Chapter 2

Aoife woke up to her stomach grumbling. She groaned, knowing there would be no food in the kitchen. She cursed her kindness; allowing a stranger into her house, and giving him her last meal! Thinking about it now, she was happy she had even woken up at all; She couldn't remember if she'd even asked the strange boy's name, let alone asked if he was an axe-murderer.

It was still pitch-black outside, even for the early winter morning. Checking her phone, Aoife groaned for the second time upon seeing it was half-past five in the morning, a whole hour and a half before she usually got up at seven. She flopped back on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling.

She considered what to do with the blonde-haired boy. On one hand (and probably the safest option) she could take one look at the gash on his head, decide he was fine, and send him on his way. On the other hand, (and this was somewhat more enticing) Aoife could let the boy stay, and see what happened. She had been wishing for a bit more adventure in her boring life. Letting him stay just might be the adventure she wished for.

Aoife woke up to her stomach grumbling. She groaned, knowing there would be no food in the kitchen. She cursed her kindness, allowing a stranger into her house and all that.

She then realized the sun was beating down through her window. Eyes flying open, she grabbed her phone and swore. It had already gone nine! She must've turned her alarm off when she woke up earlier, and then fallen asleep trying to figure out what to do with that boy.

Springing up out of bed, she ran out of her bedroom, across her living room and straight into the bathroom.

Which is where she ran straight into Link, who had been sat on the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" Link apologised. He had been sat on the floor, trying to figure out the words on a bottle of shampoo. He come in to use the bathroom during the night, but upon seeing the colourful bottles he'd become distracted. It had only been when Aoife had trampled him that he'd been lifted from the spell.

"It's fine!" Aoife clutched her head. When she'd ran into him, her momentum had carried her on and she'd fallen, hitting her head on the way down.

"Why are you in such a rush?" Link cocked his head to the side slightly. Aoife swore.

"I'm late! I'm late for college!" she exclaimed, standing up and starting to push Link out "You need to get out so I can have a shower!"

Link got up and left the room, allowing Aoife her privacy. He sat down on the couch in the living room, and let his mind wonder.

His name was Link. He knew that. He was from another world. He knew that too. Things here were strange to him, like the horseless carriages they called 'cars', toilets that flushed from the touch of a button and strange styles of dress. But, he could not remember where he was from, or how he had gotten here. Whenever he thought he knew the answer to a question, the thought seemed to pause on the tip of his tongue, and fizzle away. Who was the Princess? Why did that word strike a sense of importance into his heart? How had he gotten here? And how would he get home?

Aoife showered as quickly as she could. Deciding to forget washing her hair in favour for tying it up to save time, she grabbed her peach-scented body wash and her loofah. Not even waiting for the water to heat up, she leapt into the shower, cursing quietly as the cold water battered her slim frame. She squirted out a bit of body wash onto her loofah, and began to scrub away the grime of sleep. By the time the water had heated up, she was out and drying.

"Oh, shit!" Aoife exclaimed. In her rush, she'd forgotten about bringing her clothes in, meaning she would now have to walk past the (still-nameless) boy in her living room in only a towel. Wrapping herself up as tight as she could, Aoife opened the door a crack.

"Are you there?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Look away. I- I forgot my clothes and I only have a towel."

"Oh, I see." Link blushed, looking away from the door. He heard it open, and heard the girl pad across the floor quickly. He suddenly realised he didn't even know the name of the girl who had set him up for the night.

"What's your name?" He blurted. Aoife stopped in her tracks, her hand on the handle to the door of her bedroom. She looked around.

"My name's Aoife." She said "Didn't I tell you?"

"I don't remember." He confessed quickly, "And I'm not sure I told you mine, either. My name is Link."

Aoife dressed quickly, choosing a warm sweater dress with thick tights. Just because it's cold, doesn't mean you can't be stylish, right? She chose to ignore her makeup, after all if she wasn't bothering with her hair, there was just no point. And by this time, it was much too late.

"Where are you going?" Link asked as Aoife grabbed her bag and keys. Aoife stopped, realisation dawning on her. She couldn't leave this stranger in her house! Even though she'd let him sleep there, to leave him alone would be honestly asking for trouble. Her mind came to the easiest solution.

"College." She told him "And you're coming too."

By the time Aoife had dug out some of her father's old clothes, got Link dressed, and got down to the car park, she didn't even think there was much point going in to college. It was already nearly eleven, and she'd missed her first class of the day. But she wanted to pass Sociology, so even though it was only an hour and a half, and her only other lesson of the day, she forced herself to go.

Stomach grumbling, she thought of the food shopping she would do later as she pulled out of her space. Link looked absolutely terrified. Being in the car last night hadn't been too bad as he'd been confused, but now seeing the road and everything whip past him made him scared. He was so sure one of the other cars would hit them as they came towards them, but they always missed.

"Why am I coming with you?" Link asked, looking over at the girl. She was concentrating hard on the road, hands only leaving the wheel to change the gear.

"I can't really leave you at home." Aoife laughed, "I mean, what if you turned out to be a thief? You're nice and all, but I really can't spare any money right now."

"Why would I steal from you?" Link stared at her, absolutely gobsmacked at the idea. That he would try and steal from someone who had taken him in when he knew nothing, fed him and even clothed him.

"I don't know, actually. I mean, I did only meet you last night. And I picked you up off the side of the road."

"After hitting me with your car." Link smirked. Aoife glanced sideways at him, and then looked back at the road with a smile on her face. For some reason, his flippant comment had caught her off guard. In her heart, a flicker started. She could feel it, but immediately she quenched it.

Feelings like this only ended with her getting hurt.

Once they arrived at the college, Aoife handed Link a bag.

"You're supposed to have an ID card." She explained "But no one ever checks them. You look like you're nineteen-ish, so you should be okay if you look the part. I'll take you to the student centre, just sit there and don't talk to anyone, okay? My lesson only lasts an hour and a half, then I'll come back and collect you. Can you manage that?"

"I think so. What if someone asks me for ID?" Link fiddled with the strap on the bag.

"They won't." Aoife thought for a second "But if they do, pretend to search through your bag, then apologise and say you haven't got one. Say you've left it in the car, okay? Then come and stand by the car."

"And what if they follow me? To the car?"

"Then run."

"Really?"

"No!" Aoife laughed. "They won't, okay? You'll be fine. Now come on, I'm going to be even later than I already am."

Link nodded, and followed the girl as she began to walk towards the building.

Aoife sat Link down at a table in the student centre. They'd stopped off at the campus café for some breakfast, though Aoife had chosen to forgo as she had to get to class. She was positively ravenous now, and feeling slightly weak, but she really had to get to class. She left Link at the table with a pen and paper, telling him to write something to pass the time. She then rushed off, heading for Sociology.

Link looked around, taking a bite of the meal Aoife had bought for him. The label proudly informed him that it was a cheese panini, and whilst he had no idea what that was, the warm bread and gooey cheese was welcome. It was a familiar taste. The room he sat in was quite big, with large windows letting in lots of light. Tables were scattered around, some of them with students sat around. Some worked, some ate, and others messed around. As he zoned out watching them, he began to think about when he was a teenager. He was what, twenty-three now? Maybe. He hadn't really done education past the basics back home. Home. He really wished he knew where home was.

"Was you looking at me, mate?" Link heard a voice ask, and none too kindly. He snapped back to his senses, and realised there was a student standing next to him, leaning into his face.

"I'm sorry?" Link spluttered. The boy smiled, but it was more of a grimace.

"I said, was you looking at me, mate. Because it looked to me like you was looking right at me. Was you checking me out? Are you some sort of fairy, mate?"

Fairy? That word meant something to Link. Brief flashes of blue fluttered through his mind…

"Hey, Listen to me!" The guy clicked his fingers in front of Link's face. Link was confused; he'd zoned out, yes, but he didn't think he'd offended anyone. But from the way this guy was talking…

"Oh, leave him alone Tom!" a girl walked over, crossing her arms. She was stood behind Link, but he could smell her perfume immediately. The sweet smell of strawberries…

"Leave him alone!" a voice, feminine, shouted. If Link hadn't been curled up, he would've seen the young brunette girl run right up to the group of boys attacking him. He'd been walking home from school just like any other day when they'd set upon him, stealing his book and pushing him to the floor before kicking him.

"What are you going to do, girly?" the biggest boy taunted, "Ruffle your skirts at us?"

The girl took one look at him, and smiled.

"No." she said, "I'm going to tell you to stop."

The girl stared at the boys. They stared back. Finally, the biggest boy gave.

"Tch!" he spat, "Whatever. It's not worth it. Come on, let's go."

As the left, the girl knelt by Link. She stroked his back gently.

"It's okay, they've gone now. It's safe, you can get up."

Link slowly uncurled himself, and looked up. He was hit by the sweet scent of strawberries.

"Zel, you've had enough fun now." A voice off to the side spoke. Link looked over sharply, but whoever the voice belonged to was shrouded in shadows.

"Aww, okay." The girl pouted. Link looked at her again.

"You're Zelda." He realized, "You're the princess, aren't you?"

"I'm not the princess." The girl smiled, and began to turn around. "I'm just an ordinary girl." She added, and with that she ran off into the darkness of the alleyways.

Link turned around to look at the girl. She had long brunette hair, and eyes like sapphires.

"Zelda?" he asked.