I take a step back, putting a hand over my mouth as I feel a burning sensation rise in my throat.
"Ganon, what's going on? Do you know something about this being here?" Zelda inquires, her voice firm.
Ali brushes a hand on Zelda's, lowering her shirt and letting out a labored breath. Her shoulders tense ever so slightly as her shirt grazes over the dark spot of goop attached to her. I turn away, finding it impossibly hard to breathe. I didn't put that there, did I? What I did at Purah's lab wasn't anything relating to that, surely! I couldn't have done that. I wouldn't. Not to Ali.
"Ganon. I just want to know, okay? I trust you. You wouldn't do anything like this. Not intentionally, at least."
The wind blows over us, whispering words I can't quite understand. But they're enough to fill the emptiness of this conversation, as I turn away to avoid any more confrontation. A cold hand plants itself on my shoulder, making me jump and quickly spin back around. Grabbing the person's wrist, I look into their eyes, a kind of animalistic reaction I'd only heard of in children's stories. Ali steps back, looking to the side as she sways a little.
My eyes widen as I let go, latching onto my own hand instead. "I'm sorry-"
"It's okay," She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes.
"I... I think it's my fault- that that's there, Ali, I'm sorry, I..." I trail off as Ali leans in, putting a cold finger on my lips. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks again, but I don't know why anymore. Fear? Embarrassment? It's all a blurred memory right now. My head's spinning with everything wrong I've ever done.
Zelda walks past us, not saying a word. I try to turn my head, wanting to know where she could be going. Zelda's already disappeared when I look for her, so I can only assume she's gone inside to give us some more space, which there was too much of out here. I couldn't call it private time, seeing as we're still in Hateno, but it's possibly the kind of idea she'd had in mind.
"Really, it's okay. It'll go away. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"
"W.. well, I don't know... But maybe something... you've never heard of someone infected with malice before, have you?"
"Well, I haven't heard of a lot of things," Ali sighs, putting her arms around my waist. They're cold, a stark contrast to the comfortable warmth I felt from above. She lays her head on my chest. I put a hand on her back, feeling her body shake softly. Her arms feel bumpy.
I try not to move too much, not wanting to disturb the peace of the moment. It felt like I wouldn't be able to lift my legs if I wanted, anyways. They were heavy, glued to the ground as if my boots had simply become one with the ground. My arms had effectively become glued in place as well. They didn't feel heavy, though. They didn't feel like anything, either. More of just a heap of skin and bones, that happened to be attached to me.
Ali giggles, a jolt of electricity running up my spine as I bat her arms away. "Cut it out! You're trying to make me forget about the problem here, with all that sucking up."
"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't suck up to anyone." She slides out of my grasp, my arms dropping to my sides. Her arms cross as she turns away, kicking at the ground. Her face (now obscured from my view) is directed towards the ground as a pebble is bounced around. "What problem are we even talking about? I can't think of a single problem."
"The malice! On your side!"
"I don't remember seeing any malice on my side. You sure you're seeing things right, Gan?"
"Yes! I'm positive! Zelda even showed me, just a few minutes ago! There's no way you already forgot." I grab at the bottom of her shirt, attempting to lift it up and show her the entire reason we had been out here in the first place.
"Hey!" Ali smacks my hand, pulling her shirt down. "If you want to see me without a shirt on, you could at least wait a bit longer into this relationship, you know!"
"Well-" I pause, feeling the argument I had go down the drain. Suddenly, the realization of the comment Ali had just made hits me. I step back, putting my hands up as I try to explain myself, knowing that this is a possible game-changer for our relationship. "Wait, wait! I can explain. I wasn't going to do... whatever you think I was going to do, swear! I just wanted to show you your side, the one with the malice!"
"Sure you did. You're real smart, you know," She scoffs, rolling her eyes.
"No, really! I swear on Hylia, I had pure intentions."
"Whatever man," Ali mumbles, kicking the pebble she'd been playing with down the cliffside to our right. An echoey 'plop' is all that can be heard once it's gone. "I'm gonna go down to the pond below the bridge, so will you grab me a towel, please? I don't want to go back inside and grab it myself."
"What do you need a towel for, exactly?"
"To go swimming! Or... something, I suppose. Not like it's any of your business, Mister 'I'm Pulling Your Shirt Up'."
"Shut up!" I pull at my shirt, tapping the end of my boot into the ground. "It is my business I know where you are. You can't swim in that pond anyways," I point out, gesturing to the dry rocks and dead plantlife by the edge of the pondwater. "The entire thing's maybe a few feet deep right now. Do you even know how to swim?"
"Yes," Ali nods after a moment. Her confidence suddenly skyrockets, looking at me as she jabs a finger into my chest. "As the 'Lady of Lightning', I can do anything I set my mind to, actually," Ali exclaims, her cheeks puffed.
"Then you can get yourself a towel, and I'll find somewhere better for you to swim." I squish her cheeks back into her face, the air rushing out of her mouth. I put my hand on her head, smiling. "If it's okay... I'd like to come, too. I could teach you to swim if you want, but I'll respect your choice. As long as you don't drown."
"I already told you, I know how to swim! But," Ali pauses, looking away as my hand falls off her head. She kicks at the grass now, unable to find any pebbles. "I guess you could teach me a thing or two, just in case."
"Thanks. You should probably put something on for actual swimwear though," I smile, pulling on her ponytail as her face turns red. "Wouldn't want your clothes getting wet now, would you?"
"I suppose not," Ali says softly. Her eyes shift down for a moment before she sighs, stepping around me. "Let's go get ready."
"I'll be inside in a minute. I need to do something first."
"Oh," Ali hesitates, looking me up and down before shifting her weight from foot to foot. "Alright."
Once Ali is inside, the door swinging shut behind her, I sit down against the stone wall of the house. Her side was covered in malice, yet she acted like it was completely fine after complaining about it hurting. I couldn't wrap my head around it. The idea of something paining her, then it suddenly not, was just not possible.
Then again, it seemed she had a knack for keeping her problems to herself. I think back to our conversation at the stable by the desert. But why would she suddenly switch back to being fine after the problem's been confronted? Was she just trying to keep us from worrying? Or was there a different motive?
Either way, I'd have to look into it more. But I couldn't now. It'd have to wait for later.
YOU ARE READING
Musterion (A Zelda AU)
FantasyTaking place many, many years after the in-game events of BoTW, there are new reincarnations around. The land of Hyrule has changed, yet the Sheikah technology holds true, improving with time. When the king of Hyrule comes to Gerudo Town asking for...