Legend of Zelda 1. Chapter 1

**Here's one of my new story ideas!**

**I just started playing Skyward Sword and I go the motivation to start up on of my old story ideas. Here's the first one so, hope you like it! Feedback, please!**

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_For many generations, the story of the boy clad in green and the girl doned in pink has survived many winds and many floods. And forever shall the cycle continue to repeat as long as there exists a balance of good and evil._

_Yet, many never expect it to survive this long. As history. As folklore. As urban legend. As a nonexistent tale unknown to the people. Only to those who wish to preserve its word for its sake of being passed down and kept alive. _

"Hm... that seems like a good start," an old man mumbled as he paused in his writing. His eyes gazed over his paper carefully before a familiar voice called him back to reality.

"Hey dad, we're back from our dinner," said another young blond man.

A beautiful brunette young lady was at his arm, dressed in appropriate formal attire from where they came. "Were the kids alright? Not too rambunctious?"

"Those two?" the old man mumbled distractfully. "Perfect angels. As quiet as the sun's rays," he concluded with a slight old cough.

His son peeked into the next door room and found two children sprawled on the floor, finger paints splattered all over the place and all over the plastic covered furniture. "Really now."

"We'll take them off your hands now. Thanks for babysitting," the wife smiled, walking quietly into the room to shake the two kids. A boy and a girl. "Link, Zelda, wake up now." Ever so innocently, their eyes fluttered open like that of baby angels. Young Link had a red mark on his face for lying on the floorboards, while young Zelda tiredly sat up. "We're going home now Link," she whispered gently as not to startle the children. She then faced his young female playmate. "And we'll be driving you home now too, Zelda. Your mommy should be coming home from work soon."

This was a normal cycle for the two five year old children. Link and Zelda, playmates and best friends ever since being conceived. One bedtime story would consist of how both their moms when pregnant used to meet up, and their children would kick whenever in each other's presence. And being born in the same hospital only proved their connection even stronger. Zelda was born first, and wouldn't stop crying ever since. But only three days later after Link was born, and the two officially met in the nursing room, did Zelda's crying finally cease. They had finally met, and could finally start their lives as best friends.

Link and Zelda lived as next door neighbors, going to school together and sharing the same group of friends. They were inseparable, like brother and sister almost. _Almost_.

"Here we are, kids," Link's dad announced as he pulled up into the drive way.

"Yay we're home!" Zelda cheered as they quickly made their exist out of the car. It was late at night, and their street despite the darkness was well illuminated by the lampposts and the house lights, not to mention the moon and the full sky of stars. Their childish and endless amount of energy reassumed as they ran around their conjoined lawns, chasing each other in laughter.

Not too soon after, Zelda's mom's car pulled up into the mirroring drive way as well, and the children's daily goodbyes would come, yelling 'see you tomorrow', only to secretly talk and play from their house's bedroom windows, conveniently adjacent to each other alongside their beds.

Most of not all reading would find this either typical or a fairly too-good-to-be-true childhood.

A perfect friendship to last so much as five years _was_ too good to be true - to last as long as it did. And each good thing is only bound to end eventually.

"You're going on vacation?" Zelda asked, almost half-heartedly as Link told her the news one day after school. They were both waiting outside the elementary school for their rides. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I didn't know how," Link mumbled with an obvious pout and stare to his shoes. His green hat lowered over his forehead. "So we won't be able to play for a few days."

"How many days?" she pestered, only for Link to shrug, still guilty for not saying so earlier. "Where're you going?"

"To this mountain city, with my Grandpa and my parents. We're visiting my Grandpa's property or something," Link tried to explain, doing his best to remember exactly what his father told him many days earlier. A kid could only remember so much. But glancing up only the tiniest bit, he could see the sadness beginning to over pour on the girl's face. His first instinct was to prevent just that. "But don't worry! I'll be back soon! I promise!"

Zelda stubbornly returned the stare, sniffling a sniffle she tried to hard to suppress earlier on. "Promise?"

"Pinkie swear," Link assured, holding out his pinkie.

Zelda stared down at it skeptically, and for a moment Link became a bit nervous. "I thought you said pinkie promises were too girly for boys."

"But it'll make you feel better," he decided, willing to put up with 'girliness' to make her smile. And it did, and they hooked pinkies, shaking it up and down before letting go. A honk nearby announced Link's ride. "I better go."

"Remember! You promised!" she waved as he ran off with a smile, waving back at her. Even when she was left at the curb with other passer by children, she would be watching his car drive away for the last time in a while. All little kids always thought all goodbyes seemed so permanent or everlastingly forever. For Zelda, this was the very case. She even say Link turn around in the back seat, giving one tiny little wave from the back window before disappearing down a road hill. "You promised..." she whispered, already missing her best friend.

Little did she know that her instinct that it really would be a long-lasting goodbye, was right.

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Teenage Link was once again asleep in the back seat of the car, his head dolled over to the side with a slight drip of drool hanging off the side of his mouth.

Walking up to the side of the car, an old man opened the side door and threw a hot wrapped sandwich into Link's lap, shocking him awake. "Here's lunch," the old man announces before slamming the door back shut and marching right around for the driver's seat.

Link was a bit clouded when awakened, especially after only seeing blunt darkness. It took all about five seconds to realize it was hit hat until he pushed it up off his eyes. But the smell of food returned him to his senses, as well as the sound of the pick up truck starting up again. "Grandpa we've been driving for hours. Are you sure we're almost there?"

"Of course. We're be there in a few minutes," the old man replied confidently.

Link kept his said stoic face as he unwrapped his gas-station bought sandwich. "That's what you said three hours ago."

"Ah enough with that negative attitude of yours. Sheesh. You keep a teenager cramped up in a car during a move and he becomes the epitome of boredom," his grandfather ranted as they began to drive. "Look Link, I know you're unhappy about moving but-"

"It's not that I'm unhappy, Grandpa," Link defended, sliding down lazily in his seat as he looked out the window. "I'm just tired, that's all."

Link's been living with his Grandpa ever since his parents died eight years ago when he was five. Immediately after Link's been put into the care of his grandfather, an active researcher and archeologist. And along with his grandfather's work, the two have been constantly moving left and right ever other month. At least two or three times a year. Sometimes more.

"Ah but we'll be staying in this city a bit longer compared to the past ones. I have much work to do."

"I've heard that before," Link sighed.

The old man glanced up into his rearview mirror, seeing his grown up grandson. He used to smile so much as a kid. "Do you even know where we're going?"

"I lost track at the sixth pit stop," Link replied with the least bit of curiosity for his grandpa's question.

"Rellu City," his grandpa finally answered. And in the rearview mirror he managed to catch a spark of attention in Link's brown eyes. Link had glanced up, as if mentally asking if his grandfather were serious. But he said nothing, and the boy returned his attention back to the window as if he'd never heard it.

But the old man knew he had his grandson hooked. Relly City. It was the city Link had been taken away from in youth. It was his home town. His childhood home. But had it changed as much as he had?

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"We're... living in a museum," Link stared, holding his duffel bag over the slack of his shoulder. He stood before the steps to the place as his grandfather unloaded what little bags they had in the back of the pick up truck. "Gramps I know you work as an archeologist but..." Link couldn't think up any more words to say at the moment. "Couldn't we just check into a hotel or something?"

"Don't think to much of it, Link. The owner of the place is actually a good friend of mine, and he's allowing us to stay in a special housing unit in the back of the museum," his grandpa explained, unloading the last luggage full of research equipment. "Now it may be a little cramped and old perhaps, but it has two beds and a kitchen! Fits all my requirements."

Link couldn't help but continue to stare questioningly at his new 'home'. He's been to some pretty weird places before on his previous moves, but for 'returning' to an old city and to _live_ in a public place like this, this was the most unusal move so far, Link thought.

And the area he and his grandpa were staying in seriously was 'a little cramped and old' as his grandpa had said. Though by now that could've easily been an understatement. The floorboards were made of old dark wood that matched the wooden walls. And almost every piece of furniture was made of wood as well, if not covered by cloth or pillows. A small section of a bedroom was separated for one person, and then another small section for another. Link was glad he could at least have his own room in this tiny cramped place.

"Man this place smells like a dump!" Link's grandfather stated, surprisingly reading Link's mind. "When was the last time someone dusted this place. We don't even have any windows for heaven's sakes. And those mattresses! I don't even want to know."

"Ah but look Gramps we have a working bathroom this time," Link pointed out smugly, opening the door to the one-man bathroom that could use a bit of cleaning itself. Link wore a smug face. he was usually the one who complained the most, only now it was his grandpa. "Fits all _my_ requirements."

The 'moving in' part didn't take relatively as long as it'd usually take, seeing as they didn't have as much things as normal people would. And just as routinely as waking up in the morning, the grandfather and grandson had a routine to follow for each new move.

After unpacking, they'd go straight to planning Link's lessons. Academic lessons, actually. Due to the constant moving, Link's always been homeschooled by one of his grandpa's friends - depending on where they lived at the time. Link's been able to adjust to having so many different types of weird old men trying to teach him math and English, but there was always one idea he could never quite grasp.

"What do you mean I'm going to school?" Link shouted in the back seat of the pick up truck. The way he looked was comparable to a child throwing a tantrum.

"When I said we'd be staying in this city for a while I meant it. I just thought that it'd be a good opportuntiy to get you actually accustomed to being a normal teenager."

Link rolled his eyes. "Grandpa I am a normal teenager. Serious can't I just stick to home schooling? You know how I don't deal well with people."

"What do you think I'm kicking you off into school for?" his grandpa scoffed through his beard from the driver's seat. "If there's anything any of those old geezer friends of mine hasn't taught it's how to socialize. You're practically thirteen, Link. You should be able to interact with people your age."

"Gramps, in case you haven't noticed, people my age aren't exactly on the same level with me." Link couldn't help but glance out the window into Rellu City streets and see a bunch of boys 'his age' spray painting in an alley way. He grimaced at the sight. "I don't like public speaking. I don't like socializing. And you still think it's a good idea to throw me right into school without warning."

The old man groaned in frustration. "Just five more years of being a minor," he complained out loud before making a last turn.

They arrived in front of a large bright sandy-colored brick building. It read in silver letters above the doors _Rellu High_. Link was 13 now, so that meant he'd be starting high school of all grades first. And to make matters worse, he was starting later in the year - in March. A new student entering so late in the year had no chance of socializing with groups and cliques already set together.

"I've already registered you ahead of time. We just need to go in so they can meet you in person and I can finish up some paperwork for you," Link's grandpa stated before they exited the truck.

It was about 3:00 now, so school must've ended only recently. A few kids were present outside the building, giving Link weird looks next to his dirty white pick up truck. The boy could already imagine the reputation set for him before he even became an official student. He was the nerdy outcast without a decent wardrobe who'd smell like dust for the rest of his high school career due to his new abode. Great, he thought.

The inside was relatively brighter than most buildings Link's ever been in. Colder, too, for lack of fireplaces. He assumed the heaters in the building were broken down or something. And each doorway looked the same, save for the tiny numbers. Same with these odd rectangular drawers with number-knobs on them. He's never been inside a real school before. He's heard stories of these things but, in real life, it was a lot more intimidating than expected.

And Link right now really didn't have the enthusiasm to deal with a new move _and_ school. Much less the people in it.

In the so called principal's office, Link had introduced himself quite nicely. For a nonsocial teen, Link was pretty mannerful towards adults, having spent most of his life around adults anyway. Rarely kids if not at all. That was probably the weirdest part about school, _there's so many kids. So many stupid kids_.

"Say uh, Link," the principal said, remembering his name last minute. "Why don't you go look around the school for a bit while your grandfather and I finish up some paperwork to complete your registration."

"Sure, sir."

"Oh and, no hats," he added, motioning to the unusual green hat atop Link's head. Unwillingly Link took it off and stuffed it into his back pocket. "Welcome to Rellu, High," the principal smiled with a firm handshake before letting Link off. In a way Link was glad to be able to leave that awkward office. But now what was he supposed to do. Wander, apparently. However, the longer Link walked along the identical halls, the more he began to think that he really never would find his way around. Ever. But he made the accident of turning into a hall where a couple of students still were, apparently unpacking things from the metal cabinets and into their backpacks.

"Yo!" Link stopped casually and turned around, seeing one of the students running up to him. "You sure don't look like a familiar face."

Link's first thoughts on o the teen was: '_so hyperactive_'. "Yeah. I'm new."

"That so. I heard we were getting a new student today but they never came. Must be you, huh man."

"Guess so," Link shrugged.

The friendly face smiled and held out a hand which Link automatically shook out of courtesy. "Name's Eric."

"Link."

Eric made a face. "_Link_? Wow, what a weird name." _This guy sure is open minded_, Link thought skeptically. "But you seem like a pretty cool guy. Let me guess, Principal Handorn's having you 'tour' the school alone?"

"Yeah how'd you know?"

"That's what he always does with the new students. Come on I'll show you around." As off as this Eric seemed, he guy sounded trustworthy to Link, so he stuck around him. Together they wandered the not so empty halls of Rellu High, introducing places like the bathrooms, the school library, the gym. The 'metal cabinets' called Lockers (who knew?). All the basic stuff Eric thought Link would need as a first time high schooler. Or a first time schooler for that matter.

"So you've seriously never gone to school before?" Eric asked. "Dude that's crazy."

Link shrugged lazily again. "More weird I guess compared to everyone else here. And I think I've gone to school before - at least once. It was a real long time ago so I don't remember much."

"Mm. Must've been a pretty lazy elementary school if you can't remember it," Eric suggested. Link's never thought much about it before. "But look on the bright side. Chicks here might actually love the whole homeschooled story. How about that, huh?"

Link's passive expressione returned. This new acquatinace of his sure was someone to talk to. "I'm getting the feeling you're pretty into the whole socializing with the opposite gender kind of thing."

"Me and about ninety eight percent of the male student body," Eric said proudly.

"You're single aren't you."

"No I-Yeah," Eric admitted last minute. "Wow, for the new guy you catch on quick."

While they were walking, they passed by a lone girl sitting in the hallway at her locker, packing her things to go home. It was mostly Link who say her, though, since Eric was still busy prattling on about something having to do with girls. By then Link's managed to zone him out, but he didn't mean for his attention to automatically advert to that girl who's face he couldn't even see clearly. Yet, there was something weird about her. Something oddly... calling. Not like attraction calling but just... familiar maybe?

He only managed to catch one second of eye contact with her dark cerulean eyes before he passed by her, her no longer in his sight. He was too stubborn to submit to his curiosity and look back, but Link swore he could feel her staring at him as he walked away.

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It was dinner time now, and Link and his Grandpa were sitting at their tiny table with take out for dinner. It was custom for them to order food instead of cook on during the first day of a move in. Too lazy to cook, according to Link's Grandpa. Nonetheless, the quietness was a normal thing, but tonight Link's Grandpa could sense something else. For the past ten minutes, the old man has been staring at his grandson consistently, and the boy hasn't even flinched or thrown an offensive comment. "You're awfully quiet tonight," he finally said with a full mouth. "Tired still?"

Link glanced up for only a moment bore tiredly looking back down at his plate, untouched practically. "A little." In at honestly, he couldn't get that stranger out of his mind. The blond, almost tan girl with the deepest blue eyes. Well, eye. he could only see one side of her face while passing her. But still, for some reason he couldn't forget it. And it bothered him, since he never really thinks about girls, let alone _one_ so intensely.

"You sure you're okay, kiddo?" his grandpa pestered.

"I'm fine," Link nodded, wondering whether it was wise to share this issue. The worst his grandpa could do was tease him. It _was_ a girl, after all. "I just saw this girl in the halls earlier, that's all." Hesitantly Link looked up again at his grandpa. His stare was even more creepier now that he looked somewhat surprised. "Grandpa."

"What. You've never mentioned a girl ever and now you do. I'm a tired old man. Shoot me for being intrigued."

Link rolled his eyes, but explained anyway. "I don't know. There's just something different about her."

"Did she do anything?"

"No. That's the weird part," Link said, feeling the same freaked out tingle he had before. He thought it best to avoid the topic, even though he was the one to bring it up in the first place. Link looked over the table and found a couple books stacked around his grandfather's plate. Some opened. Link was desperate to change the awkward subject. "So what're you researching this time, Grandpa."

"Where all of my research so far has been leading up to, my dear grandson," the old man said with one last bite. "I've told you stories about Hyrule right?"

"Ah, yeah, that fictitious place."

"Is is _not_ fiction."

"Gramps it's about as real as Atlantis," Link reasoned. "Look, I know how devoted you are to this archeology stuff but you haven't found anything real yet out there. What's makes this place any special? If anything this city's practically an over polluted unenvironmental dump."

"Maybe it is an over polluted unenvironmental dump, but if my records are right, the heart of the kingdom of Hyrule should be buried deep underneath this city. I don't know why I haven't figured it out before. The geography's almost perfectly identical according to land and water masses on the original Overland Map."

And of course this is where Link pretends he can still follow along. "Okay."

"_And_, if I'm also right, Rellu City is the site where the prophecy finally coincides and meets reality."

"Prophecy, prophecy," Link said, feeling as if he's heard that word before from his grandpa. "What was it again? How the warrior clad in green or something shall rise again with some archer and beat the bad guy?"

"I hate how you mock my work sometimes," the old man stared balntly as Link suppressed an amused grin. "I've met many skeptics like you, Link, but I truly do believe that the cycle still continues. The warrior is always reborn, just as the same evil always is. From the Hero of Time to the Hero of Wind to the Hero of whatever - he is _always_ reincarnated," the man stated. He picked up a book and held it up in front of his own face, the cover facing Link. The left page showed the image of the said warrior, clad in green with yellow blond hair and pointy ears. "Believe you me, boy, I will find him one day," Gramps assured, failing to see the _exact_ resemblance between the boy from the book to the boy across the table.

"Don't forget your archer," Link added as if playing along.

"That's 'Princess' to you," his gramps corrected while pointing the fork and putting down the book. "The Princess of Hyrule, the bloodline of her wisdom always the chosen one's blessing. I must warn you, Link. One day the prophecy _will_ come true in this city. That is the reason we have moved here at this time. And I shall find Hyrule's missing bloodline here too."

"Find me a leprechaun while you're at it."

His Grandfather retained his old stare. He was quite used to his grandson's teasing and sarcastic remarks. "You'll eat those words one day, Link."

"I'm just being realistic, Gramps. You have to admit, compared to a lot of other places we've lived, Rellu City's pretty big," Link pointed out, suppressing a laugh while at it. "What are the odds that your princess and warrior are gonna show up anyway? Let alone to you."

The old man simply shrugged. "Maybe I'll never find her. Maybe _you_ could? It's all in fate's hands."


	2. Chapter 2

Of course by the second day Link would be thrown right into school first thing in the morning. For one, Link definitely wasn't used to waking up early. "Grandpa where's my hat!"

"You're goin' to school! You don't need it!" Link managed to find it anyway under his bed.

For as long as he could remember he'd never woken up so early. Therefore it left him in a rather 'un-cheery' mood that morning as he was shown his locker number and combination that went along with his schedule. He'd been to busy throughout the whole school day to actually find his locker before, so he wound up carrying all of his books throughout the day, not that it was too heavy for the skinny little guy. Now it was 3:00, and he was ready to open his locker for the first time.

"So this is my locker," Link self-stated, looking down from the tiny paper to the banged up locker in front of him. Sure he'd get the one most likely to get broken into. But he didn't complain. He could care less about the education materials he owned. He never had to use them before. Why value them now just because he had to use them?

"Hey Link!" called out the same rambunctious voice he heard yesterday. Expectantly (though not enthusiastically) Link turned his head to see the dark haired Eric cruising on up to him with that grin of his. "How's the homeschool kid doing on his first full day?"

"I've been better," Link replied, dropping one arm's pile of books on the floor. He attempted to open his locker. "Are school days always this boring?"

"You get used to it," Eric shrugged, leaning against the nearby lockers. Link finally opens his and begins to shove everything the school gave him inside its tiny space. "But hey, you're already fitting in."

Link suppressed the urge to laugh at that statement. "Fitting in? Eric if you were in any of my classes you wouldn't say that. So far I've had two kids come up to me and make fun of my ears. Then during lunch each time I tried to sit somewhere, even alone, these jocky guys would always steal my chair right form under me and I'd fall. Three times that's happened. Then in my last class, there's some guy shooting spit balls covered in white out hitting the back of my head. Do you _think_ I'm fitting in?"

Eric stared momentarily with a questioning look. "Well your ears are kinda pointy..."

Link groaned from aggravation and slammed his locker shut, picking up his new school bag and throwing it over his shoulder. "At least the day's over."

"Until tomorrow starts again."

"Tomorrow what do you mean tomorrow?" Link asked with a look of disbelief and fatigue. "You mean I have to do this every day?"

Eric tried not to look as astonished as he'd felt. Did this kid really not know school?" Um, yeah... You get off on weekends but from Monday to Friday, the state has all kids locked up in this prison we call school."

"You've got to be kidding me," Link groaned, hitting his head with his palm.

While walking along the halls to leave the building, they were passing by the open corridors of the gym. Link couldn't help but glance sideways out of curiosity as they walked by. There appeared to be someone practicing basketball along. The kid had a rack of basketballs beside them, shooting one basketball after another into the distant hoop. And by how it looked,each of his shots scored.

It didn't take Eric much to realize Link's attention had been grabbed. "Good, right?"

"Yeah," Link couldn't help but agree. The two had now stopped at the gym entrance, just watching the person shoot. "Who is that guy?"

"Girl," Eric corrected, and at that Link felt he had been mentally punched in the face. "There're so many kids at this school it's hard to narrow down names. But everyone knows her."

"She isn't in any of my classes."

"Probably because you don't recognize her. People call her Shiek Landerson," Eric introduced indirectly as they absentmindedly watched her play alone. "That girl's one of the best basketball players in the school, but she's not on the team."

Link suppressed the urge to shoot Eric an expression of surprise, keeping his usual calm demeanor. "Why not?"

"Doesn't want to," Eric shrugged indifferently. "Sheik's a real loner - that's why you don't see her around often, much less in classes. She barely talks to people, but it's more or less because she doesn't want to either. I don't think she's mean or bad at socializing or anything, but that's just her thing."

Link could understand that somewhat, though this girl's reasons were beyond him. Link refused to socialize because he was constantly moving. Making long-lasting bonds and friendships were useless to him. What was the deal with this girl?

"And just between you and me," Eric pointed out, laying his arm around Link's shoulders. Link held himself back from pushing him away, slightly annoyed by the cross of personal boundaries. "Shiek's actually pretty cute when her hair's down." Link only responded with a raise of an eyebrow, still overly indifferent. "It's a rare sight indeed. Lots of guys simply glance over her but, _I_ think she's pretty cool." He says that like that makes him unique.

Link looked back to the basketball girl and continued to watch. He didn't see what was so special about her yet, but she was unique enough to keep a place in Link's memory for a while. "Shiek, huh?"

"Hey!" she called, suddenly having stopped playing. When did she stop playing? "What are you doing!" she yelled across the gym, causing Eric and Link to run off out of sight. It was hard not to laugh from the anxiety, but Link could absolutely tell from the tone of her voice that that was _definitely_ a girl.

By the time both boys had made it out of the building, they couldn't keep in their laughter any longer. They just stopped on the front steps of the school and just started laughing out loud in front of everyone at their own embarrassing action. How dorky that they were caught so easily staring at a girl, they thought.

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The following day of school was no different from the last. Same normal schedule. Same boring endurance to stay awake most of the time. Link never liked school lessons, but there was something distasteful to him about learning _in_ school. At least being homeschooled, he could go at his own pace and on his own time.

But to be honest, through his dazing off during lectures, sometimes Link's eyes would wander around the room, looking for this Shiek girl, to see if she were in any of his classes. She actually happened to be in in two so far. This was the third, he noticed, as she entered the classroom, sitting in the assigned seat adjacent to him. She didn't notice him staring or looking away, but he got a good look at her finally.

Her unusually _yellow_ blond hair, much like his own, was wrapped up in a messy bun that made her look a lot less feminine than she probably did as Eric said. Her choice of wear was definitely different from the other girls' as Link had noticed. A sense of girls taste sure, but it suited the tomboy that was Shiek. The short analysis was all he needed before this particular class started up, again with another lecture from the teacher. Link did his best not to turn his head to the right and for some reason avoided making eye contact with the girl.

However he could've sworn he felt her stare at him at one point during the class as well. _Great, now she thinks I'm weird because she caught me watching her yesterday_. Link wasn't normally self conscious, but he did all he could to not look back at her probable glare of distaste. Then by the time the bell rung, Link left in a quick hurry, scrambling to pick up all his books and his bag so he'd be the first one to leave the awkward sitting.

But he could've sworn he heard someone call his name, too. But his conscience told him to keep going as to avoid the girl.

The next period after that would be the freshmen's lunch break. "Finally, _lunch_," Eric praised as he walked Link through his first lunch line. Everything was so hectic yesterday during Link's first day that he couldn't figure out how to order lunch. This time Eric was kind enough to walk him through it, so Link finally figured that Eric (as annoying as his personality could be sometimes) was actually a decent-while friend. "And that's how you get your food."

"What a waste of time," Link said, staring at his tray of minimal food. "Next time I'm just bringing my own food. These kids actually line up and wait that long for this stuff? And its so overpriced."

Eric shrugged, looking down at his own tray. "Kids now a days are too lazy to make their own lunch in the morning," Eric reasoned, but that was just his own guess.

Eric walked Link over to a table not too far away, sitting down and telling another kid to scoot over for Link. Link assumed that this must've been Eric's normal table, seeing as Link just ended up going hungry while sitting alone in an empty classroom yesterday. "Guys this is Link, the new kid," Eric introduced, earning a few friendly hi's and starting small talk.

"Hey isn't that Shiek?"

"Yeah what's she doing in the cafeteria?"

Carelessly Link shot his head up, and he could see across the cafeteria a spec of yellow t the entrance. It _was_ Shiek, and she was just standing there for a second, her eyes scanning over the entire cafeteria. It was like she was looking for something. "Wonder what she wants," said another boy as Link and Eric exchanged the same curious expressions. "Shiek never ususaly eats cafeteria food," Eric added.

As if to answer their table's mumbling questions, Shiek suddenly locked her sight on their table, straight across the cafeteria. While everyone else seemed to be going about their business, all the guys at Link's table could tell something was brewing up, because Shiek began to walked right towards them and past the crowds of kids. Marching, almost.

"Oh man she's coming right towards us!" whispered one of the guys.

"I think she's looking at you, bud," elbowed another guy on the other side of Link. Link swiftly turned over his shoulder and saw her coming.

"Me? Why me?" Link asked, suddenly panicked. He wondered if this would be where he'd get beat up like most boys do in movie situations like this. But this was a girl, and he didn't do anything. But, if she _was_ looking at him, what was she coming all the way over here for?

Finally the blond girl had reached the table. She was standing on one side of the bench, with Link sitting right in it with his back to her. All the boys' eyes at their table were either on Link or her. Eric was just as quiet as Link at the moment, apparently not as sure what to do either.

Link finally had the courage to turn around in his seat and look up at her eyes, and surprisingly he didn't see the least bit of anger, or resentment for that matter. She looked... normal. Curious even. _What is this_? Suddenly she looked, worried? Or concerned. He couldn't tell. There was a word he was looking for: vulnerable.

"Link?" she asked. He could hear the trying in her voice.

So she did know his name. Even worse. Probably from class or something, but that meant she did come for him. "Uh..."

"Say something, dummy," Eric ground through his teeth.

Link found himself standing up, swinging his legs over the bench to face Shiek straightforwardly. He'd never felt so awkward before, much less in front of a girl, though it shouldn't have made much of a difference the gender. "Uh," Link repeated, forcing his most friendly smile. He held out his hand. "Hey. I'm Link, the new guy. I uh, saw you playing basketball yesterday. You're really good," he added, almost sounding like a question, though. He failed to see her face fall slightly. "It's very nice to meet you."

The next thing that happened, well, happened pretty quickly. Only the sound of a slap was enough to silence much of the cafeteria and advert everyone else's attention to them. Link faced the right, his cheek red from the hit by Shiek's hand. Link's hand flew to his face as he turned to glare back at her. "Hey what'd you do that for!-" He stopped upon seeing her glaring now too, but... she looked kind of sad, too.

Before Link could finalize, she had already begun marching away, the kids making a pathway for her and backing up.

Soon enough everyone else had returned to their own business, but the rest of the guys at Link's table looked almost close to mortified. "What just happened?" Eric asked in bewilderment.

Link rubbed his cheek, blinking a few times in wonder. "I'm... not so sure."

Shortly after lunch all student were instructed to go to their next period class. Link instead went to go to the bathroom, to check to see how serious his hit was. Normally a slap to the face wouldn't concern him as much, but it still stung even after their break. In fact, the girl could've just punch Link with a fist and there'd still be the same results.

"Mm, it'll bruise eventually," Link sighed, done washing his face with some cold water. Looking in the mirror he could see his cheek a slightly different color. It didn't buldge, but it was turning from red to blue. "Well, if that girl wasn't mad at me before, she is now."

The bell had rung about five or six minutes ago, so Link was already late. He figured he could get away with it, saying he'd gotten lost, being the new student and all, so he wasn't worried. But as he exited the bathroom, he could hear the familiar dribble of basketballs. From the nearby gym. Wandering the opposite way of his class, he came up to the gym corridors again. This seemed familiar, he thought.

Standing beside the entrance, he crossed his arms as he leaned against the side, watching Shiek shooting hoops again. She didn't have a whole rack of basketballs with her this time. Just one, but he assumed she wasn't supposed to be out here either. And she looked angry. Or, still angry anyway. He figured she must've been ditching to vent through basketball. Normally link would just leave situations like this on its own and just go back to class, but Link felt somewhat responsible for her being upset.

With an inward and aggravated sigh, he uncrossed his arms and slowly began to enter the gym in her presence. "Hey!" he called, finding his voice echoing in the gym. "Shiek, right?"

If she didn't notice him before, she did then and she shot one more basket after glaring once more at him. "What do you want," she muttered, but loud enough for Link to hear.

To be brutally honest, he had no answer to that. He stopped close enough to have a conversation with her, but far away enough so she wouldn't deck him again. Instead she just answered with one of his own questions. Rather bluntly, actually. "Why'd you hit me back there?"

"Leave me alone," she said instead, catching the ball and shooting it again. She was obviously trying to ignore him.

"Well I would if I knew what I did wrong," Link answered back, getting no reply. "Shiek-"

"Forget it. Just go back to class."

"Not until I get some facts straight," Link asserted, finding it highly unusual of him to put so much effort into something he didn't even know much about. "You came up to me n the cafeteria _obviously_ looking for something. You looked at me, I opened my mouth, and then you slap me." Link put his hand over the basketball before she could shoot it before giving her a look. "What gives?"

The girl scoffed, obviously mirroring Link's own stubbornness. "What do you want from me?"

"Just a simple answer. Then I'll go I promise."

She rolled her eyes and swiped the basketball away, turning her back on an angel. "Where have I heard that before," she murmured under her breath. She started dribbling and walking off, only for Link to continue to try and pester her, following her by walking backwards in front of her. "Geez I said leave me alone!"

"No," Link smirked back, knowing how much the word annoyed her by now. "I'm not going anywhere until you give me a reasonable answer."

"Just go away," she continued, trying to dodge him by turning to the left in her dribbling. Link only followed in front. "Link!" She began to dribble faster and at different paces as she tried to get away from Link, who only followed, as if cornering her on the court. After about thirty seconds she tried one turn-dodge but Link ended up tripping over the ball and knocking her over.

They fell onto the gym floor as the basketball dribbled and rolled away. The two groaned and sat up, Link having hit the bruised side of his face. "Great," he heard Shiek mutter. Looking at her, Link's head jumped and he bit down his tongue to prevent himself from making some surprised shout.

Shiek sat in front of him, her messy hair bun now gone and replaced with long, natural, golden hair trailing down her slightly loose shirt. A hair tie laid down on the floor, broken. She grabbed it and inspected it, as if there were some way she could fix it. She glared again at Link and punched him for real this time on the arm, knocking him to his side room his sitting position. "Thanks a lot! I hope you're happy!"

"Barely," Link scoffed, looking at her again in disbelief.

Shiek narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "What are you staring at?"

"_You_ what else," Link said with a look. "You're that girl I saw at her locker the first time I visited this school," he also realized, finally looking fully at her. Suddenly he found himself saying, "I don't see why you don't wear your hair down more often. You look more like a girl that way."

"Gee thanks," she said with the most bitter tone she could muster. Link didn't mind. He didn't like her as much either. In fact, he was glad he could spite the rude girl by breaking her hair tie.

"Ronce! Landerson!" shouted a man's voice. Both teens looked across the gym and found the principal standing by another gym entrance, obviously ticked off. "In my office! Now!" he said before marching back into his office, adjacent to the gym.

Shiek groaned. "Great! Now we're caught ditching. I hope you know this is all your fault."

"Well I hope you know how much I really don't like you," Link replied flatly. Both exchanged similar glares and pouts. This would come to be a _very_ long school year, the two thought. But as they got up from the gym floor to proceed with their punishment, Link couldn't help but turn back. In the distance across the gym was a janitor probably. But, he was just standing there, starring at Link and undoubtedly Shiek, but she didn't notice.

Before long Link turned away from the strange custodian and followed the girl to the principal's office.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Goes to show that the two were punished for ditching class. It was obvious that the two wouldn't be liking each other's company any time soon. Even the principal could see that. As a result, he assigned a morning detention them both. They were to show up to homeroom 45 minutes early to school, and then they'd be supervised by another teacher to just sit, in silence.

Link never found the real purpose for such a punishment. It wouldn't resolve anything. If anything, it'd probably only intensify their hatred of each other.

"You have detention," Link's grandpa stated. Not out of anger or disbelief. More over from... a sense of 'what?'. "How on earth did _you_ get a detention?"

"Some girl hit me during lunch," Link mused, sitting on a dusty wooden chair. Realizing how unclean it probably was, he wished he hadn't. "I tried talking to her during one of my class periods _outside_ of class. Took longer than I thought and I lost track of the time and, we got caught and the principal assumed we were ditching."

A late reaction in the form of a scoff came from the old man's nose and through his beard. "Wow."

"It's not funny, Grandpa," Link frowned, clearly upset by this. "Now I have to wake up an hour earlier than I already do because of some stupid girl with a mindless temper. I didn't even do anything!"

"That's life sometimes," his Gramps shrugged with a carefree smile as he pulled some books into his newly assembled bookshelf. What with how new it looked, it seemed out of place in their tiny 'cavern cave' the museum provided for them. He then attempted to pick up a pile of five heavy looking books from the table. Link watched curiously, wondering if the old man could carry that much. He guessed right when he wound up dropping them. His grandfather stared down at the mess and looked his grandson in the eye. "... Well?"

Link smiled and shook his head before pushing himself up out of the chair. Link was used to helping his grandpa pick up things. However most of the time the old man would purposefully drop things on the ground just to annoy Link and get him to work for no apparent reason. His gramps was _way_ more capable of heavy lifting than he let on sometimes.

"Thank you, my boy," Gramps said coarsely, alphabetically placing the books in the right slots in the shelf.

Link picked up one last book, sprawled out on the floor with some pages having fallen out. "Uh..."

"Oh just gather all the papers and put them inside the book. It's old anyway. Just a reference, for me," his grandfather told.

Link collected the few scattered old, tattered pages. He couldn't help but notice the ancient text in them. Has he seen this before among his grandfather's things? Shrugging it off at first, he opened the book to stuff the papers in as a makeshift holder, but he noticed more of the weird ancient text within the book, along with some pictures. Before he would ask, Link looked to the cover of the strange book. The letters there seemed readable. "_Hy...rule_..."

"Bingo," the old man nodded, taking the book out of Link's hands. "This is where I get most of my facts about Hyrulean Legend."

"You can read that chicken scratch?" Link asked with a somewhat amused smile. "That's a dead language grandpa. Archeologist or not I don't think anyone will miss whatever's written in there."

"You think so," his gramps said slyly. "It just so happens that I'll be taking this huge text with me tomorrow on my next job."

"Doing?"

"There's a dig site downtown discovered under an old construction site. Might be connected to Hyrule if the experts are right. Then again we _are_ the experts so of course we're right." Link stared. His grandpa instead opened to a certain page in the book, showing it to Link. "See this?"

Link looked at it, seeing an old painting of a symbol. Three triangles. "What am I looking at again?"

"The Triforce," his grandfather said proudly. It was like he thought Link knew what that was, but both knew that wasn't the case. "It's an ancient and powerful relic lost to our world. There're three of them, actually that represents the three attributes of the goddesses: Courage, Wisdom, and Power." Link repressed the urge to zone out. He's ruled it highly disrespectful, but he's heard this so many times before." "And believe it or not, we just may find leads to the _Triforce of Widsom _it at our dig site tomorrow, if we're lucky."

"Good luck," Link said dully, but he was happy to see his Grandfather so chipper about tomorrow. Along with meeting many critics along his road of growing up, Link's come to his grandfather's defense on more than on occasion concerning his research. Sure Link was a skeptic himself, but that didn't mean just anyone could discourage the old man. Link proclaimed it only his job and right to do that. "So uh, this Trifork of wisdom-"

"Triforce."

"Yeah whatever," Link smiled, knowing that got on his grandfather's nerves. "What exactly are you gonna do if you find it tomorrow again?"

"F-Find it? Oh ho no no. Not in my life time I'm sure," his gramps laughed. He took a deep breath before continuing as he shelved more books. "An old man like me would be just content with proof. Just the _slightest_ proof that everything that I've believed in actually existed, that tiny shred of proof would be enough for an old geezer like me. I'd live die with a heavy heart knowing all my research hadn't gone to waste."

It was that kind of passion that Link admired about his grandfather. Somewhat unrealistic sounding, but deep down, Link hoped his grandpa could find that proof one day too. "Well, why not wish for more?"

"_Wish for more_," his gramps repeating. "Coming out of a slacker's mouth that sounds pretty deceitful."

"Well honestly speaking why _not_ wish for more. Find your proof - find even more proof. Prove to everyone around you that you're not some old crackpot," Link went on. "Having that happen in your lifetime would be a lot more worthwhile."

"Believe me, boy, you would _not_ want to live through something as dangerous as _proving_ these stories are real," his grandfather said, almost laughing sadistically. "You probably don't remember this story, since I used to tell it to you as a bedtime story a while back, but you remember the two characters I always bring up right?"

"The warrior dude and the princess. Yeah."

"Just as there are three parts to the triforce, there are three characters that accompany each story. Each legend," his grandpa smiled. "The warrior held the Triforce of Courage. The princess wielded the Triforce of Wisdom. The third character I never often mention is Gandorf, and he unfortunately holds a triforce as well - the Triforce of Power."

Link resisted the urge to laugh at the name. What kind of name was Gandorf?

"The only reason should the two heroes and the Triforce's magic arise again should be to defeat the evil trying to destroy the world. Our world, actually." His grandfather narrowed his stare. "You would _not_ want to live to see that kind of adventure."

"You sound like you sure have."

"Haha. If only. But, just knowing legends like those, the world being at risk only to be saved on the slightest chance of fate - to think that has happened time and time again long ago is frightening enough. And the only thing even more frightening is knowing that if it is real, it _will_ happen again one day." As Link actually began to sink in his grandfather's tale for the first time, the old man finished up putting away the last book. "Best you get some sleep, Link. Wouldn't want to be late for your morning detention."


	3. Chapter 3

_'Mm... agh... huh?' Link opened his eyes, seeing himself surrounded by a dark field, but a field nonetheless. There was grass all around him, accompanied by the biggest sky he's ever seen. 'What...?' He looked at himself, seeing himself clad in a tunic of green, with heavy equipment strapped to his back. A, sword and shield? He felt his head. At least his hat was still on. _

_"Link!" yelled out a man's voice. Link turned around, seeing a storm of knight soldiers running in one direction past him. "Hurry into the castle and get the princess to safety!"_

_"What?" Link asked, clearly confused._

_The soldier seemed aggravated. "Link this is no time to horse around. Hurry up and get the princess and get out of here!" Without another word he ran off with the rest of the metal clad soldiers into the night. Instinctively Link ran back into the castle where the soldiers had emerged from. And on the other side of the dark door was a small dark room, with a young girl inside, covered from head to toe in this light royal-like garment. "Um... hello?" Link called out. "I was told to escort you out...?"_

_Eventually, the princess turned around, but before Link could see her face, everything disappeared into water. Link was falling. Sinking down into the water with nothing else around him._

"Gah!" Link screamed, shooting up from his old mattress. He was covered from the next down in water. Cold, ice water - courtesy of his grandpa and the now empty flower vase. "Grandpa!"

"Rise'n shine, kid!" he said, obviously amused by this wake up call. "Time for detention!" Link shook his hands of the water and glared at his grandfather. He'll get him back.

Somehow Link managed to shrink his half-hour morning routine into a ten minute one before he was on his way to school. Third day and he was already making a bad impression. The last thing he needed was to be late to detention. He rushed to his assigned homeroom, knowing he was already one minute late. bt when he burst into the room, he found the entire room completely empty save for a new teacher at the desk. Rather nervous and odd looking for a teacher. "Um..." Link called, hiding his tired breath.

The newbie teacher hurriedly looked to his clipboard. "Link Ronce?"

"Yeah."

"Have a seat then," he said, crossing Link's name off the paper before taking out a rubix cube. While doing so, Link couldn't help but notice that this Shiek girl wasn't here yet either. _Knowing her she wouldn't put up with this detention_, Link thought negatively, sitting in the middle of the room, staring at the board. But, no later than ten minutes after, the girl finally showed. Her blond hair was back in a small messy bun, now.

"About time," Link muttered tiredly. His lack of his last hour of sleep appearingly put a toll on him, but he was more annoyed that he came on time for his detention while miss slap-a-lot came on her own accord.

"Zelda Chic Landerson?" the young awkward teacher asked. _She's late and she doesn't even get reprehended for it_, Link thought sourly before something sparked in mind. _Wait, Zelda?_

"Sit right there next to Mr. Ronce," the teacher said lowly before returning to his rubix cube, failing at it still.

Shiek pulled up a seat in the desk next to Link, and only then did he realize they truly did share a homeroom, but that wasn't his main priority. "Pst." No answer. "Pst!"

"Shut up. Are you trying to get me in ore trouble?" she pestered, sinking further in her seat.

"Do you really think this guy will mind?" Link asked with a raised eyebrow, thumbing the 'newbie teacher'. He and Shiek eyed him, fruitlessly turning the rubix cube many directions without progress. He surely wouldn't be able to overhear a quiet conversation. "...Is Shiek really your name?"

She glanced at him questioningly. He didn't blame her; why would he ask that out of no where? "It's my middle name, spelled C-h-i-c," she explained. "Kids in my old school called me 'Shiek' instead so that's the name I've been going by." She stopped talking, but found Link still staring intently at her. Was he expecting more. "... What."

He stared for three more silent seconds. "Nothing," Link said indifferently before facing the front again, nothing else to say. _Zelda. Zelda. Why does that sound so familiar?_

It takes the rest half hour of the detention period for the memory to finally sink in. He sees mental images of a little blond girl, unfamiliar to Link. She's smiling happily, with him. They're playing together and she's on the brink of crying before they quickly lock pinkies. The last scene Link remembers is her image shrinking as he drives away for 'vacation'. _No way_.

Looking discretely at this girl one more time, Link is finally able to piece together, well, _everything_. Zelda.

That was why she looked so longing when she first approached him in the cafeteria yesterday. She must've recognized him while he didn't. Ugh, and he even _introduced_ himself, showing he had no recollection of her whatsoever. No wonder she was so upset with him. Still, it's been how many years? Would a girl like her really get so hung up over something like this? The image of the little girl from Link's memories sure didn't look like the type to hold a grudge.

Then again, this tough looking Zelda, or 'Shiek', now looked like she would.

"You've got to be kidding me," Link said out loud absentmindedly.

"Would you keep it down," the girl hissed, trying to keep her focus on the pencil markings at the end of her desk. "You're gonna get me in trouble again."

Link didn't say anything, but he glanced at her at the corner of his eye. She was so different now. What happened to her? Even before the cafeteria incident, Eric said she was a loner. The Zelda he vaguely remembered didn't seem like a loner. She didn't seem like the type to be angry at the world.

Then again neither was he as a kid.

"Guys I'm going to take a quick bathroom break," announced the teacher in an authorative voice, as if he had more than two people who needed to hear his voice. "You stay put and no talking while I'm gone," he said before leaving in a hurry with his rubix cube.

But the instant the substitute superviser teacher was gone, Link was just about ready to confront the girl. But, what would he say? Sorry? Sorry I didn't recognize your shadow of your former self? Sorry I turned out to be such a jerk anyway because I really am? What was he supposed to say? Instead he just remained quiet.

In the mean time, Link tried to recall as much of he could of this Zelda. He knew they were friends but, that was it. He could tell he was forgetting more. A _lot_ more, but for some reason it just wouldn't come to him. It was like, he literally _could not_ remember - no matter how much he felt like he should or wanted to. And now this girl would hate him forever for it.

The only sound in the room is coming from a tiny radio voice on the teacher's desk. At first Link thought it was a radio, but it was actually a tiny television. "_Breaking story: It would seem that there is a police force heading downtown right now to the Coveting Mall Construction Site._" Weird, Link thought, wasn't that where his Grandpa would be for his dig or something? "_Sources are telling us that there seems to be a... monster, attacking the archaeologists on sight_."

'_Grandpa_!' Without warning Link bolted from his seat, running to the teacher's desk.

This obviously caught Shiek, now Zelda, of guard. "What the-"

"Wait shut up," Link ordered, turning the mini television around so he could see it from in front of the desk. It really was tiny, and black and white on screen with the occasional static, but Link could read it. And the story was true. The camera man, whoever it was, seemed pretty shaky on the scene, but he captured the image of the said monster. Zelda leaned to the left a little, wondering what Link was making such a commotion about. On screen, the monster looked like this shadow goul thing, with red dots, maybe eyes, and long vine line shadow claws, marching throughout the dig site. It was giant, and flinging archaeologists around like they were nothing.

It was like it was looking for something.

But before long, Link managed to see the monster lifting up his grandfather on city television. Link gritted his teeth as the monster threw him away, most likely injuring him by the fall. "I have to go to him," Link said out loud, turning the television back towards the board and running to the side of the room near the windows.

Zelda widened her eyes as she watched Link open one of them. "Link what are you doing?" she hissed, standing up.

"That was my grandpa at the dig site where that monster thing is. I have to go to him," Link assessed, climbing onto the radiator, ready to jump out of the ground floor window.

Zelda's expression only changed slightly, but you could read her surprise. "Are you crazy? You can't just leave school, let alone through the window! Are you trying to get into more trouble?"

Link scoffed. "I never liked school anyway. And I'm already a delinquent according to the teachers. Might as well go out with a bang," Link said smugly as he left the girl on her own.

Zelda stood dumbstruck. Had this guy seriously just left detention? But now she would be the only one there, and the only one to give an explanation when the teacher returned. She groaned, holding her head. "This guy really doesn't know the consequences of just leaving school does he." Not wanting to take all the blame, she was forced to follow through the window.

Link ran down the street, mentally having memorized the way during his and his grandpa's occasional drives. The construction site downtown shouldn't be too far, he figured. And he had high enough stamina to just keep sprinting. His grandfather's life was at stake, or at least it appeared to be. The closer he got to his destination, the less people he realized was around. All cars in the street were abandoned, and there were no civilians. Authorities probably cleared the area.

But at the site, all the policemen appeared unconscious, littering the streets and sidewalks, along with just about all the archaeologists. They all looked the same, anyway. Link stopped, assessing the situation. There was no monster around, meaning it was somewhere still. "What the heck is going on...?"

"Link!"

Link recognized that shrill voice. Turning around he saw the same annoying tomboy who got him in trouble. Wait, did she follow him? "Zelda?" Link said instinctively. He mentally hit himself for accidentally calling her by her first name, but it didn't seem to matter at the moment. "What're you doing here?"

She panted as her hands rested on her knees. "Did you really expect me to just sit there and take all the blame? Now come back to school with me or else we'll-" She stopped herself, realizing her surroundings. All the unsconsious police, and all the out cold archaeologists. No conscious soul was around. "What the..."

"Shh," Link said, holding his hand in front of her mouth. "Do you hear that?" Listening carefully, both teens heard the sound of footsteps. But they were no ordinary footsteps. They sounded... lighter. But bigger. Link's eyes widened. "It's the-"

A screech bellowed from behind a giant crate, causing Link and Zelda to cover their ears. Looking up, they saw the said shadow monster from the news. It looked a lot bigger in person. Maybe ten or more feet tall, and totally gruesome. "Ew," Link frowned.

"Don't just stand there run!" Zelda yelled, both jumping out of the way before the monster's hand could slam down on them. They would've been crushed had they stayed.

Link rolled across the dirt and first looked desperately for the girl. Did she make it out in time? Carelessly he found himself right in front of the monster, who jumped up and was ready to kill him. Link just stood in its growing shadow before Zelda knocked him out of the way. The two rolled out and she got up quickly, pulling Link up.

"Gosh you are lazy. Look where you're standing next time or you'll get yourself killed!" They heard the monster's roar. "Hurry this way! I know where we can hide!" Without another word Zelda ran with Link following close behind. Zelda led them behind a tall beam and behind a small wooden fence surrounded by some more crates piled up on one another. It should provide a good enough cover for the mean time.

The two sank to the dirt ground, out of breath. Was this really happening? Was this _seriously_ really happening? "Do things like this happen a lot in this city?" Link panted.

Zelda shook her head, just as tired. "No. But we should be safe." A loud crash ensured. "For now."

"How did you find this place anyway?" Link asked, looking around. They were surrounded by tall stacks of wooden and metal crates. Entering more through the construction site would just end up making it a maze. "This was no where near the entrance."

"I come here a lot," Zelda said, wiping her forehead of sweat. "I found this place deserted a few days ago and since the city's taken a real long pause on the construction, I sort of taken it myself." Link couldn't help but think wow. She could do that?

But their safety was short lived, as the bigger crate hovering behind them was lifted up by the monster. The tow turned heads and jumped back up, cornered. The monster threw the crate away, only proving its strength and ability to rip them apart as easily a paper. Link and Zelda backed up as far as they could before their backs hit another crate. The monster then proceeded to grab Zelda. She extended her hands out to Link and vice versa, but they couldn't grab each other in time.

"Ahhh!" Zelda screamed, stuck in the monster's first. "Put me down!" The monster held its other hand in front of Zelda, and she watched as a golden piece from her necklace started to float up from around her neck. "Hey!"

But just as their doom seemed evident, Link heard the sound of a familiar languagage, the same language his grandfather had been studying. Link looked around the struggling monster and saw an old man standing further away, holding a book. But the oddest part was that Link recognized the old man. It was that janitor from the gym he caught staring at Link the other day. Suddenly the monster froze, glowing with a golden aura around it.

Link looked past the monster and saw his grandfather, limping closer while reciting foreign words from a book of his. A few more moments of this and the monster had fallen, seemingly harmless now. Bound, even, but by nothing. The golden aura went away, and Zelda was able to escape the monster's grasp. Link ran to her, but she got up before he could reach her. "Are you okay?" he panicked, only for her to nod.

Soon enough the old man that saved them walked up to them, holding a closed book under his arm. It was Rellu High's custodian alright, but, why? "You two alright?" he asked sternly. All they could do was nod. He then looked to Link, and pointed at him. "You, we're going to your house."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

No longer than an hour later, the strange old janitor was laying on Link's new couch, resting with some amateur soup made from a can from the dollar store. Zelda had to come too, and this was her first time in their 'abode'. While the said janitor, Orca apparently by his name tag, was lounging, Link and Zelda were left to their own. "So this is where you live?" she asked Link, having the same reaction as Link did when he first arrived.

"It's... enough," Link summed up, supressing a scowl. Suddenly he found himself in a very awkward situation. He had a girl in his home. And they were alone, ditching school at that. "Uh, do you want anything to drink? We don't really have a fridge yet so I'm afraid we only have some water bottles."

"I'll take a water," Zelda said gratefully. After all they've just went through, water sounded very comforting.

While going into the kitchen, they had passed by Orca on the couch. The old man sipped the bitter-made soup, appearing deep in thought. "The hold will only last for three days on the monster," he announced.

"What?" Link asked, not hearing. But he noticed the old man wearing an unusually serious face

."From what I've gathered from my radio, the city's locked the monster up on the site, barricaded it and everything for 'investigation' or what." He coughed a bit and set aside the soup on the floor, seeing as there was no table near by. "Those police folks don't know what they're dealing with, messing with it and checking it out."

"Well they're police. That's what they're supposed to do," Link shrugged.

"Police deal with the law. Not with this," the man said wearily. "In three days time the magic will wear off and the monster will resume whatever it was doing before."

Link rolled his eyes at the janitor's nonsense, but Zelda seemed intrigued. Wondering, even. "What magic?" she asked, though Link wished she hadn't. "What exactly did you do back there? To the monster?"

"See that bookshelf?" Orca pointed, get me the old red book would you?" Zelda willingly retrieved the book for the old man, but Link gave him a warning look. Incidently, Zelda pulled out the same book with the ancient unreadable text from yesterday. "I know what you're thinking Link, but I'm afraid this is serious business. Do you see any hint of excitement on my face?" He had a point.

"How do you know my name?" Link asked warily.

"Custodians know everything."

Zelda returned and carefully gave the old book to the janitor. He started flipping through the pages, and Link wondered if he could read it like his grandfather could. "Those archaeologists were excavating that site for the Triforce of Wisdom. But that monster, it wasn't supposed to be there."

"What was it?" Zelda asked as Link leaned against the bedpost suspiciously.

"A Goul," Orca replied, finding the page he was looking for. On it was an picture of the exact same shadow monster from before. Its errie image gave Link and Zelda uneasy matching looks. "This monster is a, deliverer, if you would. A monster, sent by Ganondorf."

"Ah, the dude with the dorky name," Link recalled. Something clicked. "Wait. What? How do you know that?"

"Your gramps studies this stuff, doesn't he?" Orca laughed bitterly. "He's not the only old man in this city intrigued by Hyrulean legend. Gouls sent by Ganondorf are only sent to retrieve the Triforces, or in this case the Triforce of Wisdom. Only, why now?"

"What the heck is this guy going on about?" Zelda whispered cautiously to Link, to which Link could only cluelessly shrug. This all, wasn't actually real, is it?

"And the Goul even got the right location for the dang thing. But, the only way it could've is if the Triforce of Wisdom had reawakened-" His eyes widened. "Oh dear..."

"What," Link said, still somewhat untrustwory of the janitor.

"The prophecy, the legends are coming true," he replied solemnly. "Link, has your grandfather ever told you the story of how the Hero and the Princess shall rise again one day?"

"I, thought it was only if that third guy did, too," Link tried to remember.

"Yeah and that monster wasn't proof enough for you?" the old man's voice rose. "Ganondorf sent his monsters because he is _back_, looking for all tree parts of the Triforce. But the only way he could've known about it is for that Triforce to have awakened."

"You mean this?" Zelda asked, taking off a small string necklace. In its center was a golden shard wrapped with the same string. "When the monster picked me up, it tried to take this."

Orca immidietly took it from the girl's hands, which Link was about to reprehend him for, but his expression stopped Link. On it was complete and utter shock. But more over, fear. "Where did you get this, child?"

"From the construction site," Zelda answered confused. "I found it there three or four days ago in the ground."

"_You_ found it?" Orca asked again, only for Zelda to nod. "Mm... it's only half... But the Triforce has been reawakened nonetheless... By you," he added, lowly looking back up at Zelda. He reached out for her hand, and carefully returned the necklace in her palm, closing the hand and pushing it towards her. "You child, must guard this with your life."

"What is it?"

"The Triforce of Wisdom," he smiled, shaking his hands around her fist. "Well, part of it anyway. That Goul must've been looking for the other half, probably still somewhere in the dirt. But _you_ managed to find that one. Your presence in the construction site has reawakened the Triforce of Wisdom, young lady."

"What are you getting at," Link asked, sorr of knowing himself.

The custodian sat back lazily in the couch, closing his eyes. "Your young friend right here just may be the long lost princess of the legend." His eyes became serious once more. "Though I never would've suspected. You have quite the rowdy reputation at school, you know."

Zelda's eyebrows furrowed down, though the janitor did have a point. "Just who are you anyway?"

"Good question," Link muttered with an accusing frown.

"Just an old man, waiting for something to happen," Orca said, stroking his beard. "I got this job at your school because I knew it would lead me to one day telling the two chosen ones of their destiny. Or in this case, Zelda Landerson. That's why I asked if we could come here. It's the only real place we can talk in private. And your grandfather won't be coming home any time soon, I believe. Hospitals and what not, imprisoning us old folk."

"Whoa whoa hold up," Link interrupted. "You're telling me, this rude basketball player brat, is a _princess_." Even Zelda held her skepticness.

"That's right," Orca shrugged. "Got a problem with that?" Zelda and Link exchanged looks. "You can choose not to believe me if you want. Your choice. But I did what I had to do, and that was tell her the truth. You, young lady, are one of the two destined to save Hyrule, or Rellu City in this case. Modernization's destruction of nature wound up building of the old kingdom a long time ago. But, a legend is a legend and it _will_ go on."

"I... really am?" she asked, only to receive a look from Link.

"You don't seriously believe this guy do you?" Link whispered. He's been listening to this magic mumbo jumbo all his life. And this tomboy who appeared as skeptic as he did, was buying into it so easily?

"I don't appear to have much of a choice," Zelda said with one of the most vulnerable looks she's ever manage to give in public. She lifted her hand, showing a golden triangle symbol appearing on top of her hand before it disappeared. This obviously caught Link off guard. "That's been happening ever since I found this gold piece. At first I thought I was hallucinating but, there's a picture of it on that book's cover." Link looked over to the red textbook with the three golden triangles that made up the Triforce. Secretly, Zelda could also recall a few stories that Link's grandfather used to tell in their days of childhood.

"Well, now you know," Orca said, happy with his work, though Link obviously wasn't.

"So what do we do now?" Zelda asked, back in her affirmative tone. "If this is all true, you said that magic thing you did will only hold on that monster thing for three days."

"And once it's free, it'll look for the other half of that Triforce still missing and return it to Ganondorf. And believe you me that is the _last_ thing we want. Even him having half of a Triforce is enough to wipe out half this city." Link and Zelda held their breaths, but Orca glanced at Link, trying to look as passive as possible. "Do you really want to test if that's fiction or not?"

Somewhat left without a choice, Link sighed. "So, what do you want us to do about it?"


End file.

Legend of Zelda, Adventure, Romance