Hey, hey, thank's for clickin' the link! This is the first thing I've written in a LOOOOOOOOOONG time, but I hope it's written well. Kudos to the higher-ups who added Midna to the character list. Woo!
Telma wasn't complaining. Normally the shouting and singing wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes in her sleepy bar, but she wasn't keen to throw out any of her customers tonight. They had every right to celebrate; why, just this afternoon the Dark Lord Ganondorf had been defeated and Hyrule was saved! It didn't matter that no one had heard of this dangerous man, he was dead now anyways, time for a few drinks at the pub in celebration! This seemed to be the general attitude of the entire population of Castle Town. Telma's stock of beer would have long since run dry had she not watered down most of her kegs. Much of it had been consumed by the Third Royal Pikemen, the loudest and most raucous bunch in the bar. They were all shouting and swearing and too drunk to notice what they were drinking so they paid full price. They'd recently begun a contest of bravery, each boasting a grander deed in the fight against the shadow monsters than the last man. Telma knew they had been close to useless throughout, the cowards, but they were paying good money. She wasn't complaining.
She had just finished serving another round to Hyrule's Finest when the door opened and a young man entered the bar. He was in his late teens, with messy blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. He was dressed in a worn tunic the sort of green you'd expect the Hero Of Legend to have owned. He certainly looked the part, from the floppy green hat perched on his head to the sword he kept strapped to his back. This was Link, an Ordonian swordsman with as caring and brave a heart as any man in the kingdom. Telma grinned and called out to him. "Link! What have you been up to, honey? Here to join the party?" Link frowned slightly as he noticed the crowds and the soldiers. "Oh, never mind them, sugar. Can I get you anything?" The boy nodded slowly and took a seat at the bar next to a muddled-looking Goron who seemed to have no idea where he was. Another chorus of roaring laughter came from the pikemen. Telma leaned on the bar and continued to talk. "What'll it be? Milk like usual?" Link glanced towards the Goron to his right, studied its contented features, and then pointed to the mug it held. The barkeeper raised one eyebrow. "Goron firewhiskey?" She asked. "That's some strong stuff. You sure, hon?" Link's eyes hardened in determination as he nodded solemnly.
Telma had never seen this boy drink anything stronger than a Chu. Had he ever even tasted alcohol? Still… he seemed to need something strong. His eyes, which had been so blazing and feral on the occasions she saw him outside the bar, seemed to be missing something. Telma had worked this bar long enough to know when someone was hurting. "Comin' right up, honey." Link's gaze fell towards the counter.
Telma turned around with a grin and a large mug which she thumped down on the wooden surface with a prompt "Five Rupees, please." Link took a deep draught of his alcohol with not so much as a gag and fumbled at his belt. He produced a thin cloth bag and one blue crystal. Before closing the drawstring, he sighed heavily and set a small fragment of etched glass next to the Rupee. The latter he paid to Telma. The former played through his fingers as he took another long drink.
He nearly choked when his attention was once again drawn towards the soldiers' table. One man was now wobbling on a table (still clutching his beer) bellowing for all the pub to hear of his valiant efforts in the conflict. Link's interest was not only in this man's actions, but his words.
"It were the soize of a pony, I ain' jokin'! Biggest damn wolf I ever seen!" Link turned around on his barstool and, after a moment's consideration, drank a bit more. "Jes' starin' at me, roight? So I jabs at 'im wiv' me pike. He dodges me, once, twice! I starts to get angry, right?" the soldier slurred. He was now lunging across the table, pantomiming his brave deed. Link narrowed his eyes. "This beast starts to growlin' at me. Jimmy here, ah me fren' Jimmy, ha HAH! He starts runnin' back towards the pub!" This was greeted by a great bout of laughter from the soldiers. "Ha! Me fren' Jimmy… Where were I? Yeah! This wolf, he starts growlin' sumthin' fierce. Din't scare me, lads, not the moighty Tom Grogan! I swung at 'em again. Jes' barely missed, mates, me pike flew roight above 'im. This mutt yelps loike I'd chopped off his paw, starts to barkin' and howlin loike crazy!"
Link finished his whiskey, nodded to Telma, and rose from his stool. Anger blazed in his hollow eyes. He still clutched at that piece of glass. "Jes' kept on whinin' an' barkin! I jes' watched, boys, it were a fair sight! This wolf alla sudden stops an' shoves 'is head at the cobblestones, an' then he jes' runs loike a pup! Ha HAH! Not even nature would mess wiv' the Moighty Tom Gro-GAAAHH!"
The mighty Tom Grogan fell gracelessly from the table with his feet in the air, landing with an "oof" of surprise by the boot of the one who had kicked the table. Stale beer drenched his face as his mug came after him. It shattered noisily near the other boot. Grogan blinked and looked up at green standing over him. A deep growl came from Link's throat as he prepared to kick the fallen coward viciously in the ribs. Grogan would die on this floor drenched in beer and screaming in terror because she had bled that day and all the poor drunk saw was those eyes, saw the eyes and he heard the noise and he knew the wolf was on him again and Oh Goddesses there was blood on his cheek, he was bleeding… No.
The growling stopped. The bar was eerily silent. The young man's face looked so old. He was staring at his bleeding hand, sliced by the broken glass he so dearly clung to. The hand fell to his side. A broken cry of the deepest anguish and despair a man can possibly endure left Link's lips as he staggered to the door. Grogan heard the wolf's howl ringing in his ears. The swordsman began to sob heavily just as the door closed. He was gone.
The bar held its breath. Then, crudely, a few soldiers guffawed and the tension dissipated. Everything was almost the same as it had been ten minutes before. Minus the mug and Grogan, of course. A captain called for another round of the watered-down beer and waved a purple Rupee. Telma wasn't complaining.
Hm... I don't much like the end bit there, but I wasn't sure how to end it. Please review! If you loved it, tell me why. If you hated it, tell me how I can fix it. If you don't much care one way or the other, reveiw anyway. It lets me know that people have actually read this story. Thanks!
-Sgt. O'Reilly