Hey! It's been a while huh? Sorry! I've been trying to get life and my stories in order. I was having a bit of trouble finding inspiration to do this. But I guess this turned out alright.

OH and before I forget, I made a few edits to Chapter one. So if you haven't read it, I mostly just changed the time. Instead of taking half an hour to reach the Castle, I made it three hours. It's mostly because I wanted to expand the world a great deal. I mean, just want to make it bigger than the game so we can have fun with this.

Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH to Comix and Co, neruchan94, Shiro Hunter, silverheartlugia2000, Link'dintolife, and Enjeru-Tantei for reviewing last chapter and giving me good things about the story! I hope to make this better than before! XD

DISCLAIMER: Nope.

Chapter 2: The Ceremony

The city was a bit crowded, but it was to be expected. A few people took the time to greet me, knowing who I was. It was a known fact that I was a bit popular amongst the townspeople, seeing how I came by just about every week. Not only that, I was an apprentice to the former Captain of the Guard, Alfonzo. Many people knew him as a strict but easy-going Captain back in the day. As to why he retired so early in a little village I call home, I had no idea. I only remembered the day he moved into the station with a ridiculous look on his face.

Setting that aside, the main street to the castle was a little too crowded, so I took the back streets to get there faster. After all, I had ten minutes (less now) to get to the castle and kneeling down at the throne. Although, by backstreets, I actually meant rooftops. I climbed up a ladder and hopped on the roof. I was lucky enough that none of the guards saw me running over the top and jumping across the gaps.

It didn't take me long to reach the Castle gates the moment I crossed the entire city. In all honesty, it took me seven minutes to get there... just three minutes left!

I ran past the guards at the Gate, who let me in, and crossed the courtyard at a fast pace. Once I reached the entrance, there were two guards standing there. I frowned, already preparing myself for anything as I jogged right up to them.

The fat guard blocked the door with the spear in his hand, "Halt! Kids aren't allowed here."

The taller one leaned on his spear a little bit while the fat one continued, "Do you need somethin' kid? 'Cause if not, I'm gonna hafta escort you out of here."

I offered a sheepish smile as I reached into my pouch to retrieve my graduation papers. The tall one blinked at me for a moment before taking the papers, "What's this? Hmm? These papers..."

I tapped my foot a little impatiently. At this rate, I was definitely going to be late. The tall one perched up, "Oh! You're that kid that's supposed to graduate today."

The fat one grunted in disbelief, "What? This kid? I thought that was pointless gossip from the townspeople!"

I gave them a flat look as the taller one shook his head, "Oh, no, no, this kid is the one! Look? See here?"

The two guards scanned over the papers I gave them and the fat one's expression changed.

"Oh Good Spirits! It really is him," he said, looking at me. He moved out of the way, "Here, go on, little guy. Don't wanna make you late for your big day."

I rolled my eyes. I was already late.

"Congrats, kid!" said the tall one as he gave me my papers back. I took it back with a grateful smile and hurried inside while the fat one called out to me, "Don't get lost!"

I waved a hand to the side to let him know I heard. At times like those, I wish I could say something in return.

By the time I got to the third guard, I knew I was late. The guard straightened his back and stood right in my way with his spear planted firmly in the ground.

"Sorry, can't have anyone up these stairs," he said, glaring at me, "The Princess is expecting someone, so GET LOST."

I took a step back in surprise, taken aback by the guards sudden outburst. I was just...

"What's going on here?" came a voice. I looked to see a short man making his way to us. I couldn't help but stare at the man's unusual appearance. He wore a green suit with a ruby fastening his tie at the base of his neck. His eyes were awfully squinty, making it look completely off with the... supposedly calm expression on his face. Yet, even with those features, that wasn't what caught my attention. Instead, it was the fact that he was wearing not one, but two top hats in different sizes. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of sane man would wear two hats on their head. Actually, I think the better question got this man was, how in the world did he manage to balance them on his head?

"Oh, ah, Chancellor Cole! Good day," the guard greeted with a slight bow, "I'm sorry for the disturbance, but this boy-" he gesture to me with his spear, "-won't take his leave."

"Is that so..." the Chancellor said, looking over me. I tried to give him a smile as I resisted the urge to back away. I never felt comfortable whenever someone stared at me this... intently. "Are you here for the graduation ceremony?"

I nodded as I handed over my papers. He sort of snatched away from my hands and read them over. After a moment he huffed in annoyance.

"A mute child as an engineer? What a waste," the Chancellor said, shaking his big, ugly head. At this point, I was forcing myself not to glare at him, and took note that he bluntly stated my disability. As far as I was concerned, those graduation papers never mentioned anything about my muteness.

To a normal person, I could've been a "shy, quiet" kid, but not...mute. So...the bigger question was, how did he know?

"The Spirit tracks are vanishing and yet the Princess insists to continue this pointlessness," he muttered under his breath. He handed back my papers and gestured me to follow him, "Come along, boy. We don't have time to idle here. Follow me."

The guard blinked the Chancellor, surprise evident on his face, "Wait, he's-"

"Don't just gawk at him, Private! Move!" the Chancellor snapped, waving a hand in irritation.

The guard snapped into attention with a rushed, "Yes, sir!"

Chancellor Cole didn't waste anytime as he strode right past the guard, who barely got out of the way in time. He and I shared a look before he patted my head. "Ignore the Chancellor. He's like that, struts around like he's a king. Sorry for yelling at you. I should've paid attention more."

I didn't flinch as he gave a slight push toward the stairs, "Now go. Don't want you to get in trouble."

I couldn't help but stare at him for a moment longer before heading up the stairs. Chancellor Cole stopped at the top giving me a glare, before continuing his way with a snap, "Hurry up!"

Gritting my teeth, I followed after him with caution.

._._._._._.

To be brutally honest, I didn't like the Chancellor.

Not.

One.

Bit.

He wouldn't stop glaring at me the entire time I knelt on my knee to await the Princess.

The blaring trumpets announced the Princess's arrival. I heard the doors open and light footsteps clicked on the ground. I felt a warm, gentle aura from her as she stopped before me. All of Alfonzo's instructions flew out the window as I raised my head.

I felt my jaw drop a little and my face heat up. Automatically, I knew I was blushing. I had heard how the Princess was pretty and I've seen her from passing moments during my visits to the town.

Princess Zelda blinked at me for a second before offering me a gentle smile.

"HAH!" Chancellor Cole's voice suddenly cut through the air, interrupting that little moment we had. "Raising your head without permission? You disrespectful child!"

Princess Zelda raised her hand to silence him before turning to me with a slight frown.

"Please, don't pay any attention to him," she said, then smiled, "What's your name?"

Before I could do anything, the Chancellor rudely interrupted... again.

"Don't even bother, Your Highness. He is a mute," he said, nearly spatting the words. I resisted a scowl to hide the fact that I was getting irritated by his harsh words. The princess closed her eyes for a moment, probably gaining her own composure, before opening them again. She lifted her hands and made a few gestures I immediately recognized.

"I'm sorry for his rudeness. I didn't think he would be this rude today."

My eyes widened. Sign language. I couldn't believe that the princess had learned it. Then again, she was a princess so maybe I should've expected that. Her hands kept moving, "May I ask your name again?"

I smiled and lifted my own hands in response, "My name is Link."

"Link... I think that's a wonderful name," she said with a smile. Princess Zelda stood a little straighter, "Link, by the power vested in me, I hereby proclaim you as-"

She couldn't even finish as the Chancellor interrupted yet again. "E-hem! Your Highness, we're wasting our time."

I wanted to smack him. No, seriously. Honestly, interrupting once was annoying, interrupting twice was rude, interrupting thrice was downright evil.

Princess Zelda closed her eyes a moment longer than before, curling her hands into fists. I could definitely tell she wasn't happy about this at all.

I raised my hands for a moment, "And he called me disrespectful."

She easily read my hands and gave a quiet laugh as she gestured to someone. To my right, an old man walked up to her with trey. She smiled and took the paper sitting innocently on the surface, "Thank you, Teacher."

Her teacher nodded for a moment before returning back to his place. Princess Zelda smiled at me happily, "I hereby recognize our newest royal engineer. Link, work hard, for all of Hyrule rely on you."

I stood up and took the certificate with a bow of my head, silently thanking her. I blinked when I felt the paper oddly thicker at one end. I almost shifted one of my hands to see what was wrong, but the Princess's hands moved first as she turned around to leave.

"There is a letter under your certificate. Read that later and beware of the chancellor."

I watched her leave the throne room, keeping the letter out of sight from the Chancellor. A minute later, everyone began to leave the room. The Princess disappeared behind closed doors, along with the warm feeling I felt when I first met her. All of a sudden a cold, foreboding aura hit me hard enough to step out of place. It was difficult to breathe under the pressure I felt. I snapped my eyes to the source.

Chancellor Cole met my gaze, grinning with sharp teeth sparkling at me and his eyes squinty-er than ever.

"The ceremony's over, kid," he said, "You should go and polish your train or something... It won't be long before it become a useless heap of metal."

I shifted my feet back a little when he chuckled creepily, turning away from me and leaving the throne room. The doors slammed shut and I finally allowed myself to relax, sinking to my knees from the sudden freedom I felt. One of the guards walked up and knelt next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, we all get that feeling around the Chancellor sometimes. Come on, ki- I mean, Link," the guard said, helping me up, "The castle's open to anyone today. I'll show you around a bit. That should help you ease up, right?"

I couldn't help but look over my shoulder as I was ushered out of the throne room with the guard's hand on my back. He was still talking, but I didn't hear him as the Princess's warning came back to me.

"Beware of the chancellor."

I discretely slipped the Princess's letter into my pocket and folded up my certificate into my pouch. I pulled my focus back together to listen to the guard rant about something as we walked.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew something was up... and Princess Zelda was more than just involved.

And done~ Sorry this took so long. I made you wait for so long... Ahahaha... well, tell me what you thought of this chapter! I got a bit of inspiration back to write this. XD I finally managed to get my Spirit Tracks game working on my DSi! Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my Phantom Hourglass... I really miss that game. TAT

Preview~

An uneasy silence fell over us as she stood there with the uniform in hand. I hesitantly raised my hands, "So, you are telling me that I have to sneak you out of the castle?"

"Essentially, yes," Princess Zelda replied with a slight smile. I blinked at her, hands moving in a flash.

"THAT IS KIDNAPPING."

Later~!

-CloudyLightning