Meh. What can I say? Lack of reviews = lack of motivation to update.
Also, this is my first story, so now I finally understand that school actually does get in the way of updating. I'm on student council AND the school dance team and homecoming is rapidly approaching, so I'm actually busy (for once).
Double digits in the chapter category, woo woo!
Zelda has been sent back in time. This chapter takes place at the exact moment chapter 9 begins.
I do not own Legend of Zelda.
Chapter 10
A wave of nausea washed over Link as he continued to search for a book explaining why there was suddenly a triforce imprinted on his left hand. He'd left the office in a hurry after a short conversation with Mr. Dragmire that had caused his hand to burn as they spoke. He scanned the history books that might have answers, but something inside of him doubted this was going to be solved easily.
"Is there anything I cant help you with Link?" Shad asked, appearing from the back room. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and crossed his arms, looking like a true and devoted librarian.
"That's okay, Shad. I should do this on my own. Can you take over for a bit while I look around though?" Link replied, not bothering to look at his favorite professor.
"I can do that. Why don't you check the reserved books in the back?" Shad suggested helpfully. Link turned then, smiling in appreciation.
"Thanks, Shad."
Just as the blonde man ducked through the doorway of Shad's office, another familiar blonde head was bobbing towards the library in hot pursuit. Zelda shifted her purse on her shoulder and made a beeline for the glass doors that would lead her inside the peaceful library. She hadn't seen Link much since the class meeting and there were ridiculous amounts of information she had to tell him. First of all, the new Triforce that was imprinted onto her right hand, hidden only by a slim black glove.
Just as she reached the doors and placed a hand on the sleek glass, a heavy wave of déjà vu washed over her and she gasped, stopping in her tracks. Her vision blurred and she leaned against the glass, knees buckling beneath her weight which she could no longer hold. She felt her body convulse and the ground shook for a few moments before the feeling suddenly went away and left her sitting in front of the library doors, dazed and confused.
She looked at her shaking hands and slowly pushed the hair out of her face. "Wh… what just happened?"
"Hey, silly! What are you doing on the ground? You're going to get dirty."
Zelda turned her wide blue eyes towards the voice, leading to none other than Nayru. The blue haired girl was approaching her stunned roommate, grinning and waving her hand slightly.
"N-Nayru? What are you… what do you want?" Zelda asked, pulling herself up but ignoring the girl's outstretched hand.
Nayru pulled her hand back and chuckled slightly. "I saw you fall over and I thought I should check on you. Are you feeling okay?"
Zelda gave the girl a wary look before responding. "Yeah, I just… It's nothing. I must have just had a panic attack or something."
Nayru's eyes narrowed slightly, but Zelda didn't press. "I see. Well, you should get that checked out sometime."
"Yeah, okay," Zelda said, shaking her head slightly as she turned back towards the door. "Well, thanks for, er, checking on me."
"Wait!" the oracle screeched, throwing her palms up as if she was trying to stop a car with her bare hands. "Would you, uh, like to go get something to eat with me? At the café?"
Okay, what is she plotting? Zelda thought to herself, eyeing the girl who was nervously twisting her hands. She seemed to notice her tick and stopped, standing up straight and clarifying her reason behind talking to the blonde. "I know we got off to a rough start, but we're going to be roommates for a long time, so maybe we should start over."
A long moment of silence passed between them as Nayru stared at her pleadingly and Zelda returned with a cautious glare. Finally, Zelda heaved a sigh. "Okay…"
"Great!" Nayru cheered, grabbing the girl's hand and dragging her towards the café.
From inside the library, Shad watched darkly through the glass doors as the two girls left. "Link," he called without removing his eyes from the retreating figures, "There may be a problem."
Zelda rolled over onto her back, facing the ceiling above her bed. She scratched her chin in confusion and sighed. Unbelievably, hanging out with Nayru had been, well, not as bad as she thought it would have been. After eating at the café, the oracle had walked back with Zelda to their dorm, chatting enthusiastically to her about how she wasn't really mad about the date with Link and how she had been getting over it the past few days. Thankfully, said girl had left shortly after arriving at the dorm to attend other plans, leaving Zelda to her own thoughts and ponderings.
She was about to get up and change into her Pjs, calling it a night, when her door burst open and a firey Twili girl danced in, throwing her hands in the air as she squealed.
"Zellie! I feel as if I have not seen you in days, darling! Let's go out and do something fun!"
Zelda shot up into sitting position, her hair flying around her in shock. "Midna! You scared me!"
The Twili plopped down on her bed, wrapping her arms around the girl's shoulders and pulling her in for an over-exaggerated embrace. "Oh, good! You're dressed. Let's meet Link and Sheik at the café, ne?"
Zelda laughed and returned the embrace, glad to finally see her real best friend instead of her suspicious roommate. "That's sounds fun and all, but I've spent almost half the day at the café…"
Midna pulled away and gave her a puzzled look. "Why? Did you get a job or something?"
Zelda sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again and meeting Midna's red gaze. "No, I didn't get a job. Actually, I have a lot to tell all of you."
Forty-five minutes later, Zelda found herself at the Lumpy Pumpkin with her brother, her best friend, and her almost-boyfriend. She nearly sighed with happiness as they entered the building, giddy because she was about to get some real pumpkin soup. The café had great food, but absolutely nothing compared to the soup made by Pumm himself. Link watched her with amusement as she skipped happily towards the counter where a shy Goron with braces was taking orders.
Midna chuckled as she joined her friend, who was unintentionally flustering the poor hormone-infested teenager working the cash register. Zelda leaned into the counter, her cleavage showing a tad bit more than usual as she tapped her pink lips in thought while staring at the menu, oblivious to the blushing Goron. She ordered her food and opened her wallet, preparing to pay.
"W-will that be all ma'am?" the Goron stuttered.
"Wait," Link said, placing a hand gently over Zelda's wallet and closing it. "I'm paying for the both of us. Let me order."
Zelda blushed but didn't refuse. She quickly placed a swift peck on his cheek after he paid for their food, much to the Goron's dismay.
Zelda couldn't help but notice that Sheik also paid for Midna's food. She raised an eyebrow but decided not to put them on the spot just yet.
They selected a table in the corner and sat down with their food and looked at each other, each of them having a lot to say but not knowing where to start.
Zelda heaved a sigh, and with one quick motion, she revealed her hand to her friends, her face gone serious. "You guys, look at this."
Link reeled back, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Zelda, you… was it…?"
She looked at him sharply. "It was Ganondorf."
"Sis, keep it down. People are looking." Sheik said, pressing her hand against the table protectively.
"Wait, is that the Triforce?" Midna asked in a hushed tone. "Is that, is it, a tattoo? What the hell, Zel?"
"It's not a tattoo," Link interrupted, pulling his own winter gloves off. "It's a sign."
He placed his hand next to Zelda's, the two triangles matching each other identically. "I got this when I looked at Ganondorf directly in the eyes. I felt it burn into my skin."
Zelda gulped. "Do any of you guys know what it means?"
The three of them stayed silent, looking grave and not touching their food.
"I knew that Ganondorf was some evil prick," Midna muttered, shaking her head. Sheik looked at her quickly, but turned his gaze back to his sister.
"Did he hurt you?"
"No, he just talked to me. I don't know what's going on."
Link detached himself from the conversation between Sheik and Zelda as she recounted the day's events. The nausea came over him once again, harder this time, as if he was forgetting something vital. Memories danced in his mind just out of reach as he struggled to decipher what he and Zelda had to do with the mysterious new principal. He also wonder why, out of all people, the Triforce had chosen them. Zelda said his name, pulling him from his thoughts.
"I was going to see Link in the library, but Nayru suddenly came up to me and asked me to go to the café with her. She was being really nice… but I just don't understand why."
Midna visibly tensed, clutching her spoon in a death grip. "Zelda, Nayru is not nice. She probably wanted to stop you from seeing Link."
Zelda gave her a doubtful look. "I don't see why she would hang out with me just to stop me from seeing Link. Maybe she's not as bitchy as you think she is."
Sheik raised an eyebrow at Midna. "You haven't told her?"
"Haven't told me what?"
Midna sighed but said nothing. Sheik and Link shared a look over the Twili's head, and Sheik nodded. Link looked at the blonde girl beside him, who looked confused and a little angry.
"Midna used to be in Nayru's little group," he said simply.
Zelda's brow furrowed. "What? But why?"
Midna looked up then, meeting her friend's confused eyes. "It's a long story, and it's really troublesome. Din and I used to be best friends, back in the day. She's really an awesome person, or at least, she was. Nayru transferred sophomore year and practically recruited Din because she wanted to unite their oracle powers or some shit. I don't know. Anyways, Din was all gung ho about meeting another oracle, so she started spending most of her time with Nayru. That's when she changed."
A pained look crossed Midna's face as she continued. "Nayru was awful, and she turned my best friend into an awful minion. I tried everything to tell Din that she was turning into a total bitch, but she wouldn't have it. Nayru had brainwashed her into thinking they were the greatest people on earth and that they didn't need to have a plain old Twili in their group." Midna's smile was dark and she muttered something. "They replaced me in their group with Farore, who kept herself on the down low and ran the school news paper. She doesn't belong with them, but she has no choice but to follow them."
"Midna, I'm so sorry," Zelda said, her heart aching for her friend. Sheik took Midna's hand that was still clutching the spoon and held it for a moment before taking the spoon and placing it back on the table. She shot him a grateful smile before continuing.
"It's okay Zel. I'm over it now. But you have to remember that Nayru does everything for herself. She will benefit from every action she takes. And she's very, very smart. She wasn't named after the Goddess of Wisdom for nothing."
Zelda pondered over this for a moment. "If she's as selfish as you say, then why did she keep me from seeing Link? Is she really just that shallow?"
Link spoke up then. "I have a feeling this has much more to do with than a petty crush."
Sheik's red eyes slid from Midna to Link. "What do you mean by that?"
Link clutched his head and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to concentrate. "I'm forgetting something, or overlooking it. I don't know. I just have a bad feeling."
Zelda took one hand away from his head and placed it against her cheek. He looked at her and immediately calmed at the sight of her gentle smile. "We'll figure it out," she muttered.
"Guys, come on. Enough with the heavy. Let's just relax and eat this delicious soup before it goes cold, mkay? We'll figure this out later." Midna said, grinning and seizing her spoon with zeal.
With the help of Midna's enthusiasm, the four of them finished their meal with a comfortable and casual conversation engulfing them. They remained at their table long after their soup was gone and laughed together as if nothing was wrong at all. Eventually, their waitress Kina approached them.
"Hey you guys, it's great to see our customers having such a nice time, but we're closing soon…" she trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
Link waved his hand and stood good naturedly, tossing his portion of the tip and bill on the table. "No, that's fine, we'll be leaving now."
Kina gave Link an appreciative smile and returned to her place behind the counter, gathering cleaning supplies.
Zelda stood and wrapped her arms around the blonde man and smiled, nuzzling her head against his chest. "I missed you."
He smiled down at her. "I missed you too."
They left the restaurant and drove home in a comfortable silence. It was well past 11pm and they would have to sneak back onto campus without one of Ganondorf's henchmen catching them, so Link was sure to get back as soon as they could. They parked as far away from the school as the parking lot extended and quietly crept up towards the school gates, which were open.
Zelda shot Link a worried glance in the dark. "Why is the gate open?" she whispered.
Midna clutched her friend's arm and squealed quietly. "They're onto us!"
The Twili detached herself from the blonde and clung to Sheik as they got closer to the gate. A figure stood behind the slightly open gates, waiting for them to approach.
"Who's there?" Link called.
The figure moved slightly, something gleaming on it's chest as it caught the reflection of some gaslights nearby.
Zelda visibly relaxed, letting out a breath of realization. "It's Fi."
The four of them slipped through the gates and watched as the silent woman closed said entrance. She turned her solid blue gaze to Link as she turned around, ignoring the others. "Link, I have been searching for you. It is time for me to re-install your memories that would have been lost in the time lapse."
Link faltered for a moment, before recalling the weird déjà vu he'd been experiencing. "Wait, you have my memories? Is that why I feel so weird?"
Fi nodded slightly. "I recovered them from the time distortion that Nayru caused in the original time plane. The events of today were not meant to happen, as Zelda should have gone to library to see you and discover vital information on the enemy." They watched in shock as she approached the wide eyed Link and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You may feel a slight pinch. It is normal."
Link stood rigid as all the memories came back to him. In the library with Zelda, kissing and researching the Hero of Time and the Princess of Destiny. Additional memories that were not his own also flooded his mind. He saw Ghirahim tying Zelda and taking her to Ganondorf. He watched at Nayru opened a time portal and pushed Zelda through. After the portal closed, everything went black, as if the time plane had never existed.
Link was brought back to reality as he hit the ground with a thud. His knees had buckled underneath him as the memories pounded through his mind. Zelda was there immediately beside him, taking his head and lifting it onto her lap while whispering harshly to Fi, words he couldn't make out. Fi's voice, however, rang out like a bell.
"He will be fine. When he recovers, ask him what happened on the original time plane. All will be clear then."
She turned and walked away with no more of an explanation, leaving a half conscious Link in the hands of the three teenagers.
"Let's take him to Sheik's dorm," Midna said as Sheik and Zelda hoisted the dazed man up onto his feet. "At least we won't break anymore rules."
They made their way to the boys' dorm as stealthily as they could with their handicapped friend in tow. The girls followed Sheik up to his dorm, which was thankfully on the second floor, and helped tuck Link into the spare bed that had been reserved for Sheik's roommate, if he ever got one. Zelda was subconsciously impressed by how neat her brother kept his room, but didn't have much time to dwell on it.
Link, who was tucked into the white sheets of the bed, smiled weakly up at the beautiful woman who was watching him with a concerned look. "I know… what happened. I'll find you... tomorrow… We'll tal…k." He desperately tried to spit the words out before he lost consciousness.
Zelda leaned down and placed a soft kiss against his forehead. "I'll be waiting."
Link sighed and allowed the darkness around his vision to solidify and sweep him into a deep and well-deserved slumber. The last sound he heard was the soft farewell of Zelda before she left, and a few moments later, he swore he heard a soft kissing noise before another girl, Midna, bade Sheik farewell and closed the door with a click as she left. Link mentally smirked, telling himself to add that to the list of things to tell Zelda tomorrow morning.
So there you have it… Zelda was sent back in time and had her memories erased. This is what would have happened if Zelda had never gone to the library and discovered that the professors were teaching everything wrong. Thank goodness for Fi though! Hope this wasn't too confusing.
The more reviews I get, the faster I want to update. I'm sure you've noticed by now though.
OH and one more thing. The next chapter is definitely going to be a fluff filled filler chapter, to get away from the serious tone of the story. More will be discovered about Sheik and Midna, Pipit and Ilia, and most importantly… ZELDA AND LINK! Fluff lovers will be excited for the next update. If there's anything you'd like to suggest as to what happens between them, lemme know mkay? Ta Ta for now.