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Murky clouds veiled the mid-afternoon sky. Rain poured down vigorously, plummeting its way onto the seething ground. An abundance of umbrellas gathered around a gravestone. All of the present attendees donned various shades of black, a color which symbolized loss and mourning. Some held their personal handkerchiefs close to them while others had a blank face plastered on. A elderly priest stood near the sepulcher, his divided attention surveying the crowd who wept in complete silence. As the priest began to clear his throat, the scattered monotone murmurs which were exchanged amongst the numerous individuals subsided. All eyes gazed directly at him."Today we gather here to say our goodbyes to Sheik Nohansen. He parted from us at such a young age however, he'll forever live on in our memories. Now—I request those who are gathered here today that you provide your fullest attention towards Mr. Nohansen as he reads his son's eulogy."The priest excused himself and scurried off to the side to join the crowd, meanwhile a burly man took over his place. His skin appeared to be as rough like faux leather, giving him a gruff appearance, yet if one was able to capture a close glimpse, they could see the heartfelt sorrow in his eyes.A small blonde haired girl clutched on her mother's hand tightly, her blank gaze fixated on her father. Zelda displayed no form of emotion on her face whatsoever. Rhoam was silent for a minute or two before he began to speak."We knew this day was bound to come nonetheless, tragedy struck as it held its grip on every last inch of Sheik's life. Bidding farewell to anyone—especially if it's your own son is one of the most formidable things you'll ever do. I honestly never expected this day to come so soon, especially seeing that he only lived his life to the fullest for ten years."Zelda heard the pain and melancholy in her father's voice as she frowned a little. She knew her twin brother would never be around to play with her again, all because she wasn't brave enough. It pained her tremendously to even assume he took his own life due to the underlying fact that no one stood up for him. Reminiscing Sheik, Zelda remembered how he was the one who stood up for his classmates who were constantly bullied relentlessly, even going far to befriend them in return. It distressed her to never see any of them return the favor, especially for all Sheik had done for them. Unfortunately, Zelda knew they couldn't do anything—no, they wouldn't do anything. They were powerless, pathetic, meaningless little boys to begin with. It was such a dreadful conception for one to dwell upon, yet they were the ones who scourged the ravaging flames on Sheik in the first place.If those boys had never been bystanders, she would not had been here today. Zelda would still be home, smiling, giggling and playing games with him. Instead, she was grounded at a funeration she had no prior knowledge or intention of attending in the first place."It's their fault that's he's gone," Zelda thought, reassuring herself. "They didn't do anything and Sheik killed himself because of it! Those piteous weaklings took away not only my brother, but my best friend. I—I hate them!"Rhoam's eulogy for Sheik eventually came to an end. Zelda snapped out of her violent sea of troubles. She tilted her head slightly and glanced up at the dreary sky, knowing it mourned for the unexpected loss of Sheik."Sheik adored his friends and family alike, protecting them from experiencing the same fate he endured. It is a testament to him seeing how many of you are here today to say farewell for the final time. Not only he was a son and a loving brother—he was a brave and goodhearted young man, always putting others before himself. Sheik was someone whom everyone admired and was such a pleasure to be around with.""Lies! They're not even here! Those boys chickened out and abandoned him, just like they did when the bullies started going after him. I'll never forgive them, never!""To have lost Sheik was the most heartbreaking reality. It was a shock to us all when he took his own life away, especially seeing how many vast opportunities lie ahead of him."Everyone in the crowd stared at the ground, bereaving the woeful death of the Nohansen family's son. It didn't help that some of these individuals knew their daughter's life would never be the same. They remembered how close Sheik and Zelda were. The two siblings were inseparable since they day they were born."My family wishes a heartfelt thanks to all of those who have given their compassion, love, and support throughout this extremely difficult time. I know that in my heart he will not want us grieving for too long. Rather, Sheik would want us to reminisce all the wonderful times we shared with him throughout the ten years of his life."Rhoam paused for a slight moment. It was almost as if he was about to break down for a split moment before taking a deep breath."Goodbye my son. You'll always live on in our memory and hearts forever."Numerous friends and extended family members gathered around, taking turns to place gifts on Sheik's grave as they bid him farewell. Zelda's mother deplored into tears as she inched towards her son's grave and exchanged her final farewell. Afterwards, she placed her handkerchief over her face to prevent her overflowing sea of tears from smearing her makeup even further. Zelda stared dumbfoundedly at Sheik's grave. Not once did she shed a tear nor did she display any inch of sentiment. Instead, she had an upmost burning desire to be vigorous, courageous and full of wisdom, just like Sheik. He was absolutely everything Zelda aspired to be. From there on, she came to the conclusion that her goal was to accomplish all the enduring tasks Sheik would never have to face.After that lamentable day, time crept its way up, freely passing by. Slowly but surely, her parents stopped grieving the loss of their beloved son. It was almost like as if Sheik ceased to exist. They had moved on, devoting both their time and priorities on their daughter, even pushing their limits to inform others that they had only borne a daughter rather than twins.It heavily pained Zelda to witness both her mother and father disregarding Sheik's existence as if he were nothing but a mere burden. She eventually came to terms with herself that she was only one who kept his memory alive. Just like her parents, the boys he protected simply moved on like nothing happened. It was as if Sheik's heroic triumphs held little to no significance in their hearts. As time continued to pass by, those boys continued getting bullied throughout their middle school year. This in turn, caused some of their parents to pull them out of the school district due to its intensity. Zelda constantly reminded herself every day to aspire her brother's dreams but instead, she went with the flow of the crowd.High school came around as Zelda engaged herself in a plethora of activities. She managed to become one of the top students in her graduating class, even joining the National Honors Society, student council to even the drama club. Zelda hoped she was finally able to escape the clutches of her uttermost deepest regrets to the faces which caused her brother's unwanted suffering, yet she spoke too soon. Once again, she encountered them during high school. However, instead of surveying those aggravating wimps as they suffered on their own, she joined her fellow peers, adding more than they bargained for onto their plate, thinking it would heal her wounds.In spite of it all, Zelda's wounds only grew deeper.Instead, she decided that she needed time away from them, graduating early with the other top student in her respective class. Thereupon, Zelda took a year off before settling down with the local community college nearby instead of attending Harlington University out of town like the rest of her friends.Unbeknownst to the naked eye, around three years later, Zelda would eventually cross paths with her troubled past once more.

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It was the dawn of the first day at Harlington. School was now in session for both undergraduates and graduate students alike. The sun rose as a canopy of gold, bright amid the blue, bidding the laminating stars to take their nightly rest. A canvas with blended tones of rosy pinks and sandy yellows painted the sky. The start of a new day promised a new beginning as the nascent rays embraced the earth. Birds chirped their merrily little tunes with one another in harmony, embracing the new day with welcoming arms.The sun's warm rays crept through the horizontal slatted blinds, shining on Zelda's face, trying to wake her up. A soft grunt escaped her lips, subconsciously tossing the nearest edge of her blanket over her face. She tried to catch a few extra minutes of sleep, however that was quickly abrupt by the entrance of her roommate.Her roommate was up and about. She had just returned from the university gym. Her roommate inched quietly towards the window nearby the beds, grabbed onto the string and slowly tugged at it, opening the blinds without Zelda's consent. Her hair was a darker shade of brown, almost black as it was neatly tied back into a pony tail. The color of her hair complimented her pale, almost ghostly white skin as she donned a loose hoodie along with yoga pants to compliment her top."Hey—you aren't going to sleep in on the first day of classes, right Zel?" she said, grinning.A disgruntled Zelda moaned in response before removing the blanket off of her face. She glanced over at the clock perched on the desk nearby before getting up. Zelda made her way towards the dresser, grabbing a clean pair of clothes before entering the bathroom. From there, she got ready for the day, even putting on her favorite makeup to make herself look much more presentable than she needed to be.After Zelda finished, she made her way towards the kitchen. She opened the fridge as her eyes scoped around, wondering what to make for breakfast this morning. Her roommate heard Zelda rummaging through the refrigerator. She peered her head from the bedroom door."Oh hey, I should had mentioned earlier that before you even think about making yourself something, I've made you a yogurt parfait and I would feel really bad if you didn't see it," she exclaimed.Zelda beamed at her roommate's thoughtful gesture as she reached for the parfait inside the fridge. Afterwards, she opened up a drawer nearby to grab a spoon before settling down at the small wooden table. Clutching onto her spoon, Zelda dived into the parfait and took her first bite."Wow! This is really good! Thank you for making me one Mei," Zelda complimented.Mei extended her thumb up as her lips curled and winked in response."No problem!"While Zelda continued eating her breakfast, she managed to capture a good look at Mei's face. She wondered how she was born naturally pretty in comparison to herself. Not once did she ever recall Mei wearing makeup or any kind foundation. Her skin just happened to be flawless. Zelda considered herself a plain Jane in contrast to the other girls. Maybe it was the thickness of her eyebrows. As much as she hated to admit, Zelda envied girls like Mei. She assumed Mei's natural beauty was possibly a result of exercising daily and keeping up with her food intake. Heck, she wouldn't even be surprised if she followed the nutritional guidelines too.Despite being complete polar opposites and majoring in different subjects (Mei was a nutrition major while Zelda was majoring in English), the two got along the first day they've met one another.After Zelda finished eating breakfast, both her and Mei stepped outside of their door room and started heading over to their first class of the semester. The two parted ways and said their goodbyes. Before Mei departed, she suggested for Zelda to join her for a yoga session sometime. As Zelda looked for the Language and Literature building, she decided to take the scenic route.She took note of how aged the buildings were in comparison to that of her community college. They reminded her of old historical brick homes from her history books. Bright flowers outlined the walkway near the buildings. Various trees were scattered throughout the grassy fields with wooden benches resting on top. The monotone buzz from idle chatter from various students of different age groups and faculty alike leaped across the entire campus. They were enjoying the outdoors. Some students even brought their children to accompany them due to the university harboring a daycare center. A small smile formed upon Zelda's face.
"If Sheik was still alive, he would have loved being here."
Zelda continued to get lost in her own sea of thoughts, her mind fixated on her deceased twin. She wondered if the goddesses were watching over him. As she continued contemplating, a voice slowly pierced through, grabbing away her attention."Hey Zelda—is that you?"The sudden voice snapped Zelda back into reality. She turned her head towards the direction of the voice. Before she could muster a word, another blonde haired girl rushed over. She was followed by an auburn haired girl. The other blonde tackled Zelda with full force, causing Zelda to take a few steps back before toppling down."It really is you Zellie!" the other girl chirped. She couldn't contain the excitement in her voice. Zelda couldn't help but chuckle."It's good to see you again Peach," Zelda said. "You haven't even changed a bit."Both Peach and Zelda got up from the ground and brushed themselves off. The third girl walked towards them and waved at Zelda while standing close by Peach."So—who's your new friend?" Zelda asked."Well," Peach answered, "this is my cousin Daisy! I don't think you two ever met before."The two exchanged smiles with one another as Daisy beamed wide. "Hi! I'm Daisy! It's a real pleasure to meet you Zelda, it really is! My cousin told me all about you and everything!"Zelda cocked a brow and crossed her arms. She gave Daisy a playful smirk. "What did she exactly tell you?""Well..." Daisy tapped her chin repeatedly. She tried to remember all the times Peach rambled off about Zelda, which was almost all the time. "She said you're extremely smart, beautiful, brilliant, and overall, a really good friend."Giggling, Zelda couldn't help but grin from Peach's flattery."That sounds like Peach alright. Say, we should meet up at this exact spot near the oak tree later and oh, maybe get some lunch too! This depends on your guys' schedule of course! Anyways, I should really be heading over to class right now."With those words, Zelda began making haste towards the direction of the Language and Literature building. Before heading off, she turned around and shouted at the two cousins."It was nice talking to you again Peach! Same as for meeting you Daisy! See you guys whenever!Zelda barged into the classroom and glanced at the clock near the whiteboard. Seeing that she arrived just in time, Zelda sighed in relief. She looked around the classroom and took note how huge they were in universities in comparison to community colleges. While community college classrooms seated an estimate of thirty students, university classrooms varied depending on the course and location. Some housed over sixty students, while others housed over a hundred.Despite the architectural exterior of Harlington being much older, the interior was kept up to date and even showed signs of recent renovations over the years. Zelda's first class had flexible learning space with tiered, auditorium-styled seating and smaller breakout areas. In the center of the room near the exit sat the teacher's desk. Overall the classroom placed high emphasis towards the center, presenting a large presence to the professor.Zelda contemplated for a slight moment, trying to figure out where to sit before settling down on a seat in the front row, near the teacher's desk. She knew she would most likely get distracted if she were to sit up in the back. A couple of other students were already seated in the spots they had mentally claimed as well. They consisted of two girls chatting up a storm in the back row, another girl browsing through her tablet in the middle row, and couple of boys on the far end of the classroom engaged in a conversation of their own. Last but not least, another boy sat on the far end in the same row as her.For some peculiar reason, the boy's gaze was intensely fixated on Zelda, almost as if he was interested in either befriending her or perhaps, even something more. Being curious, Zelda decided to look in his direction. He caught sight of her and exchanged a small smile with her before glancing at his phone. The boy had blue hair, almost indigo even. His eyes shared the same color as his hair to compliment his features. Zelda couldn't help but find him kind of cute.Time neared as a flock of students barged through the doorway, scoping out the classroom for unoccupied seats. The chatter grew gradually louder as the room began to fill up. Some students discussed how they spent their summer break while others met each one another for the first time. A familiar face entered the classroom which consisted of another blue haired individual. As his gaze met Zelda's, he quickly rushed over and sat in the chair next to her."Hey Zelda, I haven't seen you in a long time," he greeted. "How have you been?""Well—I've been good. Believe it or not, I've just recently transferred over to Harlington with my associates, so I've got my general classes out of the way," she replied. Zelda immediately recognized Marth from high school. They both graduated at the top of their class and were voted most likely to succeed in the yearbook. In addition, people used to mistake the two as a couple all of the time, due to the fact they participated in many similar activities. However, they just happened to be really good friends.Zelda smiled in response. "That's great to hear!"The two engaged in a small conversation, playing catch up with one another. Little did Zelda know, the other boy went back to staring at her, quickly glancing back at his phone whenever Marth or Zelda peered in his direction.Shortly after, an older man entered the classroom, holding onto a stack of papers and placed it on the desk in the center. Everyone assumed him to be the professor for the course and those papers to be the syllabus. He wore charcoal trousers, a woolly sweater and smiled from ear to ear. Some students already had purchased their textbooks prior to the start date while others waited to see if the class even required one. The professor went up to the whiteboard and began jolting some things down, which included the name of the course, the days and times it met along with his contact information (phone number, email address and best method of contacting him). As he turned around, the students' murmurs dwindled down as they gave him their undivided attention. Clearing his throat, he faced his students."Greetings fellow students. Welcome to Literature and Cultural Difference, otherwise known as ENG262. I'm Professor Robert Lewis and I'll be your teacher for the semester. Seeing how this class meets Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 9 a.m., we'll be able to discuss the importance of literature when it comes to our cultures."Robert began pacing around the room."Some of you are here because it's a required class for your major, while others are taking this course for an elective credit. Since today is the first day, we'll be going over the syllabus for the remainder of the period. If we manage to finish early, I'll dismiss you guys afterwards."He would grab the stack of papers and handed them over to each row, telling the students on the farthest end of the room to pass them along. As Zelda received her syllabus, she began skimming through it. She wondered how much essays and or projects were going to be involved in the course.Once everyone received their syllabus, Robert began to go over every detail; from the rules, assignments, quizzes to even the required textbooks for the course. After fifty minutes had passed, class came to an end. Before students departed for their next class or their breaks, they had to sign an acknowledgement form and turn it in. This was so Robert knew who attended the first day of class. Those who failed to show up on the first day were dropped immediately. After that, he and the other professors could care less whether their students showed up or not.Zelda walked out of the classroom alongside Marth."Say Marth—if you don't mind me asking, what's your next class?""Um, I have BIO302 next. You see, I'm a pre-med student," he replied, following it with a smile. "Say Zelda—what are you majoring in?""Oh me? I'm an English major. I've always had the passion for writing and literature, so I just figured why not major in something you love," Zelda said, shrugging. Marth rose a brow, taking note how Zelda sounded rather unsure of herself, yet paid no heed into it.Eventually Marth realized he had to depart much earlier than he had thought, recalling his next class started at ten. He waved goodbye to Zelda, hoping he would see her later on as the day progressed.Zelda began making her way towards the oak tree she ran into Peach and Daisy at. She wondered if they even remembered to meet under it after their first class ended. As she came closer, she noticed the two chatting right away, causing her lips to curl slightly. Peach and Daisy noticed Zelda and beckoned her to come over.When she arrived, she noticed the blue haired boy from earlier. He seemed to be engaged in a conversation with his friends. Next to him stood a blonde hair girl with a pony tail and an indigo haired man who wore a dark green bandanna over his forehead. Zelda couldn't quite put a face on the others except the guy from her literature class.Peach took note of Zelda's gaze and tapped her on the shoulder."Hey Zellie—what are you looking at," she asked, being curious."Oh, it's nothing really," Zelda responded. Daisy looked over at Zelda, and then at the direction she glanced at before giving her attention back to Zelda."Well, something tells me you were staring at that boy," Daisy teased in a little melody.Zelda's face turned a bit red, causing her to flail her arms in response."No I wasn't!" she shouted, defending herself. Daisy kept giving her that look which said she didn't believe her. Finally, Zelda leaned over and sighed in defeat. She figured it was just best to tell them the truth."Alright, alright, fine! That guy over there's in my ENG262 class. For some reason, he kept staring at me for reasons I'm not so sure of," Zelda answered, shrugging.Peach looked over at the trio not too far from before glancing back at her friends and grinned. She couldn't help but join in Daisy's fun and teased Zelda."Well, for starters, he's really cute! You should definitely talk to him Zellie!" Peach nudged Zelda on side and winked."Peach, I barely even know the guy! Plus, I'm not really interested in dating at the moment. My studies come first before a baby carriage," Zelda stated flatly.Peach shrugged, which was immediately preceded by a high pitched giggle afterwards. "Oh well—that just means more cute boys for me then!"Daisy learned towards Zelda and whispered in her ear. "Real talk Zelda, you should go talk to him sometime. See what he likes, dislike, and all that other jazz. You know—get to know him and everything. If we're going to be honest, high school was the time were we were told to participate in many extracurricular activities as we can. Meanwhile once college starts, that's when your actual life begins."Daisy wrapped her arms around Zelda's shoulder and pointed at the sky."You should really go out and experiment with the things you were never allowed to do. You know, like having fun! College is about making new friends, meeting cute boys or girls if you're into that sort of thing, going to parties and cram studying until you pass out. So–get out of your comfort zone and strut your stuff girlie!"Peach heard her cousin's helpful speech and decided to chime in. "Daisy does bring up a certainly good point Zellie. Once you're finished with school, you really won't have time for all the fun things in life anymore."Zelda sighed. She knew they weren't going to take no for an answer. She stared at the ground and took a deep breath before replying."Well—I guess you guys are right. Maybe if I run into that guy later on today, I'll talk to him," Zelda said.Both Peach and Daisy beamed at her response and jumped around. Unfortunately, their excitement was cut short since they realized they needed to start heading over to their next class. The two exchanged their goodbyes with Zelda. Before they left, Peach shouted over to Zelda, telling her she wanted an update on her progress. Zelda sighed once more, staring off into the distance.
"Boy, what did I just get myself into?"
While she had some free time left, Zelda decided to search for where her World Religions class was located. She made her way towards the Humanities building and swiftly came to the conclusion that her class was upstairs. As she began heading up, Zelda accidentally missed a step, causing her to fall backwards. Before she collided onto the floor, someone caught her in the nick of time."Hey, you should be more careful next time."Zelda paused and blinked for a slight moment. She turned her head, wanting to catch of glimpse of her savior. Her green eyes met with his blue ones as she got lost in its trance. He had the most gorgeous dirty blond hair and the cutest crooked grin she had ever gazed upon. It was tied back into a ponytail. For some reason, he looked vaguely familiar. It was almost as if he was somebody that she used to know.He looked over at Zelda and leaned closer, squinting his eyes a bit."She looks familiar—too familiar to be exact," he thought.A moment of silence perched itself between the two. They awkwardly gawked at one another, studying each other's features. Around two minutes later, the boy finally spoke."I know this may come off as rather creepy, but you look like someone I've used to know. Say—is your name Zelda Nohansen by any chance?" he asked.Zelda tilted her head in bewilderment. "Yes I am," she replied. "And you're?"The boy placed a hand on his chest and smiled softly."I'm Link Farron! Do you remember me?"From the moment she heard his name, her face expression dropped. Just a moment ago, Zelda smiled at him, thankful for his kind deed. Now she just wanted to lash out at him and give Link a piece of her mind. The last thing which even plagued her thoughts was running into any of those guys from her past whom she despised. However, this was much worse. Much, much worse. Zelda had come face to face with her brother's best friend, or rather, ex-best friend seeing how Sheik was long gone. If she were to compare Link's actions to the other boys combined, his misdeeds would outweigh theirs by a huge landslide. She loathed Link for running off when her brother needed him most. What made things much worse was the fact that after Sheik's passing, Link completely fell off the face of the earth. Just what kind of best friend abandons someone when they need help the most anyways?A pathetic, lowlife traitor, that's what!Zelda lowered her brows as her lips curled upside down. She inched slowly towards Link, causing him to back away before started shouting at him."Just what kind of joke are you playing on me now?!" she questioned.Link on the other hand, was puzzled by her own actions. He continued backing away from her. The poor guy was completely clueless to what was even going on."Don't play stupid with me Farron! You could have helped him, hell, you could have done something but no—you're nothing but a coward! You've abandoned him when he needed you the most!"It took a moment to click in Link's brain before he realized who she was talking about. He was surprised that she was still mad at him over something that was way beyond his reach."Zelda wait—I can explain..."Before he could seize the opportunity to justify himself, Zelda cut him off. "Are you going to explain your own actions by using defensive reasoning?! I don't think so! Out of you and those four other losers, you're the absolute worst!"Link sighed. The only thing he could do was shake his head."Zelda, please—!"Before Link could further emphasize his position, another figure who managed to overhear their argument decide to intervene before things quickly escalated."Sir, I think this young lady wants you to leave her alone. Besides, don't you think you're being rude?" he said, smirking.Link looked over at the figure and glared at him. There was something eerie about this guy he couldn't quite pinpoint.
"Oh great—he's here. Just the person I wanted to see."
The man stepped between Link and Zelda and extended his arm, telling Link to back off. "I'm sure you have much better things to do than to harass this poor woman," he added. He rummaged his hands through his icy white hair, taunting Link in the process.As much as he wanted to plummet his fist into his face, Link knew this guy wasn't worth it. He figured in order to make amends, he needed to catch Zelda some other time. Link still couldn't believe that she was still upset over something that happened years ago. While Link began to walk away, the other man approached her and bowed down before extending his hand."Are you alright miss?" He glared over in Link's direction. "Some people could be quite rude..."Zelda simply nodded in response. "I am. Thank you for saving me from him earlier.""No need to thank me. It was just common sense." He paused for a moment before realizing something. "Well, it looks like I'm being the rude one now. I haven't even introduced myself yet. The name's Ghirahim by the way," he said."It's a pleasure to meet you Ghirahim, I'm Zelda.""Zelda..." he answered, pausing for a bit. "What a lovely name. Say, I'd love to sit down and chat with you, but I have much more important matters to tend to. Perhaps we'll cross paths again sometime son.""Yeah."The two exchanged their farewells before Zelda went upstairs. Before he disappeared from her sight, Ghirahim turned around and faced Zelda."Before I depart, let me warn you about something ahead of time. There are other fools roaming around, just like that Link fellow you were talking to. I would advise for you to be on guard at all times."With those words, he vanished before she could even seize the chance to question him. Sighing, she found the location of her next class as Zelda sat on a nearby bench, waiting for it to start.
"Just what does Ghirahim mean by other fools... wait—does he mean that they're here too?!"
It seemed that fate wanted Zelda to cross paths with them once more. Little did she know, this was only the beginning.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Zelda sat inside the classroom of her World Religions class. Her mind was preoccupied on only one particular thing—Link. She couldn't help but think of him, even though she constantly reassured herself that he was nothing more than a measly parasite. Howbeit, Ghirahim's caution also ran amok in her mind at the same time, confusing her. Honestly, she didn't know how to feel about either of their words. Link apparently wanted to tell her his side of the story, meanwhile Ghirahim warned her about the others. While Zelda continued pondering about it, she managed to come to the conclusion that maybe, she should hear Link out. What he had to say in all of this, if he truly was at fault, etcetera. Who knows, it might even reveal something about her own deceased brother.Overall, Zelda's day quickly transpired from bright and wonderful, and plummeted down from the sight of Link. The sigh which escaped her dry lips was dawdling. It was as if her brain needed time to process what happened prior. Her eyes remained fixated on her phone, not paying any heed to the other students who barged in. She tried almost every method to distract herself by any means necessary. The thought of Link was already enough to sour her own mood."At least this is another fifty minute class," she thought to herself. "After this, I have a lunch break before my final class of the day."As all of the students made their way inside, it turned out, there was no one she knew inside her World Religions class. At first, Zelda was a bit bummed out but got over it quickly. She realized it was for the best anyways. And besides, getting to see new faces was one of her favorite things in a college atmosphere.An older woman had made her way into the classroom while students began to settle down. She wore a silk blouse along with a navy blue pencil skirt. Meanwhile, her maroon hair was neatly held up in a tight bun, her thick eyebrows asserting dominance. The students inside the classroom gave her their fullest attention while she began jolting down some information on the board. Afterwards, she turned towards her focus towards the class. While she looked stern from the get go, her voice exclaimed otherwise."Hello everyone! Welcome to REL230, otherwise known as World Religions. I'm Dr. Haulgrove, but please feel free to call me Miss Ambi. For starters, I've always been fascinated with history. I enjoy lounging out in my garden with a good book on my spare time."Ambi opened up her briefcase and took out the course syllabus. She walked around the classroom, handing each present student their copy. As she went back to the front of the class room, Ambi began going over the syllabus. Zelda knew every professor did this for the most part, however, it was just worded differently depending on the course and its content."Anyways, this class meets every Monday and Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.. Now before I dismiss you guys for the day, I just want to inform you that your syllabus acknowledgment form is online. If it's not done by no later than Friday morning, you will be dropped from the course." Everyone in the room stood silent. "Do you understand? Good—now you may go as you please."Students got up from their desks and started heading outside. They all went their own separate ways. Some went to go mingle with their friends, others to another class, while the remaining decided to grab a bite to eat. Zelda stepped out of the classroom and looked around before heading over towards the little café near the dining hall. Despite spending almost fifty minutes going over the syllabus in World Religions, she still couldn't seem to get Link out of her head, trying her best to focus on other things.
"Goddesses—just why do I even keep thinking about him?! Out of all of them, he's the worst one!"
Zelda opened the door and stepped inside the café. She instantly took note of the long line of students ordering a variety of perishables, which consisted of a meal, coffee, specialty drink, or just a plain bag of chips. After scanning the menu to get a general idea of what the café served, she decided to get herself a sandwich accompanied with some apple juice and a side of fruit. Thankfully the line seemed to more rather quick. Soon enough, it was Zelda's turn to order and pay for her meal. After doing so, Zelda went to sit down at a vacant table near the window.Before she could even take a bite out of her sandwich, Zelda was joined in by Peach, Daisy and Marth."Oh hey—it looks like we share the same lunch break after all," she greeted. The other three simply nodded in unison before digging into their meals."So Zelda," Marth asked, "what classes do you have this semester?""Well," she replied. "You know I have Literature and Cultural Difference on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. After that, I have World Religions every Monday and Wednesday. Last but not least, I have CUL115, otherwise known as Professional Cooking I on Monday, Wednesday and Friday as well. Thankfully I only have one class on Tuesday and Thursday, that being the Art of Storytelling.""Whoa, a cooking class Zellie? That sounds like it'd be really fun!" Peach exclaimed.Zelda laughed a bit before taking a bite of her sandwich. "Peach, don't let the title of the class deceive you. What if it turns out being the hardest class of the semester?""Touché," Daisy added.The four continued talking to one another while Marth and Peach were playing catch up with Zelda. They asked her tons of questions, ranging from how she was doing, what happened after high school and last but not least, what made her decide to attend Harlington University."Well that's easy. Harlington is one of the top universities across the globe. Also, I kind of lowkey hoped I would run into you guys again," Zelda answered.Peach's eyes widened before she hugged Zelda tightly."Aw Zellie! That's so sweet! Oh my gosh! I feel as if I'm about to cry!"Zelda returned the hug before letting go. She started pondering how her other friends from high school were doing as well. She figured while some went to join the workforce straightaway, others most likely decided to attend another school of their choice. As she excused herself for a moment to throw away her trash, her eyes caught glimpse of a pastel pink haired woman coming inside with a baby stroller in toll. At first, Zelda assumed the woman to be much older until she realized who it was.Throwing her trash away, Zelda glanced back at the familiar figure. Both of their eyes managed to make a connection with one another, the other girl donning a pair of violet eyes. She blushed for a slight moment before inching closer towards Zelda."Zelda? Is that you?" she asked meekly.Zelda nodded and smiled wide."Yes, it is I. It looks like you seem to be doing well too Olivia." She was thrilled to see another old friend from high school. As a matter of fact, the two of them had first met during freshman year in dance class. From there on, both of them participated in theater and drama club. Olivia even shared her own dream of opening up her own theater someday.Olivia started getting flustered just by standing in the middle of the café. She inched towards Zelda's ear, taking a deep breath before stating her random request."Um Zelda? Not to be rude of anything, but can we please move to another spot? I think people are staring," Olivia whispered."Sure thing!" Zelda ushered over for Olivia to follow her as she made her way back towards the other three. When she had arrived, it appeared Daisy had already left. She assumed she had a class around this time. Peach and Marth looked up and noticed Olivia's presence. They greeted her immediately. Olivia faced the stroller towards them before picking up the baby and kept it close to her chest."Aww, I finally get to see him!" Peach cooed at the sight of Olivia's child. The baby had shared his eye color with his mother's, yet shared his white, pristine hair with his father.Marth looked over to the baby and Olivia, smiling. "He's getting pretty big.""Mmhmm," Olivia said, nodding. Her son looked around the café, being curious of all the stimuli which took place. He clutched tightly onto his mother's sweater. Not once did he let go."What's the little guy's name?" Zelda asked. She made a mental note to herself, realizing how out of touch she actually was with her friends. She was surprised that Olivia even bore a child at such a young age."His name is Inigo," Olivia replied. She stroked Inigo's head gently.Zelda observed Inigo, gradually moving her finger closely towards him. However, before she got too close, Olivia shooed it away, startling Zelda in return.Olivia chuckled nervously. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she warned. "He's at that grabbing stage where once he gets a hold of something, he won't let go.""Oh.""Say Olivia—how old is Inigo now anyways?" Marth asked curiously."He's about six weeks old now, going to be about seven weeks in six days," Olivia answered. Inigo started growing weary. He placed his head lightly on his mother's chest."Aww! That's so cute!" Peach looked at the clock above the menu and frowned. "Aww man, I have to get going. Class starts in about roughly fifteen minutes, and I want to get a good seat!"Peach got up from her seat, bidding everyone farewell before her departure. Zelda and Marth looked over to Olivia, who now held onto a sleeping baby."So, I take it his father's still in class?" Marth questioned. Olivia nodded as the other two watched Inigo sleep. While her child was fast asleep, Zelda decided to catch up with Olivia. She asked her how she was doing, what was she majoring in, or if she was even taking classes this semester."I've been meaning to ask this for a while now, but who's the father?"Before Olivia could even answer, Zelda's question answered itself with the arrival of Inigo's father. He happily hummed a merry, yet gruesome little tune. He instantly took note of Marth and Zelda's presence."Wow Zelda, is that you?! Wait a minute—are you undead?!" he asked, laughing afterwards.Zelda shook her head, trying to suppress her own laughter. "Henry, if I was dead, I wouldn't even be here right now!""Aww." Henry sounded rather disappointed that Zelda wasn't dead, yet at the same time, he was relieved. He was an odd fellow to say the least. "It would have been so cool if you were a zombie!"He grabbed the little guy from his wife's arms, allowing for Inigo to rest on his chest. Luckily for them, he was still sound asleep. Henry glanced down at his son, smiling softly. Both Marth and Zelda were surprised. They recalled how peculiar he was back in high school. Out of all of the wacky scheme's Henry had committed in his life, it turned out he was surprisingly, a good father."I wonder how you two even managed to get together, seeing how your interests are so different, you know," Zelda stated. It was true. Olivia was into dancing, singing, performing plays and cooking, while Henry's interests consisted of playing with undomesticated animals, the dark arts, dissecting dead things and even cursing people."Well..." Olivia answered, "I guess that his charms really got to me. Much people don't really realize it, but deep down, Henry's a real sweetheart.""I see." Zelda peeked at the time as her jaw dropped. Her cooking class started in ten minutes! She got up quickly and excused herself before leaving the café, waving goodbye.
"Shit! I wasn't paying attention and now look what's happened to me! Time flies by really fast."
Little did she know, someone watched her from afar, glaring at her for a moment before a wide smirk plastered itself onto their face."My, my... I didn't know she started going here now. Perhaps the real party will begin very soon when all of the pawns are put into place," the wicked stranger said out loud.Coincidentally, Link also happened to be another one who was running towards his next class. He quickly forgot that he had registered for a class at one while he dashed across the campus. Eventually he came face to face with the wicked stranger. His expression completely transformed into a scowl as he crossed his arms."What's with the mischievous grin Vaati? Did you see something!?"Link did not trust him one bit. Even if he hadn't seen him for more than eight years, seeing Vaati transition from a sweet and kind boy into what he was now was a tremendous difference. Perhaps all of the bullying he received made him desire the evil in people's hearts. That most likely was what led him to become like this. Link knew he was really out of the loop, yet he could tell that out of the other four, Vaati was nothing but venom.Vaati sneered and glanced at Link. "Why do you out of all people want to know all of the sudden? And besides, don't you have to a class to attend? Seems like all that pathetic rushing was just a waste of time now, wasn't it?" he mocked.Link wanted to counter Vaati however, he knew he had a point. Sighing in defeat, Link continued his journey to class yet again. Thankfully he made it just in time as some of the other students were just entering as well.Link looked around and noticed the majority of vacant seats were already filled up. Link sighed, jutting his bottom lip out. It redirected the airflow to his bangs. For a brief moment, his blond locks fanned upward before resting over his forehead. He made his way towards the middle row and sat on one of the vacant seats left. Prior to his own knowledge, when Link looked towards the left of him, he noticed that he was sitting next to none other than Zelda herself.
"Haha great... Could this day just get any worse or what."
Zelda glanced over and shot a glare in Link's direction. She couldn't believe that she out of all people, had to be stuck in a class with him. To make matters even worse, he just had to be in her elective class. Zelda figured she could just learn how to deal with it. After all, it would allow her to keep a close eye on him, just in case he tried something funny.The teacher entered the classroom, and greeted his students as he walked inside. Zelda was surprised how old he looked compared to the others. The older man started writing a couple of things on the whiteboard before facing his students."Hello and welcome to Professional Cooking I, otherwise known as CUL115. My name is Mr. Kawasaki and I'll be your teacher for the semester. Now, I'm sure a lot of you have already noticed that the class size here is much smaller than your other classes. Truth is, when you learn things such as cooking, people tend to learn much more efficiently in smaller groups."Kawasaki began passing out the syllabus to his students while they began glimpsing over it. Just like the others, he went over it to include the times and days they met. The only difference was that he actually took attendance since there were only thirty two students in the class. Afterwards, Kawasaki figured he would go through the safety procedures another day, knowing some of his students were already burnt out from the first day, not to mention some of them were already assigned homework.As class was dismissed, Link and Zelda got up from their seats and left. They waited outside for all of the other students to disappear before even talking to one another. Zelda took a deep breath and sighed. As much as she hated it, she really wanted to know Link's side of the story."So," she asked in a stern tone. "What was it exactly that you have to say?"Link winched a bit before sighing of relief. He thought Zelda was going to lash out at him again like she had done earlier, but he got lucky this time."Finally you're going to listen to me. Anyhow, where do I begin?"
A ten year old Link sat inside the nurse's office with Sheik. The nurse had left to attend to the other children, leaving Sheik and Link alone to themselves. Link glimpsed at Sheik and took note of the bruises scattered all across his arms and legs. He frowned a little at the thought of seeing his friend in such a miserable state.

"Sheik..." Link took a deep breath and sighed, glancing towards the poster of the food pyramid near the window. "Why do you keep letting those jerks do that to you?!" he exclaimed. Link was obviously upset with how the other bullies were treating his best friend lately. His patience with them grew much thinner by each passing day. He was almost at a point where he wanted to give them a piece of his mind.

Sheik held up his finger near Link's mouth to shut him up. He didn't intend to offend him, yet he had some explaining to do.

"Link, please don't get mad at me," he began. "I'd figured that if they were to go after me instead, they'll finally leave the others alone. I want to do everything in my power to protect them, even if it means taking their blows for myself." Sheik sighed. It was of a softly deflating—it was almost as if a strain had been lifted, yet left him with a melancholy instead of relief. "Link—you know how long those boys have been tormented. To be honest, I'm rather surprised they managed to even triumph this far and honestly, I'm very proud of them. If their regular torturers came for me instead, they will finally have a nice break for once. Just seeing them get so upset is one of the most unbearable things in the world. If the others even bothered getting to know them, they would realize how wonderful they truly are."

Not once did Link usher a world. Instead, he allowed all the information to sink in. This was just all just too sudden for him. He couldn't believe it. Why would Sheik want to even take their blows. It was a thoughtful gesture but it was a sacrifice he couldn't allow.

"Why... just why..." Link tried his best to restrain him from going off any further, yet failed. His hands curled into fist as he shook from all the anger which began to rise. "If I see another one of those jerks try to lay another hand on you, I'm going to have to jump in myself!"

Sheik laughed a little before sighing once more. He shook his head in response. "Link, if you intervene, they'll just go after you too. I don't want that to happen, so please try your best to not jump in. However, if something does happen... just promise me one thing?"

Link's face expression dropped. Sheik's response threw him completely off-guard.

"And that is?"

"Please protect the ones who can be saved. And as a personal request from me, please protect my dearest sister at all times."

About two weeks had passed since Sheik exchanged his somber, yet heartfelt words with Link. Slowly but surely, his world began crumbling apart. Sheik had committed suicide by hanging himself in his bedroom, using a belt as a makeshift rope. Link stood off into the distance in his backyard. Not once did he show any ounce of dread and sorrow. To make matters much worse, his father happened to get a promotion and announced to the family that they were moving away. All on such short notice too. No matter how heartbreaking it was, Link wanted to attend his friend's funeral, yet his father insisted otherwise. To no avail, Link failed to convince his father to let him see Sheik for the final time. That was the day he felt his youth die away.

"Sheik... I'm sorry for everything I've done. Not only did I fail you, but I've failed everyone else as well... I'm nothing more than a coward... I'm—I'm sorry..."
"That... that explains why I couldn't do anything." Link's voice quavered as he recalled the events which lead up to Sheik's death. Not once did he make eye contact with Zelda nor did he look at her. He didn't want to feel her piercing gaze judge him even further. Not once did he want to falter in front of anyone, especially her. To him, demonstrating any sign of weakness meant he failed. "He just wanted to protect me from the same fate, even if it meant taking his own life. I didn't expect to move so suddenly. Hell—I didn't even know my family planned on leaving town."Link paused yet again and swallowed hard. He winced a bit from the fictitious tight lump in his throat. "Zelda, he didn't want to see those boys suffer any longer. Hell—they'd been harassed since the day they've started kindergarten."Zelda stared dumbfoundedly at Link. She was at a loss for words. When she thought she had finally constructed the pieces of the puzzle together, it quickly crumbled down as Link's testimony opened up new doors. Her research was far from over."I—I don't know what to say..."Zelda paused, glancing away from Link. More emotions flooded through her, trying to purge down the walls in which she found refuge in for the longest time. Truth be told, she couldn't handle feeling all of these emotions at once. Sure she hated Link, but now she began to feel sorry for him. Soon enough, she started feeling sorry for the others as well. As Zelda was about to reply, she managed to come face to face with another familiar figure."Hey Link," they greeted. "What's taking so—huh? Is that... Zelda?"Before they knew it, Zelda took a few steps back and trembled. Her face expression transformed from forgiving to a scowl within seconds. It was almost reminiscent of a lost, stressed out cat that would either fight or flight away from those who inched towards it. She stared at both Link and the other boy. Her chest began to tighten slowly while her breath gradually grew more hoarse."Zelda, are you alright?" the figure asked sincerely. They took note of how tense she was nor how didn't she budge at all.Zelda recognized the fiery redhead next to Link to be none other than Roy Pherae. She tried to muster a reply, yet her mouth was sealed shut. Instead, she let out a frustrated scream before fleeing, shoving both Link and Roy to opposite sides in the process. At this point, Zelda couldn't care less about how stupid she had looked just now. The only thing on her mind was finding a safe space, away from all the noise and crowds and the leering eyes of her peers. She just wanted to be left alone in solace.Roy glanced over at Link, raising a brow. "Is she still seriously mad over that," he asked. Roy was genuinely confused over the whole ordeal. So in his mind, that could be anything.Link nodded, sighing heavily in response."If there's anyone who needs help the most, it's definitely her."Meanwhile, Zelda continued to run across the campus. Not once did she look up. Instead, her gaze was completely fixated on the concrete which slept beneath her feet. The other students seemed to be puzzled for a slight moment before resuming on to whatever they were doing prior.
"Ugh, stupid Link! Was it his plan to bring them back to me?! I was such a fool! I was about to even forgive him too! While his actions against Sheik might be redeemed, he's still a damn scumbag!"
While Zelda continued running, little did she know, her right leg accidentally collided into a mixture of steel and pneumatic tires. The sudden impact caused Zelda to lose momentum, causing her to slam onto the sidewalk in the process."Whoa! Are you okay?!" a masculine voice said.Zelda winced from the throbbing pain the sudden fall inflicted on her. She knew she was going to feel really sore in the morning. Before she knew it, someone extended out their arm to her. Without second thought, she grabbed onto the arm as they helped her up. Zelda brushed herself down before apologizing for the sudden impact."Ack! I'm so sorry—I didn't mean to!""Just be more careful next time," the voice told her. Like Roy, they also seemed concerned for her well-being. It was most likely because Zelda could had caused them to tumble down as well.Zelda realized she should thank the mysterious person for helping her up. She glanced up and noticed her helper was a disabled boy who utilized an electric wheelchair for his mobility. The first thing she glimpsed at was the boy's big blue eyes which glimmered brightly from the afternoon sun. From there, Zelda started studying his face. His hair was brown and wild, messy even, in a rather stylish way. It reminded her of an early morning bedhead look but chic. Oddly enough, if it wasn't for how much his face had matured, Zelda wouldn't have recognized him.It turned out, the person she had collided with was none other than Pit Callahan. She was surprised how much Pit's face had matured in comparison to when he was much younger. Zelda quickly sighed before bidding him farewell. She didn't want to get into another altercation with one of them. They weren't worth her time.Pit on the hand, blinked. He was confused to why the girl he suddenly helped bolted away from him. Luckily, Link and Roy managed to catch up and met up with him. From there, they decided to fill Pit in with the missing context.Zelda made her way inside the student union and sat at a small table nearby to catch her breath. She tried her best to divert her attention towards her studies. Staring off into space, her mind couldn't help but think of Link and the others, whom consisted so far of Roy and Pit. She forgot who the other two even were for a moment, trying to recall their names.As she continued drifting off into her own thoughts, the sound of faint footsteps approached her. Being too engulfed in her mind to even notice, Zelda wondered why exactly did her brother didn't want them to help him in the first place."Excuse me, miss? Do you mind if I sit here?"Jumping a bit, Zelda glanced up, only to notice it was the boy from her first class. Getting a good glimpse of him up close, she took note of how well toned his body was. His eyes up close were drop dead gorgeous and even his face was to die for. Recalling what Peach told her earlier, Zelda figured she might as well get to know this guy. Maybe talking to him will help ease her own mind from thinking about Link again."Um, sure."The boy smiled in response, pulling the chair across from her and plopped himself down. The two sat in awkward silent for about two minutes before he spoke once more."Say, you're from my English class, am I right?" he asked."Yeah. Hey, are you an English major as well?"He shook his head before he replied. "Nope. I'm just taking the course as an elective credit. Let me guess, you're one?"She nodded. They began talking about their interests along with why they chose to attend Harlington. Eventually the two got up and decided to take a stroll outside. By now, most of the meandering students had disappeared, either to their class, the library, their dorm, or just left the campus."So—which high school did you attend exactly?" the boy asked. It seemed like he wanted to continue their conversation. Zelda took it as a good sign."Well—come to think of it, I've graduated early from Floria Academy," she answered."Oh really? I've graduated from Windfall High," he replied back. "Believe it or not, I did attend Floria Academy up until the middle of my sophomore year."Raising a brow, Zelda looked at the boy in bewilderment before nodding slowly. "That's cool I guess, but I've never seen you around. Then again, there were tons of students there."His face turned a bit red, as if embarrassed. "Um... I don't mean to come off as a creep, but come to think of it, I've recognized you during class. You're Zelda Nohansen, are you not?!"She was taken back a bit by his sudden response. Zelda couldn't help but had a funny feeling about this. She stared at him, almost beginning to question who he even was now."Y-yeah! Wait a minute—how do you even know my name? I haven't even told you it yet.""Well..." he began, "let's just say we happen to go way back. From your face expression, it seems that you really don't recognize me at all. Then again, I'm not the least bit surprised. A lot of former students from Floria Academy don't seem to recognize me either."Zelda started inching away from him, being a bit creeped out. This meeting had just turned from really cute into something spooky really fast. She tried her hardest to remember who he was, yet she was at loss for words. He already knew about her. If only she would had asked him for his name earlier before they started talking."Just who are you exactly!?" she questioned nervously.He shook his head and sighed. The boy didn't mean to put her in such a frightened state, but figuring how she didn't seem to recognize him at all, he expected she would react in such matter."You really don't recognize the kid you've used to mess around with, don't you? Perhaps maybe doing this might help jog your memory."He stared at her for a slight moment before taking a deep breath, puffing up his cheeks in the process. Zelda studied him for a few seconds before her jaw dropped."No... it can't be... CHROM?! CRYBABY CHROM?!"Chrom narrowed his gaze, crossed his arms and nodded. Link, Roy and Pit made their way towards the student union before catching glimpse of Zelda from afar. Link motioned for the other two to follow as they rushed over."I... You... You look so different... You lost so much..." Zelda paused for a minute, trying to figure out how to even word this in the nicest way possible. "You've lost so much extra baggage that I didn't even recognize you—you idiot."Chrom sighed in slight irritation. "You're always finding excuses to blame other people, aren't you Zelda? Have you once ever thought of that maybe something's wrong with you?!"Chrom's sudden shift in tone startled Zelda, causing her flinch. Before she realized it, he was the first one who managed to break down the wall which protected her. Link arrived in time, almost about to jump in, but Roy and Pit gave him a glance which warned him not to intervene."You've never once thought about how other people felt, haven't you? You blame your own regrets on others. Hell—I live with regret every single day of my damn life! Whether you like it or not, sometimes you need to realize that you're the one hurting people! Think about how many of them tried to make amends with you or gods, even befriend you, and look what you do?! You give them a nasty attitude and push them away! For fucks sake, they aren't going to understand why you hate them unless you tell them!"Chrom shook his head in disgust and sighed."Zelda, you're one of the most selfish people I've had ever met."Everyone's eyes winded while Zelda paused. Her body began quivering once more. Shaking her head, she dashed away from them. She just wanted to be left alone.As much as Link despised how Chrom worded it, he knew that she needed to hear them. One thing he forgot about though was—what if she ever ran into Vaati.Link sighed. The only thing he could do was think about Zelda.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Zelda couldn't believe the events which transpired just now. During this sudden moment, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. Part of her felt livid while another part desperately yearned for this, knowing that Chrom spoke nothing but the truth. Unfortunately, Zelda couldn't find the right words to say, sighing further in distress.
"Zelda, you're one of the most selfish people I've ever met."
She gave off another sigh which was resigned and weary. It signalized the end of deliberate effort and the beginning of incessant repentance. Zelda made her way towards a table near an oak tree and settled herself down. She folded her arms on the concrete table and laid her head down, hiding her shame from the world. She began mumbling to herself in a low voice. It was inaudible to everyone else but her."Maybe he's right… I've been so self-absorbed in my own misery, that not once did I even bother to realize how they felt before Sheik left… or even before his departure." A weak groan escaped from Zelda's lips. "Oh goddesses—how could I be so damn stupid not to realize this until now?"Zelda began pondering really hard about the entire ordeal. She recalled all of the times were she reassured herself that she would become more like her brother, but instead, she was nothing but a pitiable coward. First of all, she immediately placed the blame on the boys who couldn't defend themselves and second, not once did she ever bother to think about how they felt. Her mind was only preoccupied on one thing and one thing only—herself. She remembered how they were always friendly towards her in the past. Heck, Pit, Chrom and Roy asked her if she was feeling alright after Sheik's passing.She began feeling sick to her stomach—the prolonging anxiety began gorging at her abdomen, scavenging for any sustained guilt she harbored from within. Zelda knew those boys had gone though a lot of hardships, recalling the worst one being Vaati. Last thing she remembered, Vaati was pulled out of school long before Sheik's passing. Because of that, she never really knew of his whereabouts afterwards. She really hoped he was faring well. After Vaati's disappearance, she remembered how the other children instantly hopped onto the second weakest link, Chrom.Slowly but surely, it all started to make sense now. As Zelda pondered further, she realized if she were in Chrom's shoes, she wouldn't have forgave herself either. Zelda shook her head, trying to ignore all of the submerging thoughts attacking her continuously. When she finally hoped she was free, Zelda got up from the table, only to be slammed down once more.
"Zelda!"
Pausing for a just a slight moment, she looked around frantically for the source of the sudden voice. The only thing she could pinpoint was it belonged to that of a small child. Scoping her eyes around the campus, Zelda saw no sign of a small child anywhere in sight.
"Zelda!"
Panicking a little, Zelda sat back down at the table and placed her right hand over her head gently. She could have almost sworn she was starting to hallucinate. The more she thought about the child's voice, the further she realized it sounded familiar. However, only one question remained—just where did she hear it before? It took her a moment to even try to put a face on the voice. Shortly after, Zelda realized the voice belonged to no other than Chrom when he was much younger.She recalled how timid Chrom was in the past. Because of his meek nature, he had trouble making friends. It also didn't help in his favor that Chrom used to be much heavier back then which overall made him a very vulnerable target. He always tried his hardest to hide from the bullies, but they ended up finding him regardless. As Zelda continued to dwell on her own thoughts, it all started coming back to her.
"Zelda!"

A seven year old Zelda turned around and noticed Chrom running up to her. Looking puzzled, she wondered what he even wanted. Sighing, Zelda figured it was just best to get it done and over with. The sooner she heard him out, the sooner he would leave her alone. She crossed her arms, exchanged a look of annoyance and rolled her eyes. Chrom did not seem to get the hint.

"What is it now Chrom?"

"Um, well…" Chrom looked to the side while his feet rubbed against the down, kicking the mixture of freshly cut grass and dirt beneath him. He was always known for long, irregular pauses in his responses or stammering over his words. Chrom shuffled through the pockets of his trousers and took out a small piece of people which was neatly folded.

"Y-your secret admirer wa-wanted me to um... oh! Give this to you," he said.

Zelda glanced at the paper, shooting Chrom a small glare before looking at the note again before taking it.

"Um, thanks."

Chrom couldn't detect the lack of softness in her voice nor the look which conveyed bubbling aggravation. He avoided eye contact with Zelda at all costs. She seemed surprised that he was still even here. Usually he would give her the anonymous letters her secret admirer wrote for her and scurry away quickly before she was able to react. He glanced down at the ground once again before digging through his pockets. It was as if he had almost forgotten something. A small smile formed across his lips as he took out a small, nearly embroidered envelope and handed it over to Zelda.

"H-here—it's for you."

Opening up the card right away, it turned out to be an invitation to Chrom's birthday party. Zelda skimmed through the invitation before closing it, sighing softly afterwards.

"Chrom, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but nobody's going to go. You should know that by now, so why do you even bother trying?"

The card swayed side to side before colliding on the ground gently as Zelda dropped it without a second thought nor a single care in the world. She turned around and ran back towards her friends, leaving Chrom to his own devices. Chrom watched her take off, trying his best not to cry, but he couldn't help it.
"Wow… did I really do all of that?" she thought out loud. Zelda sighed, resting her head on the table. She hoped this sudden surge of driving down memory lane was done and over with. Just thinking back, she realized how much anyone could mature from such a short time frame. It seemed rather long, but it was small in comparison compared to those who were much older.Sighing heavily, Zelda began regretting more things which happened in the past. She quickly realized that this could have explained why Chrom blew up on her like that. If her brother was still around, this would have never happened. Yet he wouldn't have approved of her actions towards them either.As she thought the memories finally stopped swarming her, little did she know, her thoughts attacked her once again.
A thirteen year old Zelda sat at her desk during lunch break. She seemed to be far engulfed into a novel she was reading, just to be suddenly interrupted by her friends. Closing the book in defeat, her eyes met with both Peach's and Malon's gaze.

"Hey Zellie?" Peach asked.

"Yeah?"

"Malon has a question to ask you."

Tilting her head, Zelda wondered what Malon wanted to know. They had shared a bunch of things together, but perhaps that wasn't enough. Hopefully it wasn't something too personal.

"What is it?" Zelda answered.

Malon glanced to see if anyone was inside the classroom before grinning from ear to ear. Once she realized it was just them, she looked back at Zelda.

"Hey Zelda? I was wondering, do you like Chrom Iris by any chance?"

Zelda's face expression dropped swiftly from the mere thought of Chrom and shook her head in response. Not only was she asked this sort of question constantly by her friends, but also by her peers who barely even knew her. Part of her wished people would stop assuming she had a crush on him just because the teacher always paired him up with her out of pity. He was nothing but a scaredy cat anyways. Not once did he bother defending himself against his tormentors. Out of all things Zelda despised the most about Chrom, it was the fact he turned out to be her secret admirer. His lingering crush on her had yet to dwindle away. Pondering more about it, Zelda hated the fact that the letters I and N were somewhat close to each other, especially if no other student had a last name which started with anything between those letters. Unfortunately, this happened to be the case in Zelda's class. Her homeroom teacher assigned seats according by the students' surnames.

"No—of course not!" Zelda was even disgusted that Malon would assume such a thing. She was her friend! She should had known better than to insist Zelda harbored feelings for Chrom. "People ask me that question all of the time. What makes you think I even like him in the first place?! First of all, he's irritating and second, he's nowhere even near my type! I would never ever go out with him in a heartbeat. Not even if someone paid me a million dollars to."

It didn't help that both of their fathers happened to be influential, wealthy businessmen. So in turn, Zelda had constant run ins with Chrom for the majority of her life. Malon and Peach exchanged confused glances with one another before shrugging. Zelda excused herself for a moment and left the classroom to freshen herself up.

In the hallway, Zelda had came face to face with him. She felt as if the gods were cursing her, almost as if they were ushering her to go out with him. Chrom looked at her and blushed slightly. He clutched onto something behind his back.

"H-hi Zelda…" he murmured quietly. "I just wanted to give this to you. I thought you would like it."

He moved his hand, revealing he hid a gift box and a bouquet full of red, lavender and pink roses behind his back. Chrom handed them over to Zelda as she took it without thinking. Zelda knew the rose colors symbolized something—pink roses symbolized love, lavender roses symbolized love at first sight, and last but not least, red roses symbolized true love. Forcing herself to smile, Zelda was about to thank him until Chrom spoke.

"Hey Zelda—I was wondering with the dance coming up so soon, would you like to go with me?" he asked.

Before she could even answer, someone shoved Chrom into a nearby locker, causing him to whimper from the slight impact. Zelda turned to see who the perpetrators were. It turned out to be none other than Groose, Cawlin, and Strich. Chrom slowly got up, wincing a bit from the throbbing pain in his stomach.

"Hey Porky, didn't I tell you to say away from Zelda?" Groose lectured. Not once did Chrom give him the satisfaction of replying. Instead, he just frowned. Zelda sighed and looked over towards Groose and his posse.

"Groose, for the last time, I'm not going to the dance with you. And for the love of goddesses, please stop harassing Chrom. He's already pathetic as it is. Find yourself a better hobby and just—I should get going."

With those words, Zelda made haste towards the girls' restroom.
Another sigh escaped her lips. Zelda got up from the table, hoping this would be the last of her sea of regrets. She needed to stop living in the past and learn how to move on, starting with Sheik's death. For some reason, her mind wasn't lingering on about her brother anyone. Instead, it decided to change course, making Zelda remember all the things she had done to the other boys, specifically the one who told her off.Taking another stroll around the campus, Zelda couldn't help but crossed paths with another familiar face. However they didn't seem to budge, so Zelda did not notice their presence. After what felt like a couple of minutes, Zelda noticed that the sudden flashbacks had finally ceased to. Or so she thought.She exhaled softly, just to hear a voice echo afterwards.
"Nobody will ever love you!"
Instantaneously, Zelda knew whose voice that was—it was her own. Just when she believed the flashbacks were done and over with, Zelda placed her hands over her face, trying to force them to go away.However to no avail, she failed. It was like if it was trying to tell her something.
A fifteen year old Zelda walked down the corridor in Floria Academy alongside Marth, hanging up fliers for the annual cancer walk the student council had requested to be put up. Marth looked over to her and smiled.

"Hey, let me take over from here. Since you've been working hard all day, you deserve a break," he told her.

Zelda thanked Marth before handing him the remaining stack of papers. From there, she proceeded on and decided to freshen up before returning to class.

Prior to her own knowledge, Chrom meandered through the hallway as well. Today was his final day at Floria Academy. He pranced around, being ecstatic that he was finally leaving this hellhole. But if there was one thing he would truly miss, it was Zelda. Even though she's been joining the crowd lately, he still felt something for her.

"I cannot wait to start over at my new school!" Chrom told himself, beaming with confidence and radiating determination. "Perhaps I could change myself and make everyone surprised when I come back to show them that I'm no longer the hopeless fat kid they've picked on for so long," He grinned slight before slouching in utter disappointment.

"What am I even thinking? I know that'll never happen. Guess I'm forever bound to being stuck like this, so I should just give up my dreams of yearning for acceptance."

While Chrom continued wandering the hallways, he noticed Zelda. Smiling from one ear to another, he rushed over towards Zelda. He knew this was going to be his final chance to interact with her before he left.

"Zelda!"

She turned around at the mention of her name, just to notice it was only Chrom and rolled her eyes. Zelda placed her hand on her hips and gave him a look of disdain.

"Ugh—what do you want now? Can't you see that unlike you, some of us are actually busy?" she responded with an attitude.

Chrom frowned a bit in slight annoyance before he spoke.

"Jeez—I just wanted to say goodbye. Perhaps we could finally start dating and send letters to each other! It would be like we're pen pals, but instead we'll be lovers separated by distance!" he beamed.

Zelda gave off another disgruntled sigh. "Jeez, have you always been this socially awkward? I'd really hate to be the bearer of bad news, but for the last time, I'm not your damn friend! I never was! Stop giving me gifts, stop following me, and stop emailing me! Goddesses—I don't even know how you've even got ahold of my information, just leave me the hell alone!"
"Zelda…." Chrom's shoulders slumped slowly. "I...I...but— "
"Don't Zelda me! The only reason why I've even accepted your stupid gifts in the first place was because I felt sorry for you. So let me tell you something straight—I'll never, ever love you! No—nobody will ever love you. So you should just stop trying and realize that you're nothing more than a pathetic weakling. I now bid you good day!"

Zelda hugged and turned around, storming away, leaving a disheartened Chrom in tow. He felt tears building up in his eyes before wiping them away with his sleeve.

"No…" he told himself. "I'll not cry anymore. If I ever come back or meet them again, I swear I'll change. They won't be able to kick me around any longer!"
Zelda sighed as she stopped in her tracks. She couldn't even believe those cruel words managed to come out of her mouth, let alone tell someone that. What hurt her more was the fact that Zelda was doing quite the opposite of what she wanted to do. When her brother passed away, she reminded herself constantly to follow in his footsteps. But instead, she held onto all of these unnecessary grudges. They even went to the point of hurting those who only tried to comfort and befriend her.Zelda made her way towards the university library and stepped inside. From there she saw row after row of nearly lined up novels with their spines facing outward, being arranged in alphabetical order. Fiction, non-fiction, encyclopedias and foreign texts were all separated from one another. Comfortable arm chairs were scattered throughout the room while a sear of tables sat across from them in distance near the computer lab. As Zelda looked around, her eyes caught glimpse of a little built in coffee shop near the periodicals.First things first, Zelda decided to log onto one of the school computers to get her class acknowledgments out of the way. Afterwards, she made her way towards the coffee shop. She decided to order herself a mocha frappuccino before settling down at a small table near the café. The song on the satellite radio transitioned from Kacey Musgraves' "High Horse" to "Trying to Be Cool" from the band Phoenix.Taking a sip of her drink, Zelda decide to tune into the music, seeing how she had nothing else better to do. As she focused on the lyrics, she mainly picked up on two phrases from the song.Pondering about it, Zelda wondered if Chrom transformed his entire image and demeanor because of her. It could have been a possibility, but before she could dwell on it, the sound of scooting chairs broke her chain of thought.Zelda looked up and noticed Marth and Peach joining her."Hey Zellie! I'm finally back from my final class of the day! I was wondering of you'd like to join me for dinner and—"Marth held his hand up, cutting Peach off before she could even finish rambling. Peach crossed her arms in irritation. Meanwhile Marth leaned in and whispered in Peach's ear."Um Peach? I didn't mean to cut you off like that, but it looks like something's bother Zelda," he stated.Peach finally took note of Zelda's body language, and nodded her head slowly.Looking back at Zelda, Marth asked, "I couldn't help but notice that something's bothering you. Care to explain?"Zelda shook her head and sighed."Do you guys ever have one of those days where you brain just goes "Remember the time you did this?" Let's just say mine's been doing that a lot lately as of today. It doesn't help that I had a recent encounter with something and I just…" She couldn't find the right words to say. Wanting to make her happy again, Peach decided to swiftly change the subject to the cute boy from earlier, hoping it would cheer up Zelda."So—did you ever get to talk to the cute boy we were talking about earlier? You know, from your first class?" Peach asked.Zelda laughed nervously before she responded. "About that… I have something to tell you Peach. That guy… turned out to actually be Chrom—you know, from elementary school."Peach's eyes widened from the sudden, meanwhile Marth kept his mouth shut. It was as if something bothered him. Leaning over towards the table, Peach looked Zelda dead in the eye."No way—you're kidding, right?! How could that be Crybaby Chrom out of all people!? That man has a perfect body and… and…"Peach got up and threw her hands up in the air while her body slouched back down in her seat. Zelda sighed yet again."People change Peach… and to be honest, I feel like I should apologize to him. I mean, I was pretty rude to him back then, especially when he didn't even deserve it. Who knew what more he had on his plate besides the other kids harassing him."Peach stood silent while Marth was in agreement with Zelda."That's a good step. Besides, it's better to make amends with someone, rather than having feelings of hate linger on in life," he told Zelda."But wait a minute," Peach interrupted. "There's something that doesn't quite add up. Just how in the world did Chrom even obtain Zelda's contact information to begin with?""That's a really good question Peach, now that I think about it," Zelda added. While the two girls tried to speculate possibilities, Marth kept his mouth shut the entire time while his eyes shifted towards the left. Peach caught sign of this and poked him."Marth… do you have something to do with this?" she asked.Marth sighed and shook his head. "I was the one who gave Chrom your information Zelda."Zelda's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe someone whom she was close to give her information so freely. She wasn't sure how to feel, but she wanted to hear Marth out. Maybe he had good intentions on why he gave Chrom her contact information."Why did you do it Marth?" Zelda questioned gently."He's my cousin. Why wouldn't I try to help him," Marth replied. "He was already being physically abused by his father, and I couldn't stand to see him being so sad all of the time. Every time he talked about you, his eyes lit up with a spark of admiration. I felt that maybe helping him would lighten up his mood a bit, so I gave him your contact information."Not once did Zelda say anything. She couldn't believe it. Now she felt even worse, knowing that Chrom wasn't only just getting harassed at school but at home as well. And his father seemed so kind too. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised if one of the reasons Chrom moved away was to get out of a domestic situation.While Zelda continued contemplated, in the meantime, Peach glanced down at her phone and responded to a text message before returning back to the conversation."Hey guys," Daisy said to come meet her over at the daycare center she works at. She could really use our help right now, plus her boss said it was alright." Peach figured helping her cousin would help lighten the mood. Thankfully Marth and Zelda agreed to tag along.Zelda stepped inside the daycare center and glanced around. There were separate vocations for the children based off their age range and group. She followed Peach along with Marth as they made their way towards the three to four year olds section. They stepped inside. The room was reminiscent of a small classroom, except for all of the toys aligned in shelves and on the floor. The three were greeted immediately by Daisy and another dirty blonde haired girl."Hey guys! Glad you can make it," Daisy said. "Oh yeah—before I forget, let me introduce you to my friend and coworker Ilia."The group exchanged their hellos with one another, even getting to know each other in the process. Two young boys ran up to Daisy, glancing at the other grownups with curious eyes."Miss Daisy," the blond haired boy asked. "Who are they?""Well Lucas, they're my friends," she answered."Ooh—are they grownups like you?" asked his brother Claus.She nodded. After Daisy answered their questions, the two twins resumed back to playing with each other. They grabbed some Legos as they decided to build a city. Daisy turned around and continued her conversation. They talked discussed their schedules along with their opinions of their teachers thus far. All was going well until another child ran up to her. He wore a red cap along with a yellow and blue striped t-shirt."Miss Daisy," the boy whined, "Lucy hit me!"Daisy excused herself while she knelt down and sighed. "Ness, where did she hit you?"Ness pointed at the small red mark on his shoulder. Daisy got up for a second, not only to stretch his legs but to look for the culprit as well."Lucy, come over here!""Coming!"Peach and the others glanced over and observed Daisy. They were curious to see how well she handled her job. After all, Daisy wanted to be an elementary school teacher. A little girl with blue hair which was pulled back by a white hairband ran up to her. She stuck her tongue out at Ness before looking at Daisy."Yes Miss Daisy?" Lucy answered sweetly."Why did you hit Ness?" Daisy asked gently."Well Ness said that my friend wasn't my boyfriend!" Lucy whined."It's true," Ness butted in.Daisy shook her head and scolded both of them. On top of it, she made Ness and Lucy apologize to one another. After doing so, the two children resumed their usual activities while Daisy went back to join her friends."Aw, she has her first crush already! That's so adorable," Peach exclaimed happily.The group of college students resumed their conversation. Since it was the afternoon, parents started coming in and out, picking up their children. Daisy and Ilia would take turns updating the parents on their child's progress. Eventually the door opened as it revealed Link, whom happened to be wearing a baby carrier. A young infant who looked to be about sixteen weeks old rested inside, looking around. He happened to have the same shade of blue hair as Lucy, except that his eyes were brown.Glancing up, Lucy noticed Link and grinned wide."Link!' she beamed and ran up to him. Link ruffled her hair for a bit before getting Daisy and Ilia. The other three got up as well. Zelda was surprised that he was even here. Peach took note of Link and nudged Zelda on the side of her stomach, giving her a wink as she hinted towards another cute boy for her. Oddly enough, she was insisting that Zelda and Link would make a great couple."Hi Link!" Ilia greeted. "I take it that Lucy's father sent you to pick her and Morgan up again?""Yep. He said he was feeling a bit under the weather, so he decided to take a nap before heading out to work. Left me with the kids again like he always does," Link replied, chuckling a bit.Daisy would begin filling Link on Lucy's progress. Meanwhile Lucy looked fondly at Link. Zelda couldn't help but noticed she was infatuated with her babysitter. She most likely saw him as older brother figure or a second father. Overall, Zelda found it to be quite adorable. She figured she would first try to make amends with Link and even help him after he was done talking.Lucy frowned a bit, glancing at her brother and how close he was to her "boyfriend." Ilia looked over and knelt down. She was curious to ask the three year old a simple question."Hey Lucy, what do you think about your baby brother?""I like him, but he smells sometimes," Lucy exclaimed, plugging in her nose. She had most likely stumbled upon Link or her father changing Morgan's diaper at some point.Ilia chuckled and glanced over towards the grownups. "Kids say the darnest things, right?"They nodded in unison before Link made his way out, holding Lucy's hand. Zelda followed him in pursuit."Link wait!"He turned around and noticed Zelda. Link grinned a bit. It was almost if he had a plan of some sorts in mind."Now you're talking to me normally. So anyways, what's up?" Link said."I just wanted to apologize for my actions earlier… I've shouldn't have blamed you and acted childish. As a matter of fact, I think you were telling the truth," Zelda said.Link nodded and ruffled Zelda's hair a bit."Eh? That's all in the past now. Hey—how about you come over to the townhouse I live in. It's not too far from here, plus it's pretty quiet over there. I live with three other guys if you don't mind. One should be at work, as for the other two, I wouldn't know. So, how about it?" Link offered.Zelda thought about it for a moment before nodding. Lucy frowned at this, seeing Zelda as a threat.She glanced around the neighborhood and observed the lovely townhouses while Link dug through his pockets, removed the key and opened the door. She would step inside and take off her shoes near the entrance. Zelda was surprised at how clean it was and caught sight of the children's toys being organized. She helped Link out in the process, grabbing Morgan out of his hands while she placed him inside the play crib. Morgan happened to fall asleep, which was always a good thing.Lucy looked at Zelda, frowning the entire time before storming off into the bedroom, as if to get something.Zelda glanced in her direction before she shrugged. She decided to make herself at home, plopping herself down on the couch. She took note of the large flat screen TV accompanied with a couple of gaming systems nearby. A coffee table divided both the couch and the TV. After she surveyed the living room, Zelda looked at Link."Hey Link? What's with the children's toys?" she asked."Oh that?" he answered. "Let's just say that those kids live here too. One of my roommates is their father, whom I've happen to known since the first year I've started here.""That's interesting. Say, about Lucy—is that her actual name or is it her nickname?"Before Link even answered, he quickly realized he forgot to offer his guest a drink. He excused himself for a moment and went to retrieve a glass of water. Afterwards, he went back into the living room, handed Zelda the glass of water as he sat down next to her on the sofa."Sorry about that," Link apologized. "Now anyways, let me answer your question. Lucy's just her nickname. Her actual name is Lucina.""Lucina?" Zelda leaned in, interested. "That's a beautiful name. If you don't mind me asking, how old are they?""Lucy's about three while Morgan's only sixteen weeks old."Before she could interrogate any further, Zelda was interrupted by Lucina, whom seemed to be a bit miffed that she was even over here in the first place."Hey Link? Who is she?" Lucina asked, pointing at Zelda."Oh her?" Link wrapped his right arm around Zelda, causing her to slightly jump. "She's an acquaintance of mine. Her name's Zelda. Now Lucy, remember your manners and be nice to Zelda, okay?""Aw, okay," she answered, pouting. Lucina took out a sheet of paper from the desk nearby and handed it over to Link. "Look what I drawed today!""Wow! That's really nice Lucy! I'm sure you father would love this when he gets home. Now, how about we put on a movie?""Yeah!"Lucina ran up to the cabinet, opened it up and began scoping through countless blu-rays. After she found her favorite cartoon movie, she took it out and closed back the cabinet, running back to Link. He grabbed the Blu-ray from her and set it up for her. From there, Lucina's eyes were a hundred percent fixated on the TV.Zelda heard a sound coming from upstairs as the indigo haired man from earlier made his way downstairs, holding his car keys. He looked over and noticed Link and Zelda."Hey Link, I'm heading out now. Boyd wants to show me something apparently and—hey, who's that?" he asked."Oh her? That's Zelda," Link responded. He then added, "Zelda, this is Ike. He's one of my other roommates."They both waved at one another before Ike teased Link with a grin, thinking he was trying to get something started with her and left. He told Link he would fill him in on Boyd's discovery when he returned. Link and Zelda decided to try and get to know one another, exchanging phone numbers, emails, Facebook pages and even their discords while Lucina watched the movie. About two hours later, the door opened again. Zelda wondered if Ike had finally returned or if it was one of Link's other roommates. Lucina got up swiftly and ran towards the door which gave Zelda an easy hint. Morgan was awake by now, sitting on top of Link's lap."Daddy you're home! And you've brought pizza!" Lucina chirped happily.Footsteps were heard, approaching the kitchen first to place the pizza on the counter. Zelda looked towards Link, assuming that Morgan and Lucina's father was back. She was curious to see who their father was. Seeing how Lucina didn't return, Zelda assumed that her father served Lucina her meal. More footsteps were heard as they made their way towards the living room."Hey Link, I've brought some pizza home for dinner if you don't mi—"All of the sudden, the room got quiet real fast. Zelda froze as she came face to face with Chrom. The entire thing she could only think about in the back of her mind was her little theory once again.
"Is he the father of those two kids? If I remember correctly, his birthday's on May 27th, which means he should be around the same age as me, that being twenty. If that little girl is only three, that means…"
"Hey Chrom—is everything alright?" Another figure Zelda didn't recognize joined them. His hair was a mixture of white and warm grey as they wore a black hoodie.Link got up from the couch, holding Morgan. He made his way towards the kitchen. Before he left, he only said one thing."I'm going to get some pizza now. While at it, feel free to chat it up."Link decided to drag the other boy with him before his departure, leaving Zelda alone with Chrom. There was an awkward silent between the two. Zelda figured she should probably get going before things escalate again. Chrom just stared at her as both of their eyes met with one another. Observing Chrom's eyes closely, Zelda could see the pain inside them, noticing that he was obviously upset about everything that's ever transpired between them."Hey Chrom, listen—I did a lot of thinking recently, and I just wanted to say I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to you. I didn't realize how much I was hurting you. To be honest, I don't even blame you if you don't forgive me for my stupid actions. In fact, I wouldn't forgive myself either," Zelda said.Chrom paused for a moment, thinking to himself as he let her words sink in. After a minute or two had passed, a small smile formed upon his lips."I forgive you. To be honest, I felt that was being too harsh earlier. I didn't mean to but dwelling on the past ain't going to help us now, isn't it?" Chrom chuckled a bit at his response."Yeah, you're right."Zelda smiled softly as well. She was glad that he was able to forgive her. Perhaps tomorrow she'll look for Roy or Pit to make amends with as well. Her mind dwindled back to her little theory again before being interrupted by Link shouting across from the kitchen."Oh yeah—before I forget to tell you, guess who called today and said they're coming over?!""Is it—oh gods." Chrom sighed, remembering that he should had been used to this by now. Speak of the devil, the doorbell rang as he told Zelda to answer it for him. She nodded a bit, seeing how he offered her to stay for dinner.Zelda opened the door, just to be greeted by a tall, well-built brunet. He dressed very sharp, reminding Zelda of a strict authority figure. Many people would probably mistake him for being much older due to the way he's dressed, but she could tell that he was fairly young. He was most likely seven or eight years older than they were at the most. She recognized him as the boyfriend of Chrom's older sister or "nanny" as he called him, Frederick.Frederick stepped inside and greeted everyone. He seemed to recognize her from a long time ago."I see that you've two managed to run into each other again. I remember all of the times Chrom used to reminisce about you milady. He called you pet names which ranged from silent princess to even light maiden. Ah, those were the times," he stated, smiling.Chrom's face turned a deep red color from all of the second hand embarrassment he was receiving. "Gods Frederick… did you really have to tell her that?!""Of course. While at it…"Frederick started cleaning the living room while Zelda blinked. The two exchanged glances as she giggled a bit while they made their way into the kitchen. They joined the others for dinner as Frederick finally met up with them, dusting Link, Zelda and the other boy off before standing next to Chrom. He greeted Lucina before diverting his attention towards Zelda."Perhaps you should join Chrom sometime for his daily fitness regime," Frederick suggested.Zelda laughed a little bit. He was similar to her roommate. Perhaps if he and Mei had met, they would talk each other's ears off about the importance of fitness and daily exercise."Um, let me think about it."She could tell that Chrom was getting embarrassed by all of this. Meanwhile Link and his other roommate chuckled, finding it amusing. Zelda assumed after Chrom left Floria Academy five years ago, Frederick placed him on a strict exercise and dieting plan, which explained his now well-toned body. Realizing that it was getting late, Link offered to walk Zelda back to her dorm. He made a mental note to introduce her to his other roommate later. Lucina frowned in the background while Link and Zelda left."Hey Link, I had a great time tonight. But I have one question to ask you—did you plan this whole thing?""Well, maybe not the Frederick part, but perhaps. I felt that you two should make amends with each other and look where it took you. Now you only have two left to go!" Link exclaimed.Zelda smiled slightly as they made it to the dormitory. Link parted ways with Zelda before she entered her dorm room. When she stepped inside, it appeared that Mei wasn't back yet. Zelda smiled as she decided to relax for a bit before calling it a night.However when her mind thought about Chrom's children, her smile faltered. From what she grasped from mere observation, he appeared to be a single father. Not once did she hear anyone mention anything about the children's mother. Then it suddenly hit her.Zelda wondered if her words really did affect Chrom that much.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The air was thick with the aroma of freshly brewed java. Zelda held onto the glass, pouring some of it inside a round mug accompanied with some sugar and flavored creamer. Shortly after, she gave it a gentle stir, allowing the robust flavors to intertwine in a swirl. Since her only class of the day didn’t start until noon, she was able to unwind and relax for a bit. It was one of the main reasons why she had gotten up a bit later than yesterday. She grabbed her mug, pressed it against her lips, and took a sip of the coffee. A fleeting expression on Zelda’s face demonstrated dissatisfaction, yet soon she was smiling broadly as if nothing was wrong. She always disliked taking the first sip of hot auto drip coffee. It often scourged her tongue and left it with a grainy, sandpaper like texture for the remainder of the day.With her mug still clasped between her fingers, Zelda made her way towards the small table nearby and took a seat. A few minutes later, her roommate stepped out of the bathroom. Mei adjusted her ponytail and smiled when she saw Zelda up and about.“Morning sunshine,” she greeted playfully. “What’s up?”“Nothing much, just drinking coffee,” Zelda responded coolly. She took another sip from her mug before placing it back down.“I’m more of a tea drinker myself but mind if I join you?” Mei began setting herself up a cup of coffee before joining Zelda. She rested her elbow on top of the table and placed her head on her hand gently. Her gaze was fixated on Zelda while Mei tried figuring out what she wanted to say or how to word it even.“So,” she began, her eyes swaying towards the side of the room, “while on the way to my evening class yesterday, I caught sight of some guy dropping you off at the dormitory. Is he your friend or something?”Zelda shook her head rather quickly and waved her hands frantically. “No, no. He’s just someone I’ve met prior in elementary school, that’s all. Link’s nothing more than a mere acquaintance.”Yes, that was it. He was simply a mere acquaintance and nothing more. Link described her as such with the exact same words to Chrom’s daughter yesterday, right? They couldn’t had been friends just yet. It would had been too awkward to jump straight towards friendship immediately given their preceding history. After all, she had finally just made amends and reconciled with him. There was no way she was going to make things much more awkward than they needed to be. For now, Zelda figured it was best to view Link from a neutral standpoint.“Link huh?” A small grin formed upon Mei’s lips, her eyes now trying to pierce into Zelda’s thoughts. She slightly inched closer towards her yet kept in mind already small distance between them. “You know, you two would make quite the couple. If I hadn’t asked you about him, I would had honestly mistook him for your boyfriend or something.”Zelda’s body jolted slightly from the sudden shock from the mention of the word boyfriend, causing the table to wobble a bit. If she had taken a sip, she would had spat out her drink immediately. The thought of her relationship with Link being mistaken as something more threw her completely off course and into the center. In fact, the unexpected startlement almost caused her to drop her mug. Zelda hadn’t known him long enough past redemption to even consider him a friend. Just the thought of them dating was completely foreign to her. A small yet nervous giggle escaped her lips. She fanned her hand towards Mei’s direction.“Jeez Mei, you’re starting to remind me of my friend Peach.” What Zelda didn’t need was yet another person telling her which boy suits her best. Unbeknownst to the naked eye, a relationship of sorts had never crossed her mind nor did she put much heed into them. For now, all the thing Zelda wanted to do was focus on her studies and her education alone. Besides, there would be time to think about the merriment of complex relationships and marriage commitments later down the road. Zelda wanted to focus solely on the present before even coming close to assessing about her future.“Oh, I just thought you two would make a cute couple is all. I mean, both of you share similar hair colors, heights and who knows what else you two have in common,” Mei exclaimed. She didn’t seem bummed by Zelda’s response. Instead, she decided to leave her be for now rather than press on about the subject matter. Mei glanced over at the clock near the sink and looked at the time.“Shoot! As much as I would love to sit and chat with you some more Zel, I really need to start heading out. My class starts in about thirty minutes.” Mei excused herself and hastily made her way towards the sink, poured out the remaining coffee from her mug and rinsed it. When she made her way back towards the table, she extended her arm, grabbing her knapsack and her textbook before heading out the door.Zelda furrowed her eyebrows for a moment from the sudden conversation, yet quickly gave off a relieved sigh. With Mei out of the dorm, she was finally able to focus on her own thoughts without any distractions. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Mei—she very much enjoyed her company, but sometimes she could be a bit too energetic in the morning. At least when it came to prying into the affairs of others.She began tapping her chin, trying to prompt her memory on her schedule for today. Recalling how her atonement with Chrom had smooth sailing despite a rocky start, it still astonished Zelda how easily forgiving he was. It was something she didn’t expect or even felt deserving of such sudden forgiveness. But what was done was done and instead of constantly obsessing over the past, she needed to leap back into the present.“Hmm, with Chrom out of the way, that just leaves two more people to apologize to, but the question is who?” Zelda stroked her chin, trying to figure out who to make amends with next. Shortly after, she had decided on doing whoever she spotted first between Roy and Pit. Who knows, it might go just as smoothly as her apology to Chrom. As long as she was able to think on the bright side of things, anything was possible.Zelda got up and rinsed her coffee mug. She grabbed a nearby sponge, splattered a bit of lavender scented dish soap on top and turned on the faucet. From there, she began cleaning the mugs before setting them aside to dry. Afterwards, she grabbed the nearest dish towel and dried off her hands and folded it gently near the sink. Zelda grabbed her backpack near the warm grey rounded wedge arm sofa and left her dorm to start her day.Zelda glanced over at the oak tree she recalled meeting Peach and Daisy at yesterday morning. There it was, perched on top of a hillock with no one to accompany it with stories or droning gossip. Instead, it silently observed all the faculty and students who passed nearby in peace. The first thing Zelda estimated was that the two cousins were either in class, didn’t have a class on Tuesday and Tuesday, or they did not start until later. Despite wishing for their company and encouragement, she figured it was for the best. This alone would allow her to focus on her objective rather than get sidetracked.Still feeling the sudden high from yesterday, Zelda figured she would easily be able to reconcile with both Roy and Pit with ease. Besides, there wasn’t much she had done to them that she could even recall. The only real outlier out of the trio was Chrom, otherwise, the other two were a complete shoo in for forgiveness.She continued wandering the campus, scoping for any signs of Roy or Pit. Either one of them would suffice. Soon enough, Zelda managed to spot one of them in a sea of traveling students. She caught sight of Pit conversing alongside a woman with a short stature. What made them pop out from the rest of the ongoing crowd was her exceedingly lengthy platinum blonde hair which was neatly contained in a ponytail. Zelda pondered how one could maintain such hair lengths with great ease. It was already tough for her to maintain her own long hair, so she could only imagine how painfully difficult it was to manage such tedious hair lengths without worrying about the excessive matted knots and untidy tangles and frayed split ends. Just the thought of dealing with such tediousness monstrosity mortified her.Smiling from one ear to another, Zelda figured she could make amends with Pit. Slowly but surely, she started walking towards Pit’s direction. Nothing was going to stop her now or so she had thought. Instead, Zelda had come to an abrupt stop in her tracks. In front of her path stood the mirror image of Pit—well, almost Pit if it wasn’t for the differentiating hair and eye color.Instead of sharing Pit’s warm and welcoming blue eyes, they were crimson, the color of anger and ravaging flames. Meanwhile his hair was as black as a crow’s feather in contrast to Pit’s, yet shared the same sleek, messy style as the latter. The only things which differed between the two was their apparel (Pit wore brighter colors while his clone preferred muted colors) and their mobility aids (Pit utilized a wheelchair, meanwhile his carbon copy used a cane). Other than that, their resemblance to one another was uncanny.His eyes glowered with inflamed revulsion as they laid eyes on Zelda. The boy’s intensive gaze alone was enough to almost paralyze her. She could almost feel the tension rising out if it wasn’t for them being glued to a public setting surrounded by hundreds, thousands even. Zelda couldn’t recall if Pit had a brother or a sibling even. No matter how hard she tried to remember, nothing came up. Was he ever even brought up? Perhaps his doppelganger was a cousin or distant relative. Whatever relation he held, he didn’t seem to be fond of her. Like at all.“Hey.” No matter how appealing it was, even his rough voice was enough to strike formidable foes down with fear. He slowly inched towards Zelda, causing her to take two steps back. “Do me a favor and stay away from Pit.”“Wait—what!?” Zelda wished she could exchange those words yet she couldn’t muster a thing. Instead, she kept her mouth shut. The last thing she needed was another chaotic scene like yesterday. The impudent lookalike noticed her dumbfound expression and chuckled under his breath. A sly smirk made its way across his lips.“He doesn’t even like you. As a matter of fact, he actually hates you. So, it would be best if you stay out of his way from now on.” With those words, the boy turned his back on Zelda and left her to her own devices. He didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of defending herself. And the results showed tremendously. Not once did she usher a word or question why. She just accepted it.Zelda blinked, her mouth pursed but slightly open and loose. Her eyes were preoccupied towards the boy’s departure while his words basked within her memory. Shortly after, she blinked and refocused herself. Now wasn’t the time to ponder whether Pit truly despised her or not.
“Okay then… might as well go make reparations with Roy instead.”
Not wanting to run into Pit’s clone again, Zelda faced the other direction and went to look for Roy instead. Hopefully he wasn’t accompanied by someone menacing either. That was the last thing she needed on her plate—more conflict than necessary. Now one question remained—where was Roy exactly. She had stumbled upon him by chance yesterday, so Zelda figured she might have to meander around the campus in search of him. Thankfully luck was on her side today and cut her journey short.She discovered Roy stepping outside of the bookstore. He didn’t seem to be with anyone so Zelda took this as a good sign. Without putting much thought, her body began having a mind of its own, making her slowly make her way towards Roy. Before her journey could come to an end, Zelda blinked and stared off into space.
A six year old Zelda kept glancing back and forth at the circular clock near the bulletin board. She was eagerly waiting for recess to finally start. Soon enough, her prayers were finally answered. Her first grade teacher had ordered for all of her students to neatly align themselves in a straight line from first names A to Z. Zelda instantly went to the back of the line and followed the rest of the students in tow outside to the playground or what she saw it as, a thirty minute freedom from classwork.

She quickly ran towards the swing set, however stopped in her tracks. Not far from here, she could overhear some pointless name calling going on.

“Hey freckle face,” one taunted. “Why are you so short?”

Roy refused to answer. Instead, he just wanted the mean boys to leave him alone and let him drink from the water fountain in peace. He didn’t want to give the bullies the satisfaction of a proper response.

“Don’t you know that ginger kids are like short,” another boy chimed in.

Zelda rolled her eyes, finding their insults insufferably pathetic. Who in the world bullies a child anyways because of their genetic makeup anyways? Not once did Zelda actually think of telling the teacher about them. Instead, her gaze went back to the swing that Peach saved for her.
Zelda refocused herself back into reality once again. She thought the whole tirade of flashbacks finally ceased itself but it was too good to be true. Perhaps she harbored much more regrets hidden under a façade of emotional stability. If there was one factor she noticed, it was that Roy’s torment was much tamer in comparison to the others. In addition, he actually had friends outside of Sheik to confide to. The same would also go for actually fighting back his bullies as well.While Zelda could dwell on and on about what key characteristics separated Roy from the rest, now wasn’t the time for that. Instead, she reminded herself she had a task she needed to complete. Coincidentally, Roy seemed to be heading in her direction. He exchanged a small wave with Zelda, smiling broad as usual. If there was one thing that he was, it was definitely cheerful. Well, his upbeat demeanor was definitely contagious, that’s for sure. Zelda caught herself waving back subconsciously with a small grin.“Good morning Zelda!” He stopped in his tracks and stood next to her while all the other students passed by without a care in the world. They were preoccupied with their own thoughts and feelings to even notice a disruptive flow in traffic.Zelda blinked for a moment. What surprised her was that despite all which transpired between them, Roy didn’t harbor any ill feelings towards her. Then again, she had never hurt him unintentionally but still, she couldn’t help but find it kind of suspicious“Morning Roy,” she responded back. “How are you?” Observing him, the first object of interest which captured her eye was a black art portfolio case strapped over his shoulder. Strange, she would had never taken Roy for the artsy type but nevertheless, not once did she ever get to know them on a personal level. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to start now.“Well…” Roy tilted his head slightly and glanced up at the sky before diverting his attention back on Zelda. “Let’s just say my morning was almost chaotic. To keep a long story short, I’ve almost overslept and missed the bus.” He raised his arm up, scratched the tip of his back and partially chuckled at his own mishap. Shortly after, he readjusted his posture and brushed himself off. “Besides that, how’re you faring up this morning?”Zelda tilted her head a bit, tapping her chin as her brain constructed together the chain of events which partook. “I’m doing great but something odd happened this morning. Let’s just say I spotted Pit earlier and when I went to go talk to him, someone got in the way, and he basically told me to get lost. What I find really peculiar was how much he resembled Pit—well, minus the eye and hair color.”For a slight moment, Zelda could had sworn she had saw Roy’s once warm face transform itself into a narrow, sullen glare. To admit, his sudden shift from hot to cold was rather unexpected. Guess there was much more to Roy than meets the eye.“Don’t pay any attention to him. He’s an ass,” Roy warned her. He seemed a bit hesitant, biting his lip even as he didn’t want to get into any more detail. Soon enough, his facial expression shifted once more, returning back to its signature friendliness.Zelda slowly bobbed her head up and down, leaving it at that. She didn’t feel like intervening and learning more about that impudent jerk. On a quick whim, she decided to change the subject into a much more positive one.“So,” she began, pushing her hair back a bit. “I couldn’t help but notice you were carrying an art portfolio. If were being honest, I actually never took you for the artsy type. I take it you’re majoring in art?”A small giggle escaped his lips as he shrugged. “Well, something like that. This might sound really corny, but I’m actually majoring in both art and psychology. I plan on becoming an art therapist in the future. A huge reason behind my motivation is that I want to follow in my father’s footsteps, you know?”“That’s really nice to hear. I really mean it.” She beamed wide. Zelda found the sentiment behind Roy’s double major extremely sweet. She recalled his father’s occupation being mentioned in the past, with him being a psychologist. So, Roy’s sudden motivation towards his goal was crystal clear. It must had been nice for him to be following in his father’s footsteps without any restraint whatsoever. Not being told what to do or how to do it, having his interests trashed since they don’t align with what his father wanted, etcetera. Zelda took a deep breath and exhaled slowly in defeat. Thankfully it wasn’t loud enough for Roy to hear, otherwise he most likely would had pried into her private life.“Say, one of my first assignments in my art history class is to partake in a scavenger hunt inside the school’s art gallery, and I was wondering if you would like to join me.”“Sure, I’d love to.” Truth be told, Zelda accepted Roy’s offer not because she needed to apologize to him, but it also gave her an excuse to explore more of the campus. Not to mention it would also allow for her to get to know Roy more as well.“Anyways, I don’t mean to cut off your train of thoughts or anything, but I have to get going soon. Let’s meet up at the gallery building around two.” Roy began walking in the opposite direction, parting ways with Zelda, not before waving farewell. Zelda waved back and decided to spend the rest of her time in the library.If there was one characteristic that Zelda wasn’t surprised about, it was Roy’s optimism. In spite of what he had went through when he was younger, not once did Roy let the vicious taunts or the unwarranted harassment get to him. Well—except for one particular moment back in second grade.
The teacher walked over to the back of the classroom while her students were deeply engrossed with their math assignment. She gathered a bin full of colored construction paper, stickers, poms, googly eyes—anything which drew attention to the eyes of a child and placed it onto an empty table. Next, she proceeded to grab another bin full of colored pencils, crayons, markers and safety scissors and sat it next to the other bin. After going back and forth between bins full of various arts and craft supplies, the teacher quickly set up a crafting station before heading back towards the front of the classroom.

She held her chin up high, raised her arms, smiling as she managed to grab the undivided attention of her students. Their big eyes stared at her with curiosity, pondering what was next after their session of addition and subtraction with double and triple digits. Clasping her hands together, the teacher rocked back and forth gently with her legs.

“Class, I would like for you all to put your classwork inside your desk for now. For those who have yet to finish, you guys may continue it later after we’re done with this fun activity.” The students nodded silently as they began doing what they were told. Desks were cleared of any school related work and utensils whatsoever. Shortly after, the teacher continued her little lecture.

“Anyways, since it is Friday and the weekend’s just coming around the corner, I thought we would do something very special,” she said. A young girl raised her hand eagerly.

“What special thing are we doing Mrs. Applebee?” she asked innocently.

“Well Sarah,” Mrs. Applebee replied, “since Mother’s Day is this Sunday, I’ve decided you all should do a fun activity for the time being. I would love all of you to make cards for your guys’ mothers for her special day. Feel free to use any of the materials over at the crafting station for all your creative needs.”

The class cheered as they rushed over and began grabbing whatever materials they needed. Some took out their own sets of crayons and colored pencils while others borrowed theirs from the teacher. Zelda grabbed a white piece of construction paper and went back to her desk. She took out some of her crayons and placed them on the right side. But first things first, she began drawing a rough outline with her pencil before adding any of the colorful details.

While drawing, Zelda became curious and peeked at the artistic designs of her peers. However, one of the things she also took notice of was Roy staring down at his desk. There wasn’t any trace of colorful papers or art utensils on top of it. Instead, it was blank and lacking any life, just like the expression he wore.

As Mrs. Applebee scavenged the room to check up on her students’ progress, she noticed Roy gazing down at his desk with no work materials. She walked towards his desk and knelt down.

“Roy,” she questioned gently. “Is something wrong?”

Roy moved his head slightly—it was enough for him for make eye contact with his teacher, yet his shoulders drooped. “I—I don’t have a mother,” he began. His words were soft and hollow, devoid of any warmth inside. “She… she died after I was born.”

“Do you have a stepmother at least?”

Roy shook his head and sighed.

A stubby child with a nasally voice overhead their conservation and snickered. “Roy has no mom!? What a loser.”

“I know right,” a lanky boy chimed in.

“Who knows, maybe he killed her,” a girl added.

“That wasn’t very nice of you of say,” Mrs. Applebee scolded. “I want you three to apologize to Roy this instant!”

“We’re sorry,” the three children said in unison. Their apology in turn delighted Mrs. Applebee as she went back to continue her conversation with Roy. Zelda knew their apologies were not directed at Roy, but instead the teacher. There was no way any of those children would ever tell him they were sorry.

When a few more minutes passed, it was time for recess. Mrs. Applebee told the children to stop their arts and crafts and take a break with their second recess. All of the students lined up near the door and headed outside with their teacher to join the other second grade classes outside. Zelda scavenged the grassy fields for Peach, yet stumbled upon the same children plus a few others harassing Roy for not having a mother. She watched them as they called him names, blamed his mother’s death on him and so on.
That was the only occurrence Zelda recalled where Roy wasn’t himself. Otherwise, he was usually full of energy and could care less what others thought of him. To admit, Zelda was a bit jealous of Roy. Not only was he able to always look on the brighter side of things, but also not once did his father sugarcoat or dodge the question of his mother’s death. The same went for actually acknowledging her existence instead of letting it stain the pages of history. This was most likely why Roy didn’t seem to harbor any ill feelings towards her.Zelda got up from the cushioned armchair near the café and decided to browse some books. Perhaps some reading to pass the time would suffice. She would begin browsing book after book, checking out titles, reading the synopsis to even the first paragraph to see if it piqued her interests. Soon enough, she stumbled upon the perfect book. She extended her arm over, reached for the book and removed it from the shelf.The cover of the book consisted of an ancient, robotic like creature with a massive form, shaped like a with a cylinder on top. It had six mechanical legs and a coral-esque designs, meanwhile its eye illuminated a soft blue glow. To be honest, the mechanical design reminded Zelda of Jomon pottery. She propped the book open, turned to the first chapter, and started reading it. With her being glued to the novel, Zelda paid no heed to her surroundings and accidentally bumped into someone without realizing it. Thankfully no one was hurt nor did anyone tumble over.“Hey! You should be more careful next time!” the voice alerted her with caution.“S-sorry!” Zelda closed the book and went to take a look of who she accidentally collided into. A familiar face with head full of whiteish grey hair stared at her before exchanging a small smile. She recognized him as the other boy from the townhouse Link and Chrom currently reside in. Truth be told, Zelda knew little to nothing about him besides the fact that he was friends with Link (and Chrom obviously).“Wait a minute.” The familiar stranger observed Zelda, stroking his chin before an imaginary light bulb went off in his head and snapped his fingers. “I recognize you now—you’re the girl Link brought over yesterday. What’s your name again, um—oh yeah—Zelda! That’s it!” He swallowed, pausing for a moment before laughing nervously. “Whoops—where are my manners. I have yet to introduce myself and I already know you by name. Anyways, the name’s Daraen!”Zelda clutched onto the book and giggled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Daraen. What brings you over here in the library?”“Same reason as you,” he answered quickly. “You see, when I’m not doing anything practical or of interest, I tend to read for hours on end. As a matter of fact, I actually love doing research!”“Me too!” It was nice to meet another person who adored research—well, when it came to subject matters of interest.“Say,” Daraen asked, his eyes completely fixated on her book. “What are you reading anyways?”Zelda handed the book over and Daraen skimmed through it. He glanced at the cover, smiled and proceeded to hand it back to her. “Mysteries of the Guardians—oh, that’s a good read! Doctor Robbie’s research is definitely fascinating, especially if you’re into ancient technology or history in general. If that’s your thing, you’re going to really enjoy it!”Zelda beamed wider. “I’m really glad. Actually, I might check out this book before my next class. Believe it or not, I’ve always been fascinated by the guardians and how they functioned. Same with the ancient shrines linked to their technology.”Daraen crossed his arms, allowing them to rest on his chest while he clung onto her every word. He was attuned to their conversation. “That’s good. After you finish reading that book, I’d suggest checking out reading the books on ancient Sheikah technology written by Purah Nolle.”“I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” Zelda took out her phone, swiped it upwards, typed in the passcode, and tapped on the notes icon. She proceeded to make a little remainder for herself in the future to check out those books. The two talked on and on about ancient Sheikah technology for about twenty minutes before transitioning the subject to something more casual.“Hey Zelda, want to know a little fun fact about Link?”Zelda tilted her head to the side, interested. She didn’t understand it, but she wanted to learn more about Link for reasons unknown. Despite being the former best friend of her deceased brother, Zelda knew little to nothing about him. “Sure.”“Did you know that Link plays both the guitar and the bass,” Daraen exclaimed. “Speaking of instruments, I also enjoy playing the keyboard on my spare time, you know, as a hobby. The same goes for playing the drums as well.”“Does Chrom play any instruments?” Zelda leaned forward a bit. She was very fascinated by new information she had just learned.Daraen shook his head. “Not really. Never seen him pick up an instrument before, plus he never really struck me as the type. Even back in high school.”“Oh.” Zelda looked down at her feet and shuffled a bit before glancing back at Daraen. “With the way you worded things, it made it sound like if you guys were in a band of sorts.”“Well, you could say that.” He exchanged another small laugh. “I was actually a part of my school’s marching band back in high school. I was part of the drum line. Meanwhile my sister was a part of the color guard.”“Now that makes more sense.” Zelda turned over and glanced at the time. It was fifteen minutes until now! A surge of panic overwhelmed her as not only she had to check out the book but also rush over to her class as well. She took a deep breath and side.“I’m really sorry to cut you off but my class starts in fifteen minutes. It was nice meeting you Daraen! Tell Link I’ve said hello!”With those words, Zelda scuffled across the library and made her way towards the main counter to check out the book before heading over towards the Literature II building.Zelda stepped inside the classroom and quickly surveyed it for any vacant seats that remained. Only a few excellent spots were available, otherwise they were already occupied from the other students. Like her other classes, the walls were barren and void of any life. The only décor it consisted of was a wall clock, a whiteboard, an L-shaped corner desk accompanied by an array of solid plastic combo desks. She swiftly took a seat at a corner near the exit. And unsurprisingly, the classroom size was rather small, so it was bound to be much easier to focus.Soon after, her professor arrived just on the dot of noon. The professor wore her auburn hair in a daintily tight bun, red rimmed glasses, and her attire which consisted of an olive A-line dress and sable peplum jacket. Her overall presentation radiated affable warmth. After setting down her belongings (travel mug, binders, and some papers), she would begin passing around the syllabus to her students. When all of them had received their papers, just like Zelda’s previous professors, she would begin to introduce herself.“Greetings everyone,” the professor began, “welcome to LS315, otherwise known as the Art of Storytelling. I am none other than Dr. Celeste Cromwell. This class meets every Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 1:30 p.m.. Anyways, before we continue on with all of the not so fun stuff, let me tell you guys a few things about myself.”Celeste began to ramble on how she’s married, has two children, and goes hiking and participates in crafting workshops on her spare time. Afterwards she began going over the syllabus while she paced around the classroom. She went over the required texts, assignments, quizzes to even a small lecture about the core assessment. When she finished, Celeste’s hazel eyes glistened with a twinkle and smiled.“Since we still have some time left, how about we do a little activity.”Zelda did not like where this was going. She was so accommodated to her professors dismissing her early after their introduction lectures that this sudden change in routine startled her. She had a gut feeling of what Dr. Cromwell was insisting.“So, since this class houses thirty students, why don’t we get a chance to know each other,” Celeste happily insisted.Dread. The feeling of lingering dread. Zelda bit her lip and immediately sick to her stomach. If there was anything she loathed, it was introductory assignments. Not because of they were difficult or anything, just the thought of presenting oneself to an audience of potentially judgmental, antagonizing, unfamiliar blank faces was enough to wear her out. She was never one for the spotlight. Yes, Zelda had participated in countless plays in high school but this was different. Much, much different.“To make this activity much more fun, I would like you all to find yourselves a partner and talk to them for a few minutes. You must ask them their name, their major, why are they taking this course and last but not least, a fun fact about them. Afterwards, you are to introduce your partner to the class when time’s up.” Celeste smiled from ear to ear while she surveyed her students, all whom remained dead silent and followed her every whim. She twirled around, made her way towards the desk and sat down.Soon enough, students began getting up and scoping the classroom for their partners while others clicked with the person sitting next to them. Zelda observed the students instantaneously clicking with one another like peanut butter and chocolate. What even furthered her disdain for these sorts of activities wasn’t her unfamiliarity but the search for the perfect partner. Depending on the circumstances, one could either get lucky and gain a new friend or they could get screwed over with someone disinterested in them. In a sense, she felt as if it were a measure of her own self-worth.Thankfully the goddesses were on Zelda’s side today and blessed her. She didn’t have to leave her desk in search of someone. Instead, they had motioned their way towards her. There stood in front of her was a drop-dead gorgeous woman with a staggering height. Zelda could have sword that she had ascended straight out of a fashion magazine. Her vibrant, reddish orange laid freely to the sides of her face. The longer tresses neatly interweaved and rested itself between the middle of her chest in an ornate gray pin. Suave lavender eyeshadow highlighted her stunning yellow-red almond eyes which radiated with bright and bold confidence. It matched perfectly with her ebony outfit and beautiful violet lips.A catlike grin donned itself on the woman’s lips as she sat down next to Zelda. “Mind if I work with you?” she asked. Zelda bobbed her head up and down, still mesmerized by the woman’s beauty. She presented herself with the upmost poise and elegance. One would say she was quite picturesque.“Let me guess, cat got your tongue?” she jested. Not like she didn’t seem to mind Zelda gaping her jaw all over her looks. In fact, she was quite used to it. A small giggle escaped her lips. “You know, you remind me of someone I’ve met in high school. He shared the same dumbfounded look as you but anyhow, that isn’t the point. Anyways, the name’s Midna Khatri.”Midna. Zelda mouthed her name. Not only was she model material, her name also complimented her looks as well. Realizing she was getting lost in a sea of Midna’s radiance, Zelda mildly slapped her chin and refocused on the assessment on hand.“I’m Zelda Nohansen,” she replied, smiling, “it’s a pleasure to meet you.”“The same goes for you as well.” Midna paused for a moment before placing her bookbag on her desk. While she began rummaging through it for pen and paper, Zelda observed the countless pins on her bag. It ranged from designs similar to her ornate pin to novelty pins and even a rainbow flag. When Midna found what she was looking for, she tore the piece of paper into two and handed the other half over to Zelda. “Better get this dumb assignment done and over with.”Zelda laughed. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds it meaningless. Was never a fan of it in grammar school.”“Same. The only good benefit any pointless introductory assignment is that it kills class time.” Midna stretched out her arms and clutched onto her pen. Zelda took hers out as she decided to let Midna go first. They both wrote down each other’s names on the paper before proceeding on with the next requirements.“So, what are you majoring in?” Midna asked. “I’m currently majoring in fashion design.”“English.” Zelda wrote down Midna’s major on the paper under her name. “From the sound of your major, you’re obviously taking this course as an elective.”“Bingo!” Midna pointed and swiftly jerked her right hand at Zelda, gesturing her correct answer. She found it quite self-explanatory that Zelda was obviously taking the course as a requirement and wrote it down. “Last but not least, we’re onto the final question. So—tell me something about yourself.”“Well…” Zelda bit her lip and swallowed. She wasn’t sure where to begin. While the easiest fun fact would be telling Midna that she used to be a twin, at the same time, Zelda wasn’t ready to open up old wounds. So instead, she opted for something else. “I really, really love flowers. As a matter of fact, my favorite flower is called the silent princess. What fascinates me about it is that it thrives out on its own in the wild.”“While I’m not one for plants per say, that flower sounds quite lovely.” Midna’s grin radiated warmth and interest. She jolted down the final thing about Zelda before exchanging a fun fact about herself. “Believe it or not, I once sucker-punched an annoying dudebro so hard in high school, I broke his nose. Wait—I can’t let you share that story now, can we? The last thing I need is the teacher on the tip of my ass. Anyhow, share this one instead—it’s much more appropriate. One of my hobbies consist of making jewelry and selling it online.”“That’s cool.” Zelda nodded, smiling. Not once did the story of Midna punching the lights out of a creep phase her. Instead, she expected such action from Midna’s overall character. While she knew it was morally wrong to hurt someone, she knew Midna most likely did it as a means of protecting someone. The two stood quiet for a moment before Midna broke the silence between.“Say, want to hang out a bit after class is over. I could introduce you to some of my friends,” she suggested. Zelda’s eyes twinkled at the thought of that. To her, it meant that Midna had accepted her as someone worthy, someone deemed interesting.“Sure!”After a few more minutes have passed, Celeste had informed the class that time was up. She then asked for any volunteers who wanted to go first. Thankfully both Midna and Zelda wanted to get this assignment both done and out of the way. So, in turn, they were the first ones up. Zelda rambled on about Midna while the latter did the same about the former. When they were done, both of them took their seats and listened to the other peers introduce their partners. The next thing they know, the class period was finally over.“Are you already fretting about the amount of math classes you’re taking this semester?” A blonde-haired girl leaned over the table, towering over another figure. The figure in question hid his face under his purple colored hoodie as tufts of black hair stuck out. He anxiously tugged at his blue and black striped scarf which wrapped around his neck. Another disgruntled sigh escaped his lips.“How was I supposed to know that getting a degree in business administration would have a ton of math requirements?” His nasally voice made their distress sound much more like pointless whinging than it actually was. Shortly after, he held his head high up in the air but only enough to make eye contact with his friends.“Did you even bother looking at your degree program!?” The girl definitely wasn’t buying it. She couldn’t believe the audacity her cousin out of all people had done. Then again, it wasn’t like she was any better. While he was one to avoid any form of conflict and cowered in fear, she on the other hand, lacked a sense of direction.“Yes,” he grumbled under his breath in slight irritation. “I’ve just avoided taking the required math courses until now, Emille.”“Um, excuse you. It’s Linkle,” she corrected him, huffing. It wasn’t that she took any issue with her real name—in actuality she quite liked it, however felt that it didn’t necessarily suit her. Instead, she grew more attached to a name her grandmother had read from a worn-out book full of heroic tales about a legendary hero garbed in green. Ever since then, she insisted on being called Linkle instead of her actual name.“Aw, don’t worry Ravio,” the girl next to him said, consoling him. Her long light-blue hair which was kept in a side ponytail. “I’m sure Fi would gladly tutor you.”Another girl who donned a similar shade of blue hair nodded. The only difference between her and the other girl was that her length was much shorter. In addition, she had two prosthetic arms, both of them which were covered up by her oversized lavender sweater.“Lana’s right you know,” Fi said, taking a sip from her water bottle. “And besides, it’ll be fun.”“By fun you mean mentally exhausting right?” Ravio seemed a bit skeptical.Fi shook her head. “If I could tutor Drew out of all people in math, then I could help you too. Trust me, I helped him get an A in his calculus class last year, and you know how bad he is with math in general.”Ravio took a deep breath before exhaling in defeat. “Fine… just promise to go easy on me.”“There’s a 99% chance that I’ll guarantee no promises.”Linkle held three fingers up, counting backwards by each second as she got ready to cue another overwhelmed groan from Ravio.“Jeez Ravio, I could hear you bitching all the way from here. Anyways, sup guys?” Midna set her bookbag down on the vacant space next to Fi. Zelda stood next to her, observing Midna’s friends.Ravio perked up at the sight of a new face. He couldn’t help but wonder why Zelda looked so familiar despite not knowing who she even was. Perhaps she reminded him of another pretty face he had crossed paths with long ago.“Nothing mu—hey, who’s she?” Linkle asked curiously.“Guys, this here is Zelda. I’ve met her in my class and thought she was cool enough to hang out with us,” Midna answered. She began pointing at each of her friends, starting with Fi. “This here is Fi, next to her is Linkle, and last but not least, we have Lana and Ravio on the other side. Unfortunately, Zelda has a prior engagement to attend at two, so she can’t hang around for too long.”Zelda exchanged greetings with Midna’s group of friends and chatted them up a bit until ten minutes prior to two. She learned that Midna, Fi and Ravio all attended the same high school and had met Lana and Linkle (Ravio was her cousin, so he didn’t count) during their freshman year at Harlington. Before her departure, she managed to collect their phone numbers for the time being.Zelda sat on a white backless bench while she waited for Roy. She looked up at the sky for the time being. White velvet clouds slowly danced across the blue sky. It was an ever-evolving artistic palette. After watching the clouds for a few more seconds, Zelda tilted her head back down and saw Roy heading over her way. She noticed an unfamiliar face tagging alongside him from afar. The two of them gradually grew closer until their arrival.“Hey Zelda,” Roy greeted happily, “I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine.” He gestured towards a girl who shared the same hair color as Daraen. It was styled neatly between two pigtails while her black hoodie brought out her hair significantly. “Zelda, this is Robin, also known as Chrom’s wife. Robin, this is Zelda.”“It’s nice to meet you!” Robin outstretched her hand to shake Zelda’s. Zelda returned the favor and shook hands with Robin, still caught in a bit of a daze. At least the worry of Chrom being a single father was finally able to be put to rest. She was relieved that Chrom was able to find someone who loves and cherishes him, yet was a bit uneased. What if Robin knew about all of the ugly parts of her? The ones that she kept hidden from society. It wouldn’t surprise her to say the least. After all, she had hurt Chrom remarkably in the past. Luckily for Zelda, Robin seemed to be very nice and unexpectedly, clicked really well with her.The trio made their way towards the white minimalistic building that harbored a plethora of windows which allowed for more natural lighting. The architecture itself reminded Zelda of a loft house with the number of windows that were added. When they stepped inside the museum, the first thing they note was how it was a storehouse of the school’s culture and history. Not only was it filled with work from local artists, it also harbored artwork from Harlington’s students as well.Various types of artwork were scattered across the gallery. On one side of the wall, there were paintings done in oil, acrylic, and watercolors and on the other side consisted of mixed media, chalk pastels, charcoal and other art mediums. In the center there were glass containers which housed glass work, pottery, jewelry, and small sculptures. Overall, it perfectly captured Harlington’s art world.Roy dug through his backpack and took out a notebook along with a pencil. On top of it sat his scavenger hunt assignment from his art history class. He placed the pencil between his ears and turned towards Robin and Zelda. “Just a heads up, I might not talk much as I will be focusing on the assignment. Feel free to look around the museum while I work.” Roy parted ways with Robin and Zelda for the time being, leaving them alone together.The two stood together in silence before Zelda decided to break the ice. “So—how did you and Chrom meet anyways?”“We’ve met in high school,” Robin answered, smiling brightly. Just thinking of her husband was enough to make her heart flutter. She twirled her hair and her cheeks tinted a slight hue of pink from the thought of Chrom. “I was awkward, he was awkward—it was the perfect match. He knew how to make me smile in a way no one else could.”“That’s—that’s really sweet.” Zelda stared off into the distance. Her body was heavy, bounded by a set of imaginary chains holding onto her wrists which followed her every movement. Sure, she was glad Chrom was able to meet someone who greatly influenced his life, yet she still felt empty. There she was, lingering onto her troubled past with him yet again. Deep down, Zelda felt Chrom forgave her too easily. She didn’t feel worthy of his presence, let alone forgiveness.Robin took note of Zelda’s odd posture and rose a brow. “Is everything alright?”“Y-yeah,” Zelda stammered, drifting away from her thoughts. “I was just thinking, that’s all.”“Maybe looking at some art might help ease your mind.” Robin extended out her arm for Zelda to grab. Her mahogany eyes radiated warmth, a sense of belonging. It was as if she wiped away all of Zelda’s worries and regrets. Instead of continuing to dwell in the past, Zelda reached for Robin’s arm as she linked it together with hers. From there, they had begun their journey through the art gallery, inspecting every nook and cranny. They smiled, they laughed, they talked and inspected various art pieces, guessing the stories they told through their canvas.“Hey Zelda, have you by any chance stumbled into someone by the name of Frederick?”His name sounded familiar. Zelda tilted her head, allowing it to rest on her hand as she tapped the side of it, trying to think. Shortly after, she was able to recall the older man from yesterday. “Yes, I have actually. Just met him yesterday. While he had a strong demeanor of a powerful authority figure, he’s actually quite… zany to say the least.”“That’s an awfully polite way of putting it.” Robin chuckled at Zelda’s response before sighing. “I’m kind of glad he doesn’t know about the student art gallery. Even though he doesn’t attend Harlington, just the thought of him trying to show off his art piece freely is enough to make me die.”“Jeez.” Zelda partially covered her mouth, suppressing a slight giggle. “Just how bad is it exactly.”“Bad. Very, very bad. I mean, the execution is spot on but still, it’s… bad.” Robin shuddered at the mere thought of Frederick’s masterpiece—erm, if it could even be deemed such. “Let’s just say it’s a motivational poster that has Chrom in it.”“It doesn’t sound that bad,” Zelda said. She was expecting something much worse.Robin held up a finger as if to finish her explanation. “The thing about that is… Chrom’s naked—well, minus the sword covering his genitals, but still. He’s naked.”Zelda’s eyes widened as she envisioned the artwork. Yes, she could see it now. Frederick struck her as the type to capture Chrom’s every detail—from his finely toned body to every scratch and scar on it. “I guess calling him zany was an understatement.”Robin nodded in agreement. “Definitely an understatement.”Shortly after, Zelda decided she needed to cleanse her poor mind of Frederick’s “creativity” with tasteful pieces of work. Taking slow steps throughout the gallery, she stumbled upon a piece of interest. The artwork captured the university scene and was done in chalk pastels. The majority of the students in the piece were rough gestures, however that wasn’t what captured Zelda’s eye. Instead, she was a hundred percent fixated on the only rendered figure which stuck out. Inching closer, she observed the figure who shared an uncanny resemblance to Link.“Wait a minute—is that… Link?” she muttered under her breath. A few seconds later, she had come to realize that the rendered figure was in fact, Link. Now, one question remained—why was Link the only one in the piece who was fully rendered? It didn’t make any sense at all!Robin rubbed her chin as she looked at the piece. Afterwards, she turned towards Zelda and tilted her head. “I wondered if the artist used Link as a focal point for their work,” she brought up. “It would make a lot of sense, given that the rest of the students are quick gestures.”“I would assume so too. I am just curious to as why the artist chose Link over everyone else.” Zelda continued staring at the piece. She wondered if Harlington displayed random pieces of artwork from previous semesters to both intrigue and motivate it students. Before Robin could respond, her phone started going off. Laughing nervously, she excused herself and went outside to answer her phone, leaving Zelda alone for the time being.Truth be told, something festered inside Zelda’s mind all day. She couldn’t help but ponder why Roy really invited her, let alone treated her kindly after her outburst yesterday. Heck, she had even shoved him too during that whole ordeal. While she was engulfed in her own thoughts, in the meantime, Roy had finally finished his assignment. He took note of Robin talking outside and approached Zelda from behind.“So, how are you enjoying the museum,” Roy said, smiling as usual.“I’m really enjoying it so far, but…” Her voice began to trail off. “I can’t help but think about something. Why did you invite me to come with you? I mean, all of this doesn’t make any sense. I treated you awfully yesterday and yet you still insist on hanging out with me.”Roy was taken back a bit by Zelda’s response. He paused for a few seconds, trying to find out the best words to say before resuming on.“Well, you see,” he began, “I’ve noticed how stressed out you were and figured why not try and help you relax. And besides, all that stuff was in the past. It’s important to focus on what’s happening now, otherwise it would be much more difficult to heal.”Zelda bobbed her head up and down slowly. Feeling slightly relieved, she exchanged a small smile. “Roy, I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you. I know my apology may not be much, but—”Roy cut her off before she was able to finish. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it now. Besides, like I’ve said, the past is the past right? That doesn’t define who you are now.”“Right.”The two exchanged soft smiles as Robin returned from her phone call. Deciding to make the atmosphere much more positive in hopes of uplifting Zelda, Roy changed the subject.“Who called just now?” he asked keenly.“My brother,” Robin answered. “He told me to go meet him over at the dining hall for dinner. Say—would you two care to join us?”“Sure.” Both Zelda and Roy had replied in unison. The trio stepped out of the art gallery and made their way towards the dining hall to meet up with Daraen.She couldn’t believe it. Her diamond eyes glistened, basking in the sudden surge of euphoria from today’s chain of events. Regardless of the circumstances which transpired earlier this morning, everything else went as smooth as a neatly refined crystal glass. Zelda stared at the ceiling, beaming wide, basking in the uplifting happiness. Her roommate had yet to return for the day and hear of the wonderful news of Zelda’s spectacular day. For now, Zelda decided to utilize the remainder of her time browsing her social media profiles as well as reading and taking notes for her classes.First things first, Zelda logged onto her Facebook page and was immediately bombarded with four new friends’ requests. They’ve consisted of Chrom and Robin Iris, Roy Pherae, and Daisy Aldridge. Clicking accept without second thought, she confirmed all of their requests before logging onto her Tumblr and Twitter accounts in new tabs. After a few minutes of browsing online, she decided open up to the first chapter of her Literature and Cultural Difference textbook. With a pen ledged between the tips of her teeth, Zelda leaned over for her bookbag, unzipped it, grabbed a purple spiral bound notebook before zipping it back up and placing it near the desk. She removed the pen from her mouth and began reading, jolting down things which struck her with its upmost importance.While Zelda was deeply fixated in her studies, her phone vibrated, receiving a notification from one of her many apps. Being curious, Zelda softly tapped the right side of her phone. It alerted her that she had received a new message from Link through Facebook. Placing both the pen and notebook on top of her textbook, Zelda glanced over at her laptop and decided to take a small break for the time being.Link: HeyA small smile formed on Zelda’s lips as she responded eagerly.Zelda: Hi! How’re you?Link: I’m good. Just winding down, you?Zelda: Oh, I’m just reading the first chapter and writing down notes for my ENG262 class. Don’t want to get swamped with too much work if you know what I mean.Link: Haha, yeah. Say, I heard a little birdie told you that I know how to play both the bass and the guitar. Truth be told, I could play many instruments. Kinda neat, right?Zelda: Yeah! 😊 Believe it or not, my parents used to have my brother and I, back when he was around of course, signed up for private harp lessons.Link: I think I remember Sheik rambling about something like that a long time ago. Anyways, you should totally come over to The Roost Friday evening. ;PZelda: Well, I’m not quite sure to be honest.Link: Aw, are you sure?Zelda: Yeah, I’m sure of it. Well, I guess it really depends on my schedule.Link: I see. I’m sure you will think of something.Zelda: Of course. Anyways, I really need to go back to focusing on my schoolwork. I’d suggest for you to do the same as well.Link: Oh, shit! I’ve almost forgot that I was enrolled this semester. Thanks for the reminder!Zelda minimized her browser and turned back towards her studies. She decided to pick up from where she had last left off. Around an hour and a half later, Zelda managed to finish reading and writing notes on the first chapter for her first class. With the rate she was going at, Zelda would be finished with reading the required chapters for the week in no time!
“One class down, now only three more to go!”
Oh—if only feelings of relentless joyousness weren’t so fleeting.She decided to take a small break from her work and check up on her social media. First, she scrolled endlessly through Tumblr, adding some posts of interest into her queue, then moved onto Twitter and refreshed her feed, and last but not least, decided to check up on Facebook. While she scrolled aimlessly through tons of statuses, shared posts and event feeds, a little red icon made itself known above the messaging icon.Curiosity sparked Zelda. Her eyes light, wondering if Link managed to get back on. However as soon as she clicked the icon, her facial expression soured.Pit: Hey. We need to talk.Those words alone were enough for Zelda’s euphoric mood to plummet down the drain.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

No matter how hard she tried to occupy her mind, the sudden twinge of anxiety wouldn’t budge away. It lingered within her stomach, festering itself while its piercing teeth gnawed on her abdomen. Zelda tossed and turned in her sleep, clutching tightly onto her blanket. After a vigorous night of fearsome thoughts and the intensive focus of her heartbeat, dawn had finally arrived. Not once was her mind able to rest at ease and it most certainly wasn’t happening today either. Instead of struggling further to sleep in and await the noisy greeting of the buzzing alarm, she decided it was best to get the day and over with. As long as she took it easy, maybe she wouldn’t have to deal with that dreadful talk with Pit.Rubbing her eyes with one hand while the other caught a yawn, Zelda got up from her bed and decided to get ready for the day. Before stepping into the bathroom, she tiptoed back towards the full-length mirror near the dresser, slightly leaned over, observed herself, and frowned. There on the lower end of her right leg were purple and yellow blotches all over. While the pain wasn’t prominent (unless one were to press hard enough on it), it still bothered her. The collision from her melodramatic recklessness two days ago had prevented Zelda from wearing shorts or skirts even.“Guess I got to wear jeans… again.” A disgruntled sigh escaped her lips as Zelda went to get ready for the day. She grabbed her change of clothes from the drawer, stepped into the bathroom and placed them on vacant space near the sink. Shortly after, she undressed herself, stepped into the shower and turned the faucet to medium hot.Drips of water began pouring themselves all over her, cleansing off Zelda’s worries. Her mind was in shreds—no matter how hard she tried, she would never wash away Pit’s message. Instead, it echoed on and on throughout her mind, preoccupying every thought. Not once was her body able to let the lukewarm drops relax it. What also did not help was the fact that Pit’s doppelganger not only warned her stay away from him, but also informed her that Pit actually despised her. Zelda wondered what she even did to warrant such behavior towards her in the first place. Furthermore, she wanted to know why Pit even felt that way to begin with. All of this was only confusing her even more, so she focused on cleaning herself for the time being.A few minutes later, Zelda stepped out of the shower, dried her hair, got dressed, and brushed her teeth before leaving the bathroom. Little did she know, her roommate was still up and about, forgetting that Mei always exercised at the crack of dawn.Speaking of Mei, she was eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast. She seemed a bit preoccupied with her phone before setting it down on the side. Soon she noticed Zelda was awake much earlier than usual and raised a brow.“Morning Zel,” she greeted casually before interrogating her. “Say—I’ve noticed you’re up way earlier than usual. Is something up?”Zelda forced herself to smile and shook her head. “No, no. Everything’s fine. I couldn’t sleep in any longer, so I’ve figured I should just get up.”Mei squinted her eyes a bit, giving Zelda a blank stare as if trying to see through her deceit. Luckily, she didn’t seem to catch on. She however, did seem a bit concerned for her well-being regardless if she bought Zelda’s lie.“Alright, if you say so,” Mei said. She took a bite of her cornflakes before adding on. “But if there’s ever something wrong, don’t be afraid to tell me. The last thing I’d hate to see is any of my friends feeling down.”“I’ll keep that in mind.”With those words, Zelda temporarily parted ways with Mei and stepped inside the kitchen. Opening up the cupboard, she would begin brainstorming on what to make herself for breakfast. Her eyes scavenged through whatever food was available within arm’s reach. Taking out a box of honey nut cheerios, Zelda placed it on the counter before opening the fridge to retrieve some milk. Thereafter, Zelda opened up another set of cabinets and grabbed a bowl to set up her breakfast.A few seconds later, Zelda stepped out of the kitchen and went to join Mei. She set down both the bowl and spoon before sitting down. By the time she had arrived, Mei had already finished eating her meal. Her roommate pushed her bowl off to the side, making a mental note to clean it up in a bit. Gazing at Zelda, Mei smiled wide as something came to mind.“Hey,” she said innocently, “did you run into that Link guy yesterday?”“Only through Facebook messages.” Zelda took a bite of her cheerios before resuming on. “Why did you ask?”“Oh, just wondering, that’s all. Like I’ve said yesterday, you two would make a really cute couple!” she teased, singing the last few words.Flustered, Zelda waved her arms frantically and glanced off to the side. “Mei! For the last time, he’s just an acquaintance and nothing more!”Mei shook her head and continued smiling. “I was just messing with you. However, my sentiment still stands. Anyways, I should be cleaning this dish up.”With that, Mei excused herself while Zelda continued eating her meal. After she finished, Zelda went to clean her bowl in the sink and blow dry her hair before stepping out for the day.A chilly breeze scurried softly past Zelda. Fall crept itself around the corner as the once warm air of summer gradually whished itself away. While the leaves on the trees still remained green, slowly but surely, some of them were already transitioning to hues of red and gold. One of the first things she had noticed was how silent and dead the campus seemed in comparison to the first two days of classes. The once boisterous college scene had finally dwindled down. Zelda assumed the reason for its sudden silence was because the first two days were technically the start of classes. That in turn, prompted more students to arrive early in order to locate things, obtain a good parking space, catch up with old friends, and whatever else they could think of.
“We need to talk.”
While her guard was low, fear crept its way in and had struck her yet again. Festering contemplations lingered on and on, rendering her mind ineffective. Zelda slightly bent forward at the hips and clutched onto her head, gritting her teeth. Every muscle felt tight, invisible hands grasped Zelda, rendering every step obsolete. No matter how hard she tried to budge, her body refused. Instead, it drowned her in a sea of suppressed thoughts, unlocking forgotten memories.
An eight year old Zelda stared at this morning’s bell work. She was almost finished with it while she fixed the last sentence below before placing it onto the side. Murmurs could be heard as her teacher, Mr. Lowry stepped outside the classroom for the time being. Rumor had it that the class was getting a new student today. Boys and girls alike debated one another, with the former hoping for another boy while the latter yearned for another girl. They bickered on and on, even going as far to guess the new student’s temperament, not to mention, speculating about their previous school experiences. Zelda never understood all the fuss and bickering over an unfamiliar face to begin with. She recalled how students in her previous classes often fought over who would be the one to guide the new student around the campus. One of the things she found peculiar was how the custodian had brought in a desk with an oversized top and placed it next to her desk earlier. While it looked similar to the other desks, it however, lacked a chair to accompany it.

Thankfully the others were too engrossed with their morning assignment to notice their teacher’s return. Being curious, Zelda peaked over to catch a glimpse of who the new face even was. Following behind the teacher was a young wheelchair user and his mother. Her long, emerald green hair was held back neatly in a sleek low bun. She donned a cream-colored coat accompanied with a light blue long-sleeved dress shirt, navy-blue suit pants, and black one-inch heels which added more emphasis to her already towering height. Her viridescent eyes matched her hair color and radiated great kindness.

The woman knelt down, facing her son while the teacher continued droning on and on about classwork, rules, and other school related subjects. She gently tapped his nose, causing him to giggle softly in return.

“Now remember to be good okay?” she told him gently. Before her departure, the woman bid her son farewell with a kiss on the cheek. As soon as she left, Mr. Lowry cleared his throat before ordering his students to put their pencils down. They did as they were told and glanced straight at their teacher.

“Good morning class. Today I’ll like to introduce you all to the newest addition to our class, Pit Callahan. I’d expect for all of you to treat him with your upmost respect.” He paused for a moment and licked his lips. “Now, do we have a volunteer who would like to show Pit around the school and catch him up with the others?”

Pit greeted his new classmates with a wave and a wide smile. He was very open and eager to make friends with everyone.

None of the students had raised their hands. Instead, they stared blankly at the wall. Their once overabundant enthusiasm over the new student ceased when they first laid eyes on him. Instead, they viewed him as a foreign object, one to be proceeded with upmost caution. It was as if they were expecting him to be someone else entirely.

Mr. Lowry on the other hand wasn’t surprised because he too had his doubts. It wasn’t his decision to place Pit in his class to begin with—despite his unwavering protests, the principal had eagerly insisted on his inclusion. “Is there anyone who is willing to volunteer?”

More silence. Invisible tension gradually rose throughout the classroom. Zelda looked around, noticing how her other peers didn’t know how to react. She couldn’t help but notice the sheer disappointment in their eyes. Heaving a disgruntled sigh, she raised her arm up high for the entire class to see.

“I’ll do it!” Zelda said, volunteering.

“Oh, thank god,” Mr. Lowry mumbled under his breath in slight relief. What made things much better for him was that he didn’t have to rearrange any assigned seating. He directed his attention towards Pit while he pointed at Zelda. “You see the little blonde-haired girl raising her hand up over there? Not only will you’ll be sitting next to her, but she will also be your friend for the day.”

Pit nodded, smiling brightly while he motioned his way towards his desk. Afterwards, he began setting up his belongings. His backpack had a picture of a yellow mouse like creature with a thunder bolt as its tail. In addition, all of his belongings related to the creature on his bag, ranging from a fiery red lizard to a green plant-based reptilian creature with a leafy bulb on its back. If there was one thing Zelda had noticed about Pit, it was that he was really big into Pokemon.

Throughout the first week of Pit’s addition, Zelda learned that Pit was not only extremely naïve, but he also took things at face value. This in turn, allowed the other students to get away with teasing him because he did not realize it or rather, did not pick up on it at all. Pit in return, had mistaken their bullying for friendliness. During the middle of the day, Zelda overheard a couple of the other third grade teachers gossiping about him. They had mentioned something about Pit being on the autism spectrum. Furthermore, they mentioned how his parents were brave for dealing with him and his needs.

Not being familiar with the term itself, when Zelda had arrived home from school that day, she recalled asking her mother what autism was. Her question in turn had thrown her mother completely off-guard, causing her to take three steps back. Just her reaction alone told Zelda that it wasn’t something positive. Instead, she acted as if Pit had caught a disease. She tried brushing off her worry with a false smile.

“You shouldn’t be concerning yourself with things like that my little bird,” her mother simply told her.

Zelda on the other hand, crossed her arms and titled her head in bewilderment. She knew her mother was trying her best to mask over the term yet her eagerness for knowledge wouldn’t let her get away without an answer.

“But Mother,” Zelda began, “the way you acted just now concerns me. I overheard some of the other third-grade teachers discussing about it during recess, and I was just curious to ask if it was a type of sickness.”

Her mother inched towards Zelda, knelt down and embraced her into a tight hug. “Oh Zelda,” she said, “of course not. Girls your age shouldn’t be concerned with such things like that. Instead, you should focus on your studies and your studies alone.”

“But Mother!” She pleaded yet again. Despite only being eight, the one thing Zelda disliked the most was being treated like a baby. Thankfully her mother broke their embrace and realized her daughter was old enough to understand about medical disorders. After all, she could utilize it as a learning advantage and educate her daughter about those with special needs.

“You see my little bird,” her mother began, “autism is a developmental disorder characterized by difficultly in social interaction and communication. It is also characterized by repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. Due to it ranging from a variable severity from one individual to another, it is referred to as a spectrum. I apologize if I made it sound like something horrible—I didn’t mean to.”

Zelda nodded. She assumed her mother was only thrown off since it was one of those questions she did not expect from someone her age. The one thing she did notice however was her mother’s curiosity. She wondered why her daughter asked her such a question in the first place.

“You see Mother,” Zelda began, trying her best to explain. “We recently got a new student and the other teachers mentioned him being on the spectrum.”

“I see.” Zelda’s mother paused for a second while trying to recollect her thoughts. “Well, just remember to treat that student with kindness and never lose patience with him. Remember, he’s a bit different from you and I.”

About a week later, Mr. Lowry directed the class to open their language arts textbook to page 345. He assigned for Bethany to read the first few passages of the book before she stopped. Shortly after, he glanced up from his teacher’s edition and to his class, looking for the next volunteer.

“Is there anyone who would like volunteer themselves to read the next passage?” he asked. No hands were up, causing him to sigh quietly. Soon, he had an idea and had decided to give the new student a try. Mr. Lowry instructed Pit to read the next passage after Bethany.

Pit leaned over and placed his hand on the part where they had left off. He began to proceed from there. It was then and there his classmates had learned that Pit not only read a much slower pace than them, but struggled immensely as well. He had trouble annunciating certain words and breaking down syllables. Overall, Pit had an extremely poor reading comprehension.

Because of this, some of the other students started snickering amongst themselves. They found his poor comprehension to be absolutely hilarious. Zelda placed her head on her desk and groaned quietly under her breath. She had really wished that Mr. Lowry had picked her instead. Not only did she read at a much faster pace, she also didn’t delay the learning of her peers either. Meanwhile, Mr. Lowry masked his frustration with a forced smile. What he loathed about this was not because of his students getting sidetracked, but due to the fact that he could see his class lagging behind the other third grade classes. He would have to spend extra time catering to Pit’s needs to even get him remotely up to par with the others.

After Pit had read the passage, Mr. Lowry told him to stop for the sake of his own sanity. He then asked for another volunteer in which a boy with platinum blond-hair and freckles eagerly raised his hand.

“Alright Oswald, you’re next.”

Oswald took a deep breath and smirked. He stood up to garner the attention of his classmates and held the book close to his chest. When he began reading, Oswald spoke with a goofy voice, making himself sound like an idiot in return. He read very slowly, following after Pit’s example as a means of mocking him. He captured everything—from the way Pit spoke to even how he annunciated certain vowels. This in turn, caused everyone in the class to burst out into laughter.

Pit stared dumbfoundedly. He was not sure why the class was laughing or what they found so amusing even. He failed to realize that Oswald was making fun of him and in turn, he just smiled.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The rambunctious laughter of her peers gradually began to dwindle away along with the classroom interior and its belongings. All of them leaned over in unison, extending into a rhythmic swirl which swayed left and right. As the colors joined together one by one in unison, a figure started forming in front of Zelda's face. Five sets of vertical poles emerged from it. Soon enough, she was transported out of her memory and back into reality. No longer was she sitting at her desk in Mr. Lowry's classroom and instead, instantly recognized the same grassy field and the oak tree not too far from it. Zelda was greeted with an open palm swaying back and forth frantically in front of her face. This caused her to scream slightly from the sudden embarrassment. She cupped her mouth, taking a step back to see who caught her zoning off. Thankfully she only happened to run into a familiar face, otherwise things would had been much more awkward.Ravio clutched onto the top of his hoodie, slightly startled from Zelda's shriek. A few seconds afterwards, he removed his hood from his head and slouched forward before heaving a sigh."I-I didn't mean to startle you, I swear!" Ravio's gaze was fixated on the concrete beneath his feet. He twiddled with his thumbs, trying his best to muster up his thoughts. "I apologize for frightening you earlier. It's just when I saw you earlier, you seemed to be staring off into space, and I was wondering if you were alright.""Oh." Zelda's hands ran through her hair as she brushed her locks gently. She was surprised to see someone who had just met her already concerned. As a matter of fact, she couldn't help but find Ravio's sentiment sweet. "I'm fine. I was just deep into thought about the day ahead, that's all." Another lie. She hated to take advantage of his trust, yet the thought of others fretting over her own woes was too much. Her parents' apprehensiveness over her attending a university five hours away from home was already wearisome enough. She didn't need any more added onto her plate. And besides, the last thing she needed was someone to worry about her."Oh." Ravio tilted his head, adjusting his purple hoodie before grabbing a hold of his scarf to fix its position. Just like her roommate, he also had bought her lie. The two of them began taking a short stroll through the campus. "So—I take it you have classes in the morning as well?"Zelda glanced, nodding. "My literature class starts at 9 a.m. actually. I'm just up earlier than usual because why not?" She smiled slightly, chuckling at her corny excuse."Lucky." Ravio let out a sigh and shook his head. "Despite being a morning person myself, I cannot say I like waking up at the crack of dawn. Unfortunately for me, my class starts at 8:30. No matter how much I wish to start class a bit later, my mother insists on me enrolling for early morning courses in order to get my classes out of the way much faster." He groaned internally at his mother's logic. No matter what time he started, it was always going to be the same old, same old. Get up, get dressed, get ready for the day, eat breakfast, leave to catch the bus on time, go to class, and to conclude the day by hanging out with friends."Oh jeez—I could kind of relate." Ravio raised a brow and stared at Zelda. "You see, my parents—more so my father than anything else, can kind of be what you'd call controlling. Let's just say it took him a while to get used to the fact that I was going away to attend Harlington in the fall. He tried his hardest to try to get me to attend a local university instead, but my mother managed to ease his worries—somehow.""Tell me about it." Ravio perched himself down on an unoccupied table bench near the water fountain. He placed his backpack on top of his lap while Zelda joined, sitting across from him. "So, what brings you here?""Well," Zelda began. She thought to herself for a bit before answering his question. "I heard a lot of excellent things about Harlington, especially about their research programs! Plus I recalled how some old friends of mine were attending. That alone was enough to convince me to come here to further my horizons.""That's cool." Ravio rested his cheek on the palm of his right hand. "Believe it or not, I actually live not too far from here. You should really check out the city sometime. And of course, the antique shop my family owns." He grinned wide and winked at the last part.While the two conversed and got to know one another a bit better, they were joined by Lana. She held a container of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in her hand."Good morning!" She beamed wide, greeting them with a big wave before taking a seat next to Zelda. "How are you?""I'm doing well, thanks for asking," Zelda replied, smiling. "Yourself?""I'm doing great, thank you!" Lana chirped enthusiastically. She placed her hands on the container and popped off its lid. "Want a cookie?"Zelda took a few seconds to think. While she wasn't particularly the type to eat sweets in the morning, one bite wouldn't hurt. That and she couldn't help but adore Lana's energetic optimism. "Sure!" She reached out and grabbed a cookie before taking a bite.Lana extended her kind gesture over towards Ravio who grabbed one as well."Since Chips Ahoy cereal does actually exist, I don't see the issue with eating cookies early in the morning." Ravio took a bite and enjoyed the chocolaty goodness alongside his new friend. Afterwards, he glanced at his phone and read the time. His once cheerful expression dropped. "I'd love to chat but class starts in five minutes. Gotta go!" He quickly got up and grabbed his backpack. He turned around and waved before running clumsily towards his class building.Both Zelda and Lana watched Ravio take off before glancing at one another. Silence sat between them for a bit before Zelda continued their conversation."These are really, really good," she exclaimed, taking another bite of the cookie. "Never had I have a cookie this soft."Lana blushed, giggling as her cheeks turned slightly pink from the sudden compliment. "Thank you! It's my grandmother's recipe, plus I wanted an excuse to bake.""It's really amazing." Another soft smile formed across her lips. "So, what are you majoring in?""Oh me?" Lana pointed at herself while Zelda nodded in response. "I want to become a teacher either for early childhood education, dance or even special education. What about you?""I'm majoring in English. It's nothing special." Deep down, Zelda wished she could change majors yet decided against it for the time being. She wasn't sure how her father would react to her sudden change of interest, let alone deemed her fixation on ancient Sheikah technology to be nothing but a waste of time. Just the thought alone caused Zelda to grumble inwardly.Lana smiled a little, gazing at her. "Believe it or not, I'm not the only one in my family attending Harlington. I have two older sisters who go here as well. One's just finishing her bachelors in fashion design, meanwhile the other is working on her doctoral of musical arts in voice performance.""Interesting! I take it your family is quite artsy type.""Quite so," Lana replied. "It's funny because my grandfather's a known famous historian, particularly in ancient Hylian history."Hearing this information alone was enough to pique her interest. Her smile widened as she was now extremely curious. "If I may ask, which scholar.""Rauru Leighton."Zelda's eyes widened in awe. "Rauru Leighton!? As in, the Rauru Leighton!?""Yep." Lana giggled afterwards."That's… that's amazing! I recall reading much of work back in my grammar school days! Never would I have ever thought I would get to meet one of his granddaughters!" Zelda shook Lana's hands in excitement. She couldn't wait to one day meet the man himself. Unfortunately her joy suddenly vanished as a surprise guest arrived. Instead, it was replaced with a feeling of lingering dread."Morning Lana!" Pit greeted cheerfully. He waved, positioning himself on the open end of the bench while digging through his pockets. Shortly after, he took out his Nintendo Switch case and placed it in front of him on the table. His eyes scanned his surroundings as they laid eyes on Zelda. "Oh, hi! I didn't know that you guys knew each other.""We just met yesterday," Lana answered. "Say, want a cookie?"Pit shook his head. "Not at the moment." He opened up the case, taking out his switch and turning it on. A few seconds later, he loaded up the game he was currently playing—Fire Emblem: Three Houses. "Oh Lana—how far are you in the game by the way? Asking just in case because you know, I don't want to spoil anything.""I've just started last night. I decided to go with the Golden Deer house as my first pick," Lana answered."Ooh, you're going to like that one. I've completed it a couple of days ago and now I'm starting the Blue Lions route next."Zelda internally sighed of relief. She was glad that he was much more engrossed about his conversation with Lana rather than focusing on her. While Zelda wasn't particularly fond of exclusion in general, in this case however, she did not mind it one bit. Anything to avoid him confronting her about the so called talk.Not long after Pit's arrival, two other girls joined them, sitting across from her and Lana. She recognized one of them as Pit's friend with the extremely long hair, meanwhile she didn't recognize the other girl. The girl across from her had short blonde hair which had orange tips at the end. She had a different shade of purple eyes from Lana and donned a black crop top paired with white skinny jeans."Well, well, well," the long hair girl taunted, "don't tell me you just starting playing the game."Pit rolled his eyes and frowned. "I'm on my second house Viridi. You out of all people should already know I play more than one game at a time.""Well duh," Viridi replied, grinning. "With all the time you spend playing videogames, I would think you would had been finished by now. Meanwhile, I've already completed not one but two routes.""Say Pit," the other girl said, joining in, "why does the Rhea character in Three Houses look so much like your mother? I was watching Viridi complete Crimson Flower two days ago, and I couldn't help but notice. The resemblance is really uncanny if you ask me."Pit groaned under his breath. "Not this again…" He tapped the button on his switch, putting it on sleep mode for the time being. "I already hear about it all the time from my classmates, I don't need to hear it from you too Phosphora. It was funny at first, but now it just gets tiring after a while, not to mention kinda annoying.""Oh, just like you!" Viridi chimed in. Her unnecessary comment alone cause Pit to stare at her and shake his head.Zelda couldn't help but slightly smile. Even though Viridi continued making snide remarks at Pit, deep down, Zelda immediately picked up that she secretly harbored a soft spot for him. No matter how much she tried to hide it, she was able to detect it in a heartbeat. While they continued discussing about the game, she decided to check her phone for the time being. Thankfully class was starting soon.Little did she know, someone not from too far of a distance was starting at her. The woman's golden brown complexion illuminated in the morning sun, her short white locks complimenting her features. Her amethyst eyes were preoccupied with watching Zelda and only Zelda. Prior to the woman's own knowledge, Pit happened to catch sight of this and took note of her presence straight away.Zelda got up from her spot and excused herself, bidding Lana farewell. However before she could even leave, she came to an abrupt halt."Hey Zelda, you should go to your right instead," Pit interrupted, making quite an odd suggestion.That alone had confused Zelda, but she didn't question it. Instead, she took Pit's advice and departed on her right rather than left side.Zelda browsed her phone, catching up on all of the latest feed on her apps. Anything as a means of trying to distract her wandering mind from the resurgence of Pit's message. Her eyes were fixated on funny cat pictures before the shuffling of the chair to the right of her broke her focus."Good morning Zelda." It appeared that Chrom decided to change seats. Instead of sitting on the far end of the classroom like he did on the first day, he now sat next to Zelda."Morning," Zelda replied rather quickly. She smiled in distress before glancing back down at her phone. No matter how much she tried her best to mask her emotions, it wasn't working. Instead, it slipped through the cracks, allowing anyone with a sharp eye to pick up on her discomfort."So my wife told me she met you last night," Chrom began, "she told me you were a lot of fun to hang out with. I'm glad you two were able to get along." He smiled at the thought of his wife making friends with his former childhood crush. The fact that he was able to move on from the past and even make amends with Zelda still amazed him. He noticed how uneasy Zelda looked as her smile quickly faltered, not to mention her responses were much shorter than usual. He paused for a moment before leaning over."Hey—may I check something.""S-sure."Chrom moved his hand forward and placed the back of it on Zelda's forehead to see if she was even feeling well. Thankfully she wasn't warm, however, that didn't explain her mood. He couldn't help but be concerned."Is everything alright?"As Chrom began inquiring Zelda about her worries, Marth stepped inside the classroom and sat in the same spot he was sitting in on Monday."Well, about that…" Zelda swallowed for a slight moment, recollecting her thoughts. Originally she wanted to bottle up the message yet figured venting a bit might actually help. However, since Chrom most likely knew Pit, she didn't want to bring his name up just in case, so she decided to keep things vague instead."Last night, I received a message from someone saying we need to talk and nothing else. Ever since I read it, I couldn't sleep at all last night, no matter how hard I tried. The message kept replaying itself over and over like a broken record. What bothers me even more is that I don't know what they want to talk about but it sounds serious.""Hmm…" Chrom began to think of what to say. He exchanged looks with Marth who was also in thought."Perhaps this person didn't know how to address it," Marth guessed. "Usually when I'm not familiar with someone, I tend to be much more vague with them. Maybe they were worried that bringing up whatever subject they wanted to ask might startle you.""It could be that or they just really wanted to talk but didn't know how to initiate the conversation. Sometimes we hear sayings and whatnot on TV but don't realize that leaving out the context does more harm than good. And besides, if they don't know you very well, I wouldn't put much thought into it. They most likely want to talk to you and that's that." Chrom explained."I guess you guys are both right… I barely even know the person, so it's not like they have any dirt on me or anything. They most likely just want to chat and I'm reading too much into it.""Yeah, I know how that feels," Marth said."Been there, done that," Chrom added. "Don't recommend it either."Zelda was somewhat relieved as Robert stepped into the classroom. He began preparing for his lecture by hooking up his laptop in the projector before turning it on. Shortly after, he began his lecture and starting going over the first chapter. Even though Zelda had already completed this week's reading for the class, she always liked taking additional notes to help her remember important tidbits for the upcoming quiz.Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried to focus, the only thing thing she could do was zone out.
A ten year old Zelda clutched onto the piece of paper between her hands. She stepped inside the office and handed it over to one of the ladies at the front desk. The older woman recognized her immediately, thanking Zelda for the important document. Before sending her away back to her classroom, she gave Zelda a lollipop in exchange for always demonstrating good behavior.

"Thank you Mrs. Fletcher," Zelda said happily. She held onto the door handle to make sure the older woman heard her before leaving. "I really appreciate it!"

"No problem Miss Nohansen," Mrs. Fletcher replied. "Remember to have a nice day!"

"I will! Thank you!" With those words, Zelda shut the door gently behind her and wandered through the corridors. She decided to get a sip of water from the drinking fountain in the meantime before heading back to class. However, when she leaned over to drink, she picked up on a couple of muffled murmurs not from afar. She lifted a brow, tilted her head, and removed her hand from the push button on the tip of the bubbler head. Disregarding her reputation as the model student, Zelda slowly inched her way towards the source of the sound.

Meanwhile not too far from her, Oswald and his friends were outside hanging out at the playground on campus grounds. No one noticed them missing but thankfully luck was in their favor. Their class was utilizing the library for about two hours which in turn, allowed for easy access to the hallways and out into the playground. Oswald managed to slip away from the rest of the class as they were given permission from the teacher to spread out. This allowed for his friends to follow behind him in tow without the teacher once noticing their departure. So rather than working on their assignment, they decided to have extra time to themselves by doing absolutely nothing.

"I'm soooo bored," Richard whined pathetically. He leaned against the monkey bars, staring up at the sky. At first, he had many ideas on what to do while sneaking away from class yet quickly lost his train of thought once he had arrived.

"Well, it's better than being stuck in the library," Oswald informed him.

"Anything's better than the library," said a larger child by the name of Sebastian. "The last thing you need is another lecture from Mrs. Wilson."

A lanky child who wore glasses and had dark-blonde shaggy hair got up from his spot and adjusted his posture to match that of an elderly woman's. He adjusted his glasses to the tip of his nose before holding out and wiggling his finger. "No running in the library young man! Make sure your posture is straight and don't you dare be chewing gum inside school grounds. You better be using those computers for school work only and not playing Minecraft or browsing restricted websites!" His voice mimicked Mrs. Wilson's which was thin and reedy like the piping of a song bird at the dawn of spring. This caused the other three troublemakers to laugh in response to his mockery of the school librarian.

"Wow, you really nailed her down Jackson," Richard exclaimed through giggles.

"Yeah," Sebastian agreed, chiming in. "What's next, is she going to force us to listen to the library card song from stupid Arthur or something."

"Most likely," Jackson replied, rolling his eyes. "Gosh, who even watches Arthur anyways? That's like, a show for babies!"

While Richard, Sebastian and Jackson rambled on and on about their hatred of Arthur and other children's educational programs geared towards their age, Oswald on the other hand, was fixated on something else. He drowned out their conversation and caught sight of interest. A sly smirk formed upon his lips as his eye blues saw Pit making his way up the ramp and back inside the school. However, Pit thought of something exciting and in response, he started flapping his hands as a means of expressing his joy.

"Retard alert, retard alert!" Richard informed the others of Pit's presence, yet was nudged quickly in the side of his gut by Oswald. In response, Richard winced and clutched onto the side of his stomach, huffing in slight irritation.

"Shhh! Don't let him notice we're out here you idiot! The last thing I need is Link and Sheik on our asses again!" he faintly scolded. "And besides, I've got a plan. Follow me boys."

Oswald raised his arm and beckoned for his friends to follow his lead. He made his way up the ramp and surrounded Pit who seemed to be in his own little world. He tried his best to suppress his snickers, even warning his friends not to laugh just yet.

"Hey Pit," he greeted sickly sweet. Just the way his false politeness rolled off his tongue alone was enough to make someone sick, let alone suspicious. Unfortunately for Pit, he never ever seemed to catch on or perhaps, always wanted to treat everyone with kindness. "Do you like birds by any chance?"

Pit smiled wide and nodded in response.

Zelda finally arrived at the source and recognized the group of boys as Oswald's posse. She wondered what they were doing out of class before realizing they could ask her the same thing. Soon enough, she noticed they were surrounding Pit. That alone was enough to warn her something bad was about to happen. Zelda slowly tiptoed outside the door and closed it gently as a precaution. As she inched closer towards the scene, she was able to eavesdrop on their conversation with ease.

"What's your favorite bird Pit? Mine is the Falcon!" Sebastian chirped.

"I like toucans!" Jackson said.

"Just like the cereal!" Pit said happily. He recalled the countless commercials of the Froot Loops mascot going on adventures, sometimes being accompanied by his nephews.

The fact that they were making small talk with him made Zelda even more skeptical. They were always known for insulting people regardless of the consequences. Still, she couldn't help but be slightly irritated with Pit as well since he should have known by now that these boys were nothing but trouble. Perhaps he was just too nice to ward them off. That or he feared for his own livelihood.

"Hey Pit!" Oswald rubbed the bottom of his chin as he took a few seconds to think of something quick. Soon, an imaginary light bulb hovered above his head. "How about you try to fly for us? You know, like a bird!"

"Okay!" With those words, Pit clicked the button of his seatbelt to unstrap himself. Next, he placed his hands on the ledge, helping himself up with all of his might. Afterwards, he turned around and stood up, causing Oswald and the others to stare in awe. It was as if they did not know Pit was capable of actually standing up. Then again, Zelda was also surprised as she learned something new about wheelchair users.

Pit began flapping his arms, pretending he was a bird this time. He giggled on and on, envisioning himself flying high in the sky and reaching the soft clouds above. It all felt natural to him, as if he lived among the Rito in a previous life.

Watching him flap his arms caused Oswald and the others to burst out into a fit of laughter. Since Pit himself was having too much of a good time, he failed to realize they were actually making fun of him the entire time.

"Remember not to jump off now," Richard joked. "After all, you're not act—!"

Before he could finish his statement, Pit leaped off the edge, causing the trio to abruptly cease their laughter. His body quickly collided with the hard concrete in the ground while immense pressure radiated on his right arm. It throbbed throughout his body, a sharp pain piercing through his muscles and ached his bones. Pit's vision grew hazy, dancing around back and forth. The setting around him turned into splotches of color before allowing him to drift off into the darkness.

"Holy cow!" Oswald entire body shook as he leaned on over. "I didn't even think he would actually jump!"

"L-let's get o-out of here before someone catches us!"

The boys began freaking out, frantically running down the ramp and stormed back into the library. Zelda's eyes widened from the scene as she noticed Pit had immediately lost consciousness afterwards. She turned around, entered back inside the school and ran over to get the nurse.

It wasn't until two days later when Pit returned back to school. His right arm was wrapped around in a cast which was held by an arm sling. One would expect him to be in a foul mood yet it was never the case with Pit. Regardless if rain or shine, dread or fright, he always came to class with a smile on his face. Not once did anyone ever see him frown (minus the accounts when he's being bullied or on the verge of a meltdown). Thankfully Oswald and his friends were not around to harass him today since Zelda ratted them out to the teacher. So instead, they were imprisoned against their will with in school suspension for the time being.

"Hi Zelda!" Pit greeted, waving his left hand. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing fine." Zelda placed her hand on her hips while staring at his cast. She wondered how he was even going to do his assignments, let alone if anyone would volunteer to write for him ever since the incident rendered his right arm useless for the time being. "Say, Pit—do you need any help with note taking? I couldn't help but notice that your right arm's broken."

He shook his head. "No, I don't need any help! Besides, Momma says I'm something called ambidextrous because I know how to write and use my left arm as well!" He took out a marker from his pocket and drew a star on the arm sling with his left arm. "See? Pretty neat, right?"

"Yeah, that is pretty neat." Zelda smiled slightly, mentally sighing in relief. She was glad that Pit was able to recover so quickly on his own, yet she still couldn't believe it. Why did he jump for those jerks to begin with anyways? Shortly after her smile turned into a frown while her gaze narrowed. "Pit—for the love of goddess, please don't be an idiot and listen to those jerks next time!"

Pit tilted his head in bewilderment, blinking innocently. "I guess you saw me flying too, huh?" He scratched the back of his head and slightly chuckled while lowering his head.

"You know people can't fly! It's physically impossible! Unless you're a Rito, then don't attempt flying, okay!? You got hurt because of it!" She bonked him on the head with her fist!

"I'm sorry…"Even when apologizing, he still had a smile on his face. Zelda found it odd, yet continued scolding him for listening to Oswald out of all people.
"I think we'll stop right here. We'll pick up on the rest of the lecture on Friday," Robert exclaimed.Zelda blinked, looking around. She realized she zoned out for almost the entire class. She started mentally beating herself over it. Despite writing notes on the first chapter, she still wanted additional information provided by the professor."Hey, you look like you could really use these," Marth said. He handed her his notes. Chrom in turn, decided to join.Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?""We're sure," Chrom said. "You really seemed out of it."She smiled slightly. "Thank you so much! I'll definitely return these the next time I see you guys in class."Robert dismissed class for the day while Zelda got up. She was grateful Chrom and Marth were in her first class, otherwise she wouldn't know what to do.
"I still can't believe I managed not to pay attention in class. Damn, am I really that out of it today?"
Despite borrowing notes from Marth and Chrom, Zelda still couldn't help but feel embarrassed about the whole ordeal. This wasn't like her at all. For starters, she was never one to drift off into her own thoughts during class but somehow memory lane had to drag her down. No matter what happened to her mood, she was always able to triumph and focus, but not this time. Instead, Pit's message managed to defeat her in one single hit. Just the thought of losing her train of thought during the next two classes was enough to cause unease.Zelda was engulfed inside of her thoughts. She pondered, figuring out how to remedy her sea of ever longing regrets. Her mind continued running amok. Her limbs tingled while her brain raced in the most unhelpful way. While she was too focused on her contemplations, Link happened to be walking by. He immediately took note of Zelda's discomfort and gently placed his hand on her should.The touch of Link's hand grabbed Zelda's attention instantly as she turned red. Never would she have thought Link would run into her while she was zoning out yet again."They might as well call you a space cadet," Link jested while winking. Zelda groaned at his terrible joke, let alone did not find it funny. "Didn't mean to offend you, so anyways— sup?""Nothing much really, just got out of class." Zelda crossed her arms and sighed. "My mind is just too occupied with pointless garbage."Link tilted his head, resting his chin on his palm and lifted a brow. "Care to talk about it?"She shook her head and waved both of her arms back and forth. "No, no. It's nothing serious, really. To be honest, it's rather silly."Link looked at her and crossed his arms. "Are you sure?""I'm sure of it."Link took a few steps forward, moving in front of Zelda. He smiled while adjusting his bookbag on the side. "Hey—I was thinking since we're both in the same cooking class and all, if would you like grab a bite to eat off campus before then? You don't have to if you don't want to."The thought of Link asking her out to lunch made Zelda's lips curl up. She never figured out why, but his good mood was highly contagious. And she for one, absolutely adored it. It was as if Link assured her not to worry with his goofy grin and overall charismatic charm."I would love to. And besides, it would give me a chance to see what's outside of campus grounds."Link beamed wide from her answer. He tapped the palm of his left hand with his own fist. "Great! That settles it! I'll meet you near the front gate next to the phoenix statue. Anyways, gotta go—see ya!"Before Zelda could bid him farewell for the time being, Link was gone in an instant. For the time being, she figured she could remedy her thoughts by freshening up in the bathroom. Finding the nearest bathroom in sight, Zelda stepped in and looked back and forth. Not only was it immaculate, but not one person was seen in sight. It was the perfect opportunity for some alone time away from all the noise of the lively students outside.She walked towards the sink and turns on the faucet. Zelda slowly placed her hands together, forming a cup to pick up some water before wetting her face. As soon as she knew it, the bathroom interior started transforming itself right in front of her eyes. No longer was she in the bathroom near the café in Harlington—instead, she was inside the bathroom of her former elementary school. She looked up in the mirror, coming face to face with a younger girl with short bangs, otherwise known as her ten year old self.
A young Zelda was occupied in the bathroom, washing her hands as a means of freshening up. She donned a large t-shirt with the school's name along with a pair of black basketball shorts. After finishing, she made her way towards the paper towel dispenser to dry her hands. As she rubbed the pieces all over her hands, she began to hear something not from afar. Since her class was currently in PE, they were out playing capture the flag in the soccer field near the front gates of the school. She assumed that there was a quick meeting which transpired earlier on such short notice.

Stepping outside, she noticed a two men departing from the school. The first man was in remarkably good shape, dressed sharp (wearing a designer business suit) and had his hair neatly combed to the left side, being held by hair gel. She recognized him immediately to be Oswald's father, Nicholas Clark. He was the boss of his own multimillionaire company and occasionally showed up to her family's parties. Just like his son, the man was high strung and full of himself. He believed Oswald could do nothing wrong and in fact, blamed his victims over being easy targets for his son.

Meanwhile, the second man slammed the double doors behind him. He was a smidge heavier in comparison to Nicholas. Instead of donning expensive clothing flaunting fortune and a lavish lifestyle, he wore a white t-shirt accompanied by a leather jacket. His dark brown hair was wild, untamed and combed back, out of his face. One scar rested across his right check, while another went straight across his neck. If one were to take a closer glimpse, they would notice all kinds of tattoos covering the man's arms. Just from one glance, Zelda noticed he seemed quite frustrated. While Nicholas was content, the other man was not. His blue eyes ravaged with fury—not once did the scowl plastered on his face died down. Zelda immediately recognized the other man to be Pit's father, Apollo Callahan.

"This is fuckin' bullshit!" Apollo growled under his breath. It seemed that the school moved in favor of Nicholas's son in regards to how they handled bullying. As a matter of fact, it was always that way. No matter how many times Apollo or Palutena argued with the faculty, they never once took the harassment of their children seriously. Instead, they often rewarded the bullies with a slap on the wrist rather than giving them after school detention, in school suspension, or expulsion even.

Nicholas shook his head, chuckling at Apollo's misery. "Just give it up already," he exclaimed. "The school's already settled this issue. What's more to complain about?"

"The fact this school allows little shitstains like your son to get away with bullying disabled kids! It's absolutely disgustin' how much they favor the bullies over their victims."

Nicholas turned around and shook his head. More laughter escaped his lips while his smirk remained. "And what would you know about bullying anyways? You're just a lowlife criminal who got extremely lucky with the law. And by the looks of it, became way too comfortable with your current life." He stretched his arms out as a means of demonstrating his dominance over Apollo. "To think they even allowed the likes of you to get off easily with your crimes just sickens me. Maybe, just maybe that's the reason why your children were born the way they are. Just think about it—the gods are finally punishing you for all of your misdeeds. It's as if they're telling you that you shouldn't be having kids in the first place. Now because of your crimes, you are paying for them by having freaks for kids."

Flames of fury and resentment smoldered in the small narrow eyes of Apollo. He clenched his fights tightly, gritting his teeth hard. The next thing Nicholas knew, Apollo lunged over and punched him square in the face. He wanted to punch him over and over, yet had to quickly restrain himself, otherwise he wouldn't be able to protect his family.

Zelda eyes widened, flinching a bit before covering her vision with her hands. Her body trembled as she staggered a bit, running away from the scene. A golden bracelet managed to slip out of her shorts as Nicholas plummeted down onto the concrete. The only thing she remembered was making eye contact with those rigid, cold, hard eyes.

During the next morning, the sound of the bell rang, echoing throughout the premises. Zelda followed behind her noisy classmates in tow, stepping inside the classroom. Some discussed about how school started way too early, whereas others gossiped about their other peers. She immediately noticed Pit's absence while the others began conversing with one another. Her eyes were fixated on the empty desk in front of her as the monotonous buzz of chattered scattered throughout the room. Not once did her gaze move elsewhere. She couldn't help but find it strange. Usually Pit was inside the classroom before everyone else. Perhaps he was running late or had an appointment before then. Or maybe, he was running down with a fever or something. No—that didn't sound right. As a matter of fact, Zelda found his absence to be kind of strange. For starters, no matter what obstacles lie ahead, he was never one to miss class. Furthermore, he seemed completely fine yesterday so why wasn't he here now?

The next thing Zelda knew, her teacher stepped inside the classroom with the principal behind her. She stood in the front of the classroom and began writing down this morning's bellwork for the class. Afterwards, the teacher turned around and garnered the attention of her students by clearing her throat.

"Ahem, good morning class." She adjusted the rim of her glasses. A student leaned over to whisper to their neighbor but their teacher narrowed her gaze. "I would like you all to refrain yourselves from doing this morning's bellwork for the time behind. The principal would like to have a word with all of you."

The principal walked towards the front of the classroom while Zelda's teacher stepped off to the side. The older man cleared his throat and stood tall. All of the students inside remained silent. Not once did they usher a word or pass notes.

"Good morning students," the principal greeted. "I am here to talk to you all about a very important issue today. For those wondering, I will be visiting all of the fifth grade classrooms today. For weeks, we have been receiving countless calls from the Callahan's, reporting instances of bullying happening to their son. You know we do not tolerate any kind of bullying at our school." He grabbed his clipboard and removed a stack of papers, handing them to the teacher. He instructed her to pass them onto each student before leaving to talk one-on-one outside. As Zelda received her paper, she noticed it was a small anti-bullying presentation.

"Are we really going to go over this—again?" a girl complained.

"It's better than doing this morning's bellwork. Anything that takes away school time's fine by me," a boy responded.

Zelda skimmed through the pages of the packet, recognizing most of the topics the lecture addresses. It talks about resources, how and where to report instances of bullying to even the differences between a bully and a friend. While she groaned quietly under her breath, Zelda couldn't help but managed to overhear the conversation of various students instead.

"That probably explains why he's absent," a boy said in reference to Pit.

"Definitely." Another boy tossed the packet onto the side of his desk. "Oh yeah—did you hear? My parents were talking last night about the child of a former gang leader attending our school. Turns out, they were talking about Pit's father."

A girl's eyes widened. "R-really?"

"Yeah," another girl chimed in. "My mom mentioned how Pit's dad was a former criminal and that he's a bad man."

"I've heard he almost killed someone once."

As countless students chattered about countless speculations of Pit's father, Zelda managed to put two and two together. From what she witnessed between Apollo and Nicholas yesterday, she figured that's why he was so menacing. Just his heartless gaze from yesterday alone was enough to give send a sickening sensation throughout her body.
Zelda snapped back into reality. She regained consciousness as her reflection matched her current appearance. Glancing back and forth, she noticed not one person was inside the restroom and sighed of relief. The last thing she needed was to be made fun of for zoning out inside a bathroom out of all places. Stepping back outside, she began heading straight towards the humanities building. Her journey was cut short by a familiar scowl—Pit's carbon copy from yesterday."What did I tell you yesterday?" he exclaimed, his voice full of nothing but upmost hatred for her.Zelda took a few steps back. "Just what do you want anyways?!" she questioned, narrowing her gaze. "I-I don't even know who you are!"His lips curled into a sly smirk. "Hmph, if you're that desperate, I guess I could tell you who I am. Anyways, the name's Drew. For your information, I'm Pit's younger brother, or more specifically, the younger twin.""Pit never mentioned anything about a brother…""Why should he?" Drew retorted. "Besides, he doesn't even like you. So anyways, once again—stay the hell away from Pit." He began walking away. Before leaving, he turned around, glaring at Zelda. "This is your final warning, got it?"Zelda stood silent. After their little confrontation, she ran towards the humanities building. This day was only getting worse and worse, even with Link's fun offer.Ghirahim conversed with a towering figure. He noticed Zelda running by and picked up on her discomfort. "Hey Zelda!" he yelled over. "Come over here."Zelda glanced up when she heard her name and sighed of relief. She was thankful it was only Ghirahim and not someone else like Drew. However before she could seize the chance to mask her worry, Ghirahim was able to read her like a book."Let me guess, you ran into some edgelord am I correct?" he guessed."Y-yeah—wait, how did you know?""Just a simple calculation." He adjusted his hair while his friend watched Zelda. "I would ignore them if I were you. They are not worthy of your time nor your presence."Zelda smiled a little. "T-thanks!""Hmph, no problem." Ghirahim fixed his hair as he turned towards his friend, leaving the area.Zelda watched as he took off. While she found Ghirahim to be a bit eerie, overall, he seemed to be harmless. From there on, she went upstairs and headed straight towards her world religions class.Zelda stood near the phoenix statue just like Link had said. She glanced at her phone, checking the time. The next thing she knew, she felt a tap on her shoulder."Hey!" Link greeted, smiling. "Ready to go?""Yeah!" Zelda smiled back. The two began walking outside of university gates and into the parking lot. The two were quiet for the time being before Link realized something."Oh hey, I was talking to my best friend earlier and mentioned something about lunch, and he seemed really interested. Do you mind if he tags along?""Sure!" Zelda beamed. "The more people, the merrier it is." Not only that, but things wouldn't feel as awkward. Sure she liked Link as an acquaintance, but being alone with him? She wasn't quite ready for that. Besides, they were not friends just yet, right? Right?Soon, it dawned her. For the longest time, Sheik was Link's best friend before his passing. She was curious to see who replaced him as Link's to go to. As they stood in front of the parking lot, a small van pulled up. The driver lowered the window and waved. It turned out, Link's best friend was none other than Pit Callahan."Hey Pit!" Link greeted. "Ready to eat?""Heck yeah!"Link approached the vehicle and sat inside the passenger's seat. He glanced over and leaned towards the window."Hey Zelda—aren't you coming?""Y-yeah!"At this point, Zelda was convinced that the goddesses were really cursing her at this point.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Pit departed campus grounds, making a left to get onto east University Drive. He altered the volume of the radio as it played "Black Madonna" by Cage the Elephant. Link adjusted himself in the passenger's seat before glancing at Pit. In the meantime, Zelda decided to remain completely silent, not only to observe them but also to garner as less attention on her as possible. In cases like this, she viewed silence as a form of solitude."So…," Link began, leaning his cheek on the tip of his fingers, "did you download the latest Smash update on your switch yet?""Not yet. I heard Byleth just got released yesterday!" Pit answered. Not once did his gaze drift away from the road. "Did you?""Yep. Messed around with them last night for a bit before working on some homework." Link chuckled slightly and shook his head. "I still can't believe the salt all over a measly character. Well, I do understand that there are a lot of Fire Emblem characters, but if you really think about it, the developers gave us four third party characters alongside another DLC pack in the future.""True." Pit laughed a bit, shaking his head. "I tend to stay out of that mess in general. The last thing I need is some jerk harassing me in my DMs over a harmless opinion. You know how people can be when it comes to any kind of discourse.""Yeah. Say, at least you can tell people that your mother's in the game now," Link jested, winking twice. This joke caused Pit to groan out loud."Ugh, not this crap again!" Pit inhaled through his nose before exhaling out a breeze of air from it. "The last thing I need to be compared to is any members from the Church of Seiros. Speaking of that, someone in my physics II class already told me how much I remind them of Cyril..."Link rubbed the bottom of his chin. "I could definitely see it. He's absolutely devoted and adores Rhea, just like how you love your mother and often follow her every whim." He cleared his throat, trying his best to mimic Pit's voice. "I'll work as hard as I can! For Lady Palutena!""Liiiiiink!" Pit's cheeks turned slightly red, causing Link to break out into a fit of laughter. While Link continued laughing up a storm to Pit's embarrassment, Zelda noticed how happy he was when he was with him. The last time she recalled Link laughing like that was when he was with Sheik. So in turn, she was glad he managed to find someone else he could completely confide to in time of need. That as well as joke around and let himself loose."Anyways." Link wiped the corner of his eyes, still grinning hard from his cheesy reenactment. "What do you feel like eating? I could really go for some meat right now. Probably a steak or two perhaps.""Hmm." Pit took a few seconds to think. Usually he wasn't a picky eater— unless the food had an unbearable texture, like eggplants for instance— but other than that, he was fine with anything. Still, that didn't mean he could be in the mood for a certain meal or two. "I was thinking more along the lines of a sandwich or something."Link raised a brow. "Really now? Thought you would want some steak, just like me."Pit shook his head, disagreeing. "Nah, not really. Just a sandwich is good enough for me."The two sat in silence while the radio played. From what felt like minutes, they both slightly glanced at one another and made a connection."How about some burgers then?" Link suggested."Heck yeah! I'm game dude!" Pit grinned wide at the thought of eating a nice, juicy cheeseburger.After a few minutes passed, they finally arrived at a local burger joint. Pit neatly parked in a vacant accessible parking space, aligning his vehicle in the middle before putting it on park and turning off the ignition. Link and Zelda both got out of the car, closing the door behind them while Pit used the powered lift in his modified vehicle. Link walked towards the door, holding it open for Pit and Zelda to enter inside the restaurant.The lighting was bright and cheery, the air being thick of the scents of so many different foods and charbroiled burgers. It was a small and cozy place, designed somewhat minimalist yet still had a homely, welcoming feel to it. The maple wood tables had small wooden chairs to match them, each being decorated with a napkin dispenser accompanied by condiments along with some salt and pepper. White pendulum lights dangled from the ceiling, each of them being centered above the tables. A bar was in the right corner of the building with cream colored barstools neatly aligned in a row against the wall. While they waited for the hostess to arrive, the sounds of noisy chatter of the people around them could be heard. To Zelda's surprise, she recognized the green haired woman waiting on the bench to be none other than Pit's mother, Palutena. From what she was able to recall, her features still remained the same after all these years— not once were they hit with any sign of aging.Palutena glanced down at her phone, reading the time. Afterwards, she glanced up and smiled warmly at the sight of her son, his best friend, and their new acquaintance."I didn't know you guys were coming here," she commented. Not once did her kind smile fade away. Her gaze was more fixated on Zelda before she looked to Pit. "I see you made yourself a new girlfriend. So, how did you two meet?"Her comment alone was enough to startle both Pit and Zelda. They looked at each other in silence, Pit's cheeks turning slightly pink while Zelda exchanged a quick, small smile before glancing in the other direction, clutching onto her hair. Whereas Zelda was slightly taken back by Palutena's teasing, Pit on the other hand, lightly stroked the palm of his left hand with the tip of his fingers."You see," he began, getting even more flustered. "We met at a place, where you um, go to get a higher education of learning after you graduate from high school.""Oh, you mean school silly!" Palutena giggled while Pit continued to stroke his palm lightly. She turned towards Zelda. "What's your name?""Zelda," she responded quickly."Zelda, huh?" Palutena flashed a smile in her direction. She extended out her arm and shook Zelda's hand. "It's nice to meet you Miss Zelda. I'm Palutena Callahan, otherwise known as Pit's mother— oh, and Drew's as well, but he isn't here with you guys.""Say, what brings you here anyways Dr. Callahan?" Link asked curiously. He did not expect to run into Pit's mother today, so seeing Palutena out and about was a rather lovely surprise."I'm currently on my lunch break. Decided to treat myself to a nice burger to go and surprise my husband with one as well. Speaking of which, the food's finally here!" The hostess came out holding onto a plastic bag which had Palutena's and Apollo's meals inside their respectful containers along with some plastic utensils and napkins. Palutena thanked the hostess, tipping her even before departing, not without telling her son goodbye with a kiss on the cheek, flustering him even further. Soon the hostess gave them her undivided attention."Hello and welcome to The Square Burgers and Brew! How many are in your party?""About three," Link answered, gesturing to himself, Zelda and Pit."Come right this way please." The hostess gathered up three menus and beckoned the trio to follow her. There she led them to a vacant table near the window. She moved away the chair from one side to allow for Pit to get comfortable before each giving them their own menu. "Your waiter will be with you right this minute." The hostess went back to the front of the restaurant to greet and seat the other guests.In no time at all, their waiter had arrived. He took out his little notebook along with a pen. "Hello and welcome to The Square Burgers and Brew. My name's Andrew and I'll be your server for today. May I get you all started with some drinks?""I'll take a Dr. Pepper," Link said."Okay then," Andrew said, writing down Link's order. "And for you young man?""I'll have a Coke!" Pit said."Alright, last but not least, what will you be drinking young lady?" the waiter asked Zelda."I'd like some Sprite please," Zelda answered."Got it! Before I give you guys some time to decide your orders, I have one more question— is this order going to be all together or would you guys like separate checks?"Before either Link or Zelda could answer, Pit informed the waiter that the bill will be together. He assured the other two not to worry as he wanted to treat them to their meals. The waiter took note and went to check up on the other tables nearby in their designated section. For the time being, no one ushered a word to one another. Instead, they were fixated on what they were going to order. Zelda browsed the menu, seeing that while they specialized in burgers and alcoholic beverages, they also served other dishes as well. After a few minutes, Andrew returned back to their table along with their drinks and checked to see if they were ready to order. Pit and Link settled on a double bacon cheeseburger and some seasoned fries while Zelda decided to stick with a simple hamburger and fries. He wrote down their orders before leaving, allowing them to converse with one another for the time being."So," Zelda said, breaking the ice. "There's something I've been wondering for a while now ever since we got here. How did you two get to become so close anyways?""Remember how I told you how my family moved away when I was ten?" Link brought up, reminding her.She nodded. "Yeah.""Well, we moved in the same town as my grandmother. Funny enough, she mentioned about knowing two kids around my age from her coworker and thought we should get to meet one another. She arranged a play date for us and needless to say, the kid was none other than Pit and his brother. And it turns out, we had a lot more in common with than we anticipated. From there, we just happened to become really good friends.""Then around seventh grade, somehow the gods granted me luck, and I transferred into the same school as Link," Pit said, joining in."I see." Zelda was surprised to learn about it and smiled. "Well like they always say, it's a small world after all. You two got lucky to encounter one another." Another moment of silence sat between them. Zelda glanced down at her hands, trying to quickly muster up another question. Even though she still felt a bit awkward around Pit, she didn't want warrant any suspicion or make Link concerned. Thankfully she managed to think of something quick. "Seeing how we all are attending Harlington University and whatnot, it made me rather curious about something. If you don't mind me asking this, what are you guys majoring in?""Um well…" Link chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I'm currently majoring in indecisiveness.""You're kidding, right?" Zelda laughed, thinking Link was making another one of his corny jokes yet received no reply. His facial expression was sheepish as ever, saying it all. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't gather up a good excuse."Believe it or not, I'm not sure what to major in still. I mean, it's much more difficult to figure out what you want to do with your life, ya know? Well, rest assured, I already completed all of my generals required for an associate's degree, at least I'm on some sort of direction, right?""Yeah, that's true. And besides, some people don't go back to school until way later anyways." Zelda flashed a small smile, relieved that Link somewhat had a general sense of direction. Soon she looked at Pit. "And what are you majoring in?""Who? Me?" Pit pointed at himself. He tapped his chin for a few seconds before snapping his fingers. "I've always wanted to help people, so I'm following in my mother's footsteps of becoming a doctor.""Oh really now?" His response perplexed her, especially given his learning history and reading comprehension. She knew Harlington had one of the top medical programs in the world, yet did not expect for Pit to major in such. Instead, she thought he would have leaned more towards game design or something else of his interest. That or even lounged around at home all day without a care in the world."What are you majoring in Zelda?" Pit asked curiously. Since he told her his, it was only fair that he might as well inquire her about what she was majoring in.Zelda froze. Her brain had abruptly shut down for the time being. She needed to think of something and quick. Instead, she got up, excusing herself and rushed over to the nearest restroom. She walked towards the sink, turning on the faucet and allowed the warm water to hit her palms. Pushing the soap dispenser, she washed her hands for the time being. Furthermore, she wondered how long it would be until the food arrives, not being of class, but because of Pit. She was afraid he might try to bring up what he wanted to discuss with her right in front of Link. She could picture it right now. Link getting upset at her once more. Perhaps the two were talking about her right now. After staring at her reflection for a few more seconds, Zelda dried up her hands and left the bathroom. She saw Andrew handing them their meals, mentally sighing in relief.Zelda watched the ever changing scenery from the car window. She observed all of the townspeople going on with their day alongside tons of college students. The next thing she knew, Pit turned into Harlington, taking them to the main campus gates where they had met up prior. He unlocked the doors and placed his foot on the brakes."You guys can go ahead without me," he told him. "In the meantime, I'm going to look for a decent parking space. You know how crazy parking can get during the beginning of every semester.""Alright. Let's go then!" Link hopped out of the car and went towards the backdoor and opened it, allowing for Zelda to get out. She stepped out of the car, turned around, and thanked Pit for paying for her meal. A huge part of her really wanted to pay him back but he heavily refused, insisting he was okay with taking care of the bill. Guess she learned that while Pit is upbeat, he can also be really stubborn as well. As soon as she closed the door behind her, Pit took off and went on a quest to find a decent accessible parking space.Link and Zelda began walking back towards campus. When they arrived at the gates, someone shouted Link's name from afar."Hey, you go on to class ahead of me. I'm going to talk to my friend Shulk for a second." Link waved, turning around as he focused all of his attention on Shulk. Zelda blinked, smiling a bit and hummed a little tune under her breath. Despite how her day started earlier, everything seemed to be picking up. That was until she suddenly came face to face with Drew Callahan. His menacing gaze was enough to make her stomach queasy."What the hell did I just tell you earlier?" he retorted, inching closer towards her. She closed her eyes tightly, slightly looking away. When she opened them, Drew was actually up close and personal as she could hear him breathe. Zelda was paralyzed, his intimidating aura held her in a tightening grip. "Stay the fuck away from Pit!"Terror continued washing over her, raising the fine hairs on her back of her neck. She wanted to turn and run the other way, but her feet wouldn't allow her. So instead, she did the only thing she could do— bite back."I'm sorry," Zelda began, her voice shaking a bit while it rose. "But why are you harassing me for something that's beyond my control anyways?! I don't even know who the hell you are but you insist on targeting me for no damn reason! Like what have I even done to deserve this!?""Hmph." Drew closed his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. His fingers ran through his wild locks, brushing them a bit, only for them to bounce right back into place. He clicked his tongue as the left side of his lip tugged upwards, creating a smug smirk oh his face. "So all of the sudden you think you're the victim? Hah, you people amuse me!"He forced out an entertained laugh. "Let me get this straight, all of the sudden you care about Pit? Oh, I definitely see where this is going. You feel bad for your actions in the past, try to bond with the person you've wronged, beg for forgiveness and all the sudden everything's a-okay! Wow, talk about selfish!"Every muscle in her body shouted at her to turn back now and walk away, but instead, she stood. No matter how much he caused her heart to beat like a hammer and unsettled her, there was no turning back now. "Aren't people allowed to own up to their own actions and change for the better? Or are they forever tainted by their past selves in your eyes?"He crossed his arms, shaking his head, clicking his tongue in irritation. "No matter how much you've grown, that doesn't mean I'm allowed to trust you. And besides, I've witnessed how people treated my brother. They either saw him as their personal punching bag or as something pitiful to even gawk at. You just want your redemption arc so you can use him as a form of inspiration porn. Oh, I could just see the headlines now." Drew waved his right arm slowly to emphasize his point. "Former goody two shoes model student Zelda Nohansen makes amend with a disabled boy who has autism. Let's flaunt their sudden newfound friendship and focus on how the allistic girl saved the autistic boy by giving him a kindness!""Wait!" Zelda was a bit confused. She never heard such term used before, but hearing it in a sentence allowed her to guess its definition. "Aren't you allistic yourself?""No dumbass—I'm autistic, just like my brother!" He cleared his throat and stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Yuck, it pains me to even use person first language, even when to prove a damn point! Besides, people like you are the reason why people want to kill themselves in the first place."Her eyes widened. "What?!" It was hard to believe. For the love of goddesses, she hoped Pit never experienced any form of suicidal ideation. At this point, she wasn't even sure anymore. All the thing she knew was that Pit always came to school with a smile on his face."Didn't you know that Pit always hid how he truly feels? Under that smile is a complete lie. Truth be told, I recall a terrible memory, one that is impossible to forget. It happened after the incident where he broke his right arm. I remember my parents asking him if he accidentally fell, yet that wasn't the case. Instead, he told us how much he wanted to die at some point, all because people hated him for who he was."Zelda's jaw dropped. She reminisced the day she saw Pit leap off the ledge. From what looked like a mere accident turned out to actually be a suicide attempt! She placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream. Immediately she shuffled away from the scene as tears began welling up in her eyes. She ran clumsily, stumbling upon a nearby garden area and made her way towards the corner and wailed hoarsely."I should really be getting to class. It was nice seeing you guys again!" Link started making his way to the entrance and turned around, waving at Shulk before stepping on campus grounds. While walking his way towards the steel gates, he stopped in his tracks. Squinting his eyes as a means of focus, he caught glimpse of Drew and Zelda interacting with one another. Shortly after, he witnessed her storming off. She was clearly upset, causing him to quicken up his pace and make haste towards Drew."What the fuck did you just do?" Link barked, clenching his teeth.Drew took two steps back, shaking his head. Why was Link upset over someone who despised him for something beyond his reach? Just what made this Zelda girl so special that granted her sudden salvation? "I was only protecting Pit from getting hurt again."He furrowed his brows, resting his arms on his chest. He'd begin constructing pieces of the puzzle together before it finally clicked. Instead of confronting Drew right away, he was curious to what he even told Zelda."Well, I just told her everything. From how those like her cause people like Pit to kill themselves and the fact that he actually really hates her," Drew said nonchalantly, shrugging. He acted as it was no big deal. Link on the other hand, thought otherwise. He lunged forward, aggressively grabbing Drew by the shirt collar. Holding Drew with one hand and lifting up the other, he clenched it into a fist so hard that his nails cut into his skin.Before any further altercation could transpire, Pit finally arrived at the campus gate and witnessed the scene which was about to unfold. He was one to rarely curse unless either provoked or angry."Just what the hell is going on?!" He questioned.Link let go of Drew's shirt collar, causing him to lose balance and almost fall onto the sidewalk. He pointed his finger at Drew. "Why don't you ask your fucking brother?""Link's just being overdramatic over some stupid girl," he simply stated.Pit tilted his head, trying to figure out what his brother even meant about some stupid girl. He paused for a moment before realizing that he was referring to none other than Zelda. His facial expression narrowed while he crossed his arms. "Pittoo! What did you do to Zelda?"Drew growled under his breath. "For the love of god, I told you not to call me that stupid name, Pit-stain!" He exhaled, shaking his head while he rolled his eyes. "I've just told Zelda to stay away from you because I didn't want her to hurt you again. Even went as fair to tell you that you actually hated her."Pit's eyes flashed with indignance and fury, much like lightning on a pitch black night. "How could you be so damn selfish?! You know what? I want you to go apologize to her right now!""Why the hell should I?" He rolled his eyes. At this point, he was convinced that Zelda managed to somehow cast a spell on both Link and Pit. Only he was the one who saw through her deceit."For the last time, I'm not you! My experiences are my own! Stop self-projecting your misery onto me already! It's not my fault that unlike you, I'm not all doom and gloom all the damn time!" Pit yelled. His response took Drew back a bit, causing him to turn his back and walk away. He knew that this already wasn't going to be a winning battle. There was no point in convincing Pit that Zelda was nothing but trouble. What bothered him was how Pit was more concerned about someone who had greatly hurt him in the past over his own brother.Link made his way towards Pit while Drew took off. He watched him leave away from prying eyes. "I think you were a bit too hard on your brother. Like the dude was being an absolute ass, but damn.""Well, sometimes people need to learn the hard way. Even those like Pittoo." Pit sighed and shook his head. He couldn't believe the nerve of his own brother. "I would suggest for you to get to class. Meanwhile, I will wait around campus to talk to Zelda."Link nodded and made his way towards the Humanities II building. Despite being a couple of minutes late, he headed over to his cooking class to cool down from the sudden drama. When he arrived, he noticed right away that Zelda wasn't there. He suspected such since Drew was being a complete asshole to her for no reason. He made his way towards the room and took his seat to listen to the lecture."People like you are the reason why people want to kill themselves in the first place."Zelda sobbed into her hands, tears dripping between her fingers, raining down onto the concrete beneath. She blamed herself endlessly, pondering what she did to really hurt Pit. The only one she directly remembers hurting was Chrom. She thought he had it the worst since they had much more interactions. Soon after, it finally hit her.
A twelve year old Zelda sat at her desk in the back of classroom during her English period. Her gaze was fixated on the whiteboard in front of her, watching the clock in the center above. Time flowed like cement. From what felt like forever, only a minute had passed and class had yet to begin. Students chatted with one another in the meantime, awaiting their teacher's arrival. Bellwork had yet to be written on the board. Sitting there with nothing to do but stare at a clock on the wall was excruciatingly dull. Zelda rested her head on the palm of her hand, bored out of her mind. Thankfully the teacher arrived just in the nick of time! She held onto her clipboard closely to her chest along with a stack of papers, each of them varying with red marks on top alongside a number percentage.

While her peers were still engrossed in their own conversations, the teacher began handing the papers back to each student. When Zelda received hers, she looked at the top corner of the first page, realizing it was the English test from last week. She examined her score immediately— a 98 percent.

Zelda let out a sigh of relief, wiping away the fictional sweat on her forehead. She worried prior that she had done terribly due to the test being much more difficult than expected, let alone having more trick questions than usual. Shortly after, she noticed a cucco sticker at the bottom right corner of her test. Raising an eyebrow, she could not help but ponder its meaning. More students examined their scores and the stickers as they received their tests back—some groaned while others were relieved. Overall, there were mixed reactions throughout the entire classroom. After the teacher finished handing them out, she went back to the front of the classroom to garner the attention of her students.
"Ahem," she began, clearing her throat. "I am sure the majority of you are wondering why there hasn't been any bellwork written on the board." The teacher looked at her clipboard while the students remained silent. One tried to murmur towards their neighbor, yet was quickly shushed by the person in front of them. "Well— I've decided to have a change of plans, just for today. Since a good chunk of the class failed the test while some of you passed significantly, I've decided to assign a little tutoring assignment instead. To explain, you guys will be paired based on not only your marks, but also which one of you will benefit from learning the most from your partner. For example, the student with the highest score will be paired up with the student who has obtained the lowest score.""Um Ms. Thorne," a girl asked. "Why can't we just pick our partners and learn what we did wrong from there? I mean, it's still the same thing."
Ms. Thorne shook her head. "That's not how this little tutoring session works Sam. As a matter of fact, I'm sure some of you noticed the sticker on the bottom right corner of your test. I gave each pair their own unique sticker. In order to find your partner, you must find the person with the matching sticker. For instance, two of you have frog stickers while another pair has stars at the bottom of their paper."
"But Ms. Thooorne," Sam whined, "what if I get stuck with someone I don't like? Or even worse, an idiot.""I'm not changing the rules to this tutoring assignment and that's final." The teacher rolled her eyes while Sam muttered a few obscenities under her breath. After her explanation, students immediately got up and went to search for their respective partners. Deep down, Zelda was already dreading this assignment. Not only had she received the highest score in the class, she also had tutor the student with the lowest score. Since he was in her class, she knew she would be assigned his tutor by default. And to her dismay, she was right. Her eyes made direct contact with Pit's, who clutched onto his test."Just great..."
She believed the goddesses were definitely spiting her at this point. Internally groaning, Zelda got up from her desk and moved to one much closer to Pit's.
"Good afternoon Zelda!" he greeted cheerfully. Pit was always chipper like a sparrow as usual, even when he miraculously failed his English test. He never seemed to mind anyways. From what he always informed everyone, he believed none of this would even matter once one turned eighteen anyways."Hi Pit," she responded flatly. If there was one thing Zelda wasn't looking forward, it was tutoring Pit. What especially boggled her mind was that even with the help of the school's resource room and other learning aids, he still managed to fail tests. Well, he was an almost a straight C student when it came to his main studies unless it was math. Then he excelled tremendously. Otherwise, he was just an average student at best.
Of course, Zelda being assigned Pit's partner made her not so secret admirer Groose whinge across the other side of the room.
"Augh, no fair!" His partner shook her head in slight annoyance while he was focused on his longtime crush. "How come he gets to work with Zelda and I don't!?""Maybe because he scored much lower than you," Malon shot back. She wished she could have gotten stuck with someone else but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. So in turn, she was stuck tutoring Groose."Well if you would have tried harder to fail the test, maybe you could have gotten partnered up with Zelda instead," Cawlin chimed in, snickering. "I mean, you would have to be a total idiot to get the lowest score in the class!""True." Groose smiled wide. Despite not getting to work with Zelda, his friend made him feel better about it. Besides, not working with his dream girl meant he was a lot smarter, not to mention superior, than the residential class idiot."Leave him alone already!" Malon sneered, rolling her eyes. Soon an imaginary light bulb lit up above her and she smirked. "And you see, this is one of the many reasons why Zelda will never ever go out with you. Not even if you were the last person on earth."
Groose froze, his mouth agape with astonishment. He did not know Malon was capable of such insults, let alone could lose her patience. Usually she was kind-hearted and mild-tempered but who knew farm girls could snap with such ease.

Ms. Thorne glanced up from her computer, giving both Groose and Malon a look which ordered them to get back to work. As soon as they went back to their tutoring assignment, the classroom remained quiet for the most part, except for the soft murmurs of the students teaching one another.
"So Pit," Zelda began, obviously ignoring what transpired just now. "Let me see your test.""Okay!" He dropped the test on his desk, allowing Zelda to read his percentage score. There in big red letters exclaimed a 35 percent. Just seeing the score was enough for Zelda to feel dreadful for his future. She hated to think such negative thoughts but at this point, she figured Pit would most likely never amount to anything, especially if he keeps struggling behind his peers. Who knows, perhaps he was just a horrible test taker. For all she knew, she hoped that was most likely the case, otherwise she felt nothing but pity for his lack of intelligence. Thankfully she managed to get through most of the test, helping Pit with every explanation as he hung onto her every word. Before she knew it, the bell rang, indicating that school was done and over with for the day. The sounds of shuffling chairs and desks were heard as students organized the classroom before departing. As Zelda was about to leave, Ms. Thorne called her over to her desk."Zelda, may you please come over here for a second.""Coming." Zelda walked over to her desk while some students stared. They wondered if she was in trouble before remembering she was the model student. Afterwards, they went back to their own devices and walked straight out the door and into the hallway. "Is anything up Ms. Thorne.""Not exactly." She paused for a moment, thinking of what to say. "After seeing your outstanding progress throughout the quarter, I had a meeting earlier in the week with Pit's resource teachers and parents. I've told them that he needs more help in English and suggested tutoring sessions after school, which they were completely on board with."
Zelda titled her head. She wondered where she was going with this.
"Since you're the top student in all of my classes, I was wondering if you would help tutor Pit after school as well. To make sure he doesn't lag behind his classmates. He definitely needs the extra help and seeing him understand your explanations today managed to put a smile on my face." She smiled warmly at the thought of Pit actually understanding something. "So, what do you say Zelda—will you be willing to tutor Pit?"
Her eyes and mouth widened into a concerned smile. Thankfully Ms. Thorne didn't catch on, but Zelda was actually really uncomfortable with the idea of tutoring Pit full time. She couldn't help but begrudgingly agree, despite not wanting to even waste her time with him. This in turn, caused Ms. Thorne to smile in delight.
"That settles it!" Ms. Thorne clasped her hands together in excitement. "You will start your tutoring sessions as soon as he's ready.""Okay." Zelda just smiled and waved before leaving the classroom. She hoped to the goddesses that she didn't start today. And lord behold, Pit was out in the hallway, waiting for her.
Little did Ms. Thorne know, these tutoring sessions did not go well as planned. No matter how hard Zelda tried, all Pit wanted to do was ramble on and on about Pokemon this, Pokemon that. This annoyed her to no end. To add more onto her plate, not once has she even seen an episode nor did she even play video games. She had to constantly remind him of this in every session yet Pit didn't seem to grasp it. So in turn, she was stuck an extra hour every day listening him drone about Ash's adventures to wondering what her favorite gen four Pokemon was.

No matter how hard she tried to conceal herself, soon enough, the volcano inside of her would erupt. After a month of tutoring and no progress being made, Zelda felt nothing but pure exhaustion. She could have been home right now, studying or reading the next book of The Lord of the Rings series but nope. Instead, she was stuck inside the library after school with someone she could care less about.

The two of them sat across from one another. While Zelda took out her notes and studying aids once again, Pit seemed to be focused on doodling on top of his notebook instead. About a few seconds later, they made eye contact with one another, with Pit beaming the entire time.
"So Zelda," he asked innocently, "who's your favorite Pokemon character that isn't Pikachu? I like Ash the best! No matter what circumstances he gets into, like losing a major league for example, he never gives up his dream of becoming a Pokemon master!"
Irritation continued surging inside of Zelda. Nostrils flaring, she had gotten up from the table, clenching her fists at her sides. The volcano which was doormat inside of her for the longest time finally erupted.
"For the last time— I. Don't. Care." She growled under her breath, causing Pit to tilt his head slightly."Zelda?" he asked gently, blinking. "Is everything alright?""Is everything alright?!" She mimicked his tone, mocking him. Shortly after, she forced out an exaggerated giggle before narrowing her gaze. Pit had never seen her get angry with him before, so in turn, he was startled. "No matter how hard I try, day in and day out, all the thing you want to do is talk about some dumb cartoon!""Hey! Pokemon isn't du-!""SHUT! UP! For the love of goddesses— please stop talking!" Her muscles grew more and more tense as she finally revealed her inner frustrations with him. A boiling fury which swelled within her continued leaking, seeping on Pit every chance it could get. "Instead of watching a stupid show intended for little kids, you need to grow up and start acting your age. If you keep this up, you'll never amount to anything! Stop talking to me like I'm your friend! I'm your tutor, just only a mere acquaintance! Just because we have history and the same class together, doesn't mean I'm your friend now or was I your friend then! Just shut up and let me teach you! Maybe if you'd listen for once, you would learn to stop being an idiot!"
Pit stared off into the distance. "I'm… I'm sorry…" His once permanent smile had finally crumbled. No longer was he the bright eyed kid who looked forward to each day. Instead, he sat there, dominated by a profound sadness, fatigue engraved on his worn face. He kept his mouth shut for the remainder of their tutoring session. Not once did he usher a word nor did he make eye contact with Zelda. As soon as the tutoring session ended, Pit stormed off before Zelda could even comment.

While she stuffed her belongings into her bookbag, not from afar, she caught a glimpse of Pit crying into Palutena's arms as she consoled him. Soon enough, reality had finally hit Zelda. Her heart sank, feeling nothing but pure guilt for blowing up at him. Sure he could be insufferably upbeat at times and annoying but in the end, he was just innocently hyperfixating on something he loved and cherishes.

Palutena asked him what happened, yet Pit didn't give his mother much detail. Part of her was glad. She feared Apollo coming up at their doorstep to berate her parents with harassment, furthermore threat them over her sudden treatment of their precious angel. The two of them left, leaving Zelda alone in a raging sea of troubles. She made a mental note to apologize to him in class tomorrow. Unfortunately, it was the last time she ever saw him. The next day after class, she asked Ms. Thorne about Pit's whereabouts. She informed Zelda that Pit had transferred into another school out of town and that yesterday was his last day.
Many students always harassed Pit for practically anything he liked. They tried their hardest to crush his spirit, often calling his hobbies childish and told him it was for babies. This always seemed to hurt him. The same could go for calling his special interest stupid as well. His peers practically picked him piece by piece. They mocked everything about him – from his looks to how friendless he appeared to be without them. What disgusted Zelda was how some students were only nice to him out of pity. Not once did they view him on the same level as them. Instead, they viewed him as sub-human, something which made her sick to her stomach. She wouldn't be surprised if all of the torment Pit had received wrecked his ability to trust even. Perhaps that's why he was with Link. He feared that she was going to hurt him, so he made sure to have his back.Zelda knew she was missing class but didn't even want to think of it, especially when she was so upset. Learning about Pit's major still surprised her, given his learning history. She hated her younger self for deeming him unworthy of great success. Soon it hit her. Pit wanted to not only prove those people wrong, but to also show them that he's not an idiot. To show them he's actually worth something, even if he must put in the extra effort. Just the thought of demonstrating himself was enough to put a smile on her drenched face. Suddenly, she found his stubbornness to be admirable, especially since it allowed him to fight back rather than cower.While Zelda continued to wallow in her own ravaging sea of troubles, Fi and Midna happened to be walking around the corner, engaged in a conversation."Did I ever tell you about the presentation that happened in my honors English class back in high school?" Midna exclaimed.Fi shook her head. "I don't think so.""Well, you see," Midna began, snickering. "We had to do a presentation on a non-fictional piece which was related to the theme we chose for the semester. When this girl came up, she starts off with the love story of Titanic, you know, the one that had no connection to the ship's history. Before she could go even further, the teacher stops her and fails her right on the spot.""Oh my!" Fi covered her mouth, giggling a bit. Just the thought of someone doing a presentation on a fictional love story was enough to make anyone laugh. Midna started cackling at the thought, recalling all of the odd encounters during her high school years. Her laughter was abruptly cut short at the sight of a depressed Zelda. She pointed at her while Fi whispered something in her ear. From there on, they decided to comfort Zelda in time of need despite only meeting her yesterday."Hey girl," Midna greeted. "Is everything alright?"Zelda glanced up a bit, shot them a small smile and shook her head. "Yes, everything's fine— I promise.""Your tone states otherwise," Fi pointed out rather bluntly. Zelda took a deep breath and sighed. There was no point in trying to pretend everything was fine. The last thing she needed was to get berated for lying. Midna decided to sit next to Zelda, wrapping her arm around her."So, what's up?""Well you see," Zelda began, looking down at her feet. "Let's just say it all started when I received a text message last night from someone who I knew from my childhood. They said we really needed to talk and left it as that. It didn't help that I was being harassed by a boy earlier that day either. He threatened to stay away from the one who sent the message. So today, I happened to encounter Boy A not once, but twice. No matter how hard I tried to avoid Boy B, fate wouldn't allow it. So needless to say, Boy A yelled at me and basically blamed for all the misery Boy B faced in his life.""Wow…" Midna took some time to think while Fi remained quiet, assessing the situation. "From what it sounds, Boy A is a real jackass. Just hearing what he did makes me want to beat the absolute shit out of him.""True. I tried my best to avoid Boy B all day, but like I said, fate denied me bliss. Instead, I had to be stuck with him almost all day." Another weary sigh escaped her lips. "Sometimes I wonder if Boy A was right the entire time…""Zelda, don't beat yourself over this." Midna shook her head and hugged her. She knew Zelda absolutely deserved none of this. It wasn't her fault that they both happened to attend the same university. What was the rowdy boy going to do about it anyways? Try to get her kicked out or something?After a few minutes of Midna consoling Zelda, Fi decided to finally give her input on the entire situation."While we're bound to have our own biases, it's really important to get an understanding of the other person's perspective. I mean, Midna and I would definitely latch onto your side in an instant, but sometimes glancing at things from the other side allows not only us to understand the situation better, but also how the other person felt. He may not show it and take a rather aggressive approach, but Boy A must had definitely been worried about Boy B. There's a 99 percent chance that Boy A is most likely still stuck in the past due to all of the trauma both he and Boy B went through. In order to protect not only his friend, but himself as well, he is most likely self-projecting his own experiences onto his friend."Zelda stood quiet, allowing her to think hard on Fi's explanation. She recalled how she too was stuck living inside the past for the longest time. So in turn, she was definitely able to understand where Drew was coming from. Sometimes it was extremely difficult to come out of a dark place to see the light, even if it meant having to face reality and move on. Perhaps Drew wasn't so different from her after all."In order to gain his trust, you must demonstrate to Boy A that you're not the same person who you once were in the past." Fi simply stated. "Remember not to lost patience if he doesn't accept at first. After all, these things do take time.""… You're right." Zelda got up, dusting off any dirt or cervices on her jeans.Fi smiled soft. "Now, about that message you've received last night. You know you can't keep avoid Boy B forever. Eventually you two must come face to face and listen to one another, no matter how frightening and nerve-racking the situation might be."No matter how much she wanted to protest, deep down, Zelda knew that Fi spoke nothing but the truth. In the end, she felt a huge weight lift off of her shoulders and smiled. She thanked both Midna and Fi for their help as they wished her the best of luck.Pit sat under a shaded area near the café. Sipping on a java chip frappucino, he muttered to himself while fiddling around with the straw. "Maybe Link was right— perhaps I was a bit too hard on Pittoo…"He closed his eyes, sighing deeply. It was only the first week of classes and he was already getting himself dragged into pointless drama. While he was fixated on his own thoughts, he didn't notice Zelda's arrival as she sat across from him."Hey Pit…" She began, her voice trailing off. She began fiddling with her fingers a bit, already being hit with the sudden surge of anxiety."Hey!" His mood suddenly shifted into a small smile before dropping. "Did you by any chance manage to receive my message last night?""What message?" Zelda decided to play dumb. Already she was failing to take Fi's advice into her own hands. It didn't help that she already felt sick to her stomach just talking to him. "I've never received anything.""Don't lie to me!" Pit slammed his fists on the table, startling her. His drink shook but his hand quickly caught it before it managed to tip over. "I know you've read the message I've sent to you on Facebook last night! I may be naïve at times, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. You've been acting weird around me for almost the entire day! Is there something wrong? Did I offend you on accident or anything?"Zelda shook her head, sighing deeply. "No, no. I just want to know one thing— do you hate me?""Hate you?" Her response threw Pit completely off-guard. He wasn't sure how to feel about her sudden assumption. He stroked his chin with his fingers for a few seconds, squinting his eyes. Soon he managed to put two and two together, remembering that his brother told Zelda that he hated her. He shook his head and covered it with his hand. "Why would I hate you? As a matter of fact, that's not even the reason I've sent you the message in the first place.""Huh?" She was relieved to learn that Pit did not in fact hate her. But the question still remains— just what was it that he wanted to talk to her about."The reason why I've sent the message was because I wanted to give you something back." He would dig through his pockets and take out a black dust protective jewelry back. He extended his arm out and handed it over to Zelda, insisting for her to open it.Opening the bag, it revealed a familiar golden bracelet she had lost ten years ago. It was a gift from her late grandmother she received on her eighth birthday. She remembered the earful lecture her father gave her when she had lost it. Holding the bracelet, she noticed it was kept in excellent condition, having no signs of age or damage even."When I first saw you, I figured I could finally return this item to its rightful owner. You see, my dad stumbled upon it by chance when he accidentally frightened someone after a meeting at school. Since he didn't trust an expensive piece of jewelry lying around in the open, he decided to take it. He wanted to give it back to you at first, but he realized that would have only made things much worse. My mother told him to give it to the faculty so they can put it in the lost and found, but even then, he couldn't trust him. He basically told her if he were to do that, the owner would never see her bracelet ever again.""I thought this was forever lost. I-I don't know what to say." She placed the bracelet back into the jewelry bag and stuffed it into her backpack. It felt good to be reunited with an item that held sentimental value to her. "Thank you Pit… thank you so much!" Zelda smiled warmly before realizing she had forgotten something. "I deeply apologize for misinterpreting your message but I must warn you, leaving such messages often causes more confusion, especially since it lacks a subject matter.""I understand. I thought since it was a common phrase that you would be fine with it. Needless to say, I thought wrong. Then again, it's something I don't quite understand myself so." Pit shrugged. "Anyways, I apologize for startling you with it last night. I didn't mean to stress you out or anything.""It's fine! You had good intentions, that's all that matters.""True." Pit grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Then his expression flattened. "Whatever you do, please do not hate my brother for what he did. While Drew may be arrogant at times, deep down, he's actually no different from me. Just has a tough time expressing himself, so people often mistake him for being rude, even when he's being sincere." In short, Pit revealed to Zelda that Drew had a soft side."I actually don't harbor any ill feelings towards him. Like yeah, he was really scary and whatnot, but in a weird way, I think I understand how he actually feels."Pit smiled at her response. "Say, if you're free tonight, would you like to hang out with me, Link, and a couple of my other friends at an arcade this evening? You don't have to if you want.""I'd love to!" Sure, she may not be one for video games, but Zelda knew how much they made Pit happy. Shortly after, she heard the shuffling of another bookbag as Link sat next to her."Glad to see you both in a better mood." He said, smiling. "Now hopefully we can put this all behind us and have some fun later on tonight."Evening time rolled around the corner. Zelda sat in the backseat of Pit's car, browsing her phone. When the three of them arrived, they made their way towards the neon pink sign of the arcade's entrance. Not from afar stood Midna and Fi. The taller of the two was fixated on her phone before glancing up and seeing the trio head their way."Hey! I didn't know you two knew Zelda," Midna commented playfully. She nudged Link on the side of his stomach and winked while pointing at the blonde Hylian next to him. Link chuckled in response, shooing her away jestingly."Where's Lana? I thought she was coming with you guys," Link asked."She had a change of plans in the last minute," Fi explained. "Turns out, one of her friends happened to be really down, so she wanted to cheer them up.""I see."A few minutes later, three more guests arrived, consisting of Ravio, Ilia, and last but not least, Zelda's childhood friend from fourth grade Malon. Her eyes widened at the sight of Malon, who held hands with Ilia."Malon? Is that you?" Zelda couldn't believe it. She remembered Malon moving away by the time she started eighth grade. So to see an old friend again was not only shocking, but heartwarming as well."Zel!" Malon let go of Ilia's hand, rushed over, and tackled Zelda into a giant hug. She almost managed to topple them both over, yet Zelda managed to catch her balance. "I can't believe it! It really is you!"Zelda smiled wide to the point where her cheeks started to hurt, but she could care less. Instead, she continued hugging Malon. "I haven't seen you in soooo long! How's life been treating you.""Great!" Malon replied. "Managed to bump into these two when I moved, then eventually met my partner in high school. If you haven't met her already, she's standing right there!" She pointed at Ilia, who waved."We actually met three days ago at the daycare center," Ilia answered, informing her girlfriend of her meeting with Zelda."Sweet! That takes care of that! So, who's ready to play some arcade games?""Me!" Everyone except Zelda and Fi yelled in unison.They stumbled into the arcade, which was lightly dimmed to emphasize its focus towards its entertainment. Rows of machine with colorful pictures on the side were light up brightly, their glowing screens inviting them with open arms. A thin patterned carpet laid beneath their as a couple of coin exchange machines were near the photo booths. Claw and UFO games were filled with stuffed toy prizes near the dance pad machines. Last but not least, racing and shooting games were at the corner of the building near the restrooms.The group made their way towards the coin exchange machines which now printed out a card. They got their cards and made their way towards their respective games. Surprisingly, it turned out that Ravio was excellent at crane games.While Malon and Ilia decided to shoot some hoops with the basketball game, Zelda decided to watch Pit and Link play against each other in air hockey. The two of them got really competitive with one another not only in air hockey, but all of the other games they played with one another as well. Their reactions garnered a laugh out of Zelda due to them being really hilarious."Hey, want to play a match Zelda?" Link asked."Um, I'm not really s—!""Come on, try it! It's only air hockey," Pit exclaimed happily."Okay." Zelda made her way towards the table and grabbed the white pusher from Pit. "Just don't come crying to me when you lose Link!"The two of them really got into it as Zelda managed to win several games. Link got heated, yet not once did he loose his cool. Instead, the two were having a good time, playfully insulting one another.As time passed, everyone eventually parted ways and went home. Zelda couldn't help but feel ecstatic. Not only did a horrible day turned out to be wonderful in the end, but she also got to see Malon again and reunite with her golden bracelet. She stood outside and watched their remaining friends take off. While her gaze was fixated on the lights above, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder."Hey Zelda?" Pit asked.She turned around, wondering what he wanted."I was um, wondering if you would like to come over to my house tomorrow to hang out with Link and I," he said.Zelda took a few seconds to think. While a part of her wanted to get ahead in her classes, another part wanted to actually live out her life. Since she had nothing better to do, she nodded, causing Pit to grin hard. About twenty minutes later, Pit dropped off Link and Zelda at the front gates of Harlington before leaving. Just like two nights ago, Link decided to walk Zelda back to her dormitory."Who knew such a crappy day would turn out so good?" Zelda commented."Well, surprises do happen." Link winked, nudging her playfully. "Perhaps you and I could do something this weekend. Maybe hang out and say hi to my grandmother.""Oh, I would love to!" She was curious to how Link's family was doing. He hardly ever mentioned anything about them except the time they moved out of town on the day of Sheik's funeral."Believe it or not, Pit's really special to me." Link smiled softly, adjusting his ponytail. "Let's just say we have a loooot of history together. Actually— now that I think about it, the Callahan's are like another family to me, ever since…"His voice trailed off. Zelda wondered what Link was going to say as he stumbled in his own tracks. She raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was okay. His somber smile quickly disappeared."Forget about it. Remember to get plenty of rest and whatnot! Night!"Link walked off into the moonlight, leaving Zelda to ponder one thing. Just what was he exactly hiding from her? Little did she know, there was a lot more to Link than meets the eye. What happened to him when he moved anyways, and what does he exactly mean by his definition of history with Pit.Guess Link Farron was much more mysterious than she had anticipated.