"Ooh," A high pitched voice intoned deviously, "does someone have a date tonight?"
Zelda spun around in her seat before the vanity. She clutched her heart and breathed heavily. Red and yellow eyes squint out behind a mask of devilish humor.
"Midna!"
The flame haired Twili fell back onto Zelda's bed in a fit of laughter. Zelda scowled and returned her attention to the mirror. She wore a flowing dress dyed a rich purple with swirling floral designs reaching abstractly up the length of the body. She had been applying a light layer of make up before being startled by her best friend.
"Give me a heart attack, won't you?" The brunette muttered, "What brings you here?"
Midna righted herself, settling her petite black dress and sitting attentively on the pink comforter, "I just wanted to see you before Link does."
Zelda rolled her green eyes, "You could have called," She picked up her smart phone, "Or at least texted me."
"Someone sounds nervous."
"I am not!"
"You do too," Midna burst into another fit of laughter, and Zelda shot another glare in her direction through the mirror.
"I'm just angry that you warped in here without telling me," Zelda justified, clipping a silver chain around her neck.
"Or not," Midna grinned, literally floating over on a cloud of shadows to stand beside her friend, "I see that necklace. It's your good luck chain," The Twili waggled her finger, "You only wear that when you're expecting Divine Intervention to come to your rescue."
Zelda let out a hmph and shooed Midna away with a gentle shove. The Twili dramatically fell back against the bed with a dramatic sigh.
"So, Link's finally going to meet your parents tonight?" Midna cleared her throat.
Zelda responded with a tilt of her head, "That's right."
"Well?" Midna's voice rose, "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
Put her head in her hands and shook it, "I really don't know. It could go either way. Either my parents will love him, or…"
Midna made explosion sounds with her mouth, mimicking a mushroom cloud with her blue hands.
"That would be pretty accurate."
"Why?" Midna prompted with childish enthusiasm.
"Sometimes Link will do things…well, he's abrupt. And he won't always think before he speaks, or acts, for that matter. So long as he doesn't say anything inappropriate, I think we'll be just fine," Zelda elaborated.
"You might want to put a silencing charm on him," Midna winked, "Just to keep him quiet. I mean, he's handsome enough to get by with his devilishly good looks."
"Oh, I know," Zelda blushed.
"No, I mean, seriously. You might want to consider it."
Zelda laughed, "I don't even know how to do that. Would you mind teaching me?"
Midna wiggled her eyebrows, "Maybe some other time, you little princess."
Zelda stuck her tongue out at the moniker. She pulled her hair back and sighed. Dissatisfied, she undid it and started anew, brushing the brown ends furiously.
"So, how are things between you and Mr. Team Captain?" The Twili asked.
"Oh, the same. I mean, we just started dating, so it's pretty straightforward…He's nice to me, and I think he really cares."
Midna laughed, "That's what I thought about Zant. And then he dumped me when he found out he was gay and left me for some guy named Ghirahim."
Zelda's face pinched, "I really don't think Link is gay. Just a feeling."
Midna shrugged, "Well you never know until, well, you know," She laughed, "Have you ever considered dating several people at the same time just to get a feel for them before you go and choose?"
Zelda flashed her a horrified look.
"I'll take that as a 'no'."
"Is that…" Zelda whispered, "Is that even a thing? Do people do that?"
"It's what I've been doing," Midna admitted, " It's not bad, none of it's too serious. If you and Link aren't snogging yet, I don't think it's too late. Besides, you're doing disguises in magic class, aren't you? You could just dress up as someone else to avoid conflict."
Zelda continued to stare at her friend with a horrified expression. After a moment, she shook her head to clear it, "Now, that just sounds decietful…I…"
Midna quirked an eyebrow, "What is it?"
"Well, I've been running around using disguises already. Sort of as practice. I'm using my acting so that I'll be ready for this year's musical. I've taken on a few personas, just running around the city, going into shops, cafes, amusement parks, you know?"
"Sure."
Zelda's face hardened, "But that doesn't mean I'll go and do that. I'll see how things go with my parents tonight. For all we know, Link will say something dumb and Dad will get a restraining order," She rolled her eyes, "Dad…"
Midna laughed, snapping her fingers. A plume of shadows erupted from the end of her index finger and deftly did Zelda's hair into a stylish side braid.
Zelda flashed her friend with a brilliant smile, relief flooding her chest.
"There you go," Midna grinned, "You little princess. So, where is Link now?"
Zelda rose from her seat at the vanity, packing away her makeup and brushes, "Oh, I don't know. Knowing him, he's probably off fencing with one of his friends."
"-Hyah!"
"-Toh!"
Link shook the sweat from his eyes from beneath the mask. He crept forward in his stance, waiting for his opponent to make a move. At the sign of a foot opening, he lunged, scoring a point.
Byrne was a much larger boy in build. At first, Link had trouble scoring points due to the other's shockingly rapid reflexes, but after having practiced for nearly two years with one another, Link was able to get beneath the other boy's guard. Both boys were on the Hylian Academy's varsity fencing team. Although Link was the male team captain, there were no hard feelings between the two rather competitive seventeen year olds. In fact, they were the best of friends.
"Nice." Byrne panted as they reset, "Are we tied again?"
Link nodded, exhausted, "Yeah, wanna call it a day."
Byrne removed his mask, his black hair haphazardly falling out of its ponytail. The Lokomo looked up to the giant clock with his narrow amber eyes, squinting at it as the hands read four o'clock, "We've been going at it for almost two hours. Yeah, I'm beat. Got somewhere to be?"
"Yup," Link nodded, "We'll continue this tomorrow during practice, right?"
"Right," Byrne replied, grasping Link's hand in a firm handshake, "Good match."
Byrne mopped the sweat from his brow before tossing the towel into his gym bag. As he zipped his school's fencing uniform in, Link sauntered in from the showers, knocking water from his pointed ears.
"Fancy footwork," The blonde swordsman commented, "Have you been practicing?"
Byrne nodded, undoing his long black hair from its ponytail to comb it out.
"Yeah, Aunt Anjean has a friend who's been training me lately," Byrne said, "Are you still going to regional's?"
Link rotated his left shoulder and hissed as something cracked, "Nah. I'm going to sit out this time around."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Link shrugged, "The doctor told me to rest up. Can't argue, right?"
"Right. Shame, though. You were working really hard for this," Byrne commented, putting the comb down on the bench, "You don't have to have surgery or nothing, right?"
Link ran a hand through his wet hair, "No, it's not that bad. Just a bit of tendonitis. "
Byrne tied his hair off again with a concerned frown, "Should you be training?"
Link grabbed his gym back and started changing, "Oh, yeah. I'm clear for stuff like this. If I were to go to competition it'd be a totally different story," He slid into a white dress shirt and black pants, "How do I look?"
Byrne grinned, "Wait, is it Friday already?"
"It was seven days ago," Link ran his hands down his front, "Should I wear, like, a bow tie or something?"
"Nah, you look pretty great," Byrne smirked, "There's just one problem."
Link glanced up, blue eyes dead serious, "What's that?"
"Your hair looks stupid."
Byrne jumped up on the bench and assaulted his friend, running his sweaty hands through the blonde's hair. Link elbowed him and twisted his assailant into a choke hold. Byrne ran Link into a row of lockers while Link's grip tightened. The blonde grabbed Byrne's ponytail holder and undid it before giving his friend a rough noogie.
"Ok, uncle! Uncle!" Byrne gasped and Link released him.
Link turned towards a mirror, "What's your problem? Dude!" He flattened his hair.
Byrne gave a deep chuckle, "Oh, come on. You are so tense about this! You've met her parents before, haven't you?"
"Nope."
Byrne's grin disappeared, "Oh…"
"Yeah," Link barked, "Oh."
The blonde rolled his eyes in front of the mirror, "You're such a dumbass, you know that?"
"Okay, okay!" Byrne put his hands up, "I'm sorry. I honestly didn't know."
Link gave a huff and straightened out his shirt. He ran his hands through his hair again.
"Yeah, it's fine," Link shrugged it off and Byrne sat back down on the bench with their bags, "Alright. I need your opinion on something. Earrings or no earings?" Link asked, pointing to his purple double piercings, "Zel's parents are pretty old fashioned."
Byrne threw his hands up, "Uh, excuse me?" He gestured to himself, "Single," Link gazed at him, blankly, and he continued, "You really want my advice on how to win over a girl's parents?"
"Right. No earrings, then," Link said, undoing the backs of the studs before walking over to his bag on the bench and slipping them in, "You know, you should get into the dating scene. It's a lot of fun. It'll get you out of the house for once. What do you do all day besides play videogames?"
"I don't really play videogames all that often," Byrne commented, "I dunno, fencing?" He laughed, "I read. I play guitar. I hang out with Nabooru and her crazy friends. Ralis has been emailing me about his trip overseas…"
Link shouldered his bag and stood, looming over Byrne, "You're practically a shut in. Come on. There's gotta be a girl you like."
Byrne groaned, "Why are you so interested in my love life? Or, lack thereof? I'm allowed to be single if I want, right?"
Link laughed, "You're miserable. Like, all the time. Would you at least consider it?"
Byrne rolled his eyes and huffed. Link grinned, glaring at Byrne, waiting for him to crack.
Byrne sighed, "Okay, if you really want to know, there's this girl at the café."
"Alright. Which one?" Link crossed his arms.
"You know! It's the one right across the street from the creepy mask shop."
"The Great Deku Tree Café?" Link inquired, a blonde eyebrow rising, "I've been there a couple of times. Hold on, I've never seen you there."
"What?" Byrne scoffed, "I get an iced chai every morning. Anyway, there's this girl always sitting by the window. It looks like she's studying music theory, or something. I haven't been able to look too closely."
"Iced chai? Seriously? You're so weird," Link responds, dryly, "Okay, continue. What's she like?"
"I haven't ever talked to her."
Link threw his hands up, "Then go talk to her! Get up, move your butt, and talk to her. You're musical, right? Talk to her about guitar, or something. Or just say hello so she knows you exist," Link recrossed his arms, turning, "I'd love to stick around and chat for longer, but I have to go. Aryll has a dance recital tonight, and since I have the car have to drop her off before I go meet Zelda's parents."
Link slipped on a pair of shiny black dress shoes and headed out towards the door. Byrne sprang up, stretched with a grunt, and followed his friend, shouldering his bag on the way out. They exited the locker rooms and traveled down long quiet hallways.
"Hey," Byrne said, in parting at the school entrance, "Good luck tonight, yeah? Not that you'll need it."
Link pivoted and grinned, "Yeah, thanks. And you too. Text me and tell me how things go with this new girl."
Byrne mounted his bike and headed off. Down the streets he rode, sweating in the heavy heat of the late afternoon sun. Occasionally he would tip a water bottle back he had stashed in the holder between his legs, but the water was warm and stale tasting. He mentally chastised himself for not packing an extra bottle. He had brought full liter for practice with Link, he had already drank it all and he didn't want to carry extra weight on his back while he rode up and down hills.
As he passed through town, weaving off and on the pale sidewalk, he caught sight of the creepy mask shop and paused. Squeezing the breaks, he jumped off the bike and locked it against a street sign.
"Hi, can I help you?" The café girl asked the Lokomo, cheerfully, "Try the daily specials! We have chilled Goronade and freshly made Deku Sprout smoothies."
"Can I just have some iced raspberry juice?" Byrne asked, and she nodded.
"Ok, and what size will that be?"
"Large, for here."
"Coming right up!"
Byrne handed her a blue rupee in exchange for his drink. He wandered over to one of the wooden tables and sat down, stashing his bag beneath the seat. Leaning back he took stock of café. It was really slow during this time. There were only four other customers seated.
He wiped away the condensation from the edge of his chilled drink and took a sip. The seat by the far window near the café entrance was, disappointingly, void of the blonde girl he was accustomed to seeing hunched over a binder of sheet music.
His heart sank a little and he smirked at his own foolishness. Why did he even expect her to be there? She must only come during the morning.
Finishing off his drink, he placed the glass at a bussing station and left, unlocking and remounting his bike to return home to his aunt.
AN: I hope this was sufficient. My whole goal in writing these stories for LOZ was to experiment with the first person, but I guess I relapsed. Oops. Leave a review, or PM me if it's easier. Tell me what you like and what you hate, please. It makes me a little uncomfortable writing blind to an audience who gives no feedback, negative or positive. Thank you, and take care!
