Chapter One

DUDE!!!

Cries of agony filled the air over the once great and mighty fields of Hyrule, so thick you could almost see it. The hills lay desolate and torn from the battle that had waged on for years. Dark figures lay strewn on the ground, some writhing in pain, others motionless. A Hylian boy in a green tunic stood in the middle of it all, surrounded by the dead and dying soldiers. His ocean blue eyes bore the sorrow and grief of years past his own as he gazed at the destruction that had nearly fallen to the rest of Hyrule. He turned around and started walking towards the kingdom of Hyrule to deliver his report to the king.

As he walked by, men cried out, "Save me!" "Have mercy on me!" "Kill me now!" The young man seemed oblivious to it all. He walked right past all of them until it reached the edge of the destruction. Another figure joined the green-clad Hylian.

They exchanged a few words, then locked fingers and started to walk away from the battlefield. The men dying were crying in pain, begging someone to come and kill them so they wouldn't have to suffer any more, except for one. The green-clad young man heard this cry and turned. The dying man said something that would haunt the boy for the rest of his life.

"Behind every mask that a hero wears there is darkness…a scar…a wound that would never heal. Young hero, you bear the burden no man should endure, the hero's curse…Do not let your heart harden and freeze like The Other…If you fail darkness will overtake even the Sacred Realm…Do not let the curse be your downfall…"

After the man had said his last words, the boy shook his head, thinking, "Foolish man. He was dying. His mind wasn't quite right. There is no such thing as 'a hero's curse.'"

The Hylian shivered, despite the blazing sun overhead. He suddenly felt like his insides were being squeezed out, and he fell over. The young woman he was with knelt down, her eyes filled with concern. The Hylian felt the air being sucked out of him, slowly crushing his lungs. He looked at his hands and saw they were fading away. He looked at the lady he was with and smiled grimly. He went to touch her face one last time, and then faded into nothingness. It was as if he had never existed.

The young girl screamed in agony. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at the blue ocarina the boy had been holding. She picked it up and held it to her heart as she peered through wet eyes at the sky.

Zelda Altari awoke in a cold sweat, her right hand burning. She looked at the glowing Triforce and watched as the glow faded and the burning sensation went away. "It was just a dream!" she breathed. She got out of her warm bed and walked over to her window. She opened it up and leaned out, sucking in the chill Hyrule air. Over to the east, a faint glow could be seen.

Zelda pulled her head back in, then closed the window. "Time for school," she said grimly. "Guess I should get ready. But first…"

She opened her nightstand drawer where she always kept her ocarina. She opened it and was greeted by the bright blue of the instrument. She smiled and shut the drawer, satisfied. She then started to open her dresser drawer to look for something to wear when her door was burst open by her brother. "Good morning, Zelda!!!" Venex said happily.

Zelda jumped about a foot. When she landed, she put her hand over her heart, breathing heavily. Venex turned his beaming face towards his sister and saw her now-pale face.

"You okay? You look like you've been trying to break dance again," Zelda's brother replied.

"First of all, I've never tried to break dance," Zelda said, confused.

"I know," chuckled Venex.

"I wasn't done. Second, I was just about to get dressed. And haven't you ever heard of break dancing? Wait." Zelda realized her mistake. "I mean…Knocking?!!" she said, exasperated. "Never mind. Just get outta here!"

"Ok! I was just coming up here to tell you that you're going to make all of us late for school," he reminded his little sister, exiting her room.

She threw on a t-shirt and jeans then tried to braid her long, thick, brown hair. It didn't work out very well, so she just put it into a ponytail. She wanted to get breakfast before her brother and cousin got to it first.

She then walked down the stairs to the kitchen, where her mother was making a wonderful breakfast. "Morning, Zel! How'd you sleep?" she asked, flipping some pancakes and smiling.

Zelda thought. She didn't want to tell her mother about her nightmare. She put on a smile and lied, "Great! I'm ready for school, sure!"

Zelda sat down and took a few steaming pancakes from the plate in the middle of the table. She poured maple syrup over them, making sure she covered them. She started to cut the pancake mound, when someone took her into a headlock and gave her a noogie.

"Hey!!!" she screamed, fighting to get out of the headlock. "Let go of me!"

"Only if you can guess who I am!" a voice answered.

"Sheik, let me go!" Zelda's cousin released her as she'd guessed who he was.

"Dang it, Zel! How'd you know it was me?!" he asked.

"You're the only one brave enough to put me in a headlock and give me a noogie, Sheik. Darn you! After I finish this, you're gonna get it!" She turned back to her plate and saw there wasn't any food on it anymore. "Venex…" she said slowly.

"What?!?" her brother said through a mouthful of his sister's breakfast.

"Boys," she sighed, shaking her head. "Mom, can you deal with them for me?" She walked back up the stairs to her room to get her stuff ready.

She grabbed her backpack and started down the stairs as Sheik yelled at her. "Zelda!!! We're gonna leave without you!"

"I'm coming!" the Hylian girl yelled down. "Sheik, I'm driving."

"No!! I haven't driven in forever!!" her cousin protested.

"Exactly. That's why I want to drive. Plus, you don't even have a license," Zelda replied, thinking of when Sheik had still had his license and shivered.

"Well…so?" Sheik asked, already knowing he'd been defeated.

"So, Dad would kill you if he found out you were driving, considering that he's the one who revoked your license."

"Yeah, fine."

The two walked out of the house to the car. "Sheik, sit in the back."

As Zelda backed out of the driveway, Sheik suddenly punched Venex in the shoulder from the back seat. "OW!!!" Venex exclaimed, rubbing his arm. "What the heck was that for?!"

"Why do you get to sit shotgun?" he demanded.

"I was sitting here before you even came out!!!" Venex said.

"Boys, if you can't play nice, you can't play together, and I'll kick you both out of the car and you'll have to walk!!!" Zelda said sternly. She braked suddenly and pulled over. "Ok, guys. Venex, go and sit in the back. RIGHT NOW!!!"

The look on Zelda's face must have represented a murderer, because Venex did what she asked.

She pulled into 'drive' and then continued onto the road towards schoool. The boys continued their punching fight, and Zelda totally ignored them, focusing on the road in front of her. She grinned, thinking about the days before Sheik had had his driver's license revoked. He had been the craziest driver ever. He would always drift around the corners and speed on the straight-aways.

As she thought about her cousin, she suddenly remembered the boy from her nightmare. He was possibly the cutest guy she had ever seen…or dreamed of. But why did he have her ocarina? She shook her head. It was her ocarina! Why wouldn't it be in her dreams? She remembered the sad look in the boy's blue eyes; the expression that only a soldier returning from a losing war would wear. Why did he have that look? He couldn't possibly have been over sixteen!

She bit her lip and resisted the urge to smack herself. Why was she worrying about a boy from her imagination? He didn't exist. He was just some boy her dream world had created. "But it had seemed so real…" she thought to herself. "What if he really does exist? What if the Triforce is trying to tell me something…?" She looked at her right hand on the steering wheel where the Triforce of Wisdom lay. It had always told her when something was amiss. It had taught her the song she had played when she'd been a young girl and couldn't get to sleep. It had showed her the place where her ocarina had been hidden. However, now it was silent. When she was little and her father had been on an important job in Holodrum, it had been burning like a wildfire; acting as if around every corner she turned there was some sort of evil waiting to ambush her. Maybe it was simply waiting for the moment to speak again. She furrowed her brow. Was the dream a message from the Triforce? It had been burning when she had woken up that morning. If that was the case what did it all mean?

"And that's when I shoved a pickle up his nose," Venex said cutting in to Zelda's thoughts.

Sheik and Venex started laughing hysterically. "Oh, man!!! That's great!!!" Sheik said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

"Wait, what?" Zelda asked, coming back to reality. "Actually, never mind. I don't even want to know, do I?"

"It was hilarious," Venex said, ignoring the fact that his sister hadn't been paying attention to anything he had been saying.

"Yeah, I bet that was!" Sheik agreed.

"Hey, Zel, you turn left to get to the school," Venex said, pointing to the street ahead through the driver and shotgun seats.

"Oh. Left?" Zelda asked.

"Right!" Venex answered.

Zelda jerked the car hard to the right. "AAAAAAAAH!!!!!" the boys screamed like little girls as Venex was thrown on top of Sheik.

"Shut up," Zelda said, shaking her head. "You guys drive way crazier than that!"

"Zel, you were supposed to turn left!" Venex yelled at his sister.

"Well, you said right, so I turned RIGHT!" Zelda screeched back. "Now I gotta flip a youie…" she grumbled.

As she turned the car around, she saw a sign that caught her attention for a second, which she would soon regret.

"DUDE!!!!!!!!!!" Zelda's relatives yelled.

"What?" the Hylian girl asked, confused.

"DUDE!!!!!!!!" they yelled again, pointing out the windshield.

Zelda looked up and saw a boy right in front of her. She gasped and slammed on the brakes, but the car didn't stop fast enough. It smashed into the boy, rendering him unconscious.

"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!!!" Zelda said, trying to open her door. She unlocked it and ran over to the boy. "Venex!!! Call 911!!!" she told her brother, kneeling down next to the boy.

"What's their number?!" Venex asked, flipping open his cell phone.

"It's 9-1-1, moron!!!" Zelda said agitatedly as Sheik looked to the sky as if the answer would pour upon him in a fantastical array.

"I know it's 911," he said impatiently. "I need to know their number."

"I think it's 9-1-1," Sheik said as if he had a great revelation.

"Oh!" Venex said. "Well, why didn't you just say so? Geez, Zel, you can't even remember the number to 911. It's 9-1-1! Duh!"

Zelda completely ignored Venex she was too busy looking at the boy she had just hit. He looked to be around sixteen, possibly seventeen, with dirty blonde hair, his Hylian ears pierced with blue earrings, and tanned skin. She also noticed, as she checked for his pulse, that he had on brown leather gloves that covered his palms and half of his fingers. If Zelda hadn't knocked him unconscious then she might have taken the time to blush and look the other direction as he crossed her path. A shiver chilled Zelda down to the core through the warm mid-September air. She had never seen the boy before but… something was… familiar… she had a vague feeling that she knew him somehow… from somewhere… but she didn't know why. She shook her head. It was time to focus. Zelda Altari was in action. Gingerly, she placed two fingers on his neck. Zelda sighed with relief as she felt life pulsing through the boy's veins.

"What cha doing?" Sheik asked, looking over his cousin's shoulder. "Are you checking him out or something?"

"NO!" Zelda said, turning bright red and slapping the closest thing of Sheik in reach, in this case it was his knees.

"Whatever you say," Sheik said, shrugging his shoulders with an air of satisfaction.

Zelda turned back to checking on the guy she had hit. She frowned as she noticed a nasty bump on the boy's forehead, just next to his right temple. 'If I had hit him any harder I could've killed him!' she realized as she touched the wound. She pulled back with wet fingers right after touching him because the Triforce on her hand had started to burn. She thought, 'What's that about?'

She didn't have time to think about it as her brother ran over to them. "The paramedics are on their way!" he announced, out of breath. He stood in silent puzzlement as Zelda placed her hand on the boy's stomach to check for breathing. "What are you doing, Zel?" he asked after a while. "Are you checking him out or something?"

"NO!!!" Zelda practically yelled in frustration. "I am not! I am checking for vital signs, and breathing!"

"Right…" the two boys said teasingly as they shook their heads simultaneously.

Wailing sirens interrupted their conversation as an ambulance stopped next to them. Zelda watched quietly as the paramedics picked up the boy and placed him on a stretcher. Sheik and Venex came to stand behind Zelda as they lifted the little cart into the emergency vehicle and drove away. They stood in silence watching after the car long after it had disappeared from view. Finally, Venex broke the silence.

"You were totally checking him out," he said as if solving the answer to everything.

Zelda slapped her brother across the face and walked silently back to the car.

"Ow…" Venex said rubbing his cheek. "What was that for? Did I say something wrong?"

Sheik laughed silently as he got into the back seat. Soon, Venex followed suit. The car was silent the rest of the way to school. Not a single word was even uttered as they separated, heading into class half an hour late.

"Sheik and Venex Altari!" the boys' teacher, Mr. Bubbles, yelled. For a guy with such a weak sounding name, Mr. Bubbles was huge. If Venex didn't know that he was a teacher he would have thought him to be a body builder. Mr. Bubbles was in the best shape, and was probably the biggest, strongest and toughest guy in the whole world. He scared just about everybody stiff.

"Yes, sir?" they asked standing straight up after a failed attempt to sneak into class unnoticed.

"Why are you late?" the teacher demanded walking straight up to them.

"Well," the two boys said looking at each other.

"Should we tell him the truth?" Venex whispered.

"I guess so, but he won't believe it anyways," Sheik whispered back.

"I'm waiting," Mr. B said, tapping his toe impatiently.

Venex took a deep breath and spoke. "Our sister was driving us to school this morning and on the way she ran over a dude."

In half a second flat the entire class was laughing their guts out.

"Nice try, boys," Mr. Bubbles said, his face completely devoid of any laughter.

"It's the truth!" Sheik argued. "Zel really did run into a guy while driving the car! We're late because we had to make sure the ambulance picked him up!"

"Enough, boys!" Mr. Bubbles yelled before Sheik and Venex could argue any more. "Principal's office now," he ordered.

Silently, the two boys trekked to the principal's office for the fifteenth time that month and they had only been in school for nineteen days.

Day: Monday

Time: 8:15 Class: Physics Period: 1A Teacher: Miss Anju

"And so, we subtract 50xz from 79xy and get…Aah," the teacher, Miss Anju said, noticing Zelda trudge into the room. "Miss Altari, why are you late?" she asked. Miss Anju was a rather small woman and was loved by all the students.

Zelda's friend Saria turned around in her seat to see the Hylian girl enter the room. She cocked her eyebrow in confusion. Zelda was never late.

Zelda looked at the floor in shame of arriving so late into class. "I hit a pedestrian while driving to school, knocked him out, my brother forgot the number to 911 and then the pedestrian was loaded into an ambulance and I just got here."

The whole class was silent with shock, especially the teacher.

"Are you sure, Miss Altari?" she asked slowly.

"I think I would remember running into someone and sending them to the hospital unconscious with a head injury," Zelda replied to the ground.

"Oh," the teacher said faintly. "Well, then. You may take your seat."

Zelda nodded and went to sit next to Saria.

"You hit a pedestrian?" the Kokiri asked skeptically as the lesson resumed. "Are you serious?"

Zelda nodded, still dazed from the morning's experience.

"Wow…" Saria said slowly. "Is he okay?"

"He was alive when I saw him last."

"Who was he?"

"I don't know…" Zelda said slowly. "I've never seen him before in my life but…"

"But what?" Saria pressed.

"Never mind," Zelda said shaking her head as a headache came on. "Just forget it."

"Okay," Saria nodded. "Was he hot?" she asked after a few moments silence.

"What?!?!" Zelda nearly screamed, jumping up in her chair. The whole class turned towards her. "Sorry! Sorry, Miss Anju. I…I…sorry!" Zelda's face turned bright red as she sunk down into her chair.

"Alrighty, then. Let's carry on with this…" Miss Anju went back to the lesson.

"Tell me about him at lunch, 'kay?" Saria whispered to Zelda.

"Fine," Zelda sighed, already exhausted. The day was going to be a long one.

She suddenly realized that what her teacher was doing wasn't making any sense. "Saria? What's Miss Anju doing?" she asked her friend.

"She's trying to explain that one plus one equals zero by using this whole complicated method. And she's really confusing me."

"Um, well, I think I see what she's doing. She's trying to trick you by adding something that can't be added. Y'see?"

All Saria gave her was a completely bewildered look. "Uh…Sure!"

"No, you can't add 50xz and 79xy. They don't have common variables."

"Of course you get it, Zel! You've got the Triforce of Wisdom!" Saria teased.

"Well…" Zelda trailed off.

"Exactly my point!" Saria said, laughing and pushing her friend playfully.

The rest of the class went smoothly while Zelda was in a daze, not sure what was happening during the whole thing. She got up as the bell rang and walked in a trace to her next class, Magic.

Time: 9:17 Class: Magic Period: 2A Teacher: Mr. Ralph Mita

Zelda sighed as she sunk into her seat in Mr. Mita's room. She tried to avoid the never ceasing to glare eyes of her teacher by burying herself in her magic book and reading about how the animal a person transformed into told about their personality. Right before the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class, Sheik sprinted in, followed very closely by Malon Dikala.

"That's it. If you're late one more time, I'm seriously going to have to…do…something…" Mr. Mita said, trailing off. The class would've laughed if it was any other teacher, but Mr. Mita was one of the worst teachers. He had red hair, and it matched his personality perfectly. He had the shortest temper of any other teacher Zelda had ever known.

Malon and Sheik took their seats on either side of Zelda as Mr. Mita started to take roll. "Altari, Sheik," he said.

"YEAH!!!" Sheik exclaimed, throwing his hand in the air.

"Altari, Zelda…"

"Here," Zelda said quietly.

"Zel, you need to be proud that you exist!" Sheik whispered to his cousin, nudging her.

Mr. Mita went through the roll, then came to, "Dawnshade, Midna…" No one answered. "Midna? Well…Absent." He carreied on then came to another absentee. "Siva, Link…" When no one answered, he looked up. "Mr. Siva…? Hmm. Another absentee." The teacher went all the way through the roll and then began his lesson.

"Alright, guys. Today, we're going to learn about the magic inside of us. Can anyone tell me where that magic is stored?"

Before anyone could say anything, a Twili girl ran in, out of breath. Everyone stared at her as she stood there, huffing and puffing in the doorway. "Um…Hello there. Can I help you?" Mr. Mita asked, confused.

"Yeah, I think I'm in this class right now…" the Twili trailed off, looking at her schedule. "Mr. Mita?"

"Yes. Name," Mr. Mita looked at his roster.

"Midna Dawnshade," the Twili said, peering over the teacher's shoulder, looking for her name.

"Hmm…Do you think we should ask her to sit over here?" Malon whispered to her friends. "She isn't the kind of person I would want as an enemy!"

"Ah!" Mr. Mita exclaimed, making the whole class jump. "There you are. Pleased to meet you, Miss Dawnshade. Sit wherever you'd like."

Zelda waved to the Twili as if they were best friends. If Midna noticed the Hylian, she didn't show it. She walked to the opposite side of the room and sat down next to a Goron boy.

"Now, as I was saying, does anyone know where the magic is stored?"

Zelda raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Altari?"

"No one is absolutely sure, seeing how many different forms, shapes and sizes it takes. However, many scientists believe that magic originates from the intents and desires of our hearts and minds," Zelda said as if this was the clearest thing in the world. Everyone looked at each other with confused expressions. That didn't make any sense…

"Yes! That makes perfect sense!" Mr. Ralph Mita said, nodding his approval and continuing the lesson.

Zelda felt cold eyes on her and turned around. The Twili, Midna, was glaring at her with a fierce hatred that could never be described. The Hylian turned away and shrugged off the stare as she took notes as the teacher continued the very confusing class.

Time: 10:52 Class: LUNCH

Malon, Zelda, and Sheik walked out of Mr. Mita's classroom and towards the band room, where they always ate lunch.

Zelda faintly heard her cousin say something to her, but she didn't quite understand. "Huh? What?" Zelda asked, coming out of a trance. "Sorry, Sheik. I was just thinking about this morning. I have to go and see the boy that I hit."
"Zel, you're still thinking about that?" Sheik sighed. "Just forget about him right now. You need to focus on school. Not some random guy that you hit with the car. Enjoy life! You need to-"

"SHEIK!!!" a voice screamed, tackling the Sheikah from behind, putting him in a headlock and giving him a noogie.

Zelda jumped as Sheik fell over and walked toward her friends already sitting down. "Get offa me!!" Sheik yelled, trying to release the hold around his neck.

Venex released his hold on his cousin's neck and laughed. "What's the matter, cuz?!" Venex gasped.

"Dude, you are so DEAD!!!" Sheik yelled, trying to punch his cousin in the face.

Venex dodged the punch. "GUYS!!!" Malon screamed, bopping both the boys on the head, making them stop. "Thank you. I appreciate not seeing boys fight while I'm eating my lunch."

"Good work, Malon," Ruto said, coming up to her friends. "I agree with you. I don't like guys fighting, period. It ruins my appetite!" She said, taking a sip of her water.

"What's that?" Sheik and Venex both asked the Zora.

"Diet water, duh! What else am I supposed to drink?!"

"Right…" Venex said, looking at the ceiling. Before he could say anything more, two more of Zelda's friends came to join the party.

"Hey guys!" Ilia said happily. "What up?" Without waiting for an answer, she said, "I'm hungry," and sat down between Ruto and Malon and pulled out a sandwich from her bag.

"So, Zel, what about the guy you hit this morning?" Saria asked, sitting down next to Zelda, nudging her friend with her shoulder.

"Oh. I was kinda hoping you forgot about that…" Zelda said, trailing off and slouching against the wall.

"Uh-huh. You just didn't want to tell me!!!" Saria said, accusing her friend.

"Well, he, uh…"

"Wait, what? You hit on a guy, Zel?!" Ilia said, very confused.

"NO!!! Ew!" Zelda answered, disgusted. "I hit a guy! Not hit on, hit."

"Oh…Yeah, I'm still not gettin it."

"Yeah, me neither," Malon agreed.

"Well, let me explain this. Um…So, I was driving to school, and I almost missed the turn-off."

"What does that have to do with hitting on a guy?" Ilia asked.

"ILIA!!!!" Zelda said, exasperated. " I did not I repeat, NOT hit on him!!!"

"Oh! Well why didn't you say so in the first place?!" Ilia asked.

"Ilia!! I did!" Zelda said. She sighed. "Ok. So, I turned into the parking lot at school and Venex and Sheik were being morons-"

"We were not!!!" the two boys exclaimed, their mouths full of food.

Ignoring the boys, Zelda continued, "-and they pushed my patience. So, I wasn't paying attention because they were being dorks. Well, they suddenly screamed, so I turned and saw a guy right in front of me. So, I slam on the brakes and he goes flying. And then-"

"Zelda was checking him out!!!" Venex and Sheik said in unison as if it was practiced.

"I WAS NOT!!!" Zelda said, hitting both boys on their heads really hard. "I was checking for vital signs and breathing!!!"

"Uh-huh. Sure!!!" all the girls said in unison.

"GUYS!!!" Zelda said, exasperated and standing up. "Y'know what? I'm just gonna leave!"

Zelda stomped into the band room and left her friends and relatives looking very confused at each other.

"What? Did we say something to offend Zel?" Ruto wondered. "She's not the very sensitive type. That's more Malon."

"I am not sensitive!!!" Malon countered. Everyone looked at her. "Ok, maybe I am…" She looked at her shoes.

"Well, let's ask Zel about it in band," Saria said, getting up. "It's almost time, anyways."

The friends all got up and walked into the band room.

Time: 11:50 Class: Band Period: 3A Teacher: Nayru

Zelda smiled as she walked into the band room. Nayru was one of her favorite teachers. The first day of school, Nayru had said, "I don't want to be called Miss Nayru. It just sounds too weird. So, please call me just Nayru. No 'Miss' in front of it." Everyone had called her that ever since then. Zelda got out her ocarina and sat down, playing on it.

Soon, her friends entered. Saria was the first one to say something to her. "Zel, what's wrong?" the Kokiri asked, sitting down next to her friend, her ocarina in hand.

Zelda gave Saria the silent treatment as she tootled away on her ocarina. "Fine! Don't talk to me!" the Kokiri fumed, walking over to Ruto and Ilia who were getting out their alto saxophones. "Guys! She's not talking to me!!!" Saria wailed, sounding like a little six-year-old tattletale.

"Well, that's a problem, isn't it?" Ruto said, sucking on her reed. "Go tell Sheik and Venex."

Saria walked over to the two boys and told them her predicament. "Well, um…" Sheik gave a short blat on his trumpet. "That's my response. Just leave her alone. She'll figure something out soon enough."

"Wow, you're a big help!" Saria sneered sarcastically at the Sheikah. "Malon will know what to do!" she said to herself.

She walked over to Malon, who was taking out her flute. "Malon!!! Zelda's not talking to me!"

"Yeah, I figured she'd do something like that," she said. "Leave her alone. Zel's not gonna talk to you if you keep bugging her."

"I'm not bugging her!!!" Saria said defensively. Malon shrugged and pointed to the front of the room.

Saria looked up and saw Nayru on her podium. She walked over to her seat next to Zelda and waited for her teacher to say something. "Let's start with warm-up set one, option two," she said.

She started waving her baton, and the band played the warm-up. After they had all finished tuning and junk, Nayru said something that surprised all of them.
"Hey, guys, guess what!!!" she said excitedly. The students all looked at her. "We're going to have another ocarina player!"

Zelda and Saria looked at their teacher and each other, shocked. "Yes, he just moved in this summer. I've met him, and he is a very nice boy. I'm sure you girls and him will be fast friends. For some odd reason, he's not here today." Nayru looked puzzled.

Zelda's stomach churned as she thought of something. "Uh, Nayru?" she raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Zelda!" she called on her, twirling around.

"Did he have kinda shaggy blond hair and he's pretty tan?" she asked.

"Yes!" Nayru said, surprised. "Do you know him?"

Zelda looked at her hands in her lap. "No, but…"

"Then how did you know what he looks like?"

"I, uh…"

"She hit him with her car!!!" Sheik interrupted.

Everyone in the class looked at Zelda silent with shock. Then, all of them started speaking at once. "Zelda ran over someone?" "I didn't know she was that violent!" "I think she needs anger management!"

Zelda just sat there, fascinated with her ocarina. "HEY!!!" Malon yelled. The class fell silent and looked at her, confused. "You all know Zelda wouldn't hurt a fly! She's not violent at all!!! And she's not angry either! You know her!"

"Okay, Malon, calm down," Nayru said, getting the class back in order. "Zelda doesn't have to talk about it if she doesn't want to. Besides, this is band. We work on our musical instruments, not voices. Now let's get back to work!"

Zelda looked thankfully at her teacher as she brought the ocarina up to her mouth.

The rest of the class went smoothly without, surprisingly, any outbursts from students. Zelda could tell they didn't want to be the subject of her 'wrath.' She laughed inside. As if she had any!

After she had thought that, the magic teacher, Mr. Mita, suddenly walked in. "Hey, Nayru!" he said happily. Zelda looked at Malon quizzically. Her friend shrugged her shoulders.

"Hi, Ralph," Nayru answered. "Um, now isn't such a great time…"

"What are you talking about, Nayru?! There's always time for me!" he said, dancing around.

"Ok, this is NOT the Mr. Mita I know. Is this always how he acts around Nayru?" Zelda wondered. She looked around and saw all the students who had Mr. Mita were staring at him, dumbstruck.

"Uh, Ralph, if you haven't realized, there are students in the room!" Nayru said, looking apologetically at her students.

"Of course I haven't noticed, Nayru. You are all that fills my vision!" the teacher said, looking adoringly at Nayru. The boys in the classroom all made gagging noises while most of the girls said "Aww!! That's so cute!"

"Ralph!!!" the blue-haired teacher practically begged. "Can we do this another time?!"

"What are you saying, Nayru? Are you saying…" the teacher snivelled. "Are you saying that you don't like me anymore?" Mr. Mita looked just about to burst into tears.

"No, no! That's not what I'm saying, Ralph! I'm just saying that now is not such a great time. However, after school we could go out to dinner or something…"

"Really?!?" Mr. Mita said, immediately brightening up. "Oh, I would love that so much, Nayru!" He suddenly burst into crazy laughter and hugged Nayru.

After that, he left the room, dancing. Nayru slapped her forehead. "Sorry you had to see that, guys. Yes, Ralph is like that whenever he's around me. But there's not really a relationship. He's just a good friend. Anyways, enough of this chitchat. Let's get back to work. From the beginning."

They worked on their pieces for the upcoming concert and then five minutes before the bell rang, they packed up their instruments and music. Everyone seemed to be avoiding Zelda. She didn't really mind because she was so caught up in her own thoughts. When the bell rang, she made her way to the locker room to change for PE. She groaned, remembering she had to run the mile.

Time: 1:30 Class: Physical Education Period: 4A Teacher: Miss Din

When Zelda got to the locker room, she saw her running buddy, Nabooru. She walked to her friend and started to open her locker. "Hey Zelda!" the Gerudo chirped happily. "Are you ready to run the mile?"

Zelda sighed. "Not really," she answered.

Nabooru's face fell. "What happened?" she asked.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now, Nabooru. I'll tell you later, though," she added at the Gerudo's pouty face.

Nabooru's face suddenly brightened. "Ok, that's great! Hey, what did you have for lunch? I had a sandwich, cookies, milk, and an apple! A balanced diet is the key to a healthy lifestyle, ya know. Plus exercise," Nabooru blabbered on about random things, as was her nature as a popular girl.

Zelda just got her uniform out of her locker and put it on, oblivious to what Nabooru was saying. She put her junk in her locker and sat around, waiting for Miss Din to give the word to go to the gym.

"Zelda! It's time to go," Nabooru's voice cut into Zelda's thoughts.

"Oh. Thanks, Nabooru," Zelda said, getting up and walking out with the rest of the girls. They walked to the gym where they started by taking roll.

Before she took roll, the red-haired PE teacher made an announcement. "Girls, I have something to say. So, stop talking!" she snapped. Everyone fell silent. "Thank you. Now, we have a new student." Everyone stared at the Twili girl that was scowling at them all, one by one. Zelda groaned inwardly.

"That's the same girl from Magic!" she thought with a bit of dread.

"Her name is Midna Dawnshade. She's of the Twili race, as you can probably tell. Midna, you can go and sit over there, next to Zelda."

Zelda was in the last row because Miss Din did seating charts with the first letter of the alphabet in the back. It was easiest to put Midna in the very back instead of totally rearranging the seating chart.

Midna walked behind Zelda, glowering at everyone. She sat down and folded her arms like a little child in a time out.

Zelda took a deep breath and turned to face Midna. She put on a smile and said, in the most cheerful voice she could muster, "Hi! I'm Zel-"

"Look," Midna cut her off sharply. "I don't care about this. I'm only in this class because acting was full. I don't want to get all buddy-buddy with you. Got that?" she growled. Zelda's mouth fell open a little and she nodded. Midna smirked. "If you were green, you could pass for a frog." The Twili looked back up at the teacher.

"We're gonna run the mile today, girls!" Miss Din said brightly. "Won't that be fun?"

Everyone groaned as a response. "Hey!" the teacher said sharply. "If I hear any more of that crud, you guys are gonna run two miles! Do you want that?"

"No, Miss Din!" all the girls answered.

"Good. Now let's head outside. To the track we go." The teacher led the way outside where the track was.

Nabooru joined up with Zelda. "So, how's the new girl?" she whispered.

"She just about bit my head off," Zelda answered, shaking her head. "I have a feeling that we're not going to be friends."

"Yeah, I hate those kinds of people!"

"I think people who gossip about others are even worse," a voice behind them said.

Zelda and Nabooru both jumped and turned around to see Midna. She had a frown on her face. Zelda looked at the ground, ashamed. Nabooru faced the headstrong Twili without batting an eyelash. "Well, I believe that stupid Twili that listen in on other peoples' conversations are the worst race on the planet," she said cockily.

Zelda could sense Midna was going to explode and start cussing Nabooru out. "Ooh! Look at the flowers, Nabooru!" She suddenly said, dragging her friend by the arm to the weeds on the track.

"Zelda! Why did you do that?" Nabooru asked, tearing her arm away from Zelda's grip. "I wanted to see what that Twili had!"

"See? That's the problem! Nabooru, you have a tendency to get on peoples' bad sides," Zelda explained.

"Like who?!" the Gerudo demanded.

"Well, let's see…" Zelda started counting on her fingers, "Ruto, Saria, Malon, Ilia, Sheik, Venex, and now Midna. That proof enough for you?"

"Well, they're just little nobodies, Zelda. And that Twili is disgusting. I mean, look at the way she dresses! It's so tacky! I have no idea why you like to hang out with those losers anyways," Nabooru said, looking at the sky as a defiant action.

Zelda put her fingers on the bridge of her nose. "That's what I'm talking about, Nabooru! You treat them like garbage, and they hate you for that. They're my friends, and maybe I shouldn't be friends with you anymore because you treat them like that!" she raised her voice.

"Well, fine! Our so-called 'friendship' is over!" the Gerudo girl stuck her nose in the air and walked away.

The Hylian looked down at her hands and saw they were shaking. "To your places, girls!" Miss Din called.

Zelda walked to where the teacher was. Miss Din held a white flag above her head. "On your marks…Get set…" she dropped the flag and the girls took off.

Nabooru took the front, trying to get away from Zelda. Zelda hung back and waited for Midna. When the Twili caught up to her, she said, "Hey Midna!"

The Twili ignored her. "So, do you like running?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she said, "I do. I like the feeling of adrenaline rushing through my veins. What about you?"

"I think you should stop talking," the orange-haired girl snapped.

Zelda was taken aback. "Oh. Okay," she said, complying to the Twili.

"Wow. You're stupid!" Midna chuckled. "You stop talking when I tell you to! If someone told you to jump off a cliff, would you?"

"Well, no. That's a completely different matter!" Zelda said, surprised the Twili was talking to her.

Midna completely changed the subject when she said, "I think you're hanging back here because you're expecting a 'thank you' or something like that. Well, you're not gonna get it. You can just go and join that prep if you want that kind of crud."

Zelda was shocked. "No, that's not what I want!" she said.

"Yeah, whatever. I can see right through you. You might look like some kind of nerd, probably a band nerd, but you're a prep through and through. So just leave me alone." The Twili sped up and left Zelda in her dust.

Zelda didn't know what to think. She just got lost in her thoughts and moved her legs in a circular motion. Before she knew it, she had run a mile.

She walked to the locker room and put on her school clothes. She tried to avoid Nabooru at all costs.

When the bell ending school rang, Zelda walked out to her hall locker where all her junk was. She put her binder and music into her backpack and zipped it up. She slung it over her shoulder and walked towards the band room.

The place was bustling with people, as it usually was right after school. She smiled and said 'Hi' to everyone she knew as she got her ocarina. She walked over to the trumpet section where her brother and cousin were and saw them flirting with the human flutists.

"Guys, let's go," she told them sternly.

"Oh, Zel! We were just getting to a good part in the conversation!" Venex complained. To his sister, he whispered, "Plus, this girl's hot!"

Zelda gave her brother an 'Ok, weirdo' look and said, "Now, Ven."

"Ven!" the girl Venex had been flirting with said. "That's a cute nickname, Ven."

"Why, thank you, Sally. I do prefer it over Venex. It sounds more manly," Venex said, putting his hands behind his head, subtly showing off his biceps. Sally giggled.

"Actually, Venex sounds more manly. Let's go," Zelda said cutting the conversation short and grabbing her brother by his arm.

"I'll see you later, Sally! Call me!" Venex said as he was being dragged away.

"Sheik, let's go!!!" Zelda said, finding her cousin and dragging him as well.

The Altaris went to their car and Sheik groaned. "What, Sheik?" Venex asked.

"There's a dent where Zel hit the dude!" the Sheikah said.

"Sheik! You should care more about the dude than the CAR!" Zelda yelled at her cousin. "Isn't that right, Venex?"

"Well, this car is very expensive and-"

"VENEX!!!" Zelda screeched at her brother, putting her hand on her forehead. This evening was going to be torture. She could already feel the headache coming on. "Just…get in the car!"

The relatives got into the car and Zelda started to drive home.

As she drove, her eyes kept straying to the Triforce on her right hand. 'Why was it burning when I touched the guy?' she wondered. 'And it didn't burn when I checked for breathing. It was just when I touched his head.'

She thought about those things all through dinner and homework. She was just caught in her own thoughts through the rest of the evening.

As she lay in bed, drifting towards sleep, there was one thought most prominent, 'Who is he and what part is he going to play in my life, if anything?'