Gladiolus
"Hey, you're the asshole who keeps stealing my gladiolus flowers! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Linebeck looked up from the patch of flowers he was currently cutting a few from. His heart dropped to his stomach at seeing his fairy neighbor floating on her porch, her normal yellow semi-transparent glow tinged orange with her anger.
He looked back down at the flowers already in his hand, and decided to book it before she cursed him for stealing from her garden, the fairy's pride and joy with the hours and care she's put into the plants.
Not even bothering to send a throw away apology, Linebeck shoved himself to his feet and tried to take off.
No dice, however, as Ciela simply took off from the porch and alighted in front of the man,
"And just where do you think you're going?" She hisses, pointing a finger directly into Linebeck's face, inches away from his nose.
Linebeck stammered for an answer that wasn't the truth. "I-uh- was -erm, To say- I- simply, uh." He stammered out, eyes darting from side to side.
Ciela stopped him by holding up one of her hands. Linebeck flinched, expecting a spell or curse coming from her. Instead, she simply placed her hand to have her fingers pressing into her temple.
:I think I got it now. You're going to be giving my flowers to some hussy in town, trying to woo her." Ciela snapped, glaring at Linebeck, dropping her hand from her head.
Linebeck let out an internal sigh of relief, the knot in his stomach beginning to unreveal. "I might be. I really don't see why you have a problem with that, you oversized firefly."
"When it concerns my flowers?" Ciela let out a huff, looking at Linebeck like he was an idiot. "Yes."
Linebeck gave an aggravated glare toward the woman. A few moments of silence pass, before Ciela's frown lessens.
"Alright, listen. You can take the flowers…"
"Thanks, Sparkles-"
"On the condition that I join you to see what woman you're giving them to." Ciela continued, cutting Linebeck off.
The knot in Linebeck's gut was back. "Ah, no. Absolutely not. Haven't you heard of a little thing called personal affairs?"
"Then no flowers." Ciela lunged for the gladiolus flowers held in Linebeck's hand. He yelped and jerked back the flowers from her. "Hey hey hey!"
"Why do you want to see her so badly?!" Linebeck cried, still jumping around when Ciela tried for the flowers again.
Ciela let out another huff, crossing her arms, giving up on flower retrieval. "I need to see if she's pretty enough to warrant flower theft."
"Really? That's kind of shallow to focus on looks. Especially coming from someone calling them hussies earlier."
"I'm not focused on looks, a pretty soul! I need to see if she has a pretty soul!" Ciela let out an aggravated sound. "This garden is mine. My flowers. I won't have them wasted on some girl that won't appreciate them."
Linebeck floundered internally, trying to find some answer to give Ciela. He could tell her what girl they're for, but then she might ask the girl later if liked the flowers Linebeck gave her. The sailor gave off a shudder. Some of the girls here weren't all there with the mental department and he'd rather not deal with them coming after him, demanding for the flowers that weren't for them.
Seeing no way out, Linebeck lifted up his free hand, running a hand through his small ponytail in frustration. "Fine, whatever, I'm late enough as it is dealing with you."
Linebeck started off walking down the road. A few feet down, he looked back to the fairy. "You coming or what?"
Ciela suddenly felt very confused, looking back toward the town, then to the opposite direction where Linebeck was walking. "Yes. Yes, I'm coming!" She called, flying up and toward the man with an air of bewilderment as they walked away from the town.
For a couple of minutes, the only sounds was the footsteps of Linebeck's boots in the dirt, the fluttering of Ciela's wings, and the ever constant sounds of the ocean surrounding Mercay Island.
Linebeck looked down at the gladiolus flowers in his hand, still trying to figure out a way to get Ciela off of his back. But after having her as his neighbor for so long, Linebeck knew the woman to be one of the most stubborn people he has had the 'pleasure' of meeting.
She was going to find out the truth either way, and Linebeck would much rather show her than try and explain.
"So…" Ciela innocently started, beginning to fiddle with her hands mid-flight. "You meeting the girl in a secret spot? More romantic than I would have given you credit for."
Linebeck said nothing, not even turning to look at Ciela.
Ciela pushed forward. "Since you were going after the green gladioluses, I'm guessing they're for Jolene? She has that whole jade color scheme going for her. But-"
"We're here." Linebeck said, interrupting Ciela from going any further.
Ciela looked up and suddenly felt a chill travel down her spine at seeing they were standing in front of the graveyard. "What…"
"I never said that they were for a girl." Was all the sailor said before walking through the graveyard's archway entrance.
Ciela suddenly felt very apprehensive, and that she was intruding on something far more personal than a thirty some year old guy trying to woo a woman with her stolen flowers. But, she got herself into this mess trying to find out who Linebeck's sweetheart was going to be, she has to see it to the end now.
Taking a deep breath, Ciela touched down onto the ground and followed Linebeck into the graveyard, feeling her wings drop as she did so.
As they walked past the older graves into the newer ones, Ciela wondered who Linebeck knew in the graveyard. As far as she knew when she moved here two years ago, the man had only lived on Mercay a year or so before her.
At first, she found the man rather deplorable, seeing him more than once passed out drunk in his backyard. But then, he slowly stopped drinking, and suddenly Ciela found him a lot more intolerable sober. At least when he was drunk, they're petty jabs and fights with each other sent him slinking away into his house. With his wits not dulled, Ciela found herself more and more the one storming into her house after being unsuccessful at finding a response to give the sailor. Shortly after that was when her gladiolus flowers started disappearing from her garden every two weeks.
So engrossed in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice when Linebeck had stopped in front of a small headstone. She jerked upright into flight to avoid a collision before flying back a few feet.
The only sounds being the waves, Ciela examined the stone, her curiosity getting the best of her.
Above the name and two dates was the triforce symbol, and below them was the Goddess Farore's symbol of courage and the words "Beloved Son". Quickly adding the years up, Ciela felt her heart sink upon seeing that the boy had only been 12 when he died.
Link Loughlin read the name on the gravestone, and Ciela came to another crippling realization.
Linebeck shared the same last name with the boy.
Ciela looked to the man, seeing how he was now kneeling on one knee in front of the stone. He carefully placed the flowers on the top of the stone, letting the blooms drape over. He left his hand remain there for a few moments, sliding down and tracing the name.
Nothing was spoken until Linebeck stood back up, never looking back at Ciela behind him.
"Guess you know now that they're not for some hussy in town." Linebeck said, words cutting in their apathy.
Ciela closed her eyes, feeling her voice missing under her shame and guilt. "I'm so sorry." She choked out, arms dead weight by her sides.
Linebeck only made a sound of acknowledgement, shoving his heads into his pockets.
"He was your son…" Ciela said, feeling she needed to break the silence or she would explode with her shame rolling under her skin.
Linebeck only nodded, before giving a soft frown. "Well… not really."
Almost seemingly reacting to Ciela's quizzical gaze, even though his back was still firmly toward her, Linebeck continued.
"Someone had left him on the deck of my ship when I was docked at Windfall Island on a stormy night. I tried finding out who, but no one would say anything. Probably a bastard child of a rich fellow who didn't want the disgrace the child would have brought the family."
"And you raised him instead?" Ciela softly asked, beginning to again play with her hands.
Linebeck shrugged. "I wasn't planning to, not at first. I was only twenty-two years old, I had no business, nor did I want to, raise some other guy's kid. Not when I had the ocean to explore."
"What changed?"
Linebeck was silent for a few moments. "Let's just say I have my own issues concerning parentage and being abandoned on doorsteps.
"So after a few weeks of taking care of the kid, I found myself setting sail with him.
"And that was it. He first learned how to walk on the S.S. Linebeck before learning how to walk on land, learning the ship and the sea. He was a good boy; quiet, dutiful with his chores, and always seemed to want to be giving me heart attacks with the crazy stunts he would pull. We never stay on any one island for long, always sailing, always chasing that horizon together. We were the only family the other hand. A small, hand stitched family.
"Then one day… He didn't get out of bed. It seemed like the flu, quickly passing and soon he was back to running around on the ship.
"But then it would happen again… and again. It would repeat, the times he was healthy growing shorter than when he was sick.
"The doctors couldn't find anything wrong, and said that it would pass in time. But all I could remember was the soaked babe I found on my ship, stuck outside in that horrible storm, and how sick he had gotten before he got older.
"I moved us here, to Mercay, to give him some form of permanence, however long it lasted…"
To his horror, Linebeck found his eyes growing wet, Link's gravestone blurring in front of him. But he couldn't stop them, like how he couldn't stop Link's story from spilling out. He was thankful for Ciela remaining behind him so she couldn't see him getting emotional.
Linebeck swallowed, throat clamping up on him. "Then… six months after we moved here… I held him in my arms… as he went to sleep… and didn't wake back up."
"His last words to me was he wanted me to plant gladiolus flowers by his grave… and that he was so lucky to have me for a dad."
Linebeck let out a bitter bark of laughter. "I didn't. Goddesses, I tried after I put him in the ground, but they wouldn't grow, and I soon started spending more and more time at the bar, drinking. Just remembering our little family and wishing I could go back to him being so tiny in my arms."
Ciela remained deathly silent, listening to Linebeck's words. She was motionless, her wings not even moving, hanging low as possible.
"Then I saw your flowers… and it woke me up. Link wouldn't have wanted that.
"So sorry for taking your flowers… .It's the only way I can get close to my boy's last wishes with being such a failure."
Ciela stepped forward, placing one of her hands onto Linebeck's shoulder. Blinking back tears, Ciela bit her lip, wondering if she should try and say anything.
Linebeck dug a wrist into his eyes, roughly wiping away tears. "Sorry for ruining your day. You can leave now." He said, letting out a heavy sigh. He hadn't felt Link's death this hard in a long while.
Ciela slowly let her hand drop. She stepped a few feet back, before whispering another apology and silently flying off.
Two weeks later, Linebeck was once again walking past Ciela's garden. He glanced at the gladiolus flowers, wondering what the fairy was up to.
They hadn't spoken since that day, not even petty barbs, but Linebeck would occasionally see her spending more time than usual at the gladiolus flowers.
Speaking of which, Linebeck gave a double take at the flowers.
Resting in front of them was a small navy blue colored vase, five or six gladiolus flowers having already been clipped and pruned and sitting inside. Leaning against it was a folded up letter and a small, golden colored grain pouch. The letter having Linebeck's name written on it in an elegant scrawl.
Picking up the letter, pouch and vase, Linebeck strained to see any signs of a glow around or inside the house. Finding nothing, Linebeck carried on, occasionally looking back.
After placing the little vase by Link's gravestone, Linebeck took out the letter and pouch.
Opening the pouch first, a small handful of seeds rested at the bottom, which Linebeck recognized as gladiolus seeds.
Looking to the letter, Linebeck swiftly unfolded it, reading the same elegant script that his name was written in outside.
Any time you require assistance with the gladiolus flowers, you are welcome to my garden. -Sparkles
On his way home, Linebeck stopped once again outside Ciela's little cottage.
This time, the fairy was hovering outside, watering the plants on her roof. Looking down, she flew to her porch, smiling, and placing her hands on her hips.
"Well? Are you going to come in, or creep out by my flowers to try and steal a few more?" She called.
Linebeck smirked, before carefully stepping into Ciela's garden.
After a time, green, blue and yellow gladiolus flowers entwined with one another, surrounding a small white gravestone of a twelve year old boy.
The End
Hello everybody! It has been a while since my last one shot. Which was nothing but pain, and even though this one was still sad (sorry, Link) there's the promise of the happy ending.
So some background knowledge. Obviously, the Phantom Quest did not happen. Ciela is a plain ole fairy, just human size. This was also written with this prompt in mind, made by the tumblr awful-aus #196 "Sometimes I steal flowers from your garden on my way to the cemetery, but today you've caught me and have demanded to come with me to make sure the "girl is pretty enough to warrant flower theft" and I'm trying to figure out how to break it to you that we're on our way to a graveyard" AU
So the writing bug hit, and last night I wrote up the rough version, then typed it up today. Especially since I haven't posted a one shot in a while.
I also have another one in the works, Cielabeck again, with this time them being trapped on an island. So banter and bickering while struggling to stay alive abounds!
~Roses
Update on the Really trilogy, I have started the rough draft of the final book, and the chapter layout for it is also complete. Again, hope to start posting that when the summer starts!