"Wake up! Happy Saturday!" Evelyn laughed, bursting into her son's room with a small squirt gun filled with cold water. A few squirts into their faces and they were blubbering into conciousness.
"Mom!" Link glared and tossed a pillow at his mother's fleeting form. "A happy saturday would be one I can sleep through!" He collapsed back on the bed and jumped when the sound of Zelda hitting the floor clattered next to him. "Holy crap, Zelda, are you alright?"
The girl blew her bangs out of her face and leaned up onto her elbows then laughed. "As long as what I am smelling is bacon than I'm alright." She pulled herself up and glanced at Link's nightstand then rose a brow. "Hey, Link?"
"Yeah?" The thirteen year old frowned at a piece of crust he had rubbed out of his eye then turned his attention to his friend.
"What's that?" Pale fingers pointed to a piece of paper with a couple of doodles on it.
The paper is snatched up from the table and thrown into the trash before Zelda can grab it. "Ideas... but, uh, nothing...good." Link opened his mouth to ask Zelda about their conversation last night but she broke through and he lost courage.
"Whatever, man."She grabbed his pillow, gave him a mischevious grin, and slammed him in the face with it. "C'mon, let's go get something to eat!"
Link rolled off his bed after his friend, hands swiping at her shirt before him, and soon they were both skidding to a stop in the Hudson's small but cozy kitchen. Eveyln smiled at the two and pointed to the grits, bisquits, bacon, and eggs on the table. "Go on. Dig in."
Link picked up a sizzling stip of pork but found that his teeth clamped down on air. "Hey." He threw a glare at his friend then returned her "favor" by stealing a piece from her own plate.
"So, did you guys finish up that little melody last night?" Evelyn smiled and sat across from her son, tucking a few strands of blonde hair behind her pointed ears.
"Ye-"
"Zelda, don't talk with your mouth full, please."
The girl gulped down her food with a glass of soda then wiped her mouth. "Sorry, Mrs. Hudson-"
"Evie."
"Evie." Zelda corrected with a blush. "But, yeah, we did. You should hear it!"
Link frowned at his friend and shook his head, furiously. "No. It's not ready."
"You're a perfectionist." Zelda countered, poking her friend in his ribs.
The children agrued over whether Link's new song was ready to be heard for a long time after that but eventually Link won out but was forced to promise Zelda they could play it in a week. After they helped do the dishes and cleaned up Link's room, the outside greeted them. The sun shone bright in the sapphire sky and seemed to prophesize a great day to sneak off down the road to Lake Hylia.
The tweens had walked over thirty minutes when...
"Ow! Link, hold up, I-I think I stepped on something." The girl and her friend stopped on the side of the road and sat next to each other on the cool grass. Zelda untied the laces of her blue leopard converse and ripped the foot wear off. Her lips parted, slightly, and her eyes grew wide. "Crap."
Link, who had been plucking blades of evergreen out of the ground, turned and looked at his friend with an eyebrow raised. "What?" He noticed the blood and then the vicious hole where a nail had punctured the bottom of her foot. "Crap." Zelda felt her face lighten several shades as she pulled her sock off that was already staining with crimson liquid. Link placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze, taking the bloodied garment from her fingers. "Hey, Zee, we're only a couple of minutes from the lake... I can piggy-back you." He took the sock and ripped it down the center then wrapped the wound in it. "Zelda."
She looked at him and nodded. "O-Okay."
"You're gonna be fine. The Doc will get you fixed up." Link turned around, bent at the knees, and told her to place her arms around his neck. "Ready?"
"Yes." Zelda's voice was weak but she did as she was told. She felt her friend left her up with more easy than she could give him credit for. "T-Thanks..."
Link smiled, shifting her weight, then began the trek toward their destination. "Its what best friends are for." He pushed himself to carry his friend another twenty minutes down the road before he had to stop for a break. Luckily for the two, a teacher from their school had seen the two kids by the road.
"Link, Zelda! What are you two doin' out here?"
"Zelda's hurt, ... she stepped on a nail and," He helped her slip down from his back, gently, and threw his arm around her waist. "it won't stop bleeding... and the nail was rusty."
The man shoved open his passenger door and tugged his beard. "Climb in. I'll take you to the Doc's."
It took another five minutes before they arrived at the eccentric old man's place on the edges of Lake Hylia. Link jerked opened the back door and surprised his teacher by refusing to let Zelda walk the rest of the way to the house. Blue eyes glared into violet. "No, I'm going to carry you. It's bleeding bad and any pressure will make it worse."
"You're tire-"
"And you're my best friend. I'm carrying you." He lifted her up, bridal style, and swept her into the front door that was held upon by the infamous Doctor "Doc" Hylia.
Fragile bones with papery skin were wrapped in layers of bright blue though Doc's weakness was overpowered by his sheer genuis, steady hands, and seemingly endless amount of patience. No one knew how long the man had lived by the Lake and few dared question him when he proclaimed that he had known the Hero of Time himself... though none believed him.
"Vhat haz our dear little Zelda done to herself today, hm?" He chuckled, fingers flittering about like he was constantly counting. Doc's eyes settled on the two children with their pale blue cunning and behind his "bottle cap" glasses there was a sparkle of a knowing.
"I...stepped on a rusty nail." She blushed with embarrassment and settled back on the metal table Gaebora had sat her on due to Link's suddenly weak limbs.
Doc unwrapped the wound, gently, and chuckled. "From sudden grace to quite ze clutz." He murmured beneath his breath.
Zelda frowned and glanced at Link who gave her a reassurring smile. "Is it bad?"
"Bad? No, my dear, no... but you should try to be more careful in ze future ...yes?"
"Yeah."
It took no time for the girl's wound to be cleaned, given a small stitch, wrapped with clean gauze, and for a Tetanus shot to be administered. Gaebora was happy to drive the two tweens home after Zelda gave Doc her mother's information though the old man was reluctant to ask for any payment. They were dropped off at Link's house where Sandra, Zelda's mother, awaited.
A great fuss was made over their little "stunt" though their sneaking over to the Lake was common place. When the mothers were finished chasizing their children, they all said goodbye, and the Harkinians left.
On the ride back home, Zelda told her mom her decision to remain in her grade with her friends...
To Zelda's complete surprise, her parents were supportive of this decision. They did, however, expect her to take every advanced class that she could get her hands on. She did and even got one class with her best friend who happened to be the second highest scoring student in History for the subject fascinated him.
- 2 weeks later, 3 days before the dance, 2 Days before Zelda's 13th Birthday -
"So, Link, have you decided who you're gonna take to the dance?" Malon, another of Link and Zelda's friends, was a pretty red head with a heart shaped, tan, freckled face. She was known for having more than a slight crush on the thirteen year old but he never seemed to return her advances.
His coblat blues met her golden ones and he shrugged. "Well, yeah." Link scratched the back of his neck with a small blush on his cheeks. "Me... and Zelda are kinda going together."
A long pause in which Malon's lips twitch between a smile and a frown. "What?"
Zelda laughed. "Relax, dude, we're going as friends."
Only Darunia seemed to notice that Link frowned at Zelda's words.
Later at lunch, the cute, red headed, golden eyed girl gushed about how she had secured herself another "date" who was born in Termina but grew up in Earth Realm. Her new date was named Kafei who had the odd combination of bright blue hair and red eyes.
Link joked about how Kafei looked like a girl for several minutes which earned him a punch to the arm from Malon's twin sister, Cremina, who was going with Zelda's twin brother, Shiek. Link grinned at his best friend's brother. "Dude, keep your girlfriend off me."
"Dude," Sheik flicked a pea at the blonde. "at least I have one."
Cremina smirked. "I never agreed to that."
"Anyone else smell something burning?" Link grinned while the rest of his friends laughed.
Shiek growled. "Bite me, Hudson."
Link rose a brow at the youth who had a scarf wrapped about his face that seemed the exact opposite of Zelda's though no less appealing."You know, I still think its weird that I know two people who have twins."
"Who are." The golden haired Zelda corrected him. She was dressed in a hot pink t-shirt that had glittered letters on it that said: OM NOM. Beneath the letters was a bitten cupcake which was crying. She wore new Converse shoes which she and Link had doodled on and dark blue jeans with random holes in them, authentic holes. "Shiek isn't identical. He has red eyes, mine are violet, my hair is gold, his is almost wheat colored, he is tan, I am pale, and, well, I'm a girl and he might be a boy." Zelda flung a bit of potato at her brother.
Shiek made an unamused face, wiping mashed potatos off of his "Team Buffy" t-shirt, but did not say anything for his mouth was too full with whatever food he had stuffed in it.
Link burst out laughing and stole one of Zelda's fries. "Not to mention, Shiek isn't smart either."
The boy growled, placed a pea on his fork, and launched the tiny veggie. "Don't make me punch you, Hudson." Shiek balled up his fist which were decorated with several silver rings shaped like dragons which matched the silver chains hanging from his jeans.
"I'd like to see you try!" Link grinned, chomping down on the green missile that he had caught.
Malon smiled, while fluttering her long lashes, at the thrteen year old who was dressed in a black band Tee, a green hoodie with the Royal Symbol on it, slightly baggie jeans, and brown combat boots. "Link would definatly win."
Zelda rolled her eyes, knowing that Malon was only saying that because she had a crush on the boy. "My brother is faster than Link but Link is stronger so it is up in the air who would win."
"Way to take my side, Sis." Shiek grumbled.
"What is it that Mom says? Oh, yeah." Zelda cleared her throat and then continued in a horrible mimick of her mother's voice. "I love you both just the same."
Lunch ended and a loud bell sent the tweens to their respective classes. Some girls were signed out early to go buy their dresses for their first "real" dance but other than that all things went along normally... too normally.
Gym was the last day of class and the only one where Zelda did not have any of her friends, close or otherwise. She was not afraid of being alone... it was who she was scared of being alone with. She gave her teacher a note explaining the wound on her foot and how she was going to take it easy that day then turned to go change in the locker room.
"Well, well, despite being flater than a table top, it seems our sweet, little Zelda has secured the cutest guy in school." Marin stood in her fourteen year old, blooming beauty with her hands propped on her hips. Curling, auburn hair with indigo eyes and full lips that were infamous in the school.
Zelda slipped her plain white t-shirt on and finished tying her drawstrings on her shorts. "I may be flat but," She brushed past the girl on her way out and smirked. "at least I've never been flat on my back."
Marin growled and lunged. The girls toppled out onto the gym floor, rolling with hair flying, and arms swinging. The fourteen year old grabbed a fistful of golden locks and jerked, pulling out several strands. The other students were chanting names and "fight" by then but just before the teacher arrived to break up the brawl...
Zelda landed a strong right hook to her tormentor's jaw. Marin fell back with a cry and looked at her with indigo eyes wide. Zelda stood up, glared, and walked away. "I'll be in the office." The girls spent the rest of the period glaring at each other... Zelda was just happy her stitched hadn't popped.
When the final bell rang, signaling for the bus riders, Zelda dashed out of the school. "Malon!"
"Zelda, did you really get into a fight?" The Lon Lon Ranch heiress screamed from the bus window. "And did you really win?"
"Yeah! And guess what else?"
"That's so AWESOME!" Malon laughed. "What!"
"Marin won't be coming to the dance!" Zelda felt like doing a backflip for the lovely island girl had been especially cruel to her ever since she first moved.
Marin had a knack for picking up on the golden headed girl's esteem issues and pursued them till it hurt. Her friends just believed that Marin was mean and deserved Zelda's hatred. The fight was a culmination of all those cruelties and, to Zelda's disbelief, Marin was suspended... but Zelda was not given any punishment due to her defending herself.
"O.M.G! Why?"
"She started the fight!" The bell rang again and Zelda had to make a mad run for her own bus or else she would be left.
Link glanced up from his doodling and saw his friend coming then grinned. He slipped his backpack off his chair so that his friend could sit. "Best day ever?"
"Understatement! I clocked Marin in the face and didn't even get in trouble." Zelda beamed. "Plus-" Her eyes fell to where Link was doodling and found the name that he had reserved for his future band, Majora's Mask, and also...hers. "Link...?"
"Yep?" He laid his head against the window and continued to shade in the "A" of Majora.
"What's The Legend of Zelda?"
The smile that crossed his face made him seem like a handsome devil. "The name of our band."
"But...what about Majora's Mask?" She murmured, startled. "You've want-"
"I'll make it a side project or something."
Zelda leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him. "You realize that you're the greatest friend that I could ever have, right?"
Link chuckled. "I do."