Chapter Ten - Changed
Author's Note: First of all, thank you again to those who left reviews. I really appreciate them. Second of all, I know that more of you are reading - I see you favorite-ing my story! Haha. Please don't be shy. Leave a review and tell me what you think.
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Zelda led the group into the study. It was a very big room lined with bookshelves that stretched towards the ceiling. There were several oversized chairs scattered throughout the room. When she had turned around after closing the doors, she discovered that Auru and Ashei had moved all of them into a circle. They were short one chair, so Shad dragged over a hard wood chair from one of the desks.
Everyone took a seat, leaving one of the big chairs open for Zelda. She felt as though she had become queen as she sat down. She could tell by their postures that the group had elected Auru to speak for them. Zelda was glad for that.
"Princess-"
"Please, you all don't have to keep addressing me that way. Call me Zelda." She assured all of them. She saw Ashei roll her dark eyes but ignored her.
"Zelda, we've come from Ordon because the problems that we have been facing have become too big for us. They were once at least manageable. I'm afraid that we need your help." Auru said.
"What kind of help? Do you need our army? Or did you come for someone else?" Zelda asked knowingly. Whenever people from other places came asking for help, they didn't want Hyrule's army. They wanted Hyrule's hero.
"We came to ask your husband for help. But I was told that he is currently staying at the Gerudo Hideout in the desert."
"Who told you?" Zelda asked curiously. She wondered if maybe Impa had somehow said something.
"My interest in the desert didn't just spark when I traveled to the new land." Auru smiled, his crows feet crinkling. "I have been friends with Nabooru for many, many years."
Nabooru. Zelda honestly didn't know what to think of her. When they had first met, Zelda hadn't liked Nabooru, and felt that the feeling was mutual. But after Link changed, Nabooru had come to call on Zelda several times. She would sit and talk with her for hours, and had even invited her to the hideout once or twice for dinner.
"Well if you knew that Link wasn't here, why didn't you just go to the hideout?" Zelda asked.
"Though Nabooru is a friend, the Gerudo women still don't take kindly to the company of men. And they also don't look fondly upon large parties of people." Auru's eyes suddenly became darker. "And I was told that Link has changed."
"Something about a dead baby." Ashei blurted out, annoyed with the slow pace of the conversation.
"Ashei." Auru snapped. His eyes narrowed as he turned to look at her.
"How dare you." Zelda sat forward in her chair, her expression becoming icy. She, too, narrowed her eyes in Ashei's direction. "That dead baby was my daughter."
"And she's dead isn't she?" Ashei asked, her arms still crossed over her chest.
Zelda got to her feet in an instant, but Telma was quick to stand in front of her. She put her large hands on Zelda's small shoulders and gently lowered her back into the chair. Meanwhile, Auru had hissed something at Ashei. She had disappeared from the room by the time Telma took her seat.
"I'm sorry for Ashei. She can be very callous and rude at times. She was raised by her father…" Auru could tell by the expression on Zelda's face that she didn't care about the reason behind Ashei's behavior.
"Yes Link has changed. I know not if he will be changed at all when he returns from the hideout. He has been there for two months."
"I see." Auru silently cast his eyes over each person in the group. They all seemed to be having a conversation with each other using only their eyes. After some time, Auru turned his attention back to Zelda. "We were wondering if your hospitality extended so far as to let us stay here until he has come home."
"What purpose would that serve?"
"Whenever Link returns, we could speak with him ourselves. If he agrees to offer his help, he can leave at once with us. If not…"
Zelda nodded.
"You may stay as long as you like. But as I said, I'm not sure when my husband should be home." Zelda got to her feet. "And I don't know if he'll agree to help you. He hasn't been himself for a long time."
She went to the doors, but turned once more before leaving.
"I'll send one of the maids in and have her show you to your rooms. Please help yourselves to dinner. I'm not sure if it will still be hot, but you all must be hungry."
&
Shaera waited for Link outside of the training ground. She stroked the top of the statue that waited with her on the steps leading inside. Now that it had come down to it, she wished she hadn't made the training ground so difficult.
She really found herself rooting for Link. She wanted him to be able to return home to the castle and work things out with his wife. She had seen minimal changes in Link, but changes were changes.
She looked up at the doorway of the training ground. She had rigged flags above the door to swing upward when one of the rooms had been completed. There were seven flags symbolizing seven rooms. Four of them were raised. Link had been inside for what seemed like days. But it had really only been a couple of hours.
Shaera turned to see women walking by and looking at the flags. Some had been standing there watching since the beginning. Shaera hadn't left to do anything. She wanted to be there when Link finished.
"How's he doing?" Nabooru asked, appearing in the sneaky way that she usually did. She put a hand on Shaera's shoulder.
"Three rooms to go." Shaera motioned towards the final flags. She turned to Nabooru. "You aren't really going to make Link remain here for another two months if he can't get through the training ground are you?"
Nabooru smiled mischievously.
"No. But I wanted to push Link even harder." The smile slipped from her face just as quickly as it had appeared. "I made a promise to Zelda to have him home soon. She needs him. They need each other."
"Link hasn't really mentioned her."
"That doesn't matter. I remember the way that things used to be between them. They still love each other. It's just complicated." Nabooru looked down at her feet, kicking up some sand.
"How so?"
"Link changed. He isn't the same man he once was. Zelda didn't fall in love with the man he is today. And Link didn't fall in love with Zelda the way he is today." Nabooru looked back up at the flags. "Trust me, if things were back to normal, Link wouldn't have lasted one day without his wife."
That made sense to Shaera. She had never been in love and she wasn't interested in ever being in love. She was content with her life at the hideout. There were times she got an itch. But it was never one to find a man and marry him. It was to get out of Gerudo Desert and see as much of Hyrule as she could.
Another flag suddenly snapped up to attention. Collectively, the women that were watching burst into applause. A few of them, who had obviously lost bets, cursed under their breath.
"Nabooru," Shaera looked over at her after smiling at the flag, "why is Link so interested in the desert stories?"
"It has something to do with his connection to twilight, which is why I've kept him from secluding himself at that time. I've been trying to force him into corners so that he will slowly change back to normal."
"Why is he so connected with twilight?"
Nabooru looked distant, as though she were in deep thought. She hadn't figured it out herself. All she knew was that Link felt something at twilight. And she could give him a why.
"I don't know."
&
Zelda pulled on a matching robe over her nightgown. She had been unable to sleep that night. She had tossed and turned for hours and decided that if she ate something, perhaps she would be able to sleep.
She tiptoed down the hall and then down the stairs. Everything was quiet except for the swinging of the lantern in her hand. The castle looked eerie at night, especially with the shadows that were cast due to the lantern light.
She made her way to the kitchen, and stopped outside the door when she heard humming on the other side. She wondered who could have been up at that hour. The kitchen staff wouldn't still be awake, and with Link gone, they didn't have to make breakfast at such an early hour.
She slowly pushed open the door and peered inside. Shad was standing at one of the fire pits, a gentle flame glowing there. He held a pot over the flames, humming a tune to himself while he did so. It was many moments before he felt someone's presence. He stiffened before slowly turning around. When he saw Zelda standing there, he jolted, the boiling water in the pot splashing up violently before falling back into it.
"P-Princess Zelda. I-I'm sorry for…oh dear…" Shad pulled his spectacles from inside one of his pockets and put them on. "If I shouldn't-"
"Shad, do I make you nervous?" Zelda asked with a cocked eyebrow and a smile. She let the door close behind her as she walked into the kitchen. She took a seat at the island in the middle of the large room.
"Truth be told, a lot of things make me nervous." Shad laughed sheepishly, turning his body to speak to her. He kept the pot over the fire. "I was just making tea. Would you like some?"
"That would be great. You know what goes good with tea?"
"What's that?"
"Food." Zelda got up from her seat and went around to the different cupboards, searching for something appetizing. She pulled a loaf of white bread from one shelf and returned to the island. She motioned to it and Shad nodded. She then found herself a knife and began to slice up the bread.
"I know this is silly, but this is really one of the only times I've done this. If my father found out…" Zelda just shook her head.
"Life here is different that's for sure." Shad stepped away from the fire pit with the pot. Zelda placed two mugs, which she had also found, in front of him on the island. He carefully tipped the pot over each mug, filling them with boiling water.
"Do you take honey with your tea?" He asked after he had set the pot down.
"We don't need it for our tea." Zelda took the pot and placed it in one of the giant bins for dirtied dishes. She then disappeared into the small cellar for a few moments before returning with a bundle. She unwrapped it on the island to reveal pork that had been lathered with a golden brown substance.
"Is that honey?" Shad asked curiously, leaning in to take a closer look.
"It's another way to store meat. The kitchen staff always salts half of our meat and the rest is coated in honey." She caught the questioning look on Shad's face. "Trust me, it gives the meat a wonderful flavor."
She cut the meat into smaller sections and went to get two plates while Shad plunged the tea bags into the water.
"Princess Zelda?" Shad asked softly, watching her place equal amounts of bread and meat on both plates. She licked her fingers afterwards.
"Yes?"
"I hope that you aren't still offended by what Ashei said." Shad registered the hurt that passed quickly over Zelda's face. He looked into his mug, where the water was swirling with color.
"I just don't understand her attitude. Did I wrong her unknowingly?" She took a seat, reaching for her mug. She blew across the top of it, watching the steam sift away from her.
Shad shook his head and took a seat across from her.
"No, no. It wasn't you Princess Zelda." He looked down at his plate and then back up at her. "May I speak freely?"
"Yes of course." She waved her hand at him.
"It was your father."
Zelda nodded after taking a careful sip of her tea. It was still quite hot and so she set the mug back down.
"I know that he was very rude at dinner. I don't know why-"
"Forgive my interruption, but it wasn't his lack of interest at dinner." Shad blushed furiously when he saw Zelda looking at him in confusion. "I keep forgetting that we all just met. Forgive me."
"Shad," Zelda reached across the island and laid her hand gently on his, "relax. I'm not going to have you thrown into a dungeon or have you beheaded. And please, call me Zelda."
She took her hand back when he smiled.
"Ashei's father used to be a soldier in your father's army." Shad explained.
"Really?" Zelda asked, her face surprised.
"Yes. He was a very skilled soldier. He remained loyal to your father during the wars, while some of the soldiers turned their backs on him. Not long after the council, Ashei's father was commanded to leave the army after he had troubles with one of his superiors. Your father has the final say in which soldiers stay and which go."
"I see. She hates my father for kicking hers out of the job." Zelda nodded. "That makes sense. But she still shouldn't have been so rude to me."
"I agree. But like Auru was trying to explain, she was raised by her father in the mountains-"
"Death Mountain?" Zelda asked, referring to the one that she knew. She had gone there many times with Link, usually to Goron City. She almost smiled at the thought.
"No. Snowpeak Mountain. It's located on the other side of Zora's Domain in the new land." Shad stopped for a moment, chuckling. "You know, it's funny, nobody ever named the land that your father handed over."
"So that's why she studies the…Yetis?"
"Yes. Her father and his wife, whom was with child at the time, went to live in the new land after he was kicked out of the army. They were going to build their home near Lake Hylia, but after Ashei's mother died in childbirth, he took his daughter up into the mountains. He raised her like a son and trained her in the ways of combat."
"Did she tell you all of this?"
Shad blushed again.
"No. She would have never told me. I learned about it from Auru. It's funny, the way that they act towards each other is hot and cold. One day he's like another father figure to her and the next they can't stand each other."
"So are you ever going to tell her that you love her?"
Shad practically spit out the tea in his mouth. He swallowed it with great difficulty, a fit of coughs erupting from him. He pulled a handkerchief from inside his coat and held it over his mouth until he had finished.
"So is that a no?" Zelda asked with a sly smile.
Shad adjusted his spectacles before reaching for one of the slabs of meat on his plate. He looked it over once more before daintily eating a piece of it. He chewed on it thoughtfully, his face blank. After a moment he swallowed it.
"Intriguing, but delicious."
&
It was nighttime when the final flag flung upward. Shaera was the only one that had remained long enough to see it. The other women had either gone to bed or resumed their posts.
Shaera grinned widely in the darkness. But she had also waited equipped with many medical supplies. She hoped that she wouldn't need them, but she knew better. She at least hoped that she didn't need much of them.
Suddenly, Link stumbled out of the training ground. He was dirty and, even in the dark, Shaera could tell he was sweaty. He still had his sword unsheathed, but it fell to the ground with a clatter. He gave Shaera a tired smile before taking a step towards her, only to fall to his knees.
"Link! Link, are you okay?" Shaera rushed forward and got to her knees, holding Link's shoulders. She could feel most of his weight.
"I'm just tired." He assured her, lifting his head. His bangs fell into his face.
"Are you hurt at all?" She asked, looking him over. She only found one spot of dry blood, and it didn't appear to be Link's. She was impressed.
"Shaera?" He asked, leaning back out of her hands. He slowly got to his feet, Shaera's hands ready to grab him if her were to fall or stumble.
"Yes Link?"
"A deal is a deal." He looked around the hideout, his eyes waiting to focus in one someone or something. When he didn't see it, he turned his attention back to Shaera. "Where is Nabooru?"