Disclaimer: Lemme check… Yep, it's still in effect!
Okay, I know I said that the next chapter would be posted relatively soon and here is what I say to that: I lied. Just kidding, but things came up unexpectedly and this was just pushed to the back of my mind. But anyway… Oh! I forgot that doesn't support asterisks anymore so if that last chapter was a little confusing between scene changes and such, I am sorry. I suppose they weren't that hard to figure out, but it would still be a little disorientating.
And, once I again, I lied. No Gerudo butt-kicking in this chapter either; nope, it's just some idea that sprang into my mind that might result in a back-story… That will become apparent later in the chapter. :grin:
And I have zero time to answer responses, but please understand that I read every, single one and I treasure them! Thank you!
Some credit goes to Cassia and Siobhan (authoresses of The Mellon Chronicles)because I used some ideas from their story, Return, for the archery in this chapter. Thanks!
Chapter NineLessons and Discoveries
Link slept soundly the rest of the night, thanks to the help of the Sages. He was not haunted by nightmares or visions. He woke up the next morning feeling fully energized and just about ready to take on anything, man or beast.
In this case, he laughed to himself, Ganondorf is both…
He sat up and breathed in a deep breath. This was the day… the day that he would defeat Ganondorf and save Hyrule and rescue Zelda. He looked to the window in front of where he lay and gazed out longingly. Oh, how he desired to see Hyrule free of Ganondorf's reign, and Zelda out of the clutches of evil incarnate. That was why he had to get to work as soon as possible.
Not wasting another precious moment, Link pushed back the blankets and stood up. Before going out into the training grounds, he grabbed the Master Sword, his Hylian Shield, Hookshot, bow and quiver full of arrows. Those were his most important weapons. Yes, he had discovered others along his journeys, but the majority of the time he left them in the lands he found them in. The few exceptions to that rule were the Hookshot and bow and arrows.
Link walked out into the hallway and nearly ran straight into Nabooru. She jumped back and gasped.
"You scared the life right out of me, Link!"
Link smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I was—"
"Preoccupied, I know," Nabooru completed for him. "And why shouldn't you be? Anyway, I was on my way to make sure you were up."
"Why?" the Hylian quirked an eyebrow.
Nabooru looked at him incredulously. "What do you think? So we can have hotcakes for breakfast? You need to start preparing for tonight so you can save Hyrule!" She muttered under her breath, "Stupid…"
"I heard that!" Link said. "And did you honestly think I wouldn't train today?"
"I was just making sure you were up…" the Gerudo replied airily. "I was doing it for your benefit! Come on, Link."
As she ushered him through the fortress, Link said, "Now you sound like Navi!"
"Here I am, Link!"
At the sound of that voice, the Hylian turned around. "Navi! It's great to see you!"
"I'm happy to see you as well!" she replied. "I hope you slept the remainder of the night well…"
"I hope so, too," Nabooru said softly as she continued. "Gerudian training is hard work."
"Why?" Link said airily. "I am the Hero of Time! How hard could Gerudian training be?"
At that comment Nabooru burst out laughing, as did his fairy, which more than surprised the Hylian.
"And what, pray tell," Link said, glancing between the two of his friends, "is so funny?"
"You!" Nabooru shouted while clutching her stomach, she was laughing so hard. Wiping a tear away from her eye, she stopped as much as she was able and said incredulously, "You have no idea what you're in for today, boy! Gerudian warriors train all day long, only breaking once for the midday meal! Do you think you can handle that?"
Link frowned at her. "Of course I'll be able to! I'll have to! How else can I get ready for tonight?"
"True, true enough, Link," Nabooru said as she nodded sagely. "Well, since you see it that way, why don't we go grab a small breakfast—not too heavy, now!—and I'll meet you in the square at seven-thirty? How does that sound?"
Link nodded. "Sounds good to me," he acquiesced.
After a small breakfast consisting of a single Hyrulean apple so as to not get an upset stomach halfway through training, Link walked out of the shadows of the fortress and into the bright, hot desert sun. For a moment, the sun blinded him and he brought his hand to his eyes. All of a sudden, he heard, from directly in front of him, a battle cry. He then saw the very blade of a sword a mere inch away from his face. He dropped his hand and his eyes went huge as he took in the situation. He blinked rapidly and focused his eyes as he heard a familiar voice.
"You're late." It was Nabooru. Her voice was flat.
Link groaned and glanced at the sundial. "Three minutes, big deal!"
"It is a big deal when you have a blade a small inch from ending your existence!" she argued. "But enough of this. We must get to work. We'll start with warm-ups…"
"Tell me what to do," Link said, reaching behind his back for his Sword.
Nabooru chuckled and caught his arm, stilling his movements. "Oh, no. We don't work with the weaponry until at least after midday."
The Hylian started as she grasped his forearm and then slowly consented. "Oh… All right."
"In fact," Nabooru said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, "you might even want to take off all your gear. You're gonna be hot enough as it is out here."
Link didn't like where this was headed but he somewhat reluctantly shrugged off his Shield, unbuckled his scabbard with Sword and un-strapped his quiver and set them against a nearby wall, laying his bow next to them.
"So…" he said nervously, turning back to Nabooru, "what are we going to do?"
Nabooru raised an eyebrow and snorted softly. "Not we, you! You are going to run around this fortress—three times. That is the equivalent of one mile."
The Hylian gaped at her. "What!"
"You heard me! Now, get runnin' or I'll make it two miles!" she barked.
"All right, all right," Link hollered as he started jogging away. "Miss Bossy…" he said under his breath.
"I heard that!"
Link panted heavily. It was approaching the fifth hour of his training. Nabooru had become Link's personal instructor for the day, giving him all kinds of techniques to work on. All through the morning, he had run and lifted weights—big, heavy boxes. Nabooru had put Link to work moving them; she said that they were for later… And Link could have sworn by all the higher powers that he felt something moving inside each of the three boxes he lifted.
Right now, he was taking his break and sitting inside the cool shade of the fortress, sipping a cup of water. He didn't think his stomach could handle bread just yet. He looked up wearily when he heard Nabooru walk in.
"You're doin' real good, kid," she said encouragingly, sitting down next to Link and placing her hand on his shoulder. "You're showing real guts out there."
"Thanks," was all Link was able to get out before needing another drink of water and wiping the sweat off his face.
"Tell you what," the Gerudo said, "take as long as you need for a break. This is new to you and, besides, you seem to be doing just fine. Heck, you're doing better than some of the Gerudo did on their first day."
Link looked up at her. "Really?"
"Sure," Nabooru grinned and then laughed knowingly. "You're doing better than I did on my first day of Gerudian training."
Link raised his eyebrows. "How old were you when you started training, though?"
"Seventeen, the same age as you," she smiled. "That's the age of an adult in our culture."
Link took a large swig from his cup, not quite finishing it, and set it down on the table. "Well, I want to make you proud!"
"Are you ready to work with the weaponry?"
"Let's do it!" Link smiled eagerly. Then another question floated through his head. "Who was your instructor?"
Nabooru stopped. That question brought up evil memories; of course, Link hadn't known that he was treading on sensitive ground. Since he had asked and because that she had really grown to like Link as a best friend, she decided to answer. "My instructor was—Ganondorf."
Link stopped and blinked, nearly choking on the water he was drinking. After clearing his throat, he stared at Nabooru with large eyes. "Wh—what? But…" It didn't make sense. How had Ganondorf turned out so… power-hungry and twisted; Nabooru was so kind and caring. It didn't add up.
"Don't worry yourself over it," she brushed off. "It's something that need not concern you."
Link nodded and followed Nabooru once more out onto the training grounds. He sighed, trying to break the awkward silence that had passed between them. "All right, what do we start with?"
"Since you show a keen interest in archery, I figured we'd start with that; then we'll move on to that Hookshot-thing you've got and then we'll work on your swordplay. Although," she said, scratching her chin and sizing Link up, "I heard that you defeated the Shadow that dwelled in Kakariko Village and also trained under the Sheikah, Impa, so I might not be able to teach you much more."
The Hylian nodded and then went over to where he had set down his gear. He picked up his quiver and strapped it around his chest, buckling it in the front. He grabbed his bow as well and then walked back over to Nabooru. "Where's the archery field?"
"Just up this hill," she said, pointing and starting to walk up. "Come on."
Link quickened his pace to catch up to her. He wanted to find out more about Nabooru's past, especially her relationship with Ganondorf. "Would it pain you too much to talk about your training with Ganondorf?"
Nabooru closed her eyes and sighed. She had feared that he would ask this of her once she had told him, but she was willing to let him know. After sighing deeply, she began, "Like I said, Ganondorf was my instructor. He taught me all the fighting techniques I know. But there was always something different between us; he always seemed so…" she stopped, trying to think of the right word, "power-driven, catch my meaning? He never did anything unless he could clearly see the advantage for himself, or at least the good of the Gerudo people, and I never liked that about him. Anyway, I started training with him when I came of age—seventeen—and it was hard work. At first, I couldn't get anything right and he—he would get quite angry with me, sometimes going so far as to punish me…" She closed her eyes for a moment before continuing, "But he knew I would have a hard life, since my parents died when I was young and I was destined to take the leadership of the Gerudo race on my shoulders, at least during his absences, which proved to be quite frequent, considering the war that happened about seventeen years ago. You could almost say that Ganondorf raised me. But my training ended before my eighteenth birthday, as it is wont to do and I have heard almost nothing of Ganondorf since. Then you came and told me of his ambitions… Four years have passed since that first training session and I'll never forget it."
When Nabooru finished, her eyes were sad and weary. So much had happened all those years ago, when she was so young, she had thought she had buried them, but she had been mistaken. But perhaps it was a good thing that she had told Link of these matters. She had never told anybody—she hadn't had anybody to tell them to. Now that she did, it was comforting to know that someone cared enough to ask. Link's tenderheartedness touched her heart.
Link's eyes were downcast and sad. He felt compassion for Nabooru; but what haunted him the most were the words, '…sometimes going so far as to punish me…' Those words alone sent a chill up and down his spine. At Nabooru's voice saying that they were at the fields, it knocked him out of his reverie and he looked up and saw in front of him ten small targets, about a hundred paces away.
Nabooru crossed her arms and said, "All right. Let me see what I've got to work with. Hit as close as you can to the target in front of you."
"All right…" Link agreed. He took out his bow and notched an arrow, sighted it and let it fly, missing the target by only a few inches.
Nabooru nodded sagely. "Not bad, but I can teach you to shoot a perfect shot. This shan't take too long." Shrugging off her own bow, she notched an arrow and let it go, hitting a perfect bull's eye.
Link's mouth dropped open. "Can you teach me how to do that?"
"That's my intention," she said, placing her hands on her hips after shouldering her bow. "Now, let me see your stance." When Link just looked at her in a misunderstanding way, she explained, "Pretend you're going to fire a shot."
"Oh!" he said hurriedly, the meaning coming clear to him. Taking another arrow from his quiver, he notched it and sighted the target.
"Freeze!" Nabooru ordered him sharply.
Link stood perfectly still.
"There," Nabooru whispered seeing Link's problem. "That's what's wrong…" Gently, but firmly, she grasped Link's arm until his shoulders formed a straight line. The Gerudo placed her hand between the Hylian's shoulder blades and pressed Link's left elbow down until his arm was straight, perpendicular to his body. Leaning forward, Nabooru sighted along Link's arm. With her face so close to the Hylian's she spoke softly, instructing her student to sight in on the target across the way. He did as she bade him.
"Breathe in," she informed softly.
He did as he was told, the arrow re-sighted, offset by the motion.
"Breathe out, but do not move."
Once again, Link obeyed, completely emptying lungs. His body grew very still and his hands stopped trembling from the tension of the string. Nabooru leaned forward once more, sighting along the length of the arrow shaft. Seeing the tip of the arrow just on the target, she adjusted it, setting it just above the intended target. "The path of an arrow arcs, never forget that. Now, release."
Link's hand let the arrow go and struck his target true. He turned to Nabooru in surprise.
"See, it's quite easy," she smiled proudly at him.
"Can I try it again?" Link asked happily.
"Of course! How do you think I got so good at it?" she said, handing Link back his bow. "Give it another shot and then I'll teach you something else about archery when you master this. Shouldn't take you that long, I imagine…"
And it didn't. Out of ten shots, Link had hit nine perfect bull's eyes. When he tried ten more, he shot all of them true.
"All right, you're ready to move on to the next phase," she smiled daringly, "Horseback archery!"
Link's eyebrows shot up. "H—horseback archery?"
"Did I stutter?"
"N—no."
"Then, yes, horseback archery. See those really big targets up there?" When Link nodded mutely, she continued, "You're going to shoot those with arrows until you get fifteen thousand points. A bull's eye is a hundred, obviously, the middle ring is sixty and the outer ring is thirty. You'll go along the path and then around that target down there and back. The jars you see past the gates on those boxes are also worth a hundred points. Ready to start?"
"Give me a minute," he said, while pulling out his Ocarina. He was just about to begin playing when Nabooru's enraged voice stopped him.
"What in the name of reason are you doing! This is no time for a concert!"
But Link ignored her and began playing a soft and slow melody: Epona's Song. He wasn't going to do this without her. When the mare came galloping up the hill, Nabooru's annoyed look quickly sobered into one of surprise.
"Oh," she said softly, embarrassed, "that's what you were doing…"
"I'd never do something like this without Epona…" Link said, smiling, petting her long face before mounting up on her back.
"Good luck, Link," Nabooru said as she patted Epona encouragingly.
Link didn't reply; he just started galloping on Epona. The first things he shot down were the seven tall jars, earning him seven hundred points, then just before Epona circled the high target, he was able to score a bull's eye and two shots of sixty points, totaling him to nine hundred and twenty. On the second trip, he garnered six bull's eyes and one thirty. Would that be enough…?
When he returned to the starting point, Nabooru smiled as she counted up his total score. "Well done, Link! Your total score was fifteen hundred and thirty: you pass! Congratulations! You are quite an exceptional archer, I must say."
"Thanks," Link replied as he dismounted. "Can we move straight to swordplay now?"
Nabooru sighed. She had really wanted to see Link's Hookshot. She was curious as to how it worked, but since they were running a little short on time – it was already four o' clock – she would grant Link's request. "Yes, we'll work on swordplay." She smiled. "But first, I want to give you something…" Walking over to the storage tent and going in a small, secluded corner of it, she emerged back in the sunlight and held out a very ornate and large quiver. "This was mine when I first learned archery. I want you to have it. It was my first quiver so take good care of it." She presented Link with the beautiful-looking quiver.
Accepting the gift, Link said, "Thank you. I will take good care of it." In turn, he presented her with his, albeit his wasn't quite as fancy as hers, nor did it fit quite as many arrows, but she accepted it nonetheless and was very grateful for it. After all, she reminded herself, it is the thought that counts!
"Now can we do swordplay?" Link somewhat childishly whined.
Nabooru laughed out loud. "Yes, already! Let's go, if you're so itchin' to get there!"
Nabooru and Link walked back down the hill and, after getting Epona settled in the stables, she took him into the shade of the fortress, out of the scorching desert sun. Before him, in the arena, Link saw the three boxes he had moved earlier in the day.
"What are those for?" he asked, pointing. Then, suddenly, one of the crates jumped a few inches off the floor. Link recoiled and Navi flew behind him, peering cautiously over his shoulder.
Nabooru laughed at his reaction. "Those are for you…" She answered cryptically. "Draw your weapon."
Link did as she instructed, more than a little nervous. Those boxes were huge—at least four feet tall and the same distance across. The Hylian swallowed hard.
"Ladies, come on in," Nabooru hollered out and, from out in a room to the right, three other Gerudo stepped into the room and took positions behind the boxes. Link recognized Ishtar among them. Nabooru returned her attention back to the Hylian and said, "Inside each these boxes is a Desert Wolfos, as well as one Leever—adult-size this time," she smiled knowingly at Link. "Your task is thus: defeat each of these enemies in the time limit. You have four minutes."
"What's so differe—?" But Link's question was interrupted when Nabooru suddenly shouted, "GO!"
And no sooner had she said that, the three other Gerudo opened the crates and out came three monstrous Desert Wolfos, snarling and showing their teeth, which were dripping with saliva. They crawled on four legs, like all Wolfos do, and were a ruddy brown colour with flecks of grey etched in their fur on the ends. When one of them let loose a shrill howl and stood on its hind legs, Link saw just how big and tall they could be: the monsters rose at least five feet off the ground. And they were fast and cunning as well, Link would soon found out.
For the very first few seconds, Link stared down two of them, while the third went off around behind him; the Hylian kept a close eye on that one. All of a sudden, as if acting of one, sound mind, they all three attacked. At the last moment, Link side-jumped, causing them to almost crash into each other, had they not turned and started running at their prey from a new direction. One of them jumped up, aiming for Link's upper body. The Hylian ducked and immediately saw a second one come leaping at him. He held up his shield to defend, making the Wolfos bash its head against the metal. It dropped to the ground out of shock and did not rise. But even then Link was not allowed rest, that is, if he didn't want to be decapitated from behind, which very nearly happened had he not pivoted on his heel and drove his sword upward into the first Wolfos' mouth, killing it quickly and efficiently.
The third one circled him warily. This one was different than the other two—it was more cautious. Link was starting to get a little worried, not over the Wolfos, but over the missing Leevers. He was just waiting for one to sneak up quickly and silently behind him and sink it's pincers into his leg and poison him. By the higher powers, he didn't think he could undergo that ordeal again! So he kept an open eye for them. Meanwhile, the third Wolfos was still circling him, waiting…
Then, Link was attacked from behind, feeling sharp claws rake and dig into the flesh of his back, shoving him to the ground and causing him to lose his Sword. The other Wolfos! He didn't kill it! Being in a very vulnerable position and weaponless, he was ill-prepared when the third wolf came charging to him, baring her claws and ready to tear him to shreds—had Link not pulled out his Hookshot and ran the spring-loaded hook into the creature's eye. But he still had one more to kill. He stood up, wiping the blood from the small cuts to his palms on his tunic as he stood up. The arena floor was covered in coarse sand that had ground its way into his hands when he was pushed from behind.
Slowly, never letting his eyes off the Wolfos in front of him, nor off the three Leevers he finally spotted, Link edged his way around the perimeter of the battle floor, making his way slowly but surely to his dropped Master Sword. Before he was able to retrieve it, however, the Wolfos attacked. Link stepped to one side, rolled down and grabbed the Master Sword and then, sprang back up on his feet, as nimble as a deer. By that time, the Wolfos had turned around and lunged at Link. Instead of letting the animal come to him, Link charged and swung his sword down and around, and then cut it through the Wolfos' neck, deftly slicing its head off.
But there was no rest for the weary, not yet anyway, as the Leevers were still alive and ready to poison Link with their lethal venom. Running by each of them, Link sliced each in turn in half.
"Time!" he yelled breathlessly when the last one was dead.
"Three minutes and sixteen seconds," Nabooru informed. "Wow, nice one, Link! That's a new record!"
Link looked at her and then collapsed to his knees in exhaustion, his sword rammed into the ground mid-way with his left hand resting in the top of the hilt. "I—I did it?" he whispered tiredly.
"Yes," Nabooru said as she knelt next to Link. "You are ready. Come on, let's get you cleaned up. If we bandage up those cuts now, they will heal by tonight and they won't bother you at all!"
"Good, because they're killing me now," Link retorted as Nabooru wrapped her arms under Link's and assisted him to stand. "Watch it, watch it!" he hissed at her when she unintentionally touched the deep cuts on his back.
Nabooru glanced at her friend's back and winced. "I'm sorry. Dear gods, it looks like I sent you out to battle and you lost! Miserably so… But, man, did you ever beat those Desert Wolfos! Don't think I've ever seen anybody take 'em out that fast!"
"Thanks," Link sighed as Nabooru helped him to the infirmary. "I seem to be spending a lot of time here, don't I?" he joked when they arrived.
Nabooru giggled as she eased him down onto the mat he had used the previous night. "So it seems… Rest, someone will see to your wounds in a minute. Try not to lie down, that will only upset the cuts to your back."
"No, really?" Link said in mock-thoughtfulness, "You think?"
Nabooru smiled innocently as she left the room.
Link sighed. He felt good, but he knew he could feel much better. Zelda was still captive to Ganondorf and that thought did not help Link's thoughts in the least. As if being able to read her partner's thoughts, Navi comforted, "Don't worry, Link. I'm sure Zelda's fine. Ganondorf won't hurt her unless you're there to be hurt by it as well. And he can't kill her—he needs her Triforce piece."
"I know, I know!" Link said impatiently, his voice thick with emotion. "It's just… And I don't think this training has been a waste of time, either, because I really needed to improve, but… I want to rescue her as soon as possible. And… I— I lov—!"
Just then, a healer stepped into the room, accompanied by Nabooru, and Link immediately stopped mid-sentence and looked down at his hands. Navi eyed him carefully and then decided Link would elaborate further if he so desired; she already had a feeling of this, though, what Link spoke of. She had felt almost sure of it since Link first met Zelda, even when he hadn't known that little girl in the market was the crown Princess of Hyrule.
Link was in love.
"All right, Link," Nabooru said, while the healer laid down her supplies on the floor next to Link's bed, and kneeling next to Link, "we'll work as fast as we can and hopefully have you back to your old, strong self before nightfall. Then, you can go defeat Ganondorf and rescue Princess Zelda. Sound good?"
"Yeah," Link said hurriedly, looking up quickly. With that, Nabooru and the healer gently eased him out of his tunic and undershirt and onto his stomach, allowing them access to his heavily marred back. They worked for an hour and a half, bandaging the Hero's wounds and, just as they promised, Link was as good as new before nightfall.
Link sat up on his knees and looked at his torso, examining the bandages wrapped around his mid-section. "Did you use a new medicine, or something?"
"Yes, it speeds up the healing process twofold," the healer informed.
"Come sit around the campfire outside for a minute, Link," Nabooru motioned, "I have things to tell you that may help you in the very near future…"
Well, there you go. Next chapter, I SWEAR, we'll kick some Gerudo butt! I need to stop thinking of all these inserts and ideas… But they just come unbidden to my mind while I type and… :sigh:
Namarie, till next we meet!
