Preview for upcoming short story

Here’s a preview of a story that I’m wondering if I want to finish. Basically it about a team of “treasure hunters” who capture rare items for museums and rich collectors. The thing of it is they grab them in alternate dimensions reached through literature. That’s right, every book ever written is actually a doorway to another world. The things our heroes pinch are notable items from those stories (you know, those strange important items that seem to just disappear, like the White Witch’s stone knife, Sauron’s One Ring, Dorian Grey’s painting, the asthmatic man’s bowl of Pees, the fish’s skull caught by the old man, ect)

Let me know what you guys think, and if it’s worth finishing.


A Literary Caper

The box came down gently on the desk. The sharp grey eyes of the man sitting behind it looked up at the deliverer.
“And this is?”
“You know what it is, Conrad.” He replied, gesturing down at the package. He was on the short end of average, with a thin but strong stature. His thick, dark, hair was pulled back, excepting a few strands falling down over the left side of his face. A wry grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Have I ever let you down?”

Conrad gently pushed the top of the box off. Reaching in, he carefully pulled the skull. An almost boyish grin spread over his old face, masked somewhat by his maliciously manicured white beard.
“Ulrich’s skull… well done. Though I must admit, this wasn’t that hard of a find, Czar.”
“Course it wasn’t… but that just makes it all the harder to beat the competition.”
“Book Hunters make an attempt at the skull?” Conrad frowned, “they have been making more runs then normal. I think there are about to try and take the title of the greatest collection in the universe.”
“Nothing we can’t handle, Conrad,” Czar said, straightening and crossing his arms across his chest, “We’ve built the best collection with the Book Hunters snapping around… they won’t get by us yet.”
“And why is that?”
“Research. The Book Hunters play on guesses, or follow us and then try to beat us to the punch at the last second. In contrast, most of our treasure hunting is done in the library before we even hit the field, as you know well.”
“Speaking of which, you need to talk with Dr. Legg.” Conrad said, still gently looking over the skull.
“We just got back from a run, Conrad…”
“Yes, but you’ll like this…” the grey eyes flashed up to glace at Czar, before returning to carefully place the skull back in its box, “he has uncovered something remarkable. In a H.G. Wells novel actually.”
“SciFi? You know I can’t resist that,” Czar said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“Then go see Dr. Legg. He will get you the details.”

*******

“And there’s your target.”
“You’re joking…”
“Sorry, no such luck,” Dr. Legg said, a wry grin on his craggy face.
“I don’t get it. Why hasn’t this been done before? It seems very simple…”
“There in lies the problem… Two other attempts have been made at the Time Machine, and both times the missions inexplicitly failed. I’ll get you the full reports later, so why don’t you and the team hang tight for a day or two until I get them done,” adopting his ‘I-should-be-scandalized’ face, Dr. Legg turned back to his office door, “maybe you could go find Amy a mother, no?”
“Whatever doc,” Czar replied, smirking as he turned to go.

As door slid shut to Dr. Legg’s office, Czar stretched expansively in the long white hall before picking his duffle bag up. Main Reality Earth in the year 3045 was quite a disaster zone. Humanity had long ago devastated the planet, completely destroying its ability to sustain life. The population of Earth now lived in four large, self-sustaining, communities; New Rivendale, Neo Dn’i, Camelot Prime, and Zanrutha. No one, in over a hundred years had ever been the outside to the surface of Main Reality Earth. Czar let his hand reach out and run on the white plastic wall next to him as he walked towards his housing section of Zanrutha.

Two days until Legg’s official report… Czar thought as he approached the telepad, guess that’ll give me time to have some fun with Amy.
Stepping into the pad, Czar felt his body break down and warp across the massive compound to one of Zanrutha’s housing blocks. His feet had barely come back to him before he heard a bright voice call him.
“Czar! Czar! I knew you had to be back!”
The very sound of her ringing voice brought a smile to his face. Turning, Czar let his bag slip from his shoulder, and spread his arms.

Her blue eyes sparkled as she ran down the hall towards him, blond ponytail streaming out behind her. Going down onto one knee, Czar grabbed up the girl, enveloping her in a loving hug.
“I saw Butch walking to his living area, so I knew your team had to be back in!” her thin arms squeezed him back.
Standing, Czar took her hand into his, slinging his bag over the opposite shoulder.
“So, how have things been?” he asked as the two started walking towards their living quarters.
“Lonely,” Amy replied, a tint of sadness in her voice, “but you’re back now, so things are gonn’a get better, right?”
“Thing are going to get better… gonn’a is not a word,” Czar said, smirking slightly.
“You knew what I meant,” Amy said, adding a playful whine to her voice, “so just answer my question.”
“Don’t you have any friends from the academy?” Czar had been wondering how Amy was connecting, and was hoping this wasn’t a confession that his fears were confirmed.
“Well, sure, but it’s just not the same. Are you going to be in for awhile this time, like you promised?”
Czar winced slightly, and swallowed nervously. This was going to be difficult.
“Sorry Amy, not this time… Some things are going down and my employer won’t let us take too long a break.”
Amy’s cute face fell somewhat, and he heard her sigh.
“Don’t worry, work is just really bad right now… I will be around for your birthday, ok?”

Amy smiled back at him, but Czar knew it was only halfhearted. By this time they were standing in front of the door to their living quarters. Smiling back at Amy, Czar pressed his hand against the biometric sensor next to the door to allow the computer to validate his identity. The door slid open, and Amy darted into the entrance hall. Czar was about to follow when he heard a voice behind him.

“I wondered why Amy didn’t come back by my quarters, nice to see you back Czar.”
Czar turned to see Leanne walking down the hall towards him. Czar smiled, tossing his bag through the door.
“Hey Leanne, sorry about that, you know Amy can be kind of impulsive…”
“Kind of?” Leanne laughed, stopping a few feet in front of him.
“Well, ok, very impulsive… thanks again for looking out for her while I was gone.”
“No problem… how’d things go?” Leanne asked, pushing back a stray strand of her short blond hair.
“Oh, it’s quite a story this time… no pun intended… why don’t you come inside and I’ll tell you it over a drink of something?”
“Um, sorry, I really can’t,” Leanne said, turning to walk back towards her room, “I’ve, uh, got something in the oven…”
Czar sighed as he watched her retreating figure. Leanne was friendly, but always seemed hesitant of doing anything. He wondered if maybe he was coming across too strong…

“So Amy,” Czar said, finally stepping through the door into his apartment, “how was your week? You had a game on Tuesday, right?”
He watched the blond head nod as Amy darted back in the hall holding a bowl of fruit.
“Yeah, we won, again… Leanne gave us this fruit; she said it comes from Neo D’ni… some kind of stuff we don’t grow yet over here in Zanrutha.”
“Oh, where’d she get it then?” Czar asked, selecting one of the long yellow fruits.
“Tyler gave some to her… he handles imports you know,” Amy picked one out herself and started to demonstrate how to peal and eat the fruit. Czar pretended to watch intently, not wanting to ruin Amy’s enthusiasm. Truth be told, he had eaten bananas in countless alternant realities, but he knew this was something new and exciting for the young girl.
“What about school; did you have a quiz or any assignments?”
“Well,” Czar noticed the way Amy’s eyes dropped to the table, blatantly avoiding him, “I turned in a story on Wednesday, but Leanne wants me to turn it in again…”
“Turn it in again?” Czar asked, guessing that there was more to the story then that.
“Well, she said to turn it in typed, but I forgot and turned it in written,” the deep blush that covered Amy’s face was her general tip-off that she was shading the truth to fit her own perception of reality.
“You forgot?” inquired Czar, careful to keep his growing skepticism out of his voice. Amy wasn’t really a bad child, and he didn’t want to darken their first meal together in awhile with quibbling over minor shortcomings.
“Well, just get it to her by when she wants it. I’m sure she will dock you some for it, but that will just help you remember next time right?”Amy’s bright smile more then convinced him that his choice had been a good one.

If You See Her, Say Hello

If you see her, say hello, she might be in Tangier
She left here last early spring, is livin' there, I hear
Say for me that I'm all right though things get kind of slow
She might think that I've forgotten her, don't tell her it isn't so.

We had a falling-out, like lovers often will
And to think of how she left that night, it still brings me a chill
And though our separation, it pierced me to the heart
She still lives inside of me, we've never been apart.

If you get close to her, kiss her once for me
I always have respected her for busting out and gettin' free
Oh, whatever makes her happy, I won't stand in the way
Though the bitter taste still lingers on from the night I tried to make her stay.

I see a lot of people as I make the rounds
And I hear her name here and there as I go from town to town
And I've never gotten used to it, I've just learned to turn it off
Either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin' soft.

Sundown, yellow moon, I replay the past
I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast
If she's passin' back this way, I'm not that hard to find
Tell her she can look me up if she's got the time.

Seven Years part 21, 22, and if you want 22.5

This is longer... but hey, all the schools I teach at were on fall break, and so was I...

With that, Link turned and darted off to the temple door, leaving Shiek alone. Sighing, she turned to retreat back to Gordon City.

Gordon City was relatively cool, but Shiek still would have given anything to be able to pull off her mask and hat. She wasn’t sure how exactly sure how to view the situation between Link, Malon, Toran, and herself, and it was starting to drain at her. She wanted to talk to Impa about it, but at the same time the hints Impa had dropped back at Lon Lon lead Shiek to think she wouldn’t like whatever Impa had to say about the subject. She felt isolated and alone in a way she never had. Over the past seven years Toran had always been there for her to talk to if she needed to just ramble about her doubts or concerns, but even if this had been something she could talk to him about she had sent the young swordsman away. Shiek felt depression return to haunt her as she jogged down the path to the village. It was odd; before even at the darkest time she never used to get this down, but recently everything seemed to be piling on. Toran had once told her that the night got darkest just before dawn, but this was the first time the spunky leader had felt the darkness close in so oppressively. And just thinking of the phrase only served to remind her that she would probably never hear Toran say it again.

Sighing glumly, Shiek slowed as she entered the village, wondering what her next move could be. Link had moved quickly through the Forest Temple, but the Fire Temple would require rescuing the citizens of Gordon City and the slaying of a dragon in addition to the act of waking a sage; it was unlikely this task would only take one day…

The village was dark, the sun having slipped behind the horizon about an hour ago. There were a few lights here and there, but it seemed as though most of the village was either asleep or vacant. Shiek knew the construction team was gone to Greudo Valley, and the members of the crew constituted a good three fifths of the village’s population. A stiff breeze was blowing, and the evening was actually quite cool; in a few more hours the night might even be likely to remind the people of Hyrule that spring wasn’t quite here yet. Shiek paused in the open grassy center of the village, leaning back against the tree that had served as a bed for her many times on nights so many years ago. Things had been so much simpler as the slightly rambunctious princess-in-hiding girl of her early teen years. Impa had taken care of her, Toran had been just a fun guy to play with, Scela had been her little brother, and the handsome and older Draq had been her first secret crush… well, it was before she knew him very well. Her mind flitted back over those days as she sank down to lean against the tree. Closing her eyes, Shiek felt the breeze play with her long bangs.

“I used to always find you here…”

Shiek cocked an eyebrow somewhat airily, a small soft smile pulling at her mouth.
“Well, that was some major accomplishment Impa… I only came here when I wanted you to find me. If I wanted to be scarce I’d head-”
“To the hidden top room of the windmill on the hill,” Impa finished, tone betraying a slight smirk.
Shiek slitted open her left eyes to glance up at Impa, surprise plain in her voice.
“You knew? But I always thought-”
“I know what you always thought… all teenagers seem to forget one important fact that every child knows.”
“And that is?” Shiek asked pushing herself straighter against the tree.
“Adults know everything. I suggest you relearn the lesson Shiek.”
Looking up at Impa, Shiek pulled down her mask, revealing her lopsided grin.
“You’re right of course, Impa… you’re always right. Hey, I’m not really doing anything, care to join me? It seems like it’s been forever since we talked.”
Impa seemed to be considering, then nodded and sank cross-legged next to her.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” the shiekah asked looking off towards the village entrance.
“Narue Impa,” Shiek laughed, letting her hand drift over to squeeze Impa’s, “Haven’t you ever heard of small talk? Toran’s right, you seriously need to learn to chill!”
“That’s what Toran says about me, eh?”
“Uh-huh,” Shiek nodded, still grinning broadly as she folded her across her stomach and slid down to a more lounging position against the tree.
“You know,” Impa began, an uncharacteristic hesitancy in her tone, “if you and Toran agree about so much, then maybe-”
“Impa,” Shiek sighed, rolling her eyes heavenward, “we were having a moment… did you have to start the Toran lecture now?”
“I am merely concerned about you princess… Seeing you smile and laugh like you did when thinking about Toran has become a rare thing over the past few days.”
Shiek stared down at her hands. Toran’s green headband was still wrapped around her wrist like a bracer, and the sight of it caused a slight tremor of pain. Everything was so screwed up. She really did feel more at ease around Toran then Link, and Toran had been her closest friend over the long years of exile. But Link was Link. He was the one she had always dreamed of, the one she had waited seven years for; she loved him…

Didn’t she?

Suddenly a twig snapped somewhere behind her, and she felt Impa tense. Her guardian’s head turned to identify the source of the noise, and when her body relaxed, Shiek figured the visitor was not a threat.
“Oh Impa, hey… I didn’t recognize you at first…”
Oh no, that’s Toran’s voice… please Impa, I don’t need this right now!
“Good evening Toran, how are you finding your new duties?”
He must have been coming up behind the tree on Impa’s side, because she couldn’t see him yet. He obviously didn’t know she was there either; or else he was just ignoring her presence.
“Boring as anything… Shiek’s gang may have gotten into trouble now and then, but at least we had a fun time doing it,” and then he was around the tree smiling his boyish grin down at Impa, “I guess I’m attracted to lost caus-” he faltered mid-word as his eyes caught her. A strange look came into his hazel eyes, and his arms fell from their animated waving down next to his sides.
“Uh, hey Shiek…”
“Hi Toran,” she forced a weak smile and nodded slightly.
Shiek guessed the awkward pause that followed had to have lasted at least three full minutes.
“So, um, how’s Malon?” Toran asked, instantly wincing after the question.
“She seemed fine,” Shiek replied, praying hard to every goddess that the dark was hiding her blush.
There followed another pause that Shiek figured had to be at least twice as long as the last one.
“So what exactly have you been doing?” Impa quarried; her tone did not belie that she was picking up on the two teens’ discomfort at all, but Shiek knew the woman was observant enough to see exactly what was going on.
“Oh, uh, just most of Keef’s old jobs,” Toran managed to stammer, risking a quick look up from his feet to Shiek before his eyes darted over to Impa, “nothing major, though I did find out how Gannondorf always seemed to know what our team was doing… Migrid has all our reports on file, and Keef would have had daily access to them. It seemed as though Ganny was reading our minds because in a sense he was. Kind of funny that just as we gained our first tactical edge on him the team sort of breaks up, huh?” he chuckled nervously, shifting his weight from the right foot to the left.
“Well, uh, you two look like you were having a talk or something, so I’ll just move on…” Toran said after a slight pause, gesturing vaguely in the direction of nothing.
“Must you? Please join us for a bit Toran,” Impa said patting the ground next to her.
Shiek was in shock. She wanted to send Impa a ‘why-don’t-you-die-and-rot-in-the-pit’ glare, but was able to smile and mechanically nodded at Toran. Toran clearly read her initial reaction though and shook his head, a twinge of hurt in his hazel eyes.
“I’d hate intrude where I’m clearly not wanted,” he said, a hint of bitterness in his voice, “I’ll see you guys around.” Turning he darted off into the darkness.

“Impa, I’m gonn’a frickin’ kill you, goddess damn it! What the hell was that all about?”
“You and Toran need to talk, princess, and since you will not do it yourselves, I am compelled to force the two of you together,” Impa replied dryly, “and never let me hear you curse like that again. Your father would be mortified…”
“Don’t talk to me like you’re my mother Impa; you’re only my nurse you know,” the second the words had left her mouth, Shiek would have given anything to expunge them from the history of the universe. Impa’s only response was to rise to her feet. Her face was shrouded in the darkness, so Shiek couldn’t see if her words had caused the horrible effect she feared they had. Springing to her feet, Shiek stepped in closer, holding out a hand.
“Impa, sorry,” she pleaded, a quaver in her voice, “I-I-I’m just a stupid little girl! I didn’t mean to say that!”
“Just as the arrow cannot be recalled after it is loosed, your highness, so the words one speaks have eternal repercussions,” Impa said, turning away from Shiek’s pleading hand, “are you sleeping in your humble handmaid’s house tonight?”
“Impa, I-”
“Please, majesty, I desire to sleep. Are you planning to bed in your servant’s house?”
“No, I’ll sleep in the tree…” Shiek whispered, eyes beginning to brim with tears.
“Then if you will excuse me, most Excellency, I will return to my house. If your servant can be of any use, please send for me.”

Shiek watched her turn to go, and swallowed hard to keep back a sob. She knew she had stung Impa very, very deeply with her words, and it felt worse then all the beating she had ever received at the hands of Gannondorf’s minions.
“Please Impa,” she whispered, barely audible, “I love you, ok?”

Impa’s step faltered slightly, but she continued up the path to her house without turning. Taking in a sharp breath that was actually more of a sob, Shiek sprang up into the tree, pulling herself up onto the larger branches. She carefully stretched along a branch, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. Sighing, she clasped her hands and let her eyes look heavenward.
“Naria,” she whispered, so quietly she could hardly hear herself, “you blessed me with the honor of keeping the essence of your wisdom… So why do I keep saying the stupidest possible things?”
Closing her eyes and sighing again, Shiek allowed herself to drift off into sleep.



Toran gasped in pain, hand sliding from the grip of his katana. The blade in his chest wiggled sickeningly in rhythm with his now faltering heart. Shiek wanted to scream, but the sound stuck in throat. She extended her hand out to him, but he seemed to be sinking in the ground, the room beginning to swirl around her. Toran hand flailed towards her, and his mouth worked, croaking out a strangled cry.
“Princess?”
She desperately grabbed at him, feeling a flood of panic rush over her. Somehow he slipped through her fingers as he sank through the ground. Toran gave a final cry as his face slipped beneath the stone floor.
“Princess Zelda? Are you awake?”

Shiek’s eyes snapped open. She was breathing in ragged gulps and sweat drenched her body. She was totally disoriented, and almost tumbled off of the branch she was using as a bed. A chuckle came from somewhere below her, and Shiek looked over to it as she tried to steady herself on the branch.

Impa was standing looking up at her, arms crossed and wry grin pulling at her mouth. Shiek slipped down out of the tree to land in front of her guardian. Impa watched intently as Shiek stretched her arms above her head, yawning slightly.
“I used to find you and Toran asleep together in this tree back so many years ago… I was worried that you might fall in love with him.”
“I thought you wanted that to happen,” Sheik mumbled through a yawn as she rubbed her eyes.
“Well, at the time I had hopes of seeing you with young Keef…”
“Goddess Impa,” Shiek said a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth, “just when you about had me re-convinced that you know everything…”
“I had only known Toran for about two months at that time, princess,” Impa said, cocking an eyebrow, “I had yet to witness the incredible quality that young man possesses.”
“I see… oh, and Impa, thanks for coming out here and being so easy with me. I know that after what I said last night, you would be perfectly justified in never giving me a second thought. I love you tons, and thanks for loving an arrogant, stupid little girl like me.”
Shiek stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Impa, pressing her head into Impa’s chest. As Shiek expected, Impa shifted her weight slightly uncomfortably and coughed nervously. Impa never had been very expressive physically, but Shiek knew how much her guardian secretly enjoyed receiving hugs from her ward.
“Well,” Impa said, trying her best to sound stern and hold back the smile that was shining through, “I haven’t actually forgotten it yet, however I guess since you are truly sorry we can try to put it behind us…”

“Mmmm, Din…” Shiek went on, yawning a second time, “what time is it, anyway?”
“Nearly afternoon, princess,” Impa replied, gesturing at the sun, “I did not wish to awaken you earlier; you seemed to be in need of rest.”
“Yeah, probably right… I wonder when Link will finish off the Fire Temple…”
“He entered the village on his way down from Gordon City shortly after dawn.”
“WHAT?!?”
“He struck off in the direction of Zora Fountain. I overheard him tell Navi the fairy that they would pick up a prescription for the giant Gordon’s eye drops there.”
“But, but, that means he liberated the Gordons, and killed the dragon, AND awoke the Fire sage all in one night!”
“So it would seem, princess.”
“Din, Impa… he’s moving fast… really fast… Gannondorf is surely taking notice of all this; do you think he’ll try something soon?”
“His apparent unconcern at the Hero’s progress is indeed perplexing. I have been giving thought to his motive this morning.”
“And?” Shiek asked, wondering what the veteran tactician had come up with.
“And nothing comes to mind.”

Shiek sighed, but shrugged unconcernedly.
“Well, we’ll get it soon… maybe we’re just getting lucky and he’s gong fast enough to be under Gannondorf’s notice. I’m gonna head off to see if Link needs any help around Zora Fountain.”
Impa looked slightly disappointed but nodded in agreement.
“Very well, princess… I have several tasks that need to be completed, so I will confer with you later. Please check in with me at my house tonight, if you will…”

Shiek had just left the village when she felt the telepathic pricking at the back of her mind that signaled someone was trying to get in touch with her.
“Your Highness? Are you busy, or do you have some time to chat?”
“Oh, hello Saria. I can talk now, but please, call me Zel; all my friends used to call me that.”
“Oh, well thanks! I am ever so happy to be your friend Zel… we can be like sisters! When all this is over we really should have a sleepover and talk about all kind of things.”
Just what I need, thought Shiek, careful to hide the thoughts from the Forest Sage, a friend permanently frozen at age 13 to remind me how old I’m getting…
“Anyway, Darundia is the Fire Sage, but he has not mastered the whole ‘talking with my mind’ thing, so he asked if I would send you a message for him…”
So, Shiek thought, we were right about Darundia being the Fire Sage. Well, given that he IS king of the Gordons it wasn’t THAT hard a thing to guess…
“He said to tell you that Link was going to leave off awakening sages long enough to gain the Biggeron Sword of the Gordon Tribes. Oh, and Rauru says to head to the Temple of Time because Link will probably be headed there and you need to tell him about the Master’s Sword… he said you would know what he meant.”

Shiek sighed. She had known all along Link could use the Master’s Sword to return to his original time of seven years ago, right when he had pulled the Master’s Sword from its resting spot after watching her flee from Gannondorf’s bloody takeover of Hyrule Palace. She had really been hoping it would not be necessary for Link to travel backwards through time, but it seemed as though Rauru thought differently.
“Thanks Saria… I’ll talk to you later, ok?”
“My pleasure Zel; and please do!”

Naure, that kid is so polite it’s almost annoying, Shiek though as she pulled out her harp. Pulling a few notes of the Prelude of Light, she felt the ground slip away. Temple of Time it is, she thought, somewhat resentfully.

The Temple of Time was always cool and slightly oppressive. Shiek could still remember the seemingly endless ceremonies that she had been forced to attend during her youth in the large stone cathedral. If she closed her eyes, Shiek could still see the members of the royal family filling the sanctuary, standing crowded in rows, looking blandly up at High Priest Uthraus as he chanted out the ceremonies. She walked over to the spot where she had always had to stand, in the front next to her father. She remembered her cousin’s Jillian’s 1st blessing ceremony quite vividly. The opening prayer alone had taken nearly an hour. It had been more then any eight-year-old could endure. After the stunts she had pulled that day, she hadn’t been able to sit for a week. She had heard that the Zora royal families employed whipping boys to take the punishment vicariously for their children; Hylian children had not been so lucky…

“Why are we here again?”

Shiek turned at the sound of Link’s voice just outside the temple door. Smiling, she sank back into the shadows and waited for the Hero of Time to enter.
“WE ARE HERE BECAUSE RAURU SAID SHIEK WOULD PROBABLY BE HERE WITH A MESSAGE FOR US.”
“How does he know that?”
“Because he asked me to come…” Shiek said, slipping out from the shadows behind Link.
This time, Link didn’t even jump. Turning, he let a grin spread over his face, waving his hand.
“Hey Shiek, how’s it going?”
“Not bad. I see you liberated the Gordons and awakened the Fire Sage.”
“Hey, don’t look so surprised man, I’m a hero remember? Besides, that dragon was a fruitcake, hit him with the Gordon Megaton Hammer and down he went. Wish I had had this on me though,” with that Link unsheathed the sword at his back, only instead of the legendary Master’s Sword, Shiek saw him brandish a large glittering blade literally longer then she was tall. The Biggeron.
“Check it out man! I got this puppy from the Gordons and it is a thing of beauty. It cuts a Moblin clean in two with one stroke!”
“THE BLADE IS 5 AND ONE HALF FEET IN LENGTH, FOUR BY ONE INCHES AT THE BASE. ITS CUTTING COMPASITY IS TWICE THAT OF THE MASTER’S SWORD, ACCOMPLISHED BY ITS UNIQUE GORDON DESIGN. IT WEIGHS A HEFTY-”
“Din, Navi, he gets the picture ok?”
“But it’s so big,” Shiek said, reaching out to touch the blade, “how can you even swing it?”
“Oh, it’s not as heavy as it looks,” Link said offering her the handle.

Shiek took the sword, and nearly gasped at the weight of it. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how must strength it would take to whirled a sword that heavy in the ways combat demanded. Grinning at her obvious difficulty with the massive blade, Link took it back and easily flipped it back into the sheath at his back.
“So, what’d you with the Master’s Sword?” Shiek asked, a twinge of worry in her voice. She could just see it discarded at the foot of a hill; the most sacred icon of Hylian legend rusting on Death Mountain’s peek.
“Oh, I’ve still got it… this Kohria bag has magical properties,” Link reassured her, displaying a small bag, “it can hold a virtually unlimited amount of items, regardless of size. Of, course in the heat of battle you don’t want to have to be digging through everything in this bag, so I keep about three items in addition to my primary sword out at any given time.”
“That’s good, because you will definitely need the Master’s Sword later.”
“We’ll see…” Link said, patting the handle of the Biggeron over his shoulder, “but I can’t think of single reason why I’d switch out…”
“Gannondorf can only be killed with the magic mettle that comprises the Master Sword.”
“Ah, good point…” Link laughed, a wry grin on his face.
“There’s another reason too,” Shiek went on, figuring it was time to get on with her lesson, “If you ever return the Master’s Sword to its pedestal here in the temple you can teleport back to the exact time you first pulled it seven years ago…”
“Why would I do that?” Link asked, slight confusion in his sapphire eyes as he cocked an eyebrow.
“Well, Rauru thinks that it may become necessary at times for you to completely explore some of the temples we know less about.”
“Namely?”
“Namely the Spirit Temple. We’ve never been able to penetrate very far into it.”
“Why’s that?” Link asked, a bit of skepticism in his voice.
“Well, it’s Gannondorf’s childhood home and his foster parents still live there.”
“Ganny’s got parents?”
“Yeah, two power hungry, psychotic, bitchy witches that raised him…”
“That sounds about right,” Link said, nearly doubling over with laughter.
“Anyway,” went on Shiek, smiling under her mask, “while you’re here I should teach you the Prelude of Light. It’s a warp song like the others I’ve taught you, and it will come in handy if you ever need to get back here quickly.”
“You got a gay poem for this one too?”
Shiek sighed; this was getting old.
“No, and I don’t really appreciate the way you keep insulting my poetry… I spent a lot of time working on it.”
“Yeah, and that’s the difference between you and men who are straight…”
“Hey,” Shiek growled, an angry fire starting to burn in her mind, “I sick of you implying I don’t do anything around here… who do you think was fighting off Gannondorf while you were taking your divine seven year nap?”
For the first time ever, Shiek saw Link’s sapphire eyes darken. His jaw clenched, and she noticed his hands ball into fists as he straightened slightly. She had obviously just stung him pretty badly, and frankly, she didn’t care one bit.
“Obviously no one…” his voice was a dangerous growl, low and ominous, “from the terrified Kohria, to the wasted Gordons, to the frozen Zoras, I have only found one beautiful thing left in this hell of a future, and you weren’t doing anything to save her either…”
The words smacked her like a physical blow. Link couldn’t possibly knew he was hitting at her worst insecurity, but she was just plain mad by now. And besides, he had just mentioned her. Her voice growled out a tone that matched his perfectly as she began to discreetly fall into a fighting stance.
“I lost my home, family, friends, everything, trying to help this country survive; and now you’re gonna finally wake up and tell me I have fought hard enough for you? If you don’t think I’ll kick your ass right here, hero, you’re dead wrong…”
“Bring it punk,” Link growled, eyes narrowing, “it’d be great to see you actually throw a punch for once.”

That did it. Shiek’s left hand shot out, aiming to connect the heal of her palm with Link’s diaphragm. She knew Link would block it, but the blow was mainly to set up the vicious right hook that was going to be delivered to his chin.

Link didn’t even try to block the punch.

Leaning forward into the blow, Link let his chest hit her hand before Shiek had extended enough for there to be any real power in the punch. He had grabbed her wrist with both his hands as it struck him, and he continued to drive his body forward, holding her hand against him. As the leg he was driving off of reached full extension, Link shoved off with his hands, transferring all his momentum to Shiek and sending her flying backwards. She didn’t so much feel as hear her body hit the stone wall of the temple. It was a sickening crack that left her willing to bet a few ribs were broken. Simultaneous with the crack, and before she even had time to open her eyes, Shiek heard a metallic zing that instantly crescendoed into the dull thunk of a blade imbedding into the wall next to her head. Link’s aim had been precision incarnate, and Shiek could actually feel the steel of the blade against her cheek. Breathing in ragged gulps, Shiek slitted open her eyes to look down the long blade of the Biggeron, past the outstretched left arm that held its haft, and into the pricing blue eyes that exuded complete distain.

Link stared down at her for an awful moment. Shiek was unable to hold the gaze, and her eyes fell to the floor. With a grunt of disgust, Link tugged his sword free of the wall and sheathed it at his back in one fluid motion.
“I don’t have time for this,” he growled, turning and stalking for the door, “if it’s all the same to you, I’m going to go see if there anything I can do for the Zoras frozen under the ice, and then I’ve got a real enemy to fight...”
Shiek watched leave the temple, already feeling her eyes begin to brim.

“HEY!”

Shiek looked up in shock to find Navi floating down to where she had fallen back against the wall. Sniffing hard, she tried hard to choke back her tear and sound tough.
“What do you want, stupid fairy?”
“Oh give it up…” Navi said, for the first time toning down her pricing voice, “Link might be an idiot, but that doesn’t mean I am… I knew from the moment I saw you that you were a girl, and I’m willing to bet the name ‘Shiek’ is about as real as you gender… I can only think of one person desperate enough to avoid detection that they’d stoop to becoming a member of this macho, testosterone-filled, shallow, arrogant, chauvinistic, hormone-crazed gender. Wouldn’t you agree… Princess Zelda?”
Sighing, Shiek nodded, and held out a hand. Navi accepted the gesture of peace, and sat down on Shiek’s extended fingers. Though at a glance fairies appeared to merely be balls of colored light, they had a distinct, albeit extremely small, humanoid shape under the light. The ‘ball of light’ illusion was created by glowing energy from a fairy’s rapidly flapping wings, so when Navi came to rest on Shiek’s finger the princess was able to finally get a good look at Link’s aid and friend. Shiek guessed Navi’s cute feminine figure to be about seven inches tall, and nearly weightless. Her skin was pale as death, as were all fairies, and her wings, hair, and eyes all glowed with a light blue sheen. Her wings were delicate and translucent, like a dragonfly’s and they flapped occasionally in twitchy sort of motion. Her strange, unearthly blue eyes looked back into Shiek’s and obviously read the sorrow there.

“I wanted to apologize for Link…” her voice soft, almost caring, “he’s not generally this way.”
Shiek sniffed back her returning tears and gave a sarcastic grunt.
“What, it normally takes longer for him to try to kill someone?”
“No,” Navi sighed and shook her tiny head, “he’s just under a lot of stress, your majesty. He sees the darkness all around him, and he blames himself; you have no idea how deep your comment about his seven-year absence cut him. He has always felt that if he is not the one doing something that it won’t be done right, and these dark times have only made him feel as though he has let Hyrule down for so many years. Also, your highness, it may be of some encouragement to know that you are part of his bad mood.”
“Me?” Shiek was surprised to hear this, but Navi did spend a lot more time with Link then anyone else.
“Yes you, thought Link doesn’t realize it’s you. He is worried sick about Princess Zelda; he has been ever since waking up. I think he expected to see you awaiting him at the end of the Forest Temple, or catch some sign of you about the village, but as things stand, he is beginning to fear you might be captured, or worse yet, dead. He has always kept a special place for you in his heart, my lady, and is distraught at the thought that you might be in danger.”
“Well,” Shiek said, pushing a little straighter against the wall, “he sure doesn’t care much for Shiek…”
“Oh, he likes you well enough, but recently he’s been complaining about how slow things are progressing and you must admit that he doesn’t actually get to see most of the things you do. As I said, Link, for all his qualities, really is an idiot. If he doesn’t actually see Shiek killing Gannondorf’s minions then he will probably never believe you are actually helping,” sliding off of her finger, Navi darted up to eye level and began hovering, “I need to get back to Link before he gets too far away… Epionia runs much faster then I can fly, so I have to catch up before Link gets back to the horse.”
The blue ball of light that was Navi darted towards the door, but Shiek had one last question.

“Hey, Navi, what’s between Link and Malon?”

Naïve hesitated in the door, then turned around to face Shiek.
“Fairies might not take mates per say, but even I can see what’s going on there…” she said before turning to dart out the temple door. Groaning, Shiek pulled up her knees and propped her elbows on them, cupping her aching head in her hands.

That had most certainly NOT been the answer she was looking for…

Wake me Up When September Ends

And they did… Teaching, classes, students offering me money for higher grades (ok, so that doesn’t happen that much) working with the student newspaper (they do like my little comics) the whole nine yards… but the most important thing of all is coming down; Houston is in the Divisional Championship. For those less knowledgeable about the greatest sport in the universe (simultaneously humanity’s greatest achievement) the Baseball post-season consists first of a first round of divisional champions play in best of five sets. There are three divisions and a wild card (forth best team) in each league. This year Houston will square off with Atlanta for the Divisional Championship. In all likelihood St. Louis will win their divisional games (they are playing the worst team to make it to October) and face either Houston or Atlanta in the League championship. This is where we all root hard for Houston to take first Atlanta and then St. Louis to the school house. Then it comes; the cream-ah-la-cream (yes, make fun of me Allis), the whole nine yards, all the Tacos on the Fiesta Platter, the all-out, no-holds-barred, best-of-seven, slugfest, That’s right, the one, the only, World Series.

Anyone who was just surfing blogger and happened on my spot now probably thinks I am a total nut job. In fact, my teach-addicted-to-baseball-with-extremely-hot-girlfriend persona is probably reminiscent of Fever Pitch. This, however, is not the case. The teacher in Fever Pitch teaches math… 7^th graders in my class correct my math… am I like him? You do the math, cause frankly, I suck at it. (and before a parent flips out, I teach reading, art, and history… so your child is safe… well, his math is safe at any rate, you’d better double check the other things when he gets home)

There is a crisp fall feel here in Dayton, so I had to post… keep up the good work everyone (pathetic humans) and I will write soon!

Seven Years parts 19.75 and 20

This jumps right out of the last section, as will the next after this... sorry, but it's either posting kind of chopped, or making you wait another 5000 words worth of writing

Malon whirled and stalked towards the door, leaving Shiek standing mutely in the barn. Shiek knew she had overstepped her bounds, but could think of nothing to say that could possibly redeem herself.

We’re acting like immature little girls, both of us… surly we could have worked that out, right?

As if in answer the barn door slammed shut, leaving her alone once again. She had definitely seen better days then this one…

Shiek sat in quite for a bit, thinking about what had just happened. Toran, her closest friend, probably hated her by now, Malon, her only girl friend, probably wanted her dead, Draq and Scela were both confirmed dead now, and, in all honesty, Link did not seem overly worried by the fact that he hadn’t seen her yet. She felt isolated and alone; lost in a void that gripped her heart. She slowly walked towards the barn door, eyes staring blankly at the ground in front of her.

“If you do not mind my saying so princess, that probably was not the best course of action…”

Shiek whirled to see Impa appearing from the shadows at the back of the barn.

“But Impa, she’s, I mean…”

Impa walked closer, face masked somewhat in the dim light.

“I was not just talking about the ranch girl, Zelda. You are throwing away everything… What is the point in saving Hyrule if there is nothing left worth saving?”

“You just don’t understand, Impa,” Shiek murmured, turning away. Tears were threatening to spill, and she wasn’t in the mood for an Iron Maiden lecture.

“Princess Zelda, look at me,” the command was rough, but there was obvious feeling in the voice. Shiek knew what Impa was going to say, and in her heart she knew Impa was probably right, but she couldn’t stand to hear it. She started walking towards the door again.

“Princess, please, come back…”

“Link will be headed off to the Fire Temple, I need to be there for him…”

“Princess, if Link and Malon love each other then you have no right to come between them!”

Shiek might have turned to argue, but she felt the tears begin to force their way out. Pulling out her harp, Shiek quickly played the Bolero of Fire and warped to the Fire Temple.

****

Toran whirled, arm lashing out in a fluid motion. The Poe disappeared right as his blade passed through it, an insane cackle of a laugh echoing from the air it had vanished into.

Migrid had given him Keef’s old job, which included keeping the entrance of the village clear of Poes. Poes were notoriously slow and combat ineffective, so there wasn’t any real danger in the job. However, they were also notoriously hard to kill, as Toran was finding out.

The Poe reformed, beginning to bring its arm around to club Toran with its lamp. Toran easily delivered two strokes before the Poe could finish its attack, cutting it into a puff of purple smoke. Toran sighed as he watched remains of the Poe dissipate. This wasn’t exactly job satisfaction. Re-sheathing his katana, Toran turned to look over Hyrule Plain. Truth be told, no job would give him satisfaction now that he was outlawed from Shiek. He watched his shadow stretch out over the field and figured it was probably around five in the evening. It was then that he saw the rider. It was a beautiful reddish brown war charger, galloping majestically towards him. The rider reined in his horse next to Toran, and a familiar face grinned down at him.

“Hey there, man, what’s up?”

Toran gulped down a sarcastic response and managed to force a grin.

“Just keeping Poes out of the village… how are things going Link?”

“Great man, totally awesome. I just got this flipping tight horse, and was given a little reminder of why I am doing all this.”

“Oh?” Toran asked, not really listening to Link’s words.

“Yeah, there really are so many good people here in Hyrule, and we all need to do our part to protect the weak, right?”

“Guess so,” began Toran turning towards the village, “and on that note, I should probably report back on the Poes I killed…”

“Oh yeah, I shot four on the way in here,” he said, brandishing his bow as way of explanation.

“Got it, uh, where are you headed now?”

“Gordon City. I want to see if anyone there can give me the lowdown on what’s up,” Link gestured towards the odd smoke that was still swirling around Death Mountain’s peek.

“Well, it’s just recently been sacked by Gannondorf’s army… Shiek and I made a sweep afterwards, no one is there anymore,” Toran said, wondering if there really was anything Link could do to help the seemingly hopeless situation.

“What! When did this happen?!” cried Link, shock plain on his features.

“We don’t know for sure exactly, but most likely it was sometime yesterday morning; we were blindsided by it too… apparently a traitor revealed a hidden path up the mountain that Gannondorf’s forces used to attack…”

“A traitor?”

“Don’t worry,” Toran said, dark anger creeping into his voice, “he paid dearly for it… I saw his body before they buried him, and I can assure you his passage was a painful one.”

“Good…” Link paused in contemplation, obviously in doubt as to his next move.

“HEY! LISTEN!” rang out a high clear voice, causing Toran to nearly jump out of his skin. Sighing, Link cocked his head to one side, allowing a glowing fairy to zip out from beneath his cap.

“Yes, Navi… was there something you wanted to say?”

“I STILL THINK WE SHOULD HEAD TO GORDON CITY. THERE MIGHT BE A CLUE AS TO WHAT WE SHOULD DO NEXT!”

“Yes, ok, goddess, must you shout so?”

“WELL, YOU DON’T REALLY SEEM TO LISTEN IF I JUST TALK.”

“Whatever…” looking back to Toran he rolled his eyes, smirking, “women, doesn’t matter what the race, you still can’t please ‘em…”

Toran chuckled despite himself, and Navi bobbed angrily.

“LOOK LINK,” she began, slight exasperation in her voice, “IF YOU HONESTLY THINK ANY WOMAN WILL EVER LIKE YOU WITH THAT ATTITUDE…”

“What’s stopping me from getting women is the annoying fairy flying around me that won’t shut up,” Link growled, glaring at the blue figure.

“MALON SEEMS TO FIND ME CUTE,” Navi continued, something akin to a snigger in her voice. Link turned bright red, he spluttered slightly before finally finding his tongue.

“Navi, what was that I said about fairies should be seen and not heard?”

“MEANY,” Navi pouted, zipping back under Link’s cap.

“Goddess, I swear either me or that fairy is gonna die by the end of all this,” Link muttered more to himself then Toran. He swung down off the saddle and nodded to Toran.

“Well, if I don’t go, she’ll never shut up…” Link began, a brightness in his voice that belayed the fact that he really had no dislike of the little fairy, “plus it’s the best idea I’ve got… see you around, you’re doing some real good here man!”

Toran watched Link run into the village, and sighed. He really wasn’t that bad of a guy, all things considered, which was almost a shame. If Link really had been a jerk, Shiek might have eventually gotten past him. Sighing, Toran shook his head.

Don’t you get it, idiot? She was quite clear that you are NOT wanted, regardless of what happens with Link, sighing again, Toran started again towards the village entrance. He had only gone about a step before the sound of another Poe’s insane cackling rang out behind him.

Another one? No wonder Keef was pissed off so much…

******

Death Mountain Crater held the location of the Fire Temple and, in a strangely appropriate twist of fate, it was always very, very hot. Lava bubbled in a vast lake that surrounded the jut of rock that the temple was built on, radiating heat up in scorching waves. Death Mountain Crater was hot enough that only Gordons, Lizardmen, and a few other races could actually survive for more then a few minutes. Regular Hylians, like Link, could only travel in the Crater and temple if they wore a specially made Gordon Tunic.

Princess or not, Shiek was just as much a Hylian as Link, Toran, or Indigo. She also did not own one of the very rare and extremely expensive Gordon Tunics. It followed that she could not wait by the temple for Link to appear. Instead, the by now very depressed leader sat in the shadows of Gordon City’s throne room. As she waited, Shiek found herself unable to focus on anything.

Impa thinks Malon and Link need to be together? What about me? Doesn’t what I need count for anything? What about what Toran needs, Shiek, you ever stop to think of that? Sheik shook her head, trying desperately to clear it, shut up, shut up shutupshutupshtupshutup SHUT UP!

“HEY, YOU THINK THAT ODD STATUE MIGHT HIDE THE DOOR?”

The words jerked Shiek’s attention back into cavern. The sound had come from Navi, who was darting around the hidden entrance to the bridge to the Fire Temple.

“Navi, if you think there’s a door hidden in this carven, would you please just say so instead of dropping these ridiculous ‘hints’… You’re here to help me, so it’s ok if you just say ‘Look Link, here’s a door’.”

Link walked over to the statue and grabbed it firmly. Shiek watched him strain at the post, grunting slightly as he dragged it away from the wall. He looked good in the reddish-maroon Gordon tunic, she decided, it augmented his blond hair nicely; not to mention it was slightly tighter across his chest then his normal green one had been. Shaking her head, Shiek smiled. She needed to focus on the job at hand, but just the sight of Link helped to lift her spirits slightly. Shiek quickly pulled out her harp and warped to the temple entrance to await Link.

She didn’t have to wait long before Link showed up, whistling as he approached the temple entrance. She dropped down silently behind him, and took a step towards his broad back. Link took a few more steps, as though he didn’t notice Shiek stealing up behind him, then suddenly stopped, and whirled, Master Sword flashing out. Shiek leaned back, allowing the blade to whip by, inches from her nose. Link’s blue eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly returned his sword to his back.

“Shiek! Look man, I really would like to avoid killing you, but if you keep sneaking up behind me like that you will eventually get a few inches of steal in you, ok?”

“Sorry,” Shiek replied, chuckling slightly, “but you just look so cute when you’re flustered…”

“Cute?” Link blushed as red as the tunic he wore, “look, Shiek, I don’t really care if you’re gay and all, but I kind of wish you wouldn’t talk about me that way…”

“Hey, just playing to your perceptions,” she said, smiling broadly under her mask.

“Well, just so long as you’re only joking…”

Shiek couldn’t help but laugh at this. If he only knew how much she really wanted to grab him tightly and say it all again, he would probably be freaked. But, of course, it might be different if he knew she wasn’t male.

“Anyway,” continued Link, turning towards the Temple, “I just need to jet inside here and free the Gordons… sorry, but the whole ‘awaken the sage’ thing is going to have to wait for a second.”

Shiek was already beginning to feel the effects of the heat, and did not think she actually had the time to stand and continue this line of discussion.

“Well, before you go, I wanted to show you something-”

“Is this another of your songs?”

“Yes,”

“Do you have something gay to say about this one too?”

Shiek sighed rolling her eyes heavenward in frustration.

“Yes, I mean no, I mean, Din just LISTEN ok?” recomposing herself, Shiek recited her lesson on the Bolero of Fire.

“Over time, the bonds of friendship can grow and strengthen, and the flame of friendship can burn into the fire of passion… The Bolero of Fire is a song dedicated to friendship and the power of comradely; listen to it and remember the friendships you share…”

Even as she rattled off the lesson, she couldn’t believe she had written it. Why had it not sounded so cheesy when she was practicing it years ago in the cave?

“Shiek, dude, I gott’a level with you… That’s gayer then the last one…”

“Uh, yeah, sorry,” Shiek pulled some of the hair that hung over her face back; it normally didn’t bother her, but by now it was drenched with sweat, “I wrote all of these descriptions years ago when I was kind of going through a poetry kick… I never really got the chance to re-write them because Scela-” she suddenly realized both that she was rambling and Link was smirking knowingly at her, “what?”

“Nothing… nothing at all...” Link replied, still smirking, “you gonn’a teach me this song or what?”

Even through the heat, Shiek felt her blush. Quickly pulling out her harp, she straightened and prayed desperately that it had held its tune in the extreme temperature of Death Mountain Crater.

Link picked up the tune after just two tries, which the by now very hot Shiek was extremely grateful for.

“Well, I have to get going Link, good luck with the temple…”

“Thanks, but I seriously wish you would join me. These kind of things are actually a little fun, and I’d like to get to have you along… you know, get to know each other a little better.”

Shiek nearly growled in frustration. Why hadn’t he asked this about the Forest Temple; she would have considered that no matter how ticked off it might have made Impa. As it was, she seriously needed to leave the crater and get back to Gordon City.

“Sorry Link… I’d love to, but I don’t have a Gordon tunic like you, I’m cooking in here. I need to get out, like now. I see around though,” she added hopefully.

“Not likely. I seriously need to move quicker… I been helping out all these people, which is good I guess, but it’s distracting from my main goal, right?”

“Not really,” Shiek replied. When Link gave her a confused look, she continued.

“Your quest isn’t just awakening the sages or helping to dispose of Gannondorf; it is to help save Hyrule.
Yes, those two things are perhaps the largest and most flashy of that end goal, but the other things are important to, you know?”

Link looked thoughtful for a second, then nodded.

“Yeah, you’re probably right… catch you later man!”

With that, Link turned and darted off to the temple door, leaving Shiek alone. Sighing, she turned to retreat back to Gordon City.