Hey everyone!
So, here I am, starting yet another multi-chapter story.
Welp.
This is set about 5 years after spirit tracks, so that'd make Link and Zelda 17.
Well, my style of writing is usually comedy, but this story won't be taking that route. Tis a challenge for me, and hopefully it'll work out.
I do hope you enjoy it, and if it turns out to be utterly crap, many apologies.
This chapter will be very short, because it's only a lil intro thing, but yeah.
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda (*Crying*)
If you told 10-year-old me that Princess Zelda would be knocking on my door at 3am, I'd laugh in your face and tell you to stop being so stupid.
As it happens, she is.
I know that it's Zelda because a) I recognize her knock and b) I can hear her attempting to quietly say "Link! Let me in!"
"Zelda," I say, opening the wooden door to the small house that I and Niko share, "what on Earth are you doing here at this time?"
"I've run away." She declares, crossing her arms, "I've had enough of being Royalty."
"You can't just decide you don't want to be part of the Royal family anymore," I frown, letting her in and closing the door, "I don't think it works like that."
"Well, it works like that now." She states, dumping her bag on my bed and sitting next to it, "I can't deal with it anymore."
"What happened?" I ask, sitting next to her. It's very unlike Zelda to be so stressed, so something very bad must have happened to make her act like this.
"They said- The council said- Well, they said I have to- to get married." She whispers, grabbing my hand and letting out a small sob, "to someone I don't even know! I don't want to- I don't want to get married, Link! Especially not to some- some creep!"
"Hey, it's alright." I say, pulling her crying form closer to me, "you can stay here. But you know they'll be sending out a search party or something."
"I know." She sobs, holding tightly onto me, "that's why- Well, I kind of shoved some clothes into my bag that I bought from a traveling merchant- so I planned to make up a kind of… disguise. A girl… called Sheik, I think. Because that's what one of my ancestors did, and she didn't get caught for 7 years!"
"They'll recognize your face." I say doubtfully.
"Well, I can always wear a scarf round my face. Say I've got a cold or something."
"Hmm. Yeah, that could work."
"Link?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we talk about this tomorrow? I'm really tired."
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, of course." I say, unwrapping my arms from around her and standing up.
She sniffs and crawls under the covers, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. I lie down next to her and she rests her head on my chest, closing her eyes.
When she sleeps, she looks almost childish. Her lips are parted slightly and she occasionally sighs peacefully.
I'm left wondering how anybody could possibly expect her to get married.
"Link! Get up!" She hisses, shaking my arm, "it's super late!"
I groan and look over at the clock – 9am. Super late for her, maybe. Super early for me.
"Go back to sleep." I complain, burying my face in the pillow, "it's too early."
"You're so lazy!" She says, "get up!"
"No."
"Yes!"
"No."
"Yes."
"No-" I begin to protest, but she shoves me off the bed and I land with a thud on the floor.
"Get off the floor." She laughs, jumping off the bed and putting her face near mine, "why are you always so tired?"
"I'm tired because I was woken up a 3am by someone knocking on the door."
"Well, I walked halfway across the Forest realm at 3am, and I'm not tired."
"Well, you're a princess. You have magic blood."
"I'm not a princess anymore." She says, walking over and opening her bag, "I'm Sheik, and I was born and raised here."
"Oh, yeah." I say, standing up and trailing over to her, "totally."
"What do people usually wear around here?" She asks, pulling multiple items of clothing out of her bag.
"Uh, clothes?"
"Ha ha, very funny."
Eventually she decides on a blue t-shirt and some white shorts. She ties her hair back in a plait and slips some sandals on.
"Well? Do I look like a princess?" She says, picking at the nail varnish on her fingernails.
"No." I say truthfully, "you look like Sheik."
She smiles, relieved, and looks as if she is about to say something when Niko walks in.
"Huh? Link, who- ohh, hello Princess." He says, crossing over to the stove.
"Wha- am I that recognizable?" She cries, looking at Niko with urgency.
"Well, no. It's just that you're the only reason Link would be awake at this time. Plus, he doesn't have any other blonde female… friends." Niko explains, cracking an egg into a pan, "want an omelet?"
"Uh, yeah please." Zelda says, "Niko, as far as anyone knows, I'm called Sheik, alright?"
"Sure thing."
Zelda thanks him and turns back to me, her blonde plait flying out behind her. "Link, whilst Niko's making breakfast, do you mind if we go outside? Only, I want to enjoy the weather before they start searching for me… or whatever."
"Yeah, okay." I agree, pulling on my shoes and opening the door.
The weather outside is beautiful, and it's honestly a shame that the day will be spent worrying about what's going to happen to Zelda. She's trying so hard to be brave, but I can see in her eyes that she's terrified.
Seeing the ocean usually cheers her up. She's always loved it, begging me to drive her to the ocean realm constantly. Perhaps it runs in her blood.
But today, she just stares sadly at the water, her eyes glassing over, and she turns to me and says suddenly, "Remember when Niko fell into the sea?"
"Yeah." I laugh, memories of the old man slipping on a leaf and falling face-first into the water running through my brain.
"That was almost 4 years ago." She whispers, stepping closer to me, "when everything was… easy."
She rests her head on my shoulder and quietly sniffs. "What if they find me?"
"They won't." I assure her, although I don't know. "You'll be fine."
"But what if they do?"
"They won't."
She sighs and stares out into the distance. "I'm… I'm scared, Link."
"Hey, it's alright." I say softly, as she starts to cry, "They won't find you."
"I'm so selfish." She sobs, wrapping her arms around me and crying into my shoulder, "I abandoned my country because I didn't want to get married."
"Zelda." I say, probably a little more sharply than I should have, because she looks up at me terrified.
"What?" She squeaks.
"Zelda, listen to me." I say, looking at her directly into her azure eyes, "You're not selfish. Your well-being is a whole lot more important than anything else. You didn't abandon anyone, Zellie, and even if you did, it was for a good reason."
She opens her mouth to say something, but a sob comes out instead and she buries her head in my shoulder again, "I'm so sorry."
"You don't have anything to apologize for, silly." I smile, smoothing down her hair.
She doesn't say anything, still holding onto me. The wind blows coldly over us, causing the leaves on the trees to sway and the grass to rustle. I felt Zelda shiver, but am unsure if it's because of the wind, or her crying.
Zelda remained the same for the following week. Occasionally, she'd become quiet and request to be alone for a while, but on the whole she was fine.
Sometimes, if someone seems fine, they're often not. That's something I've learned from my time traveling. Of course, some people are naturally happy and smiley, but most people are covering something up. Zelda is no exception, and I should've realized that she was being overly-happy, but I was so relieved she wasn't crying all the time, I didn't worry about it.
Niko has gone out, and I suppose it's the emptiness of the house that set her off.
She was fine up until a couple of minutes ago, but something must've triggered a memory or something, because now she's shaking and sobbing, curled up in a chair. I silently pull her into my chest, because that's the best thing to do. When Zelda has her panic attacks, she can't talk because, as she puts it, it feels like her entire chest is tied up. Sometimes I talk to her, but sometimes it's better to say nothing. What she needs to do right now is get her breathing under control – breathe in for 4 seconds, hold it for 7, and breathe out for 8. Usually they only last about 5 minutes, but she's been trembling and crying for over 15 now.
"Zelda?" I whisper tentatively, but she shakes her head and silences me.
I hate seeing Zelda like this. It's horrible. The first time it happened, I was terrified. It still scares me, because I'm so used to seeing her happy, and singing, and throwing flowers over me, or something.
About 5 minutes later, she finally says, "Link?"
"Mm?" I reply, brushing a strand of hair out of her tear stained face.
"Do you think Malladus is really dead?"
I'm a bit taken aback by this. We haven't spoken of Malladus for 5 years, since we battled him. It's like an unwritten rule that we don't talk of that awful day – I don't know why she's bringing it back up now.
"Well… yes. I do. I mean, we killed him ourselves." I say, choosing my words carefully.
"I can… I can feel something… it's like before." She explains, chewing her nails, "Something evil. It's worse than before."
I try not to act surprised, "Are you sure?"
"Yes." She nods, "What… what do you suppose it is?"
"I don't know." I say, truthfully.
"Maybe I can explain, my dear." Comes a voice from behind us.
A voice that I have not heard for 5 years.
A voice I thought I'd never hear again.
Anjean.