Chapter 2: Striking A Deal
Link had arrived at the school building several hours later. The wind had picked up a little from earlier this morning, and a few clouds hovered over-head. The scent of rain was noticeable as Link looked at the ground to see condensation forming from the increase in humidity. His double-vision was gone, but the side effect was brutal. Link had an excruciating headache from his hangover, which put him in an irate mood.
The school building was run down in the same manner as the bar he was at earlier. The red paint was chipping, and the wooden shingles on the roof were beginning to fall off of the building. To put it simply, the building looked like it should have been condemned years ago.
Link walked up to the door and pushed it open, its hinges made an irritating squeal causing Link to cringe in pain from his migraine.
Inside, children were all, save one, were eating their lunches. The one child that did not have anything to eat was a little girl. She had green eyes and brown hair; here clothes were tattered and stained and here skin was rather dirty with several scrapes and bruises all over her tiny body. She would look rather cute, if she was properly dressed and cleaned. Link was feeling a little sorry for the child, not only for the fact that she wasn't wearing clothes as nice as the other children, but because she looked like she was malnourished and that the other children probably tormented her because she was different.
'Though I was tormented in high school, I guess I shouldn't have complained as much...at least I had decent clothes and some food to eat...food that was smashed by Rick and his bunch, but food nonetheless,' thought Link.
Link walked through the room until he found a little man, not much taller than the children. He would have mistaken him for one of the students if it wasn't for the black mustache he had, and the growing bald spot on his head. The little man came up to Link's ribs in height, and was dressed in a worn out suit.
The little man looked up at Link and demanded in a piercing voice, "Who are you, and what is to business of your intrusion good sir?"
"My name is Link," he answered, rubbing his temples because of the clamor coming from the children. "I've come to speak with the professor here."
"I am the professor," he replied, straightening his posture to look taller.
Link let out a moan, before he begged, "Can I speak with you outside?"
The Professor noticed Link rubbing his temples and responded in an agitated tone, "Of course, everyone must cater to the drunkards."
'Oh great, an observant smart person,' thought Link.
Link followed the Professor outside and they continued their conversation.
"So, warrior, what is it that you want from me?" inquired the Professor.
Link looked over his left shoulder to see the hilt of his sword before he answered, "I was informed that you can tell me about a place on the island…"
"And what kind of place are we talking about?" catechized the Professor.
"The place where…," Link tried to remember what Pepper had told him while he was intoxicated. "Where you can learn all of life's mysteries."
A frown grew on the Professors face, as he entered a deep thought, "You want to know about that?"
Link nodded his head in reply.
The Professor looked off towards the school before he replied, "Did you happen to notice the girl in rags?"
"Don't tell me she knows more about the place than you do," growled Link.
"Hahahahahahaha, heavens no," replied the Professor. "I just want to strike a deal with you."
"W-what kind of deal," stuttered Link, not liking where this is going.
"That girl doesn't have any parents," uttered the Professor. "She's too young for school yet, and children need to pay five rupees to come here….I haven't charged her because I thought it would be alright for one child to get a free ride, but the other parents found out and are wanting me to kick her out. She sleeps out in the playground of the school, no shelter what-so-ever."
"What happened to her parents?" asked Link. "Doesn't she have any relatives?"
"I-I dunno," replied the Professor. "She washed up on shore one day and followed a group of kids here…….I asked her how old she was, where she came from and what her name was, but all I got was her age."
"Well?" urged Link.
"She's four."
'Four huh? That's how old my son should be by now,' thought Link. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"
"I told you that in order for the children to learn here, they have to pay a fee," muttered the Professor.
"Your point?" asked Link, aggravation in his tone.
"The parents of the other children have threatened to pull their kids out of school if I don't give them free admission, or kick her out," continued the Professor, his voice growing quiet. "I can't just kick her out on the streets, and the parents are this schools only source of finances. So…..I'll tell you everything you want to know, if you take her with you."
Despite Link's headache, he began to laugh, "You're willing to dump that kid off on anyone who crossed your path weren't you? I'm sorry you're having a hard time, but I'm not a baby-sitter for someone. Plus, I don't need your help to find this stupid place. I can find it myself."
The Professor began to glare, "You can find it by yourself, but you'll die once you get there. And the fact that you're not a baby-sitter…I think you have a child."
Link was taken aback, "How did you know-…….I've faced enemies much greater than anything that could be on this puny island!"
"Judging by your age, you probably had a kid and left because you were scared of becoming a parent," replied the Professor, clasping his hands together. "And I didn't say anything about an enemy killing you."
Link ignored the Professor and began to take his leave.
"Hero's aren't just classified as someone who runs around with a sword in hand!" shouted the Professor in desperation. "I doubt a villain would come to a school looking for answers, so you must be some kind of hero!"
Link stopped in mid-step and looked over his shoulder, "I'm not gonna take a child with me…it's too dangerous for a child to be following me, and I'm not much of a parent!"
"Nobody is a parent until they have a child," responded the Professor.
Link looked down at his feet, not believing what he was about to do, "Alright! I'll take her! J-just, tell me your name so I know who to blame if she gets killed."
"The name's Neko," he replied with dignity, feeling victorious in persuading Link to do his bidding.
Link sneered at Neko as he walked past him and towards the school.
Inside, the children were sitting in their desks, waiting for Neko to return and begin teaching. Link walked up to the little girl in rags, who was sitting in the front row. She bore a depressed look on her face. Link, as stoic as he could be, placed his hand on her shoulder to catch her attention. She looked up at him, and he motioned with his head for her to follow him out of the school, all of the other children began whispering in amazement as the mysterious man with a sword escorted her out of the school.
Once outside, she looked up at Link with a puzzled look on her face.
"Go and wait by that horse," demanded Link, pointing at Epona a few meters away.
She promptly did so, leaving Link to speak with Neko.
"She shouldn't be any trouble for you," remarked Neko.
Link rolled his eyes, "A deal's a deal, now tell me about this…place."
"Very well," Neko reached into his pocket and pulled out an old piece of paper. "This is a map of how to get there. I've never been inside of the large building there, but I know what happens if you try to escape without performing a certain task."
Link reached out and grabbed the piece of paper from him, "What kind of task?"
"The task differs from person to person," continued Neko. "My assistant went inside of the building and tried to escape without finishing his task."
"And?" begged Link, raising his voice.
"He was killed right in front of me," replied Neko. "A booming voice shouted after he was killed that 'Anyone who dares ask me a question and not successfully beats their trial shall be punished by death.'"
"And you want me to take a little girl there?" asked Link in disbelief, astonished.
"She'll be fine as long as she doesn't ask any questions," added Neko, trying to keep Link from changing his mind. "Don't let her ask any questions and she'll be fine."
Link spun around on his heel before saying, "You're an idiot that just sent an innocent four-year-old to her grave….I hope you know that."
"You don't have to take her inside!"
"And leave her outside where there are such things as monsters running around?" Link argued. "I hope that the parents around here know how idiotic you are."
Link headed towards Epona before he could get a response from Neko. He couldn't believe that someone would want to get rid of a child so bad. It was even more unbelievable that he would be willing to give a child to someone that he knows are going to a dangerous place. The more Link thought about this, the more infuriated he became.
He came up to Epona grazing on a tuft of grass, and saw the little girl petting her behind the ears. In the girl's eyes, he saw that she was amazed by such a large, gentle beast like Epona. What grew to become every day to Link, was something new to this young child. Link's anger subsided as he watched the innocent little girl pet Epona, who seemed to enjoy the extra attention from this new stranger.
"Her names Epona," remarked Link, which startled the little girl.
She quickly stopped petting her and looked down at her feet, tears forming in her eyes.
Link saw the tears and quickly responded to them, "No, no, no, no, you're not in trouble or anything, I just thought you'd like to know her name."
"Why did you take me out of school?" asked the little girl, her voice was very quiet and sad.
Link placed his hands on his head, 'This is gonna be a long, long journey.' "I took you out because I thought you could use someone to watch out for ya."
The girl looked away from Link, trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible out of fear.
Link had to find a way to gain this little girls trust. They both stood in silence for several minutes before Link came up with an idea, "Tell ya what, if you tell me your name, I'll take you to a shop where we can get you cleaned up and some new clothes. And since you're gonna be hanging around with me for a while, it would be a good idea to get you some weapons so you can protect yourself. Then afterwards, we'll grab a bite to eat."
The girl's sadness quickly disappeared at the thought of new clothes to wear and some food in her empty stomach.
"M-my name's Kayla," her voice was full of excitement. "What's your name?"
Link was taken aback from this girl's sudden change in emotion, "Uh…my name's Link. Um, I'll let you ride on Epona while we go into town and look for a shop that can suit our needs."
Kayla jumped up in excitement from the thought of actually getting to ride the animal which had captivated her only minutes earlier.
Link reached down to Kayla, lifted her up and sat her onto his saddle on Epona. He grabbed onto Epona's reins and led her into town. 'This is gonna be the strangest journey I've been on yet I just hope that she won't be any problem...And I hope I never have to speak with that fool ever again.'