Seeing Truth
Chapter 9:
Another morning…Wow, how many more of these did I have to deal with? I couldn't handle all the 'suspense' any longer. I just had to know what was for breakfast. Gah, I was going insane with the penetrated gazes of the two boys in back of me. How long was I going to keep this up? How long were they going to keep this up? A suspicious one, and a…well, I have no idea. Well, I might as well go back to the present if I didn't want to trip over a set of stairs…
I folded my arms across my chest as my eyes searched around my surroundings, trying to etch them in my mind. I obviously knew where I was going, that much I knew, but how to get back…well, that was beyond me.
The smell of pancakes filled the air as we entered the Dining Hall. The royal families were already seated, and I just couldn't help smile nervously as I approached the chair a servant was leading me to. And of course, the same one I had been seated at the past day. I was next to Link with Kado across from me, and Zelda to his side. Although, instead of greeting her, I was too busy staring at the steaming plate of blueberry pancakes in front of me. My eyes opened wide as I finally glanced forward to greet Zelda.
"So, Jade. How do you like it here, so far?" Zelda asked as she placed a piece of her pancake in her mouth, before I could place some of mine in my mouth.
I nodded, "Oh, it's great here. Wonderful, interesting, fun, intriguing, fantastic, uh, great, wonderful…"
I felt something hit against my shin and I stopped, finally placing a piece of the syrupy pancake in my mouth. I ignored Link's glare as I took a 'sip' of orange juice while listening to Zelda's conversation with Kado.
"You know, ever since you have gotten here, I haven't been able to talk with you once, Kado." Zelda stated as I continued with the pancakes.
"Really, well, I'm sure we will today, Zel'." Kado said than taking a bite from his pancake.
"Oh, Jade," the princess had turned to me, again, before I could take another bite of my pancakes, again, "How do you like the food here."
"Well, I thought it was…" I stopped when I felt a harder kick on the shin. I turned to glare at Link than continued; "…I thought it was pretty good, though I'm not much into spicy foods and seafood."
"I will just have to see what the cooks can do." She said she continued eating.
I smirked than turned towards Link who was only staring at me warningly.
"Well, what are we going to do today? Hmmm…" I said a bit sarcastically after a few minutes, "Well, I think we should go to the market, hmm, Link?"
"Uh, Jade?" Link replied slowly.
"Oh, wait," my tone full of sarcasm as I placed the palms of my hands on the table, faking shock, "You guys are going horseback riding. Am I right?"
"I'm so sorry. I completely forgot to tell you…" I heard Zelda say maybe a bit too sadly.
"Oh, that's all right, I think I've spent too much time on a horse, anyway. Have fun, though." I continued to eat after this, but turned to Link once he spoke.
"Jade, you're welcome to come, but if you want to spend time in the market… Though, do you have any money?"
"Link, don't worry about me. I know Hyrule like the back of my hand. I'll find money, don't worry."
Everyone finally turned back to their plates, supposedly satisfied with my answer as I glanced at the back of my hands than noticing a small cut near my finger, "Hey, I never noticed that, before…"
Everyone's attention turned to me with shock on his or her faces.
"What?" I looked at everyone in confusion.
Link shook his head and I shrugged as I finally drank more of my orange juice.
XxxxXxxxX
In an hour, Kado, Link, and Zelda, had ridden off to Lon Lon Ranch as I was left to spend time in the market. I sighed as I entered the bustling town as merchants worked to get people's attention. It was a Wednesday after all, yet that didn't stop anyone from getting the town ready for a festival. I noticed a familiar fountain in the middle of what I guessed was the town square. The place was larger than I had last seen it, and with the crowds of people, I felt like I could get lost. I held the strap of my shoulder bag, which was more like a purse that Eve had given me before I had left. It was pretty regular with its leather and stitching quality. A black star was sewn in the front to give it a nice look. It was enough to carry some loose change since I didn't have a wallet or anything.
I looked around my surroundings to see if there was anything interesting to do when I found a stand being set up by a boy and a girl. When I reached their stand did I realize they were twins. I smiled as I looked at the items set up. Most of them were necklaces that looked pretty expensive.
"Do you see anything here you like?" I heard the girl say as she walked up to the counter.
"Um, yeah, they're really pretty, but look expensive. How can you trust anyone to not steal these?"
"Well, we're careful," it was the boy this time, "Besides, we have back-up."
"Like a weapon or something?" I asked.
"Yes…" the boy brought up a sword from under the counter. He raised it up to let it glint in the light than quickly brought it down.
I snorted, "Well, you're prepared. Anyway, do you make these?"
"Our father does." The girl said as she took a random necklace and began polishing.
"And you two sell them?"
The boy nodded, "It is our dad's job. We go from city to city selling these. We come here every week of the Moon festival to sell."
"Really?"
The girl took over, now, "Yeah, we always have a game of archery, too, on special occasions such as these. If someone can score a perfect Bullseye five times in a row, they win something here."
"So, do you sell anything else?"
"Oh, of course, but we have recently run out of stock, so our father is at work. You might ask why his children are selling and not him, but we enjoy it."
I smiled, "Well, that's good."
"So, are you interested in buying anything?" the boy asked as he ran a hand through his black hair.
"Oh, no. I'm sorry. I can't afford any of it."
"But, you don't know how much it costs."
"I know, but I don't really have any money with me or anything."
"That's too bad," the girl said as her once gleaming ruby-red eyes saddened, "I hope you can come back, again. It was nice talking to you. Everyone here always takes advantage of the fact we are just children and don't know anything, but you seem to understand."
I grinned, "Well, you're only a few years younger than me. Besides, a lot of merchants always rush you and talk so fast you can't understand a word they're saying."
"That's Rule 2 in a merchant's world." The boy said as he sat on a wooden chair that was behind the counter.
"What's Rule 1?" I asked.
"Never tell the customer how crappy your item is." The girl said with a smirk as they began laughing.
When the two noticed my confused expression they waved me off, "We were just joking… Well, actually, Rule 1 is always tell the positive things of your item, and mention the negative in between…"
"Which, basically means don't tell them the crappy side." I finished for them.
They nodded as the boy continued, "Don't let this scare you off, though. We are not those kinds of merchants. If something goes wrong with the item, you are free to return it."
"Well, it was nice meeting you two…"
"Same here. By the way, my name is Kiyoshi, and this is my sister Kyoko."
"My name's Jade."
"Well, I hope we meet again."
"If I can get out of that Ball tomorrow night, than I'm sure of it."
XxxxXxxxX
The day was slowly getting colder as I sat on the fountain in the town square. Three hours had already past when I actually realized that I didn't have a clue to when the trio would be returning from their wonderful day of horseback riding. I sighed as I stood up. It was already time for lunch, which meant time for me to go into the building with the pots and smash stuff for rupees. What mess was I going to make next?
The bridge was soon in sight as I walked idly towards the small building. I hadn't expected people to be here other than the soldier on duty, but merchants had set up on the sides, too. I guess their was no more room so they had to resort to here. I shook my head as I made my way to the building when I accidentally bumped into someone. I stumbled backwards as I cleared my head other than the cursing.
"Are you alright?" I heard a familiar voice say as someone grabbed my shoulders to balance me.
I opened one eye to stare at the person I had bumped into. Opening both of my eyes, I sighed than stood straight.
"Link, what are you doing here?" I asked impatiently.
"I asked you something first." Link replied as he let go of me.
"I'm fine. Now, what are you doing here? I thought you would be horseback riding."
A smirk crossed the boy's face, "I felt bad for leaving you here all alone. After I remembered you didn't have any rupees to buy anything to eat."
"That's sweet, but I'm perfectly fine without you." I retorted sarcastically as I turned around to leave.
I only felt myself being pulled back as Link grabbed my arm, "Come on, I know a great place to eat."
"They don't serve purple lobster, do they?"
XxxxXxxxX
"So, Link, when does that Ball start, again?" I asked as I brushed my hand against the water in the fountain. We were now sitting in the town square on the side of the large water fountain. The sun was beginning to set after the long day of doing almost nothing. Everyone was preparing for the festival while others were preparing for the Ball. Ugh, I hate using that term. Whenever I think about it, I think about dancing. No, not modern dancing, but waltzes and all this other stuff…
"Seven, I think." He answered as he stared at the water than taking off his kokiri hat. He ran a hand through his golden blonde hair as I stared at him. He turned to me with his deep blue eyes with a confused expression. I laughed nervously than turned back to the water.
"Why did you have to drag me into this?"
"Drag you into what?"
"The dance- I mean Ball."
"I don't know. I had a feeling you would be invited anyway."
"Because you asked."
"Oh, lighten up. It's only for eight hours."
"EIGHT HOURS?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Link, I can barely last an hour. Now you're saying I have to last for EIGHT hours? Are you insane?"
"It's only for one night. You will last."
I rolled my eyes, "Since when did you get so sarcastic?"
"I learned from you." He retorted, though in utter calmness.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked as I stood up.
"I think it is pretty clear." He said as he stood up, showing to me that he was half-a-head taller than me.
I narrowed my eyes as I stood on the tip of my toes to glare at Link straight in the face. Instead of backing off, Link only stared at me calmly with an unexplained expression. I kept my gaze as I slowly lowered back on the ground to rest my feet. It wasn't too long before I felt heat rising to my cheeks. I glanced towards the fountain than decided to stand on the side of it. Now, I was about two feet taller than him as I glared down at him. Link crossed his arms and looked up at me.
"What are you doing?" he asked calmly.
"Well, you're practically a whole head taller than me, and this is the only way to look down at you." I snapped as I kept my gaze steady.
Link raised an eyebrow as I shuffled my weight, but only to have the whole thing backfire. I felt my balance fail as I slipped away. In a second, I was under water, groping for the side. Yes, it was only two-in-a-half feet deep, but water went up my nose anyway. I sat on the bottom of the fountain with the palms of my hands resting on the cold tile behind me for support. Staring at Link through my bangs, I narrowed my eyes as he began laughing.
"Hah, hah, very funny…" I retorted as I placed one side of my bangs behind my ear.
"You deserve it." He said as he bit his lip to keep from laughing.
I rolled my eyes than splashed water at him. Now, he was soaked in water from head to toe. I smirked as I stood up and stepped out of the fountain, finally even.
"Oi, Link!" A familiar voice was heard from the entrance into town. I jerked my head that direction to see Zelda and Kado running towards us.
Link smiled and waved as I did the same.
"Oi, Jade." Kado said as he finally reached us.
"So, what did you guys do, today?" I asked.
"Well, we rode some of Malon's horses, but we had to tame them, first. After, we had lunch, and later caught up on old times. Right, Kado?" Zelda said in a cheery voice.
"Yep, I told you we'd have time to catch up." Kado smirked happily.
The princess only rolled her eyes and smiled as she began laughing.
"Ah-hah-ah…" I laughed nervously as I scratched the back of my head, not really knowing what to do.
XxxxXxxX
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK…What the heck is that?
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK…I groaned angrily as I turner over in my bed…
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK…I tossed a pillow over my head, and tried to fall asleep, trying to get rid of that awful banging sound…
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK…There it was again… I slowly sat up on my bed as I rubbed my eyes.
Knock, Knock, Knock… "Jade, wake up. We want to show you something…"
I jerked my head the door's direction and stared blankly at it for a good few minutes, until the knock came again. Well, maybe they'll go away… No… But, why did the person say 'we'?
Standing up, I ran a hand through my hair than advanced towards the door. I opened the door groggily as I gazed up at three familiar faces all with the same expression.
"What the- what are all of you doing here? Can't I ever get a good night's sleep for once?" I said angrily.
"You have to see this…" Zelda said as she busied herself with putting her hair into a low ponytail. They were all in their pajamas with Zelda in her nightgown under a robe and Link and Kado in some pajama pants and shirt. I was in almost the same type of pajamas as the boys, but ignored the look of confusion from the trio.
"See what?" As I said this, the three walked in, "Hey, this is burning nighttime hours. Just tell me what you cam here for, then I can go back to sleep."
Kado grabbed my hand with a grin as he led me towards the balcony, "Are you crazy? It's cold outside."
When I glanced out the window, I noticed a small light zoom by. I quickly disregarded it, thinking it was just some firefly…
But, I was wrong. As we stepped out into the balcony, we were greeted with the night sky…that seemed to be falling? Tiny lights zoomed by in the black depths of the sky. It took me a second to realize the comets colliding with the earth- I mean, world. The sky brightened as more comets collided with the ground. A small smile formed on my lips as I gazed up at the night sky. After a few minutes, I turned my head to see the small sight we had formed. To one side of me, Zelda stood, and next to her was Link, while on the other side of me stood Kado. I suddenly felt like I was with friends, again, ones that I could count on, and trust, and yet, again, I felt small. I was the shortest out of all of them, and that was a change from back home. I was basically in between; I wasn't the tallest, but I wasn't the shortest either.
I shrugged as I stared up at the sky, once more, only to realize the comets dieing down. The show was over and I could finally go back to sleep. I turned around and walked back inside as I crossed my arms. The three followed me inside as I sat down on the sofa. They followed suit. We, now, sat on one huge sofa with me at the end, then Link, then Kado, then Zelda. I shook my head as I leaned against the palm of my hand.
"Who was the one who started all of this?" Suddenly, all two fingers pointed at Kado and I snickered.
Kado blinked then turned to me, "What is so funny?"
"I thought so." He narrowed his eyes than sat back and crossed his arms.
I sighed as I closed my eyes. For a while I didn't hear anything, only the sound of the sofa moving now and then. I heard small pitter-patter then the door opening than closing. I sighed in relief as I spread out on the couch with eyes still closed. When I felt something brush against my forehead, I tightened my grip on a nearby pillow as I opened my eyes.
Three pairs of eyes stared at me with utter delight as a smile formed on the faces near me. I screamed in shock as I began to pound them with the pillow in my hand. There laughs in between their protests and "ow's" made me angrier. Soon enough, the trio was lying on the floor, gripping their ribs as they laughed hysterically. My expression must have looked bemused because every time they would glance at me, they would laugh even more. An idea quickly popped in my head and I began to grin deviously. I grabbed all the pillows I could hold, and when the first one hit its target, all of them died down their laughing. Kado only stared at me with narrowed eyes as a smirk finally crossed his face.
In a second, I felt something hard hit my face, and when it did, one hit Kado's face. When Zelda began laughing, she was hit with a pillow, and when Link's gaze turned from Zelda to me, he was pounded with a pillow. It wasn't too long after that I was being chased around in my room with pillows flying everywhere, oh, and feathers. Who would've known we would ever resort into a pillow fight?
I guess the whole night was spent like this, and I was more than grateful to have friends like them, but when I was being attacked with pillows I thought otherwise…
Well, how did everyone like this chapter? I finished it pretty quick, too. Anyway, I had fun writing this chapter with all the little friend moments, and stuff. Though, the next chapter will be about the Ball. Seriously, I don't even like calling it that. Anyway, I'm beginning to think if I should make it KadoxJade rather than LinkxJade, but I want everyone's input even though I may or may not follow it. SO, the question is: What would my readers prefer? A LinkxJade, or KadoxJade? Anyway, thank you for all your guys' reviews, so I'll reply…
AnimeDemonNayorin: Yay! Your welcome! Thanx for reviewing!
soullesseyes: yeah, poor, poor Jade...mwuahahaha! cough, cough, AHEM...
Maddison-T: Yeah, Kado wouldn't do anything he'd regret...heh, heh... You could just tell he really likes Jade. Anyway, I added more of Zelda, and I'm still working on it. Next chapter, everyone will find out what's going on.
yukidarkfan: thank you!
kai fan#1: thank ya's!
Thank you everyone for all your wonderful reviews people! BTW, I'm beginning to think if I should discontinue Living in Shadows because I just don't feel like continueing, but if people think I should continue and give me a good reason or something than I just maybe will continue...anyhoo... :P
kitana5055