It's me again, This chapter took a while to write. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it, if you have something' to say R/R. Here it is-

Remedy In The Shadows- Chapter 6-

Dark droplets of water fell from the ceiling of the dungeon-like room. They formed small puddles around the stone, flowing like rivers along the crevices. The prison cell reeked with a foul smell. The smell of death filled the moist air, making the room unbearably uncomfortable. It was dark, the only light was from a few candles that were outside of the wall of bars in front of Thea.

She sat against the cold stone wall, hiding her face from the world in her arms and knees. She wished her body could just sink into the shadows, be absorbed into the dark and never be seen by anyone. Alas, even within the dark the prisoners in her neighboring cells could see the child huddled in the dark.

"Girly, what you in for? You've been a bad girl 'eh?" One of the men in a cell directly across from hers would occasionally call out to her, trying to get some information. Some of the comments that were said cause laughter to arise from the cells that she couldn't see, from the sounds of it, she was the only female there.

"Come on girl, I'm just trying to get to know you." Thea looked up for the first time to see the one who spoke to her. Through the bars she could make out the man who provoked her. He was leaning up against the rails, his unshaved face and tattered clothes were covered with dirt, his dark tangled hair hung just above his shoulders.

Thea rested her chin on her knees as she examined him from the distance. A few beads of sweat flowed down her face, but they probably could be mistaken for tears. Her hands gripped her legs, the sweet from her palms seeped into the fabric of her pants. It was uncomfortable, but that was the least of her problems.

"Come on girl, say something so at least we know you aren't dead!" Now another similarly clothes man was standing next to the first one.

Slowly, Thea creped a few inches out of the shadows, she felt uncomfortable when the dim light hit her body, "The dead can't move." Her tone of voice represented her mood; cold and angry without a care.

The first man who had talked to her laughed, "Ha! Well girl, you're a lovely lookin' thing! It's a shame ya' can't join us over here huh?" He continued to spout out vulgar comments, but her mind wasn't there at the moment. She had already looked back on the incident at the Inn already, and she had everything figured out. She thought herself a fool for even listening to the girls who had pursued her to sneak out. She cursed whatever part inside of her that was weak enough to be so foolish.

'…The child never left the building.' The words from the girl who had tricked her played through her mind over, and over, and over again, until the words had formed flames of wrath within her soul. She would remember Isabel's words in the future.

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"So where are they now?" Link sat on his bed, the early morning sunlight illuminated his room, flowing through the open window. A few birds could be heard within the trees outside, the rest of Kakariko Village hadn't awoke to see the day.

Directly in front of him was Navi. As usual she was fluttering around, shining brightly. She was still a bit jumpy after the night's events, "What? The girl, or you rupees?" The pair was prepared to leave the cozy Inn, and set off to find another potion maker. However it dawned upon Link that if they were to find a potion maker who had the proper medicine, he would probably need to pay a lot for it. He was sure that he had nothing worth trading for, and he still had to re-claim the money he had lost. After the thief had been escorted from the Inn, the guards had to confiscate the pouch that she had taken as potential evidence, if needed. However he didn't know exactly where they had been taken.

"Both." Link answered as he sat up, they had taken their remaining belongings from the room, and were all ready to go.

"Well, the only place they could possibly be is in Hyrule market, there's no jail around here. And your stuff is probably in the same place, sooo I say we head there."

'Good plan. We're a little set back but… it won't matter, the market isn't far. It's good thing that Gerudo didn't have a lot of skill…' Link laughed at his own thoughts, it was always nice to lighten up a difficult situation with humor.

With one last glance at the room, the pair stepped outside into the hallway. It was deathly quiet, so quiet that it didn't disturb Link at all. He knew that if it was quiet it must have meant that all of the Gerudo had left. Knowing that he wouldn't be bothered by a bunch of armed female made his morning a hell of a lot easier. As they walked through the corridor, they past Adara. She was replacing some of the candles on the ceiling that could not be re-lit. After the past night, she had nearly fainted. Being told "Keep quite or else" by a young girl with a sword must have been very traumatizing for her. Yet even though she was afraid, she continued to work. Link had even suggested that she take the rest of the night off, but she just smiled and told him that he had been through more than she had, and for her to let her fears effect her life would make her look like a fool.

They past her, giving her a slight smile, and she returned it with her own, than continued with her work, acting as if Link had never past. Link and Navi left the old women to her work, and continued down the eerie hallway.

"Do you think she'll get punished, for...ya' know…?" Link couldn't help but ask the question. Sure he wasn't fond of the girl for robbing him, but he wanted to know what would happen. It was just one of those little irritating questions that dug at his mind for an answer.

For a while Navi was silent, obviously thinking of an answer. After a few more quiet moments she spoke, "Well, you gotta remember that she's a Gerudo. I'm sure they have ways of getting each other out of these kinds of trouble."

'Somehow, a bunch of women with weapons and showing outfits were able to get connections…I wonder how…psh.'

"Come on, we got more important things to worry about!" With that said, the pair quickened their pace down the hall, preparing themselves for the trip to Hyrule Market.

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'Son of a bitch!'

Anita was sick of the current situation. She had taken her eyes off of the girls for one night, and now one of them was in jail! She had been sleeping peacefully that night, a thing that rarely ever happened. Then at one point a group of girls had awoken her, it was only a few moments later that Thea was charging down the halls, trying to escape guards.

Now, she and the rest of the Gerudos were charging into the Market, not caring if anyone stared at them, or questioned their reasons being there. She was full of frustration and rage towards Thea. Why was she so hard? Anita had helped Nabooru take care of Thea years ago but when Nabooru eventually left, Anita was left in command of the young girls. It was inevitable event, Nabooru couldn't stay with them forever, but Anita knew that when the day came, Thea would be in tears…

'Anita watched as young Thea ran towards the leaving thief. It broke her heart to see a child with such potential cry.

Earlier that morning Nabooru had told Anita that she was going to leave early, it was a way to sneak away without having to deal with goodbyes. Yet somehow Thea had managed to awake early as well, she ran out into the freezing morning air that the desert held. Anita saw the young girl run towards her superior, it seemed like she tried to stop her, but it was useless. The older Gerudo said some final memorable words, and left Thea alone at the gate to the Desert Wastelands…

Not a word was spoken between Anita and Thea when they went into the fortress together. Other girls were beginning to wake up and question what was happening, but Anita took the time to calm Thea down, to tell her that Nabooru taught her all of those things so that they would stay with her even after Nabooru had left…

The next few years were…interesting. Thea had developed a colorful personality, even though she had some faults. Growing up with barely any men around probably did that to her. Then again, Anita didn't know what happened to Thea before she came to the Gerudos, maybe something with her family helped develop herself. Whatever the reason, Thea had begun to grow into a talented swordswomen with tricks up her sleeves, Anita believed that she could do the right thing…'

"Maybe we can go along with the story and get her locked up for a long time!" One of the girls interrupted Anita from her thoughts, she recognized the voice immediately.

"Evian, quit fooling around, we want to get back to the Valley as soon as possible. Let's just get this over with ok?!" The girls must have heard the anger in their superior's tone, because for the rest of the time they spent pushing their way towards the jail, she heard nothing out of them. The only things she heard were her thoughts, and the loud chattering of the people who where beginning to fill the Market.

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To see the great gate that lead into Hyrule Market was a fabulous sight. In front of them was the familiar moat that separated them from the place full of merchants. On the other side of the moat stood the large stone wall that protected what was within, it seemed to rise up to the heavens. The white stone was occasionally decorated with the help of nature; luscious vines with beautiful flowers shimmered with morning dew in the glowing morning light. At the bottom of the wall, the ground was covered with dozens of glorious wildflowers that swayed lightly in the warm wind. Some of their colorful petals were blown into the shining water, to eventually be carried off into the river that would flow to Lake Hylia. A sturdy drawbridge was down, allowing people to enter. Along the sides of the entryway was a pair of torches. They were currently out, but in the evening they burn brightly, taking the place of the sun.

A clunking sound could be heard with each one of Link's quick steps over the sturdy drawbridge, Navi was right by his side. They passed underneath the stone archway, and quickly walked past a few stone buildings, each one held window, and every window was open. The occupants allowed the sounds of the Market to enter through the walls. Laughing, talking, bargaining. Those joined together to create the loud uproar that leaked out of the entryway ahead of them.

Soon they scenery changed, in a blink of an eye. The pair had made their way through the second archway, and entered the circular holding of people, bazaars, and life. Link tried to ignore the entryway to the castle in front of him, and the pathway to the Temple of time to that was off to the side. He allowed his surroundings to sink it. The stone walls that were around them were far from ordinary. Along the walls were shops that sold the average person's needs. The doors to them seemed to never close, civilians rushed through them as if they weren't even there. Link saw two men collide at the entrance to a common food market, the exiting man seemed angry when all of the belongings in his grasp fell to the ground, his fury grew when the entering man left him to pick up his purchases alone. Directly across from that incident, a woman was bringing her many children through the crowded market to a group of carts that were placed up against the walls. The woman was trying to lead the adolescents to a single cart, but the curiosity within a child's mind took over, and the kids scattered, exploring the many items displayed on the many carts. The mother struggled to reach all of her little ones while being pushed by other bargainers. Eventually, the kids left the carts, and ran up to the miraculous marble fountain that stood in the center of the market.

'This place hasn't really changed…'

"Hay Link! Look!" Navi's voice could barely be heard over the commotion, but he picked up what she continued to say, "Look down that alley, that's where the prison is, you can see the guards in front of it!"

Indeed, the fairy was correct. Link snapped his attention to the alleyway to his left, and sure enough she was right. When no one was blocking his view, a few guards could be seen outside of a doorway. Link had never been to Hyrule's prison, but he remembered passing it the last time he had been here.

His feet moved before he spoke, "Come on! Let's get going!" He tried to speak loudly, but he still wasn't sure if she even heard him. Whether she did or not, she joined him in the walk towards their destination.

It had taken awhile to successfully cross the market floor. The people of the town would do whatever it took to get their hands on a single piece of merchandise, they didn't mind shoving him out of the way. They didn't even notice that he was the only one who was accompanied by a fairy. That relieved Link, he didn't want unwanted attention, he really didn't want to explain to people where he was from. When the pair did manage to squeeze their way into the alleyway, the mood around them seemed to change. It was cooler back there, not just because of the temperature, just because happiness didn't fill the area. As the pair walked down the dirty cobblestones, Link could feel the eyes of the soldiers glaring at them, even though they were a good set of yards away from them. A few peasants sat off to the side upon tattered blankets, they too held eyes that followed the strangers. All of the attention made Link feel uncomfortable, he tried not to meet the peasant's eyes, it would make the feeling worse. However, he did try to meet the gaze of the soldiers, if he hoped to enter the prison, he would have to show that he isn't some reckless kid hoping to see a few convicts, he had to prove that he had important business.

As he reached the old door to the jail, one of the soldiers stepped in front of him, he carried a long spear, along with wearing light armor, "Boy where do you think you're going? This is no place for you."

Before Link could even respond the other guard pushed the first one off to the side, leaving the door free to be opened, "Don't worry about it, he's alright. He's that kid I was telling you about. Ya' know, the one at the Kakariko's Inn?"

Seeing that he had an opportunity to enter the building and that he didn't want to loose it, he passed between the men, still feeling their eyes upon him as he entered through the door.

The world around them changed drastically, Link was amazed that such a place was hidden behind the joyful market. First he noticed the smell. The moist air was filled with a horrid stench. Now he knew why the soldiers stood outside the building. As he breathed through his mouth, he observed what was around him. He and Navi had entered into a hallway, he decided to move forward…because there was nowhere else to go. The hallway was made up with steel walls; rust had taken over much of its surface, giving the once bluish metal a reddish look. Trails of water dripped down from the ceiling, they left sludgy trails along the rough walls, running all the way to the wooden floor. Link heard everyone of the floorboards creak as he made his way forward. In the dim candlelight, Link could make out a desk further down the corridor, a figure could be seen sitting behind it, but even with Navi's light he couldn't make out any details that were ahead of him. He let his curiosity take over, and they continued to walk down the eerie, hellish corridor. As they came closer to the desk, they could hear the screams of an unseen person.

'God…what kind of punishment goes on here?'

When the pair had walked up to the desk, the screams were higher, and increasing as time passed. Link realized that the screams were in a conversation, even though he couldn't hear a second person. He turned to his left, and saw that in the wall was an entrance to another room. It had no door, a row of beads hid some of the room's contents, but it still allowed him to see the ones inside. He had seen the one who was fighting before, he recognized her as the short black-haired Gerudo who had spoken to the imprisoned thief before the pursue had begun. From what Link could see, the room was an office, a man was sitting behind a desk, ignoring the women who was now slamming her fist onto the desk.

"Boy, what's your business?" A gruff voice pulled Link's attention back forward as the argument continued. The man who sat behind the filthy desk was now looking at him. Link couldn't tell if his fair was brown, of if it was a mixture of blond hair and mud. His clothes were tattered and covered in dirt.

Before Link could speak, Navi fluttered in front of him, "You guys don't seem to get out much, you should really work on your manners."

The man squinted at the creature that floated in front of him, he studied it, like a child studying a new toy, "And I think you need to learn your place. What makes you think you can order around people above you on the food chain?"

Navi's inched closer to the man's face, her voice grew louder, almost as if she was trying to challenge to women in the room over, "Oh, so you're going to eat me now? You're a savage!"

'What the hell? Is this needed?'

Before the two could continue the fight, Link broke through the voices, "Hay, hay, hay! We didn't come here to fight! I just need my belongings!"

The deskman gave Navi one last glare, than shifted his body and attention away from her, "As long as ya' keep your damn pet away…humph…What did you say you needed?"

"My money was confiscated last night…I was in the…'incident' with the Gerudos." Link noticed that his partner was still a little flamed. He pulled her closer to him and gave her a weak smile, it was the only thing he could think to do that might help.

Link was surprised to see the man actually smile, "OH! So you're that boy! Kid if you want yourself a little girlfriend, find yourself someone with…a more promising future." He laughed down at Link.

'Give me a brake.'

He had never enjoyed being laughed at, even after years of it in Kokiri Forest he never got used to it. However he didn't let himself grow angry, he would let the man enjoy himself, "Just give me my stuff. I don't want any trouble." It sounded a little more desperate than he wanted it to be, but at least it stopped the man's laughter.

Before the man spoke, he took one last look at Link, his blue eyes grew soft. Sighing, he rested his arms on the desk and explained, "Boy you might not be getting your stuff back anytime soon. It could be needed for evidence if a small trial is necessary with the girl. You can get it back if…heh, heh…if you don't press charges against the young whore."

'Oh no…no, no, no.'

It was obvious that the term "whore" meant the Gerudo, "So basically, to get my stuff back I have to say that the girl doesn't deserve to be punished?" He groaned as let his head rest on the edge of the desk. After a day of pain and frustration, he had hoped that this day would be so much easier, and here he was, thinking about a situation with miserable outcome no matter what he chooses.

"Link?" Navi was whispering in his ear, "Remember what you were saying just yesterday, lets put our main priority on the top of our list…"

Link lifted his head from the wood, and looked at the man who was now holding a set on jingling keys in his hand. Link brushed himself off and stepped off to the side, "I want to talk to her first…just to make my decision."

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She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but somehow, the darkness overtook her and let her mind leave the world…

'Pain…she could barely walk. She wasn't injured, her young body was just so tired from trying to escape the torment that was chasing her.

"She's a freak! That's why Nabooru favors her!"

The voiced from her rival echoed in her ears…the pain in her legs was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling in her heart.

Young Thea fell to the ground, her small blistered hands gripped the desert sands, she didn't want to be afraid anymore, she wanted to look fear in the eye--

"That's why Ganondorf wants her to learn young! He thinks she's worthless, so he plans to make her into one of his fighting puppets!"

…but she was too young to face such a task…

"Wakey, Wakey little darlin'." A voice she barley recognized made her shoot off the floor so fast she thought she had been thrown upward. Her heart sank when she realized she was still in the damp cell. She looked up to see a lot of the men looking outside their cells. Some where looking at her, some were looking down the corridor.

One of the men in the cell directly across from her spoke again, "Ya' got a visitor girl. Well, well, well…you never told us your heart was already taken!" A loud, uncomfortable laughter arose from the room, Thea didn't know what was so funny--

Then, she saw who was approaching. First, it was just a man who had worked the front desk. The one who followed him caught her attention. She recognized him instantly from his green clothes, it was quite obvious that he was from the forest. She had never met a Kokiri before. She saw that the annoying fairy was with him as well. She lit up the room, exposing the cells for all to see. Her light also exposed more of the boy's young face. If she had to guess, she would say that he was around her age. His cornflower hair occasionally fell in front of his soft, blue eyes. If the situation was different, she would see him as a boy who lives inside a box, a boy who does a daily routine and never really lives or never takes chances, he looked so innocent. She could barely believe that it was the same boy who she ran from a night ago, but she believed when he made his way over to her cell, he didn't speak, all he did was glare at her.

'Oh, how lovely! He remembers me!'

Howls from the other prisoners began to fill the room again. The man who escorted the Kokiri shook the cell bars to calm them down. He shouted some "interesting" threats at the men, than returned to the boy, "Make it quick, I'm sure you don't wanna be here anyway." With that said, he moved off to the side, giving Thea and the boy their privacy.

"So…" Thea brushed herself off and strolled over to the boy who stood outside her cell, "How's your morning been?" She smiled not knowing what to do, but annoying the boy with a harmless gesture couldn't worsen the situation.

The boy continued to glare at her. He put his hand in the cell bars, and motioned for Thea to come closer, when she took another step, he motioned again for her to move again. Now Thea was right next to him, the bars were the only things that separated them. He met her eyes with his own, and whispered, "Give me one good reason why you should breathe fresh air sometime within the next month?"

'…What's he getting at? What does he mean a month? Can they lock me up? Would Anita let them do that!? I thought…'

Her thoughts trailed of, and eventually left her mind, leaving her to speak, "Why? You gettin' me outta here?" She gave him another smile, but she knew that is was weaker than the first.

The one from the Forest sighed, he looked to his fairy, than back to Thea, "I have important business that needs to be done, I need money. The fastest way to earn my money back, is to say you should be free to go, and have my belongings returned to me." He continued to look at her, but his glare had turned into a desperate gaze. He was looking to take care of this responsibly.

'And you don't want to spend another minuet in here, get thinking!'

"Oh really?…Now that is interesting! So what kind of business do you have to take care of?" Thea realized that the words probably came out a little to…bitchy…but the only way she could think of getting out was through charm.

Apparently she had to work on those skills, because the boy began to turn his back, and took a step to the still standing jail keeper, "Do you take anything serious?"

"WAIT! I'm sorry! I was just being curious. I mean…If you tell me what you're doing, I might be able to help, and that might be the reason to let me free."

After hearing this, the boy turned back to her, Thea noted the frustration that covered his face. Her gripped the bars around him and glared at her again, "I'm only telling you this because it doesn't matter, and I'm sure that if it did matter, no one would believe anything that came out of your trash mouth!" The comment almost sent Thea back a step, a simple kid rarely harassed her this way. The smile erased from her face, the two kids shared glares as the boy continued, "Ok, I need medicine. I'm not telling you why. But I need it for a sickness that cannot be cured by the powerful remedies from pure nature that grows within my home. I am out of options, and running out of time."

"And you can't find anything? The Village? The Market?" Thea asked.

"Kakariko's shop is…not an option. What could the Market have that hasn't already been tried?" The boy's eyes softened even more, it was at that moment that Thea realized something.

'Maybe he didn't deserve getting robbed. Does that show that maybe your whole thinking process is wrong?

…Oh god…'

Something rose from within Thea, she didn't now what it was. Maybe it was pity.

'This boy wants to be a hero! Oh please!'

Just when the hope of getting to freedom was about to leave her, an old memory entered her mind. She recalled a time when she was young; she had cut her hand with a blade. It wasn't a deep cut, but any slight injury hurts to a child. The stinging sensation sent impulses all the way up through her arm. A few tears fell down her cheek, but her eyes soon dried. Her young mind was mesmerized with what had happened to her skin, she was afraid, but also curious as to what was going on. Nabooru wasn't there, but other elder Gerudos were, and they made sure to help the child with her questions. They had told her that she was just injured, and that injuries could be healed. To prove their points, they adults pulled out a large potion book, and there was this one potion…

'A potion fused from the nature of clans…very powerful…'

Thea gasped and smiled again, realizing that she could have a way out, "Boy! I might have a solution!" The boy and his fairy seemed shocked at her sudden response, they must not have expected her to have any information, "Ok…well…There's this potion that's said to be very useful, I swear I've seen the recipe! Now…It's said that if you mix herbs of the forest, volcano, and water they can create the potion! I'm sure it can help you!" Thea ended her quick explanation with a smile, hoping that the boy had bought it. He had no reason to trust her.

"Why should we trust you!" The fairy that accompanied the boy fluttered through the cell bars, and up to Thea's face. She continued to fly forwards trying to send the thief backwards, but Thea refused to move.

"Hay you came into the cell without your buddy." Thea softened her voice, she didn't care if the boy didn't hear her, and the fairy seemed to have a big impact on his decisions, "I'm just living how I was brought up, and so are you guys. None of use want to be in the current situation…" She let her speech trail off, leaving the fairy with silence. After moments of just floating in the air, and staring at the Gerudo, the fairy inched her way back to the Kokiri. The pair whispered, Thea was unable to hear what was said, but she made her way towards them again.

'Oh god, this could ruin me! None of this was supposed to happen!'

To Thea surprised the boy stuck his arm back into the cell, he set it there, waiting to shake her hand.

Again, he glanced at his partner and then to Thea, "It's a truce for now…what's you name?"

Thea put her own dirt-covered hand within his, and the pair shook hands, "Thea, what's yours?"

"Link."

A/N. Well that's a little longer than the other ones. I couldn't really separate it into two chapters, so I just put it in one. Enjoy, at least I hope you are. I'll be writing a lot over X-Mas Vaca! YES!!!!!! Happy Holidays!

-Later