Fuyuko: HiHiHi! It's the next chapter of Anagram already, served up hot for your reading pleasure! Mr. Hamster has been running extra hard in his wheel these past two days, so he made me type the prologue and first chapter for you. Be happy:P Also, in case nobody figured it out or nobody READ and REVIEWed, the anagram title was ROPOLQUE which becomes PROLOGUE. Huh, what's that you say Mr. Hamster? Okey-dokey, I got the message jokey! Mr. Hamster says it's Disclaimer-Bot time now.
Disclaimer-Bot: Mr. Hamster has programmed me to tell you he is not liable for her insanity. Mr. Hamster and his author chick have also programmed me to tell you that they do not own the legend of Zelda. They own Krin'nal, Vern, Missus Wresta, and all other non-standard Zelda characters. On behalf of myself, Disclaimer-Bot, please enjoy the fiction. That is all.
&
Anagram – Nostalgia"Ya can't go back to the past, kiddo, not without blowing yahself right out o' the water, an' sinking the whole frickin' ship with ya." –Getado to Krin'nal
&
Night fell on the burb of Hyrule Castle Town slowly, blanketing the Hylian people in a cloak of black illuminated only by the light of the stars overhead and the scattered torches around the doorways of late-night shops. Krin'nal sighed as he watched this event occur from the cornerstone of the Temple of Time, the shroud of night was like the one he had cast over his past. Though not a shadow of fear, anger, or sadness, both the veil of the night and the cloak that Krin'nal had donned were hiding the truth from the eyes of those who were not one with them, seeing shadows as places for only an enemy to reside.
There are those that know the truth though. Maybe nobody knows the whole truth, but there are a lot of people that know most of it. I mean, old Getado knows everything but the reason I ran, and Vern and Wresta know that I'm not really this thief named Krin'nal. Well, I am Krin'nal and I am a thief, but I think what I meant was that they know that I'm someone else too. Or that I was. Heck, nearly the whole crew at the Chaste Chasm knows at least that I'm not who I say I am. Heh. Gotta wonder if having this much truth out there is safe for my career. What do you think, lady night? Is it a good thing for me to have so many people know my secrets? I wonder what old Getado would say. He's the one that helped me hide myself in the first place, and he's always trying to tell me how to run my 'business', the old geezer.
Krin'nal pouted to himself, his mouth twisting downward in a sour grimace as he lay back on the cool gray marble of the Temple. Maybe Vern was right, and maybe he did owe Getado a little, but that didn't excuse the fact that the old geezer probably owed him a few years of his life in lectures. Absently, the teen pulled a slim lock-picker's dagger out of the hood of his cloak, twirling it lazily between his fingers. It was one of those nervous tics that people never notice about themselves, but that everyone that knows them always does. All the servers at the Chaste Chasm, Getado, and even some of the rough types at the Knothole had noticed that when the prodigy thief's eyes got distant and he appeared to be thinking hard, he would pull a dagger or other blade out from somewhere, anywhere, and start twirling it slowly, often between his fingers. These same silent observers had also noticed that he would slam the blade of choice back into its hiding place when his eyes unclouded and he had stopped thinking so deeply, when he had reached whatever conclusion he had tried to grasp.
With the moon high overhead shining coolly down, the stars watched as the lock-picker's slim dagger slid swiftly back into the folds of Krin'nal's hood. The thief stood with the barest scraping of his black leather boots, his expression still a bit grim, leaving the shadow of the Temple for those of the nearest alleyway.
Alright, then, let's go see old Getado. I did say I would tell him about the job, at least.
&
The back alleys of Hyrule Castle Town were not known as the safest or prettiest vistas in the area, but they did carry a reputation for being the perfect home for many of the sleazier citizens of Hyrule. Nearly every alley was in some level of disrepair, with abandoned houses, broken down shops, boxes of goods emptied and stacked against the walls, poor lighting, and quite a selection of nooks and crannies to hide in. Like everywhere else though, even these 'armpits of Hyrule'-as the nobles referred to them-had a caste system, which was evidenced by where people lived. When Krin'nal had first fled his old life he had noticed right away-mostly by being shoved out of his first hiding place-that the type of underhanded work you did, and your relative success at it denoted where a person could live in the alleys-without getting evicted.
Come to think of it, that was how I met Getado. I tried to take over his shack while he was on a mission, and he didn't have the heart to toss me out on my ear. What a softie.
It might have struck an ordinary person as odd that Krin'nal hadn't been afraid of the people lurking in the alley's shadows; Getado claimed that the boy didn't have enough sense to be afraid of anything, even if it was twenty times his size and wanted to use him as a toothpick. It could be said however, that the only reason Getado took the newly escaped Krin'nal under his wing was the fact that he was fearless. It was a quality that the old war veteran was said to admire, something to do with a personal shame in his own past.
Whatever the reasons were, it was true that Getado and Krin'nal had kept a strange kind of kinship since the first day they'd met-they respected each other, and helped each other, but they also ridiculed each other. Vern, who knew them both, had once remarked that it was a form of sparring only without swords.
Krin'nal grinned wryly as he stalked through the alleyway, cloak swishing around his knees as he came to the partially rotted wood that marked Getado's door. I'm off to spar with an old friend, then, eh Vern? Bet he'd love to see this one. We always do have the 'best' times after the old guy gets back. The young thief knocked lightly on the door, mindful not to knock it down.
"Go 'way, ya buggers, I've naught to talk about with ya!" The face that revealed itself to Krin'nal was framed by a rough russet stubble, wrinkled eyes, bushy eyebrows, and was crowned by a halo of graying russet hair surrounding a bald spot. The body that was attached to the grizzled head also carried signs of trial and aging, with scars on its arms, and sun-beaten, weathered skin that looked a bit like the leather boots and vest on it. This was the man known as Getado, who had seen the years of the Great War, been to Hades and decided to stay. In his day Getado had been a revered swordsman, a champion marksman in the annual Castle Town archery contest. When the war came the whole town saw him enlist, train diligently, and march off to the battle zones with pride. When the war was over, the whole town saw him return with his head down, his life made into a mockery, and his step heavy with shame. Krin'nal never asked what this shame was, but he had heard from Vern that it was the reason Getado had come back as a ruined man, and the reason why he had become a hired blade.
I remember the old guy telling me one time that being a hired blade was his way to forget the past, the pain, and the shame.
"I'm not a bugger, Getado. But if you really want me to go, I will. I'll just have to tell Vern that he can pass the info on that job around to someone else."
"Eh? Ah, Krin'nal, 'tis just ya. I though it might be that stupid moron tryin' to sell me some ol' junk blades."
"Junk blade seller's in this alley again? I kinda hope he asks the wrong guy, you know?"
"Sure, kid, sure. C'mon inside, why don't ya? Ya can tell me about that job over some joe."
"I'll pass on the coffee. It tastes like liquid ash. Probably because you've gone senile and forgotten how to make a proper brew."
"Don't start with me, kiddo, I've never seen ya try cook naught. Most likely 'tis cause ya've no idea how to build a proper fire."
"Fire? Heh. Primitive. I use a portable hot skillet. It has this handy heat spell on it, that cooks my food for me."
"I'll have a good laugh, then, when yah're out in the cold and that silly thing's spell breaks on ya. Ya won't be havin' a hot meal then, will ya kiddo?"
"Sure I will. I'll just steal it from somewhere, like I do everything else."
"Ya goin' to rob a wild animal then? I'm sure that them bears and wolves won' be tryin' to stop you from eating their catch. Just like I'm sure the buggers cook it first. Or maybe ya think ya can get it from the pixies? Pixie food is a might good thing for a human boy to eatin'." The hired blade sat himself down in one of the worn wooden chairs at the side of a thick plank that had been nailed to a barrel. Krin'nal kicked his boots up on the unsteady makeshift table, leaning back in another less rickety chair. The man seated across from him furrowed his bushy brows, narrowing his eyes in an irritated way at the thief's blatant roguishness. Krin'nal glanced at Getado's expression, and before the man could open his mouth to tell the teen off, he smirked cheekily and whipped his boots off the table. It was just too much fun to irritate the old swordsman.
Satisfied, Getado, took a swig of coffee before he looked at Krin'nal again. "So what's this job ya keep nattin' on about? Vern ought to know that I don't like to do one right after I get back. A man needs to give himself time to relax, ya know?"
"I know that old man, but this might pay you well enough you could rest for the rest of the year."
"Ah, c'mon now, kiddo, do ya really think that's goin' to happen?"
"It is a possibility. Vern said this job was from a noble. Apparently he's not happy with his wife's affairs with another noble. Love triangles aren't his thing, I guess."
"Love triangles? Kiddo, ya've got some strange ideas of what adultery is. 'Tis a bad thing for a man or a woman to be cheatin' on their spouse."
"Like you care? Jeez, come off it, it's a trio of nobles. They're all shallow. Only good thing about a rich person is that they pay up quite handsomely, especially if you threaten to expose their dirty little deeds." Krin'nal face had gone through a number of changes during this last statement, from sarcasm with Getado's preaching, to a twisted snarl of anger at the nobles, before finally coming to rest on a sick, cruel expression of joy at being able to exploit his own employers. Getado watched it all from across the table, wondering mildly if it was a good thing to let this particular person work in the underground. Whatever had happened to make the boy run form his past life had surely left a bad taste in the youth's mouth about the nobility and their extravagant, pathetic lifestyles, and letting him work with hardened criminals certainly wasn't helping to improve his anger management. Getado couldn't remember a time when the boy hadn't hated the nobility, or when the mention of them hadn't riled his temper.
"So? Are you going to take the job or not? 'Cause I need to get back to Vern about it, soon. I'm not working as a messenger boy for the two of you. I could be looking for a job of my own right now, but no, I'm here, telling you about a job that you don't even seem to have heard me talk about. Are you going deaf old geezer?"
"No, kiddo, I'm not goin' deaf. I'm just wondering why ya care about this job so much. Ya ain't the one that's goin' to get paid for it."
"Maybe it's 'cause I came all the way out here to tell you about it."
Getado grunted, glaring at the thief to let him know the 'old geezer' wasn't buying his story. Krin'nal glared right back. The grizzled old hired blade sighed. "Alright, kiddo, get yahself back to Vern and tell him I'll take the job. I'll not ask what ya reasons for caring about this are again. 'Tis not my business anyway, eh?"
"Damn straight it's not. Now, I'm going to get back to Chaste Chasm before I head out to handle my own business myself. Take care, old man." Krin'nal stood, striding over to the doorway a little to rapidly, his back a straight line of anger. Getado shook his head as he watched the boy he'd taken in and set on the path to being a hired man leave without a backward glance. The door groaned painfully, trying to keep itself on its rusty hinges from where it had been slammed a little harshly.
"Take care of yahself, kiddo. I don't want to see ya miss out on the rest of ya life because o' some stupid grudge."
&
Funny how the weather reflects my mood so much, thought Krin'nal as he stalked down the back alleys angrily, usually it makes me happy to know someone's on my side, but right now it's just ticking me off! The night skies had become ever darker than before, filling with black clouds shortly after his departure from Getado's home. Not too much had, the thief had been chagrined to feel rain drops pat on his head, as the sky let loose an angry rumble. He was completely soaked now, his blonde hair made even darker, almost brown, and plastered to the sides of his head. His cloak dragged heavily on his shoulders, filled with rainwater, and his boots sloshed with it.
The gloomy weather did nothing to improve his hope that he could talk to Vern, look for a job and then leave without anyone making a fuss. The Chaste Chasm was probably crammed full of people, trying to get out of the storm, which meant Vern would be twice as busy and twice as hard to talk to alone. Then there was the fact that the missus, who was doubtless clucking over the state of the people escaping from the storm would spot him and try to smother him in one of those stupid fluffy towels she kept around for just such an occasion.
She'll probably try to get me to take a 'nice hot soak', then she'll want to smother me again in the stupid towel like some kind of wet dog, all the while clucking about how it's a 'terrible tragedy that a little boy child like me has to be out in that nasty, horrible, weather.' Ugh. Revolting. I really hate being mothered like that. I'm not a child; I can take care of myself just fine. He gave a long suffering sigh as he thought that, recalling with a bitter distaste how often everyone still treated him like a child, and yet, how much worse it had been the first few months he had after he had meet them.
&Flashback&
His breath came in great gasps, not from running physically but from running away. He had spent the past two days plotting it, the last thirteen hours setting it up piece by painstaking piece, and finally the vast amount of forty minutes to pull it all off. He'd never thought that running away could be so ridiculous. Or so complicated. He'd always heard the Princess go on and on about how all they had to do in those books she'd read was tie some sheets together and slip out the nearest window.
Heh. Whoever wrote those books needs to get a piece of my mind for making it seem so easy. I wonder what everyone will say when they discover that I've 'mysteriously vanished'. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy frowned. Come to think of it, I can't be me if I'm supposed to have just dropped of the face of Hyrule. What would he do now, then? Should he cross the border to another of the Seven Lands? No, too many people knew his name all over the world for him to simply go to another country. Some nosy, righteous, know-it-all would just capture me and send me packing right back to where I 'belong', with my luck. Deciding that they probably wouldn't go looking for him in the most obvious of places-the town right under their noses-the boy made his way slowly down to the town square. It was night right now, and he knew he was hard to spot in the dark, but come sunrise and daylight, he'd stand out like a sore thumb. He'd have to find a place to hide, to lie low for a few until they thought he wasn't going to come back and that he couldn't be found.
Now where to hide myself…hm…I could hide in the back of a shop, but if the owner found me…in fact, almost anywhere I'd hide there would probably be some good citizen who'd turn me back over. Heh. So what about the bad citizens? They don't have any reason to hand me back over to the same people who make them outcasts, now do they? A roguish grin split the boy's youthful face at the very idea of hiding in the alleys, with the people who'd be least likely to even show interest in him. Jackpot. Now all he had to do was find the dingiest alley, pick a dark corner to hide in, sit back, and get comfy with his new freedom.
&
Unfortunately, even the best laid plans have flaws in them, and the boy who would become Krin'nal had found out rather quickly that having a proper hiding place in the back alleys of Hyrule Castle Town meant having an underhanded job in the underground of Hyrule. After the first night, when he'd been too wired with the adrenaline of his escape to rest somewhere, the youth had spent a day getting progressively hungrier, and just a tiny bit unsure of what to do next. By sundown of that first day, having wandered aimlessly through the winding connections of the back alleys, and occasionally running from guards, he was hungry, tired, and very frustrated with himself for not planning this part of his 'daring escape'.
Food is definitely at the top of my 'to do' list right now. Followed by a nice place to sleep. Heh. This is worse than the days of my early childhood. I mean, at least then I had one friend and a cozy house to come back to every night. The soon to be thief stopped, smelling the air around him, hoping to catch that scent that had been tingling his nose just a few seconds ago. If he was right, if it was what he thought it was…There! It is! Sweet merciful Goddesses, I'm saved! Food! The boy ran toward the scent, forgetting that he only had ten rupees in his wallet, not really needing it in his past life. As he skidded to a stop I front of a deli stand, he could feel his mouth watering, and felt his stomach rumble before he ever felt it. Time to eat, he thought, as he approached the vendor behind the stand.
"Sir, please excuse, but may I see your prices? I'm really hungry."
"Sure sonny, a regular size sandwich-with the works-is exactly 25 rupees. Made from all real Cucco and Lon Lon beef cattle meats, with fresh Labrynnian vegetables." The elderly vendor smiled down at him, but the child suddenly felt like what he was-a helpless little child. He'd forgotten to pack more money. Well, maybe if I ask him nice enough he'll bring it down. I think I've got twenty still. He checked his wallet. Or maybe not.
"Actually, sir, I'm just a teensy bit short on cash. Could you, um, maybe give me a discount? Like say, maybe a half off or something?"
"Half-off? Sorry, sonny, but I've got to make a living, especially now. My wife's got a touch of the flu." Seeing the boy's sorrowful expression though, the old man relented. He remembered what it was like to being trying to make it in the world. "But, hey, sonny, I'll tell you what, I'll give you half a sandwich for, well, let's see, ten rupees? You got that much?" The boy turned around, his face a bit brighter.
"Yes, sir, I do. Thank you so much!" He gave his last rupees to the vendor, and watched, salivating, as his food was prepared. It wasn't much, but he'd make it last, make it tide him over. The vendor wished him luck as he handed the youth his sandwich, and the recipient thanked him profusely as he walked away.
Later that evening, having eaten part of his sandwich, the boy watched the stars from the inside of a large crate he'd found the other night, but been kicked out of by one of the men nearby, telling him to keep out of
'his buddy's house'. Tonight nobody had been there guarding it, and he had taken it for himself. Looking out at the stars that twinkled down on him with the same luminous optimism they had every other night of his life, the boy who would be Krin'nal reflected silently about what he'd done and what he was going to do. Maybe it won't be as cushy as either of my past lives, but I won't miss the either. This kind of freedom is unrivaled, unreal. And I'll find a way to survive, to live the way I want to live. I've just got to find the right path to get there. Tomorrow, he thought as he lay down to sleep, tomorrow is the day my new life will really begin. I won't be me anymore, as of the next sunrise, and yet, I will still be me.
&
Fuyuko: Ahahahahaha! That's a wrap, ladies and gents!
Readers: …
Fuyuko: …What? Sorry if the cliffhanger kills you, I felt like cutting you all off. Don't worry, there'll be more soon, so please don't pelt me with anything right now. Hope you liked this chapter, sorry about randomly throwing the flashback in without hardly any warning. Mr. Hamster said it would be better that way, so blame him. Also, to my four reviewers from last chapter: Master of Reality (Krin'nal: It's interesting you think I'm interesting), E1pnvn (Krin'nal: Again, interesting that I'm interesting), Greki, and DarkFoxx03000, thank you so much for taking the time to review. I appreciate it beyond words, because it really helps me to continue writing and posting this story. Now then!
Krin'nal: You may want to start throwing stuff now. She has bad news. It's horrible. Really.
Fuyuko: Shut up and shrink back to kiddie size, you dirty little thief!
Krin'nal: Thief? Why, thank you. But I'm not dirty or little. Definitely not little. I'm not a child.
Fuyuko: You are right now. Anyways, all rude interruptions aside, I'm sorry to say that I'm putting this on hiatus while I'm on vacation for a week or so. But Mr. Hamster is already spinning on the next part of the flashback, so not to worry. Oh! And nobody gets the Death of a Thousand Twizzlers, E1pnvn. (For now…Bwahahahahaha!)
Read and Review or be…uh…Forced to Eat Chocolate Chip Cookies for Ten Years!
