Love's Eloquence (Modern|AU)

Chapter Three: The Sun's Warmth

Zelda squinted as she looked at the brilliant blue sky that was lit with the light of the summer sun. Even through her sun glasses, the sun's rays hurt her eyes. But it was so pretty...and so warm.

Zelda enjoyed the sun's warmth during the summer, especially as she was trying to dry off after swimming in the cold, refreshing water.

Midna was able to convince Zelda to come swimming with Mipha, their friend who's father owned a large chain of swimming pools and recreational areas that dotted Hyrule. During the summer, Mipha and her younger brother Sidon would work at their father's pools.

Mipha and Sidon were Zoras and widely respected throughout their school. Sidon just finished his Sophomore year and was going to start his Junior year in the fall. While on the other hand, Mipha graduated with Midna and Zelda's class.

Just as Zelda was starting to feel like she was starting to warm up again, someone walked up behind her and started to squirt her with what sounded like a water gun. Zelda quickly sat up and turned around to see Midna with a smirk on her face and in her hand a water gun that was half full.

"This is a pool, Zelda," Midna scolded lightly, "You're supposed to get wet."

"I was cold!" Zelda protested.

Midna giggled, "But you want to be cold during the summer and hot during the winter!"

Zelda started to crack a smile. "Don't you think that it's time that we get ourselves some ice cream? We've been swimming for a long time."

"Three hours is not 'a long time,' Zelda!" Midna laughed sarcastically.

"Ice cream sounds great right now!" Said Mipha as she jogged up to Zelda and Midna. "I just got off my shift and Sidon's on his shift right now."

Sure enough Mipha's younger brother was climbing up the lifeguard tower as a mob of lovesick teenage girls were desperatly trying to greet him.

"Wow, you two are boring," Midna sighed. "Though ice cream does sound good right now."

Mipha took off her lifeguard whistle from around her neck and placed it in her purse. "Ice cream it is!"

As they started to walk away from the pool, Zelda turned to Mipha with a look of curiosity on her face. "When did Sidon get so much taller than you?"

Mipha shrugged and shook her head. "I really don't know. One day her was an adorable little guppy, but before I knew it he started to grow up. Eventually he got taller than me."

"Doesn't he have his own fan club now?" Zelda inquired.

Mipha smiled and nodded. "It even has a president."

"Have I told you guys that I became president of a fan club?" Midna asked with a serious expression on her face, a very rare occurrence.

Mipha and Zelda gawked at Midna, who burst out in laughter. "I'm just joking! You don't have to look so serious. Guys...? I was joking..."

***

Ice cream dripped down Zelda's fingers, making them sticky and sweet. Midna, Mipha, and Zelda sat in the shade of a tall tree in a park.

Even through the shadows leaves, Zelda could still feel the warmth of the sun. That's what helped with melting her ice cream.

The sun was starting to set in the west and the three girls were starting to get tired. Likely the side effects of three hours of swimming.

Mipha got up from her grassy seat underneath the tree that sheltered them. "The pool should be closing about right now, I should help Sidon with cleaning up. I'll see you guys later!"

"Bye!" Midna said with a mouth full of ice cream.

Zelda waved and smiled. "See you later!"

Midna quickly finished her ice cream cone as Mipha walked away. She turned to Zelda and smiled. "Sooooooooo. What are you gonna do for the rest of the summer? I forbid you to do anything boring or anything that has to do with school."

"Call I read?" Zelda asked.

Midna shrugged. "Reading is boring, but it's a start."

***

Zelda was on her way home from her very eventful day at the pool with Midna and Mipha, though she couldn't resist stopping by the library before it closed.

Grabbing a selection of books, Zelda hurried through the library on her adventure of liberating beautiful stories from a dusty libarary. There was nothing that Zelda loved more than exploring a library.

Reading was Zelda's way of escaping her so called "boring life." Books took her to other worlds and other galaxies that held amazing stories and so much more. She considered it her only escape.

Zelda was starting to finish up her search when she stopped in her tracks.

"Link?" Zelda called. "Is that you?"

There sat a boy in a green jacket in a comfy looking chair, covering his identity with only a book. He slowly put the book down to reveal Link.

Zelda smiled. "It is you!"

Link smiled back. "You like to come to the library too?"

"I love to! What books did you get?" Zelda asked as she started to read the titles of books he had close to him. One was about time, two were about adventure, and the other one was a classic.

"I don't think I've ever read these books before " Zelda smiled. "Do you know if they're any good?"

Link nodded. "They are amazing."

Zelda laughed. "That's good to hear. Hey, what are you doing this summer. Do you have any family plans? Any vacationing? I hear the Gerudo Desert is beautiful this time of year."

"Not much," Link hesitated. "Although I was wondering if you can tutor me agian. You taught me a lot."

"That's right," Zelda said, mostly to herself. "I did tutor you before. You do know you're really smart, right? I don't think you need much tutoring."

Link shook his head. "I want to get better at writing."

"If you're good at reading, you wouldn't have much trouble with writing," Zelda thought out loud.

"Please?" Link pleaded. "You helped me so much last time. You gave me a good push."

Zelda considered this. After a while she decided with an answer. "I'm not doing much this summer, so I guess it could spare the time."

"Really?" Link practically lit up.

Zelda smiled. "Meet me at the high school this Monday."

"Thank you so much, Zelda! This really means a lot to me," Link got up from his chair and gave her a hug of gratitude. "Language Arts was always my worst subject and when I read books, I fall in love with the stories and most importantly the eloquence of the words. I want to make something like that myself and I believe that you can help me."

This caught Zelda off gaurd. "You're welcome," Is all she said. Zelda was never used to hugs, since her mother passed away when she was young and her father was never there to give them. It practically made her melt. Like an ice cream cone left in the sun.

As Zelda walked away to check out her books she felt her cheeks heat up. Those compliments made Zelda feel warm inside. These feelings felt like the sun's warm, summer rays. The thing is, it was night-time and the aid conditioner was turned on high.