Damon arose early
the next morning, feeling a little worse for wear after his late night. He and Fayzie had
stayed up into the small hours, talking in the shadow of the dying fire, of
everything and nothing, and it truly had seemed to Damon that time had stood
still that night. Of course, it had not,
and when the two had finally parted, Damon had been almost asleep before he
fell into bed. Even now, as he washed
his face with cool water, he was still tired.
On reflection, however, the missed sleep had certainly been worth
it. As the ranger pottered around his
room, picking up his discarded clothes from the night before, he could not deny
himself a small smile as he thought of Link’s friend. They had never really spoken in earnest until
last night, but everything he had learned had confirmed what he had first
thought of her. That she was a person
with a beautiful and kind soul whom had gone through more hard times than any
person could deserve. It was not that Fayzie had spent the entire night speaking of how terrible
her life was, it had been quite the contrary, she had spoken of many things
that had brought a smile to her face.
But there had been things left unsaid, sudden pauses and downward
glances that had told Damon that there was still more to learn of her life back
in Catalia.
And he too, had spoken, again of many things. He had told her of his late wife, to which
she had given a slow nod, admitting to already know whilst expressing her
deepest sympathies. Ashleigh, Aaron's
sister, had told her. The ranger
continued to smile to himself as he began to dress, pulling fresh clothes from
his travelling pack. They had not spent
much time dwelling on the sadder events in their lives, instead deciding to
reminiscence about earlier and happier times in their lives. Fayzie had regaled
Damon with many entertaining anecdotes about her and Link when they had been
children, and in return he had told her of the hijinx
he and his friends had got up to when he was a
boy.
A merry tap on the
door broke Damon from his thoughts as he pulled on his boots, and he paused,
looking to the door. The knock came
again, and he ambled over to the door, drawing back the lock and pulling it
open.
“Good morning!”
sang Dion, his voice full of cheer as he stepped into
the room. Damon gave him a weary smile,
resisting the sudden urge to yawn. He
knew that if his friend caught on about he and Fayzie, he would surely never hear the end of it. “Late night?” enquired the archer, marching
over to the window and pulling open the curtains, letting the early
morning sun light flood in.
“Not so late,”
replied Damon cagily, walking back over to his pack and pushing yesterday’s
clothes into it.
“Hmmmm, that’s not what I heard, amigo,” grinned Dion, turning to look at the ranger. Damon looked at Dion
with surprise. The artisan’s grin grew
wider.
“Oh, and what did
you hear?” asked the ranger, hoping that his friend was bluffing.
“You, and the
hero’s friend, stayed up alll night!” exclaimed Dion with a triumphant smile. Damon let out a short sigh, defeated, before
looking at his friend with a small smile.
Dion looked at him expectantly. “Well?” he pushed.
“She’s...she’s
wonderful,” admitted the ranger, a slight flush creeping to his cheeks. Dion grinned again,
before bursting out into song.
“Isn’t she
lovely? Isn’t she fine?!” he began,
dancing over to the door.
“Shhh...you’ll wake up half the
guests!” warned Damon, although he couldn’t help but feel vaguely amused by his
friend’s reaction.
“I had lost all
hope for you, my friend, I had thought that you would end up all alone, and
become a bitter man!” declared Dion joyously.
“Well, I thank you
for your concern. But we are only
friends, she and I. There may be nothing
else to it,” said Damon seriously. Dion’s grin vanished, his eyebrows raised.
“Would you like
there to be more?” he asked. Damon let
out a sigh, running his hand through his hair.
“I should like
nothing better...but her husband only recently passed on. And then...”
He did not finish the sentence aloud.
And then there is Link, he thought.
What chance did he have, if she still had feelings for his friend? Dion shrugged.
“Well yes, there
is that. But even if you two are only
friends, who is to say that there might not be developments in the
future?” Damon smiled at his friend,
clapping him on the shoulder.
“You’re right my
friend. I’ve waited this long. I’m sure I can wait a little longer,” assured
the ranger with a chuckle.
“Of course you
can. Good things come to those who wait,
yes, amigo?” Damon grinned as his friend
opened the door, stepping outside. “I’ll
let you wake her, if she needs waking. I
have to be on the noon ship across to West Hyrule if I am to keep my appointment with the
lovely Princess Zelda,” reminded Dion.
“Yes, of
course. I’ll meet you outside in a few
minutes,” agreed Damon, stepping out behind his friend. As Dion trotted
down the stairs, Damon walked along the inn passage, pausing outside Fayzie’s room.
Quickly checking that his collar was straight and that his nails were
clean, he tapped on the door, and waited.
Fayzie awoke with a start, her eyes flying wide open with
surprise. For a moment, she could not
fathom where in Catalia she was, before sheepishly
realising she was not even in her birth country anymore. She was of course in Hyrule,
more specifically Nabrooru town, lying in a bed in
the Lucky Dragon Inn. Stretching a
little, a short yawn left her lips, and she smiled with the recollection of the
night before, of her and Damon, talking in the warmth of the fire, long after
all the other patrons had left. She
turned over, and saw her son lying asleep beside her, another smile touching
her lips. She reached out with one hand,
ruffling her son’s hair gently, speaking to him in a soft tone.
“Aden,” she murmured, shaking him a
little. The boy soon awoke, and looked
at his mother with weak protest.
“Mother...” he
began tiredly. She smiled at him,
kissing his forehead, before rising from the bed.
“We are going to the
woods this morning, remember? Master Dion told you of it at dinner,” she gently reminded. This filled the sleepy boy with new vigour,
and he leapt from his bed with a cry of jubilation. “Sssshhh,” scolded Fayzie slightly. Aden looked at her with
doleful eyes, and she could not help but smile.
“You don’t want to wake the others,” she whispered, handing him a wash
cloth and a wooden toothbrush. “Now wash
your face and brush your teeth,” she instructed, before turning to rummage
through the pack she and her son shared.
She first drew out Aden’s
clothes for the day, a brown tunic with a black undershirt and trousers, items
she had all made with her own hand. She
then took out her own attire for the day, a simple blue dress with short
sleeves and a long skirt. As Aden walked away from the
wash basin, Fayzie handed him his clothes and walked
to the basin herself. She poured herself
a little fresh water from the jug provided, and quickly washed her face with
soap and a cloth, before beginning to clean her teeth.
“Master Dion was very funny I thought,” piped up Aden conversationally.
“Yes, he is a very
nice man,” agreed Fayzie, patting dry her face with a
towel. She looked at herself in the
mirror, and began to tie back her hair, thinking it more practical.
“So is master Damon,” agreed Aden,
pulling on his shirt and beginning to fasten the buttons with nimble
fingers. Fayzie
took a moment to respond as she tried to control her mass of curly locks.
“Yes...yes he is,”
she murmured thoughtfully.
“And I like Grey
too. Are we going to still live near
Master Damon? I would hate not to see
Grey again,” quizzed young Aden,
speaking of Damon’s great grey wolf hound.
“Of course we
are. The house Damon is building us is
very near to his own. I am quite sure
you shall be seeing plenty of Grey yet,” assured Fayzie
with a smile. She paused as she caught
her smiling reflection in the mirror, and lowered her eyes. She had not had much reason to smile of late. Perhaps things were going to take a turn for
the better. She walked over to the bed
and picked up her dress, walking behind the dressing screen.
“Are you and
Master Damon going to be married?” asked Aden
suddenly. Fayzie
pulled off her night dress and looked at her son, somewhat startled by his
question. A slight blush crept to her
cheeks and she shook her head.
“Whatever made you
ask that?” she asked nervously. It was
true, she and Damon had been growing closer recently, but she had never even
contemplated marriage. It was too
soon. Too soon after Aden...and Link. Aden
walked over to the mirror and looked at himself critically.
“I don’t
know. I just thought it would be nice,
that’s all,” admitted the boy. Fayzie finished putting on her dress and walked to her son,
kneeling before him and taking his hands in hers.
“Sometimes Aden, sometimes things
that would be nice don’t always happen,” she said softly. Aden
looked at his mother and smiled, squeezing her hands.
“I know. I just thought that, for once, it
might.” Fayzie
looked at her son for a moment, her heart filled with both love and
sadness. She leaned forward and hugged
him.
“I think nicer
things might happen from now on,” she said quietly, hoping dearly, for her
son’s sake, that she was right. A sudden
polite tap on the door broke the moment, and Fayzie
reluctantly let go of her son, rising up to her feet.
“Will that be
Master Damon?” asked Aden
enthusiastically. Fayzie
smiled down at him, walking over to the door.
“Let’s see, shall
we?”
Damon smiled as Fayzie opened the door, and he gave her a smart bow, to
which she promptly curtsied.
“Good morning,”
greeted the ranger. Fayzie
reciprocated the greeting. Aden rushed from the
door, looking up at Damon, his eyes full of hope.
“Are we going to
the woods this morning?” he asked. Damon
chuckled softly and nodded.
“Yes, we certainly
are. Why don’t you go on downstairs and
see if you can find Dion? I’m sure he will tell you
all about it,” suggested Damon. Aden looked to his mother
hopefully, who nodded her permission.
The boy let out a cry of glee before he went thumping down the staircase
as fast as he possibly could. Damon
turned back to Fayzie and smiled at her again.
“You look well
this morning,” he complimented. Fayzie smiled and shook her head.
“I do not feel
it! I’m afraid I did not sleep much last
night,” she confessed shyly.
“Oh? I am sorry for keeping you up so late...I
must admit, when I woke this morning part of me wanted to go back to sleep!”
responded Damon.
“It wasn’t that,”
began Fayzie, pausing. She looked at Damon, who gave her a small
smile.
“No?”
“Not
at all. I...I had a lovely time
last night, Damon. I just wanted to
thank you,” she admitted.
“No need. I hope there shall be plenty more like it,”
said Damon, flashing Fayzie a hopeful smile.
“As do I,” said Fayzie slowly, some of her shyness returning.
“Should we go
down? I am afraid that patience is not
one of Dion’s greatest virtues,” suggested the ranger
with a grin. Fayzie
nodded, and Damon held out his elbow, meaning for Fayzie
to take it. She did, after a moment of
hesitation, and looked up to Damon with a shy smile. He did not say a word, only met her eyes with
his, and the two of them walked downstairs, their arms linked, and into the
cool morning air.
“Ah, here comes
your mother and Damon this very minute.
It is just as well, I was beginning to think you and I might have to
send out a search party!” exclaimed Dion to Aden as Damon and Fayzie set foot outside the inn. Aden
chuckled at Dion’s comment, and ran to his mother,
giving her a brief hug.
“Master Dion says we are to go roving, shooting at targets in the
wood! Look, he even made me this!”
exclaimed Aden
excitedly, producing a beautifully crafted long bow, that was just the right
size for the young boy. Fayzie looked to Dion and
smiled.
“And did you thank
Master Dion?” she asked her son. Dion grinned.
“He did indeed, a
dozen times at least I should think. You
do not need to worry about your son’s manners, milady, they are quite
exemplary,” assured Dion. Fayzie smiled at
the Dubation.
“And you have my
thanks also, to present such a generous gift to my son...it is very kind,” said
the Catalian shyly.
Dion shrugged.
“It is a small
price to pay to be gifted with your and your son’s delightful presence!”
insisted Dion with a flourish. Damon shook his head at his friend’s charming
words, a small smile tugging at his lips.
His friend had a way with words he could never hope to master.
“Really, you are
too kind,” said Fayzie, blushing slightly at Dion’s words. Dion grinned.
“There is no such
thing as too kind,” insisted the Dubation. He turned to two great horses that stood at
his side, one a bay mare, the other a grey gelding. “Now, I thought we could ride to the woods on
these two...me and young Aden
on Cade,” began Dion, motioning to the bay mare, “and
Damon and Fayzie on Grey Star,” he finished, patting
the great grey gelding on its velvety nose.
Damon did not miss the wink his friend flashed him as he finished, and
quickly looked away. He knew he had been
a fool to admit his feelings to the flamboyant Dubation. “Does that suit everyone?” asked Dion amiably. Damon
looked at Fayzie, who nodded, and smiled at her a
little uncomfortably. Aden nodded enthusiastically, glad to share a ride with the exciting
and exotic Dubation. Dion clapped his
hands together. “Well then, what are we
waiting for? I have a ship to catch at
noon, so the sooner we reach our roving spot, the longer I have to impress you
all with my flawless skills,” boasted the archer, grabbing Aden and lifting him
onto Cade. He mounted up behind the boy
and took the reins, before clicking gently to the mare with his tongue and
coaxing her gently to move on. Damon
turned to Fayzie, and offered to help her onto the
other horse, the one Dion
had called Grey Star. She gladly
accepted, and soon, all four of them were on their way out of Nabooru.
The foursome soon
reached the small forest which had served as the perfect location for roving
again and again for Dion and Damon over the
years. They all dismounted, and whilst
Damon and Dion safely secured the horses, Aden regaled his mother
with the many tales Dion had told him about the woods
they were now in during the short ride from Nabooru.
“And he says that
somewhere in these woods, there is faeries!” continued Aden, his eyes wide with wonder as he cast
his gaze about the trees. Fayzie could not help but feel the woods were certainly a
tad too green for this time of the year, it was conceivable, she supposed, that
the woods were sustained by magic. Dion walked over to the mother and son, handing Aden the bow he had
crafted for him, as well as a quiver of small arrows.
“Now, you know how
to use that thing? Or do you want some
tips from the master?” inquired Dion. Aden
quickly slipped the arrow quiver over his slender shoulder and began to pull
the drawstring back in a bid to impress Dion. The architect smiled and patted Aden on the head.
“We might have a
good little archer in you yet, son, yes I think we might,” marvelled Dion with a clap of his hands. He turned to Fayzie. “And what about you, milady?” he enquired,
his dark brown eyes twinkling. Fayzie shook her head slightly.
“Oh, no...it’s been a long time since I picked up a bow,” she admitted
with a short laugh. Dion’s
eyes widened.
“Tis a sad thing indeed! There is naught quite like the twang of a
bow, I always thought. To be out of
practice with such a fine tool is a great shame,” he lamented. Damon approached the small party, his arrows
slung over his shoulder, and two long bows in his arms. As he reached them, he offered one of the
weapons to Fayzie, and she let out a small gasp of
surprise.
“Oh, I did not
think I would be participating. Really...I am quite happy to just watch,” she
insisted.
“But watching is
no fun!” protested Dion. Aden
looked up at his mother.
“Go on mum, it’ll
be fun!” added the young boy with a hopeful smile. Fayzie looked from
her son to the bow offered to her, before her blue eyes travelled to meet
Damon’s. She smiled softly at the
ranger, then took the bow from him, her fingers
brushing against his.
“Very
well. But all of you must promise
not to laugh,” she began.
“I only laugh at a
lady when she tells me a joke,” said Dion sincerely,
before turning and making his way into the woods. Aden
began to run after him, and Damon and Fayzie both
followed, easily falling into step with one another as they went.
And so the game
began. Dion
naturally took the lead of the four, and he began by pointing out a suitable
target for all of them to aim at. He
pointed at a tree, not for from were they all stood, and suggested that
whomever could land their arrow nearest to a protruding branch would be able to
pick the next target. All four of them
agreed upon this, and Dion took his turn, gently
sliding an arrow from his quiver and loading it into his bow. He took careful aim, and then let the arrow
sail free – it flew through the air and struck the tree with a resounding
thump, very close to the branch he had chosen as the target. Aden
was next up, and Dion got down on his knees next to
the boy, and helped instruct him on how to load the arrow correctly, how to aim
it, and finally, how to let it sail free.
Aden was
a quick learner and a good student, and he did as Dion
instructed him, before finally shooting for the tree. His aim was true, but as the arrow reached it’s target, it harmlessly bounced off the bark and fell to
the forest floor. Dion
patted him on the back, and Damon spoke up.
“Do not worry Aden,
your aim was true enough. Even such
things even happen to Dion from time to time,”
reassured the ranger kindly. Dion shoot Damon a horrified look.
“Dion never misses!” he announced, before grinning down at Aden. “Only when he plans to,” he added with a
wink. Damon stepped up to take his shot,
and true enough, his arrow landed just above Dion’s,
arguably closer to the branch than Dion would care to
admit. Damon turned and looked to Fayzie, who stepped forward a little shyly, aware that all
eyes were on her. She had used the bow
and arrow when she was a young girl, she had often caught rabbits and the like
for her mother for supper. But once she
married Aden,
he had told her she didn’t need to hunt any longer. He had been the provider, and she was to be
the wife who stayed at home. She had not
minded terribly, many had told her she was lucky to have a husband who was so
keen to provide for her. But sometimes,
sometimes she had wished Aden
would have let her help more. Her
thoughts suddenly snapped back to the present, and she quickly took an arrow
from the quiver Damon had given her, and placed it between the bow and the
string. Using the fingers of her left
hand to hold the arrowhead in place, she pulled back on the string of the bow
with her right hand, aiming the arrow at the tree branch Dion
had made the target. She drew back the
bowstring as tight as she could, squinting a little at
her target. Dion
leaned over to Damon, and whispered in his ear.
“She is a mighty
beautiful lady, my friend.” Damon gave Dion a warning look, then watched in surprise and secret
delight as he watched Fayzie shoot the arrow towards
the tree. The arrow struck the tree just
by the branch Dion had called the target, and Aden let out a cry of
delight as he saw that his mother had clearly won. Damon gently applauded Fayzie
as they all walked over to the tree, whilst Dion
muttered unhappily under his breath about beginner’s luck.
“Wow mum! I never knew you could do that!” exclaimed Aden looking at his
mother proudly.
“Yes, that was an
excellent shot,” congratulated Damon as they collected their arrows.
“It was luck, I’m
sure,” said Fayzie with a blush. Dion turned to Fayzie, smiling broadly, although still clearly burnt by
his loss.
“You get to chose the next target,” he reminded. Fayzie smiled and
looked about them, casting her eyes over the trees and the bushes and the rocks
that littered the forest floor.
“How
about that fallen tree? Over there?”
she suggested.
“A fine choice I’m
sure,” agreed Dion.
An hour or so
later, all four of the group were sat down in the middle of the forest,
preparing for an early lunch. Damon had
begun a small fire and was preparing a meat broth made with a wild cucoo he had caught whilst the four had roved. Dion was showing Aden how to carve his own
arrows, and Fayzie was assisting Damon with the meal
– they had collected assorted roots and herbs to flavour the broth with, and
now the meal was almost ready to serve.
“So, where did you
learn to shoot like that?” asked Damon conversationally as he stoked the
fire. The game had ended with Dion the winner, and Damon a close
second. However, the Catalian
woman had not been far behind the two of them on points, and even Aden had won a game or
three.
“I used to go out
hunting with my father when I was a girl...but it has been years since...I
stopped once I married,” replied Fayzie, stirring the
broth with a wooden spoon that Damon had brought in his pack, along with the
necessary pans and crockery.
“Oh...” murmured
Damon, looking over to Dion and Aden, who were talking animatedly between
themselves.
“But I enjoyed
today...it is nice just to walk in the woods and hear the birds and the wind in
the leaves. And looking for targets...it
makes you look harder I suppose,” said Fayzie, hoping
to steer the conversation away from talk of her past life.
“Yes, it’s been
nice...it certainly makes a change to do it with someone other than Dion, I must admit,” agreed Damon. Fayzie offered
Damon a spoonful of the broth to taste it, which he promptly did. He leaned back and smiled.
“Tastes
nice...what did you put in it?” he asked curiously. Fayzie smiled.
“Oh, nothing too
exciting, just a few herbs I found,” she replied coyly. She began to pour the stew into four bowls,
and Damon waved Dion and Aden over, indicating that the meal was
ready.
“This smells
divine,” complimented Dion, before digging into the
broth, dipping a hunk of bread into his bowl and then biting into it
hungrily. “And it tastes it, too,” he
added after a few moments.
“Well, that’s Fayzie’s doing,” said Damon.
“We both made the
broth,” reminded Fayzie. Dion grinned.
“In that case, you
two make an excellent team,” he said.
Damon felt his cheeks flush a little, and he could not help but notice
that Fayzie’s did the same.
“Are you married,
Master Dion?” asked Aden suddenly. Dion turned to Aden and smiled.
“Not yet, but I am
engaged to the most beautiful lady in all of the Demiari...excepting your mother of course,” he replied with a
wink. Fayzie
almost choked on a piece of broth she had just swallowed, spluttering a
little. She quickly took a sip of water
from one of the waterskins Damon had brought, and
swallowed the meat, her cheeks still visibly flushed. Dion
looked to Damon and smiled.
“Wouldn’t you agree, amigo?” he asked.
Damon paused.
“Agree to what?”
“That Fayzie here is surely one of the most beautiful women in
the whole Demiari?”
Damon glared at his friend, furious that he would tease him so. He knew Dion meant
no harm with his words, but that was sometimes the Dubation’s
biggest problem.
“Master Damon and
my mother should get married, I think,” piped up Aden suddenly. A wicked grin crept across Dion’s features, and he turned on the two, who both seemed
a shade paler at Aden’s
innocent words.
“That would be a
fine idea, indeed,” he agreed.
The rest of the
meal was eaten in an uncomfortable silence, both Damon and Fayzie
mortified. By the time they had packed
up and returned to the horses, Fayzie had managed to
utter a hasty apology to Damon, who had swiftly dismissed it, saying that there
was no need for her to apologise. Damon
could tell that Dion had enjoyed every moment of the
meal, especially Aden’s
little revelation. As Dion mounted Cade, along with Aden, and began to make his way towards the
port, Damon turned to Fayzie, a little
uncomfortable.
“Look,” he began,
his hand on the back of his neck, “You take Grey Star...I’m quite happy to
walk.” Fayzie
looked at Damon with surprise and quickly shook her head.
“Don’t be silly,
you must already be tired after carrying such a heavy pack through the
woods! There is room for two of us, and
Grey Star is nicely rested,” she began in protest. Damon looked down at his feet, before rubbing
his chin with his hand.
“I just don’t want
you to feel...” he paused.
“Feel what?” asked
Fayzie earnestly.
Damon finally met her eyes with his own.
“I don’t know...I
don’t want you to think I’m imposing upon you, I suppose,,”
he admitted quietly. Fayzie
smiled, and stood closer to Damon, tentatively touching him on the
shoulder.
“I don’t think, or
feel, that at all Damon. You’ve been so
kind to me, and nothing but a gentleman.
I know we haven’t known each other long...and we hardly met each other
under the best of circumstances...but I’d like to think that you and I...are
friends.” Damon looked down at Fayzie’s slender hand on his shoulder, admiring her long,
graceful fingers, then looked back to her, his smile
tinged with relief. For a moment, they
stood in silence, simply regarding one another, before Fayzie
gave the ranger a soft kiss on his cheek.
When she drew away, she smiled, as did Damon, before turning away to
their horse.
“Come on,” she
began, climbing astride the grey creature.
Damon followed. “We don’t want to
give my son, or Dion, any more ideas,” she said with
a small grin. Damon smiled back, before
picking up the reins and motioning their horse onwards.
“No, I guess
not...you must forgive Dion...he can be a little bold
at times,” said the ranger. Fayzie smiled to herself as they left the canopy of the
woods.
“As can my
son...no wonder those two get on so well!” she exclaimed.
“But sometimes the
bold say what the timid feel,” murmured Damon.
Fayzie felt a flutter of surprise within her
heart, and she put her hand on the reins, slowing Grey Star to a stop. She turned her neck awkwardly to look at
Damon, question in her eyes. She could
not even think of what to say. “I like
you, Fayzie, I think...I think you’re one of the most
beautiful people I’ve ever come across...I know it’s probably too soon for you
to even consider becoming involved with someone else...but...” Fayzie stopped him
there, brushing her lips against his.
She knew Damon was right, and that she shouldn’t even consider becoming
involved with someone else – why, her husband was barely cold in his
grave...and then there had been Link.
But she could deny her feelings no more than she could care for her
son. Damon looked at Fayzie,
shocked at her gesture, then broke out into an unsure
grin.
“I like you too,
Damon. More than you can know,” spoke Fayzie.
“Really?” a hint
of disbelief lay in the ranger’s voice, and surprise. Fayzie nodded,
before laying one hand over his and squeezing it slightly.
“Yes. But perhaps now is not the time or the
place. We are meant to be seeing off
your friend, yes?” she reminded. Damon’s
grin grew wider and he nodded.
“Well I guess
so...but...well...okay, we can talk later?” he checked. Fayzie nodded
again.
“I would like
that,” she agreed, turning back to the path before them. Damon urged Grey Star onwards, his heart
suddenly fit to burst – the bundle of nerves that had been there only moments
before suddenly replaced with a joyous choir.
It had been a long time since he had felt this way about anyone, he had
hardly dare hope that he would be lucky enough to discover that a woman such as
Fayzie would care for him in the same way.