GUIDE | ITALICS - Zelda

It was after the school day had ended on a cool Friday evening when it happened.

Zelda had already said goodbye to Midna, and was currently drawing in her sketchbook outside the school. From afar, she could see some of the other freshmen and students older than them playing a variety of sports. In the one baseball field there were a couple of games going on; Zelda assumed they were all just playing four square or kickball.

She wished she could play sports. They looked fun. But, she couldn't. That required hearing, like everything else.

So, she continued to draw, trying to think of what she should add to her small sketch next.

Right as she thought of an idea, she felt somebody sit down next to her. She was laying under a tall and proud green and leafy tree, resting against its trunk.

Who would want to sit next to her, other than Midna?

And Midna had already gone home. Zelda wanted to draw for a while before she went home, so that's why she was the only non-athletic person remaining on the school grounds.

Warily, Zelda lifted her head away from her drawing and met the blue eyes of the last person she wanted to talk to.

Link.

Zelda couldn't say anything, so instead she slapped both hands over her drawing and scooted away from Link. She was sitting on the right side of the tree trunk now, her back laying against it.

Link groaned, and stood up. He walked over to her and stood in front of her, kneeling down and looking at her drawing.

Zelda didn't even notice him standing there for a good two minutes, but when she did, she began to stand up and walk away.

She couldn't, though. Link had grabbed her wrist gently, and when Zelda looked back, she could read his eyes very vaguely.

They showed a form of sadness—but why would Link be sad?

The brunette ripped her hand from his grasp and held her drawing close against her chest.

The two continued to stare at each other for awhile, until it became too awkward for the both of them. Once they had locked eyes, everything moved slower and they shared some sort of strange bonding moment just through eye contact.

Zelda knew this wouldn't go anywhere since she couldn't speak, so she sat down and flipped to a new page in her sketchbook. Link knelt down in front of her and observed what she was doing, noting that she had begun writing a note. It was small and didn't contain many words, but Zelda knew it'd get the question across.

Finishing the note, she handed her sketchbook to Link, along with the pencil in her hands so that he could write his own reply.

What do you want?

That's what the paper read.

Link creased his eyebrows as he thought of a suitable reply, because he didn't even know himself why he thought doing this was a good idea. He knew good and well that she hated him.

Link didn't hate her entirely, though. Respect is what he had for her, but lately he had been too nervous to approach her. And he had only just seen her for the first time in four years when school started two weeks ago.

So, he had just observed her, watching her smile and noticing how bright it was. Another notable thing he realized was that she was pretty. Zelda stood out in the crowd—well, at least to Link she did.

Link knew Zelda would never forgive him—he knew good and well what he did to her in the past. And he hated every fiber of his being for that. She didn't deserve neglect and mental torture.

Because now he knew what it felt like to be in her situation.

An outcast.

Moving the pencil across the paper, Link wrote out the best reply he could think of and handed the pencil and sketchbook back to the brunette in front of him.

Zelda bit her lip as she gingerly took both items back into her smaller hands, reading his reply.

She smirked at the words. Did he really think she'd forgive him? Hopefully not.

She scribbled down her reply and handed the materials back to Link.

When he had them in his hands now, he read her reply carefully.

I'm never going to forgive you, so just give up now.

Link looked at her with earnest eyes and then began to write down his next reply with a shaky hand, trying to make his writing look as neat as possible despite his hands jerking as he wrote.

Zelda received the sketchbook and pencil from his hands, reading what he had written.

What do you need my help with?

Okay, then you do that. I'll give you a month and if you succeed I'll help you with whatever your problem is.

Zelda took her sketchbook and pencil back, closing up the book and tightly holding her pencil. She used her free hand to reach for her phone in her pocket to check the time.

While Link looked at the red, orange, and yellow hues that mixed together to create the sky's color, Zelda gasped when she had realized how late it had gotten.

The skies were beginning to turn into those autumn-like colors, but the sun was still shining high and hints of blue could be seen. The sun would set soon.

Zelda didn't want to write down a goodbye, so she just waved a quick one to Link and booked it. Running down the sidewalks and eventually reaching her home, which was much farther away than she initially realized. Taking the bus earlier would have been much easier, but of course she decided to take the hard route just to finish up a sketch. She didn't even finish get to finish it. All because stupid Link had to interrupt me, she thought bitterly.

Meanwhile, Link began to slowly make his way back to his home, and at his slow pace, it made the walk back even longer. He didn't live necessarily close to the school, either, but he was a bit closer to it than Zelda was.

When he entered his home, he was greeted by the squeal of his younger sister, Aryll.

"Quiet down... My head hurts," Link grumbled and Aryll instantly silenced herself, but still wore a cute and perky grin on her face.

Aryll was ten years old, so, five years younger than Link. Link had an earlier birthday than most, so he had already turned fifteen awhile ago, while Zelda and most of the others at school were still fourteen.

"How was school?" Aryll asked, sitting down on the same couch Link was resting on and reaching for the remote.

"It was okay. Nothing spectacular, as usual," Link replied in a bored voice, watching the TV as Aryll began to search for a show to watch.

"Mom said that you're going back to that therapist lady next week, y'know," Aryll said, selecting a random cartoon and then looking over at her older brother.

She knew how much he hated visiting a therapist. Link said she (therapist) never helped, but their parents never listened and insisted this was best for him.

"No, I told them not to send me back," Link complained. "If anything, I've been slightly better since I stopped visiting her."

"Mom and Dad aren't going to listen to you, though," Aryll said, and Link glanced at her to see the sympathy in her eyes. "It's a new lady this time, though. Dad says her name is Telma. Says she's super nice, too."

"Oh..." Link mumbled as a reply. What was he supposed to say? He just hoped that this lady was nicer than the last one. That's all he needed. And for her to care, too. A person that actually cared and didn't run this gig for a paycheck and recognition.

The room fell silent for a moment, before Link spoke up and broke that somewhat awkward silence.

"I talked to someone today—" Link started, but was interrupted by a snicker from Aryll.

"You talked to someone? Wow, Link! You never do that!" she cheered, but instantly stopped when she saw the deadly look in his eyes. She slumped into the couch and blew a breath. "Sorry."

Link nodded. "Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted... I wanted help from her but—well, we have a long history together," Link explained. "I have to prove to her that I'm sorry."

"What's her name?" Aryll questioned her older brother.

"...A girl named Zelda, who I treated terribly in elementary," Link replied slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"And you're going to make it up to her... How?" Aryll inquired. She hoped her brother hadn't jumped into a deal that he couldn't even succeed in.

Link really hadn't thought about that, frankly. He bit his lip and stared at the ceiling, shrugging after thinking for a few seconds.

"I'll think of something," he replied.

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