AN: I accidentally updated this a day late last week, so have this chapter a day earrrrrrrrlyyyyyyyy!
Seriously I thought I had uploaded the chapter last week but turns out I only uploaded it to Doc manager and didn't actually publish it. So if you checked last Saturday and didn't see the story again until today, GO BACK A CHAPTER!
Suggested Soundtrack: Something with guitars.
I'm quite proud of this chapter, actually.
Thank you for the favorites/follows/reviews! I really appreciate each and every one of you!
Shadow was counting the imperfections on his ceiling, laying on his back with his head hanging over whatever side of his bed there still happened to be. His face was redder than normal. In fact, it almost seemed a human shade in contrast to his normal vampiric state.
Funny that hanging somewhat upside down like a bat is what made him look more human. He smirked in bored humor.
He wasn't allowed internet until he'd gotten his homework done, but he'd been done an hour ago and his dad hadn't come to check on him.
A rumbling in his tumbling told him it was time to snack. But he was out of snacks. He'd eaten way too many lately, and the rest were still in those boxes in the pantry, where Ganondorf had moved them.
How could he get to the pantry . . .
He rolled haphazardly several feet, blindly trying to find the edge of the bed and found the edge of the room instead. He knew this because he collided against the wall with his head. "Ow . . . I really need to clean up in here . . . hey, is that 1946 rupee?"
When Shadow arose from the Bed of Wonders after discovering many little distracting things, it was because he could no longer put off the desires of his heart.
Or stomach.
Yeah, that was it.
Since Ganondorf had broken down the door weeks ago, it hadn't gotten repaired yet. Which means he wasn't actually locked in. He'd already snuck out several times in his state of being grounded, but to do so when Ganondorf could come check on him at any time was risky.
I don't care. I'm hungry! Shadow pushed open the jimmy-rigged door and strode across the living room and into the kitchen. He paused here, listening to locate his father. The man could be heard in his office, speaking on the telephone quite animatedly, to some random person or other Shadow guessed.
Tip-toeing through the carnivore's domain, he sought the sanctuary of vegan snacks that was the pantry, reaching the door and turning the knob—he could already taste the bunny bread before a bang bothered his belated bread breaking.
"SHADOW!"
Shadow jolted, but realized immediately that this was not a "You're in trouble!" Shadow but rather a "SHADOW!" Shadow. He turned to find Ganondorf had burst out of his office and was running to the kitchen with some sort of energy he only reserved for gas guzzling cars and the like. "What's up, Dad?" Shadow asked conversationally.
Ganondorf looked positively smug. "We were invited to an evening at the senator's, by the senator HIMSELF!"
Playing dumb, knowing this was the party Sheik had mentioned, Shadow said, "Wait a minute, 'we?' B-but Dad," he fake stuttered, "I'm grounded, remember?" He frowned fantastically. "Soooo I guess I can't go. Right?"
Ganondorf fell for the act hook line and sinker. He bumped his forehead against Shadow's with crazy eyes and pointed a finger at him. "Youaregoingtothispartyandnobutsaboutit!" He spun on his heels and stormed off like a giant grumpy troll.
"Aaaw, Daaaaaaad." As soon as Ganondorf was out of sight Shadow grinned, opened the pantry, grabbed a box of snacks, and skipped lightly back to his room. With a mouthful of bunny bread snacks, he picked up his guitar and played a few victory strums.
The castle—yes, it was indeed a castle, from the ages when Hyrule had a monarchy—was brightly lit with all manner of torches, blue and yellow and red fire. On the inside imitations of fairy lights hovered in the air above everyone's heads, suspended by invisible wires. The walls were covered by dark drapes to give the room a dimmed feel. The ballroom was a large floor with lapis lazuli blue marble tiles, and a balcony with white banisters from where you could look down at the dancers. Hylruleans of every race swayed on the floor, or else chatted lightly, champagne glasses in hand.
Zelda, on the balcony, put her elbows on the banisters. She was wearing traditional princess attire, from the purple Triforce-embroidered apron thing to the gold, metal shoulder caps and the headdress made of diamond-shaped gold pieces and the bicep-length white gloves. At least the material was silk so it wasn't uncomfortable to her senses as well as her mind.
"Hi Sheik!"
Zelda looked left in relief as Link trotted up the stairs to stand next to her, a bright smile on his lips. "Oh good, I can act somewhat normal now—what are you wearing?"
Scratching his head, Link shrugged. "Grandma had it stashed somewhere."
This made Zelda's mouth curl up in one corner. "Why does your grandma have a traditional green tunic and hat stashed away somewhere?"
Link grinned. "I have NO idea!" Then he took in what "Zelda" was wearing. "Yeaaaah, how are you doing?"
"I've been told how much of a woman I've grown into at least a hundred times, and told I'll make a 'beautiful' queen."
Link's nose scrunched. "Ew. Just beautiful? Not smart, or intelligent, or powerful . . .?"
"Nope. Just beautiful. Oh, and they're all looking forward to my 'beautiful' vocal performance, too."
Sheik turned back around, and Link joined him at the banister. They both watched the party guests. "Man, being a girl is so complicated," Link commented. "What am I gonna do when Aryll starts growing up? I'm gonna have to tell her she's smart every friggin' day or something!"
"Yeah, completely ignore that I've hosted dozens of charity events in the last two years, am top of my class, and donate time to the Hyrulean library and homeless shelter. No. Let's focus on how much a woman I LOOK like!"
"It's like daggers on both sides, cuz they aren't respecting you as a guy, but they're not respecting you as a girl, either. It just sucks. Wanna dance? You can be the lead."
Sheik smirked. "That might actually make me feel better." As they walked down the stairs, Sheik asked, "Where are the others by the way?"
"They're hanging out in your game room, getting everything set up."
"Awesome." After a moment of silence as Sheik regarded Link, he said, "You know, Link, you actually look pretty good in that outfit."
"Oh, really? Thanks! It's kind of embarrassing actually."
"That makes two of us." Sheik chuckled.
Shadow stepped out of the car and walked next to Ganondorf as they made their way through the outer grounds and to the castle. His guitar case was hefted on his back.
"Why do you need to bring that?" Ganondorf had asked sharply back at home.
"Uh, I, uuuuh, Zelda wanted to try it out with her own amp. Told her I'd bring it tonight since we're going to her house and all and since we can't hang out because I'm grounded." The grumpiness in his face and voice was not hiding at all.
Happily, Ganondorf was too honored at being invited to the castle to wonder any more at the guitarish antics of his child and his friends.
Ganondorf wore a smart tweed suit and his signature red-glassed sunglasses. Shadow wore his coat-tailled suit from the dance, and wore his hair in a ponytail. It was half grown black, with the bottom half still purple, which gave it a nice gradient effect. He had wanted to dress up as a knight of Hyrule, but his father wouldn't let him, saying he didn't have an ounce of knight blood in him that he knew of.
They entered the ballroom through a great archway door, and were almost immediately set upon by none other than Senator Johansen Daphnes Hyrule the III himself. Shadow tried not to grin at the man's outfit—not that it was bad, but it certainly put Shadow in a good mood. The senator wore the traditional dress of an ancient Hylian king, with the red cloak, the white ruffly thing around his neck, and big crown on his head. He had even trimmed his white but mostly grey beard in the ancient style. He wasn't overweight like in the pictures of old kings—he was much too health conscious for that outdated practice of showing wealth by gut size. Shadow nodded in approval.
"Well! Welcome Mr. Dragmire and young Master Shadow," he said, much more cheerfully at Shadow than at Ganondorf, who beamed at the attention.
The two grownups shook hands and Ganondorf blathered his thanks for being invited, with the senator waving his gratitude off in a practiced, nonchalant way. Ganondorf of course started to make conversation, but Harkinian suddenly interrupted him to point at Shadow's guitar case. "Oh! You've brought your guitar!"
"Uh. Yeah," Shadow replied dumbly, not knowing what else to say.
"Would you mind playing it for us?"
"Uh, yes?"
Ganondorf hissed warningly, "Shadow."
"I mean it's an electric guitar, sir," Shadow corrected with a sigh. "Not exactly appropriate for . . . this kind of venue."
"Oh, but you are right," Harkinian replied, "But nonsense! We are in a new age afterall. Isn't electric what all kids play these days? I insist. Play a song for us!"
"Uh . . ." Shadow was not prepared, but he shrugged and said anyway, "Okay." He didn't think he could refuse anyway. Ugh, how am I going to make this NOT a disaster? He hated being FORCED to perform, but he didn't want to embarrass Sheik by playing a rowdy song and getting kicked out and never invited back to his house. Because that would be his normal plan. Play something terrible so nobody would ever force you to play in front of a stuffy group of government officials again.
He couldn't do that, so what?
"Excellent! Good form!" Harkinian patted him roughly on the shoulder. "The maestro will help you set up. There you go." He shepherded Shadow off in the direction of the music stage.
His cheeks were red again. He wasn't normally nervous when he performed . . . a stout man helped him find a plug in and fetch an amp for his guitar, and also a seat, because Shadow didn't think his knees would hold his weight under the circumstances. There were at least a hundred guests if not more. The redness got worse as the senator announced to the guests that Shadow would be playing a song on an electric guitar. Shadow felt the curious stares as if he were some kind of monkey playing a circus instrument. He gulped. He was glad he'd already picked out a song on his way to the stage.
The maestro set up a microphone in front of Shadow so he could talk into it. As Shadow coughed into it and looked out into the crowd, he found Link and Sheik, who gave him encouraging, surprised, but also sympathetic looks. Shadow wondered how ill he looked. "So, uh, ahem! My name is Shadow, and, uh . . ." He took a big breath in and let it out, collecting himself. "This is a song I wrote for a friend of mine. He's way brave, and super inspiring, and I just want to let him know that. Sheik, this one's for you."
In the audience, Sheik's eyes teared up. By using the name Sheik, no one would know that the subject of the song, a 'boy,' was actually their own princess. Shadow had done this on purpose. They had come up empty with ideas on how to crash the party so he wouldn't have to sing the stupid Goddess song, but here Shadow had figured it out on his own. He acknowledged Sheik's existence, and right under the nose of every guest here. It was like a secret shared between Sheik, Shadow, and Link. Link, who stood next to Sheik, put an arm around the shorter prince and gave his signature confident smile.
Up on the stage, Shadow finished the intro to his song, swaying back and forth and tapping his foot. He opened his mouth and sang.
"Time passes, people move,
Like a river
the water reflecting the friends you've made.
[chorus]
Oh as long as you hold my heart in your hand,
you hold time itself
The flow of time is cruel
No one can change it
But memories of you and I will never change
[chorus]
Oh as long as you hold my heart in your hand
you hold time itself
[bridge]
Over mountains, under water, to the grave, and beyond
In a desert, in the dark, through a forest
Our friendship will guide the way
And you will know which way to go
[chorus]
Oh as long as you hold my heart in your hand
you hold time itself
A person may die and paths may divide,
but friendship absorbs even time
Like a river
Like a river
Oh as long as you hold my heart in your hand
you hold time itself
My friend, you are my river
My friend, you are my river"
The last echoes of the song dissipated into the hall. Sheik was a sobbing mess, but was trying his best to hide it since, technically, the song was NOT about Princess Zelda, who he was pretending to be right now. It took every fiber of his being to not rush on stage and glomp Shadow right then and there. It would look awfully strange with all of the applauding guests watching-
"OH WHAT THE DEKU NUTS!" Sheik hiked up his skirt and charged on stage, his heels clacking on the tiles loudly. Shadow barely stood up in time before Sheik threw his arms about his neck and started bawling into his shoulder. "THAT WAS TH-THE M-MOST BEAUTIFUL TH-THING I'VE EVER HEARRRRRRRRRRRRD SHADOW, I LOVE YOU WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Link appeared on the stage next. "Guys! There's an open servant's door. Let's make a break for it!"
Shadow nodded and hurried with the emotional Shiek off the stage and disappearing behind some drapes while Link grabbed his guitar and then followed suit. They disappeared while the audience was still entranced by the memory of the song.
"Well!" Harkinian announced after the noise died down. Finally. "Now on to the rest of the night!"
More applause, but controlled this time.
People wouldn't stop complimenting Ganondorf on Shadow's performance. He felt bad. He'd never actually seen Shadow perform before. He'd heard him through the thick door, but that was barely it. They all told him how lucky he was that he got to have Shadow in his home, hearing him play all the time.
He was good. Even the stuck up maestro thought so.
Even though he'd been formally invited and welcomed, the tensions around him were still icy. It wasn't just that he was a successful but brutal businessman. "Gerudo" was a dirty word in Hyrule, always had been. Where a certain name for a female dog might be used in other countries as an insult, in Hyrule the word "Gerudo" was used instead. He heard the comments muttered behind his back. It was part of why he was so ruthless. If they would not respect him on account of him being a Gerudo, he would MAKE them respect, and even fear him as a powerful CEO.
If only they didn't take it out on Shadow. He had gone through great lengths to hide the fact that Shadow was his son, simply so that he wouldn't be disadvantaged by virtue of his connection to the desert man. They had seen Shadow now. They knew how gifted he was. And yet, there was so much surprise as well, as though the child of a Gerudo could never amount to anything. The glass in his hand cracked from the force with which he gripped it. He set it down.
The night had gone on for a long time. He couldn't find Shadow and the princess anywhere. He better not be doing anything that would shame me! And why had he sung that song, anyway? Sheik wasn't even here . . .
And why had the princess gotten . . . so . . . emotional . . .
He pulled out Shadow's phone—yes, he had confiscated it because he didn't want his son caught texting at a party—and flipped through the pictures. There were pictures of Link, Sheik, and Shadow, and there were pictures of Link, Zelda, and Shadow. But there was never a picture of Link, Sheik, Zelda, and Shadow. He studied Sheik's face. He studied the princess' face.
Oh my . . . the princess has a secret identity! And she's dressed as a boy. Certainly her parents don't know. He thought of what he could do with such information. Embarrass the monarchy? Bring them down a peg? Get revenge on the racist Hylian nobles?
Well, send it to the tabloids! With Shadow cropped out of the picture, of course. He didn't need that kind of attention. With their own daughter—or freak, whatever—in the spotlight of society's criticism, maybe they would feel an inkling of what it was like to be outcast. His son deserved better than ANY OF THEM! He sent the photos to his phone, and within a few clicks, the deed was done.
"That. Was. AWESOME!" Shadow pumped a fist into the air. The rehearsal session had gone better than expected, and they were all feeling better about the actual performance.
"So," Shad was saying to Link as he packed up his bass. "You're descended from the knights, is that right?"
"Yeah," Link answered. "On my mom's side anyway. Distantly. We don't know about my dad because he was abandoned as a kid and never knew his parents."
"Oh my. That's awful!"
Link shrugged. "It's okay. I kinda know how he feels now. He and mom died in the spring."
Shad gasped. "Oh, I'm . . . I'm so sorry!"
Again, Link shrugged, but offered no other words. He wanted to avoid any seriousness tonight. "Hey guys! Wanna go get ice cream?"
"YEAH!" Shadow shrieked, his voice cracking.
"I think you just hijacked my car for the night, Hero," Shad mentioned.
Link blushed bashfully. "Well, you're the only one who can drive, and we need somewhere to store our instruments until we're done, so . . . ."
Shad grinned and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry, I don't mind."
"You can drive?" Shadow asked.
"Yeah, an eco-friendly jeep."
Suddenly Sheik shouted, "SHOTGUN!" and ran out the door.
Shadow sprinted after him. "NO! NO! ME! I GET SHOTGUN!"
"You snooze you lose, vegan boy, ahahaha!"
Link laughed and followed them both, and finally Shad, shouting, "NOBODY BETTER TOUCH MY CAR BEFORE I GET THERE!"
Link ran after the other two down the stairs and into the ballroom, slowly gaining and passing Shadow.
"NO FAIR FAIRY LEGS!"
"Eat dirt, lettuce legs!"
Sheik laughed so hard he couldn't run anymore, so Link passed him, too, Shadow close behind. Shadow grabbed Link's hat, which made Link halt. "Hey! Give that back!"
"HA! I—ih—frd brafg—" Shadow's eyes widened, and he became suddenly pale. A hand shot out and grabbed the front of Link's tunic as Shadow collapsed, as if unable to hold his own weight. His other hand grabbed at his own chest. His breathing became hoarse and clipped.
"Shadow!" Link said, crouching to try to help. "Shadow, what's wrong?"
"C-can't . . . breathe . . ."
Sheik caught up with them. "Shadow?"
"Shadow? Shadow wake up!" Link was shaking Shadow by the shoulders. "He's not—HE'S NOT BREATHING!"
"Oh my goddess." Sheik's hands flew to his face. He thought to get his phone and call an ambulance, but he'd left it in his dreaded purse in the game room. He looked around for help. Guests had already started gathering, and phones were being pulled out. Sheik ran to Shadow's side and knelt down.
Link was still shouting into Shadow's face, but Shadow didn't respond.
A large man burst through the crowd—Ganondorf. "OUT OF MY WAY!" Sheik retreated immediately, but Ganondorf had to shove the distraught Link away from Shadow. He then began performing CPR.
"What happened?" Sheik was muttering. "What's happening?!" He and Link huddled together.
Shadow wouldn't wake up.
AN: Aaaah! I'm so sorry to leave you on such a cliff hanger. So many cluuuuuues in this chapter, though.
Trivia: do you know where I took the lyrics to Shadow's song from? Here's a hint: IT'S ZELDA RELATED.
