The hero, the broken, the saviour
In the last chapter…well, Rufus met Shadow and was properly introduced, and then he traipsed off with Quill to see Zephos and learn how to control the wind. Other than that…not much happened. He fainted again due to a fever, and when we left him, he was snuggling back down to sleep in the bunk in the cabin of Flo:Pats him on the head: he's so cute! And the way he blames himself for not only Aryll's kidnap, but also his parent's death… I'm so mean to my characters… Yet, for now, I believe it's time to see just how Shadow managed to persuade the Rito to give Marie her boat back.
Thanks go out to Lossemare, who's been putting up with me bugging her about other Zelda fics, whilst secretly plotting to kill me for not getting on with this one. Heh…this chapter's for you m'dear! Also, apologies to people who might have me on author alert for those stupid parodies :looks embarrassed: I just had to get them out of my system! And yet more apologies as I don't have a beta reader, so any and all mistakes are my own.
Thoughts in : single colons :. Visions or dreams are in italics.
Shadow: Diplomatic Prowess
When I awoke, I found myself alone on the beach, lying by the remains of Marie's fire from the previous night. Dawn was just beginning to grace the sky, and I sat up, rubbing my arms because of the cold. My pack rolled off from its place upon my stomach, and blearily, I reached into it to find some food. My stomach was growling, and I didn't bother to be dainty when the food I was searching for eluded me within the canvas bag. I merely picked it up, turned it upside down, and shook everything out.
:How pitiful an amount that looks: I thought, easily picking out the bottle of water and one of the loaves of bread I had purchased not more than two days ago at Windfall Island. The fruit and ham I put back in my pack, as they would last longer than the bread would. After casting a look around to ensure that my face would not be seen, I pulled down my facemask, and hurriedly consumed my small meal. The bread was slightly stale already, and it didn't nearly sate my hunger, but it did at least stop my stomach from growling in an embarrassing manner. :Where're the other two: I wondered, looking around and hoping to spot a splash of vermilion against the cerulean sea – but, the King of Red Lions wasn't in sight, and neither was Marie.
I stood up, recognising the shaky nature of my limbs as complete magic depletion. :I think I may well have overdone it yesterday: I thought, stretching my aching muscles in the cool morning light. No doubt we'd be carrying on our adventures, so I'd need to figure out a way to rest and relax in order to replenish some of my lost strength for more fighting later on. Shadows began to circle the ground before me, and I looked up to see a few Rito setting off with full mailbags. :I still haven't told them about the Rito on Opacus… I must do so before we leave.: With that decision in mind, I tugged my facemask back up over my nose, and started in my search for two of my travelling companions.
Alas, I wasn't quite sure where to start. I stood idly on the sand, looking around to try and gauge the most likely direction the two of them would be in. And, well, considering one of the two happened to be a boat, I naturally stuck to the sea. Meaning that I could either go along the shore to the right around a rocky headland, or to the left and have a lazy stroll along the beach until I reached the end of the island some good five or six miles away. Whilst the stroll appealed, I knew that it was more likely that they would be around the headland.
Sighing, I hurried back to the palm I had rested beneath the evening before, and collected my effects, slinging my pack over my shoulder, and rolling my shoulders until it was comfortably in place. Then, eyes squinted against the sun (which had just reappeared from behind a thick bank of cloud), I began to wearily make my way over the headland, stifling yawns and having to force myself to actually move, I was so exhausted. Despite the seriousness of the quest I was upon, I couldn't help but feel merry in the heat of the morning sun. All of these emotions, usually things I would frown upon, just seemed somehow natural, and I smiled slightly as a fish jumped from the waves to my left, and landed with a satisfying plop back in the water.
The ripples the fish had made in its jump from the water drew my attention to the sea, and I watched the shadows waver and dart beneath the waves next to me, strangely fascinated by creatures I usually only thought of food. The same fish jumped once more, and I was able to see that it would make quite a good meal – should I be able to capture it. :Leave it: I told myself:-there isn't time for that now.: I turned my eyes back to the rocky ground I was going to have to traverse, and then focused my attention on my aching body. :Dare I risk injuring myself: The rocks were incredibly precarious-looking after all…
Luckily, I was spared the need to traverse the dangerous ground when a red dragon prow sailed into view, swiftly followed by the broad smile and glittering green eye of a certain pirate woman. I let out an almost silent sigh of relief, and raised my arm, drawing attention to myself. Marie noticed me first, and returned the wave before quickly returning her attention to the rudder, and steering towards shore. "Mornin' lass – we didn't like to wake you, you looked so peaceful," she told me as soon as she was close enough not to have to shout.
"Don't worry about it – just leave a note or something next time," I chided her as I would Firen or Delia, and didn't even bother to berate myself. The warmth of the morning sun and the vibrancy of the island around me left little room in my mind for the bad things.
"Would do, but I can't write," Marie answered breezily, seemingly unashamed of her illiteracy. "Can't read either – but I get along fine, before you say anything," she guessed my thoughts shrewdly, and I obediently didn't pick up on her inabilities. I'd often heard that Hylians didn't value reading and writing as much as other races, and it was only the well off who generally had such skills. :Which just calls into question the purpose of the Rito visiting places like Windfall Island.: Such a mail-person swooped down low over the waves, her cargo seated comfortably in a mailbag strapped across her back.
"So, what were you doing around there?" I asked, jogging along next to the boat as Marie bought it around to the bay.
"Just checking up on Flo," Marie told me, though her usually jovial tones seemed a little wooden.
"What's wrong?" I queried, looking at her slouched posture with worry.
"We ran into a few Rito who had some things to say about Marie's previous…excursions…here," Red answered for her, and the pirate's face went almost as red as his painted sides. I raised an eyebrow at the implications of this, and he continued. "It seems she owes them a few reparations, and luckily, she happened to have a good deal of money on her."
"It's bloody robbery," Marie scowled, bringing Red scraping up the beach with a loud grating sound, and stepping out without bothering to tie him up, stamping up the beach towards the palm we had slept beneath the night before. The swear word cut through my hazy thoughts with a surge of shock. I'd never get used to the way the other races could drop curses into their conversation without a second thought… The King of Red Lions whipped his head around, and made a small sound of protest as the strong backwash of the waves tried to pull him back out to sea. Hurriedly, I rushed forwards and grabbed him by his carven horns, and dragged him up the beach.
"Thank you," he murmured as I picked up the length of rope coiled up on the deck, and walking towards a closer-to palm to tie it off. When this task was done, I went back over to Red, eyebrow still raised in amusement and query. "What exactly happened?"
"I'm not sure I should really talk to you about it… Marie may not wish me to…" he answered, looking shiftily to the sand. I could tell that I wasn't going to get the whole story, but continued pressing in the hopes of hearing at least part of it.
"Red? Please…just tell me a little of what happened at least!" I dropped down to the sand next to him, stretching my legs out before me with a joyous sigh. He didn't answer immediately, so I prompted again, "Go on Red."
"All right!" he exclaimed, the outburst ringing across the otherwise silent island cliffs. "The Rito have taken Flo into custody until all Marie's reparations are made!" He threw back his horned head and looked at me, haggard and decidedly angry.
"But – then how am I to follow you and Ruf-"
"I don't know," he answered, dropping his head back down. "He can't possibly be left alone – especially not after your services to him already… Yet, it wouldn't be prudent for you and he to share a boat, considering the…situation…"
"I see," I said, now trailing small patterns in the sand with my fingertips. We both fell into silence, and I tried to figure out a way that we could retrieve Flo. :Perhaps if I can talk to that Quill character again… He seemed to understand my true allegiance when I last saw him. And then I can tell him about the Rito at home as well.: It seemed like a long shot at best, but a long shot was better than nothing at all. "I'll be right back," I muttered, hoisting myself to my feet.
Then, I ponderously made my way up the dunes and to the section of beach on which Marie was brooding darkly over the loss of her vessel. She looked up at me, usually jovial features in a scowl. "What?" she barked, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning heavily against the trunk of the palm she was standing under, hidden by the shadows of the thick leaves above.
"I've thought of a way that we could get the boat back," I said, quite simply. At this, she looked up from studying the sandy ground, and pinned me with her one eye. Slightly perturbed by the intensity of her gaze, I took a slight shuffle backwards. Then, feeling a little silly for doing so, I looked at the trunk of the palm behind her as I continued, embarrassed by my actions. "Well, perhaps if we…negotiate…" I leant heavily on the word to make sure she understood the lack of connotations within my suggestion, "If we negotiate with the Rito, and make them see that we're in desperate need of the boat, they might reconsider."
Marie snorted, "I doubt it lassie; you didn't see what they-"
I quickly cut across her, "They're only like that because of your previous actions, Marie." She frowned, but didn't bite back with a remark as I had expected her to. "But, they have no problem with me as far as I can see – so if you let me do the talking – then maybe…just maybe…we can sort this out?" I turned it into a question at the last minute, and awaited an answer from my pirate travelling companion.
A small smile worked its way onto her face, and I took a couple of steps forward, assured that she wasn't going to yell at me. Still, when she did begin to speak, I found myself flinching ever so slightly – yet didn't berate myself. :Just common sense after all – having seen what she can be like…: "You'd do that for me lass?"
"It's not just for you," I murmured, tossing my head in the direction of Red. "It's for Red too – and the boy. I can't just leave him all alone, after all!"
"But still…you don't have to do this you know. Red could probably figure out another way to work this out…" she suddenly became defensive again, and I raised my eyebrow at her strange swings. "Why should I accept help from you anyway? Since you seem to distrust me so much!"
"I think I had every right to distrust you after seeing you kick a man when he was down," I bit back, suddenly annoyed at her perpetual mood-changes. "Look, there's no ifs or buts about this – we need the boat back – they don't trust you, but they might trust me. So, we're going to go together, and make a deal to get the boat back. Right?" Emulating the petulant nature of a young warrior child being told off in training, she didn't answer, and glared stubbornly at the ground.
"Right?" I pressed again, more forcefully this time.
"Right," she agreed, nodding and peeling her back away from the smooth trunk of the palm. "I suppose we'd better tell Red what we're up to then?"
"Good idea," I nodded, and I turned on my heel and led the way, not feeling in the mood to walk in stride next to her. She was just being so ridiculously difficult, and considering the situation, she hadn't improved my mood whatsoever. :Hopefully, she'll keep her mouth shut so I can do all the talking. We can't afford to leave the boy alone after all; especially considering how many times I've had to help him already.:This unintentionally cruel thought shocked me, and I briefly wondered whether the great Valoo's 'blessing' was indeed a good thing after all… My mood had changed umpteen times already that morning, and I was beginning to feel a little off balance…
Red hailed us as we came over with a cheery hallo, and I returned the greeting with a slight nod of acknowledgement. Marie said nothing; when I looked over my shoulder, I saw that she was still looking sullen, and mentally rolled my eyes. In an odd way, she reminded me of Delia. Both of them just couldn't bear to let go and have other people control things. :It's uncanny how similar some of these Hylians are to us: I decided, drawing to a halt in front of Red, and grinning broadly at my own genius.
Of course, as he was unused to reading Sheikan faces, he looked up at me non-plussed. "Yes? Was there something you needed to talk about?"
"Oh, urm, well… I came up with an idea; about Flo I mean – Marie's boat," I began, tripping over my words slightly as I was still annoyed at Marie.
"Indeed?" he asked, obviously willing me to continue.
"Indeed," I nodded, beckoning Marie to come over with a hand gesture. She did, and placed both hands on hips, standing at a jaunty angle in some vain attempt to make it look as though she wasn't at all bothered by my plan. "I thought that if I went with Marie to talk to the Rito, and made them see how much we need the boat, that they might give it back. Of course," at this, Marie let out a small breath of air, and studiously turned her head to the side, peering out to sea as she did so. "Of course, we'll need to give the Rito some incentive to give the boat back, so I thought I could help them come to some agreement over that." I paused, and tried to read his expression; when I couldn't, I pressed for an answer, "Well? Does that sound all right?"
"It sounds like it might work, which is the best we can hope for at this moment…" The King of Red Lions sighed, and murmured, "If only you'd gotten the boat from someone who wasn't a blasted criminal…it'd be so much easier." I stifled a snigger at this, and looked sidelong at Marie, who was also trying to contain laughter. Red looked up at the two of us again, and scowled sternly, "This is no laughing matter! If this doesn't work – well – I suppose you'll just have to steal the boat back anyway!"
"Now that sounds more like it," Marie said, rather enthusiastically. Not at all liking where this train might be heading, I leapt back into the conversation.
"No!" they stared at me, surprised by my loud outburst. So was I… :My voice probably won't exist by the end of this: I thought, rubbing my sore throat as I carried on. "There'll be no stealing. If we can't get the boat back, then I'll just have to travel with you and the boy, and Marie will stay here."
"Stay here? But those vultures'll rip me apart! Red, you can't agree to this, it's madness!" Marie implored, kneeling down upon one knee in the sand. She caught the King of Red Lions' head by one of the carved horns, and forced him to look at her face to face. "You can't bloody well leave me here."
"I'm sorry Marie," he looked down at the wet sand all around his keel, "but we might have to. I think Shadow's plan is probably our best bet." She roughly let go of him, pushing the prow slightly to the side as she violently got to her feet.
"Fine! Just shows how loyal you can be to your old friends, doesn't it!" she sniffed, her one eye now glazed over with tears. I took a couple of steps back, removing myself from the scene, and watched wide eyed. It was as though some play was unravelling before me, and somehow, although I knew I shouldn't know what had happened before the story, I did. Feeling slightly nauseous, I fell with a loud thud onto my behind, landing hard on the sand. I clutched onto my pack, and was dazzled by the sun before I closed my eyes.
A girl of about my age, with green hair scraped back from her face in a gracefully braided style, stood upon her tiptoes in the centre of an empty stage. Soft music played from a band in the pit below; a flute, harp and ocarina carrying the tune, which twisted and twined like a leaf blowing in the breeze. There was a spotlight upon her, dim at first, but fast growing brighter, until her white dress shone brightly within the otherwise gloomy world. There was an intake of breath, and looking around from my perch, I could see that I was sitting within a theatre house, and that there was a full crowd.
The music carried on, beautiful and serene, and the girl began to dance; every member of the audience became silent…many didn't even seem to breathe, as they watched the girl move across the stage. She twirled slowly on one leg, the other bent up behind her back, and both arms reaching out as though seeking to embrace something. The music began to change, with the addition of strings and a clarinet, which bit through the soft strains of all else.
To the left of the stage, another ballerina entered – her dress was red, and her hair was black, and she danced in a way that was more frenzied than the girl in white. She pirouetted and spiralled through the air, before dancing menacing circles around the girl in white, grabbing onto her arms and spiralling her faster and faster until – the music stopped at a loud crash of the cymbals, and a clattering sound from the pit. Tentatively, the dancers held their positions, though the girl in red tilted her head slightly towards the audience, and I could tell that this was not part of the performance.
Suddenly, a scream came from the pit below, followed by the hideously familiar sound of flesh and bone being torn from one another. I blanched, but hurried forwards, unable to stop the vision from carrying my feet. At the bottom of the pit was a growing pool of blood, which was seeping from a pile of people who had once been the orchestra. Around this growing red stain was a group of glowing, skeletal people, wiping rusted and chipped swords on the remaining tatters of their clothes.
Looking up from this scene, I saw that the dancers had broken position, and were edging forwards towards the orchestra pit, holding hands for comfort as they did so. Now that they were closer to, I could recognise the look of fear in the eyes of the green-haired girl. :I had my suspicions before, but now I know it must be her…: I thought, edging backwards slightly as the skeletal crew below began climbing the walls of pit itself. I patted around my waist for my whip, but couldn't find it. Looking down, I saw that my whole weapons belt was gone…
"Marie, Marie my dear, hello, hello. Hello, hello, I have been looking for you Marie. Marie, Marie, my dearest Marie." Instantly, I was able to place that voice, and thought back to the ghost ship. :-Though, here, that hasn't happened yet; this is all before that.: The dancer in the white dress screamed, and began to drag the one in the red dress backwards, away from the pit, and away from the voice.
"Marie, Marie, don't be afraid. We've come to take you away. Oh, Marie, Marie, don't you remember? Don't you remember your daddy, Marie?" The dark haired girl yanked on the young Marie's hand to make her stop, and then changed their course towards the audience. I stepped out of their way, and felt a breeze ruffle over me as they hurried past. Curiously (and also because I didn't want to remain in the company of the skeletal crew much longer), I followed them.
The red dancer led both myself and Marie out of the theatre, and I realised with a jolt that this was on Windfall. We hurried down to the docks, and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw that our pursuers were pouring out of the stage doors behind us, and looked to be gaining. There was a snapping sound in front, and looking forwards once more, I saw the dark haired dancer had toppled over onto the cobbles of the street. "Hey, come on, get up!" Marie urged, helping the other to her feet.
"Damned shoes," the other girl cursed, grimacing as she now hobbled along, one arm over Marie's shoulder for support. She looked back, and visibly blanched. "We'll both get caught if we go on like this Mar; get going yourself."
"Don't be daft," the dancer in the white dress huffed, increasing their pace, and now half dragging the other. "Which one's your boat?"
"The green- well, it was the green one… Look!" Looking down at the harbour, I saw that all of the boats were flaming, sparks flying into the sea and hissing, sending up great clouds of steam.
"Oh Gods!" Marie exclaimed, looking back with fear. "Where to now?"
"I don't know – the old cove maybe?"
"Worth a shot – someone might have left a boat in there during the storm couple of days back, right?"
"Might have done; here, I think I can run on my own now." The dark haired girl took her arm from around Marie's shoulder, and started hobbling along herself, just about managing to keep up. I realised, as we started to go up the sand dunes, that they must be heading towards the same cove that Red and I had landed in with the Hylian boy Rufus. A split second before I saw it, I guessed what the contents of the cove might be. A red boat, with a proud dragon prow sat in the cove, a sail pooled messily on its deck. The girls climbed in, puffing and hurriedly putting the sail up, pushing off with their legs as their hands worked tying knots.
Within ten seconds, they were away, and I watched them sail out. Looking back, I saw that the skeletal pursuers had only just crested the dunes. Out on the water, I heard a small snuffling sound, and then an indignant, "What in blazes do you think you're doing? You've stolen me!"
"Eurgh," was about all I could muster when I came round again. Opening my eyes, I met the intense stares of two people – namely Red and Marie. "You stole him as well," I murmured, still not quite with it. Marie raised an eyebrow, and looked at Red, who explained it simply,
"Just a vision."
"Oh, right. Makes sense then," she pulled a face, and then extended a hand to help me up. "Now that you're awake again, perhaps we should get on with talking about this plan of yours, hrm?" I took her hand, and rose to my feet, noticing that I was covered in sand. As I walked over to where she and the King of Red Lions were striking up a conversation that was obviously already halfway through, I began dusting the tiny grains off of my back. Raking a hand through my hair, I discovered that I was in great need of a brush, and also another hair tie, as I'd managed to lose mine at some point.
However, that wasn't highly important at that very moment. :I probably have both things in my pack somewhere or other anyway…: I mused, now beginning to listen in on the conversation that Red and Marie were having. "Maybe if I offered to call off my men from ever sailing these waters again?"
"I think it would be best to call off your men from going near any Rito again, whether in or out of these waters Marie," Red decided, rather forcefully.
"Well, in that case, what am I to do? Force all of my men out of work? Those bloody Rito get every-"
"Now I can see why Shadow was so vociferous in the point that she should do all the talking," the King of Red Lions muttered quietly, though he still managed to draw Marie's attention. She gave me a dirty look, and then her face broke into a smile.
"Touché old friend," she said, shaking her head. "I suppose you're right lass; I'm not exactly in their good books, and I never have been one for all this diplomacy nonsense."
"Well, the Sheikah are diplomatic enough for anyone, are they not Shadow?"
"I suppose they are, yes," I began, but was cut off when Marie began to talk once more. I wasn't too offended however; it was nice to just listen along to the conversation, rather than have to actively participate. It gave me more time to go over my vision after all. :It seems Marie's habits started very early on: I thought with a smile, looking at the point where the water and sky met, and feeling a little revitalised now that my meal from earlier had been digested, and the energy was starting to return to my limbs.
The sound of running feet suddenly pervaded the air. A shout that was completely incomprehensible echoed from the cliffs all around, and, looking up, I saw that Rufus was sprinting down the path towards the beach. Behind him stood the Rito man Quill, who was just trudging along, looking a little surprised by the boy's eagerness to reach Red, Marie and myself. I tensed, wondering if I should get out of there whilst there was still time for me to do so.
Marie put a hand on my shoulder, and shook her head; I looked down at Red for confirmation, and he just nodded, signalling that I should stay. I relaxed a little, and waited for Rufus to skid to a stop before us. Feeling suddenly shy, I shifted my eyes to the sand, which clung to my still damp boots. :Why should I be shy? He's younger than me! A good fighter, yes, but not much more than that…: Maybe it was because he had been the cause of me losing my cool earlier on?
I didn't have much time to think about it though; within seconds, he was standing before us, panting slightly after his run. Thankfully, Marie immediately stepped forwards, and extended her hand to greet Rufus, managing to sound rather chirpy considering our current predicament. With that very thing in mind, I turned around slightly and spoke to Red about the details of the plan to retrieve the boat. "Do you suppose it would be best to take her with me, or not?"
"I'm not sure, to be perfectly honest. Perhaps the sight of her looking sorry for what she's done," he looked sidelong at where the pirate and the Hylian were talking, and added in dark undertones, "not that I believe she ever will be, considering her upbringing…" he trailed off, and then continued with the former sentence, leaving me with only a small allusion to Marie's past to think about. "Perhaps if she seems sorry, they'll take pity and give the boat back. Though I think you being there will help immensely as well."
I nodded, "All right…well, in that case, we'll need to go as soon as we can, won't we?"
"Indeed; and you need to convince the lad that he's not being watched or followed any longer also- Oh, I think you're wanted!" he nodded his head over to where Marie was beckoning me forwards,
"Hey, lass, come over here and introduce yourself!" Being ordered around in such a manner caused a short flash of annoyance, which quickly subsided when I remembered that Marie never had been the most tactile person. :At least, if what I've seen in those visions reflects her at all…: I walked over as normally as I could, though one of my legs had become slightly numb somewhere during the course of catching sight of the boy, and being called over.
On seeing that he was staring openly at me, I blushed. :Hylians are so dratted direct; it's unnerving.: I decided, even as I extended my hand to introduce myself. Even after all the torture my voice had been through recently, I was still able to speak. Though, I did have to fight off my returning accent. "The name's Shadow," I said as I shook his hand. As soon as palm met palm, I was able to feel the welts he'd gained from wielding his sword, and was surprised that he didn't seem bothered by them. "I apologise for not telling you sooner, but there were more…" I looked around for the right word, "pressing…matters," I ended with.
The change in him was astounding – he smiled widely, and began to chat jovially away as though we'd known each other for years, rather than seeing one another for fleeting moments in battle. "Don't worry about it, I'm just glad to see you again, so I can thank you!" At this, I blushed again, and held up a hand to halt him, shaking my head as well. He didn't need to thank me:This is my job after all; it's what I've been training all my life to do:
"Please, it's no bother. It's what I'm here for." With that said, I quickly drew back, allowing Marie to take my place and once more engage the lad in talk. I just hurried back to Red, eager to finish finalising plans to regain Flo, and also decide how to fool Rufus into believing that we were no longer following him. As I walked over, I searched my person for a piece of twine or loose bandage that I could use to tie my hair up with once more. Unable to find anything, I dropped my arms to my sides, and stopped in front of Red. He looked up at me with a smile.
"Let me guess; you want to go over your plan again, and know how to make it seem as though you're not following the lad?"
"An excellent guess," I nodded, having to push my hair behind my ears as the strong breeze tried to blow it into my face. "The plan to retrieve the boat's all right, isn't it?" I asked.
"It's fine. But I'm just not sure how the second half of the plan's going to work," he admitted. Both of us fell silent for a few seconds to try and come up with a plan. "Maybe it isn't possible," Red muttered.
"There must be a way," I insisted, not that I had any ideas on what that way might be. "What if we rode half a day's sail behind you?"
"Then you might not get there in time to aide Rufus."
"Ah," I fiddled with a strand of hair which was stubbornly awry, and was only called out of my thoughts when I heard Marie start talking to Red.
"Looks like we'll have to row our way or something Red," she called, indicating the direction of the wind.
"Not at all!" he contradicted her. "Rufus knows what I mean." I looked at the Hylian boy, who to me looked a little perplexed. A spark of sympathy ran through me, as his expression reminded me sorely of Firen, who always seemed to be in a state of confusement. :Especially when it comes to the conglomerate history course of overseas trading: I thought, rolling my eyes at the memory. Firen had struggled through his work for half an hour, until realising that he was, indeed, studying the wrong trade links, which was why he'd been finding it so difficult. :That's classic Firen…:
"Well?" Marie urged, staring at the boy. He wrung his hands, and stuttered,
"Uh…well…I…uh…" Next to me, Red sighed exasperatedly, and exclaimed,
"The Wind Waker Rufus, the Wind Waker!"
"Oh!" Understanding dawned on his face, and he shed his pack in order to search for it. He looked embarrassed as he rummaged through the contents, but seemed to calm down when he found what he was looking for. From the pack came a long, shining silver baton with an ornate looking handle. He waved the baton in the air like the conductor from my vision, and I wondered what he was trying to do. I knew the basic concept of the Wind Waker (it was another of the many things I'd learnt over the years), but never believed I'd ever see someone use it.
When nothing at all happened, I tried to figure out why that was; an idea lit in my head after only a few seconds. "Red," I ventured, breaking the tense silence. "I believe you're forgetting something – he hasn't been to see Zephos yet." I'd remembered the shrine on the other side of the island, and knowing that Zephos controlled the wind, put two and two together… Luckily, it seemed that I'd come to the right conclusion! Not only that, but I'd also managed to find a piece of twine, so was able to tie my hair back up once more.
"So he hasn't!" Red said in half disbelief. "Rufus, do you remember me telling you about a shrine on the other side of the island?" At the sound of softly trod footsteps, all of us looked up, and spotted the Rito man Quill coming towards us. He was humming a popular tavern melody and swinging his arms as he walked; when he noticed us staring, he quickly stopped both actions and hurried over. "Good morning Quill," Red called to him merrily.
"'morning old friend," the Rito returned Red's greeting, and then met my eyes for a few seconds before looking away. I did so as well, feeling a slight twinge of bitterness that he could ever have thought of me as a murderer. :Yes, he's apologised…that doesn't mean I can overlook the fact that he accused me of something so terrible: "Was that the shrine of Zephos you were talking about?" Quill asked, and my quick flash of annoyance melted.
"Yes, it was – ah! I've just had an idea!" Red said, and Quill prompted him with an intrigued sounding,
"What?"
"What-say you take Rufus to the shrine in order to learn something from the great Zephos? I can think of no one better, since he seems to favour your people so. It'd be good to have a Rito along, as far as I can see." The Rito man nodded, and bent his head to look down at Rufus.
"Looks like you're stuck with me again Rufus," he quipped.
"I know – how will I cope?" the Hylian sighed, and then snorted as Quill nudged him in the shin with his toe. Smiling slightly at their friendly repartee, I quickly turned to Red. I crouched down, and kept my voice low so that the rest wouldn't overhear what was being said.
"Shall Marie and I go now?"
"That'd probably be for the best," Red nodded. Then, he looked up at Quill and Rufus, who were still standing there. "Well, what are you two waiting for? Get going – the sooner you have seen Zephos, the sooner we can be on our way!" he urged. Immediately, the lad turned around; having turned the wrong way, Quill reached out and grabbed his arm, and began half dragging him along the beach. They immediately began chattering to one another, and glad that Rufus would be occupied for a short while, so wouldn't suspect anything, I walked over to Marie.
"We off then lass?" she guessed, pushing her hair away from her face.
"If you're ready, then yes," I answered. "We'll have to go the long way around so that the boy doesn't suspect anything though…" She frowned at this, but nodded her understanding. "Well – let's go then."
"Good luck, and Gods help you be successful!" Red called, sounding sincere in his hopes. I silently agreed with him as I saw Marie glower at a Rito that flew overhead. :This isn't going to prove easy, I can tell.:
Finally, after about half an hour of wending our way around a long section of track that zigzagged up the cliff-side, we were at one of the many entrances to the Rito City. I paused at the entrance, unsure of whether we should go straight in, or wait for someone to escort us inside. However, Marie just strode straight on inside, and I hurried to keep up with her, not wishing to get lost in the huge settlement. "Do you know where you're going?" I whispered, looking around, and finding it eerier that I couldn't see anyone about.
"Vaguely – though I am wondering why no one's descended to catch me by-" she was cut off mid-sentence by the sound of multiple pairs if feet thudding onto the floor behind us. My hand immediately went to my whip, but Marie warned me with a sideways glance not to withdraw it. I dropped my hand, and turned around slowly just as she did. Standing before us, and quickly moving to encircle us, were a group of Rito men, all clad in light-weight armour, and most of whom were carrying spears.
"What are you doing here, pirate?" one of the Rito men barked, his harsh voice not suiting his soft face, which was fringed by a halo of black hair and feathers. I noticed that, whilst most of the guards were glaring at Marie, a few were glancing at me every so often, looking a little perplexed. When Marie didn't answer, I took it as my cue to begin working my diplomatic charms.
"Excuse me," I began softly, not wishing to startle nor annoy any of them. They all shifted their attention onto me. "But we came in the hope that we could perhaps discuss the possible return of our boat. Who would we need to see about that?"
"That would be me," the Rito who had previously spoken said, "Pardon me for asking, but what would you have to gain from the return of the boat to this crook?"
"I need it in order to carry out a mission for the King of Red Lions, sir," I answered meekly, averting my eyes when his gaze became too uncomfortable. "We are willing to discuss terms of course," I added, worried that should I just leave my statement as it had been, that all hopes of getting Flo back would be lost. Looking back at the tall, dark Rito man, I was surprised to see a spark of amusement in his eyes.
"And what do you find so funny, bird-"
"Marie!" I hissed warningly, nudging her in the side with my elbow. "Manners, for Gods' sake!" At this, the Rito man chuckled, and extended a gauntleted hand. I accepted it, and shook it firmly.
"Name's Ilari – cap'n of the guard. Would I be right in thinking you're Shadow of the Sheikah?"
"Indeed you would – how did you know my-?"
"Quill told us just before he went off the ceremony," he answered brusquely, his friendly smile turning into a frown as his gaze drifted back onto Marie for a second. When he looked back at me, he seemed a lot more serious. "If we are to discuss this matter, I believe it would be better if we could sit down, hmm?"
"Sounds excellent," I agreed, and was glad when the circle of Rito finally broke up.
"If you'd like to follow me," Ilari advised, beginning to amble towards one of the many spiralling walkways that lead to the upper levels of the city. Again glad of the freedom from the circle, I quickly fell into stride next to, but slightly behind the captain. From the corner of my eye, I saw that Marie was scowling deeply, and was being flanked by the rest of the guards, who watched her like hawks at every move. :How long has she been stealing from these people: I wondered – after all, why else would they be so wary of her?
It wasn't long before it became apparent that I was a point of interest to all of the Rito that we passed. They made no secret of their interest in me, the strange new arrival, and I felt intensely uncomfortable under their scrutiny. However, rather than let this get the better of me, I instead turned my thoughts more inwards, and began to compile points that I could debate in order to get the boat back. I hadn't yet told Marie, but I'd decided that the best way to go about it, would be to convince the Rito of how important the boat was to our quest. And to also promise that she would repay her debts in full…perhaps by working within their postal stores…
Finally, after rising up two levels, Ilari led us into a chamber that contained a round wooden table, and many seats. Intuitively, I took the one nearest to the door (just in case), and Marie obediently sat down next to me, clenching her fists on her lap. It was obvious that she was restraining herself from saying something, and I felt enamoured that she was making the effort. To show her this, I gently patted her on the shoulder to catch her attention, and leant in whilst the captain and his men were sitting down, to whisper, "Thank you for not saying anything." I drew back, and she just smiled tightly at me, forcing her hands to be still.
"Now," the dark haired Rito began, leaning forwards across the table towards us. "I understand that this boat is important to the purposes of the great King of Red Lions himself…yet…I'm not sure whether I can see how you can think that we would agree to give it back solely on those grounds." As with all good debaters, he had thrown his cards down onto the table immediately. I felt glad of this common ground, and I too leant forward in order to engage him better.
"We suspected as much, which is why we came up with a compromise that we thought you may find acceptable."
"Go on."
"Well, considering my associate's past actions, I believe it's safe to say that she is not in your best of graces." There was a subversive wave of chuckling amongst the guards that was quickly stifled by the captain. "As such, I can see why you'd be hesitant to return the boat without some sort of guarantee."
"We'd need a guarantee of a bank-load to pay off what she's taken over the years," one of the guards exclaimed, nudging the man next to him and smirking. At this, Ilari frowned, and turned to berate the man,
"Namali, where are your manners?"
"Sorry cap'n."
"I do apologise for my men – sometimes they don't know when to stay quiet," the Rito rolled his eyes and smiled wanly at me. I returned the smile, though wasn't sure whether he'd be able to read my face or not. "But, he does make a good point about the amount that your companion has taken over the years. Here's a tally, should you need to look over it." I reached out to accept the sheaf of papers he held out, and quickly scanned over the first few pages. I wondered disbelievingly how it was even possible to carry that much away with you… When Ilari spoke once more perhaps two minutes later, I started, and placed the papers onto the table top. "Do carry on with what you were saying about a guarantee, was it?"
"Yes…well. I was wondering whether, should my associate give her word through a pirate promise," there was a small intake of breath from everyone in the room, including Marie, "that she would repay her debts in full once our mission is over, if you would then consider returning our vessel."
"What would you propose that she promise?" the Rito enquired, and I was glad to see that he seemed to be coming around to my side of the argument. I looked at Marie, and on seeing that she seemed to have accepted her fate, whatever it may be, I answered his question.
"I was going to propose that, first of all, when our quest is over, that she return Flo to you as part payment for her crimes. Then, in order to work the rest off, she would work in your sorting and packaging rooms until all that she has stolen has been paid for. Does that sound as though it would be acceptable?"
"I'm not sure," Ilari murmured. "Am I right in saying that you haven't known this pirate for long?"
"You are."
"Yet you believe that you can vouch for her trust-worthiness."
"She saved my life during a storm that hit us on the way here. I believe she can be trusted," I answered stiffly, fearing that the debate might not be running as smoothly as I had thought after all.
"Really?" the Rito's eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead. Desperately, I got up from my chair, and made to move towards the captain. However, all of the guards raised their weapons against me, and I stopped dead in my tracks. He cocked his head to one side.
"Please, my good sir – it's quite imperative that we have the vessel back," I implored, praying that he would agree to return Flo to us.
"Well…I suppose if a pirate promise is made…then it may be acceptable…" he decided, getting up from his seat, and motioning for the guards to lower their weapons. "But, should that promise be broken, we will be only too happy to punish her for it."
"I shall not break my word," Marie interjected stoutly, rising to stand next to me. "But only on the condition that you allow us the boat until we have no further need of it."
"I will allow you the boat, if you swear to uphold what your Sheikan companion has promised so eloquently," he briefly nodded to me, and I returned the gesture. Marie took in a great breath, and let it out again slowly. Then, dragging her feet as she did so, she walked towards the Rito man, right hand extended. He reached our and accepted it, gripping her fingers tightly.
"I promise that, should you allow us the use of the vessel Flo, until we no longer have need of it, that I shall adhere to the aforementioned terms, and on my word shall work until my debt is repaid. This is a pirate promise, and should it be broken, heaven forbid that I should cross paths with you again." She said all of this in a monotone, yet the Rito seemed satisfied, and firmly shook her hand to seal the deal.
"In that case, we shall take you to your vessel now," he declared. Immediately, Marie hurried out of the debate room before me, and stood on the balcony which overlooked the lower levels of the city. I made to follow her, but the captain caught me by the shoulder to stop me. All of this unwarranted contact was strange, but not entirely terrible; though I did feel a stab of embarrassment, when I saw his earnest face, it left my mind completely.
"Yes sir?"
"I would just wish to warn you to be careful of that one," he began, in a rather fatherly tone. "Do not turn your back on her, for you may well find a knife in it." I was tempted to just brush this off as a ridiculous idea, but something in the way that he spoke told me I couldn't ignore his words. So, rather than coming back with a comment about how I could take care of myself quite well, I just nodded.
"I'll be wary," I muttered, ensuring that Marie wouldn't overhear me. Then, at normal volume, I called to Marie, "Come on, let's go and get that boat back before the boy returns to find us gone." She nodded, and plodded along beside me, evidently not happy with this turn of events. I just ignored her woe-betide look, and surreptitiously studied the Rito City with great interest. After all, not many warriors could claim to have seen so much of the Great Sea within their first year, let alone their first week:I'll have plenty of stories to tell when I get back home…:
On the way down the bay, I remembered to inform Ilari of the Rito on Opacus Isle, and he thanked me profusely for doing so. He also said that, having never met any Sheikah before, he was very much enamoured to us due to my actions. I just blushed in embarrassment, and felt glad when we finally reached the boat.
By the time we were able to start sailing back to where we had left Red, it had begun to drizzle slightly. I noticed that the wind had changed direction, and wondered if that meant that Rufus had already seen Zephos. The sea was choppier than it had been earlier, and I hoped that that didn't mean there was another storm on the way – I didn't fancy riding another one out, especially considering how weak I still felt. :Well, not weak exactly…I just ache because of having no magic. What if there's an emergency, and I can't do anything because I have no magic left:
I stopped worrying about this when I found that the wind was dragging us too far away from shore. Marie had noticed this as well, and tugged on the rope of the sail in order to bring it crashing down onto the deck. As she did this, I turned the rudder sharply towards the shore. With the momentum we have gained whilst being pushed along by the wind, we were able to get close to shore. Marie hopped out and waded through the water, taking a rope that was attached to the prow with her.
With this rope, she dragged the boat towards land, and I hopped out onto the sand as soon as the boat was close enough for me to do so. Marie growled deep in her throat, and shoved the rope into my hands. Sighing heavily, I wrapped the coarse twine around my hands a couple of times, and began tugging the boat along behind me. Marie trudged on up ahead, her head low and shoulders slumped.
A particularly large wave threatened to drag both myself and the boat out to sea, and I pestered Marie into helping me. "C'mon, this is your boat after all! You don't want to lose it again after all that, do you?"
"No," she answered shortly, accepting the length of rope that I held out to her, and helping me to pull the boat along. I looked over to see that Rufus was already back from his quest, and was sheltering beneath a palm from the damp weather. Red looked up, and looked overjoyed to see that we'd retrieved the boat.
"Well done Shadow! I knew you'd be able to persuade them!" I just nodded, blushing beneath my cowl at the praise. I paused, to allow the boat to drift along until the rope was taught in my hands.
"Could you tie her up?" I asked Marie, who accepted the rest of the rope in stony silence. Not bothering to try and combat her moodiness, I hurried over to where the boy was standing on the beach, and spoke to Red as I made my way over. "Well, it certainly took a lot of persuading. The only way I was able to get it back was to make Marie give her word as an honourable pirate to repay her debts."
"I'm just grateful we got out of there when we did, or else I'm sure you would have signed my whole life away to those ruddy post-men!" Marie exclaimed, coming over from where she had been mooring Flo. I turned to look at her, and she continued to yell at me, "I can't believe you just did that! Didn't even let me get a word in edge-"
"I'm sorry Marie, but had you got a word in, I'm not sure we'd have Flo back," I contended her, not deigning to rise to her by raising my voice. Then, to further drive my point home, I added, "I was just using diplomacy – and having seen their tallies of how much you and your crew stole over the years, I think you got off quiet lightly!" With that said, I turned around to look at the Hylian boy, nodding kindly to show that he could join the conversation if he so wished. "I see the wind's turned – was that your doing?" I asked, trying to make him feel comfortable, as he looked wary of Marie's temper.
"Yeah…Zephos showed me how to do it," he answered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his tunic and shivering slightly in the wind. :He looks ever so pale…I hope he's all right.:
"Good! That means we can finally get going. After seeing what dark creatures have been let loose here, I'm worried for the Forest haven. It's about a day and a half's sail from here, so if we leave now, we should get there by noon tomorrow. Are you all ready to leave?" Evidently from Red's speech, he had decided that keeping my involvement a secret was no longer a priority.
"Yeah."
"Yes."
"No." I tensed, feeling tempted to take out my whip and crack Marie over the head with the handle of it for being so impertinent and ridiculous. Rufus looked at her with wide eyes, and I felt annoyed at Red for deigning to humour her, by asking,
"Why not?"
"Because I want my belongings back!"
"They weren't your belongings in the first place!" My estimation of Red went up at this, and I felt glad that he had said this in order to put Marie back into her place. "Besides, what's more important? A few pieces of gold or silver, or preventing Dragmire from wreaking havoc to the Great Sea and all the lands upon it." Marie looked duly ashamed of herself, and even I felt a little guilty on her behalf. After all, I'd been pining after my warm bed at home ever since I'd left Opacus. "Exactly. Now, you and Shadow will take Flo, and you'll follow behind us. Rufus, you'll be coming with me."
Almost as soon as these words had left Red's mouth, the boy sneezed twice violently, and then groaned, placing both hands on either side of his head. I immediately stepped forwards, asking whether he was all right, noting that he seemed even more pale than he had before. He drew in breath to answer me, but it caught in his throat, and he began to cough; each cough sounded painful, and I quickly looked to Red, allowing Marie to step forwards and help Rufus to get over his coughing fit.
"Red, I don't think he should be in an open boat for that distance. He doesn't look at all well – perhaps he should stay below deck on Flo to recuperate, and Marie'll look after him." I looked at Marie to confirm this, and was yet again shocked by the change in her. She was now acting like a mother to Rufus, patting him on the back and murmuring softly to him to comfort him.
"Good idea lass."
"Are you sure? You're not looking too well yourself," Red informed me. I immediately reassured him, not wanting to admit that I'd overdone my magic use.
"I'll be fine Red. But I do think it'd be best for Rufus to stay in the warm." I moved back over to Rufus, and bet down in front of him so that I could look him in his eyes, which were blood shot and watering. "Do you have anything dry to change into?"
"No, I don't," he whispered, voice sounding gravely and pained after his coughing fit.
"Ah…Marie, do you think you have anything that might be good?" I knew that I couldn't offer anything of mine, as it wasn't likely that my clothes would keep him nearly warm enough. :Besides, they mightn't even fit him.:
"I've probably got a few old things that lad could borrow – they'd be a bit big, but at least they'd be dry."
"You wouldn't mind lending them, would you?" I asked tentatively, hoping that she'd be co-operative. Luckily, her mother instinct had all but taken over, and she agreed to help immediately.
"Nah. Wouldn't want the poor boy to get any more ill." She wrapped an arm around Rufus' shoulder, and began steering him towards Flo. "Here, you come with me lad. I'll get you kitted out in something warm and dry, and then you can go to sleep after having something warm to eat. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good," I heard Rufus say through chattering teeth, and I saw him squash closer to Marie for warmth. Marie left him standing alone on the shore whilst she went to pull the boat in – a flash of lightning tore the sky open above, and was quickly followed by a huge thunder clap. I looked up at the sky, and then out at the waves, which were rocking wildly. :I'm not going to enjoy this trip in the slightest…perhaps I should have offered to go on Flo with the boy.: Looking down from the sky, I briefly wondered where Rufus had gone…
After a frantic few seconds of searching the beach, I saw that he had, in fact, collapsed onto the sand. I made to run over, but Marie quickly returned to her charge, and hoisted the Hylian off of the sand. She spoke to him softly as she climbed into Flo, and I watched her until they both disappeared below deck, out of the rain.
"He'll be all right," Red said, cutting through the tense air. He had rightly judged my worries, but I tried to make it seem as though I wasn't too worried.
"I know – he's a tough lad. He'll be fine… I suppose we'd better get going as well?"
"Yes, we had," he agreed, managing to bring himself about so that I could easily step into him. "Are you sure that you wouldn't rather be on Flo?"
"I'm sure," I answered obstinately, though I was already shivering violently…it would only get colder the further away from land we got.
"Well…in that case…" he seemed reluctant to finish his sentence, so I just stood up and set about tying the sail into place before he could change his mind. "I hope this storm blows over quickly," he said, falling to another topic of conversation in order to try and ease the uncomfortableness between us. I didn't feel alert enough to make much of an effort, and just agreed with him softly. He didn't attempt to strike up any further conversation, and I put all my concentration in trying to make sure that we didn't pull too far ahead of Flo.
I apologise for that stupid vision. However, I think I made up for it in the last line of the damn thing –"What in blazes do you think you're doing? You've stolen me!" Yeah. It made me laugh anyway :giggles:. Sorry for yet another update that's been long coming, but life just hasn't been giving me the best of rides recently, so time to writer has been sparse. However, I think this over 10,000 word chapter may soften the annoyance somewhat, right?
Anyway, I'm blabbering on again, so I'll shut up before my author notes start getting ostentatiously long. Thank you to my reviewers (whom I love and give cookies to), and the next chapter will arrive at some point in the future. I hope.
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