If the Boot Fits

Chores

The sun wasn't up yet, but Link and Aryll were. Link was chopping wood for the fireplace while Aryll took to feeding the hens, careful not to get too close to Rufus, Ghirahim's viscous dog. A light mist covered the cold earth, coating everything in glistening dew.

One of Mother's favorite times was before the sun rose. Link and Aryll appreciated the momentary release from under their stepfather's thumb.

It had been nearly four years since Father died in the war between Hyrule and another kingdom. Father was the best knight in all of Hyrule, but he was somehow bested, leaving his wife a widow to take care of their two children. Mother couldn't provide for them on her own, so she remarried. At the time, Ghirahim was the best choice, even if he was from the kingdom Hyrule went to war with. Link didn't trust him back then, and now he despises Ghirahim.

Mother passed the following year due to illness. Ghirahim took over the household, forcing Link and Aryll to serve him and his two sons. If they refused to work, Ghirahim would punish them. The first day, Link had made five servings of food, one for each of them. Ghirahim didn't like Link and Aryll eating "the food he worked day and night to earn for his family." Then he took the whip he used for his horses, and beat Link. Link still had the scars on his back. After that, they didn't disobey him once. They didn't even speak up when Ghirahim sold everything belonging to their parents. Everything except Father's combat boots, Mother's telescope, and a few swords in the small armory Ghirahim kept locked and off-limits.

Hefting bundles of wood into his arms, Link carried them over to the side of the house, stacking them in neat rows. He nearly tripped over his own feet on the second round. Link never took his father's boots off, even if they were two sizes too big. He had stuffed rags in the toes of the boots, trying to make them fit a little better, though it didn't help much.

Stepping around the clucking birds, Aryll climbed into the chicken coop. She shooed some hens away from their nests, carefully taking the eggs and placing them in a basket. On her way out, she spotted one hen pecking at something in the corner. Aryll bent down and moved the hen out of the way, finding a dead mouse.

Pursing her lips, Aryll lifted the mouse by its tail and slipped it into the pocket of her apron, hoping of playing a fun little trick. She left the chicken coop. Walking into the kitchen, she placed the basket of eggs on the counter, then moved over to the pile of unclean dishes. Aryll sighed as she reached for a grimy plate and dunked it into the tub of water she prepared earlier.

Link finished stacking the wood and moved to the stables as the sun began to show its face, but he didn't have time to marvel at the red and purple sky. He took the horses out to the side of the stable, tying their reins to a bar. Link shoveled the dirty and used straw out of the barn, replacing it with fresh stacks. He brushed the horses and combed their manes, then put them back in their pens. Walking into the kitchen, Link wiped his hands off on his thread-bare trousers.

"What are we making today?" Aryll asked as she opened a cupboard and stacked plates inside. She had to stand on her tip-toes to reach the shelves.

Link thought for a moment before answering, "Omelet. Can you start the water for coffee?"

"Yep." Aryll gathered a few small sticks, layering them on top of one another. She found an ember from last night's fire, using that to start another in the hearth. Taking a kettle, she filled it with water and settled it over the growing fire.

Link walked next to her, placing a few small logs into the fire. Rufus lumbered in, and Link tossed him a bone before he could chew on theirs. He then took a frying pan and set it on the rack beside the kettle. Aryll took to grinding the coffee beans as Link cooked three omelets. When the kettle wistled, Aryll used a rag to take it off the fire. She dumped the powdery beans in the boiling water, mixing it until it was a nice brown color. She readied three trays to be taken up to their stepfamily's rooms, waiting for Link to finish the food.

When the omelets were ready, Link carefully placed them on three separate plates, then set those on the trays. Aryll helped her brother balance two trays, then took her own. Just as the servent's bells started to ring, the two walked up the narrow stairs, Rufus following behind.

Link and Aryll hurried through the main floor, then up the grand staircase. Positioning the tray on her hip, Aryll opened Groose's door, giving him his breakfast. She then opened Zant's door for Link, waiting for him to return with a cheeky smile on her face. She hoped Zant liked her little gift. Link came back out, shutting the door with his foot before moving on to Ghirahim's room.

This was the worst part of his day. Link had to deliver breakfast to Ghirahim in his parents' old bedroom. Seeing his stepfather sitting in Father's favorite armchair made Link sick, but he bit his tongue as he set the tray down on the little table next to it. Link knew Ghirahim kept that one piece of furniture just to enrage him, just to show how much more power he had over him, which made the anger fizzle in Link even more. Though Ghirahim looked sickly thin and ghostly pale as an inch of light hit him through the crack in the drapes, Link knew he was more powerful than the highest ranked noble could ever dream of being.

Slim fingers brought the coffee mug to smirking lips as Link walked away. He hadn't even left the room when there was a loud thud, a shattering noise, and Zant's voice screaming Link's name.