Chapter Eight
A lifetime spent living the dream

One-and-a-half weeks later

Telma's bar was even more crowded than usual. The mood on the streets of Castle Town was one of carefree, celebration. The raucous mob on the streets, partying and drinking and singing and dancing, had easily spread into the 'best bar in town'.

She wasn't complaining about the extra customers, no way; her only concern was that service was about to crawl to a standstill. "If this crowd keeps up, I might have to hire someone to help me around here," she grumbled pleasantly, as she arrived at a certain table, carrying what appeared to be an entire roast boar.

"You should've done it years ago," said Rusl, taking the opportunity to tilt his glass to her. "Never knew how you managed to run the whole place by yourself all these years."

Telma winked at him. "That's a secret I'll take to the grave, hon." She smiled apologetically, already pushing away from the table. "Duty calls." She bustled off to the next table, her considerable girth gliding between chairs and diners with total ease.

Rusl watched her go for a couple of seconds, then turned back to size up the boar. Auru was already slicing it up into bite-sized pieces, Ashei was ripping chunks out with her bare hands, and Shad was staring at a book, seemingly impervious to the smell of meat and garnish.

"So," said Rusl, loudly enough to make the others look up, "how are we all keeping?"

Believe it or not, it was the first time they had all gotten together since that eventful day more than a week ago. After all the fighting around the city walls and the utter destruction of the castle, there had been plenty to keep everyone busy.

"Since you asked..." began Auru, putting down his fork.

Auru, it seemed, had been helping tend to the many injured. While the snooty town doctor patched up the people with nothing but bruises and cuts (weaselling a few hundred Rupees out of them at the same time), Auru was tending to the rest, putting his experience and expertise to good use.

"In my younger days I got myself into a few close scrapes," he explained, "I became very familiar with the healing arts. Herbs, potions, spells... I daresay I tried them all on every bone in my body at least once."

"You must have had your work cut out for you," remarked Ashei, her mouth half-full.

"Oh, yes," said Auru. "I think five or six dozen people passed through my hands, plus a couple of Zoras. A few people were quite badly hurt when the castle went to pieces. One unlucky man was trampled over during the fighting. It was ghastly."

Rusl winced. "I'm sorry to hear that. Did he make it?"

Auru tilted his head. "He did. Others weren't as fortunate."

Rusl nodded, falling silent.

As they ate, snippets of conversations from nearby tables drifted in their direction. It seemed that everyone was talking about recent events.

"...know the Princess was still alive. Hear she's preparing the rebuild the castle real soon..."

"...my first time in town in years, you know? I finally feel safe travelling alone..."

"...swear it by Nayru. The legendary Hero was reincarnated and he led the charge that day..."

"...tell you I was fighting at the south gate? Killed three beasts with a single blow, I did..."

Ashei suppressed a laugh, looking over at the last speaker.

"Yes?" said Shad, glancing up.

"That guy," Ashei said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder, "couldn't hit a dead Moblin from two paces."

"Hmm," said Shad, nodding sagely. "That's rather... funny..."

Smiling, Auru looked around the table. "So, what have the rest of you been doing lately?"

Rusl shrugged. "Not much, personally. I've spent most of my time in the north half of town helping to clear up the rubble. You must have seen how the castle took out a good chunk of the central square with it, yes? Well, that's what I've been doing, mostly. Clearing up the roads, salvaging whatever can be salvaged from homes and shops."

"What are you doing with all that rubble?" said Shad.

Rusl laughed quietly. "Mostly dumping it just outside town. Some of the larger rocks may still be usable for reconstruction, so we left those the castle area. I actually heard some rumours that the Gorons plan on lending us a hand. Apparently one of them tried a bit of rubble and liked the taste."

"And I thought I'd heard it all," remarked Auru bemusedly. "I guess us humans will never truly understand the Gorons."

"Or vice versa," piped in Ashei. "The other day one of them was asking me what we used shields for."

"Rusl, what happens to the people who lost their homes?" said Auru.

"As far as I can tell they're bunking with their neighbours," replied Rusl. "But I believe it was mostly shops that went down. A few restaurants and quite a few speciality stores. I don't particularly mind having one less place to buy shoes from, but it makes me wonder how those owners are going to keep up a livelihood..."

"Hmm," said Auru. "That reminds me – you've probably heard, but most of the business in the centre of town seems to be heading to this one new store. I've been inside; it's a little... colourful for my tastes, but I have to say, whoever owns it must be making a fortune."

"Yes," said Rusl. He frowned slightly, and turned to look in the other direction. "Wait a minute... Ashei... did you say something about Gorons? They haven't exactly had a presence in town lately. You justhappened to be chatting with them?"

"Yeah, 'course," said Ashei. "Spent the last week or so out in Hyrule Field. It's not like the kingdom is suddenly free of its bandit problem. I ran into a lot of other people helping drive the monsters and scum out of the fields. It's been pretty fun. The little runts are all panicked and disorganised after all that's happened; half the time they just squeal and run."

"ButGorons?" said Rusl. "They don't usually leave the mountain except for business."

Ashei shrugged. "Turns out the rock-eaters have a serious bone to pick with the Lizalfos. I can't say exactly what the problem is, but it sounds like the two species have been feuding for centuries. Not sure who started it, but apparently the lizards have been invading Goron mines and waylaying stragglers for as long as they can remember."

Shad looked perplexed. "I've never heard of anything between Gorons and-"

"Well, there you go," interrupted Ashei, shrugging again. "But yeah. There are a couple dozen Gorons roaming the plains at any given time, looking for monsters to smash up. It's pretty spectacular seeing them go at it. You could split mountains with punches that hard, yeah?"

"So you've been following them around, have you?" said Auru.

"'Course not," said Ashei, looking mildly offended. "I don't follow people. I've just had a couple of run-ins with them in-between skirmishes. Most of the time I've been chasing Moblins away from the main roads, shouting 'boo' and gutting a few. It's great fun. I haven't really had a chance to... to roam, not since all the strange things started happening. You know what I mean? It's good to be able to take a walk in the countryside and not have to worry about anything but a few dimwit bandits who can't tell one end of a club from another."

"That sounds quite exciting," said Shad, staring at her whimsically.

Ashei grinned. "Hey, Shad, we haven't heard what you've been up to yet, yeah?"

"Uh..." Shad blushed and looked down. "Nothing quite so glamorous."

"Well, do tell," said Ashei. After a moment's pause, she glanced at the other two for support.

"Yes," Rusl chimed in, "do tell."

Shad mumbled something incoherent.

"Come on, speak up!" barked Rusl. "It can't be that bad!"

"Okay, okay," winced Shad, looking up. "I did warn you. All right, then... if you're sure you want to hear it... not sure why you would want to, but there you go... it's going to be pretty dull, you know, you might as well... if you... er..." He grimaced and shrugged helplessly, looking between them.

Ashei stared him down.

Shad gulped. "The ruins. Looking for... I mean, I've been poking about what's left of the castle. Trying to see what can be salvaged. There... I mean, well... it's a very old building, right? Very grand architecture, things you don't see nowadays. That's the sort of thing."

"I don't understand," said Auru. "What exactly have you been doing there?"

"Um... I guess you could say I'm looking for anything of historical importance in there," said Shad, slightly flustered. "Like, well... that hall with the statues of kings and queens, for example? There are still a few heads and arms left intact. And the royal archives! There was this massive library which the public wasn't allowed into, did you know? And a lot of it seems to have survived intact!" He was getting worked up now, grinning with excitement. "It's like a treasure trove of forbidden knowledge! I had to get someone else to unearth it for me, but... magic scrolls! Merchant treaties! They even have sheets of court music and tax records from the time of the legendary Hero!"

"...tax records," said Ashei blankly.

Shad deflated a couple of inches. "Well, uh, there's some historical value in seeing what happened when..."

Ashei cut in. "Hyrule Castle, destroyed. There's royal gold reserves and hundreds of weapons lying under the rubble, and you go and loot the castle... for tax records?"

(Not very helpfully, Rusl and Auru were engaged in muffled laughter. Loud muffled laughter.)

"Shad," continued Ashei, staring at him in a mixture of amusement and wonder, "that is so... you."

His face flushed deep red, Shad laughed self-consciously. "Um... well... if you want I suppose I could go and pilfer some gold..."

"Don't ever grow up," Rusl said, signalling Telma with one hand and clapping Shad on the back with the other.

Auru laughed heartily. "You people never cease to amaze me..."

"I think it's time for me to go back to Ordon," said Rusl, about an hour later.

The bar was a lot less crowded now; besides the four of them there might have been a dozen other people at most. Telma's cat, Louise, had arrived on their table and claimed a good quarter of it as her own, stretching out and napping with complete disregard to everyone else seated there. Rusl was gently petting her as he spoke.

The others all turned to look at Rusl as he said this. None of them looked surprised.

"Homesick?" said Ashei, a tired smile on her face.

Rusl laughed. "If you want to call it that. 'Wife and children' doesn't really mean anything to you kids, does it?"

"Kids?" said Shad, looking mildly annoyed but not enough to sit up straight.

"Children?" Auru said, honing in on Rusl's words. "Does that mean Uli already...?"

Rusl's face broke into a grin. "Yes! I wanted to surprise you all; I only found out a few days ago and I hadn't seen you since... but yes, yes! She gave birth! Uli and I are parents of two now!"

"Well, congratulations!" said Auru, walking over and pulling Rusl into a tight embrace. "That's wonderful news, Rusl! You must be so proud!"

"Yes, well..." said Rusl, returning the gesture warmly, "you see why I've got to return, then? I've barely seen Uli at all these last few months, and now... well, now that everything's over, now that all the children are safe..."

"Um, yeah... congrats, Rusl," said Ashei, smiling awkwardly. "I'd hug you, too, but... well, I'm comfortable here..." She grinned and reached across the table, patting his hand. "I hope you two do real... nah, I know you two will do real well. Go raise a couple of warriors or something, yeah?"

Shad lifted his eyes up from Ashei's hand to look at Rusl. "Um, well, I wish you all luck, Rusl," he said solemnly. "It's been good knowing you..."

"What are you talking about?" said Rusl wryly. "I'm not running away from you lot or anything! I'm just not going to be in town every single night of the year any more all."

"Oh," said Shad, looking a bit startled. "Well, er, in that case, I, uh, look forward to... seeing you... around..."

Returning to his seat, Auru regarded Rusl carefully. "Send your family our regards," he said.

"Of course," said Rusl.

The table descended into silence, with everybody staring into the distance, thinking their own things.

As the night wore on, the number of other people in Telma's bar dwindled, until the four sitting at that table were the only customers left in the bar. At this point, Telma concluded the cleaning of the tables with a triumphant flourish, grabbed herself a chair, and planted herself firmly beside them.

"Still here?" she said with a smile. "I do have to close up sometime, you know."

"Our deepest apologies, Telma," Auru quipped. "We promise it will never happen again."

"Well, yes," said Telma, leaning forward. "About that... I gather this may be the last little meeting here for a while, am I right? Now that the war is over and all..."

"What war?" said Shad.

"Figure of speech," said Telma. "Anyway, is this it for our little band? Our... peace-loving resistance?" She drew cynical little quotation marks in the air with those last words.

Auru nodded. "So it would seem. It looks as if the worst is over for Hyrule."

"Don't count on it," Telma replied. "This kingdom has a knack for getting itself into trouble, time and time again... isn't that right, Shad? You're the historian here..."

"Well, I suppose so," said Shad, staring into space. "If you believe all of the legends, this has to be, uh... maybe the fifth, sixth time that things got really ugly? I think...? But if you're going by that, we ought to have at least a couple of lifetimes before anything nearly this nasty happens again..."

"But you see what I mean," said Telma with a shrug. "Maybe things are on the way up, but I don't think 'happily ever after' is written anywhere in Hyrule's destiny. But that's not actually what I meant. What I meant was, aren't you all running away now?"

Rusl nodded. "Yes, well, I'm going back to Ordon. I can't remember if I told you, Telma...?"

"No, but I can't say I'm surprised," said Telma. "Family first, right? Wish you well, hon'. And what about the rest of you?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Telma," said Auru with a wink. "There's plenty in Lanayru province alone to keep me entertained for years to come. Besides, what else do you expect an old codger like me to do with his time?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," the barkeeper smiled. "And what about you, Shad?"

"Er... I can't say I really have any plans," said Shad. "I suppose I'll keep on searching for the sky people. I feel like I'm getting really close to something..."

Ashei shook her head. "No offence, Shad, but that's what you were saying a year ago. I don't know how many times I've seen you here with your nose stuck in some ancient book, babbling on about 'important new evidence' or whatever. I mean... come on. For all we know, those statues you keep talking about are all there is, yeah? Maybe there's just nothing left of those people, maybe you've found all there is to find. I reckon it's high time you..."

"Come to think of it," Telma cut in loudly, "I just remembered something – it might be useful to you, Shad. Would you just give me a moment?"

"Uh..." said Shad, looking back and forth between the two women uncertainly.

Without waiting for a response Telma stood up and disappeared behind the counter.

"...you were... saying... Ashei?" said Shad.

"Oh, I don't know," groaned Ashei. "Just... maybe give it a rest for a while, yeah? Get out there and do something different." She gave him what was supposed to be a well-meaning smile.

"Even if I wanted to take a break from my historical studies, what do you mean by 'something different'?" said Shad. "You're not suggesting I do something... physically intensive, are you?"

Auru laughed. "Don't worry, Shad. We know you too well for that."

"Hmm..." said Rusl. "There must be something we can do to keep you out of doors. Maybe you could take up archery-"

"No," said Shad instantly, shrinking into his seat.

Rusl stared at him for a moment, mouth open, before snapping out of it. "Why exactly?"

"Um, it's dangerous, that's why," replied Shad. "I'm not running around with all those pointy things, no thank you."

Ashei grinned. "Coward. What about picking up another language? I've always wanted to go travelling far from Hyrule. You could tag along and translate for me. It'd be fun."

Shad perked up slightly. "That... well, yes, I suppose that's within my abilities."

Telma reappeared at the table so suddenly she knocked the drink out of Rusl's hand. Clutched in one hand was a thin leather folder. "Here we are. Renado finally wrote to me the other day. He also sent – oh, I should add, Rusl, the children from your village are heading back to Ordon soon, Renado suggested you escort them – but, anyway, Shad. He also sent these for you."

She tossed the folder onto the table where Shad opened it. Its contents were hard to make out in the dimness of the lanterns on the walls, but even so a lot of it was recognisable: a few tattered old books, the writing on their bindings partially faded, and a handful of foolscap sheets, covered with rough diagrams and scribbled notes.

"What is this...?" said Shad, peering closer.

"First off," said Telma, raising hands defensively, "I agree with the others. A change of pace might be good for you, Shad. But... Renado apparently heard how much this research meant to you. These books are from the library from Kakariko. Not many survived the fires and the pillaging, but he seems to think that these will be a big help to you."

"'Order of the Sheikah?'" read Shad questioningly. "'An Account... something, something... Construction of Kakariko?' These don't seem very... Sky-people-relevant."

"Not my problem," said Telma. "But it sounds like you could use any lead you get... oh, and you might want to have a look at the papers. Renado passed these on from Link, and... oh, just look for yourself."

Shad looked unconvinced but he started flipping through the pages slowly.

"Shad gets gifts and we don't?" said Ashei. "What gives?"

Telma laughed. "Renado's a great man. He works so hard to put everyone else ahead of himself... the man needs to give himself a break every now and then."

Auru nodded. "It would be hard, worrying about everyone around you and not just yourself, all the time. I can't imagine how he felt when Kakariko was attacked."

"He's not the only person who's been hard done by in recent times," said Ashei. "What about the Zoras? When the monsters started appearing they lost their queen and dozens more."

"The people of my village, too," nodded Rusl. "There's nothing more painful than losing a child, even if only temporarily."

"Every single man and woman scarred for life by a close scrape at the city border," said Telma. "There's always one here."

"Not to mention the families of the dead," nodded Rusl.

"And the dead," said Auru.

A sombre silence fell upon them. The only sound was Shad muttering under his breath as he read his way through Link's notes.

"I've heard the royal family is planning a memorial service to honour the dead," Auru said, covering the silence.

"Nice of them," shrugged Ashei.

"Come to think of it, are any of them still alive aside from the Princess?" said Telma. "I've heard all sorts of wild stories about regicide and distant heirs to the throne."

"It's probably just hearsay," said Auru.

"Hearsay is sometimes right," countered Rusl. "My guess is that the rest of the royal family is dead. The castle was seized for so long; it's a wonder we have anything of the monarchy left."

Auru sighed. "That would be un-"

"Shad, you okay there?" said Ashei, a concerned note in her voice.

Everyone's heads turned: Shad looked up, looking between them numbly.

"Wha...?" he said. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I just... it's just this..." He waved the papers he had been reading.

"Like it?" said Telma with a knowing smile.

"This is... this is incredible!" exclaimed Shad. "It's all I need! He's drawn these..." - he waved the papers wildly in front of him, clipping Rusl on the cheek - "sorry, Rusl... these maps, right? The exact locations of other Sky relics! And look at this! Directions to the Faron temple! I mean, if this is real – and why wouldn't it be real, really? - then... nobody's seen it for hundreds of years! And then there's more; descriptions of Sky-people customs, even... he says here they have an entire city up in the heavens, can you imagine that? And then there's this sketch of a sky being, and it matches exactly with the descriptions I found in my research; that can't possibly be a coincidence, can it? Imagine that! All this time I was so close, and now I'm going to be able to – and then I think here he's written what the owl statues do, I can't quite make out what it says here but can you imagine that? It's a-"

"Shad, I'm really happy for you, but please shut up," said Ashei, a stupid grin on her face. "My mind is too tired to take in what you're saying right now."

"Seconded," said Auru apologetically. "My ears are..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," said Shad quickly, still waving his arms as he had been for the past minute. "It's just – this is so exciting! My life's work and it wasn't a waste of time like those antique dealers kept saying, you know? It's the most amazing thing, I might actually be able to talk to one of them, and that's just one thing. Did you know that the temple in Faron Woods is only a few hundred metres from the mapped trails? There's directions here; who knows, there might be a way to get in without lots of tree climbing. And then he has drawings of Sky people – real, live Sky people! It's incredible, it's like... things just couldn't possibly get better, right? He even wrote about a city in the sky, it's-"

"Shut up, Shad," said Ashei.

Shad shook his head. "This is a once in a lifetime moment. It's just incredible, you know; did you know they're supposed to be one of the oldest races in Hy-"

She grabbed him by the head (very violently, too: Shad's glasses ended up on the floor and they both had bruises on their foreheads the next day) and kissed him.

"Mmph," Shad said, completely forgetting what he had just been talking about.

There was a fair amount of awkward fumbling as Ashei managed to knock the papers out of Shad's hand, and then the two of them were very preoccupied.

Telma raised her eyebrows. "Glad to see someone took the initiative..."

"I was starting to think I'd never live to see it," said Auru.

Rusl nodded. "I feel really old now."

"Join the club," said Auru, clapping him on the back.

"...not that old," Rusl hastened to add.

"Keep it civil, boys," laughed Telma. "Next thing I know you'll be calling each other names..."

Ashei and Shad came up for breath.

"I just..." stuttered Shad. "You just... we just..."

"Yeah," said Ashei. "You like?"

"Ashei..." said Shad, "I think... I think I like... I mean... uh... could we do that again?"

"What, this?"

With some effort Telma tore her eyes away. "That's it. I'm kicking you all out in five minutes. I refuse to stand here watching those two all night." With a cheerful grin she started to gather the empty glasses on the table.

Rusl groaned. "What about me and Auru, Telma? This is the most entertainment we've had in months."

"You two should get out more," retorted Telma, deliberately turning her back as she moved away from the table. "Honestly..."

Rusl opened his mouth, couldn't think of a comeback, and shut it again. Instead he managed a half-hearted withering look at the back of Telma's head. She didn't notice, but her cat might have – Louise looked up for a split second before returning to her nap.

"We're going to have to do something about those two," Auru said with a chuckle, eyes still fixed on the other two.

Rusl smirked but said nothing.

"Ah... to be young again..." Auru yawned.

"Auru, if you say that one more time, I will kill you myself," said Rusl – and he might have meant it. "Shad! Ashei! Come on, we're moving out!"

"Quit your whining already, we're going," said Ashei, disentangling herself and springing to her feet. "You don't mind standing out in the cold, do you Shad?"

"Um... yes, sure..." said Shad. "But would it make any difference if I said no?"

"Probably not," said Ashei, sweeping Shad's things off the table so fast he barely caught them. "Come on, let's go!" She grabbed him by the hand and practically skipped away from the table.

"Bye, Auru, Rusl, Telma!" managed Shad as he was dragged to the door. "See you all around!... not so tight, please..."

"Good night," Telma said without looking up from the bar. She waited until they were out before saying, "I see what you mean, Auru. The good mood around town is infectious."

"I know a doctor who could fix that," smiled Auru, getting to his feet. He stared whimsically into the distance. "It's wonderful, all this goodwill and happiness and hope... hope especially. It's been a long time since Hyrule had so much hope in it. But I wonder how long it can last?"

Rusl thought of his children and smiled. "Let's hope it lasts a long, long time."

And you know what? It did.

THE END
(January 2007 – March 2008)

A/N: There is something incredibly difficult about ending a story. After all the effort invested in writing it, after all the emotional attachment (mine and maybe yours too), it's daunting trying to write a last chapter/page/sentence that does the whole thing justice. But on the flip side, it's incredibly rewarding once you write those closing words and tell yourself, "that is the best I can possibly do". Maybe you disagree; maybe you found this something of a letdown after the first seven chapters. Oh, well... I thought it was okay, so at least someone somewhere is happy.

And now here we are. Thanks to everybody who read this, especially the people who reviewed ('cause at least I know who you are). Your compliments, comments and complaints were all invaluable and really motivated me to write. I may have ignored most of your suggestions (oops!) but I was touched that so many people cared enough about the story to give me that advice. I could probably go on forever, but I think you get the point: you people are amazing, and I don't care how clichéd I have to be to tell you that.

Okay, down to business: where are all of your Resistance-related stories? Seriously! I know there are others out there, but there are so few... if 'Back of the Bar' is any indication there are plenty of people willing to read even the most disjointed, incoherent story as long as it has Auru in it! (Or that might have been Ashei. Can't remember.) I really would like to see this sort of story more often, even if it is just ShadxTelma fluff. Get out and write something!

As for me? I'm probably not going to write about these fine characters again for a while – I'm all Resistance'd out. I might come back to them one of these days, but until then I have several million other possible universes and ideas to consider. Should be fun, and I hope to see you around.

Until next time...