Two Halves of a Whole Friendship

Link's mother had reserved a chariot to take them to the castle. They walked outside the house to find it waiting in the road for them. They walked towards it and opened the door and stepped inside.

" Where to, Ma'am?" the driver asked.

" The castle," Link's mother said. With that, the chariot began to move.

" Don't we look fancy tonight?" the driver said. " What's the occasion?"

" A ball," Link's mother said.

" Ah, the king's having another ball, is he?" the driver said. " No wonder you folks look so formal… Except for the short one, I'll admit."

She looked at Link and he gave her a grin of embarrassment. She was giving Link her I-Believe-An-" I told you so"-Is-In-Order sort of look.

" So are you folks acquainted with the royal family?" the driver said.

" We're friends," Link's mother said.

" And have you met Princess Zelda, young man?" he asked.

" Childhood friends," Link said.

" Friends, or something more?" he said. He looked back for a moment and gave Link a teasing smile. Link did not look at him but flushed red. " You have a bashful look upon your face. You cannot hide these things from me."

He gave a small laugh. Link wanted for a moment to just disappear. But when his mother gave put her hand on his shoulder in comfort, he decided to just forget it.

" So how long have you known her?" the driver asked.

" We've known each other since childhood, but we've been married for almost seventeen years now," Link's father said.

" No, no!" the driver said. " I was talking to the boy! How long have you known Princess Zelda?"

" We met about nine years ago," Link answered. He looked at his father, who apparently was annoyed by the feeling of being left out of conversation.

" We still have a while to go before we reach the castle," the driver said, " So tell me all about it."

" Um, okay," Link said.

It was nine years ago, when Link was only six years old, on a rainy winter day. Link's parents were about to leave for their first day working as attendants to the king and queen.

" Link, I'm afraid we couldn't find someone to watch over you while we're gone," his father told him. " You'll have to come with us this once."

" I'm going to spend a day in the castle?" Link said.

" That's right," his mother said.

" Yay!" Link shouted.

" But!" his father said, not wanting Link to get too excited about this little trip, " It's just this once! And I want you to be on your best behavior!"

" Yes, sir!" Link said happily. They grabbed their umbrellas and left.

" Will there be anyone there my age?" Link asked as they walked.

" Well, the king does have a daughter, Princess Zelda," his father said. " I'm pretty sure she's you're age. But I think it would be best if you didn't bother."

" Why?" Link asked.

" Because she's a child of royalty," her mother said. " She might have been taught to shun those who are lower than her."

" You don't know that," Link said.

" Of course I don't," she said. " But for all we know, it could be true. So best not to go looking for her."

" And don't ask if you can play with her," his father said. " The only exception is if someone invites you to meet her."

" Alright," Link said, a little disappointed for not being able to meet this Princess Zelda.

When they got there, Link could not believe his eyes. The castle was bigger than he ever imagined. They walked up to the gigantic doors. His father reached out and grabbed the knocker and swung hard. It made a large boom that made Link jump in inch off the ground. The door was answered by a butler.

" Good day to you. How may I serve?" he said.

" We're here to work as attendants to the king and queen," Link's father said.

" Ah yes. He did mention a couple coming to work here. And who is this?" the butler said, looking at Link.

" This is our son, Link," Link's mother said. " We couldn't find anyone to look after him today, so he'll have to stay here with us just this once. If that's alright, of course."

" Indeed. It's quite alright. How do you do, young man?" he said.

" I'm fine, thank you," Link said.

" How old are you?" he asked.

" Six," Link said.

" You know, the king's daughter, Zelda, is also six," he said. " I bet you two would get a long great. Would you like to meet her?"

Link looked up at his parents. They both gave him a nod and smile of approval.

" Yes, please. I'd like to have someone to play with while I'm here," Link said.

" Very well, I'm she'd be happy to have a playmate, for a change," he said. He looked around and spotted a woman dusting. " Caroline! Please escort young Master Link to the courtyard to meet Princess Zelda."

The woman whom the butler called Caroline came and lead Link away from the others.

" Hello there," she said as they turned a corner. " I'm Caroline, but feel free to call me Carol. I guess you want to meet Zelda, do you? That's good, she's been very lonely, lately. A new playmate is just what she needs."

" What's she like?" Link asked.

" Oh, I think you'll like her," Carol said. " She's energetic, enthusiastic, kind… You two should get along fine."

Link hoped she was right. It sounded like Zelda was really nice. They came to a place where there was an entrance to a large courtyard. It was surrounded by tall hedges, there was a brick patio in the center, and in the middle of this was a small fountain.

A girl Link's age was sitting on the wall of the fountain. She had light skin and blond hair. She wore a pink dress, a necklace of pink stones, and what looked like some sort of headpiece. She looked at Link when he walked into the courtyard.

" Princess Zelda," Carol said, " This is Link. He's your age. He'll be staying here today until his parents are finished working. Why don't you two get acquainted and maybe play until Link leaves."

Carol left Zelda and Link to stand there and stare at each other.

" Nice to meet you," Link said. " I'm Link."

" Nice to meet you, Link," she said. " I'm Zelda."

" So you wanna play?" Link asked.

" Yeah," Zelda said. " But first, I'd really like to get to know you. Why don't we just talk a little bit?"

" And that was it," Link said. " After that, it was just sort of instant. From then on we were best friends."

" Quite an interesting story," the chariot driver said. " Oh! We're just arriving at the castle! Hope you folks have a good time at this ball."