Irasama here!

This is my first Legend of Zelda Fanfic and the idea was floating around for some time so I decided to give it a go. This is ultimately a Zelink fic, so you've been warned. There is only one OC which I'm sure you'll all be able to derive from this chapter. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy the story. Happy reading!

The Connections Between

CHAPTER 1

It was supposed to be the perfect day.

The constant onslaught of rain finally ceased in Central Hyrule, allowing for sunny skies accompanied by warm weather and Link Alaric was determined to enjoy it. Key word, "was".

Standing on a crooked welcome mat made out of igneous rocks (a warming gift from his good friend Daruk) was a young girl with a beaming smile that stretched ear-to-ear. She was a petite little thing and looked no older than 6, dressed in a simple white tee, denim overalls and simple shoes. But that wasn't the issue. He wasn't the type of hylian to turn away sweet little girls in need- even if they were deceiving. No, he was just the type to turn away delusional little girls who willingly participated in absolute nonsense.

"This has to be some sort of prank, right?" He stared her down, daring the young child to continue her stance.

Surely, she'd back down after seeing he wasn't in the most welcoming mood

How wrong he was.

The child's smile waned a bit as she bundled her waist length sunny hair to her shoulder and her rounded eyes the color of a unique blue-green cyan dropped a little in response to his actions.

Link honestly couldn't care less at the moment.

"You don't believe me?" She questioned, almost on the verge of whining.

Link wasn't in the mood to entertain this farce anymore. "No miss, I don't." He peered around his front yard, looking for other spectators or passerbys. "Who put you up to this?"

"No ones! I'm here all by myselfs!" She protested, stomping her foot to the ground.

"Uh-huh…" Link dully responded. "And where did you come from?"

She jutted her lip out into a pout. "I- Are you messing with mes?"

"I'm not messing with you. You're messing with mes." He hissed in rebuttal, just about ready to close the door on the girl. "It was funny at first but not so much anymore. Please go home."

"But you're my home, da-"

"And that's the end of that statement!" His grip on the doorknob was firmer now. "I've entertained this enough. Please leave little one." And with that, he closed the door on the young girl's face.

A bit harsh but he'd dealt with his fair share of pranksters and looters. Best not to entertain them for too long- no matter what form they take. Cute or not.

Link proceeded to lock the door and continue his plans for his day off- doing absolutely nothing. But apparently fate wasn't on his side for the day. Imagine the surprise when he felt a signature tell-tale of energy in the air, a sign of magic. It usually starts off as a ripple, eventually festering into a faint heat that makes the hairs on the neck stand up. Intrusive magic was illegal! He quickly picked his brain for a defense mechanism since all his weaponry wasn't on him at the moment as it was still early in the day. Around 7:00am to be precise. An amateur mistake due to his fatigue. He quickly grabbed a hanger from the closet by the front door, twisted the hook to sharpen it and readied for the incoming attack.

With faint green flecks in the air, the young girl poofed back into existence from the ceiling, seemingly aiming for his head. Using old reflexes, he managed to quickly toss the hanger and grab her to catch her fall. All in the spanse of seconds.

The two individuals stared at each other for a few moments, waiting for the shock to wear off. One look of pleased joy and the other of true bewilderment.

Link gaped. "You.." He blinked. "Y-You just teleported. Into my home."

The young one squealed in delight. "I know right? I can't believe I did its!"

"I have wards set up in this place! Wards!" He cried, shock still evident in his tone.

"Really?" She cocked her head at him in confusion. "They broken?"

His shock was slowly melting into annoyance. While magic wasn't unheard of in Hyrule, teleportation magic definitely was one of the rarer ones. Meaning, either this was the continuation of an elaborate prank or he was dealing with an actual threat.

Link's eyes narrowed at that thought and the intruder seemed to pick up on the changed mood.

"I...I know that look. I'm sorry! Really I am! I know you said I shouldn't be doings tele magic but I had to!" She exclaimed, getting flustered as she tried to wiggle out of Link's grasp.

"Why are you here?" He sneered, peering into her eyes- trying to find hints of deception. He tightened his grip on her again- just enough for her to be uncomfortable but not enough to cause any pain. He still wasn't fully comfortable with the notion of harming a child, fake or not.

It seemed he was finally starting to spook her because she started to squirm even more out of his grasp. "I said it already, I came to finds you!"

La de da, she sure did. "And I told you to leave. I tried being gentle with you and letting you go without trouble." He tucked her in his arm- effectively trapping her firmly and made a move for the front door. "Now, it's time to get to the bottom of this so I can get on with my Saturday morning."

The little girl seemed to finally register the finality of his words and started bawling. "But I'm telling the truth! No lies!"

Link was no longer in the mood to respond. He was rudely interrupted several minutes ago with an obnoxious ringing of his doorbell and then the crazy child proceeds to invade his privacy by teleporting into his house! That was a crime in itself!

Can hylians younger than 8 even go to prison?

That's if he really was dealing with a child. His biggest worry was the possibility of the child being a shapeshifter. A user of the shadow arts. Or someone with a score to settle from his past. He went through great measures to put those times behind him and he won't let anyone get in his way.

"You're my daddy! You're my daddy! Don't give me away! Please!" She sobbed. The young girl sobbed with such conviction and agony that it put a pause in his steps. Maybe this was just a prank from his best friend Midna again. What if he really was being harsh to some poorly chosen child and not dealing with some unfortunate imposter? With the morning sleepiness fading from his head, he decided to truly feel out his instincts and release the girl. Admittedly, he was acting harsher than usual.

But that didn't change the severity of her words. He wasn't even seeing anyone currently and he most definitely wasn't a father. His last serious relationship wasn't since-

That wasn't important at the moment.

Some poor child was put up to this and he wanted to rectify the situation. He left the crying child to her devices and walked into his kitchen to grab some tissues. Walking back towards the front door, he knelt down and offered her some tissues with a pensive look.

The girl rubbed her eyes and warily took a tissue. "I'm sorry, that was undignified of me."

Undignified? That was an advanced word and not many people his age even said that word!

"I apologize for my hasty actions. I shouldn't have been so rough with you….even though you are intruding rudely on my property." He sighed, accepting her offer of the dirty tissue in disgust.

As he flung the tissue in the trash- still never taking an eye off of her, she replied, "It's okay. I scared you daddy….and I understand."

But damn it, she was still dragging this ridiculous story of being his daughter!

Listen, you can drop the act now. It's just me and you- no one else is watching. You can tell the truth now." Link proceeded to sit across from her, wearily shooting her a smile to seem less intimidating.

It seemed to do the trick as she wiped the last of her tears on her sleeve and shuffled closer to him, causing immense discomfort. He normally loved kids and was usually a natural with them but this was getting too much.

She huffed in response. "Well, I don't know why you aren't listening to me! I'm your daughter. I.." Her voice suddenly trailed off as if she realized something.

Maybe she was finally determined to drop the act! He was ready to drop the poor manipulated child off somewhere and get on with his day. He had plans to sleep for a long time.

"Wow Ria! You didn't evens...ohhh, no wonder, geez…" She began to mumble rapidly to herself. Link couldn't even keep up with the words she was saying. It was all a continuous onslaught of jargon!

What in the name of Farore was going on?

She slapped her cheeks with a bright smile. "Sorry...I just realized my mistake!"

Link started to back away slowly. The child was confirmed crazy now.

"You really don't know mes? Do you?" She asked with traces of hurt and disbelief underlying her tone.

"No." Link deadpanned.

She took a breath. "Um, my names is Valeria Sharai Bosphoramus-Alaric and I'm your daughter. From the future."

Wait a minute. Wait. Just. A. Minute.

That last name. Bosphoramus. Zelda…?

That can't be possible. Time travel isn't exactly the basic magic trick. Sure, it's been studied and contemplated but never achieved. Only in the legends that may or may not be true.

And why was he even considering this? His mind was racing. That would mean she's her daughter. His and Zelda's and…

No. He wasn't going to open that part of himself again. A look of resignation rested heavy upon his face and the child- Valeria (who was unusually perceptive) scooted backwards to gaze at him.

"It's scary. I know it's scary. But please believe! You're all I have." She pleaded quietly.

He didn't believe her. Not by a longshot, but he wasn't exactly ready to turn her away. There was definitely more to the story.

Link sighed and rose to his feet. "How do you feel about breakfast, kid?"

Valeria's stomach growled in response.

Okay, breakfast it is.