Chapter Eight – A Shoulder to Cry On

It was late into the day when Ashekha saw Usiku again. While in her music class, she had been practicing scales on her lan flute when the tarp was moved aside. In the doorway stood Nabooru and Usiku. A smile crept over Ashekha's face and she stood to her feet and ran to greet them. Usiku was surprised to see the Gerudo girl greet her. They had just met that morning and for only a brief minute. But deep inside there was a sense of relief. Someone seemed to like her at least. The pink-clad girl with blonde bangs reached the doorway and she wore a bright smile in spite of the gloomy day outside. "Hey there!" she greeted.

Usiku tried a weak smile. "Hi."

Nabooru looked down at them. "Usiku's going to be in your classes from now on, okay? I want you to help show her around."

"Okay, I will!" Ashekha felt proud that she had been charged with such a task.

Usiku stole glances at Ashekha, taking in her features. She was Gerudo and yet looked significantly different. Her hair was somewhat red, but more of a brown hue. And the bangs: why were they bleached blonde? Her ears were long and pointed such as a Hylian and even a Sheikah. The girl's eyes were a bright sea-green of all colors! But if she were more Hylian in appearance than Gerudo and these people accepted her as their own, then perhaps there was hope. Usiku had nowhere to go right now. All she could hope for was to be accepted among these people for the time being. Maybe this girl would be the key to just that…

"Hey, come on," said Ashekha, turning back to where she had been sitting. "Let me show you a song I was practicing earlier."

Nabooru watched as the two moved across the room. She smiled some and then turned out. Usiku followed Ashekha and sat down on a stool beside her. The Gerudo girl held up her flute and said, "It's called 'The Faerie'." Then she lifted it to her lips as it extended forward. She then began to blow into it, causing beautiful notes to sound and echo through the room. Usiku listened, enjoying the sweet sound. For a moment, she felt relaxed and calm. Then the song was over. Ashekha grinned. "Did it sound okay?"

Usiku nodded and smiled faintly. "It was very beautiful. What was your name again?"

"I'm Ashekha."

"Well you play the lan flute really well, Ashekha."

"Thank you," she blushed.

For a moment, the two were silent. They heard the noises around them of the other students playing their instruments and scribbling notes onto paper. Finally Usiku spoke up. "Hey Ashekha? Have you always lived here?"

"No. I used to live out in the deep desert before I came here."

"How long ago was that?"

"I think two years."

"How old are you now?"

"I'm seven. How old are you?"

"Nine."

"Cool! You're two years older than me."

Usiku nodded. "Who do you think they'll room me with?"

Ashekha shrugged. "It could be anyone. I think it would be cool if you could room with me, Y'kana and Holly. We all like you already."

"What? You guys like me?"

Ashkeha nodded.

"Why?"

"Well, you look awesome with your black hair and red eyes. Oh! And those markings under your eyes look so neat. But it was so cool when you punched Filfil! She and Osayer are real brats."

Inside, Usiku felt relieved that she had some possible friends already. Despite her sorrow and wanting to be left alone, she knew that she would need friends. This girl, Ashekha, seemed like someone she could relate to. "Well, thanks," she said, feeling herself blush a bit.

Ashekha smiled warmly. "No problem."

Nabooru entered the king's chamber and bowed. Ganondorf sat at his desk, the feather pen in his hand. He had looked up from scribbling some text on a sheet of paper. "Hello, Nabooru," he said. "What is it?"

Nabooru walked up to the desk and sat on one of the corners. "I just stopped by to inform you of the Sheikah girl, Usiku."

Ganondorf didn't look up. He just continued writing. "Yes? What about her?"

"I've put her in some classes right now. They're lower level classes for her, but I have a feeling that it's better for her." She folded her arms, glancing at a random paper on the king's desk. "I think she and Ashekha are getting along already, so perhaps she'll assimilate quicker."

"Ashekha?" the king inquired.

"Uganguzi's girl. You know… the one you made a fake bargain with."

Ganondorf chuckled quietly, placing the feather pen back into its jar. "Ah yes, I remember now. You can't blame me for humoring her."

"I'd be careful though," Nabooru warned, glancing at him. "Children will remember the most random things. I wouldn't be surprised if she came to you one day asking for that ring."

The king shook his head, smiling. "She won't."

"But what if she did?"

Ganondorf looked at her with a you-can't-be-serious face.

Nabooru held up her hands as if in defense. "Hey, I'm just saying…"

He paused, grinning. It was ridiculous. "She won't. Just trust me."

"Ooookay then." She paused for a moment before continuing. "But anyway, what do you plan now since the Sheikah have been taken out?"

The king pushed the paper aside and he sat back in his chair. "Well, now the royal family has no defense. They pose no threat to us, so we have some leeway to search for that Sheikah Temple. If plans go accordingly, then we can move our headquarters to the temple and prepare for an assault on Hyrule Castle."

"And if we fail to find the temple?"

"Then we continue as planned from our fortress." He paused. "But since we have the time now, we can focus most of our work on finding the temple."

Something about it didn't quite set right with Nabooru. If the temple was merely a base for their operations, why was so much emphasis placed on it? Shouldn't they just assemble an attack now? But no… Ganondorf was no fool. He knew that he could be preparing an attack now. Maybe there was something more. It was almost as if he was stalling for something. Whatever the reason, she would privately look into it. In the meantime, she would continue along with his plan.

Ganondorf noticed her silence and looked up. "I'm sorry, was I unclear?"

Nabooru shook her head. "No, you were clear, sire. I'm just feeling weary from today's happenings. Forgive me."

"No, it's quite alright," he said, turning his attention back to his papers. "It's hard work to be a leader, I understand. And I do appreciate your hard work, Nabooru."

His kindness momentarily puzzled her. "Th-thank you, sire." That was about all she was ever going to get from him. Shrugging it off, she rose from his desk. "Do you require me for anything further?"

Ganondorf looked up again and shook his head. "No, that's all. You can go about your way."

With a final bow, Nabooru exited the room.

That night at dinner, Usiku sat with Ashekha and her friends. Her heart was still very heavy with grief, but they helped her to forget about it temporarily. Instead she listened in on their conversations about the day's events. They spoke about the cooking class where they had made their first cakes. Some of the girls were chattering on about their weapons lesson. Ashekha loved to talk most about that one. As she stuffed a chunk of roast beef into her mouth, she exclaimed something about the new technique they had learned.

While they continued on, Usiku glanced around the hall. She saw the king's table on the far side of the room. She recognized Nabooru's face and, of course, Ganondorf. She hated the fact that she was now living within his care, but what could she do? Brushing that thought aside, she glanced towards the door and saw someone enter. It was a woman with strawberry blonde hair to her waist and blue clothing. Behind her toddled a little boy. For a moment she just stared. She hadn't seen any boys anywhere until now. Everyone else was a girl. This little boy had the dark red hair of the Gerudo and amber eyes. He remained close to the woman as they walked to the kitchen. His face puzzled her the most; he was frowning.

"Ashekha?" she asked, tapping her friend's shoulder. "Who are they?"

Ashekha turned to see what she meant. "Oh, that's Umtoh and Vaho," she replied. "She's Ganondorf's mistress and that's their son."

"But don't your people have girls only? Well, besides a boy being born every hundred years."

Ashekha shrugged, her mouth slanting down to one side. "I don't know how it happened, but it did." She then quickly shoved a roll into her mouth, biting off a piece.

Usiku watched as Umtoh and her son entered the kitchen. "He seems upset."

"Hmm?"

"The boy. He was frowing."

"Oh, he always does that. He doesn't like people, I think. He hardly ever comes out where we can see him."

"Really? How come?"

"I don't know. I guess his mum keeps him busy or something."

Usiku nodded. She then turned back to her meal and bit into her roll.

Ashekha giggled. "I remember one time I saw Vaho. He was in the supply room with Umtoh and I tried talking to him. He just sat there, frowning the whole time. I tried dancing and telling jokes, but he wouldn't smile. Then before I left, he called me 'happy girl'."

"Happy girl?" Usiku had to grin at that.

"Yeah, it was funny." Then she proceeded to finish off her meat, shoving it all in her mouth at once.

"More like 'chipmunk girl'!" Terra remarked.

All the girls erupted in laughter.

It was drawing close to bedtime for all the youngsters. Nabooru and Uganguzi came by the table where Usiku sat and motioned for her to follow. "You too, Ashekha," said Uganguzi. Both girls obeyed and they soon came to the dragon crest hall. They approached Ashekha's room and pulled open the tarp. Nabooru motioned for the girls to go inside. Once inside, she explained.

"Usiku, this is Ashekha's room as well as Holly's and Y'kana's. It will also be yours." She then motioned to the bunk opposite of Ashekha's. There was a bag on top with a mini harp leaning against it.

Usiku started forward disbelief. "You have my things?"

"Yes, and they are now with you once again. But we gave you different clothes." As Nabooru explained, Usiku climbed atop the bunk and opened the bag. "You must conform to our uniforms, but to even it out, we made them black for you." The Sheikah girl pulled out her Gerudo clothes. Indeed they were black with some gold trimmings.

Ashekha bounced with excitement. "This is so cool!"

Uganguzi patted her daughter's head then looked up at Usiku. "Now if you need anything, just ask Ashekha here or one of us. My name is Uganguzi by the way, and this is my sister, Nabooru."

Usiku looked over at them placing the names with the faces, then she nodded. "Thank you." Her eyes then drifted back to her belongings. She gazed upon her harp, her eyes seeming to sparkle. Nabooru saw it and figured it something very special. She then motioned for them all to leave and let the Sheikah girl alone for awhile.

Nabooru left her sister and adopted niece in the hallway and headed on to carry out some other work. Uganguzi and Ashekha walked down the hallways for a bit while they awaited the horn that signaled all the girls to be in bed. When the time finally came, Ashekha returned to her room. Before she entered, she reached up and hugged Uganguzi, kissing her neck. "Love you."

Her foster mother smiled and returned the hug and kiss. "Love you too, hun."

Ashekha entered the room after that and quickly yanked out her night clothes. As she removed her Gerudo clothing, she heard a voice speak to her. It was Usiku. "Ashekha?"

"Uh-huh?" said the Gerudo child as she changed her clothes.

"Was that your mother you were talking to out there?" Her voice sounded odd, almost like she had been crying.

Ashekha pulled her shirt down and turned to Usiku's bunk. "Well, kind of," she said, climbing up into Usiku's bed. She sat on the opposite end, facing the Sheikah girl. "She's not my real mother, but she takes care of me as if she is."

Usiku nodded. Her face was partly visible in the dim light. She sniffed once and continued. "What happened to your real mother?"

Ashekha shrugged. "I don't know. I never knew her."

"You mean you've never even seen her?"

"Nope…" Ashekha shook her head.

"Well I'm glad you still have a mother at least… You deserve it." Her voice wavered as if she were about to cry.

"What?"

"Ashekha, you've been so kind to me today. You're probably the only person here that I can ever respect and I want you to know that I'm happy for you."

The Gerudo girl reached her hand out and gripped Usiku's. She gave it a gentle squeeze and tried a smile. "Well I'm happy that you're my friend, Usiku. You can tell me anything, you know. 'Cause you deserve to be happy too."

"Thank you, Ashekha." Then she paused for a long time, sniffling again. "I… I lost my mother and all my family just yesterday… I… I just don't know what I should do now." Her voice wavered again. "I just miss my mum so much…" And then she began to cry freely, tears falling down her cheeks. "I wish I could see her…"

Ashekha immediately crawled over beside Usiku and wrapped her arms about her, hugging gently. Usiku returned the embrace and sobbed quietly against Ashekha. For several minutes they stayed that way until Holly and Y'kana came inside. By then, Usiku had calmed down some and began wiping her cheeks. Ashekha smiled encouragingly before hopping off the bunk to the floor.

"Hey Usiku!" greeted Holly.

"Yay! Usiku's our new roomie!" cheered Y'kana.

The Sheikah girl couldn't help but give a little smile. "Hey guys…" she said weakly.

"Yeah, she's our new roommate," said Ashekha. "But she's awfully tired and needs some sleep really badly. We can talk to her in the morning, okay?"

Both girls nodded and grinned as they got ready for bed. "Okee-dokey!"

Ashekha winked at Usiku before climbing into her bunk for the night.