In Nayru's Palm

I smiled and pulled away from the creepy stone.

"He is going to be the Hero of Time, is he not?" I asked Impa. Her brows knit together.

"It is possible," she allowed reluctantly. "There is no way to really know, Highness."

Didn't she understand? I had prophesized Link's saving Hyrule. How better than as the Hero of Time?

"I'll go get you something to eat," Impa said wearily, rising smoothly to her feet and going back to the entrance. I turned away from her as she left, and glared at the stone. It stared right back, giving me a sudden, piercing headache and making me break eye contact. Go figure that the Sheikah would make a rock that could win a staring contest.

I got up and walked around the cave. The sand whispered under my shod feet. I had never seen sand before, until last night. I hadn't really spared any real thought to it, either. Dropping to my knees, I ran it through my fingers, marveling at how it would sieve itself through my fingers like water. It was a deep grey, and even as I poured it from my hand, some still clung to my palm like a protective coat. Fascinated, I got up and looked for more things. Finding one in the far corner, I got to my feet again and, tripping once over my skirt, I looked up at a brown something. It was pockmarked with many holes, and looked like it was made from something similar to paper.

“Don’t touch that, Highness,” came Impa’s voice from the entrance.

“What is it?”

“A beehive. I don’t know if any still live in there, though. Just leave it alone.”

I took a step back, still watching the hive. “Of what is it made?”

She was quiet before answering, “I’m not sure. I’ve never really observed bees.”

That surprised me. Impa had never failed to answer a question before. I turned to her, but she was sitting in front of the creepy stone again, staring it in the eye. A fish lay still behind her foot.

It won’t beat Impa, I thought proudly. The thought fizzled out when Impa went corpse-pale.
“Impa?” I queried. My voice wouldn’t shake in the face of fear—something learned from being royal so long. Speech stays strong in all circumstances.

“Zelda, stay here,” she commanded, and I flinched. The first and last time she had talked to me that way had been last night. I stood immobile as she went to the entrance and disappeared with a CRACK.

The cave was very silent. For seconds I didn’t dare to move, but slowly I took a step, and then another, toward the stone. It looked as unfazed as ever, and I hated it for it. Gathering my nerve, I glared it in the eye. No sooner had I noticed that there were no really signs that anyone had carved it into existence than I was thrown into color.

…a large plant with what looked like a head snapped its jaws futilely at the air…

…butterflies flitted around in the air over what seemed to be a labyrinth…

…another plantlike creature shot something at me from what seemed to still be the labyrinth…

…a forest community spread beneath me, and another plant monster strode from an entrance and planted itself several yards away from me…

I want to see Impa, I thought angrily at the stone.

My hand hurt…

…a man in black armor stood in front of me, facing away. He was tall, with red hair and sun-browned skin…

…he stared at his hand, then looked up as a woman in silver ran to him, her eyes as steely as her armor…

…she ran at him, knives seeming to appear from nowhere, and she engaged him in silence. Her only sound was the whishing of her blades…

…the man laughed as they grappled, and knocked her away from him. She slid several yards away, much farther than I would have thought possible from such a weak looking blow. Before she could get to her feet, he came and stabbed at her calf with his sword, now drawn when she was felled. Her fist clenched in the dirt and her face went white, but she still made no sound even as he drew a knife as she was pinned to the ground. He aimed for her body with it, but she threw something to the ground and disappeared with a crack. It all happened in an instant…

A CRACK at the cave entrance shocked me out of contact with the stone, and I wheeled to see Impa sliding to the wall of our cave, her leg bleeding profusely. With a strangled cry, I moved from the stone, but a pain in my hand overwhelmed me. My throat worked, but I could make no sound, the pain was so intense. My vision was a whirlpool of colors as I tried to see through the water, but I could make out something bright, glistening gold on the back of my right hand.

“Farore give me courage,” I heard dimly from above me. I struggled to focus on the voice, but black had been added to my mix of colors in profuse amounts. “…get out…here…you’ll…safe…ld on…”