Back in Her Hands (NOT MINE)

Chapter 2

Link took a good look all around him; Lake Hylia was just as he remembered it. He briefly wondered if the rest of Hyrule would be the same as he remembered it.

If it was, he wasn't going to find out by standing around in Lake Hylia. He reached into his supply bag and pulled out another mask, this time it was the Goron mask. After putting it on and transforming into Darmani, he curled up and rolled towards the entrance to Hyrule Field. And once out into the field, he could head straight north, where the castle and Kakariko Village were. Sure, he could have easily used the Ocarina of Time to warp to the Temple of Time, but it was more fun this way. Besides, he wanted to see a bit more of Hyrule before he found Princess Zelda.

Once Link made it out onto Hyrule Field, he had picked up so much momentum he crashed right through the fence surrounding the entrance to Lake Hylia. Whoops, thought Link absent-mindedly, having forgotten about the fence. Oh well, guess I'll have to go back later and-- huh? His thoughts were interrupted by the sensation of running over something... squishy. Oh yeah, Stalchildren, Link thought to himself, remembering about the pesky undead entities that roamed the field at night.

Less than a minute later, Link saw out of the corner of his eye that he was passing Lon Lon Ranch. He loudly skidded to a halt and uncurled himself to get a good look at the ranch. It, too, was exactly like he had left it. He could even hear Epona neighing happily within its boundaries. Link smiled, remembering his trusty horse, then curled up into a ball again and continued rolling northward at top speed.

As he neared the north end of Hyrule Field, Link considered where Zelda could be at the moment. Now, let's see, Zelda will probably be somewhere in Kakariko Village, or if they've rebuilt it already, the castle.... As he neared the drawbridge, Link skidded to a halt again and uncurled himself, taking a good look around. Far to his right was the mountain entrance leading up to Kakariko Village and the Goron City. Right in front of him was the entrance to the market down. Drawbridge is still out, Link noticed, but.... He looked upward; thanks to the like of the full moon, he could see the outline of a tall structure that vaguely resembled Hyrule Castle before Ganondorf's takeover. Reasoning that was where Zelda would most likely be, Link, still in his Goron form, walked through the entrance to the market.

It was obvious that a lot of work had gone into renovating the market town. No longer was it an abandoned, ruined town infested with ReDeads, like it was when he saw it last. Now many of the buildings had been rebuilt, and lots of building equipment was still lying around, meaning that more work was going to be done. In fact, he saw two or three people still at it, even during the middle of the night! Good thing THIS place isn't the same as I last saw it, he thought happily as he made his way toward the castle.

Link couldn't help but recall the first time he had come this way to meet Zelda. The Great Deku Tree's dying wish was that he come here to Hyrule Castle to meet Princess Zelda. Back then, 'Zelda' was just a name like any other, just a person he had to find to get information. And now, I can't imagine going through life without seeing her again, he thought to himself.

Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly found himself in front of the gate blocking the way to Hyrule Castle. "Hey, who're you?" barked the soldier standing guard, who Link only now realized was there.

Aw great, here we go again, thought Link dejectedly. I'm going to have to sneak past all these soldiers again to get in the castle.

But the guard continued. "Never seen you before, but then again, all you Gorons look alike to me. Guess you're here to see Darunia. Well, I'll let you pass," he said, and then signaled for the gate to be opened. Link slowly walked through the gate, shaking his head with disbelief. If only the soldiers had let him through like that the first time he had come here!