*Zelda's P.O.V.*
I could hear the cracking of whips as we got closer to the Gorons. I couldn't help but feel angrier with each crack I heard. Even though this would definitely be the first time I had ever even seen Gorons, I felt as if they were close friends in desperate need of help.
"So what exactly are we going to do once we get down there?" Link asked.
"I don't know. I guess we could drive away those men. Like...scare them off or something."
Suddenly, a bell sounded from the distance. The men gave a small cheer and left.
I shrugged. "That works, too. I guess that was their break time bell or something. Let's go while they're gone."
We hurried down to where the Gorons were, but when we got down there, they gave us hostile looks.
"What are you doing, humans? Isn't it your precious break time? Why don't you go away with the other scum like you to take your break that isn't needed, considering you don't do anything but push us around," one said harshly. He stood up and was at least twice Link's height.
"No, wait," I started, "We're not with them-"
"-Yeah, sure you're not."
"We're really not," Link argued. "This is actually the first time we've ever seen Gorons."
"So what are you, rookies?" The Goron stepped closer to Link. "Here's a lesson for ya, then." He raised up a fist.
"Stop it, Demetrius," a voice sounded. An older and smaller Goron stepped forward. "These people are not with those workers."
"How are you so sure?" Demetrius asked loudly.
"Look at their ears," the old goron said. "Those two aren't normal humans. They're Hylians."
"Hylians?" Another goron spoke up. "But Gor Dorano, I thought you said they were extinct."
"So I thought as well. Tell me, humans, what brings you all the way here? And what of the Hylian race? If you two exist, what about the rest of your kind?"
"Um...it's kind of a long story," Link started, "but to as of the rest of the Hylians, all of us been living in a village off in the southwest for a few centuries now."
"Hmm...is that so?" Gor Dorano stood up a bit straighter. "Come. I want to hear this long story of yours." He turned around and walked away. Link followed him, and I followed as well.
As we followed the old Goron, I took in the rest of my new surroundings. There were only a few gorons that we passed, and I could tell they weren't doing so good.
We entered a small cave in a rock. Gor Dorano sat down and gestured for us to do as well. I sat down with my legs crossed.
"Before we explain things, may we ask why everyone thinks Hylians are extinct?" I asked.
"That's simple, really. All those years ago, when Hylians were being hunted by that dictator, everyone had thought that he was successful. At least, that story has been passed down for generations. And without any Hylians ever coming up and taking back what was taken from them, we truly believed that story."
"That's probably why the Kakarikans were surprised to see us walking in their streets," Link muttered. "And what about those men? How long have they been here?"
"They're all miners. Only a few years ago, Lady Freja ordered a lot of men from Castle Town to find resources to satisfy her needs. They've taken over the whole of Death Mountain, our home. I have heard rumors about Zora's Domain being taken over as well. So tell me, what are the two of you doing here? Don't you know it's dangerous?"
"We were told that," Link spoke, "but it seems like we made it up alright."
"Those men aren't dangerous. Trust me. They just act tough and are barely able to hurt us. It's the volcano that's dangerous."
"The volcano...?"
"Oh, yeah!" I exclaimed. "Remember that billow of smoke?"
"That billow of smoke just started a few days ago. The volcano could erupt within the next couple of days."
"Wait," I interrupted. "You said those men are barely able to hurt you, right? So how come-"
"The volcano will wipe us all out anyway. We just didn't bother resisting because of that reason. Most of us, anyway. You may have noticed Demetrius'…attitude already."
"So you're just giving up?" I argued.
"What is there to do?" Gor Dorano sighed. "You two shouldn't have come here. Go back home." He stood up.
"No." Link stood up also. "We came here for a reason."
"Then what is this reason? You still haven't told me."
"Do you recall saying that no Hylians have ever shown up to take back what was once rightfully theirs?"
"Are you saying that you two are doing just that?"
I stood up. "Yeah, basically. We need to get inside the volcano."
The goron shook his head. "For a human, that would be suicide. It's way too hot for your bodies to handle. Unless..."
"Unless what?" Link asked.
"There is a way, but I will only allow this on one condition."
"Allow what?"
"For you to use the sacred items to be able to enter the volcano, you have to beat me in a competition popular among us Gorons. Also, tell me why you want to enter the volcano."
Link sighed and nodded. "Might as well tell you, I suppose. A goddess is trapped in there."
"A goddess? Impossible."
"It's very possible," I said. "There was one trapped in the forest. When we freed her, she told us that one was here. If we are able to free the one in the volcano, she might be able to stop the volcano from erupting as well."
"Is that so?" Gor Dorano lifted his head up slightly. "Well, even if you freed one already, I still am going to test you before I allow you to enter safely."
"What kind of test?" Link asked.
"Ever heard of sumo wrestling, boy?"
"Um...I don't think so."
"Sumo wrestling is a sport among us Gorons. There's a ring that it takes place in and the goal is to push your opponent out of it. It's not as simple as it seems either. You can learn more if you choose to accept the challenge. But, only you can accept it. No offense to your lady friend, but it's a men's sport only."
'Lady friend?' I thought as my eye twitched. 'Not even close.'
"Alright," I glanced at Link as he spoke. "I'll do it."
"Really?" Gor Dorano raised an eyebrow. "Interesting," he muttered. "Very well, then. Since you haven't heard about the sport before, I will give you some time to prepare. Oh, I never learned your names, did I? Nor did I introduce myself...I am Gor Dorano, elder of the Gorons."
"My name is Link."
"And I'm Zelda."
"Link and Zelda, huh? Nice to meet you. Follow me. I will introduce you to our leader. He will teach you the ways of sumo wrestling, and when he believes you are ready, you will face me."
Gor Dorano walked out of the small cave. We followed him. When I saw some more Gorons who didn't look well, I hurried up to the old Goron's side.
"Hey, if those men can't hurt you, then how come they don't look like they're feeling well?"
"The rocks they are mining are our favorite rocks. One thing you will learn about us Gorons is that some of us are picky about the rocks we eat. Although we can eat other ones, some choose not to, and therefore, they are paying the price."
"So they're...starving?"
"Slowly, but yes. They've gotten so used to those ones that they refuse to eat any other rocks." He sighed. "Some Gorons just don't listen when we elders tell them to eat other ones besides those."
"Oh." I thought about this as we reached a Goron who was rolled up.
"This is Ibus, the leader of the Goron tribe. Hey, Ibus, wake up," Gor Dorano pounded a fist on the other Goron's back. The other Goron snapped up and let out a groan.
"Dangit, Dorano, I was having a good nap before those scums of men came back from their break." He stood up and stretched his arms. He was a tall Goron, taller than the other ones, at least, even the one that almost pummeled Link.
"Hush it, I've got a job for you." Gor Dorano pushed Link forward.
"A human? Why is there a human here?" Ibus asked threateningly.
"Not just any human. Look closer."
Ibus sighed and leaned a bit closer to Link. He leaned back a little, obviously intimidated by the large Goron's appearance. And for once, I couldn't blame him.
"A Hylian, hmm? Since when do they exist? And how do I know you're not just faking it?" Ibus grabbed Link's ear and gave it a tug. Link let out a yelp.
"Ow! The ears are sensitive, you know?" He snapped.
Ibus smirked and let go of his ear. "Yep, he's a real Hylian, alright. If you were just a regular human, it wouldn't have hurt that bad."
"But was that really necessary? Normal humans don't have long, pointed ears," Link pointed out, holding his hurting ear.
Ibus shrugged. "Those men sometimes talk of a tradition in Castle Town where the people dress up like Hylians for fun. I'm not sure of the details, though. So, those ears could have been fake."
'What kind of tradition is that?' I wondered. 'I want to look into that when I get a chance.'
"Mine are real, and not to mention that one of them is sore and throbbing," Link retorted.
"Eh, get over it. Anyway, Dorano, what did you want me to do?"
Gor Dorano smiled. "This boy here is Link, and you need to teach him sumo wrestling."
"What?" Ibus looked down at Link. "Did you come to Death Mountain for that?"
"No, not exactly, Ibus," the Goron elder shook his head. "You see, he needs to get inside the volcano, but given the fact that he is a human, he won't survive in there for long. So, if he can beat me in a sumo wrestling match, I'll give him the necessary items to be able to withstand the heat."
"But, Dorano, you do realize that humans aren't nowhere near as strong or as heavy as we are. That wouldn't give him a fair match, now would it?"
Gor Dorano shrugged and turned away. "Let him use the boots, then," he said while walking away.
"The boots? You mean...?"
"Yes, I mean those ones. Bring him to me when you believe he is ready." He waved as he walked away.
Ibus sighed. "Alright, you heard the elder. Follow me." He turned and walked away. Link and I followed him to a circular door that Ibus opened with ease. On the other side of the door was a huge cave-like room lit with a lot of torches. Ibus closed the door back.
"This is my home, in case you were wondering," he stated and walked to elevated circular level in the middle of the room.
"And this is a sumo wrestling circle. I do not have time to start teaching you right away, though. I do have to go back out there in a few minutes. Meanwhile, I want you to warm yourself up. Dorano said your name is Link, right?"
Link nodded.
"Well, Link, you better be all warmed up when I get back. It will be a few hours, though, so don't push yourself too much." Ibus walked back to the door. "And miss, what's your name?"
"Zelda," I replied.
"Zelda, make sure he warms up properly. Help him if you have to. Oh, and the two of you, stay inside. I don't want a scene caused if the workers see you." With that, he opened the circular door and left, closing it behind him.
"Well, this certainly is interesting," I muttered.
"It's not what you expected, is it?" Link asked, setting the bag and the rest of his stuff on the floor beside the wall.
"Not really. I had expected them to put up some kind of argument. Though that one Goron did. I was waiting for him to punch you."
"Oh, you would have enjoyed that, wouldn't you?" He muttered with an annoyed tone.
"Yep," I said without thinking twice. "Oh, and you do realize that this whole thing relies on you, right? So don't screw up this sumo wrestling thing, or you'll screw up our chance of getting into the volcano."
"I know, I know." He sat down on the ground and dug through the bag. He pulled out a smaller bag and dug out some dried meat. "I wonder what items that Gor Dorano was talking about," he wondered aloud and took a bite out of the piece of meat.
"I don't know, don't ask me."
"I wasn't. I was just thinking out loud."
I sighed and leaned my back against the wall. I then realized just how hot it was inside here.
"You know, I just realized something," Link said. "Remember when Ibus was saying how Castle Town had that weird tradition of dressing up like Hylians?"
"Mhm."
"I wonder if that's why that man who tried to attack us didn't say anything about our ears being long and pointed."
I shrugged. "Maybe. Speaking of ears, how's yours?" I knew that when the Goron leader pulled on Link's ear, it had to of hurt pretty bad.
"Still sore and throbbing, but not as bad as it was earlier. You would think that something used to discipline children back home wouldn't really be used here outside."
"You never know," I mumbled and sat down. I glanced at his ear. "Your ear is red and a bit swollen, by the way."
"I'm not surprised. He pulled on it pretty hard. And I though Aunt Olah tugged on it hard," he mumbled the last part and bit on the piece of meat. "Oh, did you want some?" He motioned towards the bag of food.
I shook my head. "No, thanks. If I had wanted some, I would've asked already."
Link shrugged. "Suit yourself."
We sat there in silence before I sighed. "It's hot in here."
"It really is." Link put away the food bag and pulled off his hat, tunic, and chainmail.
"What are you doing!?" I exclaimed.
"What does it look like? It's hot."
"But you can keep your clothes on!"
"Oh, hush, I'm keeping my undershirt on. If I remember correctly, this morning, someone took a liking to my bare chest and stared at me." He looked directly at me with a pointed glare.
I felt my face heat up. "Well, you were being indecent!" I crossed my arms stubbornly.
"But you were the one who ripped the covers off. You didn't have to do that, you know."
"You shouldn't sleep without a shirt on."
"It's a habit. I don't exactly normally have people barging into my room to wake me up in the morning. Plus, it's actually quite comfortable."
"But you're not in your room, so you shouldn't do it."
"Oh whatever. It's not like you didn't enjoy it, anyway," he said with a smirk.
I felt my face heat up even more. "I didn't!"
"Then why did you stare? Not to mention, your face is really red. If that doesn't mean you're denying the truth, then I don't know what does."
I narrowed my eyes. "Does seeing me uncomfortable entertain you?"
He nodded. "It's fun."
"You're a psychopath, you know?"
I heard him chuckle. "Yep, you enjoyed it."
I resisted the urge to slap him as I heard him stand up and walk a bit. 'How dare he accuse me of that!' I thought. I let out a deep sigh as I turned back around and sat down again. Link was walking straight across the room, his back to me, and stretching his arms. Then I noticed that even though he had on his undershirt, it was tight enough to where I could see an outline of some of his muscles. And it also seemed that he was flexing his arms with each stretch. 'Is he doing that on purpose!?' I shouted in my mind. 'He has to know how tight that shirt is.'
Link stopped and spread his legs shoulder-width apart, then reached down to his left ankle. "You know," he started, "I can feel you staring at me." He peeked around his leg and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "And what were you saying earlier? I have a shirt on this time."
I narrowed my eyes a little, but didn't respond.
"Hm." He switched to his right ankle. "Well, it's not really polite to stare, so please stop."
I grunted and turned my head to the side. 'So maybe he isn't doing that on purpose,' I thought.
After a few minutes of having my head turned away, I felt a slight cramp in my neck, so I turned my head back to get rid of it. But, before I turned away again, Link caught my eye. He was doing push-ups with his left side facing me. With each push-up, his arms would flex and relax a teensy bit in a steady pattern.
"I sincerely hope you're enjoying the view," Link said with a strange calmness to his voice. "Because that's the third time I've caught you staring at me today. Once this morning, and twice in here."
"Are you doing that on purpose?"
Link relaxed and raised an eyebrow. "Did you really think I was doing that on purpose? Seriously? I was warming up, for Din's sake. What did you expect to see? I wasn't flexing on purpose, that just tends to happen when you use your muscles."
My jaw dropped slightly. "So you weren't...?"
"No. Why would I even do that? I don't like you, or have you forgotten? If I were doing that on purpose, it would be considered flirting, and in all honesty, I don't plan on doing that with you."
I tightened my jaw.
He rolled his eyes. "You were obviously having difficulty in not staring, and yes, I know my undershirt is tight, but that tunic is too hot to wear in here. Don't use that as an excuse to stare at me."
"But I wasn't-"
"Please. You're not very good at keeping a straight face. I can read it like a book."
I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Without saying another word, I turned around and faced the wall. As much as I hated to admit, Link was right. Including the part about the staring.
'It's not my fault that he's built. I'm sure other people stare all the time.' I shook my head. 'What am I even thinking? I need to stop.' I closed my eyes and sighed. 'He's mean, and you dislike him. He's just irritating you because he's crazy and he enjoys seeing other people uncomfortable. That's it. There's nothing else behind it.'
*Link's P.O.V.*
As I kept doing warmups, thoughts kept running through my head.
'What was that? Where did those words even come from? The last thing I want is for her to stare, and yet I instigated it! Will would be rolling if he were here right now. Next time, I just need to ignore everything she does, and it will be all okay. Everything will be fine! Why is my heart racing? Must be the heat. It is quite warm in here.'