Chapter 17 Here comes the bride…

Chapter 17

 

 

Here comes the bride…

 

 

“What?” Lucius asked staring at their dumbstruck faces.

“When were you going to tell us you were getting married?” Gerad asked him.

“When you needed to know.” Lucius answered him coolly. Gerad rolled his eyes and shook his head. Sasha laughed and G-Link chuckled.

“When is the event happening?” Selene asked Sasha.

“End of the month.” Sasha answered her moving back to the block of ice. Her scales came back out and she once again looked bulky.

“How long have you two been engaged?” Meria asked Lucius as Sasha began to chip away at the ice.

“Since we were born, Sasha’s family is one of the leading noble families of Zora’s Domain.” Lucius answered.

“I didn’t know there were nobles in Zora society.” Calhan said, Lucius chuckled as they continued to watch Sasha work.

“We have a class society. The Royal family is the ruling class, then the Demshe, the nobles, handle the governing of our provinces, then the Yourmikes, the peasants if you will, are the ones that run everything else, they farm, fish, craft anything and everything Zora’s Domain needs.”

“Wow.” Sheik said.

Sasha gave the ice a good whack and a huge chunk fell off, “Our parents made this betrothal to strengthen the ties between the Royals and the Demshe. It’s an old tradition, see back a few centuries ago, the Zora race was made up of three different clans; The Romash, the Demshe, and the Yourmikes. And to strengthen ties and keep everyone semi-sorta happy they betrothed the children of the leading families within the clans to each other. Lucius and I are betrothed because my older brother just married the daughter of the leading family of the Yourmikes.”

“Fascinating. And you’re ok with this?” Selene asked her.

Sasha shrugged, “I can’t refuse it’s my duty.”

“What about you Lucius?” Gerad asked him.

Lucius shrugged, “It’s the same for me.”

“So do you two love each other?” Aerica asked hesitantly.

“We get along.” Sasha replied with a grin her sapphire eyes flashing with amusement as she turned back to the ice which had taken on the vague shape of a bird.

“For a class society you get along very well.” Dahrin said.

“Well, it used to not be that way. But thanks to the tradition of marrying the lead families that has fallen by the way side. We all have pretty much the same blood as everyone else. None of us can say we’re pure Romash or Demshe or Yourmikes.” Sasha answered as she traded the hammer and chisel for a smaller tool. She began carving into the ice delicately.

“Well there is more to see and you need to get that finished.” Lucius said standing up from the table he was leaning against. He poked G-Link with his toe to wake him up as he passed him on the way out. The others followed behind saying goodbye to Sasha as they went. She waved till they were out of site back into the corridor.

 

They finished the tour with no mishaps and no more interesting encounters. Lucius led them back to their corridor and they all piled into the boys room.

“So what are our duties going to be?” Gerad asked Lucius as he munched on a piece of fruit.

“Well, I’ll have to ask the craftsmen who need help and you’ll be assigned to a master and basically be an apprentice.” Lucius answered him.

“Where can we train?” Calhan asked from his bed where he sat with the book open on his lap. He took a bite of the fruit he was holding as he turned the page.

“I’ve talked with my parents about it and they said it would be alright if we trained on the isle of Lake Hylia.” Lucius answered him; he sat next to G-Link who was snoring.

“Ok, how do we get there?” Sheik asked.

Lucius pointed to his Zora’s tunic as an answer. Sheik looked at his chest, “What is there something on my shirt?”

“No silly. We’re going to swim there with our Zora Tunics.” Meria told him as the others laughed. Sheik flushed red and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“If you want I can show you the way now?” Lucius suggested standing up and nudging G-Link.

G-Link snorted as he sat up, “What? I was just studying the back of my eyelids.”

The rest of them chuckled as they followed Lucius out the door. G-Link shrugged and rolled along behind them.

As they walked along behind Lucius they saw Zoras they had met before during the tour. The group smiled and waved back at those that had waved to them. Instead of going out the main entrance they turned down another smaller tunnel that branched off from the one that lead to the Healing Ward.

Lucius stopped in front of an underground lake. The stalagmites glittered from the light that emanated from the water. Upon further examination of the water they saw that there were glowing plants on the bottom.

“This is where we get Quashta fruit from. Here and other underground lakes like it.” Lucius told them. He stepped into the water and motioned the others to follow him. Selene was the first and stepped in. Lucius took her hand and guided her further into the water. The others slowly followed till only G-Link was left.

“Now just breathe normally.” Lucius said as he slowly pushed Selene’s head underwater. Selene tried to do as told but her natural instinct as the cold water covered her chest was to take a deep breath. Lucius poked her in the stomach, making her exhale as she went under. She took a breath on accident while she was under and discovered she could breathe.

She could also see clearly. Lucius was looking at her with concern and she smiled in reassurance.

Lucius smiled back, “Just relax and you’ll sink to the bottom, wait for us there.”

Selene sank to the bottom of what she thought was the small lake but in truth was rather large. Looking around she noticed a wide opening toward what she had thought was a wall.

Gerad appeared next to her and waved, his movements were slowed slightly due to the water. Sheik and Meria came, then Dahrin, Aerica, and Calhan. Calhan was looking around with eyes wide with excitement, only a scholar could appreciate the feelings he felt of being able to breathe under water.

“This is truly amazing!” Calhan said. The others chuckled in agreement, surprised they could understand him clearly. They waited patiently for Lucius and G-Link.

“Wonder what is taking so long.” Gerad said half to himself. Selene shrugged. They were all looking up towards the surface of the water when they saw a dark dot getting closer and closer and bigger and bigger.

They dodged out of the way as G-Link crashed into the bed of the lake like only a rock could. He stayed there curled into a ball and not moving. Lucius swam quickly to his friend’s aid.

“G-Link! Get up.” Lucius said trying to shake him.

G-Link didn’t respond and some bubbles floated towards the surface from him. Lucius sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Help me roll him to that slope over there please.” Lucius said to the group. The others didn’t argue and helped him. They got G-Link to the slope and rolled him up and out of the water. Once out of the water G-Link sat up and shook.

“Hey!” Gerad said.

“Sorry, I don’t think I’ll be able to join you guys for practice this time around.” G-Link said apologetically.

“Gorons can’t swim?” Meria asked.

Before Sheik could come up with a witty response Dahrin nudged him in the side. It was meant to be a small nudge but Sheik had taken a breath and got the air knocked out of him. Sheik laid there gasping for air and Dahrin knelt to help him sit up.

“Water paralyzes Gorons. I thought with the new tunic it wouldn’t but apparently I was mistaken.” Lucius answered Meria’s question while Sheik tried to get his breath back.

“So then, where is G-Link going to practice?” Gerad asked.

“There is a way to get there by land but it takes longer. And I’d have to wait for the storm to pass before I could show you.” Lucius said. The others stared in puzzlement at him.

“Storm?” Dahrin asked.

“Oh, well, Zoras are more sensitive to the changes in weather than the other races.” Lucius answered.

“Will we be ok in here?” Selene asked looking at the water to see if it had risen noticeably, it hadn’t.

“Oh yes, it’s not a terrible storm like we had a few months ago. I’ll take you guys back to the rooms and go check with the masters then come get you.” Lucius said.

The group followed Lucius wringing out their hair and clothes as they went, Zora Tunics kept you safe from the water except for getting wet.

 

“Ok, Selene and Meria, you two will be working with Sasha in carving. Gerad and Dahrin, you two will be working with Dolu in the storerooms. Sheik and Aerica, you two will be with Kelith the head healer. Calhan and G-Link, you two will be with Gimsha helping with the “farms”.” Lucius handed each group a tablet that had a map on it showing where they were to go.

“We’ll rotate the teams each week so each of you can experience all the different activities we do here in Zora’s Domain.” Lucius continued. Sheik raised his hand hesitantly.

“Yes, Sheik?” Lucius asked him.

“Where will you be?” Sheik asked lowering his hand.

“I have something I need to look into, don’t worry I’ll be back by the end of the week.” Lucius replied.

“What is it? Do you need help?” Gerad asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about, just yearly inspection of the Water Temple. It’s part of my duty as Prince and Sage.”

“What does that entail?” Meria asked out of curiosity.

Lucius chuckled, “Making sure the lights are lit and the water level is correct.”

Lucius left out the bit about Zara and her warning. She had been pestering him to come and check since the time she had given him the warning. Lucius felt his friends needed as normal a visit to another culture as possible.

Selene narrowed her eyes, Lucius tried to ignore her, somehow she knew it wasn’t the whole truth. Seeing Sasha had reminded him of his duty and commitment and had helped him bury his feelings for Selene as much as possible. They were still there, but easier to ignore now.

“When do we start?” Calhan asked leaning back against the headboard of his bed. G-Link slept on his slab of heated rock.

“Tomorrow, it’s too late in the day to get everything ready for teaching.” Lucius replied, he glanced at the rest of the group some of whom were trying to stifle yawns. The small clock in the corner of the room chimed the hour of night.

“Oh dear, hadn’t realized it was that late. Get some rest, we start early.” Lucius said with a smile as he left his friends to sleep. The rest of them watched him leave then started getting ready for bed. The girls went back to their room and got in bed but didn’t go to sleep.

“He’s lying about something.” Selene said half to herself.

“How do you know?” Meria asked turning the page of the book Lucius had lent her. Aerica fed Meko a piece of fruit as she waited for Selene to answer.

“I don’t know how I know but I just know, you know?” Selene asked turning to her friends. Aerica chuckled and Meria stared over the rim of her reading glasses at her raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, that didn’t make any sense did it?” Selene asked rubbing her neck.

“He probably isn’t telling the whole truth, but, I’m sure he has a good reason for it. This is Lucius we’re talking about. He isn’t the most open person we know is he?” Meria said turning back to the book.

“But about what part? That’s what makes me worry.” Selene whispered. The other two girls didn’t comment, Meria put the book down and then snuffed out the candle.