Thievery
Disclaimer: Ditto last chapter.
We're at chapter three already? Whoo, I sure can write fast when I don't have any distractions around. Let's see – we're off to go get a horse, right? (Well, Alexis is anyway). What will she make of the Ranch after fifty years? And what will the Ranch owners make of her? Oh yes – and not forgetting the most important thing – where's she sleeping tonight? All shall be answered below.....
[Writes like a journalist on double caffeine coffee – have you seen those guys writing? It's fast!]
[] = Alexis' thoughts and italics = memories
At my quick pace, I managed to reach the Ranch with a good few hours left before dusk. Now that I drew closer, I could see just how much larger it had become – there was even a tiny hamlet attached to the side of it, which I would have to walk through to get to the paddocks, and thus the horses. I smiled as I saw that the name of the one street village was 'Talon-way', and noticed a plaque before the well at the very centre of the area. I walked over to it, and knelt down, causing a pair of blacksmiths before their shop to stop their work and gaze curiously at me.
I ignored them, and read what was written on the plaque. 'In memory of all those who served on this Ranch during the darkness, taking into considerable account her ladyship, Malon, who endured hardships beyond hardship. We honour this brave lady, and so many others.' I stood up again, and dusted off the knees of the tights I wore. [I wonder where exactly the horses are sold from.] I decided to ask the blacksmiths, as they were the only people upon the street.
"Excuse me?" I leant over the waist-high wall before their shop, and the older of the two put down the hoof of the horse he had been expecting, and mopped his face of sweat as he turned to face me.
"Yes?" he puffed, stuffing the rag he'd wiped his face with into his apron pocket.
"I was just wondering where exactly I need to go to purchase a horse – if you know that is?"
"Course I know miss – but, you won't be getting a horse today; not with the races going on." My face fell, and he seemed to notice. "But – you should be able to get good lodgings at the 'Weary traveller inn', and the horses are on sale tomorrow from dawn until midday when the races start again."
"Oh – right. Thank you very much," I smiled, and walked away – then, I turned back. "Sorry to carry on bothering you, but which paddock are the races in?"
"Second one over," he said, and stared at me piercingly. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"Not exactly."
"I didn't think so – got any particular business in Hyrule?" his eyes darted to the sword at my waist. "Not meaning to pry of course – just making conversation," he smiled toothily, and I could see the honesty in his words.
"Oh, I don't mind. I'm just travelling really – I vowed that I would see the world, so I thought I'd start with the nicest place on it."
"Well, you're certainly in the right place then miss," he chuckled. "Enjoy those races – they're the high-light of our calendar – though they do bring in a devil-lot of work!" He waved, and returned to his horse, and I walked off with a farewell. Just before I lost sight of the two of them, I saw the younger one following me with his eyes as I walked, and flushed slightly. I'd never be able to get used to all these stares.
The hamlet was so quiet because of the races, as when I managed to enter the second paddock, I saw a huge crowd of people standing along a marked track, cheering on the riders as they rounded the last corner. I was jostled by the crowd, and pushed my way to the edges by the wall so that I could catch my breath. Someone stumbled towards me, panting and laughing as they made their way out of the throng, and I had to step out of the way to avoid a collision.
"Oops – sorry!" the red-haired girl giggled some more. "Good races, hey?"
"Yeah, pretty good," I answered, having to force the words past a lump in my throat as I stared at a girl who could have been Malon's twin. She even had the same bright blue eyes, and the lilting laugh. I wondered if this might be one of Link's grandchildren, and panicked a little, in case he was here as well.
"You look a little spooked – you all right?" she waved a hand in front of my eyes, and I started.
"Oh – yes, I'm fine. Just wondering – are you any relation to Lord Link?" [It feels weird to call him a Lord.] She pouted, and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm his granddaughter. Name's Melissa," she held out a hand, and managed to pump my whole arm up and down whilst she shook it. "And don't bother with any of that milady stuff – you want to do that, find my sister Anika – she's the posh one."
"Blaise," I said, falling straight back into my old guise as I panicked.
"What? How cool! That was the name of the girl that helped my grandfather against Ganondorf!"
"Oh, really?" I asked in mock surprise – she didn't seem to register it.
"You're not from around here, are you?" she asked, stepping back, and looking me up and down.
"You're the second person who's said that – is it really so obvious?"
"Just a bit – when someone comes around wearing such drab colours, we do wonder about them. And a tunic? You look like someone from the Royal Guard!" she glimpsed my sword. "Oh – you're not are you?"
I shook my head, and laughed slightly, "No – why?"
"Oh good! Sorry, I just thought if you were, it might be a summons for me to come back to the palace. And I'm enjoying the races way too much to go back now!" She was practically jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh, come on, there's another race starting – if we're quick, we'll be able to get up to the front." She grabbed my hand without so much as a 'by-your-leave', and proceeded to drag both herself and me to the front.
I'd never really watched races before, but the atmosphere was so jolly that I couldn't help but to enjoy myself. Soon, I was cheering with the rest, and Melissa was giving me a brief tutorage about the rules and highlights of racing in the intervals between the end of a race and the beginning of the next one. Somewhere along the way, I managed to let out the fact that I needed a horse, and she laughed loudly.
"I should be able to help you out with that – the current owner's son seems to have a liking for my sister – and I suppose I could put on a few airs to make him think I'm her." I chuckled in disbelief at her scheming nature, and threw an arm over her shoulder as we left the crowd again, this time to go and find the said son.
"You, girl, are a veritable little fiend," I smiled, and she winked at me.
"I know! Now, come on, I think that's him over there!" she pointed to a young man standing by a long trough, holding the reins of two horses whilst their riders readied themselves. He was a shy looking thing, and had his shoulders hunched so far upwards that the lobes of his ears disappeared into the bunched collar of his shirt. "Um – you'd better let go," Melissa decided, shrugging my arm off. "Wouldn't do for him to see me acting like a normal person after all. Wait here." She straightened herself up, and smoothed the skirt of her dress, before striding purposefully over to the unfortunate boy.
I followed behind at a distance, coming just close enough so that I could see (and hear, if I strained my ears) what was going on. The boy had relinquished his charges to the riders, and was looking enviously after him, when Melissa gave a little cough to gain his attention. "Ah!" he jumped and turned around – his eyes widened when he saw her, and an immediate blush ran across his face. "An-Anika! So nice to s-see y-you again," he stuttered, bowing swiftly. Melissa pulled a face, but wiped it away when he rose again from his bow.
"Marvellous to see you too," she said dryly, and I admired the transformation she had made. "I was just wondering whether it would be possible for a lady-friend of mine to purchase a horse?"
"Of course – we'll be selling them from tomorrow at dawn, if she'd care to- "
"Lovely, lovely, but she would really prefer to gain her steed today, if possible." The young man bit his lip, and drew tiny circles on the dusty ground with the toe of his boot. "Well?"
"I – I suppose I could make the sale....."
"Very good," she smiled, and seemingly on impulse, placed a kiss on his cheek. I had to retain a laugh as the boy bought a hand up to his cheek, and seemed to space out for a few seconds before coming to.
"Yes – uh – if you and your friend would like to come this way.....?" He turned, and began to make his way to the third paddock, where I guessed the stock horses were being kept. Melissa turned around and beckoned me to follow. I hurried over, and raised an eyebrow at her.
"What?" she hissed. "You're trying to tell me he's not cute?" she nodded to the quivering boy in front of us, and I just raised an eyebrow yet again.
"I think I'm too old to pass judgement," I whispered. She shook her head, and then we came to the gate into the third paddock.
"Feel free to look around until you find a beast you like," the boy said to me, being able to speak stutter free now that he wasn't looking directly at Melissa (well, in his eyes, he was looking at Anika).
I didn't look around for long, however. Straight away, I spotted a horse that looked rather like my old steed, Nostawen – a beautiful palomino mare. [Demons, why is everything the same?] I briefly wondered, before carefully making my way towards the animal so as not to scare it. I reached out a hand, and lay it on the long mane, using my other hand to pat its muzzle. "This horse," I began, and the boy rushed over. "Is it from the same stock as the fabled Nostawen?" He looked surprised at my guess.
"Yeah, she is – how did you know that?"
"Just a guess," I smiled. "How much would you consider selling her for?"
"Well, we haven't really set a price on her yet – but, off the top of my head, three hundred rupees?" I smiled internally – now, here was something I knew a lot about.
"Three hundred? No, I'll give you two hundred, and not a rupee more!"
"Two hundred and ninety."
"Two hundred and twenty."
"Two hundred and sixty."
"Two hundred and forty, and that's my last bid."
"Deal," he took my hand and shook it. "But, if you add an extra ten rupees, I'll throw in shoes and a saddle."
"All right then, so two hundred and fifty." I fished one of the golden rupees out of my pocket, and heard a gasp from Melissa. The boy turned to look at her, and she looked up at the sky, pretending not to have made a noise. I handed the rupee to the boy, and then fished out the fifty in small change I had. [This only leaves me with that gold rupee to try and buy food with – what fun!]
"If you come back in half an hour, I'll have her all saddled, shoed, and ready to go, OK?"
"That'll be perfect." [Now I just have to remember exactly how to ride one of those things again.] "Milady? Shall we go back to the races?" I called to Melissa, who smiled devilishly at me, and we made our way out of the third paddock and back to the second.
"Um – wait a minute!" the boy called quietly, and Melissa turned around, placing a suitably disgusted look on her face as he caught her arm. "I was just – just wondering how Anika is today your ladyship." A small grin appeared on his face as Melissa's jaw dropped. "I have to say, the kiss on the cheek gave you away Melissa."
"Damn," she cursed, and then looked back up at him. "Oh well, I can still order you around – so, come and watch the races with us."
"Well, if I really must....."
"You must," she growled, and then tugged him along. I dropped behind in such a way that they did not miss me, and went back to third paddock. I didn't want to intrude – and I was getting nervous around all those people, since I apparently stuck out like a sore thumb..... It was best for me to leave quickly. And I could saddle the horse myself – I had done it before after all. [But what if you can't remember?]
[Well, if I can't, it looks like I'll have to ride bareback.]
Luckily, I could remember how to saddle a horse properly, and I even took the time to adjust the stirrups to around about the right length for my height before hopping onto the mare's back. I wondered what it was called, and then decided it didn't matter; I'd probably end up calling her Nostawen anyway. Obviously, the boy who had sold her to me had told the other Ranch workers that I had purchased the horse, as none of them tried to waylay me as I made my way through the three successive paddocks.
In the hamlet, the blacksmiths were still working hard in the bright sunlight, and the one I had spoken to looked up. Some surprise ghosted over his face as he saw that I had managed to purchase a horse. Then, he collected himself, and called, "Need any shoes for the horse miss?" I realised that in my hurry to leave, I had not gotten the shoes I paid for. It didn't matter; I was sure to have enough money to pay for them anyway.
"Yes, I do. Would you be able to do them now? I'm planning on travelling quite a way."
"Aye, of course – I'll get my assistant here to shod the horse for you – I'll have to keep up with the racers." He turned around, and yelled into the large smithy behind, which was glowing and emanating a vast amount of heat from the furnaces within. "Philip, get out here, you've a customer!" The younger smithy exited, taking a pair of rudely crafted goggles from his eyes, which left two perfectly white circles of skin, surrounded by sooty blackness. The other threw a rag at him, and hissed, "Clean yourself up boy!"
The apprentice wiped the grime from his features, and I registered that he didn't look quite Hylian – there was something in the lithe walk he had that spoke of something else. Something at the back of my mind, just out of reach, and I frowned as I tried to figure it out. I climbed off of the horse carefully, so as not to fall and make an idiot of myself, and then handed the reins to the smithy. "Fine creature you have here," he commented as he picked up one of the hooves to inspect it. "This blood-line has great endurance – prone to bursts of speed that could rival the great Epona, some say."
"That's just why I chose it." I leant on the wall just as I had done earlier in the day, and watched him at his work. "How do you know which size shoes they'll need without measuring?" I asked curiously, as he finished checking the last hoof. He just tapped his forehead, and grinned,
"All the measuring gets done up here – me and Pete here have been working with horses so long, we don't need to measure anymore."
"How long have you worked with the horses then?"
"Pete's worked with them for about twelve years – me – ten."
"Wow....."
"Aye – it's a good job though, even if it is devilish-hot in summer."
"I can imagine – it could probably rival the desert wastelands!"
"Nah, definitely hotter," he quipped, patting the horse (who I decided then and there to call Nostawen to save time) on the flank. "'Scuse – I've just got to go and make the shoes for her. Go and have a drink or something in the tavern across the way, and I'll be done by the time you get back."
"All right – thanks!" I headed to the tavern as he had said, and after a dubious linger on the doorstep, made my way inside.
Luckily, due to the races, there weren't that many people within. There were a few farmer children, who were sipping flagons of lemonade and eating large chunks of some chocolate cake in one corner. At the bar, there was one man who looked as though he might have always been there – his nose was red and his eyes bloodshot, no doubt from too much drink. The man next to him was not much better, as he was lying sprawled across the wooden bar, snoring quietly. A shadowy person sat at a table in the darkest corner, a cloak obscuring their face, and I cursed, as that was the corner I would have chosen to sit in.
A buxom, middle-aged barmaid smiled tiredly at me. "What can I get you dear?"
"Just a pint of mead will do – and some bread if you've got it." I was ridiculously hungry, after having gotten used to a life back at home with three meals a day. She just nodded, and poured me a pint of mead, which she handed to me, before going into the storeroom to get me some bread. I took that as well, and then fished into my pockets for the golden rupee. [Damn, maybe I should have paid the smithy first.]
"Oh, don't bother dear," she said.
"What?"
"I don't really work here," she said with a sly grin. "I'm just repaying my dearest husband who ran off with some wench – handing out freebies whilst he's off at the races is always fun." I gaped at her, and she laughed heartily. With a half-smile, I turned away to go and sit in the corner, by the window that looked out onto the hamlet. I kept my head down, and turned away from the main part of the inn as I ate and drank the free food. It was pretty good stuff, though I felt slightly light-headed when I had finished drinking, and had to counter it with a sharp pinch to the skin on the back of my hand.
Looking to the smithies, I saw that the apprentice had kept his word, because he was just putting down his hammer and nails, and once again patting the flank of Nostawen, having finished his work. I pushed back the chair I sat on, and walked around the table at which I had sat in order to get to the door which led out of the tavern. The shadowy someone who had been sitting in the corner got up as well, and moved to the bar – I had the distinct feeling that they were watching me from beneath their cloak, and hurried outside and across the street to the smithy's.
"Here you are miss, all shod and ready to go," the apprentice said as I arrived back.
"Thanks – how much?"
"Oh – twenty rupees, five for each shoe." I didn't argue – that was a damn good price.
"Uh – this is all I have," I said a little apologetically, pulling out the golden rupee. His eyes widened, and I finally realised what it was that was different about him. His eyes were a blood red, and only one people had blood red eyes – he was obviously of Sheikah lineage, if not fully Sheikah.
"Blimey! You bought this horse, and still have that much left over? How much did you pay for it?"
"Two hundred and fifty."
"Are you some kind of foreign high class or something?" he asked curiously. I just shook my head,
"Nah – I just get good funding from friends and relatives." He just nodded gormlessly, and took the rupee into the workshop – about a minute later, he came back out with a pouch that jangled with small change.
"Uh – this is all we have, but, it's all there," he assured me as I opened the bag. I reached in, and took out a blue rupee, and handed it to him. "What's this.....?"
"For being so damned quick," I said, leading Nostawen out of the work area, and arranging the reins back into place. He just stuttered his thanks, and I waved my hand to show that it was no problem. Then, I swung up into the saddle, feeling proud that I had fallen back into riding so quickly, and dug my heels into Nostawen's sides. She sped forwards at a fast canter, and I smiled as a cool breeze whipped across my skin. [Ah, that feels nice.]
But, the sound of hoofbeats was doubled suddenly, and turning my head, I saw the dark someone from the tavern also upon a horse – not going so fast for me to be sure that they were following me, but they were keeping pace. One hand was clutched to the front of their cloak to stop it falling back, and I panicked somewhat. I was away from the hamlet now, so I couldn't go and hide there – so, in order to check whether they were following me, I broke away from the path, and began, cross-country, towards Gerudo valley.
To my great relief, they did not follow, and stuck to the path, quickly disappearing over a rise in the land. [I'm beginning to get paranoid.] I shook my head, and took the horse back onto the path at a medium trot, taking the time to relax, and allow the mead to circulate a little more through my body to make me drowsy. Coupled with the light of the sun, which was softening as it reached close to setting, the journey was proving to be a pleasurable one.
It was then that the second pair of hoofbeats came back, and I realised with a start that whoever the rider was, they had duped me into believing they had gone, and were now forcing their horse to come at me full gallop. With a shriek, I managed to wheel Nostawen around, and, since the forest was the closest place to go right now, that was where I went, urging Nostawen faster, and faster still. "Go on!" I looked over my shoulder to still find my pursuer close behind. [Shit! Who the hell are they?]
"Come on, come on!" I whispered to the horse, and she let out a huge burst of speed, lengthening the gap between my follower and me. I could see the edge of the forest up ahead, and soon enough, at the speed I was going, I was within it, and Nostawen had to dart in and around the trees. The follower fell behind even more, and I heard them curse loudly as they finally had to stop.
I bought Nostawen down until she was standing still, and then slid off of the saddle, and tied her to a tree branch, which was obscured by a large holly bush on two sides, so hopefully, whoever it was following me, wouldn't be able to see my horse. Then, carefully, I began to creep towards the edge of the forest, to see who had followed me. About a hundred yards from the edge, my assailant came into view, with the reins of his horse in his hands, and panting slightly.
"Goddesses damn it, what's wrong with me? I've just chased a woman across the field, even when I knew it couldn't possibly be her!" he yelled angrily towards his horse, which just snorted uncaringly. "What was I thinking?" he leant against the ruddy brown horse's side, and sighed heavily. "Come on, let's get back to the palace. We'll go the long way round so I can lose this blasted cloak."
They reached up and took their cloak off, and an indigo bodysuit came into view, with off-white bandages wrapped across the chest, and a red eye of truth emblazoned over them. There was a facemask obscuring the bottom part of his face, and his red eyes had deepened slightly since I last saw him. I must have let out a gasp, or made a sound, because he turned around, his ears pricked. "Who's there?" he called, his hand quickly reaching down for one of the twin swords on his right side. I held my breath, and he shrugged. "Now I'm hearing things....." he climbed quickly upon his horse, and lay the cloak over the saddle horn in front of him. "Hyahh!"
And just like that, he was gone.
"Sheik," I whispered the name softly under my breath, and then rose from my hiding place, and made my way back to Nostawen. [So he's still alive – and immortal by the looks of things.....I wonder if all Sheikah are?] It wasn't as though I was liable to get the chance to ask though, so I brushed that thought aside, instead focusing on the more important fact at hand; Sheik had seen me. Luckily, he just thought it was someone like me, and he'd just scared some random woman. But – demons, if he found out that I am here!
I rubbed my temples and sighed deeply. [Why does everything seem to get more and more complicated the longer I'm here?] I brushed away the tender thoughts that were begging to crowd into my mind concerning Sheik, and pushed away the many memories clamouring for attention. It wouldn't do to lose my focus in those kind of thoughts right now. For the moment, I still had to make my way to lake Hylia, hopefully before the sun went down, in order to set up camp there.
[At least I know he's going back to the palace.] That meant I wouldn't have to worry about him – hang on! [To the palace? But Loki said he hadn't.....] It hit me. Of course, Loki would have wanted to try and protect me from that fact that Sheik was still alive, and even worse, looked almost exactly as he had when I last saw him – even down the messy hairstyle. [Well, it didn't work.] I was finally back with Nostawen now, and I climbed onto her back.
"It's all right girl, no more running tonight, I promise." I led her at a fast walk through the trees and back out onto the field. "This would be so much easier if we could warp there," I mused out loud, and Nostawen let out a snort. "Nice to know you agree," I said.
At long last, I came through the large opening in the cliff faces, to see the expanse of lake Hylia spreading out away from me, reflecting the dying rays of the sun in a kaleidoscope of reds and oranges. A proper road had been built down here, and there were a few pleasure boats moored to a small jetty, which extended about six feet out over the water. All the tourists had seemingly gone home for the day, as had the tour operators, so I was alone on the shore, with only the sounds of the birds as they came home to roost for the evening to break the silence.
I slowed Nostawen right down, and gazed out over the clear, deep waters, remembering when this had just been a lakebed, and the joy we had all felt when we had refilled it. And, out at the great water's centre, I could see the same island from which Sheik had carelessly plunged into the water below, scaring the three of us to death. [So many memories here,] I thought a little sadly, as I made my away from the professor's house along the shore. "Whoa girl," I said, and pulled Nostawen to a stop. I listened hard, as I thought I had heard a second set of hoofbeats again – however, everything was silent, and I shook my head. "Now I'm going mad."
I took us a few hundred yards further, before stopping again, and getting down from my steed. Here seemed as good a place as any to lie down and sleep – there was even a copse of trees nearby, so that I could tie Nostawen up for the night. I lead her over, and removed the saddle from her back, placing it on the ground beside her. Then, I took the reins, and pulled them so that they were one long tether, one end of which I tied to a sturdy tree branch. As soon as I moved back and out of the way, she bent her head to begin cropping the grass around the trees.
I walked away a short distance, and then lay straight down upon the grass, which was just as comfortable as it looked. As I watched, stars began to appear in the darkening sky – the first of which was the constellation which made up 'the Hero'. Next to come out were 'the Lion', and then the pole stars. I admired their quiet twinkling beauty, and shifted slightly into a more comfortable position from which I could crane up and look at the sky.
[This place is so peaceful – I just can't let it fall into darkness again. I'm going to get this carrier, get the pieces together somehow, make her have the correct wish, and then I can leave without too many noticing I was here. Especially not Sheik..... He doesn't deserve to have to see me again after all the lies I told.] I was surprised to find tears jerk into my eyes as I had that thought, and wiped them away in annoyance.
Knowing that I wouldn't be able to escape all the memories forever, I crossed my arms behind my head, and carried on looking up at the stars as they one-by-one came into existence in the sky above. When the 'Zoran Songster' burst into life in the heavens above, I was caught by a vivid memory that I was not able to blot out.
"Do you know any of the constellations?" Sheik asked out of the blue, looking at me. I shook my head,
"No - no one ever thought to tell me any," I shrugged, and then craned upwards again. I felt a hand creeping towards my own, and then Sheik lifted my whole arm to point at a cluster of stars towards the West.
I gasped as I managed to cut the memory short, and sat up, breathing heavily, kneading the balls of my palms into my forehead. "Stop it 'lex. You don't need to start that again," I berated myself, and let out a heavy sigh. It seemed I was doing a lot of sighing recently. I kept my eyes shut for a few seconds, and then opened them again, this time looking at the reflections of the stars in the water of the lake. A slight breeze was causing ripples across the water, which distorted the image, and I turned away.
With a wide yawn, I turned onto my side and curled up on the grass, intent on getting some sleep. Then, I opened my eyes with a start. What was I doing? Out here, anyone would catch sight of me – I stood up (unwillingly, as I had managed to get quite comfortable), and made my way over to the copse. There, I stepped around Nostawen, who had gone down onto her knees in the way that horses do to sleep. Then, I made my way a few paces into the copse itself, before lying down again.
The ground wasn't quite so comfortable here, as it was littered with twigs and dead leaves. I had to stand up again, and used to toe of my boot to push the debris out of the way, so that I had a clear space on which to sleep. When I was satisfied that I wouldn't get scratched to death whilst I slept, I lay down. Nothing was going to move me now, and I closed my eyes, curled into a tight ball, and fell asleep almost immediately.
And, that folks, will be it for now, because on Friday (the fifth August 2003), I am going on holiday (at last!) and I'm not going to be back for two weeks. However, I think two chapters (and you know how long these things are) in one day, is quite the achievement!
I apologise if this chapter seemed to drag a little bit – I was trying to show a bit of the transition from the Hyrule she knew, to the one that it is now – but this just ended up being a linking chapter. Damn..... I promise that the next one is going to have a little more action at least! (Apologies for this one.....ick – this one took me four hours – and the other only took me two!)
RR, and I'll see you all when I get back!
Soda