Chapter 2
The slapping of sandals on the hard floor signaled the presence of a customer in Link's shop. He looked up in mid-swing of a hammer on a boiling hot rough sword. The customer tracked a small amount of dust into the building, causing the room to become a bit of a haze giving everything a light brown hue as the sunlight rushed through it. Link recognized him as the man his brother mentioned earlier: Juma.
"Hey Link," Juma said. Link smiled and nodded towards Juma and got straight back to work. "Do you have my shield for me?"
Link's shoulders sagged a bit. "Oh, I see…" Juma said, "How much longer do you need? A few hours, another day?" Link just shook his head. "Alright, another day it is. I'm not in much of a hurry, I just need the shield for a new recruit into the Hylian Army the new Royal Family is forming. I'm not sure why they feel a need for an army. Up until now it seemed that all we needed swords and shields for were hunting and hobby. Now it seems the Royal Family has been warned of something we are not aware of. Why did the gods have to pick a royal family? I really think we were quite happy as we were, not as we are."
Link was really only half listening mostly because he had heard this speech from his uncle every day, more then he'd like to hear. The dust was starting to settle again causing a grey-brown matte finish on every object in the room including Link's new sword.
"Hey, that's nifty Link. Do that on purpose?" Link had no idea what he was talking about but then Link looked down at the sword and saw that the dust had melted on the sword, giving it a look of dripped glaze on brown pottery. The dust had melted into a bright red color, giving it a look of blood.
"Well, I'll be back tomorrow for my shield. I expect it to look as interesting as that sword, okay?" Link again nodded and got back to work on the sword. Juma left with the slap of his sandals tracking dust back out with him, pushing the dust back into the air.
Sparks few from the sword as Link slammed his hammer onto the bright red metal. The girl saw the sparks jumping out onto the street giving the side of the brick building a tiny amount of light as if fireflies were mating on the doorstep. The sun had already set on the small city and tiny candles gave the townsfolk light for the evening as they read poetry and stories to their small children.
The girl walked into Link's shop, causing a dark shadow to splay itself across the floor with each spark of Link's Hammer. She made no sound on the hard floor – no slap of feet nor sandal. He features were silhouetted by the outdoor light caused by the numerous candles. Link didn't notice her presence until she was a little more then two feet away from him. He looked up suddenly, startled by the unexpected presence of the girl.
Link was about to talk as the girl put her finger up to his lips. "Shhh… follow me." Her voice was liquid mercury on marble – spreading itself through the air with unmentionable smoothness. "Oh wait… bring that sword with you… and that shield." Link didn't know what was going on but when she touched his arm, he felt a searing pain in his palm as he saw a bright gold glow seep into the air, giving a better glimpse of the girl's face.