Heart of a Heroine Ch10

Ilia was in the Stalls, comforting Epona, stroking her mane as her head sat in her lap.

"You really are tough aren't you?" She asked. "I really hope you can recover by tomorrow, I don't trust those boars."

Epona snorted, which would have translated to "I'm fine."

Ilia looked around, and grabbed a loose post that the Bulbins hadn't used for their makeshift structures. She took out the Silver Sword that she had brought from the Hotel, and began whittling the post.

"Zelda said she needed a cane, and since I'll be in the desert, I won't be here to help her around." Ilia explained, using the sword to cut off chunks from the wood. She felt the weight of the sword on her hand, it certainly seemed easier to wield now that she was wearing the Bracelet Darbus had given her.

Ilia examined the back of her hand again. The mark of the Triforce of Courage. Again, Ilia couldn't help but wonder what it meant. For some reason, the mark seemed different, but she payed it no attention.

"Epona, do you think I'm going over my head here?" She asked. "Even if I do have this mark on my hand, what does it mean? Can I actually just survive this?"

Epona nuzzled her head into Ilia's stomach, trying to make her feel better.

"Thank's Epona." She said, patting her head. "Link said you never went to the desert, did you? It'll be a first for both of us. I wonder what the Gerudo will be like? They haven't been seen for centuries. This will be the first real contact with them for so long."

Epona nuzzled her head into Ilia stomach again, as if to say, "Don't worry, everything will be alright." Which in fact, she was.

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"General?" King Bulbin said, while looking in the stalls. "General Ilia? Ah, there you are." He spotted her lying in the straw, Epona on her side. It seemed she was having nightmare, as she was moaning in her sleep. "Time to wake up!"

Ilia awoke with a start, and looked at the King with surprise. "It's time to get ready for your journey to the Gerudo desert." He told her.

"Oh, right, just... give me a moment." Ilia said.

"As you wish." The King then left the stables.

"Come on, why, why can't I just finish one of these stupid dreams." Ilia moaned after he left. She got up and tried to cool herself off. Ilia saw Epona and tried to help her get up on her feet. "So are you all right?" She asked. Epona nodded in response. "Good, we have a long journey ahead of us."

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Ilia stood in the Middle of Kakariko Village, fully clad in Link's cloth's again, even the hat and he boots. Underneath the chainmail she wore was Ralis' Necklace. On her back was the Silver Sword, and the Hylian shield as well. She now carried one of the Bulbin's Bows, and a quiver holding a huge amount of arrows strapped on her back as well, with a bag of oils on her side to set the arrows alight.

She looked up in the sky to see the sun lying low in the morning sky, but high enough to let the sky retain it's blue color. On her right was Zelda, using the cane that Ilia had made last night.

"I envy you." She said. "It pains me that I cannot help my country."

"Yeah, well, we all do what we can." Ilia said. "Besides, your safe here, who knows what lives in the desert? And considering what's happened so far, those beasts will probably attack us there anyway."

"Still, I wish I could do more." She said.

Ilia looked back up at the sky, and saw a few clouds roll lazily by, and the Sun shining brightly. The sky's hadn't been this promising since Ilia started her journey.

The King came from her left, some Bulbins riding their boars following. "So, are you ready General Ilia?"

"As ready as I'm ever going to be." She sighed. She walked up to Epona, and unraveled her bandages seeing that her wounds had been completely healed. Whatever had been in that ointment certainly worked. She mounted up on her, and looked around her one last time.

The Zora General was talking to the other Zora that had hid out in the Inn over at Eldin Spring. Barnes was sitting on top of his Bomb shop, holding his Bazooka, and watching everyone from above. On top of the canyon the Bulbins worked tirelessly doing whatever work was needed to be done. Beside her were the troop of Bulbins on their boars, one guiding the beast, and one sitting behind him and armed with a bow.

"Alright, Chamberlain, you are in charge of this operation, make sure you stick to your goals." King Bulbin said to the leader of the group.

The leader signaled for the riders to ready their beasts, as Ilia tightened her grip on Epona's reigns. He then signaled for them to head out, so Ilia rode Epona out of the canyon, along with the Bulbins.

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Epona trotted through the part of Hyrule field that lay in Faron Province. Along her, the Bulbins were riding their boars at the same pace, not a word had been exchanged between them for their entire journey.

Ilia looked to the north and saw Hryule Castle in the distance. She could see sections of the castle that had fallen off. She could only wondered what could have happened to all the people she had met in Castle Town. Telma, the Doctor, even Herbert.

Ilia looked to the south, to Faron woods. When she had been younger, they had been a place of adventure. They had been the place of the fabled Kokiri, and the Great Deku Tree. She had always secretly hoped to find the fabled village of the children, but now she knew that they were just a child's story. Now the place were filled with fear. She had no idea how many of those beasts lurked within those woods.

Ilia took a deep breath as a cool fall wind blew, trying to focus on the journey ahead. They were currently walking through a bright stream, the water sparkling against the rocks. They seemed to be heading in the direction of Lake Hylia.

"Link told me he had to get into a cannon to reach the desert. I sure hope that we don't have to do that, I'd be scared to death from the heights." Ilia thought to herself.

After about an hours journey, they passed over the Great Bridge of Hylia. Ilia peered over the edge, and almost caught vertigo from the height. The fall down to the water was immensely far. She couldn't imagine how someone could get down there safely. She looked on the other side of the bridge she could almost make out some Zora soldiers trying to properly secure the Lanayru spring.

They kept journeying along the bridge until they reached the other side. They went through the road in the cliffside. The further they journeyed on the road, the steeper and steeper the cliffs on either side became. The Leader, Chamberlain, stopped them, and looked over the cliff wall. He got off of his boar, and began feeling the wall, searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" Ilia asked, but received no answer, instead Chamberlain kept feeling against the wall until he grabbed something hidden in the rock face, and suddenly the wall moved, and revealed a narrow passageway. Chamberlain got back on his Boar, and led his best through the narrow path. Ilia followed, wondering how the Bulbins had found this place. The path was extremely dark, the tall canyon walls blocking out the sun.

Eventually the path began to widen, and in front of them was a small wooden bridge leading up to a ledge. They walked up the bridge, but were greeted by a huge chasm stretching before them. Ilia got off of Epona to look over the edge, and saw a river raging at the very bottom, impossibly far down. Ilia backed away from the edge, and looked around and spotted an extremely rickety bridge. Beyond all rational thinking, the Bulbins seemed to actually be considering crossing it.

Ilia grabbed Epona's reigns, and led her to where the Bulbins were.

"Are you actually going to cross this?" She asked him as though he were insane.

"Yes." He said, looking over the bridge.

"Is it actually going to hold?" She asked him.

"No idea." He responded.

"That thing looks like it might fall apart on the next wind, and you're going to cross your heavy Boars across it?" She asked.

"Pretty much." He said. With that, he rode his boar across the bridge at a slow pace. The other Bulbins followed him. Ilia just hung her head, and mounted up on Epona again. She kept a firm grip on the reigns, and waited until the last Bulbin had crossed the bridge. Ilia readied herself, and led Epona at a slow pace across the rickety bridge.

She did her best to ignore the sound of the raging waters, and ignore the fact that she would most likely die if she fell, and that she was scared out of her mind, and just kept trying to move forward. Suddenly, the board in front of her broke in two, startling Epona. Soon after, a board behind them snapped, and she could hear the wood creaking beneath both Epona's and hers weight.

Ilia snapped the reigns, and caused Epona to Gallop the rest of the way down the bridge, boards breaking were they had been just moments before, running as fast as she could. Before they reached the end, the boards in front of them broke, and Epona instinctively leapt the great distance, clearing the gap and landing successfully on the other side.

Ilia jumped off of Epona's saddle, sitting down, gasping for breath, simply grateful she was simply alive.

"Looks like we're not going back." One of the Bulbins observed.

"YOU THINK!" She yelled.

Suddenly, and arrow hit the top rope causing what was left of the bridge to collapse down into the rapids below.

"Out of here now." Chamberlain told them, only waiting long enough for Ilia to get back on Epona.

"What was that?" Ilia asked, as their rides ran from the spot.

"Someone wants to make sure we stay." Chamberlain said, not even looking her way.

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Ilia wiped her brow of the sweat that had accumulated under her hat. She decided to take it off for a while, and looked around her. All around her was sand, sand, and even more sand. Scorching sand that stretched to each horizon. There were no landmarks, and now the sun was in the middle of the sky, so she couldn't even tell which direction she was going.

As one point she had checked her pockets on her belt, and was amazed that Link hadn't kept a compass on him.

Epona found it difficult to cross the dunes, she was much more accustomed to solid ground as opposed to the shifting sands.

Ilia wasn't sure if the Bulbins were also affected by the heat, or they just ignored it. Eventually it got so hot, she took off the green tunic, leaving her chainmail exposed.

No doubt the worst part about the desert were the strange creatures. Occasionally, what appeared to be giant plants hovered across the skies, using leaves on top of their heads as propellors. Sometimes, these round slimy things would come out of the ground in packs. They weren't hard to kill, but just plain disgusting. What was the worst no doubt, were these worms that burrowed under the ground. You could see them tunneling, and then they would leap out of the ground at you, teeth bared at you, resembling leeches. Even after a dozen of these had been killed, more would come, sometimes one that was big enough to eat a Bulbin whole emerged.

They kept walking through the desert, with no apparent destination, but Ilia didn't bother trying to get someone talking, her mouth seemed as dry as the desert.

They kept their trek through the desert before Ilia saw a dot in the sands. As they traveled further, the dot got larger, and larger. Eventually the dot turned into an old Bulbin encampment, unused, but untouched by anything. The Bulbins jumped off their boars, and tied their reigns to the pens, and started a fire, since the Sun had turned into a golden disk on the Horizon, and stars were beginning to appear to the east.

Ilia dismounted from Epona, and a Bulbin offered her a water flask, which she took, and gulped down quickly.

She took a deep breath after having drained the flask, returning it to the Bulbin who gave it to her.

"We set up here, rest for the night, continue our journey at dawn." Chamberlain told the others.

They quickly set to work restoring the old encampment. A Bulbin handed her some rope, and as she observed that the others were tying together some of the posts that had fallen, Ilia joined them.

Some of them began setting up tents, some began repairing old ones, some of them began to restore towers to be used as lookout spots, but all worked the same.

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After all the work had been done, the sun had fully set, and all the stars were out. After a few attempts, Ilia gave up sleeping, and led Epona out of the pens, and out a little ways from the camp, lying down on the sands to stare at the skies.

"This place sure is different from Ordon, huh?" Ilia said. "It's not just the sands, it's the difference between day and night. In the day, It was unbelievably hot, hotter than the hottest day in summer back in Ordon. But at the night, it's so cold, almost as cold as if it were already winter. But despite that, I think it's beautiful in it's own way huh."

Epona fell to her knees to join Ilia.

"The stars are so bright here, huh. I can see all the constellations, the Triforce is still there, Din, Nayru, Farore are clearer than ever. I can see the Picori forging the Picori blade, and there's King Gustaf above that, right next to First Goron, and the First Zora. Beneath that is the Great Deku Tree. And of course, to the south is Prince Benedict and his wizard casting Princess Zelda I to her forever sleep. I remember when my mother told me about the stars, and all the legends. I remember when I told them to Link that one night at the ranch. He was so fascinated. That was the first time we began to really talk to each other."

Epona gave off a snort, trying to tell her something, but Ilia was able to understand the emotion.

"Yeah, I shouldn't worry so much, just do what I can." Ilia said.

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It was early dawn, and Chamberlain was on top of his Boar, making sure everyone was ready to head out. Once everyone was ready, he signaled for them to leave. The headed in the away from the rising sun at first, but as it rose, they began to veer right, and eventually, a huge plateau extending from the ocean of sand arose. They kept heading toward it, and soon Ilia was overcome with curiosity. "What is that?" She asked.

"The Desert Colossus." Chamberlain answered. Ilia received nothing more than that. The kept riding towards it, but Chamberlain took a left, and they seemed to head in a northward direction, following the side of the Colossus, albeit at a great distance.

Eventually, they took a right, and followed the cliff walls as it veered to the right as well. Eventually, they saw an impression in the rock. As they got closer it Ilia saw that a giant statue of a woman, heavily eroded by time, who was apparently kneeling, holding her hands out, put on top of a blocked entrance to some building built into the Colossus.

The Bulbins quickly found an Oasis, and filled their flasks, Ilia joining them.

They wasted no time, and were again riding their beasts, Ilia following them to their unknown destination.

They headed further away into the desert. Soon, a sandstorm appeared from nowhere, and ferociously attacked them. The winds whipped the sands, making it impossible for Epona to continue carrying Ilia, so she got off and led her by her reins instead.

They continued through the sandstorm, the Bulbins trying not to be slowed down. They seemed to know where they were going, despite the fact that Ilia had to constantly shield her eyes to prevent being blinded from the sand.

They found a stone fortress, heavily eroded, and used it to take shelter from the fierce winds. They sat against the wall, taking out their only recently refilled drinks to take a drink. Ilia took out hers, and drank her fill. She noticed it was kinda dirty, but she was thirsty enough not to care.

"When is this Sandstorm going to end?" Ilia asked Chamberlain over the roar of the wind.

"Never." He answered. "This is the Haunted Wasteland."

"Well how are we gonna get out of here?" Ilia asked.

"There are flags." He told her, getting back on his Boar. He signaled everyone to get back on their tides, Ilia grabbing Epona's reigns, and followed the Bulbins.

The Boars fared well in the desert, as the Bulbins soon found a red flag poking out of the sand. Ilia followed them as they followed the trail, still having to shield her eyes. As she glanced over her arm, she managed to catch glimpse of a large gate.

As they journeyed towards the gate, the winds began to die, and Ilia remove her arm from in front of her face, and looked around. Behind her, the sandstorm raged. The large gate was open and unmanned. It appeared to be the only way in, on either side of the gate were high cliff walls.

Ilia mounted up on Epona again, and waited for Chamberlain to signal them to go forward. He looked around for awhile, apparently suspicious of something.

"Why are you taking so long?" Ilia asked, impatiently.

He looked at her for a second, and then back to the gate before signaling for them to continue. They walked through the gate, completely unopposed. A large brick fortress was built into the left of the cliffside, but all seemed abandoned. The group looked around, trying to find any signs of the Gerudo.

"Where are they?" Ilia asked.

Chamberlain didn't answer, but instead lit an arrow, and strung it on it's bow, the other Bulbins following suit. They formed a circular formation on their Boars, Ilia just now getting out her bow and stringing an arrow as the others did.

Suddenly an arrow came from nowhere and struck the sand in front of them. Then came another, and then another, soon arrows struck the area in front of them every now and again, never striking them, but simply keeping them on guard.

Eventually, a tan woman stepped out of the fortress, long red hair, and white lips, she held a curved sword in her hand, but did not seem in a position to attack. The clothes were the most outrageous Ilia had ever seen, a strip of fabric that barely covered her breasts, and a low set of pants were all she wore.

"Ah, it's been so long since we've had visitors." She said. "Please, just get off your rides, and try not to be difficult."

One of the Bulbins fired his arrow at her feet in response, taking out a club to say that they weren't doing anything.

"Fine, be difficult." The woman said. She then snapped her fingers, and suddenly more woman, their faces covered by a cloth, jumped from hiding places and attacked them. The quickly felled the Bulbins. Ilia unsheathed her sword, and rose up on Epona, trying to make a stand.

"Whoa, we're not here to fight! We just wanna talk!" Ilia told them.

The women didn't listen, instead, one took out a dagger, and easily knocked the sword from her hands, and struck the back of her neck, causing her to fall off of Epona, and for the world to go black.

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Authors Note.

Hello, hoped you like the chapter.

I used this chapter to show part of my theory, that the Arbiters Grounds is actually part of the Desert Colossus, the giant rock formation the Spirit Temple is built in to, as opposed to the Arbiters Grounds being a transformed Spirit Temple.

The constellations come from various Zelda games, Prince Benedict, an allusion to Benedict Arnold, comes from the story behind Zelda 2, where the first Zelda is cast into a deep sleep, and the tradition naming so many princesses Zelda begins. The Picori blade comes from the Minish Cap, and the others were just a few made up ones.

The name for the lead Bulbin comes from Neville Chamberlain, he was the leader of the U.K. prior to WW2, he thought that appeasing Hitler by giving him part of Czechoslovakia was a good idea, called it "Peace in our time.".

Not too long after, German tanks roll through Poland, and Britain and France declare war on Germany.

Oh, and we have a pleasant surprise today, no weird Shadow creatures showing up! I decided to go to a fallout shelter to make sure they couldn't find me.

So write reviews admiring the hard work I put myself through.