Life in the Ruins: A Legend of Zelda story

Pillars of Levia

The next day, Xavier knew the first thing he was going to do. After bathing and washing his clothes, he set out for the library. He tried his best to avoid any of the other townsfolk, but those he ran into met him with either a clap on the back and a hearty "Good Luck!" or a stink eye and a scoff. It was no surprise a lot of the village thought Xavier was an idiot or setting out on this endeavor. He was no fighter, and he was heading into what the village called "The Burning Fields," the land outside that had been ravaged by the Calamity. But no matter what the town thought of him, he had to do this.

 He reached the library and swung the door open. It was usually pretty empty in the library anyway. But being so early, the place was abandoned. Except for one person. Sophie was at her desk cataloging the recent returns, and placing them on their cart to be returned to the shelves. She yawned and took a sip of her tea, which she instantly choked on when she saw Xavier walking in. After her coughing fit was done, she looked up at him sheepishly. Xavier couldn't help but smile at her foolishness.

"Good morning" She said shyly.

"Morning"

"What... uh... what are you doing here?"

Xavier fidgeted back and forth trying to find the right words. "Uh..."

Sophie looked at him with a blank look on her face, clearly confused. "Come on Xavier! Get it together!" He thought furiously to himself.

"I was wondering... if you uh... wanted to go out, and do activities. With me. Today?"

Xavier's face turned bright red. This was it. He wouldn't need to wait for some monster to kill him out in the Burning Fields, his embarrassment would suffice in doing just that. But just as he was about to cut his losses and go lay in bed all day, Sophie nodded.

"That sounds lovely Xavier." She said sweetly. Xavier exhaled a huge breath of relief when she said that. "I'm sure the lovely patrons of this fine establishment won't mind if I close early for just one day." She giggled looking around at the empty library.

"After you" Xavier sad as he held open the library door.

The two walked through town, and while it was generally pretty small, they did their best to try to find things to do. They played tag with the local kids, got some treats at the town shop. Sophie offered to buy Xavier a drink at the Milk bar, but he refused. He had never actually drunk before, and he didn't want her to know that and seem like a loser. So, he used the fact he was leaving tomorrow on a dangerous journey tomorrow as an excuse. Sophie laughed as he emphasized the "super dangerous" part. Xavier played it for laughs, but inside he was actually terrified.

After a couple hours, Sophie suggested they take a walk out of town. "There's a really cool spot to hang out just past the forest. Up on Firly Plateau. C'mon we can ride out there."

They each raced home and retrieved their horses, and met at the front gate. "What do you say we make this a little more interesting?" Sophie suggested. Xavier raised his eyebrow, intrigued.

"Race you to the top edge of the forest?"

"You're on bookworm!" Xavier laughed and spurred his horse.

"Hey that's cheating we didn't say go yet!" Sophie yelled from behind him. Xavier simply ignored her and flew through the forest. Horseback riding was always one of his better hobbies. He bobbed through the trees and bushes like they weren't even there. He looked back to see how far ahead he was, and to his surprise, he didn't see her. Was he really that far ahead?

He turned back around to see an acorn smack him square in the face. He slowed his horse, confused and a bit in shock. Where-?"

Up ahead he saw Sophie racing through the woods ahead of him. She looked back with a grin and threw another acorn. He was able to dodge this time, but by then it was too late. She had gained a significant lead over him and with the edge of the forest in sight, he didn't stand a chance at winning. When he finally rode clear of the brush, he stopped his horse next to hers.