Linebeck's Agreement

Chapter Seven: Too Many Questions

By Harmony283

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't claim ownership of, you should all know this by now, but this is FANficiton. 'nough said.

Authors Note: Since I got a few reviews (on here and on dA) mentioning stuff about the Blessed Ones and how it was slightly (or very) confusing when Linebeck mentioned it during the last chapter--this chapter'll hopefully explain it a bit more. Again Linebeck may not be telling the whole truth, or the whole story. It's in his POV, so he gets to choose what he does and doesn't say (hence why you'll notice there aren't that many thoughts while he's talking about it). Other than that enjoy!

-----------------------------------------

"Linebeck?" I looked up from the book I had just been reading to see Link, standing in the doorway of the connected bathroom, his hair still slightly damp and drooping over his eyes, with a concerned look on his face. He slowly walked over to the bed I had designated as my own for the night and sat down. For a moment he didn't say anything but then slowly he opened his mouth and spoke, "Tetra and Aryll are asleep now."

"And?" I already knew where this was going. He didn't even have to say anything else, but he did anyway.

"A-And," he gulped nervously, "We should too. I-I mean…I know you a-agreed to stay in town an' all, to watch Aryll, b-but…" he looked down at his lap and his toes curled. His next words were almost too soft for me to hear, not that I really needed to hear them, I already knew what he said.

I let out a sigh and placed the book on the bed-side table, "Look, you need more sleep than I do, kid." I reached out and brushed a few strands of his wet bangs away from his eyes, the motion had become almost habitual now…was that healthy? No it probably wasn't…but he wasn't' complaining.

He did tense though, when I continued to play with his bangs. Finally he seemed to give up and relaxed, but it didn't wipe the worry completely from his face. It lingered the most in his eyes. Though it was also mixed with some other emotions, like fatigue, and, surprisingly, pain.

He was in pain?

"Hey, you okay?" He looked startled by my comment, almost like he…hadn't been expecting that. Not that I could blame him. I pulled my hand away from his hair and instead rested it on his shoulders, "Are you okay?" I repeated. This time he seemed to respond.

But it wasn't much, just a meek nod of the head.

"That's not very helpful, Link. Are you hurt?" And if he was how did he get hurt?

He shook his head, "N-No…I…we didn't…I-I didn't hurt myself. You know…w-we…didn't do anything dangerous today…" that was true but still…

Maybe he slipped on the wet floor after his shower? Yeah that had to be it, "Did you slip?" I asked which again seem to startle him. He was focusing on something, but it obviously wasn't the conversation at hand.

"Link," I started, "Did you slip when you were in the bathroom?" Immediately he flushed and shook his head. I felt myself sighing, "But you're hurt."

"H-How can you…?" he let the sentence drop off on its own. Maybe he already knew what my answer was going to be, but I said it anyway.

"Your eyes. You're hurt. That's why I'm asking."

He shook his head again, "N-no…not that kind…of hurt…"

'So he is hurt.'

"Then what kind of hurt is it?" he shifted uncomfortably, which somehow…told me exactly what it was. It was that kind of hurt. But he seemed so young to be emotionally…? No, that didn't matter, "Link," he looked up at me, "you can tell me whatever it is you want to tell me. You know that right?"

His eyes widened, "Wh…wha…?"

"What kind of pain is it?" he wasn't getting it, might as well be blunt. I've known him for almost a year now--a year--I'd like to think I'd know him by now…

He seemed to realize that at nearly the same time but again he almost seemed hesitant to say anything, "I…I-It's…I-I'm cold…" he changed the subject, just that easily.

'Maybe he isn't ready to talk about it yet…? Aw, heck, like I'd be able to help 'im in the first place…'

"Well if you're cold then get in bed," I motioned over to his bed, "Like you said, Aryll and Tetra are asleep now, there's no reason for you to be up."

He didn't answer, and for a moment I thought he wouldn't. Not that he had the chance to say anything when he tried. The door banging open was what cut him off.

"Well I definitely didn't mean to do that…" Tetra commented as she walked through the doorway and into our room. She didn't even try to close the door, but it was obvious that she wanted something. She walked over to my bed and nearly glared me down, "I see you two are still up?"

I nodded my head, "Yeah so what if we are?" For a moment she looked concerned, her eyes lingered on Link for a little longer than necessary, "Why are you up?"

She let out a quiet sigh and looked back over at me, "Well for one, Aryll's refusing to sleep." That was Link's cue and he more than took it--he nearly jumped off the bed and towards the door.

"I'll check on her." And then he was gone, leaving Tetra and I in the room together. Oh, and he closed the door.

"…That worked a little too well y'know," I commented and Tetra shrugged her shoulders, sitting down on the bed next to me.

Then things got…tense. She looked back at me and said, "What's going on here?" It was a blunt, not very direct, question. Did she honestly expect me to answer it? From the look on her face that was a blatant yes. But how was I supposed to answer it?

"What do you mean? What happened today? Or is this still about the fog…?" I really didn't want to talk about either of those two topics--much less hold an intelligent conversation with a teenager who kept asking questions.

"I'd say both, but start with what happened today. I wanna know more about that than I do anything else." That, as well as the fact I could tell she wasn't going to let me get away with not saying anything, was obvious.

I let out an annoyed groan, "I guess you're gonna bug me about it till I say something, right?" She nodded her head, "Fine then. I'll tell you. But shouldn't Link be in here too?"

The glare she pinned me with more than answered that question.

"Fine, fine. You wanna know about the Blessed One's right? That that old man was talking about, right?" she nodded her head and I felt a shiver of dread run down my spine.

I didn't want to talk about them. I really didn't. Just being in a situation that involves them is nerve wracking enough.

"You're going to tell me, y'know. Even if you don't want to." I flinched, and she knew I didn't like it. Great. Just one hundred percent greatness…

I groaned again, "I don't need this, not at this time of night." Not that saying that was going to make her leave, might as well get it over with. I exhaled loudly and started, "Blessed Ones are…what they are. Blessed…Ones…or people."

Tetra rolled her eyes, "Yeah I kinda figured that out. But why are they blessed? Why isn't everyone blessed, and why did the healer keep refusing to help?"

Three questions…more than I wanted but, "They're blessed because the Ruler of this place foresaw a 'Great Power' in them. Not everyone's blessed because if you're blessed…well, not everyone has a 'Great Power', do they? And your guess is as good as mine on why the old coot wouldn't help her."

There, those were suitable answers. She didn't need to know that much more. Even if she did, she could ask that Blessed One's servant girl.

But Tetra didn't seem pleased, "There's a ruler of this place?"

I nearly fell off the bed at that, "Of course there is." I felt myself begin to laugh, "Don't tell me you honestly thought this place didn't have a ruler."

She glared at me and turned away, "Well, it's no big deal, just…makes our whole journey just a bit harder."

That made me laugh even harder, "Just a bit? Oh kid, you kill me sometimes. Yeah it makes your life harder, and apparently way harder than it was when I last came here."

Oh wait. Crap. Shouldn't have said that—

"And what do you know about this leader?" she was looking at me again, her arms crossed over her chest with an interested look in her eyes.

Something told me I wasn't going to get out of this unscathed. Then again she was a pirate.

'Like that's an excuse for everything.' Really it wasn't but that was beside the point. I managed to kill the laughing and straighten up before speaking again, "What do I know about the leader? Not much except the rumors floating around."

Tetra raised an eyebrow at that, "So he's got rumors floating around about him? That's never good."

"She," her eyes widened, "the ruler is a she." I looked up at the ceiling, "And they aren't all bad rumors. Or at least the ones I heard weren't bad. Then again what adult would talk about the 'bad' stuff around a kid?"

She hesitated a moment before answering, "Probably…not much. But it's obviously worse now, but worse how? How is she different from before?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Eh, all I can really tell ya is," or rather how much I'm willing to say is, "that she's most likely strengthened the rules and boundaries. Never once when I came here before did a Healer refuse to heal a Blessed One, never once were the Blessed One blamed for something."

"But they have a Great Power, right?" Tetra was thinking again, this couldn't be good, "So what if the villagers are just afraid of that power?"

I shook my head, "With that power also comes restrictions, apparently. Their power is apparently only used for Good. The only time it can be used to harm someone is if—"

"If…what…?" my eyes widened and I turned back to the door. It swung open slowly and there, standing in the doorway, was Link. He looked sleepy, and slightly alarmed by something.

Tetra immediately shot off the bed and ran towards him, "Link…! Didn't you say you'd check on Aryll?" she sounded almost like she was scolding him.

Poor Link…he even looked like he was used to it.

In fact he almost seemed to be ignoring her, "What…were you just about to say?" I could barely hear him over Tetra's ranting about how he shouldn't be here—how she'd tell him everything later—but I still heard it. It was a question that needed to be answered.

"Hey kid, shut it." Tetra immediately whirled around and glared at me. She opened her mouth to say something but I only shrugged, "He asked a question. And I think I'll answer it by continuing now." This successfully shut her mouth. She went so far as to even shut the door again, but she didn't even try to sit back down next to me.

Not that she could, since Link took her seat. That was beside the point--they were both looking at me with the "You must tell me or else" look, and it wasn't very pleasant.

I cleared my throat once, then twice, then finally I spoke, "Like I was saying…the Blessed One's aren't allowed to use their Great Power to harm someone unless the person's evil, or has done some sort of horrible crime--like killing someone."

"Wh-What do they do to them?" Link asked, though he sounded like he already knew the answer. He must've been listening in to the conversation.

'Then why didn't he just come in earlier? No, wait,' I looked over at Tetra, who seemed to be thinking hard again, 'She probably would've given him more than a scolding…'

But what more she could give him I really didn't want to know. Really. Better off not knowing that.

"Yeah what do they do to them?" Tetra noticed me staring and glared, "What? Do they lock 'em up or something?"

I winced at that, "Ah…I don't know if they do that." Not that it wasn't impossible, "But I know of a few cases where someone who had been 'Blessed' got kicked off the isle."

Tetra's eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to speak once more--only to be cut off by Link, "How many are there? Blessed One's, I-I mean…"

Now that I really didn't know, "Beats me. I do know that not a lot of Blessed One's live in this place."

"And how do you know that?" Tetra was glaring at Link now, who, surprisingly, didn't seem to notice.

"Because it's a port, people come and go all the time." That's when I realized I was leaving out one important detail. Now one of them was going to say something.

"So? What does being a Blessed One have to do with leaving the isle?"

I was right. Of course she'd be the one to ask that.

"That's the only bad thing about being a Blessed One--if you can even call it bad to begin with. You can't leave the isle." They both tensed at this and I was sure Tetra was going to ask why again but, "It's one of the first things I found out. If they leave, they die. If they stay, they live."

"Then what about the ones who lost their blessing?" Tetra immediately asked after I was finished, "Is it just the opposite for them?"

I shook my head, "Depends on if they're born here or not. If they are, but aren't blessed they're fine. If they aren't born here and aren't blessed they're fine. That's all you need to know." She opened her mouth again to argue but Link cut her off with a yawn. This made her hesitate and then, rather abruptly, turn around and yank the door open.

She looked back over her shoulder at us and said softly, "Fine, don't tell me. But Link, you get some sleep. You're coming with us tomorrow whether you're rested or whether I have to yank you out of the bed in the morning."

Link flinched at that, and flinched again when the door slammed.

It wasn't until we heard another door open and close down the hall that we decided it was safe to speak again.

The first thing out of Link's mouth, though, was an apology, "I'm sorry. I-I don't know…I didn't mean to yawn right before you f-finished."

I smiled down at him and shook my head, "Nah, actually that was perfect timing, and you're tired." I ruffled his hair with my hand, "Go to sleep."

"You'll watch Aryll, right?" He asked, his eyes looked almost like he was pleading for me to agree with him. Like I'd say no. He seemed to get this and he sighed, "Good. I…I don't want her following…us. She might get hurt…or lost."

I nodded my head, "Probably. Make sure that girl shows you what path you're takin'. There's a woods nearby that you might have to go through to get to her place, and it's infested with monsters that'll probably attack you."

Link gave me a confused look, "Attack us? They're the reason why we're…coming with the doctor…in the first place, right?"

I nodded my head, "Right. Just…don't bother them if they don't provoke you. I heard they turn on you really fast if you rile them up. Just as long as you don't do that you might come back in one piece."

Link nodded his head, "I know. I'll come back in one piece. I always have before, right?" He looked confident, but despite that his smile was grim. Yeah he had come back in one piece before--but half of the time he could barely stand afterwards.

"I mean it though. Be careful. I don't wanna have to see you being carried back here."

"I won't have to be carried--"

"--And I definitely don't want to see you faint when you get back either."

This made him falter, but only for a few seconds, "I won't faint. I promise."

"Yeah but you can't promise something like that." his smile slowly disappeared, he could finally see how serious I was, "You especially can't now, when ya don't even know what you're up against."

Link didn't speak for a long while after that. He looked like he was thinking, I could see the different emotions passing across his clear-green eyes. The eyes that could hold so much and hide so little. Finally they fixed on one set of emotions: determination.

"I will come back." I felt the power in his voice, it was the same as it was each time he left the boat to run head first into whatever dungeon lay in his wake. It was the same kind of determination I heard when he said he'd get Tetra back to normal. It was the same determination that he had when he vowed to fix something that he had done wrong.

Made your respect for the kid go up a few notches. Who couldn't respect someone like that?

Oh, and he was smiling again, "Will you wait for me?" It was an innocent request, yet one I always seemed to be bound to.

I felt the words tumble out of my mouth before I could necessarily stop them, "Do I have much of a choice? I doubt Aryll does either. She'll want to go with you but, I guess…I guess I can keep her here." I felt a smile of my own form on my face, "Yeah I guess I can do that." I ruffled his hair again and this time he squeaked.

But when he looked up at me again, his smile was so much brighter, "I…thanks."

"Eh well," I shrugged my shoulders, "Let's just consider this a part of the agreement." The agreement that just seemed to be getting longer the more time I spent here.

But that was just how agreements worked. Add one onto another, onto another, onto another until eventually there's a chain of agreements following you everywhere you go. It could tie ya down, or help you out. But it was an agreement.

'Guess I won't be leaving this place anytime soon.' I thought as I watched Link crawl under the sheets of my bed. I didn't need to tell him there was another bed in the room--it almost felt like I didn't have the right to. Yeah he was getting taller but it wasn't like there wasn't any room in the bed.

So I slid into the covers next to him and turned off the bed-side lamp, shutting my eyes but already knowing--I wasn't going to sleep again tonight.

'I really hate insomnia…'

----------------------------------------

Wanted this chapter to be out a bit earlier, but hey it's close enough. It's also a bit longer than I had intended (meant to cut it off after Tetra left buuuuut I wanted to add on the rest cuz it was fun to write). For the next chapter...well, you can already expect that SOMEONE won't listen to directions, but exactly who won't? -thinks- I don't even know yet...

As always R&R! Questions? Comments? Have CC? Send it in a review!

-Harmony283