Who We Are; Zelink, Modern (The Legend Of Zelda)

Names in History (6)

Zelda twirled her pen in her fingers; it was rather hard to do because it was such a heavy little thing. The way that Link was being protective seemed more than just a hired guard. He seemed to really care for her safety...or maybe she was just dreaming. She slowly tuned back into the history teacher.

"...attempted to gain the Triforce for his own evil desires, the demon was known as Demise. Eventually, the land of Hyrule was overrun by monsters, forcing the goddess Hylia to send the first Hylians to live in the sky in what would eventually be known as Skyloft. With the Hylians in a safe place, Hylia joined the remaining tribes to battle Demise before sealing him within the confines of the Temple of Hylia. This temple soon became known as the Sealed Grounds. Hylia crafted the Goddess Sword which was placed under the watch of Skyloft and would signify when Demise's seal wa..."

Zelda turned her gaze back to the page in front of her, where she had doodled three triangles and marked them each with a separate letter; C, W, and P. She chuckled lightly as she realized that combined, CWP could be pronounced as soup.

The bell marked the end of the class, and she shut her notebook and left the room. She already knew a lot about their history; after all, she was living it. Most of her classmates believed that it was just a nice story, a fairy tale of their supposed beginnings. Few people these days actually believed magic existed; technology and science made it a moot point that magic was impossible. Why they still taught the old histories Zelda didn't know. It was like a habit...or respecting the old beliefs of the medieval Hylians. Those who still believed in magic didn't think that it was still around. They thought that the old magic lines had ended long ago.

With the blood of royalty running through her veins she was part of one of the lines. There was always a chance that she would become entwined with the fate of Hyrule itself, and not just by inheriting her parents responsibility. She knew that the demon king Ganon was never truly defeated. While there was good, there was always going to be evil in the places that truth didn't reach. He would return; he always did. Be it centuries from now, or merely years; they would always be there to stop him. Princess Zelda and the Hero, Link; bearers of the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage, which were to be used to banish the corrupted wielder of the Triforce of Power, Ganon.

There were a lot of kids named Zelda even in just her school; even more named Link. The old stories were an inspiration to everyone who read and heard them, it was no wonder so many in Hyrule were named after the old tales. That was why she hadn't exactly been surprised when her bodyguard's name was Link; it wasn't all that rare.

Zelda went to her locker and put her books inside. She didn't need to take them home with her that day. She took her coat from inside and put it on, soon after that she wrapped a scarf around her neck and slipped on her gloves. It was getting colder and colder by the day.

As she left the school she noticed a few of the other students were huddled in a circle. She tried to ignore them, but then she noticed Link at the center of it. Three boys were standing in front of him in the circle of onlookers. It didn't look good.

"You don't deserve to have the same name as me," jeered the boy in the middle.

Link was on his knees looking down; he didn't respond to the mocking. He looked bored. Disinterested... almost... unimpressed.

Zelda tried to step closer and Link looked over at the new movement. His cheek was red like he'd been punched.

His eyes met hers and they seemed to widen slightly. Then Link's head was jerked back as the other Link grabbed him by his hair and pulled it back.

Zelda broke through the circle as she pulled off her scarf and unzipped her coat. "Let him go, Link," she growled, holding her scarf tightly in her hands.

The older boy looked over at her and smirked widely. "Is this your boyfriend, Blondie?" he asked maliciously as he dragged Link by his hair to show him off to her.

"Yes," she replied angrily as she folded her arms loosely, needing to be able to move quickly if she had to respond to any sudden movements from any of her opponents. "So you can let him go before the teacher I called gets here and suspends you," she threatened.

The boy narrowed his eyes but he hesitated, unsure if she was bluffing or not. It seemed he wasn't willing to take that chance. He threw Link down and stalked away, the other two boys followed close behind him. The crowd dispersed as the fight ended.

Zelda walked up to him and pulled him up by his arm. "Some guard you are," she said. "What were you doing letting him pick on you?"

Link looked up at her, a cut bleeding down his chin from the pavement he'd been thrown down on. "I'm used to getting hit," he said with a shrug. "I was laying low." He smirked. "Wouldn't want your boyfriend to draw too much attention to himself."

Zelda scowled. "You know full well I only said that so people wouldn't wonder why I was getting involved."

He chuckled. "I know," he said as he stood up fully. "Thanks for helping," he continued with a small smile. "Girlfriend."

She rolled her eyes and turned away. "You're not welcome," she said as she shook her head and put her scarf back on after she zipped up her coat.

"What were you going to do if bluffing your way out hadn't worked?" Link asked as he fell into stride beside her.

"I was going to use my scarf to-" She broke off as she caught his eye. His expression was... "What's with that look?"

"Nothing," he replied with a smirk.

"You're looking at me weird," she insisted.

Link chuckled as he looked away. "I was just thinking you'd make an epic girlfriend."

"What?"

"That's probably what everyone else thought too," Link replied with a grin. "You broke up a bullying circle all on your own without regard for your own safety. Most people would have just watched in fear or something and hoped everything would turn out okay. But you can't just watch something like that."

"I wasn't under the impression that helping someone made you cool these days," she said as she shoved aside the strange new feelings that tried to exert their control over her words and actions.

"But it does," he replied with a slight smile.

"It's not that I'm noble or anything like that," Zelda said as she paused in her tracks. "I just like being in a situation where I get to use my wits for something other than school."

Link nodded in understanding. "Always boring at home then?" he asked.

"Dead boring," she replied as she started to walk again. "I've read thousands of books by now, because I'm not close to any of the staff. They keep circulating so that no one spends too much time with me." She let out a frustrated sigh. "School is the only place I can do anything on my own. Or do something just because I want to do it. I can get into trouble without anyone knowing about it and running to rescue me." Zelda looked over at him. "Like you're starting to do."

Link chuckled. "Well, it's my job. But I let you have your fun if you're not in any danger, and if you aren't going to make too much of a mess," he said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes as she smiled. "If I make a mess it's not my fault."

He shook his head in amusement, and they walked for another few minutes in silence. "Why no backpack?" He asked. "You also left school early, don't you always do homework in the library?"

Zelda shook her head. "I finished it all already."

"Man, what's your IQ?"

"I hesitate to articulate fearing that I may deviate upon the highest degree of accuracy," Zelda said with a shrug as she tilted her head back and stared at the dismal sky. It looked kind of like it had in that dream from a few nights earlier.

"...What?"

Zelda grinned slyly. "It means I don't know."