-Departures-

Zelda rushed home as she saw smoke coming up from the cellar. She opened the doors, and got hit in the face with a wall of smoke. She coughed as she descended downwards into the thick cloud of smoke, and also heard her father coughing somewhere in the cellar.

"Papa?" She called out as the smoke began to clear. She finally saw her father standing beside a large device, coughing. He was a small man with a large head and nose, also wearing a device on his head with huge spectacles in front of his eyes, making them seem gigantic. Zelda saw him struggling to stand up, pulling up his spectacles, asking him, "Papa, are you all right?"

Olimar looked at his daughter, exclaiming, "I'm about ready to give up on this boneheaded contraption!"

Olimar then proceeded to kick it. Zelda studied it for a moment as all the smoke now cleared. She saw there was a furnace on a wheeled cart, with various mechanisms attached to it and an axe sticking out from one end. Zelda smiled at her father, countering, "You always say that, Papa."

"And I mean it this time!" Olimar insisted, looking at the invention with contempt. Zelda smiled more, assuring her father, "Oh come on Papa, I know you'll get it right, then you'll win first place at the fair next week, and become a world class inventor."

"You really think so?" Olimar said, his expression lightening up. Zelda smiled, nodding, "Of course Papa."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Olimar asked excited, going back underneath the mechanism, "I'll have this repaired in no time!"

Zelda's smile faded a bit as she leaned against the device, remembering what happened earlier. After a moment or so, she asked, "Papa, do you think I'm odd?"

"My daughter? Odd?" Olimar demanded, sliding out, looking up at her with his spectacles now lowered again, "What on earth would give you a crazy idea like that?"

Zelda sighed, "I don't know, I just don't feel like I fit in here. Apart from you and Luigi, there's no one here I can really talk to, and everyone just treats me like a lost cause."

"Well what about that Ike fellow? I hear he's interested, and he's pretty handsome too," Olimar asked, having gone back under the machine to finish corrections. Zelda sat down, "Oh he's handsome all right… and rude, and conceited, and thoughtless. Oh Papa, he's not for me."

"Well don't you worry," Olimar assured her, coming back out, "After this invention, it'll be the start of a whole new life for us. Now let's give this contraption a try!"

Olimar came out from under the machine, pulling on a lever. On cue, the machine sprung to life, and the axe attached to it began to chop at the wood, then throwing it over to a pile of wood. Olimar and Zelda smiled as she congratulated her father, "Papa, you did it!"

She gave her father a big hug as he smiled proudly, "Excellent! I was hoping I'd be able to leave before the day was out!"

Without thinking, Olimar rushed upstairs to go pack, leaving Zelda alone in silence.

After a while, Olimar had attached their horse, Epona, to a cart containing the invention and Olimar's luggage for the next couple weeks. He smiled at his daughter, giving her a big hug as she wished him, "Good luck Papa."

"Thank you my dear," Olimar smiled, hopping on top of Epona as he started on his way. He waved back as his daughter as he rode off to the fair.

A few days later…

A few days had passed since Olimar left for the fair. Zelda was sitting outside her house, reading. She looked up to see Luigi walking up the path to her. She smiled standing up, "Hello, Luigi."

He smiled uneasily, "Hello, Zelda."

The young lady could tell something was on his mind and so asked, "What's wrong?"

He sighed, sitting beside her as she sat back down, "Well, there's something I'm afraid I have to tell you. I'm leaving town."

Zelda frowned, surprised and saddened to hear this, "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving to go west. My daughter there needs me," Luigi said this sadly, clearly not happy about having to leave her behind. Zelda asked, "What about the bookshop?"

"Moiseur Waluigi will be looking after it from now on," Luigi answered. This didn't improve the situation for Zelda, as Waluigi was only slightly more tolerant of reading than most of the townsfolk, and shared their view that Zelda was too odd. She looked down, unsure how to take him leaving. Luigi lifted her chin, saying, "Listen to me. I know how you feel about this town, and the people in it, but trust me, all that means is you're meant for more than this. I know you will break free of this place Zelda, and go off and have all sorts of fantastic adventures just like you want, because a spirit like yours can never be contained."

Zelda smiled at these words, tearing up as she hugged him, saying, "I'll never forget you."

"Nor I you,"

Hope everyone's enjoying so far, and Happy Thanksgiving everybody!