Forevermore: Link X Reader X Dark Link P1

Hyrule, a beautiful land for the kind of heart and pure in spirit. The expansive fields, covered in stretches of hills and small lively towns, was ruled by the beautiful Princess Zelda, and her all-mighty father, the King.  It is here that dreams are turned into a reality, a true land of paradise and unbidden secrets.
As the years fly by, trouble begins to brew in a land hidden past the rocky terrain and valleys, known as the forbidden Gerudo Valley, a mountainous lair to those who are skilled in thievery, deception, and manipulation. It beholds the sight of Hyrule unridden with toils or pains, and greed overtakes all senses, bubbling and festering to the surface. Dark clouds circle overhead, and slowly consume the sunny skies of Hyrule.
Meanwhile, deep in the Kokiri forest, far into the Lost Woods, past the tall trees and overgrown shrubbery is where our story begins. In a meadow created for elven beings known as Kokiri, destined to live long lives as children forever, a single child stands far from the rest of them, outcasted, and never accepted as a Kokiri. One must wonder... What of his fate? Will he ever truly belong anywhere?
It is here that the tale of a fated Hero and an unlikely Heroine arises, pitting themselves against an overbearing force of evil to save Hyrule from the clutches of evil, forevermore.
________________________________________
A child's pitchy voice echoed through the desolate area of The Lost Forest, bouncing from towering tree to towering tree.

"No one likes you! Where did you even come from, freak?"

"Yeah! You don’t even have a faerie like the rest of us!”  Another added, his voice grating and mean.

“Misfit! Misfit!”

Mocking laughter reverberated throughout the forest, but to someone who wasn’t listening carefully; it’d just sound like the whistling of the wind.

You were seven years old, waltzing around the forest without a care in the world. At the moment, you were humming a lively tune and gathering fresh flowers for your flower crown.
Bending down, you see a particularly pink flower and gently pluck it flower from the stem, careful not to pull up the roots and harm the plant.

If you hadn’t been strolling in the Lost Woods that day, you wouldn’t have heard the commotion.
If you hadn’t been listening so carefully, you would’ve never met him.

Plopping yourself down on the plush grass, you gaze at the colorful bunches of flowers and pondered on which colors to use for your crown.
You had made a blue one yesterday, and an orange one the day before… Er... Maybe you were running out of things to do.
Well, it wasn't as if Kokiri Forest was a very interesting place anyways. You had done nearly all the exploring that there was to be done, and even pestered your friends until they offered you rupees to leave them alone.
Ah, yes, the joyous life of a Kokiri child.

Ahahaha…!

Your ears picked up on a foreign noise, and you furrowed your brows, attention piqued.

You swore that you could hear the distinct sounds of laughter, but it faded away so quickly that you weren’t too sure.

You only knew one person who would come into the woods for entertainment, and that was Saria. However, you knew that Saria’s sweet, little giggles couldn’t be as obnoxious as the mischievous cackles you had just heard.

It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that this meant trouble.

You strained your ears and pursed your lips, focusing to pick up on any other kinds of sounds.

Thanks to your keen Kokiri hearing, you picked up the very slight sounds distress, as if something was whimpering and crying.
That new fact only served to confirm your suspicions, there was definitely something weird going on deeper in the forest.

You stood up, letting the braid of flowers fall from your lap, long forgotten.

Whatever was happening, something- or someone was being hurt, and you wouldn’t just sit around and tolerate it.
Letting your ears guide you, you hunted for the source of the sounds, wandering around The Lost Woods and burrowing yourself deeper and deeper within this maze of a forest.

”Hey guys, look! He’s looking a bit thirsty, don’t you think? …Maybe we should give him some water, where's that bucket?"

Finally, you stumbled upon a group of young Kokiri children, all of them circling someone like a gaggle of hungry, crooning vultures, clawing and picking at their to-be victim.
Your eyes frantically searched for a way to dissolve the situation, and you gaped as you turned your eyes to a short boy, his stubby hands supporting a heavy looking bucket of water.

”Hey!” You gasped, watching him tip the bucket over their victim. "Don't-!"

It was too late.

The water in the bucket sloshed over the edge and spilled out, drenching whomever they were tormenting.

Everyone in the little group began cheering mirthfully, and you wondered in disgust if they had a reason to be so cruel, or if was boredom that drove to bully others.
As you edged closer to the offending Kokiri, none of them turned to look at you, either unaware of your appearance or deciding to ignore it.
Considering your mischievous nature, known to many of the residents in Kokiri Forest as "troublesome," you knew your unexpected presence would at least elicit a reaction. It looked like a surprise attack would be in order.

With a savage yell, you leaped forward and tackled the group, shoving a few poor Kokiri aside, ignoring how their frightened screams turned into glares and rude murmurs upon seeing the person who crashed their Big Annoying Bully Party.
Despite their obvious unwillingness to share their fun with you, they moved aside as a result of your brute force, allowing you a rather grotesque image.

It was the first time you’ve seen blood shed from violence.
You were well acquainted with the specks of blood that came from after falling out of a tree, or slipping on a rock, but those were never inflicted onto you by others, only as a result of your careless little adventures.
Seeing another Kokiri child on the floor, his body lined with black and blue bruises and covered in scrapes, came as quite a shock to you. Dots of bright red had accumulated on his cuts and water dripped from his hair and clothes. It never occurred to you that pain could be willingly inflicted onto someone else- and to gain pleasure from it?
Your face twisted into a grimace.
However, just as you were about to turn around and give these hooligans a piece of your mind, one of them stepped forwards pushed you backward. Luckily, you had seen it coming and caught yourself, but you were sure that his shove was meant to send you hurtling to the floor beside the other child.

You took a few steps back and dug your heels into the floor, squaring your jaw and glaring up at your assailant. You were met with the sneer of one of the taller boys, most likely the leader, which how the other boys were watching him amicably.

Silence fell upon the group of rowdy boys as they watched you and their leader glare holes into each other’s heads, neither of you willing to back down.

You pulled your shoulders back and scowled angrily at him, meeting his challenge head-on. You would rather be forced to swallow a Deku nut than back down from a cowardly bully like him.

”What’s the matter, girlie?" He taunted, a nasty cocky tone in his voice, "I suggest you scam before you end up like Link over there.”
He jabbed a thumb in the direction of the injured boy without even so much as a glance backward, as if he wasn't worth his time.
Your eyes darted over to where the blond sat on the floor, watching the fight unfold with an unreadable expression.
So Link was that his name?
Your eyes met with his cerulean orbs, and for some reason you couldn’t quite explain yet, your face began to burn.
Hastily, you tore your gaze from him, attempting to extinguish the heat in your cheeks from sheer mindpower alone.

Thankfully your attacker hadn’t seen the little exchange between you and Link, but unfortunately, he had picked up on the blossoming pinkness on your face.

”What?" He asked incredulously, more to himself than anyone else. "Oh, so that's why you made a big scene! You totally like me!"

You blanched at his unprecedented outburst, and the other Kokiri children around him scratched their heads in confusion, shrugging at each other and even at you.

"Well!" He continued, jabbing a finger into his puffed-out chest, "It isn’t very surprising. With my good looks and charismatic personality, I’m surprised you hadn't confronted me sooner!"
Snapping out of your confused stupor, you cringed when you were met with the sight of him batting his eyelashes at you.
Suddenly struck by an urge to be extremely mature, you stuck out your tongue and gagged in his face.
"Hah! You think I like you?” You put your hands on your hips and laughed in his face, not feeling the slightest bit of remorse. "Go back to sleep, idiot!"

The other Kokiri children gasped and murmured amongst themselves, surprised at your blatant disrespect to the taller child.
At the ever growing whisper, the leader clenched his fists at his sides, slowly turning red in the face- from embarrassment or from anger, you weren’t sure- and weren’t keen on finding out.
Slowly, you edged your way towards the blue-eyed boy on the floor, formulating an intricate escape plan in your head that involved lots of running.
Suddenly, the taller Kokiri child threw his hands up in the air, exploding in a fit of rage and making you jump.
“Fine!” He shouted, “Fine! If you don’t like me, then you obviously came to cause trouble for us!” He stomped his foot like a toddler, and you cast a weary glance at his friends, who were slowly closing in like a pack of predators.
”Come on guys, let’s show her what happens when you mess with us!”
He jerked his chin in your direction, signaling his goons to surround you.

Immediately, cheering and snickering filled the air around you as they moved in, clearly starved of entertainment for too long.

You took a defensive stance, eyes darting back and forth and watching anyone that was standing too close to you.
Within mere seconds, you were attacked.
Someone had grabbed your arm and pulled you in their direction- slamming their other elbow into your ribcage.

You sucked in a sharp gasp at the pain that overcame you, panic filling your senses, but then you remembered a little something you found earlier that could really help you out just about now.
Playing a sly little smile on your face, an idea formed in your mind.
You had just the thing to teach these dumb ruffians a lesson! In fact, you had found it earlier after bothering Mido enough that he sent you to the secret entrance himself.

You reached into your Kokiri boot and whipped out a small sword with a wooden handle, pointing the tip of it’s blade directly at your captor’s nose, striking what you hoped was a cool pose.

Grinning victoriously, you savored the fear that paled the young Kokiri’s countenance, even daring to wave it slightly, watching as his eyes followed the blade’s every movement.
Fight fire with fire, right?

The violent uproar had once again died down into a deafening silence, but this one was from fear.
You could feel all of their eyes on you, all wide with shock.
You could feel the stare of two blue orbs in particular, piercing your skull and making you sweat a bit from anxiety.

You heard the tall boy choke next to you, his words squeaky and scared compared to his loud, proclaiming voice from before.
”Y-You stole the sacred Kokiri Sword?”

You snickered and turned to him without moving your arm, your eyes flashing tauntingly.
”Oh no, I didn’t steal it! I have a conscience, unlike some people.” You fixed him with a glare. “I just… Borrowed it.”

”…Speaking of which,”
You carefully twisted the sword, admiring the way bits of sunlight coming through the trees glinted off of the sharp metallic blade.
”I never got to use it. Maybe I can try it out right now?”

Although you were calm on your exterior, you were losing it on the inside. You hadn’t had this much fun since your neighbor taught you how to climb onto the roof of the Kokiri store!
The rush of adrenaline you got from this ordeal would’ve been alarming, if it wasn’t for the fact that you knew you wouldn’t hurt anyone.
If anything, you were just hoping to scare them away, perhaps they’d even leave this poor Link boy alone for a while.

But they didn’t have to know that.

The boy at the end of the sword was shaking like a leaf, and everyone watching you was wanton with terror.

Suddenly, with a high-pitched scream that startled even yourself, the Kokiri child grasping onto your arm threw you off of him and ran for the hills.
You stumbled for a bit, everyone watching as he sprinted as quickly as his short legs could allow, escaping from your wrath and babbling something about you being an “irredeemable bully.”
Before you could even begin to get offended, the rest of the boys ran for the exit as well, all of them screaming and shouting, fearing for their lives.
Witnessing the hasty retreat was simultaneously hilarious and a bit saddening, all of them tumbling over each other, tripping and stepping on others as they hastily made their departure.
Eventually, their leader also turned to make an escape.

Before he left, however, he turned and pointed an accusing finger in your direction.

”I’m telling Mido that you stole the sacred Sword!”

You quickly threw a glance behind you at Link, who had a blank expression upon his face, not taking his eyes off his assailant.
Turning back to the obnoxious boy in front of you, you snickered.

“Don’t talk too much, or it’s off with your tongue!”
As you said this, you slashed the air with the sword, producing a feminine scream from him.

Upon seeing this, he turned on his heels and scrambling out of the woods.
”Y-you’re a lunatic!”

You watched as he fled, seeing how his body grew smaller and smaller as he ran further and further away. His footsteps grew more and more distant, until you could hear nothing more than the sounds of birds and the spring breeze around you.

Heaving a great sigh, you dropped the sword onto the floor and crossed your arms.
Boring or not, you normally wouldn’t have done something so bold. There were so many of them, and normally you wouldn’t have taken such a big risk.
So many things could’ve gone wrong with what just happened, and you would’ve been the dummy to start it all.

You took a deep breath, turning to face the injured boy who still sat on the grassy floor, unmoving.
Wiping your clammy hands on your skirt, you offered him a weak smile and walked over, sticking out a hand to help him up.

”Hi! My name is (Y/N)!”

You blinked, almost offended, as you watched Link completely refuse your hand and get up himself.

Seeing that he wasn't willing to talk, you started another topic while attempting to suppress the heat coming to your face.

”Honestly, those boys can be so stupid! Don’t mind them, they’re just jealous that the Great Deku Tree doesn't like them as much as he likes you.”

Link continued to look intently at you, his face impassive, but his eyes full of all types of emotions.

Feeling nervous under his intense gaze, you broke eye contact and instead, dug into your pockets with nervous hands.

You pulled out a small pink handkerchief and held it out to the blonde, clenching your other hand at your side.

”H-here… You can use this.”

He looked down at the towelette, but didn't make any movements to take it.

Oh, did he really need to make this so nerve-wracking?

Why didn’t he just respond to you? Was he deaf or something?

”You’ll get a cold if you don’t dry yourself off.” You stated, giving yourself an excuse to step a bit closer to him.
You began dabbing at his wet face with the dry material, carefully navigating around his bruises and cuts.

Your hands shook as you worked, and you hoped that he didn’t notice.

”I-I wish I could do something else to make you feel a bit better…”

You diverted your eyes from him, and caught sight of the bucket on the floor next to his feet.

Suddenly, you came up with a brilliant idea.

You took his hands and opened them, placing the handkerchief within them before closing them.

You could still feel his gaze on you as you kneeled down and picked up the metal bucket, which was a fourth of the way filled with water.
Well, it wasn’t as much as he took, but it was something.
Without hesitation, you held the bucket over your head and flipped it.

The chill of the water made you cry out a bit, and your teeth began chattering even if it was the springtime.
You were soaked to the bone, and you felt your hair cling to your face.
Your clothes dripped with water, sticking in odd places against your skin.

Still, you stood back up and dropped the bucket onto the floor with a hollow ‘clang.’

You turned to Link and gave him a cheery smile, hoping to finally see some emotion on his face.

”Now, maybe you’ll feel less lonely! See, I’m dripping with water too!”

When your eyes connected with Link's, you flinched. His eyes had widened into two large pools of blue as deep as the sea, filled with so much confusion that you wondered if you had offended him in any way.

Unbeknownst to you, he didn’t think you were odd, nor was he confused as to why you had poured cold water on yourself.
He wasn’t concerned about how you had a sword on you, and he definitely wasn’t indifferent anymore.

He was in awe.

He was in awe because you, a little girl, had stood up to a bunch of his bullies, and because you had pointed that sword at one of his lifetime assaulters and laughed as he ran away squealing.

And mostly, he was in amazed that you had decided to dump a bucket of water iced-water onto yourself- just to make him feel better.

He looked at you, admiring how silly- yet strong you looked with water sliding down your pinked cheeks.
Link stared into your eyes, making your heart flutter a bit faster, and he smiled.

________________________________________
Years had passed after that incident, but you knew that even time could never take that memory from you.
You'd never forget the moment he had graced you one of the sweetest, purest smiles you’ve ever seen, how his eyes had softened just a bit as the corners of his mouth turned upwards.

Since then, it dawned upon you that you wanted to speak to him, despite the strange clenching feeling in your gut that said otherwise. It was kind of like being friends in secret, which was fun in its own odd way.

No one had spoken about the incident again, and you hadn’t even gotten into trouble for “borrowing” the sword. (Which you had shortly returned.)

You two hadn’t spoken to each other much after that, but every once in a while, you’d catch each other staring from across the fields.

Still, no words were exchanged. Only an occasional smile from you, and a curt nod from him. Somewhere along the line, you found yourself daydreaming about the strange boy, your watchful gaze lingering even when he turned away.

Some time after that incident, you had found your clean handkerchief on your doorstep along with a simple note:
         “Thanks for last time.”

You were surprised at the sweet but simple gesture, you thought he had forgotten about the handkerchief, but you were happy, nonetheless.
And just like that, your bond with the outcasted boy was solidified.
You left a message with your pink handkerchief at his door reading:
              “No need for thanks, that's what friends are for!”

Within the next few days, you found the handkerchief at your doorstep again, another message written on a crisp, green leaf for you.
              “I'm honored. You still remember me?”

You giggled upon seeing this, and scrawled another note to him, once again leaving it at his tree house.
             “Yes, Link. I remember you."

The next time you came across the towel, there was another message written neatly on the Autumn orange maple leaf from the Kokiri trees,
              “Stop returning your handkerchief to me, (Y/N).”

And it went on.
              “You can keep it.”

And on.
             “Use it to remember me and how you helped me out.”

You replied,
             “I’ll never forget, Link.”

You hadn’t received a response from that, which you were pleased with. You had won this round.
However, you would admit that you missed being able to communicate with. Now that both of you weren’t dueling for ownership of the handtowel, there was no excuse to talk with him anymore, other than approaching him. (Which your fluttering heart protested against every time you tried.)

Without Link to communicate with, you had no idea what had happened to him when he suddenly disappeared for the past month. Even though you were dying with curiosity, you didn't want to blatantly ask Saria or Mido about it, or it'd rouse suspicion.

So of course, your attention was captured immediately when you heard Saria and Mido talking about Link.

You casually edged your way into the conversation, greeting the two before nonchalantly asking what they were talking about.

“Haven’t you heard? It’s wonderful! Link finally found a fairy, and the Great Deku Tree has sent him on a special quest! Isn’t that great?”

Your eyes widened, and you grinned. You always knew Link was special!
You remembered how strong he was, even when he was being pushed around constantly. It was destiny for him to become an adventurer, so you were glad for him!

”Hurrumph! I could’ve gone on a quest too! That Link! Since when was he better than me?” Mido huffed, crossing his arms.

Saria giggled, and you smiled.
"Don't be so upset, Mido." Saria chuckled, patting him on the back, "Don't you think that Link deserves to be trusted with a quest?"
Mido grumbled and cast his gaze to the side, muttering something about guarding the gate before stalking away glumly.

Saria watched him walk away, a soft, motherly look to her features; one that you had grown attached to through all these years of knowing her.

"Hey, Saria," You started, "Do you know when Link will return?" You asked aloofly, a poor attempt at concealing your emotions, gazing at the blades of grass brushing your feet as you spoke.

Saria pulled her mouth to the side, furrowing her eyebrows and looking up toward the clouds. "I'm not really sure when he'll be back, but I heard the Deku tree mention something about leaving for a couple of years."

You felt your breath hitch, and your heart skipped a beat; then another.
Slowly, you look up at the girl in front of you.

"...A couple of years?"

He left without saying goodbye to you?

You coughed, mustering a smile at Saria, unable to look her in the eye.

”Woah... That's longer than I expected.” You choked out, trying desperately to push back the small sting in your eyes.
You could feel Saria's caring eyes burn into your skull, trying to figure out what had caused your sudden change in demeanor.

Knowing that you had to get out of there before you broke down into a sobbing mess under Saria's gaze; you turned and walked away, waving a hand over your shoulder.

”Sorry Saria, but I just remembered I have something to do… I’ll talk to you later, alright…?”

You could feel Saria's gaze on you, confused as to why you seemed a bit upset, but not stopping you.

As soon as you were out of sight, you turned in the direction of Link’s treehouse, sprinting to the large tree and climbing up the steps.

You didn’t know what you were hoping for as you peered into his adobe.
It was empty, his bag, his hat, even his extra pair of shoes were gone.
Even with the sunlight shining into the wooden home, it felt cold and desolate without its owner here.

You felt tears prick at your eyes, but quickly blinked them back.
Not like you and him were that closely acquainted. You had helped him once, and that was all. It was nothing special.
Now that you thought about it, it was a little farfetched that you thought both of you were friends. He never even spoke to you before anyway.

You managed a sad, lopsided smile. It was strange, wasn't it? How you could've been so gullible. All he did was smile at you back in the Lost Woods and you began to hallucinate about being best buddies with him.

There was just something about him that felt like he needed protecting.
Maybe that was why you were so attached to him in the first place... Just a human instinct to protect the weaker; just like a moth is drawn to light.

You couldn’t help but feel a strange, hanging weight pushing down on your body. You ignored it, climbing down the ladder and walking back slowly to your house, eyes downcast the whole time.

'A fool.' You thought bitterly, 'I'm nothing but a fool.'

As you neared your house, you withheld the urge to leap for the door and lock yourself inside. You diverted your eyes from the door, staring at the floor instead.

Your heart stops, and your hand flies up to your mouth as something catches your eye.

You hadn’t been expecting to receive something at your door again, so you never really looked- but tucked away against the bush was something extraordinarily familiar to you.

It was a crown crafted from flowers, and it looked identical to the one you had been making that day in the Lost Woods, all but the fact that it was completed.

You raised the wreath up to your eyes, admiring the way that the flowers had been strung together. You noted with raised eyebrow that must’ve taken days to complete.
The colors reminded you of a hazy sunset, hues of pink, purple and orange blended together beautifully.

After marveling it for another few minutes, you decided that it’d look foolish on your head now that you were an older Kokiri, and looped it around your wrist instead.

Eyeing the note on the floor, you picked it up and opened it carefully, admiring the way Link’s neat script stood out against the elegant patterns of the leaf.

In it was a response to your note from months before, one last message to you before he left.

                  “I won’t forget you either.”