THEORIES
1) The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
2) The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
3) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4) The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
5) The Legend of Zelda
6) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
7/8) The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
7/8) The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
For this series to make sense, there HAS TO be more than one Link and Zelda. Link and Zelda meet each other for the first time at least three times in different games. They would have to be separate people for this to work. And now I will show you how I believe this works, by a timeline. NOTE: Some 'facts', such as the Recorder from Zelda being made from pieces of the Ocarina of Time, are made up by me to help this fit together properly. Remember, if you don't agree with my theory, no one is forcing you to be here. This is my opinion. (And on a small note to Shadowfury, if you don't like it don't gripe to me at school about it! You have been warned!!)
Long ago, basically before anything else existed, the three Goddesses...Din, Farore, and Nayru, decided "Let's create a nifty little world." So they did. They created Hyrule. And they left their mark, too. Yep, on this little world they left an ancient relic, three triangles called the Triforce. And they hid three magic spells on Hyrule: Din's Fire, Farore's Wind and Nayru's Love. As for the three-sided Triforce (Wisdom, Power and Courage) the Goddesses placed it in a Golden Land where wishes come true and all that sparkly jazz. Then, the Goddesses split for wherever they came from, perhaps an aerobics class.
Many races existed in Hyrule. In the Desert Collossus, there lived the Gerudo Thieves, scorned by all. In the Zora Domain lived the Zoras. (didn't see that one coming!) On Death Mountain lived the very un-deathlike Gorons, who ate rocks. Yum. In the center lived the Hyruleans, and in the Lost Woods lived the ageless Kokiri children, always watched over by yet another giant tree that talks in an RPG, the Great Deku Tree. It is said that these races warred among themselves until a Hyrulean King took power and made peace with everyone. And the years passed and things happened until a Kokiri boy named Link started having the same bad dream every night, and unlike normal bad dreams, it didn't involve the Spice Girls...
Darkness began to spread across the land in the form of the Gerudo King, Ganondorf Dragmire. He was demanding that he be given the Three Spiritual Stones of mysticalness so he could be omnipotent or whatever. And, the great intelligence of all Hyrulean Kings shows through again as the King trusts Ganondorf unfailingly. (What?! I just can't suspect a Gerudo! Aren't they good?) And so the story begins. The Deku Tree sends Link a fairy called Navi to be his guide. Link is summoned before the Tree, and liberates it from Ganondorf's curse, Queen Gohma. Alas, it is too late. Not even Miracle Grow will save the Tree now, so he tells Link of the Goddesses, and the Spiritual Stones. Then he dies. Link sets out on his quest. He goes to Hyrule Castle and talks to the then young Princess Zelda, who has a great idea. By setting the Spiritual Stones on the something-of-time in the Temple of Time and playing the Song of Time of the Ocarina of Time, the Door of Time will open and he can retrieve the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time and retrieve the Triforce. By getting the Triforce themselves, they could stop Ganondorf from getting it! Wow, Zelda! What a great idea! Sounds good when you're ten years old. So Link traveled around and learned some songs, and got the Spiritual Stones. He also met Darunia, Ruto, Malon, Talon, and everyone else. (Ah, Lord Jabu-Jabu! How handsome you are today!) He valiantly took these items to Hyrule Castle where he saw his dream acted out before him. (Impa and Zelda riding away, Ganondorf, Princess throwing Ocarina) He got the Ocarina of Time and went in to act out Zelda's brilliant plan. Unfortunately, Zelda hadn't counted on Ganondorf going in and taking the Triforce for himself. He retrieved the Triforce of Power. And little Link just plain blacked out.
Seven years later, Link woke up in the Temple of Light, the gateway to the Golden Land. Seeing as how he woke up wearing fitting clothes, and with his ear pierced, Rauru, the Sage of Light, must have done some work on him to pass the time. (O_o) But everything else was okay, so after Rauru gave him the Medallion of Light, he set out to liberate the Six Sages.
It seems that seven years in the future, all is chaos in Hyrule. Ganondorf had taken over, the Gorons were in trouble, Zora's Domain was frozen, Lake Hylia was dried up, and everyone was in deep Dodongo dung. Plus, some weirdo guy by the name of Sheik kept running into him and leaving cryptic clues behind. First, Link went to the Forest Temple and saved Saria, his childhood friend who turned out to be the Sage of Forest.