Street Rat
By Springborn
Author's Note: My first time making a Legend of Zelda forum so any help would be appreciated and criticism is good but no flames. It is M-Rated for guts, blood, horror, sexual themes.
Prologue
Hannah's POV
It was the typical boring Thursday morning at home, my cardboard box. Yes, I lived in a cardboard box, so sue me. Anyway, I've been living on the streets for as long as I can remember since I ran away from the Elf Orphanage (Don't ask me why they called it that). I'm 18 now, and living on the streets isn't exactly glamorous, obviously. I never know when my next meal is or if the police are eventually going to pick me up. Anyway, I'm straying from the real story here.
The sun shone particularly bright that day. I wore my usual dirty tank top, shorts, socks and old tennis shoes, the only clothes I had, and went out walking, trying to figure out where to get breakfast. I usually steal it from café's or small restaurants when no one is looking. It took me about an hour and half, but I finally scored a bagel and coffee and ran away before the waiter had time to see me. My brown hair was a bit mussed up from the wind, and it was also pretty snarly since I couldn't be able to wash it until the next time it would eventually rain, but it couldn't be helped.
"Hey, Sparky!" Announced an annoying voice that I knew all too well coming from behind me as I was just finished drinking the last of the coffee. I then turned to see Amber, a tall burly teenager with a green mullet stalking up towards me, her black squinty eyes shining with the usual malice towards me. Amber's clothes were terrible, low cut and short, showing off her gigantic breasts and muscles. I could swear she was taking steroids.
"What is it, Timber?" I asked with disinterest, tossing the empty coffee cup away. Amber sneered at me when I used the nickname for her that I knew for a fact she despised. "Well, I guess I won't tell you now," she said venomously, her thin lips curling into a grin. "You wouldn't be interested.
I gave her a blank look. "You're right, I wouldn't," I replied and shrugged, ready to just get on with my day, preferably without her. This was how things always worked between me and Amber. She usually had news that she would withhold until either I begged to know or she'd try to pummel me into oblivion, but rarely succeeding. I was always too quick on my feet and nimble for her hulky form. I turned away, looking at the busy street filled with people and cars, counting the minutes till she inevitably caved.
"The Toadstool Book store has the new Legend of Zelda book: Hyrule Historia!" Amber blurted out, her face red with anger. I snickered inwardly, but I have to admit, she did have my interest. I loved Legend of Zelda; I always had ever since I got to play the first game back at the orphanage. I loved the characters, the stories behind each game, the places to go and the monsters. My favorite character was Link of course. I always thought he was a handsome and interesting character.
"And there's only one copy left in the whole bookstore," she continued as I came back to the world of the living. "Want to make a bet?" She smirked. I eyed her warily. "What kind of bet?" I asked, more than a little wary of what a troublemaker like her could've possibly had in mind.
"Whoever steals the book first, the loser will have to leave town," Amber said, her eyes twinkling mischievously. I watched her, knowing she had something up her sleeve. As the old saying goes 'No honor among thieves'. I didn't answer and Amber laughed, flipping her green-dyed hair behind her shoulder, as if savoring the victory already.
"You scared, Sparky?" she taunted. Snorting a bit, I gave her a confident if not snarky grin. "Not at all." I said. "So, when does this take place?" As much as I hated the girl, I loved the challenges she always gave me though. Well, most of them anyway.
Amber snickered. "Now!" she said as she raced down the road towards the bookstore. I rolled my eyes to the sky and ran after her, keeping up easily since I had what people called an athletic build. Amber glared at me as I sped up a bit, matching her in strides as we went past people, turning the corners of sidewalks and pushing past more crowds of people. Amber loved to play dirty, so it was at that moment she went and slammed her shoulder into me, sending me crashing against a group of hoity-toity, fancy-dressed people that cried out in alarm and in anger. I murmured apologies and raced after that bitch of a thundering tank, more than a little irritated.
Amber laughed as she ran, unaware that I was right behind her till I ran past her, ignoring her gasp of surprise as I raced into the bookstore. I had to find the book before she did. I searched through the throngs of people, ignoring the looks I was getting as I looked through each aisle till I finally hit the jackpot. The green book was on the top shelf and I cursed silently for being only five feet tall. The gold lettering and designs on the book shone brightly in the light, almost as if taunting me. It was a thick book with a dark green earthy color to it. As I reached for it to the point I could barely reach it with my fingertips, the book for some reason started to…hum? I blinked in shock and looked around, wondering if anyone else had heard it. None of them acted as if they did hear the humming. Not even the people right next to me; there was no reaction to it. I guess they figured it was a bug in the room or something.
Frowning, I looked up at the book again as it continued to hum. I was getting a really weird feeling from it as I got a stool and reached for the book. My hand was a few inches away from it as my fingertips felt actual warmth from it. The book was pulsating with warmth and with it was a sense of security that I hadn't felt in years. I gingerly picked the book up from the shelf and held it against my chest; the warmth growing more and the humming suddenly giving way to a melodic type of whisper. By then, I was feeling nervous and wondered if I was actually going crazy. Since when could any book do that? The warmth was that of a caress, something truly calming and soothing, as if it knew I was coming for it. Had it been waiting for me? I ran my hand over the cover, feeling the indents of the words and strained my ears, trying to understand the whispers till I heard a sudden commotion behind me. It was Amber and her newly arrived thugs. I had been wondering what had taken THEM so long to show up. Holding the book to my chest, I ran towards the back of the room, heading for the exit. The store clerks yelled out after me as I kicked open the door and ran out. I couldn't go back to my cardboard box, knowing that Amber and maybe the police would find me there.
Running down sidewalks, across roads and people's backyards, I finally found a place to stay. It was an abandoned toy factory. I definitely recognized the place; it had been shut down for years after the owner went bankrupt a few years before I was born. There was an opening in the chain-link fence that had been cut away by some kids who dared each other to go into the place, mainly for laughs and rumors that the place was haunted. I pushed away the old tires and wooden boards and slipped through the opening. I stopped, panting a bit as I took in air. My lungs had been screaming at me for the last ten minutes to breathe, but running for the hills makes that a little hard.
The door to the factory was wide open, revealing the darkness inside. Walking around slowly, I used the light of the outside to guide me to a small section of clean floor and sat down, placing the warm book on my lap. I ran my hand over it again and the book grew warmer still, as if reacting to my touch. The whisper then came again; the unspoken words comforted me and left me with a sense of calm. But it was during that calmness that I was reminded of how alone I really was, and a tear ran down my cheek as I smiled sadly, my vision blurring a bit with tears. The tear landed on the book and the gold circle with the swirls and designs suddenly started to glow brighter. My eyes naturally grew wide in shock at this. "What the hell?" This was getting more than a little freaky, even for me. I know how it goes: the heroine places her hand on a glowing object, and the next thing she knows, she finds herself in a foreign land.
I couldn't help but think a bit as I stared at the book for a few more minutes until I eventually just shrugged my shoulders. "Oh what the hell?" I placed my hand on the book, eyes closed as I waited, and waited, and waited. I didn't hear any whooshing sound or some creaking sound that would come from a portal opening like I expected there to be, and raised a brow in confusion and in, I have to admit, disappointment. "Well, there's goes that theory," I muttered. Sighing, I opened the book to see Links angular face and felt my heart beat speed up a bit. I know, weird, right? Yeah, I have a crush on a fictional character, but I couldn't help it. I loved those blue eyes of his, and his pointed ears looked adorable on him. I ran a finger over the picture, smiling. As I flipped to the next few pages, I saw the incredible art and sketches of different characters, characters I also wouldn't have minded meeting.
I yawned then, tired for some odd reason as my eyes grew heavy as if there were sandbags on them, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep, drifting into dreamland...or so I thought.
The sounds of birds singing and animals scurrying around were what woke me up. I couldn't help but grunt a bit as I shifted from lying on my side and now lay on my back. The sun shone in my face, making me squint my eyes in irritation. Blinking slowly, I sat up and yawned, looking around and frowned a bit once I noticed something. This place didn't look familiar to me at all. I was surrounded by trees, and a lot of them. "Where the hell am I?" I wondered out loud, not expecting an answer.
"You there!" someone called, and suddenly the sound of hooves came. I turned to see a group of horseback riders coming my way. By the insignias on the shields, I knew they were royalty and gasped a bit when I saw two people I instantly knew. Both were blond and blue eyed, one male and one female. The female was none other than Princess Zelda. I could tell by her intricate pink dress, gold circlet around her forehead and gold shoulder guards. I turned to look at the male and it was none other than Link, looking handsome in his green clothing. His blue eyes met my hazel ones as I jumped to my feet, suddenly afraid.
"Easy, we're not going to hurt you," Link said calmly, eyeing my clothes with confusion. Funny, for a split second I couldn't help but be amazed. Link could actually talk. "You're not from around here. No one shows that much skin."
"Link, who is this girl?" Zelda asked, sounding suspicious. She looked regal as she sat on her horse and I couldn't help but feel the same about her, suspicious.
"I don't know." Link replied. "Who are you? Where did you come from?" I felt like I was ready to pass out from fear and shock. I couldn't believe it! I was standing in front of Link and Zelda, but I was too busy having a panic attack to really think and found myself taking a few steps back. "We're not going to hurt you." Link looked at me with sympathy but held a guarded look.
Not answering, I spun on my feet and ran away, forgetting the book. "Hey!" Link shouted behind me, but I didn't stop, running into the woods. What was I supposed to say? 'Hey, I'm Hannah and I'm from not from your world'? Yeah, no. That wasn't going to happen. The sound of hooves was right behind me, but I didn't care. I couldn't get captured right now, so I kept running and hid behind some bramble.
"I gotta get away…" I panted, knowing I had to find a place to stay. I didn't know where I was or where I could even go, but I couldn't stay here. When everything was quiet, I left the brambles and headed down the dirt road, not knowing where I would end up, but I always did love adventure. Smiling, I made my way deeper into the forest.
To Be Continued…