Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Zelda: Real Courage ❯ Chapter Ten: Mori and Zale ( Chapter 10 )

Lila woke with a pounding in her head that rippled through her whole body. Mori definitely wasn't any help.

"Lila, we have to go! The sun's already up!"

"What do you mean 'already'?" she groaned, rolling over.

"How late were you out last night?" Mori chided. "Much too late, I assume."

"I had to relax my muscles from all the fighting."

"Oh, yeah, like that's all you were doing. You saw that Prince didn't you!"

"Only to gather information for Lady Ganondra."

"Uh-huh, sure. Don't think I don't know a thing or two about romantic midnight meetings."

"What are you talking about?" Lila moaned. "Just let me sleep a few more hours! Besides, I thought you were staying in the cave."

"If you wait too long, Volvagia will be here."

"I don't care. I already told you I can take him on."

"You still need to get out of bed."

"Be quiet!"

A knock at the door stopped Mori's next retort. Lila groaned, "What now?"

"I can take a guess."

The thought of Zale ran through her like a jolt of lightning. It wasn't comfortable, but it woke her up to the point where she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep for hours. She pulled the covers off herself and sat up. The motion sent a dizzy wave through her.

"I am not meant to be awake right now."

She stood on weak legs, feeling the burn from yesterday. The knock came again.

"Coming!" she shouted, making her own ears ring. She walked over to the door as fast as she could. Her knees, feet, and ankles burned with every step.

As expected, Zale stood at the door. When he saw Lila, with her hair in a tangled mess, he smiled.

"Good, I caught you," he lilted.

"What do you want at this hour," Lila grumbled.

"You don't like mornings, do you."

"Not when I've been fighting all the day before and had a late night followed by a rude awakening." The last bit she directed with a fist to Mori. This time he wasn't even within range of her erratic punch.

"Calm yourself, young grasshopper."

Both Zale and Lila looked at him funny and asked, "Grasshopper?"

"Don't ask me."

"Right then..." Zale said slowly, looking back at Lila. Lila's beady eyes were still trained on the keese. "Would you join me for breakfast?"

Lila sighed. "Yeah, I guess I could go for some food. Lead the way."

"Um, don't you need to..."

"Take a shower? You reek!"

Lila's eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! You let me stand here all gross and smelly without saying anything? You two, out. A girl needs her privacy."

Once Mori and Zale vacated the room, Lila slammed the door after them. The two could hear her feet pounding on the wood floor.

"So, you're Zale."

"You must be Mori. A pleasure to be properly introduced."

Mori hovered in front of Zale's smiling face, calculating what to say next. "What, uh... what did you and Lila talk about?"

Zale joked, "You."

Mori flapped frantically. "What? What did she say about me? It's all lies!"

"Whoa, nothing like that, Mr. Keese. I was only kidding."

"Oh." Mori was silent for a moment. "Then what did you talk about?"

"Bombs came up in the conversation," Zale started. "I told her about a mythical flower that produced bombs."

"A flower that makes bombs? You're lying."

"It's a true legend. Just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean they don't exist. But it's a secret we bomb-sellers like to keep."

"A secret, huh? Got any other secrets?"

Zale wondered how much Lila told Mori, and how much he should reveal. "Everyone has secrets. If they told their secrets, they wouldn't be secret anymore. Wouldn't you agree?"

Mori didn't answer. He would have to find another way to get information out of Zale. "So, got any family, Zale? Any friends? Any... enemies?"

"Enemies?"

"Or family. Family is fine."

"I don't live with my family. Most of the time I'm traveling."

"You're not running from anything, are you?"

"Why would I be running?" Zale was starting to get nervous about the line of questioning. He wished Lila would hurry up so they could go. "You asked about enemies. Do you and Lila have any enemies?"

Mori chuckled, "What kind of silly question is that?"

"One you asked me. Maybe you're running from something."

"What? No, not me. I'm just here to watch Lila."

"In case she makes a mistake?"

Worry made its way into Mori's voice. "Wha—what gave you that idea? Of course, I don't— I wouldn't— Um..."

"Are you spying on her?"

"Spying? Pff, of course not! Are you spying on her? You ask a lot of questions."

"So do you."

The sound of Lila's feet returned. "You can come in now, I'm decent. Just putting on my boots."

Zale opened the door, ignoring Mori. When he saw Lila, with her wet hair shining like gold thread, his breath caught in his throat. Mori didn't notice as he glided to Lila's side.

"This guy said you told him about me. Is it true? What did you tell him?"

Lila looked at him confused. "What? I didn't say anything about you. You must have heard him wrong. Come on, Zale, I'm starving."

She stomped out the door. Zale smiled at Mori behind her back. "This isn't over," he said.