Repaying a Debt

Disclaimer: Please refer to previous chapters [mutters] you idiot...

Just have to say this - all those end bits where all the characters have a huge melee chat thing - they're nothing at all to do with the plot. I read them through, and realised that if you took them as part of the plot, it would be very confusing. Luckily, not even I'm that cruel to my readers. Please just remember that they're just some random little things I do to let off some humour steam.

Now, back to the actual telling of this story. We had a kiss - which was rather marvellous if I do say so myself. (LOL at kizna's review!! 'YAY! Blaise/Sheik!') Bear in mind though - I am the woman of the twisty turny plots (this is also not a Mary Sue you evil bastards out there!)

They're at the Gerudo fortress, dressed as bards, and are about to perform. Ganondorf is there (he's heard them perform before). You just know that I'm going to have my fun with this chapter. Be warned - it is going to turn darker at the end of the chapter. So don't come running to me complaining, cos I gave you all fair warning!

(Also, I'm sorry this has taken a bit long. The end bits I had to keep re- writing, because it just didn't get across what I was trying to say. But, I think I've cracked that problem now, so go ahead and read.)

~/*\~/*\~/*\~

The courtyard that I walked into was bathed in a golden-orange light from the last rays of the setting sun, which hung like a giant red lantern to the west. One side of the courtyard was edged by ornate railings, and looked out over a training area. Looking down, I could see that there were several young Gerudo women there, following the orders being dealt out by a fierce trainer dressed all in red. The trainees all wore a dusky grey uniform, consisting of the usual desert pants, and a cropped, long sleeved shirt.

As I looked on, one girl nudged another with her spear. The other retaliated by turning around and scowling at her. The first girl, who seemed to have a wish to stir up trouble, nudged her again. The second couldn't let this go after a repeat offence, and turned around with her own spear raised. Within seconds, a frenzied battle was going on between the two, and I watched in half shock, half enjoyment as the two fought. They were *good*! Exceptionally good.

The trainer was having none of this within her ranks; she jumped between the two girls, her twin swords flashing. The second girl was thrown to the floor, where she lay quivering, holding her arm in obvious pain. The first girl was having to be held back by several of her classmates. Even from this distance, I could see a clear line of blood slashed across her cheek.

All of a sudden, however, the troublemaker fell still. The trainer looked around quizzically, her sun kissed face puzzled. But understanding dawned quickly, and she straightened up. I had already seen what the learning girls had - Ganondorf was striding across the training square towards the group. The air was so still within the enclosed area, that I could hear every word spoken.

"Felicity," he growled, "what's going on?" All of the girls were as still as statues as he glared at them. "I expect discipline within my people." And, he calmly backhanded the trainer - I gasped in shock, and then clamped a hand over my mouth and ducked down behind the railings. Luckily, however, it seemed he didn't hear me. I peered through the gaps in the railings as the exchange went on. "Get up you weak creature," Ganondorf aimed a kick at the girl on the ground. She squeaked and jumped up.

"Better," he didn't sound much pleased though. The girl flinched, and he chuckled darkly. "You are dismissed. Tonight's feast should at least provide you with energy for the tournament tomorrow."

"Tournament, my Lord?" Felicity questioned.

"Aye, tournament!" he snapped. "If the only way to get the strength I need is to have them fight for their lives, that is what I shall do." A wave of fear ran through the assembled. He indulged in an amused smile. "Really, you do all scare easily. Tis only a tournament to test skills - death won't come to any who meet the levels I require. Now, get out of my sight before I change my mind about the feast."

The girls scattered, and Ganondorf left by the way he had come. The only person left in the whole training square was the red-clothed trainer, who set about clearing away the weapons the girls had dropped. On seeing that she would be there a while, I though to go help her - after all, if I was going to gain some trust, I'd need to introduce myself to some people first!

Looking around, I spied a set of steps going down from the far end of the courtyard. Within but a few minutes, I was padding quietly over to the stooped woman. She was carrying an armload of spears, and I walked after her as she made for a storage room of some sort.

She abruptly turned, dropping the spears, and flung out a fist towards me. I blocked it easily, and she looked in surprise at my arm against hers. Then, she took in stock that I was, for all intents and purposes, nothing more than a singing Hylian. "You're quick," she said, sounding impressed.

"Aye - it comes from years of training," I answered, concentrating hard on my accent. She cocked an eyebrow,

"Training? And what sort of training might that be?"

"The usual - swordsmanship, general fighting skills - I wasn't always a bard after all." She seemed shocked, and I indulged in a little smile.

"Fighting skills indeed?" I had dropped my arm from hers by this point, and she was stroking her chin with a thoughtful look on her face. Then, again, she swung out a fist, which I succeeded in blocking a second time. "We'll see just how good you are shall we?" she asked, a playful fire dancing in her brown eyes.

"Fine by me," I smiled back. She threw me one of the spears the she had dropped, and then picked up one herself. "Not a match to draw blood I hope," I said, walking with her towards a roped off rectangle of about twelve foot by eight. "It wouldn't look exceptionally good on stage after all."

"Ah well, I suppose the first to fall will have to do then," the trainer answered, stepping over the rope and taking up a position in the centre. I followed her actions, and she smiled at me. "I can tell it now - the way you walk speaks of many years of training. How old are you exactly?"

"Now, isn't it a rude thing to ask a lady's age?" I quipped, and she laughed. "But, I suppose I'll let it slip - sixteen. And, as for my name, since we haven't done that yet either, it's Ruby." I shifted my spear into my left hand so that I could hold out the other to be shaken. The red-clad woman took it in a firm grip and pumped my arm up and down with great force.

"Felicity, and as for age, twenty myself." We both let go of one another's hands, and each gave a curt nod. Then, the match began.

It was a lightning quick array of flashing silver in the dying sunlight as we clashed our weapons against one another's. The spears were a little more cumbersome than I was used to, so I had to compensate for that by using a more defensive strategy. I waited for her to come to me - the old tactic of allowing the enemy to tire themselves out before striking back.

The only problem was, she didn't look to be tiring anytime soon. And the spear was growing heavier in my hands. [Time for the offensive now,] I thought, gripping the wooden shaft of the weapon in a tight hold, and lunging forwards. The trainer jumped backwards as I had suspected she would, and I bought my leg around to kick hers out from under her. And then it was all over - she lay flat on her back in the dirt, looking up at the pink-tinged clouds in amazement.

"Are you all right?" I asked as I pulled her back to her feet.

"Aye - I'm fine," she answered brusquely, dusting herself off. "I'm just wishing that I could have a pupil like you in my classes." I blushed and dipped my head down at the compliment. "How long are you staying, did you say?" She had relieved me of my spear, and begun to go back towards the storeroom.

"I'm not sure - as long as it pleases the Lord Ganondorf to listen to our music, I suppose," I answered. At the mention of his name, a small shudder passed over Felicity. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just thought that you could show some of the girls a thing or two about fighting. That's if you wanted to of course."

"Of course I would!" [This is perfect - I've already made myself a friend in this place!] "Though, next time, do you think I could seek out a weapon the right size for me?" Felicity just looked at me, and grinned amiably.

"Of course. I did notice your difficulties with that spear." She laughed again, and I joined with her.

"Here - help me with these won't you?" she grunted, taking up an armful of spears from where she had dropped them earlier on the ground.

"Certainly," I picked up the remaining spears and followed her into the storeroom. I say storeroom - the correct term would be the armoury. On every available shelf and surface were weapons. Swords, daggers, scimitars, knives, daggers, bows, arrows, spears, wooden bars, nun-chucks, maces, bombs, Deku-nuts, Deku-sticks, even a crude looking dozen crossbows were hanging from brackets on the walls. Felicity seemed to notice my amazement, and led me further into the armoury.

Here, I could see suits of armour standing proudly to attention, helmets topped by plumes of purple feathers. There were wrist guards, shin guards, breastplates, shields and so many other things that I couldn't list them. The only other place I could think of that came close to this was the bazaar in Kakariko.

"Just put them down there," she pointed to a pile of worn looking weaponry in the corner, where I dumped my armful. "Impressive, isn't it? We've got twenty full-time smithies, and fifteen temporaries to keep this lot maintained. And you haven't even seen the magic-using weapons yet."

"Magic using?" I repeated in awe. [I know they're on His side - but wow, what a way to keep an army!] I was always one to appreciate good fighting tactics.

"Aye - there are some who are trained how to use magic as well as the usual fighting skills. Sadly, I don't fall into that category - from what I've seen of the weapons, they're amazing."

"Wow," was all that I could supply to that.

"Hey - there's a tournament tomorrow - perhaps you could stay and watch that? Then you'd really see how the Gerudo fight."

"I'd like that," I said, nodding vigorously, and she grinned. The grin faltered, and a shadow fell onto the two of us from the doorway.

"Felicity," the person said, and I was surprised to hear a male voice within the fortress. I knew it wasn't Ganondorf, as he wasn't nearly tall enough.

"Yes Darren?" she answered, exasperation plain to hear in her voice.

"His Lordship Ganondorf wishes you to attend an urgent meeting straight away in the council chambers." The man stood expectantly by the door, and Felicity growled softly in annoyance.

"I'm afraid I must go - I'll be seeing you at the feast I take it?" she asked in a low voice, narrowing her eyes at the man in the door when he coughed impatiently.

"Yes - I'll be the one at the front, singing and making a general spectacle of myself," I whispered to her, and she smiled tightly.

"Bye," she said, and then turned to the door. I watched the two of them go, and saw him rap her smartly on the shoulder with the hilt of his sword. [That must have been for keeping him waiting.] I guessed. [Well, what to do now? Find the others, I suppose.] I left the armoury, and strolled back up the steps into the courtyard on the level above. Where had the others gone again?

I walked back to the chambers we had been given to get some bearing, and then took off down the corridor that was directly opposite our door. That was where Link had gone, and since it was the route by which we had gotten to our rooms in the first place, I at least sort of knew where I was going.

*

A flash of green fabric caught my attention, and on turning, I saw that Link was leaning provocatively against the wall, talking to a man in full battle armour. He was curling his hair around his forefinger, and giggling every so often. I realised now that Ganondorf must have bought some of his men with him - the Gerudo would never have allowed them in otherwise.

I ducked back into the shadowy corridor I'd just left; interested to see how this would pan out. [Let's just see how good a girl you make, Hylian boy.] And, it looked like I wasn't to be disappointed - Link had peeled himself away from the wall, and was walking towards a bench that overlooked the horseback archery course. The guard was following closely, his gauntleted hands bare inches from Link's behind.

I had to move forward a little more to hear what they were saying. Quickly, as Link was taking the hand of the guard to help him sit down, I darted across and glued myself to the wall that he'd previously been leaning on. Now, I could hear everything that was going on. "So what's Ganondorf like as a leader anyway?" Link asked, fluttering his curled eyelashes.

"Ack, e's not tha' bad. A bi' strict sometimes if we don't follow orders, but e's all righ' really." The man was concentrating more on staring at Link and drooling than answering questions. Link persevered anyway.

"I think it's silly, all these people being scared of him. I mean, you seem like a nice sort of man. And what's to say that Ganondorf is any different?"

"Mmm - exactly...you've the most beautiful eyes, you know." The man was totally lost now, and I suppressed an amused giggle. Link just smiled demurely,

"Why thank you." The man moved quickly, and seized Link's hands in his own. Link gasped, which was lucky, because it covered up the gasp I let out when someone grabbed me also.

Spinning around, I looked up to see a figure clad in blue, and vermilion eyes peering out from under a veil of silvery hair. "Sheik!" I hissed. "You scared me damn it!"

"Sorry," he answered swiftly, and then looked over his shoulder.

"What is it?"

"I'm just checking that that guy isn't following me."

"Guy?"

"Yeah - one of Ganondorf's men got it into his head to try and kiss me." I smirked, and he poked my nose. "Hey, it's not funny. And what are you doing here anyway?" I signalled towards where Link and the man sat on the bench. By now, Link was finding it quite difficult to keep the man's advances at bay. If he slid along the bench anymore, he'd fall off.

"To the rescue?" I asked Sheik, who nodded, and then fixed a huge smile on his face.

"Emerald!" he said, erupting before the couple on the bench in a whirl of colour. "We've been looking for you everywhere!" I followed after, and smiled sweetly at the guard, who still seemed to be a little drunk on 'Emerald's beauty'.

"We need to be getting ready for our performance," I said, and Link cast me a look of gratitude.

"Well, I'll be seeing you later then," Link said, jumping off of the bench as though it had burnt him. He came over to us, and the guard waggled his fingers,

" 'Bye sweet cheeks," he called after us. Link's cheeks flamed, and it was a struggle not to burst out laughing until we reached the corridor which led back to our rooms.

"Sweet cheeks?" Sheik inquired, tears of mirth rolling down his face. Link just scowled, and pushed past the both of us.

"Careful now - you wouldn't want to spoil your complexion would you now, sweet cheeks?" I called. He didn't turn around, just gave me the middle finger behind his back. When we got into the main room, he had disappeared from view.

"Hey, where'd you go?" Sheik called out, looking around the room.

"Bathroom," Link grunted back, still sounding peeved.

"I think we'd best leave him alone," Sheik said conspiratorially.

"Good plan."

*

By the time of the performance, we'd patched things up again, banding together to get through the ordeal. A guard came about fifteen minutes before the feast to escort us to the hall, and then left us there to start setting up.

The stage was made up of old crates and wooden planks, nailed together to make a platform of about ten foot across, by four foot wide. A little small, but it would have to do - if the worst came to the worst, and I had to do some kind of strange acrobatics, then I'd just use the space in front of the stage.

"Here, help me with this will you Emerald," Sheik grunted, pulling a small- ish crate up onto the stage. Link rushed over, and together, they managed to pull the crate up. "C'mon, let's get one for you as well."

"Huh? What for?"

"To sit on stupid. Unless you really want to stand all night." Link nodded his understanding, and followed Sheik to get another crate. They were making to get a third, but I stopped them.

"Hey, don't bother with another crate - I'll just stand."

"Are you sure? We're going to be here a long while."

"I'm sure - I mean, when was the last time you saw a singer sit down during a performance?"

"Well, in the Indigo-gos..."Link began, but stopped when I threw my wig at him. "Hey!" he laughed, and then threw it back. At a sound from the other corner of the room, I whipped around, jamming the wig back on. There was no one there.

[I could have sworn...] "Yeah, yeah wise guy," I said, shaking a finger at him. "Well, I'm just going to stand - if I sat down, no one would be able to see me!"

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Link muttered, and I glared at him. Sheik clonked him over the head with his lyre, and Link's eyes unfocused for a little while.

"Thanks," I grinned at him, and he winked back, picking up his sapphire skirt in order to hop up onto his crate. Link rubbed the top of his head, looking a little surprised, before hopping up onto his own crate. The purple and yellow velvet curtain caught my attention as it waved in the breeze.

Presently, they began to draw closed, and I let out a cry of shock. "Hey, chill, we're just the curtain pullers," a girl of about ten waved up at me from one side, and then her partner in crime peeked over the edge of the stage at the other end.

"Sorry about that," I said back, heart still fluttering a bit. "You just startled me."

"Didn't mean to ma'am - we'll warn you next time, 'right?" I nodded, and they ducked back down out of my line of sight. From the other side of the curtain could be heard the muffled sounds of chattering voices and shuffling feet as the Gerudo and Ganondorf's men entered the hall. I looked around at Link and Sheik, who were busy tuning their instruments, and pulled a face.

Link stuck his tongue out at me, and Sheik just gave me a thumbs up. "Curtain's going back now miss," the little girl had stuck her head back over the edge of the stage.

"Thanks for the warning," I smiled down at her, and then the curtains were yanked away. A spotlight burnt high above, and dazzled me for a few short moments. When my eyes had adjusted, I could see just how many people were there. And right there, right in front of my eye line, in the very centre of the room, sitting atop his gold-coloured throne, was Ganondorf.

I gulped, and turned my head to the side slightly to give the signal to go to Link. I held out my fingers, and then counted down. Four...three...two...one...go. The first strains of 'The Goddesses' Eulogy' were struck up, and I swayed with the melody, letting the familiarity of the song wash over me.

Three bars of music to go.

Two.

One.

GO!

~*~*~*~

I gave a final bow, and then the heavy velvet curtain fell down over our makeshift stage for the last time. Sweat trickled down my face, and my throat hurt from singing so loud. But, we had done it - it was over. Our first performance had been a huge success, and looking back at Link and Sheik, it was obvious that they thought so too.

"Well done," Link panted, smiling up at me from the crate on which he had sat for the whole performance.

"Very nicely sung," Sheik agreed, putting his lyre down, and looking down at his hands with a grimace. His fingers were torn and bloodied by the strings, and I ordered that we go back to our chambers immediately to sort them out. And talk about the rest of our plan - the first part was over - and that had been the easy part.

[If that was the easy part...] I thought, and then shivered. It didn't look like it was going to be so easy as we had hoped. But, optimism never killed anyone, so I just looked on it as 'things would pick up in the morning'.

By the time we got back to our chambers, the moon was high above in the sky, and our breath was misting before us in the cold desert night. Going into the main room was a blessing - someone had come in and built up a fire, and the heat punched straight through us as we walked in. Looking at the table in the middle of the room, I saw that the Gerudo had also provided us with nightshirts and thick blankets to sleep in.

"What service," I commented, feeling the soft blanket material. "Hey, Sapphire, get your butt back in here." Sheik had been making towards the bathroom with a roll of bandages. "There's no way you can do that," I scolded him. He sat down, and I slid onto a chair opposite him. Link sat down in the third chair, and let out a whoosh of air.

"That was kinda fun, wasn't it?" he said, grinning dazedly, wiping a last few trickles of sweat from his face.

"Fun? Making a spectacle of ourselves in front of over two hundred people?" Sheik echoed incredulously.

"Yeah, it was kinda fun," I agreed quietly, wrapping the bandages over Sheik's ripped fingers. He looked at me in shock, and Link nodded sagely. "Who'd have guessed I was such an extrovert?" I grinned.

"Good question!" Link laughed, rubbing a fist into his eye and yawning. When he bought the fist away, his eye looked as though he'd been punched.

"Oh, for Goddesses sake, what was the one thing I told you not to do?" I yelled at him, making him jump and blink his eyes wide open.

"What?" he asked, looking confused.

"I said to not rub your eyes like that - go look in the mirror you fool," I shook my head and returned to bandaging Sheik's poor fingers. Link got up, and padded out into the bathroom. A few seconds later, I heard a surprised shriek, and Link came running back in.

"Get it off, get it off!" he pleaded, yanking my hands away from the bandages and crushing them in his. "Please, get it off me!"

Sheik fell off his chair laughing, and I bit my lip to keep back a tidal wave of giggles. "All right - Sapphire, your bandages are done anyway." No response from Sheik, who was still laughing away on the floor. "Come on then, let's get this stuff off you." Link stood up, holding his hands over his face, fingers splayed so that he could see what he was doing. I made for the bathroom, and he followed, almost tripping over the corner of the rug in his haste.

Sheik's laughter wafted after us, and Link at last seemed to see the funny side. This made it a little difficult to removed the smudged monstrosity of makeup, but I managed eventually. Then, I booted him out, and removed my own. Then, getting annoyed with the wig, I took it off, and dropped it onto the counter of the dressing table. My real hair was sticking out in wild peaks and tufts from my head, and I spent a couple of minutes just flattening it down again.

Sheik's laughter had finally been subdued by the time I got back into the main room, and it seemed Link had helped Sheik remove his makeup, since Sheik obviously couldn't alone. He threw me a couple of shy glances as we talked, but apart from that, didn't seem to be much affected by the kisses earlier.

{Kisses?} a drowsy voice came in my head. {What on earth? What *has* been going on?}

[Nothing Navi, don't worry,] I told her, a mental smile playing over my words. "I'm exhausted," I announced, and from the looks of the other two, they were as well.

"Yeah - I'm gonna head off to bed," Link said, yawning widely. He gathered a nightshirt and blanket from the table, and left.

{Tell me about this kiss business!} Navi insisted.

[Hang on! I'll talk to you in my room.] She was silent, and I saw a tiny ball of light dart down the hallway and under the door of the room I'd bagged earlier as mine. " 'Night Sapphire," I stretched and yawned at the same time. Sheik stood up, and then waited for me to go first. "Thanks," I yawned again, also collecting a blanket and nightshirt - he did the same.

"No problem." He followed after me into the hall, and I felt a tingle go down my spine as his breathing echoed in the stone passageway. Without a further exchange, I turned around, and draped my arms around his neck to give him a hug. " 'Night Ruby," he mumbled, chuckling softly, and then pulled away and walked to his own room.

I went into mine, to confront a fully-grown Navi, who was grinning shrewdly. "So you two finally got together?" she asked, and I just grinned guiltily. "At last!"

"What?" I wriggled out of the desert-style outfit I was wearing, and then yanked on the nightshirt.

"Well, it was a little obvious. All that tension between you two was just going to lead to something. If not your sudden demise, it just had to be love," she clasped her hands before her and sighed dramatically. I threw one of the daintily embroidered cushions at her, which spoiled the effect somewhat. "Well, all right, so maybe it wasn't quite so glaringly obvious - almost, but not quite."

I held up another cushion threateningly. "All right, I'll just shut up before the hole I've dug gets any bigger." She shrank down to her normal size, and zipped out under the door. I just shrugged, and lay down on the soft mattress. The ceiling above was covered in layers of different coloured gauze, softening the stone above. A large window (the shutters of which I had left half open to let some light in) looked out at the starry sky above. I pulled the thick blanket right up to my chin, and luxuriated in it's warmth.

Soon, I was drifting off, and curled up under the blanket, comfortable and warm.

*

I woke up to a small scream from the room next to mine - Link's room. I flipped open the small travelling chest I'd bought silently, and lifted up a few layers of clothes to get at my sword. I held it tightly in sweaty palms, and walked towards the door. My nightshirt was clinging to my back, and the night air chilled me quickly. I pushed the door open, wincing as it squeaked, and then was out in the hallway.

Sheik's door was still closed, and putting my ear to it, I heard soft breathing from inside his room. "Oh sweet cheeks, I love you," came the voice of the guy that Link had been flirting with earlier. I panicked - it was lucky it was dark, or the guard would have known Link was a guy straight away! Even so, I'd have to make sure that the guard didn't get far enough to find out the hard way...

[Eww,] I thought to that mental image.

{What's eww?} Navi asked, bussing over and landing on my shoulder. I relayed what was going to her quickly and silently. {Eww!} she agreed. {I'd better go back and hide - he might come out of this door anytime soon.} She dove back into Link's pack, which had been discarded on the table. That was a good point - what if the guard did come out of the door? I looked around, and on seeing me bedroom door was open, slipped the sword back through, and shut it.

Then, I rapped loudly on Link's door, and called out, "What's going on in there?"

"What does it sound like sister?" the guard's voice came back, and then there were muffled slurping sounds.

[Oh, I'm going to need a lot of therapy after this - and so's that guard if he ever finds out.] I couldn't help but to let out a sharp snort. I knocked again, "I told you already, no boys this time Emerald!" There was a sound of indignation, which must have come from Link, and the door was flung open by the guard. Link was lying on the bed, looking terrified and disgusted all at once.

"Excuse me - I think you'll find that your beautiful friend hasn't got a boy this time," the guard said, puffing up his chest. "I'm the *man* for her, so kindly leave us be."

The door behind me clicked open, and Sheik padded out, and said in his normal voice, "Blaise, what's all the ruckus?" The guard's mouth dropped, and he turned around slowly, to see Link still lying on the bed. The light from the hallway illuminated him perfectly.

"Oh dear Goddesses," the guard blanched, and then, before we could stop him, had run out into the main room, and out into the hall. "Intruders - spies - the bards are spies - hurry!" he yelled. Link had his head in the bin, and was being violently sick, and Sheik was looking mortified.

"Oh no! Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I had no idea," he babbled, but I just shut him up by putting a swift kiss on his lips. He grinned dreamily, and then shook his head. "What are we going to now?"

"We're going to get the fuck out of here, that's what," I answered. "Grab all the weapons you can - don't bother with clothes, those can be replaced. If we hurry, we can get out into the corridor, and to the courtyard down the right fork." Link finished emptying his stomach, and lifted his head from the bin. His face was deadly pale, and I rushed over to pat him sympathetically on the back.

"I'll just get my weapons then," he said falteringly, and I nodded. Navi had re-appeared, and was carrying Link's pack.

"Here, put them in here," she ordered, and he began to do so.

"Quickly - we've got a minute at most before the whole fortress is awake!" I rushed back into my own room, and grabbed my sword, shield and daggers, putting all of them on hurriedly over the knee-length nightshirt. With a quick forethought, I also pulled out the tiny ocarina on a piece of cord, and tied it around my neck. Then, I was back out in the hallway, hopping from foot to foot waiting for the others. Another thought crossed my mind, and I rushed back into the bedroom to pull a pair of boots on.

Finally, about thirty seconds after the man had run into the corridor, we were ready to leave. "C'mon, this way, and quietly," I whispered, tiptoeing my way over to the main door. There was the faint murmur of angry yells, like the buzzing of bees, and I turned to the right, and began to run swiftly. Link's arsenal of weaponry clanked, but only slightly - not enough to give us away if luck was with us.

Navi swirled her way to fly in front of me, lighting the path. I saw the steps, and I saw the training square. I did not see the guards stationed in the towers on the other side of the square, nor the arrows which flew to seek a target, the fairy acting as a guide.

A dull thud came to my ears, and something threw me heavily backwards into the other two. Pain. A lot of it - exploding away from a region in my left shoulder. Navi was there quickly, tending the wound and taking the edge off. I was back on my feet quickly, and we dodged a further hail of arrows - only to run into a group of spear brandishing guards halfway down the stairs.

I jumped over the side, and was closely followed by the other three. The impact shocked through me, travelling from my feet up to the still open arrow wound. "Ow," I grunted, hitting the dusty surface at a hard run. There was a sound of hoof beats, and looking behind, past my friends, I saw a silhouette I knew. He raised his arm, and a bolt of dark magic arced over our heads, to land on the ground before us.

We had to skid to a stop to prevent ourselves from running into a wall of fire, which rapidly spread into a ring all around us. I slipped over in my skid, and landed face first in the dirt. "Uh oh," Link muttered, pulling on my injured shoulder to help me stand up again. I ignored the pain, and clambered back to my feet. Navi was trying to make a hole in the firewall, but it was to no avail.

"Stop with all that puny magic, fairy," Ganondorf sniggered, and sent out another bolt, which encased Navi in a glass bottle, and then drew the bottled fairy back to him. "You three again? Do I really *have* to kill you in order to get some peace?" He was looking at me in particular, probably expecting an answer. I didn't provide one; all I could hear was Navi screaming for help in my head.

Ganondorf snapped his fingers, and the firewall died away. I plucked my sword and shield from my back, and the other two did the same. "Thieves," he called to the gathered guards and warriors. "This will act as a substitute for the tournament - take these three alive, and get them to the torture chambers if you please." He waved a careless palm, and the reigned women flew at us, weapons raised.

"Alive I said!" Ganondorf barked, snapping one girl's neck as easily as though it was a dry twig. She fell to the ground, dead. Her fellows looked down in horror, but then carried on, terrified of the great dark man. The girl lay there, her eyes wide open, seeing nothing - her lips were parted, but never again would they breathe - never again would they talk or sing.

I ignored the oncoming Gerudo women. With some acrobatic skill that I thought would have grown rusty from misuse, stirred within me, and I managed a spectacular somersault, which landed me right next to his horse. This time, I had a weapon with it's own magic, and the blade cut through his defences easily. "Aiyee!" he cried, jerking away from the source of pain, and his horse pulled away as well. He jumped down, landing heavily; the earth beneath my feet shook at his footfalls.

"That's it - enough with the training session." He waved his hands, and manacles appeared around Link and Sheik's wrists and ankles, pulling them down to the floor with their weight. He looked down at me, and grinned cruelly, before waving his hand again. The same manacles appeared on me, and I fell forwards into the dirt for the second time in so many minutes. Dark magic sizzled across the metal, and lines of blood appeared along my wrists - I was sure they were at my ankles as well.

"I trust you can cope taking *chained* and *sedated* prisoners to the torture chambers?" The women nodded, and moved forwards to grab us, being wary of the chains themselves. [Sedated? What did he mean...oh, that's what he *yawn* meant...]

~*~*~*~

I opened my eyes and then closed them again. Open...closed. There was no change in the amount of light. "Link? Sheik? Hello?" I called out, and my voice was thrown back at me as an eerily distorted echo. Something warm and liquid was running down my arms, which I had figured were chained above my head. The liquid was trickling slowly down the bare skin of either arm, and then seeping into a wide river of damp at my back.

[Oh man, my shoulders hurt,] I thought, and tried to relieve the tension across my shoulder blades by finding the floor with my feet. No such luck - I was hanging on a wall, way above the floor from what I could tell. My boots had been removed at some stage, and pins and needles had settled in. I flattened the soles of my feet against the wall, and took some of the weight off of my arms that way.

Then, when the pain had receded a little, I edged my feet up the stone wall, and crept towards the brackets which must be holding my wrist chains from above. Everything was going quite well until I overstepped and discovered that I was chained by the ankles as well. The taught bonds snapped and jerked me back downwards. As my arms retook my whole weight, unbelievable pain jarred through me.

"Damn it... Hey, let me down for Goddesses' sake!" I yelled, and again was answered only by an echo. [I think I've gone and dislocated my bloody shoulders. Oh, well done genius!] I berated myself silently, and then a stream of curses bubbled up my throat, spilling out of my mouth in a steady stream of muttering. The stream carried on for a minute and half, without repeat. (Dozen's of world's worth of swear words sure helped vent some anger at least.)

But, now that the anger was gone, I had to begin focusing on a few facts. One, I was chained to a wall. Two, I couldn't see a damned thing. Three, I'd probably just lost the use of both arms. And four, I was undoubtedly alone in whatever hell-hole I was in. Cold tendrils of fear wrapped across my chest, seizing upon my heart and raising my pulse to a ridiculously high level. I took deep, steadying breaths in order to bring it back down again.

What was my best option? Well, for a start, take the weight back off of my arms. I took up the trick of pressing my feet against the wall again, bending my knees to aide the position. Now, what was I going to do? I couldn't get out of the chains, that was for sure. [I suppose I'll just have to wait. Wait and see what happens.] Not exactly my idea of a battle plan. I was weak from blood-loss - staying up here much longer might mean that it could take months for my shoulders to heal. From what I knew of the state of my case back home, those were months I could not afford.

So, for now, keep the weight balanced on my legs instead of my arms. And wait.

I listened, being the only thing I could do really. 'Drip...drip...drip...' came from somewhere close by. There were small snuffling, squeaking sounds, which I guessed were probably rats or some other delightful rodent-life. And, now that I listened hard with my Hylian ears, I heard other sounds too - a rumbling overhead as though of cart wheels. Some footsteps in a hallway buzzed through the wall at my back.

And, then suddenly, a screech like that of banshee tore the air to shreds. The shock caused my to slip, and again yank on my arms, which if they hadn't been broken before, sure were now. "Please, mercy, mercy!" a female voice begged, and then there was a crack of a whip against flesh, and another of those screeches. I was ready now - so these were the torture chambers? I wouldn't talk - I never had, and I never would.

Crash - light pooling out from a doorway, dazzling me. A tall figure barred the way, wide and practically filling the doorway. [Hang on - that's a pretty big doorway. Not even Ganondorf would fill it...] I trembled at the idea of someone that monstrously huge. But, then, two shapes were detached from beneath a third figure's arms, and thrown in. A tiny stump of a candle was taken to a torch on the wall, and the whole room burst into focus as the flame took.

The male guard who had bought the other two slammed the door shut, and clicked the lock into place. I looked down at the peacefully sleeping figures before me, and almost wept. They had been broken - ripped to shreds by some torture or another, only to be sent back into sleep so that they couldn't even tend their own wounds.

"Link. Sheik," I called, hoping that I could wake them. Link stirred first, crying out in pain as he sat up.

"Blaise? Where are you?" he looked around slowly, wincing at every small movement.

"Up here," I replied, and he painfully tilted his head upwards. "Hi." Sheik coughed and then sprang up from the floor, his hands fists before him.

"What the...?" he began, before suddenly collapsing back onto the floor, clutching his arms around himself in pain. "Ow..." he moaned.

"I agree," Link said, lying gingerly down on his side on the floor. I shuffled my feet slightly, and found a small ledge on which to place them so that they stayed.

"I'm sorry guys," Sheik said morosely. "This is all my fault. I blew our cover!"

"Look, it wasn't your fault at all. In fact, I'm kinda glad you came out when you did," Link said.

"Huh?"

"Well, just think how far that guard would have had to go before he realised Link was a guy," I laughed dryly, and Sheik chuckled.

"Laughter? Do I hear laughter? Pray tell, what's so funny about pain?" The guard who had deposited Link and Sheik was looking through a small slit in the door. A shadow flitted behind the man, and I heard a sickening sound of metal grating on flesh, and then bone. The guard's eyes widened in surprise, and then he fell out of sight.

"That's what's so funny about it," a cool voice said, and Ganondorf's face appeared at the door, smirking. Then, he slammed the slit shut.

"Oh holy Goddesses," Link murmured.

"They're the only ones who could possibly get us out of this now." Sheik rolled over, and clutched his arms closer around himself. I shivered as a gust of air blew from somewhere above. It caught the flame of the torch, which stuttered, and then went out.

"Oh great," I yelled, adding a few swear words for good measure.

~/*\~/*\~/*\~

And thus, they are captured. Oh what the hell am I going to do now? How am I going to get them out again?

Sheik: You should have thought about that before-hand!

Soda: [Pout] But it was a heat of the moment thing...

Sheik: That's not what you said last night [quirky look]

Soda: OH MY GOD! SHEIK! I thought I told you not to talk about that in public. [Blushes madly]

Sheik: [Grins coyly] Well, how else am I meant to get your attention.

Soda: I can think of other ways [dirty look]

Sheik: O.o

Alexis: Hold on one second - Sheik's my romance bunny, hands off!

[Cat-fight ensues]

[Cat-fight ends]

Soda: [With split lip] Tune in next time to see how I dig myself out of this plot-hole.

Alexis: Die bitch, die!

Sheik: [Sighs like the diva he is]

R+R to save me from my own mind!