Night had fallen since a while ; Chaden stayed up a long time, but she had finally fallen asleep. Ameera had waited a long time for her to fall asleep, and lay down under her sheets while pretending to sleep soundly. When she heard her sister's breathing become deeper and more regular, she knew she could stand up without fear. If she knew she was going to the castle, she would certainly do everything to follow her. But Ameera knew that taking her to the castle would be a very bad idea: Rukan was very strict and could not bear the admirers of Ganon, and even more those who even went into the palace to see him.

Sometimes, after the night had fallen, Ameera went to the castle to meet Ganon. She was doing this since she was a child. Of course, these nocturnal escapes were kept secret, and the day, both acted as if nothing special tied them. Yet they were very good friends. Night was their accomplice, the moon their friend. They sometimes found themselves running for sand seal race around the city, or in the library to discuss for hours. Sometimes they even allowed themselves to sink as far as possible into the desert to hunt the monsters there. It was probably the only time they felt free. Freed from tiresome and endless responsibilities, freed from a city that she would probably never leave.

The Gerudo city was a haven of peace and no one was unhappy. Yet, for Ameera, life was too peaceful. Nothing to spice it up, nothing to make her travel out of her daily always absolutely identical. Nothing, if it were not for those night outings she shared with the new Prince. Every night was a surprise, a journey towards the unknown. She got up in the middle of the night without knowing what to expect. She passed her head through the window to take a look at the already high moon. It was late, Ganon had to wait for her for a while already - but he knew that Chaden was the kind to stay up, so he knew that his partner was often late. Ameera carried off her shawl, as the nights in the desert were cool, and slipped cautiously up to the exit of the house, then to the meeting point, which stood at the top of the palace - the Royal Waterfalls. Ganon passed by his room, so he had less to climb. But Ameera could not go into the palace alone, so she was forced to leave the city, to go just behind the palace and climb up this side. She had a lot of trouble at first, but with training, she climbed almost like a monkey.

Soon she found herself at the top of the palace. Ganon was already seated on the edge of the rock, peering the horizon, sometimes passing his hand in the clear water that flowed from the top of the rock. Ameera came to sit next to him, and the latter smiled at her.

« Chaden takes a long time to fall asleep.

- Do not tell me about it ... It doesn't take that much time usually. I do not know what she had today. She didn't stop talking about you - she was already doing it, but it seems that the crown gives you more charm.

- Oh I suspected it, you know. It's not as if all the girls were in love with me, after all. »

Ganon sent a wink to his crime partner, and she nudged him and said he could be pretentious and unbearable without really thinking.

They sat on the edge of the palace for a long time, saying nothing. They loved those long silences that were far from being burdensome to them. It was almost as if they understood each other better when they said nothing. In any case, it was Ameera's impression, and she appreciated that. This gave their friendship something deeper and stronger, something that went beyond classic friendship where one appreciates the other for his conversations, among other things. Sometimes there was just nothing to say, so they just said nothing. Ameera bent her head back, closed her eyes and sighed with satisfaction. The evening breeze was cool and she had goosebumps. But it reminded her that she was very much alive, that cold wind that licked her skin and that had reddened her cheeks and the tip of her nose. She tightened her shawl against her, but the thin transparent fabric did not protect her very much. She glanced at her friend. He was always dressed the same way since this morning: bare chested, adorned with jewels and his red and gold saroual. She wondered how he could bear the coolness of the night, as pleasant it could feel.

« I appreciate these nocturnal and secret getaways. Just you, me, and the moon for confidant and witness. I feel close to it, as if I could entrust it with all my secrets. It has something reassuring and benevolent, much more than the sun. Yet I also feel it a traitor - it brings that wind, the one who brings death in our desert. And only in the desert, by the way.

- Have you been in Hyrule before? I mean, in Central Hyrule, she added after a few seconds, seeing the young Prince's questioning look.

- That's clearer. »

He passed his hand, smiling, on his chin, where one would expect to see a nascent beard, but nothing for the moment. Then he shook his head.

« Not yet. But it will not be long before I go. Rukan told me that the King of Hyrule always met the Gerudo Chiefs shortly after their appointment. I can't wait to see these lands, which must be very different from the desert.

- I have already been there several times, by these words she caught Ganon's attention. Dad is a soldier in Hyrule's Town, and as amazing as it is, Mom, my sister and I still see him often. We go there twice a year, we stay there for a month. This is another world, I feel. They do not know the burning heat and the biting cold. There is only warmth and coolness. The nights are pleasant, and one could lie down in the sun all day without burning. It sometimes rains. Have we ever seen rain in the desert? Surely not. The rain is refreshing and I liked to stay there for a long time - I can tell you that the people there looked at me strangely from their window! They do not realize how lucky they are. Grass and fields as far as the eye can see, abundant flora and fauna full of life. This is the word that best describes this place I think. Life. When death is here, everything comes to life there. The desert is such a hostile place; it is not made for beings, though it is said. There is nothing but sand. Sand, and still sand. A few cacti from here, but nothing else. It's really another world, the opposite of ours. "

Ganon had remained silent. He had not interrupted Ameera, who had taken her time to say all she had to say about "the other Hyrule." She had taken a few pauses, searched her words, finished her speech in a whisper, like a sigh. What she said was a perfect match to all that had been told to the young chief about what was on the other side of the desert. He had indeed the impression that it was a different world, and he was struggling to think that what Ameera described was on the same ground as the desert. It was true, however; A few miles from them, slept peacefully the inhabitants of Hyrule, enjoying a pleasantly cool night, as they knew too often. There had never been any question, for the Gerudos, of leaving their native desert. The people had settled there since the dawn of time, it would seem, and the idea of moving to a more welcoming place had never crossed their minds. It was in the desert that their ancestors, their roots, their identity slept. And the Gerudos were a people very attached to the traditions.

Yet this thought came to Ganon. He had never heard this ridiculous idea - and he thought it was so absurd - but it stayed a few seconds in his mind. Leaving the desert for a better, more prosperous land. A land that will stretch out their arms instead of constantly testing them. The idea was enticing, and if they could, they would probably fold luggage. But a mysterious force nailed them on the spot and whispered to them not to move from there; his would betray the Gerudo people and all that they were. But Ganon, for a very brief moment, seemed to hear another murmur, the one who told him that they deserved better than that, that their destiny was elsewhere. But the voice stopped very quickly. The desert was his country. The desert was him.

The voice seemed to come from the heavens, as if the moon had whispered to him these strange and confusing thoughts. Ganon glanced at it, but said nothing to Ameera. He did not want to worry her by telling her that he heard voices, moreover, voices that asked him to leave his native land and take with him all the women of his people. But he was curious to know what Ameera was feeling. He wondered what she thought, if she had once thought of leaving the desert to live a more peaceful, calm life, where she did not have to worry about the climate and where she had not to make reservations in case the next day is burning hot.

« Would you leave the desert, Ameera? I mean, if you had the chance

- Sorry ?

- It's not something I can imagine, Ganon confessed after a long silence.

- Of course it is not possible. It's our home, it's us.

- Yet the Gerudos are more and more numerous to leave the city to go and live elsewhere with their voe. I think it's a release for them; the opportunity to live a better life is offered to them and they jumps on without asking questions. This is what I ask you: if you had the opportunity to leave the desert, after marrying a voe, for example, would you? »

Ameera seemed to ponder a long, silent moment.

« I do not think I would. Even if the desert is hard and unwelcoming, it is the one who saw me grow up, and I would leave a lot of me here if I left. So I won't. I prefer to live fifty Fire Seasons and remain myself rather than flee what is unpleasant but lose me.

- How strong you are, Ameera ...

- It is far from strength! This is what thousand Gerudos thought through the ages. I do not blame those who have left, much good may it do to them if they have found a better life elsewhere. But I love this little city. Everyone knows everybody. Everyone is helping and hugging each other. We are a great family more than a simple people, and the warmth of the desert has permeated us. And even if the nights are cold here, we warm ourselves by our simple fraternity. I could never leave that, Ameera fell silent, then turned her head towards Ganon. And you, Ganon? Would you leave?

- I never really thought about it. I mean, I've always lived here, and I've only seen that. For me, it is as if the whole world was made of sand, warmth in the daytime and icy coldness at night. I cannot imagine anything beyond the sand dunes. Difficult for me to want to leave. And then, if you stay, why should I go? "

Ganon gave his friend a charming smile, the one he always made to make her laugh and see her blush. And as every time, Ameera laughed at him, and despite the darkness, he knew that her cheeks were slightly tinged with pink. He loved to tease his friend, and it was only with her that he could blow a little and drop the mask of chief, heir to the throne. He was a man, a friend with her.

He stood up, held out his hands to the young Gerudo, always that smile on his lips. He asked her if she would rather go for a walk in the desert with the sand seal or on foot. Without any hesitation, Ameera pointed out the seals that crawled lazily near the entrance to the city. They were not tame. Ganon possessed his own, but Ameera had to take a wild one - the shop of rental of seals was closed at this hour.

With discretion, they both entered the palace to go to the Sand Gardens, where Ganon's seal, Naxoo, slept. He was like all the others, the only difference being that he was richly dressed. Ganon often took away his apparatuses, worried that it would bother him too much. As soon as he felt the vibrations on the sand, Naxoo straightened up and crawled quickly to his owner. Ganon crouched in front of him, gratified him with a caress on the top of his head and removed his jewels, whispering to him, in the tone of confidence, that he did not need to be so adorned to be beautiful. He took his shield, tied it to the leash of his walrus and left the city, accompanied by Ameera. The test to follow was always the most complicated: one had to catch an animal for Ameera. As Naxoo was very disciplined, it was useless to watch him, so Ganon could help his friend catch a walrus. They always got together and it was always a great time to laugh and fall. Ameera and Ganon both had different ways of proceeding: while the young woman was discreet, Ganon jumped almost on the animal to hang the leash around its neck. In the first case, the walrus buried itself in the sand and moved away a few meters; in the second, Ganon often ended up throwing to the ground after the beast had rushed to throw him from its back. It had already happened to them to spend several hours catching a walrus so badly they did, and when the sun was rising they had not yet made a turn in the desert and they had to separate, in order not to be seen.

« Okay, it starts to get tough.

- Something tells me that there is a great risk of spending the night there, Ganon.

- Everything I do with you is fun, so I could spend all night catching a seal with you without any problems. » Ganon smiled and cast a sidelong glance at Ameera.

She rolled her eyes and chuckled. They left Naxoo near the entrance, as they stood a few yards away from the animals. Some slept, lying on their backs, and others were slowly crawling. As they were still far enough away, they had not been attracted by the vibrations in the ground caused by the arrival of the two companions.

It was Ameera who started, as always. She chose one of the walruses that slept, since their attention was therefore less. She crouched down and approached very slowly from her prey, stopping occasionally when she felt her future mount move slightly. She held the leash in her hands and unrolled it very slowly, so she would not waste time once she was near the animal. She felt Ganon stifle a laugh behind her at the obvious ridicule of the situation. She wanted to turn around and tell him, with a haughty look, that she was eager to see him at work. As if he could do better than her!

As they both expected, the seal finally heard Ameera arrive, and it plunged into the sand to put the distance between the girl and it. It was the problem with them: they were too attentive and far too responsive. She cursed herself for not buying a sand seal, it would make life easier for them. Ganon approached Ameera and patted his head with a big smile, looking like "Let me try, I'm a professional. » She got up, rolling her eyes, walked away, crossed her arms and looked at him with a big smile.

It took them a long time before they could catch a beast. At the end, they tried to catch it both at the same time, one pulling the walrus to one place and the other trying to pass the leash around its neck. When they finally climbed on their shields, a dim light shone on the horizon, a sign that the sun would soon replace the moon; and when their accomplice disappeared, their proximity did the same, and they each returned to their lives, acting as though they were barely friends. Basically, Ameera did not know why they were behaving like this: they could be very friendly in front of everyone, what was the problem with that? She had never asked Ganon the question; yet it had frequently crossed her mind.

Ganon waved his hand in front of Ameera. She looked very pensive, her eyes plunged into vagueness, and an afflicted air on her face. When she blinked and put her emerald eyes on her chief's face, he told her that they were only going to make a brief desert ride, that they would not go near the mountains since the sun was rising, and that he would soon return to his many responsibilities. Ameera resumed her countenance, smiled, and they quickly ran across the sand dunes.

Each time she surfed the ocher-colored sea, she felt a powerful feeling of freedom seize her. Her skin was licked by a bitter cold but yet pleasant in this situation. The braid she had made flew behind her, as if it was struggling to keep up with all the speed of the seal. And sometimes it was stronger than her : she could not help but scream and laugh out loud, which earned her a few glances and amused smiles from her crime partner. She could scarcely see before her the waves of sand that stretched as far as the eye could see. She could see the distant mountains which dominated their world and cut them from the rest of Hyrule. The speed gave her the impression of being so free that she could leave even the desert itself; that she could go where she liked, when she wished. The nights she spent with Ganon gave her an adrenaline that she had never felt in her entire life. Every moment spent under the protection of the moon was a journey into a whole different world, and seeing the sun rise was like a tear for her. She closed her eyes as if not to see the star of the day come to take its place of king in heaven. Not now, she repeated to herself. It's too early.

They stopped a few meters before the beginning of the mountains and landed on a rock. Ameera did not let go of her mount, knowing that it would run away once, but Ganon was able to let Naxoo rest as he pleased. The cheeks and tip of the young woman's nose were rosy because of the cold, and now that she did not move, the freshness became more disagreeable. She squeezed her shawl against her and, still having no answer to her eternal question, she turned her head to her friend.

« Why are we obliged to hide? We're not doing anything wrong; moreover, we are only friends. I have difficulties to understand.

- Rukan, replied Ganondorf simply.

- Well, what about Rukan? What does she have to do with all this?

- She's special with this kind of things. She would not appreciate too much that I am having fun and that I take time for myself, you know? Or, even worse, that I get too close to women. She wants me to focus on my responsibilities for now. She's like that. Special. And I do not want her to annoy me about that, so I prefer to remain discreet; at least, I'm sure she will not lecture me.

- Okay, but we don't flirt. It is a friendship, it doesn't affect you as love could do. You are not going to deprive you of friends just because you have to rule the city, are you? "

Ganon shrugged his shoulders, sighing, looking like it made no difference to his preceptor. Ameera would have groaned a little; Rukan was far too strict, and she tended to forget that Ganon was a man before being a leader.

The latter laid his eyes on the horizon which was tinged with rose and gold. The girl took the opportunity to observe him for a moment. His features were hard when he was thoughtful: his eyebrows were frowning, his mouth pinched and his square jaw clenched. He intimidated Ameera sometimes, she must admit it. His face, his eyes, had something scary, but she didn't know exactly what. It was not something specially malevolent, but it looked like it; she could not put words on it, and though she had contemplated it, she still wasn't able to find her words.

Her companion finally got up, and Ameera nervously did the same, as she had been afraid he'd caught her looking at him. He took the reins of his seal and again sighed.

« The day's coming. We have to be back right away before Rukan gets up and realizes I'm not in my room.

- That's crazy. Rukan is not your mother. "

His friend growled in a low voice, and Ameera didn't realize until she had spoken that it was foolish to say that. Stupid gerudo tradition. As a future leader, Ganon was destined only to the city: he had to breathe the city, live the city, possess it in his blood and in his flesh. The city, nothing but the city. Thus, he had not been able to grow up with his mother, and he had never been told who she was - and besides, he would never be told. They was too scared, at the time, that the woman refused to give her child and flew with him. So they took the baby as soon as he was born, and put on everything to avoid the mother trying to take back her child - if only she tried. The city would have been lost if that had been the case, so we always took all the necessary precautions. Remove a child from his mother, let him grow and mature without her. Men could really be cruel sometimes.

They quickly returned to their city. Ameera's heart was a little heavier. She knew she would have only the day to go alone, without her companion, but she still had her throat tight. She did not even know if they would meet the next night; generally, they did not see each other two nights in a row, to get a night's sleep, at least. Then Ameera had to live while ignoring her companion, only addressing a respectful greeting to him when she met him in the vast corridors of the castle or in the library. During the day, their relationship stopped there. Again she observed the profile of the chief. He had not cut his hair for a while, so they came a little bit under his shoulders. She liked to make some braids in this inflamed and rebellious hair. The long hair gave him a rather less harsh, more charming look; he wore his hair very short during a period, which only accentuated the rigidity of his face and the severity of his eyes. But Ameera had always seen further; she had always seen this soft, tender gleam in the depths of her eyes. And other girls saw it too, she was sure of it, and she snatched a grimace that she couldn't hold back.

They separated at their arrival near the city. Ameera let the sand seal regain the freedom he had lost in an ephemeral way. They couldn't go in through the front doors, since the gates were being watched, so they would walk around and climb instead. But never together. Ganon turned to his comrade and hugged her for a brief moment, a sad smile on his lips. He told her he would find her in the library, and she smiled at him for any answer. As he was climbing behind the palace, Ameera found a spot closer to her house, and she took advantage of the feeble darkness that still lingered, while daylight slowly chased it, to sneak into her little cottage.