Book Two
Arrion is fully aware of how unhealthy it is to be thinking of her situation almost on an hourly basis, now.
He's fully capable of simply putting the brooding to rest, and yet I find myself feeling nothing but sympathy for the young girl I have not spoken three complete sentences to.
The day he found her in the mucky tent, arms over her mother and hand entwined in her thin, pale one, a flushed Arrion quickly stepped out of the tent; part of him afraid of being caught in such an intimate display of care, and part of him embarrassed to have seen her, a girl he automatically labeled as strong-willed, much like her now mentor, so… vulnerable.
It discomforted him.
"Three weeks have passed since then- and you still find it difficult to look the young girl in the eyes. She mustn't be much younger than me, eighteen at the most- three- four years difference."
" Being separated from your mother, father, keeper- is so difficult- I should understand."
"But these Hylians… so much more emotionally attached to their own kind, and so easily manipulated- not having to be raised in fear of exploitation."
"Yes, but to have such sadness trust upon you so quickly- ouch."
Sighing, the young Twili rubbed the area in which his quill nicked his pale blue skin. The dark drops of blood seemed to distract him for the shortest amount of time, but the thoughts of the young girl, Sam, came rushing back as soon as the pain dulled to a simple hum.
Setting the quill down, Arrion brings his long fingers up to his temples- it was simply impossible to calculate, predict, or infer the time it would take for a patient to heal. The science was innacurrate- even more so now because of what happened with the young woman and her unborn child… It was too inconsistent, too difficult to figure out, and manipulate.
It seemed more like the more emotionally attached to this world the victim was, the better their chance of physical return.
"How exquisitely tragic."
It's been getting worse- the voice, the influence.
"I need to rest."
"You need to work."
The boy picks up my quill only to slam it down again with self-frustration.
"Sleep. Now. No questions."
.
.
.
"Why the hell doesn't he look me in the eye?"
Every time she would pass him in a hall, corridor, the garden, training, the kitchen, for three weeks- no eye contact was made.
"Do I scare him?" The young Hylian thought, pacing in her own chambers, hair still in a very messy ponytail from her sweaty training session with a much too eager Ashei on her case about each opening left in her stance.
Rubbing her side at the dull pain from the whacks of her mentor's sword, she recalls when Link briefly interrupted her and Ashei's sparring to bring her an important update.
They had talked briefly, and quickly, but as Ashei left Sam's side in order to meet link half way, she stood there awkwardly, as her mind attempted to find something to look busy with.
It had decided to stare at the Twili man that wouldn't leave Link's side.
But the boy didn't look back, and as he had chosen not to acknowledge Sam for almost three weeks, this left the young girl simply frustrated.
The young girl undid her long black ponytail, which as the weeks passed, seemed to get even more irritating, knotting and sticking to her neck- keeping her from progressing, in her own mind.
Her thoughts returned to the young man she barely knew, but who compelled her so much, and seemed to fight a battle within himself every time he spoke a simple phrase.
It was just… Interesting.
Stepping out of her tunic, Sam sighed in appreciation as the breeze from her room hit her sore sides through the thin undershirt she wore. The moist fabric seemed to only enhance the coolness that brushed her sides.
She almost cried when stepping out of her undershirt, and into a night dress- a simple one with black stitching on soft white cotton.
"Cool, clean clothes after a worse-than-hell training session is better than sex" The young girl exclaims shamelessly. "Well- I'm assuming, anyway." She laughs with herself.
Sometimes the pain from training sessions would make her forget why she was even going through all the trouble- working her ass every day of the week, having to take care of her own cuts, bruises, scars, etc., and taking the sometimes unnecessary criticism of her mentor who seemed to enjoy every minute of Sam's agony.
But as the weeks progressed, and her mother's situation stayed the same, if not worsened, Sam grew to understand that if there's no one to go back to, she'd have to make another life here, with Ashei, who she knew deep down
Way deep down
Cared loads for her.
But what would come of Arrion? If he heals every one of the victims, or fails to do so, will he be left alone and sent back to whatever he did before he came here? Part of Sam wondered if he was forced into the healing…
As she attempted to unknot her thick waves, she brooded over thoughts of the possible life that can be made for the Twili she couldn't bring herself to despise- not even dislike. He had to have started from somewhere, maybe he had a business of worked for someone. Maybe they knew who he was, and accepted him for his race.
It didn't seem too difficult, not that she thought of it, and she mentally slapped herself for being so close-minded.
Even if he was being forced into assisting Link in curing those that were possessed by the rogue Twilit, he was still helping- and for that, he was not even being thanked.
"What a pissy situation," Sam thought out loud, just before sighing and giving up on her long hair. "And no one thanks him for anything…"
It seemed like a lot of responsibility, she thought, to be completely honest.
Sighing, she gets up and stretches, "It's decided- I don't care if I've never spoken a complete sentence to him in my life. I have to thank him."
Even if he doesn't know why.
Breathing out with a determined huff, she moves herself slowly from the chair, cringing at the dull pain in her everything as she gets up, and walks slowly to her little bed.
But half-way through her seemingly endless room her eyes lock onto a pair of long fabric sheers.
Hesitantly, she strides slowly to the sheers, and runs her fingers through her hair.
"Mom loves my hair. It's feminine. It's something she is proud of making. She would die- be upset if I cut my hair. She'd cry. She'd never-" AUGH!
The Hylian girls' fingers found themselves in a terribly large knot, and as she attempted to pull her hand away, the hairs seemed to come alive as they entangled themselves in her long fingers. The process of removing them took the young girl a good five minutes.
"…Screw it." She said aloud, bringing the sheers to her hair, grabbing the bottom and swiftly slicing her hair at her shoulders.
.
.
.
"Since there's not a lot of weight in it anymore, it's curlier."
Those are Ashei's' first words the morning after, as Sam struts out into the training ground, bronze sword in hand and large smile on her tired, yet satisfied face.
When Sam comes to stand by her Trainer, Ashei brings a hand up to the smiling girl's new locks- she's right, because a lot of weight was removed from the head, not only did Sam feel about two times lighter, but her waves shaped into loose spirals. A good eighteen inches was probably removed the night before, but so far, Sam didn't miss her hair one bit, and has come to adore her new shoulder- length cut.
Pulling out a piece or ribbon, she ties up her hair.
"You cut off a lot- are you upset?" Ashei asks- though not seemingly upset with the sudden change, a bit curious as to the spontaneous decision.
"Not at all- It was getting in my way. And it's longer straight." The girls responds, pulling at one of her curls to show how it meets the skin three inches below her collarbone.
"Hmm- alright then- are you ready?" The mentor crosses her arms and looks Sam up and down. The young girl cringes.
"Yeah, I guess…" Rubbing her back and waist, but hesitantly unsheathing her sword. "As I'll ever be." She finishes, standing with her left knee slightly bent and her arms raised for guar, as Ashei first taught her.
"Sam, If you're physical tired, you can request to take a day's break. You won't improve without rest- and by the looks of it, you're pretty tired."
"No, I'm not."
"You were tired enough to cut your own hair impulsively."
"It was not impulsively."
"Just go to bed, kid. We'll just do double tomorrow."
"SO worth it." The irritated young Hylian girl sighed, but did as she was told. "And I'm not even that much younger than you, 'adult'" A glare from Ashei immediately silenced her after that, though.
Sam tried to hide her limp as she slowly made her way away from the grounds she had grown accustomed to being pelted with sword slashes on a daily basis. To be honest, she didn't want to miss a training session- even if Ashei said it was healthy to rest when you needed to, Sam felt like she was missing out on valuable knowledge. The thought almost hurt more than the physical soreness.
But she willed herself to go back to her room and lay down, which as she walked on, and as time passed, the idea of sleeping off the soreness became increasingly more pleasant.
As she made her way into the castle and up the large stairs, Sam lifted her tired gaze up to a rushing link on the leftmost spiral stare case- one usually used for servants, but the hero seemed to appreciate it more than the grander ones twenty yards away. She surprised to see Link up so early- the Hylian boy usually slept in until almost noon on most days, as he was quite a night owl. But there he was, and , surprisingly right next to him, the Twili who did not leave his side.
When Link saw her, his curious expression matched Sam's. "No training today?" It always surprised Sam how deep his voice was, when he was a good three inches shorter than her.
"No- Ashei was feeling bad about how badly she beat me up yesterday," Sam chuckled as she rubbed her arms. Link nodded, but Arrion seemed a bit worried to Sam, with his eyebrows raised and head slightly tipped back. "Joking- just joking." She assured him, holding her hands up, flushing slightly in embarrassment.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Link motions to his head, and Sam laughs "It got in my way…" She touches her new length of hair and shrugs. "Ashei was surprised too."
"Well- I was just on my way to go get her- Shad is in need of her."
"Aww- is it wedding stuff? Well, I'm pretty sure she's still out there."
"Good." He responds, face still neutral, as always. But as they pass down the stairs and past her, she impulsively reaches out to grab the Twili's arm, which shocks him into standing still.
Sam tries to ignore the weirdness in her stomach and chest, and gulps. "I just wanted to say thank you for what you're doing- or even trying to do- for our people. I know it's none of your personal business, and I know no one has thanked you for it. So, thank you." Removing her hand quickly, she flashes a smile
Sam just stared at the bewildered young man in front of her until he seemed to recollect his thoughts and cleared his throat.
"You're very welcome, Sam." He said, smiling kindly, warmly, back to her, and going to join an ever-stoic Link.
As Sam made her way up the stairs, tired huffs escaping her chest, she couldn't help but remember Arrion's simple, warm smile.
Warm- something she never thought she's ever associate a Twili with. Warm and thankful- as if wanting approval?
Maybe… she thought to herself, as she entered her chambers, prompted herself on the small bed, not even undressing, and she letting her exhaustion take her