Chapter 7

Link

Link bobbed up and down on his heels Wednesday morning, excited to see Zelda in person again. He was a bit worried, but he trusted in Dorian's capabilities to protect her, not to mention her own abilities. I... don' t know what I could do. There was that thing last week, but... I'm not smart like Zel and Dorian are.

He only did well in some of his classes: botany, wood shop, weight training (required for sports), PE. But words wiggled around on pages if he tried to read for too long, equations did loop-the-loops, and the non-experiment portions of science? Forget it! It was only thanks to Zelda that he had gotten anywhere, and he only barely managed to keep his GPA up to the standards needed to stay on the fencing team.

A shadow fell over him, shaking him out of his thoughts. He turned and...

"Hey freak. Where's your girlfriend?" Bellum sneered at him.

Link rolled his eyes. Bellum was a serious jerk, and not to mention his crime history, it was a wonder he was still enrolled at Castle Academy, not to mention not in juvie. "You mean Zel-zelda? She's n-not my girlfriend."

Bellum held up his hand. "That little brat stabbed me last week. If she thinks she gonna avoid me by not coming to school, then she in for a surprise."

Link's own voice became ominous. "You will not harm her. She... d-does need to work on her ang-anger issues, but you will regret it if you lay even a finger on her."

Bellum stepped closer, grabbing the front of his shirt and lifting him up to where their faces were level. "I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you, freak. After all," he leaned closer, dropping his voice to a whisper, "he is coming."

A burst of panic seized him, and he swung his legs out viciously. He hit the intended mark, and Bellum dropped him with a child-like squeal. Unfortunately, he quickly regained himself. With a roar, Bellum rushed him. Link dodged, and witnessed time slow again... it would be so easy to trip or hurt him... he was almost certainly the one who painted that Yiga eye in the gym, given his words. But... If I fight, we could both get in trouble, and it's almost the last day. If I keep dodging, surely only Bellum does... Okay, just avoid the blows, Link.

As Link swerved around the clumsy blows, a circle appeared, various people cheering on the fight. Link tripped Bellum and was about to race through a gap to escape before Bellum grabbed his ankles, and Link fell, scraping his face, arms, and hands against the rough asphalt. His opponent picked him up again, a knife in his palm...

Zelda shoved through the circle and spoke. "Just what do you think you're doing?! Stop this instant, or I'll-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Bellum dropped him and punched Zelda in the gut, cutting off her words and breath. She fell. His pulse quickened. Some in the group began to mock her, and Bellum kicked her leg, having forgotten about him. Time slowed again. Before he even realized what he was doing, he had launched himself at the senior, tackled him to the ground and punched him straight on the nose. A crack rang audibly through the air, and the other students surrounding them fell silent.

"Don't you EVER touch her! You're pathetic! A freaking coward! Y' hear me?! Coward!" He hardly heard the words as they spilled from his mouth. He didn't notice his pummeling of Bellum's chest and face until Zelda grabbed his arm, and had no idea that small tears were trickling down his face until she wiped them away. His breathing was heavy, and his vision darkened until...

A small floating light... words... "Hu... y, mas... r..."

"L... n..."

"Li... k..."

"Link."

He blinked. They were in a small room, adjacent to the main office. There were soft bandages wrapped around his hands and arms, and Zelda was wiping blood off his face, a concerned look on her own. "Wh... what happened?"

Zelda tilted her head, confused at his words. "What do you mean? You... don't remember?"

"I..." Link frowned, straining to recall. "Bellum... he... said some things and attacked me. You tried to stop him and... he h... h-hurt you, and then... it's r-really fuzzy, but I think I attacked him, and you... stopped m-me."

"Yes. You were bleeding, and I brought you here to patch you up. You seemed kind of out of it, but you came with me so I assumed you were just... sort of withdrawing." She paused. "Link... I know it happened again. That time warp. I don't understand, but we can chat this weekend once we're at the cabin." He nodded.

"Th-thank you... and, Zel?"

"Yeah?"

"I... I heard some-something. It felt fa-familiar, almost, like... like an old friend... calling for me."

_/|||\_

The car ride felt like it took forever, though it was only about an hour and a half from Hyrule's capital to the cabin in the Minshi Woods. It wasn't a particularly unique forest, other than it's proximity to the Great Hyrule Forest, otherwise known as the Lost Woods. No one actually knew why the misty forest seemed so intent on causing people to become lost. Few who entered returned, and those who did lost their minds, rather than remaining in the woods forever.

Even though they were quite far off from the entrance to the Lost Woods, Link still felt a chill as he looked in its direction. The wind seemed to carry yet another whisper, louder now: "Master... Link..."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and started. Turning quickly, he saw Zelda. "Don't worry about the Lost Woods, Link. We're far away from it and its dangers."

Link shook his head. "I'm n-not... Ah, c'mon, let's get eve-erything set up."

It took some time, but eventually, their things were put away and the whole group was off to Pico Pond, ready to spend the day in the water. There was a lodge before the woods got thick, set as a place for guides and a variety of activities, located right next to the large pond. The three youngest just wanted to swim, and begrudgingly accepted life vests. The adults were content to stay on shore, while Zelda and Link grabbed a canoe. The two soon began drifting across the water and only occasionally used the paddles to change course.

He took out the carving he had been working on and began carefully cutting away the wood with a few tools. He was actually almost done, but hadn't been able to find the energy since the Yiga's symbol appeared. Now, though, he was with Zelda and in the wild. What could be bad about that?

"Whatcha doing there, Link?"

"...It's, ah, j-just something I've been working on fo-or a little while..."

She smiled. "Yes, but what will it turn out as?"

He forgot sometimes that anyone - even Zelda - genuinely cared about his interests. He felt undeserving of such a kindness; he was far too weak, cowardly, and his stuttering must drive people crazy.

"I've b-been carving this owl... f-f... f-for you. I-I know that it's your favorite animal, and I w-wanted to make so-omething for you, but if you d-don't like it, I can j-just-"

"Shush, you. I love it already!"

He stared for a moment. "R-really? 'Cause I know it's not th-that good... I should've just b-bought you something..."

"Link." She brushed stray hair from his eyes and cupped his cheek. "You making this truly makes it so much more meaningful to me. Plus, working with materials, especially your wood, is something you love. I feel lucky that you've chosen to make something for me with your talent!"

He searched her face a moment. Zelda... she hadn't lied to him before, as far as he knew. That had to count for something. "Th-thank you, Zel. I means a l-lot that you listen to me and find my company be-earable."

"I don't just bear your company, Link. I enjoy it. A lot." His cheeks and ears flushed at her comment. She's so beautiful and kind and perfect...

He hadn't noticed, but they had moved closer... She smelled like her favorite flower, the Silent Princess. Her gorgeous viridian eyes were half-closed. Link unconsciously leaned his head closer... their lips almost touching-

"Hey! Lovebirds, it's time for lunch!" Link jerked back, making the boat sway ominously. Aryll had swam all the way from the other side of the pond to yell at them. He was honestly quite grateful though... he had almost kissed Zelda! His best friend! He couldn't do that to her, especially if she didn't feel that way. (And did he even feel that way? He couldn't! But she was so incredible... Who wouldn't be attracted to someone like her?).

"Shut it, Aryll," He grumbled. "Do you w-want to get in the ca-anoe? We'll get back faster th-that way."

"Great! I'll sit in the middle, so you two don't get any ideas..." She smirked, and Link hid his face in his hands, consequently not noticing Zelda's cheeks become pinker.

"I-I... Ugh, ne-ever mind... let's g-go."

_/|||\_

That night, he had just finished the wooden owl for Zelda when there was a soft knock on the door of the room he was to stay in. "Yeah?"

"It's Zelda."

"Co-ome on in," he replied.

She entered and closed the door. "Everyone else is asleep now, so I thought now would be a good time to chat about that time warp." Link nodded.

"What exactly di-id you want to ask me?"

Zel paused for a moment. "Do you... have any idea how it happened?"

He bit his lip. How... how did it happen? The tournament with protecting Zelda, helping Aryll, protecting Zelda again...

"Umm... e-each time it happened... I was trying to help... and I was real focused. D-dodging during the tournament is what trigge-ered it the first time, I think... but I was also really worried about you since I had s-seen G-Ghirahim... it stopped when I grabbed the b-bolt. And after you left, Aryll started to fall, which I also stopped. Th-then... Bellum was hurting you," he said.

Zelda looked thoughtful. "So... it happens when you want to protect people and when you're focused... anything else?"

"I-I... can also... see everything. I know every detail of everything happening."

"This is absolutely incredible, Link. I wonder how this could be happening, and why now?"

He shook his head, signaling his confusion as well. "I... um, finished that c-carving. D'you w-want it now?" He asked, changing the subject.

Zelda lit up and nodded vigorously. He gently placed the polished bit of wood onto her waiting hands. She studied it carefully as he held his breath, waiting for her verdict. "Link... I love it so much! Thank you for making this for me," Zel said.

She smiled, so brightly that the sun looked like a distant star in comparison. He gave one in return. "Um... I kinda actually got you so-omething else, from the gift shop, i-in case you didn't like what I m-made..." He presented her with a silvery charm of an owl, on a braided string of leather. Zelda, still smiling, took it and put it on. Link leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes, tired from the day's events.

"I... have a gift for you too. It's n-not as special as what you've made for me, but... I hope you like it," Zelda said softly.

He opened his eyes and saw a metal charm being presented to him. It was in the shape of a dragon, one of the peaceful deities from the legends, curled in a circle. "Zel... thank you. It's amazing." She gave him her perfect smile again.

"I knew you liked dragons, especially the ones in the legends. I'm really glad someone I know likes those stories too. Everyone else dismisses them as children's tales." She gently put the leather cord around his neck, brushing her fingers against his skin. The places where their skin touched felt alight with fire. She yawned loudly and her head drooped.

Suddenly, Zelda snuggled up next to him and laid her head on his shoulder with another yawn. He, though blushing furiously, carefully rested his head on top of hers. "Good night, Link," she murmured sleepily.

"G'night, Zel."