A young girl peeked out from around the door of her small cottage, her face framed by two blonde pigtails. She blinked in the glaring sunlight and stepped from behind the door and onto the porch, gently shutting it behind her.
The girl was about eight years old. She wore a light blue sundress that matched her eyes, and she clutched a telescope to her side as most girls would hold a doll.
The girl put a hand to her forehead and peered around. It was spring on Outset Island, so the sun shone bright and clear, and the sky was pale blue, decorated by a few wisps of white cloud. Sparkling waves lapped at the tiny beach, as the occasional solitary crab scuttled along, burrowing deep at the slightest hint of danger. Flowers and saplings poked out from the jewel-bright grass.
The girl looked around one last time, then called out,
"Link!"
No answer. She sighed, hands on hips, and shook her hair from her eyes.
She clicked open her telescope. It was red, and decorated with pictures of seagulls. She held it to her eye and peered through it intently, scanning the scenery.
Outset Island really consisted of two islands, one large and one small. These islands were separated by a thin channel of water, which was connected by a low plank bridge. The girl failed to see Link on the big island where her house was.
High above the island stretched vast cliffs, home to the mysterious Fairy Forest. The girl didn't bother to scan the high cliff tops. Recently, a large number of monsters had been spotted on the cliff tops, particularly near the Fairy Forest. The islanders avoided that area.
The girl pointed her telescope towards the smaller island. The small island only had one house on it, as well as a watchtower at the end of a narrow dock. The girl flipped a dial on her telescope. It zoomed in on the watchtower, where she could just make out the sleeping outline of a tiny person. She grinned, clicked the telescope closed, and trotted over to the small island.
Once there, she dashed down the dock and, hand over hand, and scampered up the tall ladder to the top of the watchtower. Sure enough, there was Link, fast asleep, one hand clutching a leather-bound book.
"Link?" she whispered. He stirred.
Link, at twelve, was handsome. It was easy to see the resemblance between him and his sister. They both had the same pale skin and blonde hair—though his was shorter and stuck up in odd places—and the same pointed ears and dark, round eyes, though his were green and hers were blue. But there was also seriousness about him that his sister did not share, a certain quality that was difficult to place.
Go away, Aryll, he thought. I'm sleeping. He'd been dreaming about the Hero of Time, a character in his favorite legend.
"Wake up, Link!" Aryll shouted again. Link groaned.Guess I'd better get up. he thought. Or she'll never leave me alone.
Link stood up, yawned, and stretched.
"All right," he said between yawns. "I'm up."
His sister immediately started chattering.
"Why are you here, Link? Why? Why? I like it up here. I call it 'Aryll's Lookout'. Do you know what day it is?"
