Sheik and Her Cousin...
Finally certain that Jak and his friend had left, the Sheikah removed herself from the shadows of which she hid. Earlier at the Din Inn, she had been careful to make herself as unrecognizable as possible. She had dressed in a tight red tank top, with tight black pants, black gloves, black hunting boots that were quite stylish for the occasion, had her hair dyed a reddish-brown and tied in a braid that went all the way to the bottom of her shirt, and had also used her magic to alter her eye color to red instead of blue.
Walking, she noticed that many people stared, but she ignored them. She wanted to talk to him, and it was important that she did. Spotting him at the bar, she wasn't the least surprised of what he was wearing: his usual dark green tunic with dark green shorts, a long hood-like hat, with his broadsword equipped to his waist, a shield, bow, quiver full of arrows and his pack equipped to his back.
When she reached him, the girl sat in the stool next to him and gave him a look of complete lust and said in a little girl voice, "Why, hello there big boy."
"Oh stop it," said the tall, blonde, fourteen-year-old, boy who looked up from his Lilac Wine, "if you wanted me that bad, you would have cornered me earlier."
"Come off it. You know I was just teasing you," she said, her voice its normal tone, as she smiled girlishly which added a few stares, "So, how long are you here for?" the girl inquired quickly, still ignoring the crowd.
"'till the Games are over, or at least 'till my section of the tournament is over," he said looking back down at his purple drink.
"And that would be?"
"Archery."
"Really? I thought you would have gone for melee combat."
"Well, that doesn't start 'till after the tag-team tournaments and you know I've already signed up for it."
"Well, I guess I'll sign up for it too," she said, but paused when the boy gave her a look that suggested he was going to ask if she was even in the Games yet, but she answered him before he could open his mouth, "I'm currently in the Dagger-Throwing Tournament."
After motioning to the bartender and ordering a Blue Ice, she gave a calculated look at the boy, "Well,"
"Well, what?"
"Aren't you going to say anything about my disguise? Any rude or snide comment at all?" she said as grabbed her ice-cold, blue drink from the bartender and looked back at Link, "I think every man, except you, has something to say about my outfit."
"They think that you are out right beautiful, and are wondering where they have seen you before, but I guess just you and I know who you really are, huh Zel?" he said returning her gaze with a smile.
"It's Sheik for now, and you know I wouldn't dream with going anywhere with any of them, especially since they think I'm twenty-seven not fourteen."
"You're fourteen? Who would've guessed?" the boy laughed.
"You know how old I am, Link, especially since Impa constantly reminds you."
"Yea, well," he said before draining the last of his drink and then turned to look at her very seriously, "I think you know I'm not here just because of the Games, and you wanna help me, right princess?"
Sheik just nodded and took a gulp of her drink; she was surprised he had gotten to the point so quickly.
"I need help finding someone, a human girl."
"Well, that shouldn't be so hard," Sheik laughed.
"Yea, but we can't go up to just anyone and say, 'Where were you born?' and then expect them to answer us truthfully."
"Who sent you to look for this human, Link?"
Pausing to ask the bartender for another drink, Sheik could tell Link was thinking about what he should tell her. How much would he reveal?
Finally, he responded: "I can't tell you, and I can't tell you why either, so don't bother asking."
"Well, how will I know when I find her?"
He didn't answer, but instead looked around quickly, and shook his right hand. Sheik understood perfectly what he meant, so she abruptly changed the subject.
"Did you see my cousin?"
"Yea, I saw that bigot, but I made sure he didn't see me. Rita doesn't need anymore ruckus than what she's got," he said shiftily, glad that the subject changed. "You told me that you'd tell me why your cousin is so harsh on humans when I was older, and that was four years ago, so tell me."
She thought about it a moment and said, "Only if you promise to teach me how to use a boomerang," and held out her hand. When Link shook it, she drained the last of her drink and started, "You know that my dear cousin was actually adopted into the family, right? Well, I never told you how he became orphaned. He had been only four, that was fourteen years ago, when his family's slaves decided to rebel.
"His father and mother had been bigots to begin with, but Jak hated every human after what those humans did. When Jak's father and mother refused to free them, they turned and got violent. They took their masters' whips and backed both of them into the slave house, of which dwelt a creature. The humans did not see it though, so they locked the door once Jak's parents had been backed inside, and the monster revealed itself.
"Jak tried to fight off the slaves to open the door, but he was knocked out in the struggle. When he awoke, there was blood everywhere, and no one else was around. He had been stranded. He decided to take a horse, and ride into town to tell the Hyrulians, all the while still shocked that his parents were most likely dead. When he reached the horse stable, he heard something behind him, and he knew what it was before he looked. He ran into the stable and untied the horse, but it got him in its claws. He reached out a grabbed a horseshoe hammer, and used it on the giant claw. The monster screamed and Jak, bleeding, jumped on the horse and rode it bare-back out of his mansion, and towards town, as fast as possible. He told everyone the story, but very few believed him. When he refused to go home, they threw him in the orphanage, and the next day my father's sister adopted him.
"After that, he never repeated the story to anyone, but me. He blames the humans, because they were the ones who put his parents in the cage, so any free human he sees he treats like shit, hoping that they are at least descendants of the killers. And if that isn't bad enough, he still has the scars from the beast to remind him."
After a couple of seconds of silence in which the bartender handed Link another Lilac Wine, Link finally asked, "What was that monster, though?"
"He said it was a Shadowbeast, the doglike horror that rarely leaves the fortitude of the Lost Woods."
Finally certain that Jak and his friend had left, the Sheikah removed herself from the shadows of which she hid. Earlier at the Din Inn, she had been careful to make herself as unrecognizable as possible. She had dressed in a tight red tank top, with tight black pants, black gloves, black hunting boots that were quite stylish for the occasion, had her hair dyed a reddish-brown and tied in a braid that went all the way to the bottom of her shirt, and had also used her magic to alter her eye color to red instead of blue.
Walking, she noticed that many people stared, but she ignored them. She wanted to talk to him, and it was important that she did. Spotting him at the bar, she wasn't the least surprised of what he was wearing: his usual dark green tunic with dark green shorts, a long hood-like hat, with his broadsword equipped to his waist, a shield, bow, quiver full of arrows and his pack equipped to his back.
When she reached him, the girl sat in the stool next to him and gave him a look of complete lust and said in a little girl voice, "Why, hello there big boy."
"Oh stop it," said the tall, blonde, fourteen-year-old, boy who looked up from his Lilac Wine, "if you wanted me that bad, you would have cornered me earlier."
"Come off it. You know I was just teasing you," she said, her voice its normal tone, as she smiled girlishly which added a few stares, "So, how long are you here for?" the girl inquired quickly, still ignoring the crowd.
"'till the Games are over, or at least 'till my section of the tournament is over," he said looking back down at his purple drink.
"And that would be?"
"Archery."
"Really? I thought you would have gone for melee combat."
"Well, that doesn't start 'till after the tag-team tournaments and you know I've already signed up for it."
"Well, I guess I'll sign up for it too," she said, but paused when the boy gave her a look that suggested he was going to ask if she was even in the Games yet, but she answered him before he could open his mouth, "I'm currently in the Dagger-Throwing Tournament."
After motioning to the bartender and ordering a Blue Ice, she gave a calculated look at the boy, "Well,"
"Well, what?"
"Aren't you going to say anything about my disguise? Any rude or snide comment at all?" she said as grabbed her ice-cold, blue drink from the bartender and looked back at Link, "I think every man, except you, has something to say about my outfit."
"They think that you are out right beautiful, and are wondering where they have seen you before, but I guess just you and I know who you really are, huh Zel?" he said returning her gaze with a smile.
"It's Sheik for now, and you know I wouldn't dream with going anywhere with any of them, especially since they think I'm twenty-seven not fourteen."
"You're fourteen? Who would've guessed?" the boy laughed.
"You know how old I am, Link, especially since Impa constantly reminds you."
"Yea, well," he said before draining the last of his drink and then turned to look at her very seriously, "I think you know I'm not here just because of the Games, and you wanna help me, right princess?"
Sheik just nodded and took a gulp of her drink; she was surprised he had gotten to the point so quickly.
"I need help finding someone, a human girl."
"Well, that shouldn't be so hard," Sheik laughed.
"Yea, but we can't go up to just anyone and say, 'Where were you born?' and then expect them to answer us truthfully."
"Who sent you to look for this human, Link?"
Pausing to ask the bartender for another drink, Sheik could tell Link was thinking about what he should tell her. How much would he reveal?
Finally, he responded: "I can't tell you, and I can't tell you why either, so don't bother asking."
"Well, how will I know when I find her?"
He didn't answer, but instead looked around quickly, and shook his right hand. Sheik understood perfectly what he meant, so she abruptly changed the subject.
"Did you see my cousin?"
"Yea, I saw that bigot, but I made sure he didn't see me. Rita doesn't need anymore ruckus than what she's got," he said shiftily, glad that the subject changed. "You told me that you'd tell me why your cousin is so harsh on humans when I was older, and that was four years ago, so tell me."
She thought about it a moment and said, "Only if you promise to teach me how to use a boomerang," and held out her hand. When Link shook it, she drained the last of her drink and started, "You know that my dear cousin was actually adopted into the family, right? Well, I never told you how he became orphaned. He had been only four, that was fourteen years ago, when his family's slaves decided to rebel.
"His father and mother had been bigots to begin with, but Jak hated every human after what those humans did. When Jak's father and mother refused to free them, they turned and got violent. They took their masters' whips and backed both of them into the slave house, of which dwelt a creature. The humans did not see it though, so they locked the door once Jak's parents had been backed inside, and the monster revealed itself.
"Jak tried to fight off the slaves to open the door, but he was knocked out in the struggle. When he awoke, there was blood everywhere, and no one else was around. He had been stranded. He decided to take a horse, and ride into town to tell the Hyrulians, all the while still shocked that his parents were most likely dead. When he reached the horse stable, he heard something behind him, and he knew what it was before he looked. He ran into the stable and untied the horse, but it got him in its claws. He reached out a grabbed a horseshoe hammer, and used it on the giant claw. The monster screamed and Jak, bleeding, jumped on the horse and rode it bare-back out of his mansion, and towards town, as fast as possible. He told everyone the story, but very few believed him. When he refused to go home, they threw him in the orphanage, and the next day my father's sister adopted him.
"After that, he never repeated the story to anyone, but me. He blames the humans, because they were the ones who put his parents in the cage, so any free human he sees he treats like shit, hoping that they are at least descendants of the killers. And if that isn't bad enough, he still has the scars from the beast to remind him."
After a couple of seconds of silence in which the bartender handed Link another Lilac Wine, Link finally asked, "What was that monster, though?"
"He said it was a Shadowbeast, the doglike horror that rarely leaves the fortitude of the Lost Woods."