This chapter contains swearing and sexual references.

Due to not having access to the internet this weekend, I am updating this a day earlier than usual - it will still normally be updated on Saturdays.

The Legend of Link:

The Bastard Prince

2. Ordona

Zoelda didn't bother to ask questions as they galloped their way across the field; she was too in shock at being on horseback for the first time with a man she'd only just met to know what to ask him. Hell, even if she tried asking him anything, the wind would have snatched the words from her before he could hear them. So, she simply gripped the saddle for dear life as they crossed the road spanning the expanse of field, taking in everything she came across with the curious interest of someone who had only ever seen the scene before her in pixels, not a tangible reality.

They slowed to a trot as the trees became taller and thicker and the light became darker and more sparse. Entering the woods, Zoelda started to get a feeling of where she was in terms of which Hyrule and what timeline she was in. She didn't bother to ask yet, fearing Alarink might laugh at her for being wrong or have no idea what she was talking about, so she continued to view the world around her in fascination, noting that not much seemed to have changed from when she first saw this world in pixels over a decade ago.

The horse slowed to a walk as the trees got sparser and the light started to filter through to reach them again. The sunlight was less strong now, making Zoelda note that it was around mid-afternoon. With a start, she realised that she had arrived in Hyrule mid-morning and had been running across that field for several hours; it came as even more of a shock to her that she wasn't yet hungry, but she put that down to the fact that she was feeling a little sick after riding on horseback for the first time, especially with how quickly the horse changed gaits and how uneven the path had become as they rode through the forest and off the paved path of the field.

Finally, Alarink reined in his mare and dismounted.

And it was all Zoelda could do not to gape as she looked around the small opening before her.

It was almost the same as she remembered it to be the first time she saw it in pixels, sat next to her mother on the floor of their living room, a wiimote in one hand and nunchuk in the other. There were obvious alterations: the lower level of the treehouse was slightly shorter than Zoelda remembered, with the second floor now being bigger and opening out into a small patio area on a naturally railed balcony. Being carved out of a tree, the home itself still seemed to be in touch with its natural roots, and even still seemed to be in touch with its former owner's requirements.

The one difference in the house that truly caught her eye, however, was a banner that hung just over the door. It was a black banner, trimmed in a blue thread and embroidered with the symbol of the golden Triforce, the rightmost triangle trimmed with the same blue thread as the rest of the banner. Truthfully, she found it to look a little incongruous to its setting and what she knew about its former owner.

Alarink helped her down from the mare with a smirk as he followed her gaze to the treehouse dominating the opening. "Admiring my abode, dear? You're certainly not the first person to be love-struck by it, but I've never met one like you who stares at it as though their trying to remember where they've seen something so similar before."

"This was the Hero of the Twilight Era's home, wasn't it?" He blinked at her asking with such confidence - ignoring his flirting entirely - almost as though she didn't need his answer to confirm her suspicions. "How long has it been since the Era of Twilight ended?"

"...You are surprisingly knowledgeable for someone who appeared in a field out of nowhere." Said Alarink after a pause, gathering up the mare's reins in one hand and smoothing her mane with the other. Zoelda watched the way he stared up at the house as he answered her, a flash of reminiscence on his features as though he was remembering a time both fond and painful. "Yes, this house used to belong to Twilight Link, his era was a little over a score of years ago now. I… Inherited it eight years ago. I've not made many changes to the exterior since then - aside from the balcony - the interior on the other hand…"

Zoelda missed the suggestive tone at the end of his sentence, lost in thought at the fact that she was standing in a world that had been the last that her mother and she had experienced. Shocked at the knowledge that the man before her had inherited this house from the former hero. "I'm sorry, but… When you say inherited, do you mean that you got this house after Twilight Link died? Was he, was he your father?"

He smirked at her again, pulling an apple from a saddlebag for his mare. "Surprised to see that he raised a chatty flirt?" There was a dark chuckle that Zoelda could only stand shocked through. "Yes, Father… He wasn't the best of people. A good hero, perhaps, but a little absentee in his parenting. Not that I can really blame him, knowing what I know now… But I vowed that I would never hide my true nature like he did. So, yes, darling, this was the last - and only - gift Father left me after he died ten years ago. Admittedly, I didn't actually move in until eight years ago, though… Not that you asked any of this, did you?"

"I, um, I'm sorry for your loss," she said in response, not really knowing what else to say. "I-I know what it's like to lose a parent, so I know what you're going through…"

"Hah!" Alarink barked out an ugly laugh and began to walk his horse down the path into Ordon village, Zoelda following next to him, watching the ugly smirk on his face reach his eyes and harden them to a glare beneath his bangs. "While I appreciate the sentiment, Zoelda, there's no way you can relate to what I've been through."

"Um, okay, may I ask then-" He held up a hand to stop her question before she started.

"Darling, I will answer any question you have for me at a later time, but can you please be silent when we are among others? There are going to be many things shouted at you and I as we go through the village, it will be better if you don't say anything in response to them. Is that okay?"

"I guess, but what are we-" Zoelda emitted a startled yelp as Alarink wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him, leading his horse with his other hand.

"Hush, darling," whispered he as they approached the opening to the village. "Be silent now and don't look too surprised at what you here. Look demure, if you can. Although, with your sass, perhaps sultry will be an easier look. Just don't gape, alright?"

Half angry at this stranger thinking he had the right to tell her how to look, Zoelda settled on a challenging glare as the village opened up before her.

Much like everything else she had seen so far, the village also seemed to have changed little in the score of years that had passed since the Twilight era she remembered. There were perhaps three more little cottages that Zoelda noticed immediately, and there was a small boat on the lake that she assumed to either be a recreational fishing boat or a fun way to spend time for the village children. The crop plots were a bit bare after just being sown for the year, only a few green sprouts coming through here and there and the local pets seemed to be exclusively cats, many of which were batting their paws in the streams, attempting to catch fish. Surprisingly, they were leaving the Cuccos alone as they went about their business, but Zoelda imagined that the cats, much like the hawks circling above, had learnt not to mess with the Cuccos the hard way.

In actuality, Zoelda noticed very little on her visit through the village, apart from the fact that a handful of the locals - just over a dozen lived in the village in all, she suspected - were jeering at her and Alarink as they passed through.

"There he is, our Bastard Hero returned!"

"And who is this new conquest at your side, Mr. Hero?"

"Fed up of Ursila already? She won't like seeing you with a new bird on your hip!"

"Is everyone in Hyrule this sexist?" Zoelda muttered under her breath as she kept her challenging scowl in place.

"No, we're actually a rather progressive society on the whole. I'm merely the local philanderer and any woman with the self-esteem low enough to walk through town with me is often looked down on. You can't expect even the most progressive society to have no people who slut shame, dear, the world just wouldn't work without arseholes in it." He flashed her a grin as they crossed the bridge to the south side of the village. "And didn't I tell you to be hush?"

"Dick." Mumbled she in response, though she was now focusing on something else, namely the fact that there seemed to be a generational gap in the village. Much to her confusion, Zoelda had noticed a significant lack of older people in the village, everyone seemed to be younger than perhaps 25, she'd guess there was only two or three people in the entire village over thirty, a fact she was found very surprising. It was also a fact that helped to distract her from the incessant name calling and jeering at her and Alarink, though she did register a few names on occasion, the most frequent of which being "Bastard Hero".

Zoelda was just about to ask Alarink about this as they reached the house just before the stables, the place she recognised to be the home of the village mayor. Once again, the home of the mayor seemed to have changed little in terms of exterior, though - as she walked in to the house guided by Alarink's hand on the small of her back - she was quite surprised to see the difference in the interior.

With a little difficulty, she recalled it being a large and uncluttered room leading to a sumo wrestling chamber. Now, as the room opened up before her in reality, she noticed that it was a lot more cluttered. There were scrolls and parchment littering multiple desks, and even the floor. The door leading to the former wrestling chamber now seemed to open out into a fencing room, and the walls of the main room were covered in family trees, a great number of which had generations stuck from them in hastily drawn, thick lines. Most of the people struck from the trees (recognisable names to even her) had the word "PESTILENCE" written next to them, leading Zoelda to start to put two and two together about what happened to the older generation of the village.

Just as she was about to ask what they were doing in here, Zoelda noticed a figure begin to move from the sofa - the mayor of Ordon village. It was all she could do not to gape once again as she recognised who he was. A little shorter than the two of them, with a carefully trimmed blonde beard and hair cut revealing rounded ears, dressed in a simple wool tunic and draws, a man in perhaps his late thirties faced them, with a down-turned yet hardened set of blue eyes looking the two of them up and down in the doorway. Here and there, his hair was flecked with grey and his face was ever so slightly wrinkled, but there was no doubting who the man before them was.

"Mayor Colin, how are you today?" Alarink greeted him kindly, a hand outstretched to shake his. The mayor regarded it carefully before declining to shake it.

"Alarink," Colin nodded to him. "If you're looking for Ursila, I'm afraid she's not here right now," the blonde made a passing glance over Zoelda before continuing, "and you've got quite the nerve bringing a new woman to the house of the last one you 'dated'."

"Oh, no," Alarink almost laughed. "No, I'm not here for Ursila, and she and I both knew that was a onetime thing."

"Hmph," the Mayor grunted, picking up a few pieces of parchment from the floor in a simple attempt to clean the room for guests. "After everything I did for you, Alarink, you've got some nerve to sleep with my little sister! By the Goddesses, she's almost twice your age!"

"And she initiated it," replied the other man, giving a parchment from the floor to Colin as he did. "Look, I'm not here to discuss your sister right now, I'm here to discuss you getting a message to the Castle for me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm not allowed to go to the Castle without an audience and I really need to tell the Princess about this woman right here." Alarink gestured expressively to Zoelda who was looking at a family tree next to the door, noting just how many had lost their lives to this "PESTILENCE". She blinked in surprise and smiled sheepishly at the Mayor, who simply stared back tiredly at her.

"I'm sure the Princess will be really excited to hear about your newest conquest…" Said he sarcastically.

"No, Zelda's not a conquest," Alarink took her right hand in his left again, revealing her half Triforce for the mayor to see. Surprise coloured Colin's features as he blinked, staying shocked as Alarink dropped her hand. "She's something much more interesting."

"Does she have any idea?" Colin asked as though Zoelda wasn't standing right there.

"None whatsoever. She's going by the name 'Zoelda' to protect her as much as possible, but I don't know how much more I should tell her."

"If I can weigh in," Zoelda said, not enjoying all the secrecy. "I would like to be told as much as possible if it's involving me."

"As much as I would like to," the mayor said, already stood at the table writing a letter to the Princess. "I don't know what's appropriate to say in this situation. But, trust Alarink's gut, Zoelda. And get to the castle tomorrow, the Princess will be able to tell you more."

"Thank you for your assistance, Mr Mayor." Said Alarink with a smile as Colin finished writing his letter to the Castle and stuffed it in an envelope. The brunet put his hand on the small of Zoelda's back again to guide her out of the house with the mayor following behind them, holding the hastily written letter.

Once again, the locals started jeering at Alarink as soon as he reappeared, like he was some sort of scandalous celebrity. The name calling came to a surprising halt as the Mayor came out behind them. Zoelda noticed that Colin didn't say anything to get them to stop, he didn't even change expression from his resting half-smile, he just followed them out. Evidently, so she thought, there was some sort of agreement between the Mayor and Alarink, though she had no idea what it could be.

Signalling a man in white running clothes over, the Mayor gave the letter to him, telling him to get it to the Castle post-haste. The messenger nodded expressively and took off. Colin took one last look at Alarink - who stood staring blankly out at the village - and smiled slightly before returning to his home, shutting the two out in the village that remained quiet for all of a second before beginning name calling once again.

Alarink silently guided Zoelda and the mare up the hill from the mayor's house to what she suspected to still be the ranch. She wondered if she imagined the slight twitch in Alarink's cheek when the silence of the town was broken to call him names again.

Once they were mostly out of earshot of the town below, Zoelda started her questioning again, opening with a statement to see how willing to talk he would be. "You and the Mayor seem to have a history."

"He helped me set myself up in Ordon, gave me a place to stay while I got the legalities of the treehouse sorted out, helped settle me in to a manual labour job on the ranch…" There was a genuine smile in his eyes as he reminisced this time, "Colin is one of the last people alive who knew Father well. He was also one of the only people willing to help me after Father's death."

"I noticed there weren't many older people in town, what happened to them?" She asked as the ranch came into view just above them, it's fences now tall enough for no horse to jump over yet, much like everything else, seemingly unaffected by the score of years that had passed since the Twilight era. "And your father, what happened to him?"

"The Pestilence." Said he shortly and simply, turning to look at her quizzical face for the first time since they left the mayor's house. Sighing and producing a key from the horse's saddlebag to open the gate with, he elaborated, "About a decade ago, a Pestilence appeared in Hyrule. As far as I know, it's only speculated to have originated from Ganondorf's current resting place in Gerudo Desert, but no one knows for sure. About all we know is it was quick, specific and fatal. Many involved with the events of the Twili was killed by it: Queen Zelda, the Goron chief, Telma, Impaz, most of the Resistance members… Link and his wife Ilia… Anyone and almost everyone from that Era was killed by this Pestilence in the matter of a week. Devastation reigned supreme and a generational gap is all that remains to show that it occurred."

Alarink opened the gate quietly after that, leading his mare in and leaving Zoelda to stand shocked by the bluntness with which he told her of the Pestilence. But one thing in his speech stood out with her, something that she had suspected from all the name calling, but didn't know how to ask about. So, she shrugged and decided to ask as carefully as she could, closing the gates and jogging over to where he was. "I'm so sorry for your loss, for everyones loss over the Pestilence. But, and please forgive me for this, you said Link and his wife Ilia, not your mother Ilia. I heard what they were calling you in the village, 'The Bastard Hero'… I kinda just thought it was because you're a bit of a womanising prick-" he snorted as he opened the stable door "-but, are you a bastard child? Is your mother someone other than Ilia?"

Looking at her again, he wore a strange expression; anger mixed with self-loathing in his glaring eyes, a scornful smirk on his lips. It made him look old, almost monstrous rather than the charming young flirt she was somewhat used to seeing these past few hours. However, it was gone quickly, replaced by his smile yet again as he chuckled, gesturing for her to enter the stable.

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you, darling?" Was all he said in reply as he opened the door to the stable. "Perhaps I should ask you one, since you seem to know a fair bit about the Twilight Era?"

He entered the pen for his mare and closed the gate behind him as he started to remove the horse's saddle and bridle. Zoelda could only nod as he turned to face her again, pointing over her shoulder at the pen opposite them. "Do you know who that horse is?"

The horse was old and frail, is back worn after years of riding and muscle structure thinning to make its bones more pronounced. But her coat was still a clear brown, her mane and tail still clean and white. And her eyes were wise beyond her years, the eyes of a horse who didn't scare easy and had seen it all.

"Epona." Zoelda said in disbelief, reaching a hand out to stroke her snout, earning a slight snicker from the horse.

Behind her, Alarink was chuckling. "Yeah, the old dear's well worn, over twenty-two odd years now, bless her. Father loved her more than anything."

In spite of him being a relative stranger to her, Zoelda had heard and suspected enough to assume that was his way of answering her earlier question. She suspected that the old hero had been more faithful to this horse than any other female in his life, a fact she found hard to connect to what she had seen of the man in the game made of his Era. Then again, the game was likely altered from the actual story here and there; it wasn't too foolish of her to think that they could have made his character more likeable than Alarink was making him out to be. Or perhaps Alarink had simply had a hard upbringing and resented his father for that; perhaps Alarink had simply felt over shadowed by his father and felt the need to make a name for himself in some other way, such as sleeping around. It made just as much sense with all the information she had heard so far…

Zoelda shook her head, she really needed to stop getting involved with other people's family drama. Especially the drama of someone she barely knows.

"She's still beautiful," said Zoelda eventually, turning around with a hand still on Epona's snout. Opposite her, Alarink was leaning with his arms crossed atop his horse's gate, it's saddle and bridle now hung on the wall just outside the pen. The horse herself now had her back turned to the two of them as she ate. He was ginning at Zoelda in a way that made her slightly uncomfortable. "What?"

"Ah," he breathed, straightening from his leaning position, "I was just thinking about how special Epona is. Even you, someone I would argue is a little afraid of horses?" Zoelda made no comment, and Alarink simply shrugged. "Well, you never touched Malanya here, yet you're still petting her mother. Maybe it's just because you know who she is, but Epona's still managed to wrap you around her hoof and made you love her, hasn't she, darling?"

"Your horse is Epona's daughter?" Now that Zoelda looked at Malanya, she noticed that she did bear a striking resemblance to her mother, the only physical difference being that Malanya had a slightly lighter coat and a white snout. Yet Zoelda had to admit she didn't trust the younger horse as much, though she couldn't fathom why.

Alarink tilted his head to the side as he exited the pen, a look of interest on his face. "Does that make you trust her more?"

"I-I don't know…"

"Hmph," he exhaled, gesturing for her to leave the stable as he followed behind her, patting Epona as he passed. "Considering you ask so many questions, you don't seem to like answering them very much, do you, dear?"

"Please stop calling me 'dear'," Zoelda said as they made their way to the ranch gate, the sun now lowering to the horizon. "And don't call me 'darling' either." She half snapped when she caught the twinkle of mischief in Alarink's eye as he opened the gate for them.

"You'll have to answer my questions sooner or later, Zoelda." Said he as they started back down the hill into the village. "Oh, are you hungry? I've got some food back at the treehouse if you'd like some."

"I'm starving, thank you."

"Ahah!" Alarink smiled triumphantly, causing Zoelda to glare out at the village as they entered it again.

"Oh, for God's sake…" She mumbled at him as the jeering started once again. It was odd how she had come to expect it this time, barely batting an eye as the locals shouted at the two of them again as they passed.

"'God's' sake, huh?" Alarink mused, rubbing his chin, evidently not listening to the villagers anymore that Zoelda was. "Where do you come from to say something like that? Here in Hyrule we believe in the Goddesses, I've never heard anyone say anything other than 'by the Goddesses' when taking names in vain… Actually, I've heard the occasional lover exclaim 'Holy Nayru', or 'oh Farore' during other circumstances…"

"That's far too much information."

"Nevertheless, I've never heard anyone swear to one 'God', male or female. Where do you come from to exclaim something like that?"

"It's… A long story…" Said she defensively, not wanting to get into it. They were approaching the treehouse now, the occasional firefly flitting around as the sun continued its descent.

"Well, I've told you some personal stories, I think it's only fair if you tell me a bit about yourself." Alarink replied as he unlocked the door to his house, striking a match to light the candle by the door as Zoelda closed it behind her.

As she entered, she was reminded of what he said about the interior being different from when his father lived there. There were clearly defined floors now, the upper floor being accessible by a ladder. The lower floor was evidently for living purposes: a desk, bookshelf, stove and several cabinets lined the circumference of the room, the back of which had a small trapdoor leading down to what she suspected to be a storage room and/or bathroom. There was a black rug with a blue trim in a similar style to the banner outside in the centre of the floor, with a table for two set up on top of it. Judging by it being covered in books and pieces of parchment, Zoelda suspected that he didn't entertain company much. At least not much for dinner.

Finishing lighting candles, Alarink went down the trapdoor at the back of the room, telling her to stay put. He came back several moments later to find Zoelda standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, not knowing what she should be doing with herself. Smiling pityingly, he gave her the pile of clothes he was carrying. "Here, you're going to need to change before our meeting with the Princess tomorrow. Your… Interesting fashion sense might not have been picked up on in Ordon thanks to the cloak, but the Princess will certainly find it odd if you enter her throne room wearing a concealing cloak."

"Thank you." Said Zoelda as she took the clothes, now hovering in the middle of the room holding a pile of clothes not knowing what to do with herself, feeling embarrassed as Alarink stood watching her before sighing and giving her guidance.

"Put them in this bag-" he gave her a simple black canvas bag to put the pile of clothes in "-then go up the ladder and change. I'll start on some dinner for the two of us and when you come back down, I want to know where you came from and how you know so much about the Twilight era, it might be important to know for tomorrow. Is that okay?"

Knowing it was only fair to tell him a bit about herself, she nodded and started up the ladder with the bag of clothes on her back. The upper level was vastly different from what she remembered: there was a wardrobe on one wall and a large double bed dominated the room, it's sheets neatly made yet Zoelda could still imagine what goes on in it from night to night, knowing it's owner. On the south-facing wall, a door was set that likely opened out to the balcony. Much like the lower level, there was a black and blue rug on the centre of the floor. With the rest of the house feeling very natural - in both colour scheme and the wood used for the furniture - the rugs stood out as unfitting to the environment, much like the similar banner outside did to the exterior.

Regardless of the setting, Zoelda would have felt uncomfortable changing with Alarink just down a ladder anywhere, not that she was afraid he'd look or walk in on her, just that she was uncomfortable changing with a relative stranger nearby in a room she had never been in before. Nevertheless, she knew she should change out of her Triforce top at least, and settled for a simple unbleached, sleeveless wool tunic from the pile of clothes she had been given. It fit a little snug, but was otherwise suitable and made her leggings stand out a little less as it reached mid-thigh - a fact that made her suspect that this had once been a simple dress for Ilia. Knowing her Doc Martins would stand out for their vibrant colour, Zoelda reluctantly changed into a simple pair of ankle boots provided, glad that they were well-worn and a little on the big side. Stuffing her own clothes and boots back in the bag, she looped it over her shoulder again as she started down the ladder to eat.

Zoelda hadn't been changing for longer than perhaps ten minutes, yet the table was mostly set. A glass of water stood next to the bowls at the chairs, the table itself covered in fruits - apples and berries primarily - and a warm loaf of bread sat in the centre of the table. Alarink turned from his place at the stove to look her up and down, he gave a nod of approval as she sat herself at the table.

"Much better, you look like less of an outsider now," he said, turning back to the pot on the stove that Zoelda suspected to contain some kind of fish stew based on the smell. His tone was serious when he spoke to her next, "Now, would you mind telling me a little about where you come from and how you know so much about the Twilight Era, Zelda?"

Trying desperately not to ask why it was okay to call her by her actual name right now and not normally, Zoelda sighed and looked down at the table, knowing it would be easier to tell him her crazy story without looking at him. "Um, this will probably come off as insane, but it's the truth as far as I can tell…"

She told him about how the tales of Hyrule's past were recounted in videogame format in her world, that they were called 'Legends of Zelda', a fact that made him snort in amusement. Then, she went on to tell him how her mother and 'aunt' Impax had both died ten years ago in a car accident. Though she couldn't see his face, she did notice the tension in his shoulders as she told him about Impax, her mother's best friend with pure white hair and odd red eyes - Zoelda had thought she was an albino for years before she learnt that Impax's tan was natural, not fake.

"They died at around the same time as the Pestilence in Hyrule…" Alarink muttered as he brought the stew over to the table, gesturing to her to take what she wanted. After helping herself to some stew and bread, Alarink started to question her again. "What was your mother like, if you don't mind me asking?"

"No, it's fine, she was…" Zoelda chased some stew with a hunk of bread as she thought, trying not to cry as she thought about her mother and what Alarink would want to know about her. "She was a lot like me in appearance; a little shorter and her hair and eye colour were also a little lighter, but otherwise… But she was far stronger than me, physically and emotionally. Mum didn't question everything, she knew everything, a lot more than she ever told me, I'd imagine… She told me every first-born woman on her side of the family was called Zelda when I asked her why we shared a name."

"Can I see your ears?" Alarink said suddenly. The whole while that Zoelda had been speaking, he'd been listening intently, staring at her over his food.

"I'm sorry?"

"Ah," he half chuckled as he realised what an odd request it was. "That must've sounded very weird. It's not some weird fetish, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just curious if they're Hylian or Human."

Well now that you've said you haven't, I'm worried that you've got some bizarre ear fetish, Zoelda thought as she pushed her thick hair behind her ears, noticing that they were more pointed than she remembered them being back home and poking at them a little. Being born with an odd birthmark on her hand and pointier than normal ears, she had been subject to a lot of name calling in the early years of her life (though it was nothing compared to the name calling that Alarink seemed to suffer daily), it made her slightly uncomfortable to realise that her ears were even pointier now, that she might be an entirely different species than she always thought she was.

"Hylian." Alarink said simply as he looked at them, playing with one of his hoop earrings as he thought. "Interesting… Would you mind telling me how you ended up here, in Hyrule?"

"I… I don't know how to explain it…" Muttered she as she let her hair fall back in front of her ears, wondering how she never put together that she was a Hylian before - sure, she was tall, not blonde and her eyes were a deep ink blue rather than pale blue, but Alarink was tall, brunet and had more green than blue eyes. Perhaps stereotyping Hylians in her mind had lead her not to realise all the times that her mother had hinted at her being something different, something from an entirely different world. Zoelda's voice broke as she told him about her mother's voice calling her through her TV, her hand beckoning her into Hyrule field.

For how weird this must have seemed to him, Alarink took everything he heard as the unerring truth, like it was exactly what he had expected to hear.

"So, can I just clarify?" Said he, as he started to clear the table of their empty bowls, glasses and uneaten food. "Your mother introduced you to the 'Legends' of Hyrule, never told you that you're a Hylian and likely from this world originally, died at around the same time as the Pestilence along with her best friend? And then called you into this world through some sort of portal this morning to finally introduce you to this world, the world you never thought existed in reality?"

"Y-yes…" Zoelda hiccupped a little as she realised how weird it sounded, as she came to terms with the fact that her mother had lied to her a good portion of her life. Had she lied to her father too? Had her father lied to Zoelda herself? "Oh, Gods…" Her head fell into her hands on the table as she wondered if she would ever see her father again or if she'd be stuck in this world forever.

"Zelda," Alarink came over to where she was sitting and put his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, this happened for a good reason. Your mother had to keep this world hidden from you for a reason."

"And what are these reasons then, Link?" She snapped at him, whipping her clear-eyed face up to glare at him, he jumped back a little in surprise. "Why can you call me by my name privately and in front of Colin, yet I must change it for everyone else? Why must you change your name for everyone else too? Why am I here, what is my purpose for being here? Why did mother never tell me, what good reason could she have had to keep this from me? How will I get back home? Is time passing there, will people notice I'm missing?"

"It's… complicated. I don't know how to explain it myself."

"What a fucking surprise."

"Language," Alarink smiled. "Look, I can't begin to explain this, but I can promise that you will get home after it's all over, if you want. And I would imagine time isn't passing there while you do your duty here, or people won't notice your gone at least."

"My duty, huh?" Zoelda sat up again, looking him dead in the eye as he smiled charmingly at her, like he always did. "And what's that?"

"I have no idea." He got up and brushed himself off, walking over to the door and grabbing a cloak. "But it's going to be important and tiring, so I suggest you get some sleep so you're not tired when you meet the Princess tomorrow."

"And where are you going?" Asked she as he put the cloak on.

"I much prefer my bed to be warmed by a companion," he smiled his charming, flirty smile once again. "Unless your suggesting you'll share with me…?"

"Go find someone else, Link." Zoelda said bluntly as she rose from her chair, mildly disgusted that he could switch so quickly between flirty and serious. "Goodnight."

"'Night, Zoelda." He winked as he left his house, leaving Zoelda to blow out the candles before going up the ladder to sleep in his bed.

It took a long time for Zoelda to get to sleep that first night.

First, she couldn't figure out what to wear - she eventually settled for her Triforce shirt and a pair of shorts from the collection of clothes she'd been given. Then, she decided that she couldn't sleep in Alarink's bed, suspecting all the things he did in it and wondering how easily she could catch some sort of Hyrulian STD from sleeping in it. It was childish, she knew, but she ended up bundling herself up in a cloak for a blanket and using a tunic for a pillow as she slept at the foot of the bed on the rug. Then, she couldn't sleep because she was thinking about everyone she'd left behind in her world and where Alarink was in this one.

Though she found it hard to admit, she had come to rely on the flirty stranger and his constant smile in afternoon she'd been in this world. She wouldn't have wanted to share a bed with him, but it would have put her more at ease to know he was at least still in the house with her if anything went wrong.

Finally, she fell asleep at what she suspected to be a while after midnight, clutching onto the necklace her father had given her for her 16th birthday. On a thin chain that reached to sit just above her heart, Zoelda never felt the need to tell people about it as they rarely saw it. Her dad had told her it was an old family heirloom on her mother's side, past to each Zelda on their 16th birthday for as long as their family tree could be traced.

It was a tiny harp, about the length and height of her thumb, similar in style to the Goddess' harp from the era of the Sky. Her mother had pushed her to learn how to play the harp and lyre from a young age; she had never been very good at it, but she was good enough to play a few simple melodies, a few Hylian melodies.

As she laid clutching it until her hand hurt, she thought about everything her mother hadn't told her. She wondered, if perhaps, this harp was more than an heirloom, if their family was actually descendants of Hylians. She wondered how that was possible, how had her ultimate Grandmother ended up in the world if she originally came from Hyrule?

Sleep claimed her before she could think of any coherent answer.

Although she didn't dream as such, she felt someone in her mind with her as she slept. Some presence watching over her…

Dawn came, and Zoelda found herself feeling invaded, more tired than the day before as the feeling of the watching presence stuck with her…

AN:

This was written over the span of a week, if I remember rightly - mid June to early July maybe? I can't quite remember when.

And believe it or not, it's actually been cut down about 3000 words from the original draft - yeah, this was a 10000 word chapter to begin with. And while you might think it's rather long for a chapter, I'm afraid it's not the longest one in this story.

But that ones a while away yet, so let's ignore that for now.

Literally the entire purpose of this chapter was to get all the scene setting and stuff like that out of the way in a safe environment before the real story starts. It was literally only included to give us a little background on Zoelda and Alarink before they start their journey and background stories become less important.

And also to show off Alarink's nickname and the fact that he's a bit of a prick - the start to a two toned character if you will.

Anyway, literally only 10 people read the last chapter, so I doubt many of you are reading this now and if you are, good for you - you get to know a character I am more proud of than anything else I've ever accomplished and who is more interesting (at least to me) than may of the people I know IRL.

So, stick around for my next chapter (which will actually be published on next Saturday) when we'll see Zoelda reveal herself to be a bit of a badass on the journey to Hyrule Castle. It's like half the length of this one, so it's a more manageable amount of words.

Please do follow and review, I beg of you, I just want to know what you guys think, what you think I can improve on.

Anyway, have a good week and stuff, hope to see you ten next week for my next chapter, perhaps we'll have picked up more people for the journey by then! (I can dream at least!)

~WWQ