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

Playing History (9)

Link bit his lip slightly as he considered her proposal, then he shrugged. "Fine," he said. "So answer my question then."

Zelda nodded. "I like snow because it's really pretty," she said with a small smile. "And when you consider all of the conditions it takes for little flakes of frozen water to fall from the sky... Snow starts off as tiny ice crystals in the atmosphere. And when the tiny ice crystals collide they stick together in clouds to become snowflakes. If enough ice crystals stick together, they'll become heavy enough to fall to the ground and..." She chuckled a little bit as she trailed off. "Well, snow is just really cool," she amended.

Then she started to consider what question she could ask him. She didn't want to waste her questions on something trivial, but she also didn't want to ask something he didn't want to answe'r and end up with nothing. "Uhm... Ever had any pets?" she asked, a little embarrassed that she couldn't come up with anything better.

Link smiled as he seemed to think back. "Well I bought a chicken once... but..."

She laughed. "But?"

"But it tried to kill me so I gave it back. Chickens don't like me for some reason."

Zelda started to laugh again. "A chicken with a vengeance? Beat up by a bird. Now that's funny," she said with a grin.

He tightened the blanket around himself as he thought about a question. "So... what game were you playing?"

Zelda narrowed her eyes and then turned away from him. If she didn't answer then he wouldn't answer either... She gritted her teeth and then motioned towards the drawer. "Just see for yourself," she said without looking.

There was a rustle of movement. "You're playing this?" he asked as he looked down at the game and then looked up at her. He looked shocked.

That surprised her. She never expected to see that expression on his face, especially just for a game. "Yeah," she said as she tilted her head to the side. "It's our history."

"You believe in this stuff?"

"What's not to believe?"

"It's just what those ancients believed," Link said as he put the game back into the drawer.

"You're saying you don't believe in the goddesses?"

Link shrugged as he shook his head. "Why should I?"

Zelda's eyes narrowed slightly and she frowned. Was he serious? He really didn't seem like the type to make a big deal out of nothing.... but... "Link you... believe in magic right?"

He shrugged slightly. "Yeah."

"Then why-"

"It's a fairy tale," Link interrupted. "It's impossible."

Zelda frowned. "Well your parents must have believed in the old stories, since they named you Li-"

Link stood up and a flash of anger crossed his face, but it vanished quickly. "Don't bring that up again," he said as he crossed to the other side of the room, dropping the blanket to the floor.

Zelda stared after him. Why had he reacted like that? She stood up and walked towards him, not about to let it go. "What's wrong with the subject?" she pressed.

He closed his eyes and didn't look at her, like he was hiding a greater emotion. "Just drop it."

Zelda shook her head even though he couldn't see her. "No."

He opened his eyes and looked at her as he struggled not to glare. He looked away and instead glared at the floor. "It's impossible for those stories to all be true," he said as he sat down against the wall.

"Why."

"Stories do not reflect the real world; only fairy tales have happy endings."

Zelda took a step back from him. There was real pain in his voice; even as hard as he tried to hide it. Her knees bent before she realized what she was doing, and she knelt in front of him. She gently reached out and laid her hand on his shoulder. "Link... why do you think that?"

Link pushed her hand off of him. "It's none of your concern," he said.

Zelda laid her hands in her lap. There had to be a reason why he was available for hire as a bodyguard when he was only seventeen years old. There had to be some reason he didn't believe in happy endings. "Why..."

"Why what?" he snapped.

She looked up and caught hold of his hostile gaze. "Why can't I care?"

Confusion replaced his hostility. "....Why do you care?"

Zelda tilted her head to the side slightly. "I'm interested in why you believe in magic and not the old stories. I want to know why you don't believe in happy endings."

Link flicked his gaze back up to her, but he didn't say anything, and then he looked away again.

"I care who I am entrusting my life to."

He looked back up and looked even more pained. "I don't..." He shook his head and then leaned back against the wall as he closed his eyes again. When he opened them they carried a neutral expression. He smiled gently, but she could tell he was acting. "My troubles are not your troubles. I don't want to burden you," he said and then he stood up and walked to the door.

"Wait-"

"I'll see you later...Zel," he said as he went through the door and closed it.

Zelda stared as he disappeared from the balcony. A shiver went through her as the draft of icy air rushed her. It was cold.

She opened the door and stuck her head out. "Link!" she called. There was no response. "Idiot, where did you go?"