Oh, man. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry we didn't get this up in what XII called a month, but it was all her fault. She claims that the number 7 is evil to her, but if you want to blame someone , blame her. because it was all her. i offered to help, but noooooooooooo...

I'm just kidding, XII. I lurv you! :P

so, kick back and enjoy the chapter that took forever.

and again, I AM SOOOO SORRY!

Chapter 7

Knowledge and a Chateau Romani

Zelda's eyes flitted open slowly. Her mind spun as it tried to make sense of what had just happened. Heavy breathes came to her ears and she instantly sat up. Not too far away, Link was standing with his hands on his knees for support. Sweat trickled down his unusually pale skin. He looked at her briefly before instantly standing to his full height and giving a small grin.

"Hey, how-?"

"How did you do that?" Zelda asked, jumping to her feet, her hair flying madly.

He gave her a confused look. "Do what?"

"Don't give me that," Zelda snapped. She gestured to the cafeteria. "Why does it look normal?" And, indeed, the scratches and broken tables were all gone. Everything was as it had been earlier in the day, even with the same tables. The floor was still wet from the mopping that had been done recently. She glanced at the clock. It read to be 5 o'clock on the dot… The janitors had mopped this place up at the end of the day (school ended at 2:30 PM)… It should be bone dry after two hours. So why was it still wet? Zelda's attention snapped back to the blond-haired boy.

He stood silently. His eyes held a firm glint as his eyes were locked on to Zelda, who gulped. She could almost see the thoughts swirling through his head. He had been caught and she knew he knew it. Still, he hesitated.

"Tell me what's going on," Zelda demanded, feeling small amounts of panic rise in her body. This wasn't possible. None of this made any sense. Suddenly, the words she had uttered before passing out crossed her mind once again. "Hero of Ti-"

He reached out suddenly and silenced her. Link put his pointer finger to his lips and whispered, "Do you want every monster boss in the school hearing you and rush to finish the job? No? I didn't think so. I'm going to let you go and you need to be quiet. Understand?"

Zelda nodded slowly and Link removed his hand from her mouth. "You're the Hero of Time," she said dimly, her eyes dazed. "You're the Hero of Time," she said again, slightly louder.

Link frowned. Back to square one again. Didn't he just tell her to be quiet? "What are you talking about?" he asked quietly.

Zelda shook her head as she backed up. "Don't do that!" Zelda said, frustrated. "I know who you are and what you're doing here, so just come out and say it!" Link tried to shush her again, but Zelda wouldn't have it. "Say it!"

"Fine!" Link said. "I'm the Hero of Time! Are you happy?" he hissed.

Zelda stared at him, wide-eyed, and shook her head. "No! You're supposed to be dead!"

"Listen! This isn't the time or the place," Link hissed, looking around as the sound of footsteps reached his ears. Zelda glanced towards the door, alarmed by Link's sudden seriousness. "If they see me talking to you like this, then they're going to get suspicious and come after you even more."

"Who's after me?" Zelda asked as her heart began to jump into a fearful frenzy. "What are you talking about?"

Link shook his head as he began backing up. "Look, we'll talk later. You know how to contact me."

Zelda shook her head in a panic. "No I don't! I hardly even know you! How would I have your num-?"

"Just play the Song of Time," Link interrupted. He quickly hummed a few measures of notes. "That one. Your family taught you that, right?"

Zelda nodded as her brain frantically tried to understand what her music had to do with anything.

Link nodded firmly. "Good. Just act normally and you should be safe enough. Just go home." He slipped around the corner and out of Zelda's view.

"Normal?" Zelda wanted to shriek. How could she act normal when the transfer student, who she hardly knew, was supposedly some ancient hero that had died over a millennia aThat was not the definition of normal! "Wait!" she yelled as she ran around the corner where he had disappeared. She stopped, stunned to find herself alone in the cafeteria. Her heart hammered harder in her chest as she spun around, desperate for answers, but Link was long gone.

"Zelda-"

Zelda let out a shrill scream as she closed her eyes and swung her right arm wildly as she hid behind her left for protection. She felt something grab her wrist and she screamed louder.

"Babe, it's me!" a familiar voice came. Zelda's blue orbs opened fearfully, only to meet Ganondorf's oily smile. He grinned. "See? It's okay."

Zelda pulled her arm away quickly. "Wh-what are you doing here, Ganondorf?" she asked, hugging herself tightly.

Ganondorf shrugged. "I just saw you come down here and was wondering if something was… off."

"What? Oh, no! No! Of course not," Zelda said, backing up slightly. Ganondorf Dragmire was never this gentle. Something was going on and Zelda definitely didn't like the strange glimmer in his eye. "I… just forgot my…" she looked around, spotting a pencil on the ground, she stooped to pick it up. "This lovely… thing. And I got it!" she said, trying to calm herself down. She backed into the door and said, "Thanks for… worrying. Bye!" The door creaked slightly as it swung shut after her.

Ganondorf gave a small "oh" and waved with a small smile. When he could no longer hear Zelda's sneakers retreating down the hallway, his expression darkened. "That floating buffoon may actually have a point. But I won't let it happen. Zelda Altari will not find out the truth," he muttered. He turned and began to walk towards the exit that went outside. "She cannot regain her memories."

…

Zelda's heartbeat finally began to slow to regular speed as she sped-walked through the empty school hallways. However, her eyes snagged on every patch of shadow as the ever-present chill stuck on her spine. Everything in the school looked normal; it was hard to believe that anything had happened. That she had been attacked by demon squirrels…

Zelda's steps slowly came to a halt. So many strange things had been going on and it was time she finally got her answers and Link, evidentially had them. She frowned as she resumed her walk towards the exit. Ever since he had arrived at the school, Zelda had known there was something different about him. Her mind thought back to that day in Magic when they had brushed hands and his striking blue eyes…

The Hylian girl shook her head violently at the thought. Why did she always do that? She sighed. Zelda was only lucky that Sheik and Venex weren't there to-"Oh, my gosh!" Zelda said, her eyes widening as she tore towards the band hallway. "I almost forgot!"

…

Midna was suddenly discovering the beauty that lay behind the head-banging sensation of rock music. The motion was very clearing to the mind. The only problems: she didn't have any rock music and, even if she did, no amount of head banging would ever get Sheik and Venex to cease their infernal headache-inducing racket.

"And by the time they find us, we're going to be dead corpses!" Venex said in horror.

"What if the squirrels come back?" Sheik asked. Both boys stopped in horror as they stared at the door entrance, wide-eyed. They looked briefly towards each other as they both broke out yelling.

"WILL YOU STOP IT?" Midna finally snapped, "Because if those squirrels don't come back to kill you, then I WILL!" The two boys looked at her, their hands clamped over the other's mouth. Midna sighed with satisfaction. "Good. Now, we need to get out of her so we can find Zelda. There's no way of knowing what's happened to her." The two boys' hands dropped.

"Not Zelda…" Venex whispered, "Not my little sister…"

Sheik's eyes looked firm in the dim light. "How are we going to get out of here, then?"

"Uh…" Midna stalled. Sheik and Venex were actually… human? "I don't know," she admitted, "But whatever we do, we gotta do it fast. Otherwise, your cousin's going to wind up as squirrel chow."

"Yeah. But… What's with the sudden attitude shift?" Sheik asked, his red eyes gleaming accusingly as the little light bulb flickered off, leaving the three teenagers standing in absolute darkness.

Midna's eyes widened, but quickly slanted defensively. "What's that supposed to mean, Sheikah boy?"

"You're hiding something," Sheik said simply. "Who are you really and what are you doing here?"

"Don't eat Zelda, squirrels! She doesn't taste good! TAKE ME INSTEAD!" Venex yelled, banging on the door. However, the Sheikah and Twili paid no mind to him.

Midna felt her mouth go dry. How had the idiotic Sheikah suddenly turned serious just at the moment when she could not avoid answering? There was no way she could get out with these two goofballs hanging around. If she used her magic, they could wind up getting hurt and she didn't have enough room to pound on the door by herself. She sighed, she had to tell them the truth. 'Zelda Altari,' she thought in annoyance, 'You had better thank me for this someday.' However, before Midna could speak again, the sound of clinking and clomping footsteps could be heard from the other side of the door.

The two who were speaking froze, along with Venex. They stared at the door, breath frozen in their lungs. Midna's eyes narrowed, this was their chance. And whatever was on the other side was about to get a world full of Midna's I've-Been-Locked-Up-In-A-Closet-With-Two-Dorks-For-Too-Long-And-I'm-Taking-It-Out-On-You rage.

There was another clink as the sound of metal rang through the door's lock. This was quickly followed by a metallic click. Midna tensed, ready to pounce out the door and maul whatever lay beyond. However, before whatever was on the other side could make another move, Venex barreled out of the door screaming, "COME GET ME, SQUIRRELS! LEAVE MY BABY SISTER AL-ZELDA!"

Midna stepped out in slight confusion only to see the red-haired Hylian hugging the living daylights out of the younger Altari sibling. A blur whisked past Midna and, soon, there was a Zelda sandwich on the hallway floor.

"YOU LIVED!" Venex yelled. He pushed himself away from his sister quickly and gave her a firm look-over. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Do you have any peanuts?"

"Peanuts?" Zelda asked, looking confused and slightly annoyed. But she still seemed relieved that her relatives were in one piece and that Midna appeared to be somewhat sane.

Sheik said, "I told you to keep them on you for good luck!"

"To get rid of the squirrels," Venex said, laughing like his typical Venex self.

"Of course I did," Zelda said with a shrug. Unknown by the others, her mind was still screaming Link's warning, 'Just act normal.'

Midna's eyes narrowed slightly. He had been involved again. And, as it appeared, Zelda was suffering from mild shock. She must have found out.

Zelda looked up at her 'not-a-friend' with slight confusion. "You okay, Midna?" she asked.

The said Twili shrugged. "Only as sane as a person can be after being locked up with these two idiots," she said, gesturing to Sheik and Venex.

"Thank you!" Venex said.

Sheik nodded affirmatively "Yes. It was very nice to get to know you better, Midna." The serious look was still there, it was just buried under a load of idiocy. Midna could feel it.

Zelda smiled. "Well, isn't that nice. Let's get home. Okay, guys?"

Venex nodded, finally releasing his sister and jumping to his feet. "Yeah! All this talk about nuts has made me hungry. Let's get home and get some chow, in honor that Zelda was not food for squirrels today!"

"Hooray!" Sheik exclaimed, following suit. Quickly, the two boys raced down the hallway and out to the car.

Zelda was about to turn to Midna to offer her a ride home, or to at least call a taxi, when the Twili walked past her and said, "Come on. Or else they'll break the car and we'll never get food."

Zelda, slightly taken aback by Midna's agreement to go with her family, nodded quietly before running out of the school and to her car. If only that day had been a normal one, but, even with the sun shining and the pigeons preening, Zelda knew it was normal.

…

"YOU WHAT?" a voice screeched at a lean figure as it leaned against the opposing wall in annoyance before turning back to the shelf before it and resuming its activities. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, YOU IDIOT!"

"There wasn't a way out of it," he said simply with a shrug. "Besides, it's not like I could hide the truth forever, Koume. Zelda would find out eventually and we need her on our side no matter what way you look at it."

The tiny witch lady fumed, her head of flames flickering slightly higher with her annoyance. "But you're just going to TELL her? It took her forty thousand words just to figure out who in the world you are, Link! That's SIX WHOLE CHAPTERS!"

Link paused and turned to her with a perplexed expression. "What in the world are you going on about, Koume?"

"Ugh! Never mind!" she growled, waving her hand in frustration. "So you're going to tell her the truth."

"Yes," Link affirmed as he placed yet another book on the shelf before him.

"All of it?"

The Hero paused, the weight of the book he held dragging his arm down to his side.

Seeing this, Koume continued, "Ah. Having second thoughts now, are we, boy?" Link didn't move. Koume grinned. "What? Do you not want to hasten her to her death just yet? Or is that still on your mind? You can't take every word the Goddesses say with a grand assault."

"You know it's true too, Koume. You can feel it. There's no point in denying it."

Koume, for once, fell silent.

Link felt the air shift and his stomach felt a tugging sensation as a sweet, ancient melody rang to his ears. "I know what I have to do, so don't get in my way," Link muttered. He set down the rest of the books he had been holding and headed towards the door. Before too long, he had combined the magic of the music with his own and teleported away, leaving Koume lost in thought.

…

After making sure that Sheik and Venex were distracted by the dinner that Mrs. Altari had fixed for them, Zelda slipped out the front door, Ocarina in hand. She couldn't wait any longer. She needed answers. Zelda was going to meet Link.

The tingling sensation hadn't left Zelda since her encounter with the squirrels that day. She stopped and looked around. Her eyes darted to every dark corner she could find on her street as she looked for the source of the sensation. There was nothing there. She shook her head and muttered, "Just act normally, Zel."

Zelda turned her attention back to the problem at hand. How was she supposed to find Link exactly? She looked at the gleaming blue Ocarina in confusion. He said to play the Song of Time, but… How exactly was he supposed to hear her if he wasn't nearby? And how did playing a song count as a calling card anyways?

She shook her head again as she headed towards the town, the place where most teens hung out at six pm on a Friday night. Now that seemed a more likely bet to find the allusive blond. The sound of crunching leaves reached her ears as she pressed through the little town park and her breath branched out before her in the chilling air. She pulled her coat closer to her as she entered the main city, leaving the suburbs behind. She glanced down at her wrist watch. It was six o'clock.

The feeling in the back of her neck spiked and, without another moment's hesitation, she pushed her way into the large crowd.

A single glowing red eye narrowed as it watched its prey leave. Zelda would not escape its sights; it had a job to fulfill. Wind and leaves swirled around it until a large, broad figure had been formed beneath a brown trench coat and followed Zelda into the fray of people.

…

The city lights were beginning to come on and people of all ages and races were swarming the cracked sidewalks as they jostled around, searching for stores or some other form of entertainment.

Even though Zelda was surrounded by people, the feeling still didn't go away. Trying to ignore it, she looked amongst the crowd, searching for the familiar yellow mess that was Link's hair. However, she didn't see it.

She sighed in defeat as she brought the Ocarina up to her lips. She felt stupid playing it in the middle of the street, but… she had to try something… She played the first couple notes and quickly brought them down to a piano as she was getting a couple weird looks from strangers. One guy threw a red rupee at her as he went. Still there was no sign of Link.

Her face turned hot as she muttered, "Well that worked brilliantly." She continued walking, but quickly sped up as the dark feeling strengthened. Something was nearby and it was only getting closer.

She looked covertly behind to her to see a large, burly man in a trench coat, hat and sunglasses following her.

Zelda was jostled slightly as she fought her way to move quicker through the crowd trying not to be highly noticed. Just as she was passing by a darkened alley, a hand shot out, wrapping around her waist while the other covered her mouth, stifling her screams.

"Shh…" whispered a voice.

Zelda obediently fell silent. The man in the trench coat walked past the alley's entrance and stopped for a moment. He looked down the unlit path for a moment before moving on with the crowd.

Apparently Zelda had been holding her breath as she let out a low sigh of relief, the dark presence fading in the back of her mind.

The hands released her slowly as the voice apologized. "Sorry for the theatrics, but I knew he'd have you followed here."

Zelda turned to see Link gazing intently out of the alley's entrance. His blue eyes were still firm as they turned back to her.

"You had to grab me from behind and into a dark alleyway?" she asked incredulously, slight anger starting to build.

He smiled rather sheepishly. "Sorry. But, like I said, I thought you were going to be followed. And, as we just saw, you were… And I really don't get the whole trench coat disguise… It only makes them stand out more…" he muttered as he poked his head around the alley's bend and looked at the trench coat guy.

Zelda followed suit and nodded. The trench coat was definitely what got him noticed by her. "But still," she said. "Did you really have to pull me off to the side like that? I thought you were a stalker or something."

Link shrugged and muttered, "Sorry." His head again glanced around the side of the alleyway before he turned and offered Zelda his hand.

She gave his hand a confused look. After a few moments of hesitation, she reached her own hand out and grasped his.

Feeling that she had accepted the gesture, Link started out into the massive crowd, leaving Zelda little choice but to follow. The crowd pushed them around town for a little bit before Link pulled Zelda into a little café with the name The Milk Bar.

A girl, who appeared to be around their age, seated Link and Zelda somewhere near the back of the restaurant. She handed them two menus and left them to make up their minds.

Zelda wondered briefly why they had come to a restaurant of all places. She quickly shook her head as she remembered why she had agreed to meet with the stranger before anyways. She took a deep breath, looked Link in the eye and asked, "So, if you're really the Hero of Time, why are you here?

"To do my job," he answered simply, looking at Zelda evenly. "To protect you."

Zelda paused. "Why me? I'm just a high school student-"

"Who is constantly followed by monsters of every kind," Link interjected. "Have you ever wondered why they followed you and left everyone else alone?"

Zelda nodded in stunned silence. How did he know that?

"They single you out because you are of royal descent to the first Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

"But I thought she never married…"

"She didn't," he confirmed, sounding slightly impatient.

Zelda's brow furrowed. "Then how would I be a descendant of hers?"

Link shook his head. "I didn't mean that you were literally of her descent." Zelda was still confused and it must have shown because Link continued, "You are a descendant of her brother, Prince Terrick, the king of Hyrule a thousand years ago."

"Okay…" Zelda said slowly. "I already knew that, though. My mom is huge on family history."

"I'm aware," Link said.

"But if I'm not a descendant, then why would they…" Realization hit Zelda full force as she looked at her right hand, which was glowing slightly, along with the one on Link's left hand. "Is it…?"

Link nodded. "Your Triforce is a mark of Princess Zelda's. It marks you as the next Zelda down the line of your family. It's because of that mark that those monsters seek you out. You're a threat to them because, along with the gift of the Oracles, you bear some of the Princess' powers."

"Powers? Like what?"

"Have you made up your mind yet, Link?" asked the woman as she came back to stand at their table.

Zelda instantly jumped back, her eyes gluing themselves to t he menu in an attempt to look semi-normal. The waitress hardly paid any mind to Zelda as she looked at Link expectantly.

"The Chateau Romani milkshake, please," Link said evenly.

The girl grinned flirtatiously at him as she wrote down his order in large, slow loops. She then turned to Zelda, a slightly pained expression on her face. "And for you?" she asked dully.

Zelda felt her anger spike, but she smiled politely as she answered, "The same."

The waitress' eyes immediately went back to Link as she said, "I'll be right back."

Zelda glared at the girl's retreating back. How dare she flirt with Link like that so disgracefully! Besides, he was way too old for her. A thousand years too old! And-… Zelda suddenly stopped her mental, stormy rage. 'Why am I getting so worked up over this?'

"Zelda?" Link pressed after a few moments of silence.

The said Hylian girl turned back to Link, surprised. "What?"

"Questions?"

"Oh, right." The annoying waitress ordeal would have to wait for later… "What powers, exactly?" Something to turn obnoxious females to stone, perhaps?

"Abilities such as the Princess' magical capabilities, being blessed by the Goddess… her knowledge…"

Zelda's brow furrowed. "Knowledge? Why would they be so concerned about that?"

Link paused before looking up at Zelda, his blue eyes burrowing into her violet ones. "Because the knowledge of your previous predecessors holds the answers to defeating the King of Evil once and for all. Monsters seek you out because their master is afraid of finally meeting his end."

Zelda felt her breath catch. "So… If they want their master to survive to take over the world and stuff… Why haven't they killed me yet? It's feels as if they've been following me for as long as I can remember…"

Link hesitated slightly. "They want you to join their team, so to speak."

"Join their team?" Zelda repeated incredulously. "Why in the world would I do that? And how would I even get that's what they wanted if all they've ever done is threaten me?"

"Well… their leader has been trying his own methods," Link said slowly, carefully watching Zelda's expression.

"And who would their leader be, exactly?" Zelda asked quietly.

Link suddenly broke eye contact and he suddenly became interested in the wooden table beneath his fingers. Zelda felt a small surge of impatience overtake her. He had promised to give her answers, why was he holding back? If she was really in a life or death situation, then why should he be silent?

She wasn't sure where the words came from, nor could she stop them, but she could feel power radiating from her voice as she demanded, "Hero, I order you to give me my answers." Zelda felt her heart sink slightly as she noted Link's head pop up from the table to give her a rather startled and, if she wasn't mistaken, a somewhat hurt look.

"Here's your milkshakes," the waitress said, plodding the heavy glasses onto their table. However, there was only one. Zelda couldn't help but feel that she had forgotten about her on purpose.

Link gave a vague nod as he accepted a couple straws from her before waving her off. He remained silent even as she left. Before Zelda could open her mouth to apologize for her out of line behavior, Link whispered, "Ganondorf Dragmire."

Zelda felt her mouth go dry. She couldn't have heard him right. Sure, Ganondorf was a creep and an idiot, but King of Evil? Was he really worthy of such a dreadful title? He was, after all, only a Junior in high school, just as she was. But… Link had said that the monsters' master had tried his own tactics… His flirting? If one could even call it that. Zelda shook her head, but the expression on Link's face told her that she was correct.

"So… Ganondorf… the King of Evil has been trying to seduce me to his side?" she summed up slowly.

Link nodded silently.

"But how is that possible? I mean, the King of Evil was defeated-"

"A thousand years ago by Princess Zelda and the Hero of Time?" Link finished. He scoffed bitterly. "Yeah. History likes to sugar coat the Final War a little too much." His gaze came up to meet hers firmly and, sensing her question continued.

"During the Final Battle that your history books love so much, Princess Zelda and myself took on the King of Evil in one last desperate battle for Hyrule. And, to make a long story short, yes, we were able to defeat him, but the Princess sacrificed her life to do so. And even that wasn't enough.

"Before either of us could truly strike a killing blow, he cast a spell that guaranteed his return. It's what I believe the ages have come to call Reincarnation. But, when he comes back, he has all the previous knowledge of his previous lives. The Princess was caught in part of that spell, but… only the knowledge that she had gained continues on…

"So, for the last millennium, he and I have been fighting in an attempt to end the battle that we started all those years ago. Each time there usually was a large scale war that has also wound up in your historical texts.

"Along with the assistance of your predecessors, I was able to suppress Ganondorf and send him back to a younger stage in life. But we have never been able to finish him off once and for all… It's that information that his minions fear, it's that information they want at their disposal. And they'll stop at nothing to get it."

"But I had thought that you and the Princess simply vanished after defeating…" Zelda trailed off as Link shook his head.

"If only things were that simple," he muttered.

The chair that Zelda was sitting in wasn't so hard and uninviting any more. Her mind was too busy whirling around in circles at the amount of dizzying information she had just received. Was she even awake? How did she know that all of this wasn't a dream? Her Triforce suddenly acted up, burning in reassurance that Link's words were true. She inhaled sharply as her mind made a touch down on Hyrule again.

Simply synopsis of the information: Ganondorf, the guy who had been trying to flirt with her for her entire life, was a psychotic thousand year old guy who wanted her brain and to murder the Hero of Time, who was actually a thousand-year old teenager.

Lovely. Whoever had said that Zelda's generation had it easy… Well, she had decided that whenever she met the guy, she'd bop him in the nose and show him just how wrong he really was.

"So…" Zelda started again, slowly. "If both Ganondorf and… Zelda, the Princess, were caught in his spell… How are you still here? I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, but… How is it that you've been around for a thousand years?"

"I think that's another set of answers for another night… Princess." Zelda felt her face flush red as he called her by that title. "In the meantime…" Link quickly grabbed the straws he had accepted from the waitress and handed one to Zelda. "We need to eat this monstrous mound of sugar before it makes a mess."

Zelda had almost forgotten about the ice cream. It had melted quite a bit during their conversation and it looked rather pathetic in its neglected state, but it was still delicious regardless.

Her eyes flitted up to watch Link, who was sipping the same milkshake through his own straw at the other end of the table. His brow was furrowed slightly and the corners of his mouth sagged. In the dark light, Zelda could almost believe that he was a thousand years old. He had borne the weight, dreams and fate of the world on his shoulders for hundreds of years on end… Zelda had so many questions to ask him, but she didn't dare exercise her royal authority over him again. She'd just have to ask him later.

But, at that moment in time, she would just enjoy sharing a Chateau Romani with her thousand year old guardian. Images of the two of them flitted across her mind, but those were quickly drowned in the events of the evening.

*duhn duhn duuuuuuuuuuuuhn* okay! now that we know who Link is...um...yeah. we'll see where it goes. And who would've thunk Ganondork was the evil villan? Hmmm...not like he's ever the villan, nooooo.

anyway, leave a review and I will be eternally grateful. and, just to make it fun, becasue of the title, leave your favorite kind of ice cream! just for fun. YAY!