Who We Are; Zelink, Modern (The Legend Of Zelda)

Runaway Princess (13)

Zelda kicked her legs against the ground as she pushed herself to go higher in the swing.

The old playground of Kokori High School was as good a place as any to lie low. It had been abandoned for a very long time. The kids in Kokori County were notorious for their kids never making it to a high school grade.

As the air rushed past her face she let out a long sigh. It had been almost a month since she had fled the Lanayru Province and come to the Ordona Province to lay low. She had bought a new cell phone, went from hotel to hotel, and never stayed in one place for too long. She always wore her hair underneath a hood, and she avoided interaction as much as she could; she never knew who was working for Maldus.

Before she had trashed her phone she received one short text. Maldus has eyes everywhere. Trust nobody.

It had taken her awhile to find out just who this 'Maldus' was. But through the clever use of the internet at a local library she found him. He was a well-respected politician in Hyrule, and he was running for governor of the Lanayru Province. He was winning too.

She understood from what she had learned that this man wouldn't appreciate her family's presence in that Province, after all they were ultimately running things. She had come to accept that this 'Maldus' wanted her dead, and if not for that telepath warning her of the danger...And yet she couldn't make sense of anything, because if Link was working for Maldus, why hadn't he just killed her the first night he had stayed with her?

Zelda had sent one text directly to her father's phone one week into her flight. All it had said was, "It's Zelda. I'm safe."

She wouldn't have admitted it to anyone but she actually liked having to survive on her own for once.

Zelda never forgot Link. It was in her flight that she realized just how much she missed having her bodyguard around, false one or not. Hired by her parents or not...he had done what a bodyguard should have. And more. He became a friend to her, one she feared she would never be able to have again. And more than anything she hated how much she missed him. She had been so taken in by his lies, that breaking free was easier said than done.

-_-_-

Zelda looked down at the soap. The last hotel she had stayed in had been a lot nicer but she wasn't about to complain. She was still safe. She had gotten through another day.

She dropped the robe from around herself and then stepped into the shower.

Zelda sat on the edge of the springy bed as she towel dried her hair. The image of Link sitting in the corner of her room popped into her mind. She shoved it aside and closed her eyes. He was gone. There was no use thinking about him. He betrayed you. He lied to you. He was probably going to give you to Maldus.

To have faith in no one but herself was so much easier... and so much harder.

The runaway princess shook her head and returned her attention to her wet hair.

-_-_-

She was in the parking lot again. She turned around in a circle, but the lot was empty. She walked towards the building in front of her, but when she reached out for the door handle, it vanished. She sighed. Really, these dreams. She turned around and noticed the boy that was causing her so much pain and confusion was standing right there.

"Link," she said, a mixture of emotions flaring through her all at once.

"Keep running or I'll find you, and I may well kill you this time."

Zelda woke up abruptly. That dream was the weirdest she'd had. It was like a conversation rather than a vision.

As she sat up she heard a crash against her door. She jumped out of bed, more rested than she had ever been after waking up from one of those dreams.

She grabbed her bag of possessions and then twirled on the spot, teleporting into the closet of the room next to her. She peeked her head out and was relieved to find an empty room. She quickly discarded her pajamas and changed into normal clothes. She put her backpack on her shoulders and then went to the balcony. Zelda looked down the building and gulped; fear crept up from her feet.

Pounding started to come from the door of the room she had escaped to, and so she steeled herself and jumped. No time like the present to try out some new magic.

As she hurtled down she couldn't help but laugh at the exhilaration that ran though her whole being. Before she hit the ground she teleported upwards and caught hold of the lowest balcony of the hotel. She dropped to the ground with minimal velocity, but her arms hurt from catching herself; even after the lessened momentum from teleporting. Her heart rate was probably skyrocketing, but she took off running again. She dodged behind a convenience store and stopped to catch her breath.

"We've got ourselves a beauty," came an oily voice from behind her, blocking off the way she had come. She looked around and saw a whole group of gross looking people.

Zelda straightened up and smirked. "Oh, I wouldn't get any closer if I were you."

"What's one girl going to do against all of us?" he asked as he pulled something out of his pocket. Her eyes widened when she realized it was a gun.

No choice now; she had to act quickly. Zelda swept her arm through the air and a fireball shot at the lead man. Then she twirled; a blue shield appearing in a dance of crystalline shards around her, deflecting the projectiles she had expected would be shot at her after that pyrotechnic trick. She repeated her swiping motion several more times, and everyone around her soon smoldered on the ground.

She walked over to the leader. "Thank you for this," she said as she pulled the gun from his grip and examined it. She'd never owned one herself but she knew how to use it. "It will come in handy." She bent over him and grabbed his collar.

He yelped in fear.

Zelda smiled slightly and pressed the gun to his throat. "Tell anyone about what happened, and I promise I'll kill everyone here," she threatened as she dropped him. She looked around and spotted a manhole, then raised the lid with a little magical help. Steam lifted from the hole. "It was a tragic accident," she told the man as she pointed to the hole. "It blew and hot air burned you all." She narrowed her eyes. "You've never seen me before."

She bent down and picked up another gun from the ground. "Pray you won't have to see me again." Then she started to run again, knowing that the smoke would attract the attention she wanted to avoid.