The thick wall of cigar smoke almost pushed Annette from the building as she stepped up into the back of the store. The tendrils of smoke swirled and bobbed around the lantern light of the dim room and the number of stacked boxes and barrels. Coughing, Annette tried to usher away the cloud with frantic hand waves, but it was no use.
"Open a window or something," she choked out before coughing again, "This is disgusting!" She complained and looked behind her to watch Link shut the door behind him and immediately scrunch his face.
"Don't you ever stop complaining? Geez, Anne." Volmar rolled his eyes, his nasally voice whined. Annette frowned, both at the man and ignoring what she said about her name.
"Don't start. Just tell me what you-" she began and a loud, thunderous voice interrupted. The source of the cigar smoke, no doubt, and probably her favorite of Volmar's crew.
"Anne! It's been so long!" His over excited voice nearly yelled out, the large and beefed up man stepped out from behind the boxes where he sat around a round table. His cigar was left to set and burn out, thank the goddess. "You know, I've been meaning to come by and buy some of your um…. Is it raspberry jam?" he asked and she impatiently shook her head, ready to get the pleasantries over. She was already in a sour mood. With that, Volmar gave her a small wave and headed towards the back without explanation, leaving her to deal with the man by herself.
"No, it's strawberry. There's no need to visit me, really." She began but didn't have the chance to continue her thoughts. The auburn-haired man shook his head and uncrossed his boulder sized arms.
"Don't be like that, you're always so distant. Come here." he said and swooped in before she could yell opposition, pulling her into a painfully tight hug. She squirmed around and managed only a choked groan before he released her. She took a few steps back and shot him a glare, her arm raised in front of her to smack at him if he tried it again. Now she remembered why he was still a bother despite his friendly disposition.
With a smile, the man turned towards Link, whose eyes bounced from her to the large man, his eyebrows raised.
"And who is this? Are you Anne's friend?" he questioned, his sing song voice oblivious to Annette's eye daggers.
"That's Link. He's just a pal who I paid to help me out with canning jam." she gave and shot Link a look. His eyes widened and he nodded along.
"Any pal of Anne is a pal of mine." he gave and much like he did with her, swooped in and grabbed Link into a forceful hug. The blonde went rigid like a board and choked out a gasp when the man squeezed him. Link was mortified and come to think of it, he didn't come across as a huggy person to her. Given the chance when the man finally released Link, he shoved him away and took a few steps back, a look of disbelief and annoyance flashed in his eyes.
"Come on, Gobi, when are you gonna learn that no one likes your hugs." Volmar began, shutting a door from the back room behind him. In his hand was a small leatherbound book that Annette immediately recognized as her brother's. She wasn't sure exactly which of his books it was, but she hoped it wasn't anything that gave Volmar any ideas. "Everyone's reaction is the same when you hug them." he pointed out and with a half smile held the small book up.
Without invitation, Annette made a grab for the book and Volmar laughed and pulled it back.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing? It was one of my guys who found it! You can't just take it." Volmar warned and smacked the book against his palm. "There could be important stuff in here that I need to know! It may not be as essential as the other journal, but it's something."
"What do I think I'm doing? Are you serious? I don't care who found it." Her voice heated up and any bit of calm she felt seconds before was gone. Volmar quirked an eyebrow at her and his annoying smirk returned.
"Annie, I knew you were cold hearted but not this cruel. Don't you think I deserve to have it?" he cooed out and his tone changed as he turned away from her. "He was my friend after all." That did it. Annette could no longer get a grip on her voice, of the volume at which she responded. He wasn't going to keep the book if she had to throw a fit.
"Your friend? He was my MY brother." She shrieked and from the corner of her eye she saw both Link and Gobi recoil and wince. "Give it to me NOW!" she bellowed and stomped her foot. Volmar's defensive demeanor dropped and he stared back at her with a stark shock.
He opened his mouth for a moment and lowered the book. In an almost exaggerated gesture, he screwed his eyes shut and shoved the book into her chest, as if throwing hot coal at her.
"Fine, just take it. Don't ever say that I didn't do anything for you." He said through clenched teeth and took a deep breath before opening his eyes.
With the book now in her hand, she tried to get over her moment of rage and tried to breathe as her fingers traced over the book's leather cover. Slowly, she opened it and Volmar leaned in to look as well. The paper was stained cream and brown feathered at the edges. Little spots of green clung to the paper in little rounded shapes like flowers blooming. On the page was not writing but a small sketch of a squirrel with a few words to be spared about the drawing. Turning the page, there were more drawings of random things. Flowers, rocks, trees. Nothing that stood out to her. Thumbing through the pages as delicately as she could manage, the book stopped in the middle with a passage. She closed the book and sighed, her heart still uneasy from her little outburst. She couldn't read the passage right now and she decided to read it later when she was alone.
With the book closed, she noticed that everyone was looking at her, waiting for an explanation
"This was his sketchbook. Nothing more." She breathed out and Gobi flashed her a smile,
"Oh nice! Nalo was always so good at drawing. Can I see?"
"Shut up, numbskull! This is bad. This was not the book we were looking for! The real book is still out there!" Volmar growled at him, leaning over to put his palms on the small table in the center of the room. Gobi crossed his arms and looked down, biting the inside of his cheek. Volmar didn't notice and instead shook his head and looked down at the table. As if remembering something, his face lit up. "But, we still have the photo!"
Anne gave Link a wary glance and rolled her eyes. He seemed to understand what she was trying to convey and he took a step towards the door. The dark-haired man's eyes shot up and gave the blonde a glare.
"Where do you think you're going? I know Anne doesn't have any manners, but don't tell me you don't either." He snapped and Link gave him a look, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Manners? That's rich coming from someone who nabs people in the middle of the street to try and guilt-trip them into keeping their brother's book." Link said and Annette was shocked. She hadn't heard him say anything scathing like that before. She nodded and went to his side.
"Yeah, we don't have time to hang around either. We have to go somewhere and we don't need a delay." Annette added and Volmar straightened up.
"Oh yeah? Where are you going exactly?" he questioned, giving Gobi a small glance to make sure that his underling was paying attention. Link opened his mouth but Annette blurted out the answer first.
"Kakariko Village. The season is over and I don't need a farmhand anymore, so he's going home." she lied and Link's gaze darted from her to Volmar as he nodded. Volmar hummed and gave her a daring look. He knew she was lying.
"A farmhand? From Kakariko? I've never heard of people having farms there." he mused. Link answered this time, going along with what Anne had said.
"I have to get work somehow. That's why I have to leave Kakariko… but now I'm done and need to go back." He added in the most unconvincing way and Annette rubbed her temples. Volmar smiled knowingly at her and clapped his hands together
"Oh I get it. Say no more. It doesn't take a genius to realize what's going on here. First, your little friend gets a sword from your mom, which means she has to have met him and now you're both trying to be secretive. Well excuse me for intruding on your, how should I put it, alone time, but I have photo proof that the most powerful sword in history has been removed from its spot." he says scathingly, beginning to rummage through the pouch under his cloak.
"I don't have a clue what you're insinuating, but whatever it is, you're wrong. It's your fault if your mind is in the gutter." she defended herself, crossing her arms. "Besides, if that sword exists, there's no way it's just disappeared."
"That's where you're wrong because I have proof!" he countered and his eyes lit up when he found what he was rummaging for. In a quick movement, he pulled it from his pouch and held it out for both of them to see. "AHA! See!"
She squinted her eyes to try to make sense of what the picture showed. It was no more than a blur of white and green.
"Ah, a blurry photo. You've really outdone yourself." She gestured at it. Volmar scoffed and gave it another look. Gobi spoke up.
"Sorry about that miss Anne. It's hard to take photos through a telescope. I fell out of the tree I was in because some bees-"
"Okay, yes it's blurry. So what!" Volmar interrupted, getting irritated. Jabbing his finger into the photo, he continued, "Right there! Can't you see it? That's the pedestal that holds the sword. According to what I've read, it sits in the white marble pedestal that used to be in an old temple. This is that temple!" Anne nodded along but made a note to ask Link later. All she knew from Nalo years ago was that the sword was in the Faron woods and that's it. She never heard anything about a temple.
"Volmar, all I see is a blur. How can you be so sure? You know what I think?" she asked but answered her own question as the brown-eyed man pulled the photo back. "I think you're chasing a myth. There's no way something like that just exists in secret and hasn't been discovered or guarded by now. You don't think that the Hylian royalty wouldn't have a relic like that on lockdown by now?" she questioned and he held his finger up, a smirk crossing his face.
"Oh yeah, that's the point. There is a fear surrounding the sword. They say if you touch it, it kills you if you're not worthy but that's a myth in itself. That's what keeps the cowards of Hyrule from seeking it out. You see, the only person who has ever held that sword is someone brave enough to try. I've read the legends and no one else has tried because they're scared. I know deep down that sword is there for anyone who dares to take it. It's that myth that's holding everyone back! Don't you see?" he blubbered on and Link pinched the bridge of his nose. Anne laughed once he was done with his spill and Volmar gave her a look of disbelief.
"You're crazy." she stated through her laugh.
"No, I'm knowledgeable. I know this!" he argued. "How can you say that I'm crazy? It's plausible." he said defensively, almost whining.
"It's not plausible and here's why. Let's say the magical sword of fairy tales exists and it's everything the legends say. It purifies evil, it's incredibly strong and never breaks, and it is in itself made by the goddesses. Just like the triforce, it gives us humans the power of the gods and for what exactly? That's not the point, but you know where I'm going. If you believe that a sword as powerful as this exists, then what makes you create some delusional idea that it doesn't have a price? That a sword that powerful is up for grabs to anyone? When, for example, the triforce has to be gifted to an individual and not just taken as some kind of souvenir. That's the problem here. Things that are powerful take something in return. Using magic takes energy. Using a pictograph takes film. Do you see what I'm getting at? Either take the fairy tale as it is or just forget it." She stopped, gave Gobi a farewell gesture and grabbed the doorknob.
"I don't follow but okay. I'm the crazy one. Sure, but don't forget your brother thought this too. Do you think he was crazy?"
Anne paused. She didn't want to admit it, but she always hoped that her brother was right. Even knowing now that she had been wrong about the myth, she still remembered how heavily she doubted Nalo and wished he would stop.
"Yes. He was crazy and he died for it." swinging the door open, she gestured at her blonde companion. "Come on Link, we've stayed here long enough." she said and spared the cloaked man farewell glare as Link followed her out.
Shutting the door, she watched as Link took a few steps and paused when he realized she hadn't budged. She looked down at the book in her hands and took a deep breath of the fresh air, glad to be free from the lingering smoke of the store. Carefully, she tucked the book into her parcel bag and exhaled as she searched for words of explanation for her friend.
"Let's get out of here. You can explain later. It's a long ride." Link said and Anne nodded, thankful for that. The sound of music from the festival still roared over the rooftops and she knew it would be a hassle to get back to the stables.
At the very least, it promised that she could attempt to prepare for answering all the questions that she knew Link would have. It's not like it mattered. It was unlikely that she would see him again once he got home, but she still felt like an explanation was due.