Reincarnated

Chapter 10: Excerpt from Zelda's Diary

We ran from dark servant's halls to the artificial hills, never looking back until we reached the town. After our resumed anonymity, dwarfed under the clustered buildings lining the streets, I turned to Link. "Where do we go now?" He hoisted his hands from his knees and set off in front of me.

The path he chose followed along similarly to the one from the night before. His eyes fixed on the decrepit brick of the unkempt building he'd stopped at. His pace slowed as we approached. He stared back into that nothing, steps still slowing. I saw the corner of his eye transfixed, then flick to me behind him. I must've reminded him of our intent, and his pace again quickened.

He showed me to this shop that he said he was familiar with. The ceilings were low and windows were sparse. Light flooded the parched store when we opened the door. Link went first, and I followed. The shopkeep lowered the newspaper he was reading and stared at Link as he stepped in. "Come in, friend," he said in what I assumed to be the warmest tone he could come up with. A deceitful smile, sagging hair, and the desolate interior warned me of his presence. "Come, what can I do for you?"

There were a few stalls laid out across the walls. Some with cloth and textiles, some with gear and equipment, and some with fruits and vegetables. There was a sign in front of those claiming "fresh," but they looked old and sunken. As I searched for any tools we'd need, Link perused the dubious produce.

"Oi, don't I know you?" The shopkeep asked in his gnarled voice. Link tilted his head to him, and I saw the sight of the other spark remembrance in each of them.. "You're Arn's boy, aren't ya?" Link hid his face again from the man. "I knew you looked familiar," he laughed. "Say, I haven't seen him in a while, how's he doing?"

"I don't know." Link responded. He picked up a bag of apples and inspected them, but the intensity of his glare suggested his thoughts elsewhere.

"Oh, that's right..." The shopkeep seemed to trail away before picking up the paper. We continued to search around for anything we'd need, before again in his gnarled voice. "Oi, did ya hear? Says here the prince's gone missing with some knight." I looked at Link, but he said nothing, choosing a different bundle of apples. "There's a reward out for him too. Pretty substantial amount too, I could probably get off to Lurelin for that much."

I grabbed the nearest thing, a bundle of arrows and placed them onto a bedroll I'd found. Items in hand, I went to Link. "We should go," and he took his apples to the front. The strange man at the front smiled his awful ugly smile, and his sagging hair followed his head as he looked up from the newspaper. "Prince Zephyr MISSING" I read on the front and knew we had to leave as soon as we could.

"This it? Odd selection I think." He began totalling our things on a small ledger next to him. "You don't live with Arn any more, do you? You went to go join the guard." Link nodded. "You on duty?" He asked. "You got your sword there." He looked down to the hilt and the Triforce insignia on its end, its origin unmistakable. Link pulled the cloak I'd given him over it. "126 rupees." I opened up my bag and searched through it for the right amount. I could feel his eyes fixated on my hands as they dug through everything. "Or maybe it said the prince was with a guard, not a knight. That seems more likely here in town, doesn't it?" I found my wallet and looked up into his eyes, taunting and mocking, seeming yellow and distasteful in the light. "Said they're last seen wrapped in their little cloaks, just like these." I slid the rupees across the counter as he pulled at Link's cloak. "You'd be just about done with training now, wouldn't you? A real official guard now"

"Let's go." I said to Link as I grabbed our things.

"And who might you be?" The keep smiled his awful, deceitful smile at me again.