She sat there, watching him as he rested. Alice wasn't assigned to take care of him this time. She had actually volunteered to do so. This boy had saved her life after she had done what was probably the stupidest thing ever. She felt that she should at least try to heal his injuries again, even if he did bring this on himself.

"What is wrong with guys like you?" she asked him, fully aware that he likely wasn't going to respond. She chuckled dryly at herself. "You know, there's something about you. I don't know what it is, but I can just tell that… you're a good person. But… who are you? Where are you from?" The boy didn't respond, as she expected. She sighed almost in defeat. She really did want to know who this guy was, if only so that she knew the name of the guy who had saved her.

Suddenly, the boy jerked upwards, making Alice jump out of her seat and landing painfully on the floor on her backside. The boy stared at her almost stupidly, like he had no idea why she was sitting on the ground. "Hey," the boy said. "You're that girl from before. You shot that thing in the eye, right?"

"Er…" Alice just stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. He was sitting up on the cot with an expression that made it seem as though nothing had happened. "Yeah… that was… me." She stood up and brushed off her shorts, then held out a hand. "My name is Alice Monroe, but I think I already told you that. What was your name again? That monster called you Link."

The pointy-eared boy groaned a little. "Yeah, he did. And… I think that might actually be my name…" He was silent for several moments before nodding. "Yeah, I think that's right. It sort of just… fits, somehow." He looked at her with those feral blue eyes of his, studying her thoroughly. "Camp… Half-Blood?"

"What?"

"That's what your shirt says," Link replied. "I guess that's where I am right now. What's a 'half-blood'?"

Alice was about to answer, but stopped herself. "I… don't really know if I'm qualified to tell you about that. I could take you to Chiron after we get you some clothes. He'll want to see you anyway."

"Chiron? That horse guy?" Alice nodded. Link didn't seem upset, but he was clearly unsure about that. "Are you certain about that? So far, all my experiences with non-human creatures have been pretty negative."

"He's trustworthy," she assured him. "He can be really strict, and he has this look that always sends chills down my spine, but he's a good person… horse… guy… centaur. He's a good centaur."

Link raised an eyebrow, but shrugged regardless. "If you say so." He looked around for a moment, then faced Alice again. "Er, two thing, by the way: first, didn't I have a different outfit before I woke up before? And second, where can I get something to eat? I'm starving."

-o-

The half-bloods had all gathered for dinner, and were already eating when Alice and Link arrived. Alice had given Link the green outfit that he had had on originally, earning the young man some stares of both curiosity and suspicion. She couldn't blame them, considering he had, maybe unintentionally, led a giant, fire-breathing, demonic skeleton into the camp. Not exactly a great way to earn people's trust, she surmised.

Link kept glancing to the campers uncomfortably. He didn't feel used to this kind of attention. It felt weird having all those glares focused on him. He noticed one table of campers who seemed especially angry for whatever reason. One of them, a dark-haired, burly-looking girl, drew her thumb across her neck at him, an obvious warning to steer clear of her and her buddies.

Alice led Link to the table where Dionysus and Chiron normally ate. The God of Wine narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the green-clad boy. Chiron eyed the boy with a similar look, but mixed in was a sense of curiosity.

"Here's our guest," Alice said to the centaur. "I didn't know where you'd want him, so…"

"He will sit by me," Chiron said, nodding his head to an empty chair to his left. Reluctantly, Link took the seat, looking back to Alice for a brief moment before a nymph came by with a huge tray of food and a look in her eyes that said, This one's gonna be mine! Link just looked confused as two other nymphs came by and started offering him food as well. The three nature spirits quickly began to bicker until Mr. D shooed them away.

Alice turned and headed for her cabin's table, giving a couple glances back at the pointy-eared boy before taking her usual seat. She could hear giggling coming from the Aphrodite table nearby, and she could almost swear that she heard her named mentioned at least twice. She shook it off, though, as a satyr came by and set a plate of food in front of her, as well as one of those weird goblets that magically filled themselves with whatever drink one could ask for, as long as it was nonalcoholic. Beer and demigod powers don't mix well, she assumed.

As everyone else ate, Link just stared in confusion at his empty goblet. "Uh… shouldn't this be filled with something? Water? Milk? Wine?"

Mr. D visibly winced at the mention of wine. "It fills with whatever you want," the wine god explained. He quickly chugged down some Diet Coke to get his mind off of his preferred beverage. "No alcohol, unfortunately."

Link raised an eyebrow, but lifted his goblet and thought about what he could have to drink. He thought about having some milk, and the white liquid filled his goblet. He drank and began to eat, and almost lost himself in how utterly perfect everything tasted. As he ate, he heard someone running up to the table and turned to see whoever it was.

A girl with reddish hair wearing the same orange t-shirt as most of the other campers and formfitting pants came up to the table, breathing pretty heavily. "Sorry I'm so late this year!" she said to Chiron. "School went on for longer than I thought it…" She looked at Link with a curious stare. "Uh… who's this?"

"Some boy who was chased out of the woods by a pack of hellhounds," Dionysus said with a bored look, as though everyone in camp shared the same origin. "Not to mention he brought a giant, demonic, fire-breathing skeleton along with him."

"Which he killed," Chiron added. "His name is Link."

"Link?" the redhead repeated. "Well, at least it's easier to remember than a lot of other names that I've heard over the past few years." She stretched out her hand to the green-clad boy with a welcoming smile. "My name is Rachel Dare. Nice to meet you, Link."

"Shu fu," Link said with his mouth full. He swallowed his food and said, "Sorry. You, too." He shook her hand, and Rachel suddenly froze. Link tried to pull his hand away, but the girl's grip was like a vice. "You can let go now."

A brief moment passed, and Rachel's eyes began to glow an unearthly green, and she spoke in an unnatural voice loud enough to draw everybody's attention:

The dread king walks with man of iron and lady of shadow

Before his might he will make the world bow

Unless gods and heroes of worlds two stand firm

And the face of madness shall rule upon its own terms

Silence ensued as Rachel shook her head in slight daze and released Link's hand. She looked more than a little disturbed. "That… wasn't supposed to happen."

While others looked uneasy, Link just looked confused. "Okay… so, why the random poetry?"

"It was no simple poem," Chiron warned. "It was a prophecy."

"One that I didn't intend to make," Rachel clarified. She shook her head again and faced Link. "You must've triggered it somehow."

Again, there was silence, save for the barely audible murmurs between the campers. Chiron began to stroke his beard in thought, while Dionysus didn't even pretend to be interested. Or maybe he was pretending to not be interested. It was difficult to tell.

Chiron cleared his throat and said, "Camp counselors, it would seem that another meeting may be necessary." Several of the campers groaned in response, but the centaur ignored them and turned to leave. "Link, you will come with me."

"But…" Link pointed to the rest of his meal. "There's food here. I can't help figure out a mysterious and ominous prophecy on an empty stomach."

"You will come with me. Now."

The green-clad boy sighed in defeat and stood from his seat, grabbing a half-eaten hamburger from his plate and cramming most of it into his mouth before following Chiron to the Big House. He didn't notice that Alice was giving him worried looks from her spot at the Apollo table. The words of that redhead's prophecy sent chills down her spine. Something bad was going to happen, she just knew it.

-o-

A pair of crimson eyes narrowed as Link left the dining pavilion. The Hylian didn't seem like he had noticed his presence yet. Good. Ganondorf wouldn't be pleased if he failed his mission so quickly. He would have to just continue keeping an eye on the boy until he heard word from the King.

The words of that prophecy interested him, however. There was something cold and dark about them. But the thing that interested him more was the girl who had spoken them. A prophecy meant seeing the future. Seeing the future meant an enormous advantage in just about anything. He grinned malevolently. He doubted Ganondorf would mind if he got him a little present. He might even earn a promotion and get to rub Onox and Veran's noses in it.

"This is gonna be fun," he said in a distorted voice as he began to sink into the ground, a dark chuckle passing through his throat as he vanished.

-o-

Okay, this chapter feels a little underwhelming to me. Sorry if you guys feel the same way, but I've been lacking in genuine motivation for anything aside from my MLP fics... did I just write that? ... Eh, f**k it. I'm a brony. Deal with it.