I actually updated. Despite the fact I should be doing uni work. And that I have mild writer's block. It has been very problematic recently. And by recently I mean the past several months. Well... writer's block for this story. I have ideas for other fabrics, but this one I'm struggling a little to get where I want to go. Oh well. I'll continue trying to finish this. I refuse to leave it unfinished. Hope you enjoy the update, it is kinda short but hey! At least it's something.
Ganondorf and Ren ended up having to leave Nim at her house, even though neither of them were too pleased about it. Nim just refused to leave, no matter what they said or did. Even in her weakened state, Nim was far too stubborn. She watched them leave, standing straight, refusing to show the pain she was in until they were out of sight, when she fell against the door frame, scowling in pain, hand clutched to her injured side.
"You should have let them help you."
"What are you, my mother?" Nim growled out, "I know what I'm doing."
"Oh?" An orange dragon snuck out from the trees, small for a dragon, but certainly larger than a horse, "Could have fooled me." Nim glared at the dragon, still leaning against the door frame.
"I can't get the rest I need if Ganondork is playing mother hen," She explained, "If I could've avoided it then he wouldn't even know I'm hurt."
"Is that why you lied about not knowing what was going on?"
"I didn't lie!" Nim objected, "I don't know for certain. I have a theory, that's it. I'm not going to worry them with this until I know for certain what is going on."
"You're going to need help with this," The dragon told her, "You're in too much pain to even stand on your own for very long. How do you expect to handle this by yourself?"
"I'm not by myself. I have you."
"I'm a dragon. I can't exactly help out a lot. I can't help care for your wounds, I can't persuade other people to help you, I can't get into smaller areas. You need a hylian or gerudo to help you. Or whatever Ren is."
"Human."
"Yes. That."
"She already has a job. Looking after Ganondork. If Link gets out and fulfils his destiny, then Dorky is going to need help. Especially now that he's become a family man."
"Then why not get Link to help you?" Silence fell between the two, not that anyone else would have been able to hear what the dragon was saying anyway. Nim stared at the dragon in disbelief.
"I betrayed him, Shy. You think he'd help me? More likely he'd take advantage of the state I'm in and finish me off."
"Would he manage?"
"Quite possibly."
"And yet you still want to ride off on another grand adventure? When someone like Link could finish you off?" Nim sighed.
"Alright. Point taken," She turned, pushing away from the door frame, "I'm going to bed."
"Don't try anything stupid."
"I leave that to Ganondork." Nim called back over her shoulder, letting the door shut behind her, Shy curling up in front of the cottage and seeming to fall asleep. Of course, it's hard to tell with dragons whether they're actually asleep or simply pretending to be. There were times when Nim found her self-appointed guardian annoying, but as far as company went, Shy wasn't too bad. She was essentially the voice of reason for the young hylian, when she wasn't being dragged into the mess because Nim refused to listen. Which happened annoyingly often. After everything that had happened to her, though, who could blame her for being a bit pig headed?
Link slammed against the bars again, now getting pissed. How long was he going to be left in here? No one had even come to visit him, which was a mixed blessing. But now he was starting to feel like he was losing his mind. Damn Nim. She put him there, the least she could do was visit every now and again! The thought caught him off guard and he froze. Why did he care what Nim did? She out him there. And yet... She was the person he wanted to see most. She'd been there with him through so much, he supposed that it was hard for him to come to terms with the fact that she had betrayed him for Ganondorf. How could he not have seen it? She didn't look right to be full hylian. But was it even possible to get half gerudos? The way they had to reproduce essentially meant that every single one of them was at least half something else. So what even was Nim? He sighed, heading to the back of the cell and leaning against the wall before sliding to the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest. He was going to be there for a while.
"Hey, kid," Someone hissed, Link looking around in surprise, not saying anything, "You, guy in green," Link pointed at himself, confused, "Yeah, you. Come over here." Link crawled back to the bars, peering out into the darkness, frowning. He couldn't make anything out on this gloom, let alone where the voice was coming from.
"What you in for?" The voice asked. Link's frown grew deeper.
"I was sent on a quest to stop Ganondorf from ruling Hyrule." He explained.
"Ooooooh, so you're that kid," The voice said, "How'd you get here then?"
"I trusted the wrong person."
"Nim?"
"How do you...?"
"Oh, Nim gets around. Good kid. Been through a lot. Pretty much impossible to tell what she's thinking at any one time. Good looking, though, if in a slightly strange way."
"Who are you?"
"Oh, no one important. Say, when Ren comes down here with a job proposal, mention that I'm still locked up in here would ya?"
"Why can't you?"
"Because I don't got a death wish," It was then that the door at the top of the steps opened, footsteps echoing around the stone walls as someone made the decent down into the depths, "Speak of the devil..." The stranger stopped talking, Link raising an eyebrow in confusion as he stood up. Ren stopped in front of him, staring him straight in the eye, completely unblinking. Link glared back.
"You know anything about what happened?" She asked. Link raised an eyebrow.
"Don't know what you're talking about."
"At Hyrule Castle Town. Do you know anything about what happened?"
"I honestly have no clue why you're even asking me this."
"It was attacked not long ago." Ren explained. Link clenched his hands into fists, hitting the bars to his cell.
"If anyone knows what happened, it would be you or Ganondorf. You probably organised it."
"You think we'd try to destroy the place we've been helping to flourish for the past few years?" Ren demanded, "What kind of dumb logic do you call that?!"
"I don't know how you lot think," Link spat back, "All I know is that I was warned about Ganondorf, and because you're with him, I was warned about you. And Nim. And everyone else who chose the wrong side."
"We used to work together, Link," Ren pointed out, "Hell, I used to work for the bloody king. You know that. Zelda told you Ganondorf was evil, told you to stop him. But have you seen any signs of him being evil?"
"He killed the king."
"Actually, that was Nim," Link scowled, not wanting to believe it but knowing it was true, "Now back to my original question. Know anything about what happened in Hyrule Castle Town?"
"I've been stuck in here, how would I know?"
"What about giant humanoid weasel like things that walk upright?" Ren asked, "Know anything about them?"
"Meelvice?" Link asked, frowning, "Run into a couple of them in the past, but they were peaceful. Traders."
"When did you run into them?"
"Before Nim joined up with me. They were plenty friendly."
"What did they trade? Potions, magic, enchantments?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"Information," Link said, "They would ask a question, I would answer, they would give me supplies."
"Just for answering a question?"
"Never thought much about it at the time, but yes."
"What kind of questions would they ask?" Link shrugged.
"Anyone strange around the place, any sightings of the princess, who was the strongest warrior of the time, how many dragons were around the place, how were the crop harvests –"
"Some of those questions are... kinda strange," Ren frowned, "And a bit like they have been preparing for this for a while."
"I haven't seen them for years." Link told her.
"Doesn't help put my mind at ease," Ren muttered, "They're after something."
"When they asked after dragons they claimed they were dragon hunters, which I found funny at the time. Rodents fighting dragons? Just seems wrong."
"Mmm..." Ren turned and started to walked away, still thinking. Link grabbed the bars to his cell, trying to watch as she walked off.
"Where are you going?"
"To tell Ganondorf what you just told me."
"The other guy said to remind you he's still down here." Ren stopped walking, slapping her forehead.
"I knew I'd forgotten something!" She exclaimed, "Raven, you know that the door is unlocked, right?"
"What?" The other guy said. Ren nodded.
"Nim unlocked it a while ago."
"She did?"
"Yup."
"That sneaky little..."
"Yup." Ren turned and resumed walking, Link's fellow 'prisoner' opening the door to his cell and slipping down the corridor.
"Nice meeting you, Mr. Hero Guy!" He said, almost too cheerfully. Link sighed, resting his head against the bars. Then he frowned, reached out and through the bars, his frown deepening as his fingers found the keyhole... And the key sticking out of it. Ren had never gotten close enough to put that there... had she? Or had that guy Raven put it there? Though he never seemed to have gotten close enough to do it either... Though he was a bit hard to keep track of. Link turned the key in the lock and stepped out, looking around. One step closer to freedom.
