It's a bit of a shorter chapter, more of a bridge than anything. The story will get moving again soon.
Also, thanks to DOOt76 for pointing out issues with some older chapters. I have no idea what happened there, but they should be fixed.
Their conversation came to a halt when a knock came to the door. Tennor tensed a little surprise, and saw Dente give a little jump of his own. Quickly, his host leapt from his seat and ran for the doorway. Opening the door, he found himself face-to-face with Mailan.
"Ah! Mailan!" Dente said, smiling, "I see your conversation with the Queen is over, hm?"
"Yeah," she replied, glowing, "Are the others here?"
"Just me," Tennor called, standing from his seat, "Our roguish friend went for a little walk. How was it?"
"It went well," she told him, biting her lip to hold back her excitement a little, "She promised us a place to stay here in town."
That stopped him for a second. When he'd promised to come here with Mailan, he hadn't expected to actually stay around. He never did. Whenever his clients reached their destination, he would inevitably return to the lake so he could get back to waiting… and hoping.
"That's… that's nice," he offered, suddenly feeling the wind knocked out of his sails.
Mailan didn't seem to notice his change in mood though, "Excellent! Come on, I'll show you where she suggested putting us!"
The girl immediately turned to leave, while Tennor turned to Dente, "Thanks for the tea, Dente. It was nice."
Dente nodded, "A good time indeed. I'll talk to you soon."
The two men shook hands and, for the time, parted ways.
Mailan showed Tennor to a small building in the corner of the village. It already held a few people, but there were a few extra rooms open for the newcomers. Tennor sat down on the bed in his room and gazed at the wall. There was no window in this room, and it was so barren that was really all there was to look at. But he didn't mind.. .his thoughts laid elsewhere.
The question of whether or not to stay was still on his mind. The question of whether or not he should leave the lake had been gnawing at his mind for months. Yes, she would go there if she could, but the fact stood that she hadn't. He'd waited there for six months, helping passing travelers and hoping that she would show. But she never did. No travelers seemed to have heard from her, no Zora appeared in the lake with him… it felt so lonely.
Reaching into his armor, he pulled out the gemstone he carried around his neck. It was beautiful. Meticulously carved. Three pentagonal blue gems housed in gold. She'd given it to him not long ago, referring to it as an engagement ring. As was tradition in her family.
Tennor had always been loyal. That was, he liked to think, his defining trait. But this wasn't loyalty and he knew it. He'd known it for months, and he had never wanted to admit it. This was denial.
Denial that the woman he loved was dead.
And he couldn't shake the feeling that he could've stopped it from happening.
A knock on the door jolted him back into reality. Quickly stuffing it back beneath his chestplate, he cleared his throat and told the visitor to come in.
It turned out that, once again, it was Mailan. She was in much higher spirits than he - though based on their circumstances, that was unsurprising.
"It's not much, but it beats the ground," she admitted, "What do you think?"
"It's nice," Tennor admitted, "I haven't been anywhere this nice in a long time."
"So nice of the Queen to give us a place…" Mailan said, her eyes giving a distant look.
Tennor's eyes smiled, "You're terrible at hiding it. You know that, right?"
"What?" Mailan asked, genuinely confused.
Tennor laughed a little, "You and Zelda. You aren't entirely subtle."
Mailan's face drained a little, but that didn't last long, "When people aren't looking for it, you can have a little leeway. Especially now…" she sighed, "And it's not like you're very subtle about how your relationship was with Ruto."
Tennor's gaze dropped to the floor. Seeming to realize that she hit a nerve, Mailan tried to apologize, "I'm sorry, I was just…"
"No, don't be," he replied, "You aren't wrong. But we really didn't need to be. However, your circumstances are… very different. Just be careful."
"It's not the insult I apologized for. It's for reminding you. Before coming here, anything that reminded me of Zelda hurt. And I can only imagine you must feel the same way."
There was a long moment of silence. The sapphire around Tennor's neck felt heavier than it ever had.
"Yeah."
