Chapter 4: Nabooru

I sat back, looking out over the desert from my perch at the top of the Gerudo's Fortress. The wind blew through my hair, whipping it in every direction and covering my eyes. Dang ponytail, I grumbled to myself, trying to hold it back, I hate putting my hair in a ponytail. I should just braid it or something!

"Never-ending battle, isn't it?" I heard an amused voice behind me. I whirled around to see Aveil, a snooty young woman who was one of King Ganondorf's favorite warriors. "Only a true wimp like yourself would lose a battle with your own hair!"

I sighed loudly. "Can't you leave me any bit of peace?" I asked. "I'm up here to meditate."

"On what?"

"How much of a jerk you are." I had to cover my mouth with my hand to hide my smile. Aveil looked ready to explode.

"Oh, is that it, huh?! Well," she looked smug again, "Guess who the great King Ganondorf chose to lead the group of settlers to Termina?"

"Who?" I asked, though I was sure that she was referring to herself.

Aveil grinned. "Me, who else?!"

"Of course. Since it's by the sea, he needed someone with such a huge ego that the ship could be powered with that and nothing else," was my wry comment.

Aveil scowled. "You're just jealous, Nabooru. Jealous because you weren't chosen to go to Termina."

I shook my head. "No I'm not. I—" I was cut off, by cries down below us.

"Victory!! King Ganondorf's overthrown King Harkinian!"

Aveil and I raced to the edge of the roof, and, of course, Aveil pushed me right off, so that I landed in the soft sand twenty or so feet below us. "AVEIL!!"

I heard her laugh. "Be thankful we weren't any higher, Nabby!"

Another woman, Kara, helped me back to my feet. "That Aveil," Kara muttered, "She's been acting like a total jerk lately, just because King Ganondorf chose her"

"What was the news?" I asked. "What was that about King Harkinian?"

Kara grinned. "King Ganondorf has overthrown Harkinian and taken over Castle Town! Not only that, Princess Zelda and her Sheikah caretaker fled during the battle, so they're gone, too! Ganondorf's the king, not just of the Gerudo, but of ALL of Hyrule!"

My eyes widened. "Is that good or bad?!"

Kara gave me a funny look. "Good, of course! What are you talking about?!"

I lowered my voice. "You know," I whispered, "Ganondorf is a bit more cruel than is usual"

"Oh, that. Don't worry. Those Hylians deserve it after the way they've treated us!" Kara had a fierce look in her face, a look I didn't like.

I sighed. I didn't know why, but I really hated Ganondorf. He just gave me the creeps It was kind of hard to explain

"I'm going to the Spirit Temple," I told Kara. "If anyone asks why, just set Aveil on them."

Kara laughed. "Sure thing, Nabooru."

I ran out of the fortress and across the Haunted Wasteland, allowing myself to gloat a little over the fact that I was probably the only person on the whole planet who didn't need a Lens of Truth to find my way across the desert, and ended up at my sole place of refuge the Spirit Temple.

I wasn't sure just who the temple was dedicated to. In it were all kinds of statues of women, so I knew that it had been built by Gerudos. My own ancestors, maybe. Not only that, they had also decorated the temple with cobra statues and these odd spiral carvings all over the wall.

I could understand why the statues were there, since this was a desert, after all. But the carvings? What were they supposed to represent? Wind? I didn't know.

Every single human-like carving was shaped like a female, which also didn't surprise me at all. The Gerudo was a race made almost solely of women. Somehow, even though we had to intermarry with other races, such as Hylian and human, Gerudo children always had the features of their mother, not father. Every hundred years or so, a man was born to a Gerudo woman, and that man would have to become our king when he came of age.

Right now, Ganondorf was the Gerudo king. Actually, now it sounded like he was the king of the entire kingdom of Hyrule. I closed my eyes, deeply pained. That was not right. Ganondorf was a horrible king. HORRIBLE! The Gerudo already had a bad reputation, what with being theives and all, but Ganondorf had really given us a bad name. Not only did he steal from innocent women and children, he also killed people to get what he wanted. I shuddered, wondering what had become of the young princess and her father. It sounded as though the princess had gotten away; that was good. But her father?

I knew what I had to do then. It might be a little too late, but I had to mess up Ganondorf's plans. He kept his treasures here in the Spirit Temple, locked away where no one could reach them. Little did he know This temple was my second home; I spent almost as much time here as I did at the fortress! However, I quickly realized that, though I could get into the temple, the two hallways leading from the entryway were blocked off by giant blocks. Much too big for me to move! I needed strength-giving Silver Gauntlets to move those

"Dangit," I muttered, staring through a crack in one of the blocks, "Someone small could fit through here"

I continued staring through the hole, finally crouching in front of it and tried to enter myself. I couldn't get much more than my head in, though. Darn those big, feminine hips of mine

"I can't get through here without getting stuck," I mused aloud. "I need a bomb or—"

Tap, tap, tap.

I froze in panic. A tapping noise? Someone's come up behind me, I thought. Who would dare follow me?

I whirled around, ready to scold my stalker

And dropped my jaw in awe instead.

It wasn't Aveil who had followed me. Or Kara. In fact, it wasn't a Gerudo at all.

It was a little blonde-haired, blue-eyed, boy, a boy, dressed in all green, with a sword and shield out and ready.

"Who-who are you?" I asked, cautiously. "What are you doing here?"

"My name's Link," the boy said. "And I'm here looking for someone"

I narrowed my eyes. "Odd name you have there, Link who are you looking for?"

"I, uh, don't really know," the boy admitted. "The Sage of Spirit I just don't know who he or she is."

I shook my head. "I don't know anyone like that, kid. By the way, my name's Nabooru."

"Nabooru?" the boy looked a little surprised. "You mean that exaulted Nabooru' everyone at the fortress was talking about?"

I laughed. "Exualted? Hardly. I'm a joke to most of my companions Wait a sec! How on earth did you get to the fortress?!"

Link blushed. "Um, I, uh, long story You really don't know anything about the Sage of Spirit?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, kid. Why is a kid like you looking for the sages, anyway?"

"Because, because" the boy trailed off. "Because of, um, Ganondorf"

My eyes widened. "Ganondorf?! Did he ask you to—"

"No! I, um, well"

I suddenly realized why the boy was so nervous talking to me. I am a Gerudo. Ganondorf is also a Gerudo. Why do I have this feeling that he's looking for the sages so that they can defeat Ganondorf? I'd better tell him I'm a dissenter against him, too.

"Kid," I said, slowly, "Don't be afraid of me. I might be a Gerudo, yes, but I'm very opposed to what Ganondorf's doing. In fact, I came here to try to find a way to stop him."

Link looked relieved. "I'm here to stop him, too."

"First things first, kid." I motioned to the block next to us. "Think you can crawl into that hole here? I can't; I already tried. Somewhere in this temple are these special silver gauntlets that grant you extra strength. I need them so that I can move that block over there." I motioned across the room to the block that was blocking the other passageway. "The gauntlets won't fit you; you're too small, and they were made for a woman, anyway, so bring them back to me."

Link nodded. "Understood. I'll find them for you, Nabooru!" Link crawled into the hold and left.

While Link went to look for the gauntlets, I mulled around in the temple's entryway for awhile, then went outside. I stared up at the Collosus, the huge stone mesa the Spirit Temple had been carved in to. The Collosus itself was decorated by a huge stone statue of a woman. I noticed that on each of her hands was a treasure box.

Treasure boxes? That's weird. I'd never noticed those before. Did one of them contain the silver gauntlets?

As if to answer my question, Link suddenly ran from inside the temple onto one of the hands. He looked down, spotting me in the sands below. "Wow," he shouted, "This is pretty high!"

"Open that treasure chest!" I shouted. "See what's in it!"

"OK!" Link opened it and pulled something out. He held the contents up. "Nabooru! Are these the silver gauntlets?"

"YES!!" I exclaimed. "That's them! Take them down to me!"

"OK!" Link ran off.

I started to run back to the temple, but didn't quite make it

For then, they appeared.

The two Gerudos who were closest in family to Ganondorf.

The dreaded Twinrova, Koume and Kotake!

"Hold it right there!" Koume screeched. "What do you think you're doing, you disloyal little Gerudo?!"

"Little?" I glared down at the witch. "Who are you calling little?"

"Foolish girl," Kotake sniggered, "We need to teach you a lesson in loyalty."

I scowled. "And how are you going to do that, hmm??"

"Should we, sister?" Koume looked at Kotake, who nodded.

"Let's teach this girl a lesson!" They both raised their hands, engulfed me in a purple light

"NO!" I screamed as I was sucked into the sand. They're going to brainwash me into thinking I'm a follower of Ganondorf! Just then, by the temple's entrance, I spotted a wide-eyed Link. "Link!" I called. "Get out of here, QUICK!!"

The Twinrova turned to see who I was talking to. "OH!!!" the both squealed, "What an ADORABLE little boy!"

I didn't have to look at Link to see the look of terror on his face.

"Koume!" Kotake exclaimed, "We must get that boy! He's so cute, I want to raise him as my son!"

"Forget it, sister," Koume replied, "But I want him as MY son!"

"I saw him first!"

"You did not!! I'm older, I should take him!"

"Shut up! I'm better with little boys!"

"How would you know?! The only male you've ever known is Ganondorf!"

"SAME WITH YOU!!"

While the twins argued, Link pulled out an ocarina, played a song and vanished in a flash of golden light. Good! He got away! After that, everything went black


I'm not entirely sure what happened next. The Twinrova brainwashed me, and I worked in Ganondorf's service. I must have become a hardened thief; everyone left in Hyrule feared me. In fact, the only person in the whole kingdom with more power than me was Ganondorf! Well, that's what people have told me, anyway. Frankly, I'm glad I did not retain those memories. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I had.

The next thing I knew, I was crouched on the ground, dizzy, hurt, clad in heavy armor and wielding a very large axe. I had no idea where I was; I could only see a red carpet beneath me. I was panting, covered with sweat, with an odd feeling I had just done something wrong.

I heard a gasp in front of me, beckoning me to look up. So I did. Standing in front of me was a handsome young man, a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a green tunic, matching green cap, and also had white leggings, a white undershirt, brown gloves, and, and

The silver gauntlets?!

I stared, a bit open-mouthed, as memories came flooding back to me. Going to the Spirit Temple Meeting that young boy, Link Sending him on his quest for the silver gauntlets getting kidnapped by the Twinrova

"Na, Nabooru?" he asked, with an expression that nearly matched mine. "Nabooru, is that you?"

I nodded, unable to speak.

"It's me, Link! Remember?" he asked, his sapphire eyes meeting my topaz. I had to quickly look away; his eyes were just so captivating

"I remember," I whispered. "Wha, what happened to me? Was I brainwashed?"

"Yeah," Link answered. "By the Twinrova, most probably. But it's alright, now. I must have broken their spell."

I just nodded. Link helped me to stand up, with the intention of helping me out of the temple.

"Not so fast!"

I froze, hearing that voice. Link did to.

"Where do you think you're taking her?!" Koume suddenly appeared in front of us, Kotake behind us. "How'd you break our spell?! Oh, well, I'm looking forward to brainwashing her again!" The Twinrova raised their hands

Oh, no! Not again!

I screamed as they warped me to some empty void, where they had brainwashed me before, I guess

I wasn't there very long before Link managed to warp me back to the Spirit Temple.

"Sorry about that," Link apologized sheepishly, "Those witches were determined!"

"That's alright, kid. Are they gone now?"

"Yeah. They shouldn't be causing any more trouble."

We stood in silence for a few moments when I noticed something. I always wore a medallion around my neck, though my mother had told me since I was young to hide it somewhere. I simply tucked in into my tube-top like shirt. Sometime during today's happenings, it had come out from under my shirt and was in plain sight. I quickly tucked it back in, forgetting that a boy was watching.

His eyes widened. "Uh, Nabooru? What was"

"What?" I quickly looked up.

"That thing on the chain? What was it?"

"Nothing," I answered. He frowned.

"Nabooru, please, tell me. What was that?"

"I, I don't know," I honestly admitted. "I've had it since I was a very small child."

"May I see it?"

I hesitated but decided to trust him. I pulled it out from my shirt and let him see it, though I kept it on the chain. His eyes widened.

"Nabooru I know what this is"

"What? You do?"

"Look at it. The spiral carving on it exactly matches the carvings all over the Spirit Temple."

"Yeah? So? My mother must have just found it when I was little. She gave it to me just before she died."

"Nabooru This is a medallion. The Spirit Medallion. It means that you're the Sage of Spirit!"

My jaw dropped. "What?!" I exclaimed. "ME?! A sage?! Yeah, right, kid!"

"I'm not kidding. There's no mistaking it. You're the Sage of Spirit."

I was shocked. After all these terrible things I must have done over the years I was a sage? Me, of all people?! Well, it did make some sense I was opposed to Ganondorf. I was the special focus of the Twinrova. The Twinrova must have known that I'm a sage!

I took the chain over my head for the first time in my life and gave the medallion (and chain) to Link. "Here," I said, "I guess you should take it, eh?"

Link nodded and accepted it. "Now to get you to the Chamber of Sages!" He pulled out his ocarina. "Hold on to me, OK?"

"All right." I glanced at one of his hands just before he started to play a song, and giggled when I noticed something. "Silver gauntlets too small for you?"

Link took the ocarina from his mouth and looked at his hands. "Uh, yeah," he admitted, a sheepish grin on his face. The gauntlets were tied onto the back of his hands. "I guess they were made for women, huh?"

"Yeah. But you can keep them. I suppose they've helped you out, eh?"

"Yeah. A lot!"

Link put the ocarina to his lips again, and played a song. Next thing I knew, we were in an odd dimension, on a platform with six different medallion-looking things. I noticed that one orange-colored one looked just like the medallion I had. That must be where I was supposed to stand

Four others were on the platform. There was an old, fat, balding man wearing a dress (?), a little green-haired girl wearing green clothes, a large rock-like creature with a spiky white beard, and some fish-woman thing.

The fish-woman clasped her hands (fins?) together and looked dreamily at Link. "Oh, Link! You came back with AH!! A GERUDO?!" She stared at me, wide-eyed with terror.

"It's alright," he motioned for me to stand on the Spirit Medallion looking thing. "She's a sage!"

I smiled. "That's right. I'm not one of Ganondorf's followers. I never was, until I was brainwashed. I am Nabooru, the Sage of Spirit!"

The old, fat man nodded. "The sages are of many different races," he said. "Hylian, Kokiri, Goron, Zora, Gerudo It doesn't matter to the goddesses. All that matters is that that person has a good heart and the right credentials to be a sage. Welcome, Sage of Spirit!"

I nodded in greeting. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"There's one more sage Link has to find," the man said. "After that, we'll be sealing Ganondorf in the Evil Realm."

I grinned. "Seal him up? That sounds great!" I turned to Link. "Hurry up and find that other sage, ki— I mean, Hero of Time! We've got a kingdom to save!"