Chapter 21 A Forgotten Faction
Thank you to all of my reviewers:
FullxTimexHacker,
BiancaNegra,
mama-Ichigo,
merlyn1832,
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Hunter of Darkness,
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NinjaSheik,
Illyric,
and wrennn!
So I hit quite a bump in the middle of this chapter, and basically scrapped the whole thing and started over (which is why it's a little on the late side). Lots of plot development here, so keep an eye out for it! Also, there are references made to things in previous chapters, seemingly unimportant things, so look for those, too. Enjoy! :)
LPOV
"Don't even think about it," a voice growled in my ear. My hand that had twitched toward my sword fell still, and my mouth tightened in anger.
I had no idea how I had missed the entrance of all those shadowy figures into the trees. I had just been standing there, recovering from the Gerudos' mesmerizing dance, and then I had a sword at my throat, head, heart, and groin. For the moment, I wasn't going anywhere.
No one else had moved, either. Every noble had at least two armed men on each side; Zelda, Impa, Talone, the King, Valek, and I had more than twenty watching over us.
The men surrounding me were all consummate warriors, I could tell. The way they held their weapons, and their bodies, was a dead giveaway. Each man wore black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt, which contained a hood, and riding boots. The upper part of their faces was hidden by shadow.
Impa's body next to mine was absolutely rigid. She had her eyes locked with Sheik's across the crowded clearing, who seemed frozen in place. Zelda sat, perfectly immobile, her eyes fixed on one figure amongst all the others. Following her gaze, my eyes landed on a man whose very presence emanated power. He was the only one out of all the men wearing white. He smirked and stepped forward, sword in hand.
Stopping before Zelda, he bent at the waist in a mocking bow. "Princess…so we meet at last." As he rose, he pushed his hood back, revealing his full face. His hair, which curled gently around his ears, was a bronzed russet, while his eyes were an eerie mauve shade. Apart from the longsword he held, I took in the shortsword strapped diagonally across his back, its hilt angled toward his left hip, and the numerous throwing knives he had strapped in a leather holster around his waist. He stood probably six feet, but his body was clearly in peak condition; the muscles rippled beneath the white cloth of his shirt as he extended his arm. Placing the sword under Zelda's chin, he lifted gently. Impa stirred restlessly beside me, and the guards standing next to her increased the pressure of the knife against her neck. She stilled, her body on a hair-trigger.
Darting a glance at Impa, the man suddenly lunged forward, his movements a blur, and pressed the blade into Zelda's neck. She craned her head backwards, further exposing her neck, yet trying to escape the blade. The man's face was inches from hers as he stared hard into her eyes. He shouted at her in a language that I hadn't heard anyone speak in a long time; a language that rolled heavily off the tongue and heavily into the ears; a language that bespoke of ancientness and power. Fumbling for a moment into my memory, I finally came up with the correct words to translate.
"Where are they?" he yelled into Zelda's shocked face.
Her eyes wide, she answered him in the same language. "Safe from tyrants."
I did not know what the two were talking about, but something in Zelda's answer made the man pause. He gazed steadily into her eyes for what seemed like an eternity before he eased the pressure on her neck and stepped back, his tight expression relaxing a miniscule amount.
Zelda shifted her eyes toward Impa, whose face was an unhealthily blotchy color, then back to the man in front of her. "Who are you?" she demanded, switching back to the common Hylian language, her voice imperious, carrying the weight of her authority as the leader of Hyrule.
"Deartháireacha faoi airm. A faction of people you seem to have forgotten."
Impa eyes widened a slight margin in surprise. Zelda shifted her eyes once again to Impa then back to the man. "Brothers of the Blood," she translated.
The man raised his eyebrows. "Yes. Not many can translate the Ancient Tongue. Or speak it," he added.
"All Sages know the Ancient Tongue, as do the holders of the Triforce," she replied, her gaze flickering to mine for a moment.
Turning to me, the man lifted a palm. "Link, the bearer of the Triforce of Courage. Greetings." I regarded him with extreme skepticism, but made no move. He continued. "I am well aware of your station, Princess, as the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom, the leader of Hyrule, and the Seventh Sage. I know of your Sheikah guardian, also a Sage, and the young Sheikah, whose power is yet unknown. All of this does not intimidate me, nor will it help you get out of this situation. So I suggest you stop your silent communications!" The man's voice cracked like a whip as he swung to face Impa, sword extended to touch her neck, the other hand held out toward Sheik, a ball of black energy forming in his palm. "Cease, or you will both die."
"Stop!" Zelda cried. My own cry hadn't made it past my lips. The leader flicked his gaze over the Princess, then to me, and then back and forth between Impa and Sheik.
"I do not wish for any unnecessary bloodshed. Do not force my hand." Lowering his sword, the man flipped his palm up again and the ball of energy disappeared.
"What is your name?" The question came from Valek, about whom I had completely forgotten. The leader turned his gaze upon Valek and considered him for a moment, his forehead creased in concentration.
"And you must be the reclusive new fiancé, Prince Valek." Valek nodded his head, his expression stony and unyielding. His body, too, was rigid and poised for action. "My name is Kein. I am sure you have figured out by now that I am the leader of this group." He waved an arm, encompassing all of the gathered men.
"What is it that you want from us?" Zelda asked, her face solemn and wary.
The man must want something, I figured, since he probably could have killed off most of us without breaking a sweat. Of course, the problem now was figuring out for what he had indeed come.
"I think we should go somewhere a little more private for this conversation, do you not agree, Impa?" Kein addressed Impa suddenly, shifting his attention once again to her.
"If that is what you wish," she replied tonelessly. "But I come, as do Link and Sheik."
"Sheikah, you are not in a position to be making demands of me," Kein warned, his voice silky smooth.
"You said not to force your hand. Do not force mine, either."
Kein deliberated for a moment, then turned to one of his men. They conversed quietly in a language I had never heard for a minute or so before turning back to the group. "A dispatch of my men will stay with the rest of your people. No one will be harmed, provided that everyone behaves themselves. You, Princess, and your Sage-guardian and golden boys will be coming with me."
"May I ask where you are taking them?" Valek questioned.
"No. No you may not." Kein's mouth stretched into a smirk as he raised a hand. With another flick of his palm, the world dissolved around me and my breath whooshed from my lungs.
SPOV
Thoughts swirled in my head as I tried to sort out the situation. A memory surfaced and I let it wash over me as the world slid out of focus.
"Do I have to go to evening lessons today? Tonight is the New Moon. I want to help with the preparations!"
"Sheik!" Saluz reprimanded gently, "You know how important your lessons are. The history of our people must be preserved in the minds of young ones so that it may be passed on to future generations. You are the key to the future, and the vessel to the past."
"You tell me that all the time. But I guess I understand. I'll go to the lesson."
"Thank you, young one. Besides, you know Impa does not like it when you miss lessons."
The memory fast-forwarded to the actual lecture that occurred that day, so many years ago.
The teacher held up a scroll. "Our people used to stretch across the dimensions like the goddesses themselves. They were not bound to just Hyrule." She tapped the scroll against her palm. "Their main job, even in other worlds, was one of protection. One of our most ancient tribes lived in a land known as Darumina. This faction of Sheikah worked at keeping too much power out of the hands of a single group or person. They maintained balance in the world, performing cleansing rituals. They were rumored to possess an artifact, one that could grant wishes and turn things around. However, this artifact became tainted, and turned into something evil. The group was said to have destroyed it, and they eventually died out. Their blood was carried on in only a handful of offspring. They became the ancestors of Hyrule's own protective faction, the Deartháireacha faoi airm…"
The memory blurred as reality took shape. From a frantic glance around, I gathered that our group was in a small, circular, sandstone hut. All the windows were thoroughly covered, disabling any view of the outside world. Impa took a protective stance in front of Zelda, as did Link. I spun around to face Kein.
"You are Sheikah!" I exclaimed as my eyes landed on Kein again. His ability to detect my telepathic conversation with Impa made sense now.
He arched a brow. "So we are not entirely forgotten. How do you know this, Sheikah?"
"The History of the Sheikah, taught to every child in our people's clan. Your faction's name…the Deartháireacha faoi airm…you are charged with a specific sort of protection, are you not?"
Kein looked mildly impressed. "No one we have come into contact with has yet to remember us, or what we are here to do."
"That's because Impa and I are the only Sheikah left. Or so we believed."
"Yes, few remain outside of my men, and you two of course," he replied, running a hand through his hair. "Do you know what we protect?"
"You protect the balance of power."
"Indeed. Very good, little Sheikah." My pride stung at the 'little' comment. But of course, he only spoke the truth, which stung even more.
"Since the creation of this world and others, my people have been tasked with protecting the people from tyrants, from people who seek to gain more power than they ought."
My ears caught his use of the word 'tyrant.' Zelda's use of the same word must have been what put him at ease earlier. I eyed Kein with distrust. If his people were truly what he said they were, then where were they when Ganondorf started his reign of terror?
"How long have you and your men been protecting Hyrule?" I asked.
"I have been the leader of this group for seven years. I took over once I became of age."
Zelda cocked her head to the side. "If you are a Sheikah, why do you possess purple eyes?"
Kein studied her, deliberating on whether to answer or not. "I am only half Sheikah. My father, a full-blooded Sheikah, married a Hylian woman."
Zelda's eyes widened marginally. "Larron was your father?" Kein nodded. Zelda opened her mouth, closed it, thought for a moment, then spoke. "I did not know that Larron had a son."
His eyes sparked. "My father gave up his pursuit of revenge after meeting Caeda. Their love was strong and true; I am the result of that," he answered, the defense of his father clear in his voice.
Zelda held up a placating hand. "I do not mean to imply any disrespect, or disbelief. I genuinely did not know." Kein nodded his head curtly in reply. Before he could speak, Zelda hurriedly asked another question. "Why is it that you are not among the books of Hyrulian history?"
Kein sighed and shrugged. "Most of Sheikah history is passed down by word-of-mouth. With so few Sheikah remaining, I imagine most of the records of our existence have been lost. Also, with my father's defection for all those years, he wasn't even fulfilling his duties, and many believed the Deartháireacha faoi airm died out." Zelda nodded her head slowly. Kein flipped his palm up. "Let us not waste any more time. I have matters of the utmost urgency to discuss with you."
"By all means then," Impa muttered.
Kein slanted his eyes at her before continuing. "The goddesses created more than one form of protection against tyrants. The legendary Hero of Time, the Sages, the Temple guardians…these are but a few examples of their efforts to keep Hyrule safe. I already said that my clan protects the balance of power. More specifically, my clan protects the Elemental Stones." He turned away and began to pace up and down the room. Link shifted closer to Zelda. Kein ignored this. "As the leader of the Deartháireacha faoi airm, I am the only one who knows specifically where the Elemental Stones are kept. It is a knowledge the goddesses have granted me, and me alone. My men aid in the protection, but do not know many of the explicit details. The fewer people who know, the smaller the chance of the information falling into the wrong hands."
Impa's eyes were narrowed as she followed Kein's progress across the floor. Her mind was a blank wall. I wished I could speak with her, but knew that Kein's presence made such a thing impossible. A glance at Link showed him to be intently gazing at Kein, his expression quizzical.
"Imagine my panic when I discovered first the Fire Stone gone, then the Water and Wind Stones gone as well. My men and I began an immediate and thorough search and investigation, the results of which unearthed many monsters and temples that had already been combed through, but no Stones.
"And then, two days ago, I dreamed of three figures, each bearing a Stone. Two young men and a young woman, all of whom had blond hair, and all of which had the Touch of Destiny. I could only assume that I dreamed of you three," he said, nodding to indicate Zelda, Link, and I. "So my men and I set off in the dead of the night and reached you today. When I saw you sitting there, Princess, I did not know if your intent for the stones was one of good or evil; however, I quickly realized that it was for the former. I apologize for yelling at you, and holding the sword to your throat." Zelda did not look impressed with his apology. Kein shifted his weight, almost awkwardly. "So, do you mind updating me on why you have the Stones, and what you plan on doing with them, if your intentions are indeed good?"
Silence reigned for a few moments, and then Link finally burst. "Hey now, wait just a minute! Are you kidding me? First you bust into our picnic and drug all of our dancers. Then, you hold everyone at sword point and threaten my Princess. And THEN, you warp us all away to only the goddesses know where, spout what may just be a huge load of bullshit, and then expect us to just spill all of our secrets to you? I don't think so!" Link shouted, his hand slashing the air in front of him for emphasis.
Kein's face took on a ruddy hue. "Listen here, Hylian. I am not the enemy…"
"Neither are we!" Link inserted.
"Link, calm down," Impa said in a tone that brooked no argument. She turned to face Kein and studied him. "Although this will not fully substantiate your claims, it will help. Tell me, Kein of the Deartháireacha faoi airm, what are the locations of all three stones?" Kein crossed his arms in front of his chest in annoyance. Impa smirked. "Start with the Fire Stone."
He huffed. "The Fire Stone is located behind the wall in the center alcove in the main foyer of the Fire Temple. It can only be accessed with the Fire Medallion, and rests on a stone plinth older than the hills. The Wind Stone is located on the floor of the well in the Forest Temple, beneath one of the cobblestones marked with a carving of the Kokiri Emerald. The Water Stone is located under Lord Jabu-Jabu's shrine. Before you can get there, though, a map has to be acquired from a chamber underneath the pool in Zora's Domain, which contains a system of numbers that corresponds with a series of rooms in the Water Temple, which must be activated in the correct order to retrieve a key from the final room in the Temple. A design on the key matches the same pattern on Lord Jabu-Jabu's platform. The key must be placed in the middle of the shrine and the Royal Lullaby has to be sung, which allows one to then access the underground chamber that contains the Water Stone."
We all stared at him in silence for a few seconds after his long-winded answer to Impa's challenging question.
His smirk contained both smugness and a trace of annoyance. "Satisfied?"
"No," Link replied, shaking his head petulantly.
Throwing his hands in the air, Kein shook his head. "What can I do to prove myself to you?"
"Probably nothing," Impa said, her tone blunt. "I mean, how can you expect us to trust anything you say after that little stunt you pulled by the river? Hell, we might go back and find all of our nobles, guards, and King dead!"
Kein shook his head angrily. "No! My men would never do something like that. We aren't here to arbitrarily seek bloodshed. We kill only when necessary."
Zelda's voice interrupted the bickering. "Impa, I think we should trust him."
"I think you're ri—wait, what? Zelda, I must beg you to examine the situation more carefully. We don't know if he is who he says he is. This could be a trap."
Zelda cut Impa off with a wave of her hand. "Impa, you know I possess an uncanny perception when it comes to people and their intentions."
Impa did not look convinced in the least. She looked at me. "Sheik, what do you think?"
I shifted my gaze back to Kein. "His knowledge of the Stones' locations is thorough and accurate. However, I find some…discrepancies in some of his other claims."
"Such as?" Kein demanded.
Pointedly ignoring the other three people in the room who may very well have disapproved of my next action, I took a breath and plunged forward. "Kein, there was a time not long ago that existed but did not. In that time, a tyrant took control of the land and poisoned it with his evil. Where was your faction then? No one came to our aid, not for seven years, not until the Hero of Time awakened. If you are who you say you are, where were you then?"
Kein's expression was one of extreme puzzlement. "Never happened but did? That doesn't make any sense."
"It would if you had lived it," I replied hastily, still ignoring Impa's death glare and Zelda's disapproving look. Even Link looked skeptical. Sharing information about that time was expressly forbidden. I was breaking a serious rule.
His forehead crinkled, he responded after a moment of thought. "Did the tyrant go after the Elemental Stones?"
"No. No, he did not have the need to do so."
"Well, I can only speculate here, but I would imagine that with the Stones safe, we must have not felt the need to interfere. I suppose I would have been much younger then, more prone to making mistakes and overlooking things. Or maybe this tyrant killed our clan."
I nodded. His explanation, theory though it was, had a ring of truth to it. I could not help but think he was telling the truth.
Shrugging, I turned to Link. "Do I even want to know what you think?" I teased lightly.
Link growled, hardly amused. "I don't really see how he could be lying about being a protector of the Stones. I mean, those locations were top secret, and he knew a ton of details that no one else does."
"Selia knew many of the details too, though," Impa pointed out quietly.
A shudder ran down my spine at her name. Link's eyebrows furrowed in concern, but I shook my head at the attention and faced Kein.
Suddenly, a thought struck me. "Kein, you said that two days ago you had that dream. Did you know the figures in your dream were the three of us?" I asked, gesturing to Zelda, Link, and I.
"No," he answered, his tone clearly expressing his curiosity at my line of questioning. "I followed the music, and it led me to the river, and to all of you."
"Music, you say?" Impa queried.
"Well, yes," Kein responded. "When all three Stones come together, there is always the chance of danger, the chance that they may fall into the wrong hands. The Stones call out to the one slated for their protection, so that they may come and oversee the situation, to intervene if necessary."
Link, Impa, Zelda, and I all exchanged glances.
We turned our gazes back on Kein. "So, what else do you know about these stones?"
Kein began pacing again, back in what I classified as his personal lecture mode: hands behind his back, head at a constant angle, pacing back and forth. "The goddesses created the Stones as a place to house their respective elements after they finished shaping the land of Hyrule. They hid them away in safe places, where the Stones could continue to do their jobs, and yet remain untainted. The Stones totally control the Elements they represent. Hence, the goddesses hid them well. With the Fire Stone, Din created a place that would be physically demanding—almost impossible—to reach. And even if one did reach the resting place of the Stone, they would have to have in their possession a gift from the goddess herself, or otherwise the Sage that represents her, to enter the Stone's chamber.
"Farore hid her Stone in the last place anyone would look: inside a Temple that no one ever visited, in a well covered in water that only receded when someone was brave and smart enough to traipse through the temple, under a cobblestone so inconspicuous and random no one would think to look underneath it.
"Nayru went a little over the top, perhaps, but making one Stone more difficult to find would make it even harder for one person to gain all three Elements. No one would be able to access the actual chamber firstly without knowing the Royal Lullaby, and secondly without a key. The key, of course, would have to be acquired by successfully navigating the maze Nayru had designed in her temple, and activating the tiles in the appropriate order, and of course THAT couldn't be accomplished without the map, which couldn't be found unless you knew about the room under the pool in Zora's Domain, which even to get into requires extensive research and the knowledge of the hand signs required. SO, obviously, the Stones are important.
"The Stones have other powers, too. They possess some of the strongest magic, not to mention the most ancient magic, around. With all three in your possession, one could accomplish almost anything, anything at all. No one really knows, however, what they are truly capable of, because no one, I repeat no one, in the entire history of Hyrule, has ever gathered all three of them together, in one place. People have tried. Oh, have they tried. But they all failed. Sure, here and there an adventurer might have gathered one, and there was this one guy who found two, but never all three. Almost a thousand years ago, when that guy did find two, he took them back to his people, a forest tribe. A spy in their city reported back to his stronghold in the desert, and a raid was staged. The desert force managed to get one of the Stones. What followed could only be described as horrific. Most of Hyrule was destroyed in their Elemental War, one using Fire, the other using Wind. The protector of the stones, one of my ancestors, intervened and retrieved both stones, but it was already too late. The damage was done."
Kein paused in his lengthy narrative to take a deep breath. He seemed to know what he was talking about…
"Kein," Zelda interrupted his musings.
"Hmm?" he answered.
"Could we perhaps continue this conversation later, perhaps at my castle? I need to return to my people. We've been gone for a long time already. It's not that I think your men did anything," she inserted hastily as the expression darkened on Kein's face. "It's just that they need assurance, and protection from outside evil." She hesitated for a moment, her face deadly serious. "I think I believe you, Kein. I want to hear more, but for now, I believe you."
Kein regarded her steadily. He nodded his head. "Alright Princess, I shall return you to your people. I will arrive at your castle tonight at midnight. Be prepared to receive me."
Before another word was spoken, Kein did that flip-thing with his palm again and the world, for the second time that day, dissolved around me.
LPOV
A collective sigh of relief greeted our return to the clearing. The nobles sat around, obviously still tense and nervous, but also showing signs of boredom. Kein's men hadn't relaxed in the slightest: many still had their weapons drawn, and the ones who didn't had them within easy reach. The day was quickly fading into night.
"Princess!" Valek exclaimed, jumping to his feet. The guard next to him hissed, but Valek ignored him and strode forward. "Are you alright?" he asked, his face showing genuine concern. His eyes roved over the rest of us, noting that we weren't injured. He nodded in satisfaction. "Everyone is fine here," he waved a hand at the seated nobility. "In fact, your father dozed off for a bit."
Goddesses! The man was impossible. Surrounded by armed men who could very well be the enemy, and he somehow managed to fall asleep. Unbelievable.
Zelda smiled softly at her father, who was indeed still sleeping. Kein cleared his throat and all attention immediately landed back on him.
"Princess," was all he said as he inclined his head. Zelda nodded in response. With a last curt nod, Kein signaled to his men, all the while keeping his eyes locked on Zelda's. They backed away from the nobles and literally melted into the cherry trees, their figures disappearing. I blinked, and Kein was gone.
"What a waste of a picnic!" the King exclaimed over dinner a few hours later. "I mean, the dancing was superb, but we didn't get to the games, or the music, or the sparring. And any chance of alliance-making and socializing was shot down as soon as that Ken-guy arrived."
"Kein," Zelda corrected absently, her eyes intent on a book she was reading.
"Zelda, what on earth are you reading? You are ignoring our guests!"
Zelda, with an annoyed sigh, looked pointedly around the room. "Father, the only people in here is you, me, Impa, Sheik, Link, and Valek. No offense, but none of the above are listed as 'guests' in my book. Besides, they don't mind."
I hid a smirk behind my napkin at Zelda's exasperated dealings with the King. I caught Sheik's eye and winked. He smiled, then seemed to remember something. Looking around, his expression became confused.
"Link, where is Navi?"
Looking around, I suddenly noticed my lack of a fairy companion. "Come to think of it, I don't know. She might have gone back to the forest to comfort the Kokiri—oh," I trailed off, looking awkwardly at Sheik. He still didn't know about Mido.
"Link, what happened?"
Impa jumped in and answered for me. "When Link arrived in the Kokiri Forest, evil had been one step ahead of him. A phantom of the perpetrator in Kakariko attacked the children. Saria was trying to create a protective barrier around them when the phantom turned his attacks on her. Mido took the blow meant for her, and died as a result of it."
Sheik's expression was horrified. "Were they not in the forest, surrounded by fairies? Could not something have been done?"
"Sheik, you should know better than most that not every injury can be healed with a fairy, not every death reversed," Impa reprimanded gently. "Mido died a hero, protecting the Sage of the Forest, and the woman he loved. He would have wanted it that way."
Sheik shook his head slowly, his eyes filled with a soul-deep sadness.
After a few moments, the conversation resumed, with Impa filling in the King and Valek on what Kein had spoken about with us. I noticed she left out a few rather important details. Like how he was the Stone's protector, and how he was coming back tonight. She did tell them, however, that he was the son of the infamous Larron.
"Goddesses above!" the King cried. "That Larron fought tooth and nail to defend his people. Gave my father hell, as someone rightly should have. Those last couple of raids he did were a little unnecessary though…But I didn't know that he had a son!"
"Neither did we," I said, inserting myself into the conversation. "The rumors went that he did fall in love with a Hylian. It makes sense that he'd have a kid."
The King murmured his agreement as he took another bite of the roasted duck on his plate.
The rest of dinner passed quietly. I didn't try to fill the silence again.
SPOV
My thoughts were decidedly dark as Link and I walked into our rooms after dinner. Zelda had given us an hour to freshen up before we had to convene in her study to discuss the day's happenings, as well as to await the arrival of Kein.
Link shut the door quietly and leaned against the doorjamb. The lit fireplace provided the only source of light in the room. I walked over to it and stood by the hearth, my thoughts lost.
Link's bare feet padded gently across the floor as he came to stand behind me. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he settled his head on top of mine. Finally, after a few more minutes of silence, I gave a weary sigh.
"This is so unfair," I whispered to the flames.
"It never is fair," he said in response. His hands traced patterns lightly over my stomach, distracting me quite suddenly. His head slipped down to the crook of my neck as he slid a hand under my shirt, the other coming up to pull aside my collar. I shuddered as his lips ghosted over my neck, while his cool hand contrasted sharply with my radiating body. He let his nose skim ever so lightly over my skin, raising goose bumps along the ridge of my back and arms, while his hand continued to sketch a pattern known only to him along my abdomen. I let out a shuddering breath as he traced the shell of my ear with his nose. I could feel his lips form a smirk as he continued his assault, my breathing labored as I struggled not to move under his administrations.
My whole body shuddered when he let his tongue slide just so along my earlobe. I pressed my back against his chest and raised a hand to the back of his head, grasping the hair there in my fist. Link removed his hand from beneath my shirt and wrapped it firmly around my waist, pulling me even tighter against his body, pressing me firmly against the bulge in his pants. I arched my back, increasing the pressure on Link's lower body, and shifted my hand to the back of his neck, guiding his lips to mine. Link's throaty groan had me smirking in turn as I moved ever so slightly against him. He pressed harder and I drew back.
Link's full lips, red from the kissing, turned down into a pout as he regarded me through hooded eyes. "You're being a tease," he whispered sensually, his hand moving down to the front of my pants.
I sucked in a breath. "Who's the tease here?" I gasped out as his hand tightened.
"How much time do we have?" Link rumbled, his head lowering to my neck again.
Struggling to focus (the hand down my pants and the lips on my neck were making it very difficult), I sought out the clock on the mantle above the fireplace.
"Shit!" I exclaimed on a groan as Link's hand moved devilishly over my erection. "We need to go."
"Ah, fuck," Link whined, looking at the clock as well. He withdrew his hand, only to place it on my waist and turn me around, so I faced him. "We'll continue this later," he said seriously, his eyes intent on mine. My stomach flipped with anticipation as I studied the desirous gleam in his dusky eyes. He lowered his head suddenly, pressing his lips hard against mine. He raised his head again, looking again at the clock. "We have just enough time to change, I think."
Dropping his hands, I stepped from his embrace. Link caught the mischievous look in my eye and winked, then turned to the bathroom, where I knew his clothes would be. Allowing myself one last glance at his breathtaking shoulders and the other finer aspects of his backside, I turned to the dressing room to seek out my own apparel.
Author Note: Deartháireacha faoi airm apparently does mean 'Brothers of the Blood' in Gaelic, but like always, it's from the internet, so you can never be sure.
Did I shamelessly fashion Kein's appearance after Altair from Assassin's Creed? Why yes, yes I did. If you want to know what Kein looks like, look up Altair. Down to the weaponry, that's what Kein looks like in my head. Of course, the hair and eye color are my own additions.
Lots of plot development there, folks. Next chapter, Kein pays the castle a visit. Also, a seemingly insignificant event shall occur next chapter. Is it actually insignificant? Of course not! You'll have to be on the lookout for it. Till next time!