Sorry for the wait, but I finally finished chapter 28! Hope it's worth the wait. Enjoy!
-Jack Knights
Despite his current situation—being kept captive by a tyrannical king, tortured by witches and no doubt more horrifying things in the near future—Dagg felt himself begin to relax. He admitted, however, that his state was solely caused by the warm water he now bathed in. He gave a sigh of content, sinking further into the water. I know I should be hating myself for this indulgence, he mused as he closed his eyes, but I can't bring myself to end it.
There was a knock at the door and he sat up, all tension returning to his body. It was nice while it lasted... he thought bitterly as he got out of the marble tub and robed himself. He opened the door and was surprised to see a young girl, no older than nine, staring at the floor. Her small thin face was bent in respect, framed by dark locks. The girl's innocent eyes traveled upwards as she stared at the giant of a man, amazement and fear clear in her face.
"What is it, little girl?" Dagg asked, unsure what she might be doing there. She thrust a towel out at him silently, never meeting his eyes. He thanked her, expecting the nervous girl to run away, but neither of them moved. "Is there something you need?"
"No, sir, I have no need for anything at this moment," she said, her small voice squeaking with fright.
"Alright then, you may leave," he said, motioning to close the door. The girl flung herself at Dagg as he did this, clutching him tightly around the waist. He put his hand on her shoulder and he saw she was fighting back tears, albeit it was a loosing battle. "Why are you cry?"
"Because, he said..." she sniffed, her voice growing in volume as she sobbed, "he told me my family would be executed if I didn't do what you want!"
"But I haven't asked anything of you."
"That's the point!" she shouted, her small hands bunching into little fists. "You won't have me and now my whole family is gonna die!"
He understood then, as the girl broke out into heavy, heart-wrenching sobs, who she was talking about. Ganondorf... there isn't another bastard alive who would take pleasure in destroying such an innocent person. He ground his teeth, his hands closing tightly at his sides. He shut his eyes as his body shook, and he tried to control his anger. As he battled with himself, the girl shrieked, falling to floor as he seethed, backing up against the wall and even then trying to get further away.
It was her newly frightened screams of terror that finally brought his anger under control. He opened his eyes and looked down at the girl, wincing as she shouted in terror when he offered her his hand. I've scared the girl, he realized. She must be just as frightened of me as she is of him. Damn that bastard for making me lose control like that! Dagg sat down across from her, on his knees and lowered his head. He bent forward, his hands clenching again.
"Forgive me," he murmured. He heard the girl's sobs stop and he continued. "I lost control and I am sorry I frightened you so."
He sat up and looked at the girl. She had gone still, confusion and weariness clear on her small features. He didn't reach out to her again, but neither did she move from her place slumped against the wall. Dagg watched as she eventually calmed down, her heavy breaths becoming quiet and even again.
"This has nothing to do with you," Dagg began once she stopped being so frightened. "The King and I have a very personal vendetta against one another. I am sorry that you had to get drawn into it."
"Then, you're not mad at me?" she ventured, eying him. He shook his head and he watched as her face drew sullen again. "But that does not change what he's gonna do now that I didn't do as he said. He'll still kill my family."
"No he won't," Dagg assured her as he stood. "I will deal with this personally. Go home to your mother with the knowledge that you will not be punished for being honest."
"Are you sure?" she asked, skepticism seeping into her voice.
"Does the sun rise each and every day?" he chided and the girl giggled. "But just to make sure, it wouldn't help if you and your family leave the Citadel for a few months. Get away from all of this, live a more peaceful life somewhere else."
"Alright, I'll let her know," she nodded, understanding his meaning despite her young age. She stood and smiled at him. "You are a really nice man, even though you can be scary sometimes.
He smiled back at her, despite feeling resentful at being described as "scary." Dagg led her to the door and opened it for her, to which she curtsied as she ran down the hall. She paused as she reached the corner, turned back and waved heartedly. Dagg returned the good-bye, keeping his anxious smile plastered to his face. He shut to the door and let out a sigh, leaning against it heavily.
I need a cold shower after all that, he thought acidly. No need to get comfortable now that I have something to focus my hatred towards.
The sound of heavy footfalls broke through the silence and the darkness that surrounded her. Jaz tried to call out, to scream, anything. There was a brief flash of light in the distance that only lasted a second, but in that instant, she saw the most terrifying scene. Link, on his knees, head bowed in defeat before an imposing figure. Ganondorf, arms raised, a wicked-looking trident grasped within his hands. She never heard the deathblow, and a twinge of gratefulness spiked through her mind at not having seen it either.
Suddenly, a hand grasped her by the neck from behind, lifting her high into the air. Jaz battled for breath, kicking out, lashing as best she could at the person behind her. Every blow she struck just caused her more pain and eventually, as she began to blackout, she stopped. On the edges of impermeable darkness, she heard a low voice breathe in her ear.
"You are mine."
She awoke with a start, gasping for air. Jaz's hands automatically felt around her neck, seeking to wretch the non-existent fingers from her throat. She sat up so quickly she swayed. Bent over, Jaz breathed heavily, fighting back sobs. Although she couldn't remember the dream, Jaz knew the fear that made her heart beat rapidly came from it. A heavy hand found purchase on her shoulder and she jerked away with a shout, reeling.
"Sorry," Link said, stepping back. "I hadn't meant to startle you."
"It's alright," she breathed heavily, still weary. "Just count yourself lucky I wasn't armed."
He chuckled. "Alright, I shall count my blessings," he muttered as he sat down beside Jaz as she turned round to face the fire. "Was it a nightmare?"
"Yes," she said, not bothering to elaborate. Link looked at her pointedly, but didn't pry. What did it mean? Jaz couldn't help but wonder, knees drawn up to her chin as she stared into the leaping flames. Could it be a premonition? Does Link have a part to play in the rebellion? Or is it something more? She sighed, unable to make heads or tails of her nightmare. It was then she noticed they were alone in the cave.
"Hey, where'd that other guy go?" she asked, breaking the silence. Link had been examining his metal arm and looked up at her.
"I don't think so," he observed. "His things are gone. Well, except for the wood."
"I wonder why he didn't stick around..." she murmured, twirling a lock of her hair around a finger.
"Can't say," Link said, reattaching his arm. He stood, map in hand. "But we should get going too. We've got a long way to go still and we should get a move on while the weather is holding."
"Alright," she said evenly. As they got their things together, Jaz couldn't help but feel an odd twinge of fear nagging at her in the back of her mind. But whether it was due to the dream, the stranger's sudden disappearance or something much more sinister, she couldn't say.
Sheik and Felicia had been walking since the break of dawn, and yet despite their growing fatigue, neither complained nor asked for a rest. Occasionally, one of them would open their gourd and drink or snack on a dried fruit. Other than that, the two travelers had barely done anything but trudge forward. They hadn't really spoken either, other than to discuss a landmark or point something out. Not that Sheik hadn't tried to speak to Felicia. He just found her inapproachable. He tried everything from jokes to casual small talk about the weather, even venturing as far to question her about herself, but Felicia always found some way to either blow him off or redirect their conversations towards something else entirely.
Damn, this girl is impossible to talk to, he finally realized after cracking what he thought was his best joke. She's so... distant. I really can't figure her out. He'd decided he'd had enough and called to make camp before the light faded away. She nodded absentmindedly, automatically organizing the things they'd need to make a fire with. Sheik watched her cautiously, curious as to her sudden demeanour. He went in search of firewood while she did what she could to prepare the area for the night. When he came back, arms full of dry twigs, she'd already gotten a blanket out and the fire pit cropped out and ready. While he went about giving life to the fire, she stared unblinkingly out as the setting sun.
"You'll go blind if you keep staring like that at the sun," he commented offhandedly. He felt her eyes on his back and plowed ahead. "At least, that's what they used to tell me. But here I am, able to see for miles around me."
Felicia frowned at him, then sat with her back against a boulder. "Fine then, I'll watch the moon then," she said evenly, and Sheik realized he'd inadvertently done something wrong. There's just no telling with this woman, he cringed as an ember landed on his hand, cursing himself silently for not paying enough attention.
"I once heard that people who stare into the sunset and watch the stars are thoughtful," he tried instead.
"Guess you don't watch the sun then, huh?" Felicia muttered. It took Sheik several seconds before he realized she's insulted him.
"Well, I never really have any time for that kind of thing," he began, lying down on the grass. "What with being hunted and having to run constantly from the law, monsters and people I owe money."
"Yeah, that'd be you."
"Something's eating away at you, I can tell," he finally said, cutting to the chase. "Wanna tell me about it? I promise I won't laugh."
"There's nothing to tell, really," Felicia said with a yawn, letting herself fall to the ground. "I ran from home when the Bulbins attacked, and now they're giving chase. I have an aunt who lives in Saria, so I'll stay with her for a while before moving on again."
"And that thing you always keep next to you?" Sheik said, eying the cloth-wrapped budle as if it were something sinister that might go off at any second.
"It's something very dear to me, something I had to take with me when I left Ruto behind," she said, finding herself unable to stare at it as well. "Now then, what'd'ya say we get cooking. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," she abruptly changed subjects, sitting up and rummaging through her pack. Sheik narrowed his eyes at her as Felicia began rambling about dinner. He thought she was telling the truth, mostly, but that it wasn't all there was to the story.
Fine then, he said, finally contributing to their dinner with a pack of dried meat and a sprig of spices. Let the blasted woman keep her secrets. I'll find them out eventually.
Felicia had remained oddly chatty during the time before, during and after dinner. Sheik would make a joke and she would laugh at it, even adding onto it herself, but he could tell that her laughter was strained, as was her conversations. Whenever he'd tried to change the subject, she'd interrupt him with some airhead comment. Sheik was beginning to grow impatient about it all, and his patience for her bubbly and over-the-top mannerisms was wearing thin.
She's doing this so I won't suspect anything, he realized when she made a joke. It wasn't bad, but it was one he'd heard before, certain he'd told it to her himself. He grew silent and brooding, to which she responded in the same manner as he had to her thoughtfulness—with bland humour and prying questions.
"Alright," he said, nearing his limit. "I'm getting really sleepy, and since you're so full of energy, you should take the first watch."
"Oh, really? Well, OK then. I'll wake you in two hours, 'K?" she said with such a false sweet tone as he turned his back to her, it was all he could do to not throttle her. Sleep eluded him for a while, but eventually he gave into the strange dreams his mind created, always centered around Felicia and her damned package.
"Hey, Sheik, we got to move," Felicia said loudly into his ear. He woke immediately from one of many dreams about Felicia's odd behaviour and sat up, instantly alert.
"Why, are the Bulbin's at our heels?" he asked, his voice quieted by sleep. She shook her head and pointed to the sky. The sun had gone down almost completely, yet the sky was dark, filled with ominous, dark clouds. An occasional flash of lighting, followed by a clap of thunder, lightened the area around them.
"Rain's headed our way, so I thought it best to move to better shelter," she voiced his thoughts. That's the smartest thing you've said all day, Sheik realized as he stood.
"Good to see you had enough sense to pack our stuff away after dinner," he commented as he slung his bag over a shoulder, a wild wind beginning to whip around their ankles. "Let's go, there's a dugout shelter not too far from here. If we hurry, we can make it before the rain reaches us."
Turns out, Sheik was a very bad meteorologist. Not only had the rain drenched them in the time it took him to find the fall-out shelter, but it was in the next field over. Guess I'm not much of a geographer either, he noted as he rushed Felicia in ahead of himself. He closed the doors just as a sheet of rain pounded against the wood. Securing the door with a thick branch, he listened and watched as the storm raged outside.
"The Goddesses must be very angry with us today," Felicia remarked as she wrung out her hair. Sheik turned to her in surprise, amazed that she worshiped the Goddesses when few others did. "What? I happen to believe the old legends, despite what that crazy coot of a tyrant tells us."
"Good choice, it just so happens it's most likely true," Sheik muttered, stripping himself of his shirt. He saw Felicia do the same and he looked away, his eyes falling on the only other thing in the room to distract him—Felicia's bags. While he was trying to focus on them and ignore the girl's close vicinity, he noticed the gleam of metal amongst the other things. He recognized it instantly to be the lower end of a blade.
"A sword?" he said absentmindedly. "That's what you're guarding so heavily?"
"What? No, it's not a sword," she went hurriedly to repack the cloth bundle, hiding the edge of the blade from his view.
"Then what is it?"
"It's... a rare piece of silver," she amended, hands on her hips. "It's of the highest quality, and the only reason I didn't tell you was because I thought you were a thief at the time."
"So you don't think I'm a thief anymore?"
"No, but I still don't trust you entirely either," she said, eying him. He laughed at her, shaking his head and Felicia stared at him narrowly. "What's so funny?"
"It's stupid really," he began, looking at her merrily. "But I think you and may have to sleep together."
She gapped at him, and he roared with laughter. "What makes you think I'd sleep with the likes of you?" she said with a blush. Sheik continued to laugh at her obvious embarrassment, earning him a slap across the face.
"Well, it's either that, or you risk the chance of getting pneumonia," he said as charasmatically as he could manage. She looked at him as if deciding whether or not to take him seriously when he wriggled his eyebrows at her. Felicia groaned and rolled her eyes. I think I'd rather get sick, she thought bitterly as he erupted in laughter again.
