Wow, I didn't think this story would be popular at all :o
Thanks, everyone, for all the support! <3
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【 P R E S E N T L Y 】
"Just... Just remarkable! I've never seen anything like this!" Shad exclaimed in amazement as he began to scribble in his notebook excitedly.
The two of you were in Kakariko Gorge, inspecting an owl statue. You remember having come to this exact area once when you were searching for a way to reach the Sky Temple. The owls revealed to you Sky Letters, which then allowed you, Link and Midna access to the Sky Cannon.
Shad had always been fascinated by these statues.
You smiled at his excitement. The way he eagerly began to examine said statue was adorable. You've never once met anyone with such passion in their lives. Which made you wonder, when will you come across yours?
"Wow!" Shad exclaimed once more, causing you to peer over at him. "Will you just look at the detail! So remarkable, so exquisite!"
You knew it was a rhetorical question, but you couldn't help but answer. "For once, the ancients did a good job." If only they designed the temples better.
"Hmm?" Shad looked over at you curiously, as if just remembering your existence. "A-Ah...! I-I'm so sorry!" He was suddenly by your side, feeling guilty for having neglected you. "How embarrassing..."
You blinked. How odd, this definitely wasn't something you were used to. In all your lives, you've never once met someone who'd just drop everything in exchange for your attention. Sure, if you had Link's attention, he'd give it to you. He'd listen to your small talk, your concerns, and give a reply when necessary. But there was always something else... Something else about how Link would look around the room or fidget made you feel like a second thought. His mind always seemed to be preoccupied with something else.
Ilia.
With Shad, however, he almost seemed like he craved your attention. When you spoke up, he'd immediately look over. It didn't matter if he was immersed in a book or was currently conducting research; he'd stop and would give you his undivided attention. He wouldn't protest that you'd interrupted his studies. His eyes would be focused on you, only you. There'd be no one else, nothing else in his eyes except you.
Was it maybe because you were one of the heroes who saved Hyrule? Or perhaps there was more to it?
With a grin, you replied, "don't be embarrassed. I admire how passionate you are."
"R-Really?" The redhead seemed to perk up at your words. Beneath the harsh sunlight, his dark green eyes seemed to shine.
"Of course!" You beamed. "So what did you find?"
His smile widened even more. With an excited bounce in his step, he pulled you over towards the statue. Then he leaned down, his gloved hand indicating at a peculiar spot.
"Do you see that? That small design right there?"
You instantly spotted it. It was a rather simple pattern. Two parallel lines were carved into the statue, connected by a series of perpendicular ones. You narrowed your eyes, trying in vain to figure out why this was so special.
Noticing your confused look, Shad chuckled before explaining, "this is an artistic technique that predates The Era of Chaos. Which means this statue must be from The Sky Era!" [1]
Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, your features shifting from confusion to amazement. You remembered both of those eras clearly, even though those memories were centuries old.
During The Sky Era, you had been born on Skyloft. This was a time when a portion of Hyrule had been lifted into the sky by Goddess Hylia to protect the people from Demise. You had grown up with Link. The two of you were prospective students at the Knight Academy. You had been a fool to think that in this era, you'd get to lead a peaceful life. Danger eventually struck, and you were thrown once more into a battle between good and evil.
The Era of Chaos followed after the defeat of Demise. You played an important role in helping the people of Skyloft adjust to life on the Surface. More significantly, you also played a role in helping Zelda plan her wedding to Link. Since he had fallen for yet another in this life, you eventually departed from his side. You spent the rest of your time travelling across the Surface before vanishing into legend.
"... And that's why it's such an incredible find!" Shad's excited voice somehow managed to pierce through your thoughts.
Realizing that this was a different life, in a different time, you managed to regain your senses quickly. You quickly smiled, hoping that he didn't notice how you had spaced out just now.
"That's great." You found yourself saying, your words carrying a lack of emotion.
"Oh, sorry, I've been talking so much." Shad apologized, his cheeks turning red. It seemed like he had mistaken your tone for boredom. His eyes flickered away for a second before returning. "Um, let's talk about something else!"
Guilt immediately seized you. You hated how sometimes your mind would just wander, returning to the days that plagued your entire existence. Here you were, spending time with a perfectly good person, someone who made you feel so special, warm, and wanted. Yet there you go, thinking about Link.
"Oh, no!" You replied after a couple of drawn-out seconds. "I don't mind, really! Sorry, I just kind of got lost in thought there..."
To your surprise, Shad laughed. Looking down at you with a sheepish grin, he asked, "why are you apologizing?"
You almost raised an eyebrow. Almost.
"Um... Why are you asking me why I'm apologizing?" You replied, rather awkwardly.
Honestly, you were a little confused. You had grown pretty close to him over the past few days. You were pretty confident that you knew him pretty well too. But right now, how he was behaving was rather hard to understand.
"I mean," Shad began, his voice gentle. "You don't have to apologize. I know you, [Y/N]. You tend to space out quite often." With that, he reached out and gently ruffled your hair.
A look of surprise appeared across your face, accompanied by a rather obvious blush. You weren't quite sure why you reacted the way you did. His words touched you deeply, striking something deep inside that made you feel like you were melting. Also, the way he had tussled your hair like that... It was... It was... Well, you really didn't know. There was just something about the combination of the two that had you feeling weak in the knees.
You wanted to think Shad was affectionate towards you. In your many lives, you had often seen lovers ruffle each other's hair in the same way that Shad had just done.
Did it... Could it have meant something?
Thankfully for you, Shad turned away from you then, completely missing your reaction. It seemed like he had noticed something new about the owl statue. He whipped out a book from nowhere and began to scan the pages fervently with an excited cry.
You turned sharply on your heel, away from the redhead, to calm yourself. You placed both hands on your face, feeling just how hot your cheeks had gotten. Then you closed your [e/c] eyes and inhaled sharply, hoping that it would slow down your rapid heart-rate. Through all this, you couldn't help but smile like an idiot.
The feelings which coursed through your veins were just wonderful. You felt renewed and began to notice just how beautiful the world around you seemed. As you opened your eyes, however, that feeling was quickly replaced with dread. In the distance, you spotted a crowd of bokoblin rushing towards you.
"Shad!" You cried, spinning around.
Said male immediately snapped his head up, concerned at the sound of your alarmed voice. Just as his green eyes began to look for the source of your panic, you suddenly grabbed him by the wrist and yanked. You quickly pulled him forward as you broke into a sprint. You immediately began to make your way across the field, your eyes glued to the path that snaked into the gorge.
"W-What? [Y/N]!"
Just as you were about to scream something back, a series of mischievous, bubbling laughter filled the air. You gritted your teeth, half in annoyance and concern. Annoyance because you seriously despised those monsters. They were a huge pain to deal with, especially life after life after life. On the other hand, you were concerned because of Shad. You were pretty confident that you could dispatch them easily if you were on your own, but Shad was a civilian. You couldn't risk confronting the bokoblin if Shad was here. What if somehow they got to him while you were preoccupied?
You wouldn't risk it. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself.
You quickly tossed a look over your shoulder, realizing that they were gaining speed on you, and quick. Without another choice, you dug your heels into the ground and came to a stop.
"Go!" You pushed Shad forward, in the direction of Kakariko Village.
When he turned around and gave you a confused look, you quickly unsheathed your sword. Realization dawned upon him when he became aware of what you were about to do.
"Go! Go on now!" You cried out, urging him. "Run!"
"No!" Shad refused, reaching out to grab hold of your arms. "I won't leave you!"
You gritted your teeth before quickly casting a look over your shoulder. They were almost here. Then you looked back at Shad while trying to shake your arm free.
"You have to! Listen, I'll be fine. You have to go! I can't risk anything happening to you!"
Shad's lips instantly snapped shut. Whatever he had prepared to say in retaliation had died on his tongue. The way he looked at you, so warmly yet frightful, made you realize just how much he had come to care for you. He didn't want to leave you. He couldn't leave you. He couldn't just go while you stayed behind to fight.
He didn't have to say anything.
You felt yourself beginning to reach for him. You wanted to comfort him. You wanted him to return to how cheerful he had been when examining the owl statue. But you couldn't. Not now. Now was the time to fight.
Biting back your feelings, you dropped your arm to the side. "Go!" You cried at him, giving him one final push.
You had just to trust that he'd listened to you this time. Because as soon as you turned around, the monsters pounced.
You quickly raised your sword, effectively blocking the attack. Luckily for you, the bokoblin who had you currently engaged in battle was wielding a branch. In fact, it looked like the five others, which had taken this time to surround you, were all wielding similar types of weapons. While they hit hard and could easily knock you off your feet, at least you didn't have to deal with something potentially more dangerous.
"Ha."
You pushed back against the branch with a hard, upward swipe, knocking it into the sky. The bokoblin gave out a surprised cry, its gaze following after its weapon. It was a fatal mistake. Without missing a beat, you lunged forward and impaled the creature with your sword. A strangled cry erupted from the back of its throat before it grew limp and exploded into purple dust.
There was no time to relish in your small victory.
You pivoted to your right, oddly maneuvering your body to avoid the barrage of attacks. You ducked low before kicking up with your right foot, performing an aerial flip. The heel of your right foot crashed into one of the bokoblins, the force sending them tumbling back. As soon as both your feet touched the ground, you lunged forward once more, easily dispatching yet another monster.
The remaining three bokoblins began screaming at you in rage, their high-pitched shrieks causing you to cringe. You turned around, immediately moving into a defensive position. You carefully eyed your opponents. Oh, they were mad now. Their icky, purple-coloured skin seemed to have taken on a reddish hue.
You couldn't help but smirk slightly. It might have been a while since you've last handled a sword, but you weren't rusty at all. In fact, you feel your skills have somehow improved. Maybe it was because you were fighting to protect someone?
Simultaneously, the three monsters gave out a cry. Then they pushed off the heels of their feet and sprung high into the air. You tilted your head back, only to become momentarily blinded by the sun. Even though your vision had been slightly compromised, you were no rookie. It would be easy for you to dodge their assault. After living to fight against evil as many times as you have, fighting had become second nature.
Just as you prepared to tuck yourself into a somersault, something flew through the air, piercing into the throat of one of the bokoblins. Startled, you practically jumped in your skin. One by one, the bokoblins fell out of the sky, dropping to the ground before vanishing into purple smoke.
Your eyes dropped to the ground, realizing then it was arrows that had so easily dispatched those monsters. There was someone else here, someone with a ridiculous amount of skill. There was only one person in all of Hyrule capable of such a feat.
Your stomach dropped.
What you felt in that moment wasn't fear or panic. You knew that you were in no immediate danger. Not physically, anyway. Emotionally, on the other hand... Well, you were practically already dead.
Slowly, you turned around, your breath hitching. Your eyes caught his gaze instantly, and it was like some kind of divine spark flew between you two. Standing a few feet away from you, with his bow drawn, was none other than Link.
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[1] "this is an artistic technique that predates 'The Era of Chaos.' Which means this statue must be from the 'The Sky Era'!" ------ I made this up cause obviously, I don't know anything about the history of art in the Zelda universe LOL. The order of the timeline, though, has been quite heavily debated by fans, and it fits pretty well with the story, so why not! What follows after are facts I found online. I don't know if it's 100% accurate, but it's cool! :D