A note from the Hime no Argh herself–
Hime's back, baby! I had a much-needed break last week, it was great to be home without a care. It's nice to be back in school, though. I've been so busy since coming back that I've had no time to upload a new chapter; I just kept forgetting. But I've remembered now (obviously), so here's Chapter 17 for you.
I also want to thank you all for the very positive feedback to Chapter 16, it was really appreciated. I was extremely nervous about the previous chapter's reception, but feedback was entirely positive and enthusiastic. You guys make my day every day, thanks very much.
Enjoy!
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Chapter 17
Desert Storm
Saria showed Zelda a small courtyard in the middle of the temple through which a small brook flowed. The sun had since risen and beamed gently upon soft grass and flowers, trees and shrubs, ivy crawling up the stone walls of the temple. Zelda sat on a marble bench beside the stream and tried to make sense of everything she'd learned.
Foremost in her mind was the life and death of her mother and father. Not a day had gone by when Zelda didn't wonder who her parents were, what they were like, how they died. Now she knew. A different time, a different place, yet still Zelda and Link, still Destined. Was their love destiny, too? Zelda wondered, considering her own tumultuous feelings for Link. Or did they choose to love of their own will?
Then there was her and Link's fates, the tasks that had been laid before them by the goddesses. She, Zelda, was royalty–the collective memories Saria had shared with her was proof of that. She wouldn't be surprised if Impa had more proof hidden away somewhere, perhaps even birth documents. She was indeed royalty, destined to someday rule Hyrule–as a queen, like her mother? Could she really do such a thing?
Assuming, of course, that Link and I don't die before then, Zelda thought wearily. Bearing against Ganondorf was such a ridiculous notion that she had never even considered it. Defeating him seemed utterly impossible.
For the first time in her life she understood why Impa had held her silence for so long. Apart from the goddesses' orders, Impa simply wanted to protect Zelda from a burden she thought too great to bear.
"Zelda?" a quiet voice interrupted her musings. Link hesitated uncertainly, then sank down onto the bench beside her. "You okay?"
"I don't know," Zelda replied truthfully. "This is all...it's too much, too sudden. I don't know what to think or feel."
Link said nothing, but took her hand, weaving his fingers through hers. Zelda felt her breath catch in her throat at the contact. She knew that Saria had given Link the memories as well–that he had experienced, too, the love her parents felt for each other. It was different than just hearing of someone's memories; Zelda herself had been there, in another time and place, with a man she knew so well. She wondered if Link had felt the same.
Is it real, what I feel for him and his feelings for me? Zelda wondered, unable to tag the emotion with any risky words. Or is it just some part of our destiny?
As if he might have heard her thoughts, Link touched her face, sliding his fingers under her chin and lifting it until she met his eyes. He gazed at her silently, tracing her lower lip with his thumb.
"Link," she said unsteadily, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.
She was perfectly still as he kissed her lips, along her jawline, her neck. It was difficult to believe that just a day ago they'd been so close yet so distant, hardly touching, both subconsciously aware of what they felt for each other yet unable to act on it. But these are my feelings, Zelda told herself as Link drew her into his arms. Not fate, and not someone else's.
Then Link kissed her again, and she forgot about destiny, Ganondorf, everything. Only one thing in the world was she certain of, and this was it.
* * *
Even with all that had happened since the fateful night in Hyrule Field, the thieves weighed heavily on Zelda's mind. She decided to ask Saria what had become of them, hoping beyond all hope that the sage would somehow know.
Miraculously, she did. "Your friends are in the Gerudo Fortress in the desert," Saria said serenely. "They are being held prisoner in the hopes that you will come for them. The Gerudo twins, Azura and Arjuna, followed you into the field. When you and Link were separated from the thieves, the twins attacked with a squad of Gerudo, captured your friends, and took them south to the fortress. They are waiting for you to come to rescue them so that they may capture you instead."
Link and Zelda gaped at the sage long after she was finished. "How do you know all of this?" Link demanded at last.
"I have been conferring with Impa," Saria said simply. "Once sages are awakened, they are linked mentally to all other sages, and can speak through their thoughts. Impa is with your friends now in the Gerudo fortress."
Zelda glanced at Link. He nodded, resigned. "I'm going for them," she announced, looking at the sage again.
"You realize that you will be walking into a trap," Saria said quietly. "It is you Ganondorf is after, not the thieves."
"I'm aware of that," Zelda said calmly. "But I won't abandon them. I can't."
Saria nodded. "Very well. Ready yourselves, and I will take you to the desert. Zelda, come with me."
She led Zelda to a small room aside the main foyer, containing a mirror and a small wooden chest. She knelt before the chest and passed her hand over it; the top sprang open. Saria gathered the contents of the chest into her arms and turned to Zelda, smiling.
"My clothes!" Zelda gasped, moving forward to take the garments from Saria.
"I thought you would need them," the sage explained.
Zelda quickly shed the surcoat and gown without a care for the fine garments, and, leaving them lying on the floor, pulled on her old, patched white shirt and full, navy blue breeches. She strapped on her leather arm guards, painfully aware that she had left her bow and arrows somewhere in Hyrule Field, and tied her hair back from her face with a leather thong. Done, she scrutinized herself in the mirror. Her clothes were nowhere near as lovely as the gown, but she felt at home in them.
When she turned, Saria was offering her longbow, already strung, and quiver of arrows. "I thought you might need these, too."
Zelda knelt so that she and Saria were eye-to-eye took her weapons into shaking hands. Her eyes burned, and tears spilled suddenly down her cheeks. The sage calmly took the bow and arrows back from Zelda, placing them on the floor, and drew her into her arms.
"I'm sorry," Zelda sobbed against the small girl's shoulder. "I don't know why I'm crying."
"In less than two days your entire life has turned upside down," Saria said practically. "You've suffered through more hardships than some people will experience in a lifetime. Now you must risk your life yet again. Of course you're crying."
As abruptly as they started the tears ended. Zelda sat back on her heels, rubbing her eyes with the back of one hand. "I'm still sorry," she muttered, heartily embarrassed over her moment of weakness. "Don't tell Link about this. Please."
"Of course not." Saria offered a hand to help Zelda to her feet. "You're stronger than you know, Zelda. You remind me so much of your mother."
"How old are you, anyway?" Zelda wondered as they went back to the main foyer.
"About fifty years old. We Kokiri do not die unless we leave the forest. I have left the forest many times, and my immortality has seeped away. Thus, I will die." Saria smiled. "But not for some time."
"What about Impa?" Zelda asked, unnerved by the talk of death. "She must be very old as well, if she knew my mother."
"Older than you can imagine," Saria said quietly. "Older than any of us know. When you were birthed, she was there. When your mother was birthed, she was there. She may well be immortal herself."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Link muttered as they approached him in the main foyer, having overheard. He blinked at Zelda. "What happened to the dress?"
"I have it," Saria explained, "and will keep it. You may need it someday." She looked thoughtfully at Link for a moment, then pointed to the sword on his back. "You'd best give me that, as well."
Link's hand went to the hilt as if by instinct, but he took a breath and let it go. "Why?"
"If you fail to rescue your friends and are captured by Ganondorf, this sword must not be in your possession," Saria replied seriously. "It is the only sword in the world that can defeat the Black King. Ganondorf knows this. If he destroys the sword..."
"The cycle will be broken!" Zelda gasped. "So there are ways to break it!"
"No," Saria said sharply. "The cycle exists for a purpose."
"I don't accept that!" Zelda argued. "Why must Link and I try to defeat Ganondorf if he's just going to rise to power again? What's the point?"
"To maintain balance," Saria said quietly.
Link gripped Zelda's arm before she could reply. "I know," he told her softly when she glared at him. "But we have to save our friends first. There's time for debates later."
Zelda took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down. He was right, as much as she hated to admit it. "You said something about transporting us?" Link asked Saria.
"Yes." Saria spread her hands, and light flowed from her palms, sparkling and tinted emerald. It created a shining circle on the floor, much like the portal that had appeared in the Great Fairy's cave. "I believe you know what to do," the sage said quietly, raising her eyes to look from Link to Zelda. "Good luck, my friends."
"Thank you." Zelda glanced at Link and, hesitant, took his hand. He smiled at her, squeezing her hand reassuringly. In unison they stepped into the portal and were bathed in light, taken to a faraway land that smelled of harsh, dry wind and old blood.
* * *
"You call this a rescue?"
The familiar, wry voice was the first thing Link heard when he opened his eyes in the desert. His hand reached for a sword that wasn't there, but it was no matter–he'd no qualms whatsoever about killing the bastard with his bare hands. Only Zelda's restraining arms around his middle kept him from doing so.
"Link–! What are you doing?!"
"Dammit, Zelda–"
Ronin stepped back, holding up his hands in an appeasing gesture. "You have it wrong, my friend. I'm here to help you."
"Like hell you are," Link snapped.
"Link–"
"Zelda, you heard what Impa and Saria said about him at the river," Link interrupted, shaking her off. "I'd bet my right arm he's been conspiring against us."
"Yes, but..." Zelda flushed. "Couldn't we just hear what he has to say?"
Link stared at her exasperatedly, furious that Ronin still had some kind of hold over her emotions. "Fine." He turned abruptly to Ronin. "Admit it. You're working for Ganondorf, aren't you?"
Ronin laughed. "Working for Ganondorf?" he echoed derisively. "Don't be ridiculous. It's much more fun on your side." He gave Zelda a little smile and Link's intense desire to kill him was rekindled.
Zelda put a hand on Link's arm, gazing levelly at Ronin. "Does that mean you're going to help us?"
Ronin shrugged. "Looks like I have to, if your idea of a rescue consists of the two of you charging that." He indicated the Gerudo Fortress, situated far below them in a valley of sand. The structure appeared as though a giant child had assembled blocks together, piling sand around the outside of the fortress to fortify it. A wall circled the length of the fortress, broken by a tall, heavy wooden gate. They could make out dozens of purple-clad Gerudo patrolling through the fort and on top of the wall. Zelda had no doubt that they were all armed to the teeth and ready to battle.
For a fleeting moment she recognized what an utterly ridiculous notion it was, attacking the Gerudo Fortress. Just as quickly she put the thought behind her. She would rescue her friends, no matter what the cost.
"You have a plan?" she demanded of Ronin.
He shrugged. "Somewhat. I can knock down that gate for you, and distract the Gerudo long enough for you to get inside. From there on in, you're on your own."
"How exactly are you planning to knock down that enormous, heavy gate and distract the Gerudo all on your own?" Link demanded.
Ronin met his eyes, challenging, as his hand went to the feather in his hair. "Watch and learn, friend."
He took hold of the feather's shaft–the spines remained soft and golden this time–and drew it from his hair, holding it in the air before him. He moved the feather left and right, up and down, humming in time to the feather's movements a strange, short chord of notes that made the hair on the back of Link's neck rise.
The wind around them picked up, ruffling through hair and clothes. Ronin closed his eyes and began the chord over again, feather waving through the air, wind swirling around them–until Link realized, with a shock that made him stagger, it was not Ronin singing–
It was the wind.
* * *
To be continued.