~Chapter One~

~14 Years Later~

"Happy birthday, Link."

Cody sits the misshapen cake in front of me. I grin widely at his attempt. Cody is anything but a baker, but it was really nice of him to try for me. Tonight, at exactly ten-fifty, I'm going to be 18. Not that it really matters, it's not like Cody's going to let me out of the village. I'm trapped here for the rest of my life.

"So, the big 18th. What do you want as your present?" Cody asks as he puts a piece of the cake on a plate for me.

I want out of here. I think. Cody is good to me, I'm really thankful for him. But whenever I ask him why I can't venture to Castle Town he always answers with the same response: "Your mother and father didn't want you venturing out of the village. They didn't want you getting hurt." When I was younger, I understood that and left it alone. But by the time I turned 12, I started to feel like he was keeping something from me. I was old enough to go to Castle Town, there were 8 year-olds in Ordon that were going alone, why couldn't I? But he put his foot down.

But that was the year I made my first trip to Castle Town, thanks to a certain Sheikah.

But instead of telling him I want to leave, I answer, "I'd really like a new saddle for Epona. The one she has on right now's getting really frayed."

He nods. "I can do that. I'll talk to Kipp about it."

"Thanks."

He ruffles my hair. "Anything for the wittle birthday boy." I swat his hand away and dig into the cake.

I study Cody as he sits across from me. He's a lot like me, lean and fit with a playful smile. He has a few gray hairs mixed in with his dark hair, but he's definitely not old. He's what I imagine what my dad was like, even though he tells me that they were like night and day when they were younger. My dad had my blond hair and brown eyes, a contrast to Cody's black hair and electric blue eyes. And apparently, I look exactly like my dad, but I have my mother's eyes. I have both of my parents attitude, kind and rebellious. But that's really all I know about my parents. Each year, I get a little more information about them. And this year, I'm aiming for the highest goal: Why they disappeared.

I've tried to find out the exact reason ever since I was 9. I know Cody knows, but for some reason he refuses to admit it. He says they just mysteriously disappeared one day. But he's not the best liar in the world.

I clear my throat. "So, do I look any more like my dad this year?"

"Link, you've been his exact copy since you were 2 years old." He laughs.

"I know, but do I look even more like him this year?"

He sighs. "Sure Link, you look exactly like him when he was 18."

I pause. I have to do this carefully, try to trick him into answering. "Speaking of my parents, I found some of Dad's old boots yesterday. They fit me."

"That's good. You can wear them now."

"Yeah that's what I was thinking." Pause again. "Why didn't he take them with him?"

"I don't know."

"He must have gone to someplace where they don't need boots."

He raises his eyebrows. "He had other boots Link."

I sigh and give up. I had a whole series of questions planned out, but there's no use in trying them if he knows what I'm doing. He may be getting gray hairs, but Cody's anything but stupid.

He notices my defeated features and shakes his head. "Link, how many times do I need to tell you? I don't know what happened to them. I wish just as much as you do that I did know, and that I could get them to come back. But I don't."

I can tell that he's telling the truth that he wants them back, but there's that slight twitch of his left eye that tells me he's lying. It's a family trait apparently, I have it, and so did Dad. And he knows I know he's lying. So why won't he just tell me the truth?

But I'm tired of trying to get him to explain, so I drop it and we talk about fishing instead.

Twenty minutes later the cake's almost gone and Cody's yawning.

"Well I'm going to bed." He stretches and yawns again. "What are you thinking you're going to do?"

I gulp. "Bed." I answer, even though I know for a fact I won't be sleeping tonight.

"Okay," He smiles and ruffles my hair again. "See you in the morning birthday boy."

"Night," I respond as he walks upstairs.

I slowly walk to my bedroom and loudly close the door. I wait in darkness until I'm sure he's asleep, I'm old enough that he never comes in to check on me. I quietly walk out the door and, as an afterthought, grab the rest of my cake. He told me he was fond of chocolate.

I shrug on a cloak, the deep cowls hiding my face and making me feel invisible. Then I slip out the front door into the warm night. I walk to the stable and wake Epona. She neighs softly as I saddle her and mount. She's not used to late night excursions.

Me and him planned this trip three months ago when he came to visit. I've only been to Castle Town four times, but it's his second home and he's always pushing for us to visit. He knows how trapped I feel, I think he has the same problem at his home, and he looks out for me in the bustling city. But those four times were when Cody was out-of-town or fishing with Nathan, and they weren't any longer than about three hours. But tonight, I'm going when Cody expects me to be sleeping and we're planning on being there for the whole night. Tonight's a celebration in Castle Town. I share my birthday with Princess Zelda, and the residents of Castle Town are planning on a big celebration with fireworks in honor of it. He persuaded me to come tonight as celebration for my birthday.

I ride Epona out of Ordon, praying that no one sees me. But the village's deserted and I quickly make it to Faron Woods undetected.

I scan the shadows for his half-hidden face of my friend. He must not be here yet. I sit myself on a rock and pull out a piece of the cake, nibbling on it while waiting for his appearance. I wait for about ten minutes before I hear a slight rustling in the tree above me and chuckle to myself.

"Why do you always insist on doing that?" I ask.

"Doing what?" A deep, monotone voice answers from above me.

"Being a Sheikah."

"That may just be because I am a Sheikah, Link." He drops to the ground in front of me, his blood-red eyes glowing above the scarf he uses to hide half his face.

"Just because you're a Sheikah doesn't mean you need to make me wait for ten minutes while you lounge up in a tree, Sheik, when I was nice enough brought you a treat." I throw a piece of cake to him.

"What's this?" He asks, holding it up for inspection.

"What do you think it is? It's my chocolate birthday cake." I take another bite of mine.

"Chocolate?" I hear the excitement in his usually near-expressionless voice. He must never get chocolate. "Thanks," I wait for a moment in expectation for him to take of his scarf and take a bite, but he puts it in a pocket for later. I shouldn't have expected him to, Sheik has never taken that scarf off in the 6 years I've known him. Funny that he's my best friend and I don't even know what his face looks like.

Sheik and I met when we were 12 years old. I had snuck out and was riding Epona around Faron Woods. Apparently, he had the same idea. We crashed into each other and instantly became best friends. I've always wondered why he kept the scarf on. When I first met him, I thought it was because his face was deformed. But he told me that it was because he didn't like people looking at him. I still sometimes think something's wrong with his face, though.

"Ready to go?" He asks.

I gulp again. What if Cody finds out I left? He'd kill me, that's for sure. He'd never let me out of his sight again.

Sheik studies me. "Link, if you're worried Cody's going to catch you, then we don't have to do this."

"No." I answer quickly. "Sheik, I want to do this. If I stay here any longer I'll crack. I need a break."

He nods, and once again I get the idea that he goes through the same exact thing. "Then let's go celebrate your birthday."