Night's Shadow

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

‘Wood for sale!’ The young merchant called out. ‘Firewood for only 50 rupees! 50 rupees for 100 logs! 100 for 200!’ She had to shout at the top of her lungs to be heard over the roar of the market. Other merchants were advertising their goods or bargaining with buyers. Even though it was raining, quite heavily too, buyers and sellers still came to Hyrule Market to haggle for items on sale. Rain, hail or shine, nothing would stop Market Day. Basically, every day was Market Day, but different merchants came on different days. Market Day was just a day where all the merchants came together and put on special sales. A lot more people came on this day, so you always knew business was going to be good. But for Sayomi Hiroshi, business was evading her on this particular day. She didn’t know whether it was the rain or the charm and appeal of the other sellers, but she had gotten a grand total of no customers. Or maybe it was the fact that the Hylians lacked the need for wood. ‘Wood for sale!’ she called out once more. ‘Special price, only 50 rupees for 100 logs! One day only!’ It was useless. All the screaming in the world wouldn’t get this tough crowd buying. ‘Stupid, pathetic people. Thinking that they’re too good for my wood.’ Sayomi grumbled. She was tired and sore from standing up all day and her small thatch covering had a leak so rain dripped steadily onto her back, soaking her. She was not in a good mood. She sat down on the damp ground, already too wet to care, and rested her arm on a log. Placing her chin in her hand, she watched the different coloured fabrics moving in front of her as people rushed to different stalls and shops. She thought she had gotten a good place to set up her stall. It was right next to the Bomchu Alley and the Archery shop. But no-one took any notice of the 19 year-old girl sitting amongst a pile of logs. Suddenly, two pairs of leather boots appeared in front of her. Someone cleared their throat and she looked up. Standing in front of her was a young man with spikey, black hair and green eyes. His clothes were dripping wet and he was slightly shivering. ‘Can I help you?’ Sayomi asked, standing up.

‘Um, yeah. Uh, how much  are you selling the wood for?’ The man asked. His voice was soft and it took a few seconds before Sayomi realized what he was saying. ‘Oh! Yeah, I’m selling at 50 rupees for 100 logs.’ She said.

‘Perfect. I’ll take 2000 logs please.’

‘Of course! That’ll be-wait. 2000?’ Sayomi repeated, surprised.

‘Um, y-yeah.’ The young man seemed nervous and shuffled his feet. He kept crossing and uncrossing his arms and it was really starting to annoy her. She just wanted to grab his arms and keep him still. ‘That’ll be 1000 rupees.’ She said, crossing her own arms. She was a bit suspicious. Did this man really have the money to pay for this? But sure enough, he pulled out a large brown sack and started rummaging around. ‘Would you like it delivered or-‘

‘I’ll take them thanks.’ He interrupted, handing out the rupees. She took them and started to count. There were 10 yellow rupees. 1000 all up. ‘Are you sure you want to take them by yourself? I could deliver them if you wanted.’ She said, placing the rupees in her empty money bag. ‘No, no.’ It’s fine. I need them now anyway.’ He replied.

‘Well, do you have a horse or at least something to help you carry them?’

‘Uh,’ he said, scratching the back of his head. ‘Not really.’

‘It’s settled then. I’ll come with you and get my horse to carry it for you.’ Sayomi said, about to call for her horse, Plum. ‘You really don’t need to-‘he was cut off by a piercing whistle from Sayomi. A faint whinny answered it and people jumped out of the way as a spotted mare galloped up to the wood stand. Sayomi grabbed its halter after patting its mane and led it around to the back where an old, wooden cart waited. She stopped and patted the bay’s mane. Hooking up the cart to the horse, she turned to the young man. ‘If you could, can you please help me get the logs into the cart?’ The man nodded and rushed to help. After they had finished loading the cart with exactly 2000 logs, they got ready to leave. A cold wind blew freezing rain on them and Sayomi’s already drenched hair slapped across her face, getting in her mouth and eyes. She sputtered and tried to push her blond hair out of her face. The man tried to hold back a laugh but let loose a small snicker. She glared at him and looked away, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. She grabbed her horses’ reins and began to walk out of the market with the man following behind. The rain had lessened to a drizzle and some of the clouds had thinned, allowing blue sky to peek through. The horses’ hooves clattered over the wooden drawbridge and stepped onto Hyrule Field. Sayomi took a deep breath and smiled. She loved the smell of rain on grass. ‘Um, thanks for the help. I really appreciate it you know.’ The young man said behind her. ‘Oh it’s no problem at all!’ she smiled at him over her shoulder. ‘It would have been extremely hard for you to have carried it alone, especially in this weather.’ She stopped suddenly, making Plum snort in annoyance and the cart creak. ‘By the way, where are we taking these to?’ She asked, turning to look at him.