Chapter Text
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Accidents never happen alone, the railwaymen say; they come in sets of three. Whenever a train crashes, or a brake runs out of air, or a boiler bursts, the bad luck is bound to return twice more, and often – even worse.
Right now, however, Zelda couldn't imagine her situation any worse. Sure, the train was still in one piece – but only thanks to the emergency system that had kicked in, warning them to extinguish the firebox and effectively shut the Flying Hylian down in the middle of the way from Papuchia to Aboda. Zelda could only pull the rised cap with a dove emblem lower on her short messy hair, opting to look at the sad remnants of their fire to avoid the glare of her assistant/mentor/fireman.
“I swear,” he said, “that you're going to blow us up one day. How on Hyrule could you not see the water gauge's getting low?!”
“I thought I had enough,” she murmured.
“Well, yeah – but that's where the problem is! You always think you have enough, and then wonder why you run out of steam! You wait until last seconds to do something! You... you don't even check if you have enough sugar before making tea! For all the Spirits of Good, Zelda, you're an engineer, you have to watch out for details!”
“I'm not an engineer yet, Ildefonzo!”
Ildefonzo exhaled heavily. “You are! Just because you're still in the trial period, it doesn't mean you can goof off! You passed the first exam and that's the only thing that counts!...” He turned to the firebox with a frown. “But honestly, almost having the first accident a week after the exam has to be some kind of a record...”
“I'm pretty sure my dad holds it,” she dared, “he derailed his train an hour after passing his first exam.”
“That doesn't count! The Spirit Tracks vanished under him. It wasn't the train that derailed, but the rails that detrained-- disappeared, I mean.” Ildefonzo sighed, finally losing the angry bellow in his tone. “Alright, I guess everyone has to make their first serious mistake eventually. Nobody's hurt, the train's fine...” He tapped a finger against his chin in thought. “You know what? The Central Express is going to be nearby soon. I'll run to the telegraph station and request they give us a pull. You go check if the cars are fine. Oh, and since we're close to the bridge, go to Slimy Linebeck's place and buy us something for lunch. I'm starving.”
In an instant Zelda saluted, grabbed her engineer bag and climbed down from the cab. She preferred not to try Ildefonzo's patience any longer. Not that he was particularly quick to fly into anger. In comparison to his father, the Yelling Terror Alfonzo that some engineers and castle guards still lived in constant fear of disappointing, he seemed an ocean of calm and patience. Maybe it had something to do with him being only twenty five and still remembering his days as a fledgling railwayman; he was barely a decade older than Zelda.
Even the subtropical seaside seemed cool in comparison with the heated cab, and breathing the fresh air in helped Zelda's head clear a little and focus on inspecting their cars. It didn't take long, as there were only two of them - beginners were not allowed to drive bigger consists – and both held only air after being relieved of their load in Papuchia. Once Zelda was sure both their cars were in a good shape, she ventured along the tracks towards the big bridge. By the sea rose a shape of Linebeck's Trading Company, aka Linebeck and Son, a title held to that day by three sets of a Linebeck and a son, all of which sharing the same love for business. Its house lay in the middle of a scattering of shining train parts too big to display inside. Zelda had to slip between a wall and a tender to get to the entrance.
Linebeck the Fourth, a young man with weaselish face and a suprisingly decent moustache, was more than helpful in providing her with two portions of Lunchineer Super (Now With More Rice!), quickly offering additional condiments (5 rupees), then diverting her attention to a set of silver earrings (200 rupees) followed by a sleek red engine in the catalogue (more rupees than an average engineer saw in a year).
“No, no, mister Linebeck, I'll just take the lunch,” she said quickly.
“Ha! Fine, but you have no idea what great occasion you ignore, miss!” He passed her two little bags with lunch. “By the way, wasn't it you who asked me about these kerosene-effective headlights?”
“You have them already? Can I see them?”
“Oh, of course! Please come after me.” He led her outside, holding the door in a gentlemanly fashion (or rather, in a fashion of someone who didn't want to be stolen from by getting locked out of their own shop). “By the way,” he said closing the door with a padlock, squinting in the strong ocean breeze, “you're coming back from Papuchia, right? Did any miniblin pirates bother you on the way here?”
“No, why?”
“They usually try and steal my wares every two or three days, but now's the second week they didn't show up. Not that I mind that. I tell you, the little bastards come out of nowhere. Now where did I... ah, here they are! Just what you asked for – why, I'd say they are the best of their kind! - just look at the design, the chrome colour, it's the single best metal out there, and the glass...”
But Zelda didn't listen to his ramblings anymore. Something else caught her attention: a shape on the beach far away from them that she could swear hadn't been there before. It was big, black and orange, but it was hard to discern any more details. “Mister Linebeck, what is that?”
“...you'd have to be crazy to let something like this- erm, what is what?”
“That thing there.”
Linebeck craned his neck to look after her pointed finger. “Huh? The... sea? The beach?”
“No, no, the big black and orange thing! It's right there!”
“There's nothing there, miss.” Linebeck narrowed his eyes. “Hey, you're not trying to divert my attention to steal something, are you?”
“Wha- Of course I'm not!”
“Well, I don't see anything. Are you buying? ...No? Then scram.” He turned around to enter the shop, changed his mind and whipped back to her. “ But I just remembered, we actually have a terrific promotion on glasses, now only-”
“Are you serious?”
“You're never gonna go anywhere in life if you don't take a risk.” He winked and disappeared inside the shop.
Zelda huffed in irritation. The dark shape stood there still. Why would Linebeck insist it wasn't there? Was it something illegal to sell? Well, now she couldn't just leave it alone, could she. She headed its way and was astounded when it became apparent what – who she saw.
It was a human.
Probably.
Definitely not a Hylian; his skin was dark, his hair and beard flaming red. His giant figure drowned in long black robes, so spacious Zelda could probably hide herself in one huge sleeve if she tried. Orange patterns creeped up his arms and to his back, and on his chest and forehead shone two decorative stones that could be amber. The man didn't seem to notice her at all, staring at the ocean.
“Good morning,” she said.
No reaction. She crept closer until she was at an arm's length. “Good morning, sir!” she tried again.
Still no reaction. While being so blatantly ignored usually caused Zelda to shrug and walk away, this time something stopped her – maybe the way the man was standing there completely alone and unseen, casting a blank stare at the horizon like a family member still waiting for a dead sailor to come back from their journey. Maybe he just didn't hear her over his thoughts. Yes, that had to be it, Zelda was sure - that is, until she tried to touch his arm and her hand went right through it.
She backed off with a gasp followed by a vicious engineer curse, staring at her hand like she'd never seen it before. No, no. That couldn't happen, of course it couldn't. Just an illusion. Seeing things from the heat. This, or...
She remembered how her father told her about being able to see ghosts, an ability that once helped him and her mother in need. And now that Zelda thought about the strange man, his whole figure seemed slightly transparent, and the strong wind didn't seem to bother his clothes.
She looked up at the person's face again and almost jumped, because he'd been looking back. His eyes were intensely golden, if slightly unfocused, like he didn't even try to bother with concentrating on her.
“Um... hello?” she said. “You are... a ghost, right?” As soon as it came out of her mouth she realized how stupid it probably sounded.
The man said nothing. After a moment he turned around and started to walk away, floating an inch above the sand.
“Wait!” she shouted. “I just want to talk! I won't hurt you or anything! My name's Zelda!”
The ghost stopped in an instant. He turned back, walked up so close Zelda had to back off a step and stared at her face with intensity that made her uncomfortable. After a long awkward moment his gaze moved, for whatever reason, to her right arm, and his brow furrowed. Slowly he lifted his own right hand, the long sleeve sliding off it, and looked at its back, as if searching for something. Soon his confused expression abruptly changed to irritation and he flicked his arm back down.
It was a weird display, but then again, it's not like Zelda knew how ghosts were supposed to behave, so she didn't comment upon that. “Okay, so...” she started instead, “you are a... spirit, I guess. And you're here because...?”
The ghost didn't answer.
“Um, fine. Too forward. Then... what's your name?”
The ghost ignored that as well, staring at her in thought.
“You're not really cooperative, are you?” Zelda muttered, resisting the urge to flinch under that stare. “Well, I don't think I can help you anyway, unless you want a ride. If you just told me what-”
A high-pitched sound of a train whistle cut her words off.
“Oh, uh, give me just a moment! I'll be back right away!” She ran to the train, careful not to drop her bag or the lunches, which she had forgotten even existed. Ildefonzo had been leaning out of the cab with an impatient expression.
“What took you so long?” he chastised as Zelda climbed inside and passed him one of the meals. “Oh, thanks. Did my eyes deceive me, or were you really just standing there on the beach by yourself for a few minutes? ...honestly, does Linebeck need to add this little green stuff to everything, it's like he thinks it's fancy...”
“I met a ghost.”
Ildefonzo looked up from the lunch he'd been poking with a fork. “What.”
“A ghost.” Seeing the expression of his partner she added, “I know, it's pretty hard to believe, but I definitely saw him, and I think he understood what I was saying! Look, he's there!” She practically pushed Ildefonzo to look outside.
“I don't see anything.”
“Oh, right... I guess you can't see ghosts.” Looking as well, she discovered the ghost had moved. She didn't manage to spot him until she looked away from the beach and caught a glimpse of black material disappearing into one of their wagons. “Uh... Ildefonzo? He just went inside the second car. I... I think he wants a ride.”
Ildefonzo looked at her long, the stern effect somewhat ruined by the fact he was chewing on lunch. “Okay,” he started slowly, “listen, I believe you, but that's only because I was working under your father for a while and he was talking about seeing spirits too. But seriously, Zelda? You see a ghost and immediately let it on our train? What if it's a demon?!”
“I didn't 'let him on', he invited himself! And he doesn't feel like a demon. I mean, they should have horns and tails and stuff, right? He doesn't look anything like what I'd expect from one.”
“So how does he look like, then?”
“Well, he's really huge, like seven feet or even more, even taller than you, wears these long black robes with orange patterns, he has dark skin and red hair, and his eyes are like – I don't know what they are like, but they're... memorable.” Now that she put it that way, it did sound pretty demonic, but instead of pointing this out Ildefonzo only furrowed his brow in thought.
“That's weird. I have a feeling I've seen someone like that before, but where? I don't remember. I must've been just a kid. Anyway.” He closed the lunch bag and put it away. “I see Mr. Rodd is already close.” He ventured outside, taking off his cap and waving with it.
Mr. Rodd was one of the engineers of the Castle's roundhouse and, like many of them, held a title in the Castle Guard. He was mostly occupied with the former job, often coursing to the southern parts of the country. Right then he was waving to them from the cab of his engine, Central Express, which he backed off to them cars first so it could pull the Flying Hylian.
“Hey, Ildefonzo!” he bellowed jumping out of the cab. “What's the problem? Hit something on the way?”
“The fusible plugs melted. We have to go back to Aboda to replace them.”
“What?” Mr. Rodd brought an exaggerated look of shock on his face. “Did you seriously bring me here just because of that? The train can ride perfectly fine without them, you know!”
“It's against the rules.” Ildefonzo crossed his arms. “And I'm not going to risk an explosion, especially not with my apprentice on board.”
Mr. Rodd seemed to only now notice Zelda. He gave her a side-eye. “Right, right. Hey, apprentice, make yourself useful. Go and check the load and cars before we depart. Make sure nothing disconnected, if it did, buckle the rubbers. What are you looking at, go!”
Zelda grumbled under her breath that she'd already done that just minutes ago, but did what she was told. Mr. Rodd was a higher-status engineer – a very vain at that - and not listening to him could have consequences. Zelda checked the cars thouroughly, and when she was done, she headed back to where the two men talked while peforming the lash-up.
She didn't expect to hear them talk about her.
“...that Zelda. I don't know what you expected,” said Mr. Rodd, lifting the heavy coupling pin. “You know what people say back in the roundhouse, right? That the Royal Family bought the examinators? I mean, look! She's already almost blow you up! You're too soft on her! If one of my apprentices pulled off something like that, I'd make him work the shovel for the rest of his life! Eh, but I guess she'd threaten you with royal court, wouldn't she? A little spoiled girl. Let's hope she gets bored and quits soon.”
“Are you insulting my choice of students, sir?” Ildefonzo grumbled.
“Oh, no, no, I'm not insulting anyone! It's just hard to understand. With your background, you could take anyone else, but don't even try! For Spirits' sake, your father trained the Hero of Steam himself, and yet you stick with the girl! I bet that if he wasn't abroad discussing the pool agreements, he'd make you ditch her before the day is done! Don't you feel like you deserve better, boy? Have some ambitions!”
Ildefonzo said nothing to that.
The Flying Hylian's front was now safely attached to the Central Express's last car, ready to be pulled. It looked rather unusual, with the hauler being quite a smaller engine than the one hauled, but the locomotives hid surprising potential. They embarked their trains and started the chug through the seaside fields.
Zelda caught Ildefonzo looking at her with worry. She knew why, of course; she was pretty aware of her cheeks burning.
“You heard, didn't you?” Ildefonzo sighed. “Hey, know what you can do? Learn and become so good that you can drive any train all by yourself, and nobody will ever think twice of whether you're suited for the job. I think you are. Just... try to be more careful.”
Zelda smiled sheepishly. “Thanks. I will.”
The Central Express whistled in alarm.
“Watch out!” Mr. Rodd yelled from his cab, barely audible from the distance. “We have bulblins on eleven! Prepare your cannon!”
Ildefonzo cursed and fell back to the tender, which next to their fuel and water housed a small cannon used mostly to break obstacles on the tracks. They awaited anxiously for the signal to attack. It didn't come.
The bulblins were there, even five of them, but they didn't attempt to charge. They just held at a safe distance, staring at the train in bewilderment. The bulbos shifted and snorted underneath them. Zelda and Ildefonzo watched as they fell behind and disappeared from sight.
“I've never seen them in these parts,” Zelda said eventually.
“I have. But they were never so... still.”
“Maybe they're just surprised because we're so delayed?”
“Maybe,” Ildefonzo admitted, but furrowed his brow.