Chapter 15: Gamble

Link and Midna meet more new faces, but this time they don't seem so friendly. But don't always judge someone right away... even if their trying to steal the salami sandwiches you probably won't eat.

As they traveled, and night turned to day, day to night, the grass became rocks, pebbles were brown and gray, spreading across the path, gently, touched only by the feet of who lived there, the mountains grew bigger as it began to feel more and more like they were surrounded by them. It didn't get too close yet, but soon they'd be more enclosed. The skies were always dotted with stormy clouds, and thunder from far off, alike. Although, the thunder seemed to be getting closer and closer each day, and Link was unsure if it was because of how they were drawing closer and closer each day, or if it was coming nearer.

He figured it was probably both. 

The storms were getting closer to greeting Link and Midna. And Hyrule along with that. However, with the two getting more up north, and the gray sky, it was starting to get to a low degree. The cold radiating from the rockiness chilled Link's face, yet when he talked to Midna recently, sweat dotted his forehead and cheeks, the windy, stormy and adventurous air cooling yet choking him with excitement. 

He tried to convince himself it was just how far and how much they were walking...

It didn't work.

But the two friends went onward. They knew by the map Comet had given them, that the mountain was up north, even though they could never miss it. Comet did tell them Stormsky could never, ever fit in a mere map. Even the biggest map. They directed at a steady pace and Link always knew where to go, and a certain star helped. The northern star. It made Link wonder... what would Midna like for Christmas? 

They kept their eyes on the horizon. If ever they became disoriented, it would be merely looking in the direction of the Mountain of Storms, to get them their way back. They both knew they were still a decently long distance away, but it'd been a blast so far, somehow... Even with Link's life on the line. They would always be able to look at the mountain and redirect their course accordingly.

Although, at times, their feet did get tired, and they would have to fight gravity to take tired, slow steps. Link would constantly tell and urge Midna to hide among his shadow, but she denied. Even though she was silent about it, she was determined to be of more help this time around... and be able to be by his side more.

Though sometimes she felt useless with her weak limbs, and that's when Link knew to tell her. At worst, she would snap, telling him not to ask her anymore, but this was rare because she only did it when he was late to it. At best, she'd put on an argumentative pout, but duck under to his shadow.

A few hours into one continuous path, Link paused at a lake, to eat and drink, breathing in the chilly air quite heavily. He slipped out some beverages and food and flew out of his dark shadow. He glanced at her, as he sat down, and smiled kindly at her.

They had to have closed in a few miles, yet the mountain still seemed rather far away. Link pondered how big this place could truly be...? Nevertheless, stopping wouldn't get them closer, but they had to rest, and despite Death getting ready to hug him, he was... enjoying this.

The woods they approached and sat in were rather quiet. They sat in an open field in the forest, the sun shining a bit, as the clouds moved away from it, for once.

The only sound was Midna as she began to talk about random, little things. Link enjoyed this, as the woodland creatures chirped and hopped around. 

As Link bit into a carrot, he heard some odd, nearby rustling.

Midna quit her speech about caramel apples and looked up. Her and Link stared in the same direction. "What... is that?" she wondered aloud. "It sounds odd."

"Uh..." Link wondered, keeping his eye on where the sound came from, but he drew his hand in the grass, to get his hands around his sword. "I don't-"

A gray bird with big lemon eyes hopped out of the trees. "Oh-" Link said, then laughed. Midna stared at him. "I think she wants your carrot, Link."

Link stared at the birdss big, begging eyes, then stared at his large carrot. Hm.

He slowly held out the carrot, and for a second, the bunny backed up. "Oh," Midna muttered. "No, no, no, no-" Link begged, holding the carrot still. The bunny stared. It's pink little nose twitched. For a moment, as the birds leg lifted upwards slowly, Link thought it was gonna fly off, but it began digging its talons into the dirt. Bird's never ceased to amaze Link. He'd always loved them, and since living in the forest for a majority of his life, he knew how to act around them.

"Aww..." Midna whispered as the bird trudged forth. "Can we call him Thomas? I feel like his name is Thomas," Midna declared, laying on her stomach, head in hands.

A bit more rustling, and a gray and white walked out from the trees, and walked directly to Midna, and sniffed her nose. The imp stared in shock, looking at the cat's gray-blue eyes, then gasped in delight.

She reached into the picnic basket and felt around for some kind of meeting. Her tiny hand felt salami or pepperoni, and she pulled it out. Sitting up, she stripped the salami and handed the pink meat to the cat, who happily ate it.

The bird near Link took the carrot in its beak, and blinked at him as if to say 'thank you.'

The bird and cat looked and one another, and walked away together. "Aww..." Link and Midna grinned. More rustling. "Oh no, are we gonna have enough food for all the animals?" Midna wondered. The other two animals ears perked up, and they glanced at one another, then speeded off.

Link raised an eyebrow. "A- Is it a bigger animal?" Link wondered, then he and Midna stared at one another. But... this time it was the unmistakable noise of heavy footsteps- human, footsteps.

Link and Midna slowly stood up, the sun now shining down on them, overhead. Link's ears perked as a man stepped out. A black goatee, brown pointy hat, and armor. Behind him stepped out a tall, bald man, and an older looking man, with a gray mustache and glasses, all wearing similar, green armor.

Link was unsure of what to say. 

"Hi," Link greeted, skeptical and insecure at that moment. His grip tightened on his sword, and the goatee'd man seemed to notice, his green eyes darting to it.

"Hello, friends." He said, with some sort of accent. "How are you both doing today?" No answer... "Enjoying lunch?"

The air was oddly heavy and thick with tension now.

The other two men stood in place, but the first one drew closer, and Link glanced back at Midna, making sure she was behind him. She glared at him, and came up next to Link, despite his dismay.

"Hmm. Strong laddie, aren't you?" He asked. "A rather beautiful one too."

Link frowned furiously at him. The man seemed to notice. "Hey, calm down. I'm not looking to take your lady from you," and Link's face turned red. But from behind him, Midna snarled. 

"I'm not something to be handed back and forth, you disconsolate dumbbell!" She shouted.

The man put his hands up but kept smiling. Though he seemed genuinely surprised. Link knew from the second he spoke like that, he was in trouble. "Okay, okay, I apologize. I know you're not a toy, dear maiden," "MAIDEN-"

"We can make this easy. All I- WE want from you- is... well, we need your food. Perhaps a few weapons," he declared, a smile growing each second. Link frowned.

Yeah, as he guessed- they were up for a fight. His thumb rubbed against the Master Sword, it comforted him. The ribbons were smooth upon it, and he was ready.

"Take our stuff? You can pry it from my cold dead body, sire," Link smiled. The man stared at him, with that confident look in his green eyes still there. "I like your wit, swordsman. But let me make this kind and clear," he said, looking up for a battle. "If you don't give it to us NOW, we WILL be prying it from you're cold dead body, SIRE."

Link stared at him, serious eye contact. This was fun, but how he treated Midna infuriated him. One of his priorities was to make sure she was never disrespected.

Ever. Midna switched to an imp, and the bandit's expression was one of pure curiosity. Her hair flipped out and she growled, fists clenched.

Link hesitated for a moment, and then was confident he could take him. He lifted his sword, feeling it lightly, and he swung his sword. It met with the green bandits with a battle of steel on steel. He heard Midna fighting the others, and Link moved his sword easily, despite its heaviness. He focused a brunt attack on the man, and he was pushed, back, a look of surprise on his face.

He frowned and swung the sword, and Link rolled to the side to dodge. The agile Hylian backed away from his foe, as he heard Midna growling and yelling, and the other two men panicking. The man heaved up his sword again, giving Link fair warning another attack was coming. He had enough time to dodge it, as the sword slammed into the floor, and reverberated into the earth. Link used this opportunity to slash his legs, and when he did so, the man groaned, stepping back. Link jumped up, and in midair, he slashed his shoulders. The man shoved against one of Link's strikes, and unbalanced Link significantly. But he pivoted back up and was about to deliver another blow when the bandit screamed. Link stared, thoroughly confused. 

Then Link looked down. Imp Midna bit the man's leg. "Okay, okay!" The man yelled, panicked. He backed up, desperately trying to shake Midna off of his armored leg, but Midna had a bite like a dog. She wasn't letting go. "Alright, ALRIGHT!" Shouted the man, sounding angry now. Link dared to turn his back for a moment, and looked for the other two wretched bandits...

They lay up against a tree, shivering in fright. It was a bit amusing to see. Never judge someone by their size. That was a lesson everyone needs to learn. "Enough," the man sighed as Midna let go and flew to Link's sighed, and the Hylian squinted at him, wary to be on guard, but respectful to hear his request. If this proved to be some kind of ruse, a gambit, Link had more then enough energy to keep ongoing. But, true to his tone, Link found himself a bit surprised, when his dueling enemy relaxed.

"Alright, alright, I get it. But, do you not have any food for us? Seriously?" The man pleaded. The other two men nodded, and whined, pouted. "Yeah, c'mon. We're starving!" Link looked at them, then at Midna. He couldn't help but have some empathy for these guys, it's who he was- but he was still a bit angry at the way he had treated Midna. Even if it was just a joke.

But Midna's mere shrug told Link to give in- Okay. He didn't like salami sandwiches anyway. He'd rather have Pizza Hut anyway. 

"...Alright, fine," Link said, but he smiled at the fact he knew he'd won. "But you all know Midna and I beat you." 

He heard a chuckle from behind him. "Yes- of course. How rude of me. My name is Huld. And my friends," he pointed to the oldest man- "Clark, and the other, Cabal. We're just a team of bandits, of course, you know that. And despite us losing against you," he laughed as Link tossed him some water and food, "we still got to steal from you."

"Wrong, actually," Midna piped up. "You just got what you wanted. But you didn't STEAL IT, it was merely given to you," Midna smirked, her head in hands. Huld stared at her, seriously for a moment, and Link felt a strange sensation in his stomach, watching Midna interact with another person. He opened his mouth to speak up, but Huld just chuckled again. "Hmph. Link," he began turning to him, "-and yes, I know who you are- you should feel rather lucky to have such an astonishing companion and friend here with you on this journey. This journey for-" He paused thoughtfully. "What are you both here for anyway?" He asked, as he ungracefully bit into a sandwich.

"Oh," Midna began. Link was unsure if he should say or not, but Midna seemed confident in her ability to spill the details about their journey... Secret journey? Er...

"I'm looking for the Twilight Sword. Such bandits and adventurers like you should know what I speak of, eh?" Midna smirked, floating in the air, and Link felt uncomfortable how she spoke so differently around others. "Hmm... Perhaps," Huld smiled, stroking his beard calmly. "Well, the Mountain- Well, rather Mountain Of Storms is where we're headed." "Why up there specifcally? Do you know it's up there?"

"Well, Huld," Midna began, "am I wrong to assume theirs some sort of energy and power emanating from that mountain?" She asked. "It feels very familiar to me, and I would know. The same power radiated from my father... It's all close to me."

Link frowned, and his heart seemed to fall. Why hadn't he told her this? His chest felt some sort of dull yet sharp pain. 

"Hmm. You could very well be right," he said, squinting his green eyes at Midna, and Link felt like should shove him away. He at first, rather liked this guy, but now... He felt sick.

"Well, move out men! We have some more people to rob," he said jokingly, then smiled at them. Clark and Cabal got up, and nodded at them, but hurried into the forest rather fast. "Princess and Hero!" Huld said dramatically. "I bid you adieu!" he said tipping his hat, then running in the forest. "AND THANK YOU!" Then he was gone. 

Link was unsure of what to feel, as he stood there, arms drooping. Midna looked at him. "We kicked their a*s. We did great." She smiled. "I mean, did you see the other two's faces? HA! It was amazing-" She froze, catching a glimpse of Link's face, and before she wanted to keep go on bragging, she floated over slowly, to look at his expression.

She was correct in stopping. Link's face was rather... contorted He looked like what Midna recognized as ol' grumpy Link. It was odd she was seeing it, and even odder that she recognized it because it wasn't often that she saw that visage. Was he okay?

"Link? Uh..." He didn't answer. "You okay? You seem a bit- er... ostrobogulous...?" Ostrobogulous? What the hell kind of wording was she exactly using? 

Well, all she knew, was that she was feeling nervous. Why was Link so grumpy?

He couldn't have wanted that salami sandwich THAT bad right? In fact, Link hated salami! So, why did they pack it again? Uh...

"Link!" she shouted, annoyed with being ignored. "What's the PROBLEM?" The Hylian seemed to shake himself out of it. "Well- Midna, what do you me-"

Midna froze and stare at him, the one red eye he could see was wide. Cogs were clicking in her mind. "You-you're jealous?" 

Link felt his face heat up. "JEAL- Midna, why wouldn't you tell me about how that mountain is your father!?" "THAT MOUNTAIN ISN'T MY DAD!" 

"OH GOOD!" Link shouted. "'Cause, I was gonna say he should go on a diet, because at this rate, we'll never, ever get there!" Link ranted, voice cracking. "Link, Link, LINK!" Midna yelled as he began to panic. "We'll get there! Don't worry! We'll get there and be fine..."

Silence...

Midna took a deep breath, and Link suddenly felt bad. She would be worried and anxious about getting up there too, and this was all pretty much his fault. She looked curiously into his eyes. "What else is wrong?" she smiled graciously, and butterflies fluttered in Link's stomach. "You..." he began to say, looking into her eye, but found he couldn't, so his own orbs darted down. "Hey, hey, Link, look at me," Midna demanded sternly, and her tiny hands grabbed his face, and lifted it up.

The hero gulped nervously, and reluctantly, yet wantingly looked deep into her red-eye. The feelings were all very intense... too intense. Jeez...

"Midna... why didn't you tell me the Mountain gave off vibes of you're dad?" He said. Now Midna looked uncomfortable. For a few seconds, she stared down, but then looked back at him, making eye contact. "I don't want to seem emotional." She frowned, and Link felt real hurt coming off of her. Link kind of understood. Midna was always very closed off, even to him, but there were moments when she'd randomly say something personal. If she said it randomly, it felt like they could forget it and move on, but she could still get it out. Link may never understand, she always thought...

"Then you tell it to a stranger?" Link asked, emphasis on 'stranger', as she began to shake a bit. "Link, you don't understand-" "No, I DO understand. You always say I don't-... M-Midna, I do."

Midna sighed. She stared down solemnly, as she heard one of their own stomach's growl. A clap of thunder followed; though it's booming sound did not shake Midna nor Link from each other. This was that odd, feeling, but it was the closest either one had ever been to it.

"Are you alright?" Link asked, rain beginning to gently fall, drip-dropping gently on their bodies.

Midna did not respond. Instead, she was becoming rather pale, yet also very red. This feeling-! It wouldn't go away! 

"I'm not feeling that... g-g-great," Midna stuttered. "You're not joking?" Link pondered, and he places his palm on Midna's forehead. She was warm, yet here she was, shivering.

"You're... warm. " Link pondered aloud, and he stared at her, and it began to make her shiver more. "Never mind," Midna snapped, pulling away, ever so sick of this feeling. "We should get going," she said, floating away from him, as far as she could. "No, we should eat first." 

"Link, we've wasted enough time, with those a******s!" Midna shouted, throwing her hands down. "You can eat on the way if you want, you're welcome to, but I'm fine-"

"Let me catch you a fish."

"What?" Midna asked, confused, turning back around to face him, as she had been floating away. "Let me cook you some fish. I know you really love salmon, and I'm sure there's plenty around here, and I'll cook it, and you eat it!" He suggested excitedly. "And why would I WANT to?" Midna asked, sarcasm absolutely dripping from her entire being.

Link smiled at her, withdrawing his fishing rod. "I'm lucky enough to have this; just promise me, you'll let yourself say what you want..."

He knew Midna's sassiness and anger was a defense mechanism against opening up, he just prayed she knew he'd listen.

------

It took hours. So many hours for Link to catch any fish. But everytime she wanted to give up, she remembered how delicious his cooking was... and so, they stayed.

Author's Note

Hmm... a reference to two characters you'll EVENTUALLY see in my writing were in this. Can you guess? (Hint: No, not the robbers, lol.) Hope you enjoyed and please review! Thank you and have a good day/night and take care of yourself during these crazy times.