Soft rays of sunlight poured through the windows into a humble, one bedroom house, peeking through a slim crack in the dark curtains and hitting the floor, revealing little specks of dust floating around in the air. A rooster owned by the old farmer across the street let out a proud crow, alerting the town's inhabitants of the start of a new day. A young woman who lived in the cozy house stirred in her bed, and after giving the window a rather dirty look for allowing the sunlight to enter her room uninvited, she turned back over and yanked the comforter over her head, willing the sun to sink back behind the horizon for just a few minutes longer. But the day would not start itself, so she slowly sat up, stretching her sleep logged arms and legs, and rubbed her eyes while letting out a long yawn. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, giving one more long stretch for good measure, accompanied by another, maybe unnecessarily loud yawn.

Today was Monday, and Monday meant the beginning of the week, which is why Audrey hated Mondays. But then again, who didn't? Oh that's right, there was one person she knew who didn't hate them. Alfonzo didn't. Alfonzo loved Mondays, and that only spelled trouble for her. He insisted on waking even before the crack of dawn, and on many occasions, would make sure Audrey was up and awake just as well, ready to work. Every week day, it would be the same routine; Audrey would drag her sorry rump out of bed and scarf down an all too quick breakfast before throwing her cloths on, afterwards rushing out the door with a piece of toast hanging out of her mouth and tying her tangled brown waves up into a loose bun with a small hair-tie. After putting herself together and mourning the loss of a few precious hours of sleep, she would trudge to Alfonzo's work station, located at the very North of Aboda village, where he would no doubt already be working on his train, waiting for her to accompany him so they could depart on a ride and start making deliveries to other nearby towns or taking calls on people needing work done on their trains.

Audrey was, for a better lack of words, good with trains. She could point out and list it's entire anatomy along with suggesting better parts for an engine or spotting a flaw before it spelled problems for any engineer, along with being able to conduct one with a grace possessed by few. She had learned everything she knew about them from her late father, whom had all too soon passed away along with her beloved mother due to a horrible disease that had almost wiped the village's population down to a clean zero. She had been lucky enough to overcome the sickness with her young and still strong immune system, but her aging parents weren't so lucky, and were taken from the world when Audrey was only 16 years of age. Of course, she had already been considered an adult, and could survive just fine by herself. But losing her parents had taken away the only family she had left, and when they went, a sense of security had been taken away from her. She had felt utterly and completely alone for the first time in her young life.

That was until she had met Alfonzo. He had truly been a God-sent and had helped her keep her feet on the ground by taking her under his wing. The fact that he was a grade-A engineer hadn't hurt much either. Between their mutual love for trains and both having no family around whatsoever, they had started working with each other and had formed a close and strong friendship. She had since then always considered him a big brother and guardian of sorts. He was about five years older than herself, and they got on just fine. He was her family and she was his, blood or no blood, they had been there for each other and that was what really mattered.

Along with Alfonzo, Audrey had made a few other friends throughout the village as well. One in particular being a young lad with a heart of gold and a dream to become an expert on the very thing Audrey had a passion for. Engineering. Granted, he was a bit young, and admittedly irresponsible at times, but he had a fire in his eyes, and a playful child-like outlook on life, which was why she loved the little squirt. He could pull her out of any bad mood with just a sweet smile, and she was thankful for that. And the fact that the kid drove Alfonzo up a wall brought some entertainment into her life as well, but she knew more often than not they were just being boys and were still good friends with a sort of teacher-student bond, and she wasn't going to argue with that.

The kid was pretty decent with trains, and had excelled so much so that Alfonzo had deemed him ready to receive the title of official engineer. And today being the day Link would accept his diploma, Alfonzo had given Audrey the day off as well so they could all go with Link to Castletown, where the ceremony would take place in her highness' royal palace. Link had been very excited to hear that he would actually get to meet Princess Zelda herself, and even more so to hear that she would present him with the actual document. Audrey was truly happy for him and excited to see him take the next step in his life. Alfonzo had puffed up like a proud father when Zelda had accepted the request to do the ceremony, considering he was the one who had given Link all his training. All in all, the hard work had paid off and Link would now legally be able to conduct a train all by himself. He would make a very fine engineer, Audrey had no doubt about that.

She did however, doubt the necessity of having the ceremony so early in the morning. But she was looking forward to taking a trip to Castletown, since she hadn't been there for quite some time. With that thought in mind, she eventually pulled herself out of bed and practically crawled to the kitchen to dig up some breakfast. After groggily preparing and eating some eggs and toast along with a glass of orange juice, she took a quick shower to wake herself up and combed all the tangles out of her dark-brown waves of hair, which was always an excruciating process. After that was all well and done, she brushed her teeth and went back to her bedroom to throw something presentable on. Her usual outfit consisted of a rough work tunic and pants that she usually rolled up to her knees, and high-top working boots were always essential.

But today called for something a little more presentable. One thing was for certain though, Audrey did not wear dresses. She didn't own one and she never would. They were downright pointless in her opinion; always having to make sure your legs were crossed when sitting, and forget about riding a horse or sparring! And for what? 'To look prim and proper like every lady should' her mother would say. Well Audrey wasnt worried about being a lady, she was a tough girl who could stand her own and take anything life threw at her, and she was going to dress the way she saw fit. She wouldn't be caught dead in a dress, much less own one.

She did, however, have a few nicer tunics, one in particular that her mother had made for her with her own two hands(after realizing that her daughter wouldn't wear anything even close to a skirt)being her favorite. Made of a very lovely purple silk, a few pearl buttons at the neckline to keep together or let loose according to preference, with sleeves reaching down to mid forearm and beautiful emerald green embroidery decorating the neckline, sleeve ends and hem of the shirt all together. She decided to wear this one, not only because of its charm, but also because it made her feel close to her mother and that always brought comfort and confidence. She paired the flattering tunic with black tights that had lace just at the ends and slipped on a pair of dark grey flats. After changing out of her night cloths and into her outfit for the day, it was time to deal with her mess of hair. Deciding to just pull it up into a messy bun, leaving a few strands to hang here and there, she turned and looked in the full length mirror hanging from the inside of her small closet door. Checking herself over one last time, she nodded to herself. Much better than a silly old dress.

She reached for her satchel and pulled out some money to take with her in case she spotted anything in Castletown worth buying. She slipped the bills into her shirt pocket and reached for her sword before departing from her bedroom. It wasn't much, just a simple double sided blade with a hilt small enough for her hands. It had been a gift from her father on her 16th birthday before they had passed, and she never left town without it. Her mother had insisted on waiting until she was older, but her father had assured her that it would be wise to give her one now and show her how to use it, because 'evil has a way of finding even the most innocent of places, especially when your guard is down'. Pops would always say things like that, but Audrey didn't doubt him. There had been monsters spotted in Aboda village before, and she had no doubt that there would be again. She was fairly handy with the sharp little weapon; her father had shown her the basics, and Alfonzo would spar with her every once in a while, just to keep up skill, (and make sure his 'little sister' was well prepared, because he could be a real worry-wart at times).

After sheathing her sword in it's scabbard and tying it around herself so that it rested against her hip, she left her room and made for the front door. She stepped outside and locked the wood door behind her. It was a bright and sunny day, with few clouds in the sky and only a slight breeze. It made Audrey glad she had decided to put her hair up, because of the heat in the air. She made her way down the path leading from her front door and took the short trail leading to where Alfonzo's train would be parked and ready to take off. The birds were singing in the shade trees and a few of the village children had taken advantage of a small spring residing behind those trees to cool off, an excited dog trailing around the waters edge, looking for a good place to hop in and join the fun. She continued her way down the path until she reached the station where Alfonzo was nonchalantly leaning against the rail on the train engine, seeming to enjoy the sun with his eyes closed. He had reasonably tan skin, and was used to working long hours out in the sun, whereas Audrey usually burned within five minutes of being outside for too long on particularly hot days with no protection.

"Good morning Al", she exclaimed in a bright voice as she approached the steps that led up to the train itself. "Mornin' sunshine" he said with a half smile and his eyes still closed. "I'm surprised you were able to get up this early" he chuckled and opened his eyes to watch her climb aboard. "Hey, I'm full of surprises, and I could wake up any time I wanted" she quipped, brushing off his teasing.

"Not without ripping some poor fools head off". He bit back another chuckle as she turned around and gave him a look through squinted eyes. "Yeah, well that poor fool would most likely be you".

"Eh heh heh". Alfonzo let out a nervous laugh and tugged at his collar, noticeably swallowing and growing tense. Oh yes, she could still put him in his place when she needed to. Any person with a smidgen of common sense knew not to mess with her in the mornings.

They continued chatting while waiting for Link to show up so they could head out, when they heard someone barreling their way, effectively scaring the life out of a flock of innocent chickens in the process. A mess of blond hair and a pair of wide eager eyes appeared in front of them, giddy and out of breath. " Well there's our pride and joy!" Alfonzo let out a laugh and gestured for Link to come aboard. He nodded and scampered up the steps to stand next to Audrey. He beamed up at her and she couldn't help a warm smile that spread across her lips as she lifted a hand to ruffle his golden locks. He had grown so fast since she had met him; he was now 12 years of age and the top of his head easily reached Audrey's shoulder. She had always looked out for him and he had proudly claimed her as his big sister not long after they became friends. Seeing him now made her proud to have helped him learn and grow, and she secretly wished he would just stop growing so fast! But he worked hard and had earned this, so she made do with what she could. "Are you excited for today?" Audrey asked him with happiness in her voice.

"More than I've ever been! I'm gonna get to meet Princess Zelda today right!?" His eyes were shining up at her with enthusiasm and hopefulness. She couldn't help but quietly giggle at his eagerness, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Of course you are, she'll be the one to host the ceremony and present you your engineer's licence, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Link now had a much too wide grin on his face and cheeks as red as Neeko's tomatoes to match. He seemed to be daydreaming and Audrey could swear that drool would run down his chin at any minute. Now it was Alfonzo's turn to chime in.

"Better watch it lover boy, ya' might get caught gawking at the Princess too long and have your licence revoked!" He let out a bark of laughter as Link's cheeks went from the color of tomatoes to white as sheets. "That wont happen!" The young boy shrieked at his mentor as Alfonzo wiped a tear from his eye. Clearly his apprentice's distress had amused him. Audrey gave Alfonzo a glare and jabbed him in the bicep with her fist. He gave another chuckle and rubbed the spot she had hit on his arm. She could throw a decent punch when she wanted to.

"Al you big lug, don't be a jerk." She gave him one more stink eye before turning to Link and putting both her hands on his shoulders and turned him to face her. He glanced up at her with worried eyes. "That won't happen, will it Audrey?" He asked her in an unsure voice. He could be too gullible for his own good, especially when Alfonzo took to pestering him.

"That wont happen bud, don't you worry. You've earned that licence fair and square!" She gave him a sweet grin and ruffled his light mop of hair. He smiled back at her with a new found confidence, and turned to Alfonzo while puffing out his little chest, ready to get to it. Alfonzo gave him with a look of amusement and admiration that Audrey had caught on more than one occasion. Weather he wanted to admit it or not, he was rather fond of his student. He chuckled and gave Link a pat on the back.

"Well now that we're all present and done with this nonsense, I say it's high time we set out for Castletown!" Alfonzo announced as he started firing up the trains engine. He shoveled a few good mounds of coal into the burner and shut the small iron door to let it heat up; sitting in the shelter all night had caused it to go stone cold. He turned to Link and gestured to the throttle where the conductor would take his place. Link looked at him with bright eyes and an excited smile spreading across his adorable face. "You mean you're gonna let me drive us to Castletown!?" He asked eagerly. Alfonzo gave him a smirk and a nod to confirm his intentions, and Link all but launched himself into Alfonzo's middle, wrapping his little arms around his teacher in a grateful hug. Audrey snickered into her hand as Alfonzo almost lost his balance at the sudden impact, but gained his footing and gave his student a pat on the back before prying him off and directing him to the conductors post. When Link had made sure the engine was good and fired up, he gave the whistle and hearty tug and set the throttle forward. With a lurch, the train's wheels took hold of the tracks and started forward while the chimney let out a puff of smoke and started chugging out of the station and eventually onto the main railway that would lead them to their destination. Alfonzo and Audrey took a seat on the bench behind them to watch Link drive them.

"He really is a good kid, he's worked so hard...he deserves this." Audrey mumbled to Alfonzo as they watched the open fields around them and the little white doves that took flight next to the train, beating their wings to keep up.

"I know that, but it's still my job ta' bug the squirt whenever I get the chance." Alfonzo smiled down at her and she let out a chuckle before playfully nudging his side. She knew that he really did care for the little guy; They were brothers in a way. They all considered each other siblings, they had for as long as they could remember. And they loved each other just as much. The three of them would always have one another's backs, no matter what, and that's what made them a family.

Link gave another tug on the whistle with the biggest smile Audrey had ever seen on his face, and Alfonzo let out a chuckle as he stood and cupped his hands around his mouth and leaned over the railing on the side. "Make way for the greatest engineer Hyrule has ever seen!" he bellowed to the world and Audrey let out a chime of laughter as Link stuck his fist in the air and let out a 'whoop!' as the train continued to chug along. Yes, she knew that he really would make a wonderful engineer.