A Hidden Kindness

Chapter 20
(but I’ll take) The Truth
2860 words

Saturday morning came upon them all swiftly. The mansion had been done up elaborately by professional decorators for Rabia’s 17th birthday. Saul had even hired a well-known chef to cater the event. White drapes covered the foyer walls like tapestries and clear, gold glitter filled balloons were tied down around the entryway. The rotunda was decorated with fairy lights hanging down from the high ceiling surrounding the crystal chandelier. The dining room had been set for twenty with fine china, gold flatware, crystal glasses, and candle centerpieces. Along the ceiling were more white drapes and fairy lights set up to resemble a draping canopy. The family room had been turned into a makeshift ballroom, and was decorated with more white tapestries. The living room remained relatively unchanged except for the balloons scattered throughout. The rest of the house had been blocked off with heavy white curtains.

The doorbell rang, but Rabia was still getting ready, putting the finishing touches on a waterfall braid. Saul hurried to answer the door while Petra went upstairs to check on Rabia.

“Rabia! The first guests are here, what are you doing?” Petra opened the door and stepped inside.

“Awe, honey, you look beautiful!” Rabia sighed and set down her lipstick.

“Why does it have to be a formal party?” she asked. “I would’ve been just as happy with a pizza and some movies,” she grumbled. Petra rolled her eyes.

“Because you’re not seven, you’re seventeen. You can be a bit classier than that,” she said. She walked behind Rabia and finished zipping up the back of her dress. “Will you be coming downstairs soon? Kaikoura and Sheik just got here,” Petra said.

“After I finish my makeup,” Rabia waved her hands. “I just have to do my eyes and then I’ll be down,” she said.

“Okay, honey,” Petra closed the door quietly behind her. Rabia finished up her makeup and made her way downstairs to the living room to greet her friends.

“Kaiky! Sheik!” she smiled brightly and pulled them into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here! I’m also really sorry you had to dress up,” she sighed.

“Awww, Rabia, you look so pretty!” Kaikoura said.

“Thanks! So do you,” Rabia said. Kaikoura matched the theme of the party in her champagne colored evening gown. Sheik was dressed up in a simple suit with a tie that matched Kaikoura’s dress. Finn was the next to arrive, and Saul invited him in. He walked over to the small group with a charming smile.

“Rabia, happy birthday,” he kissed Rabia’s cheek. “Kaikoura, it’s nice to see you again. And you brought your…?”

“Husband. His name is Sheik. You can leave now,” Kaikoura said coolly. She turned back to her conversation with Rabia, the two blatantly ignoring Finn’s presence. Zelda, in a soft pink dress, was the next to show up, accompanied by Link and Tet. She was followed by Cecil, Linda and Vallon, then Saul’s oldest friend, Frank, with his kids. The DJ had struck up a song while the party-goers mingled and had fun. Rabia had been avoiding Finn by casually striking up a conversation with someone whenever he approached. She was slowly running out of options, though, and hoped Vaati would show up soon.

“Gunner! How are you?” she asked. Gunner was Frank’s oldest son, and Rabia’s first crush. With his dark messy hair, high cheekbones, and bad boy persona, it was easy to see that Rabia had a type. “How’ve you been?” He smiled brightly.

“Hey Rabia! I’m good. My band is finally taking off, so we were on tour with dad for a while… what’ve you been up to?” He pulled her into a friendly hug. “I haven’t seen you... in forever!”

“Oh, you know… I’ve been around. Just doing my thing. Fluting… dating… sleeping…” she shrugged. “You look… good…” she commented, checking him out. “Did you get a haircut?” Gunner laughed.

“Yeah, I thought that was pretty obvious.”

“Well it looks good…” She blushed, though it was hard to tell.

“Thanks, you look great too,” he said. “You’re wearing your hair curly now?”

“Oh, yeah. Straightening takes so much time,” she said. She could see Finn coming closer from the corner of her eye. “Wanna dance? You know, for old time’s sake.”

“Hmm? Oh, sure,” he said. She took his hand and led him to the dance floor. Kaikoura was chatting over in the corner with Decker, Frank’s other son and third child.

“Hey Decker, it’s been awhile…” she giggled.

“Well, our dads hate each other…” he said. She went to sip from the straw in her cup and missed her mouth multiple times. She awkwardly laughed. Decker cleared his throat and looked away.

“I like your hair,” Kaikoura blurted out. She blushed. Sheik facepalmed.

“...Thanks. I’m gonna go talk to… my sister…” he walked away. Kaikoura watched him go wistfully. Rabia and Gunner were on the dancefloor, surprisingly graceful.

“When did you learn how to dance? The last time we did this you stepped on my feet about a dozen times,” Rabia laughed. He spun her around gracefully.

“I’ve practiced,” he winked. He set his hand back on her waist, pulling her closer to him as they moved in sync. Her cheeks were tinged with a pink flush that had nothing to do with the warmth of the room. After the dance, they held each other for a moment, instead of pulling away.

“Thanks for the dance,” Rabia said. He smiled and let go of her waist, taking her hands instead and squeezing them gently.

“Anytime.” He brushed a kiss against her cheek and walked away. Rabia stood there, dazed for a moment, before spotting Vaati in the crowd. She smiled brightly and hurried over to him.

“Vaati!” Rabia pulled the smaller man into a hug and kissed his cheek. “Where’ve you been hiding?” she asked. “I’ve been looking for you!”

“I just got here, sorry,” he said, returning the hug. “I ended up having to stay a little later at the hospital. Who were you dancing with?” he asked.

“That was Gunner. He’s an old friend,” she said.

“That looked a little more than friendly,” Vaati commented. If he sounded a little bitter, Rabia didn’t seem to notice.

“Gunner was… my first love, I guess. We’ve always been really close and I’ve known him my whole life. We dated for a while, but we decided it would be better to stay friends,” she said. “Our dads are really close and we didn’t want to make things weird.”

“Your first love?” Vaati asked.

“Are you okay? You seem upset,” Rabia frowned. “I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. I didn’t even know they were back in town,” she said.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m fine,” Vaati gave her a weak smile. “Dance with me?” he asked. She smiled and took his offered hand, following him onto the floor. After a couple dances with Vaati and her friends, dinner was announced, and the group moved towards the dining room where they shared a meal. Rabia’s cat, Katrina, came slinking around ankles as she looked for dropped morsels to eat. Katrina found that she didn’t have to travel far from Rabia, who seemed content enough to give the cat tiny bites of her own dinner. Eventually, once dinner was cleared from the table, Rabia scooped the cat up into her lap, where she lay, purring contentedly. Petra sighed.

“Rabia, do you really need to have your cat at the table right now?” she asked, frowning.

“She just wants to be part of the group! Don’t you, Katrina,” she cooed, scratching behind the cat’s ear. The cat meowed in response, and Rabia nodded to Petra. “See? She said yes.” Her mother was about to protest again, but someone hit the lights, and then the cake was being placed on the table in front of Rabia. Kaikoura grinned and started to sing, and the others followed suit. As they neared the end of the song, Rabia closed her eyes, thought about Ganondorf and Gerudo valley, then blew out the candles to cheers.

“So, what’d you wish for?!” Kaikoura asked.

“If I tell you it won’t come true!” Rabia said. “And it’s a good wish. I don’t want to waste it.” Kaikoura rolled her eyes at her friend good-naturedly, and returned to her seat as the cake was handed around the group. They talked and laughed with each other, before making their way into the living room at Petra’s request.

“It’s time for gifts!” she said, sitting Rabia down on one of the couches while everyone gathered around her. The first box Rabia opened was from Sheik and Kaikoura.

“Oh goddesses, is this…?” she examined the hoodie and started laughing. The hood at little cat ears on it and the pocket opened on the top instead of the sides. “This is amazing!”

“I don’t get it,” Link said, after a moment.

“The pouch is made to hold a cat,” Kaikoura said. “Like a kangaroo!” Rabia folded the sweater and set it aside.

“That’s my new favorite sweater. Thanks guys,” she said. From Zelda and Link, she opened a new makeup brush set, and Tet had made her some awesome wooden guitar picks and some metal rings for fingerpicking. The next box was from Gunner. She opened it up to find a wound, silver bracelet. Rabia looked at it curiously.

“Those are made from the guitar strings I played at our first show,” Gunner said.

“That’s so cool!” Rabia said. She flipped it over in her hands, then slid it onto her wrist.

“Open ours next!” Lance said excitedly, pushing a bag into her hands. Rabia rolled her eyes and opened the gift from her brothers. They had given her a personal library kit and several books she had been wanting to read. The next box she was handed was from Finn. Rabia opened it cautiously, just in case.

“No way,” she said. At first glance, it looked like a blue and white tea set complete with several types of her favorite teas. When she looked closer, she realized it was subtly Harry Potter themed.
“I know you like tea, so I figured that you could use your own set,” Finn said. “I commissioned someone to custom make it for you.”

“It’s wonderful. Thank you, Finn,” she said. Frank and his other kids had gotten her a record player with some awesome albums, and Cecil got her a super tiny guitar amp and a tabletop sheet music stand. Petra handed her the final box; Vaati’s gift. Rabia opened the box slowly. For some reason, the blue stone made her uncomfortable but she couldn’t quite place why. She smiled softly at Vaati.

“Thank you, Vaati. It’s beautiful.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek sweetly, then put it on. Vaati blushed all the way up to his ears.

“We have one more gift!” Petra said. “Saul, go get it,” she shooed her husband out of the room. There was a silence for a moment, until Saul returned and handed Rabia a box containing a single golden hair comb inlaid with pearls.

“That belonged to your mother. She wanted you to have it,” Saul said. Rabia nodded and closed the box, then set it aside.

“Thanks.”

“Alright everyone, let's go back to the family room for drinks!” Petra said, ushering everybody else into the other room. Once the room was empty, Saul pulled Rabia into a tight hug, and then followed her out behind their guests.

When they joined the others in the family room, the party was back in full swing. Champagne was being served, music was playing, and people were dancing. As soon as Rabia had walked in, Gunner pulled her over into a dance. Vaati was off in the corner, watching them sullenly over his drink. They danced together for several songs before Rabia peeled away to get some champagne and the DJ started playing some softer music.

“Vaati, why aren’t you dancing?” she asked, standing beside him to sip her drink.

“You seem to be dancing enough for both of us,” he said bitterly. “Is there anyone here you haven’t dated?” Rabia frowned.

“Are you okay, Vaati?” she looked at him closely, then sighed. “You’re drunk. I’ll get you some water, but you should go lay down awhile,” she said, taking his glass from him.

“I’m n-” he hiccupped. “Not drunk!” he said. “I just don’t get why you’re dancing with him and not me. Maybe you should’ve asked him to be your fake boyfriend instead!”

“Fake boyfriend…?” Zelda asked. “What is he talking about?” Rabia sighed.

“He’s just really drunk and he won’t go sleep it off,” Rabia said dismissively. “Come on, Vaati. You’re gonna have an awful headache…” she said to him. Vaati shook her off angrily.

“No! I don’t want to cover for you anymore, Rabia!” By now he had the attention of most of the people at the party. He turned to look at Zelda. “Rabia and I aren’t dating. I was just a cover so she could keep seeing Ganondorf,” Vaati scowled, crossing his arms.

“What?” Zelda looked at her friend with wide eyes. “Rabia!”

“Everyone leave. Now,” Saul said angrily. The house cleared out in a matter of minutes.



“I CANNOT believe you!” Saul yelled. Rabia was sitting on the couch, avoiding her father’s eyes as he scolded her. “I explicitly told you to be done with him! He’s dangerous, Rabia! You could’ve been hurt, or killed, or worse! And then to drag Vaati into this to cover for you? What is WRONG with you?! You know what? You’re grounded. You’re not leaving the house unsupervised, not even for work. Go to your room,” Saul said.

Rabia stood without a word and walked upstairs quickly, and locked her door behind her. She changed into pajamas and collapsed onto the bed. Her cell phone was lighting up with text messages from her friends, but she ignored all save for one, from Ganondorf.

Grumpybutt: Happy birthday Rabia! I miss you and I’m excited to see you tomorrow. Did you get your gift?

Rabia: Thanks, Ganondorf. I’m sorry but I won’t be able to see you tomorrow. Dad grounded me, and he’ll probably take my phone soon. I miss you too :(

Grumpybutt: Oh… well, we can make plans when you’re not grounded :)

Rabia: He’s really angry… I’m not sure when that will be. I hope it’s soon <3 I’m opening the gift right now

Rabia smiled softly to herself and fished the package out from under her bed. It had been delivered the day before, luckily while her parents were out, and she had hidden it under the bed until she got a chance to open it. She opened the shipping box to find a small, wooden box nestled in some paper, along with a sealed envelope. She pulled the two items out and opened the envelope carefully.

Dear Rabia,

First, I want to wish you a happy birthday. I’m sorry I’m not there to celebrate with you, especially since you took time to be with me during mine. I plan to make this up to you when we see each other next, which I hope is sooner rather than later.

If I’m being honest, I wasn’t really sure what to get you for your birthday, and it took me a while to figure it out. Originally, I had planned to send your horse to you, but you have Duke and Nabooru pointed out that the Postman would probably hate me if I did that. Besides, I wanted to get you something as thoughtful as the gift you gave to me. I was stumped for an embarrassingly long time. But one day, as I was consulting with the artisans, I spotted something that made me think of you and I thought it’d be the perfect gift. Happy birthday, sa ehe roz. I miss you, and I’ll be with you as soon as I can.

With Love,
Ganondorf

Rabia carefully folded the letter back up and set the envelope aside. She opened the wooden box to find a delicate gold ring shaped into a small rose. She smiled and slid the ring onto her finger, then picked her phone back up.

Rabia: It’s beautiful, Ganondorf. Thank you. I’m putting it on right now

Grumpybutt: I’m glad you like it. I’ll see you soon, okay? Write to me.

Rabia: I will<3. Goodnight

Rabia deleted the text from her phone and shut it off just as Saul knocked on the door.

“Rabia! Open up!” Rabia sighed and pulled the door open.

“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Phone. Now. I don’t want you contacting Ganondorf in any way,” Saul said, holding his hand out. Rabia rolled her eyes and tossed the phone in his general direction, then closed and locked the door while he sputtered angrily at her. Rabia knew it was unlikely that she’d ever see Ganondorf again, and couldn’t help but hope he wouldn’t hate her for this as she curled up under her blankets to cry.