Chapter no. : 48
Chapter title: Plays and Fables
Story rating: T (for now...)
BETAed: Purr-fectly Betaed (mahoakitti)
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: Would put some, but (one) I can't be arsed, and (two) I doubt I could traumatise you further... or could I...?
Thanks for the reviews...
Lil Miss Spookiness
stalwart vagabond
Goddess of All Knowing-ness
JtheChosen1
Scraps of the Tapestry
sakurahanaalice
Daciamian101
OneDayDreamer
Ryukai-MJ
Akatsuki Seal
Notes: Huzzah, people - no rant -cheers-
My darling stalwart vagabond guessed the quote correctly last chapter. It is indeed from the Mighty Boosh. For those who don't know about this amazing tv show, made by the godly Noel Fielding and... uh, Julian Barrett? Yeah, the jazz berk. Hah, lol. Love 'im really. Go check 'em out on Youtube, by my command! ...lawwwl
Totally irrelevant quote of the update - or is it? (Kudos to the person who knows where this is from):
He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.
It's no secret that Hero is a skilled bowman. He can hit any target presented to him as instantly as the mark appears, and can render the threat harmless with a single arrow. The bow, excluding the Master Sword, is his favourite weapon, and so one of the most used, meaning maintenance was key; gods forbid him to get into a fight and for his arrows to fail because of a snapped string.
And so, occasionally, I come across him with his weapons spread out on the floor in front of him, oils and stones too, cleaning and sharpening the blades on each weapon; even his shield gleams.
It was just after I had talked to Kamau that I found him in the aforementioned position in our room; he was leaning against the far wall, legs crossed at the ankles, an arrow held in his hand as he sharpened the edges and preened the feathers. His other weapons – the Master Sword, his clawshots and the ilk – were sheathed in their containers, having been cared for previously.
"Hey," he greeted in a murmur with a small smile.
"I'm sorry," I suddenly said.
He frowned. "For what?"
"For asking you to leave when we were with Kamau."
"Hey, I know it would have been uncomfortable for him to talk about whatever you talked about. I know it was about something Senka talked to you about, and I know Senka told you about the history of your people."
I froze.
"Senka showed me too," Hero continued, attention set on the arrow in his hands. "It was when we were on our way here – me, Lyall and Imp – and Senka asked if I would stay with you no matter what. She showed me the history to test me, I suppose; though I'm guessing she sold it in a different light."
"…And what are your thoughts?"
He sighed, placing the arrow on the floor beside him and pushing himself up, moving over to me with tired steps. Slipping his arms around my waist, he nuzzled my cheek, eyes closing slowly.
"I'm not gonna say I don't care, cos I do care – just not in that way," he whispered. "I care about you, meaning I care about everything important to you. But… the things I saw – they're not gonna change what I feel about you. So what if there have been countless 'Sheik's before us - you're my Sheik, a Sheikah, the last of and-"
"Not the last…" I murmured. "Well… possibly…"
"What do you mean?"
This time, I was the one to sigh. "Kamau… he's half Sheikah."
"…What?"
"He has Sheikah traces, and he told me that his mother was Sheikah; there's… there's a possibility that there are more Sheikah out there."
His face broke into a wide grin. "Well, that's great!" The smile faltered when my expression remained stoic. "…Isn't it?"
"I…I don't know myself, Hero." I leant against him, tucking my head under his chin. "Part of me is happy that my people aren't dead… yet. Then comes my other half, which argues that by trying to find them, we will draw attention to them and bring the Xiomaran to them – bring pain and death to them… If… If I keep the possibility of a colony out of my head, then I will be keeping danger away from them."
"Nonsense," Hero scoffed, but he held me tighter. "Well… granted, there is logic in there. But you've analysed it too much – in the amazingly short span of time you've had… here, I tell you what – we'll carry on with this quest, but if we find any more clues, then we keep them in the back of our mind and… have it as a side quest, yeah? If we find them, we find them."
I nodded gently, suddenly realising that he was rocking us softly from side to side, with soothing movements. I don't think I've ever been… cradled; hugged, embraced maybe, by Narboora, but not… cradled.
As much as I hate to admit it, I'm beginning to like this relationship.
"Now, where were we before Tsukiko rudely interrupted us before, eh?"
…Apart from when he says things like that.
"Hey… Sheik? You awake?"
"No."
"Oh…"
I sighed, rolling onto my back, staring up at the unseen ceiling that was hidden by the veil of darkness. "What is on your mind, Hero?"
"I've been thinking," he murmured back; I heard rustling as he shifted even closer to me, the rough covers of our bed dragging against my near-naked skin.
"Gods forbid," I couldn't help but mutter.
He nudged me. "Meanie."
"Stop being a child and tell me what's on your mind."
"Right…" He groaned soon after, in what sounded like frustration. "I don't know how to say this… but… is there a part of you, however small, that… wants to know where you came from?"
"No, because I know where I came from – Twilight."
"No, what I mean is, like, your mother and father… what they looked like, what they were like as people… did they have siblings, what was their childhood like, how they met…? Everything…"
"…Are you asking me to imagine how my life would be if I remained with my parents?"
I felt him nod; he was now laid out against my side, propping his head up on his bent arm, gazing down on me through the darkness, a hand placed on my hip in an affectionate manner.
"I can be sure in saying that my… my family would be an outcast of society. I'm not like the citizens of Twilight."
'Oh, only most…' Raka murmured in the back of my mind. 'I'm not a pale git whose face looks like it's been run over by a Goron in heat, thank you very much.'
He remained silent for a while, obviously thinking about the things I had said.
"Would you ever want to… see them?" he asked so quietly and hesitantly, I almost didn't hear him.
"…I don't know. We are from different worlds – in both senses." I closed my eyes. "You, Hero?"
He chuckled. "Yeah… I would like to know. I want to know where they came from – Ordon or somewhere else, and why they went to Ordon Village and why… why I was left."
"Did you ever know your parents?"
"No. I can only remember Rusl fostering me, as well as the other villagers helping out. Whenever I asked about my parents as a kid, they'd go quiet and tell me that they'd tell me when I was older… I stopped asking after the first few hundred times."
I paused. "Another side quest?"
"What?"
"Perhaps… after we vanquish the Xiomaran and find my people – if they are out there… perhaps… we could find out about your heritage."
"…You'd really spend your time helping me do that?"
"If you wanted my help."
"I don't just want your help, Sheik, I need it!" he replied, happy laughter evident in his voice. "Thank you."
"…Is this really all you've been stressing and straining your mind about?"
"…Yes?"
"…You're a fool."
He snuggled tightly against me. "Love you too."
"Yo, lovebirds! Some kind of welcome this is."
I cracked open an eye, closing it again in reflex when light burned sharply. Hero shifted and pressed me closer against him, also hiding me from the fierce glare of light that was coming from somewhere. I sighed, momentarily forgetting about the damned being who had woken me up from a for-once-peaceful slumber…
"I'm gunna rip the covers off if ya keep ignorin' me, you bastards."
"G'way, Tsuki…" Hero slurred, still holding me tightly.
Tsuki.
Tsukiko.
She wasn't supposed to be at the base – she was supposed to be on that mission.
It was just a dream, surely.
But if Hero could hear her, and I could hear her, then she wasn't a dream (or nightmare) and that meant she really had to be standing in our room.
Which meant either the mission was a success… or failure.
I tried to squeeze out of Hero's hold, but his arms wouldn't budge; in fact the opposite happened – they tightened – trying to keep me snared. I groaned, nudging him and opening my eyes, despite the light, to glare up at him.
"Hero, let me go," I told him.
"No… sleep."
"Nice to know how much I mean t'ya, Link," Tsukiko muttered. "C'mon, the generals are callin' for ya. Plus, I need a hug."
Tsukiko did indeed get her hug (technically, she took it from Hero, rather than receiving it voluntarily) and we made our way up to the conference room, armour and weapons donned.
The mission had been a fifty-fifty. They did not succeed, but there were no casualties, however. By her appearance, it had been rough; she had numerous bruises, particularly on her face, and a few cuts here and there, yet nothing serious – and no one else had been seriously hurt, either.
We entered the conference room, and immediately, a wave of frustration hit us. Standing around the large circular table, which was strewn with charts and maps, was a man of each animal family, and ultimately, each battalion. Their lieutenants stood nearby, murmuring under their breaths and approaching their superiors when they felt they had something to say.
And to our left were Lyall and Imp; Tsukiko scurried her way over the them and huddled beside the crouched werewolf. Imp glanced over his shoulder at the cross-dresser; he was perched on the elder's thigh, obviously tired of standing for the amount of time they had been there.
I ignored Hero's dubious look, which screamed something along the lines of 'incest'.
"Ah, finally!" That was the king of Raun, a white haired and bearded man with large snowy, scaly wings and a twitching spiked tail; he was a strict male, a typical royal who had their own way, which all would follow – or else. "What kept you? I trust the messenger boy filled you in."
"Only the basics, yes," Hero replied, as we approached the table. "But we get the gist."
"They were expecting us," Lykos growled. He had a vicious stitched-up cut along his cheek, which actually continued onto his right shoulder. "But why the bastards didn't massacre us on the spot, I don't know. They weren't even aiming to kill us – they were holding back."
Arden leaned forward on his hands; I didn't fail to notice that the Eagle's fingers brushed against the Wolf's hand – which I also noticed was shaking slightly. The blond also glanced at the elder, but none of the other generals saw the secret fleeting look. It was… interesting.
"They obviously have some kind of plan," the Eagle murmured, gaze now set on the charts. "Either that or they are simply toying with us."
Hero snorted. "I wouldn't put it past them. Sadistic bastards."
"Here, here," I heard Imp mutter.
"Then," the king rumbled. "We show them we mean business. We show them no mercy."
"And then start losing men?"
The sovereign's stare shot to Hero. "I beg your pardon?"
"I'm not questioning the soldiers' ability, I'm merely stating that the Xiomaran are no simple threat. If they can take down an entire nation of Sheikah with no difficulty, I think that-"
"That this nation will be a push-over?" the Cat general finished with a hiss, eyes narrowing. "I'm sorry we are not as good as your beloved shadow-walker, Great Hero."
"What happened to my people is in the past – that argument can be nullified." I was a hair's breadth away from drawling. "But something you must take into consideration is the fact that if the lowest warlord of Xiomar can kill the Great Hero, then we must seriously plan our moves, and not just use brute force."
I felt Hero shift a little closer to me and I muttered an apology under my breath; my comment of his death had to be said, and I could not have said it any softer.
"Then he was careless."
"My king," Arden said gently, cutting in before Lykos, who was now a step away from seething for numerous reasons. "Pardon my saying, but I think it is right to say that you should not call the one chosen by the almighty Three 'careless'. This threat is indeed clever – they have wormed their way into Hyrule and the good books of their sovereign-"
"Who should not be ruling anyway."
I bristled unconsciously. "I must ask what you mean."
"She is a woman," the king snapped. "And is clearly deranged in employing Sheikah – who work against her-"
"By order of the Three!" Hero barked. "King Silo, I'd be careful about what your next words are."
"Now see here, you insolent fool-!"
"Meanie!"
I would recognise that scream anywhere, and I will do until my dying day; and not only that, but the phraseology used – there are only people that I know of who use the term 'meanie'. One is Hero. The other is-
"R-Raisa?"
Demi: whoop whoop - would that be our favourite redhead indeed? Possibly?
Question: You don't have to answer this, but I'm curious. What is the meaning for your screenname? For example, mine would be that my real name means "Poetic goddess" in Welsh, and the fact that the first two OCs I created were half-deities. Neha. Your turn - if you wish. I'm just curious. You guys have pretty imaginative names.
