Alaina

Hey guys! This is my first fan fiction so don't be cruel! I don't own Zelda in any way but I do own Alaina, Aiden, and Joes, and other characters that appear, I will mention later.

Chapter 1

"You'll miss it."

"No I won't."

"Yeah you will! Your aim isn't even close to the target!"

"It'll be closer to your head if you don't shut up, Aiden!"

"Okay, okay, sorry Alaina."

Thirteen-year-old Princess Alaina of Hyrule giggled at the scowl on Aiden's face. "Just shush now," she warned. She focused her attention back to the target that was across the Hyrule Castle courtyard. She carefully placed her hands on her bow, getting ready to let her arrow fly. Her brow furrowed with concentration, her eyes squinting to find the perfect point on the target. She aimed the arrow at the same place she had it before, just right of the target, hearing Aiden make a "tchhh" sound behind her. Daring to prove him wrong, she let go. The arrow seemed to go in the direction she aimed, but at the last minute it slowly moved toward the left and hit the target.

Aiden stood there, dumbfounded, his jaw hanging down. Alaina waited patiently as he finally shook his head and slowly walked over to the target as if he was in a trance. "Bull's eye," he sputtered, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head.

Alaina smirked, a trait inherited from her mother. "Told you so," she said airily.

Aiden stomped over to her, glaring. "How did you do that?" he demanded.

Alaina giggled again. The look on his face was too priceless. "You have to love having a family of archers," she bragged.

Aiden slowly smiled, but it was an evil smile, something Alaina knew all too well. "Too bad they never showed you the reflexes to protect you from THIS!" He suddenly charged at her and tackled her, bringing them both down to the soft ground. They went rolling around the courtyard, laughing so loud Alaina was surprised no one was coming to see what the racket was. She finally pinned Aiden and collapsed on top of him, exhausted from laughing so hard.

"I prove you wrong two times today," Alaina said, grinning. She stared down at the face of her best friend, who she had known all her life. His father was one of Hyrule's best knights and a friend of Alaina's parents, and his mother had died from disease a long time ago, and she was once a wealthy citizen of Hyrule. Alaina had always adored Aiden's wavy brown hair with the gold streaks, and loved his blue-green eyes even more, always full of love, kindness, and mischief. At almost fourteen, his voice had already deepened and he always had a smile on his face. Alaina had always felt so lucky that he was her friend.

"If your dad knew about this," Aiden scolded her playfully. "He would kick me out of his fighting school. You better not tell him."

"Tell me what?"

Aiden and Alaina whirled around, facing a man in his early 30s, who was raising his eyebrow at them and crossing his arms. Aiden and Alaina blushed as they saw the position they were in and Alaina quickly rolled off him.

"Oh, nothing, Dad," Alaina said casually. "I just kicked Aiden's butt in archery. Again."

"Alaina!" Aiden whined.

Link laughed. "You know Aiden, I can give you the best training in Hyrule, but Alaina can still beat you everytime," he gloated, looking proud of his only daughter.

"Stop, Dad!" Alaina laughed.

Link smiled, Alaina's behavior reminding him of his and Zelda's when they were her age. Link still looked young at 32, with the same, messy blond hair, kind but yet fierce ice blue eyes, and a frame that any man his age wished they still had. Link hadn't fought in a battle since he was seventeen, but always worked out in the castle gymnasium and had his fighting school. He was wearing a loose white shirt and brown pants, which he usually wore when he wasn't dealing with ruling affairs of the sort.

A woman had stepped out at this time. She was Queen Zelda of Hyrule, Alaina's mother. Like Link, she still looked young for her age, and still inherited her long blonde locks, her piercing navy blue eyes, and slender frame. Like Link, she was dressed casually, wearing a plain blue dress that brought out the color of her eyes. Alaina was the pride and joy of her and Link. She was like a miniature version of Zelda with her long blonde hair and petite frame, but had her father's facial features, including the icy blue color of her eyes, and inherited his fighting skills. Link had already taught her complex sword fighting and how to handle his numerous weapons, and Zelda taught her archery and magic; Alaina was highly skilled in all of these, and her parents couldn't have been more proud of their strong, kind-hearted daughter.

"What did I miss?" Zelda asked, studying her daughter and best friend with keen interest.

"Apparently, Alaina won a game of archery," Link mused, scratching his chin.

Aiden groaned playfully. "What, is this going to be in the Castle Town Times tomorrow?" he asked jokingly.

Zelda laughed. "Don't take it so hard, Aiden. I always beat your dad and Link in archery when we were young."

"She's right," Link agreed, remembering the memory. Link and Aiden's father, Jonas, were both training to be knights when they were teenagers and would always be humiliated when Zelda would beat them in an archery contest, often resulting them to pay her rupees, Link remembered with disdain. Actually, when he thought about it, he still owed Zelda about a hundred, but she didn't need to know that...

"Anyway, Aiden, your father wants you home now. He told you to meet him out at the gate. Impa will escort you there," Zelda said.

"All right," Aiden replied. He turned to Alaina. "I'll be here tomorrow, and you better be ready to be beaten!"

"You wish," Alaina said, smacking him. Aiden grinned and said good-bye to her, Link, and Zelda and left the courtyard.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Zelda said, "You know Alaina, you two look pretty cute together."

"Mooooooom!" Alaina groaned as her parents started laughing. "We're just friends. You know that!"

"That's what I said to my father about Link," Zelda answered with a sly smile on her face. At this, Link started laughing even harder.

"Very funny," was all Alaina could say to that, but inside, she couldn't help but feel happy that her parents actually thought she and Aiden could actually become an item. She always harbored a tiny crush on him, but their friendship was too strong for her to develop any real feelings, or so she tried to think. Still, it didn't hurt thinking about marriage with her best friend.

"All right, Alaina," Zelda said. "The cook just told me that dinner's ready, and after that Impa and I will teach you some magic. Go up to your room and get out of that old tunic."

"Fine," Alaina relented, and went inside and upstairs into one of the towers. Link and Zelda looked after her, smiling.

"She reminds me so much of you," Link told Zelda.

"No, I think she's more like you," Zelda disagreed. "At least I made my feelings for you obvious."

Link pondered what Zelda just said. "Do you really think Alaina and Aiden might end up together?" he asked.

"Of course!" Zelda said. "Don't you ever see the way he looks at her? And she talks about him constantly. They're both growing up. It's normal." She noticed a faint look of despair on Link's face. "What's wrong?"

"The fact that she's growing up," Link answered truthfully. "It makes me feel old."

He half-expected Zelda to feel at least some pity for him, given that she was the same age, but before he knew it, she had tackled him to the ground, howling with laughter. "I think you're right, Link. A decade ago, I would've never been able to attack you like this!"

Link had no choice but to laugh, and right in the middle of the courtyard, he pulled Zelda in for a deep kiss, making them look like two crazy teenagers. Alaina watched this all from the window in her room with amusement.

"I don't understand them sometimes, Impa," she said to a Sheikah woman with white hair with blue streaks and ice blue eyes who was standing near the doorway. Impa was Zelda's former caretaker and surrogate mother since Zelda's mother died when Zelda was a baby, and as Zelda grew older and after her father died, Impa was there for guidance. She was also the sage of the Shadow Temple, but because there wasn't any threat of evil since Link and Zelda defeated Ganondorf when they were seventeen, there was no need for Impa, or any Sage, to be in their respected temples. When Alaina was born, she happily took over the role as a caretaker once again, and now was one of her trusted confidants.

"It's love, Alaina," Impa said simply, watching with amusement as the young teenager took on a faint look of disgust.

"It's alright if they were about eighteen, but they're parents in their 30s, and not only that, they're rulers of a kingdom!" Alaina said. "Goddesses, I hope I never act like that when I'm their age."

"You never know," Impa replied, smirking. "I can see you and Aiden now…"

"Impa!" Alaina whined. "Not you too!"

"Don't deny it!" Impa retorted teasingly. "You're blushing as red as the Goron's Ruby!"

Alaina gave up and searched through her dresser for an outfit to wear for dinner. "No one important is coming over," she added, making Alaina sigh with relief and limited her search for more simpler dresses. Her fancy ones were saved for celebrations, important meetings, and such.

Alaina finally pulled out a short-sleeved, off-the-shoulder white dress and slipped it on, throwing her tunic and leggings in a corner somewhere. She washed her face, added a little makeup, and took her hair out of its ponytail and combed out her long blonde locks. Impa waited patiently as Alaina took out a locket and fumbled with it as she tried putting it on.

"Here, let me help," Impa finally spoke up. Alaina obediently held up her hair as Impa clasped the gold locket together.

"Thanks Impa, " Alaina said gratefully. She looked down at her memento and held it up. She had gotten it when she turned thirteen half a year ago. One side showed a picture of her parents, then nineteen, with herself as an infant. The other side showed her parents and herself today. She treasured it greatly and wore it every chance she got.

"Come on now, child," Impa said. "Your mother and father are probably wondering if you gotten abducted by Moblins by now."

Alaina followed Impa down from the tower and into the halls. "But Impa. Moblins haven't appeared since the Dark Lord had been defeated," she commented teasingly.

Impa laughed. "True, but you know how cautious your parents are," she said wisely. "They had a lot to handle during that time."

"I know," Alaina sighed, knowing fully well of the story of when her parents sealed Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm when they were just seventeen.

They finally reached the large dining room, where Link and Zelda were waiting patiently, with Link at the head of the table and Zelda to the right of him. A large plate of roasted Cuccoos was sitting neatly at the table. Smaller dishes of various fruits and vegetables surrounded the Cuccoos. There was a pitcher of wine for Link and Zelda, and a bottle of Lon Lon Milk for Alaina. Link had often argued with Zelda that Alaina was responsible enough to drink wine, but Zelda always disagreed, and therefore always won the argument.

Alaina took her place at the table at the left of Link, and Impa left to stand at her post by the door, as she usually did. A few seconds after the great door had shut, it had burst open again. Impa walked back in, this time followed by Aiden and his father, Joes, who was in his knight's uniform.

"Why hello, Joes, Aiden," Zelda greeted them warmly, not minding that they were disrupted from starting their meal. "What brings you here so suddenly?"

"My apologies, Zelda," Joes apologized, bowing slightly, Aiden doing the same, but looking at Alaina. "I just got some news from the kingdom of Hilia They're willing for their soldiers to travel here to train with ours. In simpler terms, they have agreed to become permanent allies."

"That's great!" Link exclaimed. This was a big deal for the family, because Hilia was a powerful kingdom, and had a powerful army. The two kingdoms had always gotten along, but Hilia was always a peaceful country and didn't believe in war. Ever since the heir to the throne had just been crowned a few years ago, he believed that Hilia should have an army just in case. Apparently, the kingdom was prepared enough to be an ally.

"Joes, thank you. This is wonderful news!" Zelda said. She motioned to two of the many empty seats of the large table. "Would you and Aiden like to join us for the rest of tonight?"

"Well…" Joes looked a bit embarrassed. "I'm not really properly dressed to eat a meal."

"No problem," Zelda reassured him. "Go up to our room and wear something of Link's. One of the servants can take your armor." Link, Zelda, and Joes had been friends for so long, Joes was always allowed to enter their room without a problem.

"Thank you," Joes said, and left the room.

Aiden, who was properly dressed, took a seat next to Alaina. They all waited for Joes to return, which was only a minute later, and they sat down to their meal.

Unfortunately for Aiden and Alaina, good news and getting together for a little "family gathering" did not mix well with their parents. Despite their high status, Link, Zelda (yes, Zelda), and Joes always managed to have too much to drink, which could either be amusing or embarrassing. There was one year where Link and Joes had fantastic duels of, you guessed it, darts, arm wrestling, and even rock, paper, scissors and thumb wrestling. There was another time where Link, Joes, and Zelda paraded around the castle halls singing old songs, with the staff of the castle listening in with amusement and even joining in. Then there was one time when all the adults did was lie on the floor, laughing like maniacs, eventually falling asleep. Aiden and Alaina usually took great joy in blackmailing their parents with that information.

They ate the food first, with the adults talking about politics and Alaina and Aiden exchanging knowing looks. Then came the wine and dessert- Lon Lon ice cream (the ranch's new specialty) and different candies. It didn't take long before Link, Zelda, and Joes were soon talking loudly than usual, and a few minutes after that, began giggling helplessly and telling tales of the old days, while the teens looked on with utter embarrassment, some of the stories R-rated.

"There was this one time," Joes slurred. "Where Linky boy and I were about 15, and we decided to go into the rough part of Castle Town."

"Oh Goddesses," Aiden murmured, his face turning pale. "I already heard this story."

"I didn't!" Alaina answered, genuinely curious, and leaned in to hear more.

"So we're in this reeeaaalllly dark alley, and we hear cheering coming from this place. So we open the door," Joes laughed and threw his arm around Link, "and we walk into a strip club!"

Alaina turned pale. Aiden whispered, "I told you so."

"Heeyyyyy," Zelda said. "How come I didn't know about this?"

For the first time, Alaina thanked the Goddesses her mother was so drunk that she wouldn't remember this night.

"Um, Alaina," Aiden hissed. "Can we get out of here? Please?"

"I thought you would never ask," Alaina said. They quietly left the dining room and dashed through the halls and up a tower, where they could faintly hear Link yell, "How about a dance contest?" and was answered with cheers.

They walked into Alaina's room, which was far from the dining room and therefore they couldn't hear a thing. Alaina closed her door just to be safe. Her room had a fluffy dark blue rug, and her walls and ceiling were a sky blue color, with the ceiling having white clouds, and a chandelier hanging from it. One part of the wall had a giant, detailed map of Hyrule, and there were several scrolls containing the history and magic spells on another part. Her humungous bed was tucked in a corner, containing comfortable blue and white pillows and a dark blue comforter. Her dresser was next to the bed, containing her simpler clothes, while her giant closet had the fancy outfits. Several small couches were also placed around the room.

"I think this might've been the worst yet," Aiden commented, referring to their parents' outrageous behavior.

"Oh well," Alaina sighed, plopping down on her bed.. "All three of them have so much stress, I would probably be worried if they haven't acted like this." She fell back and laid across, her hair fanning all over the place.

Aiden fell back next to her, staring at the painted yet realistic-looking clouds on the ceiling. "It looks like I'm staying here for the night again," he said.

"Yeah," Alaina agreed. "I doubt that Impa will let you stay in my room anymore though. She might think something's up, you know, since we're older."

Aiden laughed, his rich, deep voice filling the large room. "Yeah, it was cute sleeping in the same bed when we were around eight. But now…" He smirked.

Alaina picked up one of her pillows and smacked Aiden with it. "You're sick," she said, but she was giggling. "You'll have to get the guest room then."

"All right," Aiden agreed.

They both fell silent, still studying the ceiling, both feeling very tired. Finally, Aiden spoke. "Hey Alaina," he said softly. "I don't have knight training tomorrow. Maybe we can go to Lake Hylia and go swimming or something."

Alaina was almost asleep, so Aiden didn't expect an answer. But she had ended up hearing his suggestion. "Okay," she agreed tiredly, starting to fall into a deep sleep.

Aiden smiled faintly, reached out his hand, and, ever so lightly, rested it on top of Alaina's.

"Great," he whispered.