I still remember the day of the death of my mom and dad. I stood watching as the bodies of my parents descended into their tombs. Octavo laid a hand on my shoulder and smiled encouragingly. He was from that day my guardian. He was the one who chose my name, Zelda. He was obsessed with the game The Legend of Zelda since he was small, and he thought the name may bring me luck. From that day on, my life started going crazy. I mean really crazy. The next day I moved into the house of my dad's best friend with his son Link (You can guess why his name was that). The first day I stepped into the old house of Octavo was the day of my parent's funeral. I was five, and like any other kid, my parents were the most important thing in my life. Now all I had was an obsessed guardian, an annoying - well I don't really know what to call Link (brother? No. Friend? Too formal…) I guess for now he'll be the annoying crazy thing. Anyways, I had almost nothing good in my life. Octavo's wife worked all the time, so I barely saw her. On Fridays, when she would come home, she would come to see me while I slept and always leave a little something on my bedside table, as if to encourage me on my life. She was the nicest person I knew, and the only reason I stayed in the house of my complete torture.
As I said before, my life has been extremely crazy ever since I moved in to the 'house-of- pure-torment' (my name for the mansion). Well, he was one of the reasons: Octavo was a middle aged man with black hair trimmed short. He had ice grey eyes that would often scare me to death. He was my father's best friend, and since both of my parents had no siblings, Octavo was the one they left me with – much to my delight. Often -as in every single day- he would sit in the couch and just murmur things about a prophecy, he would read a book and murmur stuff about a prophecy, he would lie in the hammock in the garden and murmur stuff about a prophecy, or he would sit at the dinner table and murmur stuff about a prophecy. No one ever understood anything about him or his prophecies.
Link wasn't one bit like his father. Don't get me wrong, he was crazy, but a … different kind of crazy. He had blond hair that he kept medium long, and his bangs would often cover his piercing green eyes. He had a slightly baby-face considering he was 14 (like me – yay…) He had outstanding grades, was extremely good at sports, was really popular, and was like, the guy every girl wanted to date. But no one knew the other side of him. The moment he would finish his homework, he would go up onto the roof and do some yoga. On the roof. Then, after his workout on the roof, he would grab wooden swords and spar with Octavo or sometimes I would do it. In the last step of his work out, he would grab his horse and gallop into the woods so that he could finish his humongous tree house (so far, it had two floors, Link is still expanding it). Often I come with him, since I love riding Epona (yeah… Octavo is really obsessed). Somehow, he never gets hurt while doing his workout but I guess that's a good thing. Link is also a very heavy sleeper so waking him up is a pain. Most of the time I don't talk much with Link, since he busy with his friends, but when I do, he always seems to make himself nice just for me, sometimes it feels nice, but sometimes it just feels like pity.
Amanda was a kind lady (that's why I don't understand why she chose to marry Octavo, the craziest man on earth). Her hair was long until her waist and was a perfect auburn. Her gentle green eyes never showed anything but sympathy to me. She was often reading books or painting. She taught me how to paint and draw when I was six, and ever since it's been a stress and pain reliever for me. Whenever I feel down she gives me a candy bar or chocolate, then gives me a big hug. Even though she works a ton, she always gives away time to talk to me. She's like a mother to me, and the most important thing to me, other than that.
Octavo was really rich, so the 'house-of-pure-torment' was a huge mansion. We had pastures for the horses, a whole forest that belonged to us. The 'house-of-pure-torment' itself was about 3 stories high, each floor having around 5 rooms, and an attic and basement (you must never go in either of them. Ever). The house and garden themselves were about 500 meters², the stables were about 100 meters², and the forests were about-I don't know- huge? I got lost about 10 times in that house during the first year I was there, and then Amanda got me digital map of the house so I wouldn't get lost again. I never got lost in the forest, 'cause Epona knew the way by heart, and I never went in the woods alone, ever. I got used to the 'house-of-pure-torment' and well, I'm sure I couldn't feel at home in a regular house anymore (that's what you get from living in a maze).
Now, since I introduced my whole family, you probably want to know a little something about me. I have blond hair, and I like to keep it until my shoulders. My eyes are a dark blue and whenever I look in the mirror, it seems like I've been crying. I'm technically 14 and a half but I feel more comfortable just saying 14, it's simpler. I love painting, riding, reading, sleeping, sparring, and sitting in a corner and thinking about how my life could be better – and trust me, that's easy.
I stood in the middle of the field, the sun practically burning my skin. I looked up to the far end of the field. The "good" soccer players were stealing the ball from each other nonstop, never leaving the center of the field. The team captain (who just so happened to be Link) told me to stay defense, almost as if he knew I was not good luck in soccer. I lifted my hand to the sun, blocking the light. As I squinted I saw a shape shooting towards me. Realization dawned a little too late. The soccer ball hit me in the face, and I fell to the floor. My head hit the ground hard. I groaned and my hand lifted up to my nose. It didn't feel broken.
"Zelda!" Link called. I groaned and opened my eyes. His face floated above me, blond hair wet with sweat. "Great job!" I looked at him. Had I done something good?
"What did I do?" I said. He grinned, like usual, white teeth shining.
"You blocked the ball, it was a close call." He smiled innocently. I sat up and brushed the grass off of myself. The coach walked towards us, clipboard in hand.
"Link, good team work out there. Zelda…" He looked at me for a moment; obviously not knowing how to say something good about what I did, "Go to the nurse." He turned around and started yelling at the other kids. Link stood up and gave me a hand. I felt a little dizzy but I tried to ignore the fact.
"Link!" Coach yelled. Link turned to me and smiled, then ran to the other students who all swarmed around him. A few girls looked back at me then at Link. They both shrugged then turned to the coach who was giving directions. I turned and walked towards the main building to go to the nurse's office. The pain in my nose had dulled a bit and I no longer saw dots. I dragged my legs across the field. A strong wind blew, chilling me. I whipped around to look at the field. Nothing had changed, all the students just playing soccer. I shook the bad feeling away and turned back towards the main building. I walked up the small steps, looked back one more time, and then opened the door to the building.
"Tell me how you hurt yourself again." Ms. Tanya, the nurse, asked over her shoulder.
"I got hit by a soccer ball in the face." I mumbled. She laughed, like she did every time. If there was a point card for coming to the nurse's office, I would be a VIP member for sure. She turned around and gave me an ice pack.
"Here, put that on the back of your head, I'll get some cream for your nose." She smiled. I put the ice pack where in hurt. The cold made me shiver. I kept my hand behind my head, while I looked at the posters on the walls of the room. There were posters you could find in any infirmary, about brushing your teeth, washing your hands, lice, etc. Then I looked at her cabinets. Next to her models of the heart, stomach and other organs, was an instrument. I cocked my head to the left. I looked like a big ball of clay to me, but it had some holes here and there.
"Oh, that old ocarina?" She said. I turned my head to look at her. She applied some cream to her fingers and spread it over my nose. "I got that so long ago…" She smiled softly, as if remembering an old memory. "Do you want to give it a try?" She asked. I looked at the ocarina.
"Sure, why not?" I shrugged. She walked over and gave me the ocarina. She placed in my hands slowly, as if it would break at any time. I looked at the ocarina, it looked so fragile and small. My eyes darted to Ms. Tanya's face. I stifled a gasp at her expression. It was an expression I had seen so many times. Those calm eyes, soft smile, tilted head… It was exactly how aunt Amanda looked at me. I looked down at the ocarina.
"Are you sure you want to give this to me?" I asked. Ms. Tanya nodded.
"It'll be in better care with you." She confirmed. I lifted the ocarina to my mouth. I blew through the mouth piece. I soft note came out, filling the room with an unfamiliar noise. I put the ocarina down onto my lap.
"I think I can go now, right?" I asked. Ms. Tanya nodded, again. I got up from the chair and headed for the door.
"Make sure you don't hit yourself with another soccer ball, okay?" She called after me. I turned my head around, and smiled; then marched away, ocarina in hand.