*Link's P.O.V.*
"...After he took over as dictator, he started to capture Hylians in attempt to wipe out..."
'How many times have I heard this story now?' I thought as I traced the old marks on my desk with drooping eyes. The story that the teacher, Mr. Kira, was telling was the history of Graces, the village all of the Hylians in Hyrule lived in.
Just as I had started to doze off, I heard Mr. Kira's voice shout at me.
"Well, Link, since the story seems to interest you so much, why don't you finish telling it?"
The rest of the class let out a small laugh as I jolted from the sudden noise.
"Come on, stand up and finish telling it."
I sighed, stood up to avoid any more scolding, and finished the story.
The history of Graces is a sad one. A few hundred years ago, a man named Thwin overthrew the royal family of Hyrule. The king was killed while trying to protect his throne. Only the queen, her three children, and a few servants escaped. Thwin ruled for a long time and his wife bore many sons. One of them was named heir, who was called Rugo. Shortly after taking over, Rugo had heard of the legend of the hero. The Hylian man who saved Hyrule from evil every time it seemed to happen. Rugo did not want any kind of hero coming up to him, so he ordered his guards to capture as many Hylians as they could in attempt to wipe them out, specifically the royal family and hero's bloodline. Many people believe that he had accomplished this, since Hylians were never seen again after only a few years. However, what had actually happened was they all grouped together and fled from the mainland of Hyrule. Eventually, they settled in the area that is now known as the village of Graces. After a long while, Rugo had called off the search, thinking they had been long gone. After that, a group of Hylians created a merchant group to keep a steady economy. They wore dark cloaks to hide their long and pointed ears, which were the main feature of a Hylian, out of fear that there were still people hunting for Hylians. The merchants ended up doubling as spies to see what else was going on in the world. Besides the valuable merchandise, they also brought back information.
This is how we know that the current dictator is a woman known as Freja. She had no children, at least not yet. Rumor is that she had recently become engaged. We also now know that technology in Castle Town has been rapidly evolving, as the architects there were building tall, metal buildings and had lighting that wasn't provided by candle-light.
After telling the story, I sat down. Mr. Kira gave an approving nod and continued teaching.
Someone tapped my shoulder. "Link, are you there? The bell rang like a minute ago."
I snapped out of whatever I was thinking about and looked to who tapped my shoulder. It was Will, who I considered my best friend. We've known each other pretty much our whole lives.
"Yeah, I'm here." I stood up and stretched.
"What were you so lost in thought about? I poked you more than once, you know."
"Good question. I don't even remember." We left the classroom and headed towards the exit.
"I think I have a good guess." Will nudged me as we walked out the schoolhouse.
"I guarantee that your guess is wrong," I muttered.
"So, you mean to tell me you weren't thinking about Z-"
"No, I wasn't." I interrupted.
"Aw. I could have sworn you were staring at her in class. That's why you got called out by Mr. Kira, isn't it?"
"The scratches on my desk are more interesting than her."
"Ouch. That was harsh." He swung his book bag over his shoulder. "So, whatcha doing later?"
"I have training." I was currently training to be a village protector. Village protectors were people, usually men (though there were a few women every now and then), who defended the village when it was in danger. They also patrolled the village at night and doubled as law enforcers. They go through the same type of training that the knights apparently used to go through. "What about you?"
"Nothing, really. Just hanging out with Tara after I finish with my studies." Will was the complete opposite of me. Since he wasn't much of a fighter, he spent his spare time on becoming a scholar, which could take him on the route of a school teacher or a merchant. I, on the other hand, was much more interested in an action-packed lifestyle. We were even opposites in appearance and personality. While I possessed blonde hair and blue eyes, Will had thick dark brown hair that stuck up all over the place and hazel eyes. He was shorter than me as well, but I was taller than at least half of the adults here. As far as personality went, he was quite a bit more outgoing than I was.
"You should just ask her out already." I chuckled, referring to Tara.
Will shook his head. "Nah, she's totally into Russell."
"Sure, if that's what you think."
"It's true, I'm telling you. Anyway, I'll see you later." He waved and headed down the street to his house.
"Link! You didn't wait for me!"
I turned around and saw a boy running towards me. Once I realized it was my younger cousin, Dan, I gave an apology.
"Don't 'sorry' me," he retorted. "As payment, you should let me come to your training this time."
I ruffled his short brown hair playfully. "You know that's not allowed. Peter would have my head if I let you in. And so would your mother."
He fixed his hair. "But that's no fair. I should be allowed."
"You'll be allowed once you're sixteen."
"That's a whole three years from now!" He complained.
"Yes it is."
Once home, I greeted my Aunt Olah, who was washing dishes.
"Hey, Link, how was your day?" Aunt Olah quickly glanced at me before going back to washing the dishes.
"It was alright. Oh, I have training today."
"Okay, thanks for letting me know."
"Yep." I grabbed a banana and went to my room to do homework.
Like most people around my age or a little younger, my parents had died in the monster raid nine years ago. My father was a village protector, and my mother was a medicine maker. Well, actually, my father was just assumed dead since he had been missing since the monster raid. My mother, though, was dead for a fact. Since then, I had been living with my Aunt Olah and Uncle Paul. Dan was their only child. Aunt Olah had wanted more, but I have a feeling she quickly changed her mind after taking me in.
Once it was time to leave, I walked outside and towards the training facility. I waved hello to a few friends on the way there. About half-way there, however, I saw her.
Who is she?
Her name is Zelda, granddaughter of the village's mayor, Noha. I don't remember the last time we ever had a civil conversation together, if that explains our current standing with each other.
'It's quite funny how Will is always thinking I like her', I thought. 'I'd rather swallow a sword. After all, that's something that's actually possible.'
Ignoring her presence, I continued to make my way towards the training facility. Once there, and to my surprise, she was standing by the door.
'Back door it is, then.'
However, she was already there when I got there, giving me a glare. I gave an incredulous look before going back to the main entrance.
'Wait…if she's actually following me, then she'll think I'm going back to the main entrance.' With that, I turned back around and went back to the back entrance.
Yet, there she was, still standing there and glaring at me.
I sighed a long sigh and decided to just walk in, hoping she wouldn't bother me. Instead, that wasn't the case. She stepped in front of the door when I got close.
I casted an annoyed look at her. "What are you doing?"
"Believe me, if I didn't have to be here, I wouldn't be." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "My grandfather has requested your presence after you're finished with your training."
"And instead of telling me himself, he sent you? Okay, sure," I muttered sarcastically.
"I don't have the time or effort to play games with you. Either you show up or face the consequences." She gave a final glare before walking away. I let out a relieved sigh and whispered, "Finally, she left."
I walked inside and made my way to the main area of the training facility. I walked over to the weapon wall. I grabbed my wooden sword and shield and made my way to the arena and began a training session.
For me, training wasn't that difficult. The captain had even said that I was a natural swordsman. The only slight challenge was the fact that I was the only left-handed swordsman training at the current moment. I had to start off with extra practice, training with an experienced left-handed village protector first, before doing actual training with the other right-handed students.
By the time I was finished, it was almost dark outside. I was the last to leave since it was my turn for clean-up. Also by that time, I had completely forgotten about Zelda's grandfather's request. When I had walked out the door, however, she was standing outside.
"Before you even ask, I'm making sure you don't bail out."
I suddenly remembered what she was talking about. I just gave her a look, ignored her, and walked away towards home. She grabbed my arm and spun me around. "I seriously wasn't kidding. You better come with me."
"You can't force me."
"Yes, I can."
"No, you can't. Now, if you will excuse me..." Before I finished my sentence, someone else spoke.
"You'd better listen to her."
I looked in the direction of the voice, who turned out to be Zelda's older brother, Tomas. He was a rather buff man; nobody in Graces dared to go up against him in a brawl. He had also recently finished training as a protector, which made him even more intimidating.
Tomas let out a low growl. "Are you going to do what she says?"
I sighed and gave in. "Sure, whatever." I followed them to their house reluctantly, wondering what could be so important that Zelda got her brother to attack me for. I also hoped that Aunt Olah and Uncle Paul wouldn't get too worried about me.