Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda Series or its characters. This story is purely for entertainment purposes only.
Hello, everyone! Thank you for reading my fanfiction! I really appreciate it. If you like what you're reading, leave a review and spread the word! I'd love to hear from you! Enjoy Chapter 2! ~Opal
Chapter 2: Morning
I slept well that night, so well that I didn't notice Sally leaving early in the morning to get everyday clothes on and then come back. She tapped me on the head and I opened my eyes, noticing first the hay near my face, then the sun shining light into the barn, and then finally her face. She was on her knees, holding one piece of cooked chicken in one hand, and a weird-looking biscuit in the other. "Morning." She smiled. "I have some medication and breakfast for you." I looked at her with befuddlement as she held the biscuit closer to me. "You have to eat this medicine first. It's going to taste bad, but it will help you heal." She set the biscuit in front of me and I ate it, cringing at the foul taste. "Good." She said, holding out the piece of chicken. "You can have this now." She set it down on the ground in front of me. I ate the morsel gratefully, preferring the taste of cooked meat to medication. "You're probably thirsty too. I'll get you some water." She walked away, closing the door to the stall gently. She came back a minute later with a shallow bucket, moving the handle to a downward position for me to use it as a bowl. She took a smaller pail full of water and dumped it into the large bucket. I lapped up the water as she started to feed the horses in the other stalls, talking sweetly to them and stroking their manes. One of them licked her face and nuzzled its head into her shoulder. She rubbed the neck of this one and chuckled.
Just as I was getting rehydrated, I heard a shrill come from somewhere outside of the barn. "SALLY!" A lady grunted. "Where are you, Sally?!" Whoever it was, they didn't sound happy.
"I-I'm in the horse barn." Sally replied to the voice. She ran over to my stall, pure panic on her face. "You probably don't understand me, but please hide in the hay!" I obeyed and wiggled myself under the pile of hay that was my makeshift bed. She looked at me with addle. "You're smart!" She commented with a sigh of relief. She closed the door to the stall. "I'll be back soon." She whispered to me, walking briskly towards the approaching voice. I kept the hay on me as camouflage and carefully pawed to the door of my stall, my intent being to observe the conversation. "Morning, sister." I heard Sally say quietly.
Sally's sister had dark blue eyes and was thin just like Sally, but more developed. "Well, good morning to you!" Her sister replied sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips. "You're so chipper." She rolled her eyes. "Having fun with your animal friends?" She rolled her eyes once more. "Let's get some things straight! Number one!" She held up her pointer finger. "DON'T call me sister. Call me by my name. We are not equals. I am much prettier than you." She played with her dark black hair with her hand to show off, curls bouncing as she giggled in a high-pitched voice that sounded like she had just inhaled helium. "And let's not forget smarter and nicer and funnier and more grown-up; must I go on?"
"You need not, Eleanor." Sally said calmly. "I understand."
"I mean geez, Sally!" She complained. "And on top of it all you haven't washed my clothes yet! And you haven't dusted, AND you haven't swept the floors!"
"I'm sorry." Sally replied with great composure. "I will get those done right away, Eleanor."
Eleanor looked critically at Sally's peach-colored dress and grabbed a bit of the skirt in her hand. "And why do you wear such frumpy clothes?" She cackled, a snort coming from her nose. "You look like a beggar woman!"
"It is simply because mother doesn't allow me to have clothes as lovely as yours, Eleanor." She replied smoothly as though it were a rehearsed response. She took a breath and closed her eyes in subtle irritation.
"Teehee! That's right!" She snorted again. "Really though…you'd think that you'd put a little more effort into it. How do you expect to get a man?"
"I don't need a man." Sally replied while rolling her eyes as she walked to another horse's stall, Eleanor following close behind in persistence. "It's overrated. I don't feel like I have to rely on a man to take care of me."
"You're just saying that because no one is interested in you!" Eleanor chortled, her expression changing to that of a braggart. "I have plenty of men that are interested in me!"
"In your dreams." Sally said dully, clipping the nails of a horse's hoof.
"Well," She taunted, leaning towards Sally with her hands still on her hips. "Since when has little Miss Sally developed a smart mouth?"
"I just don't like how you are treating me, Eleanor." Sally said, fixated on the horse instead of her sister.
Eleanor gasped. "Wow…just wow." She said, looking towards some of the other horse stalls. "Marcus is here, isn't he?"
My ears pricked up. Why did that name sound familiar?
Sally froze, dropping the hoof clippers. "NO!" She shouted, covering her mouth. "He really isn't…" She almost whispered out of embarrassment, her head down as she reached for the clippers and began to clip at the horse's hoofs again.
"Why do you get so embarrassed when I mention him, hmmmm?" Her voice raised in pitch as she wiggled her eyebrows.
Sally began to get flustered. "Because you always think that we're an item! He and I have been friends since I was 6 years old; and that is all we are!"
"You like him." She said bluntly. "Admit it."
"I-I do not!" She shouted, the blush on her face turning a more brilliant hue of red.
"C'mon, Sally, tell the truth!" Eleanor shouted.
Sally fidgeted with her fingers. "Okay…I guess I do…"
"That's all I needed to know." Eleanor said as she finally walked away, a smug look plastered on her face.
Oh, that's right; I've gone on a mission with a man named Marcus. Wait, is this Marcus the same guy? I tried to quit over-analyzing it and laid my head down for a minute.
When Eleanor was out of sight Sally walked over to me. I raised my head up to look at her. "Good thing she didn't notice you!" She sighed as I came out of the pile of hay, shaking the excess off myself. "That was my stepsister. To be honest, I hate her guts…and she hates mine…" Sally went over to a bin filled with chicken feed. "I'm going to feed some of the other animals." She filled a small bucket with chicken feed and began walking with it towards the chicken coop next to the horse barn. I followed her. When she realized I was following she whirled around to look at me. "You want to come with?" She asked me. I sat down in front of her and wagged my tail. "Okay, but no eating the chickens." She pointed a finger at me out of jest. We entered the coop and she began to make a clicking noise. "Breakfast time!" She shouted, chickens flying around from shelf to shelf in excitement.
I looked at them all and craved more food, licking my lips out of hunger. Sally giggled. "You know what I said, right? No eating the chickens! They aren't ready to kill yet." She looked earnestly at me. "You're still hungry, aren't you?" I looked at her and huffed in hopes that she'd get the hint, noticing a chicken eating right out of her hand. "You can try some of this, if you'd like." She held some of the feed in her hand. "It probably won't taste good to you, but you could always try it." I walked gingerly towards her, afraid of scaring her or myself. I finally got to her outstretched hand and took a little bit of the feed into my mouth, eating it slowly to taste it. It tasted okay; a little bit like oats and corn. She put a decent pile of it in front of me. "There you go." I ate slowly from the pile as she continued to feed the chickens. She looked back at me as I tried to stay strong and steady with my standing, even though it was difficult with my bad paw. I looked up to see her concerned face. "Maybe you should lie down? It probably isn't good for you to stand. Please lie down."
I lied down, feeling the pressure release from my joints. I then laid my head down on my paws as I let out a groan of comfort. She laughed and walked over to me, patting me on the head. She got down on her knees to be more at eye-level with me. "You remind me of a pet husky I used to have." She stared into space and then closed her eyes, smiling as she reminisced. "I had her since she was a pup. Oh, how we were inseparable, going everywhere together…" She opened her eyes and looked down in sadness. "She died two months ago of old age and I still miss her so much…" In the little bit of light in the chicken coop I saw a lone tear slowly trail down her cheek, the drop gleaming against her fair complexion. She stood up. "That's enough talking out of me…" She patted me on the head again. "I had better finish these chores." Suddenly there was a knock at the door of the chicken coop. She stood up and began to walk over to the door. "Oh! Hi Marcus!" She said happily. "What brings you here?" I looked over at the person she was speaking to and realized that it was in fact the same Marcus I went on a mission with.
Interesting…
"Hey Sally!" He grinned. "Did you forget about drama rehearsal today at 4pm?"
Drama rehearsal? I pondered as I watched them interact.
"No, I haven't forgotten." Sally smiled.
"You're going right?" He nudged her with his elbow. "Or has the wicked witch taken away your privileges again?"
"I don't know." Sally said. "I want to go. I mean, I wouldn't miss it for the world!" She looked down at her feet, and then back up at Marcus, rolling her eyes. "But she is extra cranky this morning…"
"Extra cranky?" He repeated. She nodded. "That's not a good sign…" He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "When's Curtis coming home from his mission?"
"Around dinner time tomorrow." She answered. "You don't have to call him Curtis. You can just call him by my dad, if you'd like."
He guffawed nervously. "I guess I'm used to formalities because of being a swordsman…"
She laughed in return and winked. "You'll still be my friend, distinguished swordsman or not!"
"And I wouldn't have it any other way!" He grinned as he looked at her. There was a short moment of silence. Marcus broke it by speaking again. "Say, how about I help you with some of your chores?"
"Oh! W-well, you really don't have to do that, Marcus…" Sally said while blushing.
"Nonsense!" He chuckled, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I'm more than happy to help my best friend!" The two of them beamed at one another.
"Thanks Marcus…" Sally said shyly.
"Don't mention it!" He winked. "Now, what chores still need to be done?" He looked over her shoulder into the chicken coop and took in a ragged breath. "Do you know that there's a…a…a w-wolf in the c-coop?" He grabbed Sally and moved her behind him. "I'll protect you!" He shouted as he drew out a sword.
"Marcus!" Sally yelled. "It's fine! I know he's here! He won't harm us; I promise."
He turned around to look at her. "Why in the hell is there a wolf in the chicken coop?!" He shouted, the panic on his face growing.
"It is alright." Sally said, gently pushing Marcus away with her finger as she walked towards me.
She stretched out her hand to pet me as Marcus started fidgeting. "Sally…don't…touch it…Sally; I'm worried about you! Sally! Sa-"
She patted the top of my head. "See? There is nothing to fear." She began to scratch the backs of my ears with her two hands and I panted because it felt nice. She stopped and I shook my head after feeling a chill go down my spine. She turned back to Marcus and beamed. "He was badly injured; if you look close you can see bandages on his stomach and one of his paws."
He looked at her with confusion. She finally resolved to walk over to him and grab his hand. "H-huh? W-what the heck?" He said, obviously a little scatter-brained. She led him over to me.
"Pet him." Sally said to Marcus.
She let go of his hand and he sighed, a strand of his red chin-length hair flapping by his face. He brushed it aside with his hand, making his blush all the more noticeable. "I d-don't think it's a very s-smart idea to be doing this, Sally."
She laughed. "I don't know what you're so concerned about, just pet the poor creature!"
He stretched out his hand to me and as I raised my head he flinched, pulling his hand back out of instinct. I wagged my tail as he tried again, finally petting me on the head. "He isn't bad?" Marcus questioned. "He actually seems…friendly." He seemed to realize the wrong in his beliefs when it came to me.
"That's because he is." Sally looked at me, her mouth turning up into a smile.
Marcus looked back at Sally in awe. "You're such a kind person."
Sally reddened. "Thank you, Marcus."
"It's something that makes you so wonderful, I-if you, you know…um…if you don't mind me saying…" He stuttered, his face the hue of a tomato.
She giggled. "I don't mind at all. Thanks again for the compliment."
"You're welcome." Marcus replied, expressing tenderness with a friendly smile.
It looks like Marcus likes Sally! I'll have to tease him about that if I have another mission with him! I chuckled on the inside. I then realized one problem with that statement; I need to figure out how to get the shards back and change back into a human before I can go on another mission! Crap! I'm definitely in a pickle…
Marcus spoke to Sally again. "Hey Sally, maybe you should take care of some of your inside chores? I'll wrap things up here." He grabbed a shovel. "I assume the pig pen needs shoveling? I'll go do that." He started to walk outside of the chicken coop with the shovel.
"Wait!" Sally shouted. "You don't really have to do that!" She started to run after him with another shovel. I slowly followed to continue to listen to their conversation. So far he didn't respond to her request. "At least allow me to help you!" She stopped and sighed, taking in the fresh air and the sun embracing the field with light.
Marcus turned around, the shovel slung over his shoulder. "I've got it, Sally. It's really dirty work, anyway." He turned once more towards the barn that held the pig pens. She started to walk towards him. "I've got it!" He shouted without turning around, pretending to sound annoyed. "Let me help you so we can get these chores done and you can come to practice for once!" He went into the barn and shut the door before Sally could get in. Sally stopped in front of the door and set her shovel down against the outside wall. She then quietly opened the door and went in, not shutting it. I went in as well without them noticing. He went to open one of the pig pens when she hugged him from behind. He froze, dropping the shovel on his foot out of shock. He stood there with his mouth agape, trying to stifle a cry of pain. "Owww…" He whispered.
Sally tittered. "Thanks Marcus; you're the greatest friend a girl could have." She stopped hugging him and left the barn. I stayed in the barn long enough to snicker in my head over what had just happened.