Please be aware that there is swearing and violence towards a minor at the end of this chapter

Part I
A Hero's Second Chance
Years 504-505 FH

Chapter I
Ella

Link woke to the sound of one of the free roaming roosters that wandered Castle Town and it's many districts. Morning sunlight filtered through the smog of smoke rising from the densely packed chimneys, the fire's having been left burning in the metal stoves overnight to fight the growing nip in the air.

But Link did not have the luxury of a burning stove, only a ratty quilt he had found tossed in the street after it had lost its usefulness. And, unlike many of the other children in Castle Town, the light shone on his face to greet him in the new day unhindered by a curtained window or even a bare window.

Link had nothing aside from the blanket wrapped around him, his torn and hole littered clothes, and a small stash of rupees he had been hiding under a loose cobblestone in the alley where he retreated when the sun dipped back under the rooftops.

He started his day just like all the other days. He bundled up his blanket and hid in behind a discarded plank of wood, which he liked to think was also his since he had spent many rainy nights huddled under it. Sometimes he'd try to fight off the chill by cuddling under his blanket with one of the many dogs that roamed the streets at night and when there was a layer of snow he slept on the board since it was better than laying in the snow in a soaking blanket. When he was satisfied that everything was in order, he pulled his itchy, thread bare coat tighter around him and made for the Market District of Castle Town.

Castle Town had many different districts, six in total. Three residential districts and three commercial districts. Link had heard of larger towns existing elsewhere with many more districts, but Castle Town was the biggest city he had ever seen. Though in all honesty he hadn't seen very many. At first it had been difficult to navigate the narrow alleys and weave through people traversing the more expansive pathways. But Link quickly learned his way.

There was the Lower District, which wasn't necessarily lower than the rest of Castle Town, nor was it further south. It was the residential district with the poorest living qualities. Many people didn't even own the ramshackle houses, huts, or shanties that they jam packed their often too large families into. They rented their living space from people who lived in the Middle or Upper Districts. It was also where all the street orphans lived if they didn't want to live in one of the orphanages, which were, for the most part, also in the Lower District except for the one in the back of Market District. The Lower District was where Link spent his nights since he was chased out of the other districts by the guard for loitering.

The merchants and craftsmen lived in the Middle District where the houses varied from modestly small to surprisingly large, but the roofs didn't leak, the walls didn't creak, and there weren't any rats or cockroaches scuttling under the floorboards. Families who lived there were often much smaller than the ones in the Lower District, with the older generations often having their own separate housing arrangements. It was by far the largest District as well, though not the most populated since it wasn't so jam packed together. Link avoided this District when he could since wandering close to one of the more lavish houses could get him in trouble for suspected scheming and illicit activities.

The final residential district was the Upper District where there were few houses, if they could be called that. Link suspected there were somewhere between twenty-five and thirty-five expansive mansions with sections a large as the biggest houses in the Middle District and each had its own grounds with trees and ponds and flowers. Link had never been there since he knew he would be run off immediately, if not by the guard but by everyone else. Though Castle Town was not strictly segregated so to speak, there were certain places a person like Link just could not go.

The first of the three commercial districts, the River District, actually lay outside the walls and it consisted of a few public stables and a number of private ones, one or two extremely cheep and questionable inns and taverns, fisheries, and a few farmers markets and lumber mills. A lot of the people in the Lower District, if they were lucky enough, had work there though the work was hard and the pay was poor. Link didn't go there often because the open fields were too inviting, though he knew he could not survive a week in the open without his sword and bow.

Inside the gate was what was called the Gate District, which was what greeted everyone who entered the city walls. There were a few more stables inside to cater to the traveler's needs if they were only staying a night, and many inns for the travelers to stay at. The taverns were also located here so it was where most of the drunks hung out. The farther away you got from the main road, the shadier the business got. The boarder between the Lower District and the Gate District was where the brothels were, tucked away out of sight. And behind the pawn shops and curiosity shops was the perfect haven for fences and leaders of crime circles. Link tried his best to stay away from those people since he couldn't bare the thought of turning to those means of survival. It just wasn't in his nature, though he was sure he had the natural talent.

The final district was just after the Gate District at the heart of the city, the Market District. The Market District was home to Link's favorite hang out. He liked to sit on the rim of the fountain in the middle and would often sneak rupees out when no one was looking, apologizing to the wish maker for disrupting their offering. The bakers, butchers, cobblers, tailors, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other crafters set up shop here. The most prominent place was the Bazaar where any general good could be purchased. There were even some game houses, but Link didn't have the money to spare. The smell there was tantalizing. The warm smell of bread from the bakeries and the scent of cooked meats coming from the restaurants and butchers always made Link's empty stomach ache. But today he was headed once again for the back alleys of the Gate District, a few greens hidden inside his coat, just in case.

Link walked through the Lower District with his head down. This early in the morning all the pickpockets were starting to stir and pour out of the shanties their bosses owned, if they were so lucky to have a boss. In the child underworld of future master criminals, there was a hierarchy.

At the top were the oldest, too young to be adults but old enough to get contracts and jobs in the Middle District robbing homes. They were mostly harmless to the younger bunch but never passed the opportunity to puff up their chest and preen their ego. Underneath them were the pickpockets since they were most likely to become the next generation of house robbers. They were dangerous, especially in groups, since they liked to roughen up those they believed lower than them to assert dominance. At the very bottom were the beggars, like Link, who didn't have, or didn't utilize, skills as a thief of any kind but instead used their small adorableness to weasel into the hearts of travelers with heavy purses in hopes of a few greens to try and get through the day without an entirely empty stomach.

Since Link was at the bottom and since the beggars didn't often travel in groups like the pickpockets, he was an easy and prime target for the traveling packs. There was one group led by a boy named Malroy, who was a year older than Link, that always picked on him if they saw him in a vulnerable place. Malroy had two friends and they worked together marvelously, with one or two distracting their target to leave them open for Malroy 'Sticky Fingers'. Link didn't know why, but Malroy had it out for him and Link prayed he'd make it to the Rupee Rupee Pawn Shop without incident.

But Link was not the luckiest boy in the world, not by a long shot, and sure enough, no sooner had he made it two blocks east to the Gate District did he hear the tell tale shouts of rowdy boys. Malroy and his posy were also making their way to the Gate District and Link was not timely enough to make it there before or after them, and their paths soon crossed.

"Hey, look boys," Malroy sneered the moment he saw and recognized Link. "It's the little Tree Boy." The others laughed and closed in around Link. Link didn't see what was so funny about calling him 'Tree Boy' just because he traveled all the way to Castle Town from the woods in the southeast. "See any forest spirits lately, Tree Boy?" Link kept his head down and stared to walk faster, though Malroy and his gang already had him surrounded. "Did Mommy forget to give Tree Boy a hug this morning?" Malroy said in his most mocking voice, and Link had to fight the urge to punch the larger boy with all he had, the subject of his parents the shortest fuse he had. Malroy knew this and Link was determined not to give him the satisfaction.

Instead of giving Malroy a knuckle sandwich, Link said curtly, "Leave me alone, Malroy." He both did not want to deal with Malroy and couldn't come up with a witty enough comeback to respond sarcastically like he wanted to.

"What're you gonna do about it? Tattle to Daddy?"

"Leave me alone!" Link said, this time louder and angrier. He tried to fight it, but Malroy irked him to no end and he was hungry and cold.

"Make me, Tree Boy!" Malroy shoved Link hard, knocking him into the two boy's walking behind him, who had been snickering the whole time, like Link's torment was the best reason to wake up in the morning. "Or are you going to go running home to Mommy?"

"Stop it!" Link screamed, this time standing his ground.

Instead of a verbal retaliation, Malroy went straight to the punching and before Link could react Malroy knocked the air out of him with a swift blow to his gut. With a grunt, Link fell to one knee and gasped for breath. He hated when Malroy had the upper hand when it was Link who had come out of more life threatening situations, nary a scratch on him, more times than he could count. But the year he had spent in Castle Town searching desperately for any clues to who his parents were had taken its toll on him and the harshness of street life had sucked nearly all the remaining fight out of him.

Malroy laughed at Link where he knelt on the ground, kicking dirt into his face. His two friends followed suit, covering Link in even more mud and filth than he had been before. Before they left, satisfied with their reinforced hierarchy, they spit on Link and spun on their heals, nosed held high and chests puffed in show, headed to the Gate District to swindle some poor, unsuspecting traveling merchant of his purse and fancy new pocket watch.

Like he did every time a tussle with Malroy went sour, Link pulled himself back to his feet and wiped the dirt from his face on his sleeve, hoping he didn't look quite as dirty and he had before. He trudged this time down the streets, hugging his sides and fighting the tears in his eyes.

"I'm going to find them," Link reminded himself, his red herring quest churning in his mind, mixing with all his doubts and fears. "I know they're dead but at least if I know who they were then maybe things'll get better. I could have other family." Link had said these words to himself so many times that they came easily on his tongue and he was certain he had said them in sleep more than once. But they did little to sooth his mind.

His mind, however, was not his chief concern at the moment. He had to get to the Rupee Rupee Pawn Shop, a place where his presence was common enough that the shop keeper's ornery cat no longer hissed at him when he entered. He could also make his way there while deep in thought and sometimes found himself wandering into the store even when he didn't realize it was where he was headed. The shop keeper, Mr. Pandora, didn't even have to look up from keeping his ledger in the back of the employee section of the shop to know Link had paid him a visit.

"Good morning, boy," Mr. Pandora greeted curtly. He always made it clear that he did not approve of Link being in his shop, even if Link had given him good business in the past. "Make any money this time?"

"N-no, sir," Link mumbled.

"Then why are you wasting my time?" Mr. Pandora snapped, closing his ledger with a loud thud and storming to the counter, itching all the way. "You can't buy back your dinky bow and dull knife if you can't pay the price."

"I know," Link mumbled. "I was wondering if maybe I could trade my jacket for something warmer?"

"That ratty thing isn't even worth a spool of thread," Mr. Pandora snapped, scratching an itch under his hat as he spoke.

"But you gave it to me last year! I traded my sword for it! That isn't fair!"

"Well, life ain't fair and the coat's a year older now and I happen to know you've got lice. Things like that lose value after time. You can buy a new coat if you have the rupees but you don't have the rupees, you and I both know that. If you did, you woulda bought back that ocarina you traded last year. The little wooden one."

"You've still got it, right?" Link asked. He had pawned almost everything he owned to this man so he could buy food and stay warm. He had to make a choice to keep his ocarina, a precious gift from his oldest friend, or food. He chose food and was still conflicted whether or not he should regret the decision.

"You're claim on it expires at the end of today," Mr. Pandora sneered.

"Today!" Link exclaimed. "It's not been a full year. I traded it two months into winter, not a month before!"

"Policies change, boy," Mr. Pandora shrugged. "It goes on shelf tomorrow. Better hope someone doesn't buy it before you get it back."

"But it's mine," Link whimpered. "Please, you have to give it back. It's all I have of my home. Please."

"Shoulda thought of that before you sold it. Now, if you're done wasting my time, get out. Unless you want to accept my other offer. You'd make a great pickpocket."

"I can't steal, sir," Link mumbled. "It's not right. Maybe I could help around the shop. You know I won't take anything and I'll work extra hard! If… If you give me back my ocarina I'll even work for free, I swear!"

"I don't need an uneducated shop assistant."

"But!"

"Don't make me come out from behind this counter, boy."

"Yes, sir," Link mumbled.

He failed, once again, to get anything of use out of Mr. Pandora. Despondent and with his head downcast, he left the Rupee Rupee Pawn Shop and decided to head over to the fountain. He dully noted that it was Cenday, the middle of the week, and the one of the three days of the week he was supposed to meet with Ella, his only real friend left.

The other days they met were Dinday, two days earlier, and Hyday, two days later. The week went Ruday, Dinday, Reday, Cenday, Donday, Hyday, and Enday. There were twelve months in the year, 365 days, and four seasons.

The months of winter were Breath, twenty-eight days, Resting, thirty-one days, and Scripting, also thirty one days. Spring was Awakening, thirty-one days, Raining, again thirty-one days, and Heart, thirty days. Summer was First Storm, thirty days, Hearth, thirty days, and Last Storm, thirty-one days. Then Autumn, Blessing, thirty-one days, Sealing, thirty days, and Departure, thirty-one days.

Currently it was the sixth of Departure, year 504 FH, or Founding of Hyrule, in the Era of Peace, which started after the end of the Civil War and would have ended with Ganondorf had Link not stopped him years before. Link had returned to Castle Town last year on the ninth of Departure. Today was the sixth of Departure so in three days he'll have been living on the streets for a year. He didn't feel like it was much of an accomplishment.

Link kicked a small pebble down the main road of the city and meandered his way to the fountain in the Market Square, center of the Market District. He didn't see one of the city's drunks, stumbling from a nasty hangover, also not watching where he was going, until it was too late. They collided with a thud and the drunk staggered back a few paces, but Link was sent to the ground, straight on his rear. It was not Link's lucky morning.

"Watch where you're going, stupid brat!" The drunk shouted at him, aiming a kick at his stomach. Link barely had time to brace for the impact of the boot and the wind was knocked out of him. "Idiot!"

"S-sorry, sir," Link coughed, scrambling to his feet before the drunk could aim another blow at his head. "I-it won't happen again, sir."

"See that it doesn't or I'll give you a thrashing you won't forget," the drunk snarled, pointing menacingly at Link.

"Yes, sir," Link nodded, keeping his head down. He walked away as fast as he could. The drunks were worse than the pickpockets and the fences because they were unpredictable. When Link disrupted a drunk, he would stay as polite as he could and wait for any anger to blow over. He'd think it was over only for a fist to fly at his head. Fortunately, the drunk had continued on his way, no doubt headed to his favorite pub to wait for the bar tender to start serving drinks. Link let out a deep sigh of relief and went through the big gates leading to the Martlet District.

It was just as bustling and lively as ever, even this early in the morning. There weren't many customers, but all the shop owners were busy getting their stores or stalls ready for the day ahead. The bakeries opened their windows and the ringing of a blacksmith's hammer echoed through the streets, mingling with the other sound of the city. Link went straight for the fountain and took the drinking ladle, which was chained to one of the decorative grates so that no one would steal it. Food may be hard to come by, but thanks to the public fountains and wells littered all over the city, Link didn't have to worry much about water.

After he had drunk his fill, Link washed his face off to clean the dirt and grime from his earlier encounter with Malroy. He didn't want to look too much like a street urchin when Ella came in a few hours. She had a much longer morning routine. Plus she had to sneak away from her tutor to make it into the rest of town unescorted so she could pretend to be a normal girl her age who was allowed to run and play in the streets.

He decided to ask around the food stalls to see if they had any stale food they were throwing out that he could have before it hit the ground, or maybe even after it hit the ground. Food was food. Ms. Hetonti, one of the bakers, was always kind to Link and sometimes even gave him fresh bread for free, though it was usually burnt in some place since she couldn't sell those. Even kind people rarely gave unless they gained something or at the very least didn't lose anything. But any kindness was good enough for Link and his empty stomach.

"Good morning, Ms. Hetonti," Link smiled as he approached the baker.

"Good morning, Link," she smiled back, brushing flour off on her yellow and white plaid apron, sending small cloud of powder in a haze around her. "I'm afraid I don't have anything for you right now."

"Oh," Link tried not to let his disappointment show since he was grateful enough that she'd even talk to him, let alone smile. But smiles couldn't quite the pain of hunger. "That's okay. Maybe next time." He smiled again.

"Maybe next time," Ms. Hetonti agreed. "You take care of your self, dear."

"I will, ma'am."

"And stay warm."

"I'll try, ma'am," Link's voice dropped a little, the underlying fear of freezing to death bubbling to the surface momentarily. "Thank you." He walked back to the fountain and sat on the edge, swinging his feet back and forth.

Maybe the Happy Mask Salesman was back in town. He was in town three years ago, when Link had left the forest for the first time and still felt as young in spirit as he was in body. The Happy Mask Salesman was the only person to ever stay in Castle Town and actually let Link help him with his business. He even let Link keep whatever profit he made. He saw the mysterious man one more time, a year ago, when he was looking for his lost friend. That was when he noticed just how other worldly the man was. Link didn't think the Happy Mask Salesman was hylian, let alone human, but he didn't know what that would make him instead.

Link was still deep in thought when the face of a girl his age popped into his line of sight. Her face and clothes were clean and she had a golden glow around her that brightened when she smiled, which she did a lot. Her shoulder length blonde hair swayed in the wind and her eyes were just as bright and alive and sparkling as ever.

"Hi, Link!" Ella beamed.

"Hello," Link smiled back, but it didn't match the vibrance of Ella's. He wanted it took but he was too hungry. He couldn't really remember the last time he ate a filling meal and the scraps he managed to scrounge together last night hadn't kept him satisfied for more than a few minutes. "What're we gonna do today?"

"Well I was thinking breakfast!" Ella smiled.

"Didn't you eat at home?" Link asked. He wasn't against the idea of breakfast in the least but he was concerned about Ella eating too much. Someone with her resources had the luxury of over eating, though it wasn't healthy.

"It was a light porridge, blech," Ella stuck out her tongue and made a face. "Cook never makes me a good breakfast anymore because I always steal it before the footmen can serve it. Come on, Link. Everything smells so good today! Let's go to the Pastry first!"

"Okay!" The idea of eating anything was enticing, but a pastry was like eating a cloud from heaven. Link and Ella went straight for the pastry cart and Ella let him pick whatever he wanted. He was tempted to ask for the whole cart, but he only took a raspberry thumbprint twist and a small loaf of sweet bread. Ella grabbed a chocolate filled croissant and two sweet bean paste buns since they were her favorite.

They went back to the fountain to eat their breakfast. Link tried to eat slowly because he might choke or get sick from eating something so rich after being starving for so long, but both the raspberry twist and the sweet loaf were gone before Ella had even started her second bean paste bun. That left Link empty handed while Ella was still eating and he felt a little bad. But the feeling of a full stomach outweighed any bad feelings he could have had in that moment.

"Gosh, Link, it's like you haven't eaten in ages!" Ella joked before she caught herself. She knew he was an orphan and that he could barely scrape by with begging, but sometimes she forgot that not everyone could eat whenever they wanted. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Link smiled, not bothered by her comment at all. "It's not your fault."

"At least you don't have anyone telling you what to do every day," Ella pointed out, trying to find the silver lining, like she always did. Link used to do that too, when there was still enough sunlight to clouds in his sky.

"I guess that's true," Link agreed. "But, well, you've got people who care about you and want you to be happy."

"I want you to be happy."

"That's not what I mean. I mean, it counts and it helps a lot but it's not the same."

"You still haven't found anything?"

"Kinda hard when I don't have access to the birth records."

"But those are public."

"Not when you haven't bathed in three years they're not," Link lied. He could easily go to the record hall in the public library and ask for the files. The issue was that he couldn't do anything with the files since he could barely read them. There weren't any books in the forest, just signs with crudely drawn pictures and the occasional word. He knew most of the basic symbols but reading was a horrible pain and he tried to avoid it at all costs.

"Maybe I could look for you!" Ella offered. She'd made the offer before, but Link always refused. He didn't want her to go out of her way for him. Even if she did find something, they were probably all dead. He wanted to know, but he didn't want to lose the possibility that they weren't. This made him stuck in a sort of hope limbo.

"It's fine, Ella," Link mumbled. "I'll figure something out."

"Maybe you could…" Ella started to say something but stopped herself. "That wouldn't work. It's too complicated."

"What's too complicated?" Link asked, his curiosity overtaking him manners.

"Well, I was gonna suggest you could live with me but I don't think my dad would like that. It's not that I don't think he wouldn't like you it's just that…"

"I'm a street orphan," Link finished for her. She didn't like mentioning that Link was at the opposite end of the food chain than her. "It's okay to say it, you know. I don't mind. It's no big deal. I'm used to it."

"I know it's no big deal and that's what frustrates me so much," Ella frowned. "It shouldn't matter to anyone whether or not you've got parents or know where you come from, people should care. Adults always brush off… brush off…"

"People like me."

"Yes! And it's not fair. Even if, even if… you know…"

"I'm alone."

"Someone should have stepped up by now and gotten you off… off…"

"Of the streets."

"Yes! You always know what I'm saying."

"I think about that a lot, too. Sometimes I catch myself looking at parents with their children when they're doing their shopping and I'm angry at them for being happy and not hungry. But then I go back to the lower district at night and I can hear all the bad things happening like men beating their wives or children or little kids crying because they're hungry or because they're sick. The temples try to get everyone food and clothes and shelter but I don't think all the temples and monks and clergy in the world can care for everyone. It's just how the world is and I got the bad parts and you got the good parts."

"It's not fair."

"There wouldn't be good parts if there weren't bad parts. The worse it can get, the better it is."

"But why do you have to get the worst?"

"I don't think it's the worst."

"Why? How? And don't say it could be raining because that's cheating."

"I might not have met you. Then it'd be the worst."

"Link," Ella sounded like she was going to start crying.

"You said it earlier. You care. I think it could always get worse for everyone because there's always someone who cares. And if it can get worse it can't be too bad."

"I'm not that great, you know," Ella said. She was keeping secrets from Link, that he knew. Even though they were pretty big, important secrets that could have ruined their friendship, he was worse than her because she didn't know he already knew her secret due to one of his own.

"There's nothing you could do that would ever make you not my friend," Link reassured her. "Sometimes I feel like we've been friends since the beginning of time and I know that we'll be friends to the end of it. Nothing can get in the way of that."

"No even if I told you I was…" Ella made an exasperated sound. She seemed like she wanted to tell him her secret but her secret was pretty big.

"You could secretly be a bunch of mice disguised as a girl and I'd still be friends with every single one of the mice."

"Gross! I'm definitely not mice. Mice are icky."

"Try waking up with a rat on your chest," Link joked, even though he was speaking from experience. "Then you'll think mice are cute."

"Ew! You could catch something from that!"

"Fingers crossed I don't start coughing," Link smiled.

"If you get sick you have to tell me, okay," Ella said. "And you can't stop me from bringing you to a doctor."

"I can't even afford food, Ella, there's no way I can afford a doctor."

"I'll pay for it, dummy!" Ella punched Link's shoulder playfully. "Promise you won't get sick, Link."

"I'll be fine."

"Promise! Cross your heart!"

"I can't promise not to get sick, Ella," Link said. "That's how I'm gonna die. Cold, alone, and sick in the middle of an alley. Or I'll get murdered or die of hunger. I'll probably get sick first, though, since the hungrier someone gets the easier it is to get sick. I doubt I'll make it through this coming winter, let alone to adulthood. If I do I'll be luckier than most of the other kids like me. Or at least, unlucky for longer."

"Don't talk like that!"

"And you'll die at home in your warm bed when you're in your nineties or something, surrounded by your kids and grandkids and maybe even cousins and uncles and aunts and by that time I'll just be a distant memory from your childhood that makes you smile once in a while."

"Link, stop it! I mean it! It's not funny!"

"The truth never is."

"Today's supposed to be fun," Ella pouted. "You know, It's my birthday in two weeks. Not exactly, but close. It's the nineteenth. I'll be thirteen."

"That'll be in the middle of the Festival of the Goddesses," Link said. "That's sounds fun. I wonder if my birthday's on a festival."

"Well, mine's not always on the Festival of the Goddesses, that Festival's lunar. All three moons have to be full at the same time."

"Because the red one's Din, the blue one's Nayru, and the green one's Farore."

"Yup."

"I like the festivals because the temple's give out free food and they have free blankets on New Years cause that's when winter starts. But you gotta get there first or they run out. Large families with small children are priority so I missed out last year. That really sucked."

"I didn't know the temples did that."

"They also give out toys on the Festival of Hylia to all the orphans, but you gotta be in an orphanage so I missed out on that too. I don't mind, though. It's not like I'd have anything to do with a wooden doll or toy soldier except pawn it for money."

"Sometimes I think your life is more complicated than mine."

"It's simply complex," Link smiled. "Maybe we can hang out during the festival this time. The last one wasn't really for me."

"Festival of the Dead."

"All those customs are things like staying at home with living family members and I don't have living family members or a home. Praying at the temple for my ancestors' peace in the afterlife is not for me. I only go to the temple's if I get free stuff, which isn't very devout of me.

Then a party at night to remember all the happy memories you got with you're loved ones who aren't around anymore for reasons postmortem. I don't have any memories of my parents. All I know is my mom's dead and I have no idea which of the unidentified soldiers who died in the last battle of the Civil War was my father, or if he even died at all.

The temple's don't even have free stuff other than prayer beads. And they're not the kind of quality I can get good money for, either. Maybe one or two rupees but that's it, max. Maybe I just need a new pawn broker."

"What have you pawned?"

"Nothing stolen, don't worry. I don't steal things. I probably should since then I'd have money for food and maybe even a room at a boarding house since all the orphanage's are full. Sometimes if a street kid gets a good enough pick pocket gig they can even stay in their fence's attic or basement. But I don't steal. My pawn broker is also a fence, but I don't take advantage of that. He has offered a lot, but I always say no.

I pawned my bow, which I made after my old one broke. I found that one in an abandoned temple. My sword, which I probably shouldn't have because it's supposed to be used only for religious purposes but I used it to kill and skin animals so I could eat. And my ocarina. My oldest friend gave me that ocarina. It was either keep it or starve and then I never would have met you. I'm sure she'd be happy it kept me alive, even if I don't have it anymore." Link thought about Saria, who practically raised him, and smiled.

"I didn't get you a present for the Festival of Hylia last month," Ella frowned.

"You payed for the food, remember? That's always great."

"That doesn't count it wasn't something important or sentimental."

"I dunno, Ella. I get pretty sentimental about food," Link laughed.

"Stop it, I'm being serious," she shoved him playfully. "I used to have an ocarina, too, but I gave it to someone who I decided needed it more than me. It was my mother's."

"They must have been a very special person to get such an important gift," Link stated.

"I didn't know him, actually," Ella said. "He just seemed like he needed it so that was that. It was a very special ocarina and I wasn't doing anything useful with it. I hope when he plays it, he thinks of me."

"I'm sure he does," Link's mind wandered to the blue ocarina that he kept on him at all times. He never played it or even took it out of it's hiding place but it was always on him and it's presence more than made up for the absence of all his other momentums. Selling that ocarina was out of the question. He'd give his life for that ocarina. Ella didn't know it was the ocarina she was talking about but she was definitely right about it being special. He hadn't played it since last year when he used it to save a dying world, but he had thought of her when he played it.

"We should do something," Link said. "We usually do something by now, like knights and bandits or look for secret passageways."

"You've been talking about death instead."

"The Festival of the Dead was three days ago. It's been on my mind."

"I wish it wasn't. Not that I think you shouldn't think about death but because I wish it wasn't such a big part of your life."

"You wish my life was more like your life."

"Sorta. I mean, like…"

"A home, family, money, no threat of death around every corner and I go without food almost every day. A life where there are other people making sure I'm warm and fed and not where I'm to only one who's gonna look out for me."

"You don't hate me, do you? Because I have all those things?"

"I thought I already told you that I'd never hate you? I don't think I can hate, actually. I've tried before, with someone who was like the definition of evil and all things bad in the world. But I couldn't. I was just disappointed that they were so evil. And I've tried hating people with more than me to see if that made me able to steal but I was just disappointed in myself for trying. Some people just can't hate and I guess I'm one of them."

"You're pretty special."

"One of a kind?"

"Irreplaceable."

There was a pause where Ella finished her pastries and Link stared up at the sky. It was sunny but not warm sunny. The air was kind of neutral with the occasional cold breeze. Link felt it more than Ella did because he was more exposed to the elements in his rags than she was in her thick play dress and woolen overcoat.

They weren't technically her clothes since she had talked one of the maids into buying her something less fancy so she could blend in with the rest of the people in the Market Square. Unlike the rest of her clothes, she could put these ones on without help and her dad didn't know about them. She told Link she hid them under a loose floorboard in her room.

"We should play Hero Keaton," Ella said after wiping food crumbs on her coat.

"Again?" Link asked. She really like that game. Three years ago a fairiless Kokiri presented himself to Princess Zelda disguised with a Keaton Mask and helped her nursemaid and bodyguard, one of the last of the Sheikah, find and foil a scheme from Ganondorf, the man from the desert who wanted to take over Hyrule. The previous King, King Daphnes Nohanesen Hyrule I, had died a year previously so all the other leaders traveled to Castle Town to swear their allegiance to the new King, King Daphnes Nohanesen Hyrule II. If it wasn't for the mysterious Hero Keaton, Ganondorf would have completely fooled the new King and plunged Hyrule into darkness.

"We play that game a lot."

"I think Hero Keaton is cool," Ella said. "A dashing hero from the forest saves the day and then fades back into mystery and legend. That's pretty awesome."

"He's not dashing he's nine," Link pointed out.

"You don't know that. He could be older."

"Okay, but by how much? He's Kokiri, they're immortal children."

"So he's not nine, he's nine hundred."

"But he looks nine. Nine year olds aren't dashing."

"Well, I was also nine so cut me some slack. How do you know he looked nine anyway? You've never seen him."

"You talk like you know him," Link answered. "He only showed himself to the Princess and her Sheikah bodyguard and he never even took his mask off so no one knows what he looks like. That's what all the grownups say."

"Someday, I want to be a hero just like Keaton and go outside the town and save people from evil sorcerers and bandits and things. Maybe my dad will let me become a knight. Then I could go anywhere I want, whenever I want."

"I think you could do that," Link smiled. "You can do anything you set your mind too, you know. I've seen you do it before."

"Come on, I'll be the knight and you be the squire!" Ella squealed, grabbing Link's hands and pulling him up from the fountain. "We'll fight Dead Fang!"

"Why am I always a squire? Why can't I be a knight, too?"

"Because it's more fun that way. You can get kidnapped and I'll save you!"

"Dead Fang doesn't take prisoners, they just kill people and take their stuff. And they're super dangerous because of the rope snake venom they coat all their weapons in. Even if they just graze you you need immediate medical attention or you could die."

"It's pretend, Link," Ella sighed. "Come on, you hide and pretend to be kidnapped and I'll find you and fight off all the bandits and not even get a scratch!"

"Okay."

They played for the rest of the day, until Link mock died, claiming injury from one of the poisoned arrows, and fell to the slightly damp cobblestone ground, one hand dramatically held up to the sky and the other clutching his chest. He made a comedic cloaking sound and stuck out his tongue, letting his hand fall to the ground with a small thud. Ella stamped over to him and crossed her arms over her chest, casting a shadow over him in the waning light of the evening sun.

"Link! Stop that! I told you dying's not funny!"

"Shh, I'm dying," Link whispered, a smile on his face. He opened one eye and grinned her. "Closer, I have a dying wish!"

"Well I don't wanna hear it so stop dying!" Ella turned her back on him.

"Come on, please?" Link asked. "I promise I won't pretend to die again if you listen."

"Cross your heart!" Ella spun on him, her arms still crossed.

"Hope to die," Link smirked, crossing his heart. Ella knelt down next to him.

"Remember me," Link said. "And avenge me!" He sprung up on her and pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her shoulder length honey gold hair that smelled like freshly cut grass and an array of wild flowers.

"Link!" Ella hugged him back, trying to ignore the smell of his greasy, unwashed and unkempt hair that smelled like dirt and manure. She didn't hold it against him, he had nowhere to bathe and no clean place to sleep.

"You should go," Link pulled away and helped her to her feet out of courtesy, not because he thought she needed assistance. "You're dad'll get worried if you're gone much longer."

"Yeah," Ella nodded. "See you on Hyday, alright? That's two days from now, in case you didn't know."

"I did know," Link smiled at her. "It comes after Donday, and Enday is after, followed by the next week."

"It's Ruday, Cenday, and Reday, alright? And the week after that we're gonna meet every night for the Festival of the Goddesses."

"It's a deal! See you, Ella."

"Stay safe, Link," Ella hugged him once more and then took off down the street at a rink hoping to get home before she scared her dad.

Link watched her go and didn't turn to leave for the shanty filled Lower District until he was certain she had made it to the safer parts of Castle Town. He would have walked her there, but they both knew he'd get in trouble if he was seen anywhere where beggar children would be suspicious.

As he walked home, his head turned down, he took a deep breath of the cold air, filling his lungs with the smell of closing bakeries and butcher's shops, listening to the dying crackling of the blacksmiths' forges and the doors to the carpenters and cobbler's stores closing. The taverns, bars, and inns would close until late in the night and as he got closer to the Lower District from the Gate District, he could both hear and smell the brothels opening, sending seductive perfume into the air to lure the heavy pockets of desperate men and women.

The sun was all but gone by the time Link made it back to his little corner of the world. When he did, his heart sunk down to his feet and his stomach lurched. His blanket, or what was left of it, lay torn in pieces on the ground and his wooden plank that he used as a shield against the elements was splintered and scattered on the dirt and stone ground. Worst of all, the rock under which he hid his stash of rupees, the stash he was saving to buy back his ocarina and food for the winter, was overturned and the money underneath was gone.

Malroy and his gang came up from behind him, their arms crossed threateningly. They had devious, triumphant smirks on their cheeky red faces. Link balled his hands into fists. Beggars may be lower on the food chain than the pickpockets, but no one robbed one another in the Lower District, no matter the hierarchy. They may not get along but what little possessions a person had were sacred and off limits. Everyone knew what it was like to have nothing.

"Why?" Link asked, his voice full of hurt and anger. "Why!" He spun on Malroy, ready to tap into his warrior's spirit and beat the living crap out of his tormentors. "What did I ever do to you! Why do you do this to me!"

"Because this is our territory now," Malroy sneered. "If we ever see you here again…" He pulled a small knife out of his pocket. "Beat it, orphan." Malroy took a step towards Link, who moved into a fighting position momentarily, but stood down when he saw Malroy's pals were just as armed with various implements as their boss.

Link once again didn't have anything clever to say before he left so he just grabbed his torn blanket, almost in two pieces and even more threadbare than when he had hidden it earlier that morning, and left his little cranny, fighting the tears that threatened to fall down his face. He hugged the blanket to his chest and ran as fast as he could.

He didn't care anymore if the wilds outside the city would be all but inhospitable to him, even with the old curse broken, he had to get out of the city, he had to be free of its suffocating stone buildings and stone streets and stone walls. He felt like if he stayed there any longer, the sky too would become stone and he would be trapped forever. He didn't think of his ocarina or of Ella, all he could see was Malroy's knife, the overturned rock, and the shattered pieces of wood.

He was already on the main road of the Gate District when he was sent sprawling to the cobblestone again, stunned, still holding the ratted blanket around his shoulders. He looked up to see what had stood in his way and to his horror, it was the bumbling drunk from earlier that very morning. The one who had sworn to give Link a thrashing if he ever bumped into him like that again. Link watched the disorientated drunk with bated breath, waiting to see if he remembered Link or the threat he had slurred earlier that morning.

"What? Who's it?" The drunk looked around for what ever had crashed into him, blinking suspiciously for a moment until his head flopped drunkly to his chest and he was met with the sight of Link staring up at him in shocked fear. "Watch w'ere you're going, you little… you little whelp… you…" The drunk stumbled forward. "Or I'll give you a beating!" His voice sunk and rose in pitch and he tripped over his words just as much as he tripped over his feet.

"I'm really sorry, sir," Link quickly apologized, getting to his feet and taking a step back. "It won't happen again, sir!" Link was about to go and had all but passed the drunk when he felt a clammy but vice grip latch onto the back of his shirt. His heart leapt for the second time in half an hour.

"Wait a minute!" The drunk snarled. "Weren't you… Weren't you that brat… brat from this morning?"

"I don't… I didn't," Link's eyes widened when the man spun him around and grabbed him once more by the collar of his worn tunic that was once brilliant green but was now much duller in hue and littered with dirt stains. The drunk stumbled forward once more, almost falling over Link and sending them both to the street. The reek of his breath would have made the strongest of whiskies jealous. Link had to struggle not to gag on the stench.

"You were that brat," the drunk both snarled and slurred. "You've got some nerve, you little… little bastard!" The drunk shouted at Link, spittle flying from his mouth. He wiped the saliva off his chin and tried to slurp the rest back into his mouth. Link struggled to no avail. "Run into me twice, will you! Worthless street urchin! Piece of crap!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It was an accident, I swear! Please, sir, please don't beat me!" Link screamed for the man to let him go. His voice cracked when he saw the drunk discard his half full bottle of stale whiskey and reach for his belt instead. "Goddess, protect me, please." Link whispered, trying to pry the drunk's vice fingers of his collar before he could clumsily raise the belt over his head. "No, please. I'm sorry. It was an accident!"

"Urchin! Brat!" The drunk spat, shaking Link and readying his belt.

"No! Please, someone! Help!" Link sobbed. The drunk had the grip of a dead man and Link couldn't break free. No one was coming to his rescue. They all just turned their heads and quickened their pace. "Help! Help!" Link cried, hoping a guard would hear him. He knew there was a post just down the street at the city gates and another up the road towards the market, but they couldn't hear him. They couldn't, or they would have come running by now. Wouldn't they?

Link watched in abject horror as the belt was raised over his head and his whole body tensed when he saw it descend. Link watched it fall in slow motion and he tried to pull away, but it struck him across the face before he could wrench free. He screamed in pain and struggled harder. His ears stung from the sound of leather on his skin. He gripped the drunk's wrist in both hands and fell limp against his tunic. The belt came down once more, striking him in the face, and he screamed. Blood rushed to his ears in his panic and his pain, and when the drunk shoved him to the ground, all he could do was yelp as his shoulder jared against an uneven stone in the pavement.

Link could smell blood, but he wasn't sure if it originated from the coppery taste in his mouth, his bleeding nose, the welts growing on his face, or the cut he could feel on his shoulder. Probably all of them. Through the roaring blood rush, Link could hear the slurring cusses and insults pouring from the drunk's mouth, each word carved into him by a lash of his belt, followed shortly by a pained scream from Link.

"Stupid, brat! Dumb, ugly, shit!" The curses kept coming. Some of them repeated, but Link wasn't sure if it was because the drunk had a limited vocabulary or because he was stuttering hopelessly. Link was slowly fading, his only responses left were cowering and crying, praying for it to be over soon. The drunk, in his stupor, beat Link so horribly with his belt he lost his grip on it and tossed it to the ground. He resorted to his boots, stomping on Link violently, his barrage of insults not letting up. "I'll teach you! Whelp!"

"Please, please, please," Link whimpered, cringing with each stomp, his throat no longer able to take the screaming and the rest of him in no better shape. "Help me, please. Someone, help, please." Link fell into a delirious ramble, his head having been hit multiple times. He felt dizzy and he could already tell he had multiple broken ribs and at least a partially fractured skull. Link closed his eyes and thought of Ella, as he had first seen her three years ago. She had used her name then, though he had been the one hiding behind a mask. "Zelda, I'm sorry," Link whispered as the world turned black.

Thank you for your time

Please favorite and review