A/N: I can't stand Navi, so I made her a little less annoying in this story, and she doesn't just point out the obvious all the time. Oh, and FYI: I don't get beaten at home or anything… just so you know.

Disclaimer: must I do this every time? Yes. You must disclaim. But— No buts! Disclaim! OK. LoZ belongs to the Easter Bunny. Happy? No. You didn't disclaim. But I did. By saying it was the Easter Bunny's, I made it not my own. Whatever.

Ha! And again, Ha! Fool! I am the Easter Bunny!

I heard that!

….Crap.

Chapter 1

The sun had not yet risen over the horizon as Link and his fairy Navi rode across Hyrule Field atop Link's chestnut mare, Epona.

"Why does Zelda even send us on these… errands?" Navi grumbled from her favorite spot in Link's hat. "It's almost as if she doesn't think us capable of a real mission anymore."

Link chuckled. Navi was definitely not a morning person. But he was experiencing similar feelings. After saving Hyrule and the surrounding kingdoms a number of times in the past eight years, the princess Zelda had made the knight, his horse, and his fairy into celebrities, something the fairy very much despised. They weren't able to go on any real missions anymore, because, as Zelda put it, "They were too delicate."

"Aw, Navi, stop being such a fun-sucker," Link said with a sleepy smile.

"I'm not being a fun-sucker," Navi replied, "I'm just pointing out facts. Facts you don't want to acknowledge for two reasons: you don't want to admit I'm right, and you are too infatuated with Zelda to see her faults. She doesn't like you…"

Link groaned, anticipating a lecture.

"…Look at Malon. She's crushed on you since…"

Navi trailed off mid-sentence as they came to the "cave", for they could find no other word to describe it. It wasn't a cave at all, really. It was really the window that Dark Link had created, but neither of them knew that. To them it was just an upright hole about a foot in front of Hyrule Wall.

"You go first," Link said, giving his fairy a little shove.

Navi indeed flew up to six inches from the front of the cave. "I don't see anything!" She shouted back. She went closer to examine the cave. But as she flew forward, the cave seemed to suck her into the hole altogether.

"Navi!" Link cried, rushing forward, and soon he too was sucked into the cave, losing consciousness instantly.

Laya sidestepped as a lamp was thrown at her, but not soon enough. It hit her in the thigh, and though it didn't hurt so much, she knew it would tomorrow. Across the living room, her dad was shouting.

"I don't care how much you bust your butt for good grades! Screw college! I never worried about those things when I was your age, and look where I am now!"

"Yeah," Laya replied sarcastically. "A crappy dad who drinks constantly, is never there for his only child, has a mistress, and has even done time. No, I don't think good grades would have improved your life at all." This remark earned her a backhand across the face from her father, who smelled like alcohol and was currently throwing a fit about the TV volume.

Laya felt the cut from her father's wedding ring on her cheek start to sting. Just another scratch unable to be hidden, she thought as she turned on her heel and went upstairs to her room.

When Link next awoke, he was lying in an unfamiliar bed, in a warm yet unfamiliar room, with an unfamiliar girl snoring softly beside him.

The girl was about a year or two younger than him, with medium skin and short dark hair. She had a deep cut one cheek, and earrings all up one ear. Link shifted to get a better view of her, and she opened one eye at the movement. It was an icy blue that made Link shiver inwardly.

"Oh. You're up. Wonderful." The girl smiled tiredly and continued. "I know, I know, it must be weird to wake up next to a total stranger, but I had no other place to put you, after I found you slumped in the middle of my room last night.

When all Link could do was stare at her, she started again. "Let me rephrase. I'm Laya. I found you in my room last night, unconscious, and I didn't know what else to do, so I put you in the bed. And here we are now. Your stuff is in that chair over there," Laya said, pointing. "And you are…?"

"Link."

"Link? What kind of name is that?"

"My kind of name. Link, the Hero of Time."

"Of who?"

Oh yeah, different world. People don't know me here…YES! "Uh, that's just what my friends call me back home, because I'm the master of last minute." Great recovery, Hero.

"Back home? Where is that? By the way, how did you get in my room?" Laya inquired.

"It would be pointless to tell you, because even if I did, you wouldn't believe me," Link replied shortly.

"Try me."

"I'm from another world. My country is called Hyrule, sometimes Hylia. I'm a knight there, and I've saved the day on many, many occasions. I was on an errand for the princess—Zelda—when I saw the cave. So…" Link paused, not sure if he should tell the girl about Navi. Skipping that part, he continued. "So I stepped through. I guess that was yesterday. And now I'm here. In bed, next to you. My friends would kill me if they knew I slept next to a totally gorgeous girl the first night in this new world."

Laya blushed slightly. "You think I'm gorgeous?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Well, you're not so bad looking yourself, I mean, if you comb that mop atop your head." Now it was Link's turn to blush.

"Well, we're not really getting anywhere. Where's my stuff again? You didn't touch anything, did you?" Link asked suspiciously.

"God, no. I would never dream of it."

"Good. 'Cause I worked long and hard to get some of those things."

"Well, maybe later today you can tell me all about it. Right now, We have to get up and start the day. It's late already." And with that, Laya threw the covers off of her and got out of bed.