Author's Note: You might not want to read this if you haven't read my previously published story, Legend of the Wind Fish. The characters mentioned will mostly be original characters from that story, as it is a prequel which I wrote to tie up loose ends between a few of the characters. For those of you who have read Legend of the Wind Fish, it is written throughout several diary entries of Emmeline's. And now, I present to you...

APOLOGIES

This book is the property of: Emmeline Averay

Date: 30th June

I'm so glad that the school year is over. It's so difficult to concentrate on studying this year. I'd much rather be out, experiencing the world. And there's another thing that makes it so hard to concentrate. There's a boy in my class... not one that I love, though. He comes from an old rich family in Kakariko village, and he loves nothing more than to show the whole class how much money he has. His name is Wolfgang Van der Heyden. An unusual name for a Hylian, but it doesn't matter. He knows how poor I am, and it seems to be great fun for him to point it out. There was an incident today... but I can't even bring myself to write about it. He's horrible. There is nothing I want more than for something terrible to happen to him. But here I am, babbling about myself. I've been invited to a ball in Hyrule Castle, and I'm terribly excited for it. Even though I haven't a thing to wear... maybe I can write to my mother for money.

Date: 2nd July

So apparently my father and this boy Wolfgang's father are good friends. When did that happen? He got so excited when he said I knew his friend's son, and arranged for me to visit him in Kakariko village this weekend. I tried to get out of it, but he insisted. Well, maybe I can get this boy to buy me a dress to wear to the ball while I'm there, though I doubt that there is an apparel shop in that tiny, boring place. How did I get into this? I wish my mother were still here. She was the sort of person who would have found it funny that I can't stand him or the place he lives in, and she would have changed the plans. And probably taken me out shopping. I wish something exciting would happen.

Date: 3rd July

I miss my mother.

Date: 5th July

So today was the dreaded day where I had to visit with the Van der Heydens It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I spent the afternoon and most of the evening in Kakariko, and I dined with them as well. I liked most of the family except for Wolfgang, but that was fine because he spent most of the day in a corner of the house with the village cucco farmer. She seemed pretty nice, so not really his type. His parents were really sweet, and obviously quite in love. Something seemed familiar about the father... I'll have to ask my father about him. Wolfgang's brothers seemed nice enough. Apparently he was born in a set of quadruplets. His brother Luther was a little weird, friendly in his way, I suppose. His other brother Jacob was a lot more mature than Wolfgang's ever going to be. But the great thing was that he has a sister! She agreed to lend me this beautiful green dress of hers, which she said brought out my eyes. I am so grateful. I think I will probably be friends with this family. Well, most of it anyway. I still can't stand Wolfgang's attitude.

Date: 6th July

The ball is tomorrow, and today Jacob Van der Heyden stopped by my place at Zora's River to ask me to be his date! It was unexpected, but I'm so excited! It's a bit embarrassing to admit this, but... I've never actually had a date before. I hope it isn't that obvious... I really want things to go well with him. Except... then I'll be dating Wolfgang's brother. I'm not quite sure how to feel about that...

Date: 8th July

The ball was last night. There were fun parts, but it was nowhere near as enjoyable as I expected it to be. Me and Jacob went with his brothers and their dates. Susannah was going with her boyfriend, who worked in the castle. Wolfgang came with a girl named Malon who lived at Lon Lon Ranch, and Luther came alone. Me and Jacob started out the evening with some dancing, but that didn't last long. Pretty soon the entire group had split up. Me, Malon and Susannah were chatting in a corner. Luther was looking confused in the middle of the crowd, and Jacob and Wolfgang were arguing off to the side, while Wolfgang kept trying to escape with a tall Gerudo girl. That confused me. The Gerudo didn't usually come out to social events... maybe my mother would be here! I looked around, but the only other Gerudo I could see was a tall man dancing awkwardly with the princess. Later when Jacob escorted me home, he apologized for his behaviour, but I felt as if it was really Wolfgang's fault. I asked Jacob about this, but he wouldn't give me a straight answer. I feel so disappointed.

Date: 27th July

I've been on vacation at Lake Hylia. We stayed at the house of a fisherman that we knew quite well. I fished every day, sometimes assisted the scientist that lives by the lake with his experiments, and even saw a few Zoras. I tried to get it out of them how to get to where they live, but they kept their lips sealed quite well. I want so badly to get to Zora's Domain, but it's near impossible. Jacob came to visit me a few times, always bringing flowers. He's so sweet. One evening we sat on the island in the middle of the lake, just talking for hours. Susannah was doing well, and in fact her boyfriend had proposed to her a few days before he came to see me! He also told me that Wolfgang had broken up with his previous six boyfriends, and we had a good laugh at that. He's so easy to talk to. We arrived home last night, only to find that my father's magic beans had sprouted, so we had nothing to sell until we can get new ones delivered, which could take up to a month. We have so little money already, and this isn't helping. I wonder if I could get him a container to put them in, so that they won't accidentally fall on the ground like that...

Date: 1st August

I hate my life.

Date: 5th August

Jacob broke up with me. He wouldn't tell me why. I asked his siblings (except for Wolfgang) and even his parents if they knew why, but they said he hadn't even told them we'd broken up. The only useful advice I got from Susannah was that it probably has nothing to do with me. She said Jacob's too nice to break up with anybody just like that, so she says that he probably either knows somebody who likes me, or my father doesn't like him. The first idea doesn't seem plausible, so I'll have to ask my dad about that.

Date: 6th August

I asked my father what he thought about Jacob. He asked me if I meant how he felt before we broke up or now. He told me that while we were dating, he thought that he was the greatest kid in Hyrule. I didn't ask how he felt now. I could guess.

Date: 20th August

I don't know what to do now. I feel like I can't visit the Van der Heydens now, even though I'd been invited a few different times. I always made an excuse, until Susannah, Luther and Wolfgang showed up where I lived and informed me that they were going to personally drag me out with them. I did pretty well with the struggling part since I'd trained with the Gerudo, but I'm not quite ready to take on three people. Wolfgang has a pretty spiffy black eye now, though. We walked to Castle Town and spent the whole day there. We went Bombchu Bowling, which I turned out to be pretty good at. I also tried my hand at the Shooting Gallery, but I was terrible at that. Me and Susannah also went shopping while Luther and Wolfgang explored the back alleys. We ended off the day by doing something that every youth in Hyrule has done at least once; trying to sneak into Hyrule Castle. We got caught, but it was fun. While they walked me home, I told them I had a good time but never to drag me away from home like that again. They told me too bad, they were going to do that at least once a week.

Date: 27th August

I thought they were kidding. They weren't. I was woken up at 6:30 this morning by six hands pulling me downhill by the ankles. Once I was awake, they let me stand up, but I was still a little annoyed. Today we visited Lon Lon Ranch and stole some horses. We raced each other around Hyrule field for hours before returning them. I'm not even sure the owner noticed. Malon did, but it's only a sign of our loyalty to Wolfgang that we tied her up in the barn. Really, it's only because of Wolfgang. Mostly, anyway.

Date: 4th September

I don't know how to feel right now. Yesterday was the third day of mine and the Van der Heydens's weekly excursions, but only Wolfgang showed up. He said that Susannah was taking classes to prepare her for her next year of schooling, and who knows what Luther was doing. I felt a little uncomfortable going out with just Wolfgang, considering how much I used to dislike him (and still do a little) but he wouldn't take no for an answer, and my father was there, so I couldn't hit him. I asked Wolfgang what he'd planned for us to do, and when he told me, I actually thought he'd gone mad. He wanted us to sneak into the Gerudo hideout, and steal all the clothes that belonged to the Gerudo girl he'd met at the ball (and subsequently broken up with two days later). We got some horses from Lon Lon Ranch again, and somehow we made it inside before we actually got caught. Since we'd made it inside the hideout, we were placed in a high-security cell, which was a tiny room with one window about twenty feet over our heads. I don't actually know what happened to the horses. I guess the owner of Lon Lon will notice they're missing this time. Anyway, I was good at climbing walls since I'd trained with the Gerudo, and somehow I managed to make it all the way up to the window. There was a bit of a hassle trying to get Wolfgang out, though, since he probably couldn't even climb a hill. It ended with me having to drop down and him holding on to my shoulders as I climbed back. It's a lot harder that way. We snuck out and he walked me home. But... when we got home he didn't say goodbye. Instead, he told me Jacob was an idiot and kissed me, and then he left. Now I don't know what to think. Because I know how he treats his girlfriends.

Date: 6th September

Classes started up again today. Wolfgang isn't in any of my classes, but Luther is in my Hylian history class. I couldn't even talk to him though; the history professor uses a seating plan, and since my last name starts with A and his starts with V, we were nowhere near each other. However, Susannah caught up to me as I was heading home and invited me to supper at her house tomorrow evening, and I agreed, though not sure what to expect once I got there.

Date: 7th September

Classes are going okay. I like most of my professors, except for perhaps the astronomy professor. What's more important is that when I went to dine with the Van der Heydens, Wolfgang wasn't home. When I questioned his family, they said he'd gone on a trip to Termina with a few friends. All I could think of that was there'd be lots of pretty Terminian girls there for him to meet. All while we ate, all I could think of was that to Wolfgang, even after we became friends, I was just another female body. After the adults left the table, I confided to Luther, Susannah, and Jacob what had happened. They all looked shocked except Jacob. He just looked at me and said he was sorry. He volunteered to escort me home that night, and while we walked he told me about how he had broken up with me because he'd thought Wolfgang was obviously in love with me. He apologized for what had happened between us. My life just keeps getting worse and worse.

Date: 11th September

Our fourth monthly excursion. It was noon before anybody came at all. I was surprised to see that once again, it was only Wolfgang who came. He smiled nervously at me. I just stared. He walked up to me, took my hands, and said, "I missed you." I couldn't believe it. He'd changed? Instead of doing one of our usual crazy adventures, we walked to the top of Death Mountain and just sat there. I felt so weird, and he looked as if he felt the same. I finally worked up the courage to ask him something. "Why me?" He didn't answer.

Date: 11th October

We've been together for a little over a month now. Things feel a lot less awkward between us now, and I've been spending more and more time in Kakariko, sometimes staying for days at a time. Once, while me and the four Van der Heyden quadruplets were sitting in the corner of the house and talking, a loud knock came at the door. Lucifer and Emily (their parents) rushed to the door, looking a little bit scared. We watched curiously as they opened the door, and the tall Gerudo man who I'd seen at the ball in July walked in. I listened carefully to the discussion, though Luther was quietly urging me to mind my own business, and it sounded as if the man wanted something that belonged the Van der Heydens, and they didn't want him to have it. I shrugged it off, though confused, and went back to conversing with the other kids.

Date: 17th October

I'd just stayed 5 days with the Van der Heydens, and when I got back my father looked upset. I asked him what was wrong, and he complained that I never talked to him anymore. I pointed out that I'm not really around to talk to him, and he said that was his problem. He also said that even though Lucifer was a very good friend of his, if I was never going to be around, he was going to have to ask me to break it off with his son. This made me extremely angry. I demanded to know what was so great about Lucifer anyway, why were they such good friends, and couldn't he just leave me alone. Looking back, I realize that wasn't really related to the conversation all that much anyway, but when my father got quiet and wouldn't talk anymore after that, I got curious to know what was going on.

Date: 21st October

After class today, I stopped by the Van der Heyden house before going home. I asked Lucifer how he and my dad knew each other. His eyes widened and he told me if I really wanted to know, then I should step outside with him. As we stood outside by the fence, he looked straight in my eyes and quietly said, "His wife was in love with me." He didn't sound proud, or upset, he just sounded like he was stating a fact. I couldn't believe it. I ran home. I think he was lying. I need to ask my father about that.

Date: 22nd October

I asked my father if what Lucifer said was true. He asked me to sit down, so I did. He said, "Nabooru and I loved each other at first. But we married to early, and soon we began to see some differences that we just couldn't get past. I looked past the flaws and still tried to love her, but she got distant. Later I found out she was in love with Lucifer. I talked to him about it, and he said he had nothing to do with her outside of friendship, and in fact was getting married to a woman named Emily. We became fast friends, and I asked him to break the news gently to Nabooru. He tried, but she went wild. She said that she hated me, and that she hated him, and it didn't matter anymore because she was going to join the Gerudo because she hated men anyway. I think she was just heartbroken, but didn't want to admit it, even to herself." And then he picked up his magic beans, ate a few, and went back to his stand.

Date: 23rd October

I confessed to Wolfgang today that I didn't feel like I could trust his father at all anymore. He didn't even ask why. Apparently he already knew the whole story. I guess Lucifer trusts him more than my father does me. He told me that Lucifer didn't set out to be a home wrecker. He never wanted my mother to fall in love with him. He said that he understood how I felt, and that I should just accept what happened and live with it. Hadn't I really already anyway? Somehow he didn't make me feel better at all.

Date: 1st November

I don't love Wolfgang anymore. I don't know why it happened. I just woke up this morning and realized that the idea of kissing him anymore just made me upset, and I didn't want to even hold his hand anymore. He could have his womanizing lifestyle back. Maybe we had chemistry, but that was all we had.

Date: 4th November

Me and Wolfgang have officially broken up now. He invited me over to his house last night. I talked to him and told him everything I didn't feel about him now, and he said he felt the exact same way. He said that he really only just wanted to be friends now, and he'd realized right as we started dating that it wasn't right. I had to go then and so did he, and I noticed him throw something away as he left the room. I was feeling pretty good about the good terms we'd broken up on, until I realized what he'd thrown away. It was a diamond ring.

Date: 5th November

I only hope time can heal. What happened to our friendship? I stopped by to talk to him today, but Susannah told me that he didn't want to talk to me. She said she thinks he's only bitter, and that he'll probably be my friend again eventually. I feel terrible, but I can't help how I feel. I don't love him. What if he'd proposed before I realized how I felt? Then it would be my mom and dad all over again. I think I'm going to stop writing in this. It only makes me bitter. Just one of these days, I want a knight in shining armour to sweep me off my feet. When I'm ready for it.