Okay, I want to get something clear here. I have not actually played any LoZ games-don't hate! However, I have, out of curiosity, watched about five or more Let's Plays and walkthroughs on youtube. I plan on getting Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword for myself really soon. Please enjoy-new chapters will come about as often as my other stories.
I got up from my nap in the park and sighed.
"Well, another day, another boring weekend wasted," I muttered to myself. I pulled my green (my favorite color, thank you very much) hooded jacket on, as it was starting to get cold out. Heading home, with my hands in my pockets, I shivered. The sun was going doing, and nights in Hyrule were cold that time of year. If I hurried, I could make it to Grandma's before—shoot. The gangs came out.
There aren't many in our town, but you're the luckiest person in the world if you've got a town without even two of them in the world. Of course, my neighborhood doesn't have any—it's just between the park and my house, there are a few shady areas that I try to avoid at dark. But I fell asleep. Again. So in my mind as I walked quickly past was this: idiot you are so dead why did you fall asleep again you know that grandma will kill you if you come home hurt and robbed and unable to tell who it was because that's what happened last time and these are the same guys and shoot shoot shoot shoot they're following me! I did the most reasonable thing then. I rounded a corner and passed through a shortcut between buildings and slipped into the truck bed of some guy's pickup. I pressed myself into the side of it and pulled my hood tight around my face, making myself as small as possible and hopefully they wouldn't see me. I heard their voices some distance away following the sidewalk.
"Hey, where'd he go?" asked one.
"We already got him once, guys, he probably didn't have anything anyway," huffed another. Then the low growl of their leader—for only a leader would tell them to do anything—spoke.
"He's a sneaky one, always running away. I'll get him at school tomorrow and have some fun—maybe you guys can join in!" I nearly gasped. At school? That could only mean their leader was Gavin Sarif, the guy who had been rumored to strangle his pets when he was young, a skill which he had quickly transferred to my friends and I when school started.
"Anyway, it's not like he's the one I'm looking for. Only I wonder . . . perhaps it's time I told you why I call us Din's Powers. You see, there's an old story my uncle—yeah, the one that killed the Hylian veteran—told me. There's this ancient crown passed down by the members of the royal family even to this day that gives the wearer any wish they desire. How idiotic, you're probably thinking that too. But then he told me how it goes with the legends and folklore of the Hero of Time, the Evil King, and the legendary princess. Old records have been translated and retranslated over the years, but still there's a possibility that it's actually true—nothing supports the fact that it's not! And I have an idea. I know where it might be. Even if the wish thing isn't real, it's got to be worth millions!" His goons shouted and hooted a cheer. I shivered involuntarily at his bellowing laughter. It was insane. Magic powers? The Hero of time? Those were just stories. I waited for their footsteps to fade away before getting back to Grandma's.
Of course she scolded me for coming late, but I assured her I just fell asleep in the park.
"Really? You sleep a lot, Link, so I think I ought to keep you awake for a bit to talk. Allie is too young to stay up late, but seeing as you already sleep during the day . . . I think you ought to hear about our family history. Tomorrow you start school at Hyrule High—a boarding school that your parents had me know that they wanted you two to go to. Going to this school will mean that you will be away for some time, without many opportunities for visits, so now's the best time to tell you this story."
"Grandma? Are you sure? It is kind of late, for you too. And I don't have to go to Hyrule Castle High. I mean, I don't want you to be alone . . . and I can just go to the public school . . . I don't mind," I said.
"Nonsense. Now, here is the story as I know it. There are three treasures of our family passed down and preserved by a magic seal for years—don't interrupt about the magic! This is how I was told it as well!—hundreds of years in fact. Do you know why Link is your name, and why some in our family also have that name?" I shook my head.
"That was the name of one of the greatest figures in all of history, your direct ancestor, Link—the Hero of Time, the Hero of Winds, the Blue-Eyed Beast, and probably the most well-known hero throughout time. Of course, these were different Links, but one in particular, the Hero of Time, had three things passed down in our family. These were his tunic and hood, his first shield, and the Ocarina of Time. When they come of age, the firstborns of the family come to own these. Seeing as you're of age, going off on your own . . . I'm giving them to you," she said. I was shocked.
"But, I—this is an honor, Grandma, but—what if someone steals them? And are we really descended from the Hero of Time himself?" My mind repeated Gavin's words of the crown, how it related to the Hero of Time.
"I'm not—it is your mother that was a descendant as well, bless her soul, and not my son—but you are, through and through. Why, you even resemble some of the pictures of the hero. You're a good boy Link. I trust you. And they won't be stolen, believe me." I pushed back a strand of my light hair hanging in my eyes.
"Thank you, Grandma," I said solemnly, and I hugged her. Then I asked if I could see them for myself. She brought me up to the attic and opened up an old chest. The first thing I noticed was the shield, as it was the bulkiest item on top. It was silver with a blue background and three golden triangles in the center—a family crest, I presumed.
Then I lifted it and put it on my arm, marveling at the fact that ages ago, the Hero of Time himself had this shield. Then I looked, and there was the Ocarina of time.
"The songs that the Hero used on the Ocarina have been lost, just like the details of his stories," said Grandma sadly.
"But still! This is the actual ocarina! And this is the tunic?" I asked, picking it up. It was a soft, light outfit, but the material felt stretchy and clean—like it had just been made. Maybe it had preserved by magic after all. Stranger things have happened. Like the guy on the news running into the street proclaiming that someone was after him and he'd been robbed just so he could get a ride home from the police. Yeah, that happened. Luckily, it was in Termina, not in Hyrule's central towns, because that place . . . well, it sure made more sense. People from Clock Town, the capital of Termina, were crazy. (A/N: That happened. For real. In my town. I'm dead serious. People in my town are crazy. Even me at times—though not that type of crazy. Moving on!)
"Where exactly will I keep this stuff in my dorm room?" I asked. She laughed.
"You decide, honey. I'm not to coddle you anymore—you're of age. Just take care of yourself and stay out of trouble." I nodded. I wish I hadn't made that promise, because I broke it before I even got there—that's right. On the bus.
I'd managed to hold on to all of my luggage without it all rolling down the hill past the bus. Then I dragged it on, and sat in one of the first few seats so I wouldn't have to crawl over a bunch of people to get out when we were there. I still had my backpack with me so I wouldn't be totally bored in case no one talked with me—I had snacks, my DS, a notebook, my phone, a water bottle, and a book if I wanted to read it. Allie got it for me, so I took it more to remind me of her than to read it. But still, I might look through it—it's a copy of Children's Tales of the Hero of Time. The cartoonish faces were embarrassing, but I traced my finger over the cover—a picture of an ancient painting done by a master of the hero himself. He was obviously bored by the look in his eyes, as he must have been in that epic pose for hours, his arm holding a replica of the Master Sword cramping from staying so high and so still. I snickered to myself, imagining a kid like me.
I can't feel my arm anymore! Are we almost done? I chuckled. Luckily, I was the only one on so far and the driver was, well, driving, so no one would think I was insane. Our next stop led us through a few neighborhoods that I'd never been to. Five kids got on—two girls, three guys. I froze in my seat staring at the book as one of the guys brushed past me, and I tried not to be seen. He sat in back with another, fidgety, pale one with a shaved head. The first one had tanned skin and unnaturally orange spikes of hair. He was tall, buff, and wore clothes like a stereotypical biker. Yes, it was none other than Gavin himself. Another guy sat down in the seat next to me, and the two girls behind me. The guy was tall and skinny, with light blonde hair that hung over one of his eyes. The other, which was visible, was a reddish brown color. He wore a plain navy shirt, with black pants and a light gray jacket with a collar. He smiled at me good-naturedly.
"Hi. I'm Shane Lions." When he offered his hand, I shook it.
"I'm Link Farores." The two girls then leaned over the back of my seat.
"I'm Shane's sister Ella," said the first. She had brown hair in a braid that went down the left side of her face to just past her shoulders. She had bright blue eyes and was wearing a t-shirt and jeans from what I could see. (Think of Kaylee-don't know if I spelled that right and don't care for this little note-from Quest for Camelot)The other girl had hair that suspiciously reminded me of Gavin. But she smiled playfully, not cruelly.
"And I'm Mia. The thug in the back is my cousin and his jittery friend is unable to speak more than one syllable without stuttering, so I think his name is Z-z-acher-ry b-but j-just call h-him Z-Z-zach," she said, "But they both should be avoided at all costs. Both of them ought to have a record, but they never get caught," she continued in a whisper.
"Believe me, I know. I went to—I guess I still go to—school with Gavin. Sarif is his last name, right?" I asked.
"Yup. But my last name's Twili—thank goodness, I don't want any connection to that . . . ugh," she decided, since there obviously weren't words to describe him.
"Well, your hair . . ." said Ella bravely, "Does have the same color as his."
"It's the one genetic thing that's cool about him that we share. Other than that, he's a gross, violent, evil scumbag—and I'm not," she concluded. Shane chuckled.
"Mia, I think I will enjoy this school year with you around. It'll lighten the mood. So Link. What's up? Where are you from? Got anything interesting about your life?" I thought for a minute.
"Well, I live with my grandmother and my sister. Gavin hates my guts. I live on 733 Kokiri Lane. Last night my grandma gave me old artifacts of my family and told me I'm descended from the Hero of Time himself." I pointed at the picture. They all leaned over to look.
"Hey, Link, he looks like you a bit. Bet if you had the outfit, you could pass off as the Hero himself. Of course, you'd need the sword and shield, maybe the ocarina too . . . 'course, that would be too awesome if those were the artifacts you got . . . no way . . ." Shane said as my face lit up. Then I leaned back.
"Well, minus the sword, I've got it all," I said to him and the girls only. By now more kids had come on, and the bus was nearly full. I didn't want anyone else to hear—what if they got thieving ideas?—but I figured that these guys at least could be trustworthy friends. Ella looked at me appraisingly.
"You know, Link, I think you ought to wear the outfit to the Halloween dance when that comes around. Maybe get a Master Sword replica to boot. Plenty of people use the fake store bought ones, but sure enough, the real thing has to be cool. Plus, you never know . . . someone might dress as the wise princess herself . . ." she raised her eyebrows suggestively. I turned red, and Shane laughed with Mia at me. I thought fast.
"You wouldn't be thinking of that yourself? I don't blame you; who wouldn't want all this?" I said pompously, flexing my lack of muscles with a ridiculous expression on my face. Ella now turned red with embarassment and annoyance and Mia snorted.
"Link, you are so deluded," she chuckled.
"What, you want a piece of me too?" I joked. She stuck out her tongue in a grossed-out face.
"Eeeew!" I laughed. Finally, we were there. Hyrule Castle High.
According to most people, this was, originally, the royal castle of Hyrule. The paintings of the royal family had been moved to either the vaults in the hidden cellar or the museums throughout the land—at least, that's what textbooks say. The only artifact that remains open to the public and the students is the statues in the foyer of the Hero of Time, his princess, and the evil king. They stood in three corners of the hall. I never saw a picture, but even if I had, it wouldn't have prepared me.
The headmaster, who wore a suit with a red tie, had a kind face as he walked out of the stained-glass doors down the steps. The building was ginormous, made of dark stones, and what had once been a moat was filled with packed dirt and flowers. There was no drawbridge.
"Welcome, freshman, to Hyrule Castle High! I am Headmaster Lions, and I will be taking you through our halls to your dorms. Does everyone have everything they need?" he asked. Silence. Did he really think a bunch of freshmen were going to ask for help? Or did he think that we knew how clueless we all were and wanted to prove it?
"Then off we go!" he seemed pretty nice, if a little overenthusiastic. Though his last name seemed familiar. I looked over at Shane and Ella grimacing when I realized . . . he must have been their dad or uncle or something.
"Now, here is the foyer. We come here to introduce guests and I often find that people like to just relax and enjoy time together here." The foyer was huge—at first glance, you'd almost think it was larger than the outside. Gilded walls and marble columns and floors dominated the area, along with sleek white stairs leading to either side. One staircase had a statue of the Evil King erected before it—a cruel face and a long, flowing cloak were the things I noticed first. It was made of a black stone and shone brilliantly. His hand was clenched in a fist, and a symbol—three triangles, one darker than the others—was on it. On the other end, there was a crystalline statue of rose quartz in the shape of the princess. Her long hair and skirt flowed back as if in the wind, her hands drawing a bow aimed at the king. She too, had the same symbol, with a different triangle more indented. And in between the two staircases, there was no doubt the most impressive statue: the Hero of Time. It was white marble, life size, holding his shield behind him and his sword before him as though he were leading an army into battle. His hand was turned, so I couldn't see if he had the mark or not. The same symbol, though, was shown on the tile floor.
Like the picture, I could only imagine the long hours of holding still. Though, perhaps, this time he was more disciplined than the picture, because the eyes didn't look half-closed and bored.
All right, first the picture, now this. Can't I take the night off? I didn't chuckle this time, but grinned to myself, because it was quiet and that would have been awkward as Headmaster Lions was directing us through the halls. We passed through corridors and he showed us the courtyard and the lunch room—dubbed the "great hall" because of its original name. Then we were taken through the different wings for different subjects, and were given a copy of the dress code, handbook, our schedules, a map of the school, and our dorm assignments. I was on the bottom floor—three guys per room, three girls in the girls' dorms. I ended up with none other than Shane and some guy named Kevin who turned out to be all right. His girlfriend, Angie, was rooming with Ella and Mia.
"They say that whoever dresses up as the Hero of Time the best on the Halloween dance gets to go down to the hidden cellar with his choice of girls," he said as he was taking his stuff to his dresser.
"Link gets to go down with Ella then. He has the real outfit," I thought I heard Shane murmur, but if he said it or not, Kevin didn't hear. Kevin was a short guy with purple hair in a long style—pretty wild, but I figured, considering he was from Clock Town, it wasn't abnormal at all. He put a picture of a girl and him—I presumed Angie—at his bedside table. Our dorm was about the size of a really large hotel room or a really small apartment—right in between. It fit, though, because Shane was really neat and had few possessions with him, and so was I, so that made up for Kevin dumping his suitcase all over his bed et cetera.
"Look, let's go down to the courtyard. We don't have any classes today so we can just hang out," suggested Shane. Kevin and I agreed. We ended up meeting Ella, Mia, and Angie there—along with Gavin and a couple of his goons on the other end.
"Hey, Ella," I said, plopping down on the ground next to her feet. Angie turned out to be a plain girl with red hair and freckles.
"Hi, Link. Has Kevin driven you two crazy yet?" asked Angie, ruffling her boyfriend's hair.
"Nah. He just told us an interesting story though," commented Shane. Kevin repeated the story.
"I heard it from my older brother, who just graduated, so it could be true," he said.
"Well, that's an easy win. That is, if Link can get his hands on the Master Sword as well as the other stuff he has," said Ella with a grin. I then explained to Kevin and Angie about my wonderful costume. I rolled my eyes at the idea of the Master Sword though.
"No way! I'd be put into prison for even setting foot in the Temple of Time—you know no one can go there unless they can prove their reason and clearance."
"Blah, blah, blah. So, who's going to be the lucky spirit maiden princess if you do win?" asked Mia. I thought.
"One of you two," I said, "depending on who had the better costume," I granted. Mia looked disgusted.
"Okay, I won't go as her. I was thinking more . . . dark . . . like the Twilight Princess . . ."
"Isn't that the same person?"
"No! The other one! From the Twilight Realm herself!"
"Oh. Her. I guess it would be Ella if she had a good costume on," I said. I would have rather gone with Ella anyway.
"Please. Like I'm going to look impressive next to an actual descendant of the Hero of Time himself," she said. I frowned; she was a lot better looking than I am—looks of the Hero of Time or no.
"Never mind." We talked about home a bit, and then went back to our dorms. I couldn't sleep, so I began pacing on the patio that our room had—carefully designed so that if you tried to get out past it in the dark, you'd be caught in an instant. I didn't mind; I just needed the fresh air. I heard voices from my right and froze, listening. It was Gavin, Zachary, and someone else I didn't know, but I recognized the voice from the night in the pickup truck.
"Now listen to me boys: the crown is hidden in the cellar of the castle. All we have to do is sneak in when they open it up. If we aren't careful, it'll trigger itself and we could end up in another time—it may be just as story, but I'm not taking any chances, got it?" Two grunts.
"Good. Now, that's not until Halloween, so we'll work out the details until then. The all school Olympics are going to start a week beforehand and end the day before, so we can work on conquering the idiots who think they belong here." The repressed chuckles froze me in place until finally they went away—these guys were scary. I went back inside and fell asleep.
How did I do, guys? Please let me know. I will have the next chapter up soon, hopefully.
Signed,
-F-L-U-T-E-*-*-*-C-H-I-C-K-