((Disclaimer: Oh sod it; I can't be bothered anymore... ;) ))
Many Meetings.
Princess Impa surveyed her three children, trying to work out what she should say. Indya stood by, a look of sternness on her brown features. The twins had averted their eyes, but Toru dared to look her in the face through his good eye. Impa sighed, "I hope you realise the seriousness of your actions today. Because of your rashness the reputation of the Royal family has taken a slide down the slope."
"But they all hate him!" interjected Toru quickly, "The guard told us so, didn't he?" He glanced at the twins for support.
Tamasine raised his head and nodded, "It's true, mother. He said the boy's name was Aiden and that nobody likes him, didn't he Kei?"
His sister nodded, keeping her eyes averted.
Impa sighed again, "Whatever. The Princes and the Princess are not expected to show outbursts of anger in public. What would become of our respect if every time I got angry I took it out immediately?"
The children bowed their heads, even Toru, but his stance showed Impa he was still rebellious. She continued, "As punishment you will not be allowed out in the market place until this has blown over. How long do you think it will take, Indya?" She shot a questioning look at the maid, flashing a wink.
"A week? Forgive me, lady, I am not a good guesser," she replied, returning the wink.
"Five days then. During that time you shall have no contact with the town. Now run along, I'm sure you have lots to think about. Toru, make sure you find some ice for that black eyes. And Keiko, make sure *you* repair that dress; Indya will show you how."
The children went out, and Impa heard their voices recede along the corridor. She grinned helplessly at Indya, who tried to replace a fond smile with a frown of disapproval - and failed. She bobbed a curtsey and left, leaving Impa to go back to her letters.
***
"Five days!" stormed Toru, "And no contact! That means we won't see Cici for ages!" he groaned, dropping down on the steps leading to the dusty track out into the grounds, pressing a cloth full of ice to his distended eye. The swelling had subsided considerably. Keiko sat in the long grass a short distance away, plaiting a daisy chain. Tamasine stretched out on the stones of the steps, eyes closed. He appeared to be snoozing.
Keiko threaded the ends of the chain together, held the circlet up to the sunlight and considered. Toru was flinging little stones at the butterflies, and she was about to chide him for it when a thought leapt into her head, "Hey... Mother said 'no contact with the town' right?"
Tamasine flicked one eye open, "Yup."
Keiko grinned to herself. Toru flicked a small piece of gravel at her head, "What's so funny?"
"Don't you see? She didn't say anything about *further* than the town..."
Tamasine cottoned on, "Ah! So we could still go to, say, Lon Lon Ranch, because it's not in Town!"
"Right!"
Tamasine ran from the steps, seized circlet and placed it on his sister's golden-haired head, "You little genius!"
Toru joined them and outlined a quick plan of action, "Right, there's still at least five hours of sunlight left, so we'll dress normally and go out the back, creep around to Hyrule Field and go see Marion at the Ranch. OK?"
The twins nodded their agreement and all scampered off to change their clothes.
***
Toru peeked cautiously around the doorway set in the stone wall of the garden boundaries. The patrol had just turned the corner, and as they clinked away with a shout of laughter, he darted through the opening and sped across the grass. The twins followed suit, Keiko thoughtfully closing the little gate after her.
They hid in a bush until the next patrol passed, and then ran onwards, around the Castle walls and onto the vast greenness of Hyrule Field. They made it around the front of the Castle, and slowed their pace as they followed the dirt path that lead to the Ranch. Keiko was babbling excitedly about seeing Zephyr - the adolescent foal of Eiry. In plain clothes, no one could have realised their heritage.
Tamasine suddenly stopped and shot a glance towards the patch of long coarse grass. Toru walked into him from behind, "Hey! What's u--" He followed his brother's gaze. Tamasine gestured to him, and the two boys crept around on opposite sides of the patch. Keiko shivered.
"Hiiiiyah!"
"Aaaargh!"
"Unnh!"
The figure concealed in the grass sprang up as the boys leapt on him, and kicked out at Toru. His kick connected and Toru was thrown backwards. He landed with a thud in the grass and groaned.
Tamasine had attached himself to the figure's back and was clawing and biting furiously. The figure wrestled with his legs, trying to detach him. As he was pulled off, Tamasine grabbed the figure's hood and ripped it from his face.
Keiko, watching in fright, gasped in astonishment, "Aiden! Why were you following us?!"
The boy glared at her, his long hair falling over his face where the hood had been, "To get you back for almost beating me up! It's the weird one I want: where's the one with skin like a dead fish?"
Toru stood up, his eyes glinting in anger. He didn't speak; Aiden turned and saw him, and sneered, "You're dead, fishy."
Aiden charged. Toru waited until he was almost on top of him, then spun on the ball of his left foot and drove the right foot into Aiden's stomach. Aiden stumbled, winded, and Toru jumped on him and began punching and kicking relentlessly. Keiko and Tamasine watched from a short distance away, not daring to help in case Toru turned his rage on them.
Suddenly, Toru was hauled from his battering by a strong hand, and Aiden was pushed backwards, dropping down onto the grass. Keiko shouted, "Hey, Tobias!"
Marion's father, owner of Lon Lon Ranch, gave her a slight nod, then shook Toru lightly, "What was all that about?" he asked in strong tones.
Tamasine intervened, "Aiden called him a dead fish, and in the market place he insulted our friend."
"Yeah. And *he* wanted to fight, not me!" added Toru, spinning gently in Tobias' grip.
Tobias set Toru down in the grass. He turned to Aiden, who was trying to staunch the flow of blood from his nose. "If what I hear here and down in the village is true, then you have no business to pester these children. Now be off with you, before I personally kick you off my lands."
Aiden glared at him, and then slunk away, towards the Gerudo Fortress. Tobias watched him go, then let out his breath in a sigh, "Got to watch that one. He hasn't always been that unpleasant. It only started when his parents died and the Exalted Nabooru took him in..." He turned back to the children, and ruffled Toru's red hair fondly, "I suppose you're here to play with our Marion?"
Keiko nodded, and the three of them followed him up the slope.
***
Marion and her mother were out in the paddock, training the snowy white mare named Zephyr. Keiko broke away from her brothers and ran out to meet them. Marion grinned, her coppery hair flashing in the sun as she hugged Keiko warmly, "Hiya Kei!!"
Toru and Tamasine raced each other to the pen, Tamasine winning by a footstep. Marion waved, "Hi guys!!" Marion's mother Alys smiled and, noticing Tobias' waving, exited the paddock to the house.
Tamasine petted the sleek pelt of the young mare, wondering at the silkiness of it. Marion grinned playfully, "Anyone fancy riding her?"
Toru smiled and shook his head, having something of a fear for horses. Keiko's eyes lit up, and she could hardly squeak, "Yes please!" fast enough. Tamasine gave her a leg up and Marion gave the mare a gentle pat on the rear to get her moving.
The twins had been taught to ride bare back, and Keiko was the best between them, much as Tamasine tried to disguise it. He pulled himself onto another bronze-coloured horse and urged him after his sister. Toru stood back and watched as Tamasine drew closer, then clearly heard him shout, "Race you around the track!"
Keiko made no reply, but Toru and Marion heard her "Yah!" as she spurred Zephyr on. The twins engaged in a furious race around the track, the horses feeling the element of competition in the riders and striving harder. They passed the place where Toru and Marion stood in a cloud of dust, and Toru grinned and gave a whoop of encouragement.
Marion studied him as the twins began the second lap, "You're bleeding!" she exclaimed.
Toru ran his tongue over his lips and tasted the steely blood, "Oh, yeah..." He wiped his mouth on the hand of his hand and gazed at the red trail.
"What happened?"
"Fight..."
"With who?" The farm girl's brown eyes widened curiously.
"Aiden."
"Did you hurt him?" asked Marion eagerly.
Toru's eyes widened, "Does everybody hate him?"
"Mostly."
"Wow..."
They watched the race in silence for a while.
***
Keiko and Tamasine tore around the corner and pounded down to the finish line, their horses literally running side by side. Tamasine glanced up and caught the challenge in his sister's gaze. He *would* win this time...
As they leapt over the final fence and raced towards the finish, Tamasine's horse stumbled. Riding bare back, he had no stirrups to cling to, and so the jolt unseated him. He fell onto the packed earth with a sickening thud and the crack of a breaking bone. Keiko screamed, "Tam!"
She tugged on Zephyr's mane to make her stop, but the mare had already sensed something was wrong and slowed anyway. Marion and Toru ran to the entrance of the paddock and around the track to Tamasine's limp form. He had passed out with the force of the impact and the pain of a broken arm. The white bone jutted out awkwardly from his arm; blood was everywhere. Marion ran as fast as she could to fetch her parents, and Toru tried to revive him by shouting his name over and over again.
Keiko trotted up on a disturbed Zephyr, dropped to the ground and turned pale at the sight of Tamasine's arm. Toru ripped a length from his tunic and tried to mop up the blood. Tamasine revived slightly and sobbed in pain as Tobias and Alys ran over, Alys carrying bandages...
***
A sorry troop of children rode back to Hyrule Castle later that evening. Alys accompanied them, carrying Tamasine on her grey horse, Raku. Toru and Keiko shared Zephyr. Alys had mended Tamasine's broken arm as best she could, and strapped it up in a splint. He wore it in a cloth sling around his neck now, a dull pain throbbing with each step the horse took.
Keiko was horrified. The sight of Tamasine's broken arm still haunted her, and dread mounted in her stomach when she thought of what her mother would say. They shouldn't have been there anyway. That was the worst part. Toru sat behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, silent.
They crossed the drawbridge, and Alys lead the horses up to the castle. The guards met them and escorted them through, and Alys left them outside the door to Impa's study...
Many Meetings.
Princess Impa surveyed her three children, trying to work out what she should say. Indya stood by, a look of sternness on her brown features. The twins had averted their eyes, but Toru dared to look her in the face through his good eye. Impa sighed, "I hope you realise the seriousness of your actions today. Because of your rashness the reputation of the Royal family has taken a slide down the slope."
"But they all hate him!" interjected Toru quickly, "The guard told us so, didn't he?" He glanced at the twins for support.
Tamasine raised his head and nodded, "It's true, mother. He said the boy's name was Aiden and that nobody likes him, didn't he Kei?"
His sister nodded, keeping her eyes averted.
Impa sighed again, "Whatever. The Princes and the Princess are not expected to show outbursts of anger in public. What would become of our respect if every time I got angry I took it out immediately?"
The children bowed their heads, even Toru, but his stance showed Impa he was still rebellious. She continued, "As punishment you will not be allowed out in the market place until this has blown over. How long do you think it will take, Indya?" She shot a questioning look at the maid, flashing a wink.
"A week? Forgive me, lady, I am not a good guesser," she replied, returning the wink.
"Five days then. During that time you shall have no contact with the town. Now run along, I'm sure you have lots to think about. Toru, make sure you find some ice for that black eyes. And Keiko, make sure *you* repair that dress; Indya will show you how."
The children went out, and Impa heard their voices recede along the corridor. She grinned helplessly at Indya, who tried to replace a fond smile with a frown of disapproval - and failed. She bobbed a curtsey and left, leaving Impa to go back to her letters.
***
"Five days!" stormed Toru, "And no contact! That means we won't see Cici for ages!" he groaned, dropping down on the steps leading to the dusty track out into the grounds, pressing a cloth full of ice to his distended eye. The swelling had subsided considerably. Keiko sat in the long grass a short distance away, plaiting a daisy chain. Tamasine stretched out on the stones of the steps, eyes closed. He appeared to be snoozing.
Keiko threaded the ends of the chain together, held the circlet up to the sunlight and considered. Toru was flinging little stones at the butterflies, and she was about to chide him for it when a thought leapt into her head, "Hey... Mother said 'no contact with the town' right?"
Tamasine flicked one eye open, "Yup."
Keiko grinned to herself. Toru flicked a small piece of gravel at her head, "What's so funny?"
"Don't you see? She didn't say anything about *further* than the town..."
Tamasine cottoned on, "Ah! So we could still go to, say, Lon Lon Ranch, because it's not in Town!"
"Right!"
Tamasine ran from the steps, seized circlet and placed it on his sister's golden-haired head, "You little genius!"
Toru joined them and outlined a quick plan of action, "Right, there's still at least five hours of sunlight left, so we'll dress normally and go out the back, creep around to Hyrule Field and go see Marion at the Ranch. OK?"
The twins nodded their agreement and all scampered off to change their clothes.
***
Toru peeked cautiously around the doorway set in the stone wall of the garden boundaries. The patrol had just turned the corner, and as they clinked away with a shout of laughter, he darted through the opening and sped across the grass. The twins followed suit, Keiko thoughtfully closing the little gate after her.
They hid in a bush until the next patrol passed, and then ran onwards, around the Castle walls and onto the vast greenness of Hyrule Field. They made it around the front of the Castle, and slowed their pace as they followed the dirt path that lead to the Ranch. Keiko was babbling excitedly about seeing Zephyr - the adolescent foal of Eiry. In plain clothes, no one could have realised their heritage.
Tamasine suddenly stopped and shot a glance towards the patch of long coarse grass. Toru walked into him from behind, "Hey! What's u--" He followed his brother's gaze. Tamasine gestured to him, and the two boys crept around on opposite sides of the patch. Keiko shivered.
"Hiiiiyah!"
"Aaaargh!"
"Unnh!"
The figure concealed in the grass sprang up as the boys leapt on him, and kicked out at Toru. His kick connected and Toru was thrown backwards. He landed with a thud in the grass and groaned.
Tamasine had attached himself to the figure's back and was clawing and biting furiously. The figure wrestled with his legs, trying to detach him. As he was pulled off, Tamasine grabbed the figure's hood and ripped it from his face.
Keiko, watching in fright, gasped in astonishment, "Aiden! Why were you following us?!"
The boy glared at her, his long hair falling over his face where the hood had been, "To get you back for almost beating me up! It's the weird one I want: where's the one with skin like a dead fish?"
Toru stood up, his eyes glinting in anger. He didn't speak; Aiden turned and saw him, and sneered, "You're dead, fishy."
Aiden charged. Toru waited until he was almost on top of him, then spun on the ball of his left foot and drove the right foot into Aiden's stomach. Aiden stumbled, winded, and Toru jumped on him and began punching and kicking relentlessly. Keiko and Tamasine watched from a short distance away, not daring to help in case Toru turned his rage on them.
Suddenly, Toru was hauled from his battering by a strong hand, and Aiden was pushed backwards, dropping down onto the grass. Keiko shouted, "Hey, Tobias!"
Marion's father, owner of Lon Lon Ranch, gave her a slight nod, then shook Toru lightly, "What was all that about?" he asked in strong tones.
Tamasine intervened, "Aiden called him a dead fish, and in the market place he insulted our friend."
"Yeah. And *he* wanted to fight, not me!" added Toru, spinning gently in Tobias' grip.
Tobias set Toru down in the grass. He turned to Aiden, who was trying to staunch the flow of blood from his nose. "If what I hear here and down in the village is true, then you have no business to pester these children. Now be off with you, before I personally kick you off my lands."
Aiden glared at him, and then slunk away, towards the Gerudo Fortress. Tobias watched him go, then let out his breath in a sigh, "Got to watch that one. He hasn't always been that unpleasant. It only started when his parents died and the Exalted Nabooru took him in..." He turned back to the children, and ruffled Toru's red hair fondly, "I suppose you're here to play with our Marion?"
Keiko nodded, and the three of them followed him up the slope.
***
Marion and her mother were out in the paddock, training the snowy white mare named Zephyr. Keiko broke away from her brothers and ran out to meet them. Marion grinned, her coppery hair flashing in the sun as she hugged Keiko warmly, "Hiya Kei!!"
Toru and Tamasine raced each other to the pen, Tamasine winning by a footstep. Marion waved, "Hi guys!!" Marion's mother Alys smiled and, noticing Tobias' waving, exited the paddock to the house.
Tamasine petted the sleek pelt of the young mare, wondering at the silkiness of it. Marion grinned playfully, "Anyone fancy riding her?"
Toru smiled and shook his head, having something of a fear for horses. Keiko's eyes lit up, and she could hardly squeak, "Yes please!" fast enough. Tamasine gave her a leg up and Marion gave the mare a gentle pat on the rear to get her moving.
The twins had been taught to ride bare back, and Keiko was the best between them, much as Tamasine tried to disguise it. He pulled himself onto another bronze-coloured horse and urged him after his sister. Toru stood back and watched as Tamasine drew closer, then clearly heard him shout, "Race you around the track!"
Keiko made no reply, but Toru and Marion heard her "Yah!" as she spurred Zephyr on. The twins engaged in a furious race around the track, the horses feeling the element of competition in the riders and striving harder. They passed the place where Toru and Marion stood in a cloud of dust, and Toru grinned and gave a whoop of encouragement.
Marion studied him as the twins began the second lap, "You're bleeding!" she exclaimed.
Toru ran his tongue over his lips and tasted the steely blood, "Oh, yeah..." He wiped his mouth on the hand of his hand and gazed at the red trail.
"What happened?"
"Fight..."
"With who?" The farm girl's brown eyes widened curiously.
"Aiden."
"Did you hurt him?" asked Marion eagerly.
Toru's eyes widened, "Does everybody hate him?"
"Mostly."
"Wow..."
They watched the race in silence for a while.
***
Keiko and Tamasine tore around the corner and pounded down to the finish line, their horses literally running side by side. Tamasine glanced up and caught the challenge in his sister's gaze. He *would* win this time...
As they leapt over the final fence and raced towards the finish, Tamasine's horse stumbled. Riding bare back, he had no stirrups to cling to, and so the jolt unseated him. He fell onto the packed earth with a sickening thud and the crack of a breaking bone. Keiko screamed, "Tam!"
She tugged on Zephyr's mane to make her stop, but the mare had already sensed something was wrong and slowed anyway. Marion and Toru ran to the entrance of the paddock and around the track to Tamasine's limp form. He had passed out with the force of the impact and the pain of a broken arm. The white bone jutted out awkwardly from his arm; blood was everywhere. Marion ran as fast as she could to fetch her parents, and Toru tried to revive him by shouting his name over and over again.
Keiko trotted up on a disturbed Zephyr, dropped to the ground and turned pale at the sight of Tamasine's arm. Toru ripped a length from his tunic and tried to mop up the blood. Tamasine revived slightly and sobbed in pain as Tobias and Alys ran over, Alys carrying bandages...
***
A sorry troop of children rode back to Hyrule Castle later that evening. Alys accompanied them, carrying Tamasine on her grey horse, Raku. Toru and Keiko shared Zephyr. Alys had mended Tamasine's broken arm as best she could, and strapped it up in a splint. He wore it in a cloth sling around his neck now, a dull pain throbbing with each step the horse took.
Keiko was horrified. The sight of Tamasine's broken arm still haunted her, and dread mounted in her stomach when she thought of what her mother would say. They shouldn't have been there anyway. That was the worst part. Toru sat behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, silent.
They crossed the drawbridge, and Alys lead the horses up to the castle. The guards met them and escorted them through, and Alys left them outside the door to Impa's study...