Chapter Text
“Are you ready, son?”
“Not in the slightest.”
Rusl responded with a laugh and a slap on Link’s back, making him stumble forward a bit even if it didn’t hurt.
“You’ll be fine. You’ll have Epona with you, yeah? And you can always visit us at home if you need to. Just… give it a chance, alright?”
Rusl hoisted another large plastic-fiber bag into the back of his pickup truck, motioning for Link to do the same. Link carefully slid a smaller bag into the back, before Rusl sighed.
"College.. it feels like only yesterday that we took you home." He begins to reminisce, bringing up various memories of Link's childhood that he'd rather forget about, thank Hylia that nobody else he knew was around-
"Wait!" Uli comes sprinting from the farmhouse, various boxed lunches in her arms as she sprinted towards the pair.
“You forgot these!” She says with a slight pant, shoving them into the small space of the backseat.
“Mom, the school has a dining hall…” Link says, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Yes, yes, but it’s not the same.” She then turns to squash him in what must be the 15th hug that day.
Thankfully, she seemed to have stopped crying for now- Link felt terrible seeing her like that, knowing he was the cause.
“I won’t be gone forever. There’s a holiday coming up in a month or so. I’ll see you then, okay?”
Link returns the hug in an attempt to console her, even though it felt as if all the air was being thrust from his lungs from her strong hold.
“I know. But I’ll still miss my baby boy.” She gives him a kiss on the cheek before turning to her husband to give him her goodbyes as well, even though he would be returning later that night.
"I'll.. miss you too." Link stutters, trying to keep a mature head on his shoulders- he was 20 years old. He didn't need to be mothered. Though he knew that he'd always be seen as their baby.
She's crying again when the truck pulls off from the gravel driveway of the farm, the woman clutching the much younger Colin to her side as if he was going to grow up in the next 10 minutes and also go off to college, and Link smiles at her fondly.
"Thank you for humoring her." Rusl speaks calmly. "I know you have your own life now, but you're still 5 in her eyes."
He can barely remember that day, only really remembering the smell of hay and goat milk as Rusl brought him into his house for the first time.
Link only nods in response, not really wanting to get into more mushy feelings at the moment. He was already exhausted from different anxieties and sadnesses- last thing he was about to do was make it worse.
He had a hard time keeping his heavy eyes open as they made the 3 hour trek into Hyrule, only being jolted awake again and again by potholes and other bumps in the road.
He even smacked his head on the window at one point as it slipped off his propped up arm.
He's almost slipped into a peaceful dream about goats and pumpkin soup when Rusl hits a random pothole, jolting the boy up and causing him to almost bump into the ceiling.
"Hey, you. You're finally awake."
"Mm.. that was probably the most sleep I'll get for a bit." Link yawns into his sleeve, noticing the spectacular white building of the university coming into the distance.
It’s trimmed with deep blue crown molding and vines adorning the sides of the main building. The crest of the royal family adorning the metal plate above the two grand doors of the entrance.
A little bit overkill for an entrance hall, if you asked him.
The classroom buildings and dorms flanked the sides, forming an almost circular campus structure with an extravagant garden in the middle Link could make out the ends of from his limited view.
He knew this place was prestigious, but he deeply underestimated just to what extent.
“Didja know Hyrule’s own princess attends here? I think she’s a third year or something.” Rusl asks.
Neither of them had taken much to the internet, just a natural side effect of being on a farm. The family very much had a one track mind- take care of the animals and tend to the crops. Gossip surrounding the capital wasn’t of much concern.
Well, at least not until Link got his acceptance letter in the mail.
He'd remembered it vividly, Uli's excited scream wailing through the house as she shoved the letter in his hands.
A scholarship for horseback riding. He didn't like to brag, but he had been the best rider in his village, the various contest ribbons being pinned to his bedroom wall as solid proof.
But the glory never mattered much, this was all to make his family happy. And to get Epona the love and praise she'd deserved. At the end of it all, he'd be back to farm life as if this entire university had never been a thing.
College had never even really been a desire of his. Simply staying in Ordon was a lifestyle much more up his alley. He loved the village and its people- why change that?
But according to his parents, it would be “good” for him.
Whatever that meant.
But if it made them happy, he’d endure a little bit of unpleasantness for these upcoming years. He could always just come back home.
Someone with a big sign that said “orientation officer” waved their truck over to the side.
“Welcome to Hyrule University! The top university in the country. Check-in is that way, and here’s a map of the campus.” The probably student intern said in a forcefully cheery voice.
It was easy for Link to tell by the sweat stains on his shirt and the bags under his eyes that he had been at this all day.
"Do you need some water?" He tries to make light conversation, but the very fake smile on the stranger's face only seemed to stretch wider.
"Nope! Enjoy your stay!" The map is then hastily shoved into his hands as he's pushed aside for the next person.
"Well, son. This is it." Rusl then says, pulling the boy into a near suffocating hug. "Good luck. I'll see you soon, okay? And stay out of trouble."
He shoves the two big bags into Link’s arms, stacking the small lunches awkwardly on top.
“Uh, you can’t at least walk to me to my dorm?”
Link eyed his near toppling belongings.
“Do you really want your old man helping you? You’ll be fine. Call us when you get settled, though.”
He gives Link another hard pat on the back and walks back to the parked truck.
Alright then. Looking at the map, his dorm was…
A mile walk from where he currently was.
Great.
Truthfully, it was nothing he couldn’t handle. He’d carried hay bales heavier than his bags, but the vain efforts to keep everything balanced as he trekked up the hill was nothing short of obnoxious. He even dropped the lunches a couple times, causing nearby students to stare.
Hopefully his roommate wouldn’t be as judgmental.
He quietly makes his way to his new lodgings, ignoring the whispers from random girls who were more than happy to comment on his physique, though they made no effort to speak to him directly.
"Hopefully i won't get lost." He mumbles to himself, which catches the attention of another.
"You are close. Don't fret." It's a different girl, with brunette hair and intense blue eyes, lips forming a thin line before she saunters off into the other direction.
So much for that.
-------------
"You must be my room partner! It is a pleasure to meet you!"
Goddesses. Link hasn't even known this man for 30 seconds and he can already tell he'd be.. interesting.
Link lets a bag slide down his arm to place on the floor as the guy grabs his hand to vigorously shake.
“I’m Shad! I’ve already claimed the right side, so you can put your stuff over there.” Link looks over to the taken loft bed with a fluffy duvet and massive pillow. The desk underneath was already stacked with dozens of books on different cultures and histories, some even dabbling into conspiracy.
“Ah, that caught your eye? Yeah, I’m a history major.” He says, puffing his chest out. “I know I’m only in my first year, but I want to start on my thesis. I am going to prove that the sky dwellers were real!” He says as he starts rambling on about different sightings and forums he’d seen online as Link unpacks.
It had become painfully clear Link lived a lot… simpler, than the other attendees here. He only really brought his necessities and some extra cash, meanwhile this guy also had a personal computer and a ton of posters lining the wall that were all scrunched together to just narrowly fit.
Not to mention the action figures and gaudy paper weights that were total overkill. Why did people have so much random stuff?
Link sighed to himself. He had to remember that other people here had come from many different backgrounds that weren't a simple farm in some backwoods part of Hyrule.
That wouldn't stop him from being confused about the amount of stuff these richer people hoard, however.
He sets his things down near the plain bed adorned with simple blue sheets and matching pillowcases, a twin that could easily fit two people if needed, but Link figured he'd never have a personal need for that.
"My word, you didn't even bring a computer?" Shad begins to prod him, and Link shrugs.
"I never needed one."
“You’re pulling my leg.” Shad pushes his glasses in and spins around in his swivel chair to face Link.
“Nope. My neighbor had one in my village, but I only used it like one time because I needed to print something. Don’t want to do that again.”
Link couldn’t help but wish that would be the end of it, but Shad stammered and kept pressing about his personal life.
That guy could really talk. A lot.
It wasn’t until around 11:45pm that night that Link was able to get a few moments of quiet to call Uli and Rusl and let them know he was alright. Shad climbed into bed and called his own family once Link had finished his call, placing an eye mask over his face.
Because just shutting your eyes wasn’t enough, apparently.
Link simply stared at the ceiling. The bed was comfy enough, the mattress thicker than was he was used to and the bed spread heavier. He assumed he’d need to bring his own sheets and whatnot from what he’d heard from Ilia’s experience at college, but Rusl said he wouldn’t need them where he was going.
Tomorrow he’d go to his general education class at 8:00 am in room 1984 in Red Lion Hall. Advanced Literature. Then he had a short break of around 15 minutes before his next class across campus.
He continued through his mental schedule until he eventually drifted off to sleep.
———————————
It was strange not waking up to the usual rooster’s crow, instead almost hitting his head on the ceiling from bolting up due to the sound of Shad’s blaring alarm clock.
And what an annoying alarm clock it was, screeching some garbled language as it flapped its mechanical wings, bobbing its hairless head back and forth and Link nearly chucks it out the window from the sight alone.
"It's class time! ~" Shad sings dramatically, leaping from his bed like some kind of theatre kid, rushing to the bathroom that thankfully enough had been included with the dorm.
Link groans. The sooner he can be dressed and out the door, the better.
He throws on a pair of dark slacks and goes to work buttoning up his white collared shirt when Shad walks back in, staring at him oddly.
Link fights the urge to sigh.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. You’re just dressed… very formally.” Shad pushes in his glasses as he throws on a hoodie with the school moniker on it over a T-shirt.
This made Link blink a few times. This school was state of the art- why was he considered weird for treating it as such? Didn’t Rusl say the hyrulean princess went here? It felt disrespectful to just waltz into class in such casual attire.
Then again, Shad was already pretty… interesting. Could just be a him thing.
Link finished his morning routine of brushing his teeth and hair and put on a small pair of blue hoop earrings- he’d taken them out last night so they wouldn’t snag on his sheets.
Textbooks, paper, pens and pencils, notebooks… everything seemed to be all in his backpack.
He checked the time on his new watch that Uli had given him as a going-away gift and headed out the door. He wanted to be a little early. First impressions were everything, right?
Unfortunately this school was modeled like a maze and it took 20 minutes to find the classroom that was tucked oddly in the back corner- the maps on the wall were absolutely zero help to make matters worse.
Finally. Classroom 1984. Advanced Literature.
The rows of the lecture hall were already pretty full, a few spots only still available in the back as the Professor instructed the students to all file as close to the front as possible.
Link took his seat just in the nick of time before the clock on his watch struck 8:00am, the Zora instructor yelling at everyone to quiet down so he could give an announcement.
"Welcome to your first class of this semester. My name is Professor Muzu." The teacher begins to ramble and Link is already bored out of his mind. Did they really have to go through all of these formalities before getting to the subject at hand? And judging by the teacher's expression, he really couldn't have cared to be there at all.
"Now onto more important things. We'll have a.. special guest in our class for this semester." Link noticed the mild annoyance forming on their lips at the word 'special.'
"Please welcome: Princess Midna of the faraway Twilight Realm, here to be alongside us as a fellow student."
The man looks at the clock on the wall.
“Fitting how a denizen of the Twilight would be late.” He says with a smirk, getting a chuckle out of some of the students in the room.
“Regardless, the government is hosting her here as a show of good faith and to increase good relations between our realms. If you want more information, ask the history teacher. That nonsense isn’t my area of expertise. Now, open your textbooks to page-“
The man is cut off by the door swinging open, making everyone turn to take a look.
A woman with pale, bluish skin accented with dark patches entered the room. Cyan markings that seemed to glow trickled up her arms, leading Link’s gaze up to her face. Even from farther away, Link could tell she easily towered him with her height.
Her crimson irises complimented her wild orange hair that partially cascaded down her back like a fiery waterfall while the other part of it was pinned up into a bow. Her lips and eyelids were tinged a light purple like the lilacs that grew on his farm back home, and Link couldn’t decide if it was natural or if it was makeup.
She wore a crop top and denim shorts, complete with a leather jacket and high topped sneakers. A bookbag was slung crudely over one shoulder, her other hand holding a milk tea drink with tapioca pearls.
Her skin seemed to shine in the morning sunlight peering through the windows, time having come to a standstill as Link looked at her.
“Sorry I’m late, I got lost. This room is in such a weird spot.” She spoke in a womanly voice that seemed to almost echo in and out of itself.
Midna. Princess Midna of the Twilight Realm.
There was no other explanation. It had to be her.
And the only open seat was…
“Thank you for finally deciding to join us.” The professor cleared his throat and gestured for her to sit.
Link’s gaze followed her as she plopped down in the chair next to him.
She rolled her eyes at him, making Link realize he had been staring and shook him from his trance.
He blinked, hoping she wouldn't already think he was a creep within 5 seconds of meeting each other.
It didn't help that he could faintly catch the scent of the vanilla and sandalwood perfume she was wearing, and any words he wanted to say suddenly got themselves stuck in his throat. She was ethereal. he couldn't think of any other definition.
The first Twili you ever see and this is how you react? Get a grip! Link mentally screams at himself.
"Didn't your mother teach you it's rude to stare? Pay attention." The woman- Midna hmphs at him, pursing her lips tightly together.
“Uh-! Sorry…” Link stammers, his already pink cheeks warming even more and he shoves his head into his book.
Did all Twili look like that? Even with his eyes on the paper in front of him, the image of her was forever seared into his mind.
Midna. The Twilight Princess.
Sitting next to him.
In the corner of his eye, he noticed a small jewel gracing her forehead gleaming in the fluorescent light, the red gem looking natural and expensive.
“Stop looking, stop looking you idiot-” Link mentally berated himself.
He's not very good at hiding his actions however, though doesn't berate him this time- merely exhaling through her nostrils as she turned her head away to pay attention to the very bored sounding teacher, impatiently drumming her elegantly manicured fingers across her desk.
Now she really won't look at you. Idiot. A feeling began to bubble up in his stomach, telling the poor boy something about this woman that he couldn't explain.
Fear? Longing? He didn't know.
But one thing was for certain, this wouldn't be the last time they spoke.