Hello readers! Chapter 125 is here! With Esolu now awake and about to give birth, what will come about from this? Read and find out!
"Esolu, please calm yourself!"
Link's royal child-bearer Esolu was having a huge fit at her room in Gerudo Palace; the nurses and servants were doing everything they could to help her with the birthing process, Even her fellow child-bearers Ragome and Leivuri were there to try and console her. But she was in ridiculous amounts of pain, and thrashing her head around. She opened her mouth widely as if she was trying to scream, but due to being a mute no words could come out. She was squeezing at an object in her hand that she hadn't let go of since she first fell into the coma weeks ago.
"Considering she has been overdue for so long while unconscious, its no wonder she's going through this much pain!" said one nurse, "Someone try to help console her!"
"Esolu, cut it the hell out! I got through this to have my twins, so I know you can too!" Ragome shouted gripping her hand, but Esolu was closing her eyes tightly and shaking her head left and right, bashing Ragome in the face as she did, "Gack!"
"Here, drawing gives her some comfort when she's stressed! Maybe this will help!" said Leivuri handing Esolu her sketch pad and pencil.
Esolu yanked the sketch pad out of her hands and started quickly drawing something. She annoyingly held up the sketch to the nurses and servants and they all looked absolutely revolted at the picture.
"Is that supposed to be my spleen?!" exclaimed a servant.
"Don't be like that Esolu, they're just trying to help you!" assured Leivuri.
"Come on, do some deep breathing!" Ragome said with her fists pumped, she noticed one of the servants and guards started breathing in and out as much as they could, "I didn't mean you!"
"We need more help, she's too out of control!" said a nurse.
Fortunately, leaping in through the window of the room just then was MAGIS, carrying Link in her arms, with Aviel flying in right after them.
"King Link?!" exclaimed Leivuri. "Thank the goddesses you're here!"
"Esolu, we're here for you!" Link said, full of happiness to see his child-bearer awake again after almost two weeks, but he was worried about her condition.
"Step aside, I will handle this." MAGIS said scooting a nurse away. The antennae on her head shifted around as she looked Esolu's body over "Now scanning expectant woman's condition... Beeeewoooop, beeeewoooop..."
"Is she gonna be okay MAGGIE?" Aviel asked, "Can you do anything for her?"
MAGIS stopped for a moment, looking rather startled abut something.
"What's the matter?" Link asked.
"...n-never mind, let's begin the procedure." MAGIS said, she applied alcohol on her hands to cleanse them of the dirt and grime she got from outside and put on some rubber gloves, "Please see to it Mistress Esolu stays stable so that I may properly begin the delivery process."
"Right." Link nodded, going over to the woman's side and gripping her left hand, "Esolu!"
Feeling of Link's warm hands over hers, Esolu stopped thrashing around and looked up to him, "...?"
"Hi Esolu." Link said smiling with tears forming in his eyes, "I'm so glad to see you up. I'm sorry about what happened before... but I need you to be strong right now so you can deliver our child!"
Leivuri grasped Esolu's right hand, "Yes, don't worry Esolu! You've been with us since the beginning of our child-bearer training. You helped support both me and Ragome through our pregnancies, and now it's our turn to support you!"
Ragome meanwhile put her hands down on Esolu's shoulders, "I've heard about yer life before you met us, that you were a patrolman for the guards, and you were a real strong fighter! Well, keep fighting Esolu, for yer child!"
"You can do it Esolu..." Link assured her, "We're all here for you."
Esolu stared up into Link's eyes for a moment, before she nodded with determination. She held up her sketch book to show a drawing of a penguin in army clothes saluting.
"That's the way." Link grinned, seeing Esolu was back to her senses, "Now go for it!"
The pregnant woman nodded, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and did just as MAGIS instructed her. The pain for her was excruciating, but Ragome did her best to hold down her friend as Link and Leivuri both gripped her hands. Aviel gathered whatever they needed for the treatment, while the nurses wee quick to give the woman water and wipe off her sweat.
"...!" Esolu opened her mouth wide, as if trying to scream, but couldn't.
"Keep going Esolu! You're doing great!" Link said.
MAGIS took a glance up at Link as he was clutching Esolu's hand. She stared for a brief while in confusion of something, before she went right back to the delivery.
As the process continued on, Nabooru, Nemisa, Saria and Sarami eventually arrived to help any way they could. Sheeva had already been taken care of and brought to her bedroom for rest, so Sarami was now on hand to assist MAGIS with the birthing process.
"Steady breathes Ms. Esolu!" Sarami told her, "Don't forget your training!"
"The child is coming along nicely. But we need to replace these towels." MAGIS spoke.
"Here, I got you some more for you!" Saria said, running up to Sarami and MAGIS with so many towels that they were spilling out of her hands, "Is Esolu doing oka-?"
Saria then saw what was going on between Esolu's legs, and she screamed out in surprise, sending the towels flying everywhere as she fainted.
"Looks like Saria learned something new today." Nabooru said sweatdropping.
After what seemed like forever, they were getting to the final moments of the delivery. Despite the stress and worry everyone was going through, MAGIS remained calm as usual.
"Sister MAGIS, you're doing so well with this!" Sarami said in astonishment.
"It is expected of an all-purpose maid like myself." MAGIS stated, "You are doing efficiently Mistress Esolu, now please give one final push."
"..." Esolu gulped and panted, unable to take the pain for much longer.
"Come on Esolu, you can do this!" Link said, squeezing her hand.
Esolu closed her eyes and gave one final push with all her strength. The pain was so severe that she opened her mouth, and from the depths of her body she let out something the others thought they would never hear;
"aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Link's eyes widened at the sound of her voice, it reminded him of what he had heard back in the canyon when he was under his trance from the Fierce Deity. It was a clear, almost harmonious cry that resonated with his very soul. He could feel a single tear roll down his face at hearing her voice.
"Woah, Esolu made noise!" Aviel gasped out.
"I've never heard her do that before!" Leivuri gasped out.
MAGIS in that moment froze up at the shout, looking slowly back up to see Esolu crying out. She stared at her for what seemed like the longest time. Much like Link, something about the voice brought out strange sensations from deep within her...
"MAGIS, are you okay?" Sarami asked, snapping her out of it.
"I... I... I'm fine. My bad." MAGIS spoke, shaking her head and going back to the delivery.
It wasn't long after that the panic and chaos in the room was silenced, and replaced with the mewling cry of a new born life that had come into the world.
"Mission complete." MAGIS said, "Infant successfully born."
"Congratulations Esolu, Link-honey!" Sarami said gleefully, holding up the crying infant in a cloth and handing it to the new mother, "You have a healthy baby daughter!"
"...!" despite not being able to say a word, everyone could see the absolute joy Esolu was experiencing as she held her first child. The baby seemed to calm down greatly being in it's mother's embrace.
"Esolu, I knew you could do it." Link sported a small smile, overjoyed at the sight of Esolu being awake again, and seeing his newest daughter on top of that. He gave the new mother a kiss on the lips, "And I've been wanting to say this, but thank you for saving me that day."
"..." Esolu simply gazed up at Link and smiled as well.
"Oooh! We're so happy to have you back Esolu!" Leivuri said hugging her, "And now all three of us have bared the first of King Link's royal daughters!"
"She's so lovely Link..." Nemisa spoke, putting a hand to his shoulder, "You should be proud."
"I am." Link nodded.
"You did fine work Esolu, thank you for the sacrifices you've made for getting us this far." Nabooru nodded with a smirk, "Another new life has been brought into our home, and certainly not the last. Despite how bleak our people's lives were so long ago, we've defied that fate that we thought had been set for us, and I think more and more now that our people's future will truly shine."
"So whatcha gonna name her Link?" Aviel asked, gripping the side of the bed and hopping up and down in excitement.
"Me and Esolu discussed it a while back before she fell into that coma," Link said. Esolu held up a few pages from her sketch pad covered with numerous female Gerudo names, some scratched out and some circled, "Uh, took us a while to finally pick one... but we've decided on 'Noleire'."
"Oh, that's just a precious name." Nabooru said with a smile, "I hope the best for you and your daughter Esolu."
"..." Esolu bowed her head to Nabooru, holding up a sketch she did of a pile of baby penguins pouring out from a cracked-open egg.
"Ah-ha ha ha!" Nabooru laughed out, "No need to feel like you have to have more children so soon! Take your time and rest for a while. Believe me, Link has plenty of backup ladies these days!"
Nabooru glanced over to the doorway, where about six new scandalously-clad Gerudo girls were all swooning over Link with hearts in their eyes as they saw him holding his new daughter.
"Lady Nabooru, you do know Link is just one man right?!" Nemisa asked sweatdropping.
"Heeey guys...?" Aviel asked looking around, "I just noticed something, but where did MOLLY go?"
"You mean MAGIS? Yes, where did she go off to?" Nemisa asked suspiciously.
"I'll go look, I'm pretty sure I know where she went." Link said.
"There you are!" Link said, having tracked MAGIS to his bedroom. She was in the middle of changing into her maid dress, pulling the stockings up her thighs when he entered, "I figured you'd come back here for your outfit."
"I-It would be... lame if... uh, unfittting of me as a maid to not wear my uniform." MAGIS said putting on her dress shoes, while Link noticed her voice sounded a bit odd. It had sounded less monotone than before. She spun her upper torso around and tilted herself to the side, speaking in her monotone voice again, "Of course if you truly desire I can perform my duties in the nude."
"That's not necessary." Link said sweatdropping.
"Well if you'll excuse me, I-I'm going begin my morning cleaning of the palace." she said with a bow.
"Hey MAGIS," Link stopped her, "What's up with your voice?"
"My voice? Whadabout my-" MAGIS eyes widened, she paused and put a hand to her chest, and started speaking in a more passive tone, "M-My bad, I must be experiencing more technical errors."
"Hold on a second," ink said stopped her again, "Um.. How about you take a rest for now, I was wondering if we could talk about...stuff?"
"Stuff? Very well Master Link." MAGIS said, doing a polite curtsy, "Let us talk stuff."
The two of them sat out on the balcony of Link's bedroom, staring at the vast desert valley surrounding Gerudo Town. It was approaching morning, as the sun was just barely starting to peak up from behind the mountains far in the distance, and the sky was turning shades of purple, yellow and red.
"The sunrise looks nice from here, doesn't it?" Link spoke.
"Indeed. Now was this all the 'stuff' you wanted to talk about?" MAGIS asked.
"I'm just saying, this is one of the things I like about living here in the palace." Link grinned, "Usually I sleep straight through the morning, but it's always nice when I can find time to be awake for the sunrise. Back when I first came to Gerudo Valley I used to think the desert was just a harsh and barren wasteland. I could never understand how the Gerudo people managed to live out in a place like this. But while the desert can be brutal at times, there can also be a certain beauty to it as well."
"If you desire I can start waking you up early to see this sunrise each day." MAGIS suggested, "Would you prefer to be woken by a bucket of water or a loud horn?"
"Uh, neither." Link said sweatdropping.
"Than I shall see about getting a large metal gong that goes BOOOOONG to bang on." MAGIS said.
"That would wake up everyone in the palace!" Link exclaimed.
The two decided to drop the conversation, and continued to stare out at the sunrise. MAGIS glanced over at her temporary master, thinking back to when he was helping his child-bearer give birth earlier.
"..." MAGIS stared back out at the desert, "Um, listen Master Link... I apologize about what happened tonight. I put you through a lot of inconvenience, and I could've gotten Mistress Fluffy-Tail and your future kids hurt... it goes against everything I go by as a maid..."
"Nah, don't worry about it. Sarami said Sheeva will be fine." Link noticed the more he got her to speak, the more casually she spoke, "Anyway, you made up for it big time by helping Esolu give birth. I can't thank you enough for that."
"I... only did what was... you know, expected of me..." MAGIS spoke looking away.
Link glanced over at MAGIS, watching her for the longest time, before leaning forward and giving her a simple kiss on the cheek, making her eyes widen.
"Wha- Master Link?!"
"Either way, I'm happy you were there for her." Link said smiling deeply.
MAGIS was caught off-guard at his gesture, she brought up her hand to touch her cheek where he had kissed her, feeling somewhat confused about it. She then suddenly felt a very faint memory in the back of her mind become more clear to her...
'Hey, have you ever kissed someone before...?'
MAGIS then gasped out with wide eyes, "I...!"
"Hey, what's wrong?" Link asked, "Sorry, did you not like me doing that?!"
"It's... not that Master Link..." the maid sat there for a moment, bringing her hand to her chest and speaking out, "... ...there's something I outta tell you... I... think I know it now..."
"Huh? Know what MAGIS?" Link asked.
"No... not MAGIS… ...Foluma."
"Huh?" Link asked.
"Not real sure why, but I think I remember somethin' all of a sudden. My real name is actually... Foluma." the maid said.
Link gasped out in astonishment at this news. He wondered what could have happened to trigger her memory. Did the blows she took in her fight with Sheeva cause it, could it had been the kiss he gave her just a second ago, or maybe something else? Either way though, Link was excited for this news.
"Foluma... that's a really cute name." he smiled warmly, "Do you remember anything else?"
The maid now known as Foluma shook her head, "Nah. Just what my real name is registered as." she put her hand to her head, "It's weird, it's all I can remember... but it feels good to know. Is this what Mistress Aviel was talkin' before about remembering your past?"
"That's right. Remembering your name is a small step, but every step you take forward is progress." Link nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Just take your time, and we'll all be here for you every step of the way."
"...alright, Master Link." Foluma whispered, thinking about what he, Ragoem and Leivuri said to Esolu during her baby's delivery. The maid stood up and waked forward a little, she too a deep breath, before she started to undo the straps of her dress, "If that's the case, then I'll go ahead and resume my orders from you. Please present yourself for many constant hours of hot sexy lovin'..."
"Uh oh, not again!" Link said, preparing himself to bolt off, "Wait, hold on! I thought we already made it clear that wasn't an order for you to-!"
"Meheheh, just kiddin'!"
Link's eyes widened at that strange noise, he saw Foluma had her finger curled up to her lips, and was sporting a grin on her face.
"F-Foluma, did... you just tell a joke, and laugh?!" the young king exclaimed.
"Guess I did." Foluma said still smiling, "It feels... real good to do that too. Is it alright with you if I keep doing that Master Link?"
"Of course it is!" Link nodded, "I want to see more of that from you from now on!"
"Airght then..." Foluma said, she twirled around to face Link, leaning forward and sporting a toothy grin,
"Then I'll do as you command, Master Link!"
"That wasn't an order." Link said sweatdropping.
"Hey everyone, good morning!" Link called out the next day with Foluma following after him. Sitting around the table was Nabooru, Aviel, Nemisa, Saria and Halei all waiting for the day's breakfast.
"Oh hey there Link, glad to see you up so early!" Nabooru grinned, "We didn't even have to send Aviel in this time."
"Foluma actually came and woke me up today." Link admitted, yawning out loud.
"I couldn't get a large metal gong in time, soooo I just banged some pots and pans together instead." Foluma held up the cooking tools with a mellow grin.
"Hey, give those back!" shouted a palace chef.
The previous night Link was quick to properly reintroduce Foluma to Nabooru and his friends, and they were all happy to find out she had reclaimed a little something about her past, especially Aviel.
"Hiiiii Foluma!" the bird girl cheered out, running over and hugging the maid with her wings, "Good morning!"
"Yo Mistress Aviel, you needed more shaved ice or somethin'?" Foluma asked embarrassed, then did a double take, "Wait a tick, you remembered my name?"
"Course I did, I could never forget a name like yours!" Aviel said with a bright smile.
"O-Oh, okay... thanks." Foluma muttered with a light blush on her cheeks. "A-Anyhoot, I just wanted to tell you all somethin'."
Foluma took a breath, and spoke out to them, "So, I may be remmeberin' stuff now, but my orders from Momma Eclipsis says I still gotta keep watch over Gerudo Palace. I'll keep bein' as efficient of a maid as I can for you all." she bowed to the others, "I hope I'm not a big pain in the ass about it."
"Not a problem Foluma, we're just happy to see more of the real you." nodded Nabooru, "We'll count on your continued support here until you figure yourself out."
"Would you like to join us for breakfast today Ms. Foluma?" Saria asked.
"Breakfast? Nah thanks, I'll just take my supplimen..." Foluma paused, "...or you know what, maybe I'll just have a little somethin' small." she nodded, sitting down as the servants came out with the food. She took a small taste of pancakes presented to her and her eyes lit up widely at the taste, "Hey now, this is great stuff!"
"That's just the kind of thing I like to see from you Foluma." Link grinned.
"Here, try it with strawberry syrup!" Aviel said, taking the syrup boat and pouring it all over Foluma's meal for her, so much that it covered her pancakes and oozed onto the table.
"Hey, that's too much!" Nemisa said.
"Actually it isn't too bad." Foluma said, sticking another large portion of pancake and syrup in her mouth. As she chewed, they could all hear an audible crunch. Foluma paused and pulled something out of her mouth, the ladle for the syrup container, and it was now dented, "Uh, my bad. I'll fix this later."
Nemisa sighed, "Aaand we have another weirdo in our home."
"Good morning everyone." Sheeva said, walking in as gracefully as she could despite her pregnant stomach.
"Morning Sheeva!" Link said with his mouth half-full, "Have a seat, your breakfast should be on it's way!"
"Thank you, my mate." Sheeva said, taking a seat across from Link on the table, "Oh, it's that maid..."
"Hey there Mistress Fluffy-Tail, hope you're doing alight today." Foluma said with a polite bow.
"I'm quite fine, thank you." Sheeva spoke. Though Link had told her what happened, she was surprised at how much different the maid was talking now. A servant brought her a tall stack of pancakes with a large side of sausages which she immediately started going to town on, "Ah, it's been so long since I had pancakes! And these sausages are so sweet... this beats a raw Moblin corpse any day."
"Thank you so much for sharing that with us Sheeva." Nemsia looked rather nauseous as she pushed away her own meal, allowing Link and Aviel to eat it instead.
"So Sister Sheeva, is there something you'd like to say to Foluma?" Nabooru asked.
Sheeva glanced to the side, recalling the scolding she got from both Nabooru and Sarami, and swallowed her food, "Yes, I... erm... want to apologize for assaulting you last night. I thought you were trying to hurt my mate, but I probably should have listened to Nabooru and Link better..."
"It's not the first time she lost a mate to the rebels..." Nemisa said sadly to Foluma.
"No sweat, I outta apologize myself for my own miscommunication processes." Foluma said, "I was going to try and make up for my errors, but according to Link a spiked mace or electrified whip beatings isn't acceptable forms of punishment for me." she shrugged, taking another bite of her pancake burrito.
"That goes without saying." Nabooru said sweatdropping.
"Well, if you wish to make up for things..." Sheeva trailed off, she glanced to Link, "Despite you being a rebel, I'd like to be able to trust you, and I want you to trust in Link as well. If anyone can help you remember what it's like to be human, it will be him. Take it from me."
Foluma looked up from wrapping some strawberry syrup into a pancake like a burrito, she took a bite from it and grinned, "...thanks Fluffy-Tail, I will."
Link was happy to see Foluma getting along with Sheeva and everyone, and while she still maintained her obedient programming as a half-automation and her loyalty to Imono, it seemed as though she was showing off more of the humanity that he always knew was inside her, and he could only hope to learn more about her as she kept taking steps forward.
"For now though, I'd like to make up for things and do everythin' I am capable of to help with your pregnancy Mistress Fluffy-Tail." Foluma assured Sheeva.
"If you wish." Sheeva nodded, taking another bite of her breakfast, only to then feel a strange presence behind her.
"Alright, so let me to help relieve the pressure you got here." Foluma said, now behind Sheeva and groping at her large breasts, "My sensors are picking up that you've been sore here for a while."
"H-Hey, unhand those!" Sheeva exclaimed with a bright red face.
"But I only want to make you feel better." Foluma stated, as she massaged Sheeva's chest all over. Her own chest was pressing against Sheeva's back, making the situation even more problematic.
"Oooh... don't... aaaahhh!" the wolf woman's voice started to moan out.
"Hey, n-none of that at the dining table!" Halei shouted with a bright red face, using her Bunny Hood ears to cover her eyes.
"Jees, aren't those nice..." Saria muttered, looking away from Sheeva with an annoyed pout.
Meanwhile Link had fallen forward on the table with blood excessively leaking out of his nose.
"Aaaaaaand Link's down." Nemisa said.
"He better get used to it." Nabooru snickered, "I think Foluma's going to be around with us for a good long time."
Foluma stood up from Sheeva, who was left in a subdued daze by the breast massage treatment she was given.
"Now that I'm done with Mistress Fluffy-Tail, hang on while I work on each of you." Foluma said looking to the others with her hands in a groping gesture.
"Uh, maybe later!" Nabooru said in a panic as they all escaped from the maid.
Later that day, Foluma was going down the hallways of Gerudo Palace, keeping an eye out for any dust or uneven furniture. She adjusted a pot hat looked like it was on the verge of tipping over, then scrubbed down a table to a fine finish.
"Alright, everything looks good here. Better get to the west wing." Foluma spoke to herself.
SMASH!
"Hm, judging from the volume and speed of that impact, Mistress Aviel broke something again" Foluma sighed. She flipped around and went right off down a hallway. Sure enough she saw Aviel was kneeling down trying frantically to clean up a mess of broken colorful clay on the floor. Foluma also noticed there were small tears forming in her eyes
"Ooooh... why this of all things?" Aviel asked with a quivering voice as she was trying to pick up the pieces of the clay and put it onto an empty box beside her.
"Did you break somethin' again Mistress Klutzy?" Foluma asked walking up to her.
"Y-Yeah..." Aviel pouted, looking down at the remains of some clay object, "My Momma and Papa just sent me this package by mail from the city they were visiting... I was on my way to my room when I tripped and something inside broke..."
"Oh, bummer." frowned Foluma.
Tears started to spill down Aviel's cheeks, "Yeah, this sucks... I didn't get to see it before I went and busted it... Momma and Papa went through a lot of trouble to get this out to me too..."
"Hm..." Foluma crouched down and stared at the clay, "Please give me a minute." the antennae on her head shifted a bit as she gazed down at the pieces, "Beeeoooowwwp... beeeooowwwpp..."
"Foluma?" Avel asked in confusion.
"Okay, I think I got it." Foluma nodded, she converted her hands into a broom and dust pan and started sweeping up the pieces, "Can you show me over to your room?"
Aviel was unsure of what she was planning, but led her over to her personal room. Foluma went to a table where she poured out the pieces onto the table. She brought up her right middle finger, which opened up and revealed a small blue wielding torch inside. The young girl watched carefully as Foluma ran her fingers along the edges of the pieces and put them together.
About ten minutes later, Foluma stepped back to looked over her handiwork. She had managed to wield the clay back together using her torch, and now Aviel saw it to be a figurine of a fiery looking bird with rainbow colored feathers, and it was spreading out it's wings majestically.
"Oooooh! How cool!" Aviel said with sparkling eyes, "It kinda looks like Grandpa Roc!"
"Pretty sure this is a mythological bird called a 'phoenix'." Foluma said, "It's associated with the sun, and a symbol of rebirth."
"Wow! My parents really thought this gift out for me!" Aviel turned to the maid and smiled, "And I wouldn't have known if it hadn't been for you Foluma!"
"Uh, it's notta problem Mistress Klutzy..." Foluma said looking away with a light blush, "Just... you know... doin' my job as a proper all-purpose maid an-" she was quickly cut off when Aviel lunged forward and hugged the maid with her bird wings.
"Thank you Sister!" Aviel squealed out.
Foluma as at a loss for words, the young lady was holding her tightly within the warm embrace of her Roc Wing feathers, and her large, bouncy chest was pressing tightly against the maid's body.
"H-Hey Klutzy, lay off already!" Foluma said pushing her back.
"Hee hee! You know, I think it'd be great if you joined up with our family!" Aviel said, "If you married Link then you'd be a queen instead of a maid!"
"M-Married... a queen... the king?" Foluma exclaimed.
"Uh huh! You've seen how he is is with other girls, and I think he really likes you!" Aviel said, she looked away with a heavy blush, "He's also great to spend time with in bed, he can make you feel good in ways you couldn't imagine..."
Foluma grimaced a little, recalling what she had tried to do to Link the previous night. She was still not certain why she misinterpreted Link's words to mean that he wanted her to sleep with him. She had a similar error when she failed to have the child-bearers killed.
She then recalled the other day when Nemisa had told her before about herself...
"When I first took on the job of being Link's bodyguard, I always tried to dismiss protecting him as strictly just duty. But the truth of it was that I was lying to myself, the reality was that I wanted to protect Link because I cared about him."
'Could I really be lying to myself and everyone about something...?' Foluma thought.
"Sister Foluma?" Aviel asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"I... dunno about becomin' part of your family..." Foluma said, "I mean, I'm still a rebel and all. If my combat systems start working again I'm gonna have to give Master Link a brutal beatdown of lots of punches. I can't be your family, I'm your enemy."
"Really? I don't think so, you're a good person." Aviel said, "I don't think you're the kind of person who'd hurt someone like that..."
"... ..but you don't really know anything about me, do you?" Foluma spoke, looking away.
"Maybe not, but you don't know much about yourself, right?" Aviel said.
"... ...heh... point taken." Foluma chuckled with a light smile.
"Well in that case, how about we just be friends for now?" Aviel suggested, taking her hands and squeezing them, "I understand what you're going through Foluma, and I'd like to help you!"
Foluma stared down at Aviel's hands over hers, "... …you really okay with being friends with me Mistress Klutzy? Even if I'm technically your enemy?"
"Of course!" Aviel nodded with a beaming smile, "We vowed to save all the rebels, and that includes you! Me and Link'll help you get your memories back, and get away from that Imono lady! Just trust me, okay?"
"Just trust me, okay?"
"..." Foluma was taken aback by Aviel's words. For a brief second she could had sworn she saw another smiling person in her place, but snapped out of it, "I... okay Mistress Klutzy, we can be friends for now."
"Alriiiiight!" Aviel cheered out, hugging her once again.
"Well, I gotta go see to things. Just keep your little birdie figure in a place where it won't fall over, alight?" Foluma said, pulling herself from Aviel's embrace and leaving out the door.
When she felt she was far enough away from Aviel's room, Foluma brought a hand up to her chest and whispered to herself,
"Just what's wrong with me...?"
Meanwhile, far off in Hyrule Market Town, a young couple were going down the street doing some shopping. The wife was eagerly going around buying up whatever she thought looked cute while her husband was stuck carrying everything.
As the husband took a step forward, something suddenly tripped him. He almost fell and dropped the things his wife had been buying, but he was quickly stopped by a Hylian knight catching him.
"Woah there citizen, are you okay?" the knight asked.
"Oh, thank you Mr. Knight!" the wife said, trying to help her husband balance everything, "You all do so well to keep the peace around here!"
"It's our sworn duty, maam!" the knight spoke saluting, "And as such, I feel I need to warn you about something."
He pulled out a royal notice flier and handed it to them, "We're gong around letting citizens know that the new Gerudo King will be arriving with his people three months from now. They're going to be negotiating terms with His Majesty the King and the Hylian Parliament."
"Oooh, how exciting!" the wife said.
"Yes, though we're all a bit concerned about them coming here..." the knight said distantly.
"What's the matter with that?" the husband asked, "We've heard plenty of great things about the Gerudo over the past year or two."
"Yes, they even saved a number of our people from the Wyvern Keeper slavers, including the great researcher Professor Bradson!" the wife said, "There's even rumors they saved the miracle doctor of Kakariko Village!"
"Weeell... it's just that I've heard something bad went down over at the waterfall bridge that connects Gerudo Valley to Hyrule." the knight said, "...that the Gerudo King attacked the soldiers there."
"Wait, really?" the wife asked, "I never heard about that!"
"Yes, from what I've been told there was a number of bodies found, even one of our own knights was found thrown off the bridge." the knight said,
"And regarding that thing with the Kakariko miracle doctor, word is she came back to the village in a wheelchair and refuses to tell anyone about where she had been for two years."
The young couple looked to each other in astonishment of this news.
"...ah! Sorry, didn't mean to babble on like that." the knight said, "A good day to you folks."
"Oh, no it's fine. Thank you." the wife said, as she and her husband went off on her way, and the knight saw they were carefully reading the flier he handed them.
"..." when he saw they were out of earshot, the knight let out a long sigh.
"Nice work there soldier." spoke a voice coming out form the shadows.
It was Lieutenant Ernoldus, the knight who had originally escorted back the citizens that had been freed from the Wyvern Keepers. Despite his efforts to claim he and his soldiers had saved them all, the former slaves were quick to tell Market Town the truth about the Gerudo being their heroes.
"Is... this right to do sir?" the knight asked, "You've had us going around telling the people those rumors for weeks now, and this might cause the citizens a great deal of unrest."
"It's quite fine, all you're doing is just making them cautious. It's only natural given the Gerudo's history with Hyrule." Ernoldus said patting the knight's shoulder, "Now go along, and make sure you hand out all those fliers."
"Y-Yes sir!" the knight said, going off on his way.
And that ends this chapter, next time the date for the group heading to Hyrule Castle is coming up, but what precautions will they need to take before then, and what secrets still lay within Foluma's mind? Find out next time!
So I'm going to admit something about this 'Foluma arc', this is mostly just wrapping up some plot points I wanted to get out of the way before we move on to Hyrule Castle, as well as wind down after all that happened with the rebel invasion and Link's past. The maid's involvement kind of ended up serving as a way to tie everything together.
One thing in particular that's been holding me back for a while with writing this is trying to define a good personality for Foluma that's different enough from an obedient servant to empathize the importance of finding her true self, while keeping her distinct from most of the cast. At one pint she had a personality that was too much like Korume, and at another point she was too much like Togau, so it was a bit of a struggle. I wound up going with a personality that was kind of a fusion of the two, which I kinda like.
Past readers may have also noticed I changed her name from 'Fubel', and that's because originally she as supposed to be more quiet and moody like Korume, but I wanted to give her a little more attitude, and I needed a name that better suited that.
Thank you for putting up with all the delays and rewrites, I know it must have been frustrating, but I think I'm finally ready to push forward with this and get to the next major arc soon.
And thank you everyone for your continued support! Please leave a like, follow comment or a PM at your leisure! Your feedback is always encouraged!