Thievery
Disclaimer: [Looks up from the floor plan of Nintendo HQ] Not mine yet – but soon my pretties, soon I shall own them all! [Insert evil laugh here]
Bloody hell, it's been a long time since I last had my flash of inspiration for this – but, all of a sudden, the muses have come running back to me! (The last chapter I actually wrote a couple of months back, and then forgot about.....heh). Anyway, my hope is to get out a load of chapters, since I've got half-term break, and make up for all the time I've been away. [Blushes guiltily]. Reading over all the reviews people had given me were kinda a booster too – so thanks!
In the last chapter, we saw some more confrontations, and uneasiness – as well as a glimpse into Sheik's angsty world. [Coos adoringly]. And before I get into that frame of mind, I'll get on with the story!
We stumbled along in the unfurnished hallway, I haphazardly counting the doors we flew past – the fourth we missed completely, and I had to skid and yank Catherine back to it. Flinging it open, we were presented with a high- walled courtyard area, filled with the branches of an overgrown apple-tree. The front door was opened with a resounding clatter, and I closed the door swiftly behind us.
Looking around, I couldn't see any gate, and cursed Sheik for not telling us we would have to climb over the wall to escape. Again, the thought that he may be about to double-cross fluttered into my mind, and I decided we needed to flee quickly. The apple-tree, though probably terrible from a light point of view to the house, was absolutely perfect for climbing upon, with strong branches not more than four feet from the ground.
Catherine seemed to realise my plan before I even knew it myself, as she grabbed onto one of these branches and attempted to hoist herself up onto it. To no avail – her slim arms strained as she tried to lift her own weight, and I pitied her; of course, she would never have had to do any such thing in her life before. "Here – let me help," I cupped my hands together and gave her a boost up, before pulling myself up as well. As quietly as we could, we crawled along and through the branches of the tree, rustling the new budding leaves on its boughs.
Now came the tricky bit, as we neared the wall, and also neared the weaker ends of the branches. If we weren't careful, we'd end up snapping them and plunging a ten foot drop to the stone floor. Not the most pleasant experience I warranted, so I called our escape to a halt, and made my way around Catherine to assess the distance. Perhaps five feet? I knew I could jump that easily, but could she?
Using sign language, I managed to convey what I was going to do to her. She nodded, obviously not relishing the idea, and clung onto the tree trunk whilst I gained my run up.
With but a short leap, I had cleared the distance, and slammed heavily against the wall, hooking my arms over the top. Then, I scrambled up, and sat astride the impressive masonry barrier, preparing myself to catch the girl. She looked at me, quivering, and shook her head. "Come on!" I urged in a hiss. She shook her head again, and clung more insistently to the tree trunk. I couldn't exactly jump back to her – there was no guarantee I could get to that branch again. "Come on, I won't let you fall!" I hissed again.
Again, she shook her head, and I cursed silently. [How am I going to make that child move?] The answer presented itself almost immediately, as the door into the courtyard below opened, and out spilled a contingent of black robed men, followed by Sheik, and a tall, bronzed man holding an ebony staff, both of whom were chatting away with forced amiability. Catherine looked down, panicked, and made a blind leap. [Stupid child!]
All of those below looked up with surprise, and Sheik visibly sagged in disbelief, before shouting out, "Damn you! How many times do I have to tell you thieves to stay out of this place?" He shook his fist for good measure, and I could have laughed were it not for the fact I was hauling the shaking Catherine up onto the wall with me. "Get out, you hear me? OUT!" Sheik continued to rage, and most of the black robed men looked between him and us with shock. Aghanim barely noticed the screaming Sheik, and stared at us – I made my exit, dragging Catherine with me.
The landing wasn't soft, but it wasn't too hard either. Such a shame that it happened to be in a pile of rubbish. I was winded, and Catherine was still shaking, but we were at least out of trouble for the moment. Picking myself up, I helped Catherine to her feet, and looked about us to try and get my bearings. The castle was to the left a couple of miles away, so I led Catherine down the alley next to the courtyard, and then right, to where the market place would be.
Luckily, it was still early, so there weren't too many people about yet. The further away we got from Sheik's house, the better I felt; and it seemed, the more relaxed I became, the more relaxed Catherine also became. Perhaps she judged the situation upon how tense I was? I don't know. All I know is, after ten minutes of hurried travel, we slowed down, and began to look at the stalls setting up all around us in the old market town.
With a grin, I noticed a music stall, and thoughts travelled back to so many years ago, when Xenia had bequeathed be a tiny ocarina. I still had it stowed away somewhere back in the angel world.....in a small velvet lined box above my bed, to be exact.
"So, where are we going to get weapons from?" Catherine asked through a mouthful of pastry that I had bought her, by way of apology for such a rude awakening that morning. (I had used the small change I still had left over). Having to flee a house before the sun is fully up cannot be much fun for someone un-used to it. [It's not much fun for those of us who are used to it!] I smiled at the thought, and then turned my attention to answering her question.
"Good question – all I know is, there used to be an excellent weaponry merchant around here the last time I came. And, I'm willing to bet that it's still there, since it was a family business.....we just have to find it."
"What's it called?"
"You wouldn't be able to read it," I said distractedly, looking around for the sign that would lead us to the very store I wanted.
"Why not?" she asked in slight surprise.
"Because it's in Old Hylian, and you only know the new language. They only use it on shop fronts now."
"Oh. How come you can read it then?"
"Through years of study," I said, lying through my teeth. "But, if you do want to look out for it," I looked around at her, "The sign will show the current shopkeeper – and if they're anything like their ancestor, it'll be a man with a long brown beard. And, there's also a sword and shield on the sign as well."
"Right – OK," she said, nodding and obviously taking note of each detail. "Sort of like that one over there?" She pointed to a sign that met the exact description I had just given her, smiling slightly.
"Just like that one," I nodded, and forged ahead towards it. Then wheeled around and tugged Catherine back into the side-street we had just left.
"What?" she asked.
"One of Aghanim's men," I said back, waiting for the black robed figure to move on out of sight before daring to move again. "We have to be careful; if Sheik's right, those men aren't trustworthy." [But is he trustworthy?] my subconscious wondered.
"Right, let's not worry about that though – let's go and get you some weapons," I dug into my pockets to check that the money was still there. Yes, all four of the purple rupees were still securely within the pockets of my tunic, and I pushed the door open to the store. A bell tinkled merrily as it swung shut again, and a deep voice filtered down from above,
"I'll just be a minute – hang on good people!" And, from the rafters dropped an almost exact replica of the last man I had seen running this very store. He had the same long, bushy beard, and beetle-black eyes that sparkled with rough intelligence. "And what can I do for you fine young ladies this morn?" he asked, wiping sweat off of his brow, and stepping behind the counter that seemed far too small for him.
"My friend here needs a sword and shield, and I've heard you've the best quality weaponry in town," I said briskly.
"For this lady here you say?" he asked, looking at Catherine with surprise. "Bit small, ain't you lass, to be wanting weapons yet?" Catherine didn't seem to know how to answer that, ad he directed his attention back to me. "I don't think we've anything out on display small enough for her – but I'll look about in the eaves; oh, and if you're looking for anything for yourself lady, then there are some high quality hook shots and such-like on the counter over there."
[Hook shots? Link must have sold the design!] I thought, walking lazily over to the counter he pointed to, to inspect them. And, yes, they did indeed look just like the one we had used so long ago. [It's strange, but this reminds me of when I had to get a shield – I used to be as small as Catherine.....] I looked down at Catherine – until now, I'd not really notice how much I really had grown. About an extra half foot was on my height now, so that I stood at about 5' 8", compared to her just over five foot stance.
Catherine stood uneasily next to me, looking at all the weaponry with wide eyes. "Do you really use all this stuff?" she asked, gesturing to the gleaming blades of the hook shots. "Back home, people just talk stuff through.....stuff like this is illegal!"
"Yeah, well, where you come from, you don't have to worry about megalomaniacs trying to take over your whole people," I replied simply, picking up one of the hook shots and weighing it in my hands. It was a lot lighter than Link's one, and I wondered how far the hook would extend. However, I didn't get the chance to discover this, as the shop owner was now making his way back down from the eaves, carrying four rapiers, some short swords, and three shields – the Hylian guard one would probably be light enough for Catherine, if I remembered the weight rightly.
"I've bought you a selection ladies, so you can choose the weaponry you feel most comfortable with. I trust you're trained in swordplay?" he looked at Catherine.
"Well, I-"
"She knows enough to know what she needs," I cut across her. Then, I distracted him by asking, "Do you have any weightier shields – I'll be needing one myself – maybe something of burnished bronze?"
"I don't know if I've any left, but I'll have a look for you if you like."
"That's be most kind," I nodded graciously, and watched him swing back up into the rafters. "Catherine, for goodness sake, don't let on how little you know about these things.....people will take advantage of you. No doubt, he was trying to wrangle a way to offer you lessons in swordplay."
"Well, how was I supposed to know? Remember, I'm new to this stuff!" she hissed back, picking up one of the short swords and almost toppling over forwards with the weight.
"Here," I picked up one of the rapiers, and handed it to her. She seemed surprised at how light it was, and swung it experimentally. "That one?" She shrugged, and I placed another of the rapiers in her hand. Again, when I asked, I received a shrug. "For demons sakes, you've got to choose one girl!" With that, I shoved the third rapier into her hand. This one was different – the handle, instead of being made of a curl of the same silver coated iron of the blade, had a handle of treated elm-wood. It had been polished to a high shine, and then the hand guard embellished with a large, circular tiger's eye stone.
"I think this one will do," she said, this time swinging more definitely, and even venturing some sort of lunge. Her form was terrible, but at least it was something to work on.
"Good – now, which arm do you use the most?" She held up her left, which surprised me. [The same as Link.....] I shook my head, and then picked up the Hylian shield, and weighed it in my hands. I repeated this action with the other two shields, before returning to the Hylian one, which was, as I had suspected, the lightest of the three. "OK, hold the rapier firmly in your left hand-"
"Rapier?"
"That's what that pointy thing you're holding is called," I said with a small grin, and she juggled the blade so that she gripped the handle more tightly (and properly). "Now, hold out your right arm, and we'll try this on you. It's not too heavy, so it should be all right." I slipped the leather straps over her arm, and kept hold on the shield until it was properly on. "Ready? I'm going to let go now, all right?" She nodded, and braced her arm.
When I let go, she again seemed surprised at how little the shield weighed. "I always though these things weighed a hell of a lot more," she said quietly, on seeing that the shop keeper was back, carrying a burnished bronze shield over his shoulder.
"They generally are; those are trainee weapons," I said back, before turning to the shop keeper. "Thank you my good man," I took the shield that he held out, and hooked it onto my left arm. [Not bad – not great – but it'll do.] "It's nice – maybe a little light, but I'll get used to it." I slipped it off again, and placed it onto the counter along with the rapier and the Hylian shield. "Now, how much are those hook shots you pointed out?"
"Well, it depends what model you go for lady," he said with a cheery grin, again hopping out from behind the counter. He was obviously eagerly enjoying his work, as he sauntered over to the hook shots, and picked up one of the smaller ones. "Now, these have an extendable cord of ten yards, and these," he moved onto the largest on the counter, "can have coils of up to thirty yards installed, but at extra cost."
"Do you have any long shots?" I asked, and his eyes lit up in surprise.
"Not many people ask for those nowadays – in fact, not many people know about them."
"Well, I'm just interested in this stuff," I said offhandedly.
"Right – well, the long shots can cover distances of sixty yards at a push – and there's much more coil for your money in them."
"How much exactly?"
"Oh, forty rupees."
"Forty?" I took a deep breath, cast my mind about for the right bartering manner, and then began. "Well, I'll give you twenty for one of the compact models."
"Twenty, you must be mad woman! I won't accept a rupee less than forty!"
"Twenty five."
"Thirty five."
Catherine was watching us as though it were a tennis match, her head moving from side to side as each of us named our prices. Soon, we had moved on to the shields, and lastly the rapier, which was by far the most expensive item, starting off at eighty rupees. Finally, the shop keeper and I shook hands, and grinned brightly at one another. "So, thirty for the long shot, eighty for the two shields, and fifty for the rapier. I believe that comes to-"
"One hundred and sixty," Catherine said quietly, almost immediately after the man had announced the final prices. I turned around, and she just shrugged, "I like maths?" I just grinned, and handed the man all four of my purple rupees. In return, he gave me a red rupee, three blue, and five green, which I pocketed.
"Nice doing business with you," the man called after us as we left the shop, Catherine carrying her rapier and the long shot, and I struggling to fit both of the shields through the door and out into the street.
"Wait up," I called after her, and she stopped and waited for me to catch up. "Right, now, let's get this thing on you so I don't have to carry it."
"Gee, thanks, I feel loved," she muttered sarcastically, as I slung the shield's tie over her head, and then pulled her right arm through so that it settled comfortably across her chest. Then, I took the rapier, and did the same, with the tie going in the opposite direction. "Hmm, now I know what people mean by lifts, holds and separates," she said as she shuffled with the ties, and I smirked, thinking back to old television shows I sometimes watched when there wasn't anything else to do.
"Your welcome," I said, slipping my own new shield on easily, and clipping the long shot onto my belt. "Now, how long have we been away?"
"Three quarters of an hour," Catherine answered immediately, glancing at the time piece on her arm. I noticed that it was a digital watch, and made her pull her sleeve back down immediately. "What?"
"What do you think these people will think if they see that on your wrist?" I muttered, and comprehension dawned on her face. "Exactly. Now, let's see if we can find something to do for a while before we go back." Music drifted to my ears from the main square, and I smiled. "Aha, perfect." Then, I careered off, Catherine hurrying to keep up with me as I made my way to where the music was being played.
Alas.....it was not the Sheikan band I had been longing for. Of course, most of them had died, either in protecting the Princess, or in clearing the land after the great darkness. Only Sheik was left to the public, and the rest; well, they kept to themselves now.
This wasn't to say that the music wasn't good, because it was. Exceptionally so – and it was interesting to see that the band was comprised of not one race, not two, but three. There were two Gerudo women, one playing the bongos, and the other one expertly strumming upon a guitar. Then, a Hylian woman, and two Hylian men, playing the flute, the trumpet and the ocarina, respectively. And last of all (and perhaps strangest of all), a Zoran woman, clad in a floor length dress of sapphire blue, was dancing about with a timbrel in her hand, encouraging people to also dance.
I leant against the stone walls which encompassed a large graveyard, most of which given over to the people who died in the darkness, which now lay next to the Temple of Time. Catherine looked around her in quiet amazement, and I didn't blame her. As always, the square was a whorl of colour and sound; I let the ambience wash over me, forgetting for a short while what I was doing here. I even began to forget who I was, and imagined myself to be a normal, everyday Hylian.
Catherine slid down the wall and sat on the cool flagstones, hugging her knees and looking thoughtful. I followed suit, still watching the Zoran woman as she performed acrobatics for the growing morning crowds.
"What's up kid?" I asked.
"Nothing."
"Liar."
"Well, it's great to be here and all – but it's not how I imagined it."
"Oh?"
"It sounds stupid.....but.....I always saw Hyrule as a small place – quiet, you know. People kept themselves to themselves."
"That's because you only know about the Hyrule through the darkness – people kept themselves to themselves, or they got killed," I said, reeling off from historical texts.
"I know – I'm not complaining – it's just strange." I had a feeling that that wasn't really what she was thinking about at all, but I let it go. No point in pushing the girl too far if she didn't want to be pushed.
"Are you sure it'll be safe to go back?" Catherine asked, as we began to make our slow way back to Sheik's large, and empty house. "I mean, what is that sorcerer is still there, and all those guys in the cloaks, and stuff?"
"Don't worry – if they are, then we'll just have to run like hell," I answered sweetly, and she hmphed, even though there was a smile on her face. "Anyway, I don't want Sheik to get anymore pissed off than he already is."
"What is all that about between you two?"
"It's complicated....."
"Let me guess; 'I'm not old enough to understand'?"
"It's not that – demons, not even I understand quite what's going on," I admitted. "But, it's complicated, that I do know." Catherine nodded, and looked down at the ground as we went on. Quite soon after that burst of conversation, we ran into a cluster of black cloaked people leaving a homely little tavern, and had to backtrack into a side alley to duck behind some crates until they passed. After that, we luckily had no more mishaps, and got back to the house about two hours after we originally left.
I was about to knock, when the door opened, and I was yanked through the door, which was slammed quietly shut behind me, cutting off Catherine's cries of protest. "Mmpphh!" I attempted to yell through a hand over my mouth, and was then released. I drew my breath in silent gasps, and looked up to see whom my assailant was. "Sheik?"
"Shh, keep it down!" he growled, looking over his shoulder. "They're still here – take the girl and wait for me in the Temple of Time."
"Huh?"
"Just go!" And with that, I was pushed back out into the early morning sunshine, and confronted by a startled looking Catherine.
"What happened?"
"Apparently they're still there," I said, straightening my tunic, which had become ruffled in the struggle, which received an amused glance from Catherine. "Don't even think about saying anything about the tunic," I warned, and then carried on with the explanation. "We're to go and wait for Sheik in the Temple of Time." We turned back the way we had come, and set off walking again. [Whilst we wait, I can teach her how to use those weapons – no one will be in during the celebrations – not until the evening anyway.]
Yet again, we came up against some of the black cloaked contingent, though this time, they saw us before we saw them. "Halt!" a young man called, hurrying along so fast that his cowl flew back from his face. "By the order of Aghanim, we order you to stop."
"On my count, run," I hissed to Catherine, as we waited for the group of black cloaked men to get to us. I reached into my pocket, in which were contained no less than twenty Deku-nuts that I had succeeded in – 'borrowing' shall we say – from Sheik, a few minutes prior. When I guessed that they were close enough to be stunned by the flash, I withdrew my hand, and threw down three of them in quick succession. "Now, run!"
I pushed Catherine ahead of me, and cursed with all the curses I knew. [I hate running. Hate it. Can't stand it. Worst thing could possibly do – bloody running]. And so on, over and over in my mind as we fled Aghanim's followers, twisting and turning until I began to feel slightly dizzy. "Right, we can stop now," I panted, and pressed my hands onto my knees, taking in air.
"What did you throw? Was that a Deku-nut?" Catherine asked (not out of breath at all).
"Yeah – well, three of them actually." I straightened up, forcing myself to breathe normally again. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I didn't think they were real, until you used them," she said. "Can I see one?"
I withdrew one from my pocket and handed it to her. "Just don't drop it now, or we'll be stunned, which wouldn't be good." She studied it for a few seconds, and then handed it carefully back to me. I dropped it back into my pocket, and then looked around us. "Now – where do we go from here?"
"Please tell me you do know where we are," Catherine begged.
"Well, we're in Hyrule, I can tell you that much," I said distractedly, looking around at yet another of the streets that hadn't been here when I was last here. "The Temple of Time is to the north however, so where's the sun," I looked up, and managed to get my bearings from the sun, so that I knew roughly which way we had to go. North was directly through the house in front of us, so I set off down the street, and then turned left at the first opportunity. Not too far away could be the seen the great white stone mass of the Temple of Time, gleaming in the morning light.
"There you are – that's where we're going," I said, pointing at it confidently.
"And I'm coming with," I jumped, and found that Sheik was strolling down the street after us. "That was an impressive escape from the black cloakers."
"Thanks."
"They asked me where you went, so I directed them to the 'laughing Din'. I think they deserve to experience the smell of the place first hand." Catherine tittered slightly, and then bit her lip to contain her laughter. "So, onto the Temple? It'll be quiet at the moment, and I can't think of anywhere safer for her to practice with her weapons."
"My thoughts exactly," I nodded, and then allowed him to lead, since he knew more than I did about the current town.
"Ouch!" Catherine landed heavily with a thud on the stone floor of the Temple of Time's foyer. She scowled up at Sheik, who had just battled her to the floor in a record time of three seconds. "No need to be so rough!"
"Well, if you're not going to make use of your shield, you're going to get hurt," he said back, yanking her to her feet. "Now, let's try again shall we? And maybe this time, you can manage to actually stay on your feet for more than ten seconds?" He picked up one of the battle staffs that he had bought with him from the watchtower of the Temple, and handed it to her, before taking one of his own. "Are you ready?"
"Maybe Catherine should have a rest," I suggested, as she inexpertly jostled the battle staff from her right to her left hand.
"We have three days left until he gets back, and you're asking for a rest?" Sheik barked in disbelief. "This girl needs to know how to defend herself, and we're not exactly blessed with a long time to teach her how."
"I know, but if we exhaust her, it's not going to help anyone, is it?" I said back curtly. "Just a few minutes for her to rest, and then we'll get back to training her." I turned to Catherine, who was putting the staff down gently on the floor. "That's all right with you, I trust?"
"Fine by me – I'm ready to drop!"
"It's only been half an hour," Sheik pointed out scathingly.
"And I've never held a weapon in my life, so I think I've done pretty well, considering," she snapped back, following her staff to the floor, and sitting cross legged there.
"Right; five minutes, and then back to training you," Sheik conceded, and began to pace back and forth, twirling his own staff in his fingers. "Oh," he said suddenly, seeming to remember something. "Your armlet," he threw it to me, and I caught it fumblingly.
"Thanks." I slipped it back onto my arm, and then studied the shield I'd bought, following the carvings on the burnished metal with a finger. I allowed my eyes to unfocus, and pretended to be somewhere else. (I actually pretended that I was in the smithies with Ollie and Jamie, helping them to construct new weaponry for their various missions, and repair my own.)
"Hey," Catherine's voice rang out, causing Sheik to stop his pacing, and I to be jolted back into the coherent world. "Maybe you two could show me proper battle form – or whatever it's called. You know, so I can learn by osmosis."
"Os-what?" Sheik blinked; obviously, Hylian science wasn't so advanced yet.
"It refers to how leaves absorb water – it just means if she watches us fight, she'll pick it up," I explained. "That was what you meant, wasn't it?" Catherine nodded. [Oh great – now he has an excuse to hurt me.....] "Well, if you think it will help....." She nodded again, and had a pleading look in her eyes that I just couldn't refuse. "Fine – pass me your staff," she handed it to me, and Sheik put his into combat position.
"Watch and learn kid," Sheik murmured, glaring at me with frighteningly unbridled hate. His eyes were burning with an intense fire that made him look about ready to go over the edge, and not come back. "Ready?" he asked, smirking. I put aside everything else that I was thinking about, glad of my decision to take up the studies of mental, as well as physical training in the past years. Now, my head was a nice, clear space, filled with moves and combinations that I could use in the impeding battle.
[Of course, Sheik has had a lot more time in which to perfect his skills] I thought with apprehension, before again clearing my mind. "Ready," I nodded, swinging my staff so that I grasped it horizontally with both hands. "First to fall?" He nodded. "Hope this helps kiddo – start us off will you?"
"Huh?"
"Just say 'go' or something."
"Oh – right." She left a short pause, and then yelled, "Go!"
Sheik lunged forwards quickly – more quickly than I could have imagined, and it took all my concentration just to sidestep in time, and whirl around to confront him, staff raised. He lunged again, and again I sidestepped, like a bull fighter side steps the bull. I was ready on the third charge however, and our staffs clashed together, the shock of it jarring through me. Sheik's eyes were complacent as he forced me backwards with his superior strength and weight – I'd have to use brains rather than brawn to beat him, and even that would be difficult enough.
So, I put my last reserves of strength into pushing, in order to urge him to push forwards harder, before suddenly stopping, and stepping out of the way again. However, he had been fighting far too long to be fooled by that trick, and managed to regain his balance quickly. Before I could block, the staff had connected hard against the knuckles of my left hand, and I dropped the staff – he took this opportunity in his stride, and kicked it away with his foot, so that it rolled across the floor.
Then, he raised his staff in order to deal the blow that would floor me. Quick as a flash, I kicked his shin, which though not very stylish, was nonetheless effective, as it bought me the few seconds I needed to retrieve my weapon. Thus, it started again, now with us circling one another, parrying with testing blows, seeing how our opponent's strengths and weaknesses could help us defeat them. A quiet roar was in my ears as I processed the battle data, and admired his beautiful technique.
Another lunge came, and I was prepared, leaping out of the way and countering with a lunge of my own. It bought him down onto one knee, and I skidded to a halt to turn around and finish it. A poke in the gut with the end of his staff stopped that idea, and he got to his feet again, sweat gleaming on his brow. I wiped the perspiration on my face away with the back of my hand, hovering in wait for his next move.
With a harsh battle cry, he flew towards me again, and I worried at the smile on his face. I sidestepped, but he altered his course to follow my move, and bought the staff crashing horizontally into my ribcage – the blow landed with such force, that it was either concede to fall, or break the ribs. I fell, clutching the injured area, and panting heavily. "And that," Sheik dropped his staff, "is how you fight, kid." He stalked off, not bothering to help me up, and I had to wait for Catherine to assist me.
"Wow," she said in an awed voice. "You two were awesome! It must be so cool to be able to fight so well!"
"Yeah – well, obviously, I don't fight quite well enough," I grunted, rubbing my sore side. "Looks like I'll be needing some more practice too. Come on, let's get back to your defence, shall we?" Catherine picked up her shield, and was about to put it onto her arm, when Sheik came back, a look of annoyance on his face.
"It looks like we'll have to leave – those bloody street performers are bringing their shows in here," he said darkly. "It'd be best if we continued the rest of this session outside of the Town's walls."
"Oh, so where do you suggest?" I asked. [He used to like street performers – demons, he used to be one. What has happened to him?] The years had done a lot more to him than I thought they could have. It wasn't just me he was cold to – it was everything and everyone. [Maybe I can help him to thaw a little..... Stop it 'lex.] I used the clearing technique to remove the ridiculous notion from my mind, and listened to Sheik's suggestion.
"Well, there's wide open plains outside the walls, dotted about with a few farmsteads – we can just use one of the public fields. No one will be there today."
"I hope you're right," I muttered, as he proceeded to lead us out of the Temple of Time, and past the 'bloody street performers' down the steps. Then, he carried on, leading us swiftly through the town, ducking and dodging around all the haunts of the black cloaked people, until we reached the gate into the main field. We stopped at the drawbridge, and Sheik went to speak at the guard by the chain which raised and lowered it.
The guard snapped to attention, and raised a hand to his head in a salute. "General sir!" he said in greeting, and Sheik returned the salute stiffly.
"At ease, soldier. Have you seen any black cloaks come past in the last five hours?"
"No sir. Why sir?"
"I just want to know where the meddling creatures are," Sheik laughed wryly, and the guard grinned. "Now, listen carefully – do not let any of them out of this Town for three hours, understand?" The guard nodded. "And, if any of them ask, you have not seen me – do this for me, and I'll see to it that you can by Kyrii that ruby necklace she desires." The guard smiled more widely, and saluted again as we passed over the drawbridge.
"General?" I said as we walked over the green grass. "You didn't tell me you were a general!" He grabbed my arm, and nodded at Catherine to walk on ahead, before leaning down to whisper venomously into my ear.
"And you didn't think to tell anyone what a cheating, conniving traitor you were. I don't really think the two crimes can be compared." He released my arm again, and marched to walk in front of Catherine, and carry on leading us to one of the 'public fields'. I rubbed my arm, and looked down at the floor as we carried on walking.
[Damn Sheikah].
OOH, someone's a grumpy whee git, aren't they?
Sheik: What do you expect? [Frowns, and picks at the baby pink bunny rabbit suit he has been made to wear by the strange author]
Soda: But! Hallow'een – and you needed a costume – and – and [sniffles]
Sheik: But a rabbit! Couldn't I be something more manly?
Soda: Well [grins] I suppose I could [snaps fingers]
Sheik: [Looks down – sees loincloth] Oh Goddesses.....
Soda: Hehehe, I like this costume better.....
Sheik: O.o
RR, and hopefully it won't be too long for the next chapter.