Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda game series or the characters.
Hello, folks! Thanks again for tuning in! Sorry it's been a while since I've updated! Thanks so much to all of you who have followed/reviewed/favorited my story! I really appreciate it!
Without furter ado, here's chapter 17!
Chapter 17: Continuing the Journey
The next day Sally and I packed up what little belongings we had with us and each received fur coats from Yeto and Yeta to stay warm. We were headed down the mountain, because after some exploring with Yeto I realized that there was nothing else to see here.
Over the next two weeks, we traveled throughout Hyrule, running into many monsters along the way. What's strange is that we still haven't found a single clue of their source. Where were they coming from? Who, or what, is controlling them? We didn't have a clue where to go next; we had been everywhere already...That is, everywhere on the surface. The only place left to look was up.
I sat up from my sleeping bag, ready to continue the adventure, and hopefully not coming out empty-handed this time. I looked over to my left at Sally, still sleeping soundly at 6 in the morning...I watched her for a minute as she tossed and turned, mumbling words I couldn't understand...at least I think they were words... Her face scrunched and she opened her mouth. "Momma..." She said sleepily. "Can you sing me that song again, Momma?" A big, childish smile came on her face. "I want to hear it again!" She paused for a minute. "I know! Let's sing it together, Momma!" I closed my eyes to listen.
Hush, my little angel...don't you cry.
Might you feel better if I sing a lullaby?
This one will be like none of the rest.
It's just for you, one that's so blessed.
Life is wonderful,
there's so much ahead of you.
Don't let the sad days
Take away your faith.
Hold on tight to
Those who love
And care for you
They'll be your angel
Just as you are mine.
I opened my eyes after hearing her sing. God, did she have a wonderful voice! My attention turned to her again when I heard her giggle, but she was still asleep. "That's my favorite song, Momma!" She whispered with delight. "I want you to be around forever to sing it with me!" She buried her face into her pillow and was fast asleep again. I didn't want to disturb her while she was having dreams of her deceased mother...but I couldn't help watching her...I face-palmed myself while reddening. "Link! Quit it! You liking a girl leads to nothing but trouble, and you know it!" She rolled over and opened her eyes. I quickly looked away before she could see that I was staring at her again. She saw me and smiled. "Morning! You're up already?"
I stretched my arms over my head. "Yeah."
"Oh..." She said. There was silence for a moment. "How long?" She questioned.
"Long enough to hear you singing in your sleep!" I snickered.
She gasped and covered her mouth. "You did?"
"Yep!" I grinned.
"You did not!" She contested.
"Yes I did! I heard it with my own two ears!" I chuckled.
"Singing in my sleep?" She said with confusion. "Was I really singing in my sleep?"
"Do you think I'd lie about that?" I replied.
"Well...no..." She blushed.
"It's not like it sounded bad or anything...it was just funny..." I paused, my face beginning to feel hot. "...You know...singing in your sleep..." I cleared my throat and turned my attention to the triforce birthmark on my hand.
"Well, that's a good thing." She shrugged and let out a little chuckle.
I felt myself redden more, so I stood up, eager to get away from her for a minute. "I'm going to fill my water canteen."
"Okay." She answered. I went over to my satchel, took my water canteen out of it, and proceeded to walk out of the tent.
As I walked through the woods to a small pond nearby, my mind wandered. These past couple of weeks have been fine; it's not like she and I haven't been getting along or anything...In fact, rather than fine, it's been nice getting to know Sally more. During this whole trip we've spent many nights sitting around the campfire and getting to know each other more. We have become close friends from it. The only problem is that the stronger our friendship becomes, the more I like her. I knelt by the edge of the pond and unscrewed the cap of my water canteen. How selfless and kind she is, but witty too...and those eyes; like emeralds! But I can't ask her out...I won't...
I dunked my canteen into the pond, the pockets of air still inside of the container bubbling underneath the water. I took it out and screwed on the cap and headed back to camp. Part of me wanted to ask her out on a date...or at least admit to her that I liked her. I slapped myself in the face. "Get a grip! This isn't the first girl you've liked and it certainly won't be the last!" Unless of course, if she's that person that I'm supposed to "spend the rest of my life with." I rolled my eyes. "Fat chance of that!" I thought as I entered the tent.
She looked up when she heard me come in. "Made it back in one piece, I see!" She laughed and turned her attention to her music journal.
"What is this, the fifth one you've made in two days?" I teased as I looked over her shoulder.
"Nah, I don't churn them out that fast!" She laughed again. "Though it'd be nice if inspiration came that easily."
"What are the lyrics to this one?" I sat next to her to try and see better.
She sat her journal on her knee that was closest to me so we could both see. The lyrics consisted of someone yearning for people to live peacefully amongst one another, of better days. "...A rainbow after the storm" was one of the lines. It was very poetic. "What do you think so far?" She finally asked me.
"I think the wording you used was perfect." I grinned.
"Thanks." She smiled, dipping her quill into the ink and continuing to write. She stopped after a minute and looked at me. "I should stop writing; we've got a mission to do!" She held up a fist. "So what's the plan?"
"I thought we'd go to the City in the Sky and see if we can find any more clues." I answered.
"Sounds good!" She said with excitement in her eyes.
We began to pack up camp. As we were taking down the tent Sally looked up at the sky. "Hey!" I shouted to get her attention. "You're not excited to go up there, are you?"
She looked at me and smiled widely. "Maybe..." She took a pole out of a section of the tent. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to take me home first."
"Hmmm? How come?"
"I just want to check in with my dad before we head up there, just to tell him that I'm okay." She started to pick up the poles while I rolled up the remnants of the tent.
"No prob. We can do that." I told her.
"Thanks." She said. She took the last pole in her hand and started to carry them over to their case, but before she could reach it she tripped on a twig and dropped them all on the ground. "Geez, I'm a klutz!"
She knelt down and began to pick them up one-by-one. I knelt down to help her but apparently she didn't notice because we reached for the same pole, and just so happened to brush hands. We both jerked our hands back. "Oh!" We both exclaimed while blushing. "Sorry...you can..." I gulped. "You can grab that one."
"No...go ahead, i-it's okay." She replied with a slight stutter.
"No, you." I insisted. "I'll grab a different one."
"Okay." She took hold of it and I took hold of another one. We split the load and took the poles to their case.
"That was awkward!" I thought to myself as I sighed and grabbed the case, attaching it to Epona's saddle with some rope.
We made it back to Eldinaire Village by nightfall. Sally looked fairly relieved to be home. "This may sound funny, but I'm excited to sleep in my own bed for once!" she said with a laugh while looking at me.
"I'll bet!" I laughed along. "You've been away for a while."
"But it's been fun." She smiled at me. "Despite the few scary moments!" We both laughed.
"It's been fun for me too." I replied.
We came up to the stables and I hitched Epona there. Sally also hitched up her horse. (yes, she still had it with her!) We then went up to the front door of the cottage. Sally knocked 5 times with a rat tatta tat tat, and I finished it off with a knock knock. We looked at each other and high-fived. Curtis opened the door and smiled. "Well, look who decided to show up!" He chuckled. "Come in!" He moved out of the way to let us both in. "Glad to see you're both here in one piece." He took hold of my hand and shook it, giving me a comradely side hug. He hugged Sally tightly, and then sat down on a chair as we sat down on the nearby sofa. We proceeded to tell him everything that has happened in the past 3 weeks. The whole time we were talking his chin rested on his hand. When we were finished he frowned slightly. "So...it sounds like you two have been through a lot, but there haven't been a lot of clues about the monsters?"
I nodded. "Yeah. We've looked all around Hyrule, and we've run into plenty of monsters, but we always run short on clues about how they got here and why they're here."
Sally nodded in agreement. "We're planning on searching the City in the Sky, but I told Link that I wanted to come see you and check in first. That way you'd know that we're both okay."
His eyes began to get a little misty. "You know me well, pumpkin." He stood up and walked over to Sally, who also stood up. He took her into another hug. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, Papa." She muffled into his shoulder.
He pulled away. "But I knew you were in capable hands." He grinned at me and I smiled in return. "After all, he is the hero!"
"And a good hero he is!" Sally exclaimed. She looked at me, and then back at Curtis. "Where are mother and Eleanor?"
"Shopping." He answered. "But they should be back anytime."
Not even a minute later I heard a knock at the door. Curtis opened it and there were tweedle-dumb and tweedle-dumber, carrying huge bags of goods. When Eleanor saw me she dropped her bags. "Well! If it isn't the hero!" She batted her eyelashes. I discreetly rolled my eyes. "Sally's home, right?"
"Yes." I said.
"Well, since she's home, we might as well get her started on her chores." She beamed wickedly.
"Hold up, Eleanor." Curtis said. "She's been gone for a while and needs some rest. Besides, she and Link won't be staying long."
"Oh, really?" She said with a hint of spite laced on her tongue.
"Yes." He said. "They haven't finished their mission. They just came to check in and are staying the night, and then they leave tomorrow morning."
She glared at Sally and me momentarily while Curtis wasn't looking, and then she smiled.
Strangely, Sally's mother was quiet, giving Curtis a kiss on the lips and then uttering something about "retiring to the bedroom," and then she did just that. Later that night Sally went to her bedroom and I went to the guest bedroom to stay for the night.