CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

"Girl Trouble"

Vaati stumbled out into the street, his hands balled into fists by his sides.

What is WRONG with me? his mind screamed. From the moment that desert woman invited Brittany to become a Gerudo, he had been out of sorts. While he should have been happy that his friend had received such an honor, it bothered him to no end. He had hoped that, once the youngest oracle had been rescued, Brittany would come back to Hyrule with him. He had never thought that she might find a place she liked better-especially with the Gerudo!

He grumbled to himself. "There's no way she'd prefer the Desert Wastes over Hyrule," he told himself. "Nothing but sand, horses, and merchant women there."

Not that he minded the women, that is (Vaati may not have had much experience around girls, but by no means did he plan on entering a monastery any time soon-if you catch my drift). But they were Gerudo. From his studies, he knew that the desert women were an independent lot-they preferred freedom to the constrains of traditional human marriage. If Brittany was to join them, he might never see her again!

Vaati stifled a groan. Brittany was his friend...she should be happy, even if it meant becoming part of the desert women. Suddenly, a thought struck him. The only men ever allowed into the Gerudo kingdom were those born unto them. He knew there had to be at least ONE man-their Prince. Few people knew about the entirely female tribe being led by a man, but he learned from one of Taytl's crow friends that the Gerudo Queen had a son. The mage's eyes widened as a horrible thought struck him.

What if she goes and meets their Prince, then he takes her for a consort? After all, the Grand Vizier herself said that Brittany would be invaluable. No man in his right mind would pass up the girl once he learned she was an Empath! How dangerous her gift could be if she fell into the wrong hands! Not to mention the very idea of some desert swine embracing his Brittany, drawing her face close to his and-

"Wait a second...MY Brittany? Goddesses, Vaati," he slapped his forehead, "have you lost your mind? She's your friend, dammit! There will be no thinking of your friend like that!"

He sighed as he remembered the first night she came to Hyrule. Unconscious, being dragged between the two oracles, she had been pulled from certain death and left lying in the grass outside of the treehouse. The forest Picori had all been put in charge of her, so he had decided to keep watch first. He had flown down with Taytl to inspect her when he felt it-that strange, stabbing feeling in his heart the moment he saw her face. She had been a pale creature but far rosier than he was. Her dark chestnut hair and black shirt had made her seem flesh ghostly, almost ethereal. While she lay sleeping, her soft, round face reminded him of an angel...a troubled angel, though she later turned out to be.

He had discovered a few years prior that just because the Picori Gate was sealed didn't mean he couldn't transform. He used the stump Brittany later shrunk herself with to grow, then spent the rest of the night as a Hylian to ward off anyone that would dare harm her. When Taytl spotted the ranchers coming to find their missing cow, he hid in the bushes nearby until he was sure they meant no harm. He followed her on Taytl's back, staying around her as long as he could until his apprentice duties called him away. The morning she had gone after Verdun, he had already been perched on a rock near the gate, ready to help her if Link had not shown up. For weeks after, he watched over her-either on birdback or by hiding in her castle room (he had to sneak out after Ezlo went to bed, then hurry back in the morning before his master awoke)-with that strange pang happening more and more often every time he saw her.

"Hey!" Vaati turned around and saw Link running up to catch him.

"Oh...it's you, Link..." the mage glanced around the empty street. "Why are you out here? Should you not be inside with the princess and the others?"

Link coasted to a halt. "Yeah, but you left all of a sudden-"

"Is that so abnormal?"

"It was to Ezlo," the hero pointed out. "So tell me...what's wrong, man?"

Vaati raised an eyebrow. "How did you figure out something was wrong?"

"You just told me," Link beamed. The mage turned away in embarrassment. "Besides, you've acting weird ever since Brittany showed up. You'd think you'd be happier than you are-"

"I AM happy!" scowled the mage. Link crossed his arms.

"Really? You sound more like you're pissed off, to me."

Vaati turned and stomped off, but Link just followed him. "Will you leave me alone?" he growled. "Can I not have some privacy?"

"No," Link replied flatly. "And I'm not leaving until you tell me what is wrong with you. You didn't fool anybody, Vaati-we all know something's up. You may as well tell me before Brittany finds her way down here and asks you herself."

The hooded youth stopped short. He turned halfway around, his face still shrouded from Link's view.

"This is about her invitation from the Gerudo, isn't it?"

Vaati remained silent for a long moment.

"Well...?"

"...Yes."

"Then why didn't you just say something?"

"Because she deserves happiness as much as anyone does," the mage sighed.

"But you don't want her to go, do you?" the youth's head snapped up, nearly knocking the hood off his head. His ruby eyes were narrowed and his jaw locked, but there was a strange tint to his cheeks. Link beamed a wicked grin. "You like her, don't you?" The tint deepened and spread across his face. Link tried to suppress a laugh but he failed.

"What is so damn funny?" Vaati hissed through clenched teeth.

"Nothing, it's just...well, I had a feeling you were more than friends," Link said. "You kept talking about her non-stop on the trail. You've only known her for a couple of days and yet it sounds like she's all that's happened to you since the incident."

"She's been my first real friend, Link," the mage replied coolly, "that is all."

"Yeah, but that's not all of the story, is there? C'mon, I saw the little lesson you gave her the other night! Can you honestly stand there and say that wiping crumbs off was the only thing you wanted to do to her lips?"

Vaati gave Link a death glare.

"Man, I haven't seen a glare that bad since I used Ezlo for a parachute," he laughed. "Vaati, if you like her, then why don't you just tell her?"

"I'm her friend..."

"But you like her more than that, 'cause you talk about her all the-"

"You're the same way with Zelda!" Vaati snapped.

"Yeah, but we've been pals since childhood-"

Vaati crossed his arms over his chest. "What's the difference?"

"It's...well, um...I mean..."

"Uh-huh..." the mage droned sarcastically.

Link scowled at the mage. "Hey, she's my childhood friend!" he barked.

"Like I said..." Vaati repeated. "What is the difference?"

The hero clamped his mouth shut and glowered at the shorter youth. The two of them continued their glaring contest for a few moments before Link let out a frustrated sigh.

"Look...I'm just saying this because she's my friend, too," the knight said. "I know you like her-" he held up a hand before Vaati could protest, "-but regardless of how you like her, you need to consider this: ANYTHING could happen on this journey. You saw what happened to Impa. And," he added, "even if Brittany makes it out of this without a scratch, she still has a lot of inner demons."

"Her nightmares..." Vaati whispered.

Link nodded. "That's right. We've both seen the kinds of fits she goes into when she gets like that. Those things could be dangerous to her."

"That's one reason why I came along," Vaati admitted. "Just don't tell Ezlo-he thinks I've got too many issues of my own to help her, the dunce."

Link smiled. "My lips," he made a sweeping motion across his face, "are sealed." The mage smiled. "C'mon. Let's hurry and check on Moosh before the girls start to wonder where we went."

The next few days went by in a flash. Moosh and Impa had to stay behind, of course, but it could not be helped (the nursemaid was wounded and it would be hard to sustain a bear in the desert). The desert women had given Brittany a few odd looks when she appeared with Altair, but they had said nothing. Instead, they grouped around the girl and began chatting away about desert life and the ways of the Gerudo. Vaati, of course, did not like any of it, but he held his tongue for most of the trip. Now and again, he would lag behind the horses and talk with Link.

"Will you listen to them jabber?" groaned the mage. "They've been at it ever since we left the village."

Link let out a laugh. "Yeah, and they've even got Zelda in on their conversation now! They're not so bad once you get to know 'em."

"Humph!" mumbled Ezlo, who was currently hiding under Vaati's hood. "I can't put my finger on it, but something about those Gerudo doesn't set right with me. I don't trust 'em one bit. Bunch of yakking biddies..."

Vaati giggled. "Better not let Brittany or Zelda hear you say that."

"Yeah, Ezlo, she might just pay you back for whacking her with the staff the other night."

Ezlo grunted and crossed his arms. "I just want to get there, get out, go find Farore, and go home!" he pouted. "In fact, I would like to skip right to the going home part!"

"Aww, c'mon, Ezlo," Link said, "don't tell me you weren't itching for another adventure yourself."

"But why do we have to journey in a desert? I hate deserts! Hate the sand, hate the sun, and I hate all of those buzzards flying overhead! It's like they're just waiting to pick your bones!"

"Hey, at least you're covered from the sun," Vaati reminded him. "I could always have you sit outside of the hood."

With that, his master groaned and hushed. Not that Vaati blamed him-the desert was a pain, and they were only in the canyon at the moment! He hated to think of how scorching the sun was going to get once they reached the first dunes. He'd bundled himself up in his cloak so the sun wouldn't harm him. Even Zelda and Link were wearing cloaks-albeit lighter-colored ones. The only one out of their original party that didn't have a cloak was Brittany.

Actually, you could say that Brittany was far less dressed than she had been. Before they had left the village, Yubira had convinced the Empath to start working on a tan. The mother of the boy Brittany rescued heard the Gerudo's idea and took it upon herself to make a shirt for her as a token of her gratitude.

And now she sat astride the warhorse in her new yellow halter top. It was not as low-cut as her dancer's blouse, but Vaati noticed it showed a good portion of her pale back. Her arms were uncovered, too, and she had already taken to wearing her hair in the traditional Gerudo ponytail-although she left a few sprigs of her hair hanging down by her ears. Her pants legs were rolled up to the knee to show off her claves.

Vaati gulped. The baggy clothes may have given her a tougher appearance but Brittany's new clothes did wonders for the girl. She may have been a bit heavier than the other girls but she certainly had a hell of a lot better curves-and that new top did more than just flatter them! Without even realizing it, he found himself mentally tracing the outline of her rosy shoulders. A smirk played on his lips as his eyes trailed over the maiden and drank in her once-hidden looks.

He shook his head. No, I should NOT be thinking about her like that! Snap out of it, right now! She is your friend, you idiot-F-R-I-E-N-D! You no thinky like that! But...she does look a lot better from behind now...No! Idiot, idiot, IDIOT! Stop it!

While Vaati was having a mental battle with himself, he didn't notice a blush had formed on his cheeks. Unfortunately, Ezlo did.

"Boy, are you feeling alright?" the sage asked. "You're all red in the face. Are you sick?"

"What? No! I-I just...ur, I mean..."

Link looked over at Vaati, then up at Brittany, then back to Vaati again. He grinned knowingly to himself but said nothing. It was too much fun watching the Minish-turned-Hylian sweat over his little 'secret'. Of course, he had promised not to tell...but only to Ezlo. Not that he was planning on match-making or anything-no, that was Zelda's cup of tea.

The hero made a mental note to let the princess in on the little 'secret' later.