Chapter 4
Okay, so the original Chapter 4 was on my laptop, but something happened, and I had to rewrite it on my other computer. The problem: I had writer's block for days until I recently started writing Ch. 4 again. I don't own Zelda and it will be a miracle if I ever do, and I also don't own the kingdom of Catalia, but I do own the village of Nighta, and Alaina and other various characters.
The sun shone over the tops of the tallest trees, shining on the land below it and filling the air with sweet warmth. The youngest children were outside, playing with their toys or playing games, their laughter disturbing the calm nature of the late morning. Adults and some of the teenagers had ventured outside much earlier to tend to the fields as usual, making sure there was nothing wrong with their crops. In the village of Nighta, Catalia, it was a normal morning.
The sun also shone through the windows in the houses, filling the rooms with extreme light and extreme warmth. This was the case in a bedroom in one of the houses, where the sun hit it the most. A lump in the bed groaned and ducked under the covers, too tired and lazy to face the day. The scheme almost worked, but the figure forgot another thing.
"ALI! ALI! ALI!"
The figure sighed, trying to ignore the chanting of the children. When the voices only got louder, the covers were finally ripped off, revealing a beautiful, slender eighteen-year-old woman with long blonde hair and ice blue eyes.
Alaina shook her head good-naturedly as she opened the window and peered outside. There was a group of village children waiting for her, as she expected.
"Hold on, guys. I'll be right out!" Alaina called to them.
"Hurry, Ali!" they replied.
Some time ago, the children stopped calling her Alaina and began to call her Ali, and the name stuck with everyone in the village.
Alaina closed the curtains and went to her dresser. She pulled on a tunic but went without leggings for the weather was hot. She quickly slipped on her boots and then dashed outside.
"ALI!" the children cried, diving on top of her and knocking her to the ground, giggling with joy.
"Nice to see you too," Alaina mumbled, playfully messing up their hair. "What's up?"
The children gasped. "Don't you know what day it is?" one of them asked.
Alaina thought carefully, but her mind was blank. She shook her head.
"It's your birthday!" another child burst out, her grin a mile wide.
Alaina mentally slapped herself. She forgot! She was turning eighteen today!
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALI!" the children screamed joyfully, hugging her again.
"Awww, thanks guys," Alaina beamed, hugging them in return. She looked back toward her house. "I'm going to go eat breakfast now and then I'll be back out."
The children groaned, but they understood, and scampered off to their various activities.
Alaina smiled as she watched them leave, remembering how she became their friend years ago by joining them in their games. This simple task easily placed her in the children's hearts. Although there were plenty of people her age that she always worked with or were friends with, she still enjoyed playing with the children.
She ventured back into her house and walked to the back where the kitchen was. A woman was at the stove, just finishing cooking a meal. She was Anaka Murkoto, the wife of the mayor, Jimney. The Murkotos were the family that had taken Alaina in when she had arrived five years earlier, and loved her like their own daughter. They actually had children of their own, Zaypha, Selina, and Nanda.
"Happy Birthday, honey!" Anaka said, and gave Alaina a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you, Anaka!" Alaina replied. She studied her breakfast. "Mmmm, this looks good," she observed about the Cuccoo bacon, toast, and eggs.
Anaka smiled. "Your favorite breakfast," she said, laying it out on the table. "Take your time, Ali. You don't need to work in the fields today."
Alaina dutifully sat in her seat and began to eat the well-made meal. "Do you need me to watch the kids?" she asked, referring to the Murkoto girls.
"Only if you want to play with them," Anaka reassured her. "It's your birthday, honey. You can do whatever you want." She laughed. "I always have to say this to you every year."
"Where's Jimney?" Alaina asked.
"He has some out-of-town business to do, but he'll be back by tonight." She snapped her fingers. "There is something you can do for me, Ali. I need you to make sure that you and the girls are ready for tonight."
Alaina was confused. "What's tonight?" she asked.
Anaka looked at her with disbelief. "Your coming-of-age party!" she exclaimed.
"Ohhhh, right!" Alaina said, instantly remembering. When a boy or girl in the village turned eighteen, the village threw a party to celebrate their transformation into an adult. Alaina always loved those parties. Whenever she had gone, they always seemed so fun, innocent, free, and so…magical. Yes, that was the right word. To her, the parties seemed to make time stop and make everything right with the world, if only for a short time.
In addition, when they turn eighteen, the said person had to make a choice if they want to stay in the village or go out to explore the world. There were plenty of people that stayed in the village, and much more that had ventured out to explore Catalia and even other kingdoms.
"So I'll have your dresses laid out for you," Anaka said, disturbing Alaina from her thoughts. "I can't wait to see you in yours. I know you'll love it."
Alaina smiled fondly, thinking about the few occasions she had seen Anaka working on the dresses. Anaka was right, she would love it.
"What are you going to do today?" Anaka added.
Alaina thought for a moment. "Probably walk to the spring and hang out with the girls, and play with the village children."
"That sounds fine," Anaka agreed. "Oh, and Milo stopped by when you were still sleeping. He said he'll come back later."
"Oh," Alaina responded, inwardly groaning. Milo Shanau was a boy in the village who was Alaina's age. He had turned eighteen about a few weeks ago, and was going to the Catalian capital to train for the Catalian army. He was Nighta's best warrior and the village was so proud of him. As a person though, he was conceited and self-absorbed 80 of the time, and had a huge crush on Alaina, never giving up hope that he would win her someday. He was okay, but she had no interest in him, for her heart belonged to someone else…
No, she would not think about it.
Luckily, her growing thoughts were saved when the door banged opened and Selina ran in. The young girl of ten stopped at Alaina's feet and shook her arm. "Ali, come on!" she burst out.
Alaina silently thanked the Goddesses she wasn't eating at the time, or else she surely would have choked. She turned to Selina. "Where?" she asked, not noticing Anaka's and Selina's secretive grins.
"Just follow me!" Selina demanded. Alaina had no choice but to follow, but to humor the girl, she stood up and bent over. "Yes, master!" she croaked.
Selina giggled and grabbed Alaina's hand. They ran out of the house and followed the path that led into the woods. A minute or so later, they stopped just before the spring, a group of trees blocking it from view.
Thirteen-year-old Zaypha and six-year-old Nanda emerged from the spring, their faces full of pride as they noticed Alaina. "Finally!" little Nanda blurted out.
Alaina bent down and picked her up, her lightweight body barely affecting Alaina. "What's going on?" she asked.
Zaypha cleared her throat. "Alaina," she began. "This gift is from the Murkoto girls to you."
Alaina chuckled to herself. It was obvious that the speech was memorized.
Nanda squirmed to be put down, and Alaina released her. She looked back up to Alaina. "We hope that you love this gift, and we wish you a happy birthday!"
The three girls' green eyes sparkled with excitement as Zaypha ordered Alaina to close her eyes. Grabbing her hands, the girls guided Alaina to the spring. Alaina could feel the cool water soaking her boots.
"Okay, open your eyes," Selina guided.
Alaina slowly opened them, and squealed with delight at the sight. Her horse, Reya, was drinking water from the spring, but when she looked up and saw Alaina, she neighed happily. The girls had washed and groomed the horse until her chestnut coat shone, and they had even gone as far as to braid parts of her mane, tied with colorful ribbons. Whether that part was a joke or not, Alaina loved it, and she loved the whole thing.
"Oh my Goddesses!" she couldn't help yelling, and she ran to her beloved mare, one of her only ties to the past (not that she thought about that) and hugged its elegant neck. She had been so busy over the past few months that she was never able to give Reya her daily washing, which by now, she had desperately needed. "Thank you so much!" she added, piling all of them in a group hug. Reya snorted on all of them, causing them to fall in hysterics.
"We had to, Ali," Zaypha said, her lip twitching. "Reya was really starting to smell."
Alaina smiled apologetically to her mare, and hugged it again. "I'll leave her in the meadow instead of putting her in the stables. It's a nice day, and the stables are so stuffy."
The girls nodded and ran off, while Alaina took the horses rope and led it to the meadow, which was to the side of the Murkoto house. She noticed the targets in the backyard, and she headed back in the house and into her room.
She opened her walk-in closet. Ignoring the racks of clothes, she pushed them back to a spot that she hadn't wandered in awhile. There laid her old weapons; her sword, Hylian shield, boomerang, long shot, and her quiver of arrows. She hadn't used any of these weapons since she arrived to the village. With a faint smile, she took the quiver and hurried away from the closet, closing the door and running outside as if she was being chased by a Peehat.
She stared down the targets, seeming to relish the old memories of her archery experiences. She pulled out her bow and took out her arrow, aiming it right at the target. Then she remembered something, and moved it a little to the right.
"You'll miss it," a voice told her in her head, as clear as day.
Alaina smirked to herself as she got ready to shoot the arrow. "No I won't," she murmured.
"Yeah you will. Your aim isn't even close to the target," the voice said again.
Alaina thought wistfully to the time where she had flattened Aiden once again at archery, using her then-new skill with the seemingly badly aimed arrow.
"Seriously, there's no way that you'll hit the target," the same voice added.
"What?" Alaina whirled around. The voice wasn't in her head at all. It was Milo, and he was holding something behind his back.
"First time shooting the arrows?" Milo asked, his arrogant pride already starting to creep up. His wavy, golden-brown hair blew in the light wind, and his green eyes sparkled with keen interest. He reminded her so much of…
NO, not again!
Alaina turned back to the target. "I had some experience before," she said.
Milo looked disbelieving. "You're lying," he said, a sneer written on his face.
Alaina didn't respond, but shot the arrow, just to the right. As she expected, the arrow curved to the left at the last minute, hitting the dead-center.
She grinned. She still had it.
"How-" Milo cut himself off, and resumed to glaring at Alaina. "That's not right! Since when were you trained in archery?"
Alaina started laughing. "That's none of your business," she answered. She tried looking behind him. "So what do you have behind your back?"
Milo turned his head, for he had briefly forgotten that he had anything with him. "Oh," he muttered, suddenly turning shy. Alaina tilted her head in confusion. "It's just some flowers that I picked in the woods…" He held them out, his cheeks slightly turning red.
Alaina took them from him, smelling the sweet scent. "Milo, where did you get these?" she asked, for she had never seen them before.
"Well, you know how there's flowers in the middle of the thorn bushes?" Milo began.
"You didn't!" Alaina exclaimed, noticing the scrapes all over his arms.
"Well, yeah, I kinda did," Milo replied. "It's no big deal."
"Yeah it is!" Alaina said. "Remember when Jimney fell in them last year. He was screaming and crying like a little baby!"
"That's the point, Ali. He actually fell in them and his whole body was cut up. Only my arms are scraped!" Milo sighed. "I mean, I'm Nighta's best warrior."
"But not the smartest," Alaina pointed out. "Don't you have gauntlets you could've worn?"
Milo didn't respond, and Alaina shook her head. "Come inside. I'll clean those up for you," she said, taking his hand.
Milo tried to pull back. "It's nothing!" he insisted.
Alaina ignored him and pulled him into the house. She soaked some rags in warm water and applied them to Milo's arms. Milo waited patiently as Alaina rubbed his arms with the rags and then applied some herbs to help them heal quicker. She sat up when she was done. "There you go," she announced.
Milo stood up as Alaina put the flowers in the vase. "I better go now," he mumbled. "Thanks, Ali. Happy birthday." He paused, and quickly kissed Alaina on the lips. Then he left. Stunned, Alaina placed her hand where he had kissed her.
If only he wasn't so damn self-absorbed.
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The day passed quickly. Alaina entertained herself by shooting her arrows, playing with the village children, and hanging out with friends her age. Zaypha had also spotted Alaina shooting her arrows and demanded some lessons, so they spent the last two hours of the day practicing. When the sun was beginning to set, she told Zaypha to get Selina and Nanda so they could all get ready for the party.
Alaina quickly washed herself thoroughly, getting rid of the dirt and sweat on her body. When she felt clean, she dried off and put on the dress that Anaka had laid out for her. It was a light blue color, matching her eyes perfectly, and it was short-sleeved and wide necked. Her sash was tied at the waist, and was loose but clung to the right places. It was perfect.
She went in her drawer to find her comb when she noticed some sort of mini compartment in one of them. Curious, she opened it, and her breath caught in her throat when she was what was inside.
It was her old locket and the Ocarina of Time, the last two ties to her past.
She glanced at the blue instrument, memories starting to come back. Then she picked up her locket and opened it with trembling fingers. Tears filled in her eyes when she looked at the pictures. She hadn't seen her parents since that day…
She studied herself in the picture when she was a young teenager, and then looked up to her reflection in the mirror. She hadn't noticed how different she looked. Her blonde hair was longer and more wavier than ever, and her facial features now resembled Zelda's instead of Link's. She looked longingly at her thirteen-year-old self, who was beaming. She used to look so innocent and so free. She looked at herself in the mirror. Now she looked tired, sad and like she lost all hope. She had never seen that before. She placed the locket back in the drawer, trying to forget what she had just saw.
"Hey Ali!" Selina's voice called from the other room. "Are you almost ready?"
"Yes!" she called back. She took out her comb and combed her blonde locks until they shone. She light applied some makeup, and when she was satisfied, walked out into the main room. The Murkoto girls were sitting on the chairs, waiting. They were all wearing different-styled dark red dresses, which clashed brilliantly with their auburn hair.
"Ready to go?" Alaina announced.
"Yes!" the girls exclaimed in unison.
They all walked out of the house, with Nanda and Selina grabbing on to Alaina's hands and Zaypha walked a short distance ahead of them. A minute later, they reached the village square. It was illuminated by candles and different colored lights, and Alaina was already eying the different foods on the buffet tables. The village people were gathered and all of them were smiling as Alaina entered. She expected this, as the same was done to everybody. Zaypha, Selina, and Nanda ran to their parents' sides. Jimney walked up to Alaina and hugged her. "Happy birthday, Ali,": he whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry I was out all day."
"It's okay," Alaina beamed at him.
Anaka joined them and hugged Alaina next. "Enjoy the party," she said. "I know how long you had looked forward to this." She nodded at the village musicians to begin playing the music. They began playing a lively, dancing beat, the music filling up the air, drifting up to the night sky.
"Hey Ali!" a voice called. Alaina ran over to the voice, which belonged to Xena Murkoto, the cousin of the Zaypha, Selina, and Nanda. She was Alaina's age and they were best friends. She was standing with Alaina's other friends. They all held out a small, thin black box. "Happy birthday!" they cried in unison.
Alaina carefully opened the box, revealing beautiful, homemade glass bracelets in different colors. "Oh, it's beautiful!" she sighed, holding one of them up, the colors reflecting off the firelight. She found one that matched her dress, and slipped it on.
Milo passed by, looking at Alaina and giving her a small smile. The girls smiled knowingly at Alaina when he was gone.
"He totally likes you, Ali," Xena pointed out. Alaina just gave her a look.
"You know that the traditional waltz is coming up, right?" Camille Hetry pointed out, knowing fully well that Alaina had no interest in Milo. "Everyone will expect you to dance with him."
"There's plenty of other boys, though!" Alaina argued.
"But the whole village knows that Milo likes you," Sophia Corran said.
Alaina ended the conversation by piling food on her plate, and the other girls followed suit. They spent the next half-hour eating and talking about simple things.
A spoon clinked against the glass. "Excuse me," Jimney announced, and everyone in the village square were quiet. "It's time for the waltz. Alaina will pick the boy she would want to dance with."
A crowd of men about ages eighteen to twenty gathered a few feet away from Alaina. She smiled at the sight. She studied the men, and laid her eyes on Milo, who was standing at the end. His eyes held hope, and she instantly hated herself for being such a sucker. "Milo," she said.
Milo couldn't help grinning as he walked up to Alaina. He placed one hand on her waist and grabbed her other hand with his. She tentatively placed her hand on his shoulder. Jimney nodded at the musicians and they began to play a slow, beautiful tune (A/N: Think the Title Screen from Ocarina of Time). Everybody watched as Milo and Alaina gracefully waltzed, and in the middle of the song, they all joined in. Milo stared intently at Alaina, his green eyes piercing through her.
"Thank you for picking me, Ali," he whispered in her ear, sending chills throughout her body.
She looked up at him. "Your welcome," she said, smiling.
The song ended, and Milo broke away from her, bowing slightly. Alaina watched him join the crowd, and then Jimney and Anaka stepped up, with Zaypha, Selina, and Nanda a few feet behind them. Their faces were shining with pride as Anaka held up a small box.
"This is our present to you," Anaka announced, handing Alaina the box. Alaina took it and gingerly opened it, not knowing what would be inside.
"We hope that this will show you that you are part of our family," Jimney said. "You have been here for so long, we thought it was time."
Alaina took the present out of the box, feeling even more nervous than before, and gasped with shock when she saw what it was.
It was a locket.
Uh-oh, another locket? What will Alaina do now? Anyway, please R&R!!!