Filling in.

Jenni stood by the gate to Lon Lon Ranch, in full armour, waiting. Today was supposed to be the first day of her week off duty. She had planned on relaxing, and maybe planting a small garden in front of her house. Living the simple life for a week. Nothing ever went according to plan.

Only an hour after she had awoken, there had been an urgent pounding on her door. Jenni had barely gotten out of bed, and had to quickly throw a rob on before answering the knocker. It was her close friend Micheal, who she knew from the Sniper Division. His eyes were red, face puffed up and could barely speak. After a brief conversation Micheal left. He had been scheduled to escort a farmer and his family to Hyrule Castle-Town that day, but had woken up sicker than a stray dog, and unable to lift his sword, let alone fight off potential attackers. The farmer couldn't pay right away; he was relying on sales in the market to pay for his escort. Jenni told her friend to get some rest, then buckled on her armour.

The midday sun beat down on Jenni and her cohorts as they waited for the farmer to load his family into a covered wagon. The wagon was pulled by two old horses, and was followed by a mule cart piled high with produce. The cart was covered by a blanket. The farmer had been attacked by bandits the month before on a trip to Castle-Town, and had lost his entire shipment of produce. This was his last chance to make a few rupees before he lost his house. Jenni took pity on the man. She was doing well, and didn't need his rupees. He had smiled and hugged her when she showed up and told him her work was free this trip. The farmer shouted, and Jenni hopped into the seat next to where the farmer was driving the wagon. She pulled out her crossbow and nodded. The wagon took off. It was flanked by two guards on either side, and was followed by a cavalryman. The mule cart was being driven by the farmers eldest son, who sat atop the cargo on a wooden crate.

The trip was planned to take two full days. If they stopped at dark, and continued at first light they would reach Castle-Town before the gates closed for the night. This is, of course, barring any interruptions and bad weather. Jenni sat back and kept herself alert.

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Seven hours had passed since the group left Lon Lon Ranch. The day had been entirely uneventful, except for one small scare. While riding past a few small hills Jenni had spotted a small group of bandits only several minutes to the south. The bandits appeared to be watching the caravan; judging it's protection. The cavalryman had spurred his horse and charged towards them shouting mock orders to his invisible army of guards, and the bandits took off. The entire group had a good laugh at that, and the cavalryman was the hero of the day. The group stopped on the top of a hill and set up camp. Jenni was taking first and final watch, along with two of the walking guards. The cavalry man and the remaining two guards were taking the long second watch. The night was so quiet and warm the Guards frequently found themselves dozing off. First watch passed silently. Jenni and her companions went to sleep by the fire.

They were out for barely an hour when shouts and the sounds of weapons being drawn awoke them. The three guards on duty were standing a short distance away, shoulder to shoulder. Jenni drew her saber and rushed to their side, the sleep already gone from her eyes. There was a small group of shapes approaching from the north.

"More wood on that fire, boys. Spread out and watch all sides." Jenni moved to the southern edge of the camp and looked around. There were two shapes standing still on this side, and another guard voiced a report of two more to the west. "Be ready, friends. This is what we came for." The approaching shapes stopped moving about 50 feet from the camp. The standoff continued for nearly 30 minutes, until one of the shapes shouted something and all three groups rushed forward. The cavalryman was already mounted, and charged the western group. Jenni and another guard stood ready for the southern group and everyone else faced north. The guards stood their ground until the shapes reached them. Two bandits with notched swords drawn faced Jenni and her friend. The two guards engaged, fighting as defensively as they could. They parried and blocked every swing, waiting for an opening. Finally, the guard at Jenni's side blocked an overhead cleave, and took advantage of the opening. He stabbed forward three times, and his opponent fell screaming to the ground. A quick slash at the mans throat and it was over. The dead mans companion turned and ran. Jenni pulled he crossbow off her back and prepared to fire. Bullseye. The bandit fell, the back of his neck pierced by a bolt. "Never run in a straight line, fool." The two guards rushed to the north to see how the fight went. Only ten minutes after it started, the fight was all over. The bodies of eight bandits lay unmoving on the ground. One of the guards had suffered a small wound on his calf, and another was already bandaging it. The highest ranked guard turned to the group.

"Well done. I will finish the watch, the rest of you get some sleep. Final watch will be awoke at their normal time. He then walked to the wagon and spoke silently to those inside, who had evidently been awoken by the fight. Jenni lay down by the fire once again, and was asleep in seconds.

The rest of the night went by quickly, and when first light broke the horizon the caravan was already ready to move. The guards quickly buried the bodies in a mass grave, then took up positions around the caravan.

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The farmer thanked the guards individually, and shook each of their hands.

"I'll be in da market. Two days time come find me, and you'll have your payment." He bid farewell to his escorts and left. Jenni and the guards then went their separate ways, finding what was to be found in this wonderful town.

Jenni made her way to the Military District. She had some friends stationed there, and would enjoy seeing them before heading home for her vacation. She walked into the familiar area and smiled. It had been awhile since she last walked through here. Nothing had changed. Guards trained by smashing dummies with heavy wooden swords. Others turned targets into pin cushions with bows. She wandered around for a bit, seeing a few familiar faces, before finding herself standing in front of the officers mess. She went inside. The main room was nearly empty at this time of day; most of the officers would be on patrol on asleep. To her surprise, she saw two Guards arguing on the far side of the room. She walked a bit closer, then snapped to attention when she realized the one yelling the loudest was a high ranked officer. The other she knew. She wasn't sure from where, but his face was familiar. The officer shouted one last remark, and turned to leave. He spotted Jenni and walked over.

"You. You're from Lon Lon, are you not?" Jenni nodded. "Good. Take this to the Guards stationed there. Leave tomorrow morning. It is urgent. Dismissed." Jenni snapped a salute as the officer walked off and left the building. She looked down at the rolled paper he had handed her. I wonder what this is... She shook her head, and walked forward, towards the guard on the other side of the room.

It hadn't been what Nicholas would of expected when he left his home. He had saved a young woman from some Moblins, taken her home and made sure she was ok, and once he a stepped out to relax and get some things for his mother, he was called in for duty. A quick and rather uneventful caravan trip back to Castle-Town, Nicholas was just about to relax and head home when a rather obnoxious officer cornered him. The heated conversation had escalated to yelling as Nicholas furiously argued with the soldier about an assignment. It was well known that Nicholas was always on escort duty between Lon Lon and Castle-Town, he never took other assignments, and this man here was telling him he was being sent to Impa right away.

"That is an order and you will follow it unless you want to spend the rest of your natural life in prison!" the officer yelled before storming away, another soldier taking his attention. Nicholas turned, punching the wall fiercely with his right arm. Turning away from the dented stone, holding his wrist, he walked over to the young woman who had been giving the urgent report for Lon Lon.

"Excuse me, if your going to Lon Lon, mind if I come with you? It seems I won't be going back there for a while and would like a chance to stop by." Nicholas took another look at the young woman, before it finally came to him. The red hair and crossbow finally clued him in. "Jenni, right? I thought you looked familiar. We're both part of the division of guards who live in Lon Lon and work from there."

When the guard spoke to her, his name came rushing back.

"Yeah, I'm Jenni. And you're Nicholas, right? I'll be leaving for Lon Lon as soon as the gates open. I don't have a ride unfortunately, so I'll be walking. You can come along, but you'll have to be at the gate ready to go at first light. For now I'm going to hit up a pub, you're welcome to join me." Jenni turned an started to walk away. This man looked like he hadn't slept in days. Why would he be sent to Impa? Looks like he needs a couple weeks off duty...

"You mean they haven't given you a horse to use? Another reason I should raise hell, but I digress, I'll gladly join you at the pub." Nicholas finished shaking the pain from his hand, looking once more at the wall he had chipped. Dented was a strong word, I'm not that strong, he thought to himself absently as he followed Jenni out of the officers mess back into the main grounds and out of the training area.

"So," Nicholas started up, trying to make conversation, "how long have you lived in Lon Lon?"

As Jenni lead Nicholas to a pub she knew in the Goron Slums, she allowed him to make conversation.

"I have only been there a couple years. Lived in this Town most of my life. The work was better down there, so most of my outfit moved in. What about you? Been in Lon Lon long?" They exited the Military District, and Jenni turned north, towards the Slums.

"Born and raised. My parents lived in Lon Lon their whole life, and I lived there too. I moved to Castle-Town to train and become a Guard, and moved back to Lon Lon to work from there like much of the other guards." Nicholas paid attention to the direction they took. While he was familiar with the city in general, the slums were the less travelled of which he walked.

"Well, if I may be so bold to ask, what made you decide to become one of the Guard trained in Castle-Town to begin with? Surely a young woman has better things to do with her time then learn to beat the crap out of straw dummies and other guards in training?" Nicholas ment nothing by the statement, he was just curious what made someone decide to devote their life to fighting instead of a more peaceful passtime.

Jenni listened as Nicholas spoke, but didn't stop walking. She was eager to sit down with a cold brew and relax before the next days long journey. She ignored Nicholas' question for a few minutes as they walked through the slums to the pub. The slums were usually safe, but many thieves stalked these streets. She needed to keep her eyes and ears open for potential attack. Maybe she didn't need to be so paranoid, but living the life of a guard made her see threat in every dark ally. When they reached the pub, she opened the door and entered, heading straight to a table in the back. The room was nearly empty, but there was a relaxing murmur of conversation. She sat down, facing out at the room and threw her feet up on one of the other chairs. She sighed happily then turned to Nicholas.

"My dad joined up when Ganon invaded... but he wasn't a fighter. My mom and I got a visit saying he had been killed in battle, and thats when I decided I wanted to join up as well. Maybe take out the guys that got him, you know? It was a couple years after that until I started, but it was on my mind the whole time. This is the life I picked, and I enjoy most of it. Lost some friends, but we're doing good for the country, right?" She closed her eyes for a moment, then smiled. She opened them back up and waved to the bar. The Goron behind it nodded, and said something into the back room. A hylian man came out of the room and started making his way to Jenni's table to take their order.

Nicholas followed alongside Jenni until they reached the pub, slumping down on a chair and closing his eyes for a moment. He kept his eyes shut as Jenni explained her reasons for joining the guard, only nodding once she had finished. "Can't blame you really, makes sense." Opening his eyes, he glanced over at the man who came to get their orders. "I'll just have a pint, whatever you've got, I'm not picky." Nicholas told the man after Jenni ordered her own.

Once the man left with their orders, Nicholas turned his attention back to Jenni. "What's that report say anyways? What's so important that it wasn't just handed to the next on-duty messenger?"

Jenni ordered a pint of whatever ale they had on tap. It varied here from week to week, and she wasn't interested in the taste anyways. She looked around the small room, then grabbed the small guitar off her back. She strummed out a random chord progression quietly with her thumb.

"I'm not sure what it says. It has the royal family's seal on it though, so I expect its pretty urgent. I'm surprised they let me wait until the morning to leave, actually. I'd read it, but I expect I'll get flogged for breaking the seal." The server came over to the table with two sweating clay mugs, and set them on the table. Jenni stopped playing her guitar long enough to pull out a blue rupee and hand it to the man. She turned to Nicholas and winked with a smile. "I'll cover these. You can get them next time."


((-5 rupees for the drinks))

Nicholas laughed, and if he didn't know better, he'd swore she was flirting with him. "Thank you kindly, I appreciate it as I'm currently broke," he laughed again. Jenni was an interesting person to say the least, it seemed to she pretty complex compared to the regular person you meet in the guard. Nicholas shook his head, he was starting to look at things like a novel instead of life. I read too much.

"Mind passing me the order?" Nicholas asked, returning to the subject of the orders. "My curiousity trumps my basic need to surive," Nicholas chuckled once more, taking the mug in hand and taking a long drink, sighing as he lowered the half full mug to the table.

"So, what do you say?"

Jenni laughed, then went back to strumming her guitar. She took a few mouthfuls of the ale every once in awhile. She hoped Nicholas was always as nice as he seemed; a long walk with an unpleasant person was not much fun. In response to his question, she pulled out the rolled paper and set it in the middle of the table.

"Just tell them you stole it. No one would believe you bested me in a fight." Her eyes twinkled in the dim firelight as she smiled, then took another couple swigs of ale. It had been several months since she had consumed anything alcoholic, and her tolerance must have dwindled, as only 3/4 of her pint was gone, but she could feel the effects on her brain. The world already seemed a little more amusing. She laughed and went back to the guitar.

If he wasn't sure beforehand, Nicholas knew for sure that she was flirting. Must be the booze, he laughed to himself as he scooped up the order and ran one of his clawed fingers through the wax of the seal. Unrolling the parchment, Nicholas leaned forward to better catch the light on the page so he could read the black letters scrawled across the paper.

"It's a call to arms, informing quite a few squads assigned to Lon Lon that they have to report to Impa because of the King's recent announcement." Nicholas glanced over the page again before rolling it back and up returning it to Jenni. He downed the rest of his drink without a second glance, then slumped backwards again.

"Perhaps rest, free lodge at the barracks, and we can head out at first light. How does that sound?"

"Call to arms, eh? I figured this Impa was a big deal to the Crown." She set her guitar on the table and picked up her mug. Throwing back her head, she chugged the still 3/4 full pint, not setting it down until the mug was empty. She slammed it on the table and belched, then covered her mouth, slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry! It's been awhile. I may need some help getting to the barracks." Yup, my tolerance is gone. She giggled, then packed up her guitar and the rolled order. Jenni stood up and started towards the door. "Well, are you coming?"

"Oh my way," Nicholas nodded as he stood up, taking up stride beside the easily intoxicated woman, guiding her gently back the way they had came, back towards the barracks so she can sleep until morning. He walked in silence, keeping one eye on the girl and another on his surroundings, constant paranoia in the back of his mind.

The main reason he walked in silence was because he couldn't think of anything to say though. He was going to ask her more about herself, but his interest was dwindling as his thoughts floated back to the bigger mysterious person he had met, the green-haired girl that was currently staying at his house with his parents. He had many questions to ask her when he got back.

Jenni thanked Nicholas as he helped he stumble to a room in the barracks. Individual rooms were common, but it was more common for more than one guard to stay in a room. Jenni had managed to regain some of her composure during the walk here, and leaned on her door frame. What a nice guy.

"So, where are you planning on staying tonight? Do you have a room here?"

"I'll be in the mess hall," Nicholas said in an offhanded tone. "If you need me I'll be there reading until your ready to go." Wishing her a good night's rest, Nicholas pulled a slightly bent book from his coat pocket and set off down the hall, first looking for a lamp he could borrow then off to the mess hall for a peaceful night of reading.

Once he had found a lantern so he would have light, he settled in by himself in the mess hall, opening his book to the folded corner that he used to mark his place and started to read until daybreak.

Jenni awoke early, and prepared her gear. An hour after sun rise she made her way to the mess hall. Nicholas was exactly where he had said he would be.

"Hey. We should get going. You get any rest?" He looked half dead, but Jenni didn't know him well enough to know if this was normal.

Nicholas had gotten through the rest of his book just as the sun was thinking of rising above the horizen, so with a few hours left to his own device, Nicholas flipped back to the beginning of the book to start again. He had already read the novel a half-dozen times, but he just loved the story so much. Soon others came to the mess hall, one or two early risers looking for a place to relax and get first in line for breakfast before duty.

"I'm ready when you are," Nicholas said to Jenni as she came into the mess hall, ignoring her question of rest as he rose, blowing out the lantern that was nearly out on the table and pocketing his novel. "How did you enjoy your sleep?" He asked casually as he walked briskly up beside her then past her, heading towards the stables to get a mount for himself and Jenni to 'borrow' for the trip.

Jenni nodded and smiled, as she walked with her new friend to the stables.

"I slept great, thanks. The ale really knocked me out." As the pair procured steeds for travel, Jenni said not a word. They set off out the main gate and began to ride towards Lon Lon. "Should be a quick journey. These are good horses." Suddenly, her horse spooked. The creature stopped, and spun on the spot, crying out in fear. Jenni lept off the kicking horse, passing over its rear and landing safely behind it. She laid hands on her saber, and drew it smoothly from its scabbard. She spun in a circle, scanning the area. From the south, a group of Moblins were charging at them. "Moblins this far north?" Jenni didn't have time to speculate. She took up a defensive stance, and breathed deeply. "Get ready, my friend."