First chapter was boring, this one's better, promise. And yes, there's a pun in someone's name in here. I couldn't help it... Sorry.

Training was normal that day, but because of his previous exercise in the morning, by the time it had finished Link was worn out. The fact that it was a very hot day didn't help either. Sensing that the boy was at his limits, his grandfather went to bring the children some water.

"Hey, Link, are you okay?" Zelda asked as Link plopped onto the floor in pure exhaustion.

"Just really tired. It's nothing to worry about, Princess." He smiled, trying to control his breathing.

"Link, you don't have to call me princess. Zelda's fine, really." She said, returning a smile.

Link blushed slightly. He and Zelda had been friends since they were very little but he was so used to calling her princess. Zelda just preferred to skip all the formalities since they knew each other so well. Still, Link just got nervous calling her just by her first name.

"Sorry, Zelda…" He strained to say. Zelda smiled again and sat next to Link. A breeze came by and Link accepted it gratefully. Zelda also seemed to be enjoying the breeze as well. She had trained hard too and was improving pretty fast for a beginner.

"You know, you've been improving a lot since you first started." Link said.

Zelda shrugged and pulled some stray hairs behind her ear. "I guess… I still think I'm just as bad as last time. Do you really think that or are you just saying it because I'm a princess?"

"No, nothing like that!" Link started. "I mean, I'll always be completely honest with you!"

Zelda smirked. "So if I wasn't really getting better you'd say it right to my face without worry?"

She'd backed him into a corner, as she always did. Link could do nothing but smile nervously, afraid of how he should respond. Trying to avoid looking at her he turned quickly to see if his grandfather was coming yet. Instead of seeing the old man, though, he saw a royal escort guiding a red-haired man in black to the throne room. He didn't remember hearing about any visitors to the castle…

"His name is Ganondorf." Zelda said. Link glanced at her to see a look of utter disgust on her face. He then looked back at the group to see them going out of view. "He just came yesterday. He said he's a traveler from the desert but I don't like him."

"Well, why not? Not saying that I like him either, though. He looks creepy…" Link said.

"I don't really know. It's like that feeling when you first meet a person and you immediately dislike them. That's the best way I can describe it. He just seems…" She was trying to find the right word and Link had a pretty good idea of the right word.

"Evil."

"Yes, that's the prefect word!" Zelda said.

"What's the perfect word, now?" Link's grandfather had returned and he was carrying a tray with three glasses of water.

"Thanks, grandpa." Link said as he reached for a glass.

"Yes, thank you Master Kendo." Zelda said, also reaching for a glass.

After they had the water break, Kendo had Link help get the equipment ready. For the most part, the equipment used in training stayed at the castle, but some of the things they brought from home. It was mainly those items they had gathered together. Eventually, Kendo went to get a wheelbarrow, or something to that effect, to make transportation earlier.

"Hey, why don't you tell your dad what you think about that Ganondorf, guy? He'll probably listen to you." Link told Zelda.

The princess thought about for a moment, a look of worry on her face. "He might, he might not… But I'll try."

That's when Kendo had come back. They all said their goodbyes, even though they were going to meet the next day. Not for training but just for some quality time. Well, Kendo would go to do some instruction for the new recruits and of course some review for the current soldiers and guards, but the children didn't have to train tomorrow.

The sun was high in the sky now, just starting to show it was going to get past noon soon. The tide would be up when they got home, Link figured. Maybe he'd fish or maybe he'd train some more. He felt the aches in muscles then. Fishing sounded better.

Link had walked over to the castle the next day, this time not in a hurry. He woke up on time but he still had arrived a little late. His muscles were screaming from the marathon he performed the day before. Zelda wasn't mad, though. She never really had gotten angry at Link. Most of the time, she'd just play around with him and fake anger.

She was in more formal clothing today. Yesterday she wore training clothes consisting of a shirt and pants, today she wore an elegant dress. It was a light dress, as it was summer and to wear something heavy would be bothersome. Still, it wasn't a dress that screamed "I'm a princess, bow down!" It was an elegant pink dress that still looked casual. It gave off her royal nature while at the same time presenting a modest attitude about it. Link always felt underdressed around her…

As always, there was always a guard near the princess at all times. This bothered her as it used to unnerve Link but, he'd gotten used to it by now. Zelda still didn't like it but she understood why the guard was always there. From what Link understood, though, she had to convince her father to keep her from being surrounded by a whole squad of guards.

"So, did you talk your dad yesterday about that guy?" Link asked.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I did…" her head lowered in disappointment. "He said I was worrying too much and that I shouldn't judge anyone by appearances alone."

"Oh…"

"Still, I know there's something fishy about that man!" Zelda said firmly.

Link sniffed the air and turned to see that they were walking by the fish mart. "Are you sure it's not the stall there?"

Zelda rolled her eyes, "No, no! I'm being serious here, Link! Something is definitely wrong here! I just have a horrible feeling… like something's going to happen…" She said softly.

Link didn't know what to think. Zelda was usually pretty good with her gut feelings but… nothing bad ever happened in Hyrule. As far as he could recall, nothing truly horrible and threatening happened in his lifetime. He just patted Zelda on the back and then quickly retracted his hand once he received a dirty look from the guard. "Well, I don't think anything bad's going to happen, Zelda. I mean, maybe you're just…" He was afraid to say it.

"Overreacting." Zelda finished. She looked down at the floor as they walked. It wasn't really a problem. When Zelda walked, normally everyone cleared a path for her so she wouldn't bump into anyone. Still, she seemed disappointed at Link's response. She then perked up and smiled a bit. "Maybe you and father right? I guess I am just overreacting." She kept smiling and then walked ahead. Still, Link could tell it was a fake smile.

Soon the conversation was forgotten, though. They had started doing what children do best: playing. They had found some other children in the market place and began to play games of tag and chase the cucco. The guard wasn't very happy about all of this, but whatever princess says, princess gets. Eventually, they all ended up going to the beach, which irritated the guard even more. They fed the seagulls, built sandcastles, chased crabs. Overall, it was turning out to be a fun day. Something that really is what all children want. But as the day was drawing to a close and the guard was desperately urging Zelda to return to the castle, Zelda seemed to grow a little serious again.

As they were walking back, she asked, "Link, do you remember your mother?"

Link was puzzled. "Where did that come from?"

"It's just… I never asked before because I thought it was a touchy subject but… I think it's something we could maybe both relate to." She said. Link remembered then. Zelda had also lost her mother at a young age, just like him. "Sometimes I do… But it's just small things really. I can kind of remember her voice… I don't remember her face, though."

Link shrugged. "I don't remember anything." He said.

Zelda looked at him, a little surprised.

"Well, I don't. I'm not going lie about it… All I remember is grandpa taking care of me ever since my mother disappeared." He said.

It was quiet again and the sky was beginning to darken into shades of orange and dark blue. The two had gotten into a more light conversation, mostly about the things they had done that day. Then, the soldier suddenly stepped in front Zelda and stopped. Surprised, they look on ahead and saw the man from the desert approaching. This time around, he had no entourage. His face was expressionless as he walked closer and closer. Link saw Zelda tense up, and he even felt himself tense up too. He didn't know why, though. Ganondorf then began to pass the children and the guard, but he paused glancing at the children. A sinister smile came across his face as he looked at the children, mainly Zelda, but before the guard could say "move on" he continued on. No one, not even the guard, had moved until the man was quite a distance away. They all managed to free themselves from their self-imposed parlyzation and continued to walk stiffly to the gates of the castle. It was quiet the rest of the way.

Link stopped at the gates of the castle and Zelda paused to look at him. This was normally the part where they said goodbye for the day, but none of them said anything. All Link could muster was, "I think… I think you should talk to your dad again."

"I think so too." Zelda responded.

Then, they both turned and left.