Linebeck's Agreement
Chapter 11: If it were Nothing
By Harmony283
Authors Note: Well I gotta say that I'm sorry in advance for how freakishly long it took me to update this chapter. It was SUPPOSED to be up (originally) sometime before Monday, but then of course my computer got hungry and ate some of the chapter—twice. But hey, it's fixed now (I hope) and here's the chapter and the long awaited answer to 'will Linebeck get squished from the tree or not?' Enjoy!
Note: Because of the whole 'eating chapter' issue, this chapter will be a lot shorter than the others, simply because I can't remember what I put the first time I wrote this chapter out. Though I DID add an extra scene in there (something I just randomly came up with) it'll still be the shortest chapter yet, sorry about that in advanced and hopefully I won't have the same computer problems next time around.
Was it just me or did I just have really bad luck when it came to trees? More like trees that were falling, or about to fall, but they were still trees. Like now for instance. I was standing here, an inch or less away from this huge tree that could've easily squashed me, but it didn't. I wasn't sure how, but it just didn't.
And all for Link too. The stupid kid, not getting out of the way. But wait, was he okay? Or--
"Linebeck!" I heard Link shout--yup, if he could shout then he was definitely okay. But what about the mon…ster…? I turned to look to the right of me--where the tree had landed--and saw just the limbs of the disgusting Goron-looking thing. Only a few seconds passed, though, and it turned into a poof of blackish-purple dust before being carried away by the wind.
Suddenly I felt something run into me, not hard enough to knock me over, but with enough force to make me notice them. It was Link, like I suspected. He had somehow jumped over the tree, and was now…hugging me, or at least he was hiding his face in my jacket. And he was shaking. I placed a hand on his head, making him look up at me. His eyes looked sad, worried, and happy all at the same time. And for a moment I didn't know why he was directing those emotions at me--it wasn't like I died or anything.
Though I probably could have.
That wasn't a very pleasant thought. I tried to smile down at Link, but I was suddenly all too aware of the pain in my right arm. And there was the fact that it was still bleeding, even though I had tried to stop it. I felt almost dizzy at the blood loss--or maybe I was always just as dizzy, but chose to ignore it? Yeah that was probably it. I was good at ignoring things. Like lack of sleep, or when I was sick. Not that that mattered right now.
"You're arm! You're hurt!" Link pointed out the obvious, but when he backed away for a moment I was confused. Until he pulled out my red scarf that I had given Aryll when she hurt her ankle. He attempted to wrap it around my wounded arm, but the wound was too big. That and my jacket was in the way. My jacket that was now completely ruined.
The jacket that I had gotten handmade, every seam stitched to perfection. And now it was ruined with bloodstains and torn at the hems. Crap.
"For the love of Nayru," Tetra hissed as she came up to us, eyeing my wounded arm with big eyes, "That's--are you--" she stopped herself, shaking her head, "You aren't going to be able to use that arm again if we don't--"
"We should be getting back to town." Claire cut off, and I noticed then that she was supporting nearly all of Harlee's weight. Made me wonder why she even came out here. Not to mention the fact I didn't want her to. She was sick, she was worse off than me--what the hell was that old guy thinking, letting her just up and leave? She didn't do anyone any good coming--
"I-I'm sorry this h-happened to you." Harlee's voice was so soft that I could just barely hear what she said. But I couldn't miss the way she eyed me for a split second, like I was familiar to her or something. The look passed quickly and she let out a shaky breath, "Th-this was m-my own f-fault. I-If I was b-better I-I could do something--a-at least to ease the pain, but--"
Claire placed a hand on Harlee's shoulder, "Don't worry about it, Harlee." Her voice was warm and gentle, like she was talking to a little kid, "It's not your fault. You…you did what you thought was best."
"And that looks to be the truth, little missy." My eyes widened and snapped up to where Link and the others had been standing when they first arrived at this…place. Standing there, with Aryll and the old guy almost right behind her, was Venus. Except she wasn't wearing what she was wearing earlier. Now instead of a bartender's dress she was wearing brown leather pants, a tunic with long bell sleeves and a corset on the front, and her hair was up in a messy bun, showing off however many piercings she had on her ears.
But wait, what the--why was she here in the first place? And what was that thing she had in her hand? It was…wooden, it almost looked like a sword, but it also looked vaguely familiar.
Not that I had much time to think about that when a bunch of random Keese flew out from the trees that hadn't been destroyed. They surrounded Venus, Aryll, and the old guy and for a moment I thought Link was going to charge in and kill them--but he didn't even get a chance to move.
Whatever it was that Venus had in her hand was strong enough to, when she slashed it through the air like a sword, kill all the Keese in its range.
That's when I realized what it was. But…but why was she using it as a sword! That thing was ancient she could snap the thing in smithereens! Or it could just crumble in her grip. Well, that was dramatizing it just a bit--but it was old, and it was--
The last few Keeses disappeared in the same puff of blackish purple smoke as the others before she lowered her weapon with a loud thud on the ground. She rubbed the arm she had swung it with, obviously in pain. And really, I didn't feel sorry for her. She shouldn't've even used it in the first place.
But everyone else still seemed in awe that she could even fight. What? Was a woman fighting not allowed? Hell, some women were stronger than guys, or at least their hits seemed stronger.
"Jeesh, you two look like you're about to die over there." Venus called out, walking towards us. Her eyes mainly focused on me, but they flickered back to Harlee a few times as well. Figures, she knew how to handle me over some girl she had only heard about.
"Who are you?" Tetra immediately asked, her tone practically dripping with suspicion. I couldn't really blame 'er, but she needed to loosen up just a bit. If she acted that way with every new person, it was a wonder her and Link got to even be friends--if she hadn't turned out to be who she apparently was, anyway.
Venus didn't seem at all alarmed by the way she acted though, and instead narrowed her eyes and placed one hand on her hip saying, "The name's Venus. But call me Ven--or Vennie." She leaned in a little closer, "And who are you?" she asked, almost sarcastically. But she didn't give Tetra any time to answer. "Anyway, you look like you're about to pass out--what was the old guy thinking? Letting you just leave like that?" she shook her head, eyeing Harlee with obvious worry in her eyes and expression.
"But what about Linebeck?" Link asked, "He's hurt too!" Venus turned to look at me, and I could swear I saw a glint in her eye--and whatever that meant I already knew it wasn't going to be good. That she was going to say something I absolutely would not like.
"Oh, he'll be fine--he'll heal in about a week." She said absentmindedly, though I could hear the humor in her voice. It didn't look like Link noticed it though, and he looked upset. But he didn't get a chance to say anything about it though before she cut him off, "But I guess…here," suddenly she threw her 'weapon' at me, and I almost didn't catch it. But thankfully she threw it at my left hand, and not my right, so I was able to at least get a bit of grip on it. She laughed when she saw me struggle and said, "Be a man and carry that. That thing's too heavy for a woman like me to carry."
I wanted to reply back to that, really I did, but Link was staring at me, looking like he wanted to ask me something so instead I turned and spoke to him, "What?" I knew I sounded annoyed, and he knew it too, but he didn't look upset.
Not that he even said anything either. He just looked at Venus, and Tetra, and the others who had begun to walk back to where Aryll and the old guy were waiting. Harlee had to practically be carried, and Link was attempting to help me, or he looked like he wanted to. And really I would've given him what I was holding, but he wouldn't know how to hold it right and he'd probably drop it.
And then it would probably break. For the love of the Goddess I didn't want that. The thing was an heirloom! It wasn't even technically supposed to be used anymore. Or at least not used in the way she used it, which reminded me that I had to ask her why she was using it in the first place.
"Hey, can any of you fight?" Venus suddenly asked once we had regrouped. She eyed each of us and finally her eyes fell on the hammer in Link's hands, "Oh--hey, you can use that right?" Link timidly nodded his head, "Then you, up front." Link hesitated for a moment, glancing at me, before moving up front to stand next to Harlee's guard.
Venus then turned to me, "You're hurt but from just a few seconds ago I know you can move easily enough. Just keep your injured side on the inside." She didn't sound worried in the least. Instead she turned to look at Harlee, "You, Aryll, and the old guy in the middle. I'll bring up the rear."
And immediately everyone complied. Strangely enough that was just how it worked. With her in charge, and everyone listening. Almost like—
'No.' I mentally shook away the memories before they could resurface, 'Not now.' I wouldn't think about those things now. It never did me any good in the long run. Ever.
And it stopped the suddenly worried glance Venus shot at me when she took her place behind me. Her eyes fell to the bandages then to my face. She actually looked like she wanted to rethink her earlier saying that I was going to be fine. But that wasn't it. Sure I was dizzy, but that wasn't it. If she knew what it was then she'd try to help me. I didn't need that. Not now.
She seemed to actually get that and turned to look at Tetra, who was looking back at her. Immediately she looked away, and that's when we finally started walking. And that's when I chose the perfect time to realize just how much blood I really lost. I felt like I was gonna be sick.
And I felt that way for however freakin' long it took us to get back to town. It felt almost twice as long as it did when I left there this morning. Not that I could complain, if we went even faster then I'd probably faint. Not to mention Harlee, she was practically being carried by Claire.
'Makes you wonder how long she's been sick, and how they could just leave her like that.' I shook away the guilty feeling that suddenly hit me. It wasn't even my fault she was sick. I didn't even—
"There it is." The Guard spoke, sounding relieved. She turned to face us, looking specifically at Harlee, before stepping out of the shade of the trees and into the sunlight surrounding the town. But before she could move much farther Venus walked up to her.
"Look," she started , "Do you honestly think anyone would welcome you if you show up first? Let me go. Then we can get you to wherever it is you need to be!."
The old man decided to speak up now, "All of my other healing items are at the Hotel. Or at least I assume they're still there." And now the old guy was glaring at me.
"Is it in a huge kind of bag with some weird symbol on the top?" Venus asked, suddenly right up next to me—literally.
After a few minutes it seemed like the old guy finally remembered what he was going to say, "I would like to go straight to the hospital." It was a demand. "I'm going now; I've been around here enough to know the way." Then just like that he pushed through us, and disappeared through the doorway into the town.
Too bad he wouldn't be able to get in the room—I still had the only key left. The other either was still in the room, Venus had it, or Aryll took it without us knowing when she left.
Then I had the sudden sensation that all eyes were on me. Even Venus—who at some point had draped her arms around my shoulders—was looking at me. "Wh-What!" I snapped and almost immediately Aryll spoke up.
"You two are good friends aren't you?" Her voice was shaky, and she looked a little pale, but obviously what she said confuse everyone else in the group.
"Friends?" Both Link and Tetra asked at the same time, though Tetra sounded more suspicious than Link did. Not that that was any news—she sounded like the kind to jump to conclusions about stuff like that.
Suddenly Venus squeezed my neck, nearly making me gag, as she said in an overly cheerful voice, "Yup! Friends, now you don't look good." She was talking to Harlee, "we can't let that old guy get ahead of us now can we?" she squeezed my neck just a little more and that's when I had to try and shove her off.
She probably would've slapped me if she hadn't realized what she was doing, but she didn't let go. I actually had to tell her she was choking me before she let go. Didn't look like she'd apologize, though. Not that I needed it—I was just glad I could breathe again.
------- (Five hours later) -------
"Linebeck." My eyes turned away from the cloudy night sky when I saw Link walk into our shared room. His hair was messy, and since he wasn't wearing his cap his bangs fell even more in his eyes than before, but again that didn't seem to bug him. He just walked over to where I was sitting and sat down next to me.
For a moment silence fell over us before I decided to break it, asking the same question I knew I had asked before, "What're you doing up so late, kid? You should really be in bed." Especially since he hit his head not just a few hours ago. But I knew he wasn't going to listen to me. I knew what he was going to say instead.
"You should be in bed too." And of course I was right. I would've laughed if he hadn't been serious. "You really should." He was looking at me now, or rather he was looking at my arm, "You…lost a lot of blood."
I shrugged my shoulders, "It's no big deal. It's nothing to worry about." Immediately when the words fell out of my mouth I knew he was going to yell at me. Or get angry.
But he didn't. Instead he said, almost sadly, "If it were nothing…" he trailed off, shaking his head, "Why?"
Now I was confused, "Why what?"
"Why do you…you saved her life. She could've died. That monster could've hit her." I knew he was talking about Harlee when he said that, and I almost dreaded what came next, "But you told her not to thank you. Why? You weren't like that when—"
My eyes narrowed and I let out a loud sigh, cutting him off, "Look kid, you probably wouldn't get it—not even if I told you."
"Yes I would!" He actually raised his voice, "I—"
"He's right, y'know. You wouldn't get it." I nearly jumped when Venus appeared on the other side of me. When I looked over at her it was easy to see—she was exhausted. "But little sprout here is right. You do need to get some sleep."
"Sp-Sprout?" For a moment Link blinked confusedly next to me, and then he got it, "Y-You mean me?"
Venus just smiled at him, "Yup you. 'Til I find a better nickname for you—that's it." Link still looked confused, so I took every liberty to grimace for him. He didn't know how annoying those nicknames were—especially one like that, that was only there for the most noticeable thing: the fact that he wore green and he was short. "Now you should be going to bed. Don't worry about him." Now she was talking like I wasn't even here, "I'll make sure he gets some shut eye."
Link didn't believe her, and honestly I didn't either.
I didn't until I saw that all-too-familiar smirk on her face, "Even if I have to force him to go to bed."
I really didn't want to know what she meant by that. Really, I didn't.
A/N: This seemed as good a place as any to stop at, so here's the chapter. Again sorry for the short-ness of it (I hate writing short chapters), but this is really all I could remember. I'm hoping the next chapter'll be longer—since there's going to be more 'stuff' in it. But we'll just see what comes out when I type it up.
As always, Questions, Comments, CC, it's all welcome via Reviews! And also if you like the pairing Link X Sheik, please check out my newest fanfic for the Zelda section (The Never Healing Wound)!
-Harmony283