I tried getting this chapter done for a couple of weeks, but I still couldn't type it out. I've had a huge lack of inspiration, so don't expect this chapter to be the greatest! Thanks to Hououza, Greki, Jewel of the Wolves, AnimeAngel90, Lost Soul 01, AnimeMaster-7, ayachan21, Selah Ex Amino (five reviews! Thank you!), dan heron, Mily, Rhia and princess of destiny for reviewing.
What was Rose's motives for employing Ingo as a lackey? Well… in OoT, Ganondorf sort of forced Ingo to become his lackey, and I just put Rose in Ganondorf's place. But I'm not quite sure about her motives… Ingo agreed to become Rose's lackey because she promised him a fortune, and he accepted, because he'd always been working for Talon and he liked the thought of becoming the master of Lon Lon Ranch. You know how Rose wanted to conquer Hyrule? Making Ingo hijack the ranch was just a step in that direction.
ayachan21: I know, there has been a lack of romance lately, but if I write a sequel, I'll try to change that. I'll post another Zelda fic after this one, and it will contain more romance. I'm sorry, I just don't think I'm good at writing romance.
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Chapter twenty-two: Thieves' hideout
"What do you mean?" Impa stared at Sheik as the meaning of his words slowly began to sink in.
"We're under attack", said Sheik again. "We need to wake everybody up now – or the Gerudos will murder them in their sleep."
Impa arose and looked as she tried to think desperately. She glanced at the glass bottle in Sheik's hand and nodded quickly.
"You found a healing fairy", she stated. "Nice job, Sheik. Use it now, and hurry."
She darted out of the tent, and Sheik knew she was going to wake as many as possible up. They never expected a nocturnal attack! Sheik walked swiftly to Link's side, watching him in his sleep. He gently undid the bandages, and shuddered at the sight of the horrible injury. Link stirred, but did not wake up.
"Just open the bottle, Sheik, and release the fairy", Tatl said, settling herself down on his shoulder, her usual habit. Sheik nodded, pulled the cork out, and watched as the healing fairy began glowing a bright red. It circled Link's head, then found his injury and floated above it for a moment, then seemed to become fused together with Link's skin. The injury and the skin around it began glowing red as well, as the skin slowly closed around the gash, eventually leaving nothing but smooth, new skin.
"Sheik, what are you d—" Link mumbled, then he felt the tickling sensation in his stomach, and saw the red fairy disappear. "A red fairy?"
"A healing one", said Sheik seriously. "I was worried about you, Link."
Link smiled wryly. "Thank you…" he mumbled, giving Sheik a soft embrace. Sheik smiled as well, and couldn't help but hug him back, although he knew they hadn't much time.
"There's no need to thank me. I did it because I care about you, Link. I'm so glad to see you're better…" Sheik's voice trailed off, but then he seemed to remember something important. "Get up and get dressed as fast as you can. We're under attack."
"And now you tell me", Link muttered as he began looking for his clothes and weaponry. He quickly pulled a torn, white shirt over his head, followed by his green tunic. He put his boots on, placed the hat on his head, and grabbed his shield and sword. He silently followed Sheik out of the tent, and pushing one of the tentflaps aside, he saw that the whole camp was awake. People were running, talking rapidly, saddling horses or getting their weapons ready.
"Let's get the horses", said Sheik lowly. "We won't stand a chance on foot."
They hurried towards a corral, where the horses had spent the night. Epona and Ophelia were standing near the fence, and they both seemed apprehensive, though they calmed down and greeted Sheik and Link by whinnying lowly, apparently glad to see them.
"Did you miss me, Epona?" said Link softly, patting her muzzle and neck. Remembering there was no time to waste, he quickly strapped the sheathe, sword and shield to his back, then mounted Epona. Sheik had done the same.
A sudden, short scream was heard. Sheik and Link looked in the direction of the camp – one of the tents was burning, the flames licking the canvas and lighting the entire area up, making the Gerudos plain for everyone to see.
"They're invading the camp", Sheik whispered. Link could barely hear his words. "I hope Impa succeeded into waking everyone up. Just imagine waking up and finding your tent is burning and you're trapped inside."
Link nodded thoughtfully. "What are you thinking, Sheik? What do you intend to do?"
"I am positive that the Queen is not here. She probably considers it too risky. No, I think she's still dwelling inside that fortress, and almost all Gerudos are here, it seems. Look at them, they seem to be even more than yesterday! Link, Queen Rose is most likely alone up there. So let's go."
Sheik made Ophelia jump the fence of the corral, which she easily did, and Link and Epona followed them. Making sure to ride as far from the now quite noisy camp as possible, they followed the trail leading to the fortress. Both of them were grateful it was so dark – neither of them wished to see the signs from the battle the day before. Epona and Ophelia walked swiftly, but they would stop abruptly every now and then, almost making their riders fall off the horseback in surprise. Neither Link nor Sheik were eager to find out what was making the horses stop.
The fortress seemed almost abandoned. All the windows and doorways were dark, but a pair of torches were placed by three of the doors. Link and Sheik silently waited, searching the fortress with their gazes for movements.
"There", Link whispered, pointing to a door guarded by two Gerudo guards. "It's the only guarded door. I bet it's the right one."
Sheik nodded.
The young woman yawned. She was bored. Having the most important duty was not fun, not fun at all.
She adjusted her garments, and held the spear tighter in her left hand. The night was dark, and no stars could be seen. Normally, one could see the silhouette of the Spirit Temple during nighttime, if the night was light enough. Now, the wooden gate blocking the way to the Haunted Wasteland was barely visible.
This night was special in more than just one way. The Gerudos had prepared a nocturnal attack at the camp down by the river as soon as the Hylians had retreated. It was unfair, plain cowardice, but the Hylians mustn't come near the fortress. The Gerudos had sworn to protect their Queen and they would – as long as they wanted to. They were great warriors, but no one had ever called them honest.
The young guard sighed, and glanced at the other woman. She was standing firm and still, heedful of any sounds or sudden movements. The younger woman could never hope to be like her, she was too impatient… she could not stand without moving for more than a minute. Sometimes she wondered what she was doing among a people who thought that patience was one of the most important abilities.
Unfortunately, she had no time to consider this further. The hilt of a sword that hit her in the back of her head made her pass out right away.
"Easy, too easy", Link mumbled as he watched the young woman fall. Sheik had just given the second guard a blow in her right temple with the shaft of his knife, and he muttered in agreement while watching her sinking to the ground slowly.
"You're right, but we don't have the time to fight anyone right now."
The two got past the two unconscious guards and entered the thieves' hideout. It was so dark inside that both of them had to wait a while before moving, until their eyes got used to the darkness. They did not want to walk into something. And maybe there were more guards around…
They turned a corner, and were facing a long, narrow corridor, with torches along the stone walls. The corridor had two doorways, and both Link and Sheik stopped, looking in each direction, then at each other, and their expressions were clearly saying: "Which way?" Neither of them had ever been here before, and they didn't want to get lost.
"We should stay together", Link said.
Sheik nodded. "Yes. I say we should turn left."
"Hmm… I suggest we continue onward."
The Sheikah gave a slight shrug. "It really doesn't matter, I suppose…"
Link froze, then put his index finger to his lips, and Sheik fell silent. He realized what Link was referring to. Voices. Loud voices were talking down the hallway. Sheik could hear two, maybe three voices speaking quite loudly to each other. It was obvious that the two intruders were listening to a quarrel.
When the voices, or the ones they belonged to, rather, didn't seem to be approaching, Link and Sheik snuck down the corridor, stopping by a corner. Peering around it, they could see three people, all women. Two of them were Gerudos. The other one, who seemed to be scolding the others, had her back turned to Link and Sheik.
It was obvious who she was. They had, after all, seen her briefly before…
It was the Queen herself, the one the two intruders had been anxious to meet, but now they regretted even sneaking into this fortress. They had to destroy her, once and for all, which was more difficult than it seemed. They had no choice but revealing themselves to perform an attack.
"Link! What are you doing?" Sheik silently cried as Link stepped further, and stood before the three people in the room.
"And who might you be?" The Queen's voice sounded less angry now; it was cool and calm, almost kind. She had turned around when she heard Link approach.
"I-I…" Link couldn't find the words. The Queen happened to be one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She was stunning, breathtaking. He had not looked at her closely last time, but now her eyes were locked to his, and he couldn't turn his gaze away. The Queen smiled sweetly, aware of the effect she had upon him.
"What do you seek here?" the Queen asked, shifting her weight to her other leg, her hand resting on her hip. She put a strand of her light brown hair behind her right ear.
As Link didn't seem quite aware of what was going on around him, Sheik also revealed himself to the Queen, and answered her question. "We were looking for you", he said simply.
"Ah, that's great", said the Queen swiftly. "And now that you've found me, what do you intend to do?"
Sheik tried to come up with a response good enough while eyeing the woman before him warily. She wore garments similar to those Impa used to wear. Her body, thin and frail, looked completely out of place in armor, but Sheik did not doubt that Rose knew how to use the long, broad sword at her side. He had to prevent her from using it somehow…
"We… we have come at orders from the King of Hyrule", said Sheik. "We're at His Highness' orders to capture you."
A sudden look of fear struck the Queen's features, but she seemed to pull herself together quickly. "This must be some kind of mistake. My husband is the King of Hyrule, and I'm the Queen of it. The Queen does not need to take orders from her own husband, because she has as much power as he has. Perhaps you just misunderstood it all?"
"I know very well that I haven't misunderstood anything", Link said. "And so do you. Isn't that right, Rose?"
"That's Your Majesty for you, boy!" the Queen snarled, not even trying to conceal her anger.
"As you wish, Your Majesty", said Link. Then he lowered his voice, speaking in a very hostile manner. "Mind my words. In a few hours, you'll be either thrown in jail, waiting for your own execution, or perhaps we've already solved that little problem for you."
These words made the Queen really uneasy. She looked from Sheik to Link, then back again, until she yelled at the two Gerudos behind her: "And just what are you waiting for? Finish them for me!"
"Yes, Your Majesty", the two warriors said in unison, then lunged at the two boys. They were stopped by a sword and a dagger, and they both sank to the floor slowly. Glancing at the stone floor briefly – which was now quickly being stained in red – Sheik looked at the Queen, but she was nowhere to be seen.
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I know. You've been waiting for me to update and I write a short, crappy chapter like this. I'm already writing on the next one, though, which is definitely going to be the last. I'm sorry it took me so long to get this done, and I promise you won't have to wait a month for the next chapter. Please review!
-HH