This is originally not my story. Now before you turn away I will tell you I did not steal it. He quit his account and put his story's up for grabs. Please enjoy

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Legend of Zelda.

I could hear the silence whispering to me. Most days I would just ignore it, but was it just my imagination or was it growing louder… Well, it could be either. Talen insisted the sounds were just in my head, or that they were a byproduct of my heritage.

I'm Hylian you see. Probably even a full blooded one. I have blond hair, which Mari insists is actually "golden." I have fairly pale skin and yes, I do spend quite a bit of time outside thank you very much! I also have blue eyes. Mari likes to go on about how they remind her of liquid pools. She teases me that she can see fish swimming around in them. Talen describes Mari as being a wee bit eccentric. It's the polite way of saying insane I guess. He and Mari are close, so being polite pays off. That and she cleans his socks. Never anger the woman in charge of your laundry. It is not a pretty sight and you will lose.

But Mari, despite all her "eccentricities" never teases me about my ears. They are the biggest give away about my heritage, being long and pointy, and all. And I am kinda sensitive about them. It's not easy being the only kid on the block; scratch that, the only kid in the entire city with pointy ears. Though they are functional at least. I could hear what everyone was calling me no matter how quietly they whispered. And boy, did they whisper.

Talen's a human you see. He's my Dad. He's my Dad in every way that matters anyway. So I guess Mari is like a Mom, or at least a crazy Aunt to me. Talen used to be a knight for Queen Ambi and her mother, before she died. He quit so he could go see the world. When he came back to the city he was carrying me. Apparently it caused quit a scandal. There's a little tension between Hyrule and Labrynna. Something political happened and everyone was political about it which means no one got over it and it is now civic duty to make everyone who falls into the "them" category as uncomfortable as possible. Procreating with the enemy apparently doesn't count. Not that Talen did, mind you. Well, I'm not his anyway. Not like that. … This is really awkward…anyway…

So vicious rumors floated through the city like algae on a pollute pond. And, like algae, they soon strangled themselves and died off. But as I got older a few of them resurfaced. My favorite involves a witch with a beard made from all the hair that bald men have lost. It's actually quit creative. But most of them weren't. They were mostly just nasty filth. So the townsfolk whispered nasty filth late at night when they were home alone. Which meant that their children bellowed it at noon as loud as they could.

As you may have inferred, I did not exactly have a lot of friends. For certain I had none that were of my own age. Talen's friends were my friends. They often dropped by the bar Talen started up. He had quite the fortune, which undoubtedly was part of the reason rumor turned so vicious. So he bought a building, gave it a good ol' spit shine and viola, the Midnight Angel was founded. It was soon the favorite haunt of all his old friends, which meant that it was soon the favorite haunt of all the Queen's men. Talen even gives out free drinks if someone brings him interesting enough news. Apparently he used to do the same when someone was willing to watch me.

Poor Talen. He was definitely not prepared to have kids. He is not exactly the parenting type. He always wanted to be a knight, even as a little kid, so he got a job under Queen Junna and worked. He was probably fifteen when he was hired. He was thirty-two when he found me. I doubt he had even held a baby before that, never mind being saddled with the responsibility of raising one. I was around one when he found me.

My official unofficial birthday, named courtesy of Mari, falls on the day the bar was established. I think Talen might have named it after my Mom, but I never asked him about it. He'll tell me when he thinks I'm ready. The only connection I have with her is a necklace Talen said she had with her. It's actually rather expensive, so I don't tend wear it. Instead it is in a pouch I keep tucked in my hat. I always wear my hat. It hides my ears. But the necklace, as best I can tell (believe it or not, I'm actually fairly talented at that sort of thing) it seems to be a ruby triangle set upon a sapphire triangle and an emerald triangle, with only the corners touching, just like the Triforce. Talen told me it probably uses magic to hold the pieces together. Otherwise the stones would sit is a frame of some sort. It also sits on a gold chain. I've never gotten it appraised. As valuable as it is, I would still die before I sold it.

Though I might go mad before I do that. The whispering is driving me mental. I've been hearing it for a few weeks. A few weeks of silent hisses and scrapes. I told Talen about it a few times, but he either laughs or checks me for a fever. I like Mari, but if I told her she'd probably tell me it's my sadness escaping out my ears. And everyone else in town would as soon as burn me as a witch as listen to any problem I could have, and if I told them this they probably would. Burning to death is low on my to do list.

So I stayed quiet, am staying quiet. Most times it just fades to the background. But tonight it just won't go away. I sigh, noting how my noise doesn't even dent the din I hear coming from the darkness. Taking a deep breath I turn to head inside. It was my night to take out the slops and I tend to dawdle. I like to look at the stars and think. Talen's used to it by now. If the customers left when told, he's probably already in bed.

I lean my head against the door, feeling the smooth mahogany under my brow and the prickly rope of the slop bucket in my hand, willing silence to my mind or the shadows. I really am starting to not care if I'm crazy. I just want silence. So I concentrate on not hearing, just feeling. The wind is slight and warm. The ground is a little soft, it rain a few hours ago. I can even feel my shirt hanging off me. I can feel everything, including the fingers that have just wrapped themselves around my neck.

So? Shall I continue or leave you in suspense. Review please.

Axel18