Welcome back. I want to say thank you to CittyKatYuki and MarcWinter for your lovely reviews! MarcWinter, your review put a smile on my face. Thanks again.
On with the story.
Chapter 2
Light peeked through the gaps in the blinds, stretching in horizontal rows across the ground. Zelda watched the dust particles swirl in the narrow strips of light from her position on the armchair. Closing her eyes with a deep and tired yawn she lifted herself into a seated position and stretched out her arms and neck. She ached. The armchair was not the best sleeping place.
Moving her blanket aside and getting to her feet she stretched out the rest of her body and glanced at the clock. 9:37 AM. Her eyes widened. Maudrette, her nursemaid, would be arriving at ten. She was never this late to rise and everything was a mess. She was certain Maudrette would not take the matter of a stranger in the house lightly. She could claim he's a friend but that would only raise more questions. Packing away the first aid kit and grabbing the knife she returned each to their respective places before rushing back and bundling her blankets into her arms and running up the stairs. Her mind raced for a way to hide the injured boy as she fixed up her bed. She couldn't tell Maudrette the truth, she was a stoic, cold and strict woman with zero tolerance. She would likely reprimand Zelda, throw the boy out despite how injured he may be and contact her father. It wouldn't surprise Zelda if the woman fabricated the belief that the two of them were in a love affair.
Rushing back down the stairs and into the utility room, she poured detergent into the washing machine and switched it on. Heading to the kitchen she glanced at the kitchen wall clock. 9:43 AM. She prayed Maudrette wouldn't arrive early.
Her ears perked at the sound of a thud and a nervous heat crawled up her back. She turned and saw the boy leaning the side of his head and his hand against the wall between the kitchen and open living area as if it were a pillow. Blond hair hung partly over his eyes and his brows furrowed. In pain, she assumed. His eyes opened partly and looked at her, in confusion or simply in thought she couldn't tell, "...Need any help? I can do help." he paused, thinking over his sentence, then gave up and closed his eyes slightly tighter than natural, "My head hurts."
Zelda blinked away her disbelief. She knew something was off with his healing rate, she had monitored it throughout the night. Any normal person would not be standing within ten hours of receiving a cut as deep as his was. Although, he didn't look to be in the best condition.
She sighed and hurried over to him, pulling his arm over her shoulder, "You shouldn't be up. You could force your cut to open again." she scolded, guiding him slowly back towards the living area, "If your head hurts then I will get you painkillers, but for now-"
The sound of a car pulling into their drive forced Zelda to fall silent. She glanced at the clock. 9:45 AM, why was she here so early? Her heart pounded with sudden anxiety but she gulped away her nerves and guided him more quickly towards the stairs. He winced and suppressed the urge to cry out in pain as she pulled him up the steps. "F-for now?" he pressed.
"For now I need you to stay hidden and stay quiet. My nursemaid will not take kindly to you being here." she answered quickly. She paused briefly at the top of the stairs, glancing at the doors with consideration. Recalling that the bedding to the spare room was still sprawled downstairs, she couldn't put him in the guest room; Maudrette would want to clean it.
The metallic sound of a key entering the lock caused Zelda to bristle. She tugged him quickly into her room. He flinched and glanced over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the entrance as the handle was pulled down. Zelda shut the door and leaned against it with him, sighing in relief. Maudrette shouldn't come in here, she knew Zelda kept her room perfectly clean.
The two of them listened as the front door opened and footsteps could be heard in the entrance way, albeit one more confused than the other.
Zelda's eyes narrowed in concentration as she listened out for Maudrette's movements.
"Zelda?" Maudrette called through the house and her footsteps tapped against the wooden floor. Her voice was deep and firm and befitting of a horizontally challenged lady, Zelda supposed.
She pulled him over to her bed and sat him down before stepping back. He tilted his head with uncertainty as he looked at her. She acknowledged the look and glanced back over her shoulder, "Coming!" she called before turning back to the quiet Hylian, "Just stay here and don't make any noise." she said, jesturing for him to stay still, "I'll come back with painkillers once she's gone. Take it easy, okay?" He hesitantly nodded and she quickly left the room, pulling the door closed behind her.
Heading down the steps she watched Maudrette pull off her coat and hang it on the coat rack before eyeing Zelda, "Any plans for today?" she inquired casually.
"What day is it? Saturday? I haven't thought about it. I'll probably just stay in." Zelda answered, attempting to match her casual tone.
Her eyes turned slightly sharp and Zelda took immediate notice, "You're not one that tends to forget things like that." she noted.
Zelda shrugged and answered in the same casual tone, carefully considering her demeanour, "I guess I've just had some things on my mind." She based her answer on the assumption Maudrette wouldn't care enough to inquire further.
"Yeah, well, sure." she responded, turning away to lock the door. Zelda glanced subtly over to the blankets lying on the couch whilst Maudrette's back was turned. She heard the beeping sound of the washing machine, signifying the end of the cycle and took off towards it before Maudrette could get to it.
Opening the machine and pulling out the bundle of wet fabrics she rummaged and scanned each for any blood stains. She pulled out the torn shirt the boy had been wearing and stared at it with a growing sense of dread. The amount of blood it had been covered in meant it was still stained and had left stains on other fabrics. She couldn't dispose of it because Maudrette would be sorting the waste bins.
"Zelda?" Maudrette called again. Glancing behind her briefly, Zelda did the only logical thing she could think of and shoved the bundle back into the washing machine and restarted it. Hurrying to her feet and patting herself down, she walked back to the living area and spotted Maudrette folding the bedding that had been left crumpled.
"Why are there bed sheets in here?" she asked impatiently. Zelda took a breath and recited a line in her head, "I couldn't sleep so I decided to watch TV to help me sleep. I took the sheets from the spare bedroom to save using my own too. I hope you don't mind."
Maudrette gave her a suspicious look, "Are you ill or something? You're usually dressed at this point too."
Zelda glanced off with convincing thoughtfulness, "Uh, yeah, that must be it. Don't worry about it though, I can handle it." She felt awkward for lying, but she couldn't exactly stop now.
A quiet thud sounded in the distance and Maudrette turned away towards the top of the stairs. Zelda pinched the bridge of her nose.
"What was that?" Maudrette inquired, turning back to Zelda who subsequently shifted to casually wiping her face.
"I think... It might have just been the plumbing or electricals. Let me go and check. Wait here." Zelda responded, moving around her nurse maid and heading quickly up the steps. She glanced behind her to ensure Maudrette hadn't followed before opening her door a fraction and slipping inside, pulling it closed behind her.
Looking over she saw the boy lying curled up on his side on the floor. "What happened?" she whispered with a hint of impatience, rushing over to his side.
"S-sorry." he mumbled. He clutched at his chest and Zelda gently drew his arm away. Small drops of blood had began to seep through the bandage. "I... fell." he clarified and closed his eyes, his head spinning.
Zelda rubbed her forehead with the bottom of her palm, "How did you manage..." she trailed off, sighing in acceptance, "You're hopeless."
His lip quirked in the corner at her comment, "I don't mean to be." he replied softly.
Zelda looked at him thoughtfully. His light-hearted response was unexpected, but it made her feel strangely at ease.
"Zelda!" Maudrette's booming voice called from the bottom of the stairs. The feeling of ease dissipated and Zelda's ears twitched as she heard Maudrette's heavy footfalls on the stairs.
Standing quickly she glanced around rapidly before pulling the duvet from her bed to cover him, "Sorry, I'll get the first aid kit. Don't move." she whispered quickly before rushing back to her door and out to the hall. She pulled the door closed behind her and stood against it, holding the handle tight from behind her back as Maudrette reached the top of the stairs. She had the bedding still bundled in her arms with her chin propped on top, "Open the door to the spare room so I can put this stuff back." she ordered and Zelda nodded, drawing her chin towards her chest.
"Of course." she responded, heading straight for the guest room and opening up the door wide for Maudrette to step through. Zelda leaned against the open door as she watched Maudrette place the folded bedding back on the bed, "I didn't see anything out of the ordinary by the way. I assume it was nothing."
"Hm? Yeah." Maudrette responded. Zelda looked at her with half-lidded eyes. Her lack of attention to anything Zelda said had always kind of bothered her. Then again, she supposed as of now, her ignorance was a blessing.
Zelda pulled away from the door and left the room. Rushing on the tips of her toes over to the bathroom and pulling the first aid kit back out of the cupboard, she hurried back to her room before Maudrette had the chance to catch her.
The thick blanket hadn't moved from where she had thrown it over him. Hurrying back to his side she pulled it back and he scrunched his eyes up slightly from the sudden light.
Placing down the first aid kit and opening it up she rummaged through for the right supplies. This whole situation was putting her under a lot of stress. She needed to plan ahead, to consider everything and give herself some order to this mess. Once Maudrette had left she could at least breathe again. He couldn't stay here long, she decided. She would take care of him until he was well enough, but then he had to leave.
"I think your nursemaid is-"
Zelda broke out of her thoughts and straightened to attention, quickly throwing the blanket back over him before he could finish his sentence. She jumped to her feet and kicked the first aid kit under her bed just as her door knocked and began to open.
"Zelda, have you eaten yet?" Maudrette paused, taking in the blanket screwed up on the floor, "What's the meaning of this?" she asked impatiently.
"I..." Zelda glanced down at the blanket before looking at her nursemaid apprehensively, "I just wanted to sort out my bed and possibly sleep for a few hours. I'm feeling quite tired. Do you mind if I'm not disturbed for a while? I really don't need anything but sleep."
Maudrette folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. She stared in thought for a moment before responding, "Alright. If you're going to be in bed all day I'll let myself out. Mind if I work 'til twelve?"
Zelda guarded her inward elation, "That's perfectly fine Maudrette. Leave as soon as you're ready to, I don't mind."
"Thanks." Maudrette responded and moved to grab the handle, "'Night." she said simply before shutting the door.
Zelda breathed a sigh of relief and listened to Maudrette's footsteps thud dully down the stairs before she knelt back down, pulling the blanket back again and grabbing the first aid kit from under the bed.
He shifted, placing his hand flat against the carpeted floor and attempted to lift himself up. Zelda looked over, wide-eyed, anxious he would make noise. "Wait, let me help." she spoke quietly, moving closer to him and helping lift him to sit against her bed. He winced but remained quiet, lowering his head tiredly.
Zelda looked over him attentively before carefully unwrapping the bandage from around his chest. The cut revealed itself and she dropped the lump of bandage to one side. The bleeding wasn't too bad to her relief and she caught the drops of blood that trickled down his chest with a clean wipe. She felt him hold his breath as she cleaned his cut with more of the ointment. She glanced up at his closed eyes, his brows were furrowed tight in pain. Focusing back on the cut she softened the pressure of her touch.
Picking up the roll of bandage from the box, she studied it silently for a moment. They were quickly running out. She would have to buy more at some point. Marking that thought for another time she moved closer and re-wrapped the fresh bandage around his chest and waist, adding more than before to hold the wound with more security.
Putting the medical kit away and pushing it aside, she sat next to him. Leaning back against the base of her bed and drawing her knees up to her chest, she stared ahead of her with uncertainty. It unsettled her that this situation lacked order. It was out of her control and it made her feel vulnerable. She didn't exactly know how to talk to him, now that she thought about it.
"Thank you." he murmured sincerely. She glanced up at him from beside her curiously. His eyes were open again, and they were deep and serene with the hues of blue. They were warm and more alive than she had been able to see, yet there was still a dullness to them, a tiredness- she assumed, but his warmth prevailed. He smiled. Her lip twitched upwards slightly before she looked away.
"It's nothing. You're welcome." she responded, keeping her voice low but matching his genuine tone. Her eyes narrowed in thought, staring ahead at the furthest tips of the carpet, their fuzzy outline glowing like a halo with the light that seeped through the gap beneath the door. She looked at him from the corner of her eye with renewed curiosity, "So what's your name? And, where did you come from? Why..." she trailed off, furrowing her brows in quiet reflection. She would ask him one or two questions at a time. That way she could formulate the right responses to better gain an accurate judgement.
His brows furrowed and he tilted his head, resting the back of it against the side of her mattress as he looked ahead. "My name? Someone told me it was 'Link'. But I don't know who that person was."
Zelda looked at him fully, tilting her own head as she stared up at him in surprise. She blinked, "You, don't remember?"
"I've remembered almost nothing of my past for three months. In those three months I've been running from," he hesitated and lapsed into silence. Zelda watched him thoughtfully.
"You were running from 'him'?" Zelda recalled.
He looked at her guardedly before offering a mirthless smile, "You remembered that?"
"I wouldn't forget a detail like that."
"Of course." he commented light-heartedly. He looked away and wearily closed his eyes, "I assume I don't know this man. But I could be wrong."
Zelda frowned with concern, lost in her thoughts. His story was more perculiar than she expected. She opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of Maudrette walking up the steps forced her to tense over, heat crawling up her back. She knew it was likely Maudrette would be going into the other rooms but she pulled the blanket over their heads anyway. It was enough to cover the tops of their heads so they could still see, and Zelda held the edges with caution.
Link looked at her with amusement as she listened carefully to the sound of Maudrette walking past the door and down the hall. Breathing out through her nose in relief she let go of the blanket, leaving it draped around their heads and shoulders for when Maudrette walked back.
Squinting an eye closed as the blanket fell over half his face, Link gave a good-natured sigh, blowing the fabric from his face.
Zelda took in his calm manner and bit her lip to refrain from smiling at his expense. She felt kind of strange, wanting to laugh. Perhaps the stress of the situation was encouraging that response from her. Yet she didn't mind it. It made her feel better.
He glanced at her and narrowed his eyes playfully. Zelda looked down as the smile stretched on her face.
"What about you?" he asked quietly, "What is your name?"
"Oh," she looked back up at him, regaining her composure, yet a small quirk remained on the corner of her lips, "My name is Zelda."
Thank you for reading. Leave me with your thoughts.
Here's some songs I listened to: Brother Bear soundtrack. I'm a big Disney fan, and Phil Collins does some of the best Disney music. Also a whole Keane playlist.
Until next time.