A Good Night's Rest
By the time Jill finished cleaning the floor of the dojo, night had fallen completely. When it was beginning to get dark, Akio (she still had to assume that was his name) had come out only to light the few candles hanging on the walls. He didn't even look at her as he did this and once again returned to the back room. She wondered what the heck he was doing back there.
Once she was done scrubbing the floor, she plopped the cloth back into the bucket and wiped her brow. Her knees were sore from her sitting on them for so long. She stood and walked gingerly toward the doorway to the back room.
"Akio…?" she called softly.
The man seemed like a real grouch and she was afraid he'd get mad at her for disturbing him. He walked out and looked at her with a straight face.
"Yes?"
"I'm done cleaning the floor."
He gave her an almost skeptical look.
"Are you sure?"
Jill looked around, suddenly feeling insecure about her work. Had she missed something? Well, she did as thorough a job as she could.
"Yeah?"
Akio said nothing as he walked past her and began inspecting the floor. He seemed satisfied as he walked over to her and pulled out a pouch. He dug into it and pulled out a purple rupee.
"Your work is acceptable," he said as he handed it to her.
If her memory was correct, the payment was worth fifty rupees. It seemed generous for cleaning one floor, but she knew nothing about this world's economy. For all she knew, fifty rupees was worth ten U.S. dollars. However much it was worth, she was grateful. It was certainly better than nothing. She smiled brightly at the man and nodded her head slightly in a courteous manner as she held the rupee to her chest.
"Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. That should be enough to buy you a hot meal. There is an inn nearby you can go to. You can get food in the main guest area."
She nodded again happily.
"Okay."
He walked past her toward the back room but stopped after taking a few steps. He looked over his shoulder at her as he spoke.
"That won't be enough to afford you a room, though. After you eat, you may return here. I'll have sleeping arrangements prepared for you."
Jill couldn't believe her ears. The man may have seemed like a grouch, but he was apparently very kind.
"Really? Thank you so much! I'd really appreciate that."
The man nodded and disappeared again behind the curtain. Jill was then convinced that he lived in the dojo and that back area was his living space. She didn't ponder on it for too long, because her stomach had been rumbling long ago and her mouth was so dry, she didn't think she could even spit.
She grabbed her messenger bag and stuffed the rupee inside before she dashed out of the dojo and found the inn Akio told her about. She walked quickly past the chairs and tables and approached the only counter in the guest area. The woman behind the counter gave her a friendly smile as she greeted her. Jill gave an equally friendly response as she hastily pulled out the rupee and set it on the counter.
"Can I buy some food and water, please? I don't know exactly what this can afford me."
"Well, at most, this can buy you two meals. That can be two fish or two bowls of meat stew or a combination of the two. That's assuming you buy milk with those meals. Water is also an option."
Really? She could afford two whole meals with that rupee? It was beyond better than nothing! Akio was very generous, indeed. Jill mentally thanked him a hundred times as she ordered her food. She decided to go with a fish and some water. She chose water because she really couldn't stand the taste of plain white milk.
The cost left her twenty-eight rupees in change. Before she even began stuffing her face, she quickly downed the cup of water she had received. She went through two and half cups before she was finished eating. She sighed and leaned back, feeling satisfied.
As she sat there, she heard a short series of beeps. She instantly recognized the sound as an alert from her phone and glanced at her bag that was sitting on the floor next to her feet. She looked around. Thankfully, no one else seemed to have noticed the sound. She picked up the bag and quickly walked outside. After a quick look around to make sure no one was nearby to see her, she fished out her phone and unlocked it. The screen was dim, which meant it was in power saver mode. She looked at the battery icon, which read 15%. The alert was apparently for the low power. The phone was worth little more than a paperweight in this world, but this information depressed her somehow. She knew the feeling was illogical, but she couldn't help it. Solemnly, she turned the phone off and put it back in her bag. She didn't want it making noise again and drawing unwanted attention. She then began walking back to the dojo.
When she walked back in, the man was unsurprisingly nowhere in sight. She looked to the side and saw that a couple of blankets and a pillow had been laid out. Akio kept his word. She happily walked toward the make-shift bed, dropped her bag, and plopped down onto the blankets. It felt like heaven to her exhausted body. She closed her eyes and let out a long, slow breath. Not only were the blankets soft, but the air was much cooler since it was nighttime.
Despite her exhausted body and weary brain, she had trouble falling asleep. Thoughts of home once again took over her mind. She knew her parents were already missing her. She would normally give them a call at night and they would all have a chat about their day. She imagined them trying to call her. She imagined them worrying. Tears began forming and she let them fall and began to silently cry. She wondered how long it would be before she could go home. Months? Years? She didn't want to be here that long. She had a future on Earth. If she discovered that she was stuck here forever…she may as well die.
-.-.-
Alex lay down on the bed with an exhausted sigh. Malon and Talon were kind enough to let her and Aidan stay the night in their guest room. Luckily, it had two beds.
When they had walked into the ranch, they were surprised to see Malon. There she was, standing in the middle of the horse pen and singing her typical song. They also found Talon and Ingo. It all felt so surreal to Alex, and yet she couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. She had thought getting to step into the world of The Legend of Zelda would be the greatest thing in the world. It still would have been, if it weren't for the uncertainty of her future.
Still, they were lucky to find this place. Malon and Talon gave them food and even found clothes for them to wear. The clothes didn't fit perfectly, but they fit well enough. It was lucky that they even had spare clothes to begin with. At least now she and Aidan didn't have to worry about strange looks from people. It was a bit difficult explaining their strange clothes to them.
As they were entering the ranch, they had put together a story. They had decided that they came from a wealthy town far away, but were robbed along the way to Hyrule. That not only explained their clothing made of expensive looking material, but also their lack of money and supplies.
"So…"
She turned her head upon hearing Aidan's voice and looked at him. He was lying in his own bed, wide awake.
"What do you make of all this?" he asked as he stared at the ceiling.
Alex let out a short, bitter laugh.
"I don't know what to make of all this. I keep expecting to wake up. Maybe in my own bed or in a straightjacket."
"Heh."
Aidan rolled onto his side so that he could look at her.
"Well, if you're crazy, I'm crazy."
"Just…how is any of this possible? Hyrule? Really?!"
"Shh."
Aidan made a motion with his hand for Alex to keep her voice down. She had forgotten that Malon and Talon were sleeping just down the hall.
"Oh. Sorry…"
"I don't blame you. This is fucking nuts. But that Sheikah guy clearly said Hyrule. And look where we are: Lon Lon Ranch. Even if there were some ranch with the same name on Earth, how else can we explain Malon and Talon?"
"Not to mention…you know…rain puddles that become portals."
"Exactly."
They both sighed.
"Okay, so…" Alex said after a moment, "You told me that the Sheikah said something about a reason for us being here?"
"Yeah…I can't remember every word. I just remember, 'You are here for a reason', 'Stay together', and 'You will understand why'."
"Hmph. So what reason could that be? What could we do for Hyrule? Isn't it Link's job to save it?"
"Ugh, for all we know, Link doesn't exist. We may have to throw everything we think we know about the games out the window."
"True…"
"You know what else I've been thinking, though?"
"What?"
Aidan looked her straight in the eyes.
"Do you think it's just us…?"
Alex had to stare at him silently for a moment. The question hadn't crossed her mind. Aidan continued.
"Of all the people to be taken from Earth, why us? What are the odds that it would be two people who know each other?"
"Shit, you're right. So if more people were taken, you think they'd be friends of ours?"
"Maybe…I don't know. That's assuming there are others."
Alex rolled over onto her back and stared out the window to her left. If their other friends were taken as well, would that include Jill? Madison? Luka? Scott? She hated the idea of any of them being stranded and frightened here as well.
There was a moment of silence, then she said, "Where do you think we should go from here? We can't just hang around at the ranch. I don't know if those Sheikah plan to come find us."
"Well, I know what I said about not depending on our knowledge of the games. But all I can think of is going to Hyrule Castle."
"Huh, I think so too. So that's our next stop then. Maybe we'll even find Princess Zelda. If anyone can help us figure out what to do, it would be her."
Aidan nodded.
"Hey, we should try to rest. We'll talk some more tomorrow."
"Yeah, you're right. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Alex turned off the oil lamp on the nightstand next to her bed and tried to sleep. Although, anxiety made that difficult.
