"You are already leaving this land of Hyrule, aren't you?"

The boy found it hard to meet her eyes. I'm not answering that, he thought. I don't know what she expects me to say.

The two of them stood outside of the great, stone wall that surrounded the castle's bustling marketplace, on the drawbridge that connected it to the seemingly endless, rolling hills of Hyrule Field. The sun hid behind the gloom of the cloudy midday, and the soft wind gently danced through the air. Zelda's summer dress hardly stirred.

He looked to his horse. The small, young steed, her brown coat and short white mane blowing in the gentle breeze, stood beside him patiently. He fiddled with the green fabric of his tunic. What is she hoping for? That I'll change my mind?

"Even though it was only a short time, I feel like I've known you forever," Zelda continued. He restrained himself from reminding her that they had known each other for much longer, in a future she would never know existed. He was renowned as the Hero of Time; he'd traveled forward seven years to vanquish a great evil, sealing it away across all ages.

That peaceful period following his return to the present had just ended. Now he was on a personal quest, to find a lost friend. His sword and shield were once again clad on his back, ready to protect himself from danger.

"I'll never forget the days we spent together in Hyrule, Link," Zelda added. "And I believe in my heart that a day will come when we'll meet again. Until that day comes, please, take this." Link watched Zelda outstretch her hand, palm up, to show a deep-sea blue ocarina resting there.

"I... I can't...," started Link.

"I am praying... I am praying that your journey be a safe one," she interrupted.

"I can't take that from you," persisted Link, pushing her hand back against her chest. "It's the Royal Family's. It's yours. It can't help me anymore."

"But it will. I believe that it's been kept in our family this long so that one day, it would find its way to you. Please, take it. If something should happen to you, it might come to your aid again."

He took the Ocarina of Time back into his hands; he'd sealed the wicked sorcerer away through its power. "Do you remember the Song of Time?" she asked. "The Goddess of Time helped you last time you were in trouble."

"Yes," answered Link grimly, slipping the ocarina into its usual pocket on his belt. There was a long moment of silence, and both of them merely stood together in it. Then, Link gave Zelda a small, weak smile, and turned to his horse. "Come on, Epona."

He led the young horse by the reins away from the princess... Hyrule... the ranch... home for the two of them. The horse looked back and forth between the two youths, confused at the moment of silence that prevailed. Link and Epona had only gone a few steps when Zelda broke it.

"Link," she called out once more.

Link stopped short, wondering if he should even turn around; it would be less painful if he kept walking.

He found the urge irresistible.

Zelda, at a loss for words, quickly found them. "Please don't forget me. Don't forget Hyrule. You'll come back, won't you?"

Link didn't answer at first. "I promise." And then he threw himself over Epona's back, and the two rode off toward the mountains, leaving Zelda behind on the drawbridge.

What's with that stupid horse of yours?" asked the Skull Kid, losing his playful tone of voice. The words were now icy and sharp. "It doesn't listen to a word that's said to it. There's no point in riding a thing like that, so I did you a favor and got rid of it." He chuckled, acting like he was stifling uncontrollable laughter.

Link couldn't believe his ears. Epona? Dead? "You...," began Link, but he couldn't find the words. Suddenly, all of his fear turned to anger, and his hand firmly gripped the handle of his sword.

His face must have expressed this, because the imp laughed again. "Aww, boo-hoo. Why the sad face? I just thought I'd have a little fun with you."

"A little fun?" exclaimed Link angrily, holding his sword up and pointing its tip at the imp. He stood firmly on the flower in the middle of the puddle, but was ready to fight. "You killed Epona!"

"Killed-?" inquired the Skull Kid, arms still folded, floating comfortably on some invisible bed. "I never said that."

"You got rid of her!" said Link. "She was the last person I had from home, and you took her from me!"

The Skull Kid laughed, though the two fairies merely floated beside him silently. "It's just a stupid horse!" he exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Link yelled, cutting his sword across the empty air threateningly.

Instantly, the imp froze. All traces of humor were gone. "Oh, come now. Do you really think you can beat me as I am now? Fool!"

Link's first instinct was to move forward, but the Skull Kid reacted first. His head began trembling rapidly, his mask sizzling with a vibrant spectrum of colors. The blues, yellows, purples, and greens worked their way towards him, as the magic of the Skull Kid filled the air.

The air surrounding Link grew heavy as the spell's grip tightened, and he quickly realized that he was suffocating. He thrust his head upward to gasp for air, but then everything was black.

He stood there, in some vast empty space, until he heard a shaking of many coarse leaves bristling against each other, swaying. He recognized the sound instantly: Deku scrubs. Link ran from the noise, but suddenly it was everywhere, everything. The little wooden creatures were covered in large, red leaves that cascaded from the top of their heads to their mid-sections. They were child-sized and stick-like atop two twiggy legs, and had long wooden snouts below their glowing orange eyes. They were a head shorter than Link, but there was now an army of Deku scrubs. He stood no chance against them.

Link sprinted away, until they closed him off, surrounding him with the rustling of their leaves. He covered his ears and closed his eyes, but he was unable to end the madness. He let out a loud scream... and then it stopped.

The Skull Kid was there again, still levitating luxuriously with his arms across his chest and the two fairies floating by his side. Link was unable to read their expressions. He went to take a step forward, but when he did, he felt... his hands. His sword and shield were no longer there, but that wasn't the problem. His hands were made of wood.

He held them up in front of his eyes, completely shocked, noticing that his whole arm was made out of this material. His fingers and elbow weren't stiff, though; it was a moist, organic wood more similar to the trunk of a sapling than a full grown tree. Link looked past his hands to see that his torso also bore the same texture, bare of any shirt; his tunic was gone. All that remained was a green pair of shorts made out of the same material his tunic had been. His legs and feet were just as wooden as the rest of his body. Link hesitantly peered over the petals of the flower into the pond's reflection.

He screamed a high-pitched wail. It sounded like it belonged to a young, defenseless animal, which was true. The Skull Kid's spell had turned him into a Deku scrub.