him a target, she has to go back to her hero and warn him.

As Zelda floated out of the throne room, the men continued staring at their king in disbelief. They jumped as the possessed king started screaming.

“I WILL NOT TOLERATE DISOBEDIENCE!!! Go now, search high and low and don’t come back until the light force is found! GOOOOOO!!!”

Wasting no time, the men obeyed the possessed king’s orders and they left the throne room. When Vaati was left alone, he chortled heartily and evilly.

Meanwhile, it was already nightfall when Zelda floated out of the castle. She hastened to town and to Rem’s shoe shop.

Inside, Link was sleeping with the Minish while waiting for the Pegasus Boots to be done. Ezlo was no longer in the hero’s scalp as he slept next to him.

Needing to communicate with Link, Zelda concentrated her power and she placed her hand on Link’s head. It didn’t take long for Link to have another dream of himself being in the throne room next to Zelda’s statue form.

“Link, LINK!” Zelda screamed as her statue started glowing brightly.

“Zelda, what’s wrong?” Link responded, worried for his princess’ alarming tone.

“Link, you are in danger!” Zelda warned. “Vaati has possessed my father and he’s ordered his soldiers to find the light force and for you! He wants the soldiers to eliminate you so you wouldn’t find the remaining elements and the light force! You must leave now!”

“Now?” Link repeated questioningly. “But I need the Pegasus Boots, or else I won’t be able to get to the Fortress of the Winds!”

“Then, hurry and get them!” Zelda demanded. “Hurry! You’re running out of time! You must hurry and get the remaining elements to reforge the sword! Then, you must return to Hyrule Castle and save my father! Go, please!”

And with that, Link jolted awake as he had a nightmare, and then, moments later, Link wakened Ezlo up, and he placed him on his scalp. After that, Link used the portal to turn himself back to normal size and he snuck into Rem’s office to see that the Pegasus Boots have been completed.

Seeing that Rem is fast asleep, Link decided to use this as an advantage and stole the boots before storming out of the store. As Link exited the store, Ezlo, who is now fully awake, began speaking to him.

“Link, what are you doing? It’s still late!”

“We’re in trouble, Ezlo!” Link explained. “Zelda appeared before me in my dream and she warned me that Vaati has possessed the king and is now using the soldiers to find me and the light force. If they see us, we’re dead!”

“Are you sure?!” Ezlo asked after gasping in surprise.

“Positive!” Link replied.

Suddenly, Link and Ezlo can hear soldiers marching and muttering a military song. The two heroes gasped in alarm.

“Quick, Link!” Chirped Ezlo. “Use the Pegasus Boots and get us the heck out of here!”

Link put the boots on his feet, and he used them to run as quick as a flash to escape town before the soldiers could locate him. After escaping town, the next thing the two decided to do was get to the Castor Wilds so they could get to the Fortress of the Winds.

Chapter Text

After escaping Castle Town, Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, walked down the southern part of Hyrule Field. According to the map, the Castor Wilds is supposed to be located somewhere in the Western Woods which was located somewhere near the Southern Hyrule Field.

Link eventually made it to the Western Woods and he decided to take a little break because he was still tired from earlier. He didn’t get enough sleep because Zelda warned him of Vaati’s devious deed and the approaching guards.

Link lit a fire and he sat there, resting. While resting, he began to brood on what happened recently.

“I cannot believe Vaati would do something asd low as possessing the king and using him to command his soldiers to fan out the town and search for this light force in a vehement way.”

“It really goes to show how desperate he is to acquiring the light force,” Ezlo replied.

“If only we knew more information about this light force,” Link said. “Then, we could’ve gotten it before Vaati did.”

“Look, it’s not too late,” Ezlo replied. “Vaati still searches for it so we have plenty of time to find the remaining elements and restore the blade back to its former glory. And when the blade is restored we’ll save your Zelda. Call me crazy, but I believe that she may know some things about the light source.”

“How do you believe that?” Link asked.

“Well, think about it,” Ezlo replied. “Zelda is the descendant of the woman who established the Hyrule Kingdom, is she not?”

“Yeah,” Link answered.

“And Zelda’s grandmother happens to be the same maiden who fought the great evil beside the hero and the Minish years ago,” Ezlo continued. “I wonder if she was taught that story from her teachers.”

“Maybe,” Link replied. “I remember Zelda and I going to school together at the Funday School when we were little. I didn’t really pay attention to the lessons a lot though, because I like to nap a lot.”

Ezlo scoffed. “Who’d have thought that such a lazy bum can be Hyrule’s hero?”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?!” Barked an offended Link.

“Oh, never mind,” Ezlo replied. “Look, I’m tired. I think we should hit the hay. We’ve only got a few hours before the sun comes up.”

Link sighed heavily. “Fine.”

Link fell fast asleep and so did Ezlo. When the two were asleep, Zelda, in her transparent form, appeared before the group, and she used her telepathy to enter Link’s dreams.

In his dream, Link was once again in the throne room, standing next to Zelda’s statue form. The statue started talking as it glowed golden again.

“Link, thank goodness you got away!”

“Yeah, it was thanks to you, Zelda,” Link replied. “Thank you.”

Zelda giggled. “You’re welcome. Anyway, I was listening to your conversation with your cap friend/ Sorry for snooping, but I needed to tell you that although I do remember Funday School, I do not specifically remember the lessons we were taught there. It’s strange because I was a straight ‘A’ student there. I guess I lost some of my most important memories when I was cursed.”

“Really?” Link asked, and Zelda nodded her head. “Huh. Well, I guess I’ll have to visit the school sometime after I’m done with the elements or something. I mean, I’m sure we can find some clues there.”

“That’s a good idea, Link,” Zelda agreed, “but first, you must focus on getting those elements.”

“I will,” Link promised. “I will free you when I get them.”

“I know you will,” Zelda replied. “You know, if this body wasn’t stone, I’d kiss you right now.”

Link responded by leaning toward the statue and he planted a kiss on the lips. “How’s that?” He asked after separating himself from the glowing statue.

Link could’ve sworn he heard a sniffle coming from Zelda’s statue form. “I’ve waited so long to feel how warm your lips are!” Zelda’s voice rang out from the statue. “I can’t wait to kiss you for real this time!”

Link smiled. “Me, too.”

And with that, Link woke up from his dream as the dawn’s light touched his face. After waking up, Link woke up Ezlo and he placed him on his scalp.

Link walked down the Western Woods and he crossed a bridge to enter the Castor Wilds. He could not believe his eyes at how dirty and swampy the place was.

Link put his Pegasus Boots on and he used them to cross the swampy water. He realized that Librari was right at how heavy the water felt and he was sinking a little too easily. If he hadn’t used the Pegasus Boots, he and Ezlo would’ve been in big trouble.

After crossing the swampy water to reach the center of the Wilds, Link discovered a stone tablet that had writing in it. The writing was Minish writing so Ezlo had to translate it for the hero.

“It says that you need to complete three golden kinstones in order to complete a challenge in order to get to the Wind ruins, where the Fortress of the Winds is located.”

“What are kinstones?” Link asked.

“Kinstones are stone-like medallions that come in two pieces,” Ezlo answered. “Put the two halves together and happiness will be brought before you. In this case, the completion of this very challenge.” Ezlo turned to the tablet and read it some more. “It also says that when you’ve collected the kinstone pieces, bring them to the southwest corner of the Wilds where three big, stone statues are waiting.”

“Alright, then,” Link replied. “Let’s get moving and find those pieces.”

It didn’t take Link very long to find the first kinstone piece. He acquired it down a cave in the middle part of the Wilds after fighting a Darknuts, which is a knight-like monster with thick armor and a thick shield. Link had to dodge its attacks and use his sword to cut through the weak parts of the armor in order to eliminate it.

Link collected the two remaining kinstone pieces by trekking to three different corners of the Wilds. He also picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows because he needed to shoot them at the eyes of some statues in order to get them to move or explode into smoke.

Lion and Ezlo eventually found the three big statues and Link placed the kinstones together with the ones that were located in the statues. After that, a doorway opened, and Link crossed it to enter the Wind Ruins.

Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, trekked through the ruins, battling snakes and machine-like monsters. Sometimes, Link had to enter a machine-like monster by turning Minish size and turning it off on the inside.

Eventually, Link made it to the entrance of the Fortress of the Winds and he went through it with Ezlo sitting on his scalp. In the fortress, Link had to climb up a lot of stairs and battle Skullfos in order to progress.

Link fired arrows at some eyes in order to open some doors and he also had to dodge a scary hand-like monster that drops from the ceiling.

“Whoa!” Link gasped after dodging the hand. “What the heck is that thing?!”

“Some kind of guardian or something,” answered Ezlo. “This place really gives me the creeps. And to think that a place like this was hidden within the biggest cliff in Hyrule the whole time!”

Link and Ezlo continued their trek in the fortress to find the treasure, which happens to be sharp digging gloves called Mole Mitts. After that, he started finding silver keys to unlock doors and eventually, he found the big key, and he used it to open the big, boss door, which was located at the top floor of the fortress.

In the boss room, Link came across Mazaal, a robotic Mayan mask that is equipped with two big hands. In each of the hands are two pink eyes that appear to be the weak spot. Link shot the eyes with his bow, and he destroyed them with his sword.

After stunning the boss, Link had to turn tiny in order to gain entry to its insides and then he used his sword to damage one of its totems that was riddled with dark energy. After that, a claw picked him up and kicked him out.

Link had to repeat this strategy two more times, but every time, it gets harder because the insides were now covered in gravel and Link had to use the Mole Mitts to dig through and find the powered totem. It took him a while, but Link was able to damage the powered totem a couple of more times, and Mazaal has been defeated.

After the enemy was destroyed, Link and Ezlo was surprised to see that a door has opened and no element showed up. They then claimed that the element is upstairs, so they climbed the stairs to find themselves at the roof of the fortress.

On the roof, the two discovered a giant stone tablet that has Minish writing. With Ezlo’s translation, the writing reads:

“We are the Tribe of the Winds. Long have we lived with the winds. We have mastered them, and now, we’ve joined them. Together, with the great winds at our backs, we head for the skies. Those who come seeking our power must play the notes Zeffa teaches. May they lead you onward to the power that you seek. As a gift, we present to you the Ocarina of Wind, which will summon Zeffa, the bird, to pick you up and fly you anywhere.”

Suddenly, a secret portal is opened in the tablet, and Link found a small, blue ocarina. He picked it up and he studied it thoroughly.

“So this is the Ocarina of the Winds?”

“Afraid so,” Ezlo replied. “Anyway, it seems that the Tribe of the Winds have left this place and ascended to the heavens. They’ve also taken the Wind Element with them.”

“So that means…?” Link began, and then he paused.

“Yep,” answered Ezlo. “I’m afraid the element is far beyond our reach for now. We have no choice but to press on. Use that Ocarina of Wind and let’s get out of here.”

Link sighed in disappointment. He cannot believe that he came all this way for nothing but an ocarina. Nevertheless, he chose not to complain, so he used the ocarina, and a big, blue and white bird, Zeffa, arrived to pick them up.

Zeffa picked up Link and it flew him off the roof of the fortress. The quest for the next element has commenced.

Chapter Text

While flying on Zeffa, Link could not shake off the utter disappointment he felt when he realized that the Element of Wind wasn’t at the Fortress of the Winds. He knows now that it means that the quest’s endgame will have to wait a while longer.

“So what now, Ezlo?” Link asked his companion. “We’re going after the other element, right?”

“Right,” Ezlo confirmed. “The Element of Water. I’ve read that it is located at the Temple of Droplets, but unfortunately, I have no clue where it is. I do know that it is located at Lake Hylia somewhere, but I don’t know where EXACTLY. Elder Librari may know, though.”

“But that means we have to go back to town, and there are people there that are looking for me!” Link reminded.

“I’m aware of that, boy!” Replied Ezlo sharply. “We can land at the top of the library and wait until the coast is clear for us to move in.”

Link paused for a moment, and then, he nodded his head. He trusted Ezlo since he is well-known to be the enemy of the evil sorcerer that cursed Princess Zelda.

Zeffa flew Link and Ezlo down the cliff where the fortress resided and it took the bird more than ten minutes to arrive at Hyrule’s Castle Town. Before arriving at town, Link looked around to see if he could find any of the castle guards; he knew that if they spotted him and Ezlo, it could spell disaster.

At last, the group arrived at town, and they were relieved to see that no one was guarding or investigating the library. Link also discovered, to his delight, that there was a pot that has a Minish portal on it at the library’s roof.

As soon as Link, with Ezlo nestled safely on his scalp, landed on the roof, he hopped on the pot and Ezlo did his magic to make them Minish-sized. After that, Link climbed down from the roof and he was able to enter the library from an open window. Minutes later, the two arrived at Librari’s residence and they explained to the elder scholar what had happened.

“I see,” Librari said after Link and Ezlo finished their story. “So, the Tribe of the Winds have relocated to the heavens and they brought their element with them. What a bummer…”

“Indeed!” Agreed Link. That element was the key in helping me restore Princess Zelda to normal. And what’s worse is that every castle guard is looking for me because Vaati possessed the king in hopes of finding the light force.”

“That’s an even more bummer,” replied Librari. “Well, I can assure you that things will go your way, young man, and I am positive that you will eventually acquire that element, but you are, as of this moment, not ready. In order to get ready, you’ll need to progress your quest further by acquiring the Element of Water at the Temple of Droplets.”

“Right,” Link replied. “Now, as I understand it, the water element is at Lake Hylia, right?”

“Right,” Librari answered. “But in order to find it, you’ll need to be equipped with some Zora Flippers. They are flippers that’ll help you swim faster than you normally swim. I used them once when I visited the Temple of Droplets.”

“You did?” Link asked

“I did,” Elder Librari affirmed.

“How rewarding,” Link replied, “It’s also a shame because I really don’t know how to swim.”

“No?” Asked a somewhat bewildered Librari. “Well, you’re in luck because you don’t need to learn how to swim. They’ll help you swim without experience. I kept a pair of flippers that are located somewhere down below the library’s basement. Could you do me a favor and stand over the cloverleaf symbol on the floor?”

“Sure,” Link responded and he did as he was asked. “Now what?”

“This,” Librari simply said and he pulled a lever to open a trap door that is below Link’s feet.

Link looked down for a second and then he glanced back at Librari with a flat expression. “Woof,” he said flatly, and then, he fell down screaming.

Link, with Ezlo still nestled in his scalp, eventually landed at the cold, damp ground of the basement, and he recovered minutes later. As he stood up, he could hear Librari’s voice from above.

“Sorry about that, boy, but this is a shortcut that’ll take you to where the Zora Flippers are.

“You know, you could’ve warned me next time, Elder Librari!” Link called out.

“Yeah!” Ezlo agreed.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Elder Librari promised. “Anyway, down there is where you’ll find the Zora Flippers. You can also use a water passage that’ll lead you to the river that leads out of the town. That way, you won’t get caught by those castle guards you mentioned.”

“Got it,” Link replied. “Thanks, Elder Librari.”

After finishing his conversation with the elder scholar, Link started trekking around the basement with Ezlo nestled in his scalp. He used the gust jar in order to cling to a stretchy mushroom and fling over the water in order to find what he was looking for: a doorway that leads to the room where the flippers are.

Unfortunately, as Link entered the room, he was suddenly ambushed by a pair of caterpillar-like monsters with sharp scissor-like pincers. These monsters are called Scissor Beetles.

Link equipped the shield Zelda gave him and he used it to defend himself from the scissor-like pincers. Whenever the hero spotted an opening, he would attack the monsters.

One moment, he found an ultimate opening and he quickly charged the White Sword to perform a spinning attack and he was able to eliminate the monsters. When the monsters were gone, a big, blue chest appeared out of nowhere.

Link opened the chest and he was able to retrieve the Zora Flippers. Trying them on and seeing that they fit like a glove, Link decided to test the flippers and he jumped into a pool of water, and for the first time in his life, he started swimming as if he was a professional.

“Whoa!” Link reacted in amazement after several moments of swimming around. “These flippers are the best!”

“Yeah, yeah,” choked Ezlo. He could not stand the water getting into his mouth. “I’m happy for you, but can we PLEASE get out of here and go to Lake Hylia to find that Temple of the Droplets?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Link replied and he started swimming down the canal where it would lead him and Ezlo out to the river that was in town.

After that, the hero, with his companion still wrapped tightly around his head, continued swimming down the river and he saw a couple of guards interrogating a miller and his family about the light force. Link felt awful when he saw a little girl crying when the guard was interrogating her parents vehemently, and he wished that he could do something about it, but he just cannot because he needed to focus on getting to the Temple of Droplets and acquiring the Element of Water.

Link continued swimming the town’s river until he arrived at a tunnel that leads out of the town. He had to fit himself through a metal grate of some kind in order to enter the tunnel and escape the town.

When Link was out of the town, he used the Zora Flippers to swim to the edge of the ground and he climbed out of the water. Later, he was able to find a wooden stump with a Minish portal, and then he and Ezlo turned back to normal size.

After that, Link fished out the Ocarina of Wind and he used it to call Zeffa, who arrived and picked the two up. Zeffa flew Link and Ezlo to Lake Hylia and he dropped them off near another tree stump with a Minish portal in it.

Link and Ezlo used the stump to revert back to Minish size and then, they went to a Minish house that was located near the stump. Link knocked on the door and a forest Minish answered the door.

“Oh, hello!” Greeted the Minish. “You must be Link! I was informed by both Elder Gentari and Elder Librari of you and your adventure. Forgive me, but I need to ask you something. Has Elder Librari ever been inside the Temple of Droplets?”

“He has,” Link answered. “He used these Zora Flippers to get to the Temple of Droplets.”

“I KNEW IT!!!” Cried the Minish. “I was RIGHT! My wisdom has surpassed the wisdom of the wisest!”

“Yeah, I’m happy for you,” a bewildered Link replied. “Listen, do you know where I can find the Temple of Droplets?”

“Yeah, it’s in that big chunk of ice in the middle of the lake,” answered the Minish. “But I think you should wait until morning until you can go. It’s going to get dark soon, and monsters are always up and about at night. You can sleep in my house for the night, okay?”

“Okay,” Link replied. “Thank you.”

And with that, Link and Ezlo crashed at the Minish’s house for the night. When morning comes, they will go to the lake and find the chunk of ice where the Temple of Droplets awaits.

Chapter Text

As Link and Ezlo fell asleep at the Minish’s house in order to wait until morning to go to the Temple of Droplets, which is located at a chunk of ice in the middle of Lake Hylia, Zelda, in her transparent form, approached her friend and she used her powers to communicate with him in his dreams.

Link found himself in the throne room once again, and he spotted the Zelda statue, which began to glow golden. “Hey, Zelda,” the hero greeted. “I guess you already saw what happened at the Fortress of the Winds?”

“I did,” Zelda answered. “I’m sorry that you couldn’t find the element, but you shouldn’t feel bad. I mean, there is still a chance for you to get the Element of the Winds, but you need to find a way to get to where the Tribe of Winds are right now. I’m sure there are some clues that can help you find them. But, before you go find those clues, you must acquire the Element of Water first.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Link replied. “And Ezlo and I will do that when we go to the Temple of Droplets in the morning.”

“Link, there is something else,” Zelda said. There is one other thing you should find in the temple other than the water element.

“What do you mean?”

“Remember when I told you that I lost some of my memories when I got cursed?” Zelda asked, and Link immediately nodded his head. “Well, time after time, bits and pieces of my memories slowly come back to me, and I remembered learning something about the Temple of Droplets.”

“Oh, really?” Link asked, widening his eyes a bit. “Like what?”

“I remember that in the lesson there was a legend revolving around a beautiful being known as the Great Mayfly Fairy, who lives in the temple and she sings for the Picori during the times they appear in Hyrule. It is said that the Mayfly Fairy is the owner of the Element of Water and knows everything around Hyrule, and I believe that she may know some things about the Tribe of Winds.”

“Really?” Link gasped, and Zelda nodded. “Well, in that case, I better get a move on!” He leaned forward and gave the statue a peck on the lips. “Thank you so much, Zelda! I’ll do what I can!”

“Good luck, my hero!” Zelda replied happily.

And with that, Link jolted awake from his dream, and he noticed that it was already dawn immediately picked up Ezlo and placed him on his scalp. Ezlo was stirring awake as Link walked out the house where the Minish lived.

“Link, what are you doing?” Ezlo asked, his voice sounded groggily.

“Zelda approached me again tonight,” Link answered. “She said that we need to go to the Temple of Droplets immediately in hopes to see the Great Mayfly Fairy.”

Ezlo’s eyes widened awake as he heard the name. “The Great Mayfly Fairy?!” He gasped. “Of course! She has been around for centuries! She’ll know how to find the Tribe of the Winds. What are we waiting for? Let’s get moving!”

Link used the Ocarina of Wind to call Zeffa, and then the two rode on the bird to the big chunk of ice that was standing in the middle of Lake Hylia. Zeffa landed on the ice, and Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, dropped himself through the cracks in the middle of the ice in order to get down to where they needed to go.

After successfully entering the Temple of Droplets by slipping through the crack in the ice, Ezlo already started chattering his teeth. “Brr! I’m freezing here! If we don’t hurry and find the fairy and that water element quickly, I’ll turn into a hatsicle!”

Link rolled his eyes. “There’s no time to be complaining about such little things. I need to find that fairy quick and learn everything I can so that I can save Zelda! She’s counting on me!”

Ezlo stared at Link; he was deep in thought. “He’s very determined,” he said to himself. “I only wish Vaati were something like that back in the day.”

Link already started moving around the temple trying to find his bearings. He needed to work quickly to find the Mayfly Fairy and acquire the water element and the knowledge of where the wind element is.

Link found himself in a big chamber where he had to solve a riddle by moving around blocks of ice to a spot where the morning sun was shining bright; one of them had a small key and a big key. Link is stunned to find the big key already, but he nevertheless worked to get the ice to where the fire was blazing in order for them to melt.

After acquiring the big key, Link opened a really big door, hoping that he would find the element and the boss guarding it. Instead he found a passageway that leads to the direct Temple of Droplets and he also spotted Miish people walking toward it.

Link took the liberty of approaching some of the Minish and asked them some questions. “Hey,” he said. “What’s going on here?”

“The Great Mayfly Fairy is about to sing to us at a concert,” replied one of the Minish.

After getting the answer he needed, Link decided to follow the Minish to the temple and wait as for the Great Mayfly Fairy to appear. As they entered the temple, Link and Ezlo saw how beautiful the inside is; it is glossed with beautiful, clean ice.

Moments later, the Great Mayfly Fairy appeared in a glowing, white light. Link was stunned at how beautiful she looked.

“She’s beautiful!” Link said as the fairy started singing. “And she also has a pure voice. She reminds me of Princess Zelda.”

Link remembered Zelda singing to him one time at the castle. Zelda indeed had a beautiful voice and Link was entranced by it.

After the fairy finished singing, she pointed out to Link and she asked him to join her. “O Great Mayfly Fairy,” Link said as he approached her. “I come to you to ask you for your help.”

“You seek the Element of Water…” The fairy replied. “I have it, but there is something else you want, isn’t there?”

“Yes,” Link replied. “I was hoping that you may know some things about the Tribe of the Winds.”

“You mean the tribe that ascended from the Fortress of Winds to the heavens above?” Link nodded. “I’m afraid I don’t know where to find them, but… there is some knowledge of it that was left by the son of the princess that fought the great evil alongside your ancestor.”

“And where would I find this knowledge?” Link asked with hope in his voice.

“Such knowledge can be found in the old Royal Crypt, where his tomb lies,” answered the Great Mayfly Fairy. “It is located at the Royal Valley, which is located northwest of Hyrule Town.”

“Thank you, Great Mayfly Fairy,” Link thanked. “The kingdom will remember you for your deeds.”

The fairy smiled. “You are most welcome, my hero,” she replied. “Now, about the Element of Water… I pray that you will find happiness with it.”

The Mayfly Fairy raised her hands and she concentrated her power to summon the Element of Water. When the blue element was revealed to Link, he attempted to take it, but suddenly, a piece of the wall exploded.

While recovering from the explosion, Link and Ezlo gasped in shock and horror to see that Vaati had entered the Temple of Droplets. He was riding a big octorok that has a leafy backside and a tail.

“Vaati!” Link and Ezlo squealed in unison.

Vaati chuckled immensely. “So this is where you two have been hiding.” He spotted the water element that is between the fairy and the hero. “Octorok, suck up that element and don’t lose it!”

The octorok obeyed Vaati’s orders and it used it’s snout to suck up the element. Link watched helplessly as the element was sucked into the monster’s snout.

“Now that that’s taken care of,” Vaati began, and he walked toward the Mayfly Fairy, “tell me where the light force is, fairy!”

“There is no light force here,” replied the fairy calmly.

“Do not play games with me!” Vaati snapped. “It must be you! I was told by several of the kingdom’s inhabitants that you have knowledge of the light force’s whereabouts! Now, I’ll ask you again… Where is the light force?! It’s here, isn’t it?”

“I’m sorry, evil sorcerer,” the fairy calmly replied “but all you see here is a celebration of life.”

“The DEVIL with this ‘celebration of life’!” Snarled Vaati. “If you won’t tell me where the light force is, then I will punish you!”

Link suddenly got between Vaati and the Great Mayfly Fairy. “LEAVE HER ALONE, VAATI!” Link called out bravely.

“Getting the light force will never bring you the power that you seek!” Ezlo added.

“Allow me to prove you wrong, my master!” Vaati answered back darkly. “Let me prove to you, once again, how much better I am than you!”

Vaati raised his arms, concentrating his dark powers and he shot them at Link and Ezlo forcing them to dodge out of the way. They realized their mistake as they saw the dark energy hitting the Mayfly Fairy, and they watched in horror as the fairy turned into a malevolent flying monster, which Vaati dubs ‘Gyorg’.

“NO!” Link cried. “GREAT MAYFLY FAIRY!”

“What did you do to her?!” Ezlo demanded.

“I turned her into a form where she will never die,” Vaati answered.

“Huh?” Link asked, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t tell him, Ezlo?” Vaati asked his former master. “That when a Mayfly Fairy stops singing, she will perish forever?”

Link gasped in shock.

Vaati chuckled. “Well, now you know, boy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my new friend and I have some talking to do elsewhere. Deal with this vermin, Octorok!”

After giving his orders to the giant octorok, Vaati floated away chasing after the monster, Gyorg, that flew away after its transformation. Link and Ezlo were left alone to deal with this new threat.

“Link, we have to kill this monster if we are to get the water element back!” Ezlo suggested.

“Wait!” Cried one of the Minish, who was carrying a lit torch. “Use this! That octorok’s tail is made of grass and grass is weak against fire!”

“Thanks!” Link replied and he immediately went to work to battle the giant octorok.

Link started battling the octorok by using his shield to bounce rocks back at the monster when it was shooting them at him. After that, the octorok froze itself, and Link had to light its leafy tail on fire in order to damage it and make it run amok.

When the octorok’s icy barrier melted, the monster spewed smog out of its beak to blind the hero, but Link used the torch to light his way. He then used the torch to light its tail on fire once more, making it run amok again and knocking itself out on the wall.

Seeing an advantage, Link used the White Sword to damage the octorok, defeating it and making it explode in purple smoke. When the monster was defeated, the Element of Water appeared before Link.

“Alright, we got the water element,” Link said as he picked up the element. “Now, we’re close to restoring the sword to its former glory.” He then looked up at Ezlo. “Why didn’t you tell me about the Mayfly Fairy’s secret?”

“I thought you knew,” Ezlo answered. “I’m sorry. But it doesn’t really matter because now you know. Right now, we need to get out of this temple and return to the castle so we can infuse this element into the sword at the Elemental Sanctuary.”

“Right,” Link finally answered after a moment’s pause.

Ezlo used his powers to transform Link and himself back to normal size and they left the Temple of Droplets by escaping through the crack of the chunk of ice.

Chapter Text

After leaving the Temple of Droplets, Ezlo started feeling better. He was anxious about how cold it was down there.

“Brrr!” Ezlo shivered. “I almost froze my beak off in there!”

“Forgive me, Ezlo,” Link replied, “but being a piece of cloth, it kind of confuses me that you can actually feel the cold.”

“I have a soul, much like you,” Ezlo answered. “Even though I’m not in a body like yours, souls can feel just as much as the physical body can.”

“I see,” Link replied. “Oh, well. Let’s just get the sword to the Elemental Sanctuary and infuse it with this element.”

“Right,” Ezlo agreed. “Lead the– W-Wait. I’m feeling a strange sensation.”

“What do you mean?” Link asked.

“We’re not alone,” Ezlo explained.

A moment after Ezlo made his statement known, the atmosphere surrounding Link and Ezlo suddenly changed. The area darkened a bit, but Link could not find any clouds in the sky.

“W-What’s going on?” Link asked, confused on what’s happening before him.

“O young one!”

A voice startled Link and Ezlo, and they turned to see an apparition of some sorts materializing before them. The apparition is an male elder wearing a brown robe that has the Triforce insignia on it.

“W-Who are you?!” Link asked the apparition.

“My name is Gustaf,” replied the apparition, “and I know who you are. You are the child who wishes to aid the princess of Hyrule. She is my descendant.”

“Descendant?!” Link repeated the word in surprise. “You mean, you were–”

“Yes,” Gustaf answered quickly. “I was king of Hyrule countless ages ago. My mother was the one who fought besides your ancestor and the Minish against the Great Evil. I’m afraid this is all I can tell you for the time being, but if you wish to know more, come visit my grave at the Royal Crypt located at the Royal Valley.”

And with that, the apparition vanished without a trace. After that, everything went back to normal.

“Whoa!” Ezlo reacted. “Was that a dream?”

“Couldn’t be,” Link replied. “I saw his apparition. But… If I can see his apparition, how come I could not see Zelda’s apparition?”

“Maybe it’s because Zelda is not really dead,”: Ezlo explained. “After all, she was cursed. It’s not like she was murdered or anything.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Link replied. “But still… Ugh! So many mysteries to unfold!”

“Let’s just head for the–” Ezlo suddenly paused as he noticed something glowing on Link’s pocket. “Hey, Link, check your pocket!”

Link did so, and he discovered the glow. He fished out the map, which happened to be the source of the glowing and he discovered that there is a new mark on it. The mark is located northwest of where the castle was, somewhere in a deep valley.

“I’m guessing this is the handiwork of that Gustaf character,” Ezlo suggested. “Guess it wasn’t really a dream after all.”

“Told you,” Link replied. “We should head there after our visit to the Elemental Sanctuary.”

After saying his suggestion, Link fished out the Ocarina of Wind and played it to summon Zeffa. Zeffa arrived and he picked up Link.

It took twenty minutes for Zeffa to fly Link over to where the castle is, and when they arrived, Link let go of Zeffa and he landed on the ground as Zeffa flew away. After that, the young boy attempted to get inside, but he found it extremely difficult because there are a lot of guards guarding the entrance.

“Blast!” Link cursed.

“How are we going to get to the Elemental Sanctuary if we can’t even get inside the castle?” Asked Ezlo.

Suddenly, a hand touched Link and the two heroes jumped in fright. They turned to see Swiftblade standing before them.

“Link!” Swiftblade greeted. “Thank the Goddesses you’re alright!”

“Oh, Swiftblade,” Link sighed. “It’s you.”

“What’s the latest?” Asked Swiftblade. “Were you able to find the elements?”

“Only three,” Link answered. “There’s one more to go, and I have an idea where to find it, but I need to get inside the castle so I can infuse this sword with the element.”

Link showed the White Sword to Swiftblade, who stared at it in amazement. “Amazing!” He reacted. “So, you really are the one. Very well, then. Those guards are tightening the castle’s defenses, but I know a secret way in. Follow me.”

Swiftblade led Link west of the castle gardens, and they had to do some sneaking around the guards in order to get to where they needed to go. They climbed down a ladder and they are now in a secret passageway that leads inside the castle.

After arriving inside the castle from Swiftblade’s secret passageway, Link led Swiftblade to the garden where he used to play with Zelda when they were kids and the two walked through the stone doorway. Swiftblade stared at the doorway a bit before going through it.

“I don’t remember this doorway being here,” Swiftblade said.

“It’s a secret left out by the Minish,” Link explained. “This is where the sanctuary is.”

Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, and Swiftblade enter the sanctuary, and Swiftblade is amazed at the sight of it all. Seconds later, Link led Swiftblade to the pedestal where the sword should be placed, and the young hero placed the sword on the pedestal and the water element in its rightful place.

When the element was placed where it was supposed to be, it started to glow blue and its energies zoomed toward the sword. Moments later, the energies stopped zooming, and the element stopped glowing.

“It is done,” Link said as he removed the sword from the pedestal.

The sword’s hilt, which was red, is now blue with a hint of gold on it. Swiftblade was amazed at how the sword transformed after being infused with the element’s energy.

“Incredible!” Swiftblade gasped. “This is nothing I have ever seen. Listen, Link, before you go, I wish to teach you another technique that will help you on your journey. It is called the Sword Beam. It’ll shoot beams from your sword when your heart is full.”

Swiftblade used his infamous possession technique to possess Link to help him learn the Sword Beam technique. After the possession, Swiftblade urged Link to try out the technique on his own.

Concentrating his power, Link swung his sword and when it was swung, a beam shot out of it and it hit a stone. This amazed Link to the bone.

“Wow!” Link gasped. “Neat!”

“Just remember, boy,” Swiftblade reminded. “This will only work if your heart is full, should you be injured, and the technique will not work.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Link replied.

“One more thing,” Swiftblade continued. “Can you tell me what has happened with the king? I mean, he was kind and gentle, but now he has grown cold and bitter. He is obsessed with searching for this light force, whatever that is, and he even ordered his men to be violent with the villagers if necessary.”

“That’s not the king,” Link answered. “Vaati possessed when he was alone and he is using him to use the kingdom to find the light force. Our only hope is to find the last element and fuse it into the sword, and then, I’ll be able to stop him and save Hyrule.”

Swiftblade paused for a moment and smiled. “Such confidence. And you spoke it like a calm person. You used to be rowdy and wild. It seems that you have grown quite exquisitely.”

“Thank you, Master Swiftblade,” Link replied.

“That is all I have to say,” Swiftblade continued. “I wish you luck in finding that last element. And remember to use the secret passage once you get it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Link replied. “Thank you. Farewell.”

And with that, Link left the sanctuary, with Ezlo still nestled in his scalp. He is ready to begin his quest to find the Royal Crypt and find the answers needed to find the Element of Wind.

Chapter Text

Link snuck out of the castle, with Ezlo in his scalp, in order to duck the guards. After leaving the castle, the two headed for North Hyrule Field and they decided to head west; they were following the glowing mark that was left on the map by the strange apparition of King Gustaf.

While trekking through the North Hyrule Field, Link had to battle some enemies and he was amazed at how quickly he eliminated them with the new Sword Beam technique that was taught to him by Master Swiftblade. “Man, this technique works like a charm!” He exclaimed. “This should come in handy against Vaati.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, kid,” Ezlo warned. “My former apprentice is smart and crafty. If anyone can pull things off with a few tricks up his sleeve, it’s him.”

“Right,” Link replied. “I’ll keep that in mind. Anyway, let’s get moving.”

Link and Ezlo continued their journey, and they eventually made it to the Royal Valley. It was already dark when they got there, and it was also proven to be a little spooky.

“Well,” Ezlo chuckled nervously, “what do you think Link? Pretty dark and spooky isn’t it? Makes you wanna cry, doesn’t it?”

“I’m not scared,” Link replied with a serious tone.

“No?” Ezlo asked, surprised. “You’re not scared? Well, good! Neither am I! Come on, let’s get moving!”

Link obliged and then, he walked through the valley. He had to use the lantern, which was given to him by one of the Minish at the Temple of Droplets, in order to see better in the dark.

While in the dark Royal Valley, Link had to use the White Sword and the Sword Beam technique in order to eliminate scary-looking ghosts that will jump on people to scare the living daylights out of them. He also had to solve a maze puzzle in order to get to his destination; using signs as a guide, he went up, left, left, up again, right and up once more in order to complete the maze challenge.

After completing the maze challenge, the two heroes came across a big, iron gate. On the other side of the gate is the destination they were heading two, the Royal Crypt.

Of course, getting inside the crypt is going to be tricky because the iron gate is locked tight. This made Link moan sullenly.

“How are we going to get inside?” Link asked.

Ezlo searched around for some clues and he spotted a sign that was near the gate. “Link, check this out!” He said before reading the sign. “It says, ‘In order to get inside, see Dampe.’”

“Dampe?” Link repeated the name questioningly.

“I think this Dampe must be working there as a gravedigger or a guard,” Ezlo explained. He then looked around and he spotted a small hut. “There!” He exclaimed. “I think he must be living in that hut or something. Let’s go inside and speak with him!”

Link obliged and he entered the small hut. Inside is a man with an non-ordinary face that could creep out a child.

“Excuse me, sir,” Link greeted the man, “but are you Dampe?”

“I am,” replied the man. “I am the gravedigger working in the Royal Crypt. What business brought you here?”

Link explained his adventure to him. He even mentioned that the apparition of King Gusataf appeared before him and told him to come to the Royal Crypt, and that mystified Dampe.

“So…” Dampe began, still feeling a little mystified. “You were sent here by the ghost of a former king?”

“That’s right,” Link confirmed. “His name is King Gustaf.”

“Gustaf?!” Repeated Dampe in a surprised tone. “I’ve seen him before!”

“You have?!” Link and Ezlo asked in unison.

“I have!” Dampe confirmed. “By the way, you’re hat is funny.”

Dampe’s comment about Ezlo ticked the talking stocking cap. Nevertheless, he chose not to use violence on him.

“Anyway,” Dampe continued, “if King Gustaf really sent you here, then there is no reason why I cannot let you in. Come!”

Dampe led Link and Ezlo back outside and to the gate. After that, he used an old, rusted key to open the gate and open it.

“Good luck finding King Gustaf, young man,” Dampe said. “Let me know how he’s doing.”

“Will do,” Link replied and he went through the gate to enter the cemetery.

In the cemetery lies a big grave that has the name ‘Royal Crypt’ on it. However, in order to open it, Link had to press three buttons simultaneously.

Link looked around, and after destroying some boulders with the strong White Sword, he was able to find three glowing tiles on the ground. He charged up his sword and he made two transparent clones of himself; with the clones, he was able to press the three buttons simultaneously and the crypt finally opened.

Link and Ezlo entered the Royal Crypt after Link figured out the puzzle to open it. Before the two went further, Ezlo made a statement known to Link.

“It may be the Royal Crypt, but graves are creepy no matter what they are for,” said Ezlo in an anxious tone. “Where are we supposed to find this King Gustaf anyway?”

“I don’t know, Ezlo,” Link answered. “It’s somewhere in here.”

“Well, right now, I think I just don’t want to meet him here,” Ezlo complained. “Can we just go somewhere less creepy?”

“Oh, come on, Ezlo,” Link pleaded. “This is not the time to get scared. I have to find Gustaf if I am to get answers about that wind element, and maybe some answers to more questions, like the Light Force for example.”

Ezlo sighed. “All right, all right,” he said in defeat. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Link, with Ezlo still nestled on his head, started trekking through the Royal Crypt to find Gustaf’s gravesite. Along the way, he encountered monsters that look like mummies, and he was able to eliminate them with the Sword Beam technique.

“I’ve seen those monsters before in books,” Ezlo said, feeling creeped out. “Those are Gibdo. Be careful with those, they have monster strength.”

“Thanks for the tip, Ezlo,” Link thanked.

Link continued his walk through the crypt and he had to do some more puzzles in order to find keys to open locked doors. After finding the keys needed, he opened the doors with them and he had to battle more monsters, like the Gibdo and the snake monsters called Ropes, in order to progress further.

At last, Link and Ezlo were able to find the gravesite that has King Gustaf’s name on it. They approached the site and they were already approached by Gustaf’s apparition.

“O young one,” the apparition greeted, “the child who seeks to aid my descendant, Zelda… I bid you welcome.”

“Thank you,” Link replied.

“No mean to rush or anything,” Ezlo apologized, “but this place is creepy, so can you please tell us what we need to know about the wind element and the light force and such?”

Link sighed in annoyance.

King Gustaf raised both of his arms and he started concentrating. A moment later, a golden light appeared and it formed into a broken half of a kinstone.

“I grant you this kinstone,” the former king said, “for this will help you seek the source of the flow in Hyrule and only then will your path be open to the Tribe of the Wind.”

“Wait, what do you mean, ‘source of the flow’? Link asked, needing more clarification.

“You’ll find your answer at the Veil Falls,” replied the former king.

“The Veil Falls?” Link repeated the name. “I know where that is! Thank you!”

“What about the Light Force?” Ezlo asked.

“That was an ancient power that can be used only by those that have the blood of the Goddess Hylia flowing through her veins. Only the women of the Royal Family can use this power.”

“Women of the Royal Family?” Link asked for clarification, and after Gustaf nodded his head, the young hero gasped in shock. “Then, that means that… Zelda!”

“Yes, my boy,” Gustaf confirmed. “You must free Zelda if you are to defeat the Great Evil and save the kingdom. We are counting on you, young hero. Good luck.”

And with that, the apparition disappeared and the golden kinstone that he was holding fell to Link’s palms. Link stared at the kinstone and he was suddenly lost in thought.

Moments later, both Link and Ezlo left the Royal Crypt and they headed for Dampe’s house. They decided to crash there for the night until morning.

As Link and Ezlo slept, Zelda came before Link and she used her powers to communicate with him in his dreams. The two childhood friends came across one another at the same place again, the throne room.

“Zelda, you’re not going to believe this!” Link exclaimed.

“I know, Link,” Zelda replied. “I told you; I’ve been watching you. I was surprised when I heard it from Grandpa Gustaf. I cannot believe that this whole time, I am a wielder of the Light Force. My mother was a wielder, too, but now that she died, I am the current wielder. I can’t believe my mother kept this from me. I guess my powers really are the light source that Vaati is looking for.”

“Oh, Goddesses,” Link suddenly gasped. “I really hope that Vaati hasn’t figured it out by now.”

“I’m betting he eventually will,” Zelda warned. “You must hurry and get the wind element before he does figure it out!”

“I will,” Link promised with full confidence.

“Thank you,” Zelda replied with a smile. “Before you go, I’d like to talk to you about something. Do you remember the Funday School?”

“How could I forget?”

“I’m starting to remember bits and pieces about our time there,” Zelda continued. “I remember a boy trying to flirt with me and how you defended me.”

“Yeah, I remember that jerk making fun of me and telling me that I have no hope to be a romantic couple with you,” Link added.

“And I punched the guy in the face, and told him that you have a better chance with me than he ever did,” Zelda finished.

The two giggled.

“I remember you getting in trouble with your father about that punch,” Link said.

“Yeah,” I was grounded for a week,” Zelda added, “but, hey, it was worth it.”

“Yes, indeed,” Link replied.

Zelda sighed heavily. “Oh, Link, I love you so much. When this is all over, I need to convince my father to let me marry you. I don’t want to be forced to abandon you for some snotty noble or a foreign prince.”

“I really hope that you can pull it off,” Link replied. “I really love you, too.”

To prove his words, Link planted a kiss on the statue’s lips. After the kiss, Link can hear Zelda’s giggling.

“I really love your kisses, Link,” the princess said happily. “They help me calm my nerves and make me feel that I am not alone.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Link replied.

“I can feel the sunrise coming up,” Zelda said. “It’s time for us to part… for now. Goodbye, Link… and good luck!”

“Thank you, Zelda,” Link returned. “And I will not fail you.”

And with that, Link woke up to see that the sunrise had shown itself through the window of Dampe’s house. When Ezlo woke up, too, the two left the house and they continued their journey; their next destination is the Veil Falls.

Chapter Text

After leaving Dampe’s house, Link fished out the Ocarina of Wind and then, he played it in order to call Zeffa. Zeffa arrived a moment later and he picked up Link and Ezlo and started flying them away from the Royal Valley.

While flying Link looked at the map, and he was able to spot the Veil Falls, which is located somewhere northeast of Castle Town. Zeffa flew the two heroes northwest and they were able to find the Veil Falls.

The Veil Falls is a beautiful place with a lot of bodies of water and a couple of waterfalls. Looking at the waterfalls, Ezlo suddenly came up with a theory.

“Hey, Link,” Ezlo said. “I think I know what Gustaf meant by the ‘source of the flow’. I think that one of these waterfalls may be the source of the flow. After all, there’s a flow in water and some of the water’s sources are waterfalls.”

“Yeah, I think you are right,” Link agreed. “Let’s check those waterfalls out.”

Zeffa dropped the heroes at the falls and it flew away. After that, the heroes started trekking around the falls, checking out the waterfalls.

It took the duo a while but they were able to find a stone wall next to one of the waterfalls, and in the stone wall lies one half of a golden kinstone. Link studied it carefully and gasped.

“I think this is it!” Link said as he fished out his half of the kinstone he collected from the Royal Valley.

Placing his half on the stone wall, Link is amazed to see that it is a perfect fit. He and Ezlo squealed in excitement as the ground started to tremble.

Moments later, the waterfall that is next to the stone wall split in half. Link and Ezlo discovered, to their delight, that there is a cavernous entrance on the other side of the waterfall.

Link leaped down from the cliff and landed on the water. He then used the Zora flippers to swim himself to where the entrance awaits.

After crossing the entrance, Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, had to climb up numerous floors of caves in order to get to the top of a mountain that is almost similar to Mt. Crenel and the Fortress of Winds. When the two reached the top of the mountain, they discovered a giant whirlwind.

“I wonder what this giant whirlwind does,” Link said curiously.

“Now, let’s not be hasty, Link,” Ezlo warned. “I mean, this thing could–”

Link ignored Ezlo’s warning and he walked up to the whirlwind and the whirlwind blew him and Ezlo up in the air. Moments later, the two ended up crossing the clouds up in the sky and they found themselves standing in the clouds.

“A-A-Are we alive?!” Ezlo shuttered after recovering from the whirlwind’s hurling. Link nodded, and then Ezlo got angry. “Link ,what were you thinking?! We could have been killed!”

“But we didn’t, did we?” Link responded in a reminding tone.

“True, but still!” Ezlo panted.

It took Ezlo a while to calm down and then Link started walking across the cloudy floor and was amazed at how he can walk on the clouds without falling through. It was always believed that clouds are nothing but smoke, and smoke is not solid.

However, Link decided to ignore that detail and he started walking through the cloudy floors in hopes to find the place where the wind element awaits them. Along the way he ran into two people that are standing in the clouds, looking a little lost.

“Excuse me,” Link greeted the people. “Pardon my intrusion, but I need help trying to find the Palace of Winds.”

“It’s simple, my boy,” one of the people said, a male. “There’s a big gust of wind over there that’ll take you up there, but the problem is that the gust is covered by thick, smokey clouds that can only be blown away by these five fans.”

“The fans,” the female person added, “can only be activated by five kinstones that must be fused together, which means there are ten kinstone halves up her in the Cloud Tops.”

“Cloud Tops?” Link repeated the name.

“That’s what this place is called,” explained the male. “My name is Gale and this is Hailey. We are trying to reach the palace ourselves, but the problem is that there are monsters roaming the clouds and we are too afraid to face them and collect the kinstones.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Link replied. “I’ll battle the monsters and collect those kinstones for you. That way we can both reach the Palace of Winds together, okay?”

“Very well,” Gale responded.

Link stayed true to his word and he started trekking around the Cloud Tops and he used red gusts of wind to go up more layers of clouds to find the kinstones. He was also forced to eliminate monsters that swim in the clouds like sharks; these monsters are called Cloud Piranhas.

While walking through the cloudy surface, Link also had to use the Mole Mitts he collected at the Fortress of Winds to dig through snow that is as hard as ice. While digging through the icy snow, Link was able to find two kinstones, but they don’t fit together; Link was able to find a couple of more kinstones and they fit perfectly with the ones he found on the icy snow.

“Well, there’s four kinstone halves down, and only six more to go,” Ezlo said, feeling tired.

“They’ve got to be here somewhere,” Link replied. He is refusing to give up; he needs to get to the Palace of Winds quickly and collect the wind element so he can infuse it to the White Sword and use the sword to free Zelda from Vaati’s curse.

The duo continued their trek along the Cloud Tops and they were able to find the remaining kinstones after flying through gusts of wind and digging through more icy snow. Link fused the kinstones together and then, he returned to where Gale and Hailey are.

Gale and Hailey seemed excited as they stood near a big gust of wind. “Hey, stranger!” Cried Hailey. “You did it! You collected the kinstones and completed the path to the palace!”

“You’re welcome,” Link replied. “And my name is Link.

“Link,” Gale repeated. “I’ll remember that name. Come. Let us go upstairs and get to the Palace of Winds.”

“Right,” Link agreed and he went with Gale and Hailey to ride up the big gust of wind.

After riding up the gust of wind, Link and Ezlo spotted a big palace standing on the top of the highest cloud. They also discovered a stairway that leads to the cloud and to the palace.

“Alright, Link,” Ezlo said. “We’re almost there!” He looked at the big palace and he whistled in amazement. “Now, how do you build something like this on the top of a cloud?”

“Yeah, it’s as amazing as a person walking through something that is not solid,” Link replied.

“Yeah, indeed, it is,” agreed Ezlo. “Anyway, there must be people living inside this palace, like the Wind Tribe, for example. Perhaps we can enter the palace and ask them for the wind element.”

“We should,” Link reminded. “After all, Zelda and all of Hyrule are counting on us. Let’s go.”

And with that, Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, walked up the cloudy stairs and he approached the palace with the intent to find the wind element.

Chapter Text

Link and Ezlo entered the Palace of Winds, and, to their surprise, they discovered that people do live there, and they are people and not monsters. Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, approached some of the people and he started a conversation with them.

“Excuse me,” Link greeted, “but are you guys members of the wind tribe?”

“Yes, we are,” answered one of the people. “We–” He suddenly paused as he got a good look at Link and he gasped in amazement. “Well, I’ll be! You’re the hero, aren’t you?!”

“Yes, that’s right,” Link answered. “How did you know?”

“Your garbs,” replied the wind tribe member.

“The hero we met a long time ago wore green garbs just like you!” Added another member.

“Well, since you are the hero, then you can help us reclaim our palace back!” Said another member.

“Reclaim it?” Link repeated questioningly.

“Yes,” confirmed one of the members. “Wait, hold on! Let us take you to our elder first. Her name is Siroc.”

"Wait a minute!" Cried one of the other wind tribe members. "I need him to help cure Gregal!"

"Who?" Link asked, confused.

"Gregal," repeated the wind tribe member. "He is sick because some ghost wouldn't stop pestering him!"

Link promised that he can help, and he went over to the sick wind tribe member. He saw the ghost surrounding him, and he used the Gust Jar to suck the ghost in.

When the ghost was gone, Gregal felt much better and he thanked Link, rewarding him with a special bow. "With this bow, you can shoot arrows filled with light! I call it the Bow of Light! Treat it carefully."

"I will," promised Link.

After receiving the Bow of Light from Gregal, Link followed the remaining members of the wind tribe up some stairs to the highest room of the first tower of the palace, and that is where Elder Siroc dwells. She is sitting in a chair, lost in thought.

“Elder Siroc, we have a visitor,” announced one of the wind tribe members. “He happens to be the hero who could help us reclaim our palace.”

Siroc paid attention to her people and the boy in green who was walking with them. She gasped in surprise and he walked over to Link.

“Thank the Goddesses!” Siroc cried. “Our hero has come to liberate us! I’m guessing you found us with the kinstone given by King Gustaf?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Link answered. “How do you know King Gustaf?”

“My tribe once lived in the Fortress of Winds, or the place you people would call the Wind Ruins, and we are friends with Hyrule Kingdom and its leader, King Gustaf,” explained Siroc. “Then, one day, evil was surging increasingly and we were forced to abandon our home to find a new one above the clouds where evil will never find us. We left behind King Gustaf one of the kinstones so that he would give it to the hero who could eliminate this evil.”

“That is why I must tell you that in order to eliminate this evil, I need the Element of Wind so that I could fuse it into this blade,” Link replied. “It was the Picori Blade that was broken by Vaati.”

“Vaati, huh?” Siroc responded. “He was the one who has led monsters to our palace and has taken over most of it. I guess he is trying to prevent you from claiming this element. Or perhaps… he is trying to find something else.”

“He is looking for the Light Force,” Ezlo chirped in.

“The Light Force?” Siroc answered in surprise.

“You know it?” Link asked.

A silent pause followed Link’s question. Moments later, Siroc decided to tell Link and Ezlo a story of the Light Force.

“It was a long time ago when I received a message from Hyrule Castle of Gustaf’s assassination,” Siroc began.

“Assassinated?” Link asked.

“Yes,” confirmed Siroc. “You see, Gustaf wanted to use the Light Force, which was wielded by his wife, his queen, to try to bring peace and prosperity to Hyrule and deliver it from evil. He spent a lot of time with us because he knew we were experts in making crops and he wanted to use those crops to feed his people and cure them from a deadly illness. Then, one day, one of his royal aides betrayed him and he attempted to take the Light Force for his own.”

“Oh, Goddesses!” Link gasped in shock.

“Did this aide get his hands on the power?” Ezlo asked.

“No,” Siroc answered. “The queen defeated him, and after some urges from Gustaf, she decided to keep the Light Force a secret, only passing this down from one female descendant to another.”

“One of those descendants, Zelda, was cursed before she could learn the truth about the Light Force, “Link explained. “That’s why I need to restore this blade with the wind element.”

“Then, I must ask you, hero,” Siroc replied. “Trek through the palace and eliminate Vaati’s monsters. Then, you’ll be able to claim the wind element after you reclaim our palace. Sound plausible?”

“Very,” Link answered, and then he began his mission to eradicate the palace of the invading monsters.

Link, with Ezlo still nestled in his scalp, climbed up another flight of stairs and he reached the top of the tower, where he found a strong gust of wind that took him and Ezlo up higher into the clouds and into one of the areas of the Palace of Winds.

After landing safely in the area, he discovered a lot of monsters and he began eradicating them with the White Sword. The monsters are mostly bomb-like monsters called Bob-Ombs, and peahats, which are very hard to kill.

While trekking through the palace and eliminating the enemies, Link discovered a couple of clouds that lead up to another floor of the palace. Ezlo hummed in curiosity.

“There’s some fluffy clouds floating here,” Ezlo said. “It looks awfully comfortable.”

“Yeah,” Link replied, and they also led to another floor of the palace. Too bad we can get up there because it is too high for me to jump.”

“Well, maybe there’s a tool in her that we can use to get up there,” Ezlo said with hope in his voice.

“Probably,” Link replied.

Link continued his trek and he had to hit switches with either his sword, his arrows and his bombs in order to activate bridges for him to get across different platforms. After crossing many platforms, Link and Ezlo came across an arena-looking area where the two ended up trapped with the door slamming behind them.

When Link and Ezlo got trapped, they are suddenly ambushed by magician-like monsters called Wizzrobes that shoot beams out of their hands. Link had to dodge the beams and fired beams of his own from the White Sword.

Unfortunately the Wizzrobes used their beams to deflect Link’s beam attacks, so the hero had to find a different approach to eliminate his enemies. Dodging the beams, Link used the techniques he learned from Swiftblade and he was able to eliminate the Wizzrobes one by one with the White Blade’s sharp steel.

Once all of the Wizzrobes had been eliminated, a big chest appeared before Link, and he opened it to find a white and blue cape. Next to the cape lies a paper that reads:

“Roc’s Cape. Use it to jump farther, float and glide.”

“Hey,” Link gasped. “Maybe this cape is the answer to our problem with those clouds.”

“My guess, too,” Ezlo replied.

After getting the cape, Link returned to the clouds and he used the cape to jump higher to the clouds and he was able to stand on them. One by one, he leaped on the clouds in order to get to the next floor of the palace.

After that, he had to trek through many floors and rooms of the palace in order to find the big key that would unlock the door to the boss room. He also had to battle many monsters that are overrunning the palace, such as Gibdos, Stalfos, Ball and Chain knights and Wizzrobes of different elements. For example, blue Wizzrobes are ones that cast ice powers and red Wizzrobes are ones that cast fire spells.

Eventually, after surviving one crazy challenge after another, Link was able to find the big key, and he used the Roc’s Cape to fly up the clouds to find himself near the big, locked door. He unlocked the door with the big key, and he and Ezlo entered a room where a pedestal awaits that has a giant gust of wind on it.

“Heh heh heh!”

Link and Ezlo gasped as they heard a familiar, evil chuckle. They turned to see Vaati standing on top of a platform near the room, and he is holding Siroc hostage.

“SIROC!” Cried Link.

“VAATI!” Ezlo shouted at his former student in anger. “You coward! Holding hostages, are you?”

“Good thing I did too,” Vaati replied, because I forced this old lady to tell me about the Light Force by threatening to kill her entire tribe. I cannot believe that the Light Force runs through the veins of that princess I cursed.”

Link’s eyes widened. He is shocked to learn that Vaati now knows about the Light Force’s true whereabouts.

“Oh, well,” Vaati continued in a flat tone. “Now I know. It’s been fun, but I got to go. I got a date with a stone princess… and you have a date with death!”

In a swift moment, Vaati pushed Siroc off the platform, forcing Link to use the Roc’s Cape to jump high and save her. When Link saved Siroc, Vaati used the opportunity to create a shadow portal to escape through.

As Link noticed that Vaati got away, he cursed out loud. After that, a loud roaring was heard.

Link and Ezlo looked up to see the monster that the Great Mayfly Fairy transformed into soar through the air. Link knew that if he left the palace to chase after Vaati, the monster, called Gyorg, would devastate the palace.

Seeing no alternative, Link rode the giant gust of wind up on the Gyorg monster and he created duplicates of himself on glowing tiles on Gyorg’s body to strike its many eyes. After the eyes were destroyed, Link had to jump out of the Gyorg which was flying amok and land on a blue, smaller Gyorg monster which happens to be an offspring.

Link used the White Sword to destroy the Gyorg offspring and he landed back on the bigger Gyorg to duplicate himself and destroy more of its eyes. At last, the Gyorg writhed in pain and it started exploding.

Link was forced to jump off the Gyorg and he shed some tears as he watched the monster explode, knowing that it was actually the Mayfly Fairy transformed. “Forgive me, dear fairy,” he said softly.

Falling down the skies was enough for Link to get knocked unconscious, and it was because of that he couldn’t stop himself from plummeting faster. Noticing the danger, Siroc used her wind powers to create a gust of wind to soften Link’s landing.

Although Link was safe, and so was Ezlo, who was still nestled in his scalp, the young hero was still unconscious.

Chapter Text

An hour later, Link was just waking up after being unconscious by how much energy he spent trying to destroy the Gyorg monster before it could terrorize the Palace of Winds. When he fully woke up, he noticed Ezlo moving up toward him.

“Link!” Ezlo cried. “Thank the Goddesses, you’re alright!”

“What happened?” Link asked.

“You were unconscious after destroying the Gyorg monster!” Ezlo answered.

“Oh, that’s right,” Link replied. “I do remember slaying the monster. That means the Mayfly Fairy has now gone to the heavens.”

“Yeah,” Ezlo agreed. “It can’t be helped. She was going to wither away anyway. At least she is at peace now.”

“Yeah,” Link replied somberly.

Suddenly, the door to the room swung open and in came Siroc, Gale and Hailey. They are relieved to see that Link has finally woken up.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Cried Siroc. “You’re awake! How do you feel?”

“All right,” Link answered. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine, thanks to you,” Siroc answered.

“You’re welcome,” Link responded.

“Thank you for ridding the palace of those monsters, Link,” Gale said.

“The Wind Tribe can finally thrive in peace again,” added Hailey. “But I believe that there is more to your journey, isn’t there, Link?”

Link suddenly gasped. “You’re right! I have to get back to the castle! Zelda is in danger now that Vaati knows the secret of the Light Force!”

“Before you go, Link,” Siroc began, “you must take this with you.” She handed the young hero a green stone, which Link and Ezlo immediately recognized. “That’s right,” Siroc continued. “It’s the wind element. You’re going to need it to infuse its energy to the sword. Were you able to collect the other three elements?”

“Yes, I did,” Link answered.

“The wind element was the last one,” Ezlo added.

“Then, that means you are now ready,” Siroc responded. “Ready to free the princess from her curse and stop Vaati before he causes more damage to the Hyrule Kingdom.”

“Right,” Link said as he took the wind element from Siroc. “Thank you. We will be on our way.”

Link carefully placed Ezlo on his scalp and then he got out of the bed he was laying on. He picked up his gear and he left the room. After getting outdoors, Link fished out the Ocarina of Wind from his pocket and he played music on it.

After playing the Ocarina of Wind, Link already spotted Zeffa appearing from the clouds. The blue bird swooped down to pick Link up and flew him, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, down the skies to get to the ground.

Link can already see Hyrule Castle from the sky and he orders Zeffa to get him closer to it. Zeffa immediately obeyed Link’s order and he swooped down the skies as fast as he could; it took about fifteen minutes to get to the castle.

When they reached the castle, Link let go of Zeffa and he landed in the stoney tiles of the garden floors. After that, he went through the hedges in order to avoid being caught by the guards as Zeffa flew away from the castle.

After ducking the guards, Link climbed down the secret passage and he rushed to the interior of the castle. After getting inside the castle, he rushed to the garden, where he played with Zelda when he was a boy, and he entered the Elemental Sanctuary.

After reaching the sanctuary, Link wasted no time in placing the White Sword into the pedestal and the wind element in the last empty pedestal. When everything was set, the wind element glowed green and its energy zoomed toward the sword.

A moment later, the infusion was complete and the sword looked completely different than before. The hilt is now pure gold instead of blue.

Link looked at the sword as he removed it from the pedestal. He is entranced at how beautiful it looked.

“Wow!” Link cried in amazement. “Look how golden and shiny it looks!”

“Yeah, it is shiny indeed!” Agreed Ezlo.

“We did it!” Link cried. “I can’t believe we did it! The Picori Blade has been restored!”

“Yes, it has!” Ezlo agreed. “Now we can use it to free Zelda and defeat Vaati!”

“That’s what you think!”

Link and Ezlo gasped in surprise and shock as they suddenly heard a voice from behind them. They turned to see the king standing before them.

“Y-Your Majesty?!” Link gasped. “H-How did you–” The king suddenly transformed into Vaati, making both the hero and his companion gasp in fright. “Vaati! I forgot; you attacked the king and turned into him to order the guards to find the Light Force!”

“And eliminate you if they found you,” Vaati added. "As for how I found this place..." The villain moved aside and revealing Swiftblade knelt down on the ground. He looked as if he was severely beaten up.

“Master Swiftblade!” Link cried.

“Yes,” responded Vaati in his most sinister, evil tone. “I captured him and beat some crucial information out of him.”

Swiftblade coughed and coughed, some blood came out of his mouth. “Link, forgive me. He’s more powerful than I thought.”

Before more can be said and done, a secret doorway opened on the other side of where the sword pedestal stands. In an instant, Vaati glowed purple and it zoomed past Link and through the newly-opened doorway; Link, with Ezlo still nestled in his scalp, hurried after him.

Link entered the room, and he spotted Vaati staring at a mural. Link gasped to see that the mural looks almost exactly like Princess Zelda.

Below the mural lied writing that reads: "After the great evil was sealed away, the force of the golden light, which is now embodied in Hyrule's princess, shone forth upon the lands, restoring it to normal."

“So the wind elder was right,” Vaati said after letting out a little chuckle. “The Light Force really is inside the very girl I cursed. Now that I know, for sure, where the Light Force is, I will take it for my own and rule the world!”

Vaati chortled heartily and evilly as he suddenly glowed black and purple. Link attempted to stop him by using the Sword Beam technique, but it just deflected off of him.

Vaati retaliated by shooting a dark beam of his own and Link didn’t have time to either dodge or deflect it. The beam hit Link and it rendered him unconscious once more; Ezlo was knocked out, too.

Vaati chortled evilly once more. “Ezlo, you really are too kind! You have been very generous to the end, but now I’ve no further use of you. Time to pay the princess a visit and snatch the Light Force for my own!”

Vaati chortled once again, and he disappeared in black smoke. Link and Ezlo were left alone and still unconscious.

Chapter Text

While he was unconscious, Link’s body was approached by Zelda’s spirit, which used her powers to communicate with Link. Instead of meeting with him in the dream-like throne room like usual, she just started speaking to him in the black void.

“Link, wake up!” Zelda called out. “You need to wake up! You have to help me! Vaati is coming for me! Wake up!”

Zelda’s voice was suddenly replaced by Ezlo’s voice as he started to wake up the young hero. “Link, wake up! HEY!!!”

Link stirred himself awake. He stood up in a daze after that.

“I could hear Zelda,” Link said to Ezlo.

“She’s in trouble, kid!” Ezlo pointed out. “We need to hurry and get to her before Vaati does!”

“Right!” Link replied and he rushed out of the mural room with Ezlo nestled in his scalp.

Link came back to the elemental sanctuary and he and Ezlo gasped in shock as they discovered Swiftblade turned to stone. Link approached the statue carefully.

“Master!” Link cried.

“Quick, Link,” Ezlo demanded. “Use the sword’s power! I’ll bet it would undo this evil from him.”

Link powered up the sword, as Ezlo suggested, and he shot a beam of light at Swiftblade. Moments later, he turned to normal; he was free.

“Master!” Link called out to Swiftblade.

“Link,” Swiftblade coughed. “What happened? One minute I was watching Vaati zoom ast me, and then the next thing I knew, everything turned black.”

“You were cursed the same way Princess Zelda was,” Link explained, but I freed you from it.”

“Thank you, boy,” Swiftblade replied gratefully. “Now, you need to do the same to the princess! Don’t worry about me, just hurry!”

Link nodded his head in agreement, and then he, with Ezlo still nestled in his scalp, rushed out of the elemental sanctuary to return to the castle. As they got back to the gardens, they are horrified to see that all of the green grass and flowers in the garden are all dead; everything’s a wasteland now.

Link and Ezlo also discovered more statues, and they looked like guards and the minister. Link used his sword to free them from the curse and he approached the minister.

“Minister, are you alright?” Link asked.

“I am,” answered the minister. “Thank you, Link. I just learned that Vaati was disguising himself as the king to get his hands on the light force, and I’ve also learned that the princess had been in possession of it the whole time. Before Vaati turned me to stone, I overheard him planning to take the petrified princess to the roof of the castle! He must be planning something fiendish! You must race up there and stop him!”

“I will!” Link replied. “I’ll head up there now!”

“And don’t forget to free the others from the stone curse,” the minister added. “I’m pretty sure Vaati did the same thing to the rest of them to prevent them from stopping him.”

“I’ll be sure to take care of it,” promised Link, and he left the gardens, with Ezlo still on his scalp.

As the duo left the gardens, they stopped to see that Hyrule Castle looked different than when they appeared from the secret passage. Instead of blue walls, there were purple walls, and instead of red flames on the torches, there are green flames on the torches.

“Whoa!” Ezlo exclaimed. “What happened to Hyrule Castle? Could Vaati place a curse on it, too?!”

“Probably,” Link answered. “Maybe he wants to take it for his own after he succeeds in getting the light force, but that ain’t going to happen.”

“Darn right, it won’t happen!” Ezlo agreed. “We better hurry. This could mean that Vaati’s power is growing!”

Link hurried along the castle to try to find a way to the roof. He started by heading down in the dungeons to see if he can find some people, and the only person he could find was the king, who is locked in a cell and turned to stone.

Link found the guard key, and he opened it to unlock the door. After that, he used the golden-hilted sword to free the king from the stony curse.

“Oh, Link!” The king gasped as he got free from the curse. “Was it you who returned me to normal?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Link replied. “I’ve restored the Picori Blade to its full potential.”

“I see,” the king replied. “So this is the power of the Four Sword.”

“The Four Sword?” Link repeated.

“It’s what the Minish would sometimes call it because it has the power to duplicate the owner into three clones along with the original,” the king answered. “Henceforth, the Four Sword.”

“I see,” Link replied. “It’s a pretty cool name!”

“Yes, it is,” the king answered. “You know, I must say that you have grown quite brave since I last saw you.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” replied the grateful Link.

The king looked around the dungeon and was horrified to see how different it is. “Oh, how awful the castle has suffered while I was under Vaati’s curse! Is this all the work of one man?”

“I’m afraid so, Your Majesty,” answered Link.

The king paused for a moment before standing tall. “As king, I must do something about this villain… But, I’m afraid my age has caught up with me. I’ll only slow you down, my boy. I must rely on you, now that you have the sacred Four Sword. Please! You must find a way to rescue my Zelda!”

“I will, Your Majesty!” Link promised.

The king then gave Link a golden key that looked different from the boss keys that are found in the elemental dungeons. “Take this. It’ll get you out of the castle from the basement.”

“Okay,” Link replied. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Link hurried out of the dungeon and he trekked throughout all of the castle to try to find a way to the roof. Along the way, he opened every door he could find and he went through each room and battled different enemies, such as Stalfos, Wizzrobes, Darknuts and Moblins.

The castle is one big maze as Link, with Ezlo still nestled in his scalp, had to go through different rooms to find the door to the roof. He eventually found it, but he found that he needed to find the big golden key similar to the ones at the elemental dungeons.

Link trekked to a room where he had to unlock four different locks to make way for a big square boulder to move. On the other side of the boulder is the chest where the key lies.

Link traveled through different rooms in the castle, finding several different Darknuts enemies, and he eliminated them all in order to collect the four different keys.

After getting the keys, Link returned to the boulder room and he unlocked the four locks. After that, he used glowing tiles on the floor to duplicate three clones along with himself and they moved the big boulder out of the way; Link then opened the chest to get the big key.

Link returned to where the big door was and he used the big key to unlock the door. When the door was unlocked, Ezlo started to talk.

“Well, kid… This is it. The moment of truth. Are you ready to take on Vaati and free your princess from her curse?”

“I am ready, Ezlo, “Link replied with much determination. “I have never been this ready in a long time. I just know that I can do this. I have to. For her… For Hyrule!”

“Then, let’s go and do it!” Demanded Ezlo.

“Let’s do it!” Link repeated and then he went through the newly open doorway, ready and eager to fight Vaati and save Zelda and the Kingdom of Hyrule from the forces of evil.

Chapter Text

On the roof of Hyrule Castle, Vaati has already begun his work on trying to remove the light force from Zelda’s statue. He worked his magic toward the statue, but the statue was glowing gold, which means that even though Zelda is as still as stone, her powers are fighting back.

The roof of the castle is scary after Vaati worked his magic to transform the castle into a living nightmare. The sky above the roof has also become scary as Vaati worked his magic. The once blue skies are now black with orange lighting.

Vaati worked as hard as he could to try to suck the golden light from Zelda’s statue. Despite his best, he could only suck in a little of the light force.

“Drat!” Cursed Vaati. “Her resistance is quite strong! I need to drain it out quickly… for I know that little brat, LINK, is on his way at this very moment.”

Suddenly, Vaati heard a loud crashing sound, which sounded like the closing of a giant door. Vaati sighed heavily.

“Speak of the devil…”

Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, had gone through the big door after opening it with the boss key. The duo are now standing in a long hallway, which is dark with green flames burning on the lanterns.

As the duo entered the hallway, they immediately heard Vaati’s evil chuckling. “You are more persistent than ever, aren’t you?” He asked. “So, you’ve come to stop my little ceremony. Well, you’re too late! A mere three more chimes of the bell will bring the ceremony to an end, and with the third toll of the bell, I will become like a GOD!!! And your precious Princess Zelda will be nothing more than a cold, dead stone! Heh heh heh!”

“Link!” Ezlo cried after Vaati finished talking. “There’s no time! Quick, to the roof!”

Link hurried through the dark hallway, but he encountered a ball and chain knight. Since the hallway was too narrow, Link can’t get around the knight, so he had to use the Sword Beam to try to eliminate it.

After shooting a plethora of sword beams at the ball and chain knight, it is finally eliminated and Link climbed a flight of stairs. As he reached another hallway, a loud chime of the bell was heard.

“Oh, no!” Link cried.

“The bell!” Ezlo cried. “Two more chimes to go, Link! Hurry!”

Link studied the hallway carefully and he noticed four buttons on the other side, which is being guarded by a lot of purple Keatons, which are fox monsters that steal from you after attacking. Spotting four glowing tiles on the floor, Link quickly used the Four Sword to duplicate himself and with three of his clones, he charged the Keatons, eliminating them and pressing the four buttons to open the door.

After crossing the door, Link, with Ezlo still nestled in his scalp, climbed another flight of stairs to reach a big chamber room. As they entered the chamber, they suddenly heard another loud chime of the bell.

“Blast! Cursed Ezlo. “Another toll of the bell! Just one more toll and all our work would be for naught!”

“I cannot let that happen!” Link cried with determination. “I WON’T!”

Link attempted to cross the chamber and climb another flight of stairs, but three Darknuts got in his way. Wasting no time, Link battled the Darknuts, dodging the attacks and counter-attacking with the Four Sword.

Link eventually defeated the three Darknuts and he climbed the flight of stairs. At last, he, with Ezlo still in his scalp, had reached the roof of the castle, and the heroic duo could spot Vaati using his magic to suck out the golden light force from Zelda’s statue form.

“VAATI!!!” Link screamed ferociously at the purple-clad villain.

When Link angrily called out to Vaati, the villain’s magic stopped and Zelda’s gold aura suddenly disappeared. The scene was followed by the sound of the final toll.

Vaati chuckled evilly as Link suddenly gasped. “You’re too late, Link…” He turned to face the boy and talking cap; his eyes are all now white as the snow. “I’ve drained the light force from the princess. Your Zelda is now a lifeless hunk of stone!”

Vaati laughed evilly after saying his piece triumphantly.

Link froze in horror. He cannot believe that he was too late.

The hero fell to his knees and he started to well up in tears. “No…” He sobbed. “No!”

Vaati continued chortling evilly for a few, long moments before finally stopping. “Now, with the light force and the aura of the great evil I have freed from that chest, I am now VAATI REBORN!!!”

After saying his piece, Vaati suddenly glowed with a mixture of gold and purple as he began to transform. Moments later, the gold and purple receded and Vaati looked different than before.

The villain is now taller than ever, and he is floating in the air. His clothes are as dark as the night sky and he has golden horns on his forehead; his face is different than before, as well.

Suddenly, on the lower part of Vaati’s new clothes, a big red eye appeared. The eye startled Link and Ezlo to the core.

“Good heavens!” Cried Ezlo. “I wonder if that eye belonged to the great evil from all those centuries ago. Nevertheless, I cannot believe that Vaati has ascended to a new form!”

Link stared at Vaati’s new form in horror. He pondered if he could ever defeat such monstrosity.

Vaati stared at his hands, smirking with triumph. “I can feel it! The light force and the power of the great evil is coursing within me!” He faced his adversaries. “I will have no more of you interfering with my plans! I will dispose of you two now! But first, let us go somewhere more comfortable…”

The roof of the castle opened from below Link’s feet, like a trap door, and Link fell down to the very same chamber room where he battled the three Darknuts. Vaati, in his ‘Reborn’ form, floated down after the hero and his companion.

When the heroes and the villain are in the chamber, the roof of the castle closes back up. The battle between good and evil can begin now.

“Now…” Began Vaati as he charged up his combined magic. “Feel the power of VAATI REBORN!!!”

He fired his magic at Link, but he was able to deflect it away from him and Ezlo with the Four Sword. Vaati stared in amazement.

“The sacred blade…” Vaati muttered. “How brazen of you to deflect my own power back at me with that piece of junk!”

“Link…” Ezlo whispered. “I think we can still save Zelda if we just defeat Vaati and draw out the light force from him.”

“It’s worth a try,” Link responded after long moments of pause. “But I think we should weaken him first.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Ezlo replied.

Suddenly two eyeballs popped out of Vaati’s body, and they began to swirl around him. Link concluded that those eyeballs are the key to stunning and weakening Vaati’s power.

Link destroyed the eyeballs with the Four Sword and he proceeded to use it again on the big eyeball that was on Vaati’s body. After landing some successful hits, which weakened Vaati, the eye closed and it gave the villain the chance to recover.

This time four more eyeballs came out of the villain’s body and they started swirling around him. This didn’t dissuade the heroes as Link, remembering his strategy, continued destroying the eyeballs with the Four Sword.

After destroying the eyeballs, the big eyeball reopened, and Link used the Four Sword to damage it, hoping it would weaken Vaati some more. It worked.

The eyeball was destroyed after some successful hits made by the Four Sword and Vaati started groaning in pain. “Well…” He began after quitting his moaning. “You DO seem to have some fight in you, boy. I commend you for your bravery… but you will not survive… THIS!!!”

Vaati’s body glowed gold and purple again as he underwent another transformation. This time Vaati is now a ball of dark magic with the same red eye that was on his body; Vaati’s own eyes are at the top of the dark magic ball.

“I am filled with a power that you cannot BEGIN to understand,” Vaati continued. “Do you think that your PUNY sword will save you from ME?!”

“Yes,” Link responded, sounding very brave and determined.

“HA!!!” Vaati laughed. “Allow me to disappoint you!”

Eight purple eyeballs appeared from Vaati’s new body, and Link concluded that they are a key to weakening the villain. The problem is that the eyeballs are closed.

“Try hitting those eyeballs with your arrows,” Ezlo suggested.

Link used his arrows, which are bathed with light thanks to the Bow of Light, and they were able to hit the eyeballs, four of them were blue, but the other four were red and it has the same pupils as the big eyeball, making Link see that those are the eyeballs to attack.

Noticing the glowing tiles on the floor, Link used the Four Sword to create three duplicates of himself, and then he, along with the duplicates, proceeded to damage the red eyeballs with the Four Sword. When the eyeballs were destroyed, Link proceeded to damage the bigger eyeball, making Vaati wince in immense pain.

Despite his best efforts, Link could not finish off Vaati as the big eye closed and was surrounded by eight more purple eyeballs. After that, Vaati began using his magic, which included electric balls and balls of purple magic to try to kill the hero and his companion.

Refusing to give up, Link used the light arrows again to hit the eyeballs making them open, and he attacked the red ones with his duplicates. When the little, red eyeballs were destroyed, Link proceeded to damage the bigger eye, making Vaati wince in pain more.

This time, the big eyeball disappeared and Vaati’s body began to blow up from the inside. “What?!” He shrieked, his voice echoing. “What is this madness?! I have the power of a god! HOW COULD I LOSE TO A CHILD?!?!?!”

Before he could get his answer, Vaati’s body exploded. Moments later, Vaati’s real form lies on the ground, weak.

Link and Ezlo watched as the golden aura, or the light force, left Vaati’s real body and it zoomed toward the Four Sword. Link and Ezlo gasped in awe.

“Link!” Cried Ezlo. “We better hurry and get back upstairs! We can use the light force to save Zelda!”

“Right!” Link agreed, and then he, with Ezlo still nestled in his scalp, raced up the stairs to rescue Zelda from such a dark, harrowing fate.

Chapter Text

Link, with Ezlo nestled in his scalp, hurried up to the roof of the dark castle and he was able to spot the stone statue of Zelda in his sights. He approached the statue and he hesitated a bit.

“What’s the holdup, Link?” Ezlo asked. “Now that you have both the light force and the power of the Four Sword, you should be able to free Zelda from her curse! Hurry up and do it!”

Link nodded his head and he concentrated the two powers in his sword and he pointed it at Zelda. Using the spin attack, Link launched the two powers out of the sword and toward the statue.

Moments after being hit by the two powers, the statue cracked and the rocky shell came out of Zelda like an egg shell. When Zelda was free from the rock, she began to glow gold and she drew out some breaths, as if she was being resurrected.

Link and Ezlo were amazed to see how the curse was broken from Zelda. Moments later, Link carefully approached the princess.

“Z-Zelda?” Link called out to his childhood friend. “Are you okay?”

Zelda shook herself, trying to wake herself up fully and she was finally able to see Link. “L-Link?” She gasped in joy. “LIIIIINK!!!”

The princess wasted no time in rushing to her friend and wrapping her arms around him. Link was surprised at first, but then, seconds later, he calmed himself and returned the embrace.

“Oh, Link!” Zelda cried. “Link, Link, Link! I’m so happy to see you!I knew you’d save me! Thank you so much!”

The embrace lasted a while before Zelda separated herself. She was not done, however, as she suddenly locked her lips to Link’s, shocking her friend in the process.

The kiss lasted more than the embrace did. Nevertheless, Zelda separated herself from her friend, gasping for air.

“I’ve waited SO long to do that!” Zelda cried. “Oh, Link, I love you so much!”

Link blushed and smiled sheepishly. “I love you, too, Zelda.”

“Okay, not to be rude or anything, but can we please end the lovey-dovey stuff and do something about this castle?” Ezlo asked. “We must get to Vaati and get the Minish Cap so we can use it to return things to normal.”

Link and Zelda nodded their heads, and they attempted to go back down from the roof, but the stairway was already blocked by Vaati, who is still weak from his defeat. The purple-cladded villain heaved a couple of deep sighs, and he extended his hand to the trio threateningly.

“You DARE… think that you’ve won?” Vaati asked. “You’ll NEVER win! I can still recover myself and continue my quest! I WILL have POWER!!!”

Zelda gasped, and Link got between her and Vaati, aching to protect her from him again. Ezlo, on the other hand, decided to do something rash; he hopped out of Link’s scalp and hopped toward his former apprentice.

“Ezlo, what are you doing?!” Link asked in shock.

“Relax, boy,” Ezlo reassured his companion calmly. “I know what I am doing.” He continued hopping toward Vaati and he stopped halfway between Vaati and Link and Zelda. “Vaati, I know this will probably fall on deaf ears, but… I just want you to know that I am… sorry.”

Vaati seemed confused at what Ezlo was saying. “What do you mean, ‘sorry’?!” He barked.

“I am sorry that I failed you as a teacher, Vaati,” Ezlo clarified. “If I taught you the scale between right and wrong instead of about all the powers the world had to offer, you wouldn’t have been so ambitious to claim these powers for your own. I mean, heck, if I hadn’t invented the Minish Cap in the first place, you wouldn’t have had the advantage to start your dark quest.”

Vaati paused for a moment or two. He then chuckled weakly, but evilly. “You should be sorry, Ezlo,” he said. “Now, it is because of that I can destroy you and resume my quest for world domination!”

Vaati raised his hand and he attempted to charge up his powers. This action shocked Link and Zelda.

“Ezlo, run!” Link screamed, and he attempted to run to him.

“No, boy!” Ezlo screamed. “Stay where you are! Both of you!” He then turned to Vaati and spoke in a calm voice. “It is true that I fear death, but I will gladly face it if I am to save my apprentice from the darkness.”

Vaati paused for a moment. His hand is still charged with his dark powers, but he still froze.

“Look, you can still save yourself, Vaati,” Ezlo continued. “I know that there is still good inside you deep down. Even on the day you cursed me, I believed that I could save you from the darkness that you so craved. But if you truly feel that you cannot be saved… then go ahead and put an end to me.”

“Ezlo, NO!” Link screamed and he, again, attempted to rush in to protect Ezlo.

“I SAID STAY BACK!!!” Ezlo demanded.

Link immediately obeyed Ezlo’s command and stopped in his tracks. Zelda walked to Link, and she gently placed a calm hand on his shoulder, giving him a look of reassurance.

Vaati paused for a few more moments, his hand still charged with power. His face is breaking, filled with emotions.

At first, Vaati wanted to shoot his magic at his former master, but something was stopping him. He suddenly remembered the memories of himself as the apprentice he once was. Vaati was raised by Ezlo, being loved like a son, and that was the warmest memory the sorcerer has ever thought of.

Remembering that particular memory, Vaati jerked a single tear from his crimson red eyes, and he lowered his hand. The dark magic receded from his hand when he lowered it.

“Oh, Master…” Vaati sniffled. “I… I… What have I done?”

“YOU HAVE BETRAYED ME!!!”

A dark voice startled everyone. However, nothing was more startling than when the darkness was swirling over Vaati, and started making him scream in absolute pain.

Ezlo squealed in shock. “VAATI!!!” He turned to Link. “Link, use the Four Sword! Aim it at the dark power!”

Link obliged Ezlo’s command and he swung his sword, shooting a sword beam at the dark entity and it was enough to help Vaati get free from him. When Vaati was free from the dark entity that was hurting him, his clothes changed from purple to green and red, Minish colors.

“Vaati!” Ezlo screamed, hopping to his apprentice’s aid. “Are you alright?!”

Link and Zelda rushed to Ezlo and Vaati, attempting to help the reformed apprentice as well. As they got closer, they saw an amazingly, shining, red stocking cap nestled on Vaati’s scalp.

“Is that… the Minish Cap?” Link asked.

“It is,” Ezlo answered.

Before more could be said and done, the dark entity roared in anger, startling the group. As the entity roared, the whole castle began to shake.

“Oh, no!” Zelda squealed in horror. “The castle is collapsing!”

“Quick!” Ezlo demanded. “We must escape from here before the collapse will kill us all!”

Link quickly placed Ezlo on his scalp, and he helped up Vaati with Zelda’s aid. After that, the group quickly rushed down from the rooftop and they hurried to the castle’s front entrance.