Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us--if at all--not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

Rauru

So the flow of time itself is redirected down a new course. Oh Zelda, I fear your compassion for the Hero's sufferings may have doomed us all to repeat this tragedy.

The Great Deku Tree

He is…changed. I do not how, but he is. Why did he come to me asking to see someone he has never met, why does he gaze upon me in guilt mingled with awe?

Navi

I feel guilty, even though I don't really have a reason to. "Navi…you…you don't remember?" I'm sorry, Link, but I don't remember. What don't I remember Link?

Skull Kid

Eeehehehehehehehe!!! One of us, one of us, come join in. All that's missing is the mask!

Saria

Why won't you smile anymore Link? You walk around in a daze, ignoring everyone and everything when you used to be so-so alive. Please…please tell me. Did you have a nightmare that you didn't wake up from?

Mido

Some people have all the luck. Just a few weeks ago you couldn't even get him out of bed. Now he's hunting wolfos packs and back flipping off of houses.

Castletown Guard

I tell ya, it's so nice to finally meet a kid who's respectful of us; no name calling, no throwin' rottin vegetables, no spitting, no indecent exposure, no trying to steal our gear or sneak past us…huh, now where'd he go?

Impa

Zelda may trust him, but I do not. No child should move the way he did or speak as he does; no child should look at someone like he's a surgeon deciding what to remove.

Zelda

Oh goddesses, he remembers too. Why didn't you spare him? Why did I have to fail with the one person who I owe everything?

Lord Jabu-Jabu

Worthy.

Biggoron

Kid knows his weapons. Can't believe he actually carries eye drops around with him.

Twinrova

This can't be happening! We did not foresee him. Did he foresee us? Wait, what's that light…

THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!//THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!

Dampé

He knows man, he just knows. Someway or another, kid's seen beyond the Veil and passed over the Chasm.

Darunia

It was crazy. I mean, one minute I'm standing next to my throne, getting' my groove on, then knock knock knock. Next thing I know, this little green shrimp pops out from behind my chair and tells me I really need to sweep up the rubble and, "Oh yea, don't worry about the dodongos."

Happy Mask Salesman

Some people don't need masks.

Cow

Just what does he do with all that milk anyway?

Poe

We feel his hate: burning, burning it pursues us. There is no escape.

Frogs

Maestro!

Princess Ruto

What a jerk! Why wouldn't he take my gift?

Stalfos

Haha, I haven't had this good a work out in years!

Lake Scientist

Oh no, no, no, no…no my young sir, I am sorry, but he's not for sale. What would you have done with old Big White anyway? Throw him into Zora's Domain and watch the havoc? Ohohohoho!

Great Fairy

He has been fractured. And not only his spirit and mind, but his destiny as well.

Iron Knuckle

Hold…still…

Zora

I wonder what that boy has against crows…

Mido

Don't you understand?! He's got to go now! Look…look at what he did to me! If not for Saria I'd be…w-what do you mean he's disappeared?

Carpenter

I'm telling ya', that ain't no kid: some kind of demon or twisted guardian spirit. "I have a feeling that tomorrow the road to Gerudo Fortress will be safe to travel," he says and then disappears that night. Next day, we're diddly-bopping right through a right graveyard. He got them all.

Bomb Lady

Plan on storming a fortress or two?

Kaepora Gaebora

The poor boy…no matter where he runs he can't escape the past that was and yet will be.

Nabooru

Cute, courteous and he has a killer sword arm. I can't wait to see him when he puts on a few inches.

Saria

Link…Link….please answer me….

King Zora

Amazing, that a child could possess such knowledge, such cunning; such skill! Lord Jabu-Jabu favored us the day Link stumbled on my lost daughter.

Bunny Mask Man

How does he keep beating me?!

Fairy

He gazes at me with such longing…

Malon

Shhhh…it's ok Link…it'll be ok. You…you'll see. You'll be ok.

Windmill Man

He's back again, back again.

Darunia

Look at you Link: you have years to go before you even reach breeding age, but you're the greatest warrior I've ever met. What do you have to be sad for? I pray to the ancestors that someone will lift your spirits as you did mine.

Kariko Witch

What do you mean, "It gave me a rash in the underbrush?" Can't you forest folk speak plain….oh…ehrm, yes, I…see.

Cuckoo Lady

Awww, he's so cute

Castletown Children

He's so cool!

Medigoron

He's so short.

Gold Skulltula

He is searching, always searching….

Nabooru

When did you get so old kid?

Cuckoo

That hat would make such a nice nest.

Ruto

What the heck is wrong with you? Why are you always so angry at me?!

Ingo

That kid's got a serious attitude problem. I don't care how hard he works.

Talon

ZzZzZzzz

Malon

I'm sorry Link, I'm sorry! Just tell me what I did wrong!

Potions Merchant

Sweet Nayru and Din kid! What do you do all day? Wrestle gorons, bathe with jellyfish, pick fights with…erm, yes, here's your change, thankyouhaveagreatdayreallymustbegoingbye!

Zelda

Link, you've got to stop, stop or you're going to kill yourself and then what will it all have been for? You're not the only one who suffered! Do you think I sleep well at night?

A/N: As I alluded to in the summary, it's an important, if often forgotten, fact that Link never even reached twelve years old mentally. I can only see two ways of dealing with this as a writer. One: because of his destiny, Link is mentally and physically wired to take on the tasks that he performed. This implies that he is so far from the human norm as to be nearly inconceivable. Think Hannibal Lector or Bruce Wayne different. Two: He pulled a Frodo on us and only managed to get through his experiences with severe (if not all bad) trauma to his mind. I did the second simply because it was more suited to drabble form…really, I'm surprised that more people haven't brought the topic of Link's mental age up. Likewise there's idea of Zelda's fully adult mind in her child's body.

Although I'm pretty sure that it will never become cannon (if there even is such a thing when talking Zelda timelines), I like to imagine the Ocarina of Time started the whole mess. What should have been a singular event turned into a tragedy where the actors are forever doomed to repeat themselves throughout history. I credit Lael Adair and his Fall from Grace for indirectly inspiring this viewpoint.

Opening quote by T.S. Elliot.