Oh noes! Another short chapter! Why can't I get the lengths to be the same!? Oh well...

A big big thank you to Frank Hunter for reviewing, and to the person who favorite-ed! You guys are awesome, and I'm so happy you're enjoying the story so far!


Chapter 6

Plain Old Fashioned Stupid

Link left first thing in the morning. Beth had watched him leave the breakfast table with a large pout on her face, but he did a rather good job at ignoring it as he slipped out of the house and away from the Hylian District. He felt a bit bad for lying to Sera about why he really wanted his day off, but he reminded himself - for the hundredth time - that he wasn't really lying, just not telling the entire truth.

He made a quick detour to the market and slipped into the store so he could grab his book first. Lifting it reverently from the drawer, he let his fingers trail along the words he had etched into the cover before slipping it into his shoulder bag where it came to rest next to the sandwich Sera had made for him. Then the drawer was locked once again and he was back out of the shop and on the road that led to the scholar's school. He would see what he could do there first, and then move on with his main task of the day.

Early morning was always his favorite time of day. In the school he had loved it because it meant he didn't have to try and sleep anymore, since it would be time to get up soon anyway, but it wasn't quite time to get up yet so he could just lie there and think and listen to the birds. Now it was his favorite time of day because the city was at its quietest. Most were still asleep or at the very least indoors and preparing to head out. There was also the smells from the bakeries as they prepared their goods for the day. Breathing in the scent of bread, Link let a smile grow on his face as he marched down the road he had tried to move down on his very first day in the city.

It wasn't nearly as crowded as it had been that day, and he had no problem moving down the road. Eventually the path led him out of the city. The buildings thinned out until they were replaced by long grass and a few trees scattered about. Then the road itself began to thin until it was just chunks of gravel. After a while the road began to wind around a large lake, and just on the other side of it Link spotted a large building. Assuming it was the scholar's school, Link picked up his pace.

As he drew closer, he noticed that this school looked much nicer than the worker's school; at least, it did from the outside, he imagined it was probably pretty similar on the inside. Gardens with flowers and fruit trees were scattered all around him as he approached the large double doors. The walls looked freshly painted, and the roof didn't look like it was going to collapse at any moment like the roof from his school did. He let his face reveal how impressed he was with it for only a moment before quickly knocking on the doors and forcing his expression back into a neutral one.

Minutes passed before the doors were opened. A round, cleanly shaven head with large, blue eyes poked its way between the doors and stared at Link.

"Yes?" the man asked impatiently.

"I was hoping to talk to one of your recent graduates," Link began.

The man raised his eyebrows at Link, but didn't say anything.

Link took this as a sign to continue. "He's supposedly still working here. His name is Sturgeon."

"You... are a relative?"

"No, just a friend."

"A friend. I see. What is your name? I can let him know you're here."

"Oh, well, actually he doesn't really know me. See I know his brother, and-" The doors were closed with a loud clang. "Excuse me!" Link shouted, knocking again.

"Get lost!" the man shouted back.

Link sighed. "Idiot," he grumbled to himself. "You should've just said your name was Orca." He took a few steps backwards and tried to peer into the building through the nearest window. Thick curtains blocked his view.

With another sigh, Link turned and started to leave. Sturgeon was in there somewhere, and from what he could tell was pretty well protected. He had done his duty, and now he could do his next task. With a small, excited, and uncontainable hop, Link set off back down the road towards the city again.

Halfway there, a small group of large vans flew over his head. He watched them go, recognizing them as Gerudo guard vans. Those things were usually only seen when there was a rebel attack going on that they had to deal with, since they were pretty much invulnerable to everything.

As the cars flew past him a strange scent filled his nostrils. It was an almost nostalgic smell, despite the fact that it was putrid, and as Link breathed it in his mind was filled with fleeting images of the work room.

"That smell... it's those plants!" Link looked back up at the cars and watched them. They were headed straight towards the scholar's school. Again, he felt that cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. Just what were those plants being used for?


The deeper he delved into the Gerudo residence district, the more Link felt like he was being an absolute moron. He could feel them all staring at him the minute he passed, some angrily, and some... not quite so angry. It was those that freaked him out the most, as now that he had been in the city long enough he knew that one - especially a Hylian male - did not want to attract too much attention from Gerudo women. Still, he was here, and he had been planning to go there for days now ever since his book was finished, so he was determined to finish what he had started.

He spent hours searching, and he was just about to finally give up and try again another time when he finally spotted her. Hadiya. She looked, however, much different than when he usually saw her when she was wandering around the market. Her cloak was thrown back over her shoulders, revealing long, puffy white pants and a short, but same colored shirt that didn't quite cover her entire torso. Beyond that, she was also being followed by an entire entourage of Gerudo guards.

"No stupid courage," Sera's voice floated through his brain.

"But what if she's being arrested?" Link asked the air. Sera was silent, but he knew if she were actually there she'd be glaring at him right now. It was obvious she wasn't, as she appeared to leading the small troop of guards herself. Ignoring his mental image of his guardian, however, he stepped forward abruptly, waving at Hadiya to get her attention.

The young girl noticed him; he knew she did, as she stopped so short her guards nearly crashed into her. But then she continued walking before the other women could try to find out why she had stopped. Link frowned as Hadiya walked right past him, not even glancing at him as she went.

"What's that all about?" he asked. Feeling dejected, Link fidgeted with the strap of his bag before finally turning and heading back to his own home. Sera would be getting worried anyway.

On the way, the book that was safely hidden away in his large pouch felt suddenly heavier, as if it too was feeling depressed.

"Maybe she'll read you another time," Link said down to his bag. The book didn't feel any lighter.

Since it was already late evening, Link decided to cut through the alleyways instead of taking the main roads. It was a little more risky, but Link had filled out a bit since he had left the school and he didn't feel that anyone would bother him. Besides, at the moment, he didn't even care if someone were to steal his bag.

"There's nothing valuable in it anyway," he thought to himself. Instantly he regretted the thought, and he clutched his bag tighter to himself as if trying to hug the book in apology.

Soft footsteps behind him made him whirl around. Nothing was there. Feeling his heart start to beat faster, Link turned again and continued on his way, his pointed ears straining for even the slightest sound. A moment later he heard them again; more footsteps. But, just as last time, when he turned he saw nothing but an empty alleyway. Not even a stray cat digging in the trash met his eyes.

Gripping his bag even tighter, he continued to stare in the direction he had heard the footsteps. "Who's there?" he shouted. His own echo made him startle, and he mentally scolded himself for being so jumpy. Then there were more footsteps, and a shadow leaped across the alleyway.

Looking up, Link caught just a glimpse of someone jumping across the alley from the rooftops. His eyes widened as he tried to figure out why anyone would do that. Then there was another. This time Link was waiting for it, and he was able to catch more details. It was definitely a person, wrapped in white and dark blue cloth so tightly it looked more like a skin suit than a real outfit. Even his - or her, as Link couldn't really tell in the poor lighting and brief glimpse - head and face was completely hidden by more white and blue cloth. He watched as this person, and yet another who was similarly garbed, leaped across the alleyway.

Then curiosity got the better of his sense for survival, and he clumsily started to climb up the wall to get to the nearest roof. Up high, in his new vantage point, Link saw that all the rooftops of any building low enough were covered with these people. They leaped along the tops of the buildings as if they had been doing it all their lives, moving so quickly that Link could almost imagine they were just shadows flickering along. Then he noticed they were moving away from the Gerudo residences. He turned to look in that direction, the direction the shadows were fleeing. At first nothing happened, but then there was a bright flash of light. The ground shook, and Link was knocked from his feet.

He landed roughly on the shingled roof, skinning one of his elbows in his poor attempts to catch himself. A sharp wind blew past him, blowing heat and the smell of gunpowder into his face.

"Those people were... the rebels," Link whispered to himself. He wasn't expecting a response, but he got one anyway when one of the shadows suddenly landed in front of him.

"Yes, they were," a gruff voice said, muffled by the cloth around his mouth. Link looked up at the figure standing in front of him. He had just enough time to notice a dark red symbol drawn on the man's chest, a symbol that looked somewhat like an eye with a tear running down from it, before the man threw something at Link.

It landed by his side with a loud snap, and suddenly Link's eyes were assaulted by an intensely bright light. Unable to see anything, Link's next sensation was that of something very hard hitting him in the back of his head. It wasn't Sera's hand, as that was never very hard at all; no, this was much harder, and after a second or two Link felt his brain beginning to shut down.

The very last thing he heard was that of his very own imagined Sera from earlier. "Link, that wasn't stupid courage... that was just plain old fashioned stupid."

Link didn't want to, but he agreed with her. He decided that next time he saw people leaping around on the roofs, he wouldn't try to join them. Then darkness took over the bright light, and finally Link was aware of absolutely nothing.


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