Chapter 2/ part 1

I made a strange gurgling in my throat, and Prillna cried, "What's wrong!?"

"Three hundred rupees!" I yelled, exasperation trembling my voice. I laid the pendant where it belonged and leaped back as if the mere touch of it were hazardous.

"No, no…deary, no!" Prillna shook her head raptly.

"It's not three hundred rupees?" I asked hopefully.

"No, it very much is three hundred rupees, but that isn't extremely expensive!" Prillna lied happily.

I raised my eyebrows in unbelief. "Do I look like I'm made of rupees?" I asked. Prillna looked me up and down distastefully.

"Well-"

"Don't answer that," I interrupted. "…But seriously, do you have anything decently priced in this place?"

She hesitated a moment, and then pointed. "I can give you a good bargain for that trash bin."

"UUUGHH!" I huffed. "I wasted all this time for nothing!" Not thinking, I slammed my fist onto the table in frustration.

"Hey! Watch out!" an all-too-familiar voice shrieked from beneath the glittery tablecloth. Forgetting everything for a moment, I turned to whence the nasally voice had rippled.

"It can't be…" I murmured, but it was. Out from the tablecloth shot the glowing essence of a fairy named Navi, my off-and-on companion.

"Don't you look before you go slamming those beefy mits of yours all over the place!?" she snapped, her white glow turning red in anger.

"Navi?" I mumbled in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"Well…I was trying to get a little shut eye, but something disturbed my peace and quiet!" She glared at me resentfully, and if looks could kill, I'd be in the ground.

"It's YOU again!" yelled Prillna savagely, glaring at Navi. "I thought I got rid of you last time, you little scamp!"

"No one can 'get rid of me' unless I wanna be gotten rid of…" replied Navi nonchalantly, and I, having put up with her for seven years, knew that was the God-honest truth.

Prillna crossed her arms and huffed. Even she, with all her glitter and tackiness, would never be as big a diva as Navi, and she knew it.

"So what you doing in a place like this, bub?" Navi asked, flying over to lounge on my shoulder. "Looking for something special for a certain someone?"

"Why do you care?" I asked, brushing her off my shoulder dismissively.

"Aw, you think that I care…" Navi whined sarcastically. "Sorry to disappoint you, bub. I'm just asking because your responses amuse me."

"That's what I always was to you, huh?" I asked, feeling hurt. "Just a source of amusement—a plaything—a puppet." I bit my bottom lip hard. Prillna was watching us closely as if we her new favorite sitcom.

"Nah," Navi began, shrugging. "We had some good days, but you probably don't remember them!"

"How can I when you're always insulting me?" I murmured, my voice quivering slightly. I lowered my eyes. Navi was quiet for a moment. When she finally replied, her voice was oddly soft and composed.

"Did you ever think of buying something nice for me? Inviting me to a party? Coming to visit? No, we spent nearly seven years together and all you can of is stupid Zelda…" Without waiting for a response, she zipped through the aisles and out the front door, leaving me in quiet contemplation. I didn't know she ever felt that way…I mean…I never truly wanted to hurt her.

"Good job getting rid of her," Prillna said appreciatively. "Every day she comes in here pestering me about a certain gold bracelet… Each time I tell her to get lost. Either she pays or she leave empty-handed—is what I say. Rupees don't grow on trees, you know, they grow between patches of grass." She nodded her head logically, but I was too caught up in my own thoughts to hear her.

"I have to go…" brushing past her, I ran toward the door.

"Wait! You didn't buy anything!" Prillna yelled, hobbling after me. As she shuffled forward, her dress snagged on a hanger and she toppled to the floor. "Oh, goodness! My own store is attacking me. Help!" she screamed, but I was already out the door.