Inverted Triforce

Chapter 15

It didn’t take her long to ease the flowing tears. Sore and swollen, Zelda felt as though her eyes could use the cool morning air to ease the pain. After quickly getting dressed and throwing on her cloak, she practically ran outside. With her, merchants were beginning to set up shop for the long day ahead of them. Zelda aimlessly walked forward, watching them set up and eavesdropping on the brief conversations.

After the tenth or eleventh merchant, she found they were all turned to look further down the path. Shifting her gaze as well, her feet suddenly felt like stone. With wide eyes, she saw the incoming crowd on the path. Rushing to the side, she watched the herd as they passed.

Zelda knew the faces that passed her. None made eye contact with her, but she recognized them as the villagers she lived with. Their eyes seemed sunken in and black from lack of sleep. Children were jittery and scared– some children were clinging to their parents, afraid to lose them. Curiosity sparked as the expressions became grimmer and some passed while sobbing into their hands.

“Heala? Heala, is that you?” a soft, trembling voice asked. Zelda had been looking toward the disappearing end of the passing crowd and had to turn toward the oncoming end. Blinking, it took her a moment to register that Heala had been her name not too long ago. She had adopted the traditional name in an attempt to free herself from the bullying habits of the village. It had not worked.

“That is you,” the girl, the same age as Zelda, tossed the reign to her horse and ran toward Zelda. Taking a step back, Zelda panicked. Should she run? Why should she stay and converse with this person? It was this girl’s fault that Zelda had a mostly terrible childhood.

She wrapped her arms around Zelda’s slim shoulders and squeezed tightly, “Thank the goddesses you are all right.” Her voice was a low, hoarse whisper. The physical contact made Zelda freeze, waiting for release from the embrace.

“I’m not Heala, Emirian” Zelda said coldly. She didn’t react to the hug. Her eyes felt the familiar sting of tears. Blinking them away, Zelda felt she had cried enough already.

“Of course you are,” Emirian pulled away but kept her hands on Zelda’s shoulders. Emirian’s eyes traveled up and down Zelda’s body. Zelda was grateful that her cloak kept her hidden to her knees. “Yes, you are indeed Heala. Plus, you have the wood elf ears, you know. I can see them under that hood.”

“I am Zelda,” she said coldly. Emirian ignored her.

“Heala, what happened to you? I gave you that charm and you disappeared for days. I’ve been worried sick. I tried to convince them to look, but they wouldn’t,” Emirian’s voice cracked. Zelda’s cold stare returned Emirian’s pleading, large brown eyes.

“Did you know what that necklace was?” Zelda asked, trying to keep her own uneven voice from cracking.

“It was a hunting charm,” Emirian said innocently.

“My entire life as a child you spent pretending to be friend on and off. That necklace you gave me had goblins chasing after me for days,” Zelda practically growled. The sleep was still evident in her voice, thus it seemed deeper than usual.

Withdrawing her hands, Emirian clapped them over her open mouth, “I had no idea,” she gasped. “Truly, I was just trying to help you! I know that you never get a good meal, so I thought that the charm would help you,” she argued. “For the goddesses’ sake, we are approaching our twentieth year together, and you think I would try to do something like that again? I’ve been nothing but a good friend for the past five years! I haven’t pulled a prank since we were fifteen!”

Zelda felt her anger rising into her face. Even in the cold air, she was beginning to feel warm. “If I could pick and choose my friends, I can assure you, you wouldn’t be on the top of my list,” she said coolly. Of course, now she could choose her friends, and Zelda had no intention of keeping Emirian in her life.