Hello, everyone! Welcome to my Legend of Zelda fanfic, a slight AU version retelling of Spirit Tracks. Now, I do have a lot to say, but I'll get out of your way so you may read first. Apologies for any inaccuracies, I'm still relatively new to this fandom. So, yes, enjoy and meet me at the end for my notes. Oh and the cover art is no by me, credit goes to the amazing artist. :)

Chapter 1 - The Unsettling Graduation.

It was a very strange, but somehow blissful dream. Here he was driving a train across the vast plains of Hyrule by himself as a fully fledged engineer and when he looked up he saw a semi-transparent beautiful girl sitting on top of the carriage. Oddly enough he didn't seem at all surprised to see her and she smiled before easily leaping off the roof. For a moment his rational mind was about to make him warn her while his dream self merely smiled and laughed as she soared like a bird, flying alongside the train as though racing it. She laughed happily, a hauntingly familiar sound for some reason, and then flew over the train, circling around the column of smoke as he watched her all the while. Flying to the other side of the train, she looked to him and said something he couldn't hear, but his dream self nodded and moved back to make room for her. She beamed and floated into the engineers cabin. They both looked out over the side to see what looked like the Spirit Tower up ahead. Were they heading there? Link couldn't help wondering both about that and who that girl was. She looked very familiar, but who...

Link was abruptly woken up from his sleep by someone prodding him with a walking stick. He looked up blearily to see that it was his elderly roommate, Niko, a man with receding grey hair and green eyes who still wore a red sailor's shirt as tribute to his former pirate days. He was clearly chastising him for something and if Link had to guess it was the picture presentation about the legend of the evil king Malladus that he had ended up sleeping through. His brain had only switched on properly when he heard Niko finish his rant and ask:

"Can't you pay attention for one minute and listen to an old man's final creation? Are you even listening to me now, Link?"

The young teen nodded, still half-asleep and bluntly answered the old man in his typical fashion:

"I am. Sort of."

Niko sighed, but shook his head in a sign of resignation, seeing that the teenager still had one foot in the world of dreams while the other was here in the land of the living. Shaking his head, Niko admitted:

"Ok, Ok. I can take a hint. Sorry for boring you."

Link instantly felt guilty for falling asleep on Niko. It wasn't like the old man ever bored him with his stories, it was just he was so tired from all the practices Alfonzo had been making him take to prepare for graduation that he just fell asleep whenever. Well, that and the fact that he really did like to just enjoy his sleep. A concept that some people (chiefly Alfonzo) didn't seem to get... There was a dull sound of a door opening and closing and Niko unexpectedly beamed:

"Look, here comes your mentor. Hello there, Alfonzo."

Blearily and worriedly, Link turned to look around himself and sure enough he was faced with the sight of his towering mentor in his engineer's uniform looking imperiously down at him. Oh, for the love of Nayru, what had he forgotten to do now? He'd done everything, hadn't he? His still sleepy mind wouldn't focus. The olive-skinned man with a red bandana on his head, raised an eyebrow, his hands on his hips:

"Why are you still here, Link?"

Was he supposed to be somewhere else? He'd practiced, he'd restocked the coals, he'd cleaned the train and he had for some reason changed into his trainee engineer's clothes so...Where was he supposed to be again? Was something happening today? Alfonzo sighed:

"Come on now, wipe the sleep out of your eyes."

Link tried doing as he suggested, but apparently that wasn't satisfactory as Alfonzo decided to resort to what he found as the easiest method to wake the sleepy 14 year old Link up. He grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up and shook him while yelling "wake up!" until he was sufficiently awake. Moments later Link was wide awake and looking at Alfonzo in confusion. Goddesses above, this boy was hopeless. Alfonzo decided to give the kid a clue:

"Today is a very important day, you know."

Link continued looking at him in a bemused fashion. Alfonzo shook the kid again before exclaiming in exasperation:

"It's your audience with the princess!"

Link's dark blue eyes snapped to him in alarm:

"What?!"

Alfonzo merely dropped the boy to the floor and as per usual the boy instinctively landed in a crouch before flopping down to sit on the floor. The head engineer facepalmed:

"Don't tell me you forgot! You won't amount to much if you don't pay attention!"

Link lowered his head, sheepishly. He had forgotten. He had forgotten one of the most important days of his life. Well, that was colossally idiotic of him. Ashamed, he mumbled quietly:

"Sorry, Alfonzo..."

"Sorry ain't going to amount to nothing. Don't you want your engineers certificate?"

Link hastily nodded, climbing to his feet. Alfonzo nodded in approval:

"Well, the graduation ceremony is at the castle. Princess Zelda herself is going to do the honours!"

Link's eyes widened a fraction: their princess was going to be presiding over the ceremony?! Okay, now he wasn't sure he could go. Driving a train was one thing, but what if he annoyed their future monarch? Especially while her father, the king, was away for an extended stay in one of the neighbouring countries to negotiate a treaty of some sort from what Niko had told him. His mentor, the person who was his father figure, was evidently not going to let Link back out of this now as he ploughed on:

"I'm heading to the station now, so meet me there. Remember the station is up the road, don't get lost! Got it?," - Link nodded," - Good! Then get a move on!"

Alfonzo turned towards the door and raised a hand in a sign of farewell to the man he'd known since he'd been a little boy himself:

"See you later, Niko."

With that he stepped outside and closed the door behind himself. Link sighed and ran a hand through his unruly bright blonde locks, trying to get a grip on things. Niko spoke up from one of the corners of the room:

"You deserved that, you know."

Link nodded:

"I know. I should probably get going."

Niko nodded, smiling a toothy smile:

"You should. Today is the day you graduate from apprentice to official train engineer. It's quite an honour, so you mustn't be late!"

"Yeah. Especially since our future queen is the one doing the honours. She could have me beheaded."

Link remarked picking up his red cap and putting it on. Niko waved a hand at him:

"Oh, nonsense. If this Zelda is anything like her great-grandmother, she won't behead you unless you do something colossally stupid."

Link who was half out the door paused and looked at the old man who was hastily hiding away his pots (that was most probably a post trauma habit after Link had broken every pot in the house when he'd been 9) curiously:

"You knew Queen Tetra?"

Niko nodded his head solemnly, refusing to divulge more. He made a shooing motion at Link:

"Off to the castle with you! Scoot!"

Link smiled and tipped his hat as he left:

"See you soon, Niko."

He left closing the door behind himself. Niko shook his head in the boy's general direction:

"He's too much like him, that one... They even look alike..."

===LOZ: JAH===

After spending a good ten minutes to help out around the village before he left and earning some money he definitely could use, Link headed towards the station. He passed by a a little boy who kept rolling into a tree, trying to knock a bee's nest down. That was a stupid idea. Link cupped a hand over his mouth, calling out:

"Hey, Mido!"

The kid looked up, unsure of what Link wanted of him:

"Yeah?"

"Bees sting."

"I'm not 2, I'm 7 - I know that. I want the honey! You do it if you're so smart!"

Oh, for the love of Nayru...Link huffed and picked up a decent sized rock. He turned it over in his hand a couple of times before throwing it straight at the nest and watching as it rolled down the hill, the bees chasing after it. Mido looked surprised. Link shrugged and after patting the kid on the head, went up the stairs to the station. Alfonzo was nowhere to be seen, but, as expected, as soon as he put one foot on the platform he heard his mentor's voice scold him:

"You're late!"

Link looked around, a bit unsettled by hearing a disembodied Alfonzo's voice echoing from around him:

"Alfonzo?"

Instead of a reply the doors to the garage opened and out came Alfonzo and the train, the former holding onto the side of the latter, making it look as though it was the simplest thing in the world. It was not, Link had tried. Effortlessly hopping off the train, Alfonzo moved to tower over his protege:

"Do you understand the significance of today? In order to become a train engineer in this kingdom you must have an audience with one of the royal family, in your case - the princess. If she grants you permission, you can finally operate a train by yourself. No more of me naggin' you to go slower or faster. You get that?"

Link nodded, his previous enthusiasm and excitement returning. It was an important day and it was fairly obvious that there was no way in the world that Alfonzo would let him off the hook about nearly oversleeping, but that didn't mean he wasn't excited about becoming a real full-fledged train engineer. Alfonzo clapped his hands together:

"Now hop aboard! We're going to the castle."

Link moved towards the wooden train when Alfonzo's voice stopped him:

"Oh, but one last thing. You're going to drive the train to get us there! Call it your final exam!"

That caused Link to look around and give Alfonzo an uncertain look. The tall man merely waved his hand at that and laughed:

"Don't look so worried - it'll be a piece of cake. I'll give you instructions if you forget anything. Now, onwards!"

Alfonzo declared, still laughing as he climbed into the carriage. Link sighed at his mentor's enthusiasm, but couldn't hold back a small smile himself as he climbed into the engineer's cabin and started up the train. As the train started moving, Link glanced out to see Niko out of the house and waving at him. Forcing his face into a serious expression, but unable to keep the happy shine out of his eyes, Link gave the old man a traditional farewell salute before turning back to the controls. He smiled as he moved the lever to accelerate the train's speed. Well, it was time to set out upon this new adventure and see where it would take him...

===LOZ: JAH===

Princess Zelda was supposed to be finishing the paperwork on her desk, but she just couldn't focus. The last thing she wanted to do was to mess up any official matters during her father's absence so with a sigh she pushed the parchment away, laying aside her quill. She hadn't even noticed that she'd been chewing on her lip, before she felt the bitter taste of blood in her mouth. Zelda quickly released her lip, her young face showing a flicker of annoyance as she inwardly berated herself for engaging in her bad habit again. Teacher would surely chastise her for that... Well, he would properly reprimand her for her plan too, but it wasn't like she had that many options left. He had just laughed when she'd brought up the matter of Chancellor Cole to him. No, she needed outside help, someone who didn't know her or the Chancellor would be ideal. Quietly, Zelda opened the right drawer of her desk and smiled faintly as she looked at the letter sitting there. Yes, maybe she'd get her chance today. After all today was the graduation ceremony and Alfonzo and his apprentice would be coming. As if on cue Zelda heard the sound of a train horn and stood up from her chair to look outside the window, opening it so she could see better. Sure enough, a train was approaching in the general direction of Hyrule Castle. Zelda smiled: she could almost hear Alfonzo bellowing orders at his young apprentice. Leaning on the windowsill, Zelda cast her mind back to the past, trying to remember the young boy in question. If she wasn't mistaken she'd seen the young Hylian in passing a few years ago, but they'd both been really young at the time so he'd probably changed and there was the fact that they'd never even said a word to each other. She wondered what he looked like now before she shook her head at her own thoughts - she didn't even know what the boy's name was. She'd have to find out at the graduation ceremony. Returning to her desk, Zelda picked up the letter and turned it over in her gloved hands. She had to deliver this to him, no matter what. She needed help and, well, he was probably her best shot. A knock sounded on the door and it creaked open, making Zelda jump in surprise:

"Your Highness?"

The elderly face of Zelda's tutor appeared. The teenage princess hurried to hide the letter behind her back. Pushing her surprise down, Zelda tried to smile normally:

"Yes, Teacher?"

The ageing man entered the room and raised an eyebrow when he saw the paperwork and quill lying abandoned on her desk. He looked sternly at the young princess of New Hyrule:

"Your Highness, why haven't you finished your work yet? You do remember how to do this, yes? And why is the window open?"

Startled, Zelda blurted out the first thing that came to mind:

"Um, I had a bit of a headache so I decided to open the window. I'm fine now."

Zelda could feel the tips of her long, pointy ears turn red at the little white lie she had just told. She hoped her teacher, a tall elderly man with glasses and a prominent moustache who had been named after the Light Sage from the era of the Hero of Time - Rauru, hadn't noticed. Rauru frowned and reached out to touch her forehead:

"Your Highness, are you sure, you aren't sick? We could delay the graduation ceremony..."

"No! No, no, no. Absolutely not. After all, teacher," - Zelda smiled, hoping to assuage his concerns,- "you do say we have to do things on time. Punctuality is important. I really don't want to push the ceremony off to a later date. And I assure you, I'm fine."

The old man looked at her for a bit before sighing and nodding. There were times he couldn't understand the young girl, but he cared for her deeply and would do anything to make her happy. If she insisted she was fine, he would accept it, but that didn't mean he wouldn't keep an eye on her. Princess Zelda was known for being incredibly stubborn. Zelda smiled brightly and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, slipping the letter into the secret pocket of her dress that the seamstress had made. Apparently those small pockets had been made upon her great-grandmother's, Queen Tetra's, request who had made her opinion of the impracticality of the dresses fairly well known. It was useful to say the least. There was another blow of the train's horn and Zelda and Rauru looked out of the window to see that the train had arrived at the station. Rauru adjusted his glasses and nodded at Zelda:

"I do believe they're here, Higness. You should start getting ready."

Zelda gave a faint smile, her hand brushing against the letter in her pocket:

"Of course, Teacher."

===LOZ: JAH===

Alfonzo's booming laugh rang out loudly as soon as he stepped out the train car. His boy had done it and the swordsman turned train engineer couldn't be more proud of him. In truth, he had had very few doubts that Link wouldn't mess up, but the boy had guided them to Castle Town as though he was a professional and hadn't panicked at all even when a pair of those obnoxious moinks had run onto the track. As soon as the boy jumped onto the platform, Alfonzo slapped him on the back joyfully, making the boy stumble a bit as he congratulated him:

"Good job! You passed the exam with flying colours and you even got us to Castle Town on time! And you know what else?"

Link tipped his head and quirked a brow, wordlessly telling Alfonzo to tell him. The olive-skinned man laughed again and winked:

"You look good while handling a train! That's the surest sign you're going to make a great engineer."

Alfonzo nodded confidently, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. The tip's of Link's Hylian ears heated up and he looked down at the ground, a bit surprised at receiving such high praise from his usually hard to please mentor:

"Uh, thanks, Alfonzo."

The older engineer waved his thanks off and nodded his head in the direction of the castle:

"Nah, no need to thank me. Now, just head to the castle for your graduation ceremony. It's to the north. You can't miss it - it is rather large, you know. Good luck!"

"I'll see you later then?"

Alfonzo nodded, sauntering off towards some building, leaving Link alone on the platform. The teenager sighed inwardly, but smiled once more as he made his way into Castle town. Link had been to Castle town before, but he'd never lingered long and his instincts to go exploring were begging to be obeyed. Link struggled with himself, before finally giving up and deciding to indulge his curiosity a little, after all if the clock in town was correct he still had a good ten minutes to spare. Nodding to himself, the teenager ducked into the nearest building which turned out to be a shop.

Hyrule Castle Town was by far the most populated place Link had ever visited as it was positively brimming with people. Some were selling their various wares while other's were buying, children loitered around the fountain in the town square splashing each other while laughing as their mother's talked to each other. Taking off his gloves, Link had even joined in on their fun for a bit. He couldn't resist stopping to talk to a lot of the people and even a young postboy had approached him, handing him a letter from the postman who asked him to be kind to the new kid. The new kid , a short human boy probably not much older than Link who was dressed in a postman getup that seemed a little too large for him, introduced himself as Nim per Link's request and explained how the old postal system worked before declaring cheerfully that he had more mail to deliver and chugging off as though he was a train. Link watched him go with a mix of curiosity and confusion before he caught sight of the clock face out of the corner of his eye and bit back a curse. His ten minutes had turned into 25 and he was inching dangerously close to being late. He had to hurry, because despite Niko's guesses for all Link knew the Princess could really have him beheaded for being late and if not her one of the High Council members definitely could.

Link rushed up to the castle entrance to see it blocked by two guards wearing green. One of them was tall and seemed as though he was napping on the job while the shorter one looked all too interested in the clouds floating above them. Link quirked a brow: were these guys even doing their jobs properly? If he had to guess the answer was no, but then again maybe this was normal in Castle Town. Also why did those clothes seem so familiar? He wasn't sure where he had seen them before, but they seemed achingly familiar. In any case, he didn't have time to dawdle! Link approached the two guards quickly, seeing one of them prod the other to wake him up. Link greeted them politely:

"Um, hello. Could you please let me through?"

The guards looked him up and down before the tall lanky one spoke as though he hadn't heard him:

"What is it, kid? We're kind of busy protecting Hyrule Castle right now. If you've got no business here, I'd suggest you scram!"

Link seriously doubted their claims about protecting the castle, but he remained cordial for the sake of getting past them faster:

"Well, you see, today's the day of my graduation ceremony. I'm a train engineer and I'd really like to get into the castle so I could attend the ceremony so if you would be so kind to let me pass, I'd be very grateful."

The short guard slapped himself on the forehead with his free hand, exclaiming:

"Ah, I'd completely forgotten that today was the graduation ceremony."

The tall guard raised his eyebrows in surprise:

"Huh, I didn't know they gave engineer certificates to little kids like you.."

His partner laughed as they stepped aside:

"Time's are a-changing, Bato. Well, go on in, kid."

Link nodded gratefully and slipped into the castle. The corridors of the castle were long and winding , the walls were adorned with various paintings and in some corners empty blue jars stood. Link had to resist the inherent urge to smash them and pressed on forward. After bumping into a young recruit who gave him directions, Link ran into another guard armed with a spear that stood in front of a staircase he needed to ascend. He told him he'd come to see the princess. The guard raised his spear, looking at the teenager seriously:

"The throne room is up these stairs. Only invited guest are allowed in."

He surveyed Link critically with an annoyed gaze, but the boy looked back at him calmly. The guard snorted in annoyance:

"Humph. What that means for you is...SCRAM!"

Before Link could retort or show the guard the invitation there was the sound of footsteps and a voice spoke from behind Link:

"What's all this commotion?"

Link and the guard looked around to see an extremely short human man approaching them. He was dressed in a pale green suit and somehow had two top hats balancing on top his red hair. His moustache twitched as he sniffed, his beady almost black eyes stopping on Link for a moment, glinting, before moving to guard. Link hissed in pain as suddenly the back of his left hand began burning furiously for no apparent reason. The guard payed him no mind and turned to the short man:

"Oh, good day, Chancellor Cole! Apologies for the disturbance", - the guard nodded his head towards Link who was desperately trying to conceal the pain he was in,-"This boy says he's come to see the princess."

Cole turned to look at Link and a shiver ran up the young boy's spine as the pain in his left hand slowly subsided. The Chancellor leaned his head to the side a bit, in almost a curious fashion:

"Is that so? You're here for the graduation ceremony?"

"Yes, sir."

Link responded quietly. Speaking to the Chancellor made Link feel uneasy for some reason, but he needed his help. Besides maybe he was just naturally uncomfortable around politicians? Chancellor Cole raised an eyebrow:

"But you're so young",- he gave a tired sigh,- "What a waste of resources. The spirit tracks are vanishing and yet the Princess insists on performing these ridiculous ceremonies."

The Chancellor tutted and shook his head in annoyance. Link frowned: wait, what did this man mean the tracks were vanishing? Granted, he hadn't been everywhere in the world, but the tracks he and Alfonzo used were perfectly fine. They were the Spirit tracks, they couldn't just vanish for no reason at all! Sighing, the Chancellor looked at Link again and nodded his head to the side:

"Well, come along, boy. We must get you to your ceremony. Follow me."

He turned to the soldier who'd been watching them silently with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Cole clicked his tongue in annoyance before ordering:

"Don't just stand there drooling, private! Move aside!"

The soldier hurried to do as he was told:

"Yes, sir."

Cole turned to Link as he started up the stairs:

"Come along now, don't waste time."

Link hurried after him, all the while soundly ignoring the little nagging voice in his head which was warning him to be careful as the burning sensation in his left hand faded, but did not fully disappear.

===LOZ: JAH===

Link kneeled before the throne in the throne room, his head bowed per customs. He was alone in the room with two guards and the Chancellor. The princess hadn't arrived. Absently he wondered what she looked like, he hadn't seen her ever before. People often said she was very beautiful, but not much more. What was he even thinking? As Link silently berated himself for his own thoughts and reminded himself to focus on the ceremony, the stained glass window of Queen Tetra, the first queen of New Hyrule, looked down at him in an almost amused fashion, sending different coloured streams of light into the room. Suddenly, there was the sound of doors opening and Link counted the sound of not one, but two people walking into the room. One stopped rather quickly, the footsteps tired and shuffling while the lighter footsteps continued and only stopped right before him. Unexpectedly, Link felt a pull from within him and he raised his head to look at the newcomer, all thoughts of protocol leaving his mind. Before him stood the most beautiful girl he had ever seen with long hair that looked as though it had been made of the rays of the sun itself, startling blue eyes and pointy Hylian ears like his around which a delicate circlet was fastened. She was smiling brightly at him with a smile that made his heart ache and miss a beat at the same time. Somehow it felt like he knew her. It only occurred to him a moment later that he was staring at the the princess of Hyrule and a light blush dusted his cheeks. Contrary to all of his expectations, the Princess only giggled at that. She seemed nice, holding his gaze with an amused look in her blue eyes. The moment was broken by Chancellor Cole's angry outburst:

"Raising your head without permission?! You Ill-mannered urchin!"

He seemed as though he was a teapot about to explode. Link's ears heated up in embarrassment and he was about to drop his head again when the princess turned to the Chancellor and raised a hand to silence him. She turned back to him with a kind smile:

"Don't pay any attention to Chancellor Cole. You must be the new engineer. What's your name?"

The Princess eyes sparkled with genuine curiosity and something else in them. He couldn't discern what that something else was, but for some reason it didn't alarm him. It seemed like something akin to hope, perhaps. Quietly, but in a firm voice, Link answered her question, with a shadow of his own smile upon his lips:

"It's Link, Your Higness. Link Knight."

The Princess positively beamed, her smile becoming all the more breathtaking:

"Oh, that's a wonderful name. Though why does it feel like I've heard it somewhere before..."

The last part she murmured almost to herself, trailing off. She barely perceptibly shook her head in an attempt to focus. Her mind returning to the ceremony at hand she announced:

"Well, Link, by the power vested in me, I hereby proclaim you-"

"We're wasting time here, Your Highness! Please just hurry up and finish this foolish ceremony!"

Cole seemed like he was on the verge of blowing up by the way he was jumping about in frustration next to an elderly gentleman with an interesting moustache in a cream waistcoat. The Princess bit down on her lip and her gloved hands curled into fists that trembled, to Link it was blatantly obvious that she was working hard to stop herself from saying something. Why? Was she not allowed to speak her mind in her own court? It took her a few seconds, but eventually Princess Zelda sighed and her head dropped a bit as she acquiesced:

"Very well, Chancellor."

She made a tiny motion with her right hand and the elderly gentleman came up to her holding something on a tray. She gave him a small smile as she picked up the document that lay on it:

"Thank you, Teacher."

The old man gave her an encouraging smile in return before returning back to his place in the throne room. The Princess turned to Link and held out the certificate, announcing:

"I hereby recognise our newest royal engineer: Link Knight."

She motioned for him to stand up and as soon as he was on his feet again she handed him the certificate, her gloved fingers barely brushing against his own gloved hands. Smiling faintly, she told him:

"Work hard, for we all rely on you."

"I swear to, Your Highness."

She nodded in approval and as he made to step back she unexpectedly caught him by the wrist and made him stop. He glanced at her in confusion, but she merely took a step forward, releasing his arm. Seemingly out of nowhere she produced a sealed letter and held it out to him, whispering hurriedly as he opened his mouth to say something:

"Shh! Take this."

She pressed the letter into his hands out of everyone's view. He opened his mouth to ask her what was going on, but she frantically cut him off in a rushed whisper, looking almost desperate:

"No! Don't say a word now. Read this later...,-she paused for a millisecond, seemingly struggling with herself before she added,- and beware of the Chancellor!"

Smiling faintly once more she stepped away and returned to her tutor who motioned for a guard to open the right door. Together with the older man she left the room, leaving Link standing bewildered before the throne. What had just happened? He was broken out of his reverie by the Chancellor's voice, snide and annoyed:

"The ceremony is over, so I suggest you move along. Why don't you go...",- he looked around for a moment trying to come up with something to say before he turned and smiled almost benevolently at the boy,-"polish your train or something."

He made to step out of the room, but not before chuckling to himself and adding loud enough for Link to hear, an unsettling grin on his face:

"Not that it matters much. The thing will be useless before long..."

And with that he left the room, chuckling, almost giggling to himself as he walked away. Link stood alone in the throne room with only the two guards for company. His hands clenched around the letter and the certificate: Yes, he definitely didn't like and didn't trust the Chancellor. That man gave him the creeps and that was saying something given Link's bad habit of going into creepy places. What exactly was going on here? Link moved to exit the room and as he passed through the corridors of the castle his mind flashed back to the princess's letter. She had really sounded desperate and he was never one to turn away from someone who needed his help, no matter how much time it took he would help them in any way he could. Besides, something inside him was nagging at him, telling him that he had to assist her or he would regret it. He found himself wanting to help her. With that, Link resolved to read her letter as soon as he left the castle walls, wanting to be clear of any prying eyes. Though why did his gut tell him that he wouldn't be seeing Niko anytime soon as he had promised?

Ok, so that's it for the first chapter. This is my first time writing for LoZ so I would be extremely grateful for whatever feedback I could get. Now, for my notes:

1) I have always loved Spirit Tracks, but it wasn't until very recently that this fanfic was born in my mind. I looked up as much as I could about ST, but sadly information is a bit limited so half of this is fact while the rest is me closing up the gaps however I can. If anyone failed to understand, Link's dream in the beginning is actually the opening to the game, props to everyone who got that.

2)I made Link and Zelda 14 because that a) made sense logically (how old do you have to be in New Hyrule to get a permit to drive a train?!) b) worked for them in my head. I honestly hope no one minds, but if there are any concrete ages for them please let me know and I'll try to work the fanfic around to fit that.

3)The dialogue style: I've always written the dialogue like this in my fanfics (and I'm aware that my English teacher would probably want to murder me for this), but if this causes problems for anyone I can try to change it.

4)The past coming back...Hehe. Well, this doesn't start until Chapter 2 so I'll keep my mouth shut until then. It'll be good, I promise. Well, I at least hope you'll like it.

5)I want to get past this scripted dialogue quickly so I can get onto what I consider the fun part of the story, however, I won't rush. Also I'm probably the least consistent updated on the planet so the update times will be random, depending on how the chapter writing goes.

6)Is Tetra this Zelda's great-grandmother? I'm confused about that.

7)Oh, the AU elements, right. Well, those start up later, but you can already see hints of them in this one. Let's just say I want the three Golden Godesses, Hylia, Old Hyrule lore and people and, of course, the Triforce to play a much bigger role, but, really this is much more apparent later.

8)Last thing, I swear: the translation. People who've played ST know that the EU and the US translation are different, just a few names, nothing too major. Which one will I be using? Some things like Outset Village and Staven (Byrne - in the US) will be from the EU, but others like Skuldritch and Cragma will be from the US. I really hope no one is disappointed because of this.

Okay, that's it for this super long author's note. Apologies. Well, R&R at your on time. Goodbye for now!