A/N: Thanks to the reviewers! I love you guys lots and lots!
Lupi Loop The adventure will come soon, I promise! It will all tie in eventually!!
SonoKokuouOtakuJin72491 I should have sent that crazy lady to the hospital, but don't worry. Karma will get her right in the skinny little ass. And how are those hints working out for you? I don't want to spoil it for you by giving away too much, but it will happen soon!
Zombie Dragon Thanks! It's appreciated!! And don't worry; everything will come together very soon. Just give me one or two more chapters and it will all make sense!
GentleSavage I had a feeling you'd like that…and I'm updating another chapter probably this weekend just because you complained and because you showed me the Avatar episode that made me go "YAY!!!"
Summary: Airi is the rich freshman in a high-class college. Finding friendship in her roommate and her best friend, she will be taken on an adventure like nothing she's ever experienced…can't think of a good summary, deal with it
Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda, but Link on the other hand…well…we won't t talk about that here
Chapter 4: Talk of Hyrule
"These are the most expensive books I've ever had to buy," Airi complained. Her arms were loaded with books for her classes that semester. The hefty biology and chemistry books were tearing through the flimsy plastic bag they were packaged in and the lab materials were threatening to spill from another.
"That's what you get for being a bio major," Link replied with a laugh. "I went through the same thing last year. Most of my classes this semester are using the same texts from last year, so I'm lucky there."
"Well, Mr. Lucky," Zelda huffed. "Since you have nothing to hold, why don't you do a couple of pretty girls a favor a carry some books?"
"Sure," he answered, easily scooping most of the books from Zelda's arms and swiping the bags from Airi, giving a mock bow. "Is that better Your Highness?"
"Humph," Zelda sniffed haughtily, sticking her nose in the air, exaggerating playfully. "I suppose that it will have to do."
The three dissolved into laughter and walked back to Morgan Hall together, anxious to get rid of all the books.
Back in 147, Airi and Zelda put every text in the bookcase Airi had brought with her. The next day was the first day of classes and Airi felt the need to get everything in order.
She immediately went to her desk and pulled out a stack of notebooks, going through each one and assigning them to a subject. Glancing through the syllabi, she was able to set up her laptop and create a schedule. Each exam and final date was marked in a planner and each binder was set up with loose-leaf paper and colorful dividers.
"You're so organized," Zelda commented from her perch on her bed. The blond had pulled the elastic from her hair and the blond curls fell in a silky cascade over her shoulders. She was writing on a rough piece of paper, which spread over a notebook for support, with an elegant feathered quill. A bottle of black ink stood on her desk; the cap unscrewed and set off to the side.
"Just a little," Airi admitted as she opened a drawer of the desk. She dropped off a stack of newly labeled notebooks inside and shut the sliding draw with a soft click. She spun smoothly on the black leather chair, swinging to face her roommate, and propped one arm on the armrest of the chair and settled her chin in her hand. "I like having things in order so I don't get messed up later."
Zelda nodded once in agreement with Airi and dipped the quill back into the ink and carefully pulled it out again, mindful of dripping it over her desk and bed. She set the quill to the paper and continued to scratch away at the parchment-like paper.
"Why are you writing like that?" Airi inquired curiously. She had never seen anyone write with a feather and a bottle of ink outside of the movie theatres and historical tourist attractions. As for the parchment, she didn't know where it could even be bought. "Why not just use a pen and some regular paper?"
Zelda looked up for a moment, and considered the question. She glanced at the quill and the parchment before returning her gaze to the girl opposite her. Placing the quill over the bottle's cap so the remaining ink didn't mar her desk, she pushed herself off her stomach and into a sitting position to converse more easily.
"My father loves all this old-fashioned stuff," she explained as she leaned back to rest against the wall behind her. "You saw the pictures. He's all about anything that reminds him of the Middle Ages. We dress up like this every Halloween, you know. My great-grandfather has a load of land off in Ireland and there's an old fortress of some sort on his property. Whenever we can, we go there and my father gets all excited and says it's a castle and that he is the king of some ancient kingdom. He's absolutely insane."
Airi listened eagerly. She had been to Ireland before, but it wasn't really to do anything fun like that. Instead, she went for educational purposes. Instead, wherever she traveled abroad, she was forced by her caretaker at the time, under careful instruction by her own father, to visit museums and attend lectures by several important people who won this prize or wrote this book or found this ancient whatever, blah blah blah. It would be nice to just travel somewhere to do something fun for once.
"So that's why you write with a feather and old crinkly paper?" she pressed, anxious to learn more. "It's because your father is way too connected to the past? That's pretty cool."
"Is it?" Zelda asked quizzically with an arched eyebrow. "I didn't think that someone here would find it that interesting."
"What do you mean 'someone here'?" Airi asked, confusion clouding her eyes. "Where exactly are you from? It can't be that far away."
"From across the country," Zelda supplied. "I live in Wyoming actually. It's just a small town."
"What is it though?"
Zelda paused for a moment, eyes downcast. She met Airi's eyes again and gave a bright smile.
"Just a little place called Hyrule, Wyoming," she said. "You'd like it there, I think."
"I've never heard of a town called Hyrule before," Airi said with a frown.
"Not many people have," Zelda said with a soft laugh. "It's really out of the way, surrounded by forests on one side, mountains on another side, a huge river, and then an even bigger valley. My town is smack dab in the middle of that."
"Geez," Airi commented. "You sound like you're trapped in there. Mountains, rivers, valleys, and forests; sounds like a box."
"It's not so bad once you get used to it," said a voice from the doorway. A quick glance up confirmed the person.
Link leaned against the frame and crossed his arms. He surveyed the room again and noticed new additions here and there. After all those boxes were cleared out, the place cleaned up nicely.
"Who's hungry?" he asked. The girls looked at each other and raised their hands simultaneously.
"We are," they chorused.
Link laughed and shook his head, bright blue eyes crinkled in amusement. He pushed off the door and walked over to the seated pair.
"Do you ladies require an escort?" he asked in a deeper voice, blinking innocently. He extended both of his arms, waiting for the girls to accept.
Zelda immediately stood and moved to Link's left side. She looped his arm through his with a laugh and twisted her wrist to wrap her hand around his bicep. She bumped his hip lightly with her own and smiled at him. They looked toward Airi expectantly and waited for her to join them.
Smiling gently, she rose from the chair and approached Link's right side. She slid her hand around his arm, snaking her own into a comfortable position. She rested a hand on his tanned bicep as Zelda had done and felt the muscle shift slightly. She tucked her other hand into the pocket of the sweatshirt she had put on earlier and shook out her bi-colored hair.
"Shall we?" Link asked, looking first to Zelda, and then turning his head to meet Airi's gaze. Blue met blue and smile met smile.
"We shall," she replied, and together, with slight confusion at the doorway, the trio left the room and walked to the dining commons.
A/N: oooo…a mention of Hyrule. Bet you weren't expecting Zelda to let that one come up. She did an alright job with making up a load of bologna to persuade Airi that her family is only eccentric. Don't worry faithful readers, the action will come soon, I promise. Just bear with me for a chapter or two more. Then we'll get to the really good stuff. You know what will really inspire me to update faster and get to said good stuff though? If you review! So go! Press the bluish-purply button in the bottom left corner and type out a few words. It will make me happy and I'll know that there are actually people out there who want me to keep writing this. So what are you going to do?
WFA