Perfect
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Chapter 3
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Saria should have recognized the young princess when she had seen her. No one could mistake the princess, or even doubt her if she hid it. Mastering her disguise was one way to get around, but it was much, much slower. Being the princess, she could easily maneuver through crowds, whilst townsfolk huddled off to the side, for fear of being touched by the mysterious beauty walking past. Her flawless porcelain-like skin seemed to glow with her, adding to the shining, flowing mass of golden hair that swayed behind her bobbing head. And to think, she was only eleven years of age.
"Saria," Zelda's lips the color of rose broadened into a small smile, "It seems ages since I've seen you. How are you?"
The Kokiri smiled, feeling more self-conscious then she should have been. In a matter of time, Zelda would grow nearly twice the height, and be the fairest girl in all of Hyrule. No doubt, Link would be a very lucky man by that time. "I'm fine, Princess."
"Zelda!" she widened her sapphire eyes, "Call me Zelda, Saria."
The Kokiri children walking past giggled and Saria hushed them with the wave of her hand. Embarrassment tinted her cheeks a pale pink. "Of course, Zelda." Her tongue felt weighed down by globs of syrup.
The princess grinned in satisfaction. Link suddenly appeared next to her, his smile broader than before; "Mido can't wait to see the slingshot trick I learned yesterday. You two want to come and watch?"
Zelda huffed in response before Saria could open her mouth. "I've been watching him do that all day yesterday. Even Impa was bored."
Link pouted in mock annoyance, "Well, Ayden doesn't seem to mind."
"Ayden doesn't mind anything." Zelda rolled her eyes before flipping her shoulder-length hair. "He loves to play around with stupid little weapons."
Link shrugged with a crooked smile plastered on his face. "Where is he anyway?"
From behind Saria, there came a loud, rippling splash of water. Both the blonde's eyes widened in shock and Saria gasped, realizing before it came, that she was standing next to the small river near the Deku Tree entrance. Cold water engulfed her, sending her sputtering and shivering in all her wetness.
"There he is," Zelda muttered, nodding her head the general direction behind Saria.
The Kokiri's teeth chattered as she glimpsed at her wet tunic, sticking like tape to her body. "G-great."
"Yo, Link!" a boy's voice, a little too high-pitched for her liking, reached her ears. She grimaced. "Guess what the Deku Tree gave me?"
"Uh, what?" Link's face flushed, glancing at Saria.
"This, this," the boy's form sprang from Saria's left, "this awesome flute!"
Saria groaned, annoyed.
Link laughed nervously, "Uh, Saria, this is Ayden. Ayden Collier. He's Impa's nephew."
She turned around, her eyes narrowed; ready to glare daggers. A shiver went up her spine as she stared at the copper-haired boy. His eyes alighted with delight when he saw her. He grinned, and she glimpsed at the wooden flute in his hand.
"Hey, Saria!" he reached out a slippery, wet hand, "You look like a drowned cat!"
Zelda rolled her eyes and Link slapped his forehead, feeling a little more than lost at the moment.
"Have you ever seen a more beautifully crafted flute in your entire life?" he ravaged, his dark green eyes twinkling, "The purple fairy even taught me an awesome tune. She even said you might know some."
With a slap of her hair, Saria turned around and stalked off, completely ignoring his outstretched hand.
"I don't think she likes me." Ayden mumbled, his freckled cheeks actually flushing.
The Hylians glanced at each other, small smiles playing on their lips. "Maybe you should go and apologize," Zelda suggested.
Ayden shook his head, realizing just how Zelda was trying to be rid of him. "No, thanks, lovely princess. I think I'll go practice the flute."
"Find somewhere nice and quiet and away from us!" the princess offered as he disappeared into another section of the woods.
"So we don't have to listen," Link finished off, another goofy grin adorning his baby-face features.
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"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Saria kicked the inside wall of her small tree house, finding that it relaxed her drenched little body if she smacked something around for a bit.
She knew her other tunic was still grass-stained and muddy from her last trek up the meadow, and she would still need to sew the other two back up from hiking up that steep cliff after jumping off that rickety wooden bridge- not to mention the other time she decided to go chase a skull kid for stealing her pack of rupees. Her only other choice would have to be the Hylian dress she had sewed together a few months earlier. It was a failure, to say the least. The sleeves were too wide, the midsection too itchy, the skirt too puffy…
"All wrong," she muttered to herself as she pulled it on.
She tied it up from the back, the ribbon too long so that it hung behind her like two thin, useless, dragging tails, and then she quickly braided her hair afterwards. Grabbing her ocarina, she soon leaped out from her back window. Best left unnoticed, she always said.
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The meadow was silent, as if every creature in the forest had quieted down at their arrival, or had possibly scurried off to watch Link and Zelda, the beauties of Hylian children still new to them. But Ayden wasn't Hylian, and he wasn't as beautiful as them, either. He couldn't relate to the blonde hair and the blue eyes or the flawless skin. He had freckles, and red hair that shone like copper in the sunlight, and a pug nose.
No, he didn't need to constantly withstand their annoyances, and grievances, when they seemingly had everything. From the time he was born, he was kept in secrecy. He had to constantly hide and run from place to place, searching for a home. With his parents dead after the fire burnt down the village, he'd been a street rat. Only until two months ago, when he had found Impa in the market place, he was homeless. Now he lived in the castle, dubbed Impa's nephew for safety's sake, and no doubt more like a son to her as Zelda was like a daughter.
He sighed; suddenly feeling relaxed in such a place as if he could stay there forever. He found a spot under a tall oak tree; clear away from the opening, but enough to let him see how the sunlight glowed on everything as if little bits of gold flecks had been showered over the ground, the trees, even left to glide in the air.
"Yeah," he whispered to himself, "this is the life."
He raised his flute to his lips and began a very out-of-tune, nail-raking, ear-covering song.
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Saria's ears picked out the distant tune before she reached the Lost Meadow. She grimaced, knowing someone was about to ruin her haven with that blasted melody that actually didn't even sound like one. She raced up the remaining steps that led to the clearing, preparing for the worst.
And even if she did, she still wasn't exactly prepared to spot out the copper-haired boy leaning against one of the oak trees, blowing out his flute like there was no tomorrow. She glared at him, fists clenched to her sides, just as she began to stalk toward him. What right did a Hylian have to be barging into her meadow, anyway? The only Hylian who ever had the right was Link, or Zelda- if it had to come to that, anyway.
He must have sensed her somehow because his eyes flew open, and his ear-twisting melody was cut short.
"Oh, h-hi," he began with a stutter, his hands shaking slightly.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her right eye beginning to twitch, "I mean, how did you even find this place?"
"I-I, um…" he glanced down at the grass, creating patterns of fairy wings in his mind- anything but her angry, pouting face. "I'm sorry, I just- I wanted to get away to somewhere, um, quiet, you know?" His nose crinkled ever so slightly and Saria's gaze softened ever so slightly. Ayden glimpsed up at her, his head downcast, his shoulders drooping.
"Oh, well," the Kokiri leaned away from him, not realizing until he looked up at her that she had been so close. But, of course, she had to give him credit; he did find his way up to the meadow all by himself. "It's not like you'll be rotting our brains out with you music here for very long."
Ayden furrowed his eyebrows, his lower lip pouting ever so slightly at the insult while she turned away to reach her regular spot on the tree stump near the Forest temple. "You think it's bad?" he asked, jumping away from the tree and following her.
She laughed haughtily, "Bad? That was terrible. Key-word right there…"
"Then teach me!" he said as she plopped down on the stump.
She crossed her legs Indian-style and pulled out her ocarina, avoiding the boy's gaze. "Are you insane? It would take ages for you to learn."
"So?" he cocked his head, his fingers fumbling with the flute in a nervous gesture, "You aren't going to go anywhere anytime soon, and I've got nothing…"
"You're a stupid boy!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide and furious.
Ayden crumpled, obviously realizing he had a mistake. "I-I didn't mean what I…"
"Just go!" she huffed, closing her eyes and placing the ocarina to her lips.
Her song drowned out his pleads to apologize for whatever he did, and he soon slinked away into the shadows, his eyes a deep red hue as he turned to mist and disappeared.
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Thanks to all your guys' awesome reviews! Hope you all stay posted for the next chapter, which probably won't be updated as quickly as this one, but you know, stay posted:-D
