Chapter Fourteen

                                    

                                          


                          
"That'll be 50 rupees," The lady at the desk of the arrow shop told me. It was the morning after I had spoken with Revali, and I felt like I should give him an apology gift for mentioning his father. I hated making people feel bad.
                          
	I handed the clerk a purple rupee, and she handed me a quiver full of arrows. "Thank you," I said, before turning and walking out of the store. 
                          
	The bright light of the morning blinded me. People filled the town, walking, talking, and running. I felt a tug on my hand.
                          
	"Princess Mipha!" I looked down to see Jenna, one of the young village girls, hopping excitedly up and down. "Come play with me!"
                          
	I shook my head gently. "I'm sorry, Jenna, I have to go deliver a present. Maybe later."
                          
	The young girl's shoulders slumped. "Okay," She said, walking up the road of Kakariko village. I looked around, searching for Revali. He sat next to a fire, staring blankly into the flames.
                          
I walked across the street, approaching him slowly. "Hello," I greeted him quietly.
                          
He looked up from the fire. "Hi," He responded, looking up at me.
                          
I sat down beside him and handed him the quiver of arrows. "I got you
                          
Something,"
                          
"Oh, Mipha, you didn't have to," He took the arrows. "You shouldn't feel bad. You didn't do anything."
                          
I shook my head. "If I didn't give you something, I would've exploded from guilt."
                          
Revali chuckled. "You're adorable."
                          
I blushed, turning away from the Rito.
                          
"Uh, I mean, not like that," Revali quickly added. "I didn't, umm..."
                          
I giggled. "It's okay," 
                          
"Well, I've gotta go, uh, do some target practice." Revali stood up, walking briskly up the street and out of the village.
                          
	I stared after him. What just happened? Did he really just say that? I shook my head. It was a misunderstanding. He didn't mean it.
                          
	Right?
                          
〜
                          
	A dark purple sky full of sparkling silver stars sat over Kakariko village. The moon was no more than a white sliver of light, hanging gracefully among the stars.
                          
	Revali and I sat just outside town, on the very slope where Link and I had spotted the Blupee. My heart ached to see him again, but I pushed the pain aside, trying to convince myself that he was okay.
                          
	Neither Revali nor I could fall asleep, so we had decided to go star watching. It was the perfect night ; all of the constellations were aglow in a beautiful indigo sky. 
                          
	"It's amazing, isn't it?" Revali said, stretched out on the grass beside me.
                          
	"Yes," I replied, stopping myself from wondering if Link was watching the same stars as we were.
                          
	Silently we sat watching the night skies, until Revali spoke again.
                          
	"You still miss him, don't you?" He asked.
                          
	I nodded in reply.
                          
	Revali sighed. "I know it might be hard, but you're only torturing yourself. You need to move on. I say this for your sake only."
                          
	I looked down from the sky and to Revali. "I know," I sighed. "It just feels... wrong. To forget about him so quickly."
                          
	"I understand," Revali replied. "It's not as if he deserves attention."
                          
	A spark of anger started inside me. "What do you mean?"
                          
	"I'm just saying, he's not as innocent as you think."
                          
	"What?" I held back my anger. "Give me one example of something Link has done that isn't innocent."
                          
	"I'd better not," Revali went back to star watching. "I don't want to make you upset."
                          
	"No, tell me," I insisted, irritation sparking inside me. 
                          
	"Fine, but you're not going to like it." Revali gave in. "First of all, just when we got here, he stole a few swift carrots."
                          
	"Oh, sure," I glared at the Rito. 
                          
	"I saw him, I swear," Revali promised. "But that's nothing compared to the other things he's done."
                          
	"Like what?"
                          
	"He gave that Zora, Mei, wrong directions purposefully so she would get lost." Revali said.
                          
	I recalled the young Zora who had gotten swept by the river, all the way down to Lake Hylia. "Where's your proof?" 
                          
	Revali shrugged. "I have some sources."
                          
	I rolled my eyes. 
                          
	"But that's not even the worst part." Revali looked at me. "Once, when Sidon was playing in one of the pools underneath the throne room in Zora's Domain, Link was sitting next to him. He got annoyed because Sidon was splashing him with his Vah Ruta toy, and he grabbed the toy, snapped it in half, and threw it into the water."
                          
	I sat staring at Revali. I remembered Sidon, running up to me, tears filling his eyes. He held up his broken Vah Ruta toy, and I tried to ask him how it broke, but all he said was that he "forgot".
                          
	"Really?" It made sense. Sidon didn't want to say anything about it because he knew I liked Link. 
                          
	"Really. I saw it with my own two eyes." Revali promised.
                          
	Shock and sadness poured through me. I couldn't believe it. How could he have done such a thing? I really thought he was better than that. It was the most terrible news I had ever heard in my life.
                          
	Tears trickled down my cheeks. Betrayal pierced my heart. Perhaps he wasn't the person I thought he was. 
                          
	Revali comfortingly wrapped his wing around me, and I leaned up against him. I cried into his shoulder, until I fell asleep in his arms.