I swear to God, this chapter took me only a few hours. It's just a little frustrating, though, when I can't write all that much. I miss writing.
Characters © of Nintendo.
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Chapter 7
My breath caught. What had I just said? I wasn't seriously going to tell this random person all of my pain because she had asked, was I? Berating myself, I clenched my teeth and glared at the ground. I was so stupid!
Opening my mouth, I mumbled, "Well, uhm...." I felt bad about not saying anything. She was obviously interested; she wouldn't have asked if she wasn't. But I was embarrassed; I just... didn't really want go back on things that had hurt so bad.
Or did I? The Chozo had always said something about talking things out, which makes things better....But sometimes, I didn't like their advice, like right now. And then somehow, they always ended up being right. Wise bastards.
Finally, I mumbled, "It's a long story."
Zelda smiled. "I have time," she said.
I gulped loudly. My head started pounding. How did I start? How did I say anything? How did I even talk about what had happened to me? She'd think I was a freak! That there was something wrong with me....Which wasn't all that far from the truth.
My eyes slid shut as I tried to find the right words to start. Finally, I muttered, "My parents and I lived on a colony. But it wasn't like the colony I'm sure you're used to. It was like...a whole other planet. With other people who were just trying to make a living. Trying to do something special, almost. We were on a planet filled with fuel. Fuel used by the Galactic Federation, the law enforcement, which made us important."
Zelda nodded, not quite understanding, I could tell. She was probably just nodding so I would keep talking. But...I didn't mind talking.
"I was born there. There were other children, but I was the oldest; I was the first person born there. I grew up there...well, for as long as I lived there. My father was the head of the Galactic Federation regiment there, and my mother stayed home with me.
"At the age of three, I watched the worst kind of tragedy."
Zelda looked at me, her eyes wide. Maybe she understood what was coming. Maybe she didn't. But whatever it was, it was bothering her. "Go on," she said.
I took a deep breath before continuing. "Of course, being important meant we had to deal with a lot of attacks. Especially from the Space Pirates, a renegade group who's goal is to destroy the Federation. They wanted the fuel, and so did the Chozo, a bird-like race who was the wisest group of people I've ever seen.
"But my father couldn't give the fuel to anyone with the consent of the GF, the Federation. But my dad really didn't see a problem with giving it to the Chozo. He didn't though. My father kept it and went to call the Federation. That was when the attack occurred."
She looked dumbfounded. "The attack?!" she exclaimed in a whisper.
"Like you didn't see that coming," I mumbled. Rolling my eyes, I continued, "And I wasn't even in the area. I was in the forest, playing with this little rabbit thing."
"Cute!" Zelda said, smiling widely.
I rolled my eyes again. "Yeah. Sure. But anyways, I remember hearing people screaming. I was little, only three years old, but I knew something wasn't right. I ran as fast as I could. I wasn't as fast as I would've hoped. But when I stopped to catch my breath, I started thinking about someone in particular: my mother.
"Now I was looking for her. I wanted to find my mom. I remember calling out for her, looking and running as fast as I could. I tripped a lot, but that didn't stop me.
"People were running in the opposite direction. I was too small; no one noticed. And then I found her." My voice cracked, and my eyes started to water. Clearing my throat, I turned my head away, toward the fire.
My heart started pounding as I looked at the fire, remember what I had seen. My mother, burning in front of my eyes. Falling...Ridley....I spoke before I could stop myself.
"She was running toward me, calling my name. Calling me towards her. I heard a screech, a sound I had never heard before. I ignored it though, and kept running. My mom was the only thing on my mind. That's when it happened.
"That dragon that had Peach, Ridley, flew down. He shrieked again, and flames shot out of his mouth...engulfing my mother." My throat closed up, but no tears escaped. I cried over so many silly things, and now, when something that was truly sad was brought up, there were no tears left to cry, no tears to fall.
Zelda looked disgusted.
"I...I watched her fall. It wasn't even her anymore. She was just...a smile of ashes, bones, and dust. It was...the most...."
That's when the tears started to fall. My head started to spin. They were falling so fast. I whimpered, biting my lip. I tried to hide the tears, the pain, from Zelda. I didn't want her to see me weak, to see me so vulnerable.
Zelda whispered softly, "Samus...it's ok to cry sometimes, you know."
I couldn't stop myself. Tears fell, and it took all of my self control to keep from screaming in pain. My head fell forward, into my hands, and before I registered what was going on, I felt Zelda's arms around me, holding me close.
My head on her shoulder, I sobbed. This was the hardest I had ever remembered crying in my life, and I couldn't stop myself. I don't cry, I'm Samus Aran. Then why was I crying on the shoulder of some random elf-woman I barely knew?
I had never been held the way Zelda was holding me in that moment. Not for a long time. Not since my mother was alive. Not since I was little. And now Zelda was treating me like a child, sitting me on her lap, cradling me there, while I cried. She stroked my hair and told me everything was ok. Something I hadn't heard in a long time.
The tears didn't stop for a long time, and even after they did, I continued to cling. I didn't want to let go. It was then that something made a lot of sense to me.
Now I finally understood my problem: I was in love with Zelda. But that wasn't normal. I knew there was something more than simple friendship between us. Something more than just simply being good friends. I loved her.
My heart felt torn in two. I shouldn't feel this way. I...I mean, this wasn't as bad as it had been before, many years ago. But something told me that the culture Zelda belonged to wasn't open for this. I was scared to tell her; I was scared to be in love with her.
As I clung to her, my grip tightened on her dress. I didn't want to let go. I wanted to hear her say...but that would never happened. She loved Link. That's who she was meant for. I was meant to be alone.
Tears fell for a different reason, now.
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I dunno. Poor Sammy, I can say I know how she feels.
