look at you, strawberry blonde

It would have been a normal walk along the coastline in Marin’s weekly routine, if it wasn't for the curious sight of various wood planks washed up against the shores, basking in the warm glow of sunset. Naturally, being curious of its origins, Marin bolts forward through the sandy path towards the wreckage, barely even noticing when one of her sandals pops right off her feet from the sheer speed of her running.

Skidding to a stop in front of the sails, Marin squats down in front of the cloth, brushing the sand off it to reveal a foreign symbol composed of two wing-like structures surrounding three triangles stacked in a group. What does this mean? She decides the best course of action would be to take it home and show it to her father.

With one swift motion, Marin tugs the sail off of the ground, only to reveal… a pink-haired boy lying splayed out underneath, his dirty green tunic covered in various rips and holes. Cuts streak across his face crudely, with dried blood still caked against the wounds. Gasping in surprise, Marin ducks back and holds up the sail over her face as if to defend herself, standing in her spot for a few seconds before peeking out again, seeing that the boy hasn’t moved from his spot.

Is he unconscious?

Slowly, Marin places down the sails and shuffles over to the boy, kneeling beside his quiet body and shaking him a couple times.

“Hello?” she calls out softly, nudging him in the abdomen worriedly. “Hello-o-o? Are you alright?”

As expected, no response from the pinkhead. Well, this stroll certainly hasn’t gone as planned. She has never expected to just stumble across a random body one day much less know how to deal with it, but there’s a first time for everything.

Marin frowns, crossing her arms. What can she do now? It wouldn’t be right to just leave him here, so she picks the kid (with a very light body) and rushes on towards home with one slipper on her foot and a large cloth draped over her shoulder.

---

Despite not knowing anything about the newcomer, Marin spends every moment she could right next to the boy’s bed, watching for any changes or signs that he may be waking for a full day and night. She can’t explain it, but there’s something about him that just draws her in… maybe the fact that he’s the first outsider she has ever seen in her lifetime? Or maybe she just finds it funny that his bubblegum-pink hair is streaked with red and white strands, like a candy cane. Or that he is hilariously, tragically short, even for a kid.

Every so often, the boy stirs in his sleep, eyebrows often scrunching up as if in pain. He flinches every time Marin tries to clean his wounds, but eventually calms down and relaxes his face, returning to a peaceful rest. 

A day and two full nights pass before the boy’s eyes finally flutter open, revealing two sky blue eyes. Gasping in excitement, Marin’s heart leaps ten feet at the stirring (metaphorically, of course). He’s finally awake!

Groaning and blinking tiredly, the kid sits up, grabbing at the side of his head as he props himself up with his free arm. Marin swears she can feel the thumping inside her chest speed up with every second she watches him awaken, and when he turns to face her, it practically drums against her ribcage like a butterfly in a cage. 

“What a relief!” she exclaims, clasping her hands together with glee. “I thought you’d never wake up! You were tossing and turning…”

“Zel...da?” he croaks out groggily, squinting at her. “Where am I?”

Zeld— Oh. Maybe he’s still a little confused.

“My name is Marin! Not Zelda!” Marin huffs, propping her hands on her waist, frowning with playful anger. 

“Eh?” The kid scrunches up his nose, rubbing his eyes. “Wait—” 

Marin watches as he stares at her blankly for a few seconds before his eyes widen in realization.

“Shit— I’m sorry— I thought you were—” he sputters for a few seconds, waving his hand wildly in front of his face as if to clear the embarrassment. “I didn’t realize—”

Giggling, Marin mirrors his waving. “It’s okay!” she reassures, returning to her usual sunny grin instantaneously. “Just remember it for next time—” She shakes her finger with an impish smirk. “—or else I might not be so easy on you again!” 

As the kid grumbles and glances away from her sheepishly with red blush pricking into his cheeks, Marin notices his pointed ears and the same three triangles she saw earlier right on the back of his hand. Where did he come from? Well, she can figure that out later. The first step would be learning his name, anyway.

“Now that I’ve said my name, what’s yours?” Marin asks, tilting her head to the side.

---

The boy’s name is Link, and apparently, he comes from a kingdom named Hyrule (which strangely enough, Marin has never heard of before. Or any other location, for that matter). And apparently, he isn’t a kid! Despite his height, as it turns out, Link is seventeen years old— right around her age.

As soon as Link got out of bed, he instantly went for the door (despite his very obvious limp), saying he needs to return home immediately, which did make Marin a little upset, but there is nothing she can really do to stop him in the end.

But to her luck, bubblegum boy returned nearly as quickly as he left (a relief!).

“Um, apparently, I can’t leave this island unless I wake up some kind of fish…” Link explains. “Something about this egg and instruments, or whatever. Sorry for just leaving like that. Anyways, I seriously need new clothes.”

Marin finds it funny, how blunt he is. There’s a charm to it, and she agrees— there are more holes on his tunic than a slice of swiss cheese. But to replace it is another question… her dad won’t mind if she looks through his closet for any clothes, right?

“Let me get you a smaller shirt,” Marin hops up, scampering to her dad’s closet and digging out the old clothing.

“What, because I’m short?” Link scoffs, but Marin can hear his grin through the sarcastic tone. “You don’t have to rub it in. I can wear normal clothing.”

The tunic ends up halfway down his thighs, and he has to roll up the sleeves for his shirt to expose his hands.

“I get it; I’m small!” Link scowls, crossing his arms as Marin practically falls to the floor laughing. “The goddesses had to contain my power by decreasing my size, alright?”

Link is a funny guy, Marin thinks. The two did get chewed out for going through Tarin’s stuff, but she didn’t regret a single second of it. Not with Link.

---

Even though Marin can tell that Link is anxious to complete his quest and go home, she notices that he always comes back after a day of adventuring to spend time in the village, often showing the children various items he brings back and sometimes even returning with bushels of wild flowers he picked earlier to gift Marin.

“You should put more flowers in your hair!” he suggests, handing her what seems to be a crown made of daisies. “It’ll stand out nicely against your red locks.”

Gently accepting the crown, Marin smiles warmly and places it over her head. “Don’t you have any for yourself?”

“Oh, uh— I only made one for you,” Link stutters, closing his bag. “Why would I need a crown for myself?”

He’s so putting up an act of toughness. It’s kind of cute, actually.

“Well, how did you have time to make this?” Marin giggles, running her hand through her hair. “Aren’t you on an important mission?”

“Well, it’s not like my home is going anywhere soon, right?” Link shrugs. 

Marin understands what’s coming out of his mouth, but she can’t help but still doubt his nonchalant facade. She sees him wake up at six every morning and leave without eating breakfast. She always notices his fidgeting during dinner and how he always paces around like a caged animal. But she doesn’t mention it. Instead, she decides to distract that thought a little.

“Come here,” Marin motions with her finger; confused, Link steps towards her until they’re barely a foot apart. Giggling, she plucks the hibiscus out of her hair and places it through Link’s ear. “See! Now you’re also pretty!”  

She instantly notices Link’s cheeks turn as red as the flower in his hair as his hand shoots up to touch it. “Marin!”

“Come on!” She grins, pulling him by the arm. “You’ve got to see yourself!”

Scampering over to the nearest pool of water, Marin skids to a stop and leads Link over to the makeshift mirror. As the two peer into the clear, blue water, the reflections of two redheads (well, one pinkhead) wearing white flowers in their hair ripple across the pool. They both look really pretty, with the colors against their vibrant heads…

The sight of Link gawking at their reflections might have just made her entire day, and Marin can tell that her face is as red as her hair. She just hopes Link doesn’t notice, at least not past all of his own flushing.

---

One day, Marin decides to follow Link out to his quest, sneaking inside trees and behind rocks as he races on by, slashing his sword at stray bushes around him. This is the first time Marin has ever seen someone use a sword before, and she watches Link fight off the terrifying beasts in awe. Where did he learn all of this? They must be around the same age, assuming that Link is just short for how old he is. 

Creeping along the edges of boulders, Marin peeks over the top to get a better view on the fierce warrior. The way he slashes his blade and holds up his shield, the way he wipes the sweat off his forehead, the way he runs along the path like he’s lived here forever— it’s all so interesting to her. So interesting in fact, that while fixating on Link, Marin’s foot steps on a loose rock and she slips, resulting in a pile of rocks tumbling down her hideout.

Link stops dead in his tracks, spinning around towards the noise. Holding his sword out in a defensive pose, he demands, “Who’s there?!”

Looks like it’s time to come clean. 

Shyly, Marin slides down from her rock hideout and lands on the ground, dress twirling from the wind. Adjusting the hibiscus in her hair, she waves awkwardly at Link, who raises his eyebrows and lowers his sword.

“Oh. It’s just you.” Link sighs with relief. “Wait. No.” Angrily, he marches up to Marin. “What are you doing here?! It’s a dangerous place!”

“I feel safe out here with you, though!” Marin replies sweetly, grinning. This is true; though she is perfectly capable of defending herself. She thinks, at least. “You’re so skilled with a sword— where did you learn?”

“Ooh, fighting?” Link’s smug grin returns to his face as he holds up his blade and strikes a pose. “Back at home in Hyrule, I would always go out adventuring with my friends!”

“So you have other people to venture out with?” Marin asks, excitement growing within her chest. “What type of enemies did you fight?”

“Oh, you know,” Link smiles at Marin, sending a fluttering sensation into her heart. “Scary monsters! Like the beasts on the island right now. We’d all take them down with ease, though.”

Powerful warriors, living beyond the sea! Marin swears she’s living a dream right now. Maybe she can meet Link’s friends someday…?

Breaking her wandering thoughts, Link grabs his sword once more and twirls on his heels, facing back towards where he was heading originally. “I still think it’s too dangerous for you to be out here, even if I’m a capable fighter. How about this? If you head back to the village, I’ll tell you about my adventures in the past years when I come back, alright?”

Now this is an offer that Marin can’t pass up. She can return to follow him any day, but this is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear more about the outside world that she has become increasingly interested in. Besides, she would give anything to learn more about Link’s story.

“Okay!” she agrees cheerfully, stepping towards the village path. “I’ll see you at night, then!”

As Marin speeds through the road, her blazing hair whipping against her skin and excitement rushing through her steps, a wide grin spreads from ear to ear at the thought of what’s to come.

I’ll finally know more about where he’s from!

---

Two weeks in, and Link has been heading out for considerably shorter times, often leaving in the morning and returning during the early afternoon. Marin has noticed that he seems to be willing to spend more time with her (which was the dream from the start!), dragging her along to less dangerous locations and showing her around the areas he’s been to already. 

Whenever Marin gushes about nature and creatures and her love for the island, Link always makes sure to follow up more about his home and the various things living there, only resulting in an even more fascination in the world outside of Koholint island. 

“Are there lots of waterfalls there as well?” Marin asks as the two stand before a majestic, pouring waterfall, glistening like crystals in the noontime sun. 

“None as beautiful as these,” Link laughs, resting his chin on his palm. “The most water I’ve ever seen falling from a high area is during rainstorms, and those are just horrid. ”

“Rainstorms?” That’s a term Marin has never heard before. “What makes them so bad?”

“Imagine this waterfall,” Link holds out his hand, motioning towards the width of the pouring water. “but make it come out of the sky, everywhere within the radius of an entire kingdom. I can’t do anything in that weather! My shoes get wet too, and that’s never pleasant.”

“But aren’t your shoes getting wet right now?” Marin points down at Link practically standing inside a puddle. “I don’t see how it’s any different!”

“Oh, but I chose to stand here and get my shoes wet. That’s different from walking out and getting them wet involuntarily.”

“It just sounds like you accidentally stepped into this puddle.”

“Just take my word for it.”

Link is a funny man.

“But, what if I want to see a rainstorm?” Marin gazes out longingly to the water, reaching out her hand as if touching the splashing drops. “The weather here never changes. It’s so boring!”

“Then you’ve got to see the snow!” More words that she has never heard of. “It’s like rain— but really fluffy. And cold. But it’s worth it when you get to play around in the fields of white snow.”

“Do you think I’ll ever be able to see snow?” Her heart aches at her chest to just leave and explore the outside world. “It’s not like we can leave the island…”

Clicking his tongue, Link holds up his finger and points in the direction of the giant egg sitting atop the mountain. “Once I help out that wind fish, we’ll all be free to leave! You can travel out to see if you want, you know?”

Marin loves the thought of finally being able to explore the world someday, but for now, she just has to be patient and place her trust in the pink hero. After all, she has no doubts that he can get the job done.

---

“Link, who is Zelda?” Marin asks one day as the two sweep dirt off the village pathways. “You’ve mentioned her a few times and you even said I looked like her.”

“You mean the Princess of Hyrule?” Link turns back to her, dappled sunlight streaking across his pink hair, illuminating the multicolored strands. “Of course— How’d I forget to tell you about her? Alright—”

Setting down his broom, Link starts, “Me and Zelda have known each other since childhood, despite our difference in class. Zelda is an important figure to the kingdom just as I was to the citizens. She’s the princess, after all! She’s supposedly all-knowing and really powerful, so that’s why there were people out to get her.”

Link then covers his face in a rather silly fashion and begins to speak in a raspy voice, “It all started when the evil wizard Aganihm kidnapped seven young girls to use their powers and break open a seal protecting our world from monsters…”

And Marin listens to every word he has to say. About how Zelda came to him in a dream, how he and some other warriors snuck into the castle, and how they were sent to complete a series of quests to prevent Zelda from being taken again. Solving puzzles, fighting with monsters, tricking guards… It all sounds like a world of fun.

“And they even thought that we kidnapped her!” Link throws his hands up dramatically. “Everywhere I went, there were soldiers just chasing after us!”

Link’s life is so much more interesting than mine, Marin thinks, both brimming with interest but also… jealousy? Why couldn’t I have been born in Hyrule and lived with him?

“I’ve had to save her a couple times, but that lady can really fight!” Link picks up his broom again, supposedly closing his story. “She once saved me by smashing a pot over a soldier’s head.”

“Do you think I can meet her someday?” Marin asks, perking back up.

“Oh yes, definitely! I know her personally, so I should be able to introduce you to her if possible.”

Definitely. Definitely. Marin smiled, knowing that her chance of exploring the world is definitely now.

---

Standing at the edge of the sand, Marin gazes over the seas longingly, daydreaming about all the different lands beyond the vast waters that she can visit. Life on Koholint island has never been bad per se, but after hearing Link’s wondrous tales of Hyrule and his adventures, it’s become more and more… dissatisfactory. Boring. Restrictive, limiting, and suffocating.  

Marin hears steps behind her and turns around, seeing Link walk towards her with a wave. Speak of the deep sea!

“Hey, Marin!” Link greets, dragging his sword along the sand as he approaches her. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”

“Link!” Marin’s heart leaps ten feet in the air with his voice. The sunset boy is back! She barely regains her composure before speaking again. “Aren’t you on a quest?”

“Right, but I figured I would just stop by for a moment to chat with you!” Link stops right before Marin, inserting the sword back into its sheath. “It’s just that I’ve never really seen you outside of the village, really.”

Well, he’s not wrong. Marin has been spending more and more time venturing out ever since Link’s arrival; it just happens that they managed to bump into each other this time. However, this is the perfect opportunity to properly talk to Link, away from the rest of the island residents…

“Actually, I did want to speak with you! Come over here!” Marin clasps onto Link’s hand gently, pulling him towards a fallen log sitting in the sand. She swears she sees a bit of pink flush onto Link’s cheeks when she holds his hand, but then again, it might just be her imagination.

The two sit themselves on the log, watching the afternoon sun glisten across the clear blue seas as a cool breeze sweeps lightly across the air. 

“You see this plane of water out here?” Marin sighs, sinking into her shoulders. “I’ve always wondered where all these coconut trees came from, but… Tarin says that there is nothing beyond the sea… but I’ve always felt that there is something out there, other than just the endless ocean, you know?” 

She glances over at Link, whose eyes stay fixated on the sparkling waters before him. “When I discovered you that morning on the beach, my heart skipped a beat! I knew instantly that you must have come as a sign that you were someone special.” Cupping her cheeks in her palms, Marin then adds quietly with a beam, “You’re here to save everyone when you wake the wind fish, and the island will finally feel like a real home again…”

“I’m someone special, huh?” Link lets out a rather humorless laugh, turning to face her. “I guess you could say that, but I think I really am just an average guy just doing what he can to help out.” 

Marin gazes at his eyes, clear blue, just like the sea she has spent her entire life living by. Somewhere behind the bravado and liveliness, there’s something melancholic and almost… broken. His uncharacteristically lowered tone acts like a slap on Marin’s wrist— this is the first time that she has actually noticed the darker circles under his eyes… Wait, were they always there?

“You are most definitely special!” Marin nudges Link playfully, trying her best to lift the heavy mood off him. “Why else would you have ended up here if it weren’t for the will of the goddesses? You’re the destined hero!” 

“Thanks, Marin,” Link’s lip curls up into a slightly forced smile, completely unlike his norm. “I’ll make sure to live up to that name, then.”

A short silence washes over the two, only filled by the caws of seagulls in the wind.

“Well, with all the seagulls here—” Marin pipes up to break the tension. “If I was a seagull, I would fly as far as I could. I would fly to faraway places to sing for many people!” She eyes Link from the side of her view, seeing him turned facing to her with all interest. “I would love to sing songs for the citizens of Hyrule… I want to meet everybody!”

“I think they would appreciate a break from my awful music playing,” Link chuckles, turning back to the view of the ocean. “They could use a talented singer like you.” He pauses, fiddling his thumbs for a moment. “Speaking of which… I was wondering if you wanted to go back with me once I wake up the wind fish…?”

Go back with me— With? The words echo through Marin’s mind like a song. Is she hearing things? Did Link actually say that— or is she just imagining it?

“Go back with you?!” Marin blurts out, practically jumping from her seat. Link’s head whips towards her in surprise as she squeals audibly. 

“I— I assume that’s a yes?” Link laughs, almost as if shocked. “I mean, it wouldn’t have made sense for me to tell you all these stories and leave you hanging on your own—”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! ” Marin gasps with brimming glee, throwing her arms around Link’s small form. “I would love to come with you!”

No way… she can follow Link back to Hyrule! Where she can finally live how she wants to, with new people and new places and new… well, everything! It’s a dream come true! Marin feels the warmth of Link’s arms wrapping around her as well, returning the hug with a few firm pats on the back. 

Although it takes a few seconds, the hug finally releases and somehow transitions back into their previous sitting positions, but now snuggled up closer, both leaning on each other’s shoulders.

“Link…?” Marin hums quietly, voice nearly obstructed by the winds.

“Yes?” Link thankfully responds, turning his head towards her direction.

“I want to know everything about you.”

“I don’t think you’d want to know everything. There’s not a lot going on in this small body.”

“Well, I beg to differ. I think you’re very interesting.”

“Can I really trust your judgement, though?” Link snickers. “You’ve only seen this island all your life.”

“You’re so mean!” Marin pouts, playfully shoving him to the side as Link nearly rolls off the log laughing. “I give you a compliment and you return my kindness with an insult!”

“I know, I know, I’ve been told that a lot,” Link pushes himself back upright with a snort. He pauses for a moment before finally deciding to apologize. “Sorry about that.”

“Apology accepted!” Marin huffs cheerfully, returning to leaning on Link. “Just don’t ever be a meanie like that again!”

“I can’t promise that.”

“I’ll make you.”

“You won’t.”

Link is ridiculous, and Marin loves that. He fills her dreams, her ambitions, and her visions of the future with that silly grin and pink hair as soft as the cotton candy clouds and his daring attitude and his jokes and his confidence—

Does she love him? It might really be the case now.

I’ll love everybody because I love you…