Disclaimer – Legend of Zelda is property of Shigeru Miyamoto. All characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owner. I, TriforceandSheikahArts, merely wrote this story for amusement. I receive no profit from the creation of the story. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise relating to Legend of Zelda. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note - I am rewriting this story. Thank you to my wonderful beta, AvatarZeldatheTriforceBender, for taking the time to edit and help me correct this chapter. I really appreciate it.

Chapter one: My life, my living nightmare

With a ring of the bell, lunch ended. Students slowly made their way back to class, groaning and chatting all the way. I stood off to the side and watched them walk off, waiting until the majority of them were gone before emerging from my place in the shadows.

Bag strapped over my shoulder, I clutched my books to my chest and stalked down the hallway. I kept my head down low, not bothering to make eye contact with anyone. Here at Castle Town Secondary School, that was usually the best option to go with. Unless you wanted to get into an argument or find yourself surrounded by bullies, keeping your gaze to yourself was the best option.

I turned down the hallway, hearing the basics of people's conversations. Most of them were the same revolving around the latest party or who was dating whom. Nothing I really cared for. Pursing my lips together, I made a mental checklist of what I had to do this evening. First, I needed to make dinner, afterwards, I would need to start the laundry, thirdly, change mother's sheets and lastly, I could have time to myself. If I was lucky, I could have the majority of my chores done by six or seven. I smiled at the thought.

Humming a soft tune, I rounded another bend, nearly arriving at my classroom door. Yet the sound of heels clacking against the linoleum floor caused me to stop. I held my breath. I knew those heels anywhere. They belonged to the head cheerleader—and my worst nightmare—Jill.

My face paled. Jill wasn't supposed to have class on this side of the school. I knew her schedule by heart, and knew that she had art class—that was on the other side of the building. I purposely made my schedule to fit the exact opposite of whatever she had.

"Hello freak."

I jumped and dropped my books. Turning around, I locked eyes with Damian Star, the school's star quarterback and major snob. Most of the girls at my school liked him for his looks, but his personality sent them packing. Damian was a tall boy with lean shoulders and dark brown hair. His chocolate brown eyes were nice, but filled with so much overconfidence and arrogance it made me want to hurl.

"Um, hello… Damian." I gulped nervously, "N-nice seeing you here."

Damian smiled snidely and brushed a few strands of hair back from his face. "Freak, we're here to have some fun," he enlightened me.

"Huh?" It was then that I noticed the others standing behind him. Half of them were from the cheerleading squad and the rest the football team. Jill stood among them, her bright red hair shining brightly under the hallway's fluorescent lights. Her eyes, lined with too much mascara and eyeliner, reminded me of a raccoon and caused me to bite down on the inside of my cheeks.

Jill advanced, standing next to Damian. The two were the school's main couple. Most thought they were perfect for each other—so did I. Jill's haughtiness and Damian's egotism cause them to get along wonderfully. Plus, when they team up to bully people, they're an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.

My breathing lowered.

Jill grinned. "So freak, aren't you happy to see us?" She giggled forcefully.

I said nothing and shut my eyes. From experience, I knew this was the best thing to do. Even if it was the scariest, if I let them do what they wanted, it would be over much quicker, and they would move on with their lives, leaving me alone with mine.

"Ready for some fun?" whispered Damian.

I felt two people—most likely football players—grab me by the arms and toss me into the nearest trash can. My back collided with the can's hard surface, resulting with a loud bang to erupt into the air. I felt immense amounts of pain shoot through my body. Tears lined my eyes and I bit on my lower lip, sucking it painfully.

Jill and Damian exchanged matching high fives and signaled for other cheerleaders to move closer. Briefly, I saw them carrying buckets, but didn't know what was inside them.

"Freak, since you weren't at lunch today, we decided to bring lunch to you." Jill explained in a snotty tone.

My eyes widened. I knew what that meant.

"And there it goes," she cackled. Buckets worth of the cafeteria's old spaghetti, moldy salad and dressing fell over my head. It went everywhere, staining my face, clothes and filling the entire trash can. I screamed in disgust. Then suddenly, someone slammed their hand onto my shoulder and pushed me further inside. Before I could say one word, they then slammed the lid over the trash can. Everything was dark for me and stunk of old, rotten food. I felt like puking.

"Well, don't just stand there. Start rocking the can!" Damian hollered from outside.

"No!" I screamed, feeling two or three people shake and push the trash can. It went in all directions, making the food and I move all around inside the condensed space. Banana peels hung over my tennis shoes, gum wrappers got tangled inside my hair and the bits and pieces of pasta stained my face even more.

"Stop!" I cried.

This felt like a nightmare… A never-ending nightmare.

Laughter resonated from outside the trash can. I knew what was happening out there. I was no fool. I knew they were laughing at me. I knew they found my pleas amusing and comical, and weren't going to stop anytime soon… no matter how much I begged.

For minutes on end, they kept laughing and pushing the trash can around. I kept my eyes closed and tried to imagine that I was in a better place. Somewhere nice and cozy—and not the school's garbage can. That the rotten scents I smelled were actually tropical and lush fragrances. I breathed in deeply and pictured myself smelling pretty, purple flowers and hearing the sound of dolphins laughing—which was actually their laughter. For the most part, it was working. By the time the laughter ceased and the can stopped moving, I felt a little bit better.

I counted to ten and then opened my eyes. I crossed my fingers and hoped they were gone. After a few tries, I managed to knock the lid off the garbage can with one hand. Now all that remained was to escape. I made a face. "I can't believe I'm about to do this." I hissed. I started to rock myself back and forth, feeling the can sway. I moved my body more towards the right, applying more weight in that direction. The can went down with a bang and I fell out.

"Yes!" I raised a fist victoriously and crawled out. All around me, the old tiles were stained with red sauce and icky remains of people's lunches. My stomach churned in disgust. I got to my feet and wiped my forehead. I need to clean to myself up. I bent down and grabbed my books and bag, thankful I dropped them before I was thrown into the garbage can. Limping my way towards the nearest bathroom, I noticed that I hurt my foot while trying to make my escape.

I sighed. "I guess it can't be helped." I dropped my stuff to the ground and looked around the washroom. No one was there but me. "Good." I heaved a sigh of relief. At least no one else would need to see me in this hideous state. I turned around and saw my reflection in the large mirror. "Bleh!" was my sole response. For the girl staring back at me had bits of blood dripping down from her lower lip. Clumps of rotten meatballs, salad and pasta covered her hair and were tangled deeply inside the once blood locks. Spaghetti sauce and… other stuff stained her cheeks and lower neck. Not even bothering to examine the clothing, I just looked away and stuck out my tongue.

"I look nasty." I shuddered at the thought.

Not able to stand the realization any longer, I reached for some nearby paper towel and wet them, attempting to clean some of the residue off my face.

The sauce came off easily, as did the bits of dressing. However, the clumps of meat and pasta were a whole other story. "It's no use!" Frustrated, I threw the paper towel into the trash and tried to clean my hair with my fingers. That method didn't work so well either.

"Damn this." I hissed. "Screw this, I'm going home." I couldn't be bothered to try to clean myself up anymore. There wasn't enough capability left inside me to be able to bother washing this all off me. "I need a shower." I decided, stuffing my stuff into my bag.

I opened the bathroom door and walked out into the hallway. Looking both ways I made sure no one was around as I ran out the nearest exit, heading straight for home.

Oh Goddesses, how could I have let this happen? I limped with immense amounts of effort up the stairs towards my room. My chest hurt excessively and I was sure that my cheek would sport a mark for quite a few days. Both of my legs felt like jelly and wobbled with each step I took.

I coughed and clutched my head. "You big jerk," I muttered under my breath. "Why do you even need to be here in the first place?" I glared down towards the bottom of the stairwell where he once stood. Right now, I knew he was in the living room with my intoxicated mother, most likely pleasuring her senselessly.

"Goddesses," I clutched my mouth, feeling a bit of bile rising up from my throat. I pushed myself to run into my bedroom and lock the door before entering the bathroom. Making a quick dash for the toilet, I threw up the remains of my packed lunch.

It stunk terribly as I flushed the toilet. I scrunched up my nose in disgust and limped my way towards the shower. Though I still felt sick, I knew a shower would make me feel better.

Throwing off my clothes and starting the water, I waited until it reached the perfect temperature before climbing inside. Immediately upon feeling the water droplets cascade down from the shower-head hitting my head and body, I exhaled. Feeling bits and pieces of food chunks drop down onto my shoulders and feet, I forced myself to reach for the shampoo and begin lathering.

"Mom, you should know better then to get back together with him." I resisted the urge to spit. While mom was a bit… scatterbrained, I assumed she had enough dignity and self-respect to not get back together with her former boyfriend, Ganondorf Dragmire. He treated her with little respect, used all her money earned from work and called her so many names it wasn't funny. They broke up a few weeks ago and I was sure that would be the end of him. Nevertheless, when I came home and found her past out on the couch, bottles of wine surrounding her and the couch converted to its pullout… well, that had answered some questions.

I rolled my eyes and reached for more shampoo.

"Mom," I shook my head and gritted my teeth. "You fool."

Suddenly a flash of Ganondorf's face came to mind. I stuck out my tongue as the sudden memories of what happened just a few minutes ago came to mind.

…

…

…

I just got home from school, tired from running the entire way. I snuck inside and locked the door passing by the living room, where I saw mother sleeping away, snoring. The air smelt faintly of cigarettes and wine bottles of different sizes and colours lined the coffee table and mantel place.

"Mom…" my eyes drooped. After a long day at school, I was not happy to see this. Exhaling a sigh, I faintly noticed a bit of drool rolling down from mother's lips. It wasn't a pleasant sight.

I had shaken my head and made my way towards the stairs. The very thought of someone else being home never crossed my mind until it was too late. Unsuspectingly, someone grabbed me by the wrist and pushed me towards the stairs. My eyes watered and I collided face first with the few steps.

"Ouch." I groaned.

"Heh… Oops."

I knew that voice. My bottom lip trembled. "G-Ganondorf," I stuttered, fearful. Ganondorf Dragmire was my mother's long time boyfriend. The two had met one evening at a local bar and were together ever since. Until recently, mother had broken up with him. When I heard the news, I was delirious with joy. Nevertheless, to see him here at home after they broke up. It made no sense.

"You have a good time at school?" He sneered, chucking—most likely at my current state. I balled my hands into fists, angered. Besides Jill and Damian, he was the other person who got on my nerves. On more than one occasion, I just wanted to punch him endlessly.

"Be quiet." I hissed and turned over, glaring at him.

Slap! His left hand collided with my cheek, startling me. The contact was so quick but painful, right away I knew it would leave a mark.

I held back a scowl. "Aw, what's the matter?" He croaked. "You can't take a simple beating?"

I gritted my teeth and looked away. Just like with my tormentors at school, I knew better than to answer his question.

Ganondorf then snarled and pulled me up by the hair. I hissed with displeasure and tried to look away. His eyes were locked on my watering eyes and trembling lips. He smirked and let go. Like a rag doll, I fell limply onto the stairs. I felt like crying, but didn't dare give into the urge.

He bent down, inspecting my current state. It looked like he wanted to inflict more pain on me, but luckily my mother called.

"Oh honey," she hiccupped. "W-where are you?"

Right away, my face churned in disgust as Ganondorf smirked and yelled, "Coming love!"

I nearly puked right on the spot.

His gaze shifted towards my mother's direction. Smiling wide, he grabbed me by the hair again and hissed in my ear, "You're lucky; I went too easy on you. Next time, it'll be worse." And with that, he let go of me and sauntered back into the living room where my intoxicated mother lay.

…

…

…

"Bleh!" I spat and turned off the water. It was too disgusting—no, atrocious to recall. I stepped out of the shower and reached for my housecoat. It hung right next to the shower for easy access and convenience. Tying it tight, I limped towards the vanity and smiled. No longer did any remains of the cafeteria food litter my hair and face. I was perfectly clean.

"Besides the bruise, though." I brought my hand up towards the bruise and touched it. It stung. I hissed with displeasure and knew it would need to be bandaged along with my legs. When inside the shower, I noticed different spots on my legs forming. A few were fresh cuts and others were cuts that reopened. Nothing major, but they would still need to be tended to.

Opening up the medicine cabinet, I withdrew my first aid kit and began to clean myself up. I headed towards the toilet and propped my right leg on top of the lid. While sanitizing the cuts, I hissed and groaned with disapproval. For once today, I was openly able to shout and whisper to my wildest protests.

A few minutes later, I slapped some bandages on and directed my attention towards my cheek. Settling on a simple bandage, I cleaned the small wound and applied a large, white dressing over the entire bruise. Zipping up the first aid kit, I looked at my work in the mirror and smiled. "All done," I giggled and reached for my brush. Quickly brushing my hair, I walked out of the washroom and grabbed my favourite pair of sweats. I slipped them on and sat down on my desk chair.

"I just want to sleep." I yawned, but was too scared of what Ganondorf might do if he came upstairs and found me. Yawning again, I turned around in my seat and saw something lying on my desk. It was a letter. Curious, I reached for it and looked at the sender. Right away, I smiled gleefully since it was none other then my own father who had sent it, Richard Harkinain.