"Well, I bet Epona's happy about it." Now what's missing? Link felt an unbalance in him. He looked down and saw the Kokiri Blade's handle sticking out of the rieck's head. Looking back at Grodan ,who had a queasy face on, he pulled out the knife, like he would the Master Sword except this sword was bloodied now.
"So much blood for such a tiny wound," Grodan said somberly from behind, "Thank you." "Um...anytime. I owed you though." "We're even then," finally she smiled, and they proceeded over the waste.
Night was falling and they had just reached the beginning of the middle of the desert. The rolling hills were beginning to shorten. It would soon shrink to just a flat, dry plain. In a tiny valley between four large dunes, the pair, now horseless, made camp but with no fire. No plant would dare take root here.
"I guess there's no going back now..." She said, "Once we get to those flatlands, there's going to be nothing to hide us, no shadows, barely any rocks. We're going to have to get all the rest we can here, the next day or two is going to be hard... if we're lucky"
"What do you mean by that?" Link wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
Grodan's voice took a serious turn," Mid-desert is where the nastiest creatures lie, waiting. They know that anyone who roams through there won't have any protection, they will be half-baked by the sun, and exhausted. All the easier to catch. And if the creatures don't get us, the elements will. This is where the sands whipped up from the dunes on the edges can turn into immense storms, blocking out the sun and our own hand in front of our faces. That's what this is for," she took out a thick rope from her sack, "We would have to use it to stay together. Some have been known to just whip you off the ground like a leaf, carry you for miles, and then just drop you on whatever may be there from hundreds of feet up. These storms are very unexpected too, you can't tell one's coming until it's dropped right before your nose."
Link was unsure about this excursion now, "Can it get any worse?"
"Actually..."
"Oh no..."
"Well in the middle of the barren land of the Mid-Run, there's this giant crevice about...eh...100 feet across. It drops down at least 5 times that though. I don't know what's down there, or how to get across it without flying," she paused and saw Link's disbelieved expression, "People have gotten across it though, I'm sure of that. So it's not impossible?" Grodan said in the best way possible trying to lift his spirits.
Why did I even agree to come? Looking down, he spied his left hand and eyed the place where the Triforce of Courage would alight and imagined it in it's golden majesty. Then he peered up at Grodan, all alone, peering out into the dark nothing. Dry blood turned her dull colors a dark brown. He reflected on her father. Sure he was extremely cold, but he didn't keep her locked up. He thought of Zelda for the first time in two days and his heart faltered. She was also close to him. His hand was a reminder of what he was, of what he was obligated to do. We'll get through it some how- I always do at least.
The next morning Link awoke to another cold morning, but much chillier. There was no fire this time. Grodan and he had snuggled up close to eachother to gain off the other's body heat. She awoke too. Groggily she got up. "We better get a head start. The sooner we start, the less time we have to be out there at the peak temperature."
So they packed up what little they had and strolled off deeper into the desert.
By the time the sun had risen, the dunes had sank to just a shallow pool, getting shallower and shallower each step. Link could feel the increased heat already. At least when the dunes were around they would be hit first and reflect most of the light back up to the sky. Here in the barren land, the rays had no where to go but sink into his skin and eyes.
By midday, he was dying, "Grodan, can we stop to rest?"
"Again?" She turned around. She was wearing the classic veil over her mouth the way most Gerudos did so only their eyes showed. It was a little chilling to Link, knowing what that tribe was capable of doing- and did. Yet, he was walking side by side with one ...as a friend, at least, he considered her one, and by his judgment, she classified him as one too. It was strange, she didn't seem hurt by the heat or the climate. Some sweat clung to her, but it only made her light, bronze skin glow like a desert flower. He on the other hand, was red in the face and could feel his sweat evaporating before it hit the desert rock.
"Please, just for a minute."
"I guess," she said helplessly and walked over to where he had plopped down.
He took a long draught from his canteen, " I wish I had your genes."
"Well Gerudos were made for the desert."
"Why is it that there's a band of pirates that look exactly like you guys then? They live on the shores."
"Well, they were originally from the desert too. Seeking better fortunes than jumping travelers, or picking the bones of merchants fatally lost in the desert, a band of them migrated to the seas. I've never visited them though. My mother had told me her sister had left with them," her eyes clouded over in her inward thoughts. Link could tell she was sad. She sucked it up and continued though, "I never asked you about your parents, Link? You know a lot about mine (actually he had the faintest idea what they truly were, but she of course wouldn't mention anything... yet) Tell me about yours." She looked him in the eyes expectantly.
"Actually, I'm an orphan."
"Oh, I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I'm half orphan!"
Link gave a wry smile. He decided to be truthful with her; there was nothing really to hide from her, he didn't know much about them either. "My father died the Great War in Hyrule fourteen years ago. He was a Knight of Hyrule, or so I was told. And my mother escaped with me as an infant, but not without fatal wounds. She made her way to this place, Kokiri Forest, and with her last breath, told the Great Deku Tree to watch over me. Then she died."
Grodan laughed and got to her feet.
"What! I don't laugh at your sad stories!" He followed after her, ready to fight for his past.
"I'm not laughing at their death!" She could barely control herself, "You were raised by a TREE!" She continued to shake, "Well, that explains the look!"
Link was insulted by how she acted. But then he remembered he kept prejudging her about her Gerudo blood, even if she was only half of their kind. Then he thought it over, it was a little weird to be raised by a giant piece of vegetation. He felt slightly guilty though. If he wasn't with this fun-loving girl, he probably would feel a lot worse with such thoughts. They started walking and talking. Being eachother's company, it took their mind off the heat.
"I don't know, I just got used to these clothes. All the other Kokiri children wear them."
"Kokiri children? What are they?"
"Well there are about 20 or so of these children that don't grow up and live in these woods. It's a great place- really it is. All day just playing and laughing." His eyes glazed over, remembering the good old days, "These clothes let us blend into the forest surroundings, just in case something bad comes into it. Sure it's not fashionable outside the forest boundaries, but, it's just me." He then added haughtily, "Just wait 'till you see me when I'm grown up!"
"Grown up? I thought you said those Kakoro- or whatever you guys are called, stayed children forever!" She looked Link over from head to toe, as if trying to find out some clue on him, telling her how many thousands of years old he was.
Link's comical humor dimmed a little, "You see, since my mother took me into the forest, I was never born in it. I'm actually a Hylian. It's very shocking to realize you've lived a lie all your life..."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. It's nice to know I can leave the forest without dying."
"Yeah, that would be a plus. Still, the clothes..ugh."
"I tell you, just wait until I'm older! Then you'll be sorry you insulted my looks, all the chicks will be after me!"
"How do you know how you're going to look? I bet you're going to be ugly."
He laughed. He knew she was just joking, "We'll see about that." He looked off into the distance and to his surprise he saw the real Hero of Time, tall, strong and handsome. Walking away with the Master Sword in hand.
"The desert heat is getting to you dear, if you think you are going to be handsome." He just smiled and watched the mirage disappear into a shimmer of heat waves.