Leading Linkle

Link let out a sigh of frustration as he received a pouty glare from the young girl before him.

“I’m not arguing with you on this, Linkle,” replied Link as he narrowed his eyes at his little sister.

“But Niichan!  I don’t want to wear this!  It’s humiliating!” exclaimed Linkle.

“Well when you get a better sense of direction, then you won’t have to wear the harness,” said Link, tugging on the leash connected to the harness to make Linkle follow.

That’s right.  Due to Linkle’s poor sense of direction Link had to figure out some way to keep her out of trouble and the only thing he could think of was a child’s harness and leash.  It wasn’t easy getting it on the girl, but he was able to do it, much to the girl’s chagrin.

Linkle followed after Link all while fiddling with the latch. “You are so mean, Niichan!  And why can’t I unlatch this?!”

“It’s designed so children can’t take it off,” replied Link in a deadpan tone.

“But I’m not a child!  I’m only a few years younger than you!”

“Doesn’t change the fact that it’s the only way I can keep you from getting lost.  Seriously though, how the hell does someone who always carries a compass keep getting lost?”

Moisture started to build up in Linkle’s eyes.  How could her Niichan be so mean as to treat her like a baby?  She didn’t get lost all of the time, so she didn’t need to be led on a leash.  She hoped someone would talk some sense into her Niichan.

“Link?  What are you doing?”

The siblings looked over to the source of the voice to find Zelda looking at them with a raised brow.  Link could also feel agitation rolling off the princess.  He could just tell that this was not going to end well for him.

“Zelda…”

“Answer me, Link.  What are you doing?” demanded Zelda as she crossed her arms and gave her Hero a narrowed look.

Before Link could answer his Princess, Linkle decided to speak up instead.

“Niichan is being mean to me!  He says I have a bad sense of direction and made me wear this leash!” squeaked the young archer.

Zelda blinked in confusion as she took in what the teary-eyed girl said before send Link a fierce glare.

“You did what?!”

Link held up his hands in defense. “Zelda, you have to understand; if I didn’t do this who knows where she’d end up.”

“Take it off of her.”

“Zelda…”

“Take it off of her right this minute!” yelled Zelda, looking ready to kill Link.

Not wanting to face his Princess’ wrath, Link quickly unlatched the harness and slipped it off of Linkle.  Once the harness was off, the teary-eyed Linkle made her way into Zelda’s open arms.

“Neechan…”

“Shh, it’s okay, sweetie,” replied Zelda as she stroked the younger girl’s hair to try and make her feel better.  She sent another glare at Link. “How could you do something like that to your own sister?!”

The swordsman let out a sigh. “It was the only thing I could think of to keep her from constantly getting lost.”

“There are other ways to do that than treating her like a child,” hissed Zelda as she held Linkle closer. “Come, Linkle.  Let’s head back to the castle and get you cleaned up.”

“…Okay,” replied Linkle with a sniff.

“Oh, and Link?  You’re sleeping in the stables tonight,” added Zelda as she led Linkle towards the castle.

Link went stiff at Zelda’s words.  He knew he royally screwed up when Zelda made him sleep in the stables instead of their bed.

“Damn.  I’m going to have to think of a way to apologize to Linkle,” muttered Link as he followed far behind Zelda and Linkle. “Otherwise, I’ll never get to sleep with Zelda again.”

When it comes to taking down fierce monsters and evil kings, Link had no problem.  When it came to being a big brother on the other hand, Link had a long way to go.

FIN