From the moment Link entered the school cafeteria all his friends knew something was wrong. Zelda is the first to see him, as per usual. She passes her tray to her best friend Midna and dashes over to him, laughing, but as she sees the shell shocked look on Links face, her smile fades
"Link… what's wrong?"
"I think I need a seat…" he wanders dazedly over to their usual table where Groose is already sat, halfway through his extra-large helping of sloppy Joe, he stops, looking up at Link, not bothering to swallow before talking to his best friend
"Sup buddy?"
"Something really weird just happened…"
Midna and Fi make their way over to the table together, Midna carrying Zelda's tray, they all settle with their dinners, apart from Link
"So! Spill the beans!" Says Midna, leaning in eagerly, Link sighs
"Mrs Impa just asked me to star in the school play…"
"What's the play?" Fi asks, stirring her bowl of soup without a hint of emotion on her face
"I don't wanna tell you" Link mumbles, looking down at his lap
Midna giggles "That means it's embarrassing! Now you have to tell us"
But before Link can utter a word, the pale, flamboyantly dressed Ghirahim makes his way over to the table, Fi grins widely, getting to her feet
"Hello there handsome…" She smiles, leaning in and they kiss, Midna mimes gagging and Groose rolls his eyes, stabbing at his sloppy Joe, suddenly not hungry. Eventually Ghirahim and Fi break apart, Ghirahim smirks, turning to Link
"Hey Shrimp; I heard that Mrs Impa just asked you to be Peter Pan in the school play!"
Link buries his head in his hands as Groose and Impa burst into fits of laughter. Zelda tries her best to stifle her giggles, placing a comforting hand on Links shoulders
"Though I don't see why they picked you" Ghirahim adds, flicking his perfect bleached hair from his face, though it just falls down again in front of his eye "I'm a far better actor than you could ever be"
"Why DID they pick you?" Zelda asks
Link sighs, exasperated "She says I'd look the part"
Ghirahim laughs again "That's because you're a weedy shrimp who always wears green!" His menacing eyes dart left and right, before he leans over and pulls the pointy hat right off of Link's head, and then begins to run.
Link looks up in surprise "Hey! Give that back!"
He takes to his feet, chasing Ghirahim through the cafeteria and through the corridors, Ghirahim runs out the doors to the courtyard, still waving Link's hat in the air, but as Link tries to pass through the same set of doors, he collides head first into Hanna, who drops her books everywhere
"Oh… sorry Hanna" He mumbles, watching Ghirahim
"Oh… you know… it's no problem Link, I mean, I know how important what you do is…" She mumbles, twirling her hair between her fingers, but Link isn't paying attention, he's watching Ghirahim, almost out of sight "Say… Link…"
"Sorry, can't stop! See your round Hanna!" He runs off, stifling a wave, leaving a dazed Hanna to watch him go
"Oh right… yeah… see you soon Link!" She grins; faint red seeping onto her cheeks, thought Link is already dashing across the courtyard in pursuit of Ghirahim
"COME BACK HERE YOU!" Ghirahim just laughs, and carries on running. He runs right out of the school gates, Link dithers for a few moments, wondering whether or not to follow him, but reluctantly, he makes his way out of the gates too…
"Seriously Fi… what do you see in that guy?" Groose asks, his voice almost sounding exasperated
"I just… you don't know him like I do…" Fi smiles, dreamily sipping soup from her spoon
"Yeah… I'm pretty sure he's gay…" Says Midna, biting from her apple
"Midna!" Says Zelda "You can't just say something like that!"
"Why not?" Asks Midna, laughing innocently
"Forget about that! What's taking Link so long?" Groose frowns as he collects his plate onto the tray, getting to his feet
"Are you having ANOTHER portion of sloppy Joe?" Midna asks, laughing
"No…" he mumbles, settling down into his seat again
Zelda frowns, not uttering a word, her thoughts too wrapped up in worry for her boyfriend, what if Ghirahim was being horrible to him? What if something terrible had happened to him? Groose smiles comfortingly, placing his hand on Zelda's across the table "Don't worry Zelda, Link will be fine"
"Uhh… thanks…" she says, carefully drawing her hand back
Midna giggles as Groose tries to gain his status back "Yeah, well, uhh… I'm going to go find Link, see you tonight yeah girls? At the lumpy pumpkin?"
"Yeah sure" the girls chorus, turning back to their foods as Groose walks away… now where could he even begin to search for Link?
Link sighs, exasperated as he stumbles through the long grass of Hyrule Field "Come on Ghirahim, this is beyond funny! Where are you?"
A pale, gloved arm pokes out from the trees bordering Faron woods; hat in hand, Link sighs, forcing his way through the long straw like grass to the forest
"You must be bored by now Ghirahim!" But he just lets out a cackling laugh before disappearing further into the foliage with a rustle of leaves, He sighs, following his path into the forest. Forcing his way through the thorny branches, loud buzzing is heard as bugs fly around, his feet squelch in mud as the path fizzles out beneath him, he sighs, before hearing a loud shout
"Link!... LINK!"
"Ghirahim?"
"LINK! GET HERE NOW!"
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
"JUST UP AHEAD OF YOU STUPID! I CAN SEE YOU! HURRY!"
He breaks through the final few trees into a clearing, and sees Ghirahim knelt on the ground, examining something carefully
Link sighs "I came to help you, there's no need to be rude"
"Just… come and look at this!" Ghirahim exadurates his gesture, leaving Link with no option but to trail to him
"What is it?" Link asks. He watches slowly as Ghirahim unfolds his hands, revealing a small, golden ring, with three gold triangles carefully moulded to the front, Link reaches out, taking it from Ghirahim to examine it closely. On the inside of the golden ring, engraved in italic writing, are the words:
"Forged at the hands of the goddess Hylia"
"What do you think it means?" Asks Link handing the ring back to Ghirahim, who slips it onto his finger
"I don't know… but doesn't it look FABULOUS on me!"
"Don't you get it Ghirahim? This isn't just some accessory, it's something special! It was made by the goddess!"
"Like that's actually true, it's just a con to try and sell it probably"
"But what if it's real?" Link asks, looking at Ghirahim, almost pleading
"Tell you what squirt, we'll take it to dinner at the lumpy pumpkin tonight, see what everyone else has to say about it"
"Fi invited you?" Link asks, sighing
"Of course, she is my girlfriend!"
Link rolls his eyes, turning back to the exit of the forest "Come on, we better head back to school, actually… where did you put my hat?"
Ghirahim produces the hat from his back pocket, he holds it out, but as Link reaches to get it, he takes it back, holding it up to his face, allowing his long pointed tongue to dance along the stitching, before dumping it back in Link's hands, smirking
"There you go Peter Pan"
Link grimaces, and the two of them make their way back out of the woods together