HEY! Just as I promised! Here's chapter 7. And just in case you didn't read the A/N chapter. I would like to start doing review replies. I want to interact with my readers so, if anyone has any type of question, whether it be about Serina, Jayne, myself or intrests.. anything. So long as it doesn't involve me spoiling any part of the story. If any of you are interested, feel free to include a question in your review and I will answer and questions i get in the beginning A/N of future chapters.
NOW WITHOUT FURTHER ADO
LADIES AND GENTS... I NOW PRESENT:
Chapter 7 – A Peek Into Serina's Past
Lena had led Serina over to her home and opened the door for her. They both walked into the main room of the house where a small pink Rito sat on the floor playing with a hand sewn doll. The child heard the door close and a large smile grew on her beak when she caught glimpse of Serina.
"Here, let me take your bag," Lena smiled.
"Thanks," Serina allowed her to take the bag and set it on a shelf.
The small Rito quickly stood up and ran over to Serina, wrapping her small wings around Serina's legs.
"Serina you're back!" She squeaked in excitement, "I missed you so much!"
Serina bent down and lifted the girl into her arms, bringing her into a bigger hug.
"I missed you too Sarah," Serina nuzzled her nose into the child's beak to greet her
Sarah's wings wrapped around Serina's neck tightly, unwilling to let go of her.
"What did I tell you?" Lena chuckled.
"I remember her being smaller," Serina stroked the feathers on top of Sarah's head.
"I know, she's growing up faster than her father and I would like," Lena smiled.
"I'm guessing he's still at work right now?" Serina inquired.
Lena nodded, "I'm afraid he's taken on another large load, he won't be home until much later tonight."
"Does he ever take a break?" Serina asked.
"He's been able to take a few more days off, luckily. During those days he Sarah won't leave him alone until she falls asleep," Lena smiled, "That's when I get my time with him."
Serina smirked, at Lena's last statement, "Oh?"
Lena blushed under her feathers, "That bring me to the news I have to tell you."
"What kind of news?" Serina raised a brow.
"Sarah, why don't you tell Serina?" Lena smiled.
"Oh yeah!" The small Rito piped, "I'm gonna have a new baby brother or sister!"
Serina's eyes widened, "Lena that's wonderful! When did you find this out?"
"It's been about three months now," Lena replied, "we're all very excited."
"Yeah! When the new baby gets big enough, we can have them play hide and seek with us Serina!" Sarah wriggled around in Serina's arms out of excitement.
"That sounds like a great idea," Serina giggled.
"Speaking of hide and seek, will you play with me after dinner?" Sarah's blue eyes sparkled with joy.
"But of course I will," Serina smiled.
The small Rito nuzzled her face into Serina's again, her soft feathers brushing across her nose.
Serina took a seat at the table in the center of the room, allowing Sarah to sit in her lap. Noticing that Sarah's head feathers had gotten longer, Serina decided to give her a nice French braid. Lena checked on the soup she had boiling in the pot and stirred it around a bit.
"It smells wonderful," Serina said.
"I hope you're hungry," Lena smiled, "Because it's ready."
"I'm starved." Serina tied off the braid she incorporated into Sarah's feathers, "So far during the travels, we've been living off of apples and other vegetables we find."
Lena placed a bowl in front of Serina and handed her a spoon, "Well here's something that'll hopefully be a bit more filling."
The steam rising from the hot soup filled the room with a delicious aroma, making Serina's stomach growl.
Sarah had moved to her own seat at the table in between Lena and Serina, "Gee Serina, you really are hungry."
"I sure am," She smiled.
Lena gave Sarah a small bowl before taking a bite of her own. Serina took a sip of the broth and took a bite of some of the warm vegetables.
"Lena, you're cooking never ceases to amaze me." Serina said.
"I'm glad you like it," Lena chuckled.
Sarah happily munched on her soup as well, looking over at her mother with a big smile, "It's very yummy momma."
Lena smiled and stroked her child's face, then looked back over to Serina.
"So, to ease my curiosity, what's it like travelling with Master Revali?" Lena asked.
Serina fixed a strand of hair behind her ear and scratched the back of her head, "It's… different."
"How so?" Lena tilted her head.
"Well, for one, I'm used to travelling alone. And for two, he and I didn't exactly start off on the right foot. It was about a week or so ago that we finally started getting along... Kind of." Serina explained.
"I see," Lena nodded, "Before he was chosen as the Rito Champion, nobody ever really saw much of him. So it was a bit of a surprise for me to see you with him."
"Just out of my own curiosity," Serina said, "What kind of a reputation does he have here? What do people think of him?"
"Just about everyone thinks very highly of him. Other Rito warriors look up to him because he's one of our best archers, and women fawn over him when he isn't paying attention." Lena answered.
Serina rolled her eyes, "No wonder he's so full of himself."
Lena giggled, "I won't deny, I was one of those who found him very attractive.. before I met my husband anyway…. Now what makes you seem so annoyed with him?"
"I was more upset with him when the journey started, but after a while we sort of called a truce, so he only annoys me when he makes one of his snarky comments. I'm getting to where I can tolerate him a lot more easily." Serina explained.
"I hope it gets a bit better then, if it's only the two of you for extended periods of time, I can see how not getting along could prove troublesome." Lena said.
Serina nodded in agreement and finished off her soup. She got up and brought her bowl and spoon over to the sink and began to rinse and clean it out.
"Here, Serina, you don't need to worry about that." Lena brought her bowl and Sarah's to the sink.
"Are you sure? I'm more than willing to help." Serina offered her assistance.
"It's fine," She smiled, "I can take care of it."
Sarah walked up and stood in-between Lena and Serina.
"Momma, can Serina and I go play outside?" She asked.
Lena looked over to Serina, who smiled and nodded, "Of course, I'll join you two in just a moment."
"Okay! Serina let's go!" Sarah grabbed Serina's hand and led her outside.
Short Time Lapse
Lena was leaning up against the wall, smiling as her child quickly looked for a hiding spot while Serina covered her eyes and counted. Revali had returned from the Flight Range and caught glimpse of Serina and the maroon colored Rito. He leaned up against the fence nearby Lena and the house and watched out of curiosity what Serina was doing.
"Eight… Nine… Ten!" Serina finished counting and uncovered her eyes, "Alright, ready or not here I come!"
Serina began looking around the house for the small Rito. Sarah was hiding behind a large rock right next to the house. Revali and Lena caught glimpse of the giggling child as she knew Serina was getting close.
Serina approached the rock, with a smile on her face, "I think I might have found you."
Sarah jumped out from behind the rock and tackled Serina to the gound, "Here I am!"
Serina grunted from the impact of hitting the floor and the girl's weight on top of her. Sarah giggled happily and sat on Serina's chest. A smile was on both of their faces as Serina grabbed Sarah and ruffled up her head feathers.
Lena laughed as Sarah squealed and giggled with Serina.
The sun was beginning to set, and Serina walked over to Lena with Sarah in her arms. Sarah yawned and stretched her wings out.
"Serina… do you have to leave soon?" Sarah asked.
"I'm afraid so.." She nodded.
"You promise you'll come back to visit soon?" Sarah wrapped her wings around Serina's neck.
"I always do," Serina smiled.
"I'm gonna miss you." Sarah sniffed.
Serina stroked her soft pink feathers, "I'll miss you too."
She pulled away to wipe the stray tear on Sarah's cheek.
"How about I tuck you in for bed tonight?" Serina asked.
Sarah yawned again and nodded sleepily.
Serina walked inside and tucked Sarah into bed, who quickly fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. She covered her with a blanket and stroked her feathers one more time before closing the door to her room.
She came back outside to where Lena stood. Revali still leaned against the fence, allowing them to talk a bit longer.
"How are you holding up?" Lena asked, immediately taking note of the sorrow deep within Serina's eyes.
"Huh?" She asked.
"With Eric, last time I saw you, you said something happened." Lena whispered.
Serina looked down, "That was six months ago."
"Are you willing to talk about it now?" She asked.
Serina sighed, "I won't go into full details.. but something in him changed after we had traveled around, we got into a fight and he called off the engagement. I haven't seen him since then."
Lena held one of her large wings to her face, "But you two seemed so happy together."
Serina shrugged, "I guess it just wasn't meant to be. It still bothers me from time to time, but I'm sure I'll be fine at some point."
Out of the corner of her eye, Sernia noticed Revali standing off to the side.
"Serina, if there' anything you need at all, you know you have us to come to." Lena put a hand on her shoulder and brought her into a hug.
"Thank you Lena, for everything." Serina returned the embrace.
"I hope to see you soon, maybe when your journey comes to an end you can come visit us again." Lena smiled as they parted from their tight hug, "I'm sure Sarah would love to have you around more."
"I'd like that." Serina smiled.
"I'll see you around, Serina, we'll miss you." Lena said.
"I'll miss you all too." Serina waved as Lena walked back into her house.
She walked over to Revali, who still was casually leaning on the fence, patiently waiting for her to say goodbye to her friend.
"Sorry if I took too long." Serina scratched the back of her head.
"As I said, we aren't in any rush tonight." Revali approached her.
They began to walk up the village and made their way to the landing, where Serina caught glimpse of the colorful sunset. She walked over and leaned against the railing, watching the sun sink down below the mountains.
"Are you feeling alright?" Revali inquired, noticing she seemed to be in a different place altogether.
"I'm fine… why?" Her grey orbs looked over to the Rito next to her.
"I couldn't help but notice you seeming a bit disturbed after the conversation you had with your friend." He said.
"Oh, so you heard all of that…?" She looked down at her arms leaning on the railing.
"It might have caught my attention." He answered, "Would you care to elaborate? I'm a bit curious."
"It's nothing all that interesting, just drama that happened a few months back." Serina shrugged, "It's all connected to the conversation you and I had earlier… about finding our other half."
"It seems as though it's disturbing you…" He said, "If it helps to talk about it, I'll listen if you'd like."
"It's a long… kind of deep story.. I don't know if you'd want to hear it." She sighed.
"Once again, we aren't in any rush." He nudged her arm with his wing, attempting to get her to lift her head up.
"Well.." She sighed, "Because of who I am and the job I have, as a royal guard and researcher for the Princess, danger tends to follow me everywhere I go. People are either out to try and kill me or use me for the abilities I have. Well, I met Eric and for a while he didn't seem all that disturbed by my job… of protecting people… for a while he said no matter what happens, he'd be there with me. We were together for a couple years after that. And one day he and I were out traveling, and we were ambushed by some people sent after me. We tried to fight them off, and he ended up getting hurt, so we retreated and I took him to safety to heal his wounds. From there, he said he didn't want anything to do with me… that I brought too much danger into his life…"
"If he were to truly stand by what he said, he would have gladly risked his life to save yours." Revali shook his head, "That was an act of cowardice."
"It definitely revealed to me that he highly values his life." She stated, "It was a while back, I should be over it by now."
"I can see why it bothers you." He said.
Serina shrugged, "As of now, it's just a bunch of drama I was involved in. It isn't something I like to talk about much, only because he is something I want to leave in the past."
"Would changing the subject once more possibly get your mind off of it?" He asked.
Serina nodded, "We should probably leave rather early tomorrow in order to get to Goron City in a decent amount of time."
Revali nodded, "One minor setback though, it's dreadfully hot over there."
"Oh… right… that.. won't be good…" Serina scratched the back of her head, "We will need to stock up on water in order to keep cool. But, hopefully we shouldn't have to worry about that until we get closer to our destination."
"For tonight, we should rest up." He said.
"You go ahead, I'm not all that tired." Serina looked up at the now starlit sky.
Revali sighed, "If you can, do try to get some type of rest."
"There's an inn I can go to if I need it." She said.
He shook his head, "I'll see you at dawn."
Alrighty! That's all for now! I'll try to jump on chapter 8 as quick as I can. I hope you all enjoyed, and please do leave a review. Stay tuned for next chapter, until then, farewell readers.
