Coin-Operated

8.0

Keep Your Hands Dry

"Calm down, calm down," Link coos as he locks the door behind me. He draws me in with one arm to his chest as he leads me further into the room. He slips the key from my hand and tosses it onto the' bedside table. "What happened?" he asks, gentle waves in his mechanical tone.

"I..." I sniffle again. "I was just trying to help this girl catch some fireflies.

"I'm sorry," I say, wiping a stinging eye. "It's stupid. I shouldn't have done it, I know."

"Done what?" asks Link as his eyebrows crunch in. He sets me firmly on the bed, and then he seats himself next to me. The bed sinks under the new weight.

I stutter out that I'd used my magic while I was out. "It was only to attract the bugs," I tell Link, shaking my head. Nayru, what have I done?

"Oh, Zelda," he sighs, rubbing my back.

I say, "The little girl wasn't upset or anything by it. She loved it; she got her fireflies." Link waits patiently. "It's just the mother…" I trail.

"You scared her," he fills in for me. I nod my head. "People fear what they do not understand," Link says while he scoots himself back to sit against the headboard. I pull the extra blanket lying at the foot of the bed and wrap myself up in it while I follow. Curling up next to Link, he continues to speak to me in soft tones and ruffles my hair. Eventually he rolls over and shuts off the light, but remains lying on his side. He doesn't even notice when I scoot closer and rest my head onto his back, in between where he should have shoulder blades, and close my eyes.

All I can hear apart from the echoes of his voice are the muffled spurring of gears and every now and then a smooth hiss from the hydraulics. He speaks and moves as if he were human, but my ear to his back, I hear nothing familiar. No thump or bump of a beating heart. No whoosh of air filling lungs. No soft rumbling of vocal cords. I hear nothing. Nothing but the workings of a machine.

Eventually, my tears dry, and Link stops talking. I wait, lying awake and listening to the clicking and spurring until they cease, signifying that Link has turned off.

Then there's nothing at all. No sound. No sound at all, and I'm left with the images of the mother. The fury in her face and voice rips through me, and my fear starts to creep through me. What if somebody comes for me now? I've made a grave mistake, and there's no whoosh of air, no steady beat, no warmth from the mechanical man next to me to offer any comfort.

I curl up further in the blanket. My thoughts gnaw at me all throughout the night, and when the morning sun finally breaks is when I finally rise. I slip away as fast as I can, taking the room key with me.

Out in the lobby, I stop for a moment to ask the receptionist if there's a spring nearby. The girl's magazine flops down onto the desk, and she repeats, "A spring?" I nod. "Not that I know of." And the magazine flips back up, covering her face.

I roll my eyes and exit the inn. The early morning chill squeezes my bare skin. I breathe in deep the dew and the morning light. Autumn is on its way. I sigh. Link and I will have to buy some jackets and coats fit for the weather sometime soon.

My eyes scan the area around me, and I decide to follow the creek I was at the night before. It's probably the only logical place I have to start looking. People pass me by occasionally, not even offering me a second glance. Some have rounded ears, others have the long pointed Hylian ears. It makes no difference to these people, and I flit though more comfortable than ever in this quiet place.

My heels sink into the wet ground as I make my way down the green space back to the flowing water. I watch as the water gushes past me. The lazy current brings by debris of fallen leaves and the occasional twig, and I follow along upstream. I fold my arms and huddle into myself to keep in the warmth from the chill of the morning.

"Firefly!" I stop in my tracks. Frozen. I don't even want to turn around. But the name sounds again. I stand stalk still as the little girl from the night before bounds in front of me. She peers up at me while she adjusts her purple headband. The little wings of the butterfly on it flap one way and the other on coiled springs. "What's wrong?" she asks. "Are you cold?"

"Hello," I say quietly. "Agitha, right?"

The girl beams. "That's my name, Ms. Firefly!" she laughs and offers me a quick curtsey with her dress. Her pigtails bob.

"Are you out looking for more bugs?"

"I am!" she exclaims. "Bugs come out at all times of the day." She cocks her head to the side after she says this. "Are you looking for bugs too?" Agitha asks me.

"Not today," I mumble, and I give a swift glance around me. The longer I talk to Agitha, the more my heart pounds. What if her mother shows up again? She's bound to remember me after my magic display.

"What then are you doing out so early?"

"I'm looking for a spring."

"A spring?"

I sigh. "Yes."

"You're going the wrong way then," she tells me.

I blink at her. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You're going to wrong way." She grins at me. Agitha raises a finger and points over my shoulder. I glance behind me. "There's a spring that way," she tells me. "There's an old dirt trail that runs out from by the town entrance. It goes through the woods. When it starts to get mossy, you have to leave the trail."

"It's off the trail?"

Agitha bobs her head. "Mm-hm! You just follow the moss," she says with confidence. "You'll eventually end up at the spring, but you have to crawl through a tunnel."

"A tunnel, huh?" I mumble to myself.

"There are bugs waiting to be found," Agitha tells me, "so I'll see you another time, Firefly!"

"Of course," I whisper, watching her pigtails swing as she runs away.

I look down at my dress and heels. Without much thought on it, I head back to the inn with hurried steps. Flying into our room, Link rests still on the bed and I pass him by to scoop up the soiled, borrowed clothes. I throw off my dress and kick off my shoes and hastily put Malon's clothes back on. The griminess of her clothes sinks in; they haven't had a good wash since Link and I were staying out by the lake. I shiver, knowing full well the second I get back, I'm going to strip myself and bathe.

Before leaving, I take one last look at Link on the bed. His shirt is bunched up at the waistband of his pants, and one of the clips from his suspenders has come loose. What will I say to him when I turn him on again? I shake my head. I'll deal with that when the time comes, and after I sort out his messed clothing.

It takes me awhile to find the path that little Agitha pointed out to me earlier. The foliage has gotten out of hand and the path rarely used these days by the looks of it. With a sigh, I set out down the path, dodging low tree branches and imposing bushes and roots. At some points, the woods have grown so out of control on the path, that there is almost no trail left to follow, and so I storm on blindly until it picks up again.

I mutter to myself reminders all the while. The moss. The moss. The moss. Follow the moss. It'd be a lot easier to be on the look out for moss if everything wasn't just so… green.

There's a little stab of guilt in my chest.

I stop trekking and close my eyes. All there is before me is the flickering of a lantern and the green, green, green tunic.

I breathe in deep. The soft scent of pine and dew wafts under my nose. There's a chorus of clicks from the insects, many, if not all, I am sure that dear little Agitha would simply love to meet.

She said look for moss.

I move forward. My eyes are peeled for any hint of moss. I almost pass it when I see it, and I backtrack a little. Just as the little girl said, there's a sort of off the beaten path trail of moss patches leading away from the dirt path I stand on. I send Nayru a quick prayer that I'll find my way back and out of these woods and step off the path.

Following the moss as Agitha told me proves to be a little more challenging as I crawl over fallen trees and large rocks. I duck under wild bushes and thorned plants, and I manage a few scrapes here and there. As I feel the sting of a fresh slice across my cheek, I thank my foresight into changing back into Malon's denim overalls, work shirt and boots; I can't imagine trying to make my way through the dense woods in a dress and heels.

I'm a little astounded, though, that sweet little Agitha would venture this far into the woods, but I suppose if there was a certain insect she was after, nothing would stall her.

After what seems to be an eternity, it looks as though I've come to the end of the moss trail. The moss covers a large rock formation that stretches as far as I can see either way. What was next? A tunnel? I stand stupidly in the middle of the greenery, looking all around me like something will pop out. I look back at the rock. If it's a tunnel, would it be somewhere on the rock? Suddenly, I feel the stirrings of the leathery wings within me. I pause, my hand still raised to reach out to the rock, and I search and grapple within for some sort reason for the warning wings to go off.

But the wings don't even flutter. It's silent within me. "You warn me of danger," I mutter to myself, "so are you now giving me confirmations?"

There's a little flutter, and a harsh choke of laughter rings through the woods around me.

"Wasn't expecting that," I mumble, and I begin to feel around the base of the rock. Every now and then the plants nick me a little more until I find the tunnel. I grab a small branch and crouch down, swinging the branch in front of me as I begin to crawl through. The tunnel isn't very long, and I soon come out to a small pool of water much like what I'd seen up at the lake.

Clambering back up to my feet, I look around. The whole spring is closed in by the rock and covered by the dense trees. It's no wonder that few would know about such a place. I pull off Malon's boots and roll up the legs of the overalls. The moment my feet hit the water, I feel a cool breeze pick up.

From the wind blows smatterings of gold dust. The further towards the center of the spring I go, the more the dust begins to solidify. It thunders around me in a circle, powerful hooves only daintily touching the surface of the water. It slides to a stop in front of me, and the massive golden goat before me, bows its head. The light spirit's oval horn has been broken in one spot, cracking it in two. The goat pads the water with its hooves as it peers down at me.

"I've been expecting you since your visit with Lanayru," it says. "I am Ordona."

"You get right to business, don't you?" I say.

A soft, musical measure of laughter drifts over the spring. "We may talk after your journey," it tells me, and then leans forward. I stiffen as the light spirit comes towards me. Its massive nose bumps my forehead.

…

My eyes flutter open.

He scowls at her. "I said 'no'," he reiterates, but she only smiles slyly at him, violet-blue eyes glinting with mischief. He moves away from her and tromps down the dirt path. Small puffs of dust fluff up from under the soles of his boots. Birds chatter from up in the tall, ancient trees. The old woods breathe deep with life, the wind acting as its passing breath. The leaves rustle with the steady flow of breath. Sun spots break through the trees' canopy.

I hurry after Link, skipping down the winding trail after him, the memory of the female knight and the forest behind us fading away. He moves swiftly through the woods, avoiding gnarled roots with expertise. The chainmail under his green tunic and the equipment on his back clink away as he storms through the foliage. Link's head constantly swivels around, taking in his surroundings. From a small pack on his hip, he pulls out a worn piece of parchment and stops to study it after he unfolds it. Quickening my pace, I catch up to him to see that the parchment is the crude beginnings of a map for the forest.

Link scratches at the back of his neck with one hand.

Sighing, he refolds the map, but does not put it away as he moves off of the beaten path. I follow him easily through the woods. He navigates it with ease, only occasionally referencing the map in his hands. I've no idea how much time has passed during the trek, as the canopy hides the moving sun, but Link finally stops.

He collapses onto a log and lets the map flutter out of his hand and onto the ground, leaning forward on his knees. He runs his hands through his unruly blond hair for a minute as he mulls over his thoughts. Finally, he straightens up, and from the same pouch he'd kept the map in pulls out a small bundle of cloth. Bread and some cheese have been kept wrapped, and he bites into his meager meal like he hasn't eaten in days. A strange ghost company, I sit down on the log beside him as he takes a swig from the canteen on his belt. Even after his rations have been devoured, Link still sits on the log.

He rubs the back of his neck. Then he leans down and plucks the map from the forest floor. He shakes it out, a stray caterpillar falling out and opens it again. A bird caws in the distance. At the sound, Link freezes. There's a slight twitch to his ear when the tree tops rustle in the wind. The map in his still raised hand flaps a little in the slight breeze on the forest floor.

"Shit," Link breathes.

He bolts up and darts over to a large tree while he bites down onto the map. The map secure between his teeth, Link scrambles up the tree. I hear his quiet curses at every misstep. Link continues to climb further up into the canopy when the woods begin to shift around us. I glance up at the young knight in green, his back turned to me. He scans the woods, looking out for whatever he'd sensed on the floor of the woods. Links head whips this way and that, his blond bangs flying with him. The few minutes of silence in the woods stretches out long and thin like hot taffy. He relaxes slightly up in the tree tops, but I can tell caution wins out. He stops his constant searching and faces forward. Every now and then, I can see how his ears twitch as his hearing strains to pick out sounds through the forest's natural chatter.

A bird that chattered in the distance suddenly stops.

I watch as Link gives a quick look over his shoulder for the first time minutes and when he does, right next me a flurry of dark matter kicks up. Long hairy legs scamper forward, and pinchers snap while lime green ooze drips off of it. A bulbous, hairy body swings with each step.

The more Link scans the forest, the more the giant arachnids begin to materialize. Gooseflesh scatters all over my body when one passes through me. Are these the fabled skulltula? Or are these something else?

I look up again, and Link's face has paled considerably at the sight of the hoard of spiders. He follows their direction, hastily turning the map in his hand upright. The monsters storm across the woods' lush grounds. Link focuses on the map in his hand, his other bracing the trunk of the tree next to him. The world around me starts to bend and blur, the spiders mere blobs of dark color, a goopy wave in through the green and brown.

Then the world snaps back and Link whips around, taking everything around him in. He waits and waits and waits, even after the last monster has pounded past until the woods takes on a glowing hue. He sighs up in the trees, and then slowly scoots down the tree. Pausing only to absorb the shock when his feet make impact with the dirt, the young knight bolts off through the forest at a break neck pace. I rush after him as fast I can, barely keeping his green clothing in sight within the woods. I glance only once over my shoulder in the race to escape the forest, only to see a world of white closing in behind us.

Link stumbles a little, but he quickly regains his footing and shoots out onto a weathered dirt path. I stumble out after him and take off down the path. The narrow road narrows even more to a rope and plank bridge over a large chasm. Ever fearless, Link storms across the bridge, and I hesitate at seeing the way it rocks and bends under his pounding feet. If I fall in this memory, what happens to me? I shake my head. I suck in a deep breath to gather myself and my courage before heading down the bridge, the wood under my feet making not a sound.

I pass by a small house as I hurry to catch up to Link, who has luckily been stalled by a small group of children. "Not now," he says sharply, and they recoil a little bit. "I need to get to the duke." They move out of the way when they see he's willing to plow them over in his haste, and I rush past them as well.

Link flies through the village. Some of the villagers raise their hands up or shout a greeting to the knight, but he does not respond, his destination the only thing on his mind. The clucking of cuckoo patters through the town, an occasional caw crying out. We wind past a small ranch of goats and newly plowed, large fields. A manor sat not far off from the fields, the forest shielding its back. Link runs down the road to the manor, catching the attention of a young servant girl.

She straightens up, and I notice then that the dress under the apron she wipes her hands on is a marbled mess of color. I wrinkle my nose at the sight of her face, or lack thereof. There's nothing there but a blotch of peachy skin.

"The duke!" Link cries as he approaches. "I need to see the duke."

The girl, sensing the knight's urgency, quickly ushers him inside, and I slip into the manor with them. She leads him into a small receiving room, where a portly man nearing middle age sits at a table. His moustache twitches as he thinks over his options, a hand of cards in front of him. His opponent, the female knight, has a sly smile donning her face, unable to hold in her building triumph. Panting, Link trails in behind the girl, and the man and knight look up at the newcomers.

"Your Grace," the young maid says, and she dips into a low and quick curtsey before leaving.

"Ah, Sir Link," the man greets warmly. A smile is on his lips, and despite his coming defeat in the card game, still has some good humor in his eyes. "The lady here was telling me you were to be out exploring today."

"Link, what's wrong?"

"Gohma," he breathes, plopping himself in an arm chair. "Lots of them."

"What're you talking about?" the duke demands.

Link doesn't respond right away, choosing instead to steady his breathing. "There's a whole clutter of them," Link tells them. "They charged past me in the woods."

The female knight frowns and her brows needle together. She drops her hand of cards, the game forgotten. "Where were they headed?" she asks.

"Southeast."

The duke clears his throat. "Will you bring me my messenger?" he asks the female knight. "We'll alert the King's Horos."

The female knight nods, and she rises from her chair. She claps Link on his shoulder as he wearily closes his eyes. The room blinks once around me, twice.

And then there's nothing more but the black.

I jolt a little at the snicker of a horse. I turn to see a large mare try to bite a poor stable boy, and he yelps as he flies out of the way. "Hey! Quit that!" Link says from the stall, giving the horse a quick tug on the bridle, but the horse only seems to laugh at him. He's wearing the orange tunic again with his red hose and shirt, the pages' uniform. His face is rounder, much more boyish than the last time I'd seen him as a page. I can tell that he's much shorter than before as well. He huffs in frustration as he fiddles with the saddle and then slaps the horse's ribs. The mare jumps a little at the sudden hit, but then continues to tease the young page. Link groans again, letting go of the saddle straps in his hands.

"You need to hurry up or you'll end up giving us all punishment work," a light voice calls out.

"She keeps puffing herself out," he grumbles, as the female page walks up to the stall. He motions at the large rusty mare. "I can't get the saddle on properly." The horse snickers again, as if the mare is following the conversation, and shakes out her short, white mane. The mare then sticks her head out for the female page. The girl rubs the horse's nose as Link says, "I swear, she's trying to get me to fall off."

The female page says nothing and continues to rub the horse's nose, and the mare finally closes her eyes. The girl mouths to Link, "Now." He swiftly slaps the mare's side again, this time effectively startling the mare, and gives a triumphant shout of success.

"Got it!" he whoops, and the horse snorts in her defeat.

Leaning against the stall door, the female page says, "You know, you could trade her in for another horse if she's this much trouble." Her hand darts out and snaps the reins away when the horse tries once more to take a bite out of the passing stable boy, whose face pales considerably he runs past the stall.

"Nah," says Link. "Epona's trouble, but I like her. She's a lot smarter than the other horses too."

"She's really big for you though."

"I like her," he says again. "Maybe one day we can come to an understanding."

"I'm not holding my breath," the blonde says, and the mare blows a sharp gust from her nose into the page's face. The page sneers at Link's horse, saying, "Maybe you're a little too smart." The horse nickers back, and the page giggles a little, giving the mare, Epona, one last pat on the nose.

"Hurry it up now," she reminds Link as she goes to pull her own horse out from the stall.

Link calls back, "Coming!" He opens the stall door, and taking the reins leads his mischievous mare out of her stall. Link roots one foot in the stirrup and then swings himself up onto the mare's back. Although, watching it, I'm a little baffled he manages to do it with success with his horse moving this way and that. Up in the saddle though, he leans over, grinning, and gives the mare a pat on the neck. "Nice try," he says to the mare, who snorts back.

He gives the horse a slight kick with his heels in the stirrups, and the horse merely stands still. Link sighs from atop the horse. "Oh come on, please?" he begs. The mare flicks her tail. "I'll see to it that you get a sugar cube later," he bribes. The stubborn mare's ears twitch at this, and, after a moment of debate, strides out of the stables.

Outside, I follow Link and the mare as they move to line up with the other pages in a practice area. There's an argument brewing as one page passes up a lance to Link, and he takes. Link asks the other page, "What's going on?" as he looks out to where the female page and her mount stand throwing rebuttals back at another page.

"The girl's at it again," is all he says with a shrug.

Link frowns and steers his mare over to his friend. I look on as the boy spits out at the female page, "You know, some women become wives while others are nothing more than mistresses."

"Better then that I am of a third category. I will be neither wife nor mistress," she replies vehemently, "which is a much better option. At least this way I won't have worry about what ills a husband like you would bring home to me from a whorehouse." At this, the group of pages watching the argument begins to snicker, and the boy's face flushes with rage at the insult. I can feel a wave of disturbance course through me as I notice a number of the boys are just like the servant from the previous memory. No face at all.

The female sniffs haughtily at the boy, and then turns to Link. "Nice weather, don't you think?"

"Fresh like spring flowers," he chirps, turning Epona away from the scene. With one flick of the mare's tail and Link looking behind him and grinning at his friend, the memory dissolves.

A swirl of color bursts forth from the white nothingness. The negative space fills in with long tables, candles, food and laughter. I look around me, and I see that I stand in a grand hall. Servants hurry to and from side doors, carrying in platters of food to the more finely dressed people seated at the tables. At one table, I see Link, an older version than the previous one. He's dressed in what seems to be his signature green tunic sans chainmail. Next to him is his brother, Sir Raven. Sir Raven leans in and mutter something in Link's ear, and grins stretch across both of their faces. Their goblet clang against each other in toast, and the brothers down their drinks.

Link laughs at another one of his brother's jokes, and I take a seat at the table. I follow Link's gaze as it lands on a woman further down the table and the world seems to narrow in on her. Her mouth is stretched into a thin line as she holds Link's eyes. The short spell is only broken when she turns away to answer a man seated next to her.

Sir Raven slams his drink down in distaste. "Looks like we're in for a meeting later."

"What for?" Link asks, and Sir Raven motions for a servant to refill their cups.

Sir Raven nods over past Link, who takes a quick glance in the direction. "She's been watching you all night," he says after the servant leaves, their cups filled once more.

"Has she?" Link asks, cutting into the meat cut on his plate. "Hadn't even noticed."

"Bullocks, Brother."

"Hadn't noticed," repeats Link.

Sir Raven shakes his head. "Trust me, everyone sees it," the elder brother says, taking another sip of his drink. "You two have been dancing around each other since you were squires, if not longer."

"Now that's a bunch of bull."

The elder brother lets out a deep, throaty laugh. "Your denial is fairly endearing."

Link scowls and rips at the meat cut.

Link's brother nudges him. "I believe that the meat's already quite dead, Brother. Quit it and shape up," he instructs. "It looks as though she's finished."

The younger one quits his frustrated sawing and only offers the briefest of glances over my shoulder. He turns to the elder one. "Whatever happens, you'll back me up, right?"

Sir Raven looks over at his little brother, a blond eyebrow raised. He focuses back on his food and replies, "So long as it's nothing mad."

"As if being mere pawns isn't," Link scoffs.

The brothers both shape up, straightening their postures and scooting away from each other when a young woman approaches. "May I sit?" the female knight asks, and the brothers both choke a little on their food and motion for her to do so. She smiles at them and takes a seat across from the brothers next to me. As she straightens her wine colored skirts of her gown, rather than the blue knight's tunic I'd seen her in before, the brothers exchange a glance, both smirking and trying to hold their laughter in at their inappropriate greeting.

Only when a servant has come and offered her wine and whisked himself away, does the woman speak again. "How are you two?" the woman asks. "It's been quite a while since all of us have been back at court."

"I've forgotten how rich the food is," Raven says.

The brothers look down the table.

Raven straightens, and the elder knight excuses himself. "It looks as though I'm being called away, milady," Sir Raven says to the female knight.

"Of course. Have a good eve, Sir Raven."

With Raven gone from their section of the table. Link glances awkwardly between the lady knight across from him, whose eyebrow is cocked in bemusement and goblet in hand, and down the table where, even while conversing with Sir Raven, the older, thin lipped woman glares back. Shifting in his seat, Link just shovels more food in his mouth.

"You can't avoid talking to me forever, Sir Link," the lady knight teases.

Link swallows. "Just trying to avoid digging myself an early grave, milady."

At this, the young woman's eyes slide down to the glaring woman. "Oh," she says softly. "I see what you mean."

Looking back at Link, she sighs. "Are you at least enjoying your time at court?"

"I'd much rather be back in the field."

Her lips curl into a dreamy smile. "So would I," she admits. "It's so stuffy here."

"Milady," Link says, pushing his plate away. "I think it's best you leave me before they truly have something to pounce on me for."

"I believe you're right," she says. "But truly, I'd much prefer your company; you're much better at poetry than Richard Percy."

"I don't write poetry," Link says.

She shrugs. "Exactly. You know when you're a lost cause," she says with a smirk. Link's mouth bobs for a retort, but she plows through. "He really is terrible in all honesty," she laughs. "So next time he comes to read to me his latest dedication, how about a game of cards? Or we could gamble instead over some other sport?"

Link chuckles, looking down at his hands in his lap. "Always at the ready for your rescue, milady."

"That's exactly what I'd like to hear." With that, she rises up and brushes her skirts. She offers Link a curt nod and floats away to speak with other nobles of the court.

Link lets out a low, ragged breath and squeezes his eyes shut. The whole room shuts down to black, but the gay chatter continues. The soft strumming of a lute and sweet song drifts through the black. "Link." And just like that, the room is back. Link turns and the older woman is right behind him. "Let's go."

Link sighs and rises. He trudges behind the woman, his apprehension clear on his face, as they leave the dining hall. The woman walks briskly. There is purpose and arrogance in her stride. Her skirts swish about her ankles and feet as she plows through the corridors. I hurry along behind them, ever the ghost. She shows Link into one room, closes and locks the door, and then leads him into another adjoining room. The door is slammed shut and the lock clicked.

In the center of the room is a lone chair in front of a table of three men.

Link lets out a shaky breath. Whatever is said or done in this room is not meant to leave. Knowing this, Link takes a few hesitant steps forward as he glances around the room at the dozen other nobles, his brother among them. One of the men sitting at the table in front of the chair commands, "Sit." It's only then that Link shuffles and seats himself in the center of the room.

Link gives a nervous glance over to his brother. Sir Raven only looks stonily on at the scene.

"What'd she say?" the man asks.

"Not much," Link says.

The man sighs. "Link. This is no time for games."

"I'm not playing games."

The man slams his hand down on the table. "You will tell us what she said."

"She asked me how I liked it at court so far," Link says, regaining his air of nonchalance. He shrugs. "She agreed with me when I said that I'd much rather be out in the field."

"What was she laughing about?"

"She was joking that Richard Percy is blatantly terrible at courtly love."

The woman that had lead Link into the room speaks up next. "What about Richard Percy?"

"He's quite a horrible poet, apparently."

"That's it?" the man asks.

Link shrugs again. "That's it."

"She mentioned nothing about Calatia?"

"I don't see why she should."

"Nothing about the young prince?"

"Nope."

There seems to be a collective sigh of relief around the room. "There's still time then," the man says.

At this Sir Raven interrupts, saying, "Uncle, Link's said before that she seemed indifferent to marrying either prince."

"She's not interested in marriage at all," Link retorts hotly.

"Whether she's interested or not doesn't matter," the brothers' uncle responds. "There will be somebody pushing for her to marry, and we need to position ourselves right in that path when the time comes."

The woman injects, "We should continue to let Link do as he pleases. He seems to have an innate knack for holding her."

"I don't want to," Link says meekly, any confidence he had before is gone.

The nobles roll right over Link's statement and continue to plot. "Raven," the uncle says, "keep an eye on Link until the summer progress begins. See to it that he does not stray."

"Of course."

Link looks over in total disbelief at his brother.

"Continue to be his bedfellow so that he won't… wander."

"Yes, Uncle."

"You're dismissed."

Despite the command, Link continues to sit dumbly in the chair until Sir Raven grabs him by the arm and yanks him up. They're let out of the room with another one of the nobles, and I slip out with them. The door slams closed, and then the other noble lets them out into the corridor. The lock clicks behind us.

"Come on, Brother," Sir Raven says, still holding onto Link's arm. Link regains himself and wrenches his arm away. Neither says anything and, slowly, they make their way through the dim corridors, me still trailing along.

When we reach their chambers, Link allows his elder brother to enter first. He pauses outside their door, looking around for a sign of anybody else lurking around the corridor. Seeing no one, Link sucks in a few deep breathes, then strides into the room. He slams the door closed before flying at the older brother. Caught off guard, Link gets his forearm on Raven's neck and the two slam into the wall.

"What the hell was that!" Link roars.

"What're you talking about?" his brother grunts.

Link seizes up a little more, putting more pressure on his brother's throat. "You said you'd back me."

"I'd said I'd do it if it wasn't mad."

"As if this family's ambition isn't mad?"

"Are you going to attack your own mother as well?" Sir Raven sneers. "I believe I heard her throw you under as well."

"I don't trust our mother," Link growls.

Raven snorts. "Obviously.

"Have you ever stopped to even think about it?"

"I don't have to. I don't want to marry and neither does she."

Raven rolls his eyes and drawls, "Oh, so you're one of those who won't bother to improve upon something. Ever in favor for mediocrity."

"I don't need to fix something that isn't broken."

"She'd make an exception," Raven says, "for you."

"She doesn't want to marry," Link repeats.

Sir Raven barks with laughter. "Maybe not now, but I assure you when her clock starts to really tick, she'll be more than happy to turn to you. Don't you ever think about what it would be like if your son sat on the cushion of the throne?"

"She won't marry."

The elder brother glosses over Link's statement. "I've seen you two, with your little puppy eyes, just so enamored. And by Din, does she ever lay on the pet names for you!"

Link doesn't reply. The two brothers hold each other's cold glare, not daring to make the first move. Nothing but the strained, shuttering of their breaths fills the room until Raven speaks again. "Take your arm off me," he says.

"No."

"Fine then," Raven says lowly. He quickly overpowers Link, throwing the younger knight off of him and into the side of the bed. Link lets out a snarl and launches himself at Sir Raven. Link tackles his brother to the ground and gets in one solid punch to Raven's face before he's thrown aside again. Link recovers quickly, grabbing a glass carafe from the bedside and flinging it at Raven's head. The elder knight ducks and grapples Link's midsection, pushing him back. Link is able to beat his brother off of him and the two exchange a few more blows before the older brother slams Link into the wall.

…

I give an involuntary jerk as the world reverts back to the spring. Water laps at my skin as I lie face up in the shallow spring. I push myself up onto my elbows and look around for the spirit. "Hello?" I call out. "Ordona?" In answer, a swirling cloud of gold circles around me as it morphs back into the giant goat guardian. It nods its head at me. "Will you answer me?" I ask it.

Ordona lowers its head one more time. "But not all." Of course. It must be the style to withhold information.

I say, "Tell me, then, why were things blurred or colors mixed up?"

"What you see, child, is a mere memory," the spirit says. It scrapes one hoof across the surface of the water, sending a ripple of gold through the waves. "It is only limited to what the owner, your friend in your case, has seen. It is also limited to only what the mind has the capacity to remember in detail."

"I see," I sigh.

I ask, "How is it that you and the spirit Lanayru were able to receive his memories?"

"Your friend sought our help after the incident which has left him in his current state," the goat explains.

"That doesn't really tell me the how," I say. I close my eyes, groan and flop back into the water when the goat makes no sign of responding further. "Not supposed to know that, huh?"

"As of right now, I am not in the position to offer that information."

"Who is?"

The golden goat moves towards me, but there is no response once again.

"I suppose I'll have to go worm what I want to know out of him then, huh?"

"If that is what you choose to do, then you may," Ordona says. "Feel free to return here at your leisure, child." The goat spirit leans its large head down. It kisses my forehead before leaping away, bursting into a cloud of gold dust.

…

Link's eyes click and clack as they flutter open. He looks at me freshly bathed and dressed in a clean dress. He pushes himself up from the bed and looks around the room. "What time is it, love?" he asks.

"Almost seven."

He frowns and looks out the window as I crawl over him and settle myself up against the headboard. "Seven?" he repeats. "It's too bright."

"Seven in the evening."

His head swivels over to me. "What're you talking about?"

"It's almost nightfall."

Link blinks and then turns his head back to the window. He asks when he looks back at me, "Why didn't you turn me on sooner?"

"I slept most of the day," I lie, but I can't tell if he buys this or not.

"Hey Link."

"Hm?"

"Were you… were you and your brother close at all?"

Link falls back against the headboard next to me. "Sometimes I think we were."

"What do you mean?"

"My brother was much older than me, and he was considered a seasoned knight by the time I even became a page. I'd always looked up to him; it's one reason why I'd chosen knighthood."

"So what changed?"

Link rubs at the back of his neck. "Court life." He shakes his head. "Living at court is like swimming with sharks, my dear. After I'd gotten my shield, I went out into the field on an assignment while the court went on progress. I came back to court like many knights in the fall. By winter, I learned that nobody could be trusted, my own brother included." The image of Link sitting the center of a room, surrounded by a family filled with nothing but ambition flows through my mind's eye.

I say, "What's the problem with finding somebody to trust?"

"In court, the noble families would vie for the favor of the royal families. Gaining favor could mean getting land, titles, money or some other extravagant gifts." Link lets out a low chortle of laughter. "That sometimes included a royal bastard, but…" Link trails off and flips his hand in the air. "My family saw my close friendship with the crown princess as means to seat themselves on the throne."

"You were close to the princess?"

"She was actually the only one I trusted when at court," Link says. "We'd been friends since we were pages."

"She was a page too?"

"Oh yes! That girl was the biggest tomboy. Most princes would go through the training for knighthood, and she wanted the same, so she pushed her father into allowing her to become a page. There was nothing by law against that, it was just…"

"Tradition?" I offer.

"Yeah," Link assents with a nod. "She was one of the first female pages, and after getting her shield, more young girls wanted to go down that path."

"She proved it could be done."

"Exactly."

Curiosity bites me. "So then what happened with her and your family?"

"They wanted to put me in a position where she would marry me," he tells me. "She was never interested in such a thing though."

"Why's that?"

"I think she might have felt that it would tie her up, and she wanted to be as free as she could be. A wife was bound to her husband, and with her position of power, she knew that she would lose that if she married." A logical way to think about it. Sensible, even. Link's statement of not trusting anybody at court comes back to me, and I feel a surge of admiration for the crown princess of Link's time.

"Wouldn't there be somebody, like her father, that would make her though?"

"She almost had to once… well twice, I suppose."

I pat his arm. "Tell me!"

Link snickers a little at me. "A marriage was arranged for her not long before she became a page to one of the Calatian princes. The contract, however, became null and void when he contracted the sweats when we were squires. He died within the month of catching it.

"After that, it was my uncle who was sent to try and renegotiate another contract with Calatia. The princess begged her father not to go through with it, but tensions were already high."

"They were to be married then to ensure peace would remain."

"Mm-hm."

"Did your uncle botch the negotiations?"

"On purpose."

"That must not have gone over well back at home."

Link shrugs. "I honestly can't say what the repercussions were, but in the end the princess got out of having to marry, and my uncle and my family still held a lot of favor at court."

"What happened to the throne then?"

"Oh… she was the last monarch in the House of Harkinian. Having never married, there's no legitimate heir to follow her."

"I see."

"Why're you so interested in all that dusty old history of mine all of a sudden?"

"Is there something wrong with wanting to know something about my companion?"

Link laughs. It's scratchy and synthetic, nothing like the full, gay tones I'd heard when he was dining with his brother. "I suppose," Link says, "but you never say much about yourself."

"My life seems pretty mundane compared to a coin-operated doll who's existed for centuries," I retort.

"I'll give you that," Link chuckles.

"So love," Link says, nudging me.

"What?"

"Did you nap in a thorn bush?"

Got my internet back. Finally. Guys. GUYS. Srsly. I forgot how frustrating it was to only have internet on my phone. It sucks.

Anyway. I'm excited. Know why? MY CAR IS ALMOST PAID OFF. Like I owe something like five hundred dollars. I'm so stoked. Everyone's asking me what I want for Christmas, and I'm just like, "My car paid off." But I'm also considering a new drain plug for my oil pan. I sound old. Haha.

I've been working on an old story that I'd started ages ago, and putting new life into it and trying to complete the cannibal story. But I'm finding myself stuck now in Zombie Cake. I was getting close to finishing the chapter, and I realized a good chunk of the chapter just didn't belong.

I know. I know.

:I