Chapter 1

The young man jumped out of the way as the taxi took off down the street, the cabby never even asking if he had all of his things. He sighed heavily and readjusted the leather satchel over his shoulder. Turning, he glanced up at the large gray stone building that loomed before him, seeming to tower over him, threatening to crush him. He grabbed the duffel bag off of the sidewalk, straightened his green shirt, and stepped hesitantly toward the front doors, dodging the many students that stood between him and his destination. He ignored the pointed stares and the stray whispers that were anything but quiet. This was nothing new, nothing he hadn't dealt with before. This was definitely not his first time at a new school.

He stepped into the quiet entry way and was instantly greeted by a peppy woman with snow white hair.

"Hello! You must be our new student! Link, right?" She asked as she stepped around the large desk.

He nodded curtly. She shook his hand excitedly. "Welcome, welcome! My name is Claree. I am Dean Rhoam's office assistant and school greeter. If you ever have any questions do not hesitate to ask me. I know everything and everyone!" She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him up a set of stairs behind the desk. "How was the drive in?"

"Fine," he muttered.

She eyed him curiously. "Not much of a talk, huh?" She chuckled. "No worries. I was new once too. You are going to love it here. Everyone is super friendly." She stopped him outside of a large wooden door. She grabbed his shoulders, turning him to face her. "And I was serious. If you need anything, do not hesitate to come to me."

He nodded and tried his best to smile, managing to at least get one side of his lips up.

Claree knocked loudly on the door. "Dean Rhoam, your twelve o'clock is here."

"Let him in," a gruff voice sounded from behind the door.

"Good luck," Claree said as pushed him through the door. Link stumbled in and quickly tried to compose himself as he stepped up to the large wooden desk.

A large bearded man sat in the chair behind the desk, wearing a deep blue suit with gold trim. His gaze was critical and his mouth was set in a tight line.

"Have a seat, son," he said brusquely, motioning to the two chairs in front of the desk.

Link nodded and set his bags on one chair, himself on the other. "Thank you, sir."

He waved his hand in the air. "No need for sirs. Simply call me Dean Rhoam or Mister Rhoam."

"Yes, sir—Dean Rhoam," Link corrected himself quickly.

He watched as the Dean pulled a thick folder out from one of the drawers and flipped through it quickly.

"We are very excited to have you here, Link…"

"Smith," Link supplied for him.

"Yes, here it is. Link Smith." Dean Rhoam looked him over. "You do not look like a Smith, if you don't mind my saying."

"My parents are unknown," he explained softly. "Smith is the default name given to male children at the hospital."

Dean Rhoam nodded. "Yes, it says here that you are coming from a foster home."

"Yes, sir."

The dean arched an eyebrow at the sir but let it slide. "As I was saying, we are very excited to have you here, Link. We rarely let students in part way through the term but your application and the eloquent and persuasive recommendations from your teachers could not be ignored. We have also never given out a complete full scholarship before. But we could not risk another school scooping you up and your background was taken into consideration," he added.

Link nodded silently.

He jumped slightly as a loud knock rang out. "Sir," Claree's voice called out, "Barry is here."

"Let him in."

Link turned and watched a tall lanky teenager with a mass of thick brown hair step into the office. "Ah, Mister Bedel. Thank you for joining us. I was just introducing myself to our new student, Mister Link Smith."

Link stood up from his chair and shook the boy's hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Link," he smiled, "and welcome!"

"Thanks," Link said skeptically, unsure of what to make of this boy.

Dean Rhoam cleared his throat and the two teenagers turned to face him. "Mister Bedel here is going to give you a tour of the campus." He stood up and handed Barry a stack of papers. "This is Link's class schedule, dorm room, dining hall pass, a campus map, and a few forms that he will have to fill out. Please show him around and make sure he is situated."

"Of course, Dean Rhoam." He offered Link a reassuring smile.

The dean turned to look at Link and offered him his hand. Link gripped it, giving him a strong shake. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mister Smith. We look forward to great things from you here. And in case I haven't said it already, welcome to Hyrule High."

"Alrighty, you are in Hylian Hall. That is on the North side of campus," Barry said as he pointed at the map, showing Link where his dorm room was. "That's where my room is too! There are five dorms total," he explained. "We are in Hylian Hall, which is in the middle. To the right are Goron Hall and Zora Hall. Then to the left is Rito Hall and Gerudo Hall. They kind of arch around the whole campus.

Link nodded and glanced around, trying to take everything in as they walked across the campus. "This place is huge," he muttered.

"Yeah, but you get used to it quickly. Soon it will feel too small." Barry chuckled softly.

Link looked the kid over. He was taller than himself, with a thin face and a large nose. He wore a white graphic tee with blue cargo shorts.

"Hey, um...thanks for showing me around, Barry," Link finally said.

Barry shrugged. "It's no problem. I signed up to be a new student escort. Bonus points with the dean is never a bad idea. Also, please feel free to call me Beedle."

"Beedle?" Link asked incredulously.

Barry laughed. "Yeah, it's what everyone else calls me so you might as well too."

"Why?"

"I...I have a bit of a bug...collection," he said timidly. He glanced at Link and saw a pair of raised eyebrows. "I know, I know. Weird. But hey, I grew up on a farm and when you are as unathletic as I am, you find new ways to amuse yourself. So a bunch of the kids here thought it would be hilarious to call me Beedle, kind of a play on my last name, Bedel."

Link nodded slowly. "And you are okay with it?"

"Better to embrace it than let them think they are pulling one on you." He shrugged. "Oh if you look over there, that is the main building for your core classes, you know science, math, english, history." Beedle pulled out one of the papers from the stack as Link looked at the large stone building. Tons of students milled about outside of the building, sitting on just about any surface. Many had their heads in a book or were chatting with friends. "You'll probably spend most of your time there. Let's see, your electives are...fencing, cooking, and horseback riding? Really?" Beedle looked at him in surprise. "That's an odd mix."

Link shrugged. "I've never had the chance to really do any of those, so I figured it would be fun."

"Makes sense. Alright, then before we hit the dorms let's head over to the gym since that's on the way. Your cooking class will be in the main building and the stables are kind of far out, so we should drop your stuff off first."

By the time made it to the room, Link was ready to drop.

"Alright, you are on the third floor...in room…" Beedle shuffled through the papers. "310!" On the elevator he handed Link an envelope. He opened it to find a small silver key. "Don't lose that or you will have to call campus security to let you in."

"This floor is specifically for third years. So, that means you and me, plus there is Malon—who will probably be at the stable with you—Paya—she's a bit sensitive, so be ready. Then there's Prima, Karson, Groose and his gang of goons, Cawlin and Strich. And Karane, Fledge, Pipit, Kina—who will be in cooking with you—and last but not least Zelda. She's Dean Rhoam's daughter."

"The dean's daughter?"

"Yeah, she's a real bookworm. But no surprise there." Beedle paused as they walked down the hallway. He turned to face a door labeled 310. "Alright, here's your room. I'll give you time to set up. We can go check out the stables after dinner. I'll come grab you at five for dinner. If you have any questions my room is right down there, 315." Beedle waved and disappeared down the hall.

Link turned back to his door. Nervously he turned the key in the doorknob and watched as the door swung open to reveal a small room. It was just big enough to fit a small bed, a desk, and a single dresser. The sunlight poured in through a small window over the desk. Link closed the door behind him and tossed his two bags onto the desk. He turned in a small circle, taking in the stark white room with the brown carpets. The furniture was plain wood and there was nothing flashy about it. The bed was already outfitted with a simple green comforter, two pillows, and tan sheets.

He threw himself on the bed and sighed. A room all to himself. A space that was just his. No one could throw themselves on him in the middle of the night or kick him out of the only bed. No one snoring directly into his ear. It was his. Just his.