Chapter 4

Leon finally woke, making a face against the exhaustion he still had and struggled to sit up, seeing Zelda and Rosalin watch him, "... ....Hi?"

Rosalin smiled a little, "You haven't been out long. You better rest later, or else."

He made another scrunched up face, "Okay, fine. But you two look a bit grim. what happened?"

Zelda watched him. His blue eyes intrigued her a bit. They were energetic, could be fierce, but also cheerful. Eyes with potential. Eyes of a beast, in a sense, "I wish for you to journey with me to Hyrule Castle, to seek and obtain a tool that will give us an edge against Ganondorf."

"Ganondorf?"

"The man in black armor."

His eyes went ablaze. Just what she'd been looking for, "I accept."

"Leon, you will stay, at least until you are bette-"

"Immediately." Leon cut Rosalin off sternly, "That man can't be let roam with the Triforce of Power. Right, Princess?"

Zelda found his determination interesting. She raised an eyebrow and smiled a bit, "Don't you mean, 'I want revenge for what he did to my hometown?"

That cut into Leon like an icy dagger.

"I thought so." Zelda said, watching his guilty eyes, "You may come with us, but do not hide your intentions from us, just to surprise us later, during a time we may need you most."

Leon nodded.

Rosalin wanted to yell. At Leon for being rash, and at Zelda for taking him away.

He was her little brother.

Why'd he have to go?

No.

She was already told why.

She now had to understand...

Leon had leaned forward and reached out, taking his sis' hand and smiling, the light from the window, it's brightness in late afternoon giving them a brighter look, but noting the shadow beneath them, "I'll write. Every day, if possible."

Rosalin hesitated, and almost said something, but stopped herself, and said something else, "...You'd go even if I attached anvils to your feet."

the boy grinned, "Damn straight I would."

Rosalin laughed a little, and looked fondly to her best friend, her little brother figure. Leon.

"I'll prepare things for you. And I'll make you a sword."

"Rosalin-"

She wouldn't have it, "You know I'm a better smith than my Dad is, and I..." She shrugged, "Well, I thought it'd be a great thing, if you represented the village with the finest sword we can forge."

He nodded after a few moments of thought, "Alright. I can't turn it down when you put it that way."

With that, Rosalin quietly stood, and left the room.

She wanted to do this for him.

She'd miss him, and this, of all things, would also give her time to cry.

Zelda knew, and sympathized with her.

But her face showed nothing more than approval as Leon studied her, "Leon, get up, and get used to moving around. You'll feel odd after last night, okay?"

Leon nodded. He got out of bed, and stood.

Zelda frowned, "You don't have better clothes?"

He looked over, "Do I look rich?"

"That doesn't answer-"

He put a finger in front of her nose and scowled into her eyes a bit, "If you're going to travel with me, we're going to talk and act like human beings, because I like using sarcasm and humor like normal Hylians. Mmkay?"

Zelda nodded. Maybe he wasn't who she thought he could become. He was too... well, rude. She looked at his finger, wondering if it was too improper here if she bit it.

Leon seemed to read her mind, but riskily waggled it before letting it retreat, "Alright. I'm going to go make sure the people I do milk rounds for know I'm going to leave, so they won't expect me to work for them anymore."

She shook her head, "I'll just announce to your fellow villagers that you're leaving and then we'll meet at the front gates. that's much easier."

"Sure, tell them to get some confetti and light the bonfire they'd setup earlier. they can celebrate the absence of their biggest pest."

Zelda was taken a little aback, but let him have that one. People reacted badly to power they didn't understand. Since Leon had had the Triforce of Power in his right hand, she knew for sure that he had had some traits, like strength that people labeled evil because they couldn't comprehend it...

It was human nature to fear the mysterious.

She blinked.

Leon had already left the cottage.

She hadn't heard him leave.

Well, at least she could, and did, address the villagers, and wished Leon were there to see: Not all of them looked too pleased. some wanted to keep the quiet, milk-delivering boy around. He was a quick deliverer.

She wished it was more than that. She really sympathized with Leon...

Later on, Leon returned to the front gates, where Zelda had mentioned he should wait for her.

It took her a while.

Rosalin came rushing over. It hadn't taken as long as he'd thought it would to make that sword.

She thrust it into his hands, sheath and all, "Put it on, Leon, I want to see how it looks."

After a moment of trifle, he tightened the buckle on the belt holding the sheath at his back, the hilt hanging over his left shoulder, so he could draw it with his good hand. He smiled, "Thanks, Rosalin...."

She beamed, "Draw it."

He did.

He stared at it.

It was a breathtaking blade, forged to perfection. It's straight, double-edged blade was about three feet long with three and a half to four inches in width.

It's grayish color had a perfectly polished sheen that turned it a dazzling silvery color.

She'd gone all out. She still beamed at him, "Custom made. Think of me when you use it.

This made him grimace, "I'm so not killing stuff while thinking of you. Not gonna happen. That's... kind of weird."

She giggled, "I guess so." She looked around, "Guess Rowan doesn't ant to say goodbye, or something. You two never got along. Well, here's your things."

He took them and studied her eyes, "Your eyes are red."

She blinked and looked off to the side, "R-really? I never noticed. Maybe they're irritated from the forge's fires?"

"...Maybe." He felt bad.

She had been crying.

She had cried while forging this sword. Crying because she cared, and she'd miss him sorely. He sheathed it, it's weight almost too much for his slightly skinny build, but it wasn't impossible to wield, "I'll treasure it."

She looked to him and smiled, pulling him into a somewhat expected hug.

Zelda finally came. She looked to Rosalin, "You said your goodbyes, Miss Rosalin?"

"I have. But now, you better watch his back as much as he watches yours."

She nodded a little, "If he is who I believe him to be, I have no cho-"

"For me, and the people of this village who can't admit he's a good guy." She pressed, "Not to save the world." She smirked.

Zelda giggled a bit. It caught her off guard, "It is one man we're after, and yet you know the world is at stake. Interesting."

Her smile slid away.

Zelda's comment made her a bit pale. She had been joking.

She did not understand much about the Triforce.

She thought everything was okay as long as they just found the man and found a way to kill him, and even if not, one Triforce did not mean much...

But no.

This was Hyrule's fate.

It lie on the shoulders of only a handful, nay, not even that many people...

Three.

She shuddered, then said her goodbyes. She had gained more respect for the princess she had thought earlier must have been insane.

She was a woman with a duty.

A grim duty.

A duty to carry the title of Queen without being acknowledged as such.

To bear the title of Queen...

To witness the sights of a Queen...

...

To make the choices of a Queen.

She shuddered again before a light breeze kicked up, and she had to slip hair bristling over her face between her right index and ring finger and hook it around her ear to watch them leave...

The Princess and the Forest Boy.

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Leon was quiet as they walked.

Zelda didn't mind. she had a few things to explain, "Leon, first of all, we're headed for the ranch just beyond the forest. It's a ranch not quite popular yet, but their milk's the best, and it's making their fame rate DOUBLE. You deliver their milk."

Leon looked over, '...Lon Lon Ranch, then."

"Yes." She smiled, "I've never really been to a ranch. I bet ranching life is exciting."

Leon shrugged a bit, "Maybe."

She knew he wouldn't be talkative. his eyes revealed his anxiety.

She continued, "We'll stay there a night or so. I expect to hold a council with people whom have guarded and cared for me as a child. We'll be testing you. Nothing big, just... a little test."

"Okay."

She sighed, "...Look, I know you're leaving home, and your best friend, but just try to keep your mind clear? It'll be okay. You'll make it back alive. We'll win."

"Promise?"

"Excuse me?"

Leon looked at her with cold eyes, "Do you promise?"

She watched his eyes, and fell silent.

He didn't say anything more, either.

After almost an hour of awkward silence, she looked sideways at him, "I should've known better than to make you repeat yourself."

He didn't retort.

She felt like he should've.

He had a way of making her feel guilty or bad when he needed to.

The scary thing?

It intrigued her.

But soon, trees were thinning out, and the puffs of smoke from an old chimney, obviously, "Custom Made", and gates with white paint recently painted on came into view, rock ledges mostly hid the little crop of elevated land.

Lon Lon Ranch.

Soon, Leon would learn more about his purpose in this quest.