Ok chapter two. Please review

Hyrule Castle Town really was a splendid place. It was made of stone and marble and was very clean. There were statues of lions near the front gate, everything seemed so elegant and everyone looked happy. It didn't seem too busy either, like you would expect of such a high standard place, though it was much busier than Aboda Village

"You got us to Castle Town! And you know what else? You look good handling a train! That's the surest sign you're going to make a great engineer." Alfonzo said. Link smiled, it was rare he ever got compliments from his teacher. "Now just head to the castle for your graduation ceremony." Alfonzo continued "It's up north, you can't miss it. Good luck now! Meet me back here when you're done, I will buy you something good to eat and we can head back to Aboda." Link nodded and headed off, he was a little nervous about going to the castle by himself. But he wasn't going to tell Alfonzo that when he was in such a good mood with him. Alfonzo would just call him spineless if he asked for him to come. As Link passed the mail box he heard a noise. It sounded like someone imitating a train…it WAS someone imitating a train. It was a buck toothed young man dressed in red with a large nose and green hair.

"Hey, hey, howdy mister." The train-man said.

"Err…who are you?" Link asked

"Me? Oh I'm no good at long-winded introductions. I'm just an average guy who works the postman gig to get by. You can call me the Postman. All my friends do. Now that you know my name, next time I see you, don't be shy! Say hello!" The Postman said. Link realized that this guy was the exact opposite of him. He seemed really social and eager about work. Link was a little antisocial, partly because he rarely spoke, and partly because he didn't know anyone his age, but it was mostly because he was shy. He was also pretty lazy. If it hadn't been for Alfozno there's no way Link would have tried to be a train engineer. "Speaking of names, you're Link, right?" The Postman asked. Link nodded. "I've got a letter for you, so I will jump right in and read it aloud. Oh wait—that's the way we USED to do things." The Postman caught himself "But no more! Apparently, some folks thought our reading their letters out loud was rude. So now our policy is to just hand-deliver the mail unopened. Here you go." The postman said handing Link his letter. "Ok, I've delivered your mail safely to you. Well, my work seems to be done here, so I'll be off. See you around!" The Postman said going back to walking and making train noises.

Link took his letter and opened it, it read as follows

Dear Link,

Our new postal system has started running today. If you're reading this letter, it means our new postman is doing his job right. He's as hard-working and efficient as they come! So be nice to him, won't you? We'll be in touch again if anything new comes up.

-The Postmaster.

Link closed the letter and stuffed it into his bag. He headed through the archway to the castle. The castle was very big and very green. The castle itself was not green, it was gray, but it had a lot of grass, hedges, and plants around it. The guards were also dressed in green tunics. Two of them were guarding the door. Link approached them.
"What is it, kid?" the one of the left asked. "We're kind of busy protecting Hyrule Castle right now. If you've got no business here, I suggest you scram!"

"I'm an engineer here for my ceremony." Link explained.

"What's that? You're here for the engineer graduation ceremony?"

"Yes sir."

"Ah, I had completely forgotten that today was the graduation ceremony. Huh, I didn't know they gave engineer certificates to little kids like you…" Link felt his temper rise a bit. The guard was hardly taller than he was and he called Link a little kid? "I guess times are a-changing. Well, go on in." the two guards moved to the side so Link could enter. Link walked in and muttered "thanks" as he passed the guards. The inside of the castle was also very splendid but Link didn't pay any attention. He just followed the red rug to a staircase and politely asked the guard standing in front of it

"Where does this lead? I need to see the Princess Zelda."

"The princess' throne room is up these stairs." The guard responded. "Only invited guests are allowed in." the guard continued "So what that means for you is…GET LOST!" suddenly a high pitched irritable voice rang through the room.

"What's all the commotion here?" Link stared at the person who was speaking. He was a short red-headed man. He seemed to be middle aged. He was wearing red pants and a white shirt with a green tail coat. He had merry eyes and a smile. What made him look so extraordinary was the fact that he was wearing two green top hats on either side of his head. Link wondered how they stayed there.

"Oh, good day, Chancellor Cole! Sorry for the disturbance. This boy says he's here to see the princess!"
"Is that so? You're here for the graduation ceremony?"

"Yes!" Link said grateful that finally someone didn't need to be told who he was and why he was here.

"But you're so young….What a waste of resources. The Spirit Tracks are vanishing, yet the princess insists on doing these ridiculous ceremonies." Link frowned; he was suddenly finding he didn't like the chancellor at all. "Well, come along, boy. We must get you to your ceremony! Follow me! Don't just stand there drooling, Private! Move aside!" Chancellor Cole added to the guard.

"Yes, sir!" The guard said respectfully as he moved over. Cole headed up the stairs; as soon as he was out of earshot the guard gave a sigh of frustration

"I'm sick of him! Princess Zelda is so nice; she lets the chancellor get away with

anything. Now he struts around as if he were king!" Link stared at him for a moment then the guard added in a whisper "Don't repeat that, ok?" Link nodded and headed up the stairs. He wasn't looking forward to the ceremony; so far the welcoming was far from inviting.

The throne room was covered in red; there were two doors at side near the end. One of which likely lead to the princess' room. There were two guards, one near each door. Standing next to one was a nicely dressed old man with glasses. Above the throne there was a glass pane of Tetra the Pirate Queen. Cole pointed next to the throne which was twenty feet high, indicating Link to kneel there for the princess, who was absent. When Link did this Cole walked over and stood next to the other guard.

Alfonzo and Link had rehearsed this. Link was to kneel respectfully to the princess and wait for her to enter the room. Once she did, she would say a few things and give him his engineer's certificate. At this point he was supposed to shake hands with her politely and be on his way. It was pretty short. The old man Link had seen earlier answered Link's unasked question

"The princess will be here momentarily, she is just finishing getting ready." Link looked over at him and nodded before bowing his head down again and closing his eyes. Link soon heard the soft footsteps of high heeled shoes on carpet. Zelda must have arrived. When they stopped right in front of him, Link opened his eyes and looked up. Link gasped and his cheeks turned pink. Zelda's appearance shocked Link. She was much younger than he had expected, in fact she was the exact same age as he was, and in Link's opinion she was beautiful. Zelda had very fair skin, and blonde hair, a lighter blonde than Link's. It went down to her waist. She had the most beautiful eyes Link had ever seen, they were light blue. She was wearing a nice looking royal dress. It was pink; the bottom of it had a strange blue design that remind Link of ocean waves. The front of it had a strip of blue which a strange design featuring three yellow triangles. The middle of it was gold, and the top was purple. She wore white gloves that went to her arms and wore a pink pearl necklace. On her head she wore something that could have been a crown; it was gold with a ruby in the middle. What Link liked most though was that when she saw him she gave him a smile; she was the only person here that actually seemed happy to see him. There was silence for a few moments as Link and Zelda stared at each other. This was broken when Cole yelled out

"Raising your head without permission? You ill-mannered urchin!" Link gasped and turned to Cole, his fantasy world gone. Zelda too turned to Cole and raised her hand, signaling him to stop, she was glaring at him as well. It was comforting for Link to know that the princess wouldn't let Cole bully him.

"Don't pay any attention to Chancellor Cole." Zelda told him gently, she had a soft sweet voice. "You must be the new engineer. What's your name?" Zelda asked.

"Link…" Link muttered shyly. He was a little worried that Zelda didn't hear him.

"Oh, Link is a wonderful name!" Zelda said kindly. Link felt that he liked her; he felt they could be the best of friends if they wanted, he felt like it had all be worth coming here just to see her. And somehow he felt sure that the princess felt the same way. "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 interrupted. Zelda shot him a look of disgust and sighed

"…Very well, Chancellor." The old man whom Link spoke to before came before Zelda with a red velvet cushion, on this rested a paper, already signed with Zelda's signature. It was the engineer certificate. "Thank you, Teacher." Zelda said taking the paper. Zelda began saying the lines she rehearsed for this and Teacher went back to where he once stood "I hereby recognize our newest royal engineer…Link! Work hard, for we all rely on you, Link. She then motioned Link to stand up and gave him the certificate. Link gave her a smile as he took it. Zelda then walked up to shake his hand, Link suddenly noticed that she took out a piece of paper, and she stuffed it in his hand slyly as they shook hands. Link gave her a confused face. "Shh—take this."
"Princess, wha—" Link started but Zelda shook her head with a worried glance at Cole.

"No! Don't say a word right now." Zelda whispered urgently. Link nodded and slyly pocketed the note. "Read this later…and beware of the chancellor!" Zelda then turned and headed back to her room as if nothing happened. Link was too surprised to move. What had that been about? Cole was the last to leave, and before he left, he turned and faced Link.

"The ceremony's over now, so I suggest you move along. Why don't you go…polish your train or something. Not that it matters much…the thing will be useless before long…" Cole gave Link a wide smile and chuckled. Link nearly gasped, he had not seen how sharp Cole's teeth were. They looked like a sharks. Cole turned and left, leaving Link alone in the throne room.

When Link saw he was alone, he took out the note Zelda had given him. It began without preamble:
I have a great favor that I must ask of you in person. Follow this secret path at the top of the castle. Please come to my quarters as soon as you can, and don't let anyone see you.

Zelda

On the back was a drawing the castle and the secret way to Zelda's headquarters, it seemed simple enough. Link thought of Alfonzo who was waiting patiently for him and considered going to him first, but decided he would probably not let Link see Zelda, so Link decided to see Zelda and ask what her favor was. Link headed back down the stairs out of the throne room.

"Oh, so the ceremony's over already? How did it go?" the guard from earlier asked.

"It was fine, thanks for asking." Link responded

"Isn't the princess pretty? I wish she'd look at me just once!" Link raised an eyebrow at this. The guard must have been in his twenties at least. "Um… Anyway…Since today is a special day, you're free to wander around the castle. Just stay away from places you don't belong." Link nodded, feeling a little guilty about what he was going to do. Link headed down and to the right through a corridor, passing a recruit as he went. Link soon saw some stairs and headed up these and nearly gasped. A guard was just turning that way to face him. Link quickly and quietly ran to the right of the stair case and and hid behind a wall. Link saw what looked like might be the secret path. It had some broken stone which had been meant to keep people from climbing it. Link walked along this and took out Zelda's note again. It looked like he had gotten the short cut right. Link continued on the thin stone path until he saw a balcony, Link jumped onto it and headed through the door. Link looked around and saw the door that Zelda passed through during the ceremony; he looked around and saw a staircase. Hoping it lead to Zelda, Link climbed it. At the top was a door. Link opened it slowly, in case he was wrong about the location he was in and could quickly escape. Link heard some beautiful music as he opened the door; it seemed he came to the right place. He saw Zelda with her back turned playing a pan-flute. Link didn't speak and decided to wait for her to finish, she played well. Her headquarters looked like a combination of someone's room and office. There was couch with red velvet cushions and a doll on it. The carpets on the floor were also red. There was a bed and a desk. There was also a table with tea cups and a tea pot and there were two windows. Link took a seat on Zelda's couch and continued listening. When Zelda finished she turned around and faced Link who gave her a round of applause. Zelda giggled a bit and spoke

"I'm so glad you made it, Link! Did any of the guards see you on the way here?" Zelda asked

"Nope" Link responded, even though he couldn't be sure.

"Really? That's great! Listen, you're the only one who can help me." Zelda set down her flute and walked over to Link "I have a favor to ask of you, Link. As you know, the Tower of Spirits has protected our kingdom for ages. The tower connects all the Spirit Tracks that crisscross the land. However, for some reason, they seem to be vanishing from everywhere. Something must have happened at the tower to cause all of this. I must go there to investigate. I've heard tales of a sage who guards our land and lives in the tower. Perhaps she might be able to shed some light on what's happening."

"I see…not to be rude, but why not just go there?" Link asked

"Chancellor Cole forbids me from leaving the castle due to 'safety concerns'" Zelda said rolling her eyes. "I think he just doesn't want me going to the tower though. But why? It's clear he's hiding something….I have a feeling that something terrible is going to happen! That's why I must absolutely get to the tower. What do you think? Will you take me on your train?" Link was getting nervous, he couldn't say no to the princess, and he didn't want to either.

"Before I agree to this I would like to know…why don't you just ignore the chancellor and go? I mean you're the princess, right? Just tell the guards to let you out and go to the tower." Link asked.

"Yes, I realize I'm asking a lot of you…But the castle guards are under the chancellor's control. Whether I order or plead they won't listen to me. You're the only person I can trust…please Link." Zelda turned her big blue eyes to Link and sighed, defeated.

"Of course, I will help you, princess."

"Thank you so much, Link. And call me Zelda, OK?"

"Ok…Zelda. You're welcome." Link said, feeling it was worth sneaking Zelda out and getting arrested just to see her smiling face.

"All right, please put this on right away. It's a recruit uniform." Zelda said handing Link a uniform. It was green like the others but the hat was pointed and didn't sit up straight like theirs. It was also smaller. "The guards are starting their patrols, so getting past them won't be easy. But if you wear this, they'll think you're one of them. Please get changed so we can go." Link turned very red at this, and Zelda didn't seem to understand why. Link didn't want to ask the princess to look away, it would sound like he was accusing her or something. Link slowly took off his hat, arms trembling he began to lift his shirt up. Just when he was exposing his belly button, Zelda gasped and realized why Link was being so nervous. "Oh I-I'm sorry! I'll look the other way. But please hurry!"
"Thank you." Link said gratefully as she turned around. It was still awkward changing when Zelda was only a few feet away from him and could very easily be peeking. Luckily for Link he didn't have to strip completely naked, only to his underwear. Link was just slipping the tunic over him when Zelda asked

"Done?"
"No!" this caused Zelda to giggle a bit. "Ok…now I'm done." Zelda turned around. The uniform was ridiculous in her opinion and it was a little baggy on Link.

"Looks…good enough, I suppose. Now let's go before the guards find us!"

"Find us? You mean they come up here to check on you?" Link asked. Zelda sighed

"Yes they do…it's really annoying and an invasion of my privacy." Zelda said.

"Sorry to hear that." Link said kindly.

"Well, let's get going." Zelda said heading towards the door, Link nodded and followed suite.