Before Link left his adopted home, he was stopped on the bridge by his lifelong friend Saria, a female Kokiri. Link had never thought about how sad it would make her to see him go. Seeing her like this made him realize how conflicted and confused his own feelings were. He accepted her gift of a Fairy Ocarina, and promised to come back to visit. Torn, Link slowly stepped back, and then turned tail and ran. Saria watched sadly as her friend left their home.

For the first time in his life since he was a baby, Link left the forest. The first thing he saw was a large owl perched on a branch. This strange owl, named Kaepora Gaebora, was rumored to be the reincarnation of an ancient Sage. He knew many ancient legends, and warned Link that it was his fate to face many hardships. He told Link how to go to Hyrule Castle, and then flew away.

Link traveled across Hyrule and finally reached Hyrule Castle Town. He walked through the busy Market, fascinated by the hustle and bustle and strange people. In the course of helping a coy young girl named Malon find her father, Link was able to gain access to the Hyrule Castle Courtyard. The Castle was carefully guarded, but Link snuck in by a secret route. Sneaking past the bored but alert castle guards, Link found the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda, in the central courtyard.

Zelda had been having dreams as well. In her dream, she saw dark storm clouds billowing over Hyrule. A ray of light shot out of the forest, parting the clouds and lighting up the ground. The light turned into a figure holding a green, shining stone, followed by a fairy. She knew this to be a prophesy that someone would come from the forest, but her father didn't believe her.

Zelda had been spying through a window, and was startled when she heard Link behind her. But when she saw the fairy and the green clothes, she knew who he was, and told him the secret of the Sacred Realm passed down by the Royal Family.

The three goddesses hid the Triforce containing the power of the gods somewhere in Hyrule - the power to grant the wish of the one who holds the Triforce in his hands. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity. If someone with an evil mind has his wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil. That is what has been told... So, the ancient Sages built the Temple of Time to protect the Triforce from evil ones.

She told Link to look through the window at the man that symbolized the storm clouds.

He looked in, and Ganondorf, glancing over, noticed Link. Link was afraid, but Zelda dismissed the incident, not thinking that Ganondorf could possibly know what they were doing. But she feared that Ganondorf was after the Triforce and wanted to rule the world. The two plotted to get the Triforce before Ganondorf did, and then defeat him. Zelda would protect the Ocarina of Time at all costs, and Link would get the other two Spiritual Stones.

Impa, the Sheikah guardian of the Royal Family, had a role in Zelda's dream also. She was to teach Link a mystical song that only family members could learn - a lullaby that Impa had played for Zelda since she was a baby. She taught Zelda's Lullaby to Link, and then secretly led him out of the castle. Impa directed Link toward her hometown of Kakariko, and told him that the Spiritual Stone of Fire was hidden somewhere on Death Mountain.