For a long while Nabooru wandered through the temple, her golden eyes dancing as she swept from passageway to passageway. There seemed to be no escaping Link – he was always going to be around somewhere. Worst of all, he seemed to know she had taken quite a liking to him, especially when she foolishly stood in front of her chamber watching him. Nabooru felt like such an idiot, though the only good occurrence was the fact she saw him without his shirt on for the first time. His chiseled chest, strong muscled arms...she trembled to think about it.
However, that did not mean she was falling for him, she was merely attracted to his physical build. Or was she? Why in Hyrule's name did she bother to think of something so out of character, when Kotake and Koume were waiting outside the temple to kill her? A feeling of guilt swept over the young Gerudo, to realize she was probably not taking her situation seriously enough. While Link tried hard to save her life, she was busy gawking at him every chance she got. It wasn't right and she knew it, but it was better to argue with him and still have a liking for him than to not like anything about him at all...
A soft sigh escaped her lips, and before long she found herself in the archives deep inside the temple. The room glowed from the burning torches scattered though out, while the Gerudo cautiously walked passed the numerous shelves on its walls containing thousands of ancient hand written scriptures, scrolls and books. The ceiling arched high above, making her footsteps echo as she walked. She wanted to leave the Spirit Temple as soon as possible, and the quicker she started to search for the solution to defeating Kotake and Koume, the quicker she would not have to deal with Link anymore.
Carved statues of snakes lined the floor, and surrounding the room on all sides were large stone pillars. Nabooru hardly ever entered the old archives, because she preferred to seek her information outside the ancient scrolls of the temple. In truth, she wished to be more modern as opposed to constantly being absorbed within the past. Much of her life – perhaps too much – had been spent within the fortress walls of her home. Who knows who could have written such books? The Gerudos who wrote them could have changed anything they pleased to suit the needs of the priestesses at the temple, or for other reasons. Overall, the Spirit Sage learned never to have complete faith in anything out of fear it would one day ruin everything she hoped for...
Though this time she dared to test her trust, since there was no other option. Nabooru scanned the numerous shelves, contemplating which one she should begin searching through first. There were so many books...how would she accomplish anything alone? Hastily she picked a random shelf and began to sift through the vast amounts of information. Occasionally she selected a few scrolls to read, but often the handwriting was so extravagant she could not read the text. She didn't even know what she was looking for, let alone if she had already missed it because it was too difficult to read.
In frustration from finding yet another scripture too illegitimate, Nabooru slammed it down on the floor and wanted to stomp on it with her feet. The Gerudo towered mercilessly over the old piece of writing, glaring at it viciously until cold words echoed through the room. In surprise, her eyes widened and she knew instantaneously who it was.
"Having another tantrum Nabooru? You shouldn't throw books around like that, they are more useful than you are."
In shock and disarray, she spun around to find it was Link, who was standing at the back of the room with his arms folded across his chest. The hero of time was gawking at her with the same icy and exasperated look reflecting in his eyes, and his footsteps echoed loudly as he strode toward her in an almost arrogant way. Nabooru got the hint he was joking quietly about how she was supposedly 'useless' as when he got closer the exasperated look reflected more of quiet humor. She was certainly not amused by it, though before she could stop herself she retorted smugly.
"If you're calling me useless, you shouldn't talk – I'm the one doing all the work trying to figure out how to get us out of this mess. Meanwhile, you're busy lying around half naked trying to impress me. Instead of standing there attempting to hurt my feelings, why don't you move over here and help me?"
"Fine, it seems you've got quite the attitude problem, I was merely joking you know."
Link said sourly, before he moved next to her and began to scan the shelves. Nabooru pretended as if she didn't notice him, though it was hard not to see his sparkling blue eyes, wispy golden locks and the annoying mirror shield that still continued to shine into her eyes every time he turned his back to her to look at a different shelf. She wondered how he found such a shield anyway, since many Gerudo considered it to be legendary and non-existent in real life – and now she was within the presence of the brute that proved everyone wrong.
"Link, why can't you just take off that shield for just a little while? Is it really necessary to carry such a precious object around wherever you go like some sort of toy?"
She saw him glance at her warily, before purposely angling his back so the shield continued to shine in her eyes. That was all the answering Nabooru needed to know he obviously didn't care about what she said. In fury she picked through the books, preferring to stare at them as opposed to the small smirk that flashed across Link's lips. Occasionally each would stop to read through a book, only to return it to where they found it. It seemed their search was not going very well, especially as the hours passed with nothing useful found.
"Well it seems we won't find anything this way, perhaps what we are searching for is not in the archives at all..."
He suddenly said with a sigh, while placing a few wrinkled and yellowed scrolls back on the shelf. Nabooru felt her patience wearing thin, not only because nothing was working, but also because of Link's words brought down everything she tried to do. He stood calmly, seeming not to notice her seething irritation, before Nabooru spat dismissively, her golden eyes narrowing at the sight of his cool attitude.
"Do you have a better idea then? If so please feel free to voice what you think we should do, considering you mentioned in the first place what we're looking for could be somewhere in the Temple and most likely in the archives."
It was obvious she was being sarcastic, though Link hardly took her words with any sense of further humor. He turned to her abruptly, until he slowly removed the mirror shield from his back and set it gently in the floor. Then, as though equally irritated with her as she was with him, he snapped in annoyance.
"Must you always argue with everything I say? For once don't speak, because it's distracting us from what we have to do. I've taken off the mirror shield since you can't seem to stand it long enough without having to rant about it, and its giving me a headache!"
"Giving YOU a headache? As if, you're the one who started it by barging in here..."
Nabooru muttered under her breath, her eyes continuing to glare at him even when he looked away from her and resumed trying to search through the books. Knowing it would be pointless to argue further, she resumed searching the shelf next to him, until her eyes strayed to a small book pulled back at the top of the shelf so its spine was sticking noticeably out. The book was above Link's head, and the only way she could reach it from where she stood about two feet away was by leaning over him, however it would look terribly awkward...
A slow smirk spread across her pale lips, and her eyes glittered faintly of hidden mischief. The book was pulled out so far that it would be easy to just knock it off, and she knew exactly how it could be done. With a purposeful 'mistaken' thrust of her hip into the shelf, it shook it just enough for the book to wobble from its place and fall directly on the hero of time's head. Nabooru had to stifle a laugh and maintain a semi-serious expression, as Link gasped in shock before stepping back, his eyes darting to the floor before locking onto her accusingly.
"What- where did? Nabooru, you did that on purpose!!!!"
He growled angrily, while one of his hands reached to the spot on his hat- covered head and rubbed it tenderly. It was plain she had not hurt him at all, and the book lay with its pages facing the ground and flipped open. Link continued to give her a menacing glare, but Nabooru was far too amused by the surprised expression on his face to be intimidated by it in the least. In response to his accusation, she said with a mere shrug.
"I'm sorry, my hip must have slipped."
Though he still was unconvinced by the obviousness she was not sorry at all for it, Nabooru knew he had it coming anyway for the comments he made to her when she 'encountered' him in her chambers. For a long moment they stood glaring at each other, until Link's eyes darted to the book lying at his feet on the floor. In response to diverting his attention from her, Nabooru could not help but see what he was staring so intently at. The book looked no different than most she scanned though during their search, but he looked at it with such intensity she wondered if he thought otherwise...
She wanted to see what was inside it. Quickly she bent over, her hand reaching out to pick it up off the floor, but he was far too quick even for her. The moment he touched the cover of it, Nabooru's hand slipped on top of his. Breathless, she could not believe she was touching Link's hand – as unintentional as it was. She considered pulling away, but to her surprise he did not stir from her touch. Both of them were bending over, but as they did their eyes locked for a long pause.
The Gerudo dare not move or even breathe, her golden eyes searching for some sign of reaction in his icy exterior. A strange silence enveloped them, except for the soft sounds of tinkering from the thick amount of jewelry Nabooru wore around her wrists. His hand felt cool under hers, as icy as his staring deep blue eyes. She hoped that since she was bent over in an awkward and sort of revealing position Link was looking at her face, and not trying to see elsewhere...
Why did Link not recoil from her touch? The thought drifted through her mind, while she continued to look at his handsome face. She assumed he didn't enjoy speaking to her, let alone touching her. It was a strange and intense moment, though it ended as quickly as it began. Nabooru felt his hand hastily slip out from under hers, as he picked the book off the floor as though nothing happened between them. With haste that matched his, she straightened and looked at him silently while he flipped through its pages, his eyes moving speedily to read the words written in it. Nabooru was still recovering from the shock that she actually touched the hero of time, and when his eyes bore into hers he seemed to have genuine interest in something – but perhaps she was giving herself too much credit.
Link examined the book without saying anything, though oddly he was looking at it more intently and for a longer time than the others. Nabooru stood waiting patiently, wondering why he was reading something seemingly so ordinary. It wasn't until her curiosity brimmed to its limit when Link spoke to her, his voice slightly softer as if he had set aside all their arguments, which made the Gerudo draw her head back in slight surprise.
"There's...something written in here..."
He murmured, not looking up at her though appearing to be speaking to her – especially since there was no one else around. Nabooru although quick for assuming things, was also quick to inquire skeptically.
"What could possibly be written in that small piece of writing? After all, the books we've found on this shelf have nothing to do with our situation-"
"Instead of judging a book by its cover, you should read its contents. This book could prove useful for us."
He interrupted smoothly, cutting off her last statement. Nabooru didn't want the peace between them to end so soon, and instead of arguing with him her opinion, she walked closer to him and stood slightly behind him, her eyes looking over his shoulder to see what he meant for herself. Written on its pages was fine handwriting, and her eyes scanned it carefully to see which section he was looking at. After a few silent moments reading it, she began to understand what he spoke of.
The book contained information regarding white magic, which was the opposite force of black magic. Nabooru was instantly intrigued, because Kotake and Koume were sole users of black magic, and if she could learn and understand white magic as well as the type of magic the twin sorceress's used, she would be able to fight back. An image flooded into her mind, as a feeling of glee swept over her to see herself casting a powerful spell to knock them off their broomsticks as she wished to earlier, and send them feeing to the afterlife once and for all. If only she had known about such a book earlier, though she knew deep down Link was right about her lack of patience or willingness to look beyond the plain appearance of situations and objects.
She was far too hasty, quick to think of solutions and action plans, but failing to realize not always would they turn out. As she read onward from the page Link looked at, she realized the book revealed more about white magic than she could ever imagine – even giving incantations to cast on creatures of darkness. Nabooru was not into great usages of magic and neither were the Gerudo in general, though she found the proposition of learning a few tricks too intriguing to pass up. After all, she would have to get revenge on those two sorceresses' not only for trying to kill her earlier, but also for imprisoning her as Ganondorf's personal slave for seven years.
"Give the book to me, if it proves useful then I wish to learn a bit of magic on my own."
She demanded softly, her hands reaching out to take it, though Link spun around and pulled it away from her grasp as quick as lightning. Angrily Nabooru glared at him, knowing the peace they shared was never built to last but a few moments. Link looked at her with a noticeably concerned expression upon his smooth contoured face, though she did not understand why, at least until he responded blatantly.
"This magic is not something to be meddled with, if used incorrectly it could very well harm you Nabooru. I think there has to be another way to stop Kotake and Koume, and it could very well be by no use of magic at all."
"What are you saying then?"
Nabooru said and feeling as if he was treating her like a child, and she was far too independent and individualistic for that sort of attitude. Her amber colored eyes glittered with rage, as she folded her arms across her chest in bitter frustration. The mood she felt seemed to suit her fiery red hair, that of intensity and deep emotion. One moment Link touched her hand and looked at her in a sort of soft way, the next he was accusing her of not being able to handle magic powers and completely disregarding the moment they shared. The young Gerudo's tanned colored skin seemed to emphasize her eyes and hair, which she hoped would get her anger across to him in some sort of way.
"Are you saying I am not mature enough to take care of myself and learn a few magic tricks to protect me from those two hags? If you think for one moment, Link, that I will allow you to control me like this you should very will reconsider!"
He did not appear to be intimidated by her haughty remark in the least, and she saw his ocean blue eyes glint for a moment before he held the book up in plain view. Nabooru intently lunged out to grab it, but with the same swiftness as before Link dodged around her and darted away skillfully, a slight smile playing across his lips. Nabooru could hear the sound of his boots as he moved across the floor, and saw the shadows of the room reflect on his face. In the dim glow of the torches on the walls, he looked almost mysterious as well as intriguing, although she did not fancy his sense of humor – he was toying with her.
"You have quite the temper, and I believe you need to master your self control before mastering spells. However, if you can get this book from me then you may do as you wish."
Link's proposition sent a tremor of curiosity as well as smite through her, knowing he was being a fool to challenge one of the best thieves known to the Gerudo. Nabooru felt her hands clench into fists, and had to resist smirking at him so that he would not become overly cautious and suspicious of her. Why did he insist on playing such childish games? Perhaps he did like something about her, maybe her attitude or how she rebelled against him, but even so she would not allow him to tell her what she could or could not do. Since she was a child she often disobeyed orders of those given to her, evening going so far as to completely disregard the instruction of Ganondorf himself when she was appointed a high priestess at the Spirit Temple. Link was no different, and if it was a challenge he wanted it would be a challenge he would receive.
"You are so immature, it surprises me. Very well then, don't be shocked if shortly that book is within my grasp. I have warned you, and now you will realize why I am correct."
She said boldly, ignoring Link's ever-broadening smile that still appeared to be more of a smirk in her eyes. Without responding to her, he suddenly fled down the large room, his feet echoing as he ran between the rows of shelves containing hundreds of ancient books. Quickly the footsteps died off, though the Gerudo leader was wise enough to know he had not left the room they were situated in. He was hiding from her somewhere in between the shelves, and before long she would find him and retrieve her book. Nabooru went after him, keeping her pace at a slow silent walk, practically creeping around the room. She took careful consideration of the noise her feet would make if she went about too harshly, thus keeping herself as silent as possible like a tigress stalking its prey. Her observant eyes shifted warily as she went, and upon approaching a few shelves she cautiously poked her hear around their corners and scan to see if Link was waiting. So far she had not sighted him, until she came to the seventh row of shelves where upon she looked and saw him standing still, and facing her direction.
Link's eyes quickly locked onto hers, and for a brief moment they stared at each other until he swept around and ran in the opposite direction, his feet flying as rapidly as the wing beats of a bird. Nabooru pursued him swiftly, though the moment he was out of her view she had lost track of him once more. There had to be a way for her to catch him by surprise, and a wonderful idea swept through her mind, one she could not refuse.
The mirror shield, the legendary shield that could reflect objects from its shiny surface. Without hesitation the Gerudo padded her way toward it and picked it lightly off the floor, trying to avoid any sound that would arouse Link's attention toward her plans. Placing it strategically in front of her, Nabooru resumed creeping around the room until she arrived before yet another shelf. Silently she placed the shield so that she could see the reflection from around the corner and when she saw the familiar Hylian in green standing silently in wait, unaware of her presence, a slow smile crossed her lips.
Quickly she walked with careful steps to go around the shelf where Link's backside was, and when she made her way there she was amazed he still had not suspected anything. Nabooru took a deep breath, deciding it was now or never to make her next move, and had grown tired of Link's teasing game that was intended to mock her. In a sudden rush, she charged forward with the shield held before her, and lunged onto Link's back as hard as the force she used would allow.
Her blow tacked the unsuspecting hero of time face first into the floor, and Link was so shocked by her actions that for a brief moment he did not move. The mirror shield clattered to the floor beside them, startling the pair as they recovered from the blow. Nabooru used that time to get what she desired, and realized lying on top of him was something she did not what him to hold against her in the near future. Swiftly she reached beneath him and swiped the book from his grasp before getting to her feet and running away as fast as her legs would carry her. All the while she ran her laugher filled the air at seeing the look of pure shock on Link's once serious face.
Noticeably dazed, Link rose to his feet and glared at Nabooru as she scurried beyond the shelves and vanished from sight. As Nabooru ran, she hard footsteps behind her and knew he was pursuing her, but this time she would escape and prove to him she was indeed useful and worthwhile. All at once however, the footsteps suddenly stopped and she realized he had given up, especially when a loud yell filled the air and startled her slightly.
"Nabooru!!!!!"
A smirk spread across the Gerudo's lips, her hands clutching the book tightly and chest rising and falling rapidly as she continued to run. Soon she left the room, and disappeared down the passageways, leaving Link to sulk over her victory.
Author's Note: Another long chapter! Whew that one took a lot of thinking to write. If you are wondering if this is exactly a romance between Link and Nabooru, wait patiently for the next chapter where some serious development in their 'situation' will arise. I had a reviewer tell me they thought the Kotake and Koume thing was kind of unexplained, when really I thought it was quite clear what Link explained but I shall explain it again anyways for those who don't understand (and its ok not to, that is confusing).
Kotake and Koume were killed by Link, just as it happened in the game. However, I heard they were seen hanging around in Majora's mask (I don't know why or how, I've just heard I played a little bit of that Zelda game but wasn't very fond of it because of the whole limited time thing). I needed to have plot to this romance to make it meaningful, since why else would Link venture out to the desert? It would make more sense to have a reason for it, and involve that reason with why it was necessary for them to be together. All in all, Kotake and Koume are dead, but the basic reason for their return as 'sprits' is because if they kill both Nabooru and Link, they will be revived from their life energy and will use their powers to try and break Ganondorf out of the evil realm. That's the basic reason, and they cannot enter the Spirit Temple because they are dead for one thing, and for another they are evil and the Spirit Temple is a source of good and etc. I know there were enemies in it in the game, but since Link killed all of them as well as Kotake and Koume, they could not return. I hope this helps if you are confused!
Special thanks:
Lunatic Pandora1: Thanks for reviewing! I thought it was time for a change, for Link to drive the women crazy instead since it would make my story far more interesting. As you can see (if you read it so far), Nabooru is not one to let him constantly push her around lol I'm glad you say that this pairing works and I really hope your LinkXNabooru story gets more reviews since I think promoting that kind of pairing would provide a lot of creativity in the Zelda section! Hope you review again!
Warior: Hope this update is soon enough lol thanks for offering to kick pooey, I think IT deserved to be savagely beaten hehe
Chibi Yuna Slave: Wow you really know a lot about the Sacred/Evil realm! I guess your right on that point, so that's another reason to bash 'pooey' with! Don't worry, I won't let that jerk bring me down or my story for that matter, especially since I have loyal reviewers like you backing me up whenever there's a person who feels like trying to mess up what I do. I'd like to see them write a story, especially since that person was too much of a coward to even put his real name/user ID down. Oh well, not much anyone can do about it, but thanks a whole bunch for being so nice please review again, your awesome! (I laughed when you called him baka that's totally funny!)
Number42: The best fiction ever? Whoa! I'm really honored to hear that from you! To be quite honest, I seriously didn't think anyone would be interested in this fic because of the LinkXNabooru pairing, but seeing all the reviews its gotten with only 3 chapters has definitely proven me wrong! Thanks for being such a good supporter of this story!!!
Shadow reaper2: Thank you very much for saying you like my imagination, I work super hard on my stories and all I want is for people to enjoy them (as well as me) so that no one gets tired of it and always anticipates the next chapter. I know it may appear to be going 'slow' on the development part right now, mostly focusing on how Link and Nabooru argue all the time about almost everything, but things will change...soon. You need not compare your fic to mine, since I think every writer has something unique in their style and portrayal, but its just hard to get readers unless its in the romance genre (as I have found out) I hope to read more reviews from you!!!
Evil Excalibur: You bet I'm a super mega Zelda fan! I love everything about Zelda, except Wind Waker (shudders)...that game sucked in my opinion. Sorry if you like it, I just didn't like the cartoon-like basis it had, and Ganondorf looked as if he gained a couple hundred pounds during his stay in the evil realm (actually, he did not really even resemble Ganondorf very well either). I hope I answered your question about the romance in my story (see above in author's note if you haven't seen it) I know it has a little bit of action in it, but that will occur rarely in this story so I didn't feel it really belonged in the action/adventure area. I want to focus on their love for one another, as it develops during their stay in the Spirit Temple. I hope you could envision this chapter as far as Link and Nabooru go with one another, and I'm pleased to see you found the previous chapters amusing since I like haring that its enjoyable and entertaining. I hope to see more from you, you're a great reviewer!
Hylian Heroine: Thanks a lot for your support! I know, I took quite a risk writing this since I was worried people would flame me and say I didn't know what I was talking about by pairing those two together. I almost wonder why there are not more stories with this pairing, since I thought Nabooru was quite a popular character with Zelda fans. I was super surprised to see a LinkXSaria pairing, since I never even thought that was possible until now. I hope to read more reviews from you, you're a very open minded person with great things to say and wonderful ideas!
Katherine: Glad you loved my chapter, and hopefully you'll like this one as well. I like to thank those who read this story after every chapter I write, because I am grateful for reviews and how people took the time to actually stop and read it and enjoy it. This is the least I can do to repay that!
Flaminchica: I like to update fast because doing so helps keep ideas fresh in my mind, and I want to keep people reading it. Sometimes if you don't update often enough, people either get bored and forget to look for it and read it, or they think you're not coming back to ff.net and give up on it. I hope this isn't too mushy for you, after all it is a romance, but there is going to be a little bit of action in it, and I think Link and Nabooru's reactions to one another should keep it interesting enough and minimize any 'sappy' moments. Your not rambling, I enjoy reading people's reviews and those from you because you have read a lot of my stories and always have good things to say!
Ignorantly grinning: I hope my author's note explanation of it was good enough for this chapter, and if you still don't understand you can re-read chapter 3 again as Link explains it. I know it might have been confusing, but I needed an enemy both Link and Nabooru could relate to and recognize, and who was associated with Ganondorf. As for the OOC, I thought Nabooru was exactly (or close to) how I portrayed her in my story. She seemed like a rebel, who had strong opinions and strong feelings against Ganondorf. I also think that being only around women would make her be sort of the type to talk back, especially to Link since she is not used to men because of how Ganondorf treated her. Thanks a lot for saying your opinion in a constructive way, and also for taking the time to review!
Great-Divide: Glad your still interested in my story, and I hope this latest chapter will keep you coming back to read and review it!!
Rainer Aquarias – Sage of Time: That sucks you got into the accident, I hope you are doing well! Yeah I know they talk a lot, but its mostly bickering back and forth lol I will always mention you, since your one of the best reviewers I've had and you're willing to give my stories a chance! I know LinkXNabooru might be taking it very far, but it isn't if you think about it and make it work somehow. I enjoy writing the parts when they argue, since Nabooru in my opinion is a chick that doesn't take orders from anyone, even Link! Thanks a whole LOT for reviewing; I really sincerely appreciate your comments and words of encouragement!
Anyone who takes the time to read and review my story will always be thanked!!