Hey everyone,

I'm glad I was able to get this chapter up in a decent amount of time, although I wasn't able to do anything much last week due to a trip for a competition ^ ^""" And I have exams this week, so I don't know how much I'll get done on chapter 50, but here's chapter 49 until then! I'll keep you all posted on my twitter feed ( ShiniZelSama) as to when the next chapter should be out, but until then, enjoy Chapter 49 of OCL! ^ ^

- Shinigami-Zelda-sama

The Legend of Zelda: Only Chosen Love

Chapter 49: Que Sera

A few days earlier

Uzuki was watching her favorite program on TV when her cellphone buzzed beside her. The screen of the phone was snowy and full of static, so she couldn't make out the caller ID, but she picked it up anyway.

"Hello? Alex, I swear if this is you, I'll-"

"Uzuki, it's me! Alexis!' Alexis said.

"Oh, hey, Alexis," Uzuki replied, a bit calmer now. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"Uzuki, I need you to do me a huge favor," Alexis began. "You don't have exams so you should be free, right?"

"Depends on what the favor is," Uzuki muttered. "Whatever it is will determine whether I'm free or not free."

"I need you to watch after Nyla while I'm writing my exam today."

"I'm sorry, the number you are trying to call is not available at the time. Please leave a message after the beep. Beep."

"Uzuki, please!" Alexis yelled.

"Alexis, I don't like kids! They cry, they wet themselves . . . and this one is blind! I've dealt with blind people before but they were at least over the age of twelve!"

"Nyla's very well-behaved," Alexis pressed. "I swear, if you put a movie in front of her, you won't know she's there!"

Uzuki sighed. ". . . Your place or mine?"

"It doesn't matter to me."

Uzuki's end went silent for a moment, but she eventually replied, "I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Thanks so much, Uzuki!" Alexis said happily. "I owe you one!"

"Yeah, yeah, just don't expect this to become a habit, you hear?" Uzuki sneered.

"No problem! See you in ten!"


"Uzuki, Nyla. Nyla, Uzuki," Alexis introduced the two girls who were standing directly across from each other.

"Pleased to meet you," Nyla said politely.

"Yeah, same to you," Uzuki muttered.

Alexis grabbed her textbook and school bag. "I'll be back in a couple hours. There's food in the fridge and an extr room key you can use hanging on the key rack behind the edoor. Have a good time, you two!"

"Bye," Nyla and Uzuki said together.

When Alexis left, Uzuki let out a sigh. "Well, uh . . . I'm not really used to ooking after kids, so . . . what do you want to do?"

"I . . . might just go take a nap," Nyla whispered.

Uzuki was thankful the girl was blind so she couldn't see her rolling her eyes. "Alrgiht,well, I'll be here if you need anything. Need any help getting to hte bedroom?"

"I'll just sleep on the couch," Nyla replied before trudging over to where she remembered the couch was and flopping down onto the cushions.

Uzuki waited a few minutes to see if Nyla was seriously going to sleep. After a few minutes of no response, Uzuki grabbed her sketchbook from where she had set it on the table and made herself comfortable on Alexis' bean bag chair. She opened her black sketchbook to a new page and began to sketch.

After a few minutes, Nyla turned her face towards the sound of the pencil sketching. "What's that?"

"I'm drawing," Uzuki mumbled. "Keep still, I can't draw you if you're moving."

"You're drawing me?" Nyla asked excitedly.

"Keep still."

"Ah, sorry."

Nyla kept still in her sleeping position while Uzuki sketched her. She listened to the scraping sound of Uzuki's pencil against the paper, and the sound of the hands of the clock ticking by. Time passed slowly for Nyla, and just as she found herself on the brink of falling asleep, Uzuki poked her with the eraser end of her pencil.

"Wakey wakey," she muttered. "I'm done."

Nyla's eyes fluttered open, and she sat up on the couch. Uzuki brought the drawing over to her, and handed it to Nyla. The paper was thick, and had a cobblestone texture to it.

"But . . ." Nyla sighed. "I can't see it . . ."

"Run your hand over it," Uzuki told her.

Nyla did as she was told, running her small hand slowly down the rough surface of the paper. She didn't feel anything out of the ordinary, but soon her hand found itself running over deep lines and grooves that had been drawn very heavily into the paper. As she followed the lines, she drew the image that the lines were making up in her head, and once she reached the bottom of the page, she had the image of herself sleeping that Uzuki had drawn floating around in her head.

"Wow . . . that's amazing!" Nyla exclaimed. "How did you learn to draw like that?"

Uzuki shrugged her shoulders. "Years of practice and a ton of how-to-draw books."

"I can see the drawing in my head! I didn't know you could do that!"

Uzuki sat back down in the bean bag chair. "I used to have a blind friend a few years ago. I always did drawings for her."

Nyla stopped running her hand down the paper. "Used to? Where is she now? You're not friends with her anymore?"

Uzuki sighed. " . . . She died a few years ago. Car accident. Her older brother was driving."

Nyla hung her head. "I'm . . . sorry."

"Nah, it's alright," Uzuki said with a casual smile. "It happened years ago. I've gotten over it."

" . . . Was she a nice person?" Nyla asked.

"She was a lot like you," Uzuki said. "Kind, a bit on the quiet side, but always excited to try new things. Her brother was very protective of her. He cared about her a lot. So did I."

"What was her name?"

". . . Maria."

Nyla went silent for a moment. "A lot of people have lost someone important to them, haven't they? I . . . lost my mother and my little sister a little while ago. I miss them."
"I lost my family too," Uzuki said. "They all died."

Nyla gasped lightly. "W-What happened to them?"

Uzuki turned her dark gaze away. ". . . Nothing. Just an accident. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"What do you mean?"

Images flashed through Uzuki's mind, memories from an event that had happened years and years ago. She could see her two younger sisters and her parents laying dead on the floor, pools of blood seeping from underneath them. Her younger brother had gone missing just a week before.

I should have left when he went missing, Uzuki thought with regret. It was a warning . . . and I should have listened.

"Uzuki?"

Nyla's voice woke Uzuki up from her trance. She forced the images out of her mind so that she could look back at Nyla.

"Nothing. Forget it. What's past is past; they're never coming back, so I'm not going to dwell on it."

Nyla looked down at her feet. Link had comforted her, but Uzuki seemed to be a little more negative on the whole topic of losing family members. She didn't seem to care. It was all in the past, but she acted as if it had never happened and she didn't care that her family members were dead.

"Well, whatever happened to them, I'm sorry," Nyla whispered.

"No need to apologize, it's not like any of it was your fault," Uzuki muttered. "This happened years ago. I've had plenty of time to move on. You'll learn to move on, too. Dwelling on things doesn't do any good for anybody; and dwelling gets boring pretty fast."

"I know. I'll try," Nyla said. "I know I can't dwell on it forever, but . . . it's going to take some time."

Uzuki smiled, and patted Nyla's head. "You're very strong for someone so young. And very mature – I know half of the kids your age are too busy playing with their own boogers than to sit and listen to other people's stories."
Nyla giggled. "I've always been looking out for my family, so . . . I guess I just never had time to act silly."

"I don't have time for it," Uzuki muttered. "I am whenever I am, but I'm too worried about things going on right now to have time to be silly."

It's hard to be yourself when you have a suited man watching you from every corner, Uzuki thought. It's bad enough that I'm putting this girl's life in jeopardy. If He sees me with her, she won't have a chance of making it out.

"Uzuki?"

Uzuki realized she was lost in a trance again. "Sorry, I have a bad habit of . . . blanking out. Thinking too much, I guess."

The two girls were silent for a few minutes, until Uzuki finally spoke up.

"So what do you want to do for the next hour and a half?" she asked.

Nyla shrugged her shoulders. "I'd like to try drawing but I don't think I'd be able to do it. Being blind, and all."

"Well, don't let something like that stop you," Uzuki said with a smile. "I can teach you how to draw the way I drew you – so you can see the drawing by the feeling of the lines."

Nyla beamed at Uzuki's words. "Really? You think I can do it?"

"Sure, as long as you pay attention to what you're doing and have a bit of patience," Uzuki replied. "Remember, you can't learn how to draw overnight; it takes a lot of practice."

Nyla nodded. "I'll try my best!"

Uzuki smiled. "Okay, just stay put on the couch. I'll get some drawing tools out of my bag."


For the twenty minutes, Uzuki taught Nyla how to draw. She taught her various techniques for drawing lines, including the technique for drawing deeper lines so she could feel the lines and imagine them in her head. They drew random doodles and cartoon characters, and by the time they were finished, Nyla had drawn a small scene with various animals and a few humans.

"Hey, you're a natural at this," Uzuki said as she observed Nyla's drawing.

"You really think so?" Nyla asked.

"Yeah. You may be blind, but you've got talent."

Nyla smiled widely. "Thanks!"

Uzuki set the drawing on the coffee table between them. She stared at it for a few minutes in peace, but then suddenly she felt a chill go through her back, and the tiny hairs on her neck stood on end. She could feel the air around her growing heavy, and her head started pounding.

"Um . . . why don't we go for a walk?" Uzuki asked Nyla. "This room is getting kind of stuffy, and it would be nice to get a breath of fresh air."

Nyla looked up from the drawing she was working on. "Oh . . . okay, sure."

"Sorry to tear you away from your drawing, but we might be inspired while we walk out in the winter air," Uzuki said. "We can get some hot chocolate or something, if you want."

"Sure!" Nyla said happily. She got up from the couch and carefully walked around. Uzuki passed Nyla her jacket and boots and helped her into them, and then secured a wool beany cap on Nyla's head to keep her ears warm, and some wool gloves over her small hands. Once Nyla was dressed, Uzuki dressed herself into her jacket, knee-high boots, and fingerless gloves. The only hat she has was a black fedora – more for fashion, less for keeping her warm.

"All ready?" Uzuki asked Nyla.

Nyla nodded happily. "All ready!" she repeated.

Uzuki took Nyla's hand and walked out of the room. They shut the door behind them, and then started to walk down the hallway, when Uzuki stopped suddenly.

"Ugh, I forgot the extra sketchbook I was going to bring for you," she sighed. "Come on, let's go grab it." The two girls turned and headed back to the dorm room.

Uzuki grabbed the doorknob and pushed to try and open it, but the door didn't budge. It jiggled a little, but wouldn't open.

"What the-" Uzuki kept attempting to open the door, but it wouldn't open. "Dammit! That monster must have locked us out . . ."

Nyla raised an eyebrow. "Um, did you bring the key?"

Uzuki stopped, and checked her pockets. No key.

"O-Or the door's just locked 'cause it automatically locks," Uzuki muttered to herself, a bit embarrassed. "Crap, I can't believe I forgot the key . . ."

"What do we do now?" Nyla asked worriedly.

"It was just a spare," Uzuki replied. "We'll have to wait until Alexis comes home . . . unless you carry any bobby pins?"

Nyla shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry."

Uzuki sighed. "Then lock-picking is out of the question. We'll have to wait for Alexis."

"Well, we can come back in an hour, then," Nyla said. ". . . What did you mean by 'that monster'?"

Uzuki shook her head. "Nothing. Forget it."

"O-Okay . . ."

Uzuki hastily took Nyla's hand. "Come on, let's go."


Uzuki and Nyla walked down the snow-covered sidewalk, holding each other's hands as they passed the other people that were out running errands or just going for a morning stroll. In each of their free hands they carried a cup of hot chocolate from the nearby cafe.

"You don't go to school, do you?" Nyla asked Uzuki.

"Well, not right now, but I'll be taking the classes once next semester starts," Uzuki said. "I can assume you're not in school?"

"No, but my mother has taught me a lot," Nyla said. "We could never afford to send me to school, so . . ."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Uzuki muttered. "A lot of kids are always excited to go to school, but you get pretty sick of it after twelve years. And that's not even including the post-secondary at a college or university. And half of it turns out to be useless, if you know what you want to do with your life. I knew what I wanted to do in grade seven – so you can imagine how annoyed I was taking five more years of classes I didn't need."

"I'm probably not going to go to anything like that . . ." Nyla whispered sadly.

"Well, you never know," Uzuki replied. "Your life isn't over yet."

They were silent for a moment until Nyla asked, "What did you want to do after high school?"

Uzuki smiled. "Concept art and animation for video games."

"I think you'd be good at it."

Uzuki smiled. "Thanks. Unfortunately, a wrench was thrown into my plans. My dreams aren't going to come true anytime soon, that's for sure. And now I'm back in high school, for no reason at all, taking classes I've already done and don't need. My life is shit, but at least I'm alive. That's all we humans can do when it comes down to it all – stay alive."

Nyla went quiet. "I'm sure your dreams will come true someday."

Uzuki took a sip from her hot chocolate. "Maybe, but I'm not going to attach myself to false hope. If it does, that's great, but if it doesn't, oh well. Que sera, sera."

Nyla stared at her in wonder. "What does that mean?"

Uzuki took another sip from her drink. "Whatever will be, will be."


Uzuki and Nyla eventually settled at an indoor cafe. It had indoor heating, so they were greeted with a blast of warm air upon entering the building. They waited at the door for a hostess to come along. Eventually, a younger woman with tied-back black hair and a pair of glasses resting on her nose showed up.
"Hi, welcome to Delight's Diner and Grill!" the woman greeted them with a bright smile. "How many will be dining today?"

"Just two, tha-" Uzuki stopped. She peered at the woman standing in front of her. ". . . Eve? Is that you?"

The woman stared back at her. "O-Oh my . . . p-please, let me get you a nice seat. Any preferences?" the woman asked. Her voice had suddenly become very nervous.

"Anywhere is fine, as long as it isn't near a window," Uzuki muttered. "Table for three."

"Yes, ma'am," the woman named Eve said firmly. She took a step back and then led Uzuki and Nyla to a table with three seats, further away from the windows that gave a nice view of the city square.

"Thank you," Uzuki said as she sat herself and Nyla down at the table.

"Y-You're most welcome," Eve stammered nervously. "I'll be back with a menu immediately." Then she scurried off to the counter.

"You know that girl?" Nyla asked curiously.

"Her name is Eve," Uzuki said. "Never knew her last name; she just goes by her shortened first name. Her typical first name is Evangeline. Too long and lady-like, that's what she always said. Either way, we're not really close friends, but we still know each other enough to recognize each other."

"She seemed kind of nervous," Nyla said.

"People tend to be nervous around me," Uzuki sighed. "Although her nervousness is different from everyone else's. Her nervousness just comes from me; in my field of work, I tend to be . . . intimidating."

"Your field of work?"

"Just full of questions, aren't you? It's nothing to worry yourself over."

And it shouldn't ever be, Uzuki thought grimly. Eve's at least being smart – having a job at a place where there's always a crowd, in a city that's always bustling. As long as I don't get in the way, she should be safe for a month or two.

"You blank out a lot," Nyla stated. "You keep going all quiet so quickly."

Uzuki blinked, breaking herself out of her trance, and looked at Nyla. "Huh?"

"You're always zoning out," Nyla giggled.

"It happens when I think too much," Uzuki mumbled.

Nyla was going to ask something else, but Eve came by before she could get another word out.

"Here you go, three menus," Eve said as she set the menus down on the table. "Who might the third one be for?"

"You," Uzuki said firmly. "Sit."

"Ma'am, I have work I have to-"

Uzuki suddenly ripped out a knife out of her pocket and slammed it into the table. The blade made its home in the wood of the table. "Sit."

Eve was silent as she sat across from Uzuki, just a few feet away from where Nyla was sitting.

"What are you doing in Hyrule, Eve? I thought you were researching out in Labrynna with James," Uzuki said.

"I was, but he took off for the water," Eve replied. "He had a new research project he had to test out. He wants to see if it's safe out there, out in the ocean."

Uzuki looked around to make sure the coast was clear. "Just a second, Nyla," she said, and then leaned in close to Eve.

"Is he testing the Fire Tamer theory?" she whispered.

"Seems like it," Eve replied in the same hushed tone. "Even if the tests prove as a failure, I still hope he at least makes it out of there with his life."

"Same here. He may not be able to start fires out there, but if that means it's one less hassle for us to deal with, then it's more successful than anything we've seen in a while."

"What about the houses? Have you been researching them?"

"I'm living in one right now," Uzuki grumbled. "Well, not right now, but I'll be heading back there soon. Things were getting too tense – He knew I was there, but He wouldn't attack me."

"Always liked to play His games," Even sneered. "Look, I've got to get back to my work or my boss will kill me. I can't get fired, at least not until I leave. I need the money."

Uzuki took a twenty out of her pocket and tucked it into Eve's front breast pocket. "Take it. You'll need it. Email me or do a write-up online if something happens, and I'll do the best I can."

"You've got it, boss," Even snickered with a wink.

"Very funny," Uzuki muttered. "Go on, get. I've got a younger one here to attend to."

Eve looked over at Nyla, who was playing with a napkin. She hushed her voice even more so that Nyla wouldn't overhear. "Don't you keep that girl by you too long, you hear me? She's too young to get wrapped up in this, and you know He enjoys going after the younger ones. Besides, I can tell she's blind; we don't need her to end up like Maria."

"I know," Uzuki said. "I'm just babysitting. I'm going to keep her in the crowd so that He doesn't come close, and if it works, He shouldn't even catch sight of her."

Eve stood up from the table. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Uzuki smiled. "Sweetheart, I always have a plan, and it always works. Remember what I always say: everything will always-"

"Work out in the end, I know," Eve sighed. "Okay, I'll email you whenever I get the chance. I'll also keep you posted on James." She looked over to Nyla and smiled. "Let me know when you've come to a decision and we'll get your food to you lickety-split, okay?"

Nyla smiled. "Yes, ma'am!"

Eve smiled and then left the two girls, heading back to the front counter to greet more customers.

"She seems like a nice lady," Nyla said.

"The two of us go way back," Uzuki replied. She opened a menu, and so did Nyla.

"Do they have chicken nuggets here?" Nyla asked. "I tried them once with Alexis, and they were delicious."

Uzuki looked through the menu. "No, but they have chicken strips. Essentially the same thing."

"I'll get them then," Nyla said. "And chocolate milk to drink!"

"Chocolate milk it is," Uzuki confirmed with a smile.

"What will you be getting?" Nyla asked.

"Chicken burger and water," Uzuki muttered as she looked at the menu. "I'm picky, and I never have much of an appetite. I can't eat too much, otherwise I get sick."

"O-Oh . . . that's too bad."

"Well, I'm alive," Uzuki said. "Besides, I don't want to get fat."

Nyla giggled.

After ordering their food, the girls sat and talked to each other more while they waited for it to be served. They talked about Uzuki's life, and Nyla's life; they talked about their friends, and their family. They were just finishing a conversation about their favorite kind of ice cream when their food was placed on their table.
"Thank you," Uzuki said to the waitress.

"Thanks!" Nyla exclaimed.

"You're very welcome!" the waitress said with a warm smile.

Nyla smiled widely and started to gently prod her hands along her plate so that she could find the chicken strips. When she found one, Uzuki showed her where the ketchup dip was. Nyla dipped the chicken strip into the ketchup and then took a bite.

"It does taste like a chicken nugget!" Nyla laughed.

"Told you," Uzuki snickered.

The two girls ate their food with some conversation in between their bites. They were done within a half hour, and stayed to chat for a while longer, and by the time Uzuki checked her cellphone's time, it was just twenty minutes shy of when Alexis would be home.

"We'd better get going," Uzuki said. "We don't want Alexis to find us missing."

"Okay," Nyla said. The two girls got up from their tables and Uzuki left a twenty dollar bill on the table to pay for the food.

Uzuki took Nyla's hand. "Come on, let's go get Alexis to unlock that door for us."


Alexis showed up just a few minutes after Uzuki and Nyla arrived at the dorm room.

"Hey there," Alexis greeted them. "Are you two heading out?"

"Actually, we just got back," Uzuki grumbled. "We kind of locked ourselves out."

Alexis laughed a little, and then pulled out her own key. After inserting and turning the key, she grabbed the handle of the doorknob and pushed the door open. The three girls stepped into the dorm room together. The room was the same as how Uzuki and Nyla left it.

"Thanks, I had some stuff in here I didn't want to leave," Uzuki said to Alexis. She grabbed the school bag that was sitting on the floor near the couch. "Other than that, I've got to be heading out."

"Alright. Thanks a bunch, Uzuki," Alexis thanked her with a smile and a warm hug.

"See you later, Nyla," Uzuki said before rubbing Nyla's head. "Stay out of trouble, you hear?"

"I will," Nyla replied.

Uzuki swung her bag over her shoulder. "See you."


Uzuki sat on her bed as she went through her bag, the same bag she had left locked in Alexis' room. She flipped through her sketchbooks one at a time, making sure she had every one.

Wait a minute . . . Uzuki thought cautiously. She counted the number of sketchbooks she had. Five. Five out of six. Uzuki's heart started racing, and her skin started to crawl. She frantically went through her bag again and again and again, but kept counting five out of six.

Shit . . .

Uzuki stopped, and then flipped through the sketchbooks to see what was inside of them. The first sketchbook had character concept art, the second had promotional art for her stories, the third had environment art, the fourth had monster art, and the fifth had fanart. The sixth one – the sketchbook she used to re-image her nightmares, her worst fears, everything her mind knew and felt – was gone.

Right at that moment, Uzuki heard a door slam. The only other doors in her dorm room were the main doorway, the door leading to Hena and Iza's bedroom, and the bathroom door.

Uzuki slowly got up from her bed and went out to the main room where Hena and Iza were studying with each other for their exams. They were sitting there, noses buried in their books, undisturbed from the door slam just a few moments earlier.

"You two didn't hear that?" Uzuki asked cautiously as she slowly crept further into the main room.

"Hear what?" Iza asked. "I didn't hear anything."

"Neither did I," Hena agreed.

"Not even a door slam?"

The girls looked at each other first, then back at Uzuki, and shook their heads.

"Nope," they both replied.

Uzuki sighed. Well, shit. Uzuki quickly scrambled back to her room. She locked the door behind her and then locked her windows before pulling the curtains over them. Then she sat down on her bed and opened her laptop.

After opening a new webpage, Uzuki went to her email and typed in her password. When her inbox came up, she saw there was an email from Eve. She quickly read over the text that was written on the page.

salUtations,

did you know that the aZtecs had a killing techniqUe that allowed them to rip the sKIn off a human being in two pieces? i can Just imAgine what other kind of torture techniques they had. or MaybE they were juSt InSane, like you and I. and don't forget death By A thousand Cuts! that would probably be something even /you/ couldn't endure.

but bacK to realIty. whaTever reality that really exiSTs and can't kill us. does such a realIty really exist, or is it just a sick dreaM that wE are all living?

apples are delicious, by The way.

now, what tO do about all of this? pests must be exterMinated. the fly kEEps buzzing around my head and won'T cease it's annoying noise. i suggest we sqUish it immediately, just like a Person's heart.

- tempted by the apple

Uzuki sighed and shut her laptop. She sat on her bed for a few moments, staring into space, contemplating her thoughts. After a few moments of silence, Uzuki snapped out of her thought trance and jumped up from her bed. She started to throw a bunch of things into her bag, including her laptop, her tablet, a few sketchbooks, her cellphone, a few cans of food, and her thermos filled with water. The last thing she grabbed was a white mask, which was hidden away in her closet. The eyes were outlined with black, and the lips were drawn in with black as well. She secured the mask to her bag, and then left the room, leaving behind a single note.

Que sera, sera.