Author's Note (7-07-10): I made a LOT of edits to the entire story, so a lot of the grammatical errors should be removed (but as always, I'm sure there's some I missed). I also changed some scenes up and made each chapter flow better. It's not dramatically different, but if you have the time, go back and read it again and let me know how it is. Then go and read the new chapter. :3

Chapter One: The Beginning of a Fairy Tale

I'd always believed in fairy tales...dreamed about them...even wished I could fly away to some magical world where some handsome prince or hero would find me and we'd go on some amazing adventure. Complete with monsters, sword fights, and the evil villain, of course. And at the end, everything would come to a dramatic climax and the world would be saved. And then the handsome hero (or prince) and I would live happily ever after. Well, until the next madman decided to take over the magical realm we lived in. Then the process would start all over again and the world would be safer than it was before in the end.

But...as much as I wanted my fairy tale to turn out that way, it didn't. In so many more ways than one, it was a complete and total nightmare.

It seemed like a normal day when

BONK.

I spun around in my chair to see what and who hit me in the head. Yes, what and who. Normally in my house when something is thrown, it's on purpose. My two younger brothers stood behind me, with startled looks on their faces. The youngest, Drake's, hand was still in the throwing position. I looked down to see their football nestled at my feet.

I reached down to pick up the football, tossing it up and down in my hands as I walked towards them. "So...Which one of you wants to get clobbered first?"

The two of them exchanged pleading glances to the other as if begging the other one to give himself up first. I stopped directly in front of them, still tossing the football. Being the klutz that I am, I dropped the football on my next toss and Drake grabbed it like it was a lifeline.

"Ha, ha." My other brother stuck his tongue out at me and he raced out of the room, Drake trailing close behind.

"Hey, watch it! No running in the house!" My mom yelled as they nearly toppled her over running upstairs. She then turned back my way as I flopped back down in the computer chair with a heavy sigh. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for Elizabeth's party?"

"Oh...was that today?..." I glanced at the clock. Hmm...1:23pm...Wait, it's almost 1:30? And I told her I'd be there early, too! I saved the my writing, and jumped out of the chair.

Luckily, I'd already set my clothes out. I pulled on a jean and brown skirt (it had ruffles on the bottom and a slit up the side that made it really cool-looking), a white shirt over a cream tank top, white bangle bracelets, and cream sandals that tied around my ankle. Inspecting myself once in the mirror, I ran a brush though my hair and grabbed my purse, running upstairs.

"Bye, mom!" I yelled as I ran out the front door. Halfway out to my car, I turned back and grabbed the keys that my mom held out. When I unlocked the door and reached for the handle, I paused for a moment and turned back. "Thanks, mom." I said, taking the present she was now holding out.

I could see my mom holding back a laugh. "Bye, sweetheart."

A moving ball of apricot fuzz dashed between my feet as I stepped off the front porch. "Zoe! You're not supposed to be outside!" I cried. The small kitten just turned and blinked her green eyes at me before sprinting across the lawn. Great. Now I was really going to be late. I set my stuff on the porch steps and ran after her.

"You'd better hurry!" My mom yelled after me.

"Yeah, yeah!" Like I didn't already know what time it was.

Zoe slid down a nearby hill to the ravine floor. I slid after, trying to keep my balance in my tall sandals. I normally don't wear shoes like this in the woods, but I had no choice.

I grabbed for her at the bottom, but she just jumped the rocks with ease, moving farther down the stream.

"Zoe! When I get my hands on you, you'll be in so much trouble!" I shouted, picking up my skirt and stepping carefully on the rocks.

She darted onto the opposite bank and into a large hole. Tree roots were woven through the dirt above it, creating some kind of archway.

I peered inside the hole. It was big enough for me to crawl through, but only if I got down on my hands and knees. A small mew came from further inside the dark hole. Great. And this was a new skirt, too. I kneeled down and untied my shoes, retying them together and throwing them across my back. I took a deep breath and let it out. Time to go into the musty old hole in the ground. Yay.

I crawled several feet in, the hole getting darker and darker by the second. "Owww..." I moaned as I bumped my head on the ceiling. Wait...the ceiling? I reached around in front of me to find my way. A second later, my whole self found it's way down. A long way down.

It seemed like forever before I hit the bottom of the shaft. I cried out in pain as I landed on my right hand and it collapsed under me. I cradled my arm gently and looked around. It was lighter, and the hole had turned into a rather large and open cave. I could hear water rushing somewhere, and a small breeze blowing, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. I stood up carefully. Where there was air, there was some kind of escape to the outside. I certainly wasn't going get back up that shaft.

I took a few steps forward, almost losing my balance again. I had to be careful. The floor of the cave was slippery. I tiptoed slowly, inching towards the shot of fresh air. Just a little farther and I'd be out of this and I could have my mom look at my wrist. And I could finally leave for that party.

I took another wobbly step and lost my balance. This time I wasn't able to catch myself and I went sliding. The rest of the cave was a slope and I was headed for the end of it. Fast. This won't end well, will it?

I turned around and grabbed for something. Anything. My fingers laced around a root just as the ground ran out. My left ankle slammed against the side of the cliff, and thorny vines dug into my other leg. I clung onto the root and looked down slowly. There was a pool of water below, that I couldn't see the bottom of. This isn't good. I can't swim well at all. And with my ankle and wrist...

My hand began to slip and I reached up, trying to grab at the root with my other hand. I yelped in pain as I put weight on it. I dropped my right hand helplessly. I had to make a choice now. Slip and fall into the water and possibly hurt myself? I couldn't do that. I had a friend die that way. My only other choice was to let go and push off the cliff, dive in, and risk drowning. As much as I hated water, I had more chance of living this way.

I turned and put my back against the cliff, my hand slipping by the second. I braced myself and took a deep breath. It was now or never. Here goes nothing. I let go and pushed off the cliff, diving into the deep water below.

I could feel the cold water close in around me as I sank deeper and deeper down to the bottom. I tried furiously to swim to the surface, but my wrist and ankle hurt so bad...I looked around, desperate for another way out. But I could see none...

I heard something else plunge into the water above me. I wanted to signal that something that I was down there, but I was so tired...I just wanted to give in. And if my aching lungs were an indication, I wouldn't be able to hold my breath much longer.

I don't know how long it was before a pair of arms grabbed me around the waist and dragged me upwards from the bottom. A moment later we broke through to the surface, and I was pulled over a small waterfall into a pool that was a few inches deep.

I heard a male voice from farther away yelling something I couldn't understand. My rescuer was bent over me, dripping wet. "She's breathing and seems to be awake. It looks like she's been beaten pretty bad, though."

"I would imagine. That was quite a fall. I wonder how she got up there?" The other voice was closer now. Probably right next to me.

"Hey..." My rescuer shook me gently. "Are you all right? Can you hear me?"

His last word seemed to reverberate around me as I finally gave into the darkness that had been threatening to overcome me since my fall. Guess I'm not going to that party anytime soon.

Ugh...where am I?

I slowly started to come back to reality and it hurt. Everything seemed to have it's own pulse and was throbbing. I opened my eyes slowly and sat up, holding a hand to my head. That hurt, too.

I glanced around me, taking in my surroundings. I was a house, but it didn't seem like a modern house. It almost seemed...like a tree house... The walls and floor were wooden and there were cloth curtains over some of the windows. There were a few boxes in corners and a small table by the fireplace and stove. I could see a ladder leading up to some kind of lookout and another leading down to probably a basement. It was a cute little house...er, tree house...but what kind of person lived in a house like this?

"Ah, you're awake." I looked over to see the front door open and a guy about my age step in. Ah, figures. He brushed his sandy blond hair from his eyes and sat down next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Not so good." I replied. "Everything is throbbing and hurting..."

"It's probably better than when you were brought here...your wrist was broken, your ankle was sprained, and you had a deep gash in your right leg." He pulled the covers gently aside to inspect my legs. "They seem to be healing okay now." He set the covers back in place and smiled slightly, his deep blue eyes full of sympathy. "We've been using medicine on them, but we haven't been able to give you anything stronger since you weren't awake."

"We?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. My name is Link and you're in my house just outside of Ordon Village. The swordsman that was with me when I found you is Rusl."

Whoa, whoa, wait a second here. Swordsman? Ordon Village? Link? This couldn't be happening. I pinched myself. "Owww..." I mumbled, rubbing my cheek. Link gave me a questioning look. "I'm fine. Anyway...I have to thank you for saving me. I had thought I was going to die there..."

"It's okay. I'm just glad your injuries weren't worse."

"Yeah. My name is Amanda, by the way."

He smiled, and I glimpsed a little bit of micheviousness. "Nice to meet you, Amanda. Are you hungry at all? I could make you something if you'd like. Might make the medicine go down better."

"Sure." I agreed.

As Link turned to put what looked like soup over the fire, the front door opened and a tall man stepped through it, sheathing a sword as he did. "Good afternoon, Link."

"Hey, Rusl." Link waved the man over.

"Has the girl awoken yet?"

"Yes, I have, and my name is not 'girl', it's Amanda." I piped up from the bed. I'm normally not this rude, I swear (well, to people I don't know, anyway). Must be from all the pain I'm in.

The man just laughed. "Doing better, I see. How's that wrist of yours?"

I moved it a little. "Better." I sighed a little and smiled in apology. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude. You've both been so kind to me."

Rusl just shook his head. "It's quite all right. Oh, here." He set down a bottle with a red liquid in it. It almost looked like cherry cough medicine.

I tried not to make a face. "What is that stuff?"

"Red potion. It should heal you almost completely, though I'm not sure if your body would be able to handle it."

"And why not?"

"Because you're not from here." He replied. I froze. Wow, they sure figured that out quick. Looks like I don't need to make up any stories about where I'm from. Which is a relief, actually. I'm a terrible liar. "Am I correct? People don't just fall from the inside of a cliff."

I reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and lowered my head, nodding. "Yeah..."

"Would you care to tell us where you're from and how you got here?"

Sure. But I'm not going to tell you that I know your village will be attacked and Link will get turned into a wolf and he'll meet Midna, who'll order him to help her, which will ultimately turn into an adventure to save your precious Hyrule.

Anyway. Moving on.

I took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm from a world completely different from yours. It has huge cities...and it's very advanced in it's technology...we have things like electricity that we use for lights instead of candles and fires..." I paused a moment to gather my thoughts. "I was about to leave for a party for my friend...we had both just finished our required 12 years of school, so we were celebrating...my little kitten got out...I had to get to her before she disappeared. I didn't want the coyotes to get to her. She vanished into this hole and I crawled in after her."

I now had both of the men's attention. Link had abandoned the soup and come over to listen. "What happened after that?"

"The hole was too dark to see anything and I fell down a shaft. The ground I landed on was soft, but slippery, and I fell out and down into the water." I raised my head back up to look them in the eyes. "I'm sorry if I've caused some sort of trouble here..."

"No, no trouble." Rusl stood and stretched. "Just a little bit of excitement among the villagers. They've never heard of someone falling off of that cliff before."

"Later we could go into the village and I could introduce you to everyone, if you'd like. But for now, you should probably stay in bed and take the Red Potion." Link handed me some soup. "And right now you should eat something."

I blew on it and tasted it. "It's really good!" I said, taking another bite.

"I'm glad." Link smiled.

"Oh, Link. There was another purpose for me coming over, believe it or not." Rusl took a long, thin, wrapped package from his back and handed it to Link. "I finished it, finally. It's only wooden, but I'm sill putting the finishing touches on the sword for the King. I'll make you a better one when I can."

"It's perfect, Rusl, thank you. I'll take it with me when I leave tomorrow."

"Good. Now I'd better get back to Uli." Rusl paused at the front door and turned to me. "See you tomorrow. You, too, Amanda."

"Kay." I said. I finished the last of my soup and set it on the table next to the bed.

Link strapped the sword to his back. "Will you be okay if I go to the village for a little bit?"

"Of course."

"I'll be back soon." He waved and was gone.

I flopped down against the pillows and heaved a sigh. Guess I'm not going to that party now. Oh well. They never would have believed me, anyway. Now all I have to do is find a way to get home. That should be easy...right?

Oh, who am I kidding? It's not going to be one bit easy. Not at all.