A/n: Hey, we're really glad this chapter is Finally posted. The internet was down for a while, but now it's back and we can post this chapter. And! in a few weeks, we are finishing up school! YAY! Although, we're highly doubting that this story will be finished by summer of this year, however we are almost to a very important climax. Hurray! Well, here's the story, hope you like.
Chapter 22: Who Goes Where?
Gangor, Naomi's Zoran hero, waited outside. He had been caught, rather quickly actually, and the Pirates had thrown him over the edge again. They felt rather foolish for assuming he was more than one, and when he 'explained' that he was just a lost, clumsy Zora, they tried to keep their dignity by shooting him out of a cannon after scolding him for coming to their fortress and causing such a mess.
Now he rested his head on his folded arms while he was leaning against the small peninsula jutting from the rock wall protecting the fortress.
"Where are they?" He asked himself worriedly. "I shouldn't have left so early… Arian probably needs my help. Did my distraction really even work?" He sighed and shook his head. "Well I haven't seen him so far."
"Gangor?" He heard Naomi's sweet voice from above. The Zora jumped from his resting place and swam far enough out to see her.
"Naomi!" He cried. "I'm so glad to see you!" She laughed as she jumped down, diving into the water beside him, sighing as she surfaced.
"Arian should be behind me." She turned. "He's probably taking his time, making sure no one is following me." Her dreamy voice showed no sign of gratitude towards little Gangor.
"Yeah…" He replied with a saddened expression. Wistful Naomi didn't seem to notice anything at the moment. "Hey, you should probably go on back to Zora Hall and show Lulu that you're all right. She was really worried about you. I'll help Arian get back."
"Oh, of course." She nodded, her dreamy state bordered on air-headedness. Naomi held her breath and began swimming quickly back to the Hall as Gangor looked back up to see Arian peek his head over the side. He jumped down to the peninsula and sighed deeply, the goofy grin was still on his face.
"Well hello there, Mr. Hero." Gangor said mockingly. Arian didn't seem to notice his biting mood.
"Where's Naomi?"
"She's on her way back to Zora Hall, to tell them all about how you single handedly saved her." Gangor splashed him with water. Arian wiped his face.
"Yeah…?" He replied in a confused manner. Gangor growled.
"So, I'm going to head back now. I figured if you can save her all by yourself, then you can get back all by yourself."
"I--wait!" Arian exclaimed as Gangor dove into the water and disappeared into the distance. When he was out of sight, Arian shrank back. He sighed heavily as he slid into the water and began his slow swim to the beach, to walk towards Zora Hall.
A loud squawking noise echoed throughout Romani Ranch. Though the farm animals and residents were used to this remarkably early wake-up call, the two visitors were not.
"Wh- holy crap!" Amy cried out hoarsely. The loud, incessant crowing originated from a small cuckoo sitting in her lap. It looked up at her with bright eyes and squawked again, just to make sure she was awake.
"What's wrong?! Oh, that's just Bigooru. He's a nice little cuckoo, but quite erm… vocal." Cremia's calm voice came from the direction of the bright, sunshine-filled windows. Amy let out a loud yawn as she pulled on her borrowed dress. After splashing cold water on her face, Amy was able to wake up and she began to think properly.
"Hey… If I slept in here with you and Romani, where did Link sleep?" She asked, wiping the remaining slumber from her eyes. Cremia stopped in the middle of folding up Amy's cot.
"Where did that boy sleep?" She repeated to herself, a look of perplexity crossed her face. Romani's loud giggles interrupted the two girl's thoughts. Shoving her head out of the window, Amy saw the love-struck red-head running from the barn.
"I have a pretty good idea." Amy muttered, rolling her ruby red eyes. Cremia giggled as her sister had, but her laugh was much more pleasant to Amy. While she headed down the stairs, she nearly collided with Romani. The younger girl hurried up to her room jubilantly, determined to make herself the epitome of beauty. Unfortunately, the young man she wished to impress wouldn't notice the difference.
Amy opened the small wooden door to the barn as the stank odor of farm animals attacked her senses. She peered inside, unable to see in the dim light, but due to Navi and Tatl's fairy shine she soon found the Hylian. Amy covered her mouth to smother a snicker when she discovered Link fast asleep in a pile of damp hay that was currently being devoured by a robust cow. The cow had now lost interest in the hay and began nibbling on the Hylian's green hat.
"Stupid cow! Stop messing with my room!" Navi began to pull helplessly on the indifferent cow's ear. Her high-pitched squeak made Link stir.
"Whu… Huh? Amy?" He rubbed his eyes as he sat up, "A dress? I must still be asleep." He muttered, rolling over, unaware of the cow breathing down his neck. Amy let out a snort and burst out laughing.
"Nevermind…" He groaned, swatting the eager cow away. Amy left quickly and without another word (she was laughing too hard to speak), thus leaving Link in a state of confusion.
Cremia was putting a plate of eggs on the table as Amy came in, her laughter turning her face red. The sweet sister smiled softly, and Amy took a deep breath.
"What Romani sees in that boy, I'll never know." Amy choked out, wiping a tear from her eye. At that exact moment, said girl sauntered down the stairs. Her cheeks and lips were a rosy hue, and her hair was silky smooth, brushed to the last strand. She wore her best dress and nicest shoes as she headed out to finish her farm chores. Despite Romani's attempts to provoke jealousy, Amy could not be envious; her prevailing sense of pity prevented it. Romani flashed a cheeky smile at Amy, who stared dumbly until the girl was out of site.
After the door shut, there was a long silence. Then, Cremia and Amy burst into laughter. They laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt.
"Maybe- I should… take her into town more… often…" Cremia said between gasps. "It would do her some good to see a few guys her age." Amy cackled.
"That explains a lot." Cremia nodded.
"I assure you that Romani is normally much more… pleasant. It is just, I suppose she's getting to that age, and I've always kept her here at the farm to protect the cows. I just realized, the only man she's seen in nearly seven years, besides Link is that old Cuckoo man who lives near us." Cremia shook her head as she sat down across from Amy. "No wonder she's been completely bedazzled by Link." Amy concurred.
"She should snap out of this as soon as she sees what a real man is like." As Amy was busy enunciating the word 'real', the door creaked open and Link trounced in pulling hay from his hair. He silently looked from Cremia to Amy, who was rigidly staring back at him, worried that he had heard their conversation. Without a word he sat down at the table, and the room remained awkwardly silent as Cremia slipped away to the kitchen.
"So… I see you woke up…" Amy said to break the silence. Tatl flew over her head while Navi continued circling Link.
"Yes…" Link grumbled, he glanced at Amy, wrinkling his nose as he scrutinized her new form the dress gave her. She almost looked elegant, very unlike herself, but she still sat slightly hunched over and she still had the same inquisitive scowl when she saw that Link was staring at her.
"What?" She mumbled. Link looked back into the distance as he thought of something that could annoy her.
"So, what is your idea of a 'real' man?" Link asked smartly. Amy's eyes widened as she swallowed nervously; he had heard.
"Umm… I've never really thought about it…" Amy's voice became higher as she became more nervous. Link grinned mischievously and said nothing more as Cremia brought out their breakfast.
"So, I will talk my sister into calling your horse right after her chores." She said as she sat down across from them. Amy nodded.
"Yes, we do need to be getting out, I'm sure the other part of our party is worried about us." She said, thinking of Naomi and Aura. "I do wonder what they are up to…" Tatl snorted for no apparent reason which resulted in a short silence and a shift in the conversation.
"Well Link, Amy." Cremia said with a smile. "I think Romani and I are going to Clocktown today, will we see you two there?" Link shrugged.
"I don't know, right now we're headed to the Bay."
"Well what in Termina are you doing there?" Link stared dumbly at Amy who also couldn't think of an answer.
"We're fishing." Tatl answered for them.
"Fishing?"
"Fishing." Navi reinforced. Link and Amy nodded their heads.
"And it is very important to get there before afternoon, while the fish are still biting."
"Why of course… and you have to fish today?" Cremia raised an eyebrow in skeptical confusion.
"Yes, today is the only day the Zoras need us." Amy answered, although she wasn't exactly sure why the Zoras would need them to fish.
"Right…" Cremia finished to the relief of Amy. "Well, I suppose I can go ahead and get Romani right on that… what was that song again?"
"Epona's song." Navi answered.
"Okay…" Cremia said absently as she took off her apron. "Well, you two go pack up your things and meet us at the barn."
Grateful that these were the last words to be said at the breakfast table, Amy quickly scurried up the stairs to keep Link from talking to her again. Amy wrapped her torn clothes up in a bundle, hoping that one day she would have time to repair them, and then headed down to the barn. Link had followed Cremia, since he didn't have anything to pack, and as Amy grew near, she head Romani's sweet voice singing an enchanting melody. It echoed about the field and Link tensed as he prayed that it would reach Epona in Hyrule.
Romani finished the song and they all waited intently. Several minutes passed and Link sighed when he still didn't see his faithful steed.
"Maybe she couldn't hear, Link." Navi said sadly. Link and Amy both sighed, but their despair was broken by the joyous whinny followed by the sound of hoof beats.
"Epona!" Navi squeaked, sure enough the horse had made it into Termina. "That horse always amazes me…"
"Tell me about it, she can always find her way to you, no matter where you are… but if you're in a temple she can't come to you, or a house, or over water, or…"
"Enough." Link silenced Tatl as he turned to rub his horse's nose. Epona shook her head as she looked at Amy. The horse had a sense about her, coming right to her and shoving her nose in her face.
"Hello." Amy laughed as she pushed her away. "I wouldn't have expected your horse to be so friendly, Link, but luckily you haven't corrupted it." Link grinned and shook his head.
"Come on, we should go." He said as he mounted Epona, holding his hand out to Amy. "The others are probably worried."
The morning light hit the bay as Naomi wrapped her arms around dear Lulu. She had been waiting for her return on the rock deck that stretched from Zora Hall's back door into the open ocean.
"I see you are wearing your pirate garb again." Lulu said with a nervous laugh.
"Yes, but I am afraid I wear it to spite them, for I am no longer a pirate." Naomi smiled brightly. Aura and Damien greeted her as well.
"Finally you're back, we were just about to go out after you." Aura said as she shook her head. "We weren't sure if Arian and Gangor could do it alone."
"Well they did fine." Naomi said dreamily as she bit her lip. Aura stared at her skeptically and whispered to Damien.
"She seems a little too happy…"
"Yeah…" Damien replied with a grin. He couldn't think of any smart reply to add and simply remained silent. As Naomi cheerfully embraced Aura and Damien, Gangor surfaced behind her, walking straight by them into Zora Hall.
"Where's Arian?" Naomi called after him. The angry Zora was already out of sight, but his voice growled back through the darkness.
"He's taking a walk!" The sharp reply confused Naomi and she placed her fingers to her lips.
"Oh my…" She said innocently. "I wonder why he sounds so angry, and why is Arian taking a walk at this hour?" Naomi then glanced around. "And where are Link and Amy, haven't they returned?" Aura shook her head.
"We have no idea what they could be doing." Aura shrugged, Damien rolled his eyes.
"They're wasting time, that's what they're doing." He growled. "If Link hadn't had the sword I would have already left."
"If you could leave, but you needed Naomi for that."
"Leave where?" Lulu asked, the group hadn't noticed how loosely they were speaking until the Zoran maiden spoke up. Damien clenched his teeth as Naomi thought of how to word their honest response.
"Well, they need to go back home and they don't know the way." Naomi replied quickly. "I was going to show them how to reach their destiny through the ocean."
Lulu nodded thoughtfully, releasing an, "Oh… Yes, well, I had best go get you some breakfast. It is almost morning." Lulu awkwardly left. Damien rolled his eyes at their stupidity and carelessness as he reverted back to the topic of Link and Amy.
"Well, while that wolf takes his walk, maybe we should start heading to where Link and Amy may have gone." He said pragmatically, crossing his arms and impatiently awaiting their reply. Aura shrugged her shoulders, feeling rather indifferent of the matter. Naomi sighed and crossed her arms as well.
"If we leave here now it is highly likely that we will all be on a wild goose chase. I bet as soon as we leave here, Link and Amy will show up at the owl statue and then wonder where we have gone and that will be a-whole-nother headache in and of itself." She reasoned. Damien began to think it through and slowly uncrossed his arms.
"Yeah… I suppose so… But what do we do until they show up?"
"If they don't show up by this afternoon, I say we return to Clocktown, but until then, let's just eat breakfast and rest for the journeys ahead." Naomi finished sternly and headed into Zora Hall. Aura smiled.
"I like her plan." She added as she glanced at Damien and followed Naomi. Damien slowly trudged behind them, but he was rather happy to hear of food.
A/n: Please R&R! We will be SOOOO appreciative!