Chapter no. : 3
Chapter title: Colours of the Desert
Story rating: T (for now)
BETAed: Very Excellent Now-Knowing Seal (of approval) from Venks
Disclaimer: Me no own Zelda. I mean, come on - how stupid are you? If I did own Zelda , it would contain much swearing, blood, sex and rock'n'roll. And Yaoi. Don't forget the luffly yaoi. But since I don't own it, I have to settle for entertaining you guys with my stories and OCs - which is fine by me.
Warnings: Not any at the moment. Apart from that this is a yaoi story and contains spoilers from TP.
Notes: Sorry for the late update (by one day). I managed to cut my leg yesterday and so, since it would not stop bleeding, I couldn't go on the computer, cos I'm not risking it -strokes computer- but here we are, the next chapter.
Totally irrelevant quote of the update:
"I don't believe in bad luck, but I do subscribe to the theory of horribly inconvenient coincidences." (Unknown, but I remember saying it once...)


"Link… that was also the name of the Hero before you. It is no coincidence, though, young one…" The Deku Tree paused. "He lived in this very forest as a child, brought as a baby by his mother during a fierce war. My forerunner took him in and he was raised as one of the Kokiri. Soon, Hyrule was balancing on a knife's edge. Dark powers were growing and infected my predecessor with a curse. He sent the boy hero to destroy the curse, but it was too late – my ancestor died after telling the Hero of his destiny…

"The Hero left this forest and ventured around Hyrule, learning more of his quest. Soon, he ventured into the streams of time and became a young man; much like yourself. Throughout the land, he purged darkness from sacred temples and brought light forth, by destroying the Evil King…"

"Ganondorf…" I heard Hero mutter.

"Indeed, you are correct," The Tree replied. "After peace was restored in Hyrule, the Princess of Destiny sent the Hero to his own time, returning him to his childhood. Hyrule forgot about Ganondorf's dark reign, as it never happened; only the Hero, the Princess and the Sages knew of it.

"They seized the King of Thieves before he gained power and set about his execution."

"But it went wrong," Hero cut in. "They had to send him to the Twilight Realm."

"Yes, that is correct. After the Dark King was sealed away, the Great Hero left Hyrule for another kingdom, whose people were crying for help. Still, the Hero was a boy. But when he returned to Hyrule, he was again a young man."

"… Then what happened?"

"The legend is lost to me. I do not know of his life beyond that point; he never returned to the Kokiri ever again."

"He betrayed us," Mido spat. "He broke his promise."

"Now, Mido," The Tree soothed, the unearthed root going from Hero to pat the boy on the head, "you know that is not that case… there is a myth saying that the Hero fell in love, but no one is certain."

"Great Deku Tree…" Hero stepped forward. "What do you know about the evil that's beginning to plague Hyrule now?"

"I know that it is slowly, but surely gaining power," The Deku Tree answered. "It seeks an ultimate power. Not the Triforce, though it may try to obtain it. But it searches for a strength to fuel its might.

"Link… you must travel to the desert; an ill wind blows and malevolent forces even now are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule. You must take the Sacred Blade in your hand once more and save this kingdom and the realms beyond. We are counting on you."

"How d'you do that?"

I looked up at him. I was sat on the cliff I (and that blonde girl) had vanished onto before, one leg hanging off the edge, while I leant my arm on the other, which was bent.

"What?"

He sat down beside me, cross-legged. "Where you disappeared in a puff of smoke; how do you do it? You scared us in Telma's and then you scared the Kokiri with that stunt."

"But if I told you it wouldn't be fun anymore, would it?" I bit back, with a hidden smirk, making him frown; almost pout, even. "Come, Hero; we must get the sword and then get to the desert."

"Hang on," Hero said as I stood. "Don't you want to know what happened when Mido took me away?"

"Oh, I know what happened," I replied, dropping nimbly from the cliff edge to the ground below.

Hero joined me, leaping off the overhang and rolling when he reached the ground. When he stood, I gave him a curt nod and we began towards the tunnel we entered the village through.

"Wait!" Came the call. We turned to see a young girl with brilliant green hair and eyes, a fairy bobbing around her hair. "L-Link?"

He smiled down at her. "Yeah?"

I could see sadness in her eyes; it was obvious that she knew the previous Hero and it hurt to see his soul leaving once again.

"Please, take this." She held out a carved ocarina with near-trembling hands; Hero took it, with confusion. "I want you to keep this. I meant to give it to him when he came back, but when he didn't…" She paused. "Link, good luck in your quest. Promise me you'll return."

He knelt to her height, still smiling. "What's your name?"

She returned the smile. "My name is Saria."

"Well, then, Saria," He replied, pulling her into his frame in what looked like a sibling hug. "I promise to come back and visit."

"Thank you…"

When he pulled back, she continued, "My fairy will guide you to the Sacred Grove."


I glanced at the glowing fairy on my shoulder with a small frown. Who said I could be used as a horse?

All through our journey back towards the Sacred Grove, Hero had tried to engage us in conversation; I felt sorry for him, I really did. I'm not one for talking and it seemed the fairy wasn't too keen on it either…

Well, that might be the case, had she not whispered things in my ear…

"He left Saria alone… he'll do the same to you…"

"That sparkle in his eye - you see it too… but you can't decipher what emotion it is, can you?"

"Your kind are known for being betrayed - who says you're different?"

I remained stoic throughout our journey, trying to ignore her soft voice.

"Not much of a talker, is she?" Hero suddenly said, ducking under a low branch.

If only he had known…

"I suppose not…" I replied quietly.

"Hah, finally! You talked!" He crowed, with a boyish grin.

Such a child in many ways; no wonder the whole of the female world was in love with him. Not only was he highly attractive, but he had the friendliest personality around too. I wondered what the Gerudos would be like…

"Here we are, I guess," I heard him say and I could help but inwardly sigh with relief. "Well, thanks little fairy."

She buzzed up into the air and flew over to hover in front of his face.

"That ocarina Saria gave you - you better look after it!" She tapped his forehead, a cloud of glittering powder falling in his face. "And remember her song! When you need guidance, play her song. You'll remember - or should do…"

And the she was gone, whizzing over the forest's canopy.

Nearby, Hero sneezed. "Gah, fairy dust…" He said, before sneezing again.

I couldn't hold back a smile.


"They sure have made changes…"

I glanced at him, before turning back to the great desert sands before us.

We were at Lake Hylia, Master Sword safely strapped on Hero's back, along with Ashei's blade. Standing atop the large tower on the far west side of the waters, we stared at the sturdy, wooden bridge that connected the turret to the wall that separated the sands from the rest of Hyrule. The crossing, in fact, led to a partition in the wall – a hulking, strong gate, flanked by two stone battlements, manned (or should I say, wo-manned) by a few Gerudo guards.

In the distance, the newly restored Arbiter's Grounds beckoned in the heat.

"Come," I said, making my way across the overpass, Hero just behind me.

"Halt!"

"What is it with people saying, 'Halt!' today?" Hero asked me; I couldn't help agreeing.

"I am Sheik of the Sheikah; you will let me pass," I called, looking up.

"Sheik?" Another figure peered down. "By the goddesses, it is you! Open the gate!"

With an almighty groan, the wooden entrance slowly opened and we stepped in…

For me to be tackled by a lone figure.

I fell to the floor with a grunt, the person landing on top of me, and sitting smugly on my stomach.

"Sheiky, Sheiky, Sheiky…" She tutted, shaking her head, her red hair flopping around. "Why didn't you visit?"

"Because I was busy, Narboora," I replied, looking up at the Gerudo leader and my long-time friend. "Now would you do me a favour?"

"Anything."

"Get off, please."

"Eh, sorry, Sheik," She apologised, climbing off me, then holding out a gloved hand to help me up. "So what brings this visit?" She glanced at Hero, who was surrounded by the now-distracted Gerudo guards. "And who's your charming friend?"

"He's Link," I replied, the name rolling off my tongue naturally, but seeming so strange. "He is the one who cleansed the grounds."

Her amber eyes widened. "He's the Great Hero?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Surprised?"

"Well, a tad, I have to admit…" She confessed. "I was expecting him to be… just a bit older. At least into adulthood."

"He's only a few months 'til he is in technicality a man," I pointed out.

"Hah, but a year for you, you little scrawny, hormonal teenager!" She laughed, slapping me on the back. "He'll still have to pass the test, you know, to get a card and earn our true respect."

"Cleansing the whole of Hyrule and Twilight not enough?"

"Not really…" A grin stretched her rose lips. "Come, you look tired."

After I managed to detach the Gerudos from Hero, we made our way over to the large boars. They were obviously the ones used by the bulblins, but their skull-emblazoned, dreary and rather uncomfortable-looking armour had been exchanged to fiery reds, purples, oranges and pinks, lush fabrics covering padded saddles and tassel-embroidered reins; lets just say the boars weren't pleased with it (which was clear because of the disgruntled red eyes), but they had to live with it, I guess.

"The bulblins left them." Narboora broke through my thoughts, proving my suspicions correct. "We needed transport and they were around, grazing on the little vegetation here."

I nodded in understanding, and soon, we were riding across the desert, towards the Arbiters Grounds, in physical comfort, but - for me and Hero - in mental discomfort at the thought that we were sitting on pink.


Thinking about how broken down Arbiter's grounds were when I followed Hero here on his quest, the newly reclaimed grounds was a palace.

Crumbled stone was no more. The walls were up, supporting a flat roof (on which Gerudo patrolled) and looked as if they had been washed vigorously, as they literally shone in the sunlight.

The boars had been left back at the second Gerudo lookout (previously where the bulblins had been camped out in the desert) and we had ventured the rest of the way on foot.

"Impressive, huh?" Narboora snickered smugly, when Hero gasped at the rebuilt grounds. "I guess you were used to it being an imp-infested rat-hole, eh?"

Hero nodded numbly.

She laughed. "Come. I will show you to your quarters and a feast will be prepared."

"We shouldn't really-"

I sent him a glare, making him falter, but he continued.

"Zel-"

I smacked a hand over his mouth and smiled forcefully beneath my cowl. "A feast would be great."

When we began to follow the Gerudo leader down the hallway (which was adorned with luxurious drapes and a long, red rug stretching all the way down the passageway) Hero looked at me and hissed:

"What the hell was that? We need to get up to the Mirror Chamber!"

"Hero, we have been on the move and fighting since the unholy hours of the morning; it is now nearly sunset. We don't know if Arbiter's Grounds is tainted, and if we are to venture through it safely, we need rest and food."

He admitted defeat, shoulders slumping slightly and a soft sigh escaping his lips.

"You didn't need to clamp my mouth, though…" He muttered, with a small pout.

"Yes I did," I replied, crossing my arms, eyes still trained on the back of Narboora up ahead as we walked down the heavily decorated corridor. "It was the only way to shut you up."

"But why?"

I sighed; I was getting rather tireless of his unaware state. "Hero, after you relinquished the Twilit hold on the Lanayru Province, the Gerudo were waiting for help; not necessarily from you, but from the Hylian soldiers. They thought that the Princess would send soldiers to help them regain territory, so they could then help the rest of Hyrule, instead of spending time rebuilding a new camp.

"But the soldiers never came; the Princess never even sent them - she never had the intention."

"But how do they know that?"

"…Narboora is an old friend of mine. Her mother was a friend of Impaz's and every so often, as a child, I would be sent over here to learn the art of survival; Narboora at the time was also learning and we were taught together… I could not give her false hope of her people being saved."

"So you told her that the soldiers weren't being sent?"

"Yes; the Gerudo did not have enough supplies and weapons to fend off the bulblins and the other monsters, so they stayed back in the desert. They… don't respect the Princess just yet. So any mention of her and you'll get a cold shoulder until you re-earn the warm embrace."

He nodded in understanding.

"Hey, I hope you boys aren't arguing," Narboora's voice made our gazes snap to her. She was stood before a large archway, which was draped in opaque red and orange curtains, a hand on her slanted hip. "Otherwise, I'd had to put you in separate rooms."

"He stays with me, Narboora," I told her, with a frown. "I know what your women are like."

She grinned, much like a cat who had spotted a mouse; feral, dangerous and glinting.

"Now, Sheik – why deprive him?"

"Because we have a mission."

"Mission, smission," She drawled sarcastically, waving a hand around, before opening up the curtains and gesturing for us to follow. "You need to get laid, Sheik."


Demi: Please review. If ya do, I may update sooner : )