(Continued from last chapter) Double update!

AN: I'm uploading TWO chapters today because I won't be uploading one next Saturday. So make sure you don't miss one!

Also, new LoZ characters!

Thank you to Izzyboopers and Moonlight Raven Grave for reviewing the last chapters. It makes me so happy!

Thanks for reading! Let me know if something needs fixing/changing! Dealing with some serious stuff in this story, so I want to get it right 3


Chapter 6: Prelude to War

My dearest Hump-a-lump,

Won't you be my Lover's Day Love? Aaaalways, I wanna DANCE with you, make a ROMANCE with you, and live in harmony, harmony, OOOH YEAAAAH!

XOXOXOXO

-The Groosenator

Sheik held the letter between a thumb and forefinger, gagging.

A long shudder started at his ears and slowly traveled down his neck, one arm then the other, his waist, and finally down both legs and out his feet. Sheik wiggled to get the eebie jeebies out, then crumpled the letter and kicked it into the hole under the lockers, not wanting to even cart it all the way to the trash across the hall.

He shut his locker and walked along. No way am I going to the dance with THAT lunatic! It was only one of many invitations that had come from different would-be escorts over the last two weeks. Hyrule's "princess" was extremely popular by default. The attention would be flattering if he didn't know it was because his father had lots of money and power, and also because, well, everyone thought he was a girl, so . . .

Wouldn't it be nice to ask a girl to the dance? Or . . . maybe a guy?

He honestly wasn't sure what his sexuality was. He was a bit busy hating his female body to be much interested in anyone else's, and too busy trying to be a boy without getting into trouble to notice any.

He'd gotten away with wearing a tight sports bra today, so he didn't feel quite so feminine. However, he avoided any and all mirrors and tried not to look down at himself, and dreaded trips to the bathroom. He wore a white tank under a cute lavender shirt with little gems on the sleeves, and his jeans had sparkly butt pockets. He tried to ignore the way his hips swished when he walked.

Link appeared at the end of the hallway. "Hey Zelda!"

Sheik grinned tightly. He hadn't told Link about his gender problem yet. After he'd calmed down after spilling it all out to Shadow, he'd suddenly gotten very closed up and shy, and wasn't quite sure how to open up again. I mean, revealing it to Shadow wasn't a big deal, they just met a month ago or so. Link, however . . . Link had known him as a girl for years, summer after summer. What would Link think once he finally found out? Would he still want to be friends? Would he think Sheik was weird? More importantly, if he DIDN'T want to be Sheik's friend anymore, Sheik didn't think he could handle the loss of such a good friend.

Link smirked. "You look like you got one of those Groosy letters."

He grinned. "Yeah. I'd show you, but I've already disposed of it." Come to think of it, there's probably a whole rat's nest of his love letters to me under the lockers.

"So are we gonna hang out later?"

They broke into step together. "Definitely!" Sheik responded. "Although if you don't mind, I could really use help with decorations for the dance this weekend."

"Oh, uh . . ." Link suddenly slowed. "Er, speaking of the dance . . . who are you going with?"

Sheik did not like where this was going. Except he did. Except he didn't. Oh crap! "Ah, nobody's asked me! I mean, nobody I like . . ."

"Do you like somebody? I mean, are you gonna ask somebody? Cuz I mean, you and me've never been to a dance together." He shrugged shyly. "I dunno, could be fun."

A flush rose up Sheik's cheeks. "I—I haven't asked anybody, no."

Link's face brightened. "Oh great! So . . . would you go with me?" He ducked his head, shyly.

He would NEED a date, Sheik told himself as his heart raced wildly, trying to stay logical. His parents wouldn't allow him to go to a dance alone, or even skip the dance altogether. He'd probably have to wear a frilly dress, and it's not like he and Link were more than friends, so it made sense that they would go together, AND it would make it so Sheik didn't have to go with any of his parents' pick for Best Suitor Of The Year again.

Or Groose.

He shuddered again.

Link took that as a bad sign. "We don't have to! It was just a thought." His voice broke a little.

"No, I'd like to!" Sheik rushed to reassure him.

Link looked up again. "Really?"

Sheik grinned. "Yeah! I mean, Shadow will be there, too, so maybe we can all hang out?"

A faint cloud blew over Link's face. "Actually . . . I was thinking of us going as a . . . as a couple."

All logic and excuses flew out the proverbial window. "A couple. You mean . . ." A date. Now he blushed all over.

Link shrugged. "Well, I mean . . . Shadow's awesome, I love the guy, but it's just been awhile since it was just . . . us, you know? Doing something special."

Sheik felt relief. "Oh. Y-yeah, I get what you mean. You and me. We should definitely do that more often."

Link's face broke into a bigger grin. "Awesome! Yeah, it's just . . . it just feels like you've been kinda distant for a while, and I miss you."

His puppy-dog look almost made Sheik cringe. He put a hand on Link's arm. "Oh, Link, we don't have to wait until the dance. Why don't we go out for ice cream right after school?"

"What about Shadow?"

"Shadow Shmadow. He'll understand. Besides, you two have spent time alone together, now it's our turn."

Link cheered up. It was good to see him smile.


Aryll threw bread crumbs up in the air for Seagull to catch. The bird had become a frequent visitor of their backyard, following Aryll around, staring at her curiously when she spoke. Link didn't understand how Aryll could talk to seagulls, but the bird sure seemed to understand her. Or at least listen attentively.

He and Zelda sat on the back porch. Zelda was blowing through a tiny bubble wand. Dozens of bubbles decorated the yard, not going far since it was an absolutely windless day. They'd been blowing bubbles for Aryll's amusement, but Aryll had since moved on and Zelda was just doing it because . . . bubbles. Bubbles are awesome.

"So, a whole month," She commented. "And . . . almost sixth months since the accident."

Link nodded somberly.

"How are you holding up?"

"I miss . . . I miss them a lot. I can't sleep sometimes, but it's getting better."

"Did my CD help?"

Link smiled. Zelda had specially made him a mixed CD for nights when he couldn't sleep, full of nice soft rock melodies. "Yeah, it helped a lot."

"I could make you another one."

"I'd like that."

She blew more bubbles before continuing, "Why is sleeping so hard?"

Link wrung his hands uncomfortably. "When I sleep, I forget. And when I wake up, I have to remember . . ." his eyes became glassy.

Zelda put an arm around him.

"I saw their faces," said Link, a tear making it down his face. "They were cold, staring. And there was blood everywhere. Aryll's still terrified of cars." He shoulders began to shake underneath Zelda's arm. "It just happened so fast, but then it was so long while we waited for the firemen to dig us out. I kept wishing I'd fall asleep, or else wake up, because it was just like a nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare."

"It'll be okay, Link."

"No it won't, they're dead. And I didn't even get to say g-goodbye." He dropped his face into his hands. "And Aryll doesn't even know the difference! She keeps asking where they are!"

Zelda began rubbing his back.

Link groaned. "I can't even go visit their graves because we couldn't afford to ship them HERE. They're still in Outset! I hate it, Zelda, I just, I HATE IT!"

It's a good thing we decided to spend time alone. Links been holding a lot in. Zelda felt a little bad as a friend. She was glad she was here now, though. She hadn't realized it, but she missed the Link she'd known before, the lighthearted one who always had a smile for her, always there when she scraped her knee or needed cheering up. She hated seeing him broken down like this, and it made her angry that the Goddesses had put him and his whole family through this. Why'd if have to be Link? Why not somebody else's family? Link never did anything wrong . . .

"Link Link Link!"

Link lifted his head to find Aryll staring at his shirt, concerned, gripping her own shirt in her hands anxiously. Link smiled. "I'm okay, Aryll. How are you?"

She blinked, then nodded. Gingerly, she reached out a hand and patted his knee through the ripped hole in his jeans, then scurried off to play with Seagull again. Then the smile faded. "I don't know how I'd do this without her."

"She's definitely a strong force," Zelda said with a smile.

Link returned the smile weakly.


Knock-knock, kno-knock knock.

Shadow leapt off the living room couch and ran to the front door. He opened the door excitedly and grinned at the person standing on the porch. "Hi, Vaati!"

Vaati was a shortish guy, wearing sunglasses to protect his sensitive eyes. He had some sort of albinism, except it turned him a kind of . . . purple. A light purple, like lavender. And his hair was white. He and Shadow had bonded over the fact that they both had red eyes. It looked like Vaati had come over straight from school. He was still wearing his uniform, a button up collared shirt, a dark blue jacket over that, and . . . unlike most schools . . . a kilt. It reached his knees, but it might as well have been a skirt the way Vaati strutted around in it with his hips thrust out. A smile broke across his small, petite little mouth. "Hi, Shay-Shay."

They hugged.

"Still making you wear those girly uniforms?" Shadow asked as they let go.

"Yeah," Vaati replied, flourishing a careless hand, "but I don't mind. The boys love my legs."

Shadow chuckled at the seductive look on Vaati's face. "How're the boys otherwise?"

"Oh, they're doing alright, but school ain't the same without you." He smirked.

"How so?" Shadow flirted as they settled on the couch.

Vaati sighed. "Not enough pranking or goofing around. It's gotten much too serious since you changed schools. I still don't know WHY you'd want to go to a new school that has girls in it!"

"I like girls, remember?"

"Posh! You like everybody."

"Yeah, including girls."

Vaati smirked slyly. "I see how it is. You've gone to the light side and have left poor little me in the dark, all alone!" He brushed the back of a hand across his forehead dramatically. Then settled back in his seat, bouncing one leg on top of the other. "So what's her name?"

"What?" Shadow laughed. "No, no, I haven't met any girls. I mean, Midna's okay, but I don't think we'd ever fit dating, and Nabooru is . . . yeesh, she kinda makes you feel worthless for being a man, y'know?"

"What about Zelda? You and that Link guy seem to hang out with her a lot."

Of course, Vaati didn't know about Sheik's . . . situation. Not sure what to say without revealing too much, Shadow quickly, probably too quickly, stated, "Nope. Never. Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen."

Vaati raised an eyebrow. "That seemed a bit rushed."

Shadow rubbed his neck nervously. "Just . . . it's complicated, okay?"

Vaati hummed a hearty cackle in his throat. "Uh-huh. Yep. You've gone to the light side."

Shadow shook his head, but wondered at Vaati's questioning. Did Shadow have a thing for Sheik? Was it showing and he didn't even know it yet? "So anyway, there's this dance thing going on this Saturday, and since I won't be there for the Lover's Day Dance at Hyrule Academy, I thought maybe you could come here instead."

Vaati straightened and drew in a sharp gasp. "Shadow, don't DO that to my heartstrings!" He removed hands from his mouth. "Are you serious?"

"Have I ever NOT been serious with you in times like this?"

"Oh Darky~" Vaati cooed, hearts in his eyes. He reached over and snuggled against Shadow.

"Oh V. I love you, too, you moron."

"Skank."

"Twerp."

"Loser."

"Slut."

"Hey."

Shadow grinned. "Oh, sorry." He waggled his eyebrows. "Sex connoisseur."

Vaati smiled at him lovey-doverly.


"The newspaper's printing tomorrow," said Nabooru, flipping her long red ponytail. "So what should I put on the ad?"

Zelda paused folding paper lanterns to reply to the tall, dark-skinned teenager. "I don't know, that's kinda why I hired you!"

"But it's your dance. Ugh!" Nabooru rolled her golden eyes. "I'm doing you a favor. Most people don't get to pick what I say about their crap projects."

"I know what we SHOULD say," broke in Midna, making a killer-looking paper chain. "'Come join us for a celebration of being alone on a manufactured holiday!'"

Nabooru acted as though she were writing that down, nodding her head.

Zelda chuckled. "Alright, alright! Say . . . Love Comes For Us All, but for you, dear students, something better. For when YOU come to this Lover's Day Dance, it shall be . . . with FREE CHOCOLATE!"

Midna and Nabooru burst out laughing.


AN: What a nabob Ganondorf is! Naboberry, nabobish. THIS IS A GREAT WORD. LOOK IT UP IT'S AMAZING!

Also, I don't really like how this chapter ended, but I've run out of time and it's pretty much the right length, sooooooo.