~Sorry for re-uploading this...but for some reason, the first try didn't
save properly...the whole thing was a nasty blob of text. O.o It was
hurting my brain to try to read it, and I wrote the stupid thing!~
Rain beat against the traveller's back as she walked purposefully across the desert sands, heading for the Gerudo's Valley. She wore a tan cloak that covered all of her effectively, bathing her face in shadow. Under an overhanging rock formation, she finally stopped, and pulled the hood down.
Sharp, green eyes glanced about, hawklike. Long black hair tumbled down into the back of the cloak, unrestrained. Her lips pulled back in a sneer, the sort you'd more expect to see on a hyena that had just killed its prey than on a human.
The cloak dropped to the sand carelessly. Underneath, she wore a battered tunic that looked as though it'd barely survived many years of hard use. It had been black, long ago, but was now a dull, ugly gray, with a few patches that were nearly white. Under it she wore ripped, skintight leggings. She bent, lifted a handful of sand, and rubbed it into her hair. To complete the effect, she swept her dirtied hair back into a rough ponytail. Then she rubbed more wet sand over her face and arms. When she was done, she looked for all the world like a down-and-out beggar.
Her preparation complete, she continued her trek.
***
"Queen Dana, there's someone here to see you," a Gerudo announced, poking her head around a cloth curtain into the Queen's room.
The Gerudo Queen, Dana, sat on a woven mat. She stared, bored nearly out of her mind, at the floor as she toyed with a dry twig, tracing pictures in the layer of sand that covered the stone floor. She glanced up at the other Gerudo's arrival, and smiled widely. "Lady Phoenix! A visitor? Well, show them in."
Phoenix nodded, and ducked back out into the hall. A moment later, a tattered beggar girl entered the room. She curtsied low before Dana, then stood back up, albeit slightly bent over as if from back trouble. Dana looked at her for a moment, as if recognizing her, and trying to figure out just who she was. After a moment, she shook her head, clearing her thoughts.
"Sit, friend," she said warmly. "You need not stand."
The girl sat gratefully, crossing her legs and holding her ankles. She looked up at Dana, then began the conversation, without giving Dana a chance to. "Queen Dana, my name is Zei."
Dana nodded. "Zei. Your face looks familiar, somehow. I swear we must have met before."
"Ah, that'd be impossible, Your Majesty. You see, I've lived in Kakiriko Village for years now. I've never once been to Gerudo Valley, save for in my childhood. My mother brought me here, to journey through the Desert Wasteland to go and pray to the Desert Goddess, for our well-being. We were always a poor family, ever since my father was killed in the Hylian War. But my mother died on the trip back - she got lost in the desert. I was lucky, and found my way out by myself," Zei answered after a pause. "I've been alone ever since I was nine years old."
Touched, Dana nodded again. "I see. What brings you here again?" She then leaned to the side, and signalled to Phoenix, who had been waiting in the doorway. Phoenix tilted her head respectfully, and left. A moment later, she returned with a clay pot of water, and set it before Zei.
Zei glanced at it, then looked back up to answer Dana, "I returned to request permission to go once again to the Desert Goddess. I wish to pray again, though the first time brought me no blessing,"
Her eyes glittered in the light of the torches set around the walls, and for a second, Dana thought she saw a hint of a smile flash across her face. Dana shivered involuntarily, and glanced away from her visitor. "Yes," she said, "you may go into the desert."
Zei stood up, and Dana barely noticed that her back seemed considerably straighter than it had when she first entered, but only for a moment, and then Zei stood hunched over again. The strange girl nodded her appreciation, and headed from the room, unescorted. When she had gone, Lady Phoenix entered the room, and sat across from Dana.
"Dana, if you think the way I do, then you must have realized that this Zei is not entirely trustworthy," she said delicately, picking up the pot and setting it in her lap.
The Gerudo Queen glanced over at her lifelong friend, and smiled weakly. "Yes, I do think the way you do, Phoenix. But just what you are sceming, I have no idea."
"Allow me to follow her, Dana. I know the Desert Wasteland better than any Gerudo alive. I will make sure that nothing bad happens to our Desert Colossus. I know what it means to you."
Dana inhaled sharply, startled by Phoenix's statement. She composed herself quickly, and replied, "Yes - I highly value my father's resting place. Although I am surprised that you know of it. No one, save for myself and the Seven Sages know. But I will not ask how you came about this information, Phoenix. Yes, you may follow Zei. You should set out after her as soon as possible."
"Within the hour, I will be fast on her heels. As for the Desert Colossus...yes, it is best you do not ask."
***
Link yawned massively as he sat up in bed, stretching until his elbows cracked. A "short nap" had somehow turned into an all-day affair. Oh well. He wondered if anyone had noticed his entry into the forest the night before, and inwardly hoped they hadn't. He'd need peace while he unpacked and got settled back into his home.
From one side of the tiny one-room house, a cow mooed, and Link turned his head to look at it disdainfully. He shook his head in resignation. When Malon had said that she'd send the cow (a prize for winning the horse race) to his house, he'd never expected her to put it in his house. And now the creature took up a full one-third of the room, and was blocking his dresser, to top it all off.
He looked at his doorway sharply as his porch gave a loud creak. He watched, tense, ready to attack if need be.
Link relaxed as he saw a person in a familiar bright blue outfit awkwardly enter the small house. Ralph glanced around, and jumped when he saw the cow. But he quickly regained his composure, and adjusted his hat. He turned his eyes to Link, smiled, and turned red.
"Oh...you were sleeping? Sorry, I'll just..."
Link shook his head, and gestured to a tiny chair across the room. The whole house had been built for a child, and Ralph cut a comical sight trying to arrange himself into the miniature chair. Finally, he ended up sitting on the back of it, with his feet on the seat. But still the peak of his hat brushed the ceiling, and he sighed in resignation as Link fought back laughter.
"Ralph, what are you doing in Hyrule? Aren't you busy enough guarding Nayru back in Labrynna?"
Ralph finally removed his hat, and wrung it in his hands, dusty-hued red hair sticking up in ridiculous directions. "Actually, it was Nayru that dragged me here. She borrowed Maple's broom, and the next thing you know, we're here."
"Maple actually gave up her broom?" Link asked, incredulous. "But I thought-"
"Maple said that she has something better to ride now - a vacuum cleaner. Frankly, I have no idea what that is. I'm willing to bet that the poor witch has finally lost it."
"Probably. She always seemed to be on the knife-edge of insanity." Link concluded. He leaned forward, tilting his head to the side. "But why are you here?"
"You haven't heard?" Ralph asked, his voice squeaking in obvious astonishment. "I figured you'd be the first to know!" He looked off to the side, at the cow, and Link saw a look of distress flit across his face. But Ralph got over it, and looked back at Link. "Something's happening to the Sages. No one knows what, exactly. But the only one left is Nabooru. Not even she knows what's going on. At any rate, Princess Zelda wants the two of us at the Castle as soon as possible. Nayru, plus Din and Fayore, have all gone ahead to Hyrule Castle for a meeting with the princess. They might end up guarding the castle themselves."
Link listened to Ralph's speech, wide-eyed with horror. "Anything that could harm the Sages would have to be practically invincible!"
Ralph leaned over, so he and Link were only about half a foot away from each other. "Of course," he added in a low whisper. "they've been talking. They've brought up the possibility of Ganondorf's return - stronger than ever. If that's the case, we're definitely in for an uphill battle."
***
Silently, wraithlike, a figure stole across the courtyard of Hyrule Castle. Midnight - the guards were changing shifts. The shadow crept slowly when in plain sight, but darted from spot to spot when she was safe from the prying eyes of the guards.
The drawbridge, which had been lowered on a routine basis every day since peace had been restored to Hyrule, was just going up for the night. Since it would be closed, there was no need to guard it. The shadow sprinted to it, and lauched herself through the air with all the grace of a prowling fox. She grabbed the edge of the bridge tightly, and pulled herself over and inside the castle. She was completely unnoticed.
Inside, she took a moment to orient herself, then silently strode off down the hallway to her right, the sound of her footsteps muffled by scraps of fabric and the thick, red carpet underfoot.
A fine night to attack.
***
By the next day, Link was ready to travel. He'd packed a bag of supplied for the adventure he'd undoubtedly have to go on, and had resharpened the point of a large sword that had previously hung on the wall, over his bed. The sword had been specially made by one of Hyrule's foremost blacksmiths, constructed by the order of Princess Zelda to replace the Master Sword after it had been replaced in the Pedestal of Time. It was a bit longer than the typical sword, but not so unwieldy as the Biggoron's Sword. It was made from the strongest metal available, and would only chip or scratch if struck against an extremely hard object repeatedly. It was almost indestructable.
Up and down either side of the shallow blood channel ran a vinelike carving, interrupted at points with depictions of the Golden Goddeses, ending with an image of the Triforce at the very tip. Another Triforce joined the blade to the hilt. The handle was black, wrapped diagonally in blue-dyed leather as a grip. The hilt was cut from silver, and either end bore a tiny flame-blue sapphire, which matched the medium-sized pommelstone. The hilt was uncarved, save for a single line dissecting the middle. This line ran moderately deep, and was colored black.
When he finally left his house, he found Ralph waiting impatiently just outside. As Link climbed down the ladder, Ralph waved a piece of paper. "This was stuck to your tree, Link. You might want to take a look at it."
Link walked over to him, and took the paper, reading aloud. "Hyrule Castle...murder attempt...Sages gone...protecting the castle...hurry..." He crumpled the paper, face white as a sheet. "Zelda was attacked?"
"That's what the paper said," Ralph commented. "and they've already got Nayru and the others standing guard. Apparently, Nabooru disappeared sometime yesterday, just like the other Sages, from what I understood..."
More or less ignoring Ralph, Link strode off towards the exit of Kokiri Village. "Then we have to hurry up."
***
Only moments later, they were standing on Hyrule Field, a giant quarterhorse letting Link pet her. "Ralph," he said, "this is Epona." Epona neighed and pawed the dirt, as if to confirm Link's statement.
"Uh-huh," Ralph replied, glancing around. "That's nice. What'll I be riding?"
Link was in the process of climbing onto Epona's back, standing on tiptoe, and he turned his head to glance at Ralph. "Oh..." he turned a light shade of red at that. "Well, there's Epona, with me, for one choice, but I don't know how else you'd get to the castle..."
Ralph took a step back, horrified. "Ride a horse with you!? Do you have any idea how that will look?"
"If you have any better ideas, let's hear them."
Rain beat against the traveller's back as she walked purposefully across the desert sands, heading for the Gerudo's Valley. She wore a tan cloak that covered all of her effectively, bathing her face in shadow. Under an overhanging rock formation, she finally stopped, and pulled the hood down.
Sharp, green eyes glanced about, hawklike. Long black hair tumbled down into the back of the cloak, unrestrained. Her lips pulled back in a sneer, the sort you'd more expect to see on a hyena that had just killed its prey than on a human.
The cloak dropped to the sand carelessly. Underneath, she wore a battered tunic that looked as though it'd barely survived many years of hard use. It had been black, long ago, but was now a dull, ugly gray, with a few patches that were nearly white. Under it she wore ripped, skintight leggings. She bent, lifted a handful of sand, and rubbed it into her hair. To complete the effect, she swept her dirtied hair back into a rough ponytail. Then she rubbed more wet sand over her face and arms. When she was done, she looked for all the world like a down-and-out beggar.
Her preparation complete, she continued her trek.
***
"Queen Dana, there's someone here to see you," a Gerudo announced, poking her head around a cloth curtain into the Queen's room.
The Gerudo Queen, Dana, sat on a woven mat. She stared, bored nearly out of her mind, at the floor as she toyed with a dry twig, tracing pictures in the layer of sand that covered the stone floor. She glanced up at the other Gerudo's arrival, and smiled widely. "Lady Phoenix! A visitor? Well, show them in."
Phoenix nodded, and ducked back out into the hall. A moment later, a tattered beggar girl entered the room. She curtsied low before Dana, then stood back up, albeit slightly bent over as if from back trouble. Dana looked at her for a moment, as if recognizing her, and trying to figure out just who she was. After a moment, she shook her head, clearing her thoughts.
"Sit, friend," she said warmly. "You need not stand."
The girl sat gratefully, crossing her legs and holding her ankles. She looked up at Dana, then began the conversation, without giving Dana a chance to. "Queen Dana, my name is Zei."
Dana nodded. "Zei. Your face looks familiar, somehow. I swear we must have met before."
"Ah, that'd be impossible, Your Majesty. You see, I've lived in Kakiriko Village for years now. I've never once been to Gerudo Valley, save for in my childhood. My mother brought me here, to journey through the Desert Wasteland to go and pray to the Desert Goddess, for our well-being. We were always a poor family, ever since my father was killed in the Hylian War. But my mother died on the trip back - she got lost in the desert. I was lucky, and found my way out by myself," Zei answered after a pause. "I've been alone ever since I was nine years old."
Touched, Dana nodded again. "I see. What brings you here again?" She then leaned to the side, and signalled to Phoenix, who had been waiting in the doorway. Phoenix tilted her head respectfully, and left. A moment later, she returned with a clay pot of water, and set it before Zei.
Zei glanced at it, then looked back up to answer Dana, "I returned to request permission to go once again to the Desert Goddess. I wish to pray again, though the first time brought me no blessing,"
Her eyes glittered in the light of the torches set around the walls, and for a second, Dana thought she saw a hint of a smile flash across her face. Dana shivered involuntarily, and glanced away from her visitor. "Yes," she said, "you may go into the desert."
Zei stood up, and Dana barely noticed that her back seemed considerably straighter than it had when she first entered, but only for a moment, and then Zei stood hunched over again. The strange girl nodded her appreciation, and headed from the room, unescorted. When she had gone, Lady Phoenix entered the room, and sat across from Dana.
"Dana, if you think the way I do, then you must have realized that this Zei is not entirely trustworthy," she said delicately, picking up the pot and setting it in her lap.
The Gerudo Queen glanced over at her lifelong friend, and smiled weakly. "Yes, I do think the way you do, Phoenix. But just what you are sceming, I have no idea."
"Allow me to follow her, Dana. I know the Desert Wasteland better than any Gerudo alive. I will make sure that nothing bad happens to our Desert Colossus. I know what it means to you."
Dana inhaled sharply, startled by Phoenix's statement. She composed herself quickly, and replied, "Yes - I highly value my father's resting place. Although I am surprised that you know of it. No one, save for myself and the Seven Sages know. But I will not ask how you came about this information, Phoenix. Yes, you may follow Zei. You should set out after her as soon as possible."
"Within the hour, I will be fast on her heels. As for the Desert Colossus...yes, it is best you do not ask."
***
Link yawned massively as he sat up in bed, stretching until his elbows cracked. A "short nap" had somehow turned into an all-day affair. Oh well. He wondered if anyone had noticed his entry into the forest the night before, and inwardly hoped they hadn't. He'd need peace while he unpacked and got settled back into his home.
From one side of the tiny one-room house, a cow mooed, and Link turned his head to look at it disdainfully. He shook his head in resignation. When Malon had said that she'd send the cow (a prize for winning the horse race) to his house, he'd never expected her to put it in his house. And now the creature took up a full one-third of the room, and was blocking his dresser, to top it all off.
He looked at his doorway sharply as his porch gave a loud creak. He watched, tense, ready to attack if need be.
Link relaxed as he saw a person in a familiar bright blue outfit awkwardly enter the small house. Ralph glanced around, and jumped when he saw the cow. But he quickly regained his composure, and adjusted his hat. He turned his eyes to Link, smiled, and turned red.
"Oh...you were sleeping? Sorry, I'll just..."
Link shook his head, and gestured to a tiny chair across the room. The whole house had been built for a child, and Ralph cut a comical sight trying to arrange himself into the miniature chair. Finally, he ended up sitting on the back of it, with his feet on the seat. But still the peak of his hat brushed the ceiling, and he sighed in resignation as Link fought back laughter.
"Ralph, what are you doing in Hyrule? Aren't you busy enough guarding Nayru back in Labrynna?"
Ralph finally removed his hat, and wrung it in his hands, dusty-hued red hair sticking up in ridiculous directions. "Actually, it was Nayru that dragged me here. She borrowed Maple's broom, and the next thing you know, we're here."
"Maple actually gave up her broom?" Link asked, incredulous. "But I thought-"
"Maple said that she has something better to ride now - a vacuum cleaner. Frankly, I have no idea what that is. I'm willing to bet that the poor witch has finally lost it."
"Probably. She always seemed to be on the knife-edge of insanity." Link concluded. He leaned forward, tilting his head to the side. "But why are you here?"
"You haven't heard?" Ralph asked, his voice squeaking in obvious astonishment. "I figured you'd be the first to know!" He looked off to the side, at the cow, and Link saw a look of distress flit across his face. But Ralph got over it, and looked back at Link. "Something's happening to the Sages. No one knows what, exactly. But the only one left is Nabooru. Not even she knows what's going on. At any rate, Princess Zelda wants the two of us at the Castle as soon as possible. Nayru, plus Din and Fayore, have all gone ahead to Hyrule Castle for a meeting with the princess. They might end up guarding the castle themselves."
Link listened to Ralph's speech, wide-eyed with horror. "Anything that could harm the Sages would have to be practically invincible!"
Ralph leaned over, so he and Link were only about half a foot away from each other. "Of course," he added in a low whisper. "they've been talking. They've brought up the possibility of Ganondorf's return - stronger than ever. If that's the case, we're definitely in for an uphill battle."
***
Silently, wraithlike, a figure stole across the courtyard of Hyrule Castle. Midnight - the guards were changing shifts. The shadow crept slowly when in plain sight, but darted from spot to spot when she was safe from the prying eyes of the guards.
The drawbridge, which had been lowered on a routine basis every day since peace had been restored to Hyrule, was just going up for the night. Since it would be closed, there was no need to guard it. The shadow sprinted to it, and lauched herself through the air with all the grace of a prowling fox. She grabbed the edge of the bridge tightly, and pulled herself over and inside the castle. She was completely unnoticed.
Inside, she took a moment to orient herself, then silently strode off down the hallway to her right, the sound of her footsteps muffled by scraps of fabric and the thick, red carpet underfoot.
A fine night to attack.
***
By the next day, Link was ready to travel. He'd packed a bag of supplied for the adventure he'd undoubtedly have to go on, and had resharpened the point of a large sword that had previously hung on the wall, over his bed. The sword had been specially made by one of Hyrule's foremost blacksmiths, constructed by the order of Princess Zelda to replace the Master Sword after it had been replaced in the Pedestal of Time. It was a bit longer than the typical sword, but not so unwieldy as the Biggoron's Sword. It was made from the strongest metal available, and would only chip or scratch if struck against an extremely hard object repeatedly. It was almost indestructable.
Up and down either side of the shallow blood channel ran a vinelike carving, interrupted at points with depictions of the Golden Goddeses, ending with an image of the Triforce at the very tip. Another Triforce joined the blade to the hilt. The handle was black, wrapped diagonally in blue-dyed leather as a grip. The hilt was cut from silver, and either end bore a tiny flame-blue sapphire, which matched the medium-sized pommelstone. The hilt was uncarved, save for a single line dissecting the middle. This line ran moderately deep, and was colored black.
When he finally left his house, he found Ralph waiting impatiently just outside. As Link climbed down the ladder, Ralph waved a piece of paper. "This was stuck to your tree, Link. You might want to take a look at it."
Link walked over to him, and took the paper, reading aloud. "Hyrule Castle...murder attempt...Sages gone...protecting the castle...hurry..." He crumpled the paper, face white as a sheet. "Zelda was attacked?"
"That's what the paper said," Ralph commented. "and they've already got Nayru and the others standing guard. Apparently, Nabooru disappeared sometime yesterday, just like the other Sages, from what I understood..."
More or less ignoring Ralph, Link strode off towards the exit of Kokiri Village. "Then we have to hurry up."
***
Only moments later, they were standing on Hyrule Field, a giant quarterhorse letting Link pet her. "Ralph," he said, "this is Epona." Epona neighed and pawed the dirt, as if to confirm Link's statement.
"Uh-huh," Ralph replied, glancing around. "That's nice. What'll I be riding?"
Link was in the process of climbing onto Epona's back, standing on tiptoe, and he turned his head to glance at Ralph. "Oh..." he turned a light shade of red at that. "Well, there's Epona, with me, for one choice, but I don't know how else you'd get to the castle..."
Ralph took a step back, horrified. "Ride a horse with you!? Do you have any idea how that will look?"
"If you have any better ideas, let's hear them."