A/N: Ok, I know I said four reviews, but as the story got its tenth follower today I guess I can celebrate by cutting it to three :-D... OMG! GETTING CLOSER TO THE CONFRONTATION WITH GAROTH!


Oreana exited the tunnel after what she had felt like hours of walking in the shadows. She climbed out of the depression where she found herself to be and looked around. The first thing she noticed was the remains of a few scorched creatures not too far ahead and the blackened sand, as if a blast of fire had burnt everything on its way. "Link!" she thought, and sprinted forward in that direction. There was no wind, so a set of footprints could be clearly seen in the dunes.

She followed the footprints for a few minutes until she got to a dune where a new set of smaller footprints joined those of Link's. The strange thing was that, from that point, it was only one set of small footprints and two trails behind, like if someone had been dragged away. She looked into the distance and saw a small campfire. Crouching and trying hard to stay out of view, she saw that the Gerudo camping ahead were laughing while they packed up their tents into several horses. One of the animals was also carrying a large bulge, wrapped in a fabric and tied up firmly, a pair of boots sticking out from one end.

Oreana covered her mouth with her hands, gasping in horror, as she saw another Gerudo flinging Link's Hylian Shield and his sword onto his back, while another Gerudo examined his bow and the Silver Arrows. She stood there until they finally started to walk away, pulling their mounts by the rains. She followed them as silent as she could.


"We have him, my Lord," said the Gerudo who was kneeling in front of Garoth back in the throne room of the Castle. A small eagle was perched on her shoulder.

"Good," said Garoth with a smirk. "Keep close watch on him, I will soon go to the Fortress to witness my Master's awakening. My Master will be pleased to personally kill the boy."

"My Lord, there is something else," said the Gerudo.

"What?" asked Garoth.

"He had the Silver Arrows with him," said the Gerudo, bowing her head.

Garoth looked at her, his expression blank. He knew that the Silver Arrows were a treasure that had long since been considered lost. How this boy could have gotten his hands on them?

"Destroy them," he said in a low voice.

"We… we tried, my Lord," murmured the Gerudo. "We even tried to smelt them, but they didn't even heat up. There is no way we can destroy it."

"You can't, but I do. Keep them locked in the vault and don't let anyone get near. Take everything he had on him into the vault." He turned around and then he added. "Noora, don't keep anything for yourselves. If you do, I will know."

Garoth heard the Gerudo leave the throne room and stood there for a few minutes. The boy had gone too far; he really needed to find a way to stop him quickly. He started to think if he should have ordered Noora to execute him as soon as possible, however he knew that it would please his Master to be the one who personally killed the Hero and snatched the Triforce of Courage from his hand. Also, there was the Triforce of Wisdom, which rested on the Princess's Hand, but that one was already secured. He quickly exited the throne room and headed to the stables to get his horse. Maybe it would be better if he went on his way.


Link woke up with the greatest headache ever. He felt his arms sore, stretched to both sides, shackles on his wrists and ankles holding him in place to a wall. He felt the cold stone wall on his back and he opened his eyes, realizing that he had been almost entirely stripped down. His green tunic, hat and chest plate had been removed, as well as his shirt, chainmail, and wrist pads; he was now chained to a dark stone bricked wall wearing only his leggings. He looked around, trying to find Laila, fearing that the Gerudo could have done something to her.

The room where he was kept was dark, and there was only one small barred window above him; there was a windowless iron door on one side, and a foul smell could be sensed all around him. He wriggled trying to break free, but soon he gave up. He tried to remember what had happened: he had been hit on the head by a Gerudo; when he woke up, he had found himself tied inside of a room; another Gerudo had beaten him hard, making him to lose consciousness again. He looked at his body and saw the bruises and cuts all over his arms and torso. He had no idea of how he would do it, but he had to get out of there. He closed his eyes again in pain, and soon he fell unconscious.


Oreana jerked back the sword from the Gerudo in front of her. The thief fell dead on the floor, bleeding through the wound on her chest, and Oreana looked around to verify that nobody had seen or heard their struggle. She had managed to infiltrate the hideout by killing a Gerudo guard and putting on the thief's cloak, and now she was trying hard to find wherever they were keeping Link. She leaned against the wall and peeked around a corner, just in time to be bumped in the face by a small glowing winged body.

"Ah!" gasped Oreana.

"Ouch!" yelled Laila.

"Laila?" asked Oreana, opening her eyes wide.

"Oreana!" said the fairy.

They heard voices and the sounds of hurried footsteps going their way through the corridor, so Oreana motioned Laila to hid inside of her cloak an ran in the opposite direction. She found an empty room and hid inside. Laila then came out of her hiding place.

"Oreana, I know that I was a pain in the butt when I first met you and sometimes I still don't like you much," she said in a hurried whisper. "But girl, how pleased am I to see you."

"I appreciate your honesty," said Oreana, "and I do feel like sometimes you're a nuisance, but I am pleased to see you too."

The two of them giggled nervously for a few seconds, trying hard not to be heard, and then Oreana went serious and spoke up again:

"Laila, I'm trying to find Link."

"I know, and I will help you," said Laila. "Oreana, Link is not well. Something is happening to him and I'm not sure what. Also, he's been beaten very badly by the Gerudo, and a few minutes ago I heard the leader saying that they would wait for Garoth to come."

"Garoth is coming here?" asked Oreana in shock. "Laila, we must get Link out, quickly!"

"I know where he is, but we won't be able to pull him out until we've found the key to the door of his cell," said the fairy. "I know where the guard keeps the key, so let's hurry up."

Oreana opened the door while drawing out the sword and peeked outside. Seeing that the corridor was empty, she exited and Laila fluttered ahead of her. They reached a crossing and she heard the voice of a Gerudo calling her: "HEY, YOU! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"

The sound of the thief's voice, and a sword unsheathing, made Oreana turn around quickly. She parried the blow with her own sword and spun in one foot, kicking the guard on her side. The Gerudo fell with a shriek of pain and then stood up quickly performing a cartwheel. Oreana blocked another strike and slashed with her sword, barely scratching the guard's belly. When the soldier bent down in pain, she kicked her in the head and the Gerudo fell unconscious.

Oreana turned around and an arrow flew whizzing by her ear. She crouched and pulled out her crossbow, aimed forward and pulled the trigger. The Gerudo fell backwards when the bolt hit her in the chest and dropped the bow. Laila fluttered in that direction and Oreana followed her hurriedly.

"Laila…" started Oreana, "isn't this Link's bow?"

"Yes, it is!" replied the fairy.

Oreana picked it up and saw the quiver hanging from the dead Gerudo's belt. She retrieved it, recovered her bolt and hung the bow and quiver on her back.

"They took his things," she said. "Let's just hope they didn't… LAILA!" yelled Oreana.

"What!?" yelled back Laila, scared by the sudden shout.

"Laila, this means that they got hold of the Silver Arrows and the Ocarina of Time!"

"Oh, yeah, I saw them taking Link's stuff into a vault somewhere," explained Laila. "Fortunately, they don't seem to grasp the importance of what Link had on him."

"Better if it stays like that," said Oreana. "Come on, we should keep moving."

Oreana followed Laila through the corridor until they reached a wooden door with a small barred window. She crouched behind it and tried to listen to the voices on the other side:

"I think you went a bit over the edge this time," said one of the Gerudo soldiers in the room.

"I just thought I could have some fun, that's all," replied another. "He's going to die after all so, why not? Anyways, I already shackled him and locked him inside the cell."

"If he had died you would have been in big trouble," said a third one. Oreana started to count in her head how many different voices she managed to identify.

"But he didn't, okay?" said the second one. "And what is so important about his things that we can't even touch them? He has a big wallet full of rupees in his satchel, why can't we keep those?"

"You know our orders, now give me those keys," said the first one. Oreana heard the clinking of keys and the Gerudo spoke again. "Visiting time is over."

"No it's not," said Oreana, barging into the room with her crossbow raised.

The three women inside reached for their weapons, but Oreana shot one in the head and drew out her sword. She parried a strike from a second Gerudo and cut her hand with one swift move; she then grabbed Link's bow, while the now crippled Gerudo cried in pain holding her stump, and shot an arrow straight through the remaining thief's chest.

Oreana stood there, silence broken only by the injured Gerudo's cries and moans of pain, and then grabbed the keys which had been dropped on the floor. She then looked at the cripple in contempt and pointed at her with the sword:

"Where is Link?" she asked. When the Gerudo didn't respond, she poked her in the temple with the sword. "Where… is… your… prisoner?" she asked, phrasing carefully each word.

"You won't stop Lord Garoth," answered the Gerudo, still whimpering.

"Wrong answer," replied Oreana, and she hit the Gerudo in the temple with the butt of the sword, rendering her unconscious.

"Oreana?" started Laila.

"Yes?" replied Oreana.

"Would you please remind me never to piss you off?" said the fairy.

Oreana smiled and exited the room, making sure she closed the door behind her. She wasn't really sure what had gotten into her; she had always been a good warrior, but after recent events she had become fiercer than ever before. She looked down the corridor and turned to look at Laila again.

"Now, let's go get Link," she told the fairy.

"Yes, this way. Follow me!" replied Laila, as she fluttered away.

They followed the corridor for a few minutes and encountered a lone Gerudo guard, whom Oreana quickly disposed with her crossbow. A few minutes later, three Gerudo ambushed them, but Oreana was able to get rid of them, only not without suffering a scratch on her left cheek and a cut in her leg by one of the Gerudo's scimitars.

"You want me to heal that?" asked Laila kindly.

"No, really, thanks Laila," replied Oreana with a smile. "Keep your strength, Link may need you more than I do."

The fairy nodded in agreement and they resumed their journey through the hideout, as silent as they could, until Laila finally stopped and peeked around a corner. She then fluttered back toward Oreana and, when she spoke, she did in such a feint whisper that even Oreana was barely capable of hearing:

"The cell is around this corner, but there are about five guards by the door."

"That won't be a problem," replied Oreana. "How far away is the door?"

"About fifty feet away from here," replied Laila.

"Piece of cake," said Oreana. She loaded a bolt in her crossbow and gently put it on the floor. She then stringed an arrow in the bow, took a deep breath and rolled into view.

The first Gerudo to see her was the first to die, the long shaft of Oreana's arrow protruding from her chest. Oreana then reached for her crossbow, aimed and killed another guard. She was able to kill a third one with another arrow before they were too close for her to have time to reload, so she drew out the sword and she braced for the attack from the remaining two guards.


Link wasn't sure if he was in a dream or if he was actually awake, but he was sure he could hear noises outside his cell. His eyelids were too heavy to open them, and his arms were now aching because of being hanging there for so long. He heard a racket of loud voices outside his door and a few grunts. He was sure there was also a clash of swords, and he tried to stay awake, wondering what was going on, but he didn't feel strong enough.

"Where are you, Laila?" he asked in his mind. "Oreana… I'm sorry…" he thought before losing consciousness again.


A/N: cliffhanger! sort of xD... see you in three reviews! yes, only three... I don't ask much more :)