AN: What's this?-! I updated quickly again? Jeez! Well, I need to explain something here. First... this chapter gets going on the fluff. It's like a cloud of... fluffiness. Ahem. Two, School is starting back up so... no more quick updates. Bah. And three... Look for the AN at the end of this chapter. I've got a treat for you guys!
-Lyric
I keep going in circles with my thoughts. I know that what's done is done, but… it's amazing how one tiny mistake, one wrong turn, something where it wasn't supposed to be could lead to what we have today.
I stand from my seat. I've decided to go and check on Link. He's been sleeping more and more lately, and it's starting to scare me. Sure, he could just be tired, but I don't know. I head over towards the bedroom and crack open the door as silently as I can. I find the room to be softly illuminated by the lamp. Seems like he learned how to turn down the gas. He's lying sideways on the bed, his toes barely touching the side. He has the book in hand, reading. He doesn't seem to notice me. I open the door a little wider and walk in, Link still inside the book. I sit myself down on the bed, placing a hand on his back.
This time he jumps a bit from my touch, and looks to the side to stare at me.
"…You scared me," He says, not letting his gaze drop.
"Sorry about that. What happened to sleeping?"
"I tried, but couldn't. So I've been reading," He replies, focusing his attention back on the book. Something about him right now doesn't seem right.
"Alright, alright. You okay?"
"Why are you asking me that?"
"I'm just asking. You haven't been talking."
He doesn't say anything, and instead licks his lips, trying not to look at anything.
"I understand if you don't want to talk about… your heritage. But I do have one question."
He looks up at me with annoyance flaring in his hazel eyes.
"About what."
"About what happened today at the station, with the ticket booth man."
"…I don't want to talk about it."
"I know you don't. But you need to. It'll help. Besides, you said you would."
He sits up quickly, annoyance turning into slight anger. But then the anger flits away and he returns to a downcast look. Haven't seen that in a while.
"You really want to know?"
"Yes."
"…Okay," He begins with a sigh. "See… he looked like someone that came to the "orphanage" before… and when he spoke, I recognized his voice. Do I need to explain any more?"
"No, that's all I needed." Actually, it isn't. I'll let it slide though.
"Good," He says, and he holds the book up a little. "Um…"
"Yes, I'll read to you. Where are you at?" I say with a small chuckle. Might as well read to him to get his mind off of things. Link points to a paragraph on a page, handing me the book.
"Alright, we'll start there." Link nods and quickly climbs into my lap. Well then, that's unexpected. Even so, I don't mind. I hold the book out in front of both of us and begin.
"I finally reached the house she used to live in. Sadie's home was small but warm as can be, especially at times like this. Of course, I didn't expect her to be here.
The memories of us came flooding back, and I had gotten the urge to knock her door, just once. That's what I did. I gave the door the same knock pattern I did when I was young to let her know it was me. I remember back whenever Sadie would rush to the door after hearing our special knock, a smile as wide as can be etched onto her face. She would exclaim, "Abel! Abel's come to play!"
I wished I could hear that one more time. Just once. I stood there, my coat flapping in the wind. I frowned a bit and turned back around. I wondered if she was even here to begin with. Suddenly, a voice from nearby made me jump.
"Abel? Abel, is that you? You've grown so much, Abel!" It wasn't Sadie, to my disappointment. Instead, it was her mother. So their family moved back?
"Mary-Ann? Where is Sadie?"
She doesn't say anything for a moment, her eyes growing dim.
"Mary-Ann?-!"
"Sadie… she was playing by the lake. On the ice."
"But… she can't swim… plus it's frozen over! Is she okay?"
"Abel… this happened a week ago." I didn't get what she was saying.
"W-what do you mean?"
"Sadie passed away a week ago. I was going to write your mother but… the post was closed for the rest of the week."
"Is this some kind of joke?-!" I started to cry.
"Abel, she's gone. Sadie is gone. We never found her body."
"B-but I thought… she promised…"
"Abel… come inside. We need to talk."
I didn't get it. Sadie was dead. I told myself she was gone, but my heart wouldn't listen to my head. I had the strange feeling that she was okay somewhere out there, still smiling. I thought that maybe she got out of the lake. Sadie didn't give up on me. I never did either."
"…That's the end of the chapter, huh," Link says, leaning back into my chest.
"Yeah. Forgot about this chapter," I say as I close the book and put it to the side.
"You've read it before?"
"Mm. That means I know how it ends."
"Did Sadie really die?"
"Can't tell you, it's a secret. You'll have to read for yourself," I say a little teasingly.
"So… she didn't?" He was grinning. Seems like he wants a happy ending.
"Can't say, it'll spoil it for you," I ruffle his hair and continue, "Now c'mon, let's do some work before tomorrow."
"Okay, okay, but tomorrow is Sunday…" He whines a bit, putting emphasis on Sunday. He pushes back into me more. I have to say, the way he's acting is quite… adorable.
"Why can't we do any work before Sunday hits? I always believed that Sunday should be a day where we rest and get ready for Monday, which is a very busy day for the shop, you know."
"Fine then… "Anything to get our minds off of today.
"It's just going to be a little bit of work though. Can you clean the windows and the counters for me?"
"Sure," Link says, moving himself off and stands in front of me. "What're you going to do?"
"You know, sorting things in the backroom, organizing things… that kind of stuff. Once we're done I'll start up dinner. Sound good?"
"I guess." He trudges out of the bedroom and heads for the trading post, where the cleaning supplies last were. I sit up, turn off the lamp and step out of the room, heading for the back room. …Maybe I can get a good look at those photos again. It's a goldmine of our families now. Who knows, maybe I can find some of the eldest princess to show to Link.
In the backroom, I pull the chain above me, turning on the light. Like before, there's dust everywhere, flying around in the light. Good thing neither of us have any breathing troubles, or we'd be in trouble. Being careful as to not make a lot of noise, I slowly bring down the box from a shelf and place it on the floor. I sit down and start searching.
There's a lot of my great-great grandfather and the first Hero in here. Not what I'm looking for. I find more photos of me, Gramps, and… what's this?
Plucking the photo out, I see something very unearthly. It's like a light… a figure. Is this a spirit? Did one of the Heroes capture a spirit on film? Judging by the photo, it's a bit old. And to my surprise… it looks a lot like the old woman when she was still young. The former princess of long ago. But… why… is this some kind of joke? This can't be real… can it? I put the photo down, trying not to think about what I just saw.
Before I can begin looking again, a voice calls out.
"…I can't find the cleaning solution! I thought you left it under the counter!"
I sigh and yell back, "Where are you?"
"Trading Post!"
"Go check the-"
"Never mind, found it!"
"Okay, good!"
Jeez, kid.
I search around a bit more and find something else that catches my eye. It's a wedding photo of the old woman and her husband. The man in this photo looks like he could rule a country with an iron fist, while his wife looks a tad afraid of the man next to him. There is no baby in this photo. Wonder why. I put this one to the side, figuring I could show it to Link.
There's nothing much else in here. Maybe I can give the other objects here a look?
Besides the usual trinkets, there are old bottles, a boomerang… and some cloth folded and tucked away on a shelf. I had completely forgotten about this. It's the outfit that the recruits wear now, but was also the outfit of the Heroes of old. It was kept by Gramps as a way to remember the younger one. Everything is there, except for a pair of boots. I have a strange idea forming. I wonder how similar my Link will look to the other two? Grinning a bit, I bring down the clothing carefully as not to not rip the tights. Huh. The tights are cleaner than I thought they would be, being pure white. The belt buckle has a good shine to it, too. Let's see what he thinks about this.
Together with the photo, I make my way out of the back room, turning off the light as I go. I find Link in the general store, cleaning the windows. This is… déjà vu. And lots of it.
Getting closer to him I say, "Hey, Link. Look at this." Yet again, my voice makes him jump.
"O-oh… what?" He responds, turning to face me. For some odd reason, the front of his shirt is soaked. "Don't worry about the shirt, I tripped and got some stuff on me. …Are those clothes?" He cocks his head a bit.
"Mm. They are. I haven't told you about this yet, but Gramps kept an old recruit's outfit to remember the Hero by."
"Do you want me to try them on or something?" Can he read minds or something?
"Actually, yes. I'm just curious. They look like they'll fit you."
"Okay… I kinda want to see too," he replies, pulling off his shirt. I hand him the outfit before turning around to allow him to dress. However, I did catch a glimpse of the scars again. I wonder if they ever hurt him at all.
After a few minutes, he says softly, "Okay. I'm dressed now."
I turn around and… I'm struck speechless. It's uncanny. He's like a living pictograph. It scares me. He even got the hat on right.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing… you just… you just look so alike to the late Heroes."
"Do I really?" He starts to look at himself, moving his arms about.
"Yes. You have a strong resemblance to them… but this just makes the cake."
"Oh please, don't start talking about food."
"You're that hungry?"
He giggles before replying, "Well… yeah. Course I am. But do I really look like them right now?"
"Yes, you do."
"In that case…" He drops all emotion before coming back with a determined look on his face, swinging his arm about. An imaginary sword maybe? He starts thrusting his "sword" around, making a few quick yelps and grunts as he does so. I can't hold in my laughter at all, seeing how I'm just doubled-over at the moment. This is just way too priceless! By now he's laughing too.
"Really now? What's next, a bow and arrow?"
He nods and goes into the stance one would to fire an arrow.
"Better move if ya don't wanna die!" He says through giggles. "Too late!" He "fires" and I jump out of the way.
"Aw… I missed!"
"You don't want to shoot your teacher now, do you?"
"Maybe… but your little apprentice has something up his sleeve!" I do wonder what he's talking about. He runs to the backroom and comes back out with… a broom? Really now?
He grins widely and goes for a straight run with the end of the broom out in front of him, screaming a bit. He stops right in front of me and lightly jabs my stomach.
"Now you're dead. I win," He replies, trying to keep a straight face.
"Oh, how unfortunate. I don't have a prize for you."
"There's something in your hand though. Is that a pictograph?"
"Um, yes. I found it in the backroom."
"Lemme see?" He says, adjusting his cap, holding the broom like a staff or a walking stick. I'm feeling some serious déjà vu. Again.
"Sure," I reply, handing over the pictograph. "It seems to be your grandmother on her wedding day. There's no baby in it, surprisingly."
Link cocks his head at the photo, studying it. His eyes flit over the thing like he's reading something on the front.
"She looks scared," He says, handing back the pictograph.
"That's what I thought. She didn't deserve what she got handed to her, that's for sure."
"At least mother wasn't really killed."
"Mm. Then you wouldn't be here. And quite frankly, I enjoy having you around, squirt." Oh jeez… I'm using Gramps' way of talking. Not good.
"…Squirt?"
"Heh heh… that's what Gramps used to call the younger Hero whenever he was around. That and monkey. Don't know where that one came from, though."
"So… nicknames?"
"Yeah. He used them a lot. Same as his granddad. Told me that when he was younger, the first Hero would come over to the trading post once in a while to visit. Even then, great-great granddad would still call him the usual names."
"Sounds like some kind of bonding thing," He says with a little bit of an upwards inflation.
"In a way, it was. What, do you want nicknames now?"
"Well, you tend to call me "kid" and "apprentice" when addressing me to people."
"Ah. Well, I did just call you squirt… thing is, these things come out randomly. It'll happen soon."
"Fine then."
"Now please put away the broom, don't want anything broken in here. Take your clothes to the bedroom too."
"Okay, okay, teacher." He grins again, picking up his discarded clothes in one hand, the broom in the other.
"Alright, squirt." He busts out laughing as he heads for the backroom. I'm loving how cheerful he can be. When he gets into it, he's quite hyper. I miss being a child.
After a few minutes, he finishes putting his things away and goes right back to the washing.
I go up to him and say, "I wouldn't start that now, you might get your clothes wet again. I don't want these ruined. It's clean enough. Just start stocking inventory while I start dinner, okay?"
He agrees and heads to the backroom, lugging out a large box filled who knows what. I can't see the label at all. Meanwhile, I put the cleaning supplies away under the counter, where they should be. I don't know how they got misplaced before, but I don't care much though. I find the pictograph from earlier today and place the one I have on top of it.
Link starts to look for something to stand on, judging how he just pulled a jar from the box. He puts the jar down and sprints to the kitchen. What on Earth is he doing? I hear a scraping sound coming from the kitchen, like someone is pulling something along.
He comes back, pushing a chair in front of him. I see what he's going to do now. As long as he doesn't fall, he'll be fine. I nod at him before heading to the kitchen myself, getting the usual pot and knife out. Soup tonight, I guess. I fill the pot with water and set it on the burner, letting it sit as I go for the icebox. I pull out carrots, celery, and other various vegetables. No meat tonight. I put these down and start to chop, when I hear a quick yelp and a thud. Did he just fall? I quickly put the knife down, turn off the stove and rush to the general store area and see a little ball of green next to the chair. There's a broken jar next to him. It's an empty one, though.
"Are you alright?" I ask as I kneel down next to him.
"Y-yeah… just fell, th-that's all," he replies with a hint of pain, trying to stand, but just sits back down.
"Hold on, do you feel like there's anything stabbing you right now?" He did fall and land next to broken glass, so he could have something serious.
"No… I don't… but my hand hurts…"
"What happened?" I ask, still kneeling. I hope there's nothing on him, even the tiniest shards can be dangerous.
"I slipped and f-fell when I was putting away a jar…"
"What landed first? You or the jar?"
"Th-the jar…" He replies, not trying to move his hand. I think he might have something in there after all.
"So you fell near the already broken glass… show me your hand."
"It really hurts…" He says, putting up his hand. I reach for it but Link jerks back, saying, "D-don't touch it!"
"I have to, I need to see. I'm not going to try and hurt you, alright? Now give me your hand."
He nods slowly and holds out his hand. Inspecting it, I say, "Yep, you've got something there. Don't worry, the shard isn't that big. It'll be easy to get it out. I promise."
"Are we g-going to use tweezers?"
"Nah. I know a better way."
"What is it?" He does that silly head cock again. I swear, it's his trademark reaction.
"You'll see," I say, standing up. Link follows, staring at his hand. I lead him to the kitchen and sit him down on one of the remaining chairs. I go into the cabinet and reach for the bottle of olive oil. Taking it, I go over to Link, who's trying not to look at his hand.
"Alright, hold out your hand." I unscrew the cap and place it on the table. Link complies and shoves his hand out, staring at the bottle.
"How's that going to work?"
"You'll see. And no, it isn't going to hurt." I pour a bit of the oil in my hand and take Link's hand in mine.
"I still don't-"
"Just let me do my work. You'll see what I'm going to do, alright?"
"O-okay…"
I begin to massage the area where I saw the small shard poking through. Link jumps back a bit, I assume he's feeling pressure where the glass is. I keep going, not saying anything to his little jumps. A few minutes of this and I back away.
"Is it out?" He asks, looking at his hand.
"We have to wash off your hand now to make sure." He nods and jumps off the chair, heading over to the sink. He turns on the faucet, but I intervene before he starts.
"Hold on, hold on. I have to wash it. I have to make sure it's out, alright?" I know he wants to do it himself, but there's always that "what if" hanging in the air.
"Fine…" I grab his hand and put it under the water, being careful not to hit the place where the tiny shard was too hard. After washing it for a good while, I turn off the water and bring a towel to his hand.
"Alright, let's see if we got it out…" I look over his hand, and smile. "It's out. See? Wasn't too hard, huh?"
"No, not really… thanks."
"Anytime, squirt." He giggles a bit. I go over to the table and put the cap back on the olive oil and put it away. "Stay here. I'm going to go clean up the glass, okay?"
"Sure. Can I finish the… um…"
"Soup? If you want. Do you know how?"
"Course I do."
"Alright. Just don't use that hand for a bit." I turn to head out of the kitchen and back out to the general store, where the glass is still scattered on the floor near the chair. I carefully pick up and move the chair out of the way. Making my way over to the backroom, I spy the pictographs again and pick them up. It's funny really, in one we have a happy moment, the other a scared one. Sighing, I take them to the backroom and place them in the box. I take out the broom and a dust pan and walk back out, hearing the water boiling. I'm just glad he didn't injure himself too badly; there are some pretty big shards here. I bend down and start to push the shards in. With the bigger shards in the pan, I toss these into the little wastebasket by the counter. I'm not finished yet.
I head back to the kitchen, seeing Link chopping the vegetables I laid out earlier. It's funny. I'm letting an eleven-year -old use a sharp knife. And stack glass bottles. I must be a bad guardian, eh? Ah, but I trust him. He hasn't hurt himself yet… well, not much. As long as he doesn't chop a finger off- wait. I said that earlier about him falling. He won't chop his fingers off now, will he? I'm only kidding myself, of course he won't.
Link looks back to glance at me, asking, "You done?"
"Nah, just came in here to grab a towel," I reply, picking up the towel I used on Link's hand earlier and wetting it.
"Ah. Well, it's just simmering now. It'll be ready soon."
"Good. I'll be back to check in."
"Got'cha." He turns back to his work, and I do the same. Before I can head out though, Link speaks up.
"Linebeck?" What's on his mind now?
"Mm?"
"I was just wondering… about that Millie girl."
"You were?"
"Yeah."
"Well, what's on your mind?"
"Think we can visit soon?" He wants to visit now? Since when?
"I wish we could, I really do, but we're a little low on funds. Once the shop picks up a bit, we'll go. Besides, tomorrow is a Sunday, after all."
"Right…" He replies with a deflated tone.
"Anyway, if you need me, I'll be cleaning up the last of the glass, okay?" I again turn to leave, towel in hand. Link goes back to his work, and so do I.
Getting to the rest of the glass, I carefully swipe the wet towel on it, picking up the rest of the glass. I'm going to have to throw it away now, unfortunately. Don't want our clothes getting glass in them. I head over to the little waste basket and put the towel in. With the cleaning done, I grab the chair and take it back into the kitchen, putting it in its place around the table. There are already bowls filled and spoons out.
"You done?" Link asks, not turning to look at me.
"Yep. It's safe to walk out there, just don't do it barefoot."
"Got'cha. Soup's done, got it all out."
"Good. Seems like you've already gotten the table set."
"…I don't want to make you do all the work." What's that supposed to mean?
"But you don't."
"Okay then… might as well eat now." He doesn't sound so good. Is there something wrong with him?
We sit down at the table to eat, the quiet really getting to me. There has to be something on his mind.
We eat in silence.
After dinner, Link stands and takes both the bowls to the sink, and just stands there. He still doesn't look right.
"You okay?"
"Yeah… I'm fine. Must be the rain getting me down." I don't think it's the rain.
"Might be." I automatically go to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But if you have anything on your mind, you can talk about it to me. I won't say anything about it."
Link brushes my hand off and says, "It's nothing. It's just…" He lets the words trail off.
"Just what?"
"Everything. It's just really hard to take in. I just never thought I was special. First I learn that I look like two kids from a long time ago that apparently saved the world or something, and then I find out I'm actually related to them! And then just to make it better, I find out mother was supposed to be a princess or something but got that role taken away from her because of her step-dad!" That's one way to put it.
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing… Even though it is…"
"And it is, Linebeck! It is! I could be some kid in a castle, not allowed to go outside or do anything, but instead… instead… instead I became something to be used by perverts and sickos!" Every word he says flares with more intensity than the last. His eyes are filling up with tears, but he tries to hold them in.
"Are you crying?"
"No, I'm not crying! Little kids cry!" But he is a little kid. At least, on the outside. I try to calm him some, putting my arms around him. He quickly puts his face into my chest and lets loose. Sigh… quite a handful. As always in these situations, I rock him back and forth.
"I'm n-not a little k-kid!" He moans, "I'm not… a little… k-kid…"
"Shh… you're not a little kid. Haven't I already told you this before?"
I don't get a response from him, just a lot of sobs. I don't know what's gotten into him, but it's not good. After a while, he comes back.
"…Y-you think I'm a little kid th-though…" Well then.
"I don't. I've told you before, you're not."
"…I must s-sound like a big b-baby right now, huh."
"No, you don't. It's okay to cry."
"It's not okay for boys to cry…" He parts from me, almost wiping his eyes on his sleeve. Instead, he uses his hands.
"It's perfectly okay for boys to cry, especially ones of your age," I reply, putting emphasis on perfectly okay. I need him to understand that. Sure, he cries a lot, I've gotten used to that. But it's still okay.
"I know, I know. It's just… nah. C-can I just go to bed?" Well, wasn't that a topic changer?
"Um, sure. It's getting late, I'm heading in too. Once you change, fold these nicely, okay?"
"Fine." He takes off for the bedroom and shuts the door. I think he just needs sleep. Badly. There's a lot of times now where he wakes up from a nightmare. Maybe tonight that'll change. I do sometimes wonder what goes on in that head of his. But, I don't think I want to know. But I do want to help as much as I can.
After a few minutes, I go over to the door and knock a few times.
"Come in," He pipes up. I open the door and walk in, seeing that he's reading the book, the recruit outfit on the nightstand. It's folded… not that well. I don't mind too much, though.
"Reading again?"
"…Yeah."
"Well, you need to get some rest. Find a stopping point before I finish changing," I say as I open the dresser and pull out my night-clothes. "Besides, tomorrow's going to be busy, with all the preparing we'll be doing. Shop keepers just never get breaks, eh?"
"Nah, we don't," Link comments with a more cheery tone. I think he's calmed down nicely.
"Agreed. Alright, go find that stopping point." I stand and make my way towards the bathroom, opening the door and closing it behind me. It's funny, we're both men and yet we still can't change in front of each other. That says something.
I finish changing and head back out. The room is already dark, to my displeasure. Why did he turn out the lights before I was finished? I start to feel my way around the room, almost tripping some. I can hear tiny giggles. He planned this, didn't he? I make it to the bed in one piece, getting in on my side.
"You awake?" I say, turning to face him. I can see his eyes shining a bit in the dark.
"Maybe…"
"Next time, shut off the light after I come in, got it?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Alright. Goodnight."
"G'night." And that's the last I hear from him. The only thing I can hear now is the sound of rain falling onto the roof and his deep breaths. I turn over and try to fall asleep myself. I envy him some, being able to fall asleep so quickly. I still have strange feelings about tomorrow. I feel something is going to happen. Something big. Maybe its nothing. I close my eyes, trying not to think too much.
I do know it's going to be busy tomorrow but… how busy will it get?
AN: Well, I did say you guys get a treat. Two actually. One: I'm thinking of writing... a prequel! Yep! It'll mostly go about the first Zelda's marriage problem, and explain "Rose's" life a bit. Basically, it's more in-depth look on the two lovely ladies. I'm thinking about it, that means I haven't gotten to writing it yet, though. Suggestions are nice, go ahead and make them. Once Speak is finished, we'll try this one on for size.
Don't leave yet! I have something else! Two: Recently, I've been messing around, listening to music. I think I found a song for Speak. Whew boy... okay. First, it's a Vocaloid song re-dubed in english by the wonderful madokaueno, Bazupanda and sukebe of NicoVideo. The lyrics are in the description of the video, don't forget. Song is Alice. Yes, just Alice. Not Alice Human Sacrifice. Anyway, give it a listen. There are other versions of the song floating around, try them too.
watch?v=ODBBE0r0gf0&feature=related
I can't post the whole link, so just go to YouTube and paste this.
See you all in the next chapter!
-Lyric