Chapter Four
Garen sat at the highest lookout point in the fortress. The area was a large alcove in the side of the cliff. There was a large square hole in the middle of the floor, leading to the holding cell below. There was a low wall at the edge and a metal railing to prevent people from falling off the edge. This was the best place to be if one wanted to look over the entire fortress.
"...What're you doing up here alone?"
Garen smiled when he heard Kaya's voice. She walked over and sat beside him, giving him a small smile. She had matured quite a bit. Her hair had grown out to waist-length, and her eyes had more of an alluring look. She was nineteen now, and he was thirteen. And they had become more than friends.
"Nothing really," Garen said, "Just thinking."
"Mind if I join you?" Kaya asked, leaning against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Not at all." Garen carefully slipped his arm under hers, placing his hand on her waist. Kaya laughed softly, kissing his cheek.
"What were you thinking about?" she asked, laying her head on his shoulder again.
"Again, nothing much," Garen said, resisting the urge to shrug, "It's just a calm day. So I came up here to relax."
"And you came without me? How mean!"
"Hey, don't be like that," Garen said, raising his hands defensively, "It's just one of those times when I wanted to sort things out by myself, y'know? It happens."
"It happens a lot with you," she replied, frowning.
"Well, I have a lot to think about," Garen sighed, "Just knowing that I will be the King of the Gerudo one day is enough to drive me insane. I need time to think about what I'm going to do, especially if this stupid war doesn't end before that time."
"You'll do fine," Kaya said with a smile, "If you have any problems, you can ask Seiya for help. If anyone can help you, she can."
"...Yeah..." Garen replied, returning the smile, "You're right." He kissed her cheek gently. She laughed, throwing her arms around his neck.
"...I always am."
'
Blood.
That was what woke Garen up: the scent of blood in the air. He cursed, leaping to his feet and running to the railing. Somehow, heavily armed warriors had broken into the fortress, and everyone was fighting to survive as well as to drive them out. The battle seemed evenly matched, although the Gerudo were outnumbered, and many had already fallen.
Garen climbed up onto the railing, but he felt someone pull him back. "Don't!" he heard Kaya yell, "You'll get hurt, or worse!"
"We don't have the time to waste!" Garen snapped, grabbing her by the waist. He jumped off the railing, and Kaya clung to him tightly as they fell. Somehow, Garen felt a strange surge of power coursing through him, the same he'd felt maybe six years ago. Whatever this power was, it somehow managed to slow their descent, and they landed safely.
Kaya stared at him in shock. "What did you--?"
"No time," Garen said, drawing his sword, "We have to help!" Kaya nodded, drawing her sword as well. They ran into the midst of the battle, and were soon noticed by a couple of intruders. They fought, easily downing their foes, who had obviously tired out from the fighting. Garen, despite his distaste for the sword and his young age, he was actually doing fairly well, possibly better than some of the adults. Kaya was doing better than he was, managing to strike her opponents from a greater distance because of the reach of her spear. One think that Garen was proud to notice was how relieved the guards were to see them once their attackers had been felled.
"It's about time you both got here," one of the guards said, clutching a wound in her side, "This fight's been going on for maybe half an hour. Seiya was worried sick about you."
"Where is she?" Garen asked, cursing himself for not remembering his mother. What bothered him was that he couldn't see her anywhere.
"Last I saw, she was headed towards the bridge..."
Garen cursed again, aloud this time. "Stay here," he told Kaya, sprinting towards the entrance to the fortress, "I'll be back!" He struck a warrior as he ran passed, allowing the guard he was attacking to knock him out.
'Please let her be all right... Please don't let anything happen to her...'
'
Seiya grimaced as she backed towards the edge of the canyon, her foot knocking a small rock over the cliff. Her breathing was heavy and her face was covered in beads of perspiration. She was tired, but her fatigue would be her undoing if she let it get the better of her now. She eyed her opponents warily, clutching her sword tightly in both hands.
"Why did you come here anyway...?" she asked tiredly, "You have no reason or right to be here."
"We decided to rid the world of you once and for all," came the sharp reply, "You are the biggest threat to us, now that the Sheikah have been eliminated. We were sent to ensure our victory."
"You're fools, all of you," Seiya snapped, taking a step forward, "We aren't involved in your accursed war! Just leave us be and get out!" She leapt at the nearest warrior, striking his hand with the hilt of her sword. He yelled and dropped his sword. Seiya turned on the others, blocking their attacks. She swung her sword horizontally, striking one warrior in the side. She then turned to the third, aiming for his head. He dodged the attack, and Seiya realized that she'd left herself open to attack.
...By then it was too late.
She felt cold metal cutting into her body from three directions. That was a new sensation for her. She hadn't been hurt like this in years. Then again, this didn't hurt so bad... After the initial shock, the pain just melted away. She could feel nothing.
"NO!"
Seiya felt the swords withdrawn from her body at Garen's cry and her legs gave way underneath of her. She collapsed, landing hard on her stomach. She lifted her head slightly, watching as Garen dashed over, his amber eyes taking on a dangerous glare. It was then that she noticed a red aura surrounding him. It was flaring dangerously, and it had a brownish tint.
'Garen...'
Garen brought his hand forward and several small blasts of energy erupted from his hand. They struck the warriors' hands, knocking their weapons away. The warriors stared at him in horror, taking a few steps back as he stopped, brandishing his sword at them menacingly.
"Leave this place and never come back..." he said in a low voice, "Or I will kill you where you stand..."
Something in his voice proved that he wasn't lying. The warriors exchanged uneasy glances. Garen took a step forward, and one quickly drew his bow. The arrow he drew was strange, not having a stone or metal head like normal arrows had. Instead, it had a strange bulb at the end with holes carved into it. He aimed towards the sky, drew back the arrow, and released it. A piercing whistle could be heard, and Garen could hear the thunderous sound of footsteps. The warriors remaining in the fortress were fleeing.
He watched as they ran by, each of them giving him uneasy glances as they passed him. The three that had issued the order to flee were the only ones that remained. They watched Garen warily before fleeing across the bridge. Once they were gone, Garen turned his attention to Seiya and he hurried to her, kneeling beside her. He turned her onto her back and held her in his arms.
"...Mother...?" he whispered, wiping the blood from her mouth.
Seiya opened her eyes and gave him a weak smile. "Hey," she replied hoarsely, touching his cheek gently, "You were... amazing... Why didn't you tell me... that you had magic inside of you?"
"...Because I wasn't sure..." he replied, "...And because I was... afraid of what you might think of me."
"I could never think ill of you... You're my son. I love you. And I always will." Seiya smiled at him, and he returned it, surprisingly dry-eyed.
"...I love you, too... Mother..."
'
Sunset.
The remaining members of the tribe had gathered on the horseback archery range to honor Seiya's death. Surprisingly (and much to Garen's disgust), she had been the only one to die during the battle. And so, sticking to the Gerudo rites to honor her, they set up a funeral pyre, and her body was burned at sunset.
Garen noticed vaguely that the stars came out that night...
He could hear the guards whispering around him. He could hear faint snatches of the conversations, and what he heard was centered around him.
"...must be hard for him..."
"He's so young..."
"Too young... Can he handle it?"
"I think so...He's a strong child, and he has Seiya's leadership skills..."
"...he's not even crying..."
"...He has to be strong...If he broke down now, who knows what'd happen..."
Garen couldn't bring himself to do anything but stare at the flames in silence. He felt like a part of him had died with his mother and was being burned alongside of her.
He felt someone's hand on his and he started, turning his head. Kaya stood beside him, looking like she had been crying. That was understandable. She'd lost her mother maybe two years before, and Seiya had taken her in as a foster-child.
Unless she was actually sad for his loss, and not her own...
Garen turned back to the pyre, watching in silence. This was just too much for him. Whispering a soft apology, he turned on his heel and fled. He kept running until he reached the bridge, where he collapsed, breathing heavily. He didn't know how long he sat there. He just knew that it was a while. He sat on the edge of the canyon, his legs dangling over the edge as he stared at the star-filled sky above him.
"...Garen...?"
He turned his head slightly, but not enough to look at Kaya. He merely did that in acknowledgment of her presence.
"...Everyone has agreed...that if you want to take your position as the King...You will be the one to decide when. There are those who think you are ready, but there are also those who think you should wait. They decided that it should be up to you to decide when you take Seiya's place as our leader...so no one would force you into anything before you were ready."
Garen thought about it for a minute. Then, he rose to his feet and started across the bridge.
"Garen...!"
Garen paused, but only to turn to look at her. "...I'm going to see what they don't like about Hyrule that they want to take the desert," he replied, feeling the wind start to pick up, seeming to pull him back towards the fortress. "...I'll be back... But I don't know when. It could be an hour... It could be a day. I don't know. But I'll be back."
He paused, and added, "...And I'll have an answer for you."
'
Garen stepped out into Hyrule Field, looking around in silence. The moon cast a silvery light over everything, illuminating the green field. It reminded him of a dream he had, long ago... He hadn't known this place to really exist, but apparently it did. Everything was green, save for a few stones scattered here and there, and there were plenty of trees and shrubs around. A gentle breeze blew by. It felt cool, but not frigid or scorching like he was used to. Garen scowled, clenching his fists.
"For this..." he muttered, "For this...! My mother was killed for this?!?!?!"
He spat on the ground, turning his face to the heavens.
"I swear..." he growled, his tears finally starting to fall, "I swear... They will pay... for what they've done...! They will pay... for everything they put us through...!"
He turned on his heel, turning back towards the desert that was his home.
"...I now claim my rights as King of the Gerudo... I will defend my home... And I will make them suffer as we have... I will send them all into a most fitting Hell... I swear it... On the stars... on my mother's name... They will suffer."
'
Author's Notes: Before I get flamed for supposedly putting mature content in a PG story, I must say one thing: I didn't say they did anything. Think what you want. As far as I'm concerned, they just sat there in each other's arms and fell asleep.
Okay, this was interesting to do. I was planning this from the start, but I wasn't sure what age to make Garen when Seiya died. Back in the planning stages, I figured it'd be okay to make him thirteen. So there you have it. He's thirteen. However, how she died was a different matter. In every plan I had, it'd just be us finding her near-dead already. o.o I decided to go with the flow, and we actually saw her stabbed.
Also, in the funeral scene, no I don't know how the Gerudo deal with the dead. Because there are no pyramids to suggest possible mummification, I assumed they burned the bodies, for lack of a proper burial ground. o.o
Also, one last note: Seiya's name, I think, means 'starry night'. That's the significance of the stars in the end, as well as in Garen's last comment. o.o