Chapter 7: Brake

Cool water rippled against his ankles as he waded through the shallows, bringing some relief from the setting sun's heat. Each step was careful, delicate, as if he was balancing on a stack of plates. But as much as he tried to focus on the water, he kept glancing to the girl floating to his side. Zelda's stare was stuck to the water, studying the depths, the sun's orange hue bringing out her pale blue glow. She was focused, which was much more than he could say for himself. But it was her fault! It just seemed odd to him, to see her so engrossed in this. She wasn't a fan of gross animals, her reaction to mice and insects had made that plenty clear, but she'd leapt at the chance to explore the shore when he suggested looking for fish. It just didn't seem like her kind of thing. Then again, at this point he shouldn't be surprised. If he'd learnt anything about her since they met, it was her magnetic curiosity.

Her arm wafting through his own snapped him from his thoughts. "Link, over there, by those two rocks with crowns." She said, pointing just beyond the patch of seagrass in front of them. He craned his neck, trying to glimpse the shine of scales in the sunlight. Shimmering water obscured most of his sight, but as his eyes adjusted to the glare the faint silhouette faded into view. Splash. Silver skimmed the surface, shattering his view, diving back under in an instant.

Zelda gasped. "Was that a Skippyjack?" she asked, eyes still fixed on the rock.

"You think?" He replied, his voice echoing her excitement. "It looked pretty big, it could be an Amberjack!"

"Well, let's find out" she said, floating ahead of him. He gradually strode behind her, carefully shifting his weight to keep himself silent. He crept closer, gradually closing the distance.

Zelda bobbed back to his side, floating next to his head as she spoke, her voice barely louder than him. "It is a Skippyjack! It's got the little orange fins they have. I've never seen one that big before though!" She barely kept her voice down. A spark shot through him, seeing her so excited. But he focused on his movements. Sea grass licked at his shins as he continued wading through, sending a quick shiver down his spine. He steadily pulled his foot free from its grasp, but his movements were shattered as a loud sploosh echoed around them.

The water exploded. Flashes of colour snapped into view, then sprung away. Pinks darting one way, blues another. He barely made out the fishy shapes before they swam away, hiding from them once again among the seagrass. Looking around to find the perpetrator, he jumped as a large seagull shot out of the water, throwing water everywhere.

Cold rushed over him as the splash landed, coating him in water. Hair clung to his face like seaweed to a rock, his barely healed cuts stabbing as salty water ran over them. He froze, his mind icy as the chill pulsed through his bones. Laughter echoed around him and slowly his brain rebooted.

"Are-" Zelda started, her barely stifled laughter cutting through her words "-are you alright?"

He glanced up to her, coking his brow. "I'm fine, thanks for all you concern though. I'm glad you found my suffering entertaining" Sarcasm oozed from his voice.

"Well you should see yourself, you look like a puppy who's just found out what a bath is." She laughed again, snorting as she did.

He attempted to throw an icy glare at her, but felt his lighter mood betraying him.

Her laughter fell to a giggle, as she attempted to obscure her face with her hand. "You're even pulling the same face now."

He rolled his eyes and made his way over to the shore, glancing around for somewhere to dry off. He spotted a log laying across the beach a short walk away, sat in the quickly declining sun. He set off, sloshing through the water as Zelda floated passed him, looking out towards the sunset.

"We probably won't get the chance to look for any more will we?" she asked, nonchalantly bobbing through the air as they reached the log. He hummed in agreement, peeling off his dripping shirt and laying it on the log, hopping up next to it. Zelda floated down next to him, seating herself at his side.

"It's a shame," he said, trying to wring what water he could out of his still damp clothes. "I love Skippyjacks, me and the kids from Aboda used to go hunting for them all the time." With a sigh he gave up on his clothes and joined her in looking at the sunset.

She smirked, "I used to do the same thing when we visited here," She gazed off into the sunset, caught up in the memory, "though I was always looking for Fairy Fish really, apparently you can find them here, but I never had any luck."

Ah, that explained her eagerness then. A smile popped onto his face. "Fairy Fish? They're the red ones right? With the funny head things? What makes you interested in them? Was it for the gift?"

She looked at him quizzically, cocking her head.

He continued "There's a rumour, more a legend I guess, that if you follow a Fairy Fish they'll lead you to a Fairy who can gift you what you most need." He took a moment to bask in her attention, it was rare he knew something she didn't. Well that wasn't mechanical anyway. "I never believed it myself, but then again looking at who I'm talking to right now I guess anything's possible."

A smile worked its way onto her face. "Hmmm, I've never heard of that before, though I suppose I see the appeal." She dropped her head into her palm. "Honest answer? I just really wanted one as a pet. I thought they were pretty." She turned her head up to him. "My mother always said no though. Told me that they were too difficult to keep and that I wasn't mature enough." She giggled, "She was right to be fair. I was what…" she counted off on her fingers "…Six at the time? That didn't mean I was happy though, I remember I refused to speak to her afterwards." She looked back to the sunset wistfully. "That was a long ten minutes."

An idea popped into his head. "Ah, so not much has changed then."

She shot him a coy glance, head still in her palm. "Whatever do you mean." It was less a question, more goading him to continue.

He mirrored her, turning ever so slightly to face her. "I'm just saying, you're not much more mature now."

She scoffed "Oh please, look who's talking. I literally had to force you to come here before you collapsed."

He'd hooked her. "And I'm thankful." He gestured towards her. "But you literally refused to talk to me the other night because I beat you at a card game."

"Hey! We both know you were cheating." She snapped, but her playful tone cut out any seriousness to it. "Besides we're five to one, you have a long way before you prove that was legitimate."

He laughed, noticing the dimming light fading from her face. He gazed out towards the water, the faint embers on sunlight dancing on the waves. "That's true I guess. Want to call it a night and see if I can change that?"

She floated up from the log, stretching into the air, not hiding the grin on her face. "Sure, I'd love to beat you again." She set off towards the train, bobbing over his head.

He laughed, she was probably right, she was admittedly better at the game than he was. Though he could never let her know he acknowledged that. But he still found himself looking forward to the idea. He gathered his shirt, still damp but getting towards wearable again, and followed behind her. He watched as she bobbed ahead of him, having the closest he thought she could to a spring in her step.

"Hey Zelda?"

She turned towards him, stopping for him to catch up and cutely cocked her head again.

"Thanks. For today I mean. We've been rushing around so much that… well it's been nice to just relax for a bit I guess."

She froze, then gradually her hand fell to her side, playing with her skirt. She glanced away from him. A second passed before she spoke up, "You're welcome, of course. I'm glad to hear it. It's been…" She took a breath, collecting herself. A second ticked by till she turned back and smiled, and while it was only small, it carried a cosy atmosphere. "I've enjoyed it too."

He smirked, trotting by her side as the two headed back to the train. Come tomorrow they'd be back at it again, running around the kingdom to come one step closer to rescuing her body. So, just for tonight, he hoped they could carry on this atmosphere for just a little longer.