Thievery
Disclaimer: [Raises an eyebrow at you.] You still need to ask?
Last chapter, had some confrontation, a little bit of a touching moment between Loki and Alexis [retch]. Happy families there – but Hyrule is proving to be so full of memories that it is a lot tougher for Alexis that she guessed. Now, she's staying with the Kokiri, as they're the only people who won't turn her away. And I can sense (heh, I'm writing it, so of course I can) that there may be a fight – yay!
Onwards!
[] = Alexis' thoughts and italics = Memories
The Kokiri accepted me readily when I returned to the village – indeed, they were ecstatic that I had come back so soon. I found guilty pleasure in their joy to see me, as I knew that they could not possibly know who I truly was. Link would have had the heart to tell them, and I doubted Sheik would have come to the forest on anything less than to provide monster control.
Whilst I remained in the village, I spent my nights sleeping out under the stars, as none of the houses would have been able to accommodate me. I say slept.....to tell the truth, I spent many nighttime hours teaching the forest children the constellations (which I had made sure was in my compact information through the portal). I also, on great demand, gave them stories about the quest to awaken the sages so many years before. At first, I tried to dull it down, and keep out the worst parts of gore, but their rapt attention forced my more creative side to get up and do some work. It got to the point that whenever I took a break in the story, the Kokiri would all blink, and stare around, seeming to have forgotten where they were.
The story that they especially liked was the one which concerned their very own forest temple. I gathered from discussions with them, that Link had given them all a brief summary, but no details. Thus, I described the Poes and the temple as vividly as I could remember them, managing to indight shivers amongst the gathered listeners, and small smiles of appreciation.
Also, when I told them of Sheik and Link having to dress up as women (how I cherish that memory of them trying to apply makeup), many of them fell about in raucous giggles. A blonde haired girl gasped through tears of mirth, "Link.....never told us.....about that!" before dissolving into another fit of giggles.
So, when it actually came to the fourth day, when I had to leave, I felt a pang of sadness. For, here, in this little forest haven, were the only people, perhaps in the whole of Hyrule, who would accept, and even enjoy my presence. I knew now just how Link must have felt when he had to leave so very long ago.
It was at sunrise that I left – which would allow more than enough time to travel, and I could afford to go at a relatively slow clip. The Kokiri gathered around the tunnel which led out to the rest of Hyrule, and I was goaded into being almost hugged to death by the lot of them. "Mido, you're going to have to let go now," I gasped, and the boy released his death-grip hug from around my neck, and dropped his feet back onto the ground.
"Will you come back again and visit?"
"I'll try – but it will be a while longer before I can next come." I pulled myself free from the sea of the farewell party, and climbed up onto Nostawen. "Don't forget to look for that meteor shower I told you of tonight!" I called, and then rode through the tunnel before the little lot could manage to persuade me to stay.
I managed to make excellent time to Hyrule Castle-town, and arrived a total of four hours before the carrier was to arrive. [Her name's Catherine, and she looks like a Gerudo.....] I kept chanting to myself in my head. [Catherine – don't forget that!] I had to make the best impression I could so that the child would trust me – so it would probably be wise to stash my weapons somewhere for a while.
Before I rode into the main square, I paused to remove my glasses – with my new eyes, it would be less conspicuous that way. I also tipped my head forwards so that one eye was covered by hair. I couldn't see much, but now I had the authentic Sheikah hairstyle. Lastly, I pulled the cloak I was wearing close around me, so that it obscured the better part of my arsenal.
[And here we go.....] Nostawen walked forwards obediently, and acted calmly amongst the hustle of people going to and fro about their daily business. I peered about me, hoping to spy an inn that I could deposit my belongings (and horse) at, and then perhaps stay with the girl [Catherine! Remember that dammit!] I could remember, from the times when I was a child here, seeing many hanging signs from the shop-fronts. There had been an inn amongst all of them – surely there had. But, if there had been, it wasn't there anymore – all I could see were a well established bakery, next to the potions-shop, and across the way, a tailors, as well as dozens of small outlets.
"Excuse me," I accosted an auburn-haired youth, who had paused in his walk to let Nostawen and I past.
"Yes?"
"Sorry to bother you, but do you know where I can find an inn around here?"
"You won't find any here I'm afraid – they're all on the outskirts. But, you might find trouble getting in around festival time."
[Festival? What ruddy festival?] "Oh.....well, thanks for the directions anyway."
"Hey, I think I do know of somewhere you could stay, if I can persuade my grandfather to let you. And, it'd be for free."
"No, I wouldn't want to impose....."
"Hey, it wouldn't be imposing – my grandfather's an old pushover!" he threw back his head in a merry laugh, and I almost fell off my horse. There, before me, stood Link – yes, Link. Without his hat, and with his hair turned auburn..... but apart from that..... [Must be his grandson.] "And the palace is big enough for a thousand boarders miss! And, he always takes people in around festival time."
"I – uh – no – no thank you. I'm not really stopping long," I stammered, and he looked confused.
"But, you asked about the inns....."
"Good day," Nostawen turned tail with little fuss, and took me away from the youth.
"Uh – yeah – good day....." he called after me, sounding a little put out and bemused.
I made my way back to the outskirts, wondering how I could have overlooked all these inns, when all of them were so forward in proclaiming 'no vacancies' in their windows. I began traipsing around to look for a 'vacancies' sign, starting in the respectable area of town, and then slowly being drawn along into the more rundown areas. Finally, in a particularly shabby street, I saw the first 'vacancies'. It was shoved into the window of a place called the 'Laughing Din', and I could barely see the writing through the grime on the glass.
Above the door, the sign was faded and peeling, and portrayed the Goddess after which it was named. Her eyes were screwed up, and her cheeks were a merry pink; her whole face was surrounded by gaudy red strokes that I supposed were to represent her hair. It looked nothing like the elegant scripture pictures of the Goddesses, and I wondered how they felt about this particular establishment.
Going inside the stable yard was an adventure in itself, and it showed me just how the Goddesses felt about this place. The walls were practically alive with mildew, and I stepped into a puddle of something unmentionable as soon as I was through the gate. The stable boy hopped over the scattered puddles with practiced ease, and took the reins of Nostawen sullenly – I managed to bring a smile to his unwashed face by shoving a blue rupee into his grubby little fist. The inn itself didn't look much better than the yard – it reminded me somewhat of the slums that humans had to live and hide in on the demon-world Vyxennia. The only difference was that the 'Laughing Din', instead of having fortified steel bars over the windows, instead had rotten shutters that looked about ready to break off.
Still, I ploughed ahead, swatting away a few large black flies that came in swarms from the stables. [Demons, I hope Nostawen's all right in those things.] The paint on the front door crumbled beneath my fingers, and opened onto a hallway which smelled distinctly of boiled cabbage, with an underlying stench of urine. The sad thing was, I'm probably the only person who at that point would have been able to say 'I've seen worse'. And, trust me, no one else would want to see what was worse than this. A small, furry creature scuttled out past me and into the stable yard to dive into one of the puddles.
"Yes, what do you want?" a hard-faced woman demanded, rubbing hands which were red-raw and covered in grease on a similarly greasy apron. I looked up from watching the rat.
"A room please."
"Well, obviously – persons staying would be one? So, a single....." she barked.
"No, I need a double – I have a friend who will be joining me later on."
"Like I haven't heard that line before," she muttered loudly. "Look girlie, if you're looking for a room to carry out 'ladies work', I ask that you do so discreetly – and that you keep out of my daughter's patch. Room four, floor three." She shoved a key into my hand and propelled me to the stairs before I could set her right on my usage of the room.
[So Hyrule has a darker side after all.....] I hadn't thought that it would, with all its heroic and righteous citizens. But, that was a stupid assumption – there are always the bad apples, the ones with something against the world. [Surely she didn't think I was – no – did she?] I looked down at my fare – there was no way I looked like a – well, 'lady of the night', to put it nicely. [Eesh, now I'm panicking over it.]
The room was just as tatty and grubby as the rest of the place, and had the added bonus of a quilt on the bed, which can't have been washed for over a year. The bathroom was pretty much the same, and I was sure I saw a cockroach or two scuttling into a large rotten crack in the skirting board. [And yet, I've still seen worse than this.] In fact, this place was rather tame, compared to other worlds I had been to. At least the cockroaches here weren't poisonous, and the rats didn't seem bold enough to try and gnaw my feet whilst I slept. Not to mention it lacked actual fungus growing from the walls, and there was no apparent sewage on the bathroom floor. All in all, it wasn't as bad as it could be.
I had to scrape a layer of lime scale from the mirror before I could look in it. "Surely – I don't look like....." I mused aloud as I turned from side to side. Well, perhaps the hair the way it was gave me a sultry look or something, because my clothes definitely weren't the right sort to have made her think that. "Ack, who cares?" I shrugged at myself in the mirror, and then returned to the bedroom, as the scuttling sounds were worrying me slightly. [How many cockroaches can fit in that skirting board?] I decided I didn't want to find out, and shut the door behind me.
From the bathroom door I could see the lice crawling on the bed-sheets, and decided that twenty rupees a night was pure extortion. However, she probably got away with it because most of her lodgers would be 'that sort'. I didn't dare to sit on the bed myself, and just discarded my weapons in a pile on the table next to it. This was in good condition compared to the rest of the room, with most of its paint left, and the legs only a little rat chewed.
Curiously, I opened the top drawer. Then, I screamed, and fell over backwards as the hugest cockroach I had ever seen emerged, followed by several hundred young – they scuttled to go under the bed, and I stood up as quickly as possible. Still in the drawer was the putrid, rotting carcass of a large dead rat, which the cockroaches had been feasting on – there were also dozens of fat, white maggots easting through the flesh. I closed my eyes, and slammed the drawer shut with my hip. "That was disgusting," I said to no one in particular, and decided against looking in the dilapidated wardrobe in the corner – the smell alone stayed my hand.
I sat down on the three-legged stool that was the last piece of furniture in the bedroom (after checking that it was safe to sit on), and checked the clock on the wall – five o'clock. It was the same as the watch on my wrist, so at least the clock worked. That meant I now had three hours left until sundown – the search for a room had taken longer than I anticipated. But, no matter – I still had time to attempt to plan what to say to Catherine when she arrived.
It was half past seven when I left the 'Laughing Din' (closely watched by the land-lady and the scowling stable boy), and began making my way to the Temple of Time. I decided to stick to the back streets, as there was less chance of being spotted there. As long as I kept to the lengthening shadows, hopefully I would be able to pass by unnoticed. And, in the back streets, the buildings were built so close that they seemed to almost lean towards one another – and perhaps they did – which blocked out the last of the dying sunlight, adding to the shadows I needed.
The one weapon I had bought with me was one of my throwing daggers, concealed within my boot, and it pressed hard against my ankle at every other step. It was incredibly reassuring to have it there, though I did not intend to use it.
Already, the 'ladies of night' were preparing for their 'work'. Each one of their painted, pouting faces had the ghost of one of the girls from the 'house of courtesans' about it – haunted, strained. Each of their faces induced a chill up my spine, as I thought of how differently things could have turned out for me. But, I shook the feelings off and ignored them as best I could. After all, it wasn't like there weren't millions of other girls who turned to the same trade to survive throughout the worlds.
When I emerged into the more open roads nearer to the main square and the Temple, I saw people setting up a stage in the distance, and, closer to, standing chairs and creating a temporary orchestra pit. Immediately, I withdrew into the alley I'd just left, and checked my watch. I had less than ten minutes to cover the hundred or so yards of streets, square and houses to reach the Temple.....without being seen. [Damn it.]
The wall I was leaning on suddenly shifted, and I pulled away. Looking back, I saw I was actually leaning upon the bottom rows of a huge tower of crates. [Hmm.] I looked up to see how far they extended, and saw that I could probably reach the roof from the top of the stack.
But, before I could begin my climb, voices headed my way, and two burly men approached – I retreated into a doorway. "Can't believe we have to shift all of these!"
"I know – they ain't paying us half as good as they should be!"
"Well – at least it puts a little bit of grub in our bellies."
"True – ah, c'mon, let's move these and get it over with."
I cursed under my breath as the top crate, which would have taken me to the roof, was removed. [Oh, sod it!] I strode out of the alley and went nonchalantly past the workers. A few watched me go by, and then returned to their work, unperturbed. [This new look works better than I thought] I smiled, and scaled the Temple steps.
The door opened smoothly, the noise of the lifted latch echoing around the vaulted ceiling. It was just as magnificent and beautiful as it had always been, now housing pews for a regular congregation, and the broken shards of the Master Sword stood in a glass case before the altar. (The Master Sword had been broken in one of Link's many noble errands, though I've never found out which one.)
Padding down the central aisle, towards the altar, and beyond that the now closed door-of-time, bought back thousands of memories. Most of them were good, though a couple were not. I smiled as I looked around, admiring the new stained-glass window which had been placed above the door-of-time. It showed a boy clad in green upon a red mare, riding across a swathe of bright green grass before a rising (or setting) sun. And, at the bottom, inscribed in lead lettering, was the legend – 'The Hero of Time'.
I stopped just before the altar, and checked my watch again – five minutes and then I could discard the cumbersome timepiece. I stared blankly at the stone altar, remembering the shimmering Spiritual stones that had once sat there. I also listened to the quiet ticking of the watch as it counted the minutes away.
There was the tiniest of whip-cracks behind me, but the Temple echoed it, making it ten times louder. I turned around, and my stomach flip-flopped between anger and longing in a pitiful way. "Sheik?" He jumped at his name and faced me.
"I was wondering when you'd turn up here," he said as he strode over.
"Why would you think I'd be here?"
"Well, you are, aren't you, so what does it matter?"
"Stop being so bloody cryptic, I was just curious..... Another question, if I may?"
"Knock yourself out."
"Why the hell are you looking for me?"
"If there's trouble in Hyrule, it's my business to help solve it."
"Well, I don't need your help, so why don't you sod off and train your soldiers like a good boy?" I snapped, trying to offend him enough to get rid of him – only four minutes remained till sunset.
"If you're planning to do such a good job saving Hyrule all alone, then I don't need to bother training my soldiers, do I now?" He leant on the altar, and smirked, because he knew that I knew he was right.
"Damn it, you've gained brains since I last saw you," the curse didn't have quite the effect I wanted, because my face broke into a grin in the middle.
"Aye, and you've evidently lost some," he shot back, easing himself into the front pew with his usual grace..... "So, what's the mission objective?" I stopped staring, and growled an annoyed retort to him,
"To make you go the hell away!"
He just laughed darkly. "You know I'll never trust you enough with Hyrule's fate to do that. So, just tell me like a civil woman, and stop acting like a child!"
"That's a bit rich coming from you. 'Oh boo hoo, the big bad traitor lied to me so that she could ensure my land's future – wah!'" I taunted him, and he scowled in annoyance, flexing his fingers menacingly.
"For Goddesses' sakes, just tell me." He wasn't going to move, that much was apparent.
"Look, I'll tell you," I hissed, slightly frantic as the time ticked away. "Just give me a few hours, and then I'll tell you!"
"I fell for that one last time," he sneered, "I won't be fooled so easily again."
"What did you want me to do, hmm? In case you'd forgotten, I happened to be dead in this world. It's not like I could have told you if I wanted to!"
"So you admit you didn't want to?" he bellowed.
I stared up at the ceiling and let out a sigh of exasperation. Then, something snapped; why should I have to put up with his self-righteous whining anyway? "Demons Sheik, what did it matter in the long run? Hyrule was safe, and that was all that truly mattered, not my bloody past!"
"It mattered to me!" he yelled back, two angry scarlet patches appearing on his cheeks.
"Yeah, well boo fucking hoo. I don't give a damn anymore – I didn't come back here to listen to your petty problems with me. I only came back because I do give a damn about this land!"
"Oh? So, where were you when 'this land' needed you the most, hmm? When people were trying to rebuild, and they needed all the help they could get? When Link and I-" he paused, and looked down at the floor.
"Well, I would have thought the fact that I was preparing to commit suicide if I lost a case which would force me into prostitution would be a good enough reason – but no – it's not bloody good enough for you, is it?" The temple was now ringing with our voices.
"You got through that, from what I can tell. But, you didn't think to tell us that you were all right?"
"I was terrified of what both of you might think of me after-" I said quietly. He looked shocked – and above, the clock in the tower began to chime the hour.
Over the altar, a portal appeared, pulsating and humming loudly like some live thing. Within it, I could see a shadowy figure that was fast gaining more solidity. Sheik reached to the weapons at his waist, but I shook my head violently at him – surprisingly, he didn't draw his weapons. The portal reached the peak of its brightness, and I had to squint to see the girl's figure lowering slowly down onto the altar.
At first (when the portal had faded), I wondered why she wasn't sitting up and looking around bemused. In a blind panic, I rushed forwards just to check that she was breathing, and let out a shaky, "Thank demons for that!" when I found that she was. Loki had been accurate in his description of her – her fiery red hair cascaded to her tiny waist, braided into thousands of tiny plaits, and then drawn into a large ponytail at the back of her head. Her ears, though round like a Gerudo's, still managed to support a gold ring at each tip, as well as another two hoops in the lobes. Her skin wasn't as dark as a Gerudo's, and nor was she as heavily muscled as the thief-women – but apart from that, if she was clothed in Gerudo fare, she could have passed as one of them. (The clothes she was wearing consisted of a white shirt, and some blue trousers I believe are called 'genes', or something like that.)
She coughed a little and turned over on the altar, not seeming to have noticed she'd just travelled between worlds by a portal. No matter, because it gave me time to quietly berate, and hopefully deter Sheik. And, if I couldn't get rid of him, then I'd have to explain it all to him instead. [But first.....] "How did you know it was me?"
"Wha-what?" he blinked and tore his eyes away from where Catherine lay on the altar, his face still a perfect picture of shock.
"How did you know it was me? When I've changed both my hair and my damn eye colour to throw you off?"
"You think that will stop those who know you from recognising you?" he snorted. "You'd have to – oh – I don't know – become a man or something to do that....." The way he'd said 'man'.....
"It was you! You were the one following Loki and me!"
"Got it in one," he said dryly. "So, 'potentially have to kill a friend'?" This time, he did draw his weapon, and levelled it at me. "Stop lying to me, because we both know you're not here to help at all – you'll probably just join Ganondorf and go your own merry way."
"That's what you think of me?" I asked hoarsely, appalled.
"I wouldn't put it past you." I raised my arms, and looked at the vaulted ceiling.
"Goddesses, you've graced Hyrule with an idiot Sheikah who's going to kill the only one who knows how to save it properly. Sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it." Then, I looked at Sheik, ever conscious of the blade hovering ever so close to being my death. "Fine, do it – all that will happen is you'll end up with a less experienced Angel warrior who will probably mess the whole job up. But, if the demise of Hyrule is what you want – I won't stop you." I kept my arms raised, and waited for the blow.
The blade levelled at my heart quivered slightly in Sheik's hand as he weighed the options. Finally, he re-sheathed it and frowned. "I'm an idiot for believing you again, but oh well." He nodded to where Catherine lay on the altar, "Please explain."
"You're not going to let me do this alone, are you?" I asked exasperatedly.
"No – I still don't trust you enough for that," he answered sombrely.
"Great. OK – but, I ask just one thing if you must insist on travelling with me."
"Mmmhmm?" he was now fingering the hilt of his blade, and I gulped before answering firmly.
"Be civil. I don't need you dragging up the past in the middle of all this – it can wait till later."
"That's what you always say," I just glared at him.
"Oh, just shut up and listen will you, because she'll probably wake soon, and then there won't be time."
"Go ahead."
"Thank you." I sat down on the altar steps, and he returned to his pew seat. "It all starts with the fact that Ganondorf is coming back. And, obviously, he will be after the Tri-Force pieces of Courage and Wisdom, and there is no Hero of Time to speak of to combat him. So..... All the pieces of the Tri-Force must be gathered together for the light side before he can get his hands on those two pieces and wreak havoc.
"That's what she's here for," I nodded to the quietly slumbering Catherine. "She's the carrier for the pieces – her name's Catherine. She's an other worlder, because we couldn't find anyone with a pure soul on Hyrule, and a pure soul was needed for the carrier. You follow me so far?"
"Aye – carry on. You still haven't explained this 'potentially kill' subject," he pointed out.
"I know....." I bit my lip, and thought briefly how I was going to word it.
"Well?" he prompted impatiently.
"Um – as I said, all the pieces have to be gathered in one person. But, if the carrier – Catherine here – were to – oh dear, how do I put this? Sod it, no point in beating about the bush here – if she were to die, then another plan would need to be used.
"And – uh – since the pieces have to be in one person as you know, they have to uh – wait a second," he sighed in annoyance as I scanned my memory to try and remember the other plan. When I did, a wave of nausea surrounded me, and I had to take a deep, steadying breath before I could continue. "All the pieces have to be gathered into one person, and the only other people apart from Catherine who can hold the pieces are those who already hold pieces," I paused, wondering whether I had worded that properly, and then decided it didn't really matter.
"You mean Thelia, Link and Ganondorf?"
"Aye – and, um..... In order to get the pieces to reside in just one of them..... Two of the three would have to be – uh – disposed of....." I trailed off, and didn't dare look at his face, for fear of how angry he would be at the statement.
"What?!" he jumped up from the pew, and there was a 'shick' as he once again drew his weapon. I looked up, to find it centred between my eyes.
"It won't have to happen!" I assured him, going cross-eyed as I stared at the silver razor-sharp sword before my face. "The first plan will work."
"It had better," he put the sword away. "I've no qualms over killing that bastard Gerudo, but to choose between my Queen and my friend..... it's terrible to think about."
"Now you know how I felt when I found out about it," I whispered.
"Aye....." he stared at the floor for a few seconds with a pensive look on his face. "Would you have done it?"
"Done what?"
"Killed them..... if you had to I mean."
"I – yes," I answered surely. "Because, Hyrule doesn't deserve to fall into another dark era..... not after what little I saw of the first time. One life in trade for hundreds of thousands seems a fair trade to me."
"Well, of course, it won't come to that if things go well – and with my help, things should be a little easier." I was tempted to snort derisively, but a fit of coughing from Catherine caught our attention.
Now, she sat up and looked around with a look on confusement etched on her delicate, almost pixie-like features. [She reminds me somewhat of Navi.....] She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she studied her surroundings; then she caught sight of us. She let out a little shriek, jumped, and rolled off of the altar to the back – I cringed at the loud thud and moan as she landed on the stone floor. Then, she peered above the top of the stone slab of the altar, and demanded to know in a calm and composed voice, "Where am I, and who are the both of you?"
[Oh, the many ways I could answer that question.....]
Hehehe, Sheik can be an annoying little bitch when he wants to, can't he?
Sheik: HEY!
Soda: Ah, shut up and get to work.
Sheik: [Sighs, and goes back to sit on his pew looking moody]
Soda: Ah, I do so love being an author – tune in next time to see what the bloody hell my plot bunnies will order me to write next. [Sighs.] Damn those bunnies.....
Bunnies: [Appear, wearing suits and dark glasses, carrying large briefcases] Did you just insult the corporation of plot bunnies ltd.?
Soda: Uh – no? [Sweet smile]
Bunnies: Oh good – well, here's your inspo for the next chapter. [They open the briefcases, and tonnes of Zelda merchandise tumbles out, as well as chi'bi Sheik, Navi and Alan Rickman (just for luck!)] Have fun now – bye! [Disappear]
Soda: O.o Alan – Rickman – is – in – my – HOUSE! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Alan: [Blinks] Umm.....right
Soda: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! [Takes breath] EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! [Collapses]
And, on that rather strange note from plot bunnies ltd., and what they'll do if you're nice to them, I'm off. Luv and all that merry stuff (I have an Alan to squee over), Soda XXX.
RR – or else I'll – umm – well, it'll be bad, whatever I do to you. Grr!