Memories of Younger Days

Hello! This is my second story. I hope you enjoy it! It's dedicated to a friend of mine, and you'll see why if I ever finish. XD

Summary: (AU; Dark/Link; Minor Sheik/Link;) These are my memories, and how I've met people who've changed my life for the better and for the worst.

The flow of time is always cruel,

Its speed seems different for each person,

But no one can change it

A thing that doesn't change in time is memories of younger days…

-Sheik, Ocarina of Time; Minuet of Forest

Hello, my name is Link. I'm four years old since last summer and I'm going to kindergarden tomorrow! Oh wait, before I start, I should probably introduce myself better first.

As you already know, my name is Link. I'm blond with blue eyes. I'm pretty short if you compared me with the other boys in my neighborhood, but Sheik says it's because I'm younger than them.

Oh Sheik? He's my older brother! We're not really related by blood because I was adopted into the family. I have lived with him since I was two. Did you know that my mommy and daddy died when I was turning two? I don't know much about them, but people told me they were very nice. I hope that they lived a nice life and are taking breaks now. Impa, the lady who is taking care of Sheik and I, told me that the three goddesses will make sure they have a good afterlife, whatever that means. Anyway, back to Sheik. He's not adopted, but he doesn't have parents either. Well, that's what I think because he never talks about them at all! He only told me he's living with Impa and me because he didn't know his parents. I hope his parents are alive because their son is very nice to me and I want to see him happy.

Let's talk about today. Today is a very special day for me. It was the day Sheik took me to the park and I met many new friends. I was too shy to talk to them though, so I just gave them a nod and a smile. Sheik did all the talking.

I met some very nice girls today! One was a girl named Ruto, she told me her family comes from a really authentic (whatever that means) tribe named the "Zora." She also told me that the Zora people were fishes! Imagine that! Then she said her tribe helped the Hero of Time with his journey to fight the evil pigman. Now I'm starting to think Ruto's part fish too…I wonder if she is?

The next girl was Saria, she's really nice to me. She has green hair, something that's not very normal nowadays; but she said her ancestors were once something called a "Kokiri." She said that the Hero of Time lived with the Kokiri until he was ten. I don't know what a Kokiri is, though, so I will ask Sheik later about it. Saria has an ocarina, and she plays really nice songs with it. Maybe I should ask Sheik to get me an ocarina like hers someday too…

Malon was the girl after Saria. Malon told me she worked in a farm, and her mommy died when she was little. I feel bad for her, but at least she has a daddy by the name of Talon, and an uncle named Ingo. She says the horses there are really nice. I want to see them someday! Maybe when I get older because I'm scared that the horses might run me over.

The last girl was Zelda. She's really pretty too. She has blonde hair like me, and blue eyes too. Though, I think her hair is more like Sheik's color. They're a bit darker than mine; but I'm not sure, maybe I'll ask Sheik later about this. You can probably tell I ask Sheik for a lot of things I don't understand, I'll tell you why later.

Anyway, Zelda was really polite to us. She seemed to be more mature than the rest of the girls (besides Saria because she's really nice too). Oh, did I mention that her name comes from the Hero of Time's story? Her name is the same as the Princess Zelda's. People in Hyrule seems to like naming kids after stories…I don't know why, though.

I'm kind of sad because everyone there was a year older than me. I feel really young. Sheik was older than all of them, he is going to turn six this coming September. I ask him a lot of questions, and he can answer them because he's smart! He also plays an instrument called a "lyre" or was it a harp? I don't know, but it was really shiny. It was golden with strange carvings on it and there were string attached to it so Sheik could pluck them and play music with it. I love hearing him play it, but he says he's still practicing.

Oh wait! I forgot to tell you why today was special! It wasn't just because of the girls! Today was the day when I met the greatest thing that ever happened to me ever! He became my best friend and changed my life completely.

I'll tell you how I met him then.

Sheik had brought me to the swing set, and not just any swing set. It was the big kid's swing set! The ones without anything to strap you on, and you just have to sit on it and swing by yourself. Well, I'm not tall enough to swing by myself, so Sheik offered to push me. He was being really careful not to push me too high incase I let go and hurt myself. He's sometimes really caring and sometimes really cold. I never understood him.

We (or rather, I) were swinging when a boy walked by us. He had jet-black hair, and tan-ish skin. He didn't seem like he was from around here because I never met him around the block before. He seemed really disappointed, his head was hanging low and he was looking at the ground, so I couldn't see his eyes. He was walking kind of hunched up, like he had weights on his back or something. I could tell he was sad though, so I decided to comfort this new kid. Maybe I'll make a friend!

I asked Sheik to stop pushing the swing, and I hopped off. I ran over to the boy (he seemed older than me) and gave him a pat on the back. "Don't cry! The park is supposed to be a happy place!" I tried to cheer him up, but he wouldn't even look up. "Come on, let's play by the swings." I grabbed his hand and pulled him over to Sheik.

Sheik was on the swing now, and he was just sitting there. Maybe he's thinking about something important! Whatever it is, I won't bother him because if he was nice to me, I'm going to be nice in return.

The boy I dragged over was trying to run away, but I held on to him. "Leave me alone!" He yelled, pushing me away.

"I just wanted to know if you're okay." I told him. "Also, I want to be your friend."

"I don't have any friends, so just leave me alone!" He looked up. I saw that he had red eyes, just like Sheik, but his were darker. They were really pretty, but they weren't shining! That's a problem, I'm going to make him happy!

"You don't have any friends? Everyone should have a friend. How about I be your friend?" I smiled at him. He seems like a really good friend.

The boy looked at me as if I was crazy. I wonder why? "You'll be my friend? You'll make sure you're not going to be mean to me or call me names?"

I nodded. "Yup, I'm never mean to my friends. Trust me. My name is Link, by the way."

"Dark."

"Excuse me?"

"My name is Dark."

"Ooh, that's a nice name. That's better than mine." I told him. Dark, that's a pretty unique name. Well, to me it was. His name wasn't probably ripped off from the Hero of Time's. That made it somewhat unique!

Dark shook his head. "No, its not. My name was taken from the Hero of Time's shadow. Dark Link."

I never knew about that, who was this Dark Link anyways? I looked curiously at my new friend. "The Hero of Time's shadow had a name?"

"Yeah, people said he was an evil shadow that tried to kill the Hero." Dark looked sad. "I don't even know why my mother and father named me after him. Did they want their kid to be hated?"

I gave him another pat on the back. "Come on, it's probably because they thought that this 'Dark Link' was a pretty neat person! You should ask them tonight about him!"

"Ah…actually, my parents died in a plane accident when they tried to come to Hyrule. Or at least, that's what Midna told me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that…" Oops. I hope I didn't make him sad again. "My parents died as well."

Dark nodded. "I see…" He paused and then said, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"Huh?"

"You said we should play, so let's play on the swing then!"

That's how I met Dark, my best friend, and the person who changed my life for the better. During that time, I learned that Midna was the lady in charge of him. He said they get along pretty well, and that Midna was getting a good job in this town. Ah, so he was from another town. I asked about that. He told me he was from a country called Twilight, I think he said twilight means a time during the night. I'm not really sure. Dark also told me that in Twilight, they lived in a really big house, and was really rich. He didn't know why, because he said he is only five right now and he doesn't know much.

I also told him about my life, about how I'm living with Impa and Sheik. Perhaps I should tell you more about my life too?

Impa worked for Zelda's family, they are a very rich family and Impa's one of the bodyguards. Don't get me wrong, but Impa's really, really strong. Sheik's strong too, he's been taking lessons in martial arts. I don't because they said I was too young. I don't like being the youngest one, but I guess it can't be helped. Impa doesn't have much time to take care of us, she is here during dinner though. Well, sometimes she is. Sheik does some cooking, when Impa is away. I think he's really cool because he learned to take care of himself at the age of six. I wish I could be like him when I grow up too. His cooking is really good too, I can't cook. Sheik tries to teach me, but I end up cutting myself instead of the food. I guess I'm not very good with knives…

We were talking like there was no tomorrow. We didn't even notice what time it was, Dark and I were having fun. It was in the evening when Sheik finally spoke up. Where had he been all this time? Did he even leave? I never noticed. He told me we're supposed to be heading home. I gave Dark a smile and told him goodbye.

"Wait, where can I find you again?" Dark asked. He looked really lonely, and he was a really nice person.

"I'm going to kindergarden tomorrow." I told him.

Dark smiled. "Okay, I'll see you in kindergarden then."

We bid each other farewell, Sheik and I walked home together. I can't wait to get home for some reason, I can't wait for kindergarden tomorrow either. I think tomorrow would be a great day.

No, I'm sure tomorrow would be a great day.