younghero

<I>

Link was looking at the cards one second, the next he was shoulder checking Jay and climbing around his neck to bring him down.

“Hands. OFF.”

Jay laughed, trying to pull him off. "And here I was, sure you were going to be boring."

This would prove to be a challenge. Link was stronger than he looked, and at nearing fourteen, stronger than he had been, and he was hanging on tight.

“Do you just routinely try and rob guys?”

He was enjoying the fight. "Yeah, pretty much," he said with a laugh.

"How do you think his father kept the shelves of their junk shop filled," Freddie said, watching with some mild amusement. "It is amazing to me, how often Anthony Tremane would pay for his own watch back."

"Well, maybe of he wasn't such a stuck up little snob I wouldn't find him such a worthwhile target. That and it is a nice watch. Sure we can't keep this kid? he'd be better at Tourney than Carlos is."

"DUDE is better at tourney than Carlos, and he's a DOG," Freddie pointed out.

Link decided there was no point in actively trying to to harm someone who wasn’t trying to rob him anymore, and whom seemed to be enjoying fighting too much.

He let go and dropped back to the bleacher, looking wary and solemn. “Don’t steal my stuff. If you need something, ask.”

Jay laughed. "It isn't about need. Not any more, anyway. Besides, if I asked, would you actually give it to me?"

Link looked genuinely puzzled. “Well...yeah. Anything but my ocarina. Zelda gave that to me and it’s my only way home.”

Unaware that the word had meaning to him, he shook his head. "What a sap. Could you get any more boring?" he asked with a laugh. "Alright, let's test that. Give me your money."

Link briefly tallied the people who had called him a sap over the years.

Navi.
Tatl.
Shadow.

All in varying degrees of annoyance, frustration, and affection.

He sighed and handed the boy a few red, green, and blue rupees. Not as much as Freddie had received, but, still an admirable sum.

He blinked staring at the money. Then he sighed. He slid one of each color into various places on his person, the things seeming to almost vanish into his clothes without the advantage of hamner space. He handed the rest back with a sigh. "It's no fun that way," he said. "Seriously, you sure you weren't born here in Auradon?"

"Boreadon," Freddie said with a snort. "And if you don't wan't the money, I'll take it. I'm not picky, pity money is still money."

“Hyrule. Don’t know where exactly, my real folks were killed in the war. I was raised by a tree and eternal fairy children.”

Until the whole Hero of Time thing. And then being adopted in Nautilus.

"Just watch it turns out Hyrule is actually part of Auradon, like up in Neverland or something, and he just doesn't know his geography."

"Well wherever it is, you have to cross an ocean" Freddie said, pointing to the cards.

“That would mean you don’t know your geography either,” Link pointed out. “And that there’s a place brimming with magic in your borders.”

He shook his head. “An ocean? You sure your cards have the right incarnation of me?”

"You asked, I turned over the cards, look for yourself. And we grew up on the Isle, no one really cared what we learned unless it aided a plot to take over Auradon."

"Says the daughter of our former esteemed headmaster," Jay said with mock respect, snorting.

"Hey, if dad cared more you lot wouldn't have been able to bribe him into ignoring you sneaking into the restricted library."

"He was hoping Mal would get herself killed."

"Oh probably."

“Alright. Do they say anything else?”

Link tilted his head. “Oh. Well, I’ve never gone to a real school. But, I’ve gone all over Hyrule on foot. And horseback. And I have a map...”

She waved to the cards. "See for yourself. That first one looks a lot like Agrabah. That's where Jordan's dad is from. Aziz's parents are the Sultana and Sultan there. The plane card seems to just come up as a generic for traveling in regular readings. So I don't know if you need to actually be on a plane, but it if the fastest way to get to Agrabah, if that is what the card is telling you to do. Thing is...?" she tapped the last two cards. "While I might not be sure about the first two, these two I'd bet your life on. A pirate ship. That isn't generic for anything. It is a pirate ship. And this...?" She held up the last card, the one with the coat, grinning brightly.

"Only three people I've ever met had a coat like this. And two of them are trapped on the Isle. The third? Has her own pirate ship."

"And nearly got you exiled back to the Isle, Freddie."

"Look, everyone here is all help each other, good deeds, blah blah boring boring, right? Well who can blame me for trying to help out a poor displaced undereducated orphan?" she asked, with huge wide eyes and fake innocent. "And if doing that just happens to mean that I have to consort with a known criminal at large... I'll have to make that sacrifice. Besides, if this works out maybe it could even clear CJ's name enough that she could stay."

"You really think CJ would even if welcomed?"

She sighed. "Nah. But at least we can bring her an adventure!"

“There’s really no teleportation? Or birds?”

Link was disappointed. Flying in a machine seemed downright dull.

"Of course there are birds, but unless you happen to be one, that helps how?"

That earned a blink.

“They can fly you,” he said slowly. “You ride in their talons.”

"What kind of birds do you have?" Freddie asked. "Cause the only bird I could think of strong enough to do that might be Diablo and my bet is he'd sooner kill you."

“There’s giant owls. A giant owl. And there’s legends of even bigger birds people rode like horses.”

"Yeah no, not here. Here we ride planes. Or the occasional magic carpet, but I'm not sure where he...oh. Betcha he's in Agrabah!"

“Planes are boring...” he muttered to himself. “And it’ll take forever....”

Magic carpets were something he was actually familiar with, and felt were more trustworthy. Even if he did prefer teleportation or horseback.