AN: Well, here's the next chapter! Enjoy, you guys! (And gals)

This morning is like all the others before it: slow and sluggish. I've decided that we go to the castle today. It's been a while since we've seen the twins, and today is a good day to go. There's just one problem: it's raining. With both of us ready to go, the rain is going to prove itself a nuisance. Oh well, rain is a good thing. It's just a little rain, a light shower, if you will. I wonder how long it's been since K-…Link was out in the rain.

Speaking of Link, I also wonder how his mother found the orphanage. The Western Segment has been horrible for years, even before he was even born. So, why? My guess is that the two lived there, and was the only place she could put him in at the time. I also wonder how old he was, too. And who was his mother, anyway?

"Hey, Linebeck? I found a box full of things, come look?"

Seems like he's found the box full of pictures and trinkets that I keep in storage. I make my way towards his voice, opening the door to the storage room. It's a little dark in here, with just a single light coming from the ceiling. I can see dust flying about in the light.

"A box? Hm, I think you found my family's keepsake box. But not all of it is my family, see?" I say as I kneel down and pluck a pictograph I've seen before; the one with the boy, the captain, and the fairies in front of a ship.

"This is one of the older ones, taken many years ago," I point to the captain, "That is my great-great grandfather. He owned that ship, lived on it too."

"Who's the boy? He looks like me…"

"Back then, he was a Hero. Not just any local savior, but a true Hero. He traveled vast distances, and fought the biggest beasts that seemed to be from imagination. He saved two lands; the Great Sea, and the land below it, the original Hyrule. Hyrule is now underwater, it has been for hundreds of years. That is the land from which Neo Hyrule got its name. The boy does look like you, huh?"

"What's his name, do you know?"

"I was just about to get to that. His name was Link."

"I'm named after a Hero?" The look on his face was, I would say, priceless.

"Actually, two. The second one died young, very young. He saved this land with the Princess long ago. He was a train conductor, and a warrior to boot."

"How did he pass?"

"He was killed in a crash, his train flipped over. He was about sixteen, and engaged. You know, to be wed."

"To who? The Princess?"

"Yes. The terrible thing though, was that she was already pregnant with his child. They only were to marry because of that. If she wasn't, then she would have had to marry another man at the orders of her father."

He cocks his head in confusion. "Why?"

"Because royal unions are arranged. Usually, there is no love in the bond. Women had little rights back then. Marriages are still arranged to this day, I think."

"That's terrible."

"That's royalty for you. They wish to keep bloodlines strong."

He quickly went to another picture, this one of the same boy with three fairies.

"What are those things?" He asked, pointing to the red, blue, and yellow orbs of light.

"Those Link, are fairies. Fairies are magical creatures, little sprites that dart around, some good and some bad. These were good ones that hung around the Hero for a while."

"Are they still around?"

"No. They left Neo Hyrule many years ago. Magic doesn't really exist here anymore."

"Why did they leave?"

"I can't answer that right now. I don't know why they left. There are some rumors being passed around about some people seeing the rare creatures. "

"Do you think we'll ever see one?" He grinned. Not many children know about these creatures, so it's good to see that someone still has a little faith in them.

"Maybe. Like I said, they're very rare. Just looks for tiny lights and light giggles. Who knows, you might find one."

His smile got even bigger. I think he's just made a goal to find one of the fairies somewhere. He went back to the box, pulling out a coin with a strange triangular symbol on it.

"What's the symbol on this mean? It kind of reminds me of the symbol for the flags and things here."

"That symbol is a marking of old. There are legends passed down about it, but I don't know any of them. All I know is that this is the inspiration for the symbol we carry today, a single triangle with a bird underneath."

"Oh. Hey, who's that? He looks like a little you." He pulls out another pictograph.

"Yep, that's me as a tyke. Next to him is gramps. I was really tiny back then, huh."

He nods. "I never had any pictographs taken of me, except back at the… I don't know what it is anymore. I don't have them anymore. But they're really old, anyway."

"Hm. I have a pictobox lying around somewhere. That way you can have a pictograph taken, if you want."

"Really?"

"Yep. I have to find the thing first, though. It's somewhere in here, I know that. Just look for an orange box with a lens sticking out. Not hard to miss."

"Got it."

He stands up and feels around the shelves that he could reach, me taking the ones he couldn't. All I could find was mounds of dust, while Link found what we were looking for.

"Is this it?"

"Can't say it isn't. Let me take that off your hands for a moment." He hands the pictobox to me as I open the door to the general store. "Alright, ready?"

He beams at me again and nods. He finds a spot to stand, almost in front of a window. I hold it up, my finger on the button to capture the picture. I zoom in to the point where the area for the picture holds his middle and up.

"Don't move or blink now!" And… click. He didn't blink, but the flash caught him off guard. He starts to rub his eyes, staggering a little as he tries to walk.

"Sorry, about the flash. You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good. This is an upgraded model; it can hold up to twelve pictures, more than the three from earlier days. It can also "print" them out as well. Let's see what we have here…" I press another button, and slowly comes out his pictograph, all white. I shake it away from me for a minute and look again. It's almost done developing.

"Can I see?"

"Sure thing. Just don't squeeze it, you'll ruin the photo." He takes it and looks it over a few times.

"I didn't think I could smile so dumbly."

"It's not dumb looking, you're just happy. And sometimes you look dumb when you're happy."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Course not. Anyway, we need to get ready to go. Go put your boots on."

"But it's raining." He wasn't whining, just acknowledging the fact that it's unwise to go outside for long periods of time in the rain. Or maybe he was. I can't be too sure.

"I have an umbrella, don't worry. Now go get your things, alright?"

I watch him go to the front door where he left his boots last. He slips them on and runs back to me, placing the photo on a counter. Thinking for a bit, he asks me if I have anything like a coat he could use.

"You can use one of mine. Go ahead, there's bound to be a clean one in the dresser."

And off he goes again, minutes later coming back with a black coat on him. The thing is just barely dragging on the floor, covering most of his arms and hands.

"Well, that looks a little big, don't you think?" I try to contain my laughter.

"It's all you had…" He looks down at himself, frowning at his arms.

"It's okay, just don't let it drag, all right? Hold it up a bit when you walk."

"Like a dress?" I really don't like the analogy he made there, but it works.

"Yeah… like a dress. Now let me grab my umbrella, and we'll be off."

"Fine," he says, pulling at the coat. It really is big for him. As long as he doesn't trip and fall, we're good. I move over to the door, where my umbrella sits in a holder next to the door. I grab onto it and motion for us to go outside. Link follows but I stop him with a hand behind me before he can head out the door.

"Let me open this first. I don't want you getting hit in the head with it." I hold the umbrella outside and flick a switch. It opens quickly, fanning out at it does. "Now you can go out," I say, letting him pass. I quickly bring the umbrella over him and I, and we start walking at a fast pace. There's already mud on the ground, puddles everywhere too. Like I told him to do before, Link is hiking up the coat, like a dress. Though I have thought him to have a slightly feminine look to him, this is just ridiculous. I mean, really. It is the only thing between him and a muddy coat, but oh well.

It's a good thing we dressed rather warmly; autumn is coming to a close. This rain is freezing cold. Link happens to be wearing his dark-green shirt of a thick material, and I in a few layers myself, but not much. I'm practically freezing. We should've waited until tomorrow, but that won't happen. Turns out Rae is coming back tomorrow evening to check up on Link. She sent a letter telling us so. The postal service is… remarkably fast. So, visitation today only.

Speaking of Rae, I need to tell her about "Kael's" real name. Hmm, the name "Kael" seems so… foreign to me now. It's just weird, not calling him that anymore. Maybe that's how he felt when he was being called that number… and Kael too. When she comes around, that's the first thing I'm telling her.

"F-freezing…" Yep, great idea this was. I hope he doesn't get sick.

"We're almost to the station. We'll find a dry place to sit after we buy our tickets, all right?"

"O-okay," He replies, hiking up the coat again. "Well, I-I feel s-silly."

"Nah, you shouldn't. It's just a coat. We'll get you one later, if you want."

"I'm okay with this one."

His answer threw me off a bit. "Really? All right then, if you insist."

At the station, we head up to the booth. The line is fairly short, and it only takes a few minutes to get up front. The booth is covered by a large roof overhead that extends very far. I put down my umbrella.

"Hello there. I need two tickets, one child and one adult, please," I say to the man manning the booth. He looks around in confusion for a reason I don't understand.

"Where's the kid?" Oh great, more short kid statements.

"He's right here. He's a little… small."

The man looks down a bit more and spots Link, who happens to be looking up at him with a furrowed brow.

"Ah. Sorry kid. You're just well, short."

"I'm not short." He folds his arms and pouts.

"If I can't see you, you're short. But you're just a little kid. Kids are short."

"I'm not a little kid!" Oh boy, here we go.

"Well then," he says, leaning over the counter to look directly at him. "How old are you?"

He doesn't say anything after that. Does he not know his own age? Lyle told me that he was somewhere around the ages of twelve and thirteen. But really, he doesn't look his own age.

"Come on, it's okay to say how old you are, Link." I let his name slip.

"Wait a second. What's his name again?" The man's eyes widen. He doesn't know about the legends, right?

"Erm… his name is Link. What's wrong, sir?"

"That name, I haven't heard it in years. …You do know about that one kid who got into a nasty accident, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry for saying this, and don't take it personally, but anyone who names their kid that is a complete idiot. You don't name people after dead Heroes. That's just wrong." He clears his throat before beginning again. "He doesn't look much like you. Did he take after his ma more than you?"

And yet another person who thinks he's my son. Why does everyone think this? We look nothing alike.

"He's not my son, and I didn't name him. I don't know his mother, so I wouldn't call her stupid."

"Then why is he traveling around with you? Apprentice? Adopted? Babysitting maybe?"

"The first two, actually. I took him in to be my apprentice at my trading post."

"Hm. You don't happen to be that Linebeck fellow, eh?"

"I am, actually. Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Now, back on topic." He glances at Link, who was watching him very intently through the entire time we've been here. "What's your age now?"

"…I'm eleven…" He says softly.

Oh dear. Lyle lied to me. Of course, that's to be expected. But why lie about age? He had no reason to, at least, a reason I don't know of. No wonder he looks so young; he is. And to think I thought he was thirteen. Oh well, no harm done with this information.

The man smiles and says, "See? You are a little kid, short stack!"

"I'm. Not. Short."

"Oh, someone's gettin' feisty. I'm just pulling your leg, little guy! Har har!"

"Then stop calling me little."

"All right, all right. Just calm down. Ahem, anyway, your total comes up to be forty-five Rupees. Here are your tickets." He hands them to me swiftly, with Link giving the man some sort of glare. I have to agree, he is pretty short for his age. I hand him payment and start to walk away, with Link still at the counter.

"What'cha staring at, kid? Something on my face?" The man cocks his head a bit, with Link still giving him his glare.

"C'mon, Link. Leave him alone." I come back and tug at his shoulder, leading him a few steps back. Letting go, he walks right back up to the counter. Just what is going on here?

"I know you… from somewhere," Link says, eyeing the man.

"Oh really now? Where?"

"It's been a while, but I remember you. Have you ever been to the Western Segment?"

Alright, I'm confused. Just outright confused. What is he getting at now?

"Link, I'm being serious, leave him alone."

"No no, let him ask his questions. And yes, I've been there, for a business trip a year back. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing really. Just wondering is all." He doesn't look like he's wondering, he looks like he knows something I don't.

"Erm, fine then. Now run along, your teacher is waiting."

Honestly, what was that just now? The look on his face, I haven't ever seen him like that. It was almost a death threat! That's it, when I get the chance, I'm asking him about this one. He can't just go up to random people, asking them where they have been like that. Unless… oh Gods.

Link gives the man one more look and marches right on up to me. He's still pouting. Oh, but I'm furious.

"What in the world was that? Huh?" I grab him by a shoulder, my other hand holding the umbrella. "What were you doing, asking him a question like that?"

He merely cocks his head to the side and says, "You're causing a scene, Linebeck. Seriously, tone it down."

"What did you just say?" My grip becomes tighter.

"You're. Making. A. Scene," He replies slowly and steadily. If I didn't know how to control myself, he'd have a red cheek by now. Me? Making a scene? He's the one who went up to the poor man, asking him that strange question so loudly in front of everyone.

He's eyeing me now, with a look of disgust.

"I'm not the one who went up to the poor man and asked him that question, hmm?"

"You're the one who's talking about it, not me."

"I swear, if you don't stop this right now I'll-"

"Beat me? Kick me? Scream at me some more? That's childish and old to me. Like that's going to solve anything."

"I've had it with your mouth. You're going home."

"We're going home now?"

We're getting some nice stares from the crowd. Perfect.

"No, you are. I'm taking back your ticket. I'm going alone."

His eyes widen and his ears flatten in utter realization and fear. He shrinks back under my gaze.

"But-"

"Too late, kid. Stay here while I go up to the booth."

He starts sniffling, his eyes welling up with tears. Though I do feel bad, I need to show him that I'm his guardian now, not just someone who lives with him.

His eyes start darting around as I turn to head back up to the booth, and he grips my arm. Link buries his head in it, getting my sleeve soaked with tears. I don't know if he's just crying to get his way, or really because he doesn't want go back alone and get scared. I understand why, but by the Gods, the child needs to learn.

"No no no no no no… please… I don't w-wanna go back a-alone… what if…" I stop and he pushes himself into me, his arms clinging around my waist. Meanwhile, more people are staring at us. I give some of them a look, and they turn away, mumbling.

"What if what?" I ask.

"What if… L-Lyle finds me? I don't wanna go back… there… oh no… no… … no…"

He's shaking now. It's been a very long time since he shook last; I thought he broke the habit of it. I can see why he's crying now. He thinks Lyle is still on the loose, looking for him. That's why he doesn't want to leave my side. He thinks I can protect him from his "owner", which truthfully, I don't know if I can. He seems to be a dangerous man, and who knows what he has up his sleeve. …I don't know if I should leave Link alone now. I mean, he needs to learn, but this is a little harsh… right? I lead him to a bench and sit ourselves down. So much for privacy, but it's the best I can do in a public place like this.

After a few minutes, he finally stops his shaking. Thank goodness for that.

"Link, he's not going to find you. He's not here; we won't be seeing him ever again. Now please, stop. You're getting my shirt wet." Link moves himself away from me and scoots over to the edge of the bench.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's alright. Now tell me, what's gotten into you? You keep trying to one-up me, and it's getting really tiring."

Link looks away from me and admits, "I feel like you're babying me, like I'm just a little kid. It makes me mad. I'm not a little kid, and I'm not short!"

"Did I say you were short?"

"No, but you still baby me."

"How so?" I cup my hands together on my lap.

"You're always asking for my permission on things, and if I want to do them. I can't explain it."

"Do you want me to make you do things you're not comfortable with?"

"No, not really."

"See? I only do that to make sure you're okay with things. Besides-"Am I really about to mention the plushie? No, I won't. That would upset him more. "…Besides, even though you're growing up and wanting to do more things, you need someone to keep you from getting in a big heap of trouble."

"And that's you, right?"

"Well, duh. It's not like I'm going to let you roam around by yourself, with what you've…"

"With what I've seen and done?"

I swallow hard and say, "Yes. I just don't want you getting hurt anymore. You may not be a little kid, but you're still a kid. You need to realize that."

"I don't think I am."

"That's the thing. You are a kid, but you're mind clearly isn't one of a kid. You think well, differently."

"Differently?"

"You just don't act like a kid would. Course, we both know why."

He looks down and replies, "Yeah…"

"Anyway, we'd better get going. There's a pair of twins we need to see!" I say to lighten the mood. Course, with the downpour of rain, the mood is as lightened as it can get.

He jolts up and whips his head towards me. "I'm coming with?"

"I don't think it's best to leave you alone like that. And listen, sorry for getting mad."

"I'm sorry for getting in your face."

"So we're both sorry then? Good. Anyway, we should get going now. …I'd still like to know what you were talking about with that man back there."

"Later, please?"

"As long as you tell me, I don't mind."

"Thanks." He stands up and I do too. We walk to the line for our train and stand, waiting.

There's so much I've been wondering about, it's going to make my head explode. Just who are Link's parents? What was he talking about with the man? I have no idea. I just hope this can get over with soon. I wonder just what kind of gossip will be floating around about me now, with the show put up just now. At least I can trust Starn, he won't believe any rumors he hears.

Speaking of Starn, I still need to get Link with Millie, and also tell him about "Kael's" real name. Rae too. How can just one child have so much complex issues? It's truly strange to me.

On the train, Link has already fallen asleep. We have a few hours to go, but I won't sleep. I'm the one who has to wake him up! I lean back and watch everything going by outside the window. I place my umbrella on the floor, it already getting the seat wet.

We arrive at the Square, the castle looming overhead in the distance. It's a magnificent sight, I must say. Bet Link would like this. I stand and tip=toe over to his still sleeping form and give him a little shake.

"Hey, Link. We're here, you gotta get up."

"Mmm?" He sits up slowly, rubbing his eyes. "We're here? At the castle?"

"No, the Square. Come on, the castle is up ahead."

He stands and yawns, walking in front of me. This is it. I… we are finally going to get some answers; and I'm ready for them, no matter how terrible or strange they are going to be. I'm done with guessing, I want the truth, and maybe Link wants it too.

At least, I hope he does.

AN: Phew, chapter five is up, after a long hiatus. I can't promise the wait for the next chapter will be this long, but I'll try my hardest not to take so long.

Anyway, see you all in the next chapter!