Hello and welcome to The Thieves' Tragedy. I am so very thankful that you have decided to read this story. Not many people would since it only contains OC's.

I should avoid scaring you away with a long beginning Author's Note so I will just say the painful disclaimer:

I do not own 'The Legend of Zelda'. If I did, it would be called 'The Legend of Link' just so the poor guy isn't called 'Zelda' all the time.

Now, with all that out of the way, please enjoy the first chapter of The Thieves' Tragedy.

~ The Thieves' Tragedy ~

PART I – THE FOREST

Chapter 1 ~ Life and Tragedy

I rubbed my eyes and yawned, "Good morning."

"So you're finally awake, Korra?"

"Yes, Father."

He smiled, "Better get ready then, we have plenty of deku fruits to harvest today."

I nodded and retreated into my room. After locating my hairbrush in under my bed, I pulled it through my dark red, waist length hair. It was a fairly quick job since I liked to keep it in a plait to avoid tangles.

Once I had finished braiding, I tied the ends together with a bright yellow ribbon and began hunting for something to wear.

I spied a piece of familiar orange cloth spilling out of a messily-packed, grass-woven box where I messily shove –I mean– tidily place most of my cloths. After fishing it out, I pulled off my nightclothes and slipped the faded dress over my head, allowing it to almost fall to my knees. Looking down, I sighed and attempted to smooth out the crinkles. I really should take better care of my clothes, especially this dress since it used to belong to my late mother.

She was a demon. All of us Gerudo are descended from them as well as some other race. I am not sure what race; I was never curious enough to ask. As for why there are no more demons, I was told that, as their population depleted amongst us, they decided to leave. I never ask questions about that topic since it is quite touchy with my father.

I went back into the main room of the house where Father stared down at my feet. "No shoes again I see."

I pouted, "Who needs shoes? I'm perfectly fine without them."

"You know, someday you'll hurt yourself without them," he said.

"That will never happen; my feet are as tough as wolfos hide!"

"Someday, you will wear shoes again."

I rolled my eyes.

"Hello, Korra!"

"GAH!" Turning around, I saw my friend Merinda at the door. "S-sorry…" I mumbled, feeling slightly humiliated at the fact that I am so easily surprised.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand, "Let's get work over and done with today. Then we can spend the afternoon together!"

"But I haven't had breakfast yet!"

"Just snack on a deku fruit at the orchid and you'll be fine," she said before dragging me downhill.

"Hey! You didn't even say goodbye!" Father called after me.

"Sorry! See you soon!" I said as I waved my farewell.

Before we could begin helping out on the fields, it was a daily duty to visit the Statue of Rudo and offer her our prayers. Rudo, the Goddess of Life, is our guardian deity. She reincarnates spirits and is the source of all life to the land.

Although we do not know much about her, I believe she is a wonderful goddess. I have heard that when a great disaster struck many years ago, she fought to protect the land and the Gerudo, and is still protecting us to this day. I love her and believe in her with all my heart.

I thanked her for the heavy harvest and perfect weather as well as wish for a pleasant future for all the Gerudo.

After we were done, Merinda and I stood up to continue our stroll to the farming lands.

Many of the workers had already arrived and began their duties. Some were collecting the seeds that had just dropped off the wheat plants and others were grinding it into flour. By the river, Gerudo were catching fish. Another group was collecting nuts from our domesticated deku babas.

"Hey Korra! Can you lend us a hand here?" someone called from up a nearby deku tree.

"Of course!"

"Don't just leave me alone to look like an idiot!" scolded Merinda.

"You can either be anti-social or grab a ladder and help!" came my reply as I sprinted to the trunk, slung a basket over my shoulder and began climbing with ease.

Tree climbing has always been one of my favourite activities. When I was younger, I would see all the older girls chatting and doing all those "big girl" activities. They were so tall that I always thought they had a wonderful view wherever they went. I felt really jealous so I climbed trees to enjoy a sight that surpassed theirs by a far, quite literally!

Halfway up, my stomach growled. I reached for the closest fruit once I had climbed high enough and bit into it. Nothing special; I find no joy in deku fruit after eating it nearly every day.

As the hours of harvesting went by, filling and emptying my basket in stone-engraved routine, watching the golden dots on the surrounding trees disappear one by one, I could not help but worry about someone who still had yet to show up. It was causing me to become impatient for work to end so I could see if he was alright.

After all of the ripened fruit had been plucked and placed, word spread around that everyone was free to go early. I sighed in relief and jumped from the lowest branch.

"Hey Merinda," I asked, "Have you seen Tahl?"

"No. Why?"

"I'm worried about him."

She groaned, "Honestly, what is with you and that… Hey! Where are you going?!"

"I'm going to look for Tahl," I said as I sprinted up the hill.

"But I thought we were spending time together!"

"Sorry! See you tomorrow." I waved goodbye and continued running up the hill.

The sun was already brushing the horizon by the time I found Tahl. He was under one of the trees, not too far from home.

I seated myself at his side. "Hey," I said.

No reply. This was not surprising. Glancing over, I saw the same expressionless face; the only emotion was a reflection of sorrow and hopelessness in his brown eyes.

Tahl is different to the rest of us. Unlike all the Gerudo with our chestnut skin, red hair, rounded ears and honey gold eyes, his skin is pale, his ears pointed and his hair a silvery-grey.

From the little information he has told us about himself, his mother was a Sheikah and his father, a Hylian. They had lived together in a part of the forest some distance from our village until tragedy struck about a month ago.

I can still recall it clearly to this day. Night had fallen and my father and I were exchanging our 'good night's when we heard a scream pierce the dark.

Father's eyes widened. "Korra, whatever you do, do not leave this house. Understand?"

I nodded with circular eyes as I watched him grab his hunting spear and leave me shaking in fear, my head swarming with exaggerated and horrifying thoughts.

After an age of silence, I heard my name being called and ran to the door where Father was holding an unconscious boy of around my age with blood trickling from what appeared to be claw marks.

I had heard of hunters becoming injured from wolfos defending themselves but the wounds on this person seemed more… deliberate; they gave the impression being inflicted as a form of torture.

Father placed him on his bed. "Korra, this boy is in desperate need of our care. I need you to fetch me the medical supplies and tend to him while I collect some water."

After a quick nod, I located the first aid kit and returned to the boy's side. Although healing was not one of my strong points, I worked as efficiently and carefully as possible: tipping pain-killing liquids down his throat; cleansing his wounds and wrapping bandages over them.

All this time, fear's icy hand clenched my heart. I had barely any idea what I was doing in this panicked state so I was stressing about accidentally killing him; not to mention that blood-thirsty monster lurking in the night.

My father returned with the water. Snatching up a cloth, I plunged it into the bucket, causing water to splash out, wring it and placed it on the patient's burning forehead before leaning back to observe my clumsy work. It was then when I was able to fully appreciate his strange appearance.

"Father, who is he?"

He remained silent for a moment, just staring at this stranger. "I'm not sure," he finally said.

"Do you think he'll be alright?"

"Yes."

"What about the… thing that did this to him?"

I felt the atmospheric tension rise a little until I finally heard an answer, "It's dead." I simply nodded. He desired no more questions.

The next day, I planted myself by the boy's side and watched him, waiting for some sign of life other than the steady rise and fall of his chest.

I was not disappointed. His eyelids flickered for a moment and his head slowly turned to me. The next thing I knew, he wore an expression of fear and attempted to sit upright. Panicking, I pinned him back down; a foolish act for someone trying to gain his trust.

I instantly withdrew and apologised. He did not move; perhaps it hurt him to do so. There was an awkward moment of silence before… "Tell me everything."

"What?"

He sighed, "Who are you? Where am I? How did I get here? What happened?"

I nodded. "My name is Korra. I am a Gerudo and so is my father; the one who brought you here to the Village of Rudo. You were attacked by… something, and mortally injured so my father and I took care of you. You've been unconscious since last night. That's all I know." I hesitated for a moment before asking, "Could you please tell me your…"

"It's Tahl."

"Oh, okay then…"

He stared elsewhere for a moment, as if he were in deep thought, then his facial muscles tensed, as if in restraint. At this point, I left the room as quickly as possible. His sobs reached my ears and I wondered, Why was he crying? What really happened?

Ever since then, Tahl has rarely spoken or expressed himself in any way, often seeking places where he could be alone. This lack of interaction almost infuriates me. I feel so hopeless, like I was trying to open a lock without a key. All I wanted was to make a difference; to free him of his depression.

"You skipped work again, Tahl," I told him.

No reply.

"You know, Tahl, I was wondering..."

"Yes?" he replied, much to my surprise.

"Is this the real you?"

Another silence.

He looked at me, "Why do you ask?"

"You never… do anything… to show us who you really are," I explained, "You're living with Father and I now, and you'll be with us for a long time. We have to know." I held his gaze, "Please, you have no idea how much this is hurting us. We care about you, Tahl!"

"Why?" he asked, "Other than pity, why do you care about me?"

There was no answer to this question. It almost shocked me. I bit my lip and thought, but nothing came. Finally I said, "Give us a reason."

He was not expecting this. I flashed him a smile before standing up to return home.

I think today, I finally made progress…

Hello again and thank-you for reading.

For anyone who does not know this is a prequel to my first novel, 'The Price of Sins' and is based off the Gerudo's backstory. However, this story works perfectly fine on its .For this story, I am really trying to improve my writing and reach my full potential. My words have been carefully selected and I am trying to avoid clichéd phrases as much as possible.

I know how unaccepting of OC's some readers can be (I do not blame them because of the plethora of Mary-Sues out there destroying their reputation) but please know that I have poured my heart into these characters and am trying my very best to make them the best and most realistic I can. As the story progresses, they will be given more depth.

Some of you may feel concerned about the character Tahl. This is understandable since I have given him a tragic backstory and make him a cross-breed which are two common Gary-Stu characteristics. Let me assure you that BOTH of these characteristics are essential to the plot and he will have his flaws like everyone else.

I really hope you have enjoyed this story so far and that you will return for the next chapter. If you have any feedback, please PLEASE leave a review! The more advice I receive, the better this story will become and the more enjoyable it will be for you to read. I want to give you an amazing story people so help me out here!

Until next time.

- Scarlet Curls