Himmels: Buwahahaha! Plot advancement begins on a regular status...thingy...of doom. O.o As our beta reader whom we now call the Grammar Nazi said, the fillers were fun, but now it is time for the -cues serial killer music- the antagonists!
Draculina: Hur hur hur, but first, we have to, you know, mess with Zelda and her snipe hunt misery. Himmels, is it me or do we both have a weird thing for getting characters into trouble.
Himmels: I like getting characters into trouble, but for you I think its almost drips into the erotic sense, Draculina. -stares-
Draculina: I'm sure I have no idea what you are talking about, Himmels. But that is beside the point, read now and forever hold your peace.
Chapter 7
Friends...or not.
"Well, we light each other's smokes and we bend each other's ear
And we laugh at each other's stupid jokes and we buy each other beers
Then we lose our butts in pool but we win it back in darts
And we lend each other shoulders when someone breaks our hearts.
I love my honky tonk friends
Nobody really understands me like them
I ain't gotta pretend, they take me just like I am
I love my honky tonk friends."
--Jason Michael Carroll
Heart pounding painfully against my chest, I clutched my bow like a frightened rabbit. Now that I was alone, everything about the forest seemed to change. Now the shadows that were cast by the trees seemed much more ominous and I began to assume that the monsters and murderers that I've watched in movies, read in books, and dreamt of in my sleep were in hidden in their darkness. I've always hated horror movies and now all the ones I've seen are coming back to me; I swear Freddy Krueger is hiding behind that bush right now. There is a demon watching me from those branches above and a mutant that was formed from a nuclear bomb is sending a signal to his brother who is named after a planet to come and burn me alive…and maybe a zombie will come forth from the ground and eat my remains.
…Yes, actually, I'm pretty sure it will.
Strange how being alone and scared makes you think.
I knew better than to run some random direction, but right now, it didn't seem like such a bad idea. Considering that I live in Texas, getting bitten by a snake or something would be a logical danger within the woods. But being mauled by a rabid prairie dog seemed to me to be just as likely.
"Link?" I tried to yell, but no answer came.
Slowly, I walked forward and tried to strain my eyes against the darkness. The only things moving were the figments of my imagination that I've been having a hard time ignoring. I mentally slapped myself every time I jumped at a mere twig snap, but can you blame me? Leather Face is chasing me with a chainsaw, you know! That really did happen in Texas, so yes it is possible. Although, that was probably over twenty years ago, but whatever…
"Hey, Ruto!" I tried again, but still to no avail.
From memory, I thought that I walked with the others in this general direction…I think. No matter how far I ventured, all the trees looked the same and I couldn't find anything that could trigger myself to remember which way we turned. If Nabooru didn't have us take so many freakin' turns when we walked, I'd definitely find my way out!
I started to call out all the names of the people I went with. One of them was bound to hear me sooner or later. The more I shouted to them, the more I kept getting this distinct feeling that they ditched me. The idea of this made me think about the possibility of a fake friendship. I mean, come on, who would do that to a person that they liked?
O.oxo.O
"Stop squirming, Link! You too, Ruto!" Nabooru prodded their sides.
Link and Ruto were grabbed from behind by the scheming group. Darunia had his hand over his mouth and was carrying him with one arm. Nabooru and Rian were hauling Ruto. They could all hear Zelda's shouts and Saria kept looking back with a guilty face. Dark Link and Sheik were unfazed by this whole ordeal. In fact, they were instead trying to find deer and were completely ignoring both the retreating group and the yelling in the distance.
"Saria, if you even think about going back to her, I'll be dragging you as well." Nabooru warned when she looked back to see Saria standing and gazing the way they came, "We're just having a little joke. We've done this before to other people!"
"Yeah, and they hate us for it now!" Saria shot, but still followed.
"She'll find her way out," Darunia said matter-of-factly, "She'll probably laugh with us when she does, too. She has a good sense of humor, nein?"
Saria wasn't convinced, "Yes, she is wonderful, but you know she hasn't hunted before. She won't be able to find her way out like we can."
"Oh, come on, Saria!" Nabooru scowled, getting annoyed, "She'll be fine! It's just a game! Her being from California just makes it better!"
Darunia snickered at that.
Link tried to shout at them through Darunia's massive hand and Ruto continued to try and get out of the two girls' grips. They all held fast and were nearly out of the forest. They could still hear Zelda's shouts, but they were a little more distant, making Ruto wonder if she was going the wrong way or if they just took her in a little farther than first expected.
"Where's Dark and Sheik?" asked Nabooru as they reached the truck.
"I think they are really hunting out there." Darunia grinned, "That's the only reason they came, I bet. Sie sind fremd! Aber wir lieben sie, ja?"
Nabooru laughed with him and agreed, "Ja."
"Well…" Darunia sighed and leaned against the truck door that he kept shut to keep Link, Saria, and Ruto inside, "I guess all we have to do is wait, now."
"Yup." Nabooru and Rian agreed, both using their weight also to keep the doors shut.
O.oxo.O
How can they not hear me? They have to! This forest can't be that big and I've been screaming at the top of my lungs for them. Eventually, I came to the terms with the fact that they did, in fact, ditch me. My mind still is questioning our friendship during this entire week of me spending time with them at school.
At this point, I've been walking aimlessly in a direction I'm not aware of and wondering what I should do. I'm scared to death of what I'll find in the grasses and not trusting anything that sounds even remotely close to a rattlesnake's tail. I stood still and listened hard for some sign of one of my "friends".
Movement caught my eye to the left. Though I couldn't be sure, it looked as if a person was standing in the shadows. My heart jumped to my throat and I hid behind the tree. The figure was dressed in dark clothing and seemed to look in my direction, making my heart pound harder.
I then mentally slapped myself and leaned a little out from behind the tree, 'Wait a minute! It could be Dark!'
Tentatively, I took a step forward and tried, "Dark?"
The figure looked over, but didn't answer.
"Dark? Is that you?" I took some more steps forward, in hope.
It was around the same size as Dark…maybe a little smaller, but that could just be the distance playing a trick on me.
The figure started to step backwards as I proceeded toward it. To my surprise, it started to sprint away.
"Hey! Wait!" I called after it and chased.
Naturally, I assumed it was one of my so-called friends running away, because they just got found out.
Whenever I thought I lost it, I'd hear a twig snap or a tree rustle and I'd look in that direction and see the figure once more. It was as if it was waiting for me and then it'd pick up a sprint once more and dash away, leaving me to follow the dust. The bow was hard to chase with, but I wanted any form of protection I could have at this point.
Panting and stopping once more, I stood and whirled around trying to find the dark figure. I heard movement in the bush a little farther up and, with a growl, I charged. Taking a dive, I crashed into the bush and was shocked to be in the clearing when I managed to pop out again. I didn't find the figure, which freaked me out at first, but then I saw Dark near the truck with all the others.
The disappointment flooded through me when Irealized that my hoping I had accidentally drifted away from them by accident was, in fact, not true. No…Everybody was there. Nabooru, Darunia, and Rian were out watching the forest for signs of me, most likely. Sheik and Dark were sitting on tail end of the truck tinkering with their bows. And Link, Ruto, and Saria…the three that I thought would definitely not do such a thing to me, were sitting in the cab of the truck. They didn't care. None of them did.
First I was hurt, but now I'm just pissed.
Storming toward them, I made a beeline straight for Nabooru.
When she caught sight of me, her face broke into a grin, along with Darunia's and Rian's. Sheik and Dark spared me a mere glance, making me fume and the ones in the cab looked frightened and dammit, they should be!
I reared back the hand that gripped the bow and then slammed it to the ground, making their eyes widen and dart forward to try and save it.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" I shouted at them.
"Us?!" Darunia said in disbelief, "Look at what you just did!" he indicated to the bow. One of the wheels was popped out of place and it looked like the wire was loose.
"Why the hell did you leave me in there?!"
Nabooru stepped forward and shouted back, "Oh, my God, Zelda! It was just a joke! Look, you came out just fine!"
"Yeah, well, what if I hadn't, Nabooru? What then?" I asked, "If Dark didn't lead me out, then what would have happened?!"
Dark turned around with that, with a furrowed brow and stated, "I didn't lead you out."
"Well, someone did!" I said nearly hysterical at this point.
"We were all here, Zelda." Link said, coming out of the truck.
"Somebody lead me out of there."
They all looked at each other and then back at me like I was insane. I was seeing red now…first they ditch me, now they don't believe me?!
"Fuck!" I screamed and pulled my hair.
"Zelda…" Nabooru said, a little gentler now, "It was only a-,"
"A joke?!" I completed, "Well, it wasn't fucking funny!" tears were forming in my eyes, but I held them back and put on a strong, prideful front and demanded, "Take me home."
Nobody said a word the whole ride back. The silence was awkward, but I couldn't care less. One by one, Link dropped the others off. Ruto tried to talk to me, but I turned my head away and she gave up and walked slowly back. Darunia was still angry about the bow, so he left without a word to anyone. Nabooru's face was expressionless, but she did stop and watch me a bit before she walked off into her house. Dark Link was staring at me with slight concern, but not much to the point where felt compelled to ask if I was all right. I ignored his stare and when Link made it to my house I jumped out of the truck and started forward without a word of good-bye.
"Zelda." Link tried as he stepped out of the truck and followed me.
I continued to ignore him and the others. Sheik was sitting on the window with his arms resting on the metal roof and Saria was leaning out the other one and looked near tears. Dark peeked above, looking at Sheik and then back at me. They seemed to have just had a telepathic conversation. They never speak, so it wouldn't surprise me if they mentally spoke to each other.
"Zelda, we didn't mean anything by it." Link hurried after me as I opened the door, "Really Zelda, we thought you'd want to have-,"
I shut the door in his face and then leaned against it. I held my breath and waited until I heard heavy footsteps from Link's boots leave the porch. I heard some muffled voices through the door and sighed when I heard the truck engine. I didn't move until it was distant and then headed toward the kitchen where I knew my Mom and Dad would be waiting for me.
They both greeted me with smiles and Mom asked, "Zelda, honey! How was your night with your-,"
"It sucked." I said blandly.
The smiles disappeared and now they looked taken aback.
"Sugar, is everything ok?" asked Dad, standing slightly, "What happened?"
Instead of answering, I said, "Hey Dad…Did Novio or any of your friends ever take you snipe hunting?"
Dad blinked in confusion, "No."
"That's what I thought." I nodded, "Friends don't take friends snipe hunting do they?"
Letting the puzzle pieces fall together in their minds, they both put on faces of concern and Mom said, "I'm sure it was just a joke, Zelda."
"Yeah," I nodded, "Everything is just a big joke, isn't it?"
I turned then and walked silently up the stairs. When I got to my room, I undressed from the hunting gear that I forgot to return and put on my sleepwear. I looked down at the camouflage pants that I held in my hands and then threw them forcibly against the wall with a cry of frustration. I knew I was acting like a child, but I did not care at this point. Punching the pillow before I laid my head down, I probably didn't get an hour of sleep that night.
O.oxo.O
Come Monday, I was still angry, and therefore I still completely ignored all the former friends of mine. I waltzed right by them when they were sitting on the Long Horn grass. They all looked up and tried to say something when I passed, but they got nothing from me, not even a glance. To calm myself, I mentally recited my German words. Currently, they were all curse words, of course…
In class, Link and Ruto took seats next to mine when they sat, but I didn't spare them a glance. Instead, I noticed something else. There appeared to be a new student. But when Mr. Gaebora came in and didn't announce him, I became confused. Seeking an answer, I poked the girl that sat in front of me on the shoulder.
"Hey, Heidi." I said, "Who is that? A new student?"
She looked in my direction and then turned back with a shake of the head, "No, that's Ganondorf. He was just absent all week. He's been here as long as we all have. Stay away from him though." Heidi warned, "He isn't the nicest cowboy in the saloon."
I nodded at her and gazed at the back of Ganondorf's head. His skin was deeply tanned and his hair looked as if it was a dyed red. I wanted him to turn around, but he didn't answer to my mind control of obvious power.
When the nonexistent bell rang and Mr. Gaebora let us out of class, I didn't wait for Link like I did last week. I went straight to World History and, again, tried to sit alone, but Link and Nabooru weren't going to let that happen apparently.
Nabooru glared at me during a lecture on the Romans. She then scribbled something on her notebook a message and held up what she had written. At first I didn't want to read it, but I let curiosity take hold and I peeked.
You can't ignore us forever, Zell!
I let out a small 'ha' and concentrated on writing notes on Julius Caesar and the fall of Rome. Nabooru let out a growl and had a silent conversation with Link over my head that I refused to take notice to.
P.E. was a lot like the others except worse, of course. My locker just had to be next to Rian's. I opened mine without acknowledgment to her presence, which made her narrow her eyes dangerously. I knew she wasn't exactly the one to mess with, but hell, I don't care. Slamming the locker shut again after I was in P.E. clothes, I walked out, tying my hair in a ponytail with her following. I could feel her glare…it was worse then Nabooru's…
I told myself that'd I'd take P.E. damn serious and that's just what I'm doing. I've never really took the sit ups or push ups or even the run to heart, but now, I'm running like the wind. We were running the mile today and at the forth and final lap, Rian ran next to me. Whenever I picked up speed, she picked up speed. Soon it became a race. Shoulder to shoulder, the only time we separated was when we split to pass another girl. When the finish line was near, we both were growling and trying to run faster than that was humanly possible for a person our sizes. We blazed pass Ms O'Connor and she hit her stopwatch, raised eyebrows. She expected it out of Rian, but not me, I supposed.
"Good job, girls." She said gruffly to us, "You passed the mile run in six minuets thirty-nine seconds. Amazing how much faster you run, Zelda, when you have someone to compete with. Care to join track?"
I don't think she understood my answer, because of my heavy breathing, but it was a 'no'.
I was thankful it was now lunch. Well…kind of…lunch was always enjoyable for me last week, because I was with the others. Now I'm alone. Not feeling all that hungry even after that run, I bought a juice drink from the stand and wandered to the other side of the lunch tables. The Long Horn group all cast a long glance at me, but I held my ground and ignored them all. Pulling out my newest book from my backpack, The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice and fourth book of the Vampire Chronicles, they had no possible way of getting my attention now.
Sipping at my drink and reading lazily, I was perfectly content. That is, until a huge shadow blocked my sun. I assumed it was Darunia, because of the size, but when I looked up, I was surprised to see someone else. Judging by the dyed, blood red hair and tanned skin, I assumed it was the one that Heidi called Ganondorf.
I blinked up at him and said unsurely, "Hi?"
With a less than innocent smile, he gave himself permission to sit across from me at the table I was at.
"Hello," he said, "I'm Aleksandr Kazimir Ganondorf. My friends call me by my last name though. And you are?"
I was uneasy around this "Aleksandr" and didn't want to be near him. Thinking he'd go away if I answered, I replied, "I'm Zelda Adala King, er, nice to meet you…Ganondorf?"
I didn't know if I was aloud to say it, because his "friends" called him that and I was just an acquaintance. When he continued to smile at me, I got the feeling that it was ok.
He remained silent.
"So…" I said, in an effort to keep the ice broken, "You're Russian, I'm assuming."
"Yes," he nodded putting a hand up to cup his chin, "It's rather obvious, het?"
I assumed 'het' meant either 'no' or 'yes'. He must be like Darunia and talks a lot in his native tongue. I smiled back at him and said, "I like your middle name. Kazimir." I tried saying it and found I liked even more when he said. It was a very enjoyable word.
He laughed and said, "You shouldn't like it too much, Princess." I groaned inwardly at that stupid nickname that always popped up and he then leaned in and whispered, "It means 'destroyer of peace'. My parents thought I was an angel when I was born obviously." He grinned and laughed.
I let out an uncomfortable chuckle and wondered if it was right to do it. Ganondorf made me…nervous…but not a Link type of nervous. Ganondorf was…different. I couldn't explain it, but it was like alarm bells within my mind were signaling me to stay away. I wasn't used to this signal from my internal instincts, so I didn't recognize it straight away.
"I heard it through the gossip circle that you were from California." He stated, his stare unwavering, "That is interesting…"
"Not really." I discouraged conversation, "It was actually quite boring there."
"Oh, come on," he leaned in more, making more red flags to wave around in my head. "I bet it was a lot more interes-,"
I didn't notice Dark Link walk up next to me, "Zelda, can I talk to you?" his face was completely serious and he flicked his eyes towards Ganondorf.
Sensing Dark's purpose, I temporarily forgot my rift between him and the others and immediately said, "Of course, Dark."
"Darkie boy!" Ganondorf said standing and putting an arm around him.
When Dark tensed, I tensed. When Dark is caught off guard or if he didn't trust something, I knew that I shouldn't either. Dark detected personalities like Sheik detected lies. Speaking of Sheik, I just noticed him standing a little back from us, also tensed and held a glare.
"I haven't seen you in a long time, my friend!" Ganondorf gushed, "You know, the boys are missing you. Zant has been wondering what has become of you…maybe you should pay a visit?"
Dark's face contorted to something that looked like worry and at that point, Sheik stepped in.
He snatched his brother's arm and stepped in between, "Back off, Ganondorf."
Already knowing his personality just by speaking to him for maybe half a minute, I knew that Ganondorf only wanted his way and right now, he wanted to speak with Dark Link. Sheik stepping in wasn't in any part of his plan and he was about to get rid of it. Stepping in, myself, was probably safer than Sheik. Sheik will fight, Ganondorf wouldn't hit me…well during school he wouldn't. Outside, I can't be so sure.
Reaching forward, I pulled both Dark's and Sheik's arm to me and said to Ganondorf, "Um, if Dark actually came to me and said he needed to tell me something, I bet it is important. He wouldn't bother coming near me if it wasn't, right? So if you'll excuse us…"
"Yes, Zelda," Ganondorf nodded, that smile coming back, "You're right. Dark wouldn't waste his time and energy if it wasn't important."
Ganondorf stepped aside and I hurried Dark and Sheik passed him, still gripping their arms. Actually, I didn't stop giving them the now-taking-pushups-seriously-death grip until we made it the Long Horn grass where everybody sat watching.
"Ow, ow, Zelda!" Dark tried to wretch his arm free, "We have escaped!"
"I must agree…" Sheik said quietly, giving his arm a slight tug.
Though I didn't want to, I let their arms go. I wanted to keep gripping them until the day was done just in case Ganondorf decided to come back. Without even thinking, I sighed and sat down with all the others.
"Why does he seem like a bad boy?" I said trying to find humor somewhere.
Malon replied, "He's not the type of person you should be talking to. He's…I'm not going to say evil, but he's mean."
"Well, I thought it was Darunia at first, because of the size…"
"Ha!" Darunia scoffed, "I'm bigger than him!"
Ruto rolled her eyes and said in a bored tone, "Yes, yes, sugar, you are the biggest person in the whole town, we know. You are top wrestler and the best defense football has ever had here and you've had a beard since you were five."
Darunia was puffed up like a turkey, showing off his feathers, but that quickly deflated when Ruto took a notch off his testosterone and then he mumbled, "Well, jeez, if you put it like that…"
She patted his hand and then said to me, "Just stay away from him. He's in a cult."
"It's not a cult!" Dark suddenly defended.
Everybody then looked at him with disbelief.
Link had a disgusted look on his face, "It nearly is, Dark. You better stay away from him also." His voice turned quiet and he whispered something to him.
Rian suddenly appeared by my side and she whispered to me, "I saw what happened. It's a good thing Dark and Sheik came to get you. Probably not good for Dark though…"
I whispered back, "Why was he so interested in Dark?"
"Dark used to be a part of the whole clique thing. Is that what you call them in California? We call them cults, but whatever." Rian said, flicking her eyes at Dark to make sure he couldn't hear. Link was still lecturing him in secret, so he was occupied.
Nabooru leaned in then and said, "We managed to convince what he was doing wasn't good after he got arrested the last time."
My eyes widened, completely entranced about this conversation and asked, "What happened?"
"Saria knows more than me." Nabooru motioned for her to join.
Saria, with Ruto, Darunia, and Malon, leaned and whispered, "For a ritual or whatever, they had to have this object and apparently Ruto had it in her store. They broke in and tried to steal it and left Dark stranded inside when the police came. He was the only one arrested and he didn't give up the others."
"What?" my jaw dropped, "What was he thinking?"
"My mom didn't hold anything against him," Ruto said, "My dad wanted to, but I convinced him to let Dark go. I knew Dark wouldn't do it if they didn't make him."
Darunia nodded, "Ja, we got him out of the jail cell and sat him down and had a talk that I thought only parents were capable of. You wouldn't believe how worried we were."
"I thought Old McKirian was going to beat him…" Malon murmured not approving, but then said with a sigh, "I guess I would've wanted to also though…"
"We got him to stop though!" Saria said happily, "He's with us now! Just like before Ganondorf and Zant and all the others!"
"How long ago was this?" I asked.
"The summer before you came." Nabooru said with a frown.
Dark and Link finished their conversation with each other and Sheik pointed to us.
Dark glared and yelled, "Stop talking about me!"
"We weren't talking about you." Malon sniffed, "Don't be so vain."
Dark glowered at her and mumbled, "I'm not vain…"
He and Sheik then came forward to me as the others moved back to their positions before I came.
"I'm sorry that happened…" Dark said quietly, not looking at me.
"It's not your fault." I smiled at him.
The aloof barrier he always had around himself slipped away for a split second when the corner of his mouth tried to twitch up. The full smile never came, but the fact that he tried was enough. He went to his place next to his cousin, Link, with his back to me.
"Promise me," Sheik started with genuine concern in his eyes, "that you'll stay away of Ganondorf."
Appreciation of Sheik's worry made me warm inside, "I promise, Sheik."
A grin suddenly split his face and nearly frightened me, because of the instant change. He held up his pinkie finger. I laughed and took it with my own and we shook on it.
'I'll never understand him…' I concluded in my mind when he moved back to Dark.
"Wait a minute!" Nabooru said throwing up her arms and looking at me, "Are we all friends again?"
All it took was that one question for all the memories flooding back to me. My face went from total happiness to disgruntle. I narrowed my eyes at all of them, but passed up Dark and Sheik.
"Oh, no!" Saria said flailing around, "Don't make that face! We're friends! We're friends!"
In truth, I did want to forgive them and I really wanted to be within this circle once more. But, because I'm a very sarcastic person who is prone to attitude changes at a whim, I'm just going to have to mess with their heads first, aren't I?
"I don't know…" I said crossing my arms, "I don't think I can be friends with people like you…"
Everybody's faces were astonished and they now were speaking at once trying to convince me otherwise. Well, everybody, but Sheik and Dark, of course. Dark just watched the others with a raised eyebrow, probably thinking that they shouldn't waste their energy on begging and Sheik just smirked at me. Darn those lie detector boys, right?
"I just don't think I can!" I told them with a shrug and then held back a grin while saying, "The tooth fairy from Darkness Falls was stalking me in that forest and the Queen of the Damned decided that I wasn't a worthy human, so she was planning a sneak attack with Lestat!"
They all blinked and then looked at each other than at me and said in unison, "Huh?"
"It was like 30 days of night in that place," I continued, having trouble containing my laughter now, "being attacked by ugly vampires is a lot scarier than being attacked by Louis or Armand! It was terrible, y'all!"
They still looked confused and watched me warily like I had a second head.
"I'm just lucky I didn't get possessed by Beelzebub." I said shaking my head.
I couldn't contain my laughter now. It just wasn't possible.
"Oh, God, Zelda…" Nabooru put her face in her hands, "Drama queen."
"Drama princess." Link corrected.
"Will you stop calling me that?!"
All right, so I couldn't stay mad at these insane Texans for long. How could I? With their southern charm and puppy faces, it's just not possible. Nope. Not possible…And hell, life is boring without them.
Himmels: The next chapter won't come so quickly, just to let y'all know. We're going to take our time and analyze some things while our beta reader does some things for college and some tours for other matters.
Draculina: Hell, we might even get a chance to write up a few chapters at a time, but we won't send them to him all at once y'all. We know that's cruel. XD
Himmels: On other notes, what do y'all think of the plot advancement? -grins- Ganondorf is finally introduced and soon (or maybe not soon) the other antagonists will be brought forth! -silent evil laugh-
Draculina: -snickers with Himmels- Tell us all that you think about this fanfic, now. If you don't, then we won't know if it is enjoyable enough, ja? Oh, and a great way to tell us if it good enough or not is by reviewing -gives everybody a thumbs up-, lol.
