The Legend of Zelda: Zelda's Honor

Chapter 1 - The Choice

Zelda looked over the garden and spotted Link lying down on the grass, apparently content on ignoring her. Seeing what he was wearing, she squinted her eyes a bit in frustration as she marched over to him. Clearly he heard her stomping up to where he lay and he wasn't in the least bit interested in moving from his comfy position. After a small clearing of her throat Link tipped the tip of his cap up with a finger to let one eye fall on her face.

"Link," Zelda mustered with pseudo-upset tones, "I thought we took those clothes away from you. As the youngest knight in Hyrule's history, you should be more thoughtful in how you look! What you do reflects not only on yourself but on-"

"It'll be fine Zelda, no one is seeing me like this but you. It is not like it's a big deal." He let loose his finger and the green cap fell back over his face. After a moment of silence, he realized this was apparently the wrong thing to do.

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Link scratched an itch on the underside of his arm, furious at his uncomfortable new clothes. He wore a tight fitting black shirt with two red plaid stripes where the buttons lay. The outer rims of his shoulders had flappy frills of a light grey color with sleeves cut off at the mid-forearm. His belt buckled with a clasp of pure obsidian in sharp contrast to his brown leather belt. He had donned ankle length black pants with a slim opening on the outer side of each leg with more white frills poking through. His boots were of standard Hylian attire with high reaching sides. He looked dejectedly into the mirror and sighed.

The door to his quarters opened up as Zelda strode into the room with the grace befitting her position. Princess Zelda was the pride of the kingdom and the sole heir to the Hyrule throne. She was beautiful beyond compare even at her young age. To prevent leering eyes from the townsfolk, she was usually heavily, yet regally dressed. She could never go outside or see another boy without putting on her headdress to cover her brilliantly glowing golden hair. She was lithe and petite for someone of her standing, many expressed surprise at how little she was. However her smile was as radiant as the sun and observers claimed she was always calm and collected, traits becoming of their future queen. At the tender age of twelve, she did her duty to fulfill the role laid before her.

She came up behind him and looked past him into the mirror to appreciate his appearance. He glanced over as she rested a hand on his shoulder before looking straight ahead into the mirror heaving a big sigh to emphasize his emotions to her. She simply smiled and shook her head.

"Link, I know you are not comfortable with palace life, neither was I when I was first groomed to be a young lady. All I wanted to do was play with the servant boys and girls out in the fields or help tidy up the horses in their stalls. When I was eight, I had to be taken away from all that. It was hard, but in the end you'll be happy with us here in the castle. Much happier than you were fighting all those monsters and demons out there."

He spun around so fast she withdrew her hand quickly for fear of accidently smacking him.

"Don't you get it Zelda?" Link fumed, "I can't stand it Zelda! I wanted to be that knight of yours in shining armor." Zelda blushed a scarlet shade of red at this, "But I can't. I at first liked the new tutors and teachers and what they were teaching me. Now it's just stifling."

Link walked over to the bed and looked at his vest he was to put on for the festival. It was emblazoned with the royal family's crest on the back and was of a deep mahogany hue. It honestly would have completed the look of his ridiculous outfit. With a surge of anger, he picked it up and threw it across the room, narrowly missing the mirror Zelda was standing by.

"Link!" Zelda exclaimed.

"This isn't me Zelda. I belong out in the forests, in the fields, in the mountains. You were right, I am what you called me once: a fairy boy. That is who I am and that is where I belong." In a sudden burst of inspiration, Link's eyes dilated open with excitement, "Come with me Zelda! Let's go travel somewhere! Where is your sense of adventure?"