Author's note: So, I have been told that in England and some other places 'recognized' is spelled with an S. Interesting. Besides that, in this chapter, Link meets the aforementioned 'boy with lavender hair'. BTW, I've got a new favorite fourteen-letter word- 'aforementioned'.

I sat bolt upright clutching my racing heart for the gazillionth time that night. I kept having nightmares about getting picked on, but this last one had been different. A lone raven was trying to escape a flaming forest. Trapped beneath the blazing canopy, it had desperately navigated around tree trunks while trying to avoid flying embers. It could see unburned land ahead, but a branch fell leaving only a slim gap. ...Maybe he could just make it, but- that was when I had awakened.
I looked out the window and tried to slow my heart rate. Lightning lit the room for a moment and thunder crashed. It had been so real. More than the other nightmares- this one seemed more ominous and clear. Was it a sign? I mentally snorted. Well, that sounded stupid, I thought. And here I thought that I wasn't superstitious.

Rain lashed the window. It hadn't let up all night. No wonder I kept having nightmares. I looked at the clock. 5:50. Well, no use trying to sleep much longer. I'd just have to get back up for school. Hmmm... maybe I'd have enough time to make a cup of cocoa and get to school earlier! Now that sounded like a plan!

The rain did lighten up a bit before I left, but it hadn't stopped completely. I didn't bother to wait for Zelda; if I did I'd be soaked to the bone and rather irritated.
The high school was only a block from the middle school, which was convenient- I didn't have to walk much farther. I was scurrying along the sidewalk by the middle school and looking up at the sky when I ran into a middle schooler who had also been looking at the sky. "Gah!" he cried as his bag fell open scattering folders and pens all over the place. Have I heard that voice somewhere? It feels familiar.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said and I bent down to help him pick up his things. "I should've been watching where I was going instead of the sky."
A binder I pick up had a hand-drawn picture of a raven in the clear pocket on the front. It was flying through rain and looking away from whoever was looking at the picture. There was a dejected air about it. My dream flitted through my mind. I looked up and the boy noticed what I was holding.
"Gimme that!" he said sharply and jerked it away from me. His long lavender hair covered one of his eyes and he turned to stuff what we had gathered back in his bag before I could get a good look at the rest of his face.
"Okay, I think that's all of it," I said. "Hey, what's your name?"
"Why should you care?" He sounded more scared than rude.
"Why shouldn't I?" I retorted.
"Well, why don't you call me a freakin' bookworm like everyone else does?"
"Oh, come ON! You just don't want me to make fun of you, am I right?" I had just remembered where I'd heard his voice. Yesterday, in the park- that had been him the other boy had thrown the book at. "Am I RIGHT?"
He looked up at me (I was taller, hehehe) with defiance in his eyes. But defiance wasn't the only thing clearly visible in his eyes. He was fighting tears. Like I had so many times before. And he was scared.
"Let me go!" I was only keeping him from running away by holding onto his arm. "I'll tell you my name, just let GO of me!"
"Okay," I said softly, the I released him. "Now hold up your end of the bargain."
"Vaati." With just that he ran off towards the middle school.
Vaati. Now I knew why he hadn't wanted me to know his name. It was an unusual name, just like mine. He was an oddball, like me. You aren't alone, I thought.
Then I realized how late I was going to be if I didn't hurry up. Making a mental note to talk to him after school, I turned and headed towards the high school once more.

Author's note #2: If you didn't know, the only two Zelda characters with purple hair are Vaati and Shadow Link. Yes, Shadow Link is depicted in the manga as having purple hair and blue eyes. Dark Link has white hair and red eyes. Don't get them confused. Please.

~ Fantasy