Playing With Knives- LoZ

scene 127- seconds

They got to the library, and she showed him what to do. She started sorting through a pile of books, thinking.

He was so sweet. This was getting harder and harder to think about. She felt absolutely terrible. She told herself that she'd feel the same way if she wasn't planning this. Was that really true, though?

She shook her head. Of course it was. She had felt this way before, and she'd feel the same of she didn't follow through.

She picked up a book.

Dangerous Herbs, Plants, and Animals

She could use that. She set it aside and continued looking through the books.
She looked over at him. He was humming, and even dancing a little. He seemed so happy. If only...
He seemed to be productive. He had gone through quite a few books.

She looked down at her own pile. Unlike him, she hadn't gotten much done at all.
She sighed and continued working.

●●●

By all accounts, he should be sad. But he wasn't.
Zelda made him happy. Although, she didn't seem too happy herself. Was it his fault? Probably.

There were no more books left in his pile for him to sort. Should he just go get some more, or ask Zelda? He didn't want to bother her, but he'd bother her more if he wasn't supposed to just get more.

After a minute of thinking, he decided to ask Zelda. He walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up at him and asked,
"Yes?"
"I'm done sorting books."
"Oh. Uh..."

He noticed that she wasn't done sorting her own pile.
"Do you want help with this?"
"Oh, no. I'm good. Um, you can take some books off of that shelf over there."
She pointed over to a shelf of books, and he headed over there. He pulled them off the shelf and brought them over to the table. He put them down and began sorting through them.

He looked over at Zelda. She wasn't making much progress. Should he go over and help? He looked down at his pile of books. He should probably finish this first.

He quickly sorted them and went over to help Zelda. He didn't say anything, knowing that she'd just tell him that she didn't need help. She looked up at him and smiled.

They finished quickly, and moved on to a new set of books. They were silent the whole time. It wasn't awkward, though. He liked it. It was preferable to talking, anyway.

They finished sorting most of the books by the end of the day. They decided that they'd finish tomorrow.

He was a little surprised by the fact that he didn't freak out because if being in the castle. Maybe it was just because it looked so different, all empty and clean. They had started knocking down parts of it to rebuild, so maybe it was because there was more natural light. It just felt different.

He felt like he could actually live here eventually. He probably would. But... he felt like he couldn't. Like there was a specific place that he had to be.

They left the castle and went into Castle Town. They started walking to an inn, but he stopped.
"Zelda?"
She stopped as well and looked at him. "Yes?"
"Um, I need to do something real quick. I'll come to the inn once I finish, okay?"
She nodded and continued on her way.

He walked down a street, looking around. He didn't even know where he was going. Just that he had to go somewhere. Like he had unfinished business.

After a few minutes of walking around, he stopped in front of a house. It was large and close to the castle and the center of town. It looked like nobody had moved into it yet.
He felt a pull toward it, so he walked up to it and knocked on the door. No answer. Of course there was no answer. Nobody lived here.

He opened the door and stepped in, and a wave of emotions immediately washed over him.

Children running.
Laughing.
Talking.
Eating.
Delicious food.
The smell of wood.
Sweat.
Hugs.
Jokes.
Games.
Love.
Familiarity.
Bickering.
Forgiving.
Excitement.
Happiness.
Sadness.
Loneliness.
Wishing.
Terror.

●●●

Where was he? It had been ages. He said he'd be back soon. What was he even doing?

She stood up and walked out of the inn. She told the person at the desk that she'd be back soon, and she was going to get her friend.

She started walking around the city, calling his name.

Eventually, she came across a large house with the door wide open. All the lights were off, yet she heard noises coming from inside. She cautiously walked up to it and peered inside. She saw someone moving around inside.

"Hello?"
No answer. Only muttering and a small laugh.
She found the light switch, which was right by the door, and turned the lights on.

Link was standing in the center of the room, stumbling around and mumbling. There was the occasional laugh as well. She ran around and stood in front of him. His eyes were wide open, like he was getting a memory. He was breathing heavily, and his hands were shaking terribly.

She put her hands on his shoulders and shook him. He snapped out of whatever trance he was in and fell forward, right into her arms.

"Link! Are you okay? What happened?"
He pushed against her and stood up straight. He put his hand on his head and said,
"I... think this was where my house used to be."