A/N: Well, this is my first submission here on ! I wrote this several months ago and ultimately decided to post the first bit here to see if anyone would like it, so any feedback is appreciated!
I do not own The Legend of Zelda series, its characters, or its locations, yet life goes on.
"Come on Link, hurry up! We don't want to miss the festival!" Princess Zelda waved frantically at her childhood friend in, a huge smile on her face. Link laughed cheerfully; glad that he could spend time with Zelda on a beautiful summer day. He had received a sword from his Grandfather, wrapped in bandages to deliver to the winner of the sword-fighting tournament taking place later on during the Picori Festival. Until then, he had a couple of hours to enjoy the festival with the princess of Hyrule. Zelda's long, smooth blonde hair flowed in the calm breeze, taking in the relaxing atmosphere. Link was wearing his trademark green tunic and brown boots, as usual. His hair was almost the exact same color as Zelda's, although nowhere near as neatly kept as hers. He had considered wearing a hat to cover up his wild hair, but could never find one that complimented his appearance. Both he and Zelda were in their pre-teen years: young, full of life and longing for fun. "Link!" Zelda shouted once more, "This festival is the marking of 100 years since the Picori helped the humans seal away the dark monsters! We don't want to miss another minute standing here!".
Link gave a quick wave to his Grandfather Smith before dashing over to Zelda as fast as his legs would carry him. "You look great in that pink dress of yours today" Link complimented her upon arriving. Zelda beamed back and giggled, grabbing her friend's hand and running off towards the town of Hyrule.
Every day the town was active, but today it was overwhelmingly bursting with life. Children were running everywhere, older townsfolk were gathered around something of interest, and beautiful music filled the air with joy. "I'm so excited!" Zelda exclaimed, "Where should we go first?". Link laughed and shrugged, unsure of what he would do first. "Ooh look at that over there!" Zelda announced and skipped over to a crowd of people. Link stumbled trying to keep up with her, ensuring the bundled sword was safely secured to his back. The pair visited many areas of interest throughout the day, including a retelling of the tale of the Picori, a few shops set up in the center of town. They even entered a raffle rumored to have fabulous prizes. Link was exhausted from all of the running around he had done, prepared to collapse.
"Can we sit down for a bit?" Link sputtered, breathing heavily.
Zelda , however, was still fueled by energy, "Just a bit longer, okay? Then we can sit".
It must be because she spends most of her time in the castle doing princess things, Link pondered, but ultimately decided keeping that to himself. A ringing bell was heard, which meant it was time for the raffle winner to be announced. The attendees all gathered around the large man on charge of the event, eager to hear their name to be called. For the first time that day, the town was completely silent.
The man reached into his bag, and pulled out a slip of paper, "And the winner is..."
"Hurry up!" somebody from the crowd shouted.
The large man's eyes scanned the townspeople gathered around him, "Hey! Don't tell me how to add suspense to my contests, okay?" he turned his attention back towards the paper, "The winner is...Princess Zelda!" he declared, ringing his miniature handheld bell as fast as he could. The crowd erupted with applause and minor fits of rage.
"You won!" Link exclaimed, putting his hands on Zelda's shoulders.
"I won?" Zelda repeated, blushing from the sudden attention directed at her.
The man smiled when Zelda approached him, "Congratulations! You get to pick from one of three fantastic prizes!". He reached into his bag again, pulling out a crimson gem and a heart shaped piece of jewelry "First off, we have this beautiful gemstone! Easily worth three-hundred rupees! Next up, a rare work of art that will look great on any girl!". Lastly, the man hesitantly pulled up a small, bronze shield about the size for a child. I couldn't think of a good third prize, so I just bought this shield from the town shop yesterday the raffle man thought to himself. "Uh...there's a little shield you can pick, but I highly recommend choosing something else" he told the princess.
"I'd like the shield, please" said Zelda as soon as she scanned over the prize options, her cheerful expression unchanging. Everyone else had an extremely perplexed look on their face. A moment of silence passed.
"Why did you pick that?" a citizen burst out, "You could just buy that from the nearby shop for only eighty rupees!" The raffle man's head snapped to where the voice came from,
"Hey! Let the princess pick what she wants!" He leaned closer to Zelda, "With all due respect milady, please pick something else. The shield is a terrible choice".
Zelda still smiled, "No thank you. I want the shield".
The raffle man shrugged, handed Zelda the rusty shield, "Kids" he muttered under his breath. The crowd walked away, surprised by the princess' decision. The town quickly returned to its cheerful festival routine in a matter of minutes.
"Here Link, take this" Zelda said, handing Link the shield, "I want you to have this".
"Thanks Zelda!" he replied, a bit disappointed that she didn't choose the gemstone.
Zelda giggled in amusement, "It looks good on you!" right as she finished her sentence, the large bell in the town rang six times.
"Six o' clock!" Link cried out, "The tournament is starting!" a burst of energy ran through his body. Zelda sighed, disappointed that the festival was nearly over and followed Link off to Hyrule Castle.
For one to get from the town to the castle, they must cross the lush green Hyrule Field. Various colorful flowers were sprinkled about the field, adding to its beauty. Under normal circumstances, crossing the field was never a problem. For some reason, a short, round creature with stubby legs and leaves on its head was blocking the path! This creature was known as a Deku Scrub, its aggressive behavior being its most notable characteristic.
"No trespassing!" it glared at the approaching duo.
"We don't want any trouble," Link said, shaking his head, "We only want to get to Hyrule Castle".
"You don't want trouble?" the Scrub asked, raising an eyebrow, "Then scram!" it fired a seed out of its mouth at a blinding speed, hitting Zelda in the left arm. She let out a cry of surprise, rubbing he arm where the seed struck her. The Deku Scrub laughed and fired another seed, this time at Link. Link was ready, and raised his shield in front of him. Though rusty, the shield held together; the seed ricochet on the shield and hit the cruel Shrub directly in the forehead. The Deku Shrub keeled over fell face-first into the grass.
"You okay?" Link asked his friend, who nodded in reply. They walked onward towards the castle, hoping that they didn't miss the tournament.