A/N: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or any other series that may or may not be mentioned in this story. However I do own this story and the original characters that appear in it (if there are any). Enjoy.

Near the village of Horon, a green-haired girl was out for a stroll near the crossroad where Spool Swamp and Eyeglass Lake met. She stopped abruptly to pick a few flowers, smelling them shortly afterwards. "Aaaah, these are perfect..." she said to herself. Shortly after, she started to hum the tune that played in Horon Village. "This day couldn't get any more perfect," she sighed.

...aaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

"Hmm?" The girl took a quick glance up at the sky only to see someone about to fall on top of her. At the last minute, she moved out of the way, letting whatever was about to hit her slam face first into the ground and crumple into a heap. The girl took a closer look at him. "A boy?" she thought. "Where did he come from?" As she took a closer look, she noticed a pair of shackles on his wrists and what appeared to be his name on the inside of his shirt collar.

"Link? What a strange name..." The girl bent over a bit and poked him in the side once. Link groaned a bit. The girl gasped. "Uh oh. He's in pain. I better go find someone to help him." Without a second thought, the girl ran off into the direction of the village to get someone to help.

At that same time, a girl with red hair poked her head out of her caravan and went to investigate the strange noise she had heard. As she walked down the path, she stumbled on what the girl had found earlier. She saw Link lying there, unconscious. Without a second thought, she turned him over on his back and drug him back to where her and the rest of her troupe were camping at.

Link had awoken to the sound of music playing and glasses clinking. He sat upright and almost bumped his head against the caravan next to him. As he stood up, he heard a bunch of cheering that sounded like it was near him. Slowly but surely, he walked over to where the sound was coming from, only to find something very interesting.

He had found a campsite that was teeming with energy. Men were clinking mugs and drinking the finest ale in the land. A blue haired girl was practicing with what Link assumed was an act for a performance. Link also noticed that there was a chunky woman that was preparing food for everyone. Link could tell it was good from the way it smelled.

But most of all, Link had noticed a red-haired girl dancing on a tree stump. And man, she was good. He could tell she was a professional. The way she moved made her seem like she was dancing like the fire that most of the troupe were huddled around. It didn't help the fact that she dressed like she was fire as well. Her fiery red hair was tied back into a ponytail that gave off the illusion of-

"Oh, good! You're awake!" she cheered as she noticed Link staring at her. She hopped off of her stump and stepped toward him. "I was worried about you while you slept. You're Link, right?" Link's eyes widened a bit. "You... know who I am?" She nodded. "Yep. It says it on the back of your collar." Link could feel his face heating up a bit. "Oh. Heheh. Right. Forgot about that."

"My name is Din," the girl introduced herself. She held out her hand. Link was going to shake it, but realized pretty quickly that he was still in chains. Din noticed it too. "Oh. Right. Those chains. Here, I can help with that. We have a master locksmith here with us." Din turned to the cook. "Impa!"

"Yes, sweetie?" Impa shouted back.

"Can you help us out here? Our friend needs to get these chains off."

"Comin' right up!" Impa answered as she promptly put down the pot of whatever it was she was making. She made her way over to the two and grabbed Link's chains. "Hmm... pretty durable... crafted to keep even the craftiest of criminals in custody. No problem at all. I'll have you out in a jiffy!" Impa took both of Link's hands in her own and forced them apart as hard as she could. The chain broke and Link was left with minor injuries.

"A little rough, don't you think?" Link grunted. Impa chuckled and patted his shoulder. "A pleasure to meet ya! I'm Impa: the troupe's cook!" Impa stole a glance from Din then smirked at Link. "And from the way Din here is smiling, I'm guessing you're Link, huh?" Link nodded. "Hah. I knew it," Impa responded. "Y'know, Din here was really worried about you. She found you collapsed in the woods and cared for you through your nightmares."

Link felt his face heating up again. "I-Is that so...?"

Din nodded. "Mhmm. I saw a flash in the woods and then I heard a scream. So I went to go look, and I saw you lying there." She put her finger on her chin. "Y'know... there's something about you... I can't quite put my finger on it... either way, I'm glad you're okay."

Link smiled. "Thanks." Din grabbed his wrist. "Hey, you wanna dance?" Link pulled his arm away. "No thanks, I really should get going. ...where exactly am I?"

"Oh, come on," Din complained, completely ignoring his question. "Just one quick little dance?"

"Din, calm down," Impa told her. "The poor boy is probably starving." She turned to Link. "You're gonna love it. I made my specialty tonight: Sirloin Stew with a hint of Scent Seed in it!"

"Impaaaa!" Din whined while stamping her foot. She turned to Link. "Come on. It's just one little dance. It's not gonna kill you, is it?"

Link racked around his brain, trying to think of something to get him out of the situation. "I'd be happy to, but I can't dance."

"I can teach you."

"I have a bad ankle."

"Hasn't stopped you from walking all the way over here."

"I'm a wanted criminal."

"Who isn't these days?"

Link, realizing there was no way out of this, just sighed and agreed. "Alright. Just a quick dance, though. After that, I'm out of here."

"Yay!" Din cheered. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards where everyone was gathering. "Come on, don't be shy! Dancing's fun! And simple too! You just put your left foot in, then you take it out. Then you put it back in and you shake it all about!"

"Okay?"

"Here, watch me. Left foot in..."

"Left foot in..."

"Good! Now, left foot out..."

"Left foot out..."

"Awesome! Now, left foot back in..."

"But didn't I just do that?"

"Left foot back in..."

Link sighed. "Left foot back in..."

"Amazing! Now shake it all about!"

"Shake it all about..."

"Great job!"

Link gave Din a weird look. "So, that's it?" Din smiled and shook her head. "Nope!" she answered as she spun Link around. "You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around!"

Link started to lose balance and fell flat on the ground. Din hovered above him. "That's what it's all about!" Link sighed and pushed himself back up. "That sucked..."

"There are other ways to dance. You can do the Cucco Dance, the Gibdo Shuffle, the Goron Roll, the Like Like Baby, and even the Din Dance!" Din explained.

"What's the Din dance?" Link asked, almost afraid as to what the answer was.

"Easy!" Din smiled as she stepped a bit closer to him. "The Din Dance is when you put my hand in yours..." As she said this, she raised her hand and interlocked her fingers with his. "Then you put your hand here," she explained as she moved Link's hand over to her hip. "And then... PSYCHE!" Din pulled a fast one by spinning Link around incredibly fast to the point where he was dizzy. "Hey! What the heck?!"

"There you go!" Din shouted. "Just keep dancing like you're dizzy!"

Din lifted up a mug and tapped it with her spoon. "A toast! To our newest friend: Link!" The entire troupe went into an uproar, leaving Link feeling a bit uncomfortable. Impa stepped in and held up a mug also. "We may not know him personally, but any friend of Din's is a friend of all of ours!" Another cheer from everyone.

Din turned to Link. "So," she started, "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Hyrule."

"Oh, what a coincidence! Impa's from Hyrule too!"

Link started to feel a pit at the bottom of his stomach. "She is?" Din nodded. "Mhmm! So... how come you had those chains on you?"

"Well... it's kind of a long story..."

"Oh, no problems," Din said. "It was probably false charges, right?"

Link gulped. "Y-Yeah. False charges."

"Do you have any place you can stay?" Link shook his head. "Not really..."

"Oh..." Din's smile faded a bit. Then it reappeared when her eyes lit up. "I know! You can stay with us!"

"What?" Link questioned.

"I said, you can stay with us!" Din repeated. She turned to everyone else. "What do you think, guys? Do you want Link as a part of our troupe?" Multiple cheers rang out. Din turned to Impa. "What about you, Impa? Would it be okay?" Impa paused for a minute, then shrugged. "What harm could it do?"

Din jumped up and hugged Link. "Awesome! This is gonna be so much fun! Just you, me, Impa and everybody else against the world!" Link didn't say anything for a bit and eventually hugged Din back. So what if Zelda had turned her back on him? So what if everyone in Hyrule thought he was a criminal? This makes up for it. Link had a new friend and a new family. And nothing could possibly spoil that now.

Din pulled back from her hug a bit and flashed Link a heartwarming smile. One that Link couldn't help but return. However, something caught Din's eye. She quickly grabbed Link's left hand and pulled it closer to her. Link gulped. "Uh oh... this is gonna be bad..."

"This mark... it's the mark of the ancient hero... if it's the true symbol, then... you..." She slowly let go of him and glanced down. Link sighed. "Okay, so I got a birthmark on my left hand. So what? That shouldn't change your opinion of me, right?" Din took her eyes off of the ground and looked back at him. "Link... I..." She paused for a second before shaking her head. "Nevermind. You're right. I guess my imagination is just getting the best of me."

Impa stretched her arms over her head. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to sleep. It's getting late." The rest of the troupe agreed and got ready for bed. Eventually, only two people remained: Link and Din.

Link took a deep breath. "Hey, Din..."

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. For looking after me and all."

"Oh, your welcome. It was the least I could do."

"Well, it's just that... nobody back home would ever do something like that. So that was pretty cool of you to do."

"Well, why not? You're a nice enough guy. You've got the mark of the hero that proves it, too."

Link sighed. "Din... back in Hyrule, I'm a criminal. I'm wanted."

Din remained silent for a little bit before snickering. "Good one, Link. You almost had me for a second there." Link remained silent. Din's smile slowly started to fade away. "Oh... you're serious..."

"I'm sorry. I really should have told you sooner."

"Well, what does that change?"

Link looked back at her in surprise. "...what?"

"What does that change?" Din repeated. "We're still friends, right?"

Link almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You mean... you're not upset?"

Din shook her head.

"You're not angry at me for the life that I chose?"

She shook her head again.

"You're not going to stab me in the back and turn me in?"

"Who would I turn you in to, silly?"

Now Link was almost certain he was dreaming. He even pinched and slapped himself. "What was that for?" Din asked, to which Link replied with "I'm just making sure I'm not asleep."

"Why is that so hard to believe? You're cool."

Link smiled. "Thanks Din. There's absolutely nothing that could spoil this moment."

Din smiled back. "Yeah. Not even lightning striking the ground right next to u-"

Just then, a lightning bolt struck the ground next to them, causing Link and Din to jump back. Impa and the others rushed out of the caravan. "What's going on out here?!" More lightning struck, destroying everything in it's path, including the place where everyone had been sleeping at.

HYA HA HA! I've found you, Din! The Oracle of Seasons!

Link blinked. "Wait, Oracle of what?"

Lightning struck the ground again before Din had a chance to acknowledge Link.

You hid yourself well, but you cannot escape Onox, the General of Darkness!

Link blinked again. "General of what now?"

Lightning struck the ground once more. From the spot where it hit, a tornado formed and started throwing everyone all over the place. "...oh no..." Din whispered to herself.

Link put himself in front of Din. "Hey! Freaky tornado guy! Leave everyone alone before I rock you like a hurricane!"

Get out of my way, boy!

"No!"

I said get out of my way!

"Link, stop!" Din shouted.

"Never!"

Suit yourself!

The tornado charged straight towards Link and threw him a good ten feet away from Din. "Link!" Din shouted. Link got back up and charged at the tornado again. "Leave Din alone or I'll-"

…

…

…

…

"Why don't I have my sword?" Link questioned.

The tornado threw Link headfirst straight into a tree, knocking him unconscious. The last thing he heard was Din's cries for help.

"AAAAH! LINK! SAVE ME! LINK! LIIIINK!"

"D-... D-... Dammit..."