Chapter no. : 13
Chapter title: Interesting...
Story rating: T (for now)
BETAed: Very Excellent Now-Knowing Seal (of approval) from Venks
Disclaimer: Me no own Zelda. I mean, come on - how stupid are you? If I did own Zelda , it would contain much swearing, blood, sex and rock'n'roll. And Yaoi. Don't forget the luffly yaoi. But since I don't own it, I have to settle for entertaining you guys with my stories and OCs - which is fine by me.
Warnings: Not any at the moment. Apart from that this is a yaoi story and contains spoilers from TP.
Thanks for the reviews...
JtheChosen1
Celestial (Twice! lol)
Akatsuki Seal
MadCrash
Ryukai-MJ
Devlish Child
Soriku-video-gamer
Lil' Miss Spookiness
Notes: Honeys, I'm hoooome. Sorry, this isn't a great chapter - I'll update soon to get you moving. We be near yaoi, m'swabbers! Yar...
Totally irrelevant quote of the update:
A friend: "You're weird. That's you in a nutshell."
Yours truly: "No, this is me in a nutshell: 'Help! I'm in a nutshell!'"
"Link!" Came a cry from up ahead that echoed around the rocky cliffs. "Father! Father! Link is here – he's back!"
Looking back up, I just about spotted Luda run into the shaman's house. By the time we drew level with Eldin's Spring, the young girl was pulling her father out of the doors by the hand. Renado, upon spotting Hero, smiled.
"Hello Link," Renado greeted. "Long time, no see."
Hero smiled back. "Sorry… I've been busy, y'know." He dismounted and I followed suit, keeping Raisa perched on my hip as she wouldn't let go of my neck.
"So what provokes this visit? And who is your friend? Or, should I say, who are your friends?" He paused, holding up a hand. "Before we start introductions, perhaps we should go to the hotel? You can have something to eat and drink there."
We nodded and set off, after unsaddling and unloading the packs from Nyx and Epona, letting them wallow in the healing waters of the spring. We moved up the pathway, Raisa still in my arms, stubbornly unwilling to separate from me.
Entering the hotel, we were met with a very warm atmosphere. The clean, wooden floor was adorned with bright, fresh rugs and the tables were laid as if expecting people to arrive. Behind the counter was a young girl with black hair, scribbling leisurely in a book, dark purple orbs flitting to a scroll every so often. Just as we walked in, she rolled her shoulder back (the arm she was writing with) and adjusted the white pinafore that was resting over a square-fronted navy-blue dress that, with her position, was showing off quite a bit of cleavage – I didn't know if it were intentional or otherwise…
Yet, one mustn't judge a book by its cover, as they say.
When Renado shut the door behind us, she looked up with surprise, before smiling a dazzling smile.
"Oh, hello," she welcomed.
"This is Azami," Renado introduced as we stepped further into the renovated hotel. "Azami, this is Link, who I told you about, remember?"
She nodded. "Hello Link – and yes, Renado has told me much of your adventures." She paused, smiling brightly. "I am Azami. I hail from Castle Town and moved here when Renado asked my mother for help with the hotel. It is nice to meet you. If you require rooms, there are plenty free… it seems not many venture to this town, even nowadays…" She looked at the shaman. "Drinks?"
"They would be appreciated, yes." He glanced at Hero, as if silently enquiring if we desired food, but Hero shook his head. "Thank you, Azami."
Sitting at one of the circular tables, I noticed Renado and Luda looking at Raisa's exotic appearance with interest.
"Oh, this is Raisa – she's from the Gerudo Desert," Hero explained.
"A Gerudo? My, my…" The shaman whispered. "A Gerudo hasn't been seen for many, many years…" He glanced at me, eyes flicking down to the Sheikah eye on my front. "And a Sheikah? Link, I must say, you seem to choose the rarest of companions… though – Raisa, you say? Yes, though Raisa is but a child, I have heard that they are battle ready at a very young age. And the Sheikah are very strong and agile huntsmen."
"Were," I corrected.
He paused, brow creased in confusion.
"I am but one of two Sheikah remaining. The Sheikah tribe, in effect, do not exist anymore."
I caught Hero's saddened look and Raisa looked down; Renado frowned even more and Luda looked shocked. Azami came over in the space of silence with five mugs and a teapot full of tea, and sat down in the chair offered to her by Hero.
"I am sorry," the shaman apologised.
"Why do you ask for forgiveness? It wasn't your fault."
"I know, but I cannot help but express regret," Renado justified. "But would the second Sheikah you speak of be a woman named Impaz?"
I nodded warily. "Yes, she is my mother."
"Your mother? I cannot say I see the resemblance, but you certainly have her language and tone of voice…" He smiled at a distant memory. "I knew her when I was a young boy; when exploring one day, I stumbled upon the site of Old Kakariko and every so often, I would revisit her – she's who taught me all about spirits and shamanism."
He turned to Hero and Azami. "I'm sorry; we seem to have left you out of the conversation."
"No need to worry, Renado." Azami waved it off, with a confirming nod from Hero. She began to pour a cup of tea for Luca and then Raisa, before handing two to Hero and Renado. "Uhm, would you like one?" She asked me; it suddenly occurred to me that they didn't know my name.
"No thank you," I replied. "So you need not toe the line of what to call me, you may call me Sheik. Though you may notice Hero calling me 'Shadow' - pay no notice."
"Sheik, hm?" Renado murmured. "Did you know the great Sheikah hero was called Sheik?"
"Sheik was a name for father-less Sheikah, as it was our custom that the father, as the head of the family, named the new-born child; no one else could, not even the mother. It turned out that there were quite a few 'Sheik's in my tribe as my clan perished for their duty," I enlightened (how ironic…). "And, yes, my people's hero was named 'Sheik' too. But it means nothing."
"How interesting…"
I looked away. "I have to say, you are the first to find the Sheikah clan 'interesting'."
"Hey, I found your people's history interesting first!" Hero interjected almost angrily.
"Albeit Hero, I think you are the first to find the Sheikah clan 'interesting'," I retried.
"Make me the second," Azami added, raising a hand.
"Shad would be the third, I would guess," Hero joked with a smile. "It would keep him busy with research for days."
I allowed a small smile to grace my lips and I nodded slightly.
"That fellow who was in my basement during your quest? Ah, yes, I would guess he would be interested as such too." Renado paused. "That reminds me, what brings you to Kakariko?"
"Oh, it's kinda complicated, actually…" Hero began. "We're looking for the spiritual gems – we've got one already. There's a growing power in Hyrule and it's got something to do with Twilight."
"Spiritual gems?" The shaman repeated. "I don't think I've ever heard of them. Though I'm guessing they hold great power."
Before either of us could reply, the door opened and the mailman darted in. He rushed up to Azami, crying out her name. He stopped in front of her, panting slightly, before, with a slight blush, stood tall.
"Greetings, Ms. Azami! I have come to deliver a letter!" he crowed, digging in his back pack. He pulled out a little white envelope, humming his strange little fanfare-jingle happily. "It is a letter from Mariah."
"Oh, thank you," Azami said, taking the letter.
"Well, my business is concluded! Onward to mail!" He cried, dashing off out the door after bowing to the smiling girl.
"He sure is a strange guy," Hero muttered with a shake of his head.
"How is your mother?" Renado asked Azami, who was reading the letter.
"Oh, not good!" She gasped, standing. "I must go, I apologise."
She rushed off, racing behind the counter and out back, her navy-blue dress trailing behind her.
Renado frowned with worry and stood. "Please excuse me for a moment," he said, before walking calmly after the black-haired girl.
"Luda?" Hero asked the shaman's daughter. "Can I ask where Azami came from? I thought the inhabitants of Kakariko were killed when Twilight came."
"They were," Luda replied with a small nod. "Azami came from Castle Town, if you would remember, since she told you. Her mother, Mariah, is a friend of father's and suggested that Azami came to help out with renovating Kakariko Hotel. Well, we have Malo Mart-" I saw Hero snicker and I rolled my eyes at his actions. "And so, with a new hotel, we could bring Kakariko back to how it used to be… the Gorons have promised to help with supplying and transporting the building materials for the houses."
"Gorons are the rock monsters, aren't they?" Raisa asked. I had forgotten how naïve she was in the outside world; all she had heard was stories from her mother and other Gerudo.
"They're not 'rock monsters'," the Kakariko-born girl said with a small chuckle. "Yes, they're made of rock, but they're not monsters - they're very peaceful. I can take you to see the Goron by the gate later, if you want."
She nodded vigorously, but then paused, looking to Hero and I. Glancing at Hero before turning back to the redhead, I nodded back.
"Yes you can, as long as it is alright with Renado," I told her, making her smile broadly. I stood. "Hero, I am going to check on Epona and Nyx, get them settled for the night."
He nodded. "Alright, I'll stay here, get us settled in for the night."
I moved over to the door and, not replying to Hero's "See you later then, Shadow", walked out into the twilight air; the natural twilight, let me say. The sky was a majestic dark purple and the horizon was a deep pink, the two colours mixing where the stars began, which were strewn across the heavens. I hadn't seen such twilight in many years.
I passed a Goron on the way to the spring, who regarded me with curiousity, but greeted me with a, 'Hello again, brother'. This heavily confused me - I hadn't spoken to a Goron before, so why was he saying 'hello again'? Or was he referring to my belonging to the Sheikah clan? I had heard before from Impaz that the Sheikah helped all the races of Hyrule, even during the Fierce War, in which all the races of Hyrule sought the golden Triforce; we were neutral - our oath had been terminated, in a sense, so we were not bound to the Royal Family, though we were known for it.
Whickering, Nyx brought me out of my reverie. I glanced up. I had reached the spring already and was standing in front of my obsidian steed. Epona gave a little snort of a greeting and waded over too, the food pack still on her back. I removed the bag and was sifting through it to find the carrots that Hero was so fond of giving her when there was a shout.
I looked up in time to see a bomb flying straight at me. With a curse, I slapped both mounts' flanks to move them away and dropped the bag, before flipping out the way. The bomb fell into the shallow water and went off with a large explosion, spraying water and rock everywhere and leaving a large hole into the once-pristine spring.
Barnes. Who else could it have been? Gorons hold no bombs and have no need for them anyway. Hero is the only one who retains them, but what could he possibly gain from endangering both me and his mare?
The stout man came running at me, a bomb bag clutched in his hand, a lit explosive in the other.
"Take this instead of a horse, Sheikah!" He yelled, chucking the bomb.
Of course it missed - do you think so little of me? A mere leap to the side and I was out of the way. Nearby, I saw Nyx going on the offensive, lowering his head so his horns were horizontal and dragging his hoof back along the ground repeatedly. I could see anger in his dark eyes.
I didn't know what had gotten into the bomb-shop owner, but Nyx's attacks were vicious and I doubt I would be welcomed in Kakariko if Barnes was killed, so I had to stop my steed.
Giving a sharp whistle, I did so. Nyx raised his head, eyes narrowed in confusion…
This, obviously, distracted me. I wasn't fast enough to put sufficient distance between me and the newly-thrown bomb and it exploded right in front of me. I was thrown back, hitting the jagged cliff beside the small waterfall brutally, but still managing to land on my feet, even though it seemed like the world was spinning; I had obviously hit my head - I could feel the blood running down my scalp and neck in a slow drip.
And now, I was powerless to stop Nyx's rage. He's very possessive of me, as you can tell, for a reason I'm not able to fully explain. Ever since I tamed him, we've been near inseparable and he seems to be able to read my body language, noting when I'm hurt or tired and doing actions to help; in this case, harm the injurer to stop anymore pain to me.
Luckily, it was at this point that everybody reacted. Hero, Renado and Azami came rushing out of the Hotel, obviously having heard the loud bangs; the Goron who had greeted me earlier came hurtling towards us to stop the fight (and stop possible damage to Eldin's fountain, maybe) and Epona bounded forward to stop Nyx's renewed attack by head-butting him in the neck and standing between him and Barnes.
"Eh?" The bomb-maker muttered when the Goron skidded to a stop in front of me. "Get outta my way! I need to stop that horse-stealer!"
"Barnes!" Renado roared, running towards the spring with Hero and Azami on his heels. "What are you doing?"
"That Sheikah was stealing Link's horse! I saw him!" Barnes yelled back, pointing a shaking finger at me.
"He was not," the Goron interrupted. "Brothers do not steal off of other sworn brothers."
"Eh? Brothers?" Barnes repeated, stupefied.
My head throbbed as I tried to stay conscious, as did my back, which I could also feel bleeding and bruising. I caught Hero's gaze and he frowned.
"He saved your life," the Goron continued. "He stopped the strange black beast from hurting you and that's why you caught him off guard. But by doing so, you recalled the beast's wrath; it was lucky I came along and that brown beast stopped it."
"Whatever happened, it was a misunderstanding," Azami stepped in. "I don't think Sheik would steal from Link - what could he gain from it? But let's all go inside and cool down."
"'Cool down'?" The bomb owner turned furiously to the blue haired girl. "If there's one thing my mother said to me, it was to never trust a Sheikah! And that's what I'm gunna do!"
"Now, that's enough!" Hero yelled. "You may not trust him, but I do. And if you don't have anything else to say on the matter, then go back to your bomb shop, Barnes. You don't have to trust him - you don't have to do anything to him; all you have to do is not say another word against Sheik or his people, fact or otherwise."
There was silence; I was still silently struggling to retain consciousness. The Goron turned around to face me, beady purple eyes gazing into mine.
"Are you alright, Brother?" He asked.
"I am fine, thank you," I replied quietly, looking away. Glancing up, I saw Barnes muttering something to Hero before walking off to his bomb shop.
"But you are bleeding, Brother," he pointed out.
I noticed, in the corner of my eye, that Hero's ears seemed to perk up when he heard the word 'bleeding'. Of course, being the valiant hero and all, he moved fast, coming over to me, blue eyes swimming with worry.
"Sheik, you alright? His bombs didn't get you, did they?"
"Unfortunately, one did; but I am fine. Just a little cut."
Did I mention that the world was spinning so fast I felt sick? Guess not…
"You sure, Sheik?" He laid a hand on my shoulder and I felt myself being anchored down to Hyrule, the dizziness easing slightly. "You look really pale, and since you're normally really brown, it's a worrying fact."
"Perhaps," Azami suggested, as she moved closer to us, "we should go back to the Hotel. Renado said he'd make sure your horses are safe for the night."
I nodded, and managed to take a few steps without falling or stumbling. Hero and the Goron were either side of me, obviously to make sure I didn't fall. Part of me appreciated the worry, but the other half wasn't so grateful - I could handle a bump to the head and a jarred back; I had survived much worse.
I heard a sharp intake of breath behind.
"Oh gosh, Sheik," Azami gasped. "Your back! We have to treat that quickly before it gets infected."
"Sheikah don't get sick," I muttered. "We don't get infected."
"Yeah but even Sheikah ache in the morning," Hero pointed out, fingers brushing a cut on my shoulder, earning a hiss from me that sounded very cat-like. Even Hero blinked in surprise. "See? I guess that hurt a lot."
"I'm fine, Hero."
"Oh yeah, and the sky is pink."
"…That it is, Hero."
Hero glanced up and cursed at the cerise and amethyst heavens.
Demi: I just want it to be known that I do not hate Barnes. I think he's rather amusing, actually. Just remember Sheikah are generally hated and feared; even by Barnes' fearsome mother - she must be a blast to live with... ku ku ku...
Review! -scurries away-