Legend of Zelda is not mine, and I claim no characters except my originals, and Link's voice. I own that too :D Enjoy!

Chapter 1

"Dammit!" I growl under my breath. This is the third time they've caught me since I've been here. Navi avoids the fall and being crushed by me by fluttering out of the way with a squeak.
"You wouldn't get caught so often if you'd listen to me." She dusts herself off and floats around my head.

"I wouldn't get caught so much if you'd stop nagging me!" I huff back at her and dust myself off.

"Well, we only have one more carpenter to find so it's not a really big deal." I pull out my hookshot and escape as easily as the first two times.

"Okay, so where haven't we looked?" I ask Navi while we wait for a guard to pass.

"We could check the upper levels," replies Navi.

"Ugh, those are a pain to get to and that's how I got caught last time."

Navi crosses her arms. "So you admit it's your fault?"

I don't really hear and reply, "Sure, uh-huh."

Navi lets out a derisive snort and shuts up. We make our way to the upper levels at the fortress and find the last carpenter.

"Oh, thank goodness you found me! Please let me out before – oh! Watch out!" He points behind me and I turn to face a Gerudo warrior in white with two swords.

"Shit," I say quickly arming myself.

She stares at me, stone-faced, and begins to circle. I follow in her dance hoping to find a weak side, but both of her arms are well muscled and show scars from previous encounters with blades. I nod in respect to her skill and position as a warrior. She does not respond.

She attacks feinting to the left and then her left and right sword swing toward me. I block the right sword with my shield and parry the other, shoving her back, off balance. Then it is parry, block, circle and repeat. We both start panting and sweating in the trapped heat of the fortress and I see an opening.

We are both tired, but I am used to long battles. She has only fought untrained carpenters and those battles end quickly. I smile and take the opening.

"Hyahh!" I yell slicing up, twisting my sword, and knocking both her swords out of her hands at the same time. I kick them both away from her and point the Master Sword at her neck. She stands panting and glaring at me.

"Tell your leader," I pant, "tell her that Link is here and I seek an audience with her." I flick the tip of the sword at the door. She slowly backs away then turns and runs out. I turn to the carpenter.

"Get out while you can," I say. He thanks me and runs out, not looking back. Not ten minutes later I hear footsteps.

"Your reputation precedes you, Link." A tall woman in white walks out of the shadows and down the steps. I am not sure how to greet her so I incline my head.

"I do not know who you are or your reputation but if you trained the warriors, you have my respect," I say. She smiles and walks further into the room.

"Please sheathe your weapon. The fact that you defeated my best means you have gained my respect as well." She inclines her head to me. I put away my sword and shield, but stay wary.

"What is your purpose here, Link?" She asks pointedly.

"I would like to travel to the Desert Colossus to retrieve the Spirit Medallion and so continue my journey to free the land of Ganondorf ma'am." She puts one hand on her hip and cracks a smile.

"You're taking a big risk asking a Gerudo. How do you know we aren't loyal to Ganon?"

"I don't believe you'd have your guards go so easy on me if you had wanted me dead." She laughs out loud at this, throwing her head back.

"Very true, but you are a powerful warrior." She bows, pressing her palms together. "As far as I'm concerned, you are welcome here."

I return the bow awkwardly, "I'm glad to be welcomed. May I ask your name and the name of the warrior I fought?"

"Yes, my name is Meesha and the woman you fought is Nabooru. She's captain of the guard, our best fighter, and you still managed to disarm her. As you can imagine, she's pretty pissed." A smile quirks on Meesha's face.

"I barely beat her. I only did because I'm used to endurance battles where she is not." I smile back.

"Hm. I'll have to add endurance to our curriculum. If you'll follow me." Meesha leads me back through the maze of rooms to a mess hall where ten or so Gerudo guards are eating. One of the guards is Nabooru, whose white uniform is easy to spot amid the purples. She ignores our entrance even though every other guard looked up. I head directly toward her.

From the back she's indistinguishable from any other Gerudo, save her long hair. Even in a ponytail it reaches past her slender waist. I clear my throat but she doesn't turn. I speak anyway.

"I wanted to thank you for the good fight earlier. I want you to know I respect you as a warrior and I would gladly spar in the future if you would like." I bow and turn, but the only sound I hear is her chewing.

I pick up a bowl of stew and eat as I lean against a wall of the mess hall. The Gerudo women eye me warily as if I were something to be cautious of. It does make sense considering they spent the last few days fighting and arresting me.

"What's with them?" says Navi. She has settled on my shoulder with a small section from some sort of root vegetable. She apparently was thinking in the same direction as me.

"It might take them a while to stop thinking of me as an enemy. All I have to do is show them that I'm not." I take my bowl into the kitchen and put it into the sink. I take my bracers off, roll up my sleeves, and plunge my hands into the hot water. Navi sits on the counter, munching on lettuce as she watches me work.

"So this is your grand plan?" she says sarcastically, "Wash their dishes?"

"Part of it," I reply before rinsing off a spoon. A Gerudo woman walks into the kitchen with her arms full of dishes and joins me at the sink.

"Go back out and gather up what's left at the tables. We've got some lazy-ass women here," and she waves a hand at me.

I raise my eyebrows at Navi and she shrugs and jerks her head toward the mess hall sending her braid swinging. The mess hall is emptying and there are at least thirty bowls to pick up. Sighing, I grab a tray and start loading the dishes. I got myself into this so I'll see it through to the end. Some of the Gerudo glance at me uneasily while others offer small smiles. The Gerudo woman in the kitchen doesn't say anything as I make trips in and out with piles of bowls. When I bring the last load in, she nods at me and offers her soapy, water-soaked hand.

"Keeru," she says gruffly, and jerks her chin at the stool.

"Thanks," I murmur and take a seat, "Do you know anything about the Desert Colossus?"

"Very little," Keeru says, "it is the center of spirituality in our culture and houses great treasures. How to get there and its other many secrets are left in the hands of our young spiritual guide, Nabooru." I groan and close my eyes. When I open them Keeru's face has almost cracked a smile, but her expression is still stony.

"What is that about?" She asks raising an eyebrow as she turns back to her work.

"I'm not exactly Nabooru's favorite person in the world right now," I say.

"Ah yes, the fight. Her pride as a warrior has been wounded and that is not an easy thing for a Gerudo to handle."

"I need her help to cross the desert." I run my hands through my hair, knocking my hat off. A wisp of my blonde bangs falls into my vision and I move it with a breath.

"You will need to build that relationship on your own. Nabooru is a stubborn and frustrating woman, like many of the Gerudo. The rest are flighty and useless." Keeru waves me away and Navi settles into my hair before I replace my hat and head for the exit.

I meet a few Gerudo on the way out and get a mixed response as usual. I meant to make my exit quiet, but a Gerudo patrol near the door stops me.

"Are you heading out?" She asks stopping me with an arm across my chest. I bump into her and stop as she steps back to a comfortable distance.

"Yes, is there a problem?" I add a hint of challenge into my voice on top of the question.

"Not unless you're going out the gate. You'll want a scarf to cover your face if you're going past the wall. Outside the gate there is nothing to block the wind from blowing sand into your mouth and nose." She unwinds a purple swatch of fabric from around her waist and hands it to me before waving me on. I thank her and leave the fortress.

The desert will not be easily crossed, even with Nabooru's help. I travel to the gate that leads out to the vast expanse of sand and fold my arms across my chest, considering how to go about beginning the journey. The scarf the Gerudo guard gave me helps, but there's nothing to keep the sand out of my eyes. I blink and look around for Navi but she has not left my hat since I stepped outside. I suspect her pale skin can't handle the sun or harsh sand. She's made for the cool forest, not the hot desert

"Any ideas Navi?" I poke my hat where I can feel her nestled in my hair.

"Can we leave? I'm not cut out for sand," she coughs and I hear a spitting sound.

"Hey!" I yell, "Don't spit in my hair!"

"Can't help it," she croaks. "There are sand grains everywhere in here."

I shake my head and head back into the fortress. There is so much sand, and the sun beats down waves of heat that turns my throat dry when I breathe.

"We'll head back to the fortress soon Navi, I promise."

"Thank Nayru, I'm going to need to soak in lotion to recover from this," she mumbles into my hair and I hear a sigh.

There aren't many options to cross. Nabooru would know the safest way, but it will take time that I don't have to repair her damaged pride. However, it would be foolish to cross alone and Navi would never let me hear the end of it. Each footstep sinks into the sand as I walk until I make it to the solid rock around the gate. I'll have to talk to Nabooru.

AN: Please let me know what you think and where I might go. I have no plans for what to do! Ok, I have some but they're all up in the air. Thanks for reading!