Chapter Twenty-Three: Not a Game

Her fingers drummed the table with no particular rhythm, yet the flames cackling in the fireplace danced anyway. She abruptly stopped her music, one of her hands reaching down to gently rub the very-real scars from her burn on her leg.

Just one particular reason why she should tell him.

Many others filled her head: Patience gaining that cut on her arm due to Phantom Ganon atop Hyrule Castle; Hope almost getting knocked out due to Stone Arrghus sending one of its smaller rocks to her gut; Faith herself getting burned at the Eastern Temple, almost drowning by the coast…

She involuntarily shuddered at that horrific memory before her mind mentioned that it had been Link who had helped the sisters in each of those cases. It had been Link who had wrapped up Patience's cut until the Blue Maiden could heal it, Link who had jumped to Hope's defense when she had been down.

He had been by Hope's side before Faith could get there…

She glared at the Village of the Blue Maiden's Inn's fireplace, yet all it did was remind her that it had been Link who had found the heart container that healed the worst of her burns. The Yellow Maiden, after being freed from her own crystal prison, had done her best to get rid of the scars, at Link's asking, but the minor ones remained. Not that Faith ever minded a couple of scars; it was the idea of trying to explain it to their parents once they returned to their world that Faith minded.

Yet, to get back to their world, Faith and her sisters needed to help Link with his quest (at least, Faith figured that the girls would return home as soon as Link returned the Four Sword to its pedestal). And, to work together, especially as the dangers mounted higher and higher, the four must trust each other.

Faith and her sisters didn't need any help in that department; they trusted each other without question. Link also didn't seem to have any problem watching sweet Hope's and young Patience's backs, and the feeling seemed to be mutual.

No; it was just stubborn Faith that was the problem. Despite how much she admired the video game version of Link, he was still a stranger in person, and she hadn't trusted him enough, not with herself, and definitely not with her sisters. However, he'd done nothing but prove his worth throughout all this time, putting up with her mulish tendencies and sharp words. She knew, though, that he didn't fully trust her, the most likely reason being her so-called hunches.

"Where is he, anyway?" Faith growled under her breath as she glanced at the clock. It had been a half hour since her sisters and herself returned from the women's bathhouse; what was taking Link so long--

"Finally…!" She raised a slight eyebrow at the button-down shirt that the inn had given Link to borrow for the night while their tunics were cleaned being only half-done. The young man paused at the doorway, apparently surprised at seeing Faith there.

"Sorry," he said, sounding more confused than apologetic. "Were you waiting for me?"

Faith bit back a sarcastic retort. Instead, she said, "Yes, I was." She gestured to the seat across from her as an invitation. "I need to talk to you. Hope and Patience figured that it would be best if we spoke alone… That, and Patience almost fell asleep in the bathhouse…"

Link chuckled slightly while he sat down and fumbled to finish buttoning his shirt. "Well, I'm up for talking, although I'm curious as to when you decided to talk to me again."

That threw Faith for a loop. "…Huh?"

"In the temple?" It was Link's turn to raise an eyebrow. "After I told you to rest when you got your burn? You didn't talk to me throughout the rest of the temple."

"…I wasn't trying to not talk to you," Faith said. "Yeah, I was a little ticked off at first, but… I knew I couldn't even walk on my own, and that you were right." The slight smirk crawling up Link's face made Faith think about giving him the silent treatment, but she forced herself to say, "I spent most of that time trying to figure out if I should tell you about my hunches or not."

Link snapped to attention, his eyes locked on hers. She took a deep breath, saying, "In the bathhouse, Hope and Patience told me about your questions during the time we were running around this village, and I think I figured out a way to explain my hunches to you.

"Obviously we're not from this world," Faith said. Link nodded, and she continued. "See, on our world, there are these stories, and lots of kids, and adults, actually, act out these stories as games. There's this huge series called 'The Legend of Zelda.'"

Link's eyes narrowed slightly, but Faith didn't give him time to speak. "This whole adventure that we're on right now is one of those stories. It's called 'Four Swords Adventure,' and I've play-- I mean, I've read it through its entirety twice. I started it over with Hope and Patience fairly recently, and then we ended up here during the middle of it."

"So, you know pretty much what is going to happen?" he asked.

"Well, sort of," she said. "I've realized that I can't guarantee that my hunches will be right all the time."

Faith allowed the new knowledge to sink into Link's head for a few minutes. He leaned back in his chair, apparently mulling over what she told him, until he looked back at her. "Why did it take you so long to tell me?"

"I didn't trust you," she said bluntly.

"And you do now?"

"I'm trying to," she said. "Otherwise my sisters and I may never get home, may not… live through this journey if I can't trust you to help watch their backs."

"That's your motivation for everything, isn't it?" Link's tone told Faith that it was a rhetorical question, so she stayed silent, just gazing at him. He seemed a bit downcast at that revelation, but a crooked smile snaked up his face. "But aren't you a fan of me? Seeing as you've read the story a couple of times."

Faith returned the smirk. "Don't flatter yourself."

Link chuckled, and the two fell into an unexpectedly comfortable silence, just listening to the fireplace crackle and pop. Faith ignored his frequent glances at her, figuring that he was just trying to sort out his thoughts. Eventually, she looked at the clock again, and her chair scraped the floor as she pulled away from the table.

"Might as well get to bed," she said, heading for the inn's stairs. "Are you going to your room?"

"Yeah, yeah…" His voice was distant, making her pause. "Faith, wait…" She didn't move, and he stood up. "Is… Is there anything that will make you three want to stay…?"

She blinked, and mentally tried to undo the knot that her stomach had suddenly twisted itself into. "You mean in Hyrule?"

Link nodded, walking closer. "Yeah…"

Faith backed away, beginning to climb the stairs, shaking her head. "No," she said, knowing what a slap in the face that would be to their parents. "I'm afraid there's nothing."

Link sighed, but nodded once more. "I didn't think so… Thank you, Faith. Good night."

She murmured in kind, but otherwise didn't respond.