Michael reached down into the straw basket to grab an orange. The noises of the old Hyrule Market flooded his ears as he felt around for the least molded orange. Whispers, laughs, voices, and footsteps all entered Michael's ear, forcing him to smile. After only two weeks, the town market was already completely rebuilt, and the castle was already partially restored.
"That would be five rupees," asserted the vendor, a short plump man with heavy facial hair.
Michael smiled. "Five rupees seems a bit much. How about two?"
The vendor shook his head. "I do not negotiate."
"Come on, this is a bazaar, of course you negotiate. Everyone negotiates! Who here would actually pay five rupees just for one orange anyway?"
"I sure wouldn't," bellowed a deep and potent female voice. Michael turned around to face the newcomer. A rather dark skinned woman, appearing to Michael was Middle-Eastern, barely shorter than him (Michael stood taller than most Hylians at 5'11") with dyed orange hair tied back in a long ponytail stood before him. Long golden earrings dangled down below her chin. "I think that if you got three rupees for an orange, that would be generous," she calmly commanded, her brown eyes burning through the vendor.
Michael was awestruck. Usually, I'm not one for orange hair, but this woman is gorgeous. He grinned. "But this guy doesn't negotiate."
The woman's facial expression was completely mute. "This is a market, everyone here bargains over prices." Michael stepped aside as the tall beauty approached the table. "Because we are such nice customers, I think you should sell us your oranges at two rupees a piece, can you agree to that?"
The vendor chuckled, his nervousness hemorrhaged as he nodded.
Wow. What an amazing voice. It just completely enslaved this man. I wish I was smart so I would know to resist paying too much heed to her. "Actually, I think I'll take two then," Michael gave another wide smile as he grabbed his second orange. He dropped four rupees on the table. He then began walking away.
"Hey," boomed the calm voice of the orange-haired woman.
Michael froze in his tracks. He slowly turned around to face the grande woman. Michael's eyes locked on shiny purple garmets shrouding her figure. He opened his mouth to speak, but his words were as frozen as his legs.
Her eyes fixated on Michael's white undershirt partially covered by his unbuttoned black shirt. "You dress differently than anyone in this town. I don't believe I have seen you before."
"I haven't been around very long," Michael assured.
"I know I haven't seen you before," the woman continued, "but I do know who you are."
Now Michael was surprised. "Excuse me?" His tone remained devoid of fear.
"You were that man who interfered with Link's fate," she accused.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but do you have a name? I don't believe I know—"
"It's Nabooru, the leader of the Gerudo thieves and the Spirit Sage. Walk with me."
"Where will we go?"
"To my fortress." Michael shrugged, and they were off.
Right outside the town, a carriage with two black horses awaited Nabooru. Two similarly dressed women were in the front. Instead of wearing shiny velvet, they both wore black, and had no where near the amount of jewelry Nabooru wore.
"It's alright, you are welcome to come aboard," Nabooru declared to a hesitant Michael.
Michael entered the carriage, saying nothing. When the carriage began moving, Michael ended his silence. "Why are you taking this interest in me?"
Nabooru's face once again showed no emotion. "You stood up to the queen and rejected her decree." I have never seen such a display in Hyrule before.
"I did it to help, Link," Michael insisted.
"I know, and you did help Link. You were right, but Zelda is really displeased. She is furious that you undermined her in front of Link, and she takes it out on him now!"
"I don't understand. You brought me here to chastise me for showing audacity in Zelda's face? Also, what is she doing to 'take it out on him?'" Michael angrily inquired.
Nabooru smiled. "Of course my intention is not to chastise you. I am rather impressed by your display, actually. I don't have too much respect for Zelda's recent decisions either. Although she publicly praises Link for restoring peace to Hyrule, she rarely speaks to him, and she will not allow him to stay in the castle."
"So where will he live?"
"Probably with a friend."
Michael laughed. "Ha! How many friends does he have around Hyrule that would actually burden themselves for him?"
Nabooru sighed. "Not many. I think he may ask you."
"Why would he ask me? I am not a close friend to him."
"You were the only one who showed any interest in his well-being throughout his entire quest. I think you were better than any other friend he has had."
The end of the grassy meadow on Hyrule Field approached as the rocky terrain of Gerudo Valley drew nearer and nearer. "We'll see. I'm not too sure about Link living under the same off as me, but if and only if he asks me personally, I'll consider it." Michael paused to take in a deep breath. "So how many men have actually been to this fortress of yours?"
"Ganondorf and Link are the only two that have been welcomed in recent history. The four carpenters from the Kakariko Village intruded not too long ago."
"So you girls prefer the company of each other to that of men?"
Nabooru laughed. "You think we are lesbians."
Michael smiled. "The thought had crossed my mind."
"Contrary to what most men believe, women who do not feel dependant on men are not necessarily lesbian. Whenever we feel the desire for male company, we go to the market."
"Ah, where they're extra cheap and easy," teased Michael. "Perhaps I was looking forward to the idea of visiting a fortress full of lesbians. That would be hot."
Nabooru glared at Michael. "I'll be kind and pretend that I didn't hear you say that."
"What will the others think about you bringing me here?" Michael asked, following a quick change of expression.
"That does not matter. I am their leader. They should welcome you regardless of what they think."
"Ah," Michael nodded, hinting at an ocean of doubt stirring beneath his tongue.
When the carriage stopped, Michael could see the enlarged orange solar disk tucking itself behind a series of distant mountains. "Wow, I have never seen this part of Hyrule before," proclaimed Michael.
"I find it very beautiful. Beyond this fortress is the Haunted Wasteland, which is a really dry and windy desert. Past that is the Desert Colossus, where I fought with Link and awakened as the spirit sage."
"And those mountains in the distance?"
"Those are beyond the border of Hyrule."
Michael turned to from the West's spectacle of the setting sun to face the Gerudo fortress. The fortress was a large stone complex set into a hill. "So, this is the famed Gerudo Palace." Michael said, his voice laced with sarcastic awe.
"You seem really surprised to be here."
"It's amazing. I feel so accomplished being here and having a penis at the same time. It's invigorating."
Nabooru made a valiant attempt to hide her grin in response to Michael's raw humor, but her failure led to her smile extending the farthest Michael had seen yet. Nabooru then waived to the two Gerudos in the front of the carriage. One of them came to each side and assisted Nabooru and Michael out of the carriage. They then drove the carriage around to the back of the fortress. "Come," Nabooru insisted.
"My pleasure," Michael smiled as he followed her into the fortress.
(Joanne/Link)
"Michael scorned me for getting involved. He would not tell me details about his relationship with Nabooru, nor would he say what they did the last he saw her. He resented me for asking him, constantly telling me that it wasn't my business and that I should stay out of it. With him being so uncooperative and the Gerudo stressing how devious and treacherous he was, I came to believe that he was hiding something from everyone. I came to believe that he was guilty. Only Malon at the ranch defended him, and I knew how trusting she was. I was confident that he poisoned her mind. A few days after the assistant leader of the Gerudos, Rasha, first told me of Michael's guilt, I moved out of Michael's house. I accepted Rasha's invitation to live at the fortress until I could find my own place in the town market. Michael continued to neglect me. He didn't say a word when I moved out. I couldn't believe how he could betray Nabooru like he did. She was such a wonderful woman. I found myself becoming very angry about the murder." Link stopped. His weary eyes studied Joanne's inquisitive face. The hard part hadn't begun yet.
"You were angry at Michael?"
"Yes."
"You were angry because he was cold to you or because you really believed he used and murdered Nabooru?"
"Both. The two kind of blurred together in my mind."
Joanne's brown eyes probed Link's face, but found all emotion to be corrupted by fear. "That's fair enough. Please continue." Water glistened in Link's eyes. "Tell me what you did to Michael," Joanne instructed. "You're almost there."
Link inhaled a deep breath. This was it. The climax of his story. The turning point. The end of his innocence. "Rasha demanded a price for my staying with the Gerudo. She required that I take vengeance on Michael for what he did to their leader. I could tell Rasha needed this. Now that she was in power, she put it on herself to right the wrong of Nabooru's death. She needed revenge on the man who betrayed Nabooru."
"Right the wrong? Murder is not the remedy for murder! Killing someone does not 'right' a loved one's death." Joanne sighed. "Sorry. It won't happen again. Continue."
"I believed her. I felt so much sympathy for Rasha that I hated Michael right then. I had never felt so much hatred before in my life. I wanted to help Rasha. I wanted carry out her will and avenge Nabooru. I set out to find Michael and kill him." Link was trembling.
Just as I thought, he was at his house reading. I knocked on the door, and asked him to let me in. I said that I had found a clue to who really killed Nabooru. He seemed pretty interested in what I had to say, so he showed me to the main room.
"What do you have for me?" Michael asked. I drew my sword and pointed it toward him.
"You killed Nabooru." I accused.
"Link, come on, I thought we went over this already. I didn't kill Nabooru. I don't know if someone killed her to set me up, but I sure as hell would never have murdered her like that! I adored her!"
"Stop lying! Confess to your crime, and I'll be merciful," I ordered.
"That bitch Rasha must have corrupted you. She never liked me from the beginning, because I was dating her respected elder. It really makes sense that she would be so eager to blame this on me, but Link, let me tell you before you do anything stupid, I did not do what you think I did. I am innocent of this charge."
"Put your hands up," I commanded. Michael obeyed.
"You're a smart man, Michael, but you can't control me this time."
Michael smiled. "I think the word you were looking for is manipulate, but that's not the point. As someone who stood up for you when no one else did and as someone who really inconvenienced his self for you, I ask that you give me just a little more credit. I never tried to manipulate you, and I am certainly not lying!"
I began to doubt my knowledge that Michael seduced and killed Nabooru. Before I entered his house, I knew he did it. But Michael was so good with words. He was trying to talk me down. I knew he would do this. I knew I had to try and ignore whatever he said to avoid confusion so that he wouldn't take control of the situation. I had to change the subject. "You make me sick."
"You're not listening to me, are you?"
"I can't trust you."
"Then that really eliminates our options now doesn't it? What are you going to do now? Capture me?"
"Walk toward me very slowly," I instructed. "Keep your hands at your sides and make no sudden movements."
Michael stared at me. The innocence in his facial expression discomforted me. He hesitated, waiting for me to take back my order. He waited for me to listen to him. When he saw that I would not budge, he finally took the first step. "I don't believe this bullshit. I can't tell you this enough times, but you're making a big fucking mistake," he asserted, keeping his voice tranquil.
"Silence," I barked. Keeping my composure was draining me of nearly all my energy.
As he followed my command and slowly approached me, I readied the sword in my left hand. I'll never forget how my trembling fingers could barely maintain their solid grip of the hilt. When he reached striking distance, I thrust the sword forward with as much strength as I could gather. The tip of the blade penetrated straight into his stomach. I forbade myself from looking at his face.
All I could see was a string of crimson drops leap out of the point where my sword entered. I could hear him moaning; his grunts were laced with such heavy pain. I wanted to become deaf. I squeezed the hilt harder and drove the blade deeper through Michael's stomach. I felt the tip encounter the air on the other side of Michael. For a few moments, I stood there holding the sword that completely impaled him. I still not did look at his face. I saw a few drops of blood on my tunic. Even my clothes were tainted now. I raised my left foot and kicked Michael in the stomach while pulling back with the sword. His body soared backward to the wall. I looked down at the bloodied blade of my sword. That sword was a gift Zelda presented to me as a reward for defeating Ganondorf. I could never use it again after what it did. I knew how much I hated Michael for what all evidence suggested that he did, and I had to appease the heartbroken Rasha, but I was not comfortable with taking the measure that I did. I took a long last good look at Michael as his limp body descended down the wall leaving a trail of blood behind. I told myself that this was the bad guy, dropped the sword, and left the house.
"So there it is," Link assured. "That's what happened to Michael. That's how he died." At first, Link tried to avoid Joanne, who he knew was staring intently at him; but alas, the hero realized that he had to face the beautiful blonde woman before him. The woman who held him wrapped around her fingers.
Joanne wasted no time. She frowned. "That account was not one of a hero." Her acidic brown eyes once again burned through Link's widened eyes. "That account was one of a coward. You may have believed Michael to be guilty, but deep down, you had doubts about what you were doing. You knew something wasn't right. Appeasing Rasha and the other Gerudos should not have been a priority when someone's life was at stake! I can't believe how you could just sacrifice your own intuition to cater to others like that!" Joanne scolded, with a more than just a shot of venom in her voice.
Link solemnly shook his head. He knew this scolding was in order, but he was certainly not prepared to face it, especially after spilling that miserable story. "I'm sorry, Joanne."
Joanne sighed. "Link, although I feel that you owed it to me, I want to thank you for spending the entire night awake here and then recapping quite possibly the most painful mistake of your life. You reek of guilt. In my journalism career, I have interviewed countless people, and the only person I have ever talked to with more guilt than you is Michael himself." She then walked over to the front door. "Please get your stuff and go. I can't stand the sight of you right now. I really need you to leave." Link nodded. Just as he was about to grab his sword and shield, Joanne's eyes widened. She gasped. "I know where the book is," she whispered.