Chapter 1

This has been one of many stories that have been lying around waiting to be created, but finally it has come to light. I must warn you though, this will be my most mature fiction (just barely tame enough to remain T actually), as you will see from the get-go, so please read with discernment.

"The end of another long night…" Zelda said in exhaustion as she collapsed onto an old couch, clouds of dust flying into the air when she did so. At 17 years old, she had a lot more to deal with then the average teenager.

To start with, her drinking father had left when she was only five. Ever since, she and her kind loving mother lived in a tiny bottom floor apartment, set in a very run down part of town. It wasn't uncommon to hear several gunshots throughout the day, or to see a bag of drugs lying in an alleyway.

Zelda sat up and reached into her jeans pocket, pulling out a couple twenty dollar bills. "Well, at least I got a little more money then usual tonight." Her mother worked as a cashier in a local grocery store, which had provided just enough pay for the rent and food. As for school however, Zelda's distant grandparents from her mother's side graciously sent a check each month for the fees. However, even that wasn't financially sound now.

"Ugh, another headache." Heading for the beaten down bathroom, the brunette opened the medicine cabinet and popped a couple ibuprofen pills into her hand. Taking a cup sitting on the sink, she filled it with water and downed the medicine in one gulp. She had been getting more headaches lately due to her new, "job" of sorts.

Last year, the company that owned the store Zelda's mom worked for made some budget cuts, and unfortunately she was among the ones that got a smaller salary. Zelda had tried to find a new job herself to compensate, but either she couldn't find any, or they didn't pay enough to help much. So she turned to one of the only lucrative occupations a girl could get in this part of town: prostitution.

Zelda laid herself back down on the dusty couch, cringing in pain as she did. "Figures that I ended up with someone rough, again…" Her mother didn't know about her nightly escapades, and she wanted to keep it that way. When her mother asked about where she worked at all night, Zelda had simply said: "At a McDonalds." While she hated to lie, Zelda did not want to add another burden on her mother's shoulders so she kept the dark secret to herself.

"Honey, I'm home!" It was Zelda's mother; when she came though the door, Zelda immediately felt a pang of sympathy. Her poor mom looked like she hadn't slept for a week, with big bluish purple bags hanging down from her exhausted eyes. And yet, she still wore a bright smile despite it all.

"Hey mom, how was your day?" Grabbing her mom's heavy purse, the brunette helped her sit down on the sofa

"Oh just fine sweetie, just fine. Only…"

"What?" Zelda asked with her blue eyes slightly widened; she didn't like the despairing appearance on her mother's face.

"They are starting to lay off some of the workers."

"D-don't tell me you…" the teen trailed off. She didn't dare say what fear was running though her mind.

"Got fired? No, no. Although with how things have been going lately, I don't know what's going to happen in the long run."

Zelda felt her headache coming back. "Well, it's late. I'm going to bed." In reality, the teen barely slept most of the time, but she didn't want to talk about the uncertain future that lay in store for the both of them.

"Alright honey." Leaning forward, she lightly kissed Zelda on the forehead, just like she had always done for as long as the teen could remember.

When her mother retreated to the only bedroom, Zelda lied back down on the filthy couch. "If mom loses her job, what are we going to do?" Many other questions floated in her mind as she slowly drifted off into a light slumber.

The Next Day

"It must be late spring I guess." Zelda noted as she walked down the road towards her school. From what few trees were around, the teen noticed the leaves on them started to grow larger, showing the approaching onset of summer. And yet even with this sign of new life, Zelda couldn't help but feel depressed as she strolled though the desperate community. "I wonder what this place was like 20 years ago?" she said to herself as she went under a road bridge covered in graffiti. Many of the buildings she passed were boarded up, giving off a lonely aura as they rotted and broke down in the continuation of time. What few places that were still open have heavy black iron bars on the windows due to the alarming crime rate, making them seem more like prisons then stores.

After another ten minutes of walking, Zelda finally reached the school. As was the rest of the town, the building was in shambles, with broken windows, holes in the walls and ceiling, and the ever present graffiti. Almost reaching the door, the brunette noticed a small white flower growing out of a crack in the pavement just a stone's throw away from her. Walking over, she bent down to pick it, but just before she could, a big shoe crushed it like an ant. Glancing up, Zelda quickly changed her expression from confused to annoyed.

"Hey babe, how has your new "job" been going?" It was Snake, flanked by his cohorts, Falcon and Ike. They all wore the same attire; black shirts with black jeans and shoes.

Zelda cringed at this remark. Everyone in school knew about her nightly outings, and not surprisingly they all treated her like trash. "That's none of your business Snake."

"Oh really?" the older teen said creepily as she stood right in front of her. "Then how about you give me some of your business…" With that he reached behind and grabbed Zelda's rear end.

"Get off me!" Zelda screamed. Slapping him hard in the face, she quickly regretted doing so.

"Why you little brat!" Snake yelled.

Zelda felt a sharp pain on her shoulder as Snake's balled fist smashed into it. With a silent yelp, she fell to the concrete with a resounding thud.

"That should teach you! Nobody slaps Snake in the face!"

"Yeah, nobody slaps Snake in the face!" Falcon chimed in.

"Next time, I won't be so easy on you, whore." With that he and Falcon stomped off into the building, while Ike stayed by Zelda's side.

"Need a lift?" Ike said while offering his hand.

Zelda gratefully accepted and hauled herself back on her feet. "Why do you hang around with those jerks anyway Ike?"

The blue-haired teen just shrugged. "Protection I suppose. If I stay by Snake's side, I'm relatively safe."

"Yeah well, that guy is dangerous. I don't think you should hang out with him."

"Oh what's this, you're worried about me?" Ike said playfully while batting his eyelashes.

"Knock it off!" But Zelda still smiled. She and Ike had been friends ever since they were little. He was like the big brother she never had. He was always there for her when she needed a shoulder to cry on, or when she needed something to laugh about. But since he joined with Snake last winter, Zelda has been concerned about him.

"Well, I guess we should head off for class now eh?" Ike said while running a hand though his indigo hair.

Zelda stared into the blue orbs that the other teen possessed. "He always seems so at ease, no matter the situation. I wish I could be like that." Shaking out of her thoughts, she rolled her eyes. "Sure, I'm not really looking forward to another boredom session, but at least we've only got two more days left!"

"Now if only we can get Mr. Dragmire to change his hairstyle…"

They both laughed at this joke. Mr. Dragmire, one of the teachers, was known for his choice of ridiculous appearances.

They were still laughing as they came to the entrance, but just before they walked in the door, Zelda doubled over in pain.

"What? What's wrong?" Ike asked in concern.

"Oh it's…it's nothing." "Man that guy last night was rougher then I thought…"

Ike immediately knew what the cause was. "You had another bad night didn't you?"

Zelda simply nodded. While Ike did know about her prostitution secret, he didn't dogmatically object to it since he also knew her reasoning behind doing so. But he also still didn't like the fact that she was going though such abuse.

"Here, let's just get you to a seat." Slinging one of Zelda's arms over his shoulders, Ike helped her walk to the classroom.

Zelda looked up to the bluenette's face with gratitude, a tear forming in her eye. "I'm so lucky to have him as my friend; I hope to never leave him."

And there you are; the first chapter of "Peaceful". For some reason, I just felt like writing something that wasn't all happy-go-lucky and darker then the simple "Burdens and Sorrows" so I came up with this story. So with that said, I hope you like it so far, because this is new ground for me when it comes to writing, since I'm more into humor.