Chapter Five

The messenger uneasily approached the bridge, the note clutched tightly in his hand. The guards eyed him warily, crossing their spears to block his path.

"State your purpose."

"Uh... I, ah, I'm here on behalf of the King of Hyrule..." the messenger stammered, taking an involuntary step back, "I come with a message...asking your leader to come to a meeting with the King and the leaders of the other tribes...for a peace treaty." He held out the letter, and one of the guards took it from him, reading over it quickly. She then looked to him and gave him a slight nod.

"I'll be sure to deliver it for him. You can go now."

The messenger started, returning the nod before leaving without another word. The guards could tell that he wanted to run, but he was trying to keep a good composure and stay calm. They sneered, and once he was out of sight, the one holding the letter started towards the fortress. "I'll be back. I'm just going to deliver this to Garen."

"Hurry up, will you? I hate standing here by myself."

"I will, I will."

'

"...What's this?"

"A letter from the King of Hyrule," the guard replied as Garen took the letter from her, reading over it in silence, "If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my post." She bowed slightly, and left without another word.

"...What does it say?" Kaya asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"...I've been invited to Hyrule Castle..." he replied, continuing to read, "...to end the war and bring peace to Hyrule."

"Sounds important," Kaya said softly, resting her chin on his shoulder. Although he was fifteen and she was twenty-one, he was getting to be taller than she was. "...Are you going?"

"...Why not?" Garen asked, folding up the letter and sticking it in his pocket, "It is from the King of Hyrule, although I am addressed as 'Miss', and the letter is actually written out to my mother."

"Do you think they'll let you in?" Kaya asked, running her fingers through his hair, "I don't know if many people know that males are born to our tribe every one hundred years...so they might not think you're the real thing."

"They should let me in, if I have this," he replied, leaning into her touch as he patted his hip, indicating the letter, "It even said so. Anyway, I think that they probably know about me by now. That last attack two years ago should have given them the information they needed."

"Possibly, considering I killed the first person who knew about you, and you killed the other three," Kaya said with a smile, kissing his cheek. Her smile soon faded and she held him fiercely close. "Just be safe...okay...?" she whispered, "The same thing could happen... They might try to kill you..."

Garen turned to face her and returned the embrace. "I'll be fine," he whispered back, kissing her forehead gently, "I'll be fine..." He wanted to add that his magic would be enough to stop them if they did intend to kill him, but he had decided long ago that he didn't want anybody to know.

"...I believe you..." Kaya said as she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes, "...Still...try to be safe...and don't let your anger get the best of you..."

"...I will."

'

Garen walked through the town market in silence, ignoring the stares of the townsfolk. He felt like an outsider, unwanted by these strangers. He longed to be back in the desert, where others respected him, and they didn't stare at him like he was some monster.

'Heathens...' he thought bitterly, watching as they whispered to each other behind their hands. One child pointed at him, smirking as though finding him hilarious for some reason or another. He glared at the boy, whose eyes widened and his mouth shut immediately, running over to his friends, who waited nearby. Garen fought the urge to smirk, quickening his pace. For once, he was thankful for the harsh gaze his mother had passed on to him.

He finally reached the path leading up to the castle. It was rather plain, but that was possibly due to the contrast of the majestic appearance of Hyrule Castle. Garen stopped, looking up at the castle in silence for a moment. He thought for a moment, thinking it might actually look better if the stones were actually dark grey to black rather than nearly white. He blinked, shaking his head slightly. The war had probably warped his preferences, leading them in a more macabre direction. He continued up the path until he reached a gate, where he found two guards, who hastily blocked his path.

"State your business."

"I'm here to meet with the King," Garen said, withdrawing the letter from his pocket, "I am here in the place of Seiya to discuss this peace treaty."

The guard shook his head. "Only the Lady Seiya is permitted to enter," he said, "No exceptions."

"'Lady Seiya' is dead," Garen replied tersely, "I am her son, and current leader of the Gerudo. Now, let me pass. I have the letter."

He shoved it in the guard's hand, and the guard looked over it quickly. He frowned, and then turned back to Garen. "Right this way." He nodded slightly to his partner before turning and leading Garen across the drawbridge, into the castle.

Garen did not do much to look around as he was led through the castle, but from what he did see, it was pretty extravagant, even more so than the Spirit Temple. '...What kind of people are these that they would make homes for themselves that surpass the temples dedicated to the very gods?' he wondered, frowning slightly.

He was led to a large, rectangular room that seemed relatively plain, although it was still a bit overdone in Garen's opinion. There was a large table in the center of the room, seated at which were two people.

The first resembled a giant rock, with a rather large girth and a wild mane of white hair. His eyes were round and black, like ebony stones set in his round face. He seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face, and he had decorative markings painted on his face, giving him a rather intimidating look.

The second looked more like a man, although his skin was blue, and his eyes where a glassy violet. He reminded Garen of a fish (although Garen hadn't seen many, as he'd lived in the desert all his life). He actually wore clothing, although all he seemed to be wearing was an azure sarong around his waist. He, too, had a dangerous look about him, possibly more so than the rock-man.

Both of them eyed him suspiciously, and he suddenly felt the urge to run in the opposite direction. He kept a straight face, especially when the guard left, shutting the door behind him. Garen felt a chill run down his spine.

He was now alone with these two...

"...What's a kid like you doing here?" the rock-person barked at him, his voice hoarse and gruff.

"...I'm here to represent to Gerudo tribe for the peace treaty," he replied slowly.

"The Gerudo?" the fish-person asked, his lip curling into a sneer, "You're joking. The Gerudo tribe is made entirely of women. You're a boy."

"And a young one at that," the rock-person added, "You hardly look any older than my son. Where's the leader of the Gerudo tribe?"

"Perhaps they are too proud to condescend themselves to show up in person, Ganshou. So instead they send a child in their place."

"You're right, Kuru," Ganshou said with a laugh, "The Gerudo are a bunch of thieves anyway. They'd just as soon rob us blind than discuss a peace treaty."

Garen narrowed his eyes, clenching his fist. He remembered Kaya's words: 'don't let your anger get the best of you.' He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down.

"Just a child," he heard Ganshou say, "It's embarrassing, having to be ranked with a child. It's one thing to send a representative, it's another thing to send a child that knows nothing."

"Well, the boy is not to blame," Kuru said, laughing softly, "Especially because the Gerudo are reclusive cowards who hide in the desert and lash out at anyone that comes near."

Garen felt himself shaking with rage. He felt his power flaring inside of him. If he lost control of his anger, something was bound to happen. Something bad. He kept his fists clenched, his head low. He could hear Ganshou and Kuru laughing. Laughing at him.

"Let's not be so quick to judge," he heard a new voice say. He opened his eyes. Standing at the end of the table was a middle-aged man who was finely dressed in red robes, a crown resting on his head. "You are Seiya's representative, are you not?" the man asked gently.

"...I'm her son..." Garen replied, turning his head away, "...She was killed two years ago, and I took her place in leading the tribe."

"According to the laws of your people, you are the King of the Gerudo, are you not?"

Garen did not reply right away, but gave a slight nod. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ganshou and Kuru's stunned expressions. He would have laughed, but he was far too angry to say or do anything.

"Now..." the King said, glancing at all three leaders (or representatives, in Kuru's case) in turn, "We all know why we are here. It is about time the war ended. It has been going on for over two decades now. To end it, we must agree to settle our differences and unite Hyrule once more. Of the six tribes, only five took part in the war, and only four of those five remain."

"Six?" Garen asked, mildly confused.

"Don't you know anything, boy?" Ganshou asked, raising one eyebrow, his expression all but screaming 'you must be joking.' Garen glared at him, but the King held up one hand to silence Ganshou.

"There are six tribes in Hyrule," the King explained patiently, "The Hylians, who mostly reside in town, or in Kakariko, at Death Mountain's base; The Gorons, like Ganshou here, who reside on Death Mountain; The Zora's, like Kuru, who live in Zora's Domain, which is east of Kakariko; The Kokiri, who live in the forest; The Gerudo, who, as you already know, live in the desert; and, finally, the Sheikah, who were all but wiped out during the war."

Garen nodded slightly, more confused than ever, but not wanting to make himself look like a complete idiot in front of them. The King turned back to the others.

"Now, carefully think about what your decisions are. We can continue this war, or we can end it. If we end it, we must all agree on a peaceful coexistence with one another," he said, "We don't necessarily need to be allies, but we do need to agree that we can at least cope with each other's existence."

"Well, Brother," Ganshou said, "I'm tired of this war as well. As you have helped my people out before, we shall be your allies, no matter what happens."

"I believed that would be your answer," the King said, and Ganshou, much to Garen's surprise, grinned proudly.

"...We will be your allies as well," Kuru said slowly, apparently still thinking about it, "...There is no reason for us to fight, but should something arise, we will assist you."

"Excellent," the King said with a smile. He turned to Garen, who had crossed his arms over his chest, thinking hard about what he wanted to do. "What about you?"

"...We agree to peace, but not to allegiance," Garen said slowly, "We weren't even involved in the war, yet we were constantly attacked because we were the biggest threat. My people are dying already. Many lost their lives to the desert heat or the lack of food, but the war decreased our numbers by half. We were wrongfully attacked, and I see no right for anyone to ask us for help. But that is not the real reason I refuse to agree to an allegiance." He paused, but, seeing as he still had their attention, he continued.

"From everything I have heard and seen in my lifetime, the Gerudo are often distrusted, and there are far too many misconceptions about them. I will not subject them to any mistreatment from anyone, alliance or no. We will not fight anyone. We will stay in the desert. If anyone comes into our territory... I cannot guarantee their safety."

After having said that, he turned and left the room in silence. He did not see the expressions on their faces, but he knew that they were probably either stunned or hateful. He did not glance at the guards as he brushed past. All he cared about was getting home.

Once he finally reached the desert, he just went straight to his house, not looking at anyone. He went inside and collapsed heavily onto his bed, burying his face in the mattress. He lay there for a while in silence, keeping his eyes shut tightly.

'...I don't know what to do anymore...'

'

Author's Notes: Okay. Let's try this again. The chapter was posted last night, but it still hasn't shown up in thirteen hours. Therefore, I have deleted it, and I am posting it again.
For those who don't know, Garen is fifteen right now. The scene at the castle was meant to have him actually snap and yell at the others, but it just didn't turn out that way. Write what flows, y'know? But anyways, you have to understand things from his point of view. Yes, the Gerudo are probably the least liked out of the six races, and they would be greatly mistreated. So he wants to protect them from all this by saying, "We won't cause trouble, but stay out of our home." Understandable, right? Right.