With Link and Zelda on her back, Epona galloped as fast as she could
to Gerudo Valley to the west. It was well into the night by now, but none
of the three of them cared. They absolutely had to get to the bottom of
this mystery.
Lather showing on her neck, Epona made her way over the dry, sandy area on the edge of Hyrule Field. Behind her finely-shod hooves clouds of dust arose. On her back, both the hero and the princess, still and unmoving but perfectly in tune with the horse, concentrated only on the night and the road ahead.
Beating the sand-dirt, Epona galloped into Gerudo Valley. She crossed the half log bridge and made for the river, but they were stopped up by a Gerudo guard. "Who goes there?" The guard asked gruffly. She was beautiful, just like the rest of them.
"I have papers," Link said, taking his membership card out and showing it to the guard.
"There's one," she answered. "What about her?" She poked at Zelda with the butt of her pike. Thanks to the dark, the guard didn't recognize the princess.
"She's with me!" Link said, exasperated. "Can we please get through?"
"You can," the guard said. "But she has to stay here."
"But-"
"No buts!" the guard interrupted. "These are the rules! No exceptions!"
"Ceob!" Came a familiar voice behind the guard, speaking in a language neither Link nor Zelda understood. "Buqu! Gu auy pub mpuc clu auy esi bermop bu?"
"What on earth is she saying?" Zelda wondered. Link shook his head in confusion.
"Pu," the guard replied with a look of contempt. "Clu?"
"Link!" The other woman raged. Link realized that she was Lenetu- the Gerudo who had given him his membership card. He waved. She held up a hand.
The two Gerudo argued on for a little while longer. Link and Zelda tried to catch tidbits of their conversation, but even when they did it was in the Gerudo's language. Finally, the guard, very hesitantly, lowered her pike. "You may pass," she growled to Link and Zelda. Link said nothing, but let Epona walk through the iron-wrought gate. Lenetu greeted them on the other side.
"I'm sorry about that," she apologized. "Come on. What can we do for you?"
"Have you seen any monsters lately?" Zelda asked hurriedly.
"No more than usual. Oh, and, have we met?" She looked at Zelda.
"I'm Zelda," the princess replied.
"Your highness, Zelda?" The Gerudo asked.
"That's the one."
"Well, I'm not saying anything, but keep your head down, okay? Just to be safe."
"Thank you," Zelda said to the Gerudo.
Lenetu nodded. Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the night from behind them! "What's that?" Link cried, spinning Epona. Lenetu shielded her eyes from the light.
Over the river was descending a brilliant gold...triangle? "Cleb op bli cusrg.....?" The guard exclaimed from the bridge.
It was an amazing thing to watch. The triangle descended slowly over the bridge and hovered. Its beauty was captivating for everyone who watched. Suddenly, the triangle seemed to shoot out an explosion of gold, and then it was gone, just a glimmer sitting over the valley and, rather, watching.
Everyone's attention was suddenly brought back down to earth. There were Guays and Leevers everywhere! "Vuyp bli ehesn!" Lenetu shouted to a guard by the fortress entrance, who nodded and blew into a horn. A few seconds later more Gerudo guards began to pour into the valley. The battle began.
Once again, it was a comparatively easy fight for Link and Zelda's part, which was fortunate because their minds were occupied with trying to figure out what in the world that triangle could have been.
Suddenly, as she was distracted by a Leever, a Guay flew from nowhere out of the sky and hit Zelda full force. She was not hurt, but she was stumbling backwards too quickly, heading towards the dizzying cliffs over the river! She threw the upper half of her body forward in a desperate attempt to stay steady, but she only managed to throw herself more off balance. Finally, a few mere inches from the cliff wall, the princess caught herself and regained her footing, and only a second later the Leever came back and shoved her the rest of the way off.
Link finished with a Guay just in time to see Zelda fall. Thinking quickly, he dropped his sword and ran towards the river, taking out his Longshot as he ran. Firing at the bridge, he dove off the side of the cliff after Zelda.
Zelda was falling at a frighteningly fast pace. She was at such an angle as to be facing downward toward the water, and that only made her feel sick. She turned her head back up towards the surface and watched the cliffs speed away from her. Somehow, Zelda was not feeling all of the things that people felt at death; peace, for instance. She could only feel panic. She thought about it briefly, and decided she really only had one more wish for this world, and that was to tell Link how she loved him. She gathered her breath, and was about to shout when suddenly she was not falling anymore.
Something hit her from the side and was sweeping her along with it. She turned to find out what it was, and found her vision quite full of a green tunic. Link! He had stuck the Longshot to the bridge over the valley and swung down on it to get her. Zelda was overcome. She turned in his arms and put her own around his neck, and rested her head against his chest. He said nothing, but held on to her tighter with his free hand.
They landed on the side of the cliff again. The Leever, it appeared, had gone over after Zelda, and a Gerudo had picked off the Guay. There were no more monsters; the battle was finished.
"I can hear your heart beating," Zelda whispered, wanting desperately to break the silence.
"It's beating for you," he whispered back.
Zelda stood back a step, looking into his eyes questioningly. He looked back into hers, deeply, his gaze penetrating her very soul. Suddenly, he took her by the shoulders, and just as she was starting to say that yes, she loved him too, she found her mouth quite covered by his. Link kissed Zelda, passionately, and she kissed him as well. Her arms moved up around his neck, and he wrapped her up tight in his warm embrace. There was nothing anymore, nothing but each other.
Finally it ended, and they drew apart. It was Zelda who spoke first. "Thank you...for saving my life."
"Please, don't thank me. It was as selfish as it was noble."
"We can't do this," Zelda said softly, looking down at the ground. She looked up again. "Can we?"
"Oh, but we must!" Link said. "If you don't live while you can, then you may as well not live at all."
Zelda did not answer right away. "I love you," she quietly admitted, once and for all.
"I love you, too," Link said. "And that's all that matters."
Suddenly the valley was filled with the sound of applause. Little had Link and Zelda known, but the Gerudo were watching them the whole time, and now cheered for them. Link turned red, but Zelda laughed and kissed him again.
Lenetu walked up to them, smiling broadly. "Come on, then, let's get back to the Fortress and rested up," she said, and led the way over the bridge.
Lather showing on her neck, Epona made her way over the dry, sandy area on the edge of Hyrule Field. Behind her finely-shod hooves clouds of dust arose. On her back, both the hero and the princess, still and unmoving but perfectly in tune with the horse, concentrated only on the night and the road ahead.
Beating the sand-dirt, Epona galloped into Gerudo Valley. She crossed the half log bridge and made for the river, but they were stopped up by a Gerudo guard. "Who goes there?" The guard asked gruffly. She was beautiful, just like the rest of them.
"I have papers," Link said, taking his membership card out and showing it to the guard.
"There's one," she answered. "What about her?" She poked at Zelda with the butt of her pike. Thanks to the dark, the guard didn't recognize the princess.
"She's with me!" Link said, exasperated. "Can we please get through?"
"You can," the guard said. "But she has to stay here."
"But-"
"No buts!" the guard interrupted. "These are the rules! No exceptions!"
"Ceob!" Came a familiar voice behind the guard, speaking in a language neither Link nor Zelda understood. "Buqu! Gu auy pub mpuc clu auy esi bermop bu?"
"What on earth is she saying?" Zelda wondered. Link shook his head in confusion.
"Pu," the guard replied with a look of contempt. "Clu?"
"Link!" The other woman raged. Link realized that she was Lenetu- the Gerudo who had given him his membership card. He waved. She held up a hand.
The two Gerudo argued on for a little while longer. Link and Zelda tried to catch tidbits of their conversation, but even when they did it was in the Gerudo's language. Finally, the guard, very hesitantly, lowered her pike. "You may pass," she growled to Link and Zelda. Link said nothing, but let Epona walk through the iron-wrought gate. Lenetu greeted them on the other side.
"I'm sorry about that," she apologized. "Come on. What can we do for you?"
"Have you seen any monsters lately?" Zelda asked hurriedly.
"No more than usual. Oh, and, have we met?" She looked at Zelda.
"I'm Zelda," the princess replied.
"Your highness, Zelda?" The Gerudo asked.
"That's the one."
"Well, I'm not saying anything, but keep your head down, okay? Just to be safe."
"Thank you," Zelda said to the Gerudo.
Lenetu nodded. Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the night from behind them! "What's that?" Link cried, spinning Epona. Lenetu shielded her eyes from the light.
Over the river was descending a brilliant gold...triangle? "Cleb op bli cusrg.....?" The guard exclaimed from the bridge.
It was an amazing thing to watch. The triangle descended slowly over the bridge and hovered. Its beauty was captivating for everyone who watched. Suddenly, the triangle seemed to shoot out an explosion of gold, and then it was gone, just a glimmer sitting over the valley and, rather, watching.
Everyone's attention was suddenly brought back down to earth. There were Guays and Leevers everywhere! "Vuyp bli ehesn!" Lenetu shouted to a guard by the fortress entrance, who nodded and blew into a horn. A few seconds later more Gerudo guards began to pour into the valley. The battle began.
Once again, it was a comparatively easy fight for Link and Zelda's part, which was fortunate because their minds were occupied with trying to figure out what in the world that triangle could have been.
Suddenly, as she was distracted by a Leever, a Guay flew from nowhere out of the sky and hit Zelda full force. She was not hurt, but she was stumbling backwards too quickly, heading towards the dizzying cliffs over the river! She threw the upper half of her body forward in a desperate attempt to stay steady, but she only managed to throw herself more off balance. Finally, a few mere inches from the cliff wall, the princess caught herself and regained her footing, and only a second later the Leever came back and shoved her the rest of the way off.
Link finished with a Guay just in time to see Zelda fall. Thinking quickly, he dropped his sword and ran towards the river, taking out his Longshot as he ran. Firing at the bridge, he dove off the side of the cliff after Zelda.
Zelda was falling at a frighteningly fast pace. She was at such an angle as to be facing downward toward the water, and that only made her feel sick. She turned her head back up towards the surface and watched the cliffs speed away from her. Somehow, Zelda was not feeling all of the things that people felt at death; peace, for instance. She could only feel panic. She thought about it briefly, and decided she really only had one more wish for this world, and that was to tell Link how she loved him. She gathered her breath, and was about to shout when suddenly she was not falling anymore.
Something hit her from the side and was sweeping her along with it. She turned to find out what it was, and found her vision quite full of a green tunic. Link! He had stuck the Longshot to the bridge over the valley and swung down on it to get her. Zelda was overcome. She turned in his arms and put her own around his neck, and rested her head against his chest. He said nothing, but held on to her tighter with his free hand.
They landed on the side of the cliff again. The Leever, it appeared, had gone over after Zelda, and a Gerudo had picked off the Guay. There were no more monsters; the battle was finished.
"I can hear your heart beating," Zelda whispered, wanting desperately to break the silence.
"It's beating for you," he whispered back.
Zelda stood back a step, looking into his eyes questioningly. He looked back into hers, deeply, his gaze penetrating her very soul. Suddenly, he took her by the shoulders, and just as she was starting to say that yes, she loved him too, she found her mouth quite covered by his. Link kissed Zelda, passionately, and she kissed him as well. Her arms moved up around his neck, and he wrapped her up tight in his warm embrace. There was nothing anymore, nothing but each other.
Finally it ended, and they drew apart. It was Zelda who spoke first. "Thank you...for saving my life."
"Please, don't thank me. It was as selfish as it was noble."
"We can't do this," Zelda said softly, looking down at the ground. She looked up again. "Can we?"
"Oh, but we must!" Link said. "If you don't live while you can, then you may as well not live at all."
Zelda did not answer right away. "I love you," she quietly admitted, once and for all.
"I love you, too," Link said. "And that's all that matters."
Suddenly the valley was filled with the sound of applause. Little had Link and Zelda known, but the Gerudo were watching them the whole time, and now cheered for them. Link turned red, but Zelda laughed and kissed him again.
Lenetu walked up to them, smiling broadly. "Come on, then, let's get back to the Fortress and rested up," she said, and led the way over the bridge.