The Guardian Slayer (botw fanfic)

7. Devan

Even an extra soft bed couldn't make Devan have a good night's sleep. He lay awake throughout the night, his mind buzzing with so many doubts and worries. Has Zia reached Fort Hateno? Did she follow my orders? He tossed to the side. What are we going to do about Akkala Citadel? If the citadel falls, all the enemies will soon turn their attention towards other settlements... like... like Hateno. And if that happens... No. The thought was too unbearable. He forced those thoughts out of his head. Just relax.

He managed to get a couple of hours of sleep before he became too restless to stay still. He opened his eyes and got out of bed. Maybe some fresh air will clear my head. Checking the time, it was half past 4 in the morning. A little early for his taste. He wrapped himself in a cloak and quietly exited the inn.

The morning air was very refreshing. He looked up at the sky and admired the sun slowly peeking out from the horizon. Nobody was active in the village yet, so he walked alone. He walked up a small hill to get a nice view of the surrounding areas. He passed by a strange brown structure with knobbled designs on it. Weird, but he figured it was just some odd Sheikah thing. He was so preoccupied with the structure as he walked, that he didn't see where he was going and nearly went straight down a cliff, but someone grabbed him from behind before he could fall. He tumbled backwards in surprise onto the soft grass.

"Careful! Are you alright?" his savior said and kneeled next to him.

Devan took off his hood and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, sorry, I wasn't paying attention... oh... it's you."

The person had also taken off their hood, revealing her long white braid and brown eyes. Her face quickly changed from a genuine look of concern to shock. "You!" She exclaimed. "I mean... it's Devan, right? What are you doing out here?"

"You know, I could ask the same question to you, Akkami." He said crossing his legs. "I couldn't sleep."

The girl stood up in a huff. "You're lucky I was here. Do they not have cliffs where you come from?"

"Thanks for grabbing me, and yes, Hateno has cliffs." Devan answered, surprised at her sarcasm.

Her eyes glinted with humor and he could see a smile tug at her lips, but she quickly furrowed her brows. "Sure, don't worry about it." She said and walked down the hill, brushing past him.

"Hey! Hang on a second." Devan called jogging towards her. "I wanted to ask you something, about what you said in yesterday's meeting. You said you've taken multiple guardians down before."

She kept walking, "Yeah, and?"

He caught up and walked beside her. "I assume you have a battalion. I'm a commander too! Where are you stationed?"

She turned towards him. "Ummm no. I'm not a commander and I don't have a battalion."

He was taken aback. "How then? I've seen guardians before and was forced to flee." He remembered what his old commander used to tell him. If you see a guardian, RUN. If it spots you, you'll be dead in seconds. Seeing one of those things from a distance made Devan tremble in his boots. But apparently a girl his age could fight them.

She looked at him and smirked. "Just lucky, I guess."

With that, Akkami jogged down the rest of the hill, and disappeared into one of the village houses.