Author's Note: Hey all! GottaluvKatanas is here with the third chapter of A Bounty Hunter and a Princess' Secret! I really appreciate all the people who reviewed the second chapter :3 (*Feels loved* xD) So yea, the warnings are the same. Yuri, referencing Sheik as he, Metroid look-up, etc. Now, let's this show (or story) on the road!
Side Note: DX I'M SO SORRY I WASN'T ABLE TO UPDATE AS I PROMISED! I was just assigned a HUGE project by my teacher and its been occupying most of my time. I might be able to work on this story like, on the weekends or on the holidays (If I get any days off from school... ;_;) Anyways, please understand and look forward to the future chapters, because I'm not planning to abandon this story and never will :3
Disclaimer: I do not own SSBB or its characters. They belong to their respective creator(s).
Samus stood on the roof of the Arena, gazing over the view of the rising sun. Usually, she would go to the training rooms to train, but she recently had a match with Ike and Meta Knight, so she decided to rest from fighting unless necessary. She took a deep breath of air, filling her lungs with sweet, sweet air. She could never really breathe in fresh air like this since the planets she goes to have some toxic air that could instantly kill a human. Luckily, Samus was infused with alien DNA, so she could breathe the toxins without any difficulty. Samus chuckled lowly before she heard small footsteps behind her. Samus turned her head to see who it was; the woman who was with Link a few days ago. Samus raised an eyebrow as she studied her face.
Zelda's heartbeat started to quicken as she meet Samus' eye. Crap! Play this smoothly Zelda... Act innocent... Zelda smiled and waved in greeting. "H-Hello..." Zelda tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke.
"Hello." Samus stared at the girl, straight into her sapphire colored eyes. For some reason the way it is shaped is somehow similar to Sheik's... Dammit! Quit thinking about Sheik! "You new around here? I haven't seen you here before some time ago."
Zelda shook her head as her nerves started to calm down. "No. Actually, I don't fight here. I just visit my friend Link time to time." At least it was part of the truth.
Samus raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "How'd you know that this was a place where people fight?"
"Link tells me about this place a lot when he comes back to our homeplace, Hyrule." Zelda said a little too quickly. Samus didn't seem to notice since she turned her back toward her. Zelda was slightly disappointed. I want to see your face a little longer Samus... Wait what? Zelda shook away her thoughts.
"The sun's really pretty..." Samus said out of the blue. Zelda snapped back to reality when she heard Samus. Usually she seemed so cold and harsh. Not the type you expect to say the sun was 'pretty'. I wasn't even aware that such a word existed in her vocabulary...
"What was that?" Zelda wanted to make sure that she heard Samus correctly.
"I said the sun was pretty." She turned her head so she was looking at the Zelda. "Where I come from, I travel a lot, so I don't have time to admire the sun." Zelda nodded as if understanding. Samus smiled curtly before turning towards the sun, which was almost in the sky, about a quarter of it still hiding behind the horizon. "I never got your name. What is it?"
Zelda straightened her posture before speaking. "My name is Zelda. What about yours?"
"Samus. Samus Aran." When the sun was fully in the sky, she fully turned around and took a couple of steps toward Zelda, keeping eye contact. She has a nice hue of blue... Samus noted to herself. "Do you happen to know Sheik by any chance? You guys seem... Similar."
So she was the one who said Sheik's name yesterday... Zelda gulped hard, feeling her heart race with panic. Calm down... Calm down... Just think of an excuse... Zelda racked her brain for an excuse at a snail's pace. Usually she was so quick at making up lies but now, with Samus only a few feet away from her, it feels as if time just stopped all around her and...
"Hello? Did you hear what I said?" Samus tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms over her chest, becoming impatient.
Zelda snapped back to reality as she remembered what Samus asked her. She finally said the first thing that came to her mind. "Uh, yes. I know Sheik. But we don't talk much since he is never around." Zelda silently prayed to Nayru that this was a believable lie. Her prayers seemed to be answered, since Samus nodded, believing her lie. Zelda cried tears of relief inside.
"Huh..." Figured much. Sheik was silent and kept to himself most of the time. Samus smirked subtly and patted Zelda on the shoulder, the way Adam or Anthony did whenever they were giving Samus their congratulations. "Well, it was nice meetin' ya. Maybe if I see you around, I could give you a few tips on fighting." Samus smirked teasingly and walked past Zelda, leaving her on the roof. She took a side glance toward the woman she recently met and her heart started going ninety miles per hour. The way her silhouette was shaped against the rising sun gave her an eerie, yet beautiful aura around her. She smiled to herself subtly and went back to her room.
Zelda took a deep breath, calming her thumping heart. She didn't mean it that way. She didn't mean it that way. She was just trying to be kind, Zelda. Besides, a woman cannot love another woman... After calming herself, Zelda raised her palm and a blue portal swirled before her. Zelda once again took a breath before entering the portal.
"Hyrule Castle, here I come..." She murmured to herself, softly.
Samus stared at her ceiling, her hands behind her head. The Zelda girl is real pretty... I wonder if she's interested in- Samus shook her head, disrupting her thoughts. Why am I thinking about this? Am I falling for her? No, that can't be right. I'm a woman, she's a woman. Two women can't love each other... right? Well... There was this one couple at the Colony but...
"Shut... Up..." She told to herself with gritted teeth. "Goddamn, I just want to take a nap!" She turned to her side, pulling her sheets over head, closing her eyes while she did so. Unfortunately, her thoughts continued to rampage throughout her head.
What about that Sheik guy? How do I feel about him? There was that tingly feeling in my chest a few days back but that doesn't mean that I'm attracted to him. I had that same tingly feeling in my chest when I first met Adam and I didn't have any feelings for him except reluctant respect and fatherly love. That's all. But that Zelda girl was like a whole new feeling and-
Samus moaned into her sheets as she sat up and paced her room, her arms crossed over her chest. "It was like my heart was about to explode. But with Sheik it was like what? Relief? But relief of what?" Samus sat down on the couch and massaged her temples. Was it because I was happy to find someone similar to Adam? A strong, yet kind person that I can somehow call a 'friend'? Now that she thought about it, she started to ignore society all together when Adam died. Barely acknowledging her fellow Bounty Hunters, she just walked past them while in the past she would give them a small nod and a twisted smile.
Then, after seeing Sheik being able to say simple yet kind things to people that made them smile or make them feel better about themselves-especially to her-she began to return to society, bit by bit. Is it possible that Sheik was just like Adam, except from a different world? Just thinking about it made Samus smile to herself.
Should I ask Sheik if we could train together? I guess it would be a good way to make a comrade, and a terrific way to find out what his fighting style is... Samus chuckled lowly to herself and began her search for Sheik.
Zelda started sorting through the various reports that strewn all across her room; a recent robbery in the shop, an abducted child, property damage. She sighed, relieved when she found the report she was looking for; a recent massacre near the Gerudo Desert and Lake Hylia border. She scanned the report, scrunching up her nose as she read the descriptions of the victims; a mixture of Zora and Gerudo. What caught her eye was a small Zora child that was also killed. Her heart started to race, hoping that it wasn't who it was.
"Don't worry your Highness. The child wasn't Prince Ralis. It was simply that a child was at the wrong place at the wrong time." A gruff female voice said. Zelda twirled around as she faced the speaker; an old friend and her former bodyguard, Impa. Zelda placed a hand over her heart and took a sharp breath.
"Impa! You startled me!" Impa smirked and bowed her head.
"Forgive me, your Highness." Impa bowed on one knee when she noticed a cut on Zelda's left hand. She frowned and brought the Princess' hand closer to her, examining the injury. "Zelda, how did you receive this injury? Was it from the Arena that Link told you about?" Impa looked worriedly at the Princess. Other than Link, Impa was the only one who knew about Zelda fighting in the Arena. Impa halfheartedly allowed Zelda to compete in the Arena, saying it was a perfect opportunity for Zelda to train as Sheik. Zelda sighed.
"Impa, I'm not a child anymore. I can handle myself..." She snatched her hand away from Impa's grasp and continued, "Besides, I am about to become Queen in a few months. I cannot continue depending on you for every little thing you know." Impa stood up and smirked, awfully amused.
"You have certainly matured. I remember as if it was yesterday you were crying to me with a small cut on your finger." Impa gave a hearty laugh while Zelda puffed out her cheek and crossed her arms, her face a light hue of red.
"That was over ten years ago!" Zelda snapped. Impa finished her laughter with a small chuckle and held Zelda's face in her hands with extreme gentleness, as if she was a delicate flower.
"Yes, it was over ten years ago. Now you are eighteen. But in my eyes, you will always be my little Princess, no matter what your title is..." Impa placed a small peck on the future Queen's forehead and stepped back. "Make sure you are careful to not reveal your secret. And tell that lazy boy of a Hero I have my eyes on him." Impa smiled mischievously as she vanished from Zelda's sight in a blur. Zelda shook her head with amusement and opened her palm again, a blue portal swirling to life before her.
"Now, to tell Link about the victims..." She took a step in the portal, as her world started to change into her room in the Arena.
"Link!" Link turned his head when he saw Samus coming towards him. He straightened his posture before talking.
"Yeah?" I wonder what she wants with me... Link thought to himself. It was unusual for Samus to talk to other competitors unless someone was asking her for directions, since she has been fighting at the Arena longer than anyone else.
"Do you know where Sheik is?" Link's jaw almost went slack. Samus had the feeling that she had asked him a stupid question.
"Uh... Why would want to know where Sheik is...?" Link asked her slowly.
"'Cause I need to ask him a question." Samus replied vaguely.
"I see... Well, I guess you can find him in his room. You know where his room is, right?" Samus nodded, said her thanks to Link, and ran toward Sheik's room. Link sighed and crossed his arms.
"I wonder what's up with Samus today..." Link wondered to himself.
Samus approached Sheik's room and raised her fist to knock when all of a sudden the door opened, revealing who was in the room; Zelda. Samus curiously studied Zelda's face while her heart started to pound in her chest. She noticed that Zelda was holding a thick amount of paper in her hands. But what stood out to Samus was that Zelda was in Sheik's room.
"What were you doing in Sheik's room?" Samus asked bluntly.
Zelda gulped hard and started fidgeting with the corners of the reports she recently retrieved from the Castle. Crap! I got found out and now I'm gonna be in real trouble with Impa if Samus finds out that I'm really Sheik!
"Uh..."
"Well...?" Samus stared at Zelda, watching her fold then unfold the corners of the stack of papers. She watched a small drop of sweat fall from her face.
What's she so nervous about...?
"Er..." Zelda glanced at Samus and saw her looking straight at her. C'mon Zelda! Say the first thing that comes to your mind! She coaxed herself.
"I was searching for Sheik since I recently received several reports of an important manner back in Hyrule." Zelda explained, her voice calm and casual.
"Well, I suppose we could search for him together..." Samus suggested.
This caught the attention of Zelda. "Why? Are you searching for Sheik as well?" Zelda said with mock surprise.
"Well, yeah. I just wanted to ask him a question, ya know..." It was Samus' turn to fidget with her fingers, This conversation is just getting too awkward...
"Oh, I see..." Zelda opened her mouth to ask what Samus was going to ask Sheik but closed it, having second thoughts. "I'll drop these off with Link." She nodded, signaling her farewell to Samus and trotted to Link's room.
Samus sighed and ran her fingers through her long, blond hair. "Well, there's always tomorrow, right?"
Link raised his head from the reports he received from the Castle when he heard vigorous knocking on his door. Link sighed and stood to answer the door. Once he opened the door, he felt his instincts calling out for him to run. His face turned into a ghostly pale color as he felt the blood leaving his face. The figure was clad in an over-sized black robe with blue designs on it. On its head was a helmet that somehow resembled a squid.
Link back-flipped and pointed an accusing finger at the figure, confusion and rage building up inside of him. "You! But how? I thought I killed you!"
The figure chuckled and his helmet retracted, revealing the figure's face and identity; Zant. Zant eyed Link with his beady orange eyes with a maniacal smile. "Foolish boy, do you honestly believe that I will reveal such a valuable and important secret? Well, it won't matter anymore..." He raised his hand and a ball of dark energy emerged from it. "Since you'll be finished before the true battle begins..."
Link simultaneously drew his sword and shield and took a defensive stance. Crap... This day can't turn any worse!
Well, I'mma leave you guys with a cliffhanger :3 I'll try to update as soon as possible (Which will probably be like what... Two to four weeks time...?)! I love you guys and THANK. YOU. FOR. RE. VIEW. ING! I appreciate them all and please remember to keep an eye out for the fourth chapter of this story! :3
Signing off, GottaluvKatanas