A/N: This was my first fanfiction I wrote in 2014. It was really fun writing it. I hope you like it! :)


She hated her life.

She attended the extravagant parties full of glitz and glamour only the rich could have. She danced like a doll, controlled by the men she waltzed with. She gossiped with her presumptuous friends, smiled at the jokes they told, although she wasn't laughing inside. Everything looked beautiful on the outside. Everyone looked beautiful on the outside with their fabricated facades they hid behind. But she knew their darkest secrets, the betrayed, the betrayers, the sins, and the sinners. She knew everything. Above all, she could see past their beautiful exteriors, and she saw what they truly were—hideous.

With their selfishness and the greed that demanded more and more, she couldn't stand being in the same room with these monsters. Backstabbers remained friendly to the ones they despise. Cheaters subtly eyed each other across the room while dancing with their arranged partners. Gossip and drama circulated everywhere, and at the source, the monsters grinned, living off the entertainment of sadism.

These people would readily give up the small values they held dear, their friendships and family, to acquire more wealth, to get what they wanted in the end. She had experienced their betrayal while she was a beginner, but now no longer a novice, she disappointed herself when she learned their tricks and manners. It shamed her that she stooped as low to the crowd she socialized with. She blended in with them, and it disgusted her.

As she watched the partygoers clink glasses and chatter beneath the chandelier's light, Zelda's revelation came as crystal clear as the polished glasses. She would show her true colours. No more hiding behind another mask to fit in with the rest. She would break free of the expectations they had on her, and she would surprise everyone—including her parents. How she hated their control over her life.

"Zelda, have another glass of wine." Her friend's voice broke her train of thought.

She glanced towards Amelia. Tall, tanned, and raven-haired, Amelia was a contrast against Zelda's pale appearance. Their personalities were also opposites and clashed against each other constantly. Tonight they decided to be friends instead of enemies.

An automatic smile curled on Zelda's lips. "Oh, no. I really shouldn't."

Amelia frowned, confused. Zelda never passed for a glass of any alcoholic beverage. "C'mon. It's Romanee Mille neuf-cent, quatre-vingt cinq Conti. The best the restaurant has to offer. And on the house, too." She winked, speaking flawless French.

Zelda's smile brightened and she felt it tug on her weary cheeks. Amelia probably seduced a bartender into giving out the best wine for free. Although rich, she could be extremely cheap. "I'm good for the night. In fact, I'm going to call it a night."

"What?" Amelia's bigmouth gaped wider. "It's only nine!"

Her exaggerated shock and sadness annoyed Zelda. Amelia wouldn't miss her if she left. Without her there, she would capture the attention of more men.

She forced a smile. She hated being impolite, even to people who deserved rudeness for being naturally rude and obnoxiously snobbish. "Really, I need to go. I've a test coming up that I need to study for."

"Test? That test is weeks away. It can wait." Her voice was extremely enthusiastic.

Zelda resisted the urge to clamp her hands over her ears. God that voice was fake! "I need to score perfect and starting early helps," she responded.

"Oh, Zelda! Always the perfectionist. Alright, I'll let you go this night. Tell your parents I said hello!" She said cheerily. She left the table they were sitting at and flocked to a group of men sitting near the bar.

Zelda scoffed. Amelia and her were only friends because their fathers were once in a partnership for a big car business. They sold it for billions once their wives had daughters and the two men moved onto becoming the CEOs of independent corporations. She remembered all the spats Amelia and her had over toys, dresses, makeup and eventually boys. Most of their fights were started by Amelia, and Zelda disliked the bossy girl, and she wondered if she would be free of her company forever.

She entertained the thought as she walked towards the parking garage. The December rain bounced off her thousand dollar trench jacket with the musical pitter patter she always loved. The upcoming month had always been her favourite month of the year. A new day, a new month, a new year, a new revelation. And she never had one as big before. They were always simple: donate to a charity each month, find a boyfriend approved by parents, have straight As, get accepted into Hyrule University. All of them were accomplished—with the help of money, of course.

This revelation, however, was something different and new that wouldn't be used to impress anyone but herself. Money couldn't assist her like it did in all the other accomplishments she had done. Her parents had the money and name to attract the prestigious Hyrule University, and their power and influence is what persuaded them to accept her into their Law School. Her riches brought the handsome Damien Ganondorf knocking on her door for the first date of many. She donated to cancer foundations, handicapped foundations, orphanages across the world with the money her parents lent her. All of it was to please them, her friends, the society she was born into. She kept up with the appearances, made her parents happy and proud, made women envious, made men admire her. She had moulded herself into something else she was not, and she wanted to become the person she was meant to be.

She needed a change.

Yes, she would devise a plan to make herself more independent. Her parents' fame and fortune wouldn't affect her anymore, and she would try to stop fulfilling their wishes and wants. She would stop relying on their money and lead a simple, normal life. She would make new friends to replace the backstabbing ones she knew all her life.

She unlocked her car door and drove onto the busy street, smiling.

It had been a long time since she last found herself.

...

"I'm Hunter," he said, shaking the blonde's hand mockingly, peering back at his friends. They were just as surprised as he was. People rarely approached a group of strangers unless it was to ask where the washroom was.

"Lincoln? What kind of name is that?" Hunter sneered, and his group of friends snorted behind him.

Link sighed. People always snickered at his unusual name when he introduced himself. And apparently they didn't listen to the second sentence he always added.

"But you can call me Link," he repeated, offering a generous smile.

One of the girls blushed. Hunter grew more irritated. The blushing girl was his girlfriend, and he was very possessive of her.

"Link?" He scoffed. "That's not an upgrade from Lincoln. Still weird," he laughed.

Link shook his head and gathered his books, laptops and notebooks. He thought this group of students were friendly, and so he approached them, plopped down his books and greeted them as if they were old friends. It seemed that some people didn't mature from their high school days, sticking to bullying as a form of impressing people.

How he hated high school. The kids—and some teachers—disliked him for his unusual upbringing, appearance and behaviour. He was homeschooled until grade nine, so his social skills were inept. He lived in Kokiri Forest, a trailer park in the middle of nowhere that inhabited tree huggers and hippies, so of course people presumed he was an environmental hobo. In fact, he did dress like a hobo in high school with his sustainable cotton clothes, which were loose and baggy, and he never got a good hair cut until the age of eighteen.

Because he was small, scrawny, awkward and different, many bullies picked on him. He suffered their beatings for two years before he experiences a freak growth spurt. When he became six foot four at the age of sixteen, no one dared to punch him. He was glad that he surprised them all with his brilliant mind, ugly duckling syndrome, and brave determination. He didn't let their taunts get in his way of scholarships!

And he wouldn't let Hunter and his cronies get to him now. With dignity, he walked away from the group of laughing hyenas and settled in at a small desk in a dark corner.

He never felt like he fit in, no matter what crowd he was with. In Kokiri Forest, he never participated in meditating, protests, marches, and parties the Kokiri Organization threw. Sometimes he allowed himself a processed candy, and threw the wrapper on the ground! The father who adopted him, the great environmentalist Alexander Deku, would've thrown a fit if he knew how much water and electricity he wasted in his lifetime. But he made him proud by working hard in school. He scored the highest marks in the world, and was shipped off to the most prestigious school in the country: Hyrule University.

The students there weren't much of a change from the elite private school he went to in his youth. When he reached his high school years, he attended the posh land of Termina abroad, his expenses funded by Skyloft Academy. The rich snobby kids made fun of him, bullied him, teased him for his brilliance, made him an outsider.

He sighed. University would be like that terrible experience all over again. It was as if his past and present collided, battled, struggled. The past wouldn't let him transform. It grabbed hold of the person he wanted to be, pinned him, reminded everyone—himself included—who he was, why he was different. His old self was the outsider, the very essence which caused the hurtful memories, the very thing that repelled people. He wanted to forget it all, to move on, to begin anew and become the man he envisioned.

But no one truly forgets.

The memories forced him to remember, to live with his past. If only he could have peace of mind, and then his present and former selves would finally be at peace.

Beep. Beep.

He grabbed his phone, excited. He had given out his number to a few acquaintances at the beginning of the school year. With the hopeful yearning of finally befriending someone his own age, he exchanged phone numbers with students at the Meet & Greet event. Too afraid to call, he waited in anticipation for others to call him, but they never did. His heart sank when he saw it was only his schedule reminding him that study session was over.

"Another hour wasted," he said to himself, looking over the notes he had written from his textbook. Thirty pages had been created with minimum effort. It would've been fifty if his thoughts weren't all over the place tonight. With a sigh, he gathered his books, shut down his laptop, and stuffed everything into his bag. Barely anyone was in the library at nine o'clock on a Friday night except for the overachievers, the Wi-Fi thieves, and the librarian. He smiled. What he would do to attend a party on any given day.

"Good-bye, Link!" Telma called as he walked pass the check-out counter.

He turned and grinned back, "See you later…most likely tomorrow night!"

She laughed heartedly. "Get yourself a girlfriend, Link, and then you won't have time for studying."

He continued walking backwards to the exit, still in a semi-conversation with her. "The chance of that happening is one in a billion."

Telma shouted robustly, "A handsome young man like you can get any girl. The chances are one hundred percent." She nodded curtly, returning to her work.

For a librarian, she was very loud, energetic, and talkative. Link liked that part of her as well as her kind heart in keeping the library's open hours longer than usual.

"I'll do it for the world's greatest lawyer," she had said when she noticed he was the library's regular. "You keep studying. And when you become the Chief Justice, don't forget to credit me," she winked.

Her kindness made him feel sad and happy at once. No one ever did anything for Link Deku, future lawyer, present genius, and virtually unknown student. Maybe it was because she noticed him; maybe it was her rare act of kindness that summoned the emotional part he hid from years of torment. Whatever it was, he was grateful, happy and sad all at once. It felt good to be acknowledged. It felt sad to be grateful over a small act of kindness.

His loneliness was getting the better of him.

A hard shoulder rammed into him, forcing him to cry out in shock.

He looked down to see a brunette deep in thought. She didn't even look up at him; instead, she muttered a sorry and walked past him as if he were a ghost.

Flabbergasted, he stared after her retreating figure. Her form and voice were familiar to him. Where had he seen her before?

"Sorry, ma'am, but the library's closed," Telma said.

"Is it?" she asked. "My apologies. I heard rumours that library hours were extended."

"They're true. Hours run depending on Lincoln Deku."

Link couldn't help but smile at her mentioning him.

"Who?" the brunette asked.

"The world's best lawyer. If you want, I could hook you up with him."

There was an awkward silence. He didn't want Telma to point in his direction, so he took his leave. Before he left the tall doors, he heard her speak, confusion written in her sweet voice: "Oh, no thanks. I don't think I need a lawyer."

"That's too bad," Telma said sadly. "He's a wonderful man. And underrated."


A/N: Follow me on wattpad at AriettaSerenade for more stories :)