Hmm, hmm... Next chapter. No comment really.
The rest of Link's night was filled with a fitful, dreamless sleep. For that reason, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. When he went out to see if breakfast was available, he was in a gloomy and irritated silence. He knew enough about castle to know that he probably had to eat with the servants unless he was specifically told otherwise. So he went to the kitchen area to see a crowd of servants and maids and other workers getting their breakfast.
Link took a plate of the strange Zora breakfast and found a table to sit at. His bad mood was furthered when he saw Haizea, who seemed to be quite content as he took the seat next to the boy.
"An eventful night, eh?" He said to Link a little too happily.
Link grumbled something incoherent. He wanted to tell him off so badly, but he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. He just pushed around the strange looking food in front of him with a fork. To be honest, he wasn't really hungry. He was in too bad of a mood to be hungry.
"You'd better eat something if you're going in that Temple today." Haizea said. There could have been a hint of concern in the way it was said, or just all around bossiness.
"We're going to the Temple later." Link corrected.
Haizea winced. "Why does it have to be 'we' and not 'you?'?" He said bitterly.
"Because I say so." Link snapped, while shooting a harsh glare at the man.
The slave put on a face but didn't say anything and continued not to say anything for a long time.
"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Link asked, a bit of irritation in his voice.
"No. The food looks… strange, to say the least. I don't eat much, anyways." Haizea stated simply, while at the same time his gaze followed a Zora girl with nice curves.
"You're disgusting." Link said, trying to focus on eating again.
"Call it what you will, one day you'll be doing the same thing." Haizea smirked.
"Whatever." Link muttered. He got up and left, leaving his plate behind.
In an attempt to cool his temper, he took to walking around the castle. Well, as much of the castle that was walkable. Some areas were Zora access only-being that the only way to get through them was swimming through waterways. Link wasn't a bad swimmer, but he wasn't going to chance anything. He just kept to the dry areas, trying to think of nothing. That way nothing would get on his nerves. Somehow, nothing did get on his nerves and his mood, while not getting worse, did not get any better either.
He managed to find himself in the main hall of the castle, where a waterfall that was an actual part of the structure was. It was roaring away and Link merely sat by the wall. The dull roar of the falling water was actually dulling his horrible mood. So he just sat and observed. He noticed that, aside from being fish people, the way of life in a Zora castle wasn't that different from in Hyrule Castle. He could make out the linen maids and kitchen maids scurrying about, the visiting lords and ladies, regular visitors. Sure the dress was way different but he could tell from their actions, and it reminded him a bit of his home.
But was Hyrule really home if Zelda wasn't there? No, it wouldn't be, he knew that. And that's why he was there in the first place! He was doing all this so he could save Zelda! Sure, she may not have wanted him to, but he was going to do everything he could! He couldn't just stand around being angry, that wasn't going to get him anywhere! And he may not have liked his current company but he'd have to deal with it. If it meant saving Zelda, he'd do anything.
"Oh, thinking about your princess?" It was Haizea. Link jumped. He was just leaning against the wall by the boy but he hadn't even noticed that he was there. "Maybe when you're both of age you can court her." The slave smirked.
Link felt a hot rush of blood in his face. "It's not… It's not like that! She's my friend!" He said angrily.
Haizea shrugged. "If you say so. I can't speak out against it. But, believe or not, I didn't come to annoy you. I believe it's time for us to venture into the Siren's little nest. They're opening the gates as we speak." He said.
Link shot him a dirty look but stood up. His bad mood came back. "Lead the way. I never asked where it was." He said with anger touching his words.
Haizea smiled, but it wasn't a nice one. It was a smile that hid a deep, deep amount of contempt. "Of course, young master." He said mockingly.
The way to the entrance to the Temple was quiet. The two didn't speak another word but the aura of pure disgust and dislike was evident and thick in the air. People they passed by could even feel it, evident from the way they shuddered or gave them strange looks. Even the coral around them seemed to shudder. That took a little bit of the anger away from Link as he realized the coral was just as much a living thing as the people who walked around the structure.
The way to the Temple led outside of the castle and to a winding strip of land that led to a gatepost. Link immediately noticed that Haizea grew uneasy at the site of the gatepost, but didn't say anything. He really didn't care if Haizea wasn't feeling up to their little adventure now. Link also noticed that the gatepost, and the structure behind it which he assumed was the Temple, was different. Unlike the castle, it wasn't coral. It was rock. It was altered manually, so it looked like a gatepost and temple, but it was from rock that had already been there. The rock itself also looked different, almost with a metallic gleam to it.
In front of the gatepost was the queen, looking regal as always. Guards stood near her, one of them holding some sort of case in his hands. The two paused in front of her; Link offered a small bow, the queen nodded in acknowledgement. Haizea didn't even so much as glance at her, which Link found quite strange. While they had only been there a day, Haizea was not hesitant to glance at any woman who had passed by. Instead, his eyes were focused on the gatepost and he seemed quite unnerved. The queen didn't regard him in any way.
"The Temple is large and it will be easy to get lost in." She started. Her voice fit her appearance perfectly: regal. She gestured to the guard holding the case and he brought it to her. She opened it up and took out a pair of rather flabby-looking, fish-scaled things. "Some of the Temple is also submerged beneath the water and you humans cannot hold your breath for very long. These are gills that you put around the neck. While they are not really real gills, they will allow to remain underwater for a much longer than time than you normally could."
Link took the gill handed to him. It was flabby and squishy. He really didn't like the idea of putting that thing around his neck. He put it on, holding back the expression of disgust as to not offend the queen for her gift. Shuddering a bit as some sort of slimy film went down his back after the gills were placed, he glanced at Haizea, hoping he would see a similar reaction. He didn't. The slave merely took the gills and placed them around his neck without a problem, eyes still focused on the metallic rock structures. He finally spoke, "What's your Temple made of?"
The queen looked strangely at Haizea, as if the question was said in a different language. "It is made of rock. The rock itself is brimming with iron ore, however. We have no use for iron, so we leave the rock as it is. Is something troubling you?"
He gritted his teeth and mumbled something. Link could only catch, "I don't like…"
He didn't like? He didn't like what, exactly?
Having an idea what he didn't like, Link pretended that the harness on his sword strap broke. The sword fell, and slipped a little bit out of its scabbard. The guards around the queen immediately stepped in front of her, but Link paid no attention to them. He looked Haizea, who had jumped a little and went a few steps back at the sight of the sword. He eyed it almost as if it was evil. He then hid that glance of fear quickly, bent down and pushed the sword back into its scabbard, and handed it hilt-first to Link. "You should make sure the strap is tied properly." He said, voice monotone.
Link took the sword, apologized to the queen for the mishap and tied the strap back, placing his sword back behind his shoulder. He tried not to smile. Metal. Haizea didn't seem to like metal. The only reason he hadn't ever reacted to the sword before was because it was always in the sheath and his shield was really just wood.
Satisfied in his discovery, he walked proudly towards the entrance of the Temple. Haizea hesitantly followed. The guards saluted them as they walked.
The Temple started off as just a hallway. A long, dark, creepy hallway. There was light at the end of the hall, which disturbed Link a little. Had they somehow died within going into five steps of the Temple? The thought was eased out of his mind when he was able to make out a large chamber. They went through the hall and into the circular chamber. The light came from the ceiling, or rather lack thereof. There was no ceiling, just the sky. He could hear gulls squawking overhead.
"Strange construction…" Haizea said, still glancing around furtively.
"Yeah…" Link said, "I guess we'll go to that big door." He looked straight ahead to a large door. It looked strange, but he didn't know quite why. When they were within two feet of the door he realized why.
There was a lock. A large lock. It was probably about half Link's full body height with three keyholes in it. Link cussed and then stomped in a circle.
"Such a foul mouth." Haizea commented, seeming a bit more relaxed now. He was still rattled, however, that much was evident. "We have one now, we just need to find the other two."
"What are you talking about? We don't have any of the keys!" Link snapped.
Haizea scoffed and then pointed near the foot of the large door. In the crack between the floor and the floor, half of a key was sticking out teeth-first. Link picked up the key and looked at the lock. They went together. Link tried to hide his embarrassment. He stuffed the key in his pocket and then looked around.
There were two doors. Not on the same scale as the one they stood before now, but no doubt that's where the others keys were.
"I'll take the one on the left." Haizea said. He started towards it but-
"Wait. No." Link said.
Haizea turned, confusion evident on his face. "Why not? It's faster."
"I don't trust you." He said it plainly.
"That's very smart of you, but you can trust me in this case. I'll get the key and bring it straight to you. I'd like to leave this place as quickly as possible." It was said very… businesslike. Link still didn't trust him.
"I order you to do that." Link said.
Haizea rolled his eyes and then started to make towards the left door again. "Oh, and you can't leave until I leave, either!" Link added.
"I get it, I get it. I won't!" Haizea shouted without stopping.
Link scowled in his head and headed toward the right door. Ordered or not, Link still didn't trust him.
With a bit of effort, he managed to pry the door open and enter the room. He looked around. Unlike the last room, this one had a ceiling with two columns holding it up. The room was dark, lit only by the open door behind him. Then, the door shut abruptly; metal bars shot up around the door before he could even turn to rush out. There were flashes of lights and he looked back toward the room. The two columns had torches on them illuminating the room, dimly, but there was light. Right in between the columns, there was a puff of smoke, which dissipated just as quickly as it had come. Standing where the smoke had appeared was something, almost looked like a knight in dark armor.
A Dark Nut.
Link cussed.
This first temple should maybe last... around maybe two or three more chapters, not including this one. Already working on them, so you might get an early chapter.