Welcome back to the immensely delayed new chapter. This month has been just a huge string of awful situations. I had exams, had some family issues and am currently dealing with an awful cold. Today I had the strength and motivation to write some more. Regardless, let's begin.

Chapter 14: Ride

Zelda was running through a never ending field, the summer sun shining bright and the birds flying overhead, making noises that left her at ease. The grass grazed her bare feet, making her squirm but at the same time also letting her feel free. As she ran by, she could see some small flowers, like the ones she would pick up when she was little with Samus. She stopped to pick up some white and orange lilies that idly stood in the middle of the field, moving gently back in forth with the slight breeze nature was giving her surroundings. Her hair blew slightly; caressing her long sleeved white dress' shoulders. Someone was calling her name.

"Zelda?" Their tone was so familiar, that it took her less than a second to turn around and see who called her name so calmly.

There was no way this was happening.

"S-Samus? Is-Is it really you?"

Zelda's body felt like it was about to give out to her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Samus wore a pink short dress, the fabric shining as if it were brand new, straight out of its box. Samus' hair was shining; it had been washed with the best products out in the market. There was still something that no one would ever be able to change from her, and it was the inside of her. Her personality remained intact, something Zelda could always go back to in times of trouble.

"Of course it's me silly! Come over here!" Samus smiled wide and held her arms wide open. Zelda dropped the flowers in her hands and ran to her at full speed.

In less than a second, she fell to the ground, like if something was pushing her. The ground began to shake, going from slow trembles to uncontrollable shaking. Zelda couldn't get up, and saw the image of her best friend blur itself out until all she could see was white.

"Zelda, get up! God you shouldn't be this difficult, come on!"

Zelda's eyes opened slowly, she was in the same place she was last night. Beneath her was the warmth of a red and golden sofa she had rested in, to her right was the large bookcase she saw moments before shutting her eyes. The sun hit her legs, heating her up comfortably. She looked up and saw the familiar face of the blond who had slept on the other side of the sofa the night before. She blinked and idly tried to shove her hands around the sofa, in an attempt to grab last night's read. She couldn't find it, and assumed Link had put both books into their proper place.

"Do you really take this long to wake up?" Zelda reacted and got up.

"What time is it?"

"I have no idea, but I hear people downstairs so that is not a good idea." Zelda was still shaken up from her dream that seemed heavily surreal in her mind; it kept playing over and over. Link looked at her concerned.

"Are you okay? Were you having a bad dream?" Link looked at her intently, his eyes showing genuine concern for her wellbeing. Zelda's spirits got up but looked away to recollect herself.

"I'm fine! I just had a very weird dream, I don't remember it but it was just weird…" She lied. Link believed her wholeheartedly, Zelda felt a little bit guilty not telling something so important to such a pure person. Both snapped out of their trance and lead themselves through the large amounts of books and towards the door that lead to the corridors. People were once again in the kitchen preparing breakfast, and she could hear the music Madame Skyline had put in the morning while she read her newspaper. The soft jazz invaded the mansion, Link bopping his head from one side to another in sync to the music.

"Really?" Zelda looked at him with a disgusted grin.

"What? It's catchy at what seems to be eight a.m. Zelda White." Link looked back at the corridors and hatched a plan to not get caught. "Listen, the music is enough to drown out our footsteps. We can go and head into our rooms and act like nothing happened. Got it?" Zelda agreed and both left the rooms as quietly as possible. As they silently slithered their way towards their respective rooms, Madame Skyline walked towards the grand staircase and saw Link's blonde hair shining in the light of the mansion windows.

"Link? Are you up?" Madame Skyline called. Link froze in place and Zelda quickly ducked to not be seen. Link looked at her in despair.

"Rest in peace!" Zelda mouthed. Link took a deep breath.

"I'm up, Madame! Good Morning!" Link turned towards his elder and smiled bright. Zelda slowly tried to slide her way towards her room.

"Good Morning!" a very feminine voice chirped from the other side of the hallway, Robin had woken up as well.

"Good Morning to you, Robin!" Link and Madame Skyline told the girl. Robin smiled as she walked to the staircase and go downstairs. In the corner of her eye however, she saw the nightgown of the brunette. "What are you doing on the floor?" she asked, genuinely confused. She would probably take advantage of the situation, but at the moment she was too tired to think of anything anyway. Zelda looked at her and smiled sheepishly. Link tried his best to not make it seem like they had been together, since it would only bring punishments and clearly unwanted questions. Zelda popped up to the view of the quite puzzled Madame Skyline.

"What were you doing on the floor Zelda?" Madame Skyline was intrigued in what her response would be.

"My hair tie fell to the ground and I picked it up! Regardless, good morning Madame!" Zelda smiled and awkwardly tried to walk to her room.

"Hopefully you weren't in the prohibited zones. Regardless of that; as I said, get ready and come when breakfast is served. We have a very interesting schedule ahead of us today provided by the almighty Monsieur Skyline." Everyone went to their rooms except for Robin, who happily had gone downstairs for some coffee.

"What is she talking about?"

"There's some places we aren't allowed to go to because they're for 'meetings only' or 'important matters', whatever that means. One of them is the library."

"Is that a bet? I might just go in there more then!" Zelda laughed a bit. Link laughed along.

"Sure, just don't get caught and you'll be alright." The pair split and went to their respective rooms, where both of them got ready and went downstairs later on.

~xXx~

"Now that everyone's done breakfast, today Monsieur Skyline or 'Uncle Sky' as you may know him, brought us today some personal trainers so you all can learn from now on how to ride horses!" Everyone seemed to get excited, even Robin seemed intrigues by the idea of riding it. Zelda however, was a bit scared and her fear seemed to be palpable, as Marth placed his hand on her arm, reassuring her everything was going to be okay. "We'll start small but hopefully you all can grow confident in dominating them and later join the family tradition of riding and hunting. Today I have some confidential meetings to attend in town, but I'll have Sir Noire that will be looking over you all. Please stay on your best behavior, understood?" Everyone replied and went outside.

A man stood outside on the mansion grounds, in a riding suit in brown and white, with his long dark brown hair in a ponytail, he sported an air of elegance and maturity to his aura, which indicated he was to be respected. His light green eyes seemed like something to die for, but he seemed like someone approachable as well. The children all stood shoulder to shoulder, waiting for the man to turn towards them and introduce himself.

"Hello everyone, my name is Harry and I'll be your horse riding instructor. Today I'll just be teaching you the basics, like how to mount a horse properly and how to care for it. Horse riding is an art, but also an opportunity for you to bond with your horse. Truly one of the most important things you will be learning today is how to care for your animal counterpart. Remember, it is all about respect and love. If you mistreat the animal, he will not care for you and potentially hurt you, so you all better take of them before, during and after your ride. Since you're all so prepared, who wants to go first?" Marth raised his hand and decided to go on first. Marth told Harry his name and was given instructions on how to get on the horse.

"This can't be so hard- whoa Oh My God." Everyone laughed at his words as he clutched in fear the sides of the white horse. Then Corrin followed up his older brother, swiftly getting on without any issues.

"Have you been on a horse before?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but I never had taken classes for it or anything." Corrin prided himself in his actions and stuck his tongue out to his scared brother. Raphael was next. As he got on, the horse got a bit overwhelmed and it took several strokes through his brown mane to calm himself down. Luckily, he could also get on with no issues.

"How did you find this scary Marth? It's all fine- steady boy! Steady!" The group laughed. Link was on next.

"Do the horses have names?"

"Yes, this one is called Epona. She's truly a charmer!" Epona was dark brown, and had an attitude Link couldn't exactly pinpoint. However, when he got on the horse the horse happily neighed and seemed to be delighted to have the blond boy on her back. He pet the horse that amicably moved his feet and was so happy to have him as a partner. Zelda was next, and mounted to a blonde horse.

"I'm not even going to lie, I'm terrified."

"Oh, there's nothing to be worried about Zelda, the horses aren't going to attack in any way." Harry replied. Zelda couldn't relax, even if she had managed to get on the horse with the help of her instructor. The horse seemed to sense her fear however, and seemed to be on the verge of kicking her off its back.

Don't attack me, listen I'm not a bad person, please don't kill me… she whispered as a mantra to relax the horse and herself.

"Now that everyone is on, hold the reins as gently as possible. Don't grip them as it'll cause more stress to the horse." As the group barely touched the reins, they managed to loosely hold them in their hands.

"Now, everyone position yourself as comfortably as you possibly can. Put yourself in a way where you're not falling off from either side of the horse and maintain your balance." In less than 2 seconds, Raphael was sliding off of the horse and Harry ran to his aid to hold him up. Everyone was laughing at his mishap while he ignored everyone as best as he possibly can. Everyone focused as they balanced themselves on the horse and set themselves up properly.

"Now that hopefully no one is falling off the horse, place your feet in the metal slots and have your legs be facing inwards, as if you were lightly squeezing the sides of the animal. Not too tight however, since you need to steer him. That will be for another day though, for now let's focus on the basics!"

Everyone was properly lined up and Harry passed along the young riders and held the reigns and guided them along the riding grounds so they could feel how it felt to be on a horse for the first time. Marth was horrified but smiles slightly as he walked along with Harry by his side. Corrin did not suffer any problems and was riding just fine, even suggesting going a bit faster. Harry denied it however, and agreed that everyone should be learning at the same pace, which displeased him. Zelda laughed at his sudden anger, and he stuck his tongue out at her. Link slowly but surely rode along with Harry, happy that he had finally mastered it. Raphael was horrified throughout the whole ride, much like Marth was. Robin tried to hide her fear, absolutely not being able to do it. She would scream whenever she felt her horse was moving weird or did something unexpected. Harry calmed her down saying it was normal for the horses to do it, since they are new to the riders. Everyone who watched stifled their laughter.

"Are you ready Zelda?"

"I-I think so?" Harry nodded and walked along with the horse to his side. Zelda shut her eyes and took deep breaths as the horse did its natural walking. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the head of her instructor looking at the horse, smiling and calm. She looked forward and celebrated it by raising her arms up in the air.

"I DID IT!" Everyone to the side clapped, even if some did it reluctantly.

Well this concludes this chapter! Hopefully everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that your 2017 is filled with love and lots of luck. One of my resolutions this year was to keep writing more and to get my life on track, hopefully you're along on the ride! My heart brims with love to you all.

Xoxo,

Carmengirl.