Apionia
Part I
By Nightviero
February, 2001
So, here it is. After the better part of a day, and the starting and restarting of this story, my first Zelda fanfic is done. I first got the idea after playing The Legend of Zelda, the Ocarina of Time, and discovered that I LOVED the Gerudo. Maybe cause I'm a girl. Their race just seemed so.. cool. Anyway, after having the story in my head for about a year, I started to write it down. Then I stopped. Then, six months later, I start it again, and in one day, it's finished. Now I wonder what to do with myself. Read it. It took a long time, and I'm rather proud of it. Sort of a love story, but who cares? It begins about 35 years before Link or Zelda were ever born..
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He never really meant to cause such uproar. The young Hylian had been passing through Gerudo Valley on his way back from hunting (unsuccessfully) in the field. When he spotted the troop of Gerudo brigands approaching the bridge on horseback, he knew he was in trouble.
The Gerudo had this horrible reputation for being very.. well, merciless. And whoever crossed their paths was never heard from again.
Even just thinking about it sent chills up his spine.
"Did you hear that?" one of the Gerudo said. She stopped her mare and listened closely to the coming dusk. She slowly drew an arrow from the quiver on the horse's saddle, and loaded it quietly into her bow.
Silence enveloped the canyon.
The Hylian sighed deeply, yet quietly. Luckily, he had a tiny bit of time to hide behind a large slab of rock, so he was virtually blind to the women. He held his breath as he crouched quite uncomfortably. Hiding his horse had been the hardest part, but the cream-colored stallion stood quietly near a cliff. He hoped it wouldn't neigh. As the Hylian shifted his weight, trying to keep his balance, he knocked a small pebble over the edge of the ridge.
No problem, he thought. Just a pebble..
The band of Gerudo was starting to continue on. Just as the Hylian began to creep carefully down a narrow ledge, his pebble rolled under an immense boulder.
Which began to surge down the hill.
Oops.
All four of the Gerudo looked up. The Hylian decided to take a run for it. He scrambled down to his waiting horse.
One of the Gerudo turned her amber steed around and hurdled up the ridge at full speed. "I'll get him!" she yelled to the rest of the band.
In a full scale panic, the Hylian jumped off the cliff, and galloped towards a little creek near the exit of the valley. The Gerudo followed him.
The horses burst into the field. The Hylian pushed his mount to go faster, trying to get away from the pursuing woman.
How could he get himself into this? Furthermore, why was it such a big deal that he was passing through their fricking canyon? The Hylian was stumped.
As she neared his horse, she jumped and knocked him off his steed in an amazing tackle. The two rolled a ways, trying to strangle each other, until the Gerudo pinned the man down to the grassy earth.
"Ouch," said the Hylian.
"WHAT were you doing in the valley?" said the Gerudo breathlessly. She drew one of her scimitar from the crossed sheaths on her back. "You were trespassing."
The Hylian knew he had no chance now. It was best to feign innocence. "Ahhh, nothing.." he said simply.
Oh, very smooth, he said to himself.
Without warning, the orange sun, which had been sinking rapidly throughout the chase, went below the horizon, and a wolf howled in the distance. Night fell.
"Uh oh," he caught the Gerudo say.
The unprotected duo heard the ground rip away as a skeleton broke through the soil and charged towards them.
Thinking quickly, the Gerudo pulled her captive onto a nearby wall so that the monsters couldn't reach them.
They sat there for a minute, catching their breath. The two horses stood nearby, chewing on some roots, not bothered by the skeletons at all.
Show offs, thought the Gerudo.
It was now that she took a good look at the Hylian. He was blond, tall, dressed in a brown cloak and looking completely petrified. He must have noticed her staring at him, because a puzzled look suddenly crossed his face.
"I.. really wasn't doing anything wrong back in the valley," he said.
"Hmm.." The Gerudo paused. "Even if you weren't, I could still kill you at anytime." She lifted her scimitar.
The Hylian seemed to smirk. "No you wouldn't. If you were going to kill me, you would have done so already."
The Gerudo raised her finger to object, but she was speechless.
"Well," she finally gathered, "don't try anything funny. The last man who messed with me was castrated."
The Hylian paused. "Uhh.." An awkward silence crept up on them.
"So," he finally said. "What's your name?"
The Gerudo thought carefully about whether she should answer. However, he seemed trustworthy enough. Seemed. "I'm Apionia," she replied slowly. She replaced her scimitar into its sheath on her back.
"I'm Dyla," said the Hylian. He held out his hand.
There was another pause. Apionia knew that making friends with the enemy wasn't right. Every Gerudo knew that.
However, something inside of her, something that seemed to know better, said, Go for it. He's not going to hurt you, so why should you hurt him?
But he's a Hylian, she said to the little voice.
So what the hell? He's cute.
1 That's not the point. He's a man. And they're..
Worthless? I don't think so.
Oh, what do you know?
I am your brain.
Oh, fine.
Apionia slowly reached out. They shook hands.
The moon rose, an immense yellow orb in the sky. And the skeletons were trying to climb up the wall, ruining the moment. They were more annoying than threatening to Apionia. She used her scimitar to chop a monster's head off. It wandered around blindly before vanishing beneath the earth.
The Hylian concluded that he was very confused. This was a Gerudo, a Gerudo who tried to kill him, and a Gerudo who was a thief. But how could she be so damn beautiful at the same time?
Her hair was a fiery, deep red, and went halfway down her back. She kept it pulled up into a tight ponytail. Three tufts of bangs overlapped her forehead. Her eyes were yellow, and they did not stay still. Darting all over the place, to the ground, the horses, the sky, the skeletons, him, and back to the ground again.
She wore puffy, loose pants. She had on a deep-green vest, as well, over a top that had no sleeves, and showed a little bit of cleavage.
Not that he was actually looking at the cleavage..
Dyla hadn't seen very many Gerudo before, but if they all looked like this, he was going to seriously consider moving into their fortress.
The thing that he that he noticed the most was the size of her ears. All Hylians had long, pointed ears. Her ears were very small, and sort of round at the top. There were four earrings in each.
She was tan. Very tan. He seemed albino next to her. Maybe it was because of all the time they spent in the desert.
And then there were her lips. Painted red to mach her fiery hair. Large. Beautiful.
He was absolutly mesmerised by the shine of the moonlight off her voluptuous mouth.
Dyla realized he was gawking at her lips a bit too hard. She was beginning to back away from him. He also realized that he was IN-freaking-SANE. Gerudo! His brain said. Stay away! Not good!
Shut up, he said to his brain.
Was it true that he was starting to like this Gerudo thief?
Dawn came more quickly than Dyla had hoped, and the cadavers disappeared beneath the ground. Apionia gave a quick goodbye, and hopped down from the wall, starting to walk towards her amber horse.
"Hey," said Dyla. Apionia turned around slowly.
"What is it?"
He eyed her hedonistic lips, and then the woman they were attached to. Should he even dare..?
"Thanks for not killing me."
It was a strange comment. Nevertheless, it was complimenting to the Gerudo. She smiled to herself, making a mental note to not kill people right away, but rather to talk to them for a while if they get stuck on a wall together. And then kill them.
Moreover, quite shockingly, he leaned forward and kissed her right on the lips. He stepped back to look at her once more.
Apionia was stunned. She paused, blinked; however, she did what any Gerudo would do. She punched him in the face.
"Don't do that!" she screeched, then glanced at him.
"Oops," she said as the Hylian reached up to his left eye to feel the blow he had just taken. Apionia sheepishly climbed onto her horse. Dyla looked at her and frowned.
"Uh.. sorry," she said, turning in the saddle. "But I'm serious. Never, ever do that again." She yanked at the reins, and trotted off to the east, cursing her own feminism. Dyla sighed. She hadn't exactly been very polite over his little smooch. This was going to be harder than he thought.
Apionia spanned the bridge overlooking the valley and entered Gerudo Fortress. The canyon wrens were beginning their morning song, and the sky was glowing a lovely purple and blue color.
As Apionia approached the stables, a young Gerudo with flaming shoulder- length hair ran up to her. "Where have you been?" she yelled.
"Joelle!" said Apionia nervously. Now she was in trouble. "Fancy meeting you here. Well, gotta go, there's much to do.." she dismounted her horse quickly.
"Wait just a minute there, missy," the disgruntled Gerudo said, grabbing her by the arm. "What have you been doing all night? Where were you? What happened to the trespasser you were chasing?" Joelle looked angrily at Apionia and crossed her arms.
"You look like my mother," Apionia sneered playfully.
"Just tell me what's going on," Joelle snapped, releasing her arm, "or I WILL call your mother."
"Well, you see.." Apionia started. She fiddled with the saddle on her horse. The mare whickered, nudging her towards the other woman.
Oh, great, now you're taking sides, she thought.
"I.. can't tell you."
Joelle snorted, laughing. "Apionia! I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything. I think I've been around the block more than once! There is nothing you can say that I haven't heard before."
"You won't get mad?"
Joelle stepped forward, and put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "I promise I won't get mad. Now, shoot."
"Okay," Apionia took a deep breath. "I let him go."
The whole fortress heard Joelle scream.
"YOU WHAT!?!" Apionia looked at the ground, drawing a little circle in the sand with her foot. "Yeah, I know, but he wasn't doing any harm. He was just passing through the valley. Besides, he looked harmless enough. We.."
"You know the rules," said Joelle. "Trespassers must be imprisoned."
Apionia eyed her friend. "Oh, come on. He wasn't even armed."
Joelle was about to oppose, but stopped herself. This wasn't that big of a deal.. "Okay, fine. I'll let it go just this once. I guess you had your reasons."
Apionia nodded. "I sure did."
"I would probably do it too, some day," said Joelle.
"Yeah, if he was handsome enough."
Joelle took Apionia by the hand. "Very funny. C'mon. I bet I can beat you in horseback archery." She grinned.
Apionia grinned back at her. "I bet you can't." They ran off together, arm in arm.
A couple days later, it was early morning, and the cuccos weren't even awake yet. Apionia and Joelle were sneaking around a farm nearby Kakariko Village. Apionia hung from the branches of an apple tree, tossing the fruit down to Joelle, who was stuffing them into her pants with great difficulty. They both worked stealthily, trying to spend as little time in one place as possible.
"Hurry up!" whispered Joelle.
"I'm going as fast as I can! Geesh, for the love of Nayru.."
"Hey, what are you -"
"YAAAHHH!" screamed Apionia, and fell out of the tree. The pair of Gerudo pulled out their scimitar and stood at a battle stance, ready to fight the owner of the voice.
Cowering in front of them was none other than Dyla.
"HEY!" said Joelle, still trying to whisper. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She was ready to interrogate the Hylian, when Apionia stepped back.
"Oh," sighed Apionia, relieved that it wasn't some authority figure. "It's you." She returned her swords to their rightful place.
"But..what..you..I.." Joelle looked very confused. "You know this guy?" She pointed at Dyla with one of her weapons, which made him shrink back even more.
"Oh, right. This is the Hylian that I let go," said Apionia simply.
Joelle stood with her mouth wide open.
"Uh, ma'am, could you put those away, please?" Dyla croaked, indicating the scimitar she was thrusting towards him.
She slowly replaced her swords in their sheaths.
"Apionia, may I talk to you for a minute?" Joelle gestured her friend several feet away from the Hylian.
Apionia blinked and looked at Dyla. I think you should go, she mouthed. Then she turned back to Joelle.
"Sure," she said languidly. Dyla took the hint and started to mount his stallion.
The two Gerudo stepped up to a fence. Apionia sat on it while Joelle stood stiffly next to her. She looked very pissed off.
"Apionia, this is a HYLIAN! You are a GERUDO!"
Apionia sniggered. "Tell me something I don't know."
Joelle looked exasperated. "That's not what I mean." She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "The Gerudo and the Hylians are all but enemies. They have nearly forced us into exile just because we're.. we're.."
"Ruthless?" suggested Apionia.
"Well.. yeah. I guess. But do you understand what I'm saying?"
Apionia nodded. "Of course.." She gazed over to the spot where Dyla was, but he was already gone.
Stars stood bright against the black sky. The graveyard shift guards were patrolling the fortress as Joelle looked to the mournful desert beyond. She spotted a light inside the fortress, and knew automatically that it was in her best friend's room.
Apionia lay on her bed, slowly brushing her fiery hair.
Deep in thought.
Never had she thought a man could steal her heart. But she guessed that's what happened when you spend one lonely night with one, sitting on a wall and freezing your bum into an ice cube. Who would have guessed.?
Through the candlelight, she could see Joelle appear in the entryway.
"You like him, don't you?" she said, leaning against the wall.
Apionia looked up. "Who?" she asked.
"That Hylian, of course."
Apionia threw her head back and laughed. "You think I like him? Of course not! That's crazy!"
Joelle didn't look convinced. She gave her friend a lopsided smile. "Then why are you so dreamy all of a sudden?" She walked forward to her.
Apionia gently placed the brush on the soft wool cover of the bed. "Well," she began, "have you ever been in love?"
"No. Of course not. The Gerudo do not.."
"Fall in love. I know." The young girl sighed, and fell onto her pillow. Joelle sat by her, and picked up the brush, turning it in her hands.
"Gerudo don't fall in love with Hylians. It's too dangerous," she said softly.
"I'm sick of all this," Apionia murmured. "All these rules."
"That's just the way it has to be." Joelle smiled sadly, and left.
Thlllunk.
Thllllllunk.
"Damn it!" screamed Apionia. It had been the ninth time she missed her target in
archery. She just couldn't concentrate today. Maybe it was the fact that she was in love. Maybe it was the fact that their leader was acting very strange.
Yes, that was it.
Ganondorf was young. And Ganondorf was naïve. Only seventeen years old, straight out of training, and he was already had a life quest. Looking for the Triforce.
The Gerudo knew little about the Triforce. Well, Apionia did, anyway. She knew
it was the symbol of worship to the Hylians, created by the same three goddesses who made Hyrule itself. Whoever had the Triforce had ultimate power.
On closer inspection, she thought that maybe having the Triforce wasn't that bad
after all.
Apionia also knew that when someone good has the Triforce, it makes Hyrule a
better place. And Ganondorf was definitely not good.
As soon as he took power, Ganondorf had made it clear that the Gerudo had
absolutely nothing to do with the Hylians. Period. Anyone caught sympathizing to one was. well, Apionia would rather not think about it. In fact, the Gerudo weren't exactly tight with any of the other races.
All of this and more put the whole fortress into a nervous excitement. No one
dared talk back to Ganondorf about his plans, no matter how dastardly they thought he was. They were too smart for that.
Apionia was standing, deep in thought, when she felt someone tap her on the
shoulder. She turned around, thoroughly expecting someone like Joelle, but got the shock of her life.
It was Dyla.
"HOLY SH-" she started to shriek, but Dyla clapped a hand over her mouth.
Apionia tried to pry him off. When she did, she whipped into a verbal frenzy.
"My GODDESS, Dyla, what are you doing here?!" she said angrily. "You could
be killed! Or worse! WHAT IF-"
Dyla covered her mouth again. "Shut up, will you? I don't want to be caught! I've
had enough trouble finding you as it is! I.. had to see you again."
"Mmbrr rmmbb!" said Apionia.
"Huh?" Dyla removed his hand.
"I said, Ganondorf! He's our leader! He's ruthless! He's merciless! He's
ferocious! Even more so than the female Gerudo! AND HE DOES NOT LIKE HYLIANS!"
"Oh, crap."
With the ever growing emergency of getting Dyla out of the fortress, Apionia ran
stealthily with the Hylian in tow. If even one Gerudo spotted them fleeing together, she was going to be in deep trouble. From Ganondorf.
They reached the exit of the fortress without being caught.
"Apionia?"
"YAAAHHH!" screamed both the Gerudo and Dyla. She quickly pulled out her scimitar.
Uh oh, she thought to herself.
Aelishae. Apionia's younger sister. Standing there. Speechless.
"Great," she heard Dyla mutter.
Aelishae was only fourteen years old, but became a guard when she showed excellent skills in handling her scimitar, and even better, she seemed to have a sixth sense about intruders. She had just become a guard.
"What are you doing?" said Aelishae. She was poised on a cliff above her,
with her long-handled scimitar glinting in the afternoon sun. She had on her purple guard uniform. "Who's that?" she said, pointing to Dyla.
Think fast! I need an idea! Apionia said to herself.
Ohhhh, no. You didn't want my help before, said the voice inside her.
What the.. Hey, are you still up there?
Well, it's not like I can excactly walk away..
Uh, yeah, just help me!
No way.
C'mon, please? I REALLY need some help now.
Oh, fine. But this is the last time.
"Aelishae! I'm so glad I found you! I was getting worried!" Apionia said. She
yanked Dyla violently in front of her.
"Hey, watch it," he said.
"Shut up!" she whispered. The she spoke up, saying, "I found this Hylian
trespassing in the fortress. I wanted to find you so we can lock him up for a while." Dyla rolled his eyes. Great. I'm a prisoner now.
"Oh, really?" Aelishae said, brightening. "You want my help? I..Thanks!" She hopped down from the ledge, obviously excited to have a job to do. Apionia gave a huge sigh of relief. Dyla gave a huge sigh of exasperation.
It was exactly 5:00 in the morning by the time Apionia had a chance to retrieve Dyla from the prison area. When she found him, he wasn't very happy.
She apologized hastily and they began once again towards the exit to the fortress. Apionia wished that she could tell someone where she was going, in case she was delayed. However, she couldn't tell Joelle, not after the verbal thrashing she got from her after her little wall sleepover. And Aelishae. she wouldn't understand. She was still too young. So she set off early without anyone knowing where she had gone.
They reached the bridge without incident. Apionia stood right up against the ledge and listened closely to the canyon. When it seemed safe, she motioned Dyla to come forward. The sky was turning the now familiar color purple. A bird twittered a single note, and then silence.
Apionia could hear Dyla take a deep breath. She did, too. They had made it.
Clip, clop.
"What's that?" Apionia whispered.
Clip, clop.
"I don't know," answered Dyla.
Clip, clop.
It sounded like a horse..
Clip, clop, clip, clop.
The sound got louder.
Then Ganondorf appeared.
Well, not really appeared, but Apionia spotted him coming around a boulder from the other side of the canyon on horseback, followed by two female Gerudo, armed with bows and scimitar.
This was not good.
"Well, now what?" said Dyla nervously. He began to back up. Ganondorf and Crew had still not seen them, luckily. Going back to the fortress was out of the question. He had this feeling of impending doom.
"Well, now we, uhhh," Apionia faltered. She looked into the canyon below them. A waterfall supplied a river beneath. It didn't look that far down.
"We have to jump into the river," she said quietly.
"WHAT?! Are you cra-" Dyla's objections were cut off as the Gerudo grabbed his arm and leapt into the canyon, dragging him with her.
There was a moment when they were both suspended in the air, and they both got a good look at what was ahead of them.
Open space.
Dyla gasped.
Then, they fell.
And fell, and fell, and fell. As Apionia got closer to the water, the formed her hands into a diving position and dropped gracefully beneath the surface.
She came up just in time to see a flailing Hylian hit the water.
Splunnnk.
Dyla came out of the water by Apionia.
"Whoa," he said. "Gravity's a bitch up there."
Lake Hylia was a beautiful sight in the moonlight. Full of clear, sparkling water, where the Zora people swam, worked and played, while the shores looked as if all the stars had fallen out of the sky. Now it was morning, and the sun was just rising over the water's gentle waves, and there was no sound except the gentle trickle of the waterfall from Gerudo Valley.
From which, Apionia and Dyla came flying out of.
After collapsing onto the shore, Dyla thought over his entire predicament. Here he was, sitting soaking wet by a lake at an ungodly hour, where a beautiful non-Hylian girl, who had saved his life from a fate most likely worse than death, was standing next to him, ringing water out of a yard of flaming hair. How odd.
"Hey, Apionia?" he said, standing up.
She turned around, and once again Dyla got the painful view of something he could not have gazing upon him.
"Yes?" she replied.
"Thank you."
And there they stood, dripping, until Apionia spoke up.
"That was dangerous."
"I know."
"I don't think we should see each other anymore." She stepped backwards.
To Dyla, her words were like she was tossing him casually into a spiraling pit of madness. She frowned, looking at the ground.
He said nothing. And Apionia left.
Three days passed. Joelle noticed something strange about Apionia ever since she came back to the fortress dripping wet and in a bad mood. She suspected that it was trouble with that Hylian. The first thing that had tipped her off was when Aelishae breathlessly reported that a Hylian prisoner was missing. And so was Apionia.
Aelishae was convinced that her sister had went to pursue the escaping Hylian, but was upset when Apionia said she didn't want to talk about it. Joelle decided to take matters into her own hands.
She found her friend sitting in a far off place in the canyon. Just sitting. And looking mournfully at the rushing water below her.
After much obstruction, Joelle finally made her way up the canyon and sat on the rock with Apionia.
She was a mess. Her normally well-kept hair was flying all over the place. She hadn't even attempted to put it into a ponytail. Her eyes looked sunken, as if she had been lying awake these past three nights.
Joelle couldn't bear to look at her friend in this condition anymore, so she looked at the scenery.
She now knew why Apionia was up here.
To the right of them was Hyrule field, green and beautiful. To left was miles of canyon, which looked as if it had been dipped in sunlight. And straight ahead was the desert, a yellow body that spread far beyond the horizon. Joelle sighed.
"You did like him," she said.
"Wow," said Apionia sarcastically. "What was your first clue?"
Joelle shifted her weight. "You don't need to be so catty about it. It's not my fault he doesn't want to see you."
Apionia stared straight at her friend. "I told him that we shouldn't see each other, not him." She turned back to the canyon, and hugged her knees, burying her head in the little valley they made.
Joelle paused before answering. "Why?"
"It's too dangerous," Apionia said simply. "And.."
"Ganondorf."
Apionia sighed. "I hate him," she concluded. "I hate his stupid rules, and I hate his stupid quest. This is all his fault."
"In all due respect," Joelle started, "Ganondorf is full of crap." She smiled her lopsided smile at Apionia, and snickered to herself.
The Gerudo raised her head from her knees. "I do want to see him again. But I won't get a chance to." She sighed for about the thousandth time. Joelle stood up.
"I'll leave you now," she said, and climbed down the rock. She hoped that Apionia would get out of this depression of hers. But what Joelle saw as she was about to cross the bridge gave her all the hope she needed.
Back on the rock, Apionia pulled out her ney. A small instrument, made from a hollow reed. Holes lined the sides of it. She placed the top of the ney parallel to her lips, and blew a single note.
It echoed off the walls of the valley, then disappeared into the dusk. She closed her eyes and listened to the ringing. She played another note, lower this time, and listened. The, she played a sad song, with long, sustaining notes that sent chills up her spine. When she was finished, the sun was moving closer to the horizon.
Apionia felt as though someone was standing right behind her. She turned slowly, and there he was. He didn't need to say anything as the Gerudo flung her arms around the Hylian, and kissed him.
Years pass.
Ganon grows up.
And Apionia passes the dislike that she has for her leader all the way to her granddaughter. But, no one ever seemed to ask why. And she really didn't care, as long as she was happy. And she was.
The End.?
So, what did you think? Tell me, PLEASE. I thought it got kinda slow at the end, but whatever. Oh, and this is only the first part of the story. So, if you get itching for more, just wait another couple years until I can find the inspiration to write part 2.
Farewell, my loyal readers.
Nightviero
Part I
By Nightviero
February, 2001
So, here it is. After the better part of a day, and the starting and restarting of this story, my first Zelda fanfic is done. I first got the idea after playing The Legend of Zelda, the Ocarina of Time, and discovered that I LOVED the Gerudo. Maybe cause I'm a girl. Their race just seemed so.. cool. Anyway, after having the story in my head for about a year, I started to write it down. Then I stopped. Then, six months later, I start it again, and in one day, it's finished. Now I wonder what to do with myself. Read it. It took a long time, and I'm rather proud of it. Sort of a love story, but who cares? It begins about 35 years before Link or Zelda were ever born..
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He never really meant to cause such uproar. The young Hylian had been passing through Gerudo Valley on his way back from hunting (unsuccessfully) in the field. When he spotted the troop of Gerudo brigands approaching the bridge on horseback, he knew he was in trouble.
The Gerudo had this horrible reputation for being very.. well, merciless. And whoever crossed their paths was never heard from again.
Even just thinking about it sent chills up his spine.
"Did you hear that?" one of the Gerudo said. She stopped her mare and listened closely to the coming dusk. She slowly drew an arrow from the quiver on the horse's saddle, and loaded it quietly into her bow.
Silence enveloped the canyon.
The Hylian sighed deeply, yet quietly. Luckily, he had a tiny bit of time to hide behind a large slab of rock, so he was virtually blind to the women. He held his breath as he crouched quite uncomfortably. Hiding his horse had been the hardest part, but the cream-colored stallion stood quietly near a cliff. He hoped it wouldn't neigh. As the Hylian shifted his weight, trying to keep his balance, he knocked a small pebble over the edge of the ridge.
No problem, he thought. Just a pebble..
The band of Gerudo was starting to continue on. Just as the Hylian began to creep carefully down a narrow ledge, his pebble rolled under an immense boulder.
Which began to surge down the hill.
Oops.
All four of the Gerudo looked up. The Hylian decided to take a run for it. He scrambled down to his waiting horse.
One of the Gerudo turned her amber steed around and hurdled up the ridge at full speed. "I'll get him!" she yelled to the rest of the band.
In a full scale panic, the Hylian jumped off the cliff, and galloped towards a little creek near the exit of the valley. The Gerudo followed him.
The horses burst into the field. The Hylian pushed his mount to go faster, trying to get away from the pursuing woman.
How could he get himself into this? Furthermore, why was it such a big deal that he was passing through their fricking canyon? The Hylian was stumped.
As she neared his horse, she jumped and knocked him off his steed in an amazing tackle. The two rolled a ways, trying to strangle each other, until the Gerudo pinned the man down to the grassy earth.
"Ouch," said the Hylian.
"WHAT were you doing in the valley?" said the Gerudo breathlessly. She drew one of her scimitar from the crossed sheaths on her back. "You were trespassing."
The Hylian knew he had no chance now. It was best to feign innocence. "Ahhh, nothing.." he said simply.
Oh, very smooth, he said to himself.
Without warning, the orange sun, which had been sinking rapidly throughout the chase, went below the horizon, and a wolf howled in the distance. Night fell.
"Uh oh," he caught the Gerudo say.
The unprotected duo heard the ground rip away as a skeleton broke through the soil and charged towards them.
Thinking quickly, the Gerudo pulled her captive onto a nearby wall so that the monsters couldn't reach them.
They sat there for a minute, catching their breath. The two horses stood nearby, chewing on some roots, not bothered by the skeletons at all.
Show offs, thought the Gerudo.
It was now that she took a good look at the Hylian. He was blond, tall, dressed in a brown cloak and looking completely petrified. He must have noticed her staring at him, because a puzzled look suddenly crossed his face.
"I.. really wasn't doing anything wrong back in the valley," he said.
"Hmm.." The Gerudo paused. "Even if you weren't, I could still kill you at anytime." She lifted her scimitar.
The Hylian seemed to smirk. "No you wouldn't. If you were going to kill me, you would have done so already."
The Gerudo raised her finger to object, but she was speechless.
"Well," she finally gathered, "don't try anything funny. The last man who messed with me was castrated."
The Hylian paused. "Uhh.." An awkward silence crept up on them.
"So," he finally said. "What's your name?"
The Gerudo thought carefully about whether she should answer. However, he seemed trustworthy enough. Seemed. "I'm Apionia," she replied slowly. She replaced her scimitar into its sheath on her back.
"I'm Dyla," said the Hylian. He held out his hand.
There was another pause. Apionia knew that making friends with the enemy wasn't right. Every Gerudo knew that.
However, something inside of her, something that seemed to know better, said, Go for it. He's not going to hurt you, so why should you hurt him?
But he's a Hylian, she said to the little voice.
So what the hell? He's cute.
1 That's not the point. He's a man. And they're..
Worthless? I don't think so.
Oh, what do you know?
I am your brain.
Oh, fine.
Apionia slowly reached out. They shook hands.
The moon rose, an immense yellow orb in the sky. And the skeletons were trying to climb up the wall, ruining the moment. They were more annoying than threatening to Apionia. She used her scimitar to chop a monster's head off. It wandered around blindly before vanishing beneath the earth.
The Hylian concluded that he was very confused. This was a Gerudo, a Gerudo who tried to kill him, and a Gerudo who was a thief. But how could she be so damn beautiful at the same time?
Her hair was a fiery, deep red, and went halfway down her back. She kept it pulled up into a tight ponytail. Three tufts of bangs overlapped her forehead. Her eyes were yellow, and they did not stay still. Darting all over the place, to the ground, the horses, the sky, the skeletons, him, and back to the ground again.
She wore puffy, loose pants. She had on a deep-green vest, as well, over a top that had no sleeves, and showed a little bit of cleavage.
Not that he was actually looking at the cleavage..
Dyla hadn't seen very many Gerudo before, but if they all looked like this, he was going to seriously consider moving into their fortress.
The thing that he that he noticed the most was the size of her ears. All Hylians had long, pointed ears. Her ears were very small, and sort of round at the top. There were four earrings in each.
She was tan. Very tan. He seemed albino next to her. Maybe it was because of all the time they spent in the desert.
And then there were her lips. Painted red to mach her fiery hair. Large. Beautiful.
He was absolutly mesmerised by the shine of the moonlight off her voluptuous mouth.
Dyla realized he was gawking at her lips a bit too hard. She was beginning to back away from him. He also realized that he was IN-freaking-SANE. Gerudo! His brain said. Stay away! Not good!
Shut up, he said to his brain.
Was it true that he was starting to like this Gerudo thief?
Dawn came more quickly than Dyla had hoped, and the cadavers disappeared beneath the ground. Apionia gave a quick goodbye, and hopped down from the wall, starting to walk towards her amber horse.
"Hey," said Dyla. Apionia turned around slowly.
"What is it?"
He eyed her hedonistic lips, and then the woman they were attached to. Should he even dare..?
"Thanks for not killing me."
It was a strange comment. Nevertheless, it was complimenting to the Gerudo. She smiled to herself, making a mental note to not kill people right away, but rather to talk to them for a while if they get stuck on a wall together. And then kill them.
Moreover, quite shockingly, he leaned forward and kissed her right on the lips. He stepped back to look at her once more.
Apionia was stunned. She paused, blinked; however, she did what any Gerudo would do. She punched him in the face.
"Don't do that!" she screeched, then glanced at him.
"Oops," she said as the Hylian reached up to his left eye to feel the blow he had just taken. Apionia sheepishly climbed onto her horse. Dyla looked at her and frowned.
"Uh.. sorry," she said, turning in the saddle. "But I'm serious. Never, ever do that again." She yanked at the reins, and trotted off to the east, cursing her own feminism. Dyla sighed. She hadn't exactly been very polite over his little smooch. This was going to be harder than he thought.
Apionia spanned the bridge overlooking the valley and entered Gerudo Fortress. The canyon wrens were beginning their morning song, and the sky was glowing a lovely purple and blue color.
As Apionia approached the stables, a young Gerudo with flaming shoulder- length hair ran up to her. "Where have you been?" she yelled.
"Joelle!" said Apionia nervously. Now she was in trouble. "Fancy meeting you here. Well, gotta go, there's much to do.." she dismounted her horse quickly.
"Wait just a minute there, missy," the disgruntled Gerudo said, grabbing her by the arm. "What have you been doing all night? Where were you? What happened to the trespasser you were chasing?" Joelle looked angrily at Apionia and crossed her arms.
"You look like my mother," Apionia sneered playfully.
"Just tell me what's going on," Joelle snapped, releasing her arm, "or I WILL call your mother."
"Well, you see.." Apionia started. She fiddled with the saddle on her horse. The mare whickered, nudging her towards the other woman.
Oh, great, now you're taking sides, she thought.
"I.. can't tell you."
Joelle snorted, laughing. "Apionia! I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything. I think I've been around the block more than once! There is nothing you can say that I haven't heard before."
"You won't get mad?"
Joelle stepped forward, and put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "I promise I won't get mad. Now, shoot."
"Okay," Apionia took a deep breath. "I let him go."
The whole fortress heard Joelle scream.
"YOU WHAT!?!" Apionia looked at the ground, drawing a little circle in the sand with her foot. "Yeah, I know, but he wasn't doing any harm. He was just passing through the valley. Besides, he looked harmless enough. We.."
"You know the rules," said Joelle. "Trespassers must be imprisoned."
Apionia eyed her friend. "Oh, come on. He wasn't even armed."
Joelle was about to oppose, but stopped herself. This wasn't that big of a deal.. "Okay, fine. I'll let it go just this once. I guess you had your reasons."
Apionia nodded. "I sure did."
"I would probably do it too, some day," said Joelle.
"Yeah, if he was handsome enough."
Joelle took Apionia by the hand. "Very funny. C'mon. I bet I can beat you in horseback archery." She grinned.
Apionia grinned back at her. "I bet you can't." They ran off together, arm in arm.
A couple days later, it was early morning, and the cuccos weren't even awake yet. Apionia and Joelle were sneaking around a farm nearby Kakariko Village. Apionia hung from the branches of an apple tree, tossing the fruit down to Joelle, who was stuffing them into her pants with great difficulty. They both worked stealthily, trying to spend as little time in one place as possible.
"Hurry up!" whispered Joelle.
"I'm going as fast as I can! Geesh, for the love of Nayru.."
"Hey, what are you -"
"YAAAHHH!" screamed Apionia, and fell out of the tree. The pair of Gerudo pulled out their scimitar and stood at a battle stance, ready to fight the owner of the voice.
Cowering in front of them was none other than Dyla.
"HEY!" said Joelle, still trying to whisper. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She was ready to interrogate the Hylian, when Apionia stepped back.
"Oh," sighed Apionia, relieved that it wasn't some authority figure. "It's you." She returned her swords to their rightful place.
"But..what..you..I.." Joelle looked very confused. "You know this guy?" She pointed at Dyla with one of her weapons, which made him shrink back even more.
"Oh, right. This is the Hylian that I let go," said Apionia simply.
Joelle stood with her mouth wide open.
"Uh, ma'am, could you put those away, please?" Dyla croaked, indicating the scimitar she was thrusting towards him.
She slowly replaced her swords in their sheaths.
"Apionia, may I talk to you for a minute?" Joelle gestured her friend several feet away from the Hylian.
Apionia blinked and looked at Dyla. I think you should go, she mouthed. Then she turned back to Joelle.
"Sure," she said languidly. Dyla took the hint and started to mount his stallion.
The two Gerudo stepped up to a fence. Apionia sat on it while Joelle stood stiffly next to her. She looked very pissed off.
"Apionia, this is a HYLIAN! You are a GERUDO!"
Apionia sniggered. "Tell me something I don't know."
Joelle looked exasperated. "That's not what I mean." She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "The Gerudo and the Hylians are all but enemies. They have nearly forced us into exile just because we're.. we're.."
"Ruthless?" suggested Apionia.
"Well.. yeah. I guess. But do you understand what I'm saying?"
Apionia nodded. "Of course.." She gazed over to the spot where Dyla was, but he was already gone.
Stars stood bright against the black sky. The graveyard shift guards were patrolling the fortress as Joelle looked to the mournful desert beyond. She spotted a light inside the fortress, and knew automatically that it was in her best friend's room.
Apionia lay on her bed, slowly brushing her fiery hair.
Deep in thought.
Never had she thought a man could steal her heart. But she guessed that's what happened when you spend one lonely night with one, sitting on a wall and freezing your bum into an ice cube. Who would have guessed.?
Through the candlelight, she could see Joelle appear in the entryway.
"You like him, don't you?" she said, leaning against the wall.
Apionia looked up. "Who?" she asked.
"That Hylian, of course."
Apionia threw her head back and laughed. "You think I like him? Of course not! That's crazy!"
Joelle didn't look convinced. She gave her friend a lopsided smile. "Then why are you so dreamy all of a sudden?" She walked forward to her.
Apionia gently placed the brush on the soft wool cover of the bed. "Well," she began, "have you ever been in love?"
"No. Of course not. The Gerudo do not.."
"Fall in love. I know." The young girl sighed, and fell onto her pillow. Joelle sat by her, and picked up the brush, turning it in her hands.
"Gerudo don't fall in love with Hylians. It's too dangerous," she said softly.
"I'm sick of all this," Apionia murmured. "All these rules."
"That's just the way it has to be." Joelle smiled sadly, and left.
Thlllunk.
Thllllllunk.
"Damn it!" screamed Apionia. It had been the ninth time she missed her target in
archery. She just couldn't concentrate today. Maybe it was the fact that she was in love. Maybe it was the fact that their leader was acting very strange.
Yes, that was it.
Ganondorf was young. And Ganondorf was naïve. Only seventeen years old, straight out of training, and he was already had a life quest. Looking for the Triforce.
The Gerudo knew little about the Triforce. Well, Apionia did, anyway. She knew
it was the symbol of worship to the Hylians, created by the same three goddesses who made Hyrule itself. Whoever had the Triforce had ultimate power.
On closer inspection, she thought that maybe having the Triforce wasn't that bad
after all.
Apionia also knew that when someone good has the Triforce, it makes Hyrule a
better place. And Ganondorf was definitely not good.
As soon as he took power, Ganondorf had made it clear that the Gerudo had
absolutely nothing to do with the Hylians. Period. Anyone caught sympathizing to one was. well, Apionia would rather not think about it. In fact, the Gerudo weren't exactly tight with any of the other races.
All of this and more put the whole fortress into a nervous excitement. No one
dared talk back to Ganondorf about his plans, no matter how dastardly they thought he was. They were too smart for that.
Apionia was standing, deep in thought, when she felt someone tap her on the
shoulder. She turned around, thoroughly expecting someone like Joelle, but got the shock of her life.
It was Dyla.
"HOLY SH-" she started to shriek, but Dyla clapped a hand over her mouth.
Apionia tried to pry him off. When she did, she whipped into a verbal frenzy.
"My GODDESS, Dyla, what are you doing here?!" she said angrily. "You could
be killed! Or worse! WHAT IF-"
Dyla covered her mouth again. "Shut up, will you? I don't want to be caught! I've
had enough trouble finding you as it is! I.. had to see you again."
"Mmbrr rmmbb!" said Apionia.
"Huh?" Dyla removed his hand.
"I said, Ganondorf! He's our leader! He's ruthless! He's merciless! He's
ferocious! Even more so than the female Gerudo! AND HE DOES NOT LIKE HYLIANS!"
"Oh, crap."
With the ever growing emergency of getting Dyla out of the fortress, Apionia ran
stealthily with the Hylian in tow. If even one Gerudo spotted them fleeing together, she was going to be in deep trouble. From Ganondorf.
They reached the exit of the fortress without being caught.
"Apionia?"
"YAAAHHH!" screamed both the Gerudo and Dyla. She quickly pulled out her scimitar.
Uh oh, she thought to herself.
Aelishae. Apionia's younger sister. Standing there. Speechless.
"Great," she heard Dyla mutter.
Aelishae was only fourteen years old, but became a guard when she showed excellent skills in handling her scimitar, and even better, she seemed to have a sixth sense about intruders. She had just become a guard.
"What are you doing?" said Aelishae. She was poised on a cliff above her,
with her long-handled scimitar glinting in the afternoon sun. She had on her purple guard uniform. "Who's that?" she said, pointing to Dyla.
Think fast! I need an idea! Apionia said to herself.
Ohhhh, no. You didn't want my help before, said the voice inside her.
What the.. Hey, are you still up there?
Well, it's not like I can excactly walk away..
Uh, yeah, just help me!
No way.
C'mon, please? I REALLY need some help now.
Oh, fine. But this is the last time.
"Aelishae! I'm so glad I found you! I was getting worried!" Apionia said. She
yanked Dyla violently in front of her.
"Hey, watch it," he said.
"Shut up!" she whispered. The she spoke up, saying, "I found this Hylian
trespassing in the fortress. I wanted to find you so we can lock him up for a while." Dyla rolled his eyes. Great. I'm a prisoner now.
"Oh, really?" Aelishae said, brightening. "You want my help? I..Thanks!" She hopped down from the ledge, obviously excited to have a job to do. Apionia gave a huge sigh of relief. Dyla gave a huge sigh of exasperation.
It was exactly 5:00 in the morning by the time Apionia had a chance to retrieve Dyla from the prison area. When she found him, he wasn't very happy.
She apologized hastily and they began once again towards the exit to the fortress. Apionia wished that she could tell someone where she was going, in case she was delayed. However, she couldn't tell Joelle, not after the verbal thrashing she got from her after her little wall sleepover. And Aelishae. she wouldn't understand. She was still too young. So she set off early without anyone knowing where she had gone.
They reached the bridge without incident. Apionia stood right up against the ledge and listened closely to the canyon. When it seemed safe, she motioned Dyla to come forward. The sky was turning the now familiar color purple. A bird twittered a single note, and then silence.
Apionia could hear Dyla take a deep breath. She did, too. They had made it.
Clip, clop.
"What's that?" Apionia whispered.
Clip, clop.
"I don't know," answered Dyla.
Clip, clop.
It sounded like a horse..
Clip, clop, clip, clop.
The sound got louder.
Then Ganondorf appeared.
Well, not really appeared, but Apionia spotted him coming around a boulder from the other side of the canyon on horseback, followed by two female Gerudo, armed with bows and scimitar.
This was not good.
"Well, now what?" said Dyla nervously. He began to back up. Ganondorf and Crew had still not seen them, luckily. Going back to the fortress was out of the question. He had this feeling of impending doom.
"Well, now we, uhhh," Apionia faltered. She looked into the canyon below them. A waterfall supplied a river beneath. It didn't look that far down.
"We have to jump into the river," she said quietly.
"WHAT?! Are you cra-" Dyla's objections were cut off as the Gerudo grabbed his arm and leapt into the canyon, dragging him with her.
There was a moment when they were both suspended in the air, and they both got a good look at what was ahead of them.
Open space.
Dyla gasped.
Then, they fell.
And fell, and fell, and fell. As Apionia got closer to the water, the formed her hands into a diving position and dropped gracefully beneath the surface.
She came up just in time to see a flailing Hylian hit the water.
Splunnnk.
Dyla came out of the water by Apionia.
"Whoa," he said. "Gravity's a bitch up there."
Lake Hylia was a beautiful sight in the moonlight. Full of clear, sparkling water, where the Zora people swam, worked and played, while the shores looked as if all the stars had fallen out of the sky. Now it was morning, and the sun was just rising over the water's gentle waves, and there was no sound except the gentle trickle of the waterfall from Gerudo Valley.
From which, Apionia and Dyla came flying out of.
After collapsing onto the shore, Dyla thought over his entire predicament. Here he was, sitting soaking wet by a lake at an ungodly hour, where a beautiful non-Hylian girl, who had saved his life from a fate most likely worse than death, was standing next to him, ringing water out of a yard of flaming hair. How odd.
"Hey, Apionia?" he said, standing up.
She turned around, and once again Dyla got the painful view of something he could not have gazing upon him.
"Yes?" she replied.
"Thank you."
And there they stood, dripping, until Apionia spoke up.
"That was dangerous."
"I know."
"I don't think we should see each other anymore." She stepped backwards.
To Dyla, her words were like she was tossing him casually into a spiraling pit of madness. She frowned, looking at the ground.
He said nothing. And Apionia left.
Three days passed. Joelle noticed something strange about Apionia ever since she came back to the fortress dripping wet and in a bad mood. She suspected that it was trouble with that Hylian. The first thing that had tipped her off was when Aelishae breathlessly reported that a Hylian prisoner was missing. And so was Apionia.
Aelishae was convinced that her sister had went to pursue the escaping Hylian, but was upset when Apionia said she didn't want to talk about it. Joelle decided to take matters into her own hands.
She found her friend sitting in a far off place in the canyon. Just sitting. And looking mournfully at the rushing water below her.
After much obstruction, Joelle finally made her way up the canyon and sat on the rock with Apionia.
She was a mess. Her normally well-kept hair was flying all over the place. She hadn't even attempted to put it into a ponytail. Her eyes looked sunken, as if she had been lying awake these past three nights.
Joelle couldn't bear to look at her friend in this condition anymore, so she looked at the scenery.
She now knew why Apionia was up here.
To the right of them was Hyrule field, green and beautiful. To left was miles of canyon, which looked as if it had been dipped in sunlight. And straight ahead was the desert, a yellow body that spread far beyond the horizon. Joelle sighed.
"You did like him," she said.
"Wow," said Apionia sarcastically. "What was your first clue?"
Joelle shifted her weight. "You don't need to be so catty about it. It's not my fault he doesn't want to see you."
Apionia stared straight at her friend. "I told him that we shouldn't see each other, not him." She turned back to the canyon, and hugged her knees, burying her head in the little valley they made.
Joelle paused before answering. "Why?"
"It's too dangerous," Apionia said simply. "And.."
"Ganondorf."
Apionia sighed. "I hate him," she concluded. "I hate his stupid rules, and I hate his stupid quest. This is all his fault."
"In all due respect," Joelle started, "Ganondorf is full of crap." She smiled her lopsided smile at Apionia, and snickered to herself.
The Gerudo raised her head from her knees. "I do want to see him again. But I won't get a chance to." She sighed for about the thousandth time. Joelle stood up.
"I'll leave you now," she said, and climbed down the rock. She hoped that Apionia would get out of this depression of hers. But what Joelle saw as she was about to cross the bridge gave her all the hope she needed.
Back on the rock, Apionia pulled out her ney. A small instrument, made from a hollow reed. Holes lined the sides of it. She placed the top of the ney parallel to her lips, and blew a single note.
It echoed off the walls of the valley, then disappeared into the dusk. She closed her eyes and listened to the ringing. She played another note, lower this time, and listened. The, she played a sad song, with long, sustaining notes that sent chills up her spine. When she was finished, the sun was moving closer to the horizon.
Apionia felt as though someone was standing right behind her. She turned slowly, and there he was. He didn't need to say anything as the Gerudo flung her arms around the Hylian, and kissed him.
Years pass.
Ganon grows up.
And Apionia passes the dislike that she has for her leader all the way to her granddaughter. But, no one ever seemed to ask why. And she really didn't care, as long as she was happy. And she was.
The End.?
So, what did you think? Tell me, PLEASE. I thought it got kinda slow at the end, but whatever. Oh, and this is only the first part of the story. So, if you get itching for more, just wait another couple years until I can find the inspiration to write part 2.
Farewell, my loyal readers.
Nightviero