Can't Change the Past Ch. 3 [DISCONTINUED]

Another chapter at last! I'm so happy! Enjoy!
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Link's P.O.V

I slowly open my eyes, adjusting to the light. I groan, stretching my arms and legs before hopping out of bed. I sling my sword and shield on my back and walk out of my house. Climbing down the ladder, I close my eyes again, relaxing in the sun's warmth.

Yup, today's the day I avenge my friends.

I reopen my eyes and walk over to Epona, who's grazing in the grass next to my house. I pet her mane, a small smile on my face.

"Hey, Epona. Do you wanna go for another ride?" She whinnies, nuzzling her snout into my hand. I laugh softly, saying, "Alright. Let's go."

I lead her out of the grass, fix her saddle, and hop on her back. Grabbing the reins, I spur her into a light canter and we start moving through Faron Woods.

When we enter Hyrule Field, I instantly scan the field for any monsters in the area. They have to hiding somewhere. I slow Epona down just a bit so I'll be able to focus better. So far, the field looks empty. I frown, not liking the odds of this already.

"HEY!"

I wince. Uh-oh, it's the mailman. Turning my attention towards his voice, I see him running across the bridge, his usually grunts reaching my ears. He skids to a stop in front of me, panting heavily. Reaching into his large pack, he pulls out a letter and hands it to me.

"One letter for a Mr. Link from our Royal Highness, Princess Zelda." My ears twitch at the sound of Zelda's title. What can she possibly want from me? I take the letter, saying,

"Thank you." The mailman bows, then turns around and runs away. Rolling my eyes, I open the letter and scan the page.

Link,

You need to come and see me immediately. A great matter of importance has come to my attention and it needs to be taken care of. I won't say anything else since I highly doubt the postman's ability to deliver this to you. Please visit me as soon as possible.

Zelda

My features form a confused look as I read the letter again. What in Hyrule is she talking about? Shaking my head, I put the letter in my pack and steer Epona in the direction of Hyrule Castle Town. I guess I have to go see what she wants.

I cross Hyrule field and enter Castle Town through it's South Side, leaving Epona near the entrance. Giving her a carrot, I enter the town and push my way past the milling people. Goddesses, why does everybody want Fresh Spring Water today? Form a different line instead of standing in the middle of the road for Din's sake!

Entering Town Square, I'm almost knocked over the the swarm of people moving in and out of the square. Regaining my balance, I weave through them, setting my course for the fountain in the middle of the square.

My boots makes a small thump sound on the cobblestone road that blends in with the other footsteps. The shouts of people constantly fill the air, making sure there is never a dull moment. The sun shines down on the town, making it look cheery and the water gleam. Reaching the fountain, I'm stopped by a familiar voice.

"Hey Link!" I turn and see one of Zelda's knights, Derek.

Derek has been a Hyrule Knights since he was fifteen, and he's braver than most of the knights here. Whenever I was a wolf and 'accidentally' walked into Castle Town, he was the only knight to stand his ground instead of running away when I 'attacked' them. He's wearing his usual knight armor, but he has his helmet off, allowing me to see his shaggy, light brown hair and almond eyes. He has a grin on his face as he walks up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"How's it going? I haven't seen you in a while." I return his smile.

"Hi Derek, it's great to see you." We start walking as he asks,

"So what brings you here? I thought you were taking a well-deserved vacation in your hometown." I frown.

"Zelda 'requested my presence', but she didn't tell me what she needed." Derek rolls his eyes, sighing playfully.

"Women, always so secretive. I'll escort you into the castle, it'll help with the crowd." I nod, and follow Derek north. People move out of Derek's path, making the journey a whole lot easier.

When we reach Hyrule Castle, the guards that stand outside the gate let us through, nodding in our direction. Derek waves at them, smiling a little. We enter the main gate, I'm hit with the fresh scent of fallen rain. The grass around the path is covered in dew, the sunlight making them shine and the stones of the castle itself gleam.

The tiles of the roofs on the towers and such were blue, and the bricks that built the castle are white. Brushing my fingers against them as we enter, I can feel the rough texture through my gauntlets.

After being led into the throne room by a Duke, who escorted us when we got into the greeting chamber, Derek turns to me and gives me a small smile.

"I'll go get Zelda. I don't know why she isn't in here waiting for you. Once again, the princess is late to her own party." He chuckles, then continues. "You wait right here, okay? Be right back." With that, Derek leaves the room, exiting through the doorway on the right.

I look around the room, eying the white brick walls that look similar to the exterior of the castle. The marble floor are well-polished, allowing me to faintly see my reflection in the stone. The carpet I'm standing on is wide enough for two people to stand side-by-side, and seems to be red velvet. It was probably imported from Kakariko a long time ago, since it looks a bit worn and the village used to make carpets like this one, once upon a time.

Hearing the click of heels and the shuffles of boots, I turn my attention to the throne itself to see Zelda sit down gracefully on it, her light purple dress flowing a bit. Her brown hair is fixed so that it's out of here face, with her crown adorned on her head. Her blue eyes hold that looks that gives off an aura of wisdom, like she knows the secrets to life. The guards, one of them being Derek, take their usual positions, standing next to her throne.

"Ah, Link. I'm glad you came at such short notice. I have a great matter of importance I'd like you to attend to." I nod, bowing slightly.

"Of course, Princess Zelda. What would you like me to do?" Zelda stands and walks for a bit, stopping in front of me. I straighten up, meeting her gaze. She holds up and opens her hand, causing a bright orb of light to emit from her palm. It changes it's form, and takes the shape of a necklace. A very familiar necklace...

"Link, have you seen this before?" I nod, trying to keep a blank face.

"I think I have." Zelda let out a small smile.

"Good. This will make your job easier. This necklace isn't...ordinary." Zelda closes her hand, her expression forming a serious look. "It's purple jewel isn't your everyday amethyst. It's made from a material that's been forgotten throughout the ages, called a Timeshift Stone. A long time ago, the ancient hero used the stones to travel a thousand years into the past. When the hero defeated the original evil, the first of the Sheikah knew that the stone would be used to try and resurrect the original evil, so she took a sample of the stone, and crafted it into the necklace I have showed you, then hid the rest of the stones away. Although, legend tells that the necklace will lead a person of pure heart to the hidden resting place of the Timeshift Stones, and that their power can be used for more than just time travel once purified. However, I sense that the necklace is somewhere around or in Castle Town...and that a great evil wishes to achieve it. That's where you come in, Link."

I eye Zelda questioningly, then it clicks. "You want me to find the necklace before that evil can find it." Zelda gives me a curt nod.

"Exactly. It won't be easy, though. I sense that a pure heart has already held onto this for quite a number of years. You're going to have to locate this person and take the necklace from them, or bring them to me. A pure heart is rare to find, so I'm surprised that there is one more." I give her another questioning look.

"One more?"

"Yes. You and I have pure hearts. For a while, I thought we were the only ones, but I stand corrected."

"Alright, I'll see what I can do." Zelda gives me another small smile.

"Thank you, Link." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a brown, leather wrist band, handing it to me. "You can use this to locate the necklace. It will start to vibrate when it's in your vicinity, and the vibrations become stronger the closer you are, and when you obtain it, it will turn into an ordinary wrist band."

I take the band from her and put it on my right wrist. Looking back up, I see that Zelda has returned to her throne. Sitting back down, she says, "Your actions today can prevent a world of destruction. I cannot stress enough on how important this is." I bow slightly again.

"I'll do my best, Your Highness."

"Good. You're dismissed, Link. Best of luck to you." With that, I walk out of the castle and back into Castle Town.

When I reach the North Road, I instantly feel a faint vibration from my wrist. I didn't have to look at it to know that it's wrist band, indicating that the person who holds the necklace is in my general area. This makes my day a lot easier.

I enter the Town Square, the vibrations growing with every step I take. I look around, trying to see if I can spot anyone who might be the pure heart Zelda was talking about. It seems like there are a million people here today, rushing about to sell their wares, buy useful items, or just doing their errands. And they all picked today to do it.

I stop by the fountain, scanning the crowd of rushing Hylians to see if I can play 'Hot and Cold' with this weird band. Whenever I see someone that I think might be the person Zelda ordered my to find, I take a step towards them. If it isn't them, the band's vibrations fade away, causing me to backtrack to the fountain. So far, that's the only result I've gotten.

Then, a person catches my eye. They're wearing a brown cloak, with the hood drawn up so I can't see their face. But, judging by appearance, they appear to be female. She's talking with the old priest on the East Road, handing him a purple rupee. This causes the priest to ramble about how she'll be surrounded by love and whatnot. I take a step towards her.

The band's vibrations increase tenfold. She's the one.

I start towards them, acting like I was going to see the priest. I see the girl's head turn slightly in my direction, then she bid the priest farewell and walks down the road leading to the south part of Castle Town.

I walk by the priest and head down the same road, avoiding the dog sitting in the middle of the street. The fangirls from the superstar game begin to follow me, but as soon as I turn around and give them a, "Hello," they squeal about how cute I am then run away.

Shaking my head and turning back around, I see the girl turn the corner, heading down the street that houses the Fortune Teller's shop and Agitha's house. Frowning, I head down the road and turn the corner, just in time to see her cross the street of the South Road and head down the alleyway leading to Telma's bar. Confused, I follow. Does she think she can just hide in Telma's Bar until I leave?

Shrugging, I quickly cross the street and enter the alleyway, the band's vibration's so intense I can hear them if I concentrated hard enough. Walking down the steps quietly, I see the girl standing in the middle of the alleyway, probably debating if she should enter Telma's Bar or check to see if I'm still pursuing her.

"Excuse me, ma'am." She spins around quickly, and freezes in shock as I finish climbing down the stairs, pausing at the end. "While I was going to visit the priest, I noticed that you glanced at me, then ran off. Is there a reason you fled?"

Instantly, she tries to enter Telma's Bar, but I beat her to the door, blocking her. She backs away from me, ending up against the far wall. Confused, I walk towards her.

"Seriously, why are you running away from me? I haven't seen you around here before, and I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything that caused you to be scared of me." When I'm a couple inches from her, she dashes to the right. I reach out to try and stop her, but the only thing my hand grabs is the hood of her cloak, which rips off of her head due to the momentum and causes her to spin around and face me.

Time seems to stand still, and my heart stops. I can feel my eyes widen and my jaw drop at the sight of the girl. The sight of the familiar (h/l), (curly/wavy/straight) (h/c) hair and (e/c) eyes are a sight that I have never forgotten, that I've held onto for years.  I shake my head. This had to be a dream, it had to.

My knees start to shake, and my throat closes up. The only thing I can do is force out one name. A name I haven't said in front of anyone except Ilia since I was eight.

"(Y-Y/n)?"