Two chapters in one day? It must be Christmas.
Nope. That just happened last month. But happy belated holidays, people!
Stay classy, review, and enjoy.
A figure walks ahead of me—sword and shield at the ready—prepared for anything. I try to keep up, but I'm losing him fast. I have to start running to keep up.
"Wait!" I yell. The cool air feels even colder due to my damp clothing. He pulled me out from that pool and waited to see if I was okay. Then he left without any warning or say so. He actually didn't say anything at all.
"Link, you come back here this instant!"
Wait. Link? Where did that come from?
I don't have time to ponder what my dream self meant, because the man in front of me stops in place and turns his head over his shoulder. Sure enough, it is link. I can't believe my eyes.
He wears a green Skyloftian knight tunic with chain mail and tan pants. I have to admit, it is very becoming. He wears the traditional clothing well. I freeze in place as well.
"Link?" I ask, unsure of how to continue. What is he doing in those clothes? Where are we? Who took my sister? What is going on?
He smiles and turns to walk toward me, sheathing his sword. I lock gazes with him. He stands right before me in an instant. His hands reach up to my hips and pull me close. My lungs stop working properly and my mind goes fuzzy as he drops his forehead to mine. I close my eyes. He gives me a light peck on the lips. It was short, but still enough to send my heart racing.
"Sleep," is all he says.
And I know no more as the darkness takes me again.
"Zel," Link whispers. I sigh, regrettably returning to consciousness. Especially after that dream! What a letdown.
Then I remember where I am.
In a basement.
In a dark basement with no power, in the middle of a storm, wrapped in my friend's arms, sharing blankets and on an almost too small couch.
I don't know which is worse. The dream I just had of kissing one of my, if not my only, best friend, knowing that it most likely will never happen, or waking to find myself actually in his arms, but not in that kind of relationship with him. I guess having his friendship is better than not having him at all.
I settle with that, for now.
Link rubs circles into my back as I wake. Dang it, why does he have to be so sweet to me?
"Hey, Zel," he whispers again. I groan, making him laugh.
Glad you can enjoy my pain, Link.
"What?" I mumble.
"I think the storm has died down enough to go upstairs. Want to try our luck?"
"Not really," I say quietly.
"Zelda," he sighs, "we'll be fine. I promise you." I look up at him and he smiles. "Plus," he adds, swiping my bangs away from my face, "if anything does happen, I know where your room is and I will come get you right away. Okay?"
"Fine," I yawn. "Let's get going." I rest my head on his chest again.
"Um, Zel?" He asks nervously.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"You'll need to get off of me if we are going upstairs."
I take a deep breath and exhale. "Yep." I say, getting up. He laughs. I'm still not entirely conscious, so as soon as he removes the blankets to put them back in the closet, I fall back onto the couch unable to stand anymore. He laughs again. I put an arm over my eyes.
"Why do you laugh at me so much, Link?"
"Because I think you're funny," I hear him respond from the other end of the room as he tends to the hearth.
"And why is that?"
"Because you are."
"Your insight is truly inspiring, Sherlock." I quip. "You've got me all figured out, don't you?"
"Pretty close. You love sleep, you hate running, and you love your food." He returns from the closet and extends his hand to me. I grab it and pull myself off of the couch.
"Are you calling me a pig?"
"No, I'm just saying you've got a hearty appetite."
"Hey!" I punch his shoulder, though I don't think it actually did any damage.
"It's a compliment! I appreciate a woman with a hearty appetite!"
"Then 'appreciate' me more often by not making fun of me." I start to walk over to the stairs.
"Deal," I hear him say after a low chuckle. I smile to myself. As we make it up the stairs, we hear voices beyond the door. He grabs my hand and I freeze. He steps up and puts a finger to his lips. I bite mine together. What has he got in mind? As we make it up the rest of the way, I find that the voice beyond belongs to Groose. My eyebrows knit together. I look to Link and he gives me a mischievous grin. I turn back to the door to listen.
"—went back to find her, but she wasn't anywhere. I tell you, she disappeared! I wanted to rescue her, not the town 'hero'. Seriously, Link can just go have a parade and everyone will follow him. It's because he's an orphan and people like to pity him, isn't it?"
At this I turn to look at him. His mischievous look now replaced with one of sadness and slight anger. This is the angriest I have ever seen him since meeting him, if that says anything. I grab his shoulder, and he relaxes, looking at me. I look back sympathetically. Groose isn't done either.
"He steals everyone's allegiance here in Skyloft to be on his side, and then has to steal the new girl's heart, too? How is that fair? Everyone knows she wants to be with me!" He was almost yelling at this point. I saw a shade of subtle pink slowly break out on Link's face as he turns his head to the door. I remove my hand from his shoulder, letting it fall to my side. I give him a calculating glance. Was it true? Was he trying to get my attention?
Well, if so, it worked.
He looks back over at me and smiles, rolling his eyes.
Dang it. Does he have any idea how I feel? Probably not.
I settle for a small smile in return. Groose continues to rant for a little while, and then starts down the hallway to the boy's wing. We wait for another thirty seconds or so to make sure the coast is clear. Then Link moves his hand to the door and opens it slowly. I follow suit. We walk to my room in silence. As we make it to my door, I pull the key out of my pocket and place it in the tumbler. Link leans against the wall, arms folded, and looks down. I turn my key and unlock the door, opening it a crack.
"Link," I say, but am cut off with him suddenly pushing me into my room. I gasp, but turn around to him shutting the door behind us and locking it.
"Link, what—" I start again, but his hand finds my mouth, and his other one presses against my back bringing me close. He brings his lips to my ear.
"Zelda," he whispers. "You're being watched."
My eyes widen in shock. Eyebrows knit, and body tense I turn my head to look at Link. What is he talking about?
"The headmaster called me into his office about a week before you came here," he started to explain. "He told me about a threat he had received on your life. He also asked me not to tell you, but doing so, I believe, would be wrong." He stepped back and led me to my bed. I sat down, thankful for the sudden removal of weight under my feet because I was about to fall over anyway.
"What do you mean?" I ask quietly.
"Have you ever heard the name Ghirahim?"
I froze. Yes, I have heard that name before. He was the nephew of my neighboring town's Mayor. Since he had no son, he practically adopted him and raised him as his own. And since my father was a Mayor as well, we had many dealings in the past. I've only met him once, and even then he creeped me out horribly. The way he looked at me with eyes full of lustful intent. It made me shudder. He had intended to marry me. I, obviously in a sane mind, said no. Multiple times. He had threatened me in the past that if I continued to say no, he would personally make sure I said yes. I'm still not sure what he meant by it, or how he was planning on going about doing that, but it still gave me shivers thinking about it.
I tuck my legs up to my chest and wrap my arms around them, staring off into space as I mentally try to escape the miserable abyss. I don't know how long I sat there, but Link eventually sat on my bed, too, and wrapped his arms around me. I think he took my silence as a 'yes, I know him' and immediately went to taking care of me like the gentleman that he is. He was always there for me when I wasn't feeling my best. I let my head drop to his shoulder and started shaking. I barely notice when he grabs a blanket from my bed and wraps it around me.
I am vaguely aware of the fact that it is somewhere around mid-morning, but am still exhausted. My eyelids just began drooping when I hear him whisper something in my ear.
"Sorry?" I say. Even his whisper can pull me out of my anguish.
"I said that when you're ready to talk about what happened between you two, feel free to grab me. It doesn't have to be now, but just know that I am here for you."
Hearing that warmed my freezing body. I smile at him and he smiles back. But my eyelids droop uncontrollably low and he gives a low chuckle.
"Don't worry, Zel," he whispers, "I'll stay here with you." He leans back taking me with him and rests me on his chest, rubbing circles into my back for warmth. After a minute, I lean up and give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks, 'town hero'."
"Anytime, fair maiden." He laughs lightly. "Now, sleep."
That has been twice within an hour that he has told me to sleep, and I listen to him again this time as my world slowly goes black.