"Link?" Zelda turned her head so her cheek rested against her pillow. "You awake?"
"Huh?" Zelda could see through the darkness the silhouette of Link lift his head up and blink sleepily and unintelligently.
"Link, I was thinking…" Zelda stopped as she heard throaty snores escape Link's mouth. "Link!" He jumped up with a start.
"I'm awake, I'm awake!" Now he seemed a little less drowsy.
"Good. I was thinking…about today." There was a pause before she continued. "I really enjoyed going out to dinner with you and stuff."
"Yeah, I would enjoy going out to dinner with me too."
"We have to fight tomorrow and, well, I just don't want it to change-us to change- just because of some stupid contest."
There was a moment as Link took this in. "It's a scholarship program actually."
Zelda shook her head exasperated. "Whatever! The point is I don't want this to come between us." She fixed her gaze directly at his eyes with her commanding expression. "Promise me Link, we come first, then the tournament, then your hair."
"Don't forget my car. I think that belongs somewhere on there." Seeing Zelda's 'I should have known he wouldn't listen' face, he quickly added, "And yeah, I promise. Us first." A grin appeared instantly on her face and she got up and threw her arms around Link. He held her for a moment then let her release him. They climbed into bed, and Zelda finally got a night of undisturbed tranquility.
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Despite their little discussion the previous night, a tight tension held the room as Zelda and Link got up that morning. Outside was just as bad. The morning was cloudy and a chill could be felt deep in their bones as the two walked through the parking lot. There was that peaceful morning absence of people, but the quiet only seemed to make the dreading moments before their battle even more uncomfortable.
The inside of the coliseum was much like the hotel and the parking lot and the rest of the world: almost empty and not quite ready to begin the day. It was obvious that the sun had yet to shine on the building as employees mechanically swept and prepared looking much like zombies for the crowds that would soon be pouring into the coliseum.
Zelda and Link were greeted by a few other contestants fighting that day. They signed into an attendance sheet then parted ways to prepare for their match, which was in about forty-five minutes. Zelda immediately headed into the women's locker room. It was empty, which was no surprise since there were only three other women participating. Wait no, Marth is a guy. Whatever.
Zelda decided the best place to change into her alter ego would be in a bathroom stall. Then she would hide her body in one of the lockers. As she stepped out of the bathroom and looked down at her hands wrapped in cloth, she couldn't help but feel a bit smug at her powerful appearance. No one would doubt her strength now, the strength that she could now feel coursing through her entire body.
Then Zelda's eyes, looking up, met the bathroom mirror. She stared at the face in front of her. It was harsh and her eyes did not have the soft color they usually did. It was different, foreign to her. No, it was more than that. Something inside her seemed to be missing. It was like when she shed her ordinary appearance, she lost more than that, a part of the mind and soul that made up Zelda was missing. And with that missing part of her came a new mind set. It was aggressive and cold. Like a true fighter, she supposed.
Like the fighter she wasn't. She wasn't Sheik. She was Zelda, an insecure little girl wrapped inside the Princess package. Sheik may be her only chance of winning, but this competition was her only chance at proving that Zelda, princess of Hyrule, could inflict bodily harm on people. Zelda bit her lip. She knew she had to make a decision of doing what was right, and doing what was easy. And you only imagined that this line came from Harry Potter.
When Zelda left the ladies' room, she sat down on a couch smoothing the cloth on her legs so her pink dress would not appear wrinkled.
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I know this is really short, but I plan on updating again within the week. Be on the watch, next is Zelda and Link's battle and there are going to be a few surprises! Fun, fun, fun!
-LoZeldafreak