Oni shivered as he walked toward Great Bay, but something in him still felt warm from Cremia's hug. How lucky had he gotten? If only he'd just approached her from the start..
Nonsense, he thought as he jumped over the fences leading toward the beach. He definitely wasn't going back home anytime soon. At least not until he decided he wanted to be confined to a mask for eternity, that is.
He'd already sent a nurse from West Clocktown over to Romani Ranch.. but knew he wouldn't dare even look toward South Clocktown..
He really didn't know why he was at the snowy, frozen beach, but where else would he go?
He saw an ornate entrance to what seemed like a cave on his left side. The faint glow of a welcoming fire danced on the snow in front of it. Might as well go check it out..
Oni stepped closer to the cave, hoping it was empty, or at least if it wasn't empty that the resident wouldn't mind his company for a little while.
"Hello?" Oni called into the cave softly.
"Who's there?" called a slightly defensive male voice.
Oni cleared his throat. "Just a half-frozen stranger. May I come in?"
"Are you that wretched Skullkid?"
"No...my name is Oni."
A slight man in a green sweater and blue pants peeked out of the cave and into Oni's face.
"Oh, my. Do come in."
Oni was slightly taken aback by the man's easy welcome; he'd expected a scream and a 'go away'. But, pleasantly surprised, he entered the cave-like place.
"What are you doing wandering around the beach in this cold?"
The short, slim man ran his fingers through his shaggy, bright orange hair as he added more wood to the fire he'd been kindling. He bore the slightest resemblance to the maskman, which made Oni shudder. The man noticed.
"Here, come closer to the fire. There we go, now."
He poured Oni what smelled like hot soup from a container and handed him the bowl.
"My name's Julian, by the way," said the man as he poured himself some soup.
"I'm Oni."
"Yeah, I know. So let me guess, your girlfriend kicked you out because you were too much of a freak of nature for her to deal with."
Oni's brow furrowed.
"No-"
"Or was your mother drinking Like-Like urine while she was pregnant with you, resulting in your mutant appearance, making everyone think you're a freak and exiling you from society?"
Oni sighed. This was frustrating.
"No.."
"Or was your-"
"I ran away from home, and I have nowhere else to go. That's all."
"Oh.." the man nodded in false understanding.
"Well, I've always been an outsider. A freak, if you will. My girlfriend, well, ex girlfriend, kicked me out a few years ago because she'd found my spider collection."
"Spider collection, eh?" Oni leaned in to listen to Julian's story.
"Yeah," said Julian as he set down his empty bowl. "She didn't give a damn when my brothers were turned into spiders, either. She even went as far as to say it was my fault."
Oni nodded. Julian motioned toward another door behind him.
"Behind that door is my mansion. My brothers and I built it a couple of years ago, with the help of some Zora carpenters and a very handy Goron team. Very nice place, yet freezing cold. I was working on lighting the torches inside so I could move back in and sleep in my room, but there's a giant boulder that fell through and blocked the entrance to the main part of the building."
Julian then eyed Oni's muscular arms.
"Hey...hey, you could definitely move it with those strong arms!"
Oni smiled. He nodded at Julian, and the two of them got up and walked toward the door.
"Here, let me open it. Watch your head!"
Oni had to crouch to enter the door. He gasped in amazement at the room he was in.
The tapestries on the walls seemed to be carved in pure gold. The rug way below was deep red, and the halls that surrounded the edges of the room in series of 3 or 4 floors were also lined with gold. A chandelier sparkled above their heads.
"Welcome to Casa De La Julian." The small man smiled smugly.
"It's amazing."
"This is just the beginning. The bedrooms are inside behind that boulder."
Julian pointed at the huge boulder that blocked an ornate entryway.
Oni flexed his fingers and walked over to where the boulder was. With a groan and a powerful push, the boulder had rolled over to a corner and split in two.
"WOW! You're so strong! I wish I was that strong. So did my ex." Julian frowned.
Oni rolled his eyes. This guy and his ex..
"Thank you so much, Oni! Wow, now I can light the torches. Hey," Julian added as he looked up at Oni, who was blowing the dust off his gauntlets.
"Maybe you can stay with me!"
Oni pondered it for a bit. Why not? It wasn't like he was going back to South Clocktown any time soon. He looked down at Julian and nodded.
"Sure. Thank you for your hospitality. Here, let me help you with that."
Oni took a flaming Deku Stick that Julian had clumsily lit. He then went through the dark, cold rooms, lighting the many torches and chandeliers until the cave-manor shone and sparkled in the firelight. Julian smiled as he looked around, enjoying the new warmth.
"I don't remember the last time my home looked so beautiful."
He smiled up at Oni warmly.
"You're amazing, bro. Thanks."
"You're very welcome."
"Here, let me show you to a room."
The men walked through the house. Oni was listening to Julian go on with his life story.
"Anyway, yeah, my brothers eventually moved out of here because it held bad memories for them. Of being turned into spiders, I mean," said Julian as they walked past an elaborate kitchen and two large bathrooms. "So it's just me and my servants."
"Servants?"
"Oh, don't be afraid when you see them," chuckled Julian.
"Are they here?"
"Yes, they are. Oh, Stalia!"
Oni's pupiless white eyes widened as a Stalfos in an apron appeared in front of them and curtsied toward Oni.
"Pleasure meeting you."
How unusual.
"Likewise.." said Oni to the skeleton chambermaid.
Julian grinned. "Darling, isn't she?"
After a few more steps, Julian stopped.
They were standing in front of a gold-lined white door.
"Here we are. One of the old rooms of my brother. It's yours now, as long as you like."
Oni entered after Julian opened the door. It was a fairly large room, about as large as the entire room under Clock Tower. A large, vacant bed with a red-and-gold comforter set and elaborately decorative pillows sat against the center wall of the room, with two dark red suede sofas on either side. A large, antique looking dresser and mirror sat against the opposite wall. The dark gray Wolfos-coat rug, head and all, lay in the middle of the room.
An unlit fireplace was built into the right wall of the room.
"Not much, but enough, right? Just make sure you check the bed for spiders," Julian said, a little bit too happily for Oni's comfort.
"Thank you very much, Julian."
Julian nodded. "My pleasure. If you need anything, just ring the bell on the dresser."
Oni nodded in thanks before Julian left the room.
The demon warrior wasn't used to this kind of treatment. In his past life, he'd lived in luxury as a young boy, but from his teens up he'd spent the remainder of his young life on the battlefield with his father. It'd been forever..
Oni lit the fireplace, then carefully climbed the old, creaking bed and closed his eyes as his head sank into the soft, lush pillow. He watched as a spider danced away from his silver hair.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd used a pillow. Or a bed. Or anything like this.
But he knew he couldn't stay here forever. He'd come when he absolutely had to.
He refused to be a burden on this young man and his servants.
He wasn't that kind of a person.
As he opened his eyes, he noticed a large, oval-shaped window in the ceiling. Although it was mostly covered in snow, he noticed that the sun was setting.
And then he remembered...
He was invited over to have dinner with Cremia tomorrow night.
What would he wear? He owned nothing.
Did it matter? She didn't seem to mind his frightening appearance, so why would what he wore matter at all? As long as he wore something, right?
Oni was exhausted. He couldn't help but fall asleep soon after the sun set.
xxxx
Cremia sighed as she washed the dishes of her dinner. She couldn't help thinking about Oni, even though the thought of him sent shivers down her spine.
Part of her felt like if she let down her guard too much, he'd take advantage. Just like any other red-blooded male.
If his blood was even red...
But part of her felt something different about that man...
He told her she was beautiful...
And that he'd watched her...
She shivered again. She didn't know whether it was very smart of her to be alone with him.
"Here, let me do that."
"No, it's alright, I'm able to do it."
The older nurse looked inquisitively at Cremia with her large violet eyes. The ranch girl was paying her quite well, but for what, to have her sit down while the injured girl did all the work?
"Are you sure, dear?"
"Positive."
The nurse, whose name was Maila, stood and gently placed a hand on Cremia's shoulder.
"Do you think you'll be all right tonight my dear?"
Cremia nodded. After a hot bath and some red potion, she felt alot better, although if she stood too long, she felt the pain in her lower back.
"Alright then. I'm going to go to my grandson's for the night. Send a letter if you need me.."
Cremia waved as the old woman pulled her coat on and left the house.
She watched from the window as the nurse's large red wagon rolled away into the snow.
"What a day.."
Cremia climbed the steps slowly and entered her room. She tried not to look in the direction of Romani's vacant bed as she removed her clothes. She ran another hot bath and climbed carefully into the tub. She closed her eyes as she soaked the day away.
xxxxx