One more chapter till I hit the big 2-0! Enjoy this one, I rewrote it like three times XD
-Jack Knights
Sheik walked up to the door, hand raised to knock. He paused, sighed and rapped his fist against the wood. He waited, but no-one answered. On the side of the door frame, was a bell. He grabbed hold of it and shook it fiercely; still no-one answered. He backed up and, seeing an open window, began to shout.
"Hey, is the mechanic home?" he bellowed, drawing the attention of several Twili nearby. Link turned his back on the scene, sighing in disappointment. "Hello? You've got customers down—"
His voice was cut off when a bucket of water fell on his head, drenching him thoroughly. Next went the metal pail, striking him on the head.
"By the Goddess, would you shut the hell up?" a gruff female voice shouted from her window. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"
Link turned and saw a very large, bosomy woman shouting from a second floor window . She narrowed her eyes at him and slammed the window shut. Link heard heavy footsteps descend a flight of stair and several locks thrown open. The door flew open, a very angry woman glaring at him, her hand on her hip, the other holding a wrench. She opened her mouth to yell again, and paused when she saw Sheik, lying dazed in a puddle of water.
"Trex?" he said, shaking his head of water.
"Sheik?" she said incredulously. "Is that really you? Give me a skirt and wings and call me a fairy, it is you!"
She bent down to help him up and he grinned widely. "It's good to see you, Trex. You haven't change a bit," he said, picking up the pail and handing it back to her. "Still throwing out customers, eh?"
"Only those who piss me off," she said, smirking, "and those who don't pay."
"Yeah, about that..." he began but she shook her head, interrupting him.
"Nonsense, come on in," she smiled, and Link got the feeling she wasn't as cheerful as she seemed. "And bring your friend with you," she added, looking at Link like she was sizing him up. She led the way inside, idly chatting with Sheik as she led them through the mess that was the main room of the first floor.
"I thought you'd left for Darunia," Sheik said.
"I left for a while but there wasn't much work for a mechanic of my profession there on that inlet," she said, shrugging. Link shifted the bag's weight in his hand, causing it to rattle. She turned to look at him, a look of surprise crossing her face.
"I didn't think I would ever see these again," she said, taking the bag from Link. "I paid quite a pretty penny for these parts. That good for nothing service girl just up and left them in the middle of the street."
"About the girl," Link began, but she ignored him and disappeared through a doorway, leaving Link annoyed. Sheik sat on the only chair that wasn't strewn with various items, leaving Link to stand. He noticed that the majority of first floor consisted of the single room, which was filled with old newspapers and mechanical gadgets. His eyes traveled the room, looking at the various strewn things, his head swimming with the smell of polish and oil. She came back from an adjacent room, a tray of mugs in her hands.
"I thought you could use something to lessen the pain," she said, handing Sheik a glass. "It's your favourite, unless I'm mistaken."
Sheik put the mug to his lips and smiled as she offered one to Link, who politely rejected it. It smelt like alcohol and he wasn't in the mood to hinder his mind. Trex watched him as he drank, a coy smile playing upon her lips and Link shuddered. He drained the glass and handed it back to the busty woman.
"Thanks," he said, wiping his mouth. "And you were right, it is my favourite."
"Glad you liked it," she said, putting the tray aside and holding out her hand. "That'll be six thousand three hundred and forty Ruppees."
Link nearly broke out in laughter at the sight of Sheik's face falling from it's happy grin to a dour frown. Sheik raised an eyebrow at the woman, crossing his arms; she returned the gesture by opening and rubbing her thumb and forefinger together.
"Look, you know I'm good for it," he began and Link paled when the woman picked up the tray and made to bring it down on Sheik's head, who raised his arms in self-defense. "Hey! Watch the head!"
"I should beat your head in and leave you to the maggots," she said sourly. "You took some of my best pieces and left in the middle of the morning!"
"It was for a good cause," he argued, shrugging. "They needed those parts—"
"The non-existent Resistance?" she said in a barked laugh. "Please, everyone knows they don't really exist. And if they do, they've done nothing to help with things."
"They do exist and they've tried," Sheik said, getting to his feet. "You try inspiring people to raise arms against an immortal king! Come on Link, let's go. We don't need her," he added, grabbing Link by the arm. Just as Sheik reached to open the door, Link felt the woman's meaty hand close on his right arm and he turned surprised.
"This is why you came to me?" she asked, this time addressing Link. Sheik looked back and sighed, running a hand over his face.
"Originally yes," he eventually said. "But now that you won't help us, I guess—"
"I won't help you, but I'll do what I can for him," she said, letting go of Link's arm. "Can't have you going to some idiot who can't even stitch, let alone attach a new hand."
"Alright then," Sheik said, closing the door. "How much?"
"Free of charge," she said, to which Sheik raised and eyebrow in disbelief. "What? I can't let a Hylian walk around injured and unable to fight, now can I?"
Link's mouth dropped open in surprise and Sheik swore, looking angry. "You thought I didn't know?" she said, sounding amused. "Please, I've known since I opened my door that you were a Hylian."
"How did you—"
"That girl I ran into in the square?" Link asked, cutting off Sheik's question. "It was her wasn't it?"
"Yes and no; she said you weren't from around here, by the look of you," she said, shrugging. "At first assumed she meant you were a little green. But when I opened my door and saw you, I knew."
"How?" Link asked, throwing off the blanket. "I thought I hid myself well enough."
"You did, but you gave off a feel," she said, turning around and grabbing a cigar from an empty dish and lighting it. "Like an aura, sorta like a presence, an air, of magic."
"Magic?"
"And unlike those crazy Oocca, yours is different. Theirs is feels diluted, hindered by years of evolution. You," she pointed at him with her cigar, "are filled with magic as pure and as vast as the earth itself."
Magic? I've never even used it before, Link wondered. Sheik snorted incredulously, shaking his head as he laughed. "Don't get taken in by her old maid tales. She's just riding high off of the fumes of gas and oil, which are very strong, by the way; ever consider opening a window?"
They continued to argue like that, a habit of which Link was beginning to see Sheik had with everyone. Amidst their conversation, Link heard footsteps up above and look to the ceiling. Is someone up there? He looked back at Sheik and Trex, who hadn't noticed. He began inching his way towards the stairs, but they paid him no heed. I doubt they'd notice if I disappeared for a few minutes, he mused as he silently made his way up the stairs.
The conversation disappeared as he reached the second floor, slowly making his way around a corner. He was suddenly hit in the face with a wood board and he fell backward, landing on his backside, his head hitting the wall. He pinched his nose as he felt it gush blood and swore colourfully, squeezing his eyes tight as the back of his pounded painfully.
"You again?" said a surprised voice in front of him. He opened an eye and looked up. There standing in front of him was the Zelda look-alike. "I thought I heard someone sneak up here; it turns out you're just here to steal more from me!" she added, raising the board again.
"Wait! It's not what you think!" he said, waving his arms wildly. She stopped, her face going pale. She turned around, her hand on her mouth. Link went to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"Get off!" she shouted, pushing him away by the face. His nose screamed in agony and he jumped back, head swimming from the sudden jolt of pain. "Oh Din," he heard her say, and he looked up in time to see her faint. He dashed to catch her before she hit the ground, catching her in his good arm. Why did she faint? The noise of feet rushing up the stairs made him cringe.
"What in the name of Naryu are you doing—" came Trex's voice as she reached the second floor. He looked over his shoulder apologetically when she saw him. She sighed and rubbed her temples.
"Where's Link?" Sheik's voice came from behind the portly woman. "What did you do?" he added when he saw the girl in his arms.
"Nothing, honestly," he stammered. "She fainted," he added a-matter-of-factly.
"Are you bleeding?" Sheik asked, confused.
"It's alright, it's her fault," Trex said, shaking her head. Both Link and Sheik looked dumbstruck and she shrugged. "She faints at the sight of blood, what can I say?"
"Kinda in the wrong profession, ain't she?" Sheik mused as Link awkwardly stood, trying to lift the girl. "Seeing as you—"
"She's got no place else to go," Trex interrupted. "This way, my dear," she added, waddling into a room. Link laid her down on the bed gently and stood awkwardly by the door.
"What happened?" Link asked, unable to stop himself from asking.
"Her parents were captured and killed while she was just a young girl," she murmured, tsk-ing as she shook her head. "Ganondorf's doing. Once he found out they had been sheltering Hylian stragglers. Poor girl."
"Well, come downstairs to the kitchen, I'll fix up that nose for you," Trex said after a while, leading the way down the stairs. If she knew what I was before, no wonder she hit me, Link thought as he walked out of the room with the others. Getting his nose set was painful, but Link bit down the pain and took it silently as Sheik chatted idly with Trex as she worked. When she finished, she covered the bridge of his nose in a plaster, wiping away the last of the dried blood.
"What do you think?" Sheik said to him as Trex washed up. "Think she's good enough to work on that wrist?"
"I think so, yes," he muttered. "Besides, what other choice do we have?"
"True," Sheik said, nodding in agreement. "Just thought I'd ask anyway."
They went back to sit in the living room, if that was what you could call it, where Trex cleared off some of the debris from a plushy chair for Link. He sat down in it, grateful for it's soft cushions.
"Tilt that head of yours forward," she advised him, handing him a packet of ice. "That's for your head; noticed you've got quite a few bumps back there."
"They dropped him on his head a lot when he was young," Sheik said jokingly. Their conversation turned casual, but Link grew restless as he leaned forward with the ice on his head. Eventually his mind drifted from their conversation and he paid little attention to them. I wonder if she's alright? he found himself thinking as the night drew on. He yawned suddenly, the days excitement finally taking its toll on his ragged mind.
"Looks like someone has had enough fun for one night," Trex muttered to Sheik, elbowing him, nodding her head in Link's direction.
"Actually, I'm getting tired myself," Sheik said, stretching. "We've been traveling a lot these past few days."
"All to come see me, huh?" she said, her words slurred by the alcohol she'd consumed during the night. "Your sweet, kid."
"Think you could put us up for a few nights?" he asked, taking advantage of her impaired state.
"Oh sure, why not?" she said with a flourish. "There's extra bedrooms upstairs, make yourselves comfy," she said gaily as she tried to stand, tripping over a newspaper and falling back into the couch with a thump.
"Thanks," Sheik said, patting her hand. "Let's go, Link," he muttered to the Hylian, awaking the half-asleep man. They walked up the stairs together and Sheik went into the first bedroom he found, falling onto the bed face down and falling asleep. Link closed the door and went to the one next to it, pausing when he noticed that the girls bedroom was right across from his. He watched her sleep for a few minutes before noticing that her hand was covered in blood.
Wait a minute... his mind worked it out lazily. That's my blood. Isn't she squeamish of blood? Then she'd faint again when she'd wake up and see her hand, right? He went into the other rooms, eventually finding one with three pails of water in it. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized this is where Trex had gotten the water to throw at Sheik. He rummaged around in his pocket, taking out a strip of bandage Dagg had given him in case his wrist had started bleeding again. He dipped it in the water and went back to the girl.
Kneeling at the side of her bed, he put her hand on his knee, steading it with his right arm as he wiped at the blood on her palm with his left hand. She muttered in her sleep, turning her head this way and that and Link thought she might be having a nightmare. Once her palm was clean, he put the tinged bandage in his pocket and held her hand in his for a while, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. He placed her arm at her side and stood, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. He went across the hall, into his room and lay down on his new bed, reveling in it's softness as he drifted to sleep with his boots still on.