A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for dropping by to my side-series Time's Saga Shorts! If you haven't read Time's Saga you really should, as all the characters and situations are based on that story. (Read it here! s/13032173/1/Time-s-Saga-First-Life-Prince-of-Power )
But these shorts are exactly what they sound like; short stories, mainly one-shots, that help explore the Time's Saga world. Pretty much fluff and ideas I had but decided to not include in the main story, just so the plot could keep moving along.
Great news is, I'm open to ideas here! I obviously reserve the right to refuse an idea (especially if it doesn't make sense), but more than likely I'll try to incorporate it somehow. The stories are in no particular chronological order, but I'll only release a chapter with characters/ scenes/ situations that have been revealed in T.S. main story. It will be updated randomly, so be sure to hit that follow button to know when I release new stories.
Thanks,
-The Friendly Critiquer
Time's Saga Shorts!
Short 1: Baby Blankets
Location: Gerudo Fortress
Time: Three months after Nabooru found Link in the Lost Woods
Nabooru sluggishly shuffled forward and picked up a bowl for breakfast. With a wide yawn she greeted the sister who carefully put some bean soup in her dish.
"Morning, Callado," she mumbled.
Callado chuckled, "Good morning, Nabooru! What happened to you?"
Rubbing her eyes before taking the dish, Nabooru groaned, "Link. He wouldn't stay asleep last night."
Raising an eyebrow, Callado inquired, "You're still looking after that boy? Let Mother Heruta take care of the children and go back to the hunt."
It took Nabooru a minute to comprehend the words but when she did, she scowled as she left with her food. "It's my business," she muttered, "I gotta take care of the kid."
She spent a lonely time eating her meal. Her age-mates had all long since left to work, not that she saw them leave. With how much time she spent in the nursery looking after the nine-month-old boy Nabooru had practically abandoned her room and age-mates.
"It's just for a little while longer," she quietly said as she stuffed the last of her meal in her mouth. She didn't entirely plan on sticking like glue to the kid, it just sort of happened. It was weird. For the first several weeks after bringing Link to the Fortress, she nearly went mad because she felt so locked up. She was used to being outside with her sisters hunting down any number of dangerous creatures. But Mother Heruta insisted she needed more help, despite having three other women working rotational shifts in the Nursery.
Another mother had died, which left a third baby under Mother's care, besides all the other weaned children. There had been some protests from the Hunters, but Nabooru agreed. For some reason she couldn't comprehend she became very agitated when gone too long from Link. So staying in the Nursery and watching over him put her at ease.
"Ow!" she yelped.
She stared at the tiny drop of blood that had pooled on her stabbed finger. Quickly she stuck it in her mouth to suck at it, hoping Mother Heruta wouldn't notice.
"Did you stab yourself again?" Mother chuckled from the other end of the room where she was grinding away at some herbs.
"No," Nabooru stubbornly lied as she went back to the needle work. By Din, this stuff was hard. She would never discredit another silk producer again, if this is what they did all day long. She was busy trying to mend some pantaloons, but as she inspected the stitching, she knew it was a bad job. With a disgruntled sigh, she yanked out the threading and started over.
Just because she was asked to help out in the nursery didn't mean there wasn't plenty of other work to be done. By now she had gotten used to the crying, although some higher pitched screams would threaten to send her over the edge.
As she attempted to tie the small knot at the end of the thread, she felt a light tapping on her foot. Looking down, she smiled.
Link continued to pat her toe. His eyes grew wide when Nabooru decided to wiggle it a bit. A big smile broke his face as he reached out again and grasped her big toe tightly. Nabooru lightly choked. How on earth were babies this strong? Gently, but almost desperately, Nabooru began pulling her foot away. This only caused Link to hold tighter to his prize.
"Gah! How on earth do I get him to let go?" Nabooru pleaded as she carefully set the needle to the side. She began prying at his fingers, hoping that he would stop his deathly grip.
"Give him something else to hold onto," Mother Heruta called out helpfully.
A little desperate, Nabooru looked around for anything within easy reach. There were a couple of small baby blankets nearby, so she slowly stretched over and grabbed the closest one. Not sure what else to do, she simply tossed it over Link. That seemed to momentarily stop his squirming, but he still refused to let go. With a huff, Nabooru tore off the blanket. Link gave a little gasp in surprise. His big blue eyes grew wide. He gave Nabooru a piercing gaze before his little cupid's bow lips jerked upward and a happy giggle escaped.
Nabooru's own lips twitched and she chuckled. "So you like that, huh?" So she tossed the blanket back over Link's head. A second later she pulled it off and Link burst into another giggling fit.
This time, Link reached out a hand to grab the blanket. It was unfortunately not the one holding her toe in a death grip. Obligingly, Nabooru tossed the blanket back over. She waited several long seconds as Link squirmed under the soft material. When he was revealed again, she sighed in relief. As Link giggled to his heart's content, he grabbed the blanket with both hands. Quickly, Nabooru rubbed her foot. It wasn't like it was injured or anything, but still, she was surprised at how strong a child could really be.
As she watched him, Nabooru couldn't help laughing along with him. Link had put the blanket over himself, and with what she was sure was a dramatic touch, he yanked it off himself. Once reveled, he blew a raspberry. Nabooru cracked up at that. His fat little cheeks smushed up into his eyes as little drops of spit condensed on his chin. Before she could lean over and wipe the mess away, Link jerked the blanket back up and a second later reveled himself. His laughter now contagious, Nabooru began tickling him. She had discovered two weeks ago that Link had a soft spot on his side that would make him laugh like nothing else.
As she was in the middle of this laughable break, a sister walked through the curtain. Menoka chuckled a little as she set down a pile of fresh clothes. As she folded the small outfits and placed them in their proper hammocks, she called out to Nabooru.
"Enjoying yourself?" Menoka chuckled.
Nabooru straightened up in surprise. She bit her lip and blushed. "Yeah, kinda."
The experienced helper laughed heartily. "And you were saying not too long ago how badly you wanted to go back to the hunt! Are you sure you don't want to stay here?"
Nabooru scowled. Of course she wanted to go back! It's what she did best. She opened her mouth to say as much, but it was then Link began pounding her leg with a tiny fist. Din's mercy! She just might get a bruise from that. Immediately, she gently grabbed Link's arm and frowned at him.
"What?" she asked exasperatedly.
Link's cheeks squished again, but this time he didn't blow a raspberry. Instead he began to babble. "Mama! Mama!"
Letting go of his arm, Nabooru leaned back a little. A bit surprised, she asked again, "What?"
Happy with her response, Link threw his arms up in the air and continued babbling the same word. "Mama! Mama! Mama! Mama!"
Menoka hovered over the two. She cooed as she watched Link. "That's adorable! That's his first word, isn't it!"
Nabooru sharply looked up. "I'm sure it's nothing much. He's just babbling," she insisted. She got another pounding to the leg.
Menoka chuckled. "I think not. You'd better pick him up. He wants your attention."
With a sigh, Nabooru did as she was told. Link's incessant mama's grew higher in pitch but dropped in volume as he snuggled up against her. Nabooru couldn't help but sigh for a second time. She shook her head and mumbled, "What on Din's red earth am I supposed to do, Kid? I'm not your mama."
Despite her seemingly callous exterior, Nabooru couldn't help but let a small smile slip through. She gently began to rock as she looked out one of the high windows. The flood of light penetrated the cool interior of the fortress, and she couldn't help but hope to hear a quiet breeze from the outside. She wanted to get out and go back to the hunt and feel the heat of the sun. But as she patted the back of Link's head she calmly resigned herself.
"Maybe I'll stick around just a little longer," she whispered.
Link's only reply was a muffled, "Mama." before he drifted off to sleep.