Disclaimer: Zelda and other associations are not my property.
Author's Note: Zi's fight against George, and some other events are in this part.
Chapter II
Zi was surprised at the crowd outside the cottage. 'Oh great...It seems like the whole town--or village, whatever this place is!--came over to see us fight. And this was just a silly argument, not even a proper challenge. Oh well, I suppose it was my fault for suggesting the fight.'
Zi stood in his 'stance', one foot ahead of the other, his sword in a diagonal line, in front, while his shield hung back on the other arm. He readied his mind, remaining alert, and watching his opponent, trying to figure out his weaknesses. It wasn't that difficult to see where George needed help. 'But can't expect everyone to have the kind of training I did. I've gotten too used to the castle, with their conduct rules and special code.'
After studying George for a few moments, Zi decided to ask who was going to start the fight. As he walked forward with his sword lowered, George lashed out at him! Zi jumped back, George's sword barely missing his stomach. A jeer came from his opponent, causing Zi's temper to rise. 'Nobody I've ever known starts a match without warning!' Zi struck George on the shoulder with the flat end of his long blade. In retaliation, George ran toward him, his sword pointed in front of him.
'What is this, a street brawl?!' thought Zi, darting out of the way just in time.
"C'mon! Are you chicken or something?" George mocked.
"I don't want to injure you," Zi answered calmly.
Anger flashed across George's face. "Do you think you're better then me, just because you have a nice sword!" The clash of metal against metal rang throughout the village, sending the watching villagers backward three extra feet. The blow could have killed him, Zi realized, but thankfully, he had quick hands and a stable shield. 'This has to end now!' With a flash, Zi threw himself into an attack, one of the only "special" moves he remembered inventing with his friends. 'Soaring Light…this was the first move we made…Eric, me, and Niwel.' Using the side of the cottage as a brace, he leaped over George, who was right next to him, and landed two feet away from him. He did a neat back flip over his head, one foot away from him, and deftly swung his sword, cutting George's shoulder.
"Arghh!!" George cried out, leaning on the ground, his hand clasped over his wounded shoulder.
"Here, this will help heal the wound." Zi snipped off a few small leaves from an herb, and handed it to him. George glowered at him, and turned away, refusing them. Shrugging, Zi handed them to his watching sister.
"Only you would fight someone and offer to help him afterwards!" A familiar voice laughed behind him.
Spinning around, Zi found himself face to face with his childhood and longtime friend, Eric, now of the Hyrulian Army.
"Hullo, didn't know you were here," he greeted him coldly.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. But what are you doing here?"
"This is my home," Eric replied with a grin. "Don't you remember?"
Zi remembered vaguely him mentioning his childhood home.
"A little."
"At least that's normal for you! That, and the helping thing…although I was a little surprised that you did it for his benefit, seeing as George probably did something to you, knowing him."
Zi shrugged, and began walking quickly away from the crowd of villagers. Eric followed him.
"It was because of Nevis. She was worried one of us would get hurt."
Eric smiled. "Nevis is a nice kid."
"Yeah."
"Where are you going?"
"I don't know."
"Well that's—"
"Why do you keep acting like everything is normal!" demanded Zi. "It's not, and you know it's not!"
"I just want to help you. I'm your friend, remember? Or did you forget in the span of three months!" Eric countered.
Zi sighed. "Look, we're on completely different tracks now. It was fine when we were both aiming for the same goals, but now I just want to stay alive, and keep my family that way too." A cloud seemed to come over his face. "Except…I can't keep my father…" His voice made a strange noise and he said no more.
"What happened?"
Zi stared at him. "I would have thought that you would know by now. My father's dead. And your king had him killed, which is just as bad as killing him himself!"
"That's a heavy accusation R—" Eric started to say, but got no further when Zi clapped his hand over his mouth.
"Don't say anything! If you're really my friend, you'll keep your mouth shut about this! That you saw me here, and everything that I told you!" Zi hissed. "Don't say my name around the village either. I'm going under another name. Just don't mention me at all."
"So, what, you don't trust me that I'll keep your secret?" Eric looked at him in disbelief.
Zi kept walking, leaving his friend staring after him. He didn't actually like leaving his childhood friend abruptly, but he felt there wasn't anything else he could do. "I haven't seen him for three months, and he expects everything to be perfect," muttered Zi to himself. He realized that it wasn't smart of him to leave without purchasing a horse. 'Isn't there a ranch around here though?' he wondered. Sadly, Zi had never been very good at geography, especially of Hyrule, and he never paid attention in the geography classes the trainers had made him take. Being a training soldier in the Hyrulian army, he had been expected to know a broad range of fields.
Zi didn't notice an inn, or a ranch, so he stopped by a tree. 'What is this obsession with trees and me? ' he wondered. 'This is going to get boring, just talking to myself all the time. I'm even joking to myself!' Taking a drink from his canteen, Zi absentmindedly examined his sword.
The hilt was fringed with gold, while the tip of the hilt had the family crest imprinted on it. The blade itself was sharp and finely made. It had been crafted by Goron blacksmiths in gratitude for a favor Zi's grandfather had done for them.
He started to cut bushes here and there, finally, he sat down and reflected over the fight. As he sat there, thinking, a skeleton suddenly emerged from the ground. Zi sprang to his feet, about to thrust his sword forward.
But something about the enemy made his blood run cold. He didn't know what it was. Maybe it was because of his fear of creepy re-dead things. All he could do was stand there, frozen in place as it walked closer and closer.
Suddenly, the moving skeleton was gone. Instead, a spear lay rammed into the ground where it once was.
Zi looked around him confusedly, wondering who had saved him.
"Hi."
Zi looked everywhere, but couldn't find the owner of the voice. From up above, a figure jumped down to the ground in front of him. Zi took a step backwards.
It was a brown haired girl dressed in a forest green tunic, although it had a longer, more skirt-like bottom, with a longbow in one hand, and a set of arrows strapped to her back. She ran to the spear and jerked it out of the ground.
"Who are you?" Zi asked, hesitantly.
"My name is Karlia," she replied.
"I'm called Zi."
Karlia gestured to a tall, dark-haired youth who had come up from behind another tree. "That's my brother, Tiewal."
"What are you two doing in the middle of Hyrule at night?"
"We have our reasons," Tiewal answered mysteriously, just as Karlia was about to answer. He was dressed plainly, as his sister was, and carried a broad sword.
"That's a nice sword you have," he said, pointing to Zi's blade.
"Thanks. It was my father's."
Zi stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. 'I hate when this happens! When I don't know what to do!' he thought angrily to himself.
"Where are we going next?" he heard Karlia ask her brother.
"To Lake Hylia," he replied simply. "It's the fastest way. Besides, we can rest the horses."
"The fastest way? To what?"
"To where we are going," said Tiewal.
"Can I get a ride with you?"
"To the lake?"
"I guess."
"Don't you even know where you're going?"
"No."
The brother and sister looked at each other with surprised expressions.
"But aren't you going stopping there for the contest?" Karlia asked Zi.
"What contest?"
****End of chapter II****
Author's Note: Please review this, thanks! I'd like to know what you thought of it!