Chapter 1

This is my normal morning. My mother checking in on me with a stethoscope placed up to my chest and my father monitoring my breathing everyday in and out for as long as I can remember. My parents were always cautious about letting me go out with my friends, even going to school worried them. It's been like this for so long that sometimes I feel like I would never get better. All because I was born with a heart defect.

"Zelda sweetie," my mother called out from the kitchen. "Don't forget that we have an appointment with your cardiologist tomorrow after school."

"Of course mother!" I reply to her as I made my way to the front door. "I'm going to take my walk now!"

"Alright then but be careful. Do you have your phone with you?"

I wave my phone in front of her vision and smile. With a nod, I put my phone in my pocket and I told her, "I do, I have you and dad's phone number and I know how to get home. I also have the paramedics on speed dial in case anything happens. But mother, you seriously don't have anything to be worried about."

"I know but you know how much I worry about you, especially with your condition."

I stare down at the front door's knob and then sighed. "I know..." I open the door then step outside. "I love you, I'll be back in an hour." I did not wait for my mother's response as I closed the door. I walked away from my house and crossed the street after looking both ways.

Even though the doctors told me about my condition, they said that I still have to exercise to maintain a "healthy" lifestyle. My parents did not want me to do anything too "extreme" or...just anything in general. A year ago I was able to talk to them about letting me at least go out and walk in front of my house for ten minutes at most. As the months progressed, they eventually let me walk around the neighborhood and my time was pushed back longer once they saw how I managed to walk without having some type of scene.

I keep walking down the sidewalk until I hit a corner. Looking both ways again, I crossed the street to my left and continued on, passing eight houses and then I stopped at another corner. I turned my head to the right where the path continued. If I go there, it'll eventually take me to my house, however it's a short walk and I honestly prefer to walk a little farther. I stare straight ahead to a path I don't take, part of the neighborhood that I'm more unfamiliar with.

With a shrug of my shoulders, I crossed the street and go on ahead to the unfamiliar path. All the houses around me were completely new to me, the structures and colors I don't even know the people who lives in this part of the neighborhood since I rarely go here in the first place. I must say that not that many people are outside though.

A little ways ahead, I see someone outside of their house watering their lawn. As I keep walking I take note at the person's features, it's a woman I could already tell by how the body curved at certain areas once she turned her back towards me. She wore a jeans jacket and black pants. Why on earth would someone wear a jacket in the afternoon especially with how hot it is?

I walked passed the woman's house, taking note her alluring blond hair that complimented her strangely breath-taking body. Her grass glistened from the water droplets that radiated from the sun's light. On her driveway sat a red mustang, perfectly polished as if were just brand new. Her house does not seem very big though, it's only one story so I guess it's to be expected.

The woman turned her head, her eyes met mine and I stopped walking. I finally released my breath not knowing that I was even holding it in. Her eyes gave off a hint of anger from them. She wanted me to walk away and not look at her again. Her body turned fully around and I noticed that she had no shirt on, just a bra and a jacket. My checks grew warm from the embarrassment of staring at her for too long and I turned my head away and continued my walk.

What was wrong with me? I do not understand why I was staring. I also don't understand why she seemed to hated me, I only walked by her house. Such hatred, I've never felt such hatred from someone before.

"Ack!"

I feel myself becoming a little winded. I sucked in air and then I gasped, feeling a sharp pain surge through my chest. I fell on one knee and placed a hand over my chest, gripping my shirt tightly. It hurt, my chest hurts.

"No...not now. I can't have a scene now..."

I suddenly remembered that I had my phone with me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone but my hand quivered so much that my phone dropped from my grip. The rest of my body collapsed on the ground with every single part of my limbs writhing in anguish. I couldn't breathe anymore.

"...H-He...lp..." I gasped.

At that moment, I heard footsteps rushing over towards me. Everything around me was getting blurry and I couldn't see who was coming, my heart was throbbing in my ears. The last thing I heard was a voice speaking to me softly.

"It's going to be okay," the voice said. "Hold on, you're going to be okay."

At that moment, my eyes closed and the darkness engulfed me.

[=_]

"No, I don't know why the girl passed out in front of my house. She's not in critical condition I made sure of that, but she's lying down on my couch at the moment."

That voice. Who is that?

"Okay, I will wait for the ambulance. How long will it take?" A pause. The voice was a woman, I could tell by the person's tone. "Ten minutes, fine. Just hurry." The woman sighed in annoyance, her footsteps walked away from where I was and then there was silence.

I had to get up, I need to wake up, I don't even know where I am. My eyes slowly fluttered open and the light burned my iris. I blinked several times and rubbed my eyes furiously to keep the burning sensation away. A thud in my chest caused me to feel winded. I placed a hand on my chest and felt my heart palpitating.

"Looks like you're awake."

My heart leaped in my chest and I turned my head, my eyes grew wide when I saw the woman. It was the same woman who was outside watering her front lawn. She stood in the middle of the kitchen with a glass of water in her hand. Her jacket's gone and yet she still has no shirt on, she is currently in her bra and pants. Why did it suddenly get so hot?

"What, you're not even going to talk?" she raised an eyebrow as she took a sip of her drink.

"O-oh! I ah...I cannot thank you enough for helping me," I stammered thankfully as I sat up on the couch. I felt the thud in my chest once again. "I heard you...you said that an ambulance will be here soon... Is this true?"

"Yeah, a random girl passed out in front of my house and I rather let the hospital take care of you instead of me." The tone of what she said made me cringe in the inside but I tried to remain my composure on the outside.

I cleared my throat. "I do apologize for this though...I do hope I did not cause you much trouble ma'am."

"It's fine. And don't call me ma'am."

I twiddled my fingers. "Well then...what is your name? It will make it easier if I knew your name."

The woman finished her glass of water and set it in the sink. She walked out of the kitchen and into the living room where I currently sit in and leaned her body against a sofa in front of me. "My name is Samus Aran."

"Samus Aran," I repeated. I let the name roll off my tongue and took a note at how it sounded. "It's a beautiful name. My name is Zelda Harkinian, it's a pleasure to meet you Samus."

"Harkinian?" Samus shifted her body on the couch and stood up straight. "Harkinian, you mean one of the richest families in the neighborhood?" I nodded my head. "Sheesh of all people I help, it has to be a Harkinian."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I glared at her.

"Nothing, nothing, it's nothing. Anyways, just lay back down and wait until the ambulance gets here. I'm going to go outside and finish watering the lawn." Before I could say anything else, she left through the front door, leaving me alone in her living room.

Samus, quite the person I must say, she seemed to be in a hurry to get out of the room. Does she not want me around? Maybe it's the fact that I'm a random stranger in her house. Either way, she acted really calm and unentertained with me that's for sure. I placed a hand over my heart, feeling it beat hard against my chest. It must be the aftermath.

I heard the sirens from the ambulance approaching the house, knowing very well that it's coming for me. My heart suddenly sped up against my chest and I coughed from feeling winded. I don't want to go to the hospital. I want to stay here. I just don't want my parents to worry about me, I don't want to be hooked up to machines again. I want to stay.

The door closed and startled me out of my thoughts. I stared at the front door where Samus stood, she must have walked in when I wasn't paying attention.

"They're coming, I'll take you outside now," she said while she pointed out the window.

"Oh, thank you," I responded, sounding a little upset.

Samus leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, I noticed that she was staring at me intently. Does she want me to hurry up and leave? Is she waiting for me to get up? Why is she staring at me like that?

"I think that someone who just barely survived a heart attack would be glad to go to the hospital."

I blinked. "I...what?"

"You're sad. Why?"

I shook my head. "I'm not upset, honest."

"You really suck when it comes to lying," she bluntly added. "So why are you upset?"

I stared down at my hands, watching my fingers curl up and clutched the hem of my shirt. "I don't want to be taken to the hospital..." When I didn't hear Samus say anything, I continued on. "I've been in there for my entire life, I don't want to be put back in there..." My tighten the grip on my shirt and I stared at Samus. "Please, please don't let them take me!" I pleaded. "Please!"

"You have to go, I can't tell them otherwise."

I immediately stood up, suddenly feeling the room around me spin. A worried look on Samus' face caught me by surprise, as the woman stepped away from the wall. "Please! Please don't make me go!"

Samus sighed. "I know I'm going to regret this." She pointed toward the hallway leading out of the living room. "Down the hallway, last door on the right is the guest bedroom. Stay in there until I say so."

I smiled brightly and bow my head. "Samus, thank you so very much!"

"Don't thank me yet," she growled which caused me to flinch. "Hurry up and get in there before you get caught by the paramedics."

"R-right." Samus opened the door and walked out of the house once more while I made my way down the hallway. It's a narrow hallway with two doors to the left and three to the right. Going down the hallway, I entered the last door on the right.

Nothing much was in the room, only a queen sized bed and a nightstand with a decorative lamp sitting on it. Other than that, nothing else was in the bedroom. I heard the doors slam open, causing me to jump and close the room's door quickly. Pressing my ear against the wall, I listened in closely to the chatter that was going on outside the room.

"Look, I told you that the girl took off running. How many damn times do I have to say it?!" Samus sounded like she was getting quite frustrated.

"Listen lady, we got a call from this address saying that a girl passed out in front of someone's lawn," a deep voice spoke. "As a paramedic, I must find the person in danger and I suspect that she is in this house."

"I already told you that she ran away," Samus growled. "You are not listening to me-"

Beyond that, I could not hear Samus and the paramedic speak because my heart was thumping loudly in my ears. I moved away from the wall and lied down on the bed, once again placing a hand to my chest. I guess the only thing I can do is wait until Samus tells me that I can get out.

Upon waiting several minutes with my heart still thumping like crazy, a knock on the door startled me. I sat right back up and stared directly at the door. Was it Samus? Or the paramedic?

"You can come out now."

I released my breath. "Oh...it's you," I say to myself.

The door opened and Samus walked into the room. She sighed and leaned against the wall, is it just me or does she do that a lot?

"I convinced the guy that you're at some other house. Took me a while but there, happy?"

I smiled brightly at her and rushed over to Samus, hugging her tightly. "Oh thank you so much!"

"Ah! Hey, let go of me!" she growled as she pushed me off of her.

I landed on the bed and stared up at her. A simple let go would have been nice instead of adding a shove to that request. Before I could say anything, she turned her heels and begun to walk out of the room. Not being quite satisfied with how that went out, I followed the woman out of the room and back into the living room.

"You can leave now."

Her sudden words caught me off guard. I paused and stood silently before processing how harsh that came out.

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me, get out."

I blinked. Is she really kicking me out? I shook my head and asked hesitantly, "Where did the sudden attitude come from...?"

"It's not sudden," she bluntly told me. "You were supposed to leave with those men, not stay here."

I tilted my head. "If I was supposed to leave-then why did you agree to hide me?"

Samus shook her head. "Just leave. Now. You overstayed you welcome already."

Why help me, if you were just going to force me out in the end? I would like to ask her that but I didn't, what was the point if I'm just going to be yelled at. I sighed and made my way to the front door instead.

"I really couldn't thank you enough...thank you for not sending me there."

With that said I opened the door and left her house.

[=_]

"No way, you actually went inside Samus Aran's house?" my friend spoke a little too loudly through the speakers.

I had to pull my earbud away to keep him from blasting my ears. I crossed my legs and brought my laptop onto my lap, staring at the screen with my friend's icon flashing.

"Ike, please...my ears," I whined. I put the earbud back in my ear and listen in to Ike laughing. Even though he couldn't see me, I still pouted.

"But still Zel, you aren't pulling my leg here?" Ike pressed on.

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides, how do you even know Samus?"

"Oh come on, you can't really tell me that you don't know who Lady Aran is." When I didn't respond to him, his laughter died out.

"Ike?" Did he hang up? No, I can hear his breathing.

"How do you not know Samus?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know. I told you, I had another," I drifted away from the sentence. He knew what happened without me needing to say something. He urged me to continue on. "She brought me into her home during my scene."

"That doesn't seem like Samus. At least not from what I've heard."

"Do tell, how do you know Samus?"

"Well, first thing is that I only know her from what people have told me. Other than her going out to water her lawn, no one gets to see her afterwards. She used to be a police officer actually."

I blinked. "Was she?"

"Yeah, a few years back before your parents let you go out she was actually an important part in the force. When something involves shoot outs or robbery, even when there is a fire, Samus was always called in for everything."

"It sounded like she was great at what she did. Everyone must have admired her."

Ike sighed. "Not really, the truth is that everyone kind of feared her."

I shuddered. "Why?"

"I'm not sure. That's where the rumors start coming in. I heard that she doesn't hesitate to kill anyone, if you get in her way then there will be no mercy." He paused. "I also heard that she killed a little girl, again, no hesitation."

My stomach churned. She wouldn't do that, no one would kill an innocent bystander much less a little girl without hesitation. Samus did not seem like the kind of person who would kill on instinct. Her attitude however, bother me a lot especially since she seemed conflicted with me staying in her house any longer.

"There's more about her but I should stop talking about it." Ike chuckled softly, like if he was trying to calm himself down. "I must be worrying you, but I do want to warn you to stay away from her."

"But, if she is as dangerous as you think she may be, then why did she bring me into her house? Why would she call the ambulance for help?"

Though now that I think about it, she really wanted me to get out of her house. It was like either she didn't want to help in the beginning or she felt completely uncomfortable with my presence in the house. Not to mention with the fact that my last name was Harkinian. I don't know what she has with my family or why she seemed to hate it, but for now maybe I should just forget about her. It seemed to be better said than done.

"Zelda? Zelda you there?"

I shook my head and snapped out of my thoughts. "Oh, yeah Ike. I'm here. Sorry, I was just...thinking."

"I could tell, you always get quiet when you think. Would you like to tell me what's up?"

"It's nothing Ike, maybe I'm just being paranoid or something."

"Well I would like to know why you are getting paranoid but if you don't want to talk about it then it's fine. Just, don't bottle up your emotions alright? You know that's not good for your heart."

Even though he can't see me I still nodded my head.

"I know you're still on the down low but do you think you'll come to school tomorrow? Or..."

"With the heart attack that I had earlier today, I don't think it would be a good idea for me to go. I'm not sure what I will tell my parents without them knowing that I had a scene early."

With a breathy sigh, Ike's tone changed. "Because you don't want your parents to take you to the hospital. I don't get it Zel, why do you hate hospitals?"

"It's nothing honestly, you wouldn't understand."

"Whatever you say, princess." The irritation in his voice stung.

I never really told him why I despise hospitals. It's nothing that I really want to put out there but still, he is my friend so I should tell him, right? Then again, I haven't really told any of my other friends. Not even my parents know. If anything, I would like to have at least something private to myself.

When I heard nothing from him, I knew that he was completely done for the day.

"Ike, look, you must be busy with homework so I'll just leave. Besides, I have things to attend to."

I didn't wait for him to reply, I pulled my earbud away from my ear and ended the call by nearly slamming my laptop shut. I plopped back onto my bed and lied there staring at my ceiling for what seemed like an hour. As I stared at the ceiling, I replayed the scene with Samus in my mind.

Why did she help me? Why even help me if she didn't want me in her home at all?

And what bothered me the most was the look in her eyes. She was distant, she was wary, was she hurt? and with what Ike had told me about her, she certainly has history in this neighborhood. So why does she have that painful look in her eyes?

I want to know. I wish to know. But would she let me?

A/N: What do you guys think of this chapter? Would you like to see more of this story? Or is it better if I just drop it?