A/N. Here's Chap. 5, With Christmas coming, vacation will be here soon too! WAHOO! I'll try to get a lot of writing done at that time. Well…other than that...I don't know what else to write here, so here ya' go…

Disclaimer- I don't own Zelda or any Zelda characters

Remedy In the Shadows- Chapter 5-

'Relax, deep breathes, just be careful and nothing will go wrong. What could possibly go wrong?'

Thea tried to calm herself down as she worked her way down the dark hallway. Occasionally she ran her fingers over the rough walls to try to memorize the crevices, it was just a way to stall for time. A sudden creak set off her impulses and she was suddenly up against the wall. She whipped her head behind her to see the source of the noise-- and saw a row a curious heads sticking out of her room. Chloe was there, she looked worried. Thea expected her to run up to her, and tell her to get back into their room, but she just shot glares at the other girls that were laughing.

Not wanting to be caught, Thea mouthed out the words "Shut up." Then motioned for them to get away. They understood, and retreated back into her room, they'd be quiet, even if it meant that they would miss the show.

Sighing, she detached herself from the corridor's wall, and returned her attention to the door ahead of her. It was closer than she thought, and it was quickly getting closer with each of her steps. It was like all of the other doors; made of wood, simple designs burnt into it, but this one was different. It wasn't an opening for her to see her friends, or her enemies. She wouldn't be able to walk into the room with her usual confidence or unique personality. When she walks into that room she knows that she must leave parts of herself behind. If she is to make a slight mistake, it could cost her something that's impossible for her to pay.

The hallways contained no sounds, it was hard to even hear Thea's footsteps. If a sudden noise was to erupt, she could possibly have to face Anita, and she was sure that Anita wouldn't believe any of Thea's excuses, she had already used them all. She knew that for this to work, she would have to set aside her worries.

'Ok, suck it up, just do it.' Letting her doubts leave her mind, she looked at the door that was now right in front of her, and allowed the positives to enter her mind…

'Some possible treasure…

The feeling of accomplishment…

…The possibility of Isabel showing her a tiny amount of respect…naw, scratch that one…think treasure!'

Indeed she did. That was the thought in her mind and she leaned against the door. She felt the rough wood caress her ear as she tried to concentrate on the possible contents within the room.

…

…She heard nothing. No talking, no moving, only silence came through the rough wood door.

'Lovely.'

Her hand reached for the doorknob almost too fast, remembering the situations, she calmed her excitement. Slowly, she turned her wrist allowing the knob to turn as well. When she heard a soft click, she pulled forward, taking the door with her.

As the interior of the room was exposed, a soft, cool rush of air left, slightly brushing her body as it entered the empty corridor. She held onto the door at first, just barely sticking her head into the room, allowing herself to understand her surroundings. It was smaller than her room, yet had a similar cozy feeling. Directly in front of her, she saw the sleeping form of the boy. He was placed on a bed, similar to her own. The bedcovers were carefully placed over his body. His face was facing in her direction, but even with the moonlight, she was unable to see his young face well. All she noticed was that his eyes were hidden behind his light hair, but they were closed, and that's all she cared about.

Next to the bed was a small table that held a few candles that were out. It also had a bag, it must had been the satchel that Isabel had spotted. Next to the bed was a window, it allowed the bright moonlight to enter the room. What caught her attention was the object on the windowsill, from her angle it looked like a green piece of fabric. After giving it more thought, she realized that it was a hat, an odd hat, but a hat nonetheless. Since it was probably no use for her, she let her thoughts about it go.

Since the boys was obviously in a peaceful sleep, Thea opened the door slowly, making sure that she made no creaks or any other sounds. When it was open enough, she carefully slipped inside, tiptoeing the whole way. She didn't know whether to close the door or leave it open. Leaving it open would make her escape easier, but if someone were to walk by, they would see that she was there. Before she could even make up her mind, the door shut itself, giving off a soft click as it went back into place. It startled Thea slightly. But she let it go, hoping that it wouldn't effect anything.

'Ah, so where to begin? OK how about there.' Thea moved slowly towards the end table where the boy's bag was, it seemed to be the boy's only personal item in the room.

Slowly she made her way forward.

'One, two, three…'

Thea counted the amount of footsteps it took her to reach her target, it was a thing she would often do to calm her mind. She made sure that her steps were both silent and careful, she really wished she was familiar with the room so that she would know what floorboards creaked and what ones didn't. When she had finally reached the table, it had taken her nine steps. During those nine steps she never took her alert eyes off of the satchel.

When she reached out for the bag, she couldn't help but notice an object in the shadows beside the bed. She was able to make out a detailed silhouette, but was unable to classify what it was. Unable to put aside her curiosity, she gently went down on one knee to inspect the object.

'Ah! Well, well, well…'

It became clear what the object was when she had gotten a closer look. What lay beneath the Inn's bed, was the boy's shield, and underneath it was his sword. She could slightly make out part of her reflection on the steel. The shield she had seen before. It was very common among the castle soldier throughout Hyrule. What puzzled her was why this boy had it, he was obviously no soldier.

'So why--' Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a soft movement. She felt her heart stop at the sound. She glanced up from her kneeling position and saw that the boy had shifted in his sleep, she saw that he was now laying on his back. Realizing that time was precious, she took her focus back to the boy's bag.

Standing up, she made sure not to disturb the boy, and reached for the bag on the table. It was leather, very soft, it must have been old because the material seemed to be wearing off in some areas. A long shoulder strap was attached with the help of a few buckles that Thea thought might be gold. Whatever they were, she wasn't interested in that, she instantly lifted the bag and felt that it was quite heavy.

'Boy, how much could you possibly need?!'

She twisted the metal lock and lifted the top over, exposing the bag's contents. She had to lift it close to her face to see the objects, she occasionally put a hand inside to move some off to the side. The first thing she saw was a simple slingshot, she slung the bag over her shoulder and looked at the tool. It was made out of a wood that was stronger than she expected. A strong, but flexible piece of rubber was attached to the forked wood. She spotted several round objects carelessly put into the bag. She picked one of them up and realized that it was a seed, yet it felt more like a rock. It was obvious that they were the ammo for the slingshot. When she lost interest she spotted a fairly large pouch within the satchel.

--------------------

A soft rustling interrupted Navi's sleep from within her friend's hat. She tried to ignore it, but when it wouldn't stop she began to worry.

'Link, you were told to stay in bed! What is he doing?'

She shook herself slightly to wake herself up. The movement caused a slight discomfort in her head from the day's incident, but she let it pass and fluttered upward, trying to find her way out of the material. When she realized that her sleepy mind was incapable to navigate she spoke, the rustling was still going on, "Link what are you doing up?" She stopped moving when the rustling stopped, everything was silent again. That didn't make her calm down at all.

"…Link?" A louder rustling began, she heard something fall to the floor. Navi struggled again to find the way out of the material. When she felt cool air rush to her, she shot outward into the room. She expected to see Link trying to hide the fact that he'd been up and walking around, but what she actually saw made her unable to speak. When she finally found her voice, she yelled out at Link's sleeping form below her.

"Link!!"

--------------------

'Link!! Link!! Get up, get up!!'

A hard force awoke Link from his dreamless slumber. He tried to shake off the irritating noise, but a voice wouldn't let his body return to sleep.

"Link! Hay!"

'Navi?' When he realized that the voice belonged to his friend, he left his tiredness and tried to release energy throughout his body.

"What the hell? Back off!" This voice didn't belong to Navi. This sent a shot of worry into Link, making him jump upward off of the bed. He ripped the bedcovers off of his still-tired body and instantly grabbed his sword and shield from the floor. He didn't even look to see what was going on in the room.

He was standing now, watching the forms before him. Navi was facing the room's far wall, she illuminated the darkness around her, allowing Link to see the owner of the other voice her heard.

A young girl stood up against the wall, she struggled to hold a pair of scimitars and a pouch, Link recognized it as his pouch that held all of his rupees. Her long brown hair was a mess, she somehow managed to push it behind her ears, exposing her shocked face. She had dark eyes that never looked away from Navi. Her lips were set on a strait line, he wouldn't really say she had a beauty that would kill, but she had a furious look that could kill. She was definitely a Gerudo, he could tell from the clothes she wore. She wore dark red baggy pants, almost as dark as the blood that ran through their veins. The pants were securely held in place by a golden chain along her waist, he noted a place on each side of the belt for her scimitars to rest. She showed a bit of her strong stomach, her torso was covered with a sleeveless top with a similar color as her pants. Her top was decorated with black shapes, it looked like black paint had aimlessly been spread over the red. Around the girl's neck was a single golden chain, along the chain were black and red jewels, it ended with a large hanging ruby that shone in Navi's light. Similar chains dangled around her wrists.

The girls tried to take a step forward, but Navi flew by her face, sending her stepping backwards with a gasp.

Link took a step forward-- and the girl snapped her head to him, she seemed surprised to see him, but she didn't move. She continued to try to find an escape, the only way out was the door, and she was far from it.

"She was going through your things Link!" Navi's voice was strong, it annoyed the girls very much.

Before Link could respond, the girl snapped quickly, "I was not!"

"What were you doing?" Link raised an eyebrow, he knew she was probably lying, but he thought he'd toy with her since she was in his room. Of course the girl was speechless. She stared at Link with hopeless eyes, her face was flushed with embarrassment, and he could see it getting redder in the moonlight.

Even with Navi's efforts, the girl took a step forward, but not before she slipped Link's pouch behind her, hooking it onto her belt, "I was doing nothing. The…" She paused, she moved again, but not towards Link, she worked her way in-between Link and Navi. Making sure not to expose her back, "I went into the wrong room…and if you'll excuse me, I'll just--" She quickly turned around, headed for the door, Link didn't let her reach it. He extended his sword, he intended it to go in front of her as way to stop her. However, she heard him move towards her and whirled around, catching his blade in-between her own.

"What you're trying to kill me?" Now she raised an eyebrow, she was actually smiling. The smile made her look somewhat innocent, despite the fact that she had just taken his money.

"I think you have something the belongs to me." He whispered to her, and returned her smile with his own when he heard Navi join his side.

All she did was stare at him and shake her head. Her face showed no lie, but it was a pathetic attempt to try to trick him. Yet she continued to stare into his blue eyes with her brown ones, she gave him a questionable look, as if she had no idea what was going on. For a second she looked like a regular confused kid.

'Looks can be deceiving, but actions rarely can…'

She released his sword, taking a step backwards, she held her hands up with her scimitars, "I don't know what your saying boy--"

"THEA!!!"

The young Gerudo's eyes went wide at the sudden voice. Link didn't recognize it, but he could tell it was a women. The girl quickly holstered her swords, threw open the door, and ran out into the hallway. Link followed her, when he looked down the hallway he saw that there were others in the corridor as well as them. He noticed that they were other Gerudos, some young, some old. He ran after the girl as he placed his shield along his back, and placed his sword in its sheath, Navi was right behind him.

As the girl was nearing the group of women who blocked her path she paused, a woman with raven hair spoke a few angry words with her, a group of Hyrulian guards suddenly emerged from one of the Inn rooms. When they spotted the young thief, she shoved her way passed the other women. One of the guards grabbed a bunch of her hair, she screamed in pain as the man pulled her closer. She grabbed her hair closer to the roots, and threw a perfectly aimed back kick into the guards chest. Even with the light armor, he still lost the power to hold her, allowing her to continue to run down the hallway, and down the steps.

'…Great.'

Unable to let the let the girl escape, Link pursued her. He pushed his way through the women who where now screaming at the one who Link ran after. He carefully ran over the fallen soldier who was being helped up by his comrades, but now only Link was close to getting the girl.

He ran faster not bothering to pace himself, his boots made a loud thumping noise as they pushed against the floor, pushing him forward. In no time he reached the wooden staircase, he quickly glanced downward-- and saw that on the floor below him, she was looking upward at him. She was at the bottom of the staircase, but not for long. When their eyes met she quickly ran off.

Link ignored the shouts behind him and continued down the steps, he skipped every other step to limit the distance between him and the thief. He occasionally grabbed the railing to propel himself forward faster, at one point the almost slipped off of the wooden steps, luckily he used the lose of footing as an advantage to leap a few steps forward. When he did reach the end of the steps, his body had moved too fast for his mind to handle, he had to take a breath to understand his surroundings.

He now stood in the main room within the Inn. There was a counter in front of him, the women he recognized as Adara stood behind it. She faced him, face paler then usual.

"Guh-- Good-evening Link" She said as he approached her. Her hands where at her sides strait, she was looking at the floorboards.

"Adara, the young girl who just ran down here…where did she go!?" Link examined the room, he searched it as he spoke. He noticed that another person was in the room with them. To his right, against the wall were some oak chairs accompanied with matching tables, at one of the tables sat another young girl. This one had bright, fiery red hair. The clothing she wore showed that she was a Gerudo, it also showed off her slim stomach. Her eyes were a lovely bright green that shone in the light from the candle that hung along the ceiling. She smiled at him, it was sweet, it warmed Link inside making him feel a little better in the current situation.

Link's attention was easily taken off of the girl when Adara replied as quickly as she had greeted him, "You just missed her, she ran out the door." With that, the Inn owner began to shuffle with some papers on the desk, they were scattered and she seemed to be trying to organize them, even with her hands shaking.

Putting his frustration aside, Link dashed towards the door to his left-- and stopped after taking two long steps. Even with his mind racing he was able to notice the small bronze chains that hung from the wall. The small chains hung from the wall and attached to the door, locking it.

'I would have seen someone move if she had to make it through a locked door and then have it locked behind her.'

Link took a step back ward and spun around to glance at the room. Near him were some more chairs surrounded with houseplants, giving the room some more charm. The walls were decorated with many paintings, each one of a different place in Hyrule, The whole room looked like a map. There was one other door within the room, most likely to the kitchen, and in the candlelight and Navi's glow Link could see the small shining chains that kept the door shut.

"Please, the child never left the building." The words from the red-head spun Link in her direction, he took a step forward and gave her a questioning look, she continued to smile as she pushed her hair back, exposing more of her divine face. Navi moved closer to Link, making sure he knew of her presence. When the girl's hand finished flowing through her locks, it formed to a pointing gesture. Link followed the slender hand and saw that she was pointing at the desk that Adara stood behind. When he returned his eyes back to her, she had looked away, and was now listening to the thundering steps of soldiers as they charged down the steps. Link never saw the smile leave her face.

Quickly, Link walked to Adara, hope rose within him when she gave him a worried look, she was trembling harder than before, her hands were squeezing the papers in her hands. As he stared at the old women he understood. She was just a simple worker who was put in a position that she couldn't handle, she worried about her safety, and for the safety of others in the building

'And then there are some girls who hurt people without any cares or regrets, that just shows how dangerous they are…'

"Move!" The word came out harsher than he meant it, but Adara moved and ran over to the side, and that's what he wanted. When she moved he saw that on the wall was a small door. It was painted white, just like the wall so it was somewhat hidden, but with the handle it was quite obvious from his view. As the thundering steps neared the Inn's first floor, Link retrieved his sword once more and kneeled down to the door. For a second he thought it was all a lie, the door was small, probably four feet tall and half that size wide. But seeing that it was the only option, Link gripped the small metal handle and pulled the door open, his sword was gripped tightly in his left hand.

When the small door opened the sounds around Link grew more intense. The metal clanking of boots erupted on the floor, women were shouting at the guards, the guards barked orders such as "Back away" and "Tell me what you know". The madness around him seemed to decrease when he stared at was inside of the door. It was dark, but Navi's fluttered close to provide the much-needed light. Two dark eyes stared at Link, not at the soldiers, not at the other Gerudos, they stared at Link, full of an anger that caused the girl's hand to tremble. She had to squeeze into the small area, it was already occupied with paper, small boxes and rupees, but she had managed the fit. She sat with her knees bent, pointed upward. One of her hands held one of her scimitars, as she trembled, it shook as well. Even though Link was armed, she could probably get a strike in, but as the shouts calmed down, as the guards came closer to the kids, as the situation started to become clear, she let her blade rest at her side, but she never let it leave her grasp.

Even when the guards yanked her out of the hole she continued to look at Link. Even when his money left her possession, she continued to look at him. Her eyes only left him when the red-haired girl came into view. Link noticed that she continued to smile as her fellow Gerudo was hauled out of the building by the angry guards.

A/N. OK that's that chapter….again, I don't know what to write here. I guess just look out for the next chapter which should be posted soon.

Peace out, and have a happy holidays!

-CB