A/N- Ello! Please pardon my slackerness! uu (bows in apology) But this chapter will be EXTRA long, okay? I'm making up for my mistakes! (cowers away from Floofy's bat) I finally am going to get into what in the hell Link and Nathaniel are going to do, now that they are exiled! AND! Layla tries to reason with Nabooru, but she gets interrupted! Hmmm what is the interruption? And how will it be handled? And what action will the devastated Layla take when she realizes the fact that Link. Is. Gone.
Oh, and Sean? I only have one word for you.
Punctuation.
Link and Nathaniel walked out into the wide-open field of Hyrule and looked around. It was much cooler, much, MUCH cooler. Link was amazed at the change in climate from the fortress to the field. As the fortress maintained a steady 60-degree temperature, here, it was easily below 30, freezing temperature. As Link stood, bewildered at what to do, He felt a tap on his shoulder and Nathaniel handed him a scarf and grinned, beneath his own, very expensive-looking scarf. Link wrapped it around his face and he and Nathaniel walked into the cold of the Field. As they walked, with their things, across the windy plain, Nathaniel got a bit chilly and Link got SERIOUSLY frozen. He turned to Nathaniel.
"Let's stop at Lon-Lon Ranch for the night" he called over the rising and suddenly howling wind. Nathaniel looked confused at his statement. He pulled the scarf down under his mouth and said"What?"
"I said—LETS STOP AT LON-LON RANCH FOR THE NIGHT!" Link shouted. Nathaniel didn't answer and just shook his head, with slowly pinkening cheeks, in Link's direction. Link juts rolled his eyes and grabbed the delicate prince's hand, leading him towards the barely visible form of Lon-Lon Ranch, the suddenly falling snow blocking it.
"Ahhh! Link? What are y'all doin' out in the cold?" Malon cried after opening the door. "Come in, come in." She ushered him inside and Nathaniel followed. She scowled at them. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you with Layla? Who's this?"—she pointed to Nathaniel—"'S he from 'round here? How is Layla, anyway?" She bombarded them with questions. Nathaniel stared at Link, who looked quite used to this.
"I'm exiled from Gerudo's fortress. She's married to a male chauvinist, PLUS I'm exiled from Gerudo's Fortress. That's Nathaniel"—he pointed—"No, he's the opposite brother of the male chauvinist, terrible and pregnant." Link answered robotically.
"Oh...Hey wait exiled? What the HELL did you do this time!" she put her hands on her hips. (...You know, Malon has got to be the SEXIEST farm girl around? Like I can picture her with really nice, round hips and like sort of muscular arms from all the work she's had to do, and a round, happy face with really nice, silky hair...okay I'm going to stop, I sound like a lesbian. ...I have nothing against the homosexual, obviously.)
"I didn't do ANYTHING!" Link defended. Malon stared at him and "Mmhmm"ed sarcastically. "Well, Okay, we went against, like, the FIRST rule of Gerudo, but...but...Cameron!" Link sputtered. Nathaniel sighed.
"What Link means to say is that we had a righteous cause for doing what we did, but didn't expect what Cameron did, and now we regret doing so."
"Mmm, you boys..." Malon said. "Also—"
"CAN WE NOT, PLEASE?" Link cut in, shivering. "I'm freezin' my balls off, here!" He pleaded. Malon and Nathaniel rolled their eyes at Link's slang, but nonetheless, Malon drew a warm bath for both of them and set nightclothes outside the door for each of them.
Link sunk down into the warm water to his nose and blew bubbles out of it. Sigh. That was the only word he could think of. Sigh. What the hell did he get himself into? He sat in the tub for a while and mulled over things, like how he was ever going to get back INTO the fortress, or even know how Layla was doing. Her baby was due soon, and, even though it was a child of taboo, he still wanted to see it, to see what his lover's genetics had brought into this world, and into Cameron's throne. Wait a second! He realized something as she sunk down in the water to wet his hair, and came up. Cameron is a male chauvinist, and...he'll probably be against putting anyone but his son into the throne...but if Gerudos were Gerudos truly, and Ganondorf was only born like, 30 years ago then...he smirked. All Cameron's plans were FOILED!
He jumped out of the tub and wrapped the towel round his waist, his toned abdomen and prominent hipbones (you know how guys have like...that v-shape on the inner part of their lower stomach, like, right on either side of their happy trail? (which is also hot, might I add) yeah well, I'm talking about that. They're like...my friends and I call them the "Dips in the Hips" or "The V"...we find that really hot in a guy X3) soaked with warm bath water. He whipped his arm around the bottom of the door and grabbed his nightclothes, pulling them on eagerly and practically jogging out of the bathroom and into the guestroom he and Nathaniel were staying in. He pounced, when Nathaniel's back was turned, and rolled a couple times in the floor, arms still encircling the much smaller man. (A/N- Ah, if only this story were yaoi...)
"What the hell, Link? Get off me!" Nathaniel yelped, a bit distressed.
"Nate, Nate! Link said, letting go of the Prince and getting up, grabbing a pillow from his bed and wrestling with it instead, although it didn't put up much of a fight. "Guess what I just totally remembered!"
Nathaniel put on a fake high to imitate Link. He hopped slightly. "I don't know, Link. What did you just totally remember?"
"GERUDOS!"
"...Yes, Link...that is who we were just banished from seeing."
"No, no! GerudosareanallfemaleracerightsoifCameronwantsanheirtothethroneandLayla'sgoingtogivebirthtoititcanttrulybeanheirtothethronebecauseit'sgonnabeagirlandsinceCameronisamalecheauvanistallhe'llwantisasonbutit'llbeadaughterbecauseGerudosonlygivebirthtoamaleeveryfivehundredyearssothen ITS GONNA BE A GIRL" (1 - look near bottom for translation)
"...I'm sorry, what?"
"It's gonna be a GIRL, NATE! A GIRL, A CHICK, A BROAD, A BIRD, a DOLL, a FEMALE!"
"WHAT?"
"Layla's child!" And Link, in his gaiety, threw, with such fervor, the pillow he held, at Nathaniel, knocking him over.
"Your ri-Hey!" Being hit in the face with a pillow caused Nathaniel to be cut off. He picked up the pillow in response and threw it back at Link, and suddenly, the pillow was abandoned and they were wrestling again. Suddenly, a great "OW" was heard and Malon couldn't stand it anymore and went upstairs to check it out, opening the door, right as Link had realized what Nathaniel had done and was trying to bite his ear in return. His teeth snapped over air repeatedly, and Malon just looked on in utter amusement. Finally Nathaniel looked up, away from Link, the flesh of his ear still between his perfect teeth. He let go and greeted he ranch girl.
"Oh, hey, Malon..." he said, backing up, off of Link.
"...This is an act of CHARITY, my letting you stay over for the night, not an invitation to a slumber party." Malon said, sighing.
"But...but...DO YOU SEE WHAT HE DID!" Link said, jumping up and running toward Malon, pointing to his ear, bearing the mark of 4 little red marks from Nathaniel's teeth, whom had crawled into his bed and begun to giggle guiltily.
"...You both need to go to bed or I'm forcing it into you with my broom." she brandished it menacingly. Link sighed and trudged into the bed, across the room from Nathaniel, picking up the pillow on the floor on the way, shoving it under his head as Malon turned off the light. "Goodnight." She left.
"Link..." Nathaniel began.
"Yes?"
"...I'm glad we shared this experience." He said, clearly looking for trouble all along. You could hear the smirk in his voice. Link paused.
"Me too."
Silence and then 'FLUFF!' As Nathaniel was once again hit in the face with a pillow.
"Wake up, princess." Layla was awoken by a singsong voice. She opened her eyes groggily and was greeted by a pale, blonde face.
"Mmmh...What do you WANT, Cameron?"
"I thought we might discuss our child, since it is soon to be on the way. If you are to be my queen, we should discuss guidelines and expectancies, yes?" he gripped her chin, as he had been lately. Layla grimaced and slapped his hand away. He looked surprised. Layla felt all of her anger finally boil up inside of her. She put a hand around Cameron's neck and pushed herself up from the bed, advancing on him and keeping him at arm's length, forcing him backwards, into the wall.
"Look, princey, let's get one thing straigh!t" the enraged Gerudo mother growled. "I don't like you, you don't like me. I HATE you. You caused the love of my life to be forced into exile when all the wrong done by ANYONE here was you! And YOU only want ME as a wife so I can bear your fucking heir to the throne, after which you'll probably MURDER ME! So don't even try to speak to me, I'm DONE WITH YOU." She let go of the shocked Cameron, grabbed her pillow (about the only thing that belonged to her in there), and marched out.
She was sick of rooming with Cameron, she was SICK OF IT. She would not go back to his room, no matter what they said they would do to her. It's not like it could get any worse, right? She walked past the door of Link's former quarters and into hers. She threw the pillow onto her bed and froze. She turned on her heel and exited her quarters to stare at the sign above Link's door that once said: Hero of Time. Now, it said: Hero of Time - Hereby Exiled. 'Hereby Exiled' was on top of 'Hero of Time' in big, thick, letters of black paint. This enraged Layla even more. She stomped towards Nabooru's quarters and marched over there, slamming the door open.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" she screamed. Nika looked up.
"...I'm redrawing a map of the fortress. I seem to have lost ours, and besides, many changes have come upon us since then."
Layla's thoughts went back to Link for a second, and fought back a smile when she realized Link must have been crafty and stolen it from Nika. She took less than a split second to answer back"That's not what I MEAN!" she walked over to Nika's desk where she was sitting and leaned over the desk, her face inches from the scared head Gerudo's. "Where the fuck is your girlfriend?" she growled.
"...In there. She doesn't—" she started, but Layla had already taken off in the direction of Nabooru's private study, obviously not giving a care that Nabooru didn't want to be disturbed. She slammed the door open and Nabooru jumped in surprise. Layla once again leaned over the desk.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked quietly, dangerously.
"...What?"
"Oh, don't give me that!" Layla scoffed.
"..." Nabooru truly didn't know what Layla was mad about, so she was speechless. And besides, it looked like the pregnant warrior was going to tell her anyway.
"Everyone already knows Link is exiled, you don't have to fucking ADVERTISE IT!"
"Look, it is my responsibility to...Layla...Layla are you alright?" Nabooru asked, for Layla had gone very red in the face and began to have difficulty breathing. She wasn't listening to Nabooru, and she led out a very long, loud, pained groan. Nika ran in from the other room.
"What's going on in here?" she asked, panicked.
"It's Layla, she's—" Nabooru started, as realization dawned on her. "I think she's going into labor!"
"Thanks for the update, now can we get me to the—AUUGGHH!" Layla was cut off in the middle of her sarcastic statement as another contraction shook her nerves. Nika and Nabooru both helped Layla to her feet and ran over to the infirmary, where a familiar, but unlikely face greeted them.
"Hauhh...hauh...Z-zara?" Layla gasped incredulously. "But I thought—"
"I was at the castle? Yes well the king is all better now shall we get you into a bed..." Zara said quickly and pointedly. Layla clammed up and let the three Gerudos carry her into a bed as near as possible.
Zara asked Nabooru to call for Judith and Kunti as she positioned herself between Layla's legs. "Okay, Layla, I need you to relax and concentrate. Just bear with me, all right? I know this is painful, just stay calm, all right? Ready? Push!" she prompted the smaller girl. Nika stayed at Layla's side and encouraged her, as a husband would, but since no husband was available at the time...
Nabooru returned with Judith and a smaller Gerudo. Judith carried wet rags and other birth supplies in her hands and Nabooru looked apologetic. "Sorry, Kunti was just sent out to do some errands, but I brought Judith and Celia."
"That's fine, come, help me." Zara said. Celia gave Layla a look and winked. She actually relaxed a little, Navi was here, still. Link must have made her stay. She was actually having a sane thought before pain shot through her again and Zara repeated "Come on, push!"
"La, la, la, I'm going on some errands, and then I will be back here to see what other boring stuff is happening, La, la la" the bubbly Gerudo, Kunti, said, skipping along with a basket in one hand and a bag of rupees in the other. She had hardly exited the Fortress when she was whipped roughly around the corner and leather was covering her mouth so that she couldn't scream, nor bite anything. She couldn't see anything but the wall upon which her face was shoved, and she couldn't hear anything or feel anything, because her hands were held behind her forcefully.
She struggled but didn't succeed in moving. She wanted to scream to let her go, she hadn't done anything, when she was let go, and before even thinking, she backflipped and kicked the person in the back of the knee, causing their legs to buckle and they to fall. She looked at her victim.
"Oh, Link—I'm sorry!" she moaned. "I really didn't know it was you, you should be less crazy about these things!"
"Me, crazy? Hah!" he fell face-forward into the grass, prompting Nathaniel to take over.
"Kunti...hello."
"I'm sorry I didn't have a choice it was all Cameron's idea I'm really sorry" she spouted excuses. Nathaniel waved a hand dismissively.
"That's all over now. But we DO want you to make it up to us." He said calmly.
"Anything!" the bouncy and eager-to-please Gerudo nodded.
"Can you be our spy?"
"What?"
"Our spy, our ally, you know, sneak in and out of the fortress and report to us once in a while. Link just wants to know how Layla is doing, etc, etc, and I want to know about Zara."
"Oh, Zara? Yeah, she came back today."
"Came back? From where?"
"From the CASTLE, silly, because she was helping the King get better from his illness? Duh." Kunti said matter-of-factly. Nathaniel sighed.
"Oh. Right." She didn't know the truth. But Nathaniel was relieved to know that Zara was out of the dungeons and being properly taken care of again.
"But anyway, of course! I'll be HAPPY to be your spy!" Kunti giggled. "I'll check in on them every once in a while and report back to you guys! Where will you be?"
"Well, by tomorrow, we'll probably be somewhere in Kakariko Village, Link told me there are some houses for rent." Link, fully recovered from the kick, stood up next to Nathaniel.
"That's right. They are finally renting out Impa's old place." the blonde hero said with a smile.
"Oh, excellent! That place is really easy to sneak into" Kunti punctuated her sentence with a confused look. "Er...to get to you guys, I mean." She gave a nervous giggle.
"Alright, well, Kunti, before we depart...please...give us your word. You will not tell anyone that you are our spy."
"Well..." Kunti looked at the ground and bit her finger. Her eyes got wide, and some of the little girl you never saw anymore showed through. The awkward, innocent little girl, determined to always help her friends, no matter what. "...Not even Layla? Or...or Zara?"
"ESPECIALLY not Layla" Link said. "She'll probably crack under Cameron's pressure and somehow tell him everything. It's your little secret."
"I PROMISE."
"I PROMISE"
Zara was amazed. "Just once more, Layla, really! I promise" Layla was possibly the most horrible woman she had ever had in the infirmary, trying to deliver the baby. It was surprisingly quick, though. Just once more, after 2 hours, and FINALLY, Layla's baby would be born.
"DAMNIT ZARA! YOU'VE BEEN PROMISING FOR THE LAST HOUR NOW!" Layla huffed. Celia dabbed at her forehead with a wet rag.
"Go on, Layla. Be strong. I know you can do this, if you can handle being away from Link this long...at least expel Cameron from your body, partly. I know you can do this." she whispered. "Do it for the love of your life."
Something in Celia's voice sparked a new goal in Layla, and she finally mustered up the strength to push once more, and suddenly a small crying filled the room, and Layla was half asleep, and her baby was being cleaned up, as well as she was. Her legs were put back into normal positions, and Zara smiled.
"Congratulations. You are now the mother of one of the most unique gerudos I have ever set eyes on, and possibly one of the most beautiful." Zara laid the baby girl in Layla's arms, and Layla looked down on her.
The girl had a little tuft of bronze hair, a mix of Cameron's platinum and Layla's fiery red. Her skin was tan, just like the Gerudos, but she had the thinner, more slanted, green eyes of her father. Layla giggled softly at the girl's ears. Not because they were funny, but because they were amazing. Cameron came from a land where elven ears were not in the norm, so the girl had rounded ends of ears, yet they were still kind of long, but still shorter than usual. Layla ran a finger across the girl's ear. She yawned and then began to fuss, signaling that she hungry. Layla positioned the baby in one hand and let it feed from her breast, and the other hand, she laid it on her forehead and sighed. Zara cocked her head.
"...Zara..." Layla said, quietly.
"...What is it?"
"...I..." Layla lifted her head and looked at Zara, her eyes were already tearing up. "I have a daughter."
"Yes..." Zara said. Layla laid backward and began to sob, that finally, it was over, the pregnancy, and not only that, but she had a beautiful baby girl. Not a baby boy, which foiled all Cameron's plans.
"This...is so awesome!" she choked through her sobs, making Zara chuckle softly. Layla was still her old self.
"This is so awesome!" (A/N - Pardon this pattern, but it makes me happy. ) Link dropped what little belongings he had on the floor and ran over to the nearest bed. "I CALL THIS ONE!" He pounced on it and grabbed the pillow. Nathaniel was walking over towards the bed, inspecting places, and Link looked taken aback and hissed loudly at him.
"Stop acting like an idiot, Link, and help me find the place where Kunti is going to sneak in so we aren't taken by surprise."
"Oh...yes." Link got up and walked up the staircase under which his bed was placed, and looked at the other end of the catwalk to see Nathaniel's bed. He snickered. "Could it be THERE?" he pointed. Nathaniel came up the stairs and groaned.
"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Above the bed was a small grate, a rickety one, which Link promptly pulled from its place. He stuck his head in.
"Ooo, roomy. Yep. LAYLA could get in there if she wanted. And SHE'S pregnant!"
"Haha, very funny. Whatever, I'll move the bed, I don't want her falling on me and perhaps hurting delicate parts." Nathaniel raised one red eyebrow towards Link and Link laughed, jumping deftly off the ledge and landed in front of his bed.
About half an hour later, They were settled, the bed was moved, and Link was getting hungry.
"Nate, go out and get us some food." He said, as his stomach grumbled.
"Oh, you're so polite." Nathaniel scoffed. Nonetheless, he grabbed a bag of rupees and went for the door, but a knock was heard. "Oh, who could that be?"
(A/N - Who's ready for some ultra special comic relief?)
Nathaniel opened the door to what looked to be a HORDE of young, pretty girls. The one in front, with long brown hair and in a red dress, smiled.
"Hello, word is the Hero of Time is staying here?"
"Well, yes, he's—" Nathaniel moved aside to reveal Link, who was waving his hands violently in a motion that said: DON'T LET THEM IN! But, before Nathaniel could react, the girls had flown in and had overtaken Link, hugging and kissing and ripping articles of clothing.
"NAAAAAATE! HELP ME!" He moaned. Nathaniel did his best to pull girl upon girl off of Link, but it was no use. As soon as he got one off, it flew back upon Link, like a magnet.
"Er…"
"ENOUGH!" Link screamed, and the girls stepped back, as if his scream had blown them back. "Please...leave my house." He glared.
"But Link! You're the Hero of Time! The entire female population of Kakariko Village knows you as ultra sexy blondie who saves the world!" a redhead pouted, twirling a piece of his hair around her finger. Link blew his hair out of place and made her step back. A girl with blue hair in braids stepped up.
"Even that creepy old lady that makes the soup." At this, Link's eyes went wide. She smirked and moved closer to his ear. "Wouldn't you like her to know that you're a taken man?" she put a hand on his shoulder.
"But that's the thing." He said. "I am a taken man."
"AHA! YOU SEE THAT! HE CHOOSES ME! I WIN!" the rest of the girls moaned in defeat.
"NO" Link growled. "I'M DATING A GERUDO, OKAY?" he twitched. The girls gasped and stepped back. The aforementioned brunette stepped forward.
"UCHH! Why would you date one of those whores?" she snapped.
"THEIR NOT WHORES, BITCH!" Link said, enraged.
"YES! THEY WALK AROUND WIH THEIR STUPID SCYTHES AND THEIR SLUTTY CLOTHES AND—"
"OH AND LIKE YOU'RE CLOTHES AREN'T SLUTTY ENOUGH?" Link motioned to the girl's very short dress. "I CAN PRACTICALLY SEE YOUR CROTCH!" he growled. The girl blushed and pulled her dress down. "BESIDES! JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN DEFEND THEMSELVES DOESN'T MAKE THEM ANY LESS LADYLIKE THAN YOU! GET OUT!" The dirty, ripped up hero ranted.
"But...but…"
"Now, now, the point is, the Hero of Time is a taken man, and you should leave him alone now, alright?" Nathaniel took a less violent approach.
"And what about you?" A blonde pushed herself up against Nathaniel. "You're cute!"
"Aaahaha Taken also!" He said in a singsong voice.
"WHAT?"
"BEGONE!" Nathaniel shut the door in their faces.
"Bitches." Link grabbed a pillow and pulled at one of the threads on the end of his tunic that was pulled loose by the girls.
"Well, I guess I'm going to HAVE to do the shopping, huh?" Nathaniel tried to lighten the mood. Link sniffled. "Link"
"They called Layla a whore." He stated, in shock.
"Now, they didn't necessarily call LAYLA a whore..."
"...They might has well have! I can't believe some of the bitches that spawn around this village. Malon is like...the nicest girl I know. I mean, yeah, Zelda's nice, but she's the princess. She's not just a girl."
"Right. Don't worry, Link. You'll be back with Layla soon."
"But Nate…"
"What?"
"So tell me...how do you feel about them calling Gerudos whores?"
"Well...I don't believe Zara is a whore, though the first time I saw her she said she was looking like one, but anyway...I think that's an unfair generalization. I think the Gerudos are a very civilized race."
"Yeah, Civilized. Till your brother came into play."
"Yeah. My brother."
The two men sat on the bed in silence, looking at the ground.
"Zara..." Layla called. The busy nurse came bustling into view.
"Ah, finally awake, are we, Layla?" smiled Zara.
"Yes. Also..." Layla beckoned for Zara to come closer, and the nurse did so, and Layla reached out, her lightning–fast reflexes restored after the long-awaited birth, and pulled Zara's face up close to hers.
"How did you get out, and what is Cameron holding over your head to keep you from squealing?" she growled.
"Hey, hey, easy! You should be HAPPY I'm out of that damned cell!"
"Right." Layla sighed. "Sorry." She paused. "Well...?"
"Oh, well. A couple days ago, Cameron came down in the middle of the night and took me out, fed me well so that I regained all the weight that I had lost, and believe me, I was seriously in danger of dying, I was skin and bones! Then, he let me out here, and that was about when you came in, in labor..." Zara trailed off.
"And he's keeping you quiet...how?"
"Well do you truly believe anyone will believe I was put in the cell, especially since I don't look impoverished in any sense of the word."
"Guess not...but you could still try! You have witnesses! Me, and Nika, and Link, and Nathaniel, too."
"Yes, all of which Cameron could kill with those powers of his, and besides, he has control over you and Nathaniel, and Nabooru believes that Nathaniel and link are traitors, therefore having power over Nika and not allowing her opinion to count for anything. Also, most know you, Nathaniel, Link and I are all out to basically, for lack of better word"get" Cameron."
"Pshh. Get. I'd like to CASTRATE Cameron." Layla spat. Zara giggled at her friend's violent tendencies.
"Yes, well, don't we all. Anyway...yes. Get some more sleep, I think your baby is tired, and if you stir, she'll awake."
"Ah, right." Layla laid back and put her head on the pillow, getting ready to sleep, but just as suddenly, a bubbly voice was in her ear.
"Heeeey Layla!" it trilled. She opened one eye.
"Kunti...I'm trying to sleep."
"Well, sorry, but Li—"
"What? What about Link? WHAT ABOUT LINK YOU AIRHEADED WARRIOR?" Layla shook Kunti by the shoulders.
"Nothing nothing...I was going to SAY 'But, would you like...something to eat?' Heh, yeah, I just went shopping! How are you feeling"
"Oh, fine..." Layla said, biting into the roll and feeling a little disappointed that Kunti didn't have any information on Link. Wait...did she. "You just went shopping you say?"
"Yes."
"Did you hear anything about Link?"
Kunti sighed. "Layla, if you don't stop obsessing over him, the time you're separated from him will just seem longer."
"DID. YOU. HEAR. ANYTHING. ABOUT. LINK?" Layla repeated.
Kunti sighed again. "Yes. I didn't see hi, but I hear word he's staying in Kakariko Village somewhere, so..."
"Ah, good, he's not all alone in the wilderness." Layla joked.
"Yep. Come on, Layla. Link's a resourceful guy, he can take care of himself."
"I know...It's just kind of disconcerting."
"Yes, yes, of course. Anyway, I see that the baby is born. Wow, she's a cutie! And look at those ears" Kunti cooed.
"Yeah, they're amazing aren't they? I love them."
"Yeah. Well, Ill let you sleep now. I always hear food makes you sleepy. Byeeee" Kunti sang, and skipped out. Layla finally laid her head back, and fell asleep.
Later, Nathaniel was back with the groceries from the market, and was barely even looked at, because of his cold dismissal of the girls earlier.
"Well, I have a feeling we aren't too popular with the girls in the village." He said, walking in and setting the food on the table. Link scoffed from behind the stairway, lying back on his bed.
"Like I care." He sat up. "And you shouldn't either."
"By the way…are Gerudos allowed in Kakariko Village?" Nathaniel said, setting up the fire for soup.
"Mmm, no I believe they are banned from the premises, why?"
"I just saw a boy with brown hair and a Gerudo-looking girl, with green hair, walking through. I wonder who they are?"
"Gerudos are always redheads. She's probably of Gerudo descent, like half-Gerudo or something."
"Yes, her complexion was rather light for a Gerudo. ...Anyway THEY seemed nice enough. I hope we'll be seeing more of them." Nathaniel commented. Link giggled. "...What?"
"I hope we'll be seeing more of them" Link mocked. "You are soooo cyooot!" he took on high-pitched voice and pinched Nathaniel's cheek. Nathaniel swatted it away.
"Just because I speak PROPERLY, and don't use and SLANG doesn't mean I'm...well..."
"A LOSER?" Link joked.
"...Get out."
"Aw, come on."
"Get OUT and I'll call you when dinner's ready."
"Fine, fine. Geez." Link shoved his hands in his pockets and shut the door with his foot, sulkily. "Acts like I don't do anything anymore. WHO paid for the rental of the house? HELLO! I did" Link wasn't watching where he was going, and in his sour mood, got very angry when he stomped headfirst into a person about the same height as him. "Ow! Watch where' you're going, you fool" he growled.
"Geez, sorry." She voice replied. Link stood up and opened his eyes. A brunette was being helped up by a Gerudo-looking girl with green hair who was shooting Link dirty looks. But mixed in with the dirtiness there was a curiosity.
"Hey..." Link said in curiosity. "My friend saw you a few minutes ago! What's your name, dude?" Link smiled his crooked smile.
"Heh. Was your friend a shorter man with dark skin and red hair? Yes, I saw him. We spoke a minute, very nice guy. The name's Grasshopper." The brunette grinned, and held out a hand for Link to shake. "And you must be Link."
"Yep. I guess you've been hearing all the...er...griping from the girls in town."
"Yeah, well, they started hitting on me and told me you were...like...dating a "whorish Gerudo". I was like well, when you're taken you're taken."
"Yeah, after which I had to kick their asses" The Green haired girl added. "Gerudos aren't whorish, even if they are only half-kin to me."
"Right. This is Nesira, Link."
"Hi." Link smiled. Nesira nodded and gave Link a look up and down.
"You're looking tan. You do LOOK like you've been hanging out in the desert." She commented.
"Yeah, well...I have been dating a Gerudo...a WONDERFUL Gerudo, not a whorish one." Link sighed and kicked at the grass on the ground. "I was exiled..." he mumbled. Nesira blinked and then broke down in laughter.
"Nesira!" Grasshopper scolded.
"You were EXILED from Gerudo's Fortress? What are you, a criminal? It's hard to be exiled from there! And I mean, like, I couldn't get exiled if I tried."
"Yeah well maybe I was trying to get rid of the man who stole the love of my LIFE from he, OKAY" Link spat. Nesira stopped.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry." She apologized.
"'S Okay...I'm close to getting back, anyway." Link grinned weakly.
"Yeah, well, we're staying up near Death Mountain, come see us, all right?" Grasshopper suggested.
"Heh, yeah, see you 'round. I think I hear Nate calling anyway."
"Alright, seeya."
"Bye" link jogged off in the direction of his house, and walked in sitting down to a table with only one other occupant as Nathaniel spooned soup into his bowl at the stove. Wait...Link opened his eyes and spotted a Gerudo. "WAH" he jumped. "Ku-Kunti! I wasn't expecting you back so soon" Link exclaimed. She waved a giggly wave.
"Hello! I thought you'd like to know Layla isn't pregnant anymore" she grinned. Link's jaw dropped.
"That was fast."
"Yeah, and she's really cute" she giggled. "Her hair is so pretty and strawberry-blonde" Kunti said. "Oh, yeah, and Layla says she's fine, and she said to send you a kiss" Kunti blew a kiss in Link's direction and giggled, starting in on her soup. Nathaniel sat down with them and also started eating.
"GAHHH! I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL HER ANYTHING!" Link cried.
"Oh, silly, I'm just kidding. If she knew, however, I think she'd probably want you to get that anyway, she seems like she misses you. She asked about you and almost ripped my arms off while she was shaking me. ...Ow." Kunti rubbed her shoulder. Link laughed.
"Sorry about that."
"Oh, no, that's okay, Layla's going through that stage after pregnancy when all your stress has no outlet, so you use everyone. At least I hear about that. I've never been pregnant." Kunti said. "Oh! And look who I brought!" She lifted the top of her shirt away from her chest and a ball of Link bounced out.
"Navi!" link cried in delight. She settled on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Oh, alright. That's fine, they see Celia as a Gerudo now, anyway, and I want you to keep an eye on Layla for me, anyway." He grinned and Navi planted a miniscule kiss on his jawline and flew back towards Kunti. Kunti had gobbled down her dinner.
"Well, wow, that was great, Nathaniel, seeya!" Kunti hopped up. "Come on Navi!" she hailed the fairy. Navi jingled and flew after the fox-quick Gerudo. Kunti replaced the grate and disappeared.
"Well, now that I know Layla's okay..." Link said. "I'm a little more secure."
"That's good." Said Nathaniel, taking Link's empty bowl to the sink along with his.
"Now, I say we get some well-deserved, pillow-fight free sleep, you agree?" he smiled.
"Yes." Link hopped up and flipped onto the bed. "Hey, how do you think Cameron's going to react when he sees that Layla's child is a girl"
"Probably...very badly. He believes only males should hold the throne." Nathaniel said giddily. "I wish I could see what he does. Ah, well. Goodnight." Nathaniel turned off the light and He and Link fell asleep.
Cameron strolled into the infirmary.
"Hello, do you know what room Layla is staying in?" he politely asked Judith. "I'd like to see my child, now." He said.
"Ah, she's in the last room."
"Thank you." Cameron walked past the other occupants and walked past the curtain to Layla's room just as Zara was leaving.
"Well, hello, dear, how is our baby?"
"Girly—I mean good..." Layla said mischievously.
"Can I see him?"
"Sure...wait...him?"
"Yes, him ,my son, heir to the throne..." Cameorn said, grabbing for the child. Layla kept it away from him.
"Cameron...a male is only born the the Gerudo only every 500 years. If you want a son, you're out of luck..."
"What?" Cameron finally got the baby,and he pulled down the rags to check the baby's sex, and his eyes got wide.
"Damn!" he gave the baby back to Layla andbegan yelling in his native language. Layla smiled and let him go on his rant. Haha...all his plans were foiled.
"Neener neener!" Layla said, sticking out her tongue.
"This is no time to play games! You do realize that once I inherit the throne, and I grow old and grey, and then I am ready to give the throne away, I'LL HAVE NO ONE TO GIVE IT TO AND THEN YOU WILL GET NO MONEY!"
"GO TO HELL, CAMERON!" Layla yelled. "YOU DO REALIZE WOMEN CAN TAKE SEATS OF POWER IN MONARCHIES?"
"Yes, BUT I DON'T CARE!" For generations my family has been controlled by males! This is terrible! It makes me a failure to my family!"
"Ooh, double whammy, a failure and an ASS." Layla teased.
"...Bitch." Cameron muttered walking out.
"Aww, oh well, guess you win some and lose some, right Zamayla" Layla giggled, holding her baby close. The baby gurgled happily. "Ah, who knows. You're so cute, I may not have the heart to give you away..." Layla smiled contentedly at her child. "Zara! I'm huuungry! Can I have some food?" Layla requested. Zara came in with a tray.
"I was just aming you some food!" she trilled. "Eat up!" she laid the tray on Layla's lap and Layla began to eat.
Times were looking up in some ways, and in others were not so good, but right now, she was happy.
There you go, 16 pages of TFIHE goodness! Now review or my aching back will be unheeded! I love you readers! ...And pardon and punctuation mistakes...the document fixer is randomly getting rid of question marks and exclamation points? So pardon if there is no punctuation. I fixed it as best I could...