1st Shard

[cantstopme]

Characters: Lil' Link and you!
Setting: Room 1-18 and both dorm floors.
Format: Either or!
Summary: Link freaks out and then freaks out a little more.
Warnings: None I think; will change if it happens?

[Room 1-18 and probably the hallway too.]

[Of all the ways Link has woken up before, this had to be the worst. First was the sleep paralysis; that gave him a good spook, since it's definitely never happened before. Only thing that equals paralysis in his mind are those stupid Redeads - but after gaining movement again, he already checked the room for those.
Thank goodness there aren't any. Yet.

But second was realizing, hey, this definitely is not anywhere he remembers being. Definitely, definitely not. This place is too... fake feeling to be anywhere on the Great Sea. So of course, he got up to check the room out.

And that's when he noticed the third thing - that collar clamped around his neck. Oh, this ain't good, no sir; it feels like something evil, and just looking at what he can see of it gives him a little bit of the heebie jeebies. Which means it must come off, and now.

So if you pass by that room or are lucky enough to be in it, you may or may not find Link with his back to the floor, hands clasped on what he can grab of the collar, and his little legs scooting him backwards across the ground like he expects it to help. It's probably pretty dumb looking.]

[Around the dorm areas.]

[Later, of course, is time for a little exploration; he's grabbed all he can carry out of his trunk, and he's making his way around to try and find the door outta here - which in his logic means "go around and open every door you find". So feel free to notice the little nine year old hero peeking his head into your room, there.]

Comments

[sageprincess]

No, no... I am sorry, I...

[She struggles for a moment, trying to create coherent sentences without her voice giving out, trying to even her breathing, trying to pull herself together-- and is moderately successful, calming down just enough to speak.]

Hyrule's fate is my responsibility. I should face the consequences of my actions with dignity.

[Which she is fairly sure she has lost in its entirety, but hey, she's trying.]

[cantstopme]

Don't be sorry. You're just one person.
You didn't know it was gonna happen.

[He stops then, going quiet, before trying to change the topic a little.]

Do you think the letters were lying, princess? The ones we get when we wake up here?

[sageprincess]

[She almost smiles at that. Hollowly, though, of course. Oh, to be a child afforded to think that way.]

A single man can change the world. For better, or for worse.

[She sighs, and despite the topic change, her voice is a little less lively than it was before.]

Yes, I do.

[cantstopme]

Then maybe one day, you'll go back home and see that everyone is okay.

Just like I'll go home and see that Aryll and Grandma and Tetra are okay.

[He settles in her lap then, since he'd crawled there to give her a hug in the first place.]

And maybe, once you're back home, you can change things.

[sageprincess]

[She just... holds him, slowly calming down. A few stray tears roll down her cheeks still, however, and the hiccups are not entirely gone from her voice.]

... Maybe. I will certainly try.

[She's no hero, though.]

[cantstopme]

I think you can do it.

You look strong to me.

[He hasn't met a lot of strong girls, after all.]

[sageprincess]

[That gets a not-quite laugh from her.]

Do I? Even in this state?

[To be honest, she feels... really really vulnerable right now.]

Nevertheless... thank you for the vote of confidence.

[cantstopme]

[He gives her one more comfy hug, before settling in her lap for good this time.]

Just 'cause you're crying, doesn't mean you're not strong.
It just means you care about your land and your people.

[Grandma used to tell him and Aryll that it's okay to cry, after all. He just... prefers not to.]

But you're welcome, I think.

[sageprincess]

[Hope he doesn't mind it there, because she's just going to go quiet for a moment and hold him, thinking over what he said.]

... I suppose you are right.

[Though it's hard to take it to heart after so much time spent being stoic, she's not beyond the point of seeing the logic in his words. She smiles, just slightly, and it's still pretty sad, but it's genuine.]

You are a very kind young man, Link.

[cantstopme]

[Oh, gosh - compliments from a real princess who isn't a rude pirate. He lets her hold him (it's comforting anyway, since he's in a strange place with none of his friends and family), but can't help looking a little embarrassed.]

Oh, uh... Thank you, princess. I'm just doing what my Grandma taught me.