Author's note: I apologize for the late update, but was really busy yesterday...busy and distracted by my newest fandom... Anyway, thanks once again to Ribke D'Crazy for another great review! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! It's a really long one! Please, tell me what you think in a review!


Chapter Seven

The girl looked around the large entrance hall, stunned. This place was huge. But she hadn't come for site seeing. She brushed her orange hair from her orange eyes and warped to the antechamber of the throne room. Once her bare feet touched floor again, she started forward. She entered the great throne room, even more stunned at it's size. But she didn't stop walking until she reached the middle. Bowing deeply to the man on the throne, she spoke. "My lord, you sent for me?"

"I did, Kaldari. I have become aware of a threat to my kingdom and my reign. I will not tolerate rebellion among my subjects, nor will I suffer the fools who try to do so."

"What would you like me to do, my lord?" Kaldari asked, looking up at the man.

"Extinguish this threat."

"Where, my lord, shall I find the threat?"

"A trustful source in Kakariko Village tells me that this boy is heading towards the Spirit Temple to awaken the Sage of Spirit. Stop him and his friend before they do so."

"But...if he is just a boy..."

The man stood fiercely. Kaldari bit her tongue. She shouldn't have spoken. The man walked toward her. "This boy is claimed to be the second Hero of Time. Both Sages he has found seem to support him. In fact, many support him. They find him inspiring. If he gets too powerful, he could pose a threat to me and to you in your soon to be queen state." The man stopped in front of her.

Kaldari was surprised. This man was promising her a kingdom she had never thought she would have.

"I have changed my mind, Kaldari. Kill the girl he travels with. I want you to bring me the boy...but make sure he is disarmed and harmless. I will kill him myself and make a showing to all exactly what happens when they oppose my reign. And in return for this small favor I ask of you, I will give you your kingdom."

"My sister stands in the way of that, my lord."

"Not for long. I will snuff her out, too."

Kaldari thought hard for a moment at these words. Her older sister was the one who had inherited the throne. Princess though she still was, Kaldari was jealous. She had wanted the throne. But did she really want her sister to die...?

Kaldari pushed the thought away. She met the eyes of the man standing in front of her, waiting for an answer. "Your word is my command, Lord Vidoreh!" She bowed again and warped to the entrance of the Spirit Temple. She perched in the shade of the overhanging rock formations and waited.

If there was anything Kaldari, Princess of the Twili, the younger sister of the Twilight Princess, had learned in all her fourteen years of life, it was patience.

Link and Zelda steered their horses across a wooden bridge. The terrain had changed quickly to dusty hard earth. Link sighed. He knew about the Gerudo culture. They didn't like guys. At all. And he would stick out among the Gerudo like a sore thumb.

"Perhaps we should have taken the desert route?" Zelda asked, seeming to sense what he was thinking.

"You heard what Saria said. It's impossible for a human to cross." He sighed. Saria would probably give him some advice. He stopped his horse and pulled out the flute she had given. He put it to his lips and played the song she had taught him. He finished and waited.

Link? The sage's voice echoed through his head.

Yeah, Link replied in his mind. Zelda watched him.

How far have you gotten?

We found Darunia. But I have a question.

What?

How do I make sure the Gerudo don't throw me in jail?

Just tell them you you are. Link could hear the laughter in her voice. Tell them your the official – but uncrowned – king of Hyrule and the Hero of Time and the Protector. And then tell them you seek the Sage of Spirit in order to save all of Hyrule. If that doesn't get them to not throw you in jail, then I may have to come and vouch for you.

I thought you couldn't leave the forest.

Only for long periods of time. I can talk some sense into them. Get Zelda to help.

Link sighed. Fine.

You can do it. Good luck.

The connection died and Link frowned at the flute. He put it away and spurred his horse into a walk again. Zelda followed suit. Together, they entered the Gerudo Fortress area.

"HALT!" a shrill female voice called without warning. Four Gerudo women, all guards, rushed up to them, their spears pointing at Link and Zelda, who stopped their horses. "Dismount!" one of the guards ordered harshly. "You are intruding on Gerudo territory and are therefore under arrest."

Link and Zelda exchanged a glance before dismounting.

"I am the Hero of Time and the Protector of the Triforce. I request to have an audience with your leader," Link said, stepping forward

The guards merely sneered. "What makes you think we believe you?" one snapped.

"He is telling the truth," Zelda argued.

"Prove it then, Sheikah."

"Isn't the sword enough proof, Rinn?" The voice came from outside the circle. The four guards turned at once and fell to their knees. Link didn't know what to think. There was a Gerudo man walking up to them, a regal look on his face.

"Your majesty, I wanted to be sure..." one of the guards began

The Gerudo man cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Welcome, Hero of Time and young Sheikah, to our humble fortress. I am Naebon, the king of the Gerudo. Tell me, why have you come to this desert of ours?"

"You have heard of Vidoreh?" Link asked.

"Yes," Naebon replied, his expression changing to one of anger. "That fool had the guts to come here and petition for aid. He thought, just because king before me turned into a tyrant who nearly destroyed Hyrule, that I would follow that path and join the side of evil. But of course, before he could get a word in edgewise to me, he was chased out by my guards." The king rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed at the villain's proposal. "Anyway, continue."

Link nodded. "Vidoreh is gaining power as we speak. Already he has declared himself king. It is very urgent that I reach the Spirit Temple and the Sage of Spirit."

"And so you shall. Rinn?"

"Yes, your majesty?" the Gerudo asked from her crouched position on the sandy turf.

"Would you lead the Hero and the Sheikah to the Spirit Temple?"

Rinn looked up. She wanted to protest, but a look from her king stopped her. She bowed her head. "Of course."

"Now," Naebon said, "the journey must be made on foot, for the desert is no place for a horse. You may keep your horses here until you return. I'll have Sasha bring them to the stables." One of the guards stood and took the reins of the horses. "Be careful and good luck."

"Thank you," Link said. Rinn and the other guards stood. "This way," Rinn said. She led them to a gate. "Hey, Cori!" she shouted up at the gate keeper.

"Ya?"

"Open the gate, will you?"

"Sure!"

The gate was slowly opened, and Rinn motioned for Link and Zelda to follow her into the windy desert. "Now listen!" she said loudly over the wail of the wind, which had picked up quite a bit as soon as they left the fortress area. It was still clear, but beyond a certain point, the sand was blinding. "You must stay close to me! If you wander too far away, you will get lost with no hope of rescue! But if you lose your way, always look for the flags!" She pointed to a tall post with a long, red strip of cloth tied to it. "Got it?"

Both Link and Zelda nodded. All three headed into the sandy wind, covering their faces and staying as close to each other as possible.

It seemed to be ages before the wind started to die down. The air cleared and ahead was a mountain. A large statue was carved from the face of the stone.

"That sand storm is probably the worst of it," Rinn said as Link tried to shake what sand he could from his hair.

"Is it always like that?" Zelda asked.

"Ya," Rinn replied, looking up at the mountain. "Now, inside the Desert Colossus is the Spirit Temple. Nabooru should be there. I will wait for you outside the temple so that when you finish, I can lead you back."

"Thank you, Rinn," Link said. He and Zelda exchanged a glance and started forward toward the entrance.

"Link..." Zelda said as they grew nearer. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"You do?"

"Yes. I feel like it would be unwise to enter..." Zelda looked around and stopped. Link looked at her.

"We're so close though," he said. "Can you figure out what could happen?"

Zelda closed her eyes, trying to focus on what her Wisdom was telling her. She began to speak in a soft voice, barely a whisper. "History is about to repeat, only this time it is a feud among family, not lovers..." Link listened, trying to put sense to what his friend was saying. It sounded so familiar. Where had he heard a story about two fighting lovers before...? Zelda thought harder. "One serves evil...the other sides with good..."

Zelda opened her eyes with a frown. "Whoever they are, we'll see both soon."

"But that still doesn't answer what could happen," Link said. He glanced back the way they came and saw Rinn sitting by a small oasis, then he looked up at the statue carved into the mountain. He thought he saw a flicker of movement, but when he stared harder. He didn't see anything. "Listen, I don't like this. Something's out there. We should find Nabooru before it gets us."

Zelda nodded. She and Link hurried into the temple.

Immediately, they found out what was bugging Zelda. Before they could cross the foyer of the temple, two large, black pillars appeared out of no where in front of them. A translucent wall spread between them, blocking their path into the temple. Zelda slid to a stop before Link did and started back to the entrance, but that, too, was cut off by two more pillars and a wall. They were trapped.

It would only get worse. Another set of pillars crashed onto the floor, separating Link and Zelda. Link drew his sword. "Show yourself, fiend!" he shouted out to the air. There was an odd noise. He turned and gasped. Standing tall before him was a girl, not much older than he. But she was not like him or Zelda or any other race of Hyrule he had seen. Her long hair was a fiery orange, and her eyes were also orange. And she was tall. The girl narrowed her eyes and spoke in a lilting voice. "So this is the boy I was warned about. You are but a child."

"Well so are you," Link replied. The girl merely laughed. She disappeared and reappeared to his left, this time carrying a dagger in her hand. The dagger glowed orange and black.

"You have a lot of guts for a boy. But only that. I am much more powerful than you...and your little friend over there." She gestured with the dagger, and Link glanced at Zelda. She seemed to be looking around at the walls. But he couldn't wonder why. The mysterious girl had disappeared again, this time reappearing closer to him.

"What are you?" Link asked, taking a few steps back and raising the Master Sword.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," the girl replied. She lifted her dagger and dashed at him. Link blocked her blow and swung back with the Master Sword. But the girl dodged easily, disappearing and reappearing with another swing of her dagger. Link ducked and rolled to the side. He had no idea how to fight someone who could move so fast. The girl came at him again and he blocked and once again attempted to strike.

This continued for a few minutes. As the odd battle went on, the girl became less predictable. Finally, the dagger struck his hand, and the Master Sword went flying. Link backed away, trying to get to the Master Sword. The girl advanced, only to be stopped as a dagger whizzed over her head. She turned and saw Zelda had managed to get to this side. "Climbed the walls, did you, you spider?" the girl demanded. She raised her hand and and instantly more barriers split the arena, separating Zelda from the fight. "Try to climb out of that one!"

By this point, Link had retrieved the Master Sword, but he knew it would do him no good. The girl charged again and managed to get his side with the point of the dagger. Link stumbled and the girl disappeared once more. He had no time to react. There was a tremendous blow on his head as the girl hit him with the hilt of her dagger. He dropped his sword as the world blackened, barely registering Zelda's cry or the sensation of falling to the floor.

The girl looked at what she had done for a moment. "A pitiful opponent," she muttered, before turning her gaze to Zelda.

Before she could make a move, another girl appeared in front of her. She was taller and older, but she looked the same. "Enough, Kaldari," the girl said. "I will not have you making trouble here like you did at home."

"Ah, Midz!" the one called Kaldari said. "I was wondering when you'd show up! But you can't stop me."

"Yes, I can. I seem to recall that I got the bigger share of power, seeing as I am the Twilight Princess."

This comment infuriated Kaldari. She bared her teeth and charged. She didn't get far however. The Twilight Princess lifted her hand, magic surrounding it, and fired what looked like a ball of orange light. It hit Kaldari and sent her flying backwards. Kaldari recovered quickly, but did not attack again. She glared. "This isn't over, dearest sister," she spat before disappearing. The barriers faded to nothing.

Link heard a voice calling his name. His senses slowly came back to him and the first thing he felt was the back of his head throbbing and his side stinging. He forced his eyes open, only to come face to face with Zelda.

Everything rushed back to him and he sat up quickly. He instantly regretted it as his head spun and his vision blurred.

"Easy there, Hero," a lilting voice said. Link looked up and saw who he thought had been the girl who had attacked him. But she was different. Her face was more kind and a dainty tiara rested on her head.

"Who are you?" he asked. "Where'd that other girl go?"

"My name is Midori. I am the Twilight Princess, the ruler of the Twili of the Twilight Realm." She sighed. "The one who attacked you was my sister, Kaldari." The Twilight Princess looked away. "She has grown jealous and joined Vidoreh's side in the hopes of taking the Twili throne."

For a moment, there was silence. Then Link, feeling less dizzy, tried to stand. "We should find Nabooru," he said as he got to his feet, picking up the Master Sword. He sheathed it and wavered a bit, but Zelda extended her hand to steady him.

"She has already come and gone, Link," Zelda said. "She promised to help and went off to confer with Saria."

Link nodded, his head spinning again. "Then let's get out of here," he said. "I'm kinda tired of the sand."

"Maybe you should rest," Midori said. Link looked at her, noting the concern in her eyes. "You were hit pretty hard."

"Let's get out of the desert, first, and then maybe I'll rest." He sighed. "I have to stop Vidoreh soon, though...before he destroys Hyrule." His vision blurred again as another wave of dizziness crashed over him. He closed his eyes, hoping to stop it.

"Come on," Zelda said, tugging his sleeve. "Midori, is there a way to get back to the Gerudo Fortress quickly?"

"Yes."

Link let himself be pulled along. His vision kept clouding over, and his movements were stiff. The light of the sun was too bright for him as they stepped outside. "Hey, Rinn!" Zelda called. Rinn looked over and stood. "You weren't in there for very long..." she said. Then she caught sight of Link. "What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Just ran into something," Link replied. "But we're done here. Our new friend is going to get us back to the fortress quickly, right?" He looked at Midori, who nodded.

"One second," she said, closing her eyes. Suddenly everything went black, and Link felt the weirdest sensation. For a second, he thought he had fainted. But then everything came back into view.

"WHAT THE-" Rinn exclaimed. Link looked around. They were standing by the gates of the Gerudo Fortress, the blustery desert behind them. Link exchanged a glance with Zelda.

"What was that?" Zelda asked.

"Warping. It's a Twili form of transportation," Midori explained.

"That was weird," Rinn announced. She sighed and stalked toward the fortress.

"Midori, would you consider sticking with us?" Link asked. "We could use your help."

"Of course," Midori said. "Besides, I'm sure you'll see my sister again. I can help you against her." She looked hard at each of them. "Listen. No one has seen a Twili for many years. I would prefer to stay hidden."

"How?" Zelda asked. She glanced at Link, who had closed his eyes again.

"I can hide in shadows. If I hide in yours, no one but you and Link will know I'm there."

Zelda nodded. "That is fine." Midori smiled and disappeared into Zelda's shadow. "If you need me," her lilting voice said. "Just call me."

Zelda nodded and put a hand on Link's shoulder. "Come on."

Link opened his eyes, still dizzy. His head ached even more, and black spots ran across his vision. But he started forward and found that Rinn had fetched their horses for them. "Where's your friend?" she asked as she passed them the reins.

"Hiding," Midori answered without revealing herself.

Rinn jumped. "You two...uh, three take care of yourselves," she said. "And be careful."

"We'll try," Link said with a grin as he mounted his horse. Zelda hopped on hers and they started off at a trot away from the fortress.

"Let's head to Zora's Domain," Link said as he slowed his horse to a walk. "We can find out where to find Ruto."

"Are you up to it?" Zelda asked, turning in her saddle.

"Yeah...yeah, I think so."

Zelda slowed her horse so that she could ride side by side with Link. She didn't like how pale he looked. But she said nothing.

Link let his mind wander. His thoughts drifted back to Camilla. She held a heavy sadness in her heart. He could just see it every time he looked into her eyes. Could it be because she had lost her best friend, his father, to Vidoreh?

Once again the scene of his father's death played through his mind, making him feel numb. Or maybe that was just his headache doing that.

"Link!"

He looked up sharply. "What happened?" he asked.

"I said your name ten times," Zelda said. To Link, her voice sounded distant. She peered at him. "Are you sure you can go on?"

"Yes," Link said, looking down at his horse's neck again. After what seemed like an eternity to him, he felt suddenly exhausted. He closed his eyes. All he wanted to do was sleep. He barely was aware that he was slipping off the saddle, only of Zelda's voice as she swore and grabbed him.

"Midori, help," she said. Link tried to open his eyes, but he was just too tired.

He felt the reins jerked from his hands and another set of hands grabbing him and putting him on the ground. The voices around him were far away.

"He's really hurt."

"I am going to get help. Can you stay and keep him safe?"

"Yes. Go."

There was the sound of thundering hoof beats.

The darkness won and Link heard no more.