Fan Fiction ❯ Professional Hero ❯ One year later ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3 - One year later (or was it the next day?)

"So when I came about, all my things were gone, my swords, my horse, hell, even I! I was picked up by a group of wandering musicians. They were attacked in a country called Holodrum by a general named Onox or something. He was after a dancer, that was actually Din, the Oracle of Seasons. He captured her and guess who had to save her? Exactly, yours truly. I should make a business card, saying "Link, Professional Hero". Anyway, after I save Din, she says a friend of hers, Nayru, the Oracle of Ages is kidnapped by a sorceress Veran. I stop Veran and it turns out that Twinrova is back, how I don't know, I'm pretty sure I killed her, or them, in Hyrule, and they intend to bring Ganondorf back. They sacrifice this girl but it only brings out an empty shell of Ganondorf, and pretty ugly too I might add, which leads to me still being alive. Anyway, I go out to save Nayru and when I ask her for a favor, she gives me a hard time! I mean, a year goes by while I'm saving Oracles left and right, and in the mean time, all my stuff is gone. So I ask Nayru to send me back to the time after I was robbed, I mean, she is the Oracle of Ages, I went back 400 years with her power, so a year shouldn't be to hard for her, and she has the nerve to set demands! "Oh Link, it's not because I'm an Oracle I'm being satisfied." Yeah right, I sure satisfied... eh, I mean..."

Link suddenly realised who he was talking to.

"You had to fuck her to get send back."

Link could only nod. God, he just ranted on about the Oracles to the nicest girl he ever met and he confessed he had sex with an Oracle to get something done.

"So, are you here permanently or do you go back, one year in the future?"

"I retrieve my stuff and then go back. I have until the Festival of Time. Three days, talk about déjà vu." Link said, looking everywhere but the girl. He just didn't dare to look at her.

"Oh, come on!" the girl shouted, "Do you think I'm a little ignorant kid?"

"Well, the last time I saw you..."

"The last time you saw me was eight years ago! I've grown since then."

"I've noticed."

Now it was the girl's turn to fall silent.

"You have? I mean, how do you think you'll get your stuff back."

Link shrugged.

"I don't know yet. I don't even know who took them."

"Don't worry, Grasshopper, Romani will help you."

Link looked at Romani and laughed.

"What? I will!" Romani jumped up and nudged him in the ribs.

"Ow, stop it!"

Link looked at the woman who just hit him. She didn't look anything like Cremia did all those years ago. Well, she did, but not when you looked closely. She still had the same joyish charm over her and was still hyperactive, she couldn't sit still for a second. She wore a small purple dress that accentuated her female shapes nicely. Link almost didn't recognise the sweet little girl he had met in his childhood when he had come to the Romani Ranch. Romani pushed a curl of her red hair back behind her ear.

"And how do you even think you can get your stuff back? You're not even armed."

Her eyes sparkled brightly, enjoying the stories of Link.

"Am too. When that group of musicians took me, they told me they left my sword there because they couldn't carry it. Guess the Biggoron's sword was too heavy for the thieves as well. I retrieved that and I came here because I hoped Epona would be here, and she was. And you can't help, because you're not armed."

Romani had gone to the shed where Epona was tied down and grabbed a Deku stick. She turned around and threw the stick to Link. He caught it with ease.

"A Deku stick? You call that arm..."

Link's voice grew silent when he looked at the arrow that drove itself through the stick. Romani stood there triumphantly with her bow.

"Remember, Grasshopper, I've been training with a bow since I was ten. You will find no one better than me in whole Termina."

"Hm, you can come."

Link laid down the stick and stood up.

"By the way? How did you get Epona?"

"Some guy tried to sell it to me, but I recognised her and turned down the offer. After he left, I played that song she likes so much and she came running."

"Did you recognise the guy?"

"I asked around in Clocktown and it turns out there have been many robberies all over the country. They suspect the thief comes from Ikana canyon and is called..."

"Sakon."

"You know him?"

"Unfortunately yes, he was the thief that stole Kafei's wedding mask."

"Well, the way I've heard it, he leads a whole gang of shadow thieves or something like that."

"I know where his hide out is, we can go there, but first I must ask something of you."

"Strange, Romani must ask something of you as well." Romani said with a smile.

The rest of the day they trained in archery and fought with Deku sticks. Romani was quite good to Link's surprise. Her joy of life reminded him of his own when he first started this hero gig as he started to call it. In fact, now that he thought of it, he only felt burned out after defeating Ganondorf. When he saved Din and Nayru, he felt alive again. Guess he wasn't tired of fighting, he was just tired of reliving the same thing.

"Aw."

Link dropped the Deku stick to shake off the hurt in his fingers.

"Is that the best you can do, Hero of Time? Guess Ganondorf wasn't that hard."

"Don't say that. It's not a laughing matter."

Romani apologised.

"That's okay, but that madman almost killed me, several times!"

"I'm sorry, I know what you've been through, I mean, you've told me, Romani doesn't really know..."

"It's okay, really," Link reassured her, "and what's with that talking in third person anyway?"

"I did it as a joke when I was about four or five, but... I wouldn't say it stuck, but every time I'm nervous or excited, I talk about myself in third person."

"So eight years ago, you were excited to see someone new?"

"No, not really."

Romani looked away with a gentle smile on her lips. Link noticed (as he had already done several times that day) she had nice lips.

"I was kinda nervous."

"Why?" Link asked, half and half knowing the answer but he couldn't resist to tease.

"Such a handsome boy running to my aid? I had a crush on you the moment you entered the ranch."

Link smiled. When he returned to Romani ranch he was also excited to see Romani again. He didn't think of her when he was in Hyrule but that was because Ganondorf was his main concern.

"You know, I never told this to anyone," Link said, looking also the other way, "but when I was in the timeloop in Termina, I hated to come here on the third day..."

"The day the moon was gonna fall? Why? Was I that troublesome? I know I was ranting on a bit..."

"No, it's just, when I wasn't there on the first night to fight off those things from outer space, you were completely..." Link shuddered when he thought of the few times he saw Romani like that, "...you had lost your joy, you were completely inert. I hated that."

Romani put her hand on his cheek.

"I... I didn't know. You cared that much for me?"

Link nodded.

"There were days I didn't want to do anything, just relax and kick back for three days, but almost every time, I blew up that big boulder and saved your cows, so I could play with you the rest of the time."

"I don't really remember that playing part."

"Of course not," Link said, pretending to be outraged, "the final time, right before I defeated Majora, I also had to save the swamps, the mountains, the ocean and the canyon, get Kafei his adult body back so he could get married with Anju, save your cows, stop the moon from falling down and, oh yeah, get toilet paper to some creep living in the toilet."

Romani tried to keep herself seriously but now laughed out loud.

"You had to get some creep toilet paper?"

"You've never been on the toilet without toilet paper? That's not a laughing matter!" Link did his best not to start laughing himself, but failed.

Romani slowly stopped laughing.

"But seriously now," she said while whiping a tear from her eye, trying to stop snickering, "this training session isn't really what I wanted to ask of you."

"What is it?" Link got quickly serious.

"The day after tomorrow is the Festival of Time, so tonight those things from out of this world return."

Link touched Romani's arm.

"You know I will help you."

Romani nodded and raised her Deku stick.

"But now, let's continue."

Cremia had cooked a wonderful meal for Link and Romani but they both ate it too fast to really appreciate it to the fullest. Link was nervous, he would spend the whole night in the barn with this gorgeous woman. Luckily those ghost things would come, so they would be distracted in a way, so to speak. Romani got up and took out two bows.

"Where are you going?" Cremia asked.

"To the barn." Romani said with a look on her face, saying 'if you ask any more I'm gonna use you for practice shooting, so back off, sis, please?'.

Link got up and followed Romani.

Link felt uncomfortable climbing up the ladder after Romani to the attic of the barn. That perfect ass, just an armlength away. Link shook his head and tried to think of something else. Link sat down next to Romani in the hay. An awkward silence fell. Link tried to break it.

"So, what did you do all these years, I mean, I told you what I did."

"Yeah, nothing." Romani laughed.

"Yeah well, we're not talking about me."

"What I did?" Romani lied down, looking at the ceiling, "I trained with my bow, obviously, and I wandered around Termina, looking for, I don't know, some say thrills, but I think it was you I was looking for."

"Some say? Who?"

"I've had boyfriends," Romani laughed, "but none stayed. Guess I was too adventurous for them. I travelled to Woodfall swamps, Zora's bay, Goron Mountains, I even went to Ikana canyon. I fought off many enemies with my bow and Deku sticks."

"So you spent all that time beating up innocent monsters? Ow!"

Romani hit him in the ribs again.

"Something like that."

Link checked his bow, just to do something.

"You know, I've only had this much fun with Saria."

"Oh, great, now I'm compared with a fairy child."

Link laughed.

"No, I mean, I'm having fun with you. I like spending time with you."

Romani turned towards Link. He was completely lost in those blue eyes.

"I have to tell you something."

"Hm?" Link mumbled when he drew closer to Romani.

"The ghost things?" Romani whispered while she came closer, "They don't come tonight."

Link and Romani lost themselves in a passionate kiss.

AN: I decided not to include Zelda in Oracle of Ages (she had other things on her mind) so I could have more freedom to work. Hope no one has any objection (if you do, too bad).