Himmels: -sigh- We've finally comes to terms with the fact that Sheik's a girl. -weeps- But for the sake of our series and our fantasies, he'll remain a guy.

Draculina: In Super Smash Brothers: Brawl, they made her more womanly...I hate you Nintendo...Why? Why?!

Himmels: He'll always be a dude in our eyes -stubborn-. WE SHALL NOT YIELD!

Draculina: In other subjects...-glares- Some more reviews will be nice!

Chapter 11

Allies and Foes

" Don't judge a thing until you know what's inside it
Dont' push me, I'll fight it
Never gonna give in, never gonna give it up no
If you can't catch a wave then your'e never gonna ride
You can't come uninvited
Never gonna give in, never gonna give up no
You can't take me I'm free!"

--Bryan Adams

Nabooru has been suffering since the loss of her friends. She couldn't get the screams of Serena and Johara out of her mind. Hating herself for not being able to save them, Nabooru has secluded herself from the other Gerudos. Mushirah and Wajihah have been trying to coax her back in line, but Nabooru ignored their offerings. She stayed off to the side as they rode around the great lake of water that accumulated from the storm. The waterway was too big for them to cross, so riding around it was inevitable. Faizah saw this as a big complication, for she wanted blood to shed not later, but now. Baheera was able to keep her friend at bay by saying that for the sake of the horses and their riders, it was best to not and try to cross it. They did, however, take advantage of the sudden water to have the horses drink and to fill their water skins.

Hours passed and they were off course, because of the accursed lake. They were being pushed out of Gahzi territory and soon they'd be into another. Nabooru didn't know whose territory it was next, but she had a feeling that the leader of the Gahzi might have reached them first, before Nabooru had a chance to convince them that they weren't enemies. She has seen these desserts before and the fact that she knew that she was so close to the Gahzi's castle killed her.

A great canyon wall was to the right of the Gerudos. Various rocks adorned its slope and Nibal swore to herself that she kept seeing things move. It was subtle and she thought that it was a trick of her mind at first, but as they continued forward, she caught sight of it happening more often. She squeezed her horse's side to make her go faster and caught up with Faizah. If she kept seeing these shadows, she was going to have to warn the general. Nibal was prone to seeing mirages, but she knew that this one had to be real. Mirages faded in and out, these lurked in the shadows and didn't disappear when she concentrated.

"Faizah…" Nibal whispered in her quiet voice.

Though Faizah and Nibal were good friends, she still wasn't used to hearing Nibal's voice. Faizah looked up, almost thinking that it was a new voice and blinked in mild surprise when she saw that it was Nibal.

"Yes?" she answered.

Nibal knew that Faizah was aware of her mirage filled eyes and almost didn't want to tell the general.

When Nibal hesitated, Faizah narrowed her eyes and said, "Whenever you falter in your words, it usually means that you don't want to seem like a fool. You are never a fool, nor will you ever will be. Now what is it, Nibal?"

"I've been seeing movements throughout the rocky, canyon walls. It isn't a mirage. They are real." Nibal responded eventually.

Faizah smiled wryly and nodded, "Yeah, I've been seeing them too. Don't worry. You aren't having your mind play tricks on you. Baheera has been seeing them also. I don't know about the others."

Crsytal listened in on their conversation. She too was noticing the figures move throughout the desert. She knew that it was the tribe that was in territory here. Rachel told her that they'd run into another tribe. Not the Marids or Gahzi, but another. Rachel told her that it was the Madhukar tribe and the female was the only one they had to worry about. Crystal demanded that she gave more description of this female, but Rachel told her that that was all the Dark Lady said and that she was just transferring the message. Another thing the Deku scrub said to the leopard was to try the sweets. Before Crystal could take a swipe at her with her paw, Rachel laughed and danced back into her hole.

Crystal didn't know who the female was or what sweets have anything to do with the situation as of now, but she did know that she was going to have Deku scrub for lunch later if she doesn't start translating the enigmatic messages the Dark Lady loves to send.

Wajihah leaned in to Nabooru and asked, "Do you see the things we do?"

Nabooru barely lifted her head when she answered, "See what?"

Wajihah scowled at her leader and looked to her sister. Mushirah frowned and shook her head in turn. With sighs, they retreated back to the army, leaving Nabooru alone.

Crystal trotted forward and walked beside Nabooru's horse. With a low yowl, she achieved Nabooru's attention and gave her an anxious look. Still suspicious of the leopard, Nabooru watched the large cat with expectance.

"Heh, you think I'm going to make a connection with you again? Pssh…" Crystal thought with her eyes rolled.

When she looked back up at Nabooru, she kicked herself mentally and let her mind reel to find ways for her to make her look more like a cat. Nabooru was staring down at her with wide eyes and even underneath her gutra she could see that her jaw dropped.

"Oh, crap…" Crystal winced.

"What the hell-," Nabooru began, but was interrupted.

"HALT!" yelled a commanding voice.

Nabooru blinked, halted, and reached quickly for her sword. Camouflaged figures jumped out behind rocks with arrows notched in bows. The ones blocking the path ahead bore spears and swords. The strangers wore dull gold sirwals and close fitting dishdashas with black cobweb-like designs on the right shoulders and knees. They also wore gutras similar to the Gerudos, but they too adorned the cobweb symbol.

One from the line blocking the path stepped forward and called, "Who goes there? What business do you have in Madhukar territory?"

Taking a deep breath and momentarily forgetting her mourning, letting the leader in her take over, "I am Nabooru of the Gerudo tribe in the east. We were sidetracked from the storm. We mean no harm, we just wish to pass."

"Nabooru, you say?" asked the man with a hint of surprise in his voice, he lowered his weapon and stepped forward, "The ones rivaling the Gahzi?"

"The only." Nabooru answered.

"No," the leader said, reaching up and pulling away his gutra to reveal his face, "Not the only."

When he lowered his cowl, the soldiers around him seemed to relax and lower their weapons. The man motioned Nabooru to him and gave a nod of trust.

When Nabooru reached him, with the other Gerudos looking around, still uneasy about the ordeal, the Madhukar held his hand out in friendship and said, "You may rest at our oasis tonight."

"I'm sorry, Nixie, but its time to get off my ass." Kheisho growled as he hoisted himself off her bed, onto his one good foot.

Nix growled back and replied, "It is too soon, little man! Do you want to hurt yourself more?"

"Hey, I'm slowly mushrooming on that bed; it is time to stand, dammit!" Kheisho retorted as he tested his sprained ankle with a hidden wince.

The Marids have been dealing with Kheisho's complaining about not being able to walk for a long time now. Half of them wanted to make Kheisho stand and feel that pain in his ankle just to shut him up. Obviously, it's not working.

Kheisho hopped on one foot to the other side of the hut with Nix following him with a raised eyebrow and annoyed face. He picked up a stick with a happy, "Aha!" And then placed it under his arm pit and looked at Nix while pointing at it with a huge grin.

"Very good, Kheisho." She said sarcastically, "That's a crutch, yes. Now can you spell it?" She put on a babying voice, "Yes, that is C-R-U-T-C-H! Who's a good boy? Yeah, who's a good boy?" she leaned down to his eye level repeating those words and patting his head.

"Shut up…" he said after staring at her and then swatted her hand away.

Testing it out, he found it rather painful and awkward at first, but he situated the stick to fit him and soon he grew accustomed. Nix gave him a scrutinizing glare, but let him move around her hut anyway. Kheisho was rather excited, for he hasn't seen outside before and he's been curious about how the Marids lived. He was also curious to see if they were all as tall as Nix.

Before he made for the entry way, he wrapped his cowl loosely around his face. He told himself when he was younger that if he took his cowl off, it wouldn't affect him. He told himself that the covering of the face was as stupid as the test he had to go through before he was placed into a clan. Well, he still didn't like the test, but he came to realize that he felt naked without his cowl. He was fine with Nixie seeing his face, because of how familiar they were with one another, but he chickened out when the prospect of showing his face to an entire tribe came forth.

Walking forward Nix pulled the curtain out of the way and said, "Well, here we go. If you hurt your leg even more, I'll tie you to my bed and it won't be as erotic as I know your mind is going." She added when Kheisho started to snicker.

The heat slapped him across the face. He didn't realize how hot it was until he stepped outside. Those huts were good at retracting heat, he guessed. He was surprised to see that the entire village was settled upon one monstrous dune of sand. If his ankle wasn't hurt, he would have found a shield and slid down the slope. But, since his ankle was hurt and Nix threatened to tie him to her bed without any erotic pleasures, he decided against it.

Prying his eyes off the landscape that held no vegetation or mountains for that matter, he looked throughout the village. Kheisho sighed when he saw that his predictions were right…All the Marids were as tall as Nix…the men even taller… Kheisho stood at five feet nine inches, while Nixie stood at six feet three inches. A Marid man coming forward to Nix with a warm smile and was about six feet seven inches.

"I bet they think I'm a dwarf or something…" Kheisho cringed and stared up at the Marid man.

"Ahh, I've been hearing about you." The man said grinning down at him, "Was wondering when you were going to come out. How is your ankle?"

"It's fine." Kheisho waved his hand dismissively, "It'll be healed soon enough."

"That's good." He nodded and then turned to Nix, "We just got word that a freak storm rolled in during the Gerudo's ride. Supposedly, two were carried away in the water, but not the leader Nabooru."

Kheisho's jaw tightened and his heart sank. He wanted to be with the Gerudos right now. He even had the urge to fight with them even though it wasn't his battle.

"Did they send word for our help?" Nix asked and they started walking again.

Kheisho listened closely as he hobbled next to them. The sand wasn't the easiest thing to walk on, but he was keeping up fairly well for being crippled. Kheisho sighed quietly with relief when they reached where Nix and the man wanted to be. Most of the Marids were crowding around for the news. Nix announced what has happened and the warriors stood confused.

"Nabooru," Nix sighed and had a look of frustration upon her face, "has not yet sent word of wanting our help."

Murmurs of bafflement spread throughout the villagers. Undoubtedly, they thought that Nabooru would have sent word.

"Will we have to fight for the Gahzi?" asked one of the warriors, "If they send word and we assist, we'll still be sought for after they are finished with the Gerudos."

"We don't know if they'll lose or not. Nabooru is very resilient." Nix responded, "However…I have a feeling that the Gahzi will be calling for us before Nabooru does. Nabooru is prideful, I doubt that she'll send or accept help from mercenaries."

The crowd grumbled lowly at that.

Kheisho stayed within the shadows and his ears were intent on what Nixie was saying to her people. Yes, Nix was stiff-necked and strong, but she was also rather greedy when Kheisho thought about it. She would assist the Gahzi despite her objections about them if the price was right. And if she accepted that invitation, Kheisho would be considered an enemy, because of his inexorable choice of Nabooru. Kheisho realized that it was time for him to leave this place. He would see to Nova immediately and check her well-being. If she is not cut out for it, he'll have to leave her behind. By the time the Marids get word from the Gahzi, Kheisho will be long gone and Nova will probably be more healed. They might use her and if his plan was right, he'll get her back once more.

When the causal meeting was over, Kheisho limped to Nix and asked, "Where is my horse?"

"Ah, yes. I have to see to something, but Raghu here," she turned to the man that asked of his health earlier, "will help you to the stables."

Raghu smiled and nodded.

While they walked together, Kheisho looked up at the man and asked, "Are you one of the warriors?"

"Yes," he replied, "I'm one of the spear men in the frontlines who take down the riders. Are you?"

"Yes," Kheisho said in turn, "I'm a Sheikah."

Raghu looked kind of embarrassed, "Er, what does a Sheikah do? I've never met one before, but I've heard of them. I know the different clans and such, but that's about it."

"Well…" Kheisho thought and then said simply, "We are the protectors of the royal family of Hyrule. We excel in whatever they need us to be great in. If we don't know the skill, we learn it. We fight for and die for the royal ones. I don't have a prince or princess to look out for, though. My mother is taking care of Prince Liir and it'll be a while until Liir has any children, so I'm just plain Kheisho as of now. I have no one to protect."

"No one?" Raghu looked at him intently.

Kheisho thought about it and then shrugged, "No one. My Mom has Dad and Dad has Mom. My sister has her…er…lover, I guess you'll call him…I don't have anyone."

"Well, it isn't restricted to family, you know."

Again, he thought and answered, "No."

Raghu gave Kheisho another one of his warm smiles and said, "You'll have someone to protect soon enough. And when you find them, you'll not want anything to happen to them."

Kheisho laughed and answered with a mere, "Whatever."

They were nearly to the stalls and, subconsciously, Kheisho picked up his pace, making Raghu chuckled and tell him to slow before he hurts his ankle. When inside the stables, Kheisho looked from stall to stall trying to find that familiar face. Hearing a nicker from a stall on the other side, Kheisho turned with a broad grin and hopped quickly to Nova. He could see her injuries through the bars of the stall and winced when Nova barely put weight upon her hock. Raghu stood back and stroked another horse while Kheisho mumbled sweet nothings to his mare.

Some of the ladies that worked in the stable stared at Kheisho, most likely because of his size. They were so used to seeing men as tall as trees and then little Kheisho pops up as tall as a… a shrub maybe?

"Oh, look." One of the women pointed and whispered, "He's so tiny!"

"He's adorable!"

"Why is he covering his face? Oh, I bet he is just as cute without it!"

"But why is he so small? Was he born too early?"

Kheisho turned and glared at them. They cringed and went back to work, whispering to one another saying that he had good hearing.

O.oxo.O

Instead of going to bed like Nixie wanted him to do, Kheisho stayed out a little later. Sitting upon the now cold sand, he stared up at the moon and stars. He felt rather homesick and worried about Nabooru. Twisting his back, Kheisho reached over and pulled back the flap a bit to look inside. Nix was already sleeping soundly upon the bed, tired of waiting. He let the curtain fall and returned his sight to the moon. To his surprise, a dark cloud covered his vision of it. With suspicious eyes, Kheisho stood while leaning on the side of the hut and watched as the cloud started to descend.

He blinked and his jaw dropped when he recognized the cloud, "Dark Lady?"

She twiddled her fingers at the Sheikah in front of her, "How are ya?"

"Hurt," he answered pointing, "What are you doing here?"

Jumping off the cloud and landing in front of him, the Dark Lady put her hands on her hips and smiled, "I think you want to leave."

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb! I heard that speech Nix gave also! You know she'll easily go to either Nabooru or the Gahzi leader."

Biting his lower lip, Kheisho nodded reluctantly.

"I'll take you away from here." She offered, leaning down.

"Nova…" he grimaced.

"She'll be fine. Come on." She called her storm cloud down and stepped upon its dark, fluffy surface.

When he hesitated again, she grasped his hand and pulled him gently toward her. Right when he was upon the cloud, she took off. He fell back and grappled onto the soft and oddly solid top. He had to reach up and catch his cowl from flying away. His stomach lurched, for he has never flown before and now there he was, sitting upon a cloud, speeding through the air. He grinned brightly and watched the ground.

"You know what I'll also do?" the Dark Lady said.

"What?"

"I'm going to heal those wounds of yours, if," she grinned, "you do me a favor…"

Tied tightly, the Gerudos rode in front of the Gahzi warriors. Their elbows were tied to their sides, so they couldn't thrust backwards. The Gahzi kept their heads at a distance from the Gerudos for they were constantly trying to fly backwards. No matter what the Gahzi did, the Gerudos just wouldn't stop fighting. Serena even ended up trying to spook the horse to try to get away. It would have worked if she was riding with another Gahzi. Fadi had complete control over the stallion and immediately soothed it.

With a worried glance, Serena looked over to Johara, who had terrified eyes. She rode with the one called Numair. The Gahzi just didn't leave her alone. If he wasn't trying to seduce her, he was constantly hurting her in some way. Protectiveness overcame Serena and had her going into a rage on Fadi's horse. She screamed and twisted her body wildly. Leaning backwards, Fadi frowned and tried to pin her forward to the horse's neck. Emir glanced around and sighed with a frustrated eye roll. He was getting sick of the ceaseless struggles.

"Not much farther." Emir assured himself.

"What are we going to do with them when we get there?" Numair asked while grinning and stroking his nail up and down over Johara's cheek, making her grimace and bow her head away.

Serena glared and thought about all the things she'd do to him if she was on his horse.

"We'll just put them into the prison. Haytham will probably bring orders about what will happen to them." Emir clarified.

"Ok," said Numair brightly, "Who'll take care of them?" he was now trying to find one of Johara's ticklish spots.

"Not you." Emir said dully, casting him a disapproving stare.

Numair just giggled and continued his pickings upon poor Johara.

The ride didn't last at all too long. Serena was panting and sweating with the exertion of fighting and heat. Johara was already scared to death, but when the large gates appeared and loomed closer, she panicked slightly. With loud creaks, the gate slowly opened and the horses entered. All of the people turned from their work and stared at the captives. Most smiled, but a couple of them actually had faces of sympathy. However, they will soon forget that Serena and Johara ever existed once they get out of their line of sight and go on with their marry ways.

Just as the Gahzi warriors said, they were heading towards a large stone structure that was the most likely candidate for the prison. Halting their horses, they demounted and jerked the two Gerudos off with them. There were no words spoken. At the sight of the leader Emir, the two guards standing out side the door opened if for them and the others guards inside, didn't question at all. They walked quickly through the hall of bared cells, with another Gahzi following with a set of keys.

"We saw you riding in the distance. Haytham will be back with orders soon, I bet." The guard said to Emir.

Emir merely nodded.

It was hard for Serena and Johara to walk. The Gahzi placed chains, restricting their leg distance to make it harder to run, let alone keep pace with the men's fast pace. When Serena tripped from overstepping, Fadi caught her. Serena tensed beneath him and Fadi let her go when he stood her right. She glared up at the Gahzi warrior, but continued moving. Their hands were bound behind their back, so they couldn't fight. Their feet her bound to make walking difficult, so they couldn't run. They were trapped and for now, struggling will be futile.

"This cell here will be fine." The guard said, placing keys into the lock and opening the door, "We'll place both in here to conserve space. I'm sure we'll be getting more prisoners, since the war is so near."

Walking them inside, Fadi and Numair sat them down on a cold, stone bench at the end of the cell. First, they unlocked the binds on their ankles, than they untied the ropes that constricted them and cut off the circulation of blood. It was a relief to feel the heat rush back to the fingertips and be able to move the shoulders. The Gahzi gathered up the chains and ropes and left the cell. They stood outside it, watching the Gerudos and discussing what they were going to do with them.

"Once we get orders," Emir said to Numair, "we'll know what our leader wants."

"Umm," Fadi finally spoke up after a long amount of time, "Emir?"

Turning his head slightly he said, "Yes, Fadi?"

"Well…do you think we should feed them something? I doubt they've ate in a while."

It was true; Serena and Johara were starving and would kill for a nimble of bread at this point. Their eyes were hopeful as they let their gaze lock on Emir, who thought about it.

After giving it gradual thought, he responded, "No."

The Gerudos hopes sank and they looked away.

"Let them be hungry for a while, at least."

"But…" Fadi fidgeted.

"They'll survive a long time before they starve to death, Fadi." Emir reassured him.

At that, the Gahzi men left, Fadi still unsure. He cast the Gerudos a sad glance, before trailing after his companions. Serena and Johara were left in the stone cell with nothing. The whole place was bare, save for the stone bench. There wasn't even a hint of straw on the ground, like slave traders and other prisoners usually did to keep it semi clean. Both Serena and Johara pulled their knees to their chest, huddled together on the bench that was too small for them and did the only thing they could do.

They waited.

Himmels: Lol, we started another story. We'll keep this one going also, but yeah, we started another.

Draculina: I think the next chapter we'll be introducing either FireSage's or Reno and Aero's characters...Maybe Senorita's also...Lol, we'll see, I guess.

Himmels: People seem to like the new boy's (the Gahzi boys) so we're happy about that.

Draculina: Now, review! It makes us feel better!