Still the same day as the second half of chapter seven. I've got itchy fingers, I guess. Along with a cold. Ugh.A laptop is a wonderful thing when you're 450 k's away from your hometown. Ladeedah. Enjoy.

-Shawshank

Chapter 8-The Camp, or Fun With Dishes

Link awoke the next morning to find Zelda gone, and Sheik in her place. The short young man had curled up next to him, *right* next to him, in order to share his body heat. Link threw off the blankets, spread them over Sheik, and got up, stretching until his many scars felt like they would rip apart.

He forgot himself and stepped out of the tent, only to find that a crowd of women were all kneeling on the ground, bowing and humming. He dodged back inside, frightened, remembering the events of last night. He went to Sheik, and shook him.

"Sheik. Sheik! Wake up! Goddesses, who knew Sheikah were so lazy! WAKE UP!!!"

Sheik's eyes snapped open, and he sat up with one hand on his forehead, babbling mindless words. His misty red eyes cleared when he noticed Link staring at him, and he joined reality. Sheik stood up, dusting himself off, feeling well rested.

Sheik stared at Link, whom he had noticed was staring at him.

"What?"

Sheik wondered what was wrong with Link. That kid could be so weird sometimes...

"Link, tell me, what's up?"

The shorter man stepped forward and shook Link bodily, clasping his shoulders. He seemed to be in shock. Sheik gazed up at the Hero, who was still staring at him. Then, Link's eyes closed. He sat down in the dust, and assumed a meditative position. Sheik kneeled down in front of him, wanting an explanation for his behavior.

"Link, I didn't know you meditated. Who taught you?"

Sheik got no answer but silence. He tried again.

"What's wrong, Link? You're acting really...uh...different this morning."

Link raised his hands slowly, eyes still closed, and enclosed them around the bridge of his nose and a large portion of his face. Sheik felt the wind before he heard it, chilling his skin and playing with the dust on the ground. The wind became green light, and it whipped around Link in a circle, then finally snapped up into a prism surrounding his body. Link stood up, and the prism followed him. His eyes were still closed.

"Link..."

Zelda.

"Wha-"

ZELDA!

Sheik recognized the spell as a summoning, but wondered who or what Link was calling. Maybe it was this Zelda person...

The call became more urgent.

Zelda, I call thee! Come forth!

Sheik barely had time to wonder what was up with the elaborate language- Link was practically illiterate- before tendrils of blue light crept out of Link's aura and shoved themselves into his chest. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable. Sheik looked down at the weeping red eye that was the Sheikah's symbol, and saw that the tendrils had concentrated in the pupil of the eye. They were trying to grasp on something, but were unable to.

He felt a great panic rise up inside him, and a new voice entered his mind. He felt himself being pushed aside, and he fell asleep.

Zelda stepped out of Sheik's body and back into herself. A great white light burst up around her as she did so, and she became Zelda. She smiled at Link, who was recalling his magic.

"I heard you. I came."

Link was a little confused, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He grinned and gestured to the 'door' of the tent.

"Your public awaits, Goddess."

She played along, calling up her own power and using it to again walk above the ground. She waggled her hips as she walked and held up a hand, cutting off Link's next words and sticking her nose in the air. Before she reached the outside air, though, she laughed and took up the posture of a refined and dignified being. Link watched her as she paced outside, amazed at how she could fit into so many different roles. She looked so powerful with her magic surrounding her, and yet so fragile. He felt the need to draw his sword, which he had found inside the tent safely in its scabbard, as he followed her outside.

She was pacing around the outside of the circle of women, who remained in their places, completely silent.

"Listen to me! You must repent your ways. You will no longer capture travelers and perform these disgusting rituals, I don't care why. You must see everyone as equal to yourselves, including myself. I may be a Goddess, but this does not mean that you are to bow whenever you see me under the sky. Please, I ask you to treat me with respect, but not to this extreme. I would rather be a good friend than a Goddess. Spread the word."

The women got up and left, trying to remember her words and leave without bowing. But, they all bent their waists at least once until they left their range of sight. Link shook his head at Zelda as she relaxed her magic, only leaving enough so that she did not walk on the ground. This made her about his height, and so she did not have to look up to see his face.

"Talk about a dressing down. I have never seen a more frightened group in my life."

They paced the 'streets' between tents, Zelda nodding at all those they passed.

"Yes, well, it helps to be female in these parts."

"Ah, so they're a feminine-dominant society, in your famed words. I take it that's why there are no men here."

She grinned at this.

"Actually, there are. Here, I'll show you."

She turned left, and they walked as far as they could without leaving the colony, which was actually pretty far, considering it was made up of only small tents. They eventually came upon a huge kitchen-like place, which was bustling with people. Only, Link noticed that they were men. Not a woman was to be found among them.

"They're cooks?"

"Not quite. They're servants. These women can't cook, so they assigned their men to do the job."

"*Their* men? I'm not sure I like this place."

"What, the kitchen or the colony?"

"Both."

"Well, that's too bad, because this is where you'll be staying."

Link turned to glare at her.

"What?"

She tried to hide her smile, unsuccessfully.

"Well, I know you love to cook, and the women have it set in their minds that you're my 'manservant' of sorts. Of course, you're a holy manservant, but a manservant nevertheless."

He shook his head, realizing that she wasn't joking.

"No way, no how. I do *not* cook."

"You do now! Have a good time. I hope you make some new friends."

"What! Zelda! You can't...Zelda..."

She was walking away, and when he tried to follow, a barrier of magic repelled him. He sighed, and headed for the kitchen.

***

And that was why he was now washing dishes.

He had told the head cook he would have burnt a salad, hoping he would get off. Unfortunately, the head cook had a heart of stone. He had simply grunted and pointed to the sink, where several men were washing plates and utensils of all kinds, including some he had never seen before. He sighed and headed for the sink, muttering under his breath.

"Ah, classically Zelda. Can't handle having someone on her height. Oh, no, no one is equal to the high and mighty Zelda."

He started attacking a plate. It had something stuck to it that reminded him of a piece of flesh. Ugh.

"Oh, she has to have someone under her feet, and that someone is always me. It's not enough that I had to save the whole of Hyrule, oh no, I have to cater to her every whim too. Goddesses."

The piece of food was not coming off. He was getting angry.

"Come on, you dumb thing, come off. Can't have those lovely witches eating you, can we? Get OFF!"

He growled the last through his teeth, and used a bit of magic to blast it off. Unfortunately, he also cracked the plate. He simply dipped it in the water again and gave it to the person standing next to him so they could dry it. The person examined it, and remarked in a strangely whispery voice, "You cracked it. Fix it."

Link stopped, and turned to look at the man standing next to him. He was really young, no more than twelve by his estimate, but his voice had already changed drastically.

"What?"

The kid looked up at him.

"Fix it. I saw you break it, you used magic. Fix it with magic."

Link took the plate back, but before he summoned his powers, he offered the kid a deal.

"I'll fix it, but only if you wash and I dry."

The kid nodded, and Link closed his eyes, summoning up his magic again. He would have to rest up for a while-using magic was tiring and he had been summoning it way too many times in the past twenty-four hours. He might need it in the near future, in case they ran into any unsavory beings in this land.

He stretched his fingers out over the crack, and traced it slowly. The green light followed his fingers, fusing the plate back together. When he had finished, Link handed the plate to the kid, who had been looking on in wide-eyed wonder. Link noticed the way the kid shone when he saw the results of his magic, how the kid saw everything in an innocent and amazed way. It almost brought tears to his eyes, but he held back. He didn't want to cry now, it would get all the dishes wet. The kid just reminded him so much of how he had been, of the sweet past. Of how he had been before...

He shook the thought out of his head and took the plate back, handing it to the next guy so he could pile it up in the proper place. The kid took Link's rag and started scrubbing, speaking to his new - found friend.

"How come you know how to use magic?"

"Someone I know taught me how to use it."

"Did you know you had magic before they taught you?"

"No, I had no idea. I thought I was just an ordinary kid."

"Who taught you?"

Link smiled. The kid was just brimming with curiosity.

"A Great Fairy. She lives at the top of a mountain. I spent two days and nights in there with her, learning how to call up the powers in me. She said it would be difficult, because they had lain dormant for so long, but I had more hope than most. She said I was beginning to, 'fulfill my destiny.'"

Link frowned then. The kid remained silent, knowing that he was going to let him have a peek into his innermost thoughts.

"Then, when I was ready to leave, I asked her what my destiny was. I wanted to know, but she shooed me out. I looked back just before I left, and she was crying. It was the most heartbreaking sound I've ever heard...and I never did figure out why."

The kid remained silent for a time, then spoke again as he passed dish after dish to the taller man beside him.

"What's a 'Great Fairy'?"

Link smiled, glad to be lead away from the past.

"Well, it's a lady who's very powerful. She lives forever, and helps anyone who comes to visit. She told me that I was the first mortal she'd seen in a hundred years."

"Awesome! I want to meet her!"

"There's more than one, you know. There's a couple, and even though they all look the same-they're sisters-they're really very different."

"Hey, that's neat! How come I've never seen one?"

"I'm not sure if you have them in your world."

"Wow, you mean you're from a different world? Tell me about it!"

***

Link staggered back to the tent at the end of the day, too tired to notice where he was going, letting his feet and instincts lead him there. The kid and the dish drying had tired him out beyond words. He couldn't wait to sleep.

Zelda looked up as Link stumbled in and flopped down on the blankets, too tired to even roll himself up in them. She laughed quietly and listened to him fall half asleep. When his breathing was starting to slow down, she kneeled down beside him and whispered, "Link, if you don't get up, you'll miss supper."

He rolled over and murmured.

"Link, you haven't eaten all day. Get up!"

He buried his face in his arms, trying to shut her out and sleep.

"Link..."

"Go 'way."

"You have to eat."

"Too...tired..."

She rolled her eyes.

"Fine then. I'll just let you starve."

"Rather sleep than starve...hum..."

He let out a huge yawn and started to snore softly. Zelda shook her head and left for the tables.

The tables were set up in the clearing in which the witches had performed their ritual on Link. There were several fires set around the tables in a huge circle. She noticed that the men were not seated at the main table; they were at a smaller, side table. She summoned her powers and stepped off of the ground. Her hair floated around her as she walked through a fire and stepped into the clearing, for effect. The women all turned and tried to stop themselves from kneeling on the floor and bowing, though none succeeded. She went over to the men's table, and bade them all get up. They did, and she noticed one small child in the back.

She walked through the crowd of men, who all parted to get out of her way. No one touched her. She knelt down in front of the small child, who looked into her face and smiled. Zelda picked him up and carried him to the larger tables, and sat him down in the chair on the end. The women went very still.

She spoke again.

"Listen now. I told you, you must see all of your people as equals. This includes men and women. You, men, come and sit at this table. All will share in this meal, no matter who they are. Women, please remember who prepared this food. Now, sit, and eat. Talk amongst yourselves. Please, do not separate yourselves. If you all work together, you will accomplish great things."

She nodded her head and sat, hoping that this would get the message through their heads. Zelda pulled up a chair next to the small child, whose hair was brown and cut raggedly like a pixie's. His voice was extraordinarily deep for one so young. He was just shorter than Zelda, and wore ratty brown pants and shirt. He smiled at her and spoke.

"Are you Zelda?"

She jerked slightly, and her brow furrowed. How did this child know her name?

"Yes, I am Zelda. Why?"

The young man grinned at her openly.

"Link said you were his best friend, and you were pretty. I can tell you know Link, and you're pretty, so you must be Zelda. That's a nice name, a lot nicer than mine."

She looked at him more closely, and realized that she was not entirely sure of his age.

"What's your name? How old are you?"

He smiled again, and said nothing, just ate. She, however, was persistent.

"Please, tell me. I must know."

He suddenly became serious. His face darkened, and the ridges over his eyes seemed to deepen and cast shadows over his violet eyes. His mouth straightened, and scars suddenly stood out on his taut skin.

"Listen, Zelda. I need to talk to Link about some things. Can you ask him to meet me here in four hours? The clearing up of dishes and things will be done half an hour before then, and it'll be dark. It is *vital* that we speak. Please, do not come. This is only fit for his ears."

She nodded, and he stood and walked away, vanishing into the shadows. Zelda wondered what he had meant. Whatever it was, she was coming, whether the child liked it or not. What was fit for Link's ears was fit for hers, too.

***

And the plot thickens. What does the kid want to say? Who is that kid anyway? Why does Link lack the ability to wash dishes? What is the 'event' that he so often mentions but actually never talks about? Huh? Huh? Well, do you know? Do you? No? Well, neither do I. I'm making this up as I go. R&R is loved to bits. Once again, please ignore the mindless rambling above.

Wishes She Could Be Bitten By A Radioactive Spider, Shawshank

(written while listening to the Spiderman soundtrack-Danny Elfman is a genius)