Seven Years parts 19.75 and 20
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
“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
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?”
“
“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
“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…
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
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
“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
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
“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
posted by Czar at 12:17 PM
3 Comments:
Altogether now: EXTREMELY DEPRESSING. I know, I know, a lot is happening very fast, but it just is very sad. And Impa didn’t really get a word in edgewise… and yet that whole exchange, albeit brief, was very meaningful. I’m seeing an interesting contrast being set up between Sheik and Link: prima facia it seems that both are heroes out for the good of the land, but inwardly, they both seem to only want one thing – and that “one thing” is actually two different things. Sheik wants Link, and Link wants glory. Perhaps she will have another revelation (a la Keef’s death) of becoming the very thing she is fighting? I mean, she basically told Link exactly what Impa told her… but she’s not applying it in a universal sense. She wants Link to fight for something more solong as that something more is her. It’s all a very interesting paradigm.
Side note: why didn’t Toran catch the Malon reference that the fairy made? Seems like this would have been a turning point, or would at least plant a seed of thoughtfulness… just so he has a better idea of what is going on in Sheik’s realm…
Not everything is overtly stated... maybe Toran did catch it... who could say? well, me, but hey, thats the way of it...
The interchange between Impa and Shiek is good, although I was expecting a longer section for their "discussion". I was expecting more to "come down" (as you would say), but I guess this is more of a surprise and thus better to keep the reader interested. I liked the line "lost in a void" - very descriptive.
Generally I am frustrated with Shiek. She does not seem to be acting as Princess Zelda should. In my mind, she is like Link - she is a princess in name only as link is the Hero of Time in name, but his character is not as upworthy. She seems to be selfishly desiring to follow "her cause" without considering how her actions affect others. I know that assumption of her character is not true across the board, but I hope, soon, she will take on the true nature of a selfless leader.
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