Oh wow I wonder if that princess character in the last chapter is important in any way :3c
Chapter 3:
Zelda
This is not good.
He had to get away, now.
If she saw him…
She was still singing, completely oblivious to the fact that he was right there.
He'd never seen the princess. In fact, no one in the whole city had ever seen her. She never came out, and it was said that she was ferociously protected by her father. That's why Link was surprised she was alone.
At that moment, she stopped and started another song. He realized he knew that one: It was his favorite on the ocarina.
You should go, Said the small voice of reason at the back of his mind.
Shut up! Screamed the rest of his brain. But Link had learned the hard way that the small voice was always right.
He slowly backed away, really hoping he wouldn't step on a…
-CRACK!
… Dry twig.
All of a sudden, the music stopped. The girl called out:
-Who's there?! Show yourself, or I'll have to use my, uh… Lyre…
Link stayed still, praying not to be seen.
-I know you're there, uh… Whoever you are…
She was now standing, looking around, brandishing her harp like a weapon.
-There's no point in hiding! Come out, wherever you are!
This time, her tone was slightly more forceful, so she actually sounded like a princess.
And this time, for some reason he didn't understand, he ignored the small voice and stood up. At the time, he didn't know what repercussions would come of this act.
When she caught sight of him, her eyes widened. Then, she burst out laughing.
-You scared me to death! I thought you were a moblin or something! I…
She started laughing even harder. Link didn't see just what was funny, but her laugh was so engaging, he couldn't help but smile.
She was sitting now, trying to gain control over her laughter. She took a long shaky breath and said:
-Come over here. It's been a while since I've laughed this much, or seen someone my own age.
He timidly stepped out in the open, just now noticing how filthy and bedraggled he must look.
-Come on, don't be shy, She called: I just want to talk to you.
He walked towards the fountain, towards her. He wondered if he should bow or something.
-You can sit down if you want! She said, patting a place beside her on the fountain's edge.
He sat.
She looked him up and down. He hopped she didn't see him blush.
-I haven't seen you around before, have I? What's your name?
Link flinched, like every time someone asked him that question. How are you supposed to answer a question like that when you can't speak?
He never had. From as far as he could remember, he'd never spoken a word in his life. His voice just didn't work.
And when people didn't know that, things got complicated real fast. They'd go "Aren't you gonna answer me?" or "Did you even hear me?", and he'd helplessly try to explain his inability to answer. Some got it and would take pity on him, but most simply didn't understand and despised him. Link didn't want to be pitied or hated, he just wanted to be understood.
He was just about to gesture that fact when she said:
-You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just think it would be nice if I didn't have to call you "you" all the time. I'm Zelda, by the way.
Zelda? It seemed familiar, like he'd heard it before. But he couldn't remember where or when.
Although she'd just said he didn't need to, he still wanted her to know his name, or at least to communicate with her. The only way for him to do that was hand gestures.
Lucky for him, he was quite good with his hands, mostly because they were the hands of a thief and a musician. He could do amazing things with his fingers: he could twist them into bird-like shapes, or move them in soft flowy movements, like a jellyfish. He also had a knack at communicating in what you might call sign language. If everyone could speak that way, life in Hyrule would be a hundred times easier for him.
But they couldn't, so to communicate, he had to simplify his movements into charades, so they would be clearer to non-signers.
-So…? She inquired.
He decided to tell her about his muteness, charade-style.
First, he lifted three fingers in the air, to indicate there were three words. Zelda seemed surprised by this, but she didn't ask any questions, so he kept going.
He lifted one finger to indicate the first word. He then pointed to his eye.
-An eye…
He pointed again.
-Eye… I?
He nodded, and lifted two fingers: second word.
He placed his fingers in an "x". It took longer for her to guess, but she finally got it.
-I… Can't?
He nodded again, pleased with himself.
He raised three fingers. Third and last word.
This time, he put his hand to his mouth then moved it away, mimicking a voice.
-I… Can't… Speak?
He nodded.
-Oh…. I see. So that's why…
She seemed to think for two seconds and then:
-Wait here, I'll be right back. And she dashed off to the castle. Link wondered what she was up to.
He was surprised about her reaction. No pity, no grand statement. She had understood, that's all. He wished more people reacted like that.
Zelda still wasn't back, and Link was starting to fear someone would find him before she did, while he was out in the open like this. So he walked to the nearest tree and skillfully climbed it. He'd never climbed a tree before, but he seemed to instinctively know what to do.
By the time Zelda got back, he was comfortably perched on a branch, examining a leaf he'd plucked out of it.
Zelda walked up to the tree, a curious smile on her face.
-You have an intriguing behaviour, you know that, don't you?
He shrugged in answer, and jumped down next to her.
She smiled and then said:
-Look what I got! It'll be easier to communicate this way.
She brandished a pile of paper, a quill, and a bottle of ink.
Link's eyes widened. It had been a long time since he'd seen actual paper. It reminded him of happier days, long ago when he still had an actual home…
He followed her to the fountain, where she was busying herself setting up the paper, ink, and quill.
-So… As I said earlier, my name is Zelda. What's yours?
Link took the quill dipped in ink. It had been such a long time…
Seeing his hesitation, Zelda asked:
-You… Do know how to write, right?
He nodded dismissively. Of course he did. It had been a while, but he still knew.
He put the quill on the paper.
Link.
-Link… She said. Link couldn't help thinking he liked the way she said it.
-Link… I've heard it before… It's important… She said thoughtfully. Then, she seemed to come back to reality.
-No last name?
He shook his head.
-But… Don't you have some sort of family?
He wrote:
Not really…
-Oh… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…
It's alright. I never knew them anyway.
-Um… Sure, She said. Then, in a humoristic tone, she added:
-Last names are overrated anyway. I mean, who in the world calls me Zelda Lillian Van Hylia the eighth after all?
She laughed and he smiled.
To him, being an orphan really was no big deal at all. He'd been like that through most of his life. You get used to it after a while.
There was a moment of silence, then she asked:
-You know, I'm surprised father let you in. He says people my age are "bad influence" or something.
Link looked down, biting his lower lip.
-Father did let you in, right?
Um… Funny thing you should ask… Let's just say I accidentally opened this secret door and…
Silence. He kept on writing.
I can leave if you…
-NO! She cried, then regaining composure, she began:
-You know, as I said earlier, my father is obsessively overprotective and I…
-ZELDA?! How many times did I tell you not to go in the gardens alo-… Zelda, who is that with you?