Old Oak, Young Boy

Old Oak, Young Boy:
A Legend of Zelda Fanfiction
By Narma-san

Thanks to Feri-san, for unknowingly providing the cover art, I would never use any of your work without crediting you.  Even though it doesn't show up in deviantART I did indeed us your pic, What a Wonderful World as the cover art.

Dedicated to all you folks at Nintendo and to my best friend, Gabe, I'm thinking of you always

Intro
Some of the characters in this Fanfiction are property of Nintendo, everything else is mine so don't steal it please!

Rinku is an old version of Twilight Princess Link.  Rinku is Link's name in the Japanese version of the games.  Link is Skyward Sword Link.  Iko is my own creation; her name is the Japanese name for beloved.  Iko and Link are both around the age of fifteen.  

The logo at the top of the picture was already there, this is not a prediction of Skyward Sword at all.  This Fanfiction is not made for profit, just simply fun and the sake of looking like I'm doing my home work in Study hall, ; )

This story is my gift to you.
Enjoy and read more books after this!

Chapter 1
Rescued by Rinku

"Iko!  Iko, time for you lessons!" Rinku shouted over the blue-gray, moss-covered walls, looking for his apprentice. "Where is that girl?  She is missing her exams again!  Does she expect to pass hero training if she never studies!"
The old man leaned on his sheathed sword and looked at the bright sky overhead.  His lined, scarred face told of his many years as a knight and hero protecting his land of Hyrule and his love, Queen Zelda.  He smiled at the thought of his forbidden love.  The Queen had not been able to marry a commoner like himself when they were ready to marry.  
He spent much of his time on quests to earn his own castle so he could marry the beautiful Zelda.  Rinku had proposed to the Queen and they were engaged, but by the time that he had his castle and his knighthood, the Princess was a Queen and they both could find no time for a wedding.
Now, in his old age, Rinku's time was running thin and he had taken an apprentice instead of a child.  He taught her everything he knew.
"Iko," Rinku shook his head in frustration.  "Where are you?"  He directed his gaze down the wall of his old Castle Miles and walked down the path to market, limping slightly from an old wound.

~~

"Boy!" Ingo called his young, orphaned indentured servant, Link. "Get over here now!  Or you'll have double chores and no dinner!"
"Coming, sir!" Link weaved his way around busy buyers and sellers.  He stood crudely at attention in front of his master. "Yes, sir?"
Ingo brought his hand up above his head to strike Link.  The boy flinched and made to take a step away from his masters flying hand but Ingo grabbed his arm and held him in place.  Ingo brought his hand down on Link's ear, causing the poor boy's ears to ring.
"I expect you to be behind me at all times, wart." Ingo shook Link roughly.  "You'll be getting a flogging for making me wait."
"Oh no, p-p-please, sir!" Link's voice cracked.  "I'm sorry, sir.  T-truly I am!  I won't do it again!  I-I promise I won't!"
"I know," Ingo snarled, "You'll have learned your lesson well after you're done being flogged.  Put those sacks of flour on the cart, boy.  Now!"
Link rushed toward the stall where Ingo had been shopping and picked up the large sacks of grain.  There were about ten in all and each one was about sixty pounds.  The boy stacked the sacks in a cart that had the logo, 'Ingo-go's Ranch, We have the best service and the best horses in Hyrule!'
An old knight walked up to the youth's master.  He had seen the whole escapade and was disturbed by Ingo's show of brutality towards his servant boy.
"Pardon me," the old knight said, "But do you know where I might find Ingo?"
"You're looking at him, old man," Ingo replied curtly.  "What business do you have with the great Ingo?"
"You don't seem to show respect for your superiors, do you, Ingo." The old knight sighed. "Nor do you show kindness toward those who owe you service."
Ingo's face turned red and he fumed with rage, "How I treat my servants is none of your business!  I'll treat the boy however I want!  He's my servant."
"More of a slave," The old knight spoke evenly and quietly.
"He is my business and none of yours!" Ingo was losing this battle and he knew it.  Link had stopped stacking the sacks of grain and had started to watch this old knight verbally batter his master.  "Wart!  Get back to work or you'll get a harsher flogging to look forward to!"
"Yes, sir!" Link squeaked and returned to stacking the grain in the Ingo-go Mobile.
"How much does the boy owe you!" The old knight ordered the question rather than asking it.
"That is none of your business, old man," Ingo folded his arms and turned away to bark something at his indentured slave.
"I could just look you up in the castle archives," the old knight said.
"You don't have access," Ingo whirled around at the old knight, "Only the Lord of this land and those who he allows can see the archives of this province!"  Ingo looked proud of himself for knowing this.  The crowd that had gathered by this time was waiting with baited breath for the old knight's response.
The old knight leaned in close to Ingo.  Link had again stopped his work and was watching with the crowed, hoping that his miserable life of flogging and hungry would come to an end with this old knight.
"How do you know that the Lord of Eldin Province isn't my old friend?"
"The boy still owes me fifteen years of hard labor." Ingo looked triumphant.  That was equivalent to thirty thousand rupees.  More than this old, shabby looking knight could have, even if his friend was the lord of this province.  Link's face fell. "His father owed my more than fifty thousand rupees when he was killed.  I got the boy since his old man didn't have the money.  He's mine."
"Not if I pay you the money," the old knight said.  Link raised his tear-stroked face.  There was hope for him yet.
"You don't have the rupees, old man, and even if you did, you would have to be related to the wart or be a highly qualified knight."
"I'm the highest Knight in all of Hyrule.  I am Sir Rinku, engaged to the Queen for twenty years now."
"But, but," Ingo was flustered; he kneeled before Rinku, then stood up again, then half kneeled.  He was at a loss for words.  Rinku smiled at him and put a heavy sack of rupees in his hand.  Ingo just grunted and looked down at the rupees in his hand.  It was obviously enough to free Link from the unlucky bondage his father had gotten him into after he died.
Rinku turned to Link, who was just as elated as flabbergasted. "Come on boy, what are you waiting for?  You're free from this man.  Have you any place to go?"
Link shook his head, "No, sir.  I don't have any family that would want me for any reason other than working the field, I mean, sir."
"None at all?" Rinku looked at Link.
"No, sir." Link said. "My mother, maybe, but I don't know where she is."
"You can come with me then." Rinku wasn't sure what he was getting himself into.  Iko tried to eat him out of house and home.  She was always thinking of food.  What would two growing children be?
"Really!" Link looked so happy, Rinku was worried he might float off the ground and fly away. "I mean, really, sir."
"Yes really, what's your name?"
"My name is Link," Link smiled, "Link, sir."
"Well then, follow me, Link."  Rinku and Link left a dumbfounded Ingo who was having mixed feelings that he had been robbed of his punching bag slave but had been given more money than he knew what to do with.

Chapter 2
Iko

The Master Sword was pulled from its pedestal for the first time in over a century.  The Hero of Time fell into a deep sleep for seven years.  When he awoke again he found Hyrule covered in darkness.
"Link!" the Sage of Light, Rouru, called to the now adult hero. "You are the Hero of Time!  You must save the other six sages from the evil King of Darkness, Ganondorf!  You have been asleep in this sanctuary until you were an adult and strong enough to wield the magical blade, the Master Sword!"

Iko slapped her book shut.  She looked down at the ground from her perch in the old tree outside of her mentor's castle, Castle Miles.  Miles was a name that meant soldier in some foreign country many months across the sea.  Iko thought that maybe it was Latin.  Rinku should know, Iko thought.
"Rinku!  Oh no!" Iko exclaimed to herself as she applied her palm to her forehead. "I forgot about the lessons!  I'm late!"
Iko jumped down from her perch and rushed through the open gates, "Iko!  You're late again!" A guard shouted.  "Hey Rusle!" Iko shouted back.
She rushed down the hallway and into the office that branched off Rinku's study.  Instead, Iko found Alyss, Rinku's secretary.  "Good morning, Iko.  Rinku hasn't returned from the city yet."
"He left?" Iko sounded hurt. "He said he'd let me come with him this time!"
"He told me to tell you, and this is word for word mind you, 'Iko, I went to Eldin City today without you because you were late.  I might bring you home a surprise if you're in my study when I get back.'"
"Can you tell him I don't need a surprise, I just wanted to go to Eldin City with him!"
"Why don't you tell him that you're sorry for being late to your class yourself," Alyss smiled, they had been through this very conversation many times.
"I'll wait for my present." Iko walked into Rinku's study and pulled a book, Wind Waker: The Fictional Story of A Young Boy Named Link. "Every hero's name is Link, except Rinku's.  And his name means link in ancient Hylian!"
Iko walked to a soft armchair and slouched in it. She opened the book and began to read.

~~

Iko was deep into the part of the book in which a giant bird and the brave hero, WW Link, fight to the death over WW Link's little sister, Ariel.  Iko didn't notice the door open.
"Sh," Rinku motioned to Link to be quiet, "If we're extremely quiet, we can scare her silly."
"Isn't that mean, sir?" Link looked puzzled.
"I only do this when she's late for class, which she was today.  It teaches her responsibility and awareness.  Plus, it's funny."
"It still seems mean," Link said.
Rinku walked quietly around the room so that he was right behind Iko.  He motioned for Link to follow him as quietly as he could.  Link walked quietly toward Rinku.  He looked a little unsure about himself.  By the time he got to where Rinku was, Iko had turned the page twice, each turn digging her deeper and deeper into the Ocean land Of Mythical Hyrule.
Rinku had a childish grin on his face that didn't seem to fit how Link saw his new hero.  Rinku lifted his hand over Iko's head.  He made sure that the shadow of his hands didn't touch the pages of the book. When he brought his hands together they made an echoing sound that resounded off the book-lined walls of the warmly lit room.
"Holy Mother of Din!" Iko jumped ten feet in the air. "Rinku!"
"I told you, sir," Link said.
"Sir?  Who are you?" Iko turned to face Link. "I've never seen you before.  Where are you from?"
"Iko," Rinku scolded his young apprentice. "This is Link, and he's going to be staying in the castle for as long as he wants."
"Really?" Iko and Link both said at the same time.  But both of them said it differently, Iko sounded concerned, whereas Link sounded like he had died and gone to heaven.
"But!  But, I'm your apprentice!" Iko sounded like she would cry. "You'll only… It's not fair!"  Iko rushed out of the study.  Link felt bad.  Rinku looked after her with a concerned look.
"Sir?" Link sounded as sad as Rinku felt. "Did I do something wrong?  I didn't mean to make her upset.  I'm awful sorry, sir.  I-I…"
"It's not your fault.  She thinks I brought home someone who would take my attention from her.  If anything you both should blame me for not thinking."  
I want to make her feel better but I don't know how, Link thought, concerning himself with pondering thoughts about how to get Iko to forgive him for invading her world.
Rinku stood up. "I know where she is.  In case you want to know."
"Where, sir?" Link inquired.
"The old oak tree outside of the castle.  It's her favorite place to just go and think.  I'd bet money that's where she was when she was supposed to meet me for lessons.  There's just one problem."
"What, sir?"
"The Queen is coming for a visit to see how Iko is coming along with her studies as a hero."  Rinku paused and Link was certain that this was not the whole problem.
"Yes, sir?"
"Iko hasn't studied for her test yet."

~~

Rinku showed the young boy the old oak outside of the castle gate.  Sure enough, Iko was sulking in one of the lower branches.  She was whittling away at a decent sized stick.
"She does that when she's upset," Rinku sighed.  His long ears sagged.  Link wasn't sure what Iko was doing.
"What is she doing, sir?" Link looked at Rinku.
"She's making a wood bodkin.  I've lost track of how many she's made."  His face darkened.  He became lost in thought.
"Sir?" Link asked. "Are you okay?"
"Hum?" Link's voice snapped Rinku out of his train of thought. "Sorry, son.  She's been like that a lot lately.  If you can cheer her up, I'll give you free swordsmanship lessons."
"Really!"
"Really."
"Yes, sir!"
Link jumped up and walked toward the oak tree. "He is so much like me when I was his age.  I just hope he doesn't have to face the same troubles as I did."  Rinku looked down at his left hand.  The Triforce of courage stood out as a faint triangle.  He felt, for a moment, the thrill of being a wild animal running through the forest.  Even if he were to turn into his best form, he would be too old to run free in the woods again.

"Hi," Link's voice drifted up toward Iko.  "Are you going to share the tree with me or do I have to find another one?"
"Go get your own tree," Iko turned away from Link and began to whittle more violently at her stick.
"Suit yourself," Link walked away with a hurt look on his face.
"You can sit on the other side of the tree," Iko grunted.
Link pulled himself up the tree next to Iko.
"Other side, Blondie," Iko said.
"I'm going, I'm going." Link moved himself to the side of the tree, but he positioned himself so the he was as close to Iko as he possibly could get. "Soooo…"
"So what, Blondie."
"You're not one for a conversation."
"Don't talk to me."
I'm not getting anywhere with this, thought Link.
"If you think that your being her is okay now because you tried to make it better, then you're wrong, Rinku is my mentor.  Don't you even think of taking him from me, Blondie." Iko was cold and harsh.  Link cringed away from her with surprise and alarm.  Iko jumped out of the tree and walked hotly into the castle.
Rinku walked over to Link, "I think she likes you!"
"I'm not so sure, sir." Link slumped, "I failed."
"I know what would cheer you up," Rinku smiled, "How about a sword mastery lesson from the Hero of Twilight himself!"
"You know him, sir?"
"Know him!  Son, I am him!"

Chapter 3
Mastering the Sword

The clashes of practice bodkins echoed throughout the castle for the next few months.  Iko avoided the castle practice rink, using the excuse that she needed to study for her exams that would be given by the Queen.  Link was having the best time of his life.  The best part was that he and Rinku were both left-handed so Link got better faster than any other hero had.
"Your backhand needs more practice, son," Rinku grunted.
"Yes, sir!" Link gave Rinku a rest and proceeded to attack the practice dummy with his improving backhand swing.
"I'm getting too old for this." Rinku sat down on a chair and quietly sipped his tea.  "More wrist, son, a true Sword Master knows that he needs more power behind his blade than just what his arm can give him."
"Yes, sir!" Link agreed with the old knight between strokes.
"Hello, Iko," Rinku didn't have to turn his head to see his apprentice enter the rink. "You don't usually bless us with your presence."
"I have a question," Iko humfed.  "Is Miles Latin for soldier?"
"Yes," Rinku answered her, "Why would you ask?"
"Just curious." Iko gave Link a hot look, swished her long, dark hair, turned around, and stamped off.
"She really doesn't like me," Link was crest-fallen.  Iko had done similar things to him whenever he was with Rinku instead of her.
"You two will get along eventually," Rinku looked after Iko.
"Really, sir?"
"There are things connecting you two that I can't tell you yet."

~~

Iko stamped off down the path.
"Who does he think he is?  Rinku is my mentor!  Rinku can't replace me with that… that… boy!"
"Good day, Iko!" Rusle lifted his helmet to the angry apprentice.
"Hello," Iko stamped off and climbed the oak tree.  She pulled off a branch and began to whittle away at it.

~~

"I'm going to go and try to talk to her again, sir," Link announced after many rounds of pacing back and forth.
"Best of luck," Rinku patted the boy on the shoulder and ruffled his hair. "I bet you know where she is."

~~

"Iko?" Link looked up at the tree. "Are you going to hate me forever?"
Iko just grunted and climbed farther up the tree.
"Iko!" Link felt that something strange.  Like something was out of place. "Iko?"  He looked around.
"Stop saying my name, Blondie!"  Iko felt something strange, too. "Blondie?  Do you have your sword with you?"
"Well, yeah, why?"
"Just wondering." She turned to look down the road.  The feeling went away and she shrugged it off.  Link was still nervous.  He let his hand fall to the hilt of his sword.

~~

Rinku sat sipping his tea while reading one of his many books.  Something tugged at the back of his mind.  He tried to shrug it off but it wouldn't go away.
Finally he stood up and limped away.  Something wasn't right.

~~

"Iko?  There's someone coming." Link looked across the horizon.  A small figure was silhouetted against the evening sky.
"Yeah?  So?" Iko was watching the figure too.  It was moving fast, very fast.
"I don't think it's friendly," Link leaned against the tree.
"It could be he, or she, but at the rate it's moving, I'd say it is they.  Whoever is coming is riding a very fast mount."

Chapter 4
Not Friendly

"Ride!  We must reach the young heroes before that old knight, Rinku, reaches them.  Ride, my darling."  Vallon urged his mount onwards toward the old oak tree. "When I'm through with you, heroes, my dark lord will reward me greatly."

~~

The ground around the oak started to rumble.  Link pressed his back harder against the strong trunk of the tree.  Iko grabbed a branch and held it tight.
"Link!  Help!  I'm slipping!" Iko screamed.
"Iko!  I'm coming."
The figure on the horizon was getting closer and closer by the minute so that now it was a figure in the near distance.  Link tried to climb the tree but by the time he had gotten on the lowest branch the whole of Hyrule lurched from under him and Iko.  Oak and all.  Link slipped and fell to the ground.  He landed on his back with a loud thump and a grunt.  Iko's grip on the branch slipped.  She screamed.  She must have been fifteen feet up.
"Iko!" Link shouted and pushed himself up from the ground.
Iko hit the ground.  She hit the hard earth foot first.  She whimpered and collapsed.  She grabbed her foot and her body was wracked with sobs of pain.  "Iko!  Iko, are you alright?"  Link rushed to the girl's side. "Are you hurt?"
"Great Fairy!  That smarts."
"Where does it hurt?"
"Where do you think, Blondie?"
"I'll get help."  Link ran to Rusle, the guard who just happened to be at the gate. "Rusle!  We need a doctor or a medic or someone!"  Rusle just looked off into the distance, unaware of the earthquake or Iko's pain.
"Why would we need a doctor or a medic or someone?" he inquired mechanically.
"What?  Oh never mind."  Link tried to rush into the castle but Rusle's spear blocked his path.
"Sorry, kid, I can't let you go in there."
"What?  Are you mad!"
"No," A stranger's voice met Link's ears. "He's merely under my spell.  So many are.  You will too, kid, be under my spell."  The stranger cackled evilly.  Link turned to face him.  He was a tall, thin and pointy man with a purple goatee and maniac hair.  His eyes were every color and no color at the same time.  He had a huge black lioness mount that was eyeing Link and licking her lips.
"W-who are you?" Link couldn't stop his voice from cracking.
The stranger just cackled louder, "Soon you will know my name and it will be said throughout all the land.  My name is Vallon.  And you, kid, are my prime target."
Link rushed back to Iko's side.  She was no longer shaking but her breath was coming in rasps through her tightly gritted teeth.  She was still holding her foot.
"Do you think you can hold on a little longer?" Link looked worried.
"I can if you can." Iko moaned between gasps.
"How touching.  Concerned about her, are you?"  Vallon attempted to laugh at the scene before him but it came out twisted and harsh. "Since you're so concerned about her, I'll leave her alone if you die without a fight."
"Don't give up…" Iko clenched her teeth.  "Fight him."
Link nodded and stood up.  He faced Vallon with his sword unsheathed.
"Oh-ho-ho!  Trying to stand up for yourself, are you, kid?"
"Leave us alone," Link said.  "Or I'll make you."
"Look who's talking." Vallon melted into a mist. "Lunch is served, my darling."
The huge lioness snarled at Link.  Link stood ready.  The lioness bared her teeth and snarled.  She sized up Link.  She was satisfied with her dinner.  She pounced.  Link rolled across the shadow of the lioness.  The lioness landed a few feet next to Iko.
The black she-lion saw the hurt girl next to her.  She smiled an evil lion smile and paced towards Iko.  Iko was in a world of pain from her fall.  The she-lion had found a new main course.  She would eat the boy for dessert.
"Iko!" Link rushed the lioness. "Get away from her!"
The lioness's ears pricked and she just swatted Link away from her.  The boy flew through the air and hit the oak tree with a hard thud.  The lioness wanted to have some fun with her dinner before she ate it.
She walked to the boy as he pushed himself from the ground.  He was on his last stand.  The impact of hitting the tree had broken one or two of his ribs.  He groaned in pain.  The lioness guffawed at the Frylian's weakness.  She battered his head a few times.
Link reached for his sword that lay a few feet away from him.  He fell on his chest thinking, so this is it?  After all that Rinku has done for me, I am to fail him now.  And Iko still needs me.  I have failed the two people who have come to mean so much to me over the last months of my life.
"Son?" Link must have been imagining it, but he thought he heard Rinku's voice. "Link?  Get away from him, monster!"  Link's heart jumped for joy.  Rinku had come to save him and Iko.  He wasn't going to be this lioness's dinner after all.
Link felt the world spin around him.  The shaking had stopped.  His aching ribs stopped aching.  The last thing he saw was Rinku with the legendary blade in his hand facing the big, black lioness.  Then everything went black.

Epilogue
Friends at Last

"How long will it take for his ribs to heal, Shaman?" Rinku's concerned voice echoed in Link's aching head.  His whole body hurt.  Link opened his eyes.  He was in his bed.
"He's a strong boy, Lord," an old man answered Rinku.
"He's waking up!" Iko tugged at Rinku's sleeve.
"So he is," Rinku leaned over Link in his bed. "How are you feeling, son?"
"It might take six months for the ribs to heal."
"What happened?" Link tried to lift his head. "Where's the lioness?  Is Iko okay?"
"I'm fine, Blondie," Iko reached out a hand to hold Link's but quickly drew it away, remembering she was supposed to be mad at him for taking Rinku's attention away from her.
"Sir?" Link said.
"Yes, son?" Rinku gave Link a fatherly smile.
"It was you, wasn't it.  You killed the lioness and saved us, Iko and me, from being her dinner."
"One doesn't 'kill' monsters, you defeat them."
"Thank you," Link said.
"Iko," Rinku said. "You have some thanking to do, too."
"I know."
"Let's leave these two to solve their problem alone, Rinku," the Shaman said.  Rinku nodded and the two men left Link's room.
"Soooo," Iko said.  She twiddled with her fingers.
"So what?" Link smiled.  Iko laughed.  Link wanted to laugh with her, but he held back his laughter for the sake of his broken ribs.
"I guess I owe you an apology." Iko said when she was done laughing.
"Why?"
"I've been mean to you.  I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I've already forgiven you."
"You have?" Iko looked up into Link's eyes. "Well then.  Now that that is settled.
Thanks."
Link looked back into Iko's blue eyes.  They were framed by her long black hair and her soft, white face. "For what?"
"For saving my life," Iko said bluntly, like it was something that happened every day. "Thank you."
"Does this mean we're friends?" Link looked back up at the ceiling of his roof.
"Don't push it, Blondie," Iko snapped.  Link gave her a puppy dog look. "Sure, we're friends."
"Rinku owes me free sword lessons." Link smiled at the ceiling.  Iko raised an eyebrow. "He said that if I could make friends with you, I could have free lessons."
"He said that?" Iko said.
"Something like that, yes."  Link looked at Iko. "But I don't need them."
"Why?" Iko looked puzzled.
"Because, for the first time, I have a friend I know will be with me through the bad and the good."