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Link stared up at the ceiling of his room, examining the familiar cracks he’d seen many times before. The window was open, letting in a faint, warm breeze that gently rustled his blinds. Now and then there was a soft mutter or click from Ghirahim who sat at Link’s desk, intent on not letting the small puzzle box he’d obtained from Beedle win against his stubbornness. Every now and again Ghirahim let out a sharp hiss when his nails got caught between the pieces, checking them over to make sure they weren’t damaged.
After running himself ragged on the Surface trying to find Zelda, only to have her ripped away from him again when the two were just a mere arms length away from one another, this moment of peace and quiet was definitely much appreciated. He hoped Zelda was safe with Impa, wherever she was.
An abrupt snap next to him made him jump, which was quickly followed by a loud curse from Ghirahim.
“Blasted box! Why did we buy this damn thing?” He growled, shaking his right hand angrily in the air.
“What happened?” Link asked, sitting up.
“Broke a nail.” Ghirahim said, now examining his fingertips. Link could see that his index finger was much shorter than before, lacking one of those long, sharp talons Ghirahim so lovingly cared for. Link rolled his eyes.
“You know it’s not a race against the clock, right? Beedle didn’t say ‘Finish this today and you’ll get a shopping discount!’.”
Ghirahim gave him a sharp look.
“Being bested by another sword in battle is perhaps something I could let slip, if it means others don’t know me as the person who was beaten by a block of wood.”
Link laughed.
“And if you did, I won’t tell anyone. I’ve bought one of those puzzle boxes before and I had to give it to Mr. Horwell, it was so difficult.”
Ghirahim leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow at Link.
“Then that proves you’re not as smart as you look.”
“Orrrr I dealt with it better than Groose did.”
Ghirahim chuffed.
“Don’t tell me. He bought one of them to impress Her Grace and ended up breaking it in frustration.”
“Yep.”
Ghirahim rolled his eyes.
“Colour me surprised.”
He then picked up the puzzle box once more and turned it over in his hands.
“If it pleases you,” he said, giving Link a vaguely pleading look, “I’ll take breaks, so I don’t break anything, but I’m still going to finish this by this evening. Just so we’re clear.”
“If you say so.” Link sighed, before standing up, grabbing his purse and moving to the door. “I’m going to go for a walk. Don’t want to be stuck indoors all day.”
“Very well. Try not to get into anything too exciting whilst I’m gone.”
Link nodded in response and closed the door behind him, passing by the kitchen and out into the rest of Skyloft. The breeze from earlier had died down slightly, making the heat of the sun even more apparent. Link slowly made his way to the Bazaar, wondering if Rupin had obtained anything new that he could sell. Perhaps he should have written down if he needed a resupply of items, but there was never any shame in just admiring the wares. Those arrows he had were very well crafted. If only Link had a bow to begin with.
He was just about to enter the Bazaar when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Out of instinct Link spun around with a fist raised slightly in self-defence, fully expecting to see Groose behind him. But instead, it was a red-faced and very out of breath Fledge.
“Sorry for scaring you, Link.” He gasped, now bent over as he tried to catch his breath. “It just… seemed like a good time to grab you.”
“Is something wrong?” Link asked, puzzled.
“K-kind of.” Fledge started. “You see, whilst you’ve been gone, Groose has been getting up to all sorts of things without Gaepora finding out.”
“...Like what?”
“Well, uh...” Fledge seemed to become very hesitant with what he was about to say next. “I don’t think he realises yet that you have a new friend with you and he… He might have let loose a wild lizard into your room.”
Link’s expression quickly changed to that of outright horror as he sprinted back to his dorm with Fledge following close behind, desperately praying that Ghirahim hadn’t completely destroyed his room in a fit to get rid of the pest.
“Where is Groose now?” He shouted to Fledge.
“I don’t know! He ran off as soon as he realised he pranked the wrong person.”
Oh god, here we go . Link thought as he practically threw himself through the front door and to his room, swinging the door open in one swift movement. Fledge timidly looked over his shoulder as they both peered into the room.
Ghirahim was standing up, looking around erratically as he spun in place with the puzzle box held tightly to his chest. To Link’s relief, his room hadn’t been torn to shreds, but he knew it could only take a few seconds before Ghirahim started kicking up a fuss. Eventually, he became aware of the boys’ presence and turned to them.
“Is everything OK?” Link asked, only to immediately regret it when he saw Ghirahim’s expression quickly darken.
“OK? OK?!” he snapped, now pointing at his box. “Some horrendous creature stole the key I need to complete this!”
His gaze then fixated on Fledge and he stepped forward menacingly.
“Did you do this? Because if so, I demand you retrieve your pet and what rightfully belongs to me.”
Fledge cowered at Ghirahim’s tone but Link held his position between the two, making sure Ghirahim couldn’t make a grab for him.
“Fledge has nothing to do with this, it was Groose. He thought I was still in my room and wanted to prank me.”
“ Some prank. ” Ghirahim hissed, placing the puzzle box on the end of the bed and moving towards the door. Both Link and Fledge quickly sidestepped to let him pass. Ghirahim looked up and down the hallway as if trying to pinpoint Groose’s location.
“Where did he run off to?” He demanded.
“I-I have no idea.” Fledge stammered. “Maybe the- the canteen?”
Without another word Ghirahim stormed off, clearly intent on getting his hands on Groose before anyone could stop him.
Link and Fledge shared a look before chasing after him in the hopes they could at least prevent an attempted murder of some kind.
Henya was busy tending to her cooking as usual but watched with mild curiosity as Ghirahim entered the canteen with Link and Fledge close behind.
“Looking for someone?” she asked, but Ghirahim ignored her as he continued to search the area.
“Groose.” Link answered, smiling politely in hopes she wouldn’t question the trio further.
“Well, he’s not here. Best try outside. It’s a beautiful day out.”
Ghirahim grumbled to himself and went back up to Link.
“Once I find him I’m going to make sure he knows not to cross me again.” He whispered angrily, pointing a warning finger at Link. “He’ll be lucky he escapes with one arm still intact.”
“B-But there’s no need for that!” Fledge said hurriedly. “I’m sure if we maybe all sit down together, we could try to talk it over.”
Ghirahim gave him an incredulous look, clearly not believing what he’d just heard.
“What makes you think talking calmly is my forte?” Ghirahim said. “I have my own preferred methods.”
“Yes, but-” Link chimed in, “Maybe just this once we can do things-” he pointed to himself and Fledge, “our way. No harm in trying.”
Ghirahim breathed in deeply.
“I suppose that means I can’t ask for an opportunity to at least get in some knife throwing practice.”
“That’s the last thing I want!” Link said, horrified.
“Then I’ll throw just one, then. It might not even hit.”
“I’ve seen you throw knives, it’ll hit!”
Suddenly, there was a loud TING! Of metal banging against metal.
“That’s enough yelling, boys!” Shouted Henya, pointing her stirring spoon at the three. “Take it outside or I’ll be forced to ask Owlan to intervene.”
“Oh, uh, of course!” Link said, grabbing Ghirahim’s arm and dragging him to the front door. “Sorry!”
Once they were outside, Link let go.
“Listen,” Link started, “I have enough rupees to buy you another puzzle box. Why don’t we just go see Beedle again?”
Ghirahim stiffened.
“No. We either find the key, which is now nigh impossible, or we force Groose to buy it for us.”
Link sighed.
“Ghirahim, this is Groose we’re talking about. Unless there’s something in it for him, he won’t bother. Especially not for me when I was the one he was aiming for earlier.”
Ghirahim paused for a moment as though taking in Link’s words. It was always in these type of moments that Link could never really guess what he was thinking. Fledge looked back and forth between the two, waiting for someone to say something.
It was there that something caught Ghirahim’s eye and Link followed his gaze.
Walking towards the Bazaar was, lo and behold, Groose and his two lackeys. Link breathed in sharply.
“Well, it’s unfortunate for him then.” Ghirahim finally said, now walking past the Academy’s gates and down the steps. “Because I’m not Zelda and humouring him with calm negotiations will get us nowhere.”
“Oh for god’s sake.” Link muttered, running after Ghirahim and sticking to his side, grabbing his wrist so he couldn’t go far. Fledge followed a few steps back, both intrigued in and worried about what was going to happen next. Ghirahim’s demeanour seemed to have changed, but what exactly that entailed Fledge didn’t know.
Groose, Cawlin and Strich had their backs turned, laughing and gossiping in their usual crude manner. But as Ghirahim drew closer, Cawlin happened to look over his shoulder and his usual look of contempt quickly changed to that of horror.
“Shit!” He squealed, running away as fast as his legs could carry him. Strich quickly followed suit but before Groose could join in, Ghirahim jumped forward and grabbed him by the collar, making him choke.
“Ack! W-What’s the big idea?!” He stammered, trying to find his footing and break free from Ghirahim’s iron grip. “Haven’t you ever heard of manners?!”
Then, he caught sight of Link.
“Hey, Link! Tell your new buddy to let me go or else!”
“Or else what?” Ghirahim answered, his tone now suddenly much calmer than before.
Groose stopped struggling, and he looked about wildly as though searching for an answer.
“Well, uh. If you hurt me, it could get Link expelled. So there. ”
Ghirahim eyes narrowed but Link tightened his grip on Ghirahim’s wrist, indicating he should let go. Ghirahim did as he was told and Groose took a step back, carefully fixing his hair so it was neat once more.
“Gods Link!” He started, “Just because you can’t stand up for yourself, doesn’t mean you need to sick your oversized lapdog on me.”
“Sword...” Ghirahim growled under his breath, stepping back so Link could take control.
Link took a deep breath.
“Well, it wouldn’t be that way if you didn’t put a lizard in my room to scare me.”
Groose turned to Fledge.
“Did you tell him?” He said in a commanding tone, making Fledge flinch slightly.
“W-well, uh. It wasn’t a nice thing to do. What if it has been poisonous? It could have hurt someone, Groose.”
Groose scoffed and put his hands on his hips.
“As if! Skyloft doesn’t have poisonous creatures. What world are you living in?”
Link took a step forward.
“Can’t you just say sorry for once? Poisonous or not it could have been dangerous for all of us.”
Groose now had a look of genuine surprise on his face.
“Since when are you, of all people, suddenly able to stand up for yourself?”
Link felt his body grow rigid at the remark, but tried his best to keep his calm.
“Because Zelda isn’t here anymore, so I have to.”
Groose rolled his eyes and tutted.
“As if you were capable of growing a backbone.”
“Alright, I've had enough of this.” Ghirahim announced, pulling his hand free of Link’s grasp and advancing towards Groose.
Then, he snapped his fingers, making his rapier materialise out of thin air. Groose’s eyes widened and he leapt back in shock. Link yelped and grabbed Ghirahim by the arm in an attempt to pin him down.
“Put that away! We don’t need to be that drastic!”
Ghirahim huffed.
“It’s called a scare tactic. I’m not actually going to harm him.”
“Yes but you can’t be doing that out in the open! You’ll get us all in trouble!”
“So?” Ghirahim looked back over to Groose, who was now cowering under Ghirahim’s gaze. “Discipline can do wonders for someone’s character.”
“Ghirahim, for God’s sake, all this is over a damn key! Let it go! we’ll just buy another one. Please, put the sword away.”
At that, Groose seemed to relax slightly.
“Key?” He said quietly.
Fledge, Ghirahim and Link watched him as he reached into his pocket and in one hand, held the scaly culprit and the black, metallic puzzle box key in question. Link looked at him in shock.
“How on earth did you catch it?” He asked, pointing at the lizard. Groose shifted from foot to foot then carefully picked up the key with his free hand.
“Well, uh. Since Zelda disappeared I needed a distraction. Thought I’d start feeding the little guys, I guess. They must have grabbed this by accident or something.”
He held out the key for Link to take, which Ghirahim gleefully snatched back.
Link cleared his throat to break the awkward silence.
“...Thanks Groose. It saved us a lot of trouble. Just don’t do it again.”
Groose held up both hands in defeat.
“Alright, fine. But no promises.”
He turned to leave and already Link could feel the urge to start cursing quietly to himself for thanking him first before he could get an apology. As always, Ghirahim quickly caught on.
“Groose!” Ghirahim snapped. Obediently, Groose turned back to face them. Ghirahim tilted his head towards Link, holding Groose in a cold stare.
He shifted his shoulders and weakly cleared his throat.
“Sorry for calling you spineless, Link. Guess Zelda being gone getting to all of us.”
Before Ghirahim could demand more out of him, he made a break for it and disappeared around the corner, out of sight.
Ghirahim scoffed.
“I really hate that boy...”
“Don’t worry, so do I.” Link mumbled, then turned to look at the key now safely in Ghirahim’s hand. “Are we happy now?”
Ghirahim smiled triumphantly.
“Absolutely ecstatic.”