The Hero's Squire

Chapter 5

Rat stood before the bedroom's door. He drew in a breath, gathering courage. Pulling the curtain aside, he stepped into a round lobby. A mosaic star, similar to the one in his bedroom, decorated the ceiling. Underneath the star, a blue Zora stood behind the desk, reading a book. He glanced up as Rat entered the lobby, smiled, and returned to his reading.

They really do trust me.

Five rooms branched off the central lobby, each draped with curtains like his own, but the curtains enclosing the empty rooms were drawn back, letting the sunset fall on waiting beds. The fourth room seemed to be an open kitchen. The room had no walls, and a fire crackled under a round stove. Link worked at a counter, sleeves rolled to his elbows, chopping something green on a cutting board. He wore no weapons and his back was to Rat, and to the inn. Onions sizzled in a pan on the stove. The smell made Rat's mouth water.

This was the perfect angle for an ambush. Rat's training highlighted the opportunity, but the thought turned his stomach. Instead, he tiptoed around the edge of the room, heading for a curtain across an arched doorway, which he assumed led outside. It was hard to move silently in these boots-he wished he had his Yiga sandals. But the swordsman didn't turn, and holding his breath, Rat slipped through the curtain.

He emerged from the inn at the top of a flight of wide, curved stairs. The city spread above and below him. It reminded him of the trees in the depths, with their flat, layered pads. Connected by arcing walkways and stairs, the city's tiers climbed above his head to a palace at the summit. Below the inn, the layers continued down to the level of the lake: an intricate network of homes, shops, and round courtyards. Water flowed through the city like blood through its veins, spilling over rims and sliding through canals. Every shape was round except for the Hylian crates tucked in convenient alcoves. Zora mingled everywhere, in all sizes and colors-red, blue, black, gray, green-hundreds of fish people, maybe thousands. The sound of their chatter mixed with the roar of the waterfalls.

Rat cringed. He wished he had goggles for his ears-something to soften the sound. But he braced himself once again and descended the stairs. His inn was towards the top of the city, two levels down from the palace at the top. Five more levels spread out below him. Smoke rose from dozens of dinner fires. The rupees clinked in his pouch. His stomach growled again.

At the bottom of the stairs to the inn, he passed through a round courtyard. A statue rose from a bubbling fountain. Rat recognized the face of the Zora king carved in stone-and the face of the Hylian sitting on the Zora's back, gazing into battle with noble determination. Rat rolled his eyes.

As he hurried down the next flight of stairs, he realized something was missing. He touched his leather pouch, but it was full. In the center of the stairs, he stopped and glanced back at the statue, and felt nothing.

I don't hate him anymore.

Frowning, Rat turned away. He rubbed his chest, remembering the relief as the gloom lifted from his body.

Did Ganon make me hate him?

The gloom was Ganon's magic, and Ganon hated Link above all else.

Was I being... used?

He ran down the stairs, fleeing from the statue and the inn, descending to the third city tier. Blending with the crowd cleared his mind. This tier was less grand, more practical. Shops jutted from the rim of the circular tier, lit with glowing blue crystals. Above the shops, platforms sprouted from supporting columns. A child raced up a twisting set of stairs to her home and barreled into the arms of a fish woman.

The smell of friend fish tickled his nose. Rat followed the smell, keeping himself as small as he could, staying in the shadows. But Hylians were sparse in the crowd, and the Zoras stared at him, fascinated. Not unkindly. Blood rushed into the tips of Rat's ears. He wasn't used to being noticed. He was used to slipping about as he pleased. No one cared where he went, as long as he met his quotas and finished his chores.