Tears of Twilight
Chapter 2: New Gerudo
By, Frank Hunter

"To be honest, Your Highness, we're excited. No, more than that. We're very excited."

Rigo looked up from the table in front of him at the man that sat across the way. The man had one of those pleasant, jovial faces that was capable of sucking a person in and getting them to lower their guard. It made you like the man without needing any real reason, and in turn, be more enthused about working with him. In short, it was an excellent face for a politician.

This politician in particular was an important man in his own right. His name was Jean Bennet, and as the Prime Minister of Jirin, he was a diplomat that Rigo was finding himself spending more and more time with. The room, which, in their early discussions, had been filled with bodyguards of both races, now only contained the two leaders, a pair of diplomats who sat silently beside Bennet, and one Gerudo woman, Karenn, Rigo's second-in-command, who sat with him. The relationship between the two nations had begun not quite as hostile, but strained at least, mostly due to the revolution Gerudo had underwent seven years prior. But a series of pleasant talks and cooperation had helped to set everyone at ease, and now the men had a very decent rapport going, if not an actual companionship with one another.

As the neighboring province to New Gerudo, Jirin was the primary source of trade and commerce for Rigo's people, the Gerudo, and as King, it had fallen to him to maintain a pleasant, symbiotic relationship with these people. And he played his part, though Rigo really knew that the Gerudo had the upper hand in this relationship. The trade goods and foods they brought in from Jirin were welcome, no doubt about it, but it was nothing compared to what they gave back in return. As an entirely female race, with Rigo as the sole exception, the Gerudo relied on the neighboring populations entirely for the species' procreation. And the men of Jirin took full advantage of that reliance.

Granted, this was a dependency that ensured the survival of his entire race, but if the relationship between their peoples was to dry up, the Jirin would be the ones griping about it in the short term. It would only be over the course of a generation, if the Gerudo could not find another suitable race to mingle with, that they would begin to face problems.

Due to recent developments though, that whole point be becoming moot. Rigo wasn't sure they'd need the Jirin at all before very long. And all of it had to do with what this man was grinning about now.

"I don't blame you," Rigo said, smiling back as authentically as he was able. "A relationship with other outside countries can be positive in all sorts of ways."

"What did you say the state was called again?" Bennet asked him.

"Hyrule," Rigo answered.

Bennet repeated the word, nodding and seeming to play with the texture of it in his mouth.

Jirin had traditionally been an isolated country, much like Hyrule had always been and still was. It was only due to the Ganondorf War, which turned the people of Hyrule against the Gerudo and forced them to flee across the desert, that his people had discovered there even were other races to be found. Since Jirin was discovered on the other side of the desert, there had been a lot of debate and wonderment on just how big the world really was, but Rigo chose to save those discussions for less occupied minds. He wasn't interested in pressing further out into the world. He was more interested in turning back, and it was only now beginning to look as though it were really possible to do so.

"And it's a two-week journey through the desert? You've made it yourself?" Bennet asked

"Three or four if you're traveling heavy," Rigo said. "But yeah, I've made it." His mind went back to the disastrous journey he'd taken as a child, when he and Amili had innocently enough made their way back to Hyrule and had gotten caught up in a desperate battle to take control of the Waters of Nayru, a sort of mythological Fountain of Youth that had turned out to be all too real. Since then, he'd made the journey several times.

"But you've found some way to circumvent that?" Bennet asked.

"We have. There's a technique we've recently discovered. Makes it possible to make the trip in the blink of an eye." Rigo said.

Bennet nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, that is phenomenal! May I ask how it's done?"

Rigo smiled again. "Magic."

The prime minister laughed at what he thought was a joke. "Very well then, keep your secrets. I have to admit, Rigo, it's been a never-ending source of curiosity. Where your people came from, what else was there. We'd never gotten close enough with your predecessor, uhm…"

"Amili?" Rigo supplied.

"Yes, and the other one. The rigid one."

"Sooru."

"Well, neither of them seemed as interested as you are in pursuing a mutual relationship here. And I would be cross about the withholding of this kind of information, but your choice to share your discovery with us now makes it all the more worthwhile. A month's travel through desert land would have been a bit excessive for any sort of trade or barter. We don't need anything thatbadly, you understand. But if this Hyrule is, as you say, just a stone's throw away, we could be looking at a new age of global commerce and understanding."

"That's my hope, too," Rigo agreed.

"How long will it be before we can see this in action?" Bennet asked.

Rigo sighed. "I really couldn't say just yet. We're not in the workable stages, yet. Just ideas and prototypes. As soon as we can move forward with something tangible, I'll bring you into the loop."

"And I'll look forward to that, Rigo," Bennet said. "Moving forward, we have only one other piece of business this morning, a rather uncomfortable piece of business at that. That would be the Gerudo girl we currently have in a holding cell here in the city. She gives her name as Silint?"

Rigo nodded. He was familiar with the girl, a young adolescent who had a penchant for trouble around the pueblo. A streak, Rigo had to admit, he was all too familiar with. "May I ask why she was arrested?"

"She was discovered pilfering several pieces of valuable jewelry out of a hotel room that was not hers," Bennet said. "Normally I wouldn't be involved in minor criminal proceedings, but being as the girl is Gerudo, I thought it best to bring this up to you now before this goes any further."

"Thank you," Rigo said. "I appreciate you being so transparent."

"Least I can do, Your Highness. Least I can do. Now given the young age of the girl, there is a short minimal sentence that would typically be carried out for attempted robbery. Incarceration, you understand? But I'm not looking to spark an international incident over something like this. Maybe if you were willing to pay a small fine to cover reparations and consolations, we could just slide this under the…"

"What's the sentence?" Rigo asked, cutting the man off.

"Well, two months, effective the date of the arrest."

"Let her serve it," Rigo said. Kerenn's eyes shot over to him, but to her credit, she didn't say anything out loud to contradict her King. He pretended not to notice her surprise.

Bennet seemed to not expect this response either, though. "Just like that?" he asked.

"Just like that," Rigo said. "I don't intend to obstruct Jirin from enforcing justice within its own borders. I agree with the sentence. She can carry it out."

"Uhm, alright," Bennet said. He looked a little disappointed that he wouldn't be getting any money out of this. "Very well. If that's all, then I think today's business has ended."

The pair concluded with the minor formalities and chit-chat that came at the close of all of these sorts of meetings and shook each other's hands. Rigo and Kerenn were left to see themselves out of the reception hall and strode out into the streets of the city. Rigo was always struck by how much more casually diplomacy was carried out in Jirin than it was in Hyrule. In Hyrule, you had to go through channels. You had to be escorted everywhere. Everything had to be approved by the Queen and six other people before it could be executed. Here, a handshake and verbal understanding with Bennet and they could agree on just about anything. In many ways, he liked this better.

When they were out of earshot of the capital and moving along the road toward the edge of town, Rigo spoke up to Kerenn.

"You have something you want to say."

"It's not really my station to question your decisions, Your Highness," Kerenn said.

"Kerenn, if it's anyone's station, it's yours. What's up?"

"Really?"

"Of course."

Kerenn smirked. Their conversations were always so easy, and Rigo appreciated the nature of it immensely. These days there were so few people around that he could just be straightforward and social with. Now that he was King, most people saw him as this enormous, untouchable figure. He needed this sort of rapport to remember that he was still Gerudo, just like the rest of them.

"I don't understand why you're letting them keep Silint in prison. Her mother could have paid a fine."

"You're right, she could have," Rigo agreed.

"Hell, she could have paid it in money stolen from Jirin. It wouldn't really cost us anything."

"You're right," Rigo said again.

"So why are you letting them keep her prisoner? It's like your punishing her for stealing."

"No, that's the thing, Kerenn," Rigo answered. "She's not being punished for stealing."

"What's she being punished for, then?"

"Getting caught," Rigo clarified.

Kerenn seemed to think on this, so Rigo went on. "We're thieves, not criminals. The only difference between the two is that a criminal is guilty."

"But isn't two months a bit excessive?"

Rigo considered his own formative period. When he'd been preparing to take on the burden of the crown, he'd been beaten, outcast, starved, blown up, imprisoned (for years), almost murdered, and forced into a war that cost him hundreds of his people. So two months?

"No, I don't think it's excessive," he resolved. "It's enough of a repercussion that she'll be more careful next time. It'll only serve to make her a better thief.

Kerenn sighed. "I'm not sure I really agree with you when it comes to discipline."

"Well, the pueblo will be yours tomorrow," Rigo said. "You can haggle with the Jirin then if you really think it's the right thing to do."

She smiled. "No, I wouldn't just stomp on your decision like that," she said, trailing off. "You're really leaving tonight?"

"As early as I can," Rigo confirmed.

"How long will you be in Hyrule?"

"Shouldn't be more than a few weeks. Why do you sound like you're getting cold feet here? It's not like you haven't taken acting command before."

"Yeah, but I never like it," Kerenn said. "Being on the top, being the person that everyone looks to for the answers to their problems it's…"

"…it's something you never really get used to," Rigo finished. "But you do a fine job of it. And besides, there's not much happening here on this end of things."

"Nope, I guess you're going where the action is."

"That's right," Rigo said. He stopped for a moment and tapped her on the shoulder. The wind was picking up the dust on the rocky crags around them. Another half mile, and they'd be in the sand of the desert. This whole country really was quite desolate.

"You're doing fine. Really. Stop worrying, okay?"

Her shoulders released a bit. Rigo knew that words of reassurance from Rigo went a long way with her. It was still something he was getting used to, the kind of influence he pulled with his people, but he understood it was there, and understood how to use it when necessary.

"Thanks, Rigo. Okay. I will."

The two of them made their way back to the pueblo as the sun climbed higher in the sky, and Rigo practically glowed with anticipation. Just a few more hours and as far as he was concerned, everything would be right in the world. He couldn't wait.