Fan Fiction Friday: The Man Behind the Masks – Part 29b

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“Just tell me what the Gossip Stone said, damn it!” Yasei huffed.

Sweat gathered at the base of my spine. I took her hand and kissed it. “There’s nothing to tell, my dear, I swear. I’m just tired. You know how weepy and grumpy I get when I’m tired.”

“That isn’t it,” she said, wrenching out my grip. “There’s something you’re not telling me.” Then her eyes pinned me down. “But am gonna find out.”

I spun around to Impa and tucked the Mask of Truth under my arm. “Thank you, I’m delighted to accept this into my collection. Now it’s high time we took our leave.”

The Sheikah leaned lazily against the wall with crossed arms. “In a hurry, Mask Salesman?”

“I’m a very busy fellow,” I replied.  Yes, before I lose the King’s fickle favour again, my thoughts added.

“I’ve heard word from the castle. There’s a new wagon waiting in town – it’s all yours.” Impa’s voice almost purred.

“What?” Yasei froze.

“A wagon made by the King’s master carpenters. Your last one was destroyed by the Gerudo, wasn’t it?”

Oh no, don’t say such things. How can we possibly turn down that? “We don’t need it,” I said.

“Are you kidding me? That’s a free wagon. You earned it fair and square.” The wrinkles on Yasei’s forehead twitched. “We’re going to collect it.”

My smile strained the corners of my lips. “You’re right, it’s my prize. My prize to claim or reject as I see fit.”

“Did Bongo Bongo drum all the sense out of you? Give me one good reason. You know how important this is to me – to us,” she corrected.  “Don’t you wanna travel anymore?” Her face fell. “Or you changed your mind about…It’s that collar, isn’t it? You still have a thing for Kavia.”

“No, no, no, don’t be ridiculous,” I spluttered, “jumping to conclusions like that. My love, I haven’t changed my mind about anything.”

“Then why?” At this moment, she reminded me of a contortionist. Toes pointed towards the village entrance, body half twisted towards me, it shook with restless energy.

Even as kids, navigating a tiff like this usually resulted in Yasei storming off. Confident in the knowledge that it was all my fault. I could never understand her insistence of being in the right. I would apologise, eventually, for upsetting her, but not necessarily for what I’d been accused of. But for all my magical powers, I couldn’t impose my thoughts into the mind of another.

I want to protect you.

In the end, I scrambled for any response. A throw away question. Looking back, the wrong question. “Can’t you just trust me?”

“You don’t have the best track record,” Yasei grumbled.

I couldn’t argue with that. Rather than keeping the cards close to my chest, I’d stitched them to my skin.

“Please, we should get back to the mill. Goodness knows the mischief Kilton is getting up to.”

She rubbed at her arm. “Alright, alright, but we’re talking about this later.”

As we walked away, I could feel a set of red eyes boring into my back. The General would likely have a most interesting report for her King. In that cold moment, I realised that I could no longer hide the fact I was a magician. Too many had seen. In a way, I felt relieved with things out in the open. Then again, not all the peoples in Hyrule would welcome such news. The Interlopers had shredded the reputation of magic. Maybe it’s my purpose to restore it, I thought. Yes, perhaps that’s what Mother meant.

“By Farore,” Yasei cried out.

When I peeked inside the mill, a disaster zone greeted me. Precious grain littered the floor amongst tell-tale paw prints. Pictures were askew. Piles of books had jumped from their shelves. A bowl lay in pieces with fruity mush smeared across the stone slabs.

On the spinning platform, Guru-Guru clung to a strip of green cloth. At the other end, the large husky growled through clamped jaws.

“You’re nothing but a big softy,” he teased.

Kilton disagreed with that statement, yanking with frightening force. His claws left splintered marks in the wood as he tried to win the tug of war. The muscles of his back strained as the chuckling Hylian finally let go.

“Fine, you can have the old rag – enjoy it.”

The game was over, but Kilton spat out his prize and barked. He bounded over to Guru-Guru demanding tummy tickles and a quick wrestle.

“He never gets tired of that, you know. He’s such a pup sometimes,” Yasei warned.

“Scruffy trouble maker,” Guru-Guru said, but didn’t stop ruffling the husky’s furry chest. His fingers darted away from nipping teeth, before returning to bop him playfully on the nose. “Goddesses’ knows why you keep him around.”

“What a mess.” I took the opportunity to straighten what I could. The rest could be left in the miller’s capable hands. “Look, we’ll be off soon.”

“Oh yeah? Where you going?”

“Kokiri Forest,” I replied.

“Castle Town,” Yasei countered.

Guru-Guru smirked. He stood and pat the dog hairs off his knees. “Sounds like you’ve got different ideas.” Yasei rolled her eyes. “You gotta watch the quiet ones,” he said, pointing at me. “Have a dumb habit of overthinking.”

“You don’t understand,” I said in exasperation.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I gave up trying to understand you a long time ago. I don’t get the theories, the monsters or the wacky wachow. But listen to the lady, will yer?  Go back to Castle Town and check on the shop. It’s not gonna kill you.”

No, he wouldn’t be that merciful, the bokoblin in my thoughts reminded me. I rubbed at the bridge of my nose. This is a mistake; we need to get as far away as we can.  Harassing anxiety jabbed at my insides. Why can’t they see?

“Sweetheart, you can’t keep running from things that might happen.” Her smile was like ointment on a wound. It stung, but was meant to sooth the more applied. “I’m here. We’ll deal with it together, yeah?”

“Yes, of course.” I smiled gently.

No, we can’t.

“Together,” I lied.

On my own.

For the first time, I didn’t know whether the mask I wore was real or fake. I forced down the bile threatening to erupt from my throat.

I’m a horrible person.

Featured Image: Alison Patten

Alison Otwl continues her fan fiction at Zelda Dungeon. She likes reading manga and collecting Japanese wind chimes. Her favorite Zelda game is Ocarina of Time. Check out more of her fanfiction over at: Otwl.