Um, hi. This happens to be my first Zelda fic, and my second one ever, so if its no good that's why. And I don't really care if you flame, as long as I could possibly get something useful out of it. Anyway enjoy the story!

The Seven Years

The times were dark. Thieves roamed the country side in hopes of finding someone Tring to escape with their valuables still intact. Looters had left the country dry of its precious metals and stones, but that's not for what they hoped. Times like these were where the Gerudo got their reputations. If there was famine in Hyrule (as there was), then in Gerudo Valley millions would be dying that very moment, and millions more would be reduced to baggers. Three women were mounted atop their sickly horses, watching the town being looted and the already poor defenses being weakened. Why put yourself in danger when others are willing to do the work for you?

As they had anticipated, someone was Tring to run. They looked unarmed, and seemed to be carrying some serious heavy loot. He was wearing a long, dark cloak that covered him from head to toe. They could see him struggling with something but could not make out what just yet.

"Seems someone wants to escape with every piece of furniture they have, greedy bastard." There was hardy agreement, the three women harbored a spot of hatred and jealousy of the spoiled Hylians and Zoras that populated this town. They waited, by the sounds of it, the town's folk were being slaughtered. He would be out in a hurry.

They heard a horse neighing and the figure emerged with one. He clutched something to his chest and hunkered over something else. He seemed to have thrown on another, lighter cloak, this one reviled what the other one hid. He was already injured. The blood seeped through the light material making an obvious target of his shoulder. Now was time to make their move.

The three Gerudo women followed the lead of their pray and turned their horses around. They readied their bows and followed close behind him. He was headed down a well-traveled path, if someone found them stealing from him, they would be imprisoned. The general plan was to run him off the road into the wilderness. She saw her sisters speed up and surprise the lone rider while she slowed and pulled back her bow in anticipation of a struggle. The rider veered off to the left, away from the two sisters jeering at him. The bow-master let loose an arrow and was surprised to hear a woman's voice cry out in agony instead of a man's. Without looking she knew she had hit her target, the spot of blood that had stained the other rider's cloak. The woman was veering dangerously close to the forbidden woods. Her sisters ahead noticed and started to pull back, but she would not lose their fortune so quickly. She fitted another arrow and let it fly. It landed, with agonizing accuracy, next to the other arrow. While her other sisters fell back, she sped forwards to make her kill. She would not let her pray make it too far into woods.

Her horse was becoming agitated, she had rarely used force when dealing with her horse but it seemed now she would have to. She forced her horse to pursue through the row of trees that separated the cursed forest from the rest of the world. The woman's horse seemed to become panicked and suddenly stopped and bucked her off, running wildly back the way it came. She stopped her horse and dismounted for fear the same would happen to her should she force her horse to advance any further. The woman stumbled out of sight holding tight the two things she had brought with her.

The Gerudo woman followed cautiously. She was now on cursed land. She heard a thud as if something had fallen, and indeed something did. A few feet away she found what she had been hunting for, already dead. She crouched next to the body and started to examine it, the Hylian seemed to have sustained wounds other then that on her shoulder and the ones she had inflicted. She heard a twig snap and her head flew up, she was not willing to let her guard down for a second in these bewitched woods. Instead of finding some monster or blood thirsty creature, she was eye to eye with a little boy. He scrutinized this unfamiliar woman for a second before speaking.

"Baby?" he asked curiously and eyed the bundle still being clutched to the dead woman's chest. With that he waddled over to the corps and put his hands on her face. "Mama, mama. Mama!" he sung at her. The dead woman of corse, did nothing. The Gerudo stood paralyzed with horror. The lack of reaction from his recently discased mother miffed the boy. "No sleep!" he said. When she still did nothing, he raised the volume of his voice. "NO SLEEP!" She remained as dead as she was before, the only thing that changed was now the bundle was wailing and tiny fists and feet were beating against the cloth that held it. This seemed to distract the little boy for a second. He looked from the dead woman to the wailing child. "Baby!" he said enthusiastically.

The Gerudo was speechless, had she drove the nail into the coffin of a woman, like herself, merely tring to save her family? Had she killed a mother of two? What purpose did her death truly serve? She had nothing, only them. The Gerudo felt a horrible sense of despair. It was her fault. Her fault these innocent children no longer had anyone to love them, watch them, raises them...She watched the young boy poke at the baby, making it scream louder. He couldn't understand. The tears of regret fell fast. Wether it was the majic of these curious woods or something missing from her past that brought her to tears so quickly, she did not know. All she knew was the guilt would not let her walk away, she would be bound to these poor souls for the rest of her life.

Without realizing it, she had reached over her victim and lifted the crying baby into her arms. The boy looked at her with interest, what was she going to do?

"I... I'm sorry." She whispered to him. "I don't know wh-" At that moment she was ceased by the need to leave this place, she could feel it start to change her inside. She stood to leave, grabbing the boy by the arm as she did. The boy cried and pulled away, surprised she looked back at him. Was he chasing a... Fairy? She stepped forwards to try and catch him but a twang of pain shot through her, she needed to leave this place, now! She looked at the baby in her arms. She was settling down, finally. The boy could not be helped now, she could only save this one if she had any intentions of saving either of them. She made up her mind and started running, her horse had abandon her, she had to get out. She had to raise this child, her baby, her Aryll.

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The years had passed and the girl was now eight. She was an adventurous girl. She was curious and lovable as well. Which was all the better for her because curious and adventurous aspects were always getting her in trouble. The Gerudo woman had raised her in a town not far from the one her true mother had fled from. She was happy, despite being a social out cast. She was obviously not her mother's child. She lived a hard life compared to fellow Hylians, due to her association with a thief. However, she did not realize this, for no one had told her. Why spoil her happiness?

Despite Aryll's apparent happiness, her mother worried constantly. She was the out cast of both worlds. The Hylians would not accept her for she was a Gerudo, and the Gerudos would no longer accept her because she had adopted a hylian and refused to give her up. Being the outcast was, society would shun her. That was no problem for her, she could handle it, it was for Aryll that she worried. She provided Aryll every thing she could to make her happy, healthy and clean. Even if it meant working herself to the bone.

Very few people trusted her with anything, so she always seemed to pick up odd jobs at odd hours. That seemed to be the case with this job. This one seemed particularly reckless and dangerous and had ridiculously low pay, but she had no other choice. Her former employer had some misplaced a few items and she had been accused of thieving. Well, this job was far more dangerous then the last. What it was, she was not yet sure, she was told she would receive her instructions when she got to the grave yard. She knew she was taking a huge risk this time, but she was in danger of being jailed, she had not payed her taxes that month.

She looked down at her sleeping daughter and sighed. She scribbled a note explaining that she was working and not to worry, and pushed it onto a nail sticking out from the wall. Since she didn't know what she was to do, she had no way to estimate how long this job would take. She set out to meet whatever shady charter she would have to too get her job.

She didn't turn to the dirt path that led to the grave yard behind 'The Temple', instead she stalked the deserted main roads. She had gotten specific directions to meet her correspondent in Kakariko Village grave yard. Kakariko Village was fifteen miles from where she was. She may or may not have a horse to use. She prayed that the goddesses be with her as she would need their blessings to come home safe tonight.

As it was, she had a horse to use, but the goddesses would not grant her safe passage tonight. When she arrived at the grave yard she was ambushed, her sisters were waiting for her. Waiting to kill she who turned her back on her own kind. Only the horse returned at sunrise. And the entire time, Aryll was dreaming. Dreaming of death.