He's here.

She couldn't stand knowing that he was here, just out of sight. Even though her legs moved through syrup, she forced them forward, desperate to cross the distance holding them apart. Around the corner, in the distance, she could sense him as clear as she could sense her own limbs. He was waiting for her, and she was coming.

The hallway finally ended and she could see him, standing, leaning over a railing to look out, to search for her. She tried to move closer, but her feet refused to leave the ground for another step. He was too far away. She couldn't see him. Turn around, she begged. When there was no reaction, she shouted louder. Turn around!

He leaned back, rocking onto his shoes, tilting his head as if only barely registering her voice. She screamed it once more, high and desperate, and the walls shook. He turned towards her, whirling towards her voice, but the ceiling collapsed, obstructing her vision.

Her scream became one of frustration as the walls dissolved into pink-tinged clouds around her. How many times must she have this dream before she saw his face? How many times did she have to wake up feeling incomplete, like her soul was missing its other half? Why, why, was it fair that she should have people who cared for her, but not a single one could sate the desire for someone she hadn't even met?

Peace, my child.

Her head lifted, scanning the sky. She leapt to her feet. She had not been spoken to for weeks, after the voice told her to have patience. Please, she begged silently. Please.

And at last, another drop of knowledge fell into the pan of answers she continually thrusted out to the voice. For there, in the clouds, was written in black script: Skyloft Academy.

She sat up in her bed, the words on her lips.

"Princess?" came a voice at her side. She turned her head, facing her nursemaid and bodyguard, Impa. "Zelda, are you okay?"

Princess Zelda Harkinian, the Crown Princess and Heir Apparent of Hyrule, was indeed okay. "The Hero," she said, her stupor finally clearing and a broad smile breaking her lips open. "He's at Skyloft Academy." Eyes sparkling, she fixed Impa with a beaming expression.

"Absolutely not! The security alone would be a nightmare, not to mention there would be no logical story to feed the media!" The King of Hyrule did not rise from his throne, but his chest heaved as if he were pacing anyway. His face was red, the color crawling all the way up his receding hairline until it disappeared beneath the crown that was molded to his brow. "Why would you be there? Your education has already been completed at the high school level. And in public, no less!" Stopping his diatribe long enough to take several deep breaths, he filled the silence with a stern stare that he leveled at his daughter.

"There are many ways we could accomplish this," she told him in an even voice, having prepared for his anger with several different speeches. "I could assume a false identity, possibly Sheikah. Then I could wear face coverings. Or, I could be more daring - I could cut my hair, wear contacts. As an underage princess, my media presence is limited. I've never given a direct press conference. Most of the public has never directly seen my face."

"Except in portraits! Pictures!"

Zelda shook her head. "But I'm not animated. They never see me move. Father, please. This is necessary-"

"It is not necessary to put your life in danger! We need the Hero, but we need you just as much. Any number of things could happen-"

"The Hero would be there…"

"He would not know of his duties!"

"What would you propose?" Her question was meant as a challenge, but the King was hardly less stubborn than his daughter.

"We ask that all the young men report to the Temple of Time to attempt to draw the Master Sword."

Zelda inhaled and exhaled, eyes fluttering shut. It was a good plan-in theory. But the world wasn't ready to learn what the Royal Family had known for centuries: that magic still existed and would return with the wielders of the Triforce. She did not know why-no one did-but magic had faded to the recesses of time. The only remnants that remained public were the Master Sword. Every other magical item had ceased to hold power, but the Master Sword still would not budge. Not until the Hero returned.

"Father, please. What would we say? The Royal Family has insisted that the Master Sword is an ancient relic for generations! It is not to be touched, excavated, or tested, as Royal Decree states. What would the people say if we suddenly moved a school of boys to try their hand at pulling it out?"

The King made to speak, but Zelda cut him off.

"And furthermore, Father, this is not a request. It's a command, from the Goddess Nayru herself. She told me where to find him, has been sending me visions of the hallways in that school for weeks. If she meant for us to find him so easily, she wouldn't have laid out clues so meticulously."

Her Triforce burned with the truth of it, though it was hidden beneath her gloves.

She and the King held gazes, sizing each other's stubbornness up. It was the King, at last, who backed down. "You're right. You speak with the Goddess, and she would not lead her Chosen astray." Zelda tried not to show her ecstasy at his defeat. "What are your plans? I know you came in with one."

She had indeed. It was flawless. It had taken hours to smooth out the wrinkles, but she was satisfied with the result. "I'll be going with Impa to study ancient archeology at the edges of the Gerudo Desert. The public knows I study it, and we could easily say our scholars translated a script that held possible excavation locations. Then, since the Gerudo Desert has limited reception, no one would be expecting news from me for a while.

"Then I will move into a neighborhood within the boundaries of Skyloft High. I will be the ward of my Aunt Impa. I have a disguise picked out, but those details are fine-print. Rest assured no one will recognize me. I'll be able to infiltrate the school and search out the Hero. Then we can bring him back."

The King was stoic. "What about protection?"

Zelda bristled, offended. "I was trained by Impa, Father. And I'll wear an alert device."

Silence settled uncomfortably in the throne room. The King dissected her plan and commitment to it, intent on destroying her suggestions with matters of safety. He was always too protective, too overbearing. She wished desperately that he would trust her, and her skills, just this once. For the sake of Hyrule.

At long last, he allowed, "You will take one protector. Impa will assign the position, and they will be tasked with your safety."

"Father, how will I explain a security agent following me around? The object is to fit in, to integrate myself into the students! I can't do that with a bodyguard!"

"If I may," Impa spoke up, having stood stoically by the door for the meeting. At the King's nod, she went on, "I have been training a young boy around the Princess's age. He is talented in the art of Sheikah combat and Shadows. They can pose as siblings, or perhaps cousins."

The King regarded this. "You would trust my daughter's life to him?"

Impa's expression did not change. "I trained him myself, Sire. I trust him."

Then the King and Princess looked at each other. Their arguments deflated, the compromise made.

Though Zelda saw his acceptance through his eyes, he still said aloud, "You may go, Zelda. Goddesses be with you."

"Did you hear the Princess was going on an excavation tour?"

"I don't see why she's doing it herself," Midna grumbled, half-bored, half-irritated. She had never been the greatest fan of Anju, but Link appreciated her making the effort in his stead. He hadn't wanted to talk to anyone, especially not that early in the morning, and especially after the awful night he'd had. "Doesn't she have like… a whole country to boss around?"

"I think it's cool," Anju replied, either missing or ignoring the note of disdain in Midna's voice. "She's a princess, but she still enjoys doing things just like everyone else."

"I myself enjoy the tranquility that comes with solitude," Midna offered in a droll voice. Then she hesitated, and Link could feel her eyes on him. "Or with unconscious company."

"I'm awake," Link mumbled into his arms.

"Mostly unconscious company," Midna corrected.

"Alright," Anju sighed, and Link could hear her chair scraping back up to her desk. "We'll talk later."

Midna made a non-committal sound and went back to drawing. Link could hear her pencil scraping against the page, etching lines into some new creation that she would later pronounce worthless and rip out to go into the box under her bed. They were all great - phenomenal, even - but Link supposed you really were your greatest critic.

"Are you going to fall asleep?"

"Probably. Give me a second."

"Are you going to tell me what's up or not?"

"Not."

"Kay." She fell silent. Link appreciated it.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the class was as cool as Midna. Especially the teacher.

Mr. Auru, the Hyrulian History teacher, was awesome, but he loved his job way too much for eight in the morning. The only reason Link was passing this particular class was because Auru actually cared enough to prod him awake when he fell asleep. (What can Link say? He loves sleep.)

Mr. Auru began to run through his regular morning introduction, but instead of jolting Link's system, it only sped his inevitable unconsciousness. He dozed off, a hazy cloud settling around him and filling his ears with cotton to muffle Auru's voice.

Not long after, Midna was happy to jab her pencil into his ribs, startling him from his nap. Jumping in his seat, he hurried to rub the sleep out of his eyes and catch up with the rest of the class. His panic soon led to irritation, as he turned to glare at a snickering Midna.

"Did you seriously wake me up for no good reason?"

Midna's smile tried to sober, but it was just too prominent. She ignored his glare and gestured to the paper in front of her. "Mr. Auru showed a video and now we are doing this concept chart thing. I figured you'd just copy my crap answers later, but we're tasked with showing the new kids how to do the charts."

Link's gaze darted to the two new students sitting on Midna's side. He and his gothic friend had chosen seats in the back since the beginning of the year, and while back seats were popular, Midna and Link were not. Since the rest of the class was part of either the football or cheerleading team, they grouped together near the front.

The new kids' seats weren't the only empty ones, but they were the only two sitting together, and they'd apparently opted for each other's company.

Link grumbled, fitting his face back into the crook of his elbow. "I'm too far away. You do it."

"Sorry," Midna apologized to them, sounding more sarcastic than apologetic. "He's a lot of different things, and lazy is all of them."

"Ah, Link, dozing off again?" Mr. Auru's voice twinkled with amusement, but Link wasn't fooled. Auru was great, but he was no pushover; Link's nap was over. Link peeked up at him from underneath his sweatshirt's hood. "Let's turn on the heat, shall we? For today, Miss Twili, if you would mind switching seats with Mr. Shade, and you two pairs can be partners for today?"

Midna jabbed Link once more, annoyed, and then forcefully slid her stuff over a spot. Link sat up, lowering his hood and ruffling his hair, trying to wake himself up. The new kid switched spots with Midna and set his things down in front of him, which looked brand-new and so far untouched.

"Hey, I'm Link," he greeted, holding out his hand to shake the other boy's.

He regarded him with a tilt to his head. "You didn't hear my name when we were introduced?"

Midna shoved her upper body around the other boy's, who leaned away with discomfort, to smirk at Link. "You were asleep. This is Sheik."

"Cool," Link replied, though he was slightly annoyed at Midna's sarcastic remark. Sheik glanced down at the hand still offered to him and shook it once with a hand wrapped in bandages. Before Link could comment, the other boy dropped the hand and turned back to his notebook. Link brushed it off. Tomorrow he'd be sitting by Midna again, so it didn't really matter if this kid liked him or not.

They began work, and Link tried his best to explain the concept maps to the new kid as clearly as he could. Luckily, the kid was sharp and picked up on it fast, and the two of them transitioned into working silently. Midna and the new girl chatted, occasionally chuckling, but Link tuned them out.

When the bell rang, Link flipped his notebook shut and slid it into his bag. Midna continued talking to the new girl, who had been joined by the quiet Sheik, and the three waited for Link as he leisurely got ready to go. When his chair was pushed back in and his backpack hanging off one shoulder, he joined the group.

"Took you long enough," Midna groaned, shouldering him in the chest as she walked by.

"You didn't have to wait," Link grumbled, rubbing the spot she body-slammed into; Midna didn't hold back.

"And risk you losing your way?" she shot back, smirking, nudging the girl beside her.

Link took a moment to really look at the new kids, now that they were standing up and he was fully awake.

The guy, Sheik, had a mop of blonde hair that was long enough that it covered his ears and his left eye, but not so long that he could pull it into a half-decent ponytail. The right eye, which had escaped the curtains of his bangs, was red, the same shade and glint as a ruby. So Sheik was Sheikah. Clever.

He wore a plain black shirt and dark cargo pants that tucked into combat boots. A silver chain glinted at his neck but disappeared into his collar, obscuring the pendant from view. The guy looked vaguely goth-though his color palette might've just been part of his Sheikah culture. The only thing that Link took as strange were the white cloth wrappings around his hands and wrist. He'd noticed it before, but it seemed weird to mention it now.

Midna shifted in their line, slightly switching her position so that she was angled between Link and Sheik. Link glanced over at the girl he could now see, intending to get a once over before they went their separate ways.

She was gorgeous. Obviously; wasn't it a law of the universe that all new girls had to be hot? Regardless, Link wasn't going to complain. Her skin shimmered bronze, like she'd spent the last few years on the beach. Her hair, in comparison, was the color of wheat, a pale or two shades lighter than gold. It was thrown up in a ponytail with intermittent braids, hanging down to her shoulder blades and swinging with every step. Link knew one of the features had to be fake; no one could be that tan and that blonde at the same time.

He didn't catch many of her facial features, but her back and side were burned into his brain. She carried a blue messenger bag, arm looped through and a delicate hand hanging onto the strap. Her nails weren't painted, but she did sport a ring on her pinky and middle-finger, and her wrists dangled with gold bands. Despite her jewelry, though, she was dressed rather conservatively. Her shirt covered her shoulders and reached below the top of her pale blue skinny jeans. The only other skin Link could see were a couple inches from the cuff her jeans to her stylish lace-up shoes, which showed off a string charm anklet.

Midna nudged him, and his gaze shifted back to directly in front of him. The girl walked away, a bounce in her step and her ponytail swinging, Sheik at her side. Link felt a twinge of disappointment. He'd kinda hoped she would be in his next class too.

"See something you like?"

Link glowered at her from beneath his bangs, which he'd shifted forward to cover his forehead. "Shut up."

"I don't blame you. She's like… ridiculously attractive. I mean, I could tell, even without male hormones ruling my life.''

"Whatever." Link shouldered past a group of kids clumped in front of the hallway he needed to get down, paving a way for Midna to dart in after him.

"Aren't you going to ask her name?"

Link grumbled to himself. He did want to know, of course. He just didn't want Midna to tell him. Unfortunately, curiosity won out and he heard himself mutter, "Okay, fine. What's her name?"

"I knew it!" Link didn't respond - only burrowed his hands deeper into his pockets and continued to glare in front of him. Midna bumped his shoulder, still smirking. "What's your deal today? I'm just teasing ya. Her name is Tetra."

"Huh," was his reply. Tetra. It struck a familiar cord in him somewhere, like he'd met a Tetra before, even though he couldn't remember doing so. The image was somehow off though; this new girl with the name Tetra didn't seem right. Not that he had any clue as to why these faint impressions were striking him about a girl he'd literally just glanced at, but he'd chalk it up to a lack of sleep.

"Now that I did you a favor, you gonna tell me what's up?"

The pair walked into their shared second period a minute before the bell and settled into their back row seats. Link began to rummage in his bag for his math binder, but Midna stayed focused on her friend. After he finished setting up, he was forced to succumb to Midna's stare, and eventually relented. "I don't know. I keep getting these weird nightmares. They screw with my sleep."

"Hm," she mused, getting out her own things. "Third time this week, huh?"

"Actually, they happen every night. But sometimes they're just a vague bad feeling, and other times they're terrifying." The bell rang and the teacher began to call for the class's attention, so Midna didn't respond. She seemed to forget the conversation entirely and pulled out her sketchbook, slipping the cover under her math binder so only her current project peaked out.

Link, having no artistic skill in the slightest, resigned himself to class, flipping his pencil around his fingers in boredom.

He was really more of a hands-on guy. School was always difficult for him, since he preferred being outdoors or active most of the time. Sitting down for hours and taking notes tried his patience like nothing else - except maybe conversations with his foster parents.

That isn't to say Link was an idiot. In fact, his perceptiveness and quick-thinking proved he was quite intelligent. Still, no class reflected his problem-solving skills and innovation in his grades. They were poor. As poor as one can expect from a kid who had to force himself to even look like he was paying attention, let alone actually doing so.

The new kids weren't in any more of Link's classes except for gym, but there were so many students in that class that they'd been adopted into another group that Midna and Link didn't care for. He was almost disappointed about it - that Tetra girl was gorgeous, and Link couldn't be classified as straight if he didn't want to talk her up. But even if he did have another class with her, Midna and Sheik would likely act as huge obstacles. (It had become increasingly obvious to him that Sheik and Tetra were previously acquainted, and he almost never saw them apart.)

But as luck would have it, Link walked into his final period of the day - Hylian Religions (yeah, yeah, it was for a necessary social science credit) - and saw Tetra by herself, chatting with the teacher at the front, still as gorgeous as the beginning of the day. He grinned to himself as he took his seat and flipped on his hood, hoping she'd end up somewhere in the row in front of him so he could watch her during class.

Was that creepy?

Probably.

He picked at his sweatshirt sleeve as he waited for class to begin. Just before the bell rang, he felt the desk beside him shift as someone sat down in it.

Dare he hope?

Link peeked beside him, a slight shiver traveling down his spine when he saw Tetra settling down. He continued to look until she caught his eye. She turned to him, smiling with a row of straight, white teeth and pale pink lips, her bracelets jingling softly with her movement.

"Hey," she greeted, voice confident and warm. "I'm Tetra. I think you're in my History class?"

Link was momentarily stunned that this literal goddess was speaking to him. He pictured her eyes golden, like a Gerudo's, or even pale blue, like the sky in the early morning. Instead, they're a melting pot of green and blue mixed with flecks of gold. There was even a dash of gray streaking through the brighter colors, only adding to the depth of color that swirled in her eyes.

He was doomed.

"Yeah," he replied, sitting up and flicking off his hood. "Link."

"Nice to meet you. Sorry if I disturbed your solitude, but you seemed cool this morning and everyone else is a little…" She searched for the word, a hesitant curve to her lips. "Much, I guess." Link caught her glance at Ruto and her crew and snickered. Tetra looked back to him with a question in her ocean eyes.

"I agree. Much."

"So," she went on, spinning a bracelet on her wrist, "Do you like this class?"

Link shrugged. "A social science class is required to graduate, and it seemed more interesting than Geography or Culture Studies. I like some of the old legends, so I figured it'd be cool to see how they affected our history."

Tetra grinned. "Not a school person, I presume?"

"To be fair, who is a school person, really?"

Her smile faltered, just barely, and Link felt his eyes go wide. "You are? Why?"

It was her turn to shrug. "I've been homeschooled most of my life. Being here is refreshing." She fidgeted with the bracelet on her wrist, twisting it around and around with long, graceful fingers. He caught more of her hand this time and wondered at the tan-colored fingerless gloves she wore.

He grinned. "Give it time; you'll learn to hate it."

"I'd hate it too if I slept hunched over a desk."

His grin widened. "It's my coping mechanism."

She chuckled, clear and light, her hands drifting from her fidget. "I'm sure. You might need a chiropractor if you keep coping with that posture."

Link would've loved to continue the conversation, but the teacher began the class, fumbling with the presentation on the projector and mumbling dates to himself. When the lecture started, Link glanced over at Tetra every once in a while, hoping to catch her eye and mutter a joke to make her laugh, but her concentration was absolute. He eventually deflated and resigned himself to taking notes, but he still snuck glances at her every now and again.

He wasn't shallow, but he appreciated her beauty and was astounded by the ease that she spoke to him with. It was like she didn't even acknowledge that they were leagues apart, that she wasn't a gorgeous blonde straight from a summer of ocean and sun talking to the charity case with a lackluster attitude and a tendency to sleep through everything.

Amazing.

The class passed far too quickly for Link's liking, but he couldn't remember much of the lesson. When the bell rang, Tetra finally snapped out of her intense concentration and flashed him an indulgent smile. "It sucks that I've already covered this," she joked, flipping her notebook closed and packing up the rest of her things.

"You already knew this stuff?" Disbelief coated his words and earned him a bewildered look. "It's just," he rushed to explain, "you looked so focused, you'd think you were trying to memorize the board."

She shrugged, attempting nonchalance. Link didn't fall for it; the cracks in her façade showed through the flicker of broken eye contact and the return of one hand to the bracelets on her wrist. "I like to learn."

Link felt their easiness slipping and attempted to inject the joking tone back into their conversation. "School'll knock that right outta ya."

She smiled, but her gaze flickered to the door, and Link let the forced lightness drop. "See ya," he muttered.

Tetra flashed him a surprised look, but before she could say anything, Link had scooped up his backpack and left the classroom.

"So? Suspect anyone?"

Sheik's words elicited a nervous energy inside of her. "I don't know yet," she replied, twisting one of the bands around her finger. "It's too soon, and I haven't met everyone yet, and even if I did meet him, there's the matter of recognizing him-"

"Relax," he interrupted, bumping his shoulder into hers. In surprise, her hands dropped down to her sides. Contact was limited in the castle, and she barely knew this silent enigma beside her. Not to say she minded the familiarity; if anything, she craved it. She was tired of being so isolated. "If Nayru wanted you to know his identity now, she wouldn't have bothered to send you here. She would've just said his name."

Zelda nodded. "Right. I know that. It's just new, I guess. I've only ever gotten dreams, but now I'm actually doing something. That means there's a timeline, don't you think?"

"If there is, only Nayru knows it. Keep your crown on. You'll figure it out."

The two split briefly to get inside the silver car Impa had bestowed upon them that morning. Sheik sat behind the wheel, since Zelda had very limited driving experience.

"So tell me who you've met," Sheik continued, twisting to look behind him as he backed out of the parking spot.

"Well, there were the two in Hyrulian History, Midna and Link… Octavo from Calculus, Darunia and Daruk and…" Names poured out of her. She didn't forget a single one as she recounted each person that she interacted with in each class. But when she got to her final class, she hesitated. "Legends had Link," she finished lamely.

Sheik quirked an eyebrow at her but kept his face turned to the road. "Anyone else?"

"Probably," she muttered, fingers drifting to her bracelets once more. "But I got distracted. He's funny, when he's not asleep."

Noticing that she was mentally beating herself up, Sheik told her, "Relax. You aren't going to miss him. Just let this come naturally; the Hero will reveal himself."

She nodded, internalizing the words, stilling her hands by gripping her wrists. In the castle, she wore gloves-partly to conceal the Triforce of Wisdom mark on her hand, partly to keep her from fidgeting. No one had the mark on their hand that day-that she could see, anyway-but that was to be expected. Her own mark didn't appear until her first dream from Nayru months before.

"What about you?"

"Eh, I can't remember the names like you can. No one jumped out at me, though."

They fell silent, and Zelda's thoughts began to drift to Link. She'd seen him glancing at her with humor during class, but when her concentration gripped her it was impossible to rouse herself. She felt like he had something to say and that she disappointed him by not looking back, but he didn't seem too put-out. But then he'd left so abruptly. Did Zelda offend him somehow?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a ping on her new cell phone. She pulled it out and tapped the password to reveal the message, grinning when she saw the contact was Malon. They'd met in Ancient Technology and hit it off instantly, trading phone numbers to meet up later. Zelda didn't anticipate it would happen today, but she had plans to follow through and hang out with an actual friend. She'd never really done that before.

Ugh. She sounded like the typical privileged princess. Oh, I'm so rich and famous that I don't have any friends! Sadly, this was true.

When they arrived home, Impa was waiting for them in the living room, where she directed two maintenance workers in arranging the space. She waved at them as they walked through but left them to their own devices. Zelda climbed the stairs to her room and shrugged off her backpack, followed by her abundant jewelry. Tetra was a fun character to play, but the constant jingling had begun to grate on her nerves.

Her bedroom had already been meticulously put together by workers the day before, but Zelda still roamed around, adjusting things here and there as she saw fit. Homework was scarcer than she expected, since her tutoring had taught her beyond high school level years ago. She'd finished it in-class while the teacher spoke.

A flicker of movement drew her attention and pulled her to the window. She peered out until she made out a figure crossing the lawn a few houses down. Even from the distance, Zelda placed the green hoodie as Link's. He was walking with the hood on, hands shoved in his pockets, direction aimed at the forest that was held back by fences in each backyard.

Without knowing why, Zelda decided she had to join him. She crossed her room to the door and sped through the halls. When she came tumbling down the stairs, Impa stuck her head out with drawn eyebrows, but Zelda waved her off and darted off to the backyard. Hopefully, she would catch Link before he lost himself in the woods.

She sprinted across the lawn, her ponytail swinging wildly behind her, and flung open the gate. Immediately the well-tamed lawn turned to dirt and moss, but Zelda dug her shoes in and walked into the trees. Aimed for Link's direction, she walked over roots and dodged branches until she heard other footsteps.

Zelda headed for the sound and caught sight of Link's hoodie as it ducked around a tree. Hadn't he heard her? She moved closer, arm outstretched to touch his shoulder, but something stopped her. The curve of his shoulders, the drag in his feet, the listlessness of his direction. He came out here to get away.

She took a step back. Maybe it wouldn't be best to interrupt him. Clearly, he wanted to be alone.

Unfortunately, just as she began to back away, some winged bug flew past Link, annoying him enough that he glanced back. They met eyes for a split second, Zelda's blanching with embarrassment, Link's widening in surprise. For what felt like an endless moment, the two didn't know what to do next. Finally, Link's hands came up and he popped out earbuds - of course, he actually hadn't been able to hear her - and turned around fully to face her.

"Tetra?" he asked.

That jolted her out of her reverie. She was Tetra, not Zelda. Daring pirate and scourge of the seven seas (at least, that was what the history books had to say about her past life). Zelda would be embarrassed. Zelda was embarrassed.

But she could be Tetra, too.

"Catch me if you can!" she shouted, sudden, surprising them both. Then, she pivoted on her foot and fled into the trees. She didn't dare look back, fearing she'd run into a tree or trip over a root, but she thought she could hear him coming after her. When she heard him grunt as he stumbled on a root behind her, delighted laughter erupted from her throat and spurred her on. They tore through the forest with reckless abandon - or at least, Zelda did. Link probably knew his way around.

It only took a few minutes for Zelda's lungs to seize on her and force her to slow her pace. She spun around to grin at the approaching Link before collapsing to the ground, her limbs sprawled and her chest heaving. Not five seconds later, a blonde mop covered in a green hood popped into her vision, brows furrowed. "You good?"

Unable to answer, she gave him a thumbs up. A timid smile broached his face and he settled down a few feet from her, decidedly less winded. It took a few minutes, but Zelda's pounding heart eventually settled down and the two breathed in sync, the quiet forest around them amplifying the sound.

"What just happened?" Link asked after several minutes.

"Not sure," she replied, not breaking her eye contact with the canopy of leaves above her. It was peaceful here; she could feel the lifeblood of whatever deity that ruled this forest in every tree and animal around her.

"Why were you in the woods?"

"I saw you, wanted to say hi. Then I ran." She cast him a glance, not moving any other muscle. "Weird, huh?"

She earned a genuine chuckle from that, and the two lapsed into silence again. Zelda couldn't ever recall feeling so tranquil - though her brief chats with the goddess Nayru came close. The forest's magic seeped into her skin, breathing calm energy into her muscles. If she laid here long enough, she would become a part of it. Her skin would become the soil, her hair the grass, her bones the trees, her blood the water. She had so much to give this forest, and all she had to do was lie here and breathe.

She didn't have to do anything ever again.

With a rough shake, her peace shattered, as sudden as a rock in a pond. The calm became a vise and Zelda struggled to inhale as two firm hands gripped her upper arms and yanked her upright. The buzzing of the forest became an insistent ringing that was punctured by the angry shouts of two boys. Eyes now open, Zelda scrambled to find her footing and focus on the scene before her.

Sheik was the one holding her upright, but his face was turned, trading verbal blows with Link, who had his fists angrily stuffed into his hoodie. The sound hurt, but then sharpened, and Zelda finally understood what the argument was about.

"-dangerous it is to wander off into the wilderness!"

"I know these woods better than anyone, and clearly, you could find us pretty easily!"

"How irresponsible-"

"Enough," Zelda interjected, words clipped and annoyed. "Sheik, I'm sorry. I just dozed off." That's not what happened, and she was sure they would discuss it at length later, but it would do for Link. "And it isn't Link's fault anyway. I followed him out here." She shot him an apologetic glance he accepted with an angry nod, retreating further into his hood. "Now, I'm sure you came to get me for something, so we can go. No need to fight."

Sheik's expression didn't soften, but he did let go of her and tramp off into the woods, so she figured he'd let it go. Zelda hurried after him, mouthing another apology to Link as she went. He nodded and turned away, back into the forest. When she glanced at him next, she was certain she'd never seen a person look so alone.

So, funny story. I'm writing another fanfiction, Light and Dark, that's a Danny Phantom and Young Justice crossover. I've never been one to do two stories at once, but with Light and Dark being my fourth multi-chapter Danny Phantom fanfiction, I've gotten a little restless. And, now that I have this amazing fandom to write for, I've decided to try and do both. Light and Dark is half-way done, anyway. (Man I'm gon' regret this later.) Anyway, points of business to attend to:

Cover. I'm not going to find a cover for this story, so I'm sorry if that bothers you, but I can never see the cover on the app anyway so it seems like a waste of time to scour the internet looking for free images. And I'm no artist, so. If you want to draw one, feel free.

Second. This is a modern version of Hyrule, as I'm sure you've guessed. I'll elaborate more on the culture and how magic was handled later, so don't let yourself get too confused yet. I'm trying to implement the things I'm learning in my Creative Writing class in college (cuz I big girl now) into this particular fic, so hold your horses if it seems vague. I know what I'm doing (lol no I don't but you'll never know it).

Thirdly. How the heck do writers fill their Author's Notes? I literally have nothing left to say. This probably won't even be a full scroll on a phone. I feel like I'm forgetting something... Oh! I remember, but I'm going to do it on the line down so I seem important with important things to say.

Finally. If you got this far, you'll get to hear the funny part about this. The funny part will be my mental breakdown three chapters in. A-lolololol how fun for you guys ;)

(I'm just kidding, I probably won't have a breakdown. I mean, I will, for sure, but it probably won't be because of either of my fanfictions.)

The more you review, the faster I update! (This sounds like some kind of sadistic trade to bolster my ego, but I'm just stating a fact. When I get a lot of reviews, I get excited and work a lot more on the story.) Love y'all!

Edited 12/16