"You fool. You stupid, stupid fool. Why did you do it?" I asked the body in front of me. It didn't respond to my whispers, of course, since it was dead. The last remnants of life had left its eyes only moments before. I struggled to choke back my tears as I closed the eyelids on my dear departed friend. "Didn't you know what the consequences would be? Was it really so terrible that you would leave us all behind? Leave me?" No. He had known that he would die. That was why he had done it.
He had always rather jokingly told me that he couldn't understand what everyone was still doing in our present situation. "There's a whole land, filled with everything you've wanted and can dream of. All ya gotta do to get there is give up this life," he'd say with that almost always present grin on his face. "Hahaha, which isn't a fair trade in my eyes. Who'd want this?" Who could have predicted that he would actually take his own advice. I'd always thought our friendship was stronger than that. We'd known each other for years; grown up together. We were even street rats together back in the day. Then there was his family. At least he had a family.
It was getting cold. I looked down and realized with a shock that part of the reason my hands were cold was that I was holding his. One of the guards that patrolled the streets at night was bound to show up before too long. If I was caught out after hours, with a corpse, when I had missed my evening duties, then the queen would have me pretty severely punished. "Goodbye, Carrick. Explore every part of it, Rick, so when I meet you in the Sacred Realm, you can give me a tour," I told my best and only friend. Strange; in all the time I'd known him, I had never said his entire first name. My hands dropped his as I slowly rose. It was time to go. My eyes lingered on his white face, once so full of laughter, before I turned around and headed toward the end of the alley.
It was dark by the time I reached the servants' quarters near the castle stables. I lingered outside the door for a few moments, going over the scene in my head so I could answer the questions that were waiting in the near future. Steeling myself, I walked through the door.
"Ah, Neala. There you are. It's pretty late. I was beginning to wonder if something had happened to you and Rick," the slightly plump woman said as she recognized my sigh. Her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Pieces of hair had come loose, no doubt from her work by the oven, giving her ponytail a slightly messy appearance. She finished kneading a ball of dough and began to turn around. "You'll be wanting something to eat, I suppose..." Her hands abruptly stopped wiping themselves on her apron. "Where's Rick?" she asked in a quiet, even voice.
"He's...gone," I answered just as evenly, having found the appropriate word.
"I see." Her tone gave away no hint of sorrow or caring. It only revealed that she understood my meaning. She had turned away and so left me no clue as to what she might be thinking. Reina rummaged around and tossed me a roll. "How?"
"Pick pocketed a rival captain of his 'master's'. The guy had friends of course. They got him out of the market crowd and into an alley..." I shrugged, not needing to explain further. She didn't ask why it had happened. Anyone in our miserable race new that death would probably be better than serving someone as cruel as Rick's master. All Hylians were considered scum, but the soldier Rick had been serving was exceptionally bad. "You'll take care of his siblings, right? I can't stay here now that I've skipped all my chores..." I let my voice trail off and finished the roll.
"Of course. What do you want me to tell the little'uns?"
"Rick got moved to a better territory. They won't be seeing him for many, many years." Reina's question was expected. The answer had been sitting in my mouth before she asked.
"Alright, but I askin' about you." I snapped my gaze from the floor to her face. The previous question might have been anticipated, but this one was certainly not. I'm sure the shock was apparent on my face.
I composed my features and ,instead of answering, walked purposefully across the room from the door where I'd been standing to and ducked beneath the dirty, tattered curtain that separated the kitchen and bedroom. I let my eyes adjust to the dark for a few moments. It didn't take long. A single candle was lighting was lighting the kitchen so my eyes were already accustomed to minimal light. I moved carefully and quietly so as not to wake Rick's younger sister's and brother. My feet silently picked a path among the blankets and huddled bodies, leading me to a back corner. I stooped to gather my few belongings in my arms. My body froze and I held my breath as I heard a rustling. Someone whimpered. It stopped after a few heartbeats however. Whoever it was must have fallen back to sleep.
I emerged from behind the curtain and littered the table with my belongings. Looking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't visible through the window, I took off my servants' clothes and dressed in something entirely different. It was colored black and purple, consisting of a close-fitting body suit and a loose tunic. I folded my former apparel tightly, placing it on a blanket. The outfit was elaborate for servant attire. The queen wanted us to be better than any other kingdom's servants, just like everything else she had influence over. She was such a stupid woman, the queen. Stupid and selfish. Beneath all her jewels and riches she was nothing but corrupt. Like an apple whose core was infested with worms, she too looked appealing at first, hiding beneath her shiny skin. Anyone with a heart could see through her facade. None of her people had hearts though. Not that they let us see anyway. They were cruel to us. We were little more than beasts to them. The trash that littered this golden land. Why? Because we were Hylian. When they, the outsiders, came to this land we were unprepared. All the different groups- Gorons, Zoras, Gerudo, and we fought amongst ourselves. We had been fighting wars over petty problems for so long we simply couldn't defend ourselves in a real war. And now just look at us. I glared bitterly at the bundle that was my only other set of clothing.
A barely noticeable weight on my shoulder cut my thoughts short. "Tell them... I am going to live a bed-time story." I reached out and grabbed a knife, using it to cut long strips from some pieces of cloth. I then wrapped them around my stomach, arms, and lower face so my head was only visible from the eyes up. I sheathed the knife in the wrappings around my tunic to conceal it. A few loaves of bread were placed on the table to my right. I placed them on the blanket along with all but a few strips of cloth. I folded the blanket with everything else inside of it and tied it together with the strips of cloth. I used the remaining ones to tie the bundle to my back. I turned around, satisfied with my preparations, and stopped half way to the door, in front of Reina. "I may never return to Hyrule Castle town. Make certain the children understand that. You have been generous. I thank you for that, but the time has come for me to find my own way in this cursed land." I stretched my arm out to put it on her shoulder. She let me. We had never showed so much affection before and yet her eyes still kept secret all of her emotions and thoughts. I began to withdraw my touch. It was awkward since she obviously wasn't returning the gesture.
"Neala." My arm stopped just a short distance from where it had been only a moment before as the sharp sound of my name broke the uncomfortable silence that sat between us. I began to look into her eyes again but my attention was immediately redirected as she moved her body, trapping my left wrist (the one that had been on her shoulder) between her torso an upper arm. "Wha-" I tried to form an objection but didn't get to finish as she shot her other arm toward mine and yanked me closer. Her hand shoved my right wrist into her right hand. We now stood facing each other- my body at an angle to hers with my left side closest to her. I saw a glimmer of amusement in her eyes- the first thing they had ever revealed to me and it wasn't pleasant. It was the look of a predator when it knows that its prey is entirely at its mercy. Reina moved her left arm toward my face. Had I not still been under the influence of the shocking knowledge that I had been disabled by a quiet, middle-aged woman I might have jerked away. But as it was, I did not even realize what she had done until it was too late. I was powerless to stop her although my mind screamed at me to stop her. I simply stared at the eyes I had once thought caring with horror as Reina pulled the hair from out of my face and revealed my eye. My right eye. The one that was blood red. The eye that marked me as the absolute lowest of all the people in Hyrule. Bad to be a Hylian- even worse, to be a Sheikah. We were hated and feared. The Hylians themselves had rarely trusted us even in the times of utmost peace. The warriors of shadow and death. The greatest of all outcasts. I had learned that lesson at a very early age.
My red eye blinked several times. It hadn't seen anything in years. My hair had always kept my secret safely hidden. Until now, that is. Within seconds though, it was working in sync with my bright blue one. How the goddesses had she known? I had been so careful. There was no way I let any clues leak out. She must have found out some other way. It doesn't matter now, does it? I asked myself grimly. My secret is out. I gazed at the face of my tormentor. A tiny smile of achievement was on her mouth. It was so smug, it was almost a sneer. Hah. I was right. It told me.
Momentarily her expression softened. She was not the calloused worker I had known. She was a sorrowful, caring mother. Just as quickly that woman was buried away again. This life didn't allow people like that. Reina had done well to hide that part of herself. "You will succeed in your quest, Neala. I believe you have some 'special abilities' that will help you achieve your goals and reach your destination." Her voice was calm, an underlying tone saying the "special abilities" were my inherited Sheikah skills. A knowing smile tugged the corners of her mouth up just a little. She sighed and let go of me, although I could have easily broken free. Her hand lingered at my face a moment longer. Then it moved, allowing my eye to be buried beneath honey-colored locks once again.
Our gazes held each other for a time that seemed to not be a part of time at all. A silent understanding passed between us in that period. Lips parted. "Goodbye," my voice whispered, barely audible. A portion of a second came and went during which the only sound was the breath that stirred the air between our faces. I broke the contact by making my way around Reina and stepping into the chill night.