Chapter Nine: Nabooru's House


It was exactly the middle of summer now. The weather had grown warmer and outside felt increasingly warm. Just sitting at the kitchen table with a pair of pants and long sleeved shirt on, I felt like I would boil over from heat. It didn't help that the air conditioning was on, I still felt excessively warm. Even with dad and Chrysanthemum not home, I still felt the need to wear long sleeves wherever I went.

Rocky laid by my feet, dozing away as I groaned to myself. "Why must it be so hot?" I fanned myself with a paper fan I had made from bending a piece of paper back and forth. Then, I heard it: someone was knocking at the door.

Rocky looked up, one ear perked up higher than the other. Grudgingly, I got out of the chair and made my way to the door, grumbling under my breath. "Please don't be Link." When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Nabooru and Saria.

"Yo." Nabooru waved, flashing me a peace sign.

I nodded, "Morning."

Saria waved happily and poked her head inside. "Your parents not home?"

I shook my head. "They had work. I'm at home alone for the day."

Nabooru grinned. "Well then, that makes this easier." Intuitively, I backed away, not liking the look on her face.

Saria sighed, suppressing a groan. "Nabooru, you're scaring Zelda."

"How am I scaring her?" She demanded, confused. "I'm just smiling."

"But you look creepy in the process." Saria pointed out, shaking her head. "In any case, let's forget about that. Zelda," she looked in my direction again, "how would you feel about spending the day with us?"

"Us?" I repeated a bit confused.

Nabooru scoffed playfully. "Meaning Saria and I," she clarified for me.

Oh, that made more sense.

Smiling, I giggled and rubbed the back of my head. "Sure, sounds like fun."

"We're going to Nabooru's house." Saria explained, while Nabooru crossed her arms behind her head. "It's been too long since we've spent some tome together, just us girls."

"But since you're now with us, Zelda," Nabooru added on, "it only seems fit that we invite you to join us."

My eyes widened. The mere thought of them going out of their way to come and invite me on their outing touched my heart. No girls have ever invited me to hang out like this, I thought to myself, blushing pink. The gesture was both sweet and thoughtful.

"Well, since you've agreed Zelda, shouldn't we get going?" Nabooru voiced aloud.

Saria laughed in uncertainty and hit Nabooru playfully in the arm. "Naby, there's no need to be so rude." She reprimanded her.

"Fine, fine," the tanned girl sighed. "Sorry."

Not bothering to listen to their chat anymore, I took that moment to slip on my shoes and reach for the nearby key that hung on the wall. Sliding it inside my pocket, I grinned and said suddenly, "Shouldn't we get going?"

Nabooru ceased her arrogant remark and looked up, studying me. "About time someone else suggested it."

My smile merely widened.

"Let's go!"


Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at Nabooru's home. Upon first seeing it, I was stumped by how large it was. It was at least three times the size of my father's home! It had over three floors and looked as though it could contain more than one hundred people.

"Unbelievable," I whispered to myself.

Nabooru led us inside and into an overly ornate foyer, where we slipped off our shoes. "Come on," she said, waiting for us to finish. "My room's this way." Following her up the grand staircase, my eyes took in the massive crystal chandelier that hung above us, illuminating the entire room.

"Amazing, huh?" Saria whispered inside my ear.

Nodding, I couldn't formulate anything else to say besides, "Yeah."

"Here we are." Nabooru stopped before a mahogany door and twisted the handle, walking inside. "My bedroom," she informed us—specifically to me, I assumed—before shutting the door behind us.

My jaw dropped. The room was massive! It was about the size of my father's entire first floor. "So big," I said, stunned again. In all directions I looked, everything in the room looked brand new and shiny. Off to the right was a massive king size bed with a matching canopy. Blood red linens decorated the bed, and matching curtains on the windows. There was a spacious dark brown rug on the floor, and on one side of the room was a perfectly functioning television set wit matching chairs and sofas.

"Where are the dressers?" I mumbled to myself.

"Nabooru doesn't need a dresser," Saria informed me casually. "She keeps all her clothes in her walk in closet."

Walk… in closet?

My jaw dropped. Just how rich was this girl?!

"Zelda, something wrong?" exclaimed Nabooru. She looked my way, a confused look gracing her face.

Forcing myself to shake my head violently, I ushered out, "No. I'm fine." She didn't look too convinced, but decided to let the matter slide… for now.

"Anyhow, let's sit." She ordered, ushering us towards the luxurious sofas and chairs. I sat down in a bright red chair, while Saria claimed the matching sofa and Nabooru took another brown chair.

"So," her grin widened, "what's up?"

I blinked, mystified. "What do you mean?"

Nabooru looked stunned, "Zelda, how naive are you?"

Slightly offended, my jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"Don't take it so offensively Zelda." She spoke nonchalantly. "It wasn't meant to be."

My eyes narrowed, "If you say so." And I looked away. Saria glanced back and forth from the two of us, laughing nervously.

"Let's not start anything." She raised her hands in the air, a sign of forfeit. She wasn't even involved in this though. "Let's just move on, okay?"

"Fine," Nabooru and I chorused. We then looked at each other, puzzled.

Saria giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Nabooru watched her, grinned, and leaned further back into her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Saria, the other day," she began causally, "I saw both you and Mido out for a stroll last night in the park… holding hands." Her grin widened. Saria looked away, turning a light shade of pink. "You have anything to say about that, hmm?" Nabooru inquired, her smile rivaling that of a Cheshire cat's.

"N-Nabooru… nothing's going on." She stuttered, turning redder.

Nabooru scoffed, "Yeah right."

"It's true!" Saria balled her hands into fists. "Nothing is going on between Mido and I. He just came over and invited me to go out on a walk with him. There's nothing else to it."

Nabooru rolled her eyes, "Sure, sure."

While Saria sizzled in her seat, Nabooru directed her gaze towards me. Instantly, I shrunk back into the red chair, wishing I could hide under a rock. Nabooru's gaze was so intent, it was almost scary.

"So Zelda," she licked her tongue, "how are things between Link and yourself?"

At just hearing his name, my ears turned red—one of my pet peeves I loathed. I bit my bottom lip, fiddling with my hands. "Nothing is going on." I stated easily, trying to sound convincing. "Link and I are just…"

Nabooru inched out of her seat, "Just what, Zelda?" Even Saria looked curious, as I saw her look towards me, trying to hide an interested face.

Traitor, I thought to myself, bemused.

"Zelda, just get on with your explanation," Nabooru huffed, growing annoyed.

I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling defiant. "And why should I?" I challenged.

She raised a brow, looking a bit impressed. At least, I think she looked impressed. Either that or her annoyance was rising. "Just answer the question," she stated, her hands balling into fists. "Because if you're just playing around with Link, I swear I'll—"

"Nabooru!" exclaimed Saria. She jumped to her feet, rushing to Nabooru's side. "Don't talk like that!"

Nabooru grit her teeth, "I just don't want to see Link get hurt again, that's all."

Saria's eyes drooped. "I know… neither do I. But Zelda isn't like that. Isn't that right?" She looked my way, her eyes locked on my solid form. For a moment, we just stared at each other, exchanging words without speaking. When she looked pleased enough, Saria looked down towards Nabooru and smiled. "I trust her Naby." She reached for her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Don't you? Don't you trust Zelda?"

Nabooru dug her free hand into the armchair of the sofa. "I do." She said a moment later. "But I can't help but worry."

Saria gripped her hand tighter. "So do I, Nabooru, so do I."

As the two exchanged a warm, heartfelt moment, I felt question marks hovering above my head as Nabooru's last words replayed inside my mind. "I just don't want to see Link get hurt again, that's all."

I pursed my lips together. Just what did she mean by that?