AN: Hey people. Happy New Year! This will probably be the last update until I finish my mock exams, so the next chapter won't be out till the beginning of February. Sorry about that .. But I hope that this chapter will explain some of those questions that people have been asking. All will be revealed now, or at least most of it XD
Chapter 7:
A hot, sticky heat clung to Zelda's skin, suffocating her in a pressing wave of warmth, and her mind opened slowly to the throbbing beat in her head. It was morning again. Light streamed in from the glass-less windows in bright yellow squares, illuminating the grey stone interior. The bed she lay on was not hers, and neither did she feel that she was alone. There was another breathing in the silence, not beside her, but above her. The light stung her eyes at first, but the shadow of a woman shielded the brilliant sunshine from her face.
"Good morning, your highness."
Zelda gasped as her vision settled on the figure towering over her, recognising the traditional Gerudo costume that the woman wore. She dared not to move in case the Gerudo struck her again, but her face must have shown her fear, for the woman smiled.
"You need not be afraid, Princess. We do not mean to hurt you."
"T-Then why did you kidnap me? Why am I here if you do not intend to torture me or keep me locked away in some forsaken hole? Will your bloodthirsty tribe use me to bribe my father into giving you back your freedom? Or are you going to murder me as a warning?" Zelda said vehemently.
The Gerudo closed her eyes, summoning every shred of patience against the irritating, stereotypical accusations. She cleared her throat. "First of all, I would much rather you call my race by their proper name, and myself Nabooru, if you'd be so kind. And secondly, you are here for your own protection, Princess. I mean what I say; we will not harm you. Your father - "
"My father did this?" Zelda cried.
The mortification she felt was beyond any comprehension. Her wet eyes were brimming with tears of hatred, not for her father but for herself. The apology had been there, on the tip of her tongue, but she had been too selfish to let her dignity become marred. Never had she apologised to her father; each tantrum had built another barrage in front of any pity she might have felt for him. Before now she hadn't seen any reason to try and resolve it.
"Yes," came the heavy answer, and she felt the tears begin to overflow in her eyes. Nabooru smiled apologetically and placed a gentle hand on Zelda's shoulder, not quite knowing how to respond. Gerudos had a tendency not to cry in front of others, much less their leader.
"Do with me what you wish. I deserve it," Zelda said suddenly, determined not to let them fall. She rose from her seat, her head down.
"Well, princess, I know about as much as you do on this subject, but one thing's for sure. You'll die of heat before long if you wander around in those clothes and for safety reasons you're going to have to say goodbye to those blonde hairs of yours. Whatever's after you, you're going to need to look the part."
Zelda swallowed slowly. To her standards, what Nabooru wore were barely undergarments. Unconsciously she clutched the soft silks of her dress and looked hesitantly at the Gerudo as she began rummaging through a trunk of clothes in the corner of the room. No matter how stuffy she was beginning to feel, there was no chance; not under any circumstance would she degrade herself to wear so little. She simply wouldn't allow the heat to make her cheeks colour or cling heavily to her skin. She wouldn't have it.
A small package of fabric was thrown in her direction, as well as a pointed pair of shoes. Nabooru rose and crossed to the door. "Put those on before you boil," she said with an unhidden smile creeping onto her lips. "I'll be back shortly."
Zelda could have sworn she heard her snigger as she closed the door, and she wondered whether this was all just a cruel joke. She couldn't possible expect her to wear this, could she? But the more she sat there in her heavily layered garments, the more appealing the Gerudo clothes became. Grimacing, she walked to the windows and peered out. Not a soul in sight. Swallowing again followed by a remorseful sigh she began to undress, feeling more self-conscious than ever before.
Before she had barely finished Nabooru had returned. She came with two pots, one large and one small. Zelda kept her eyes averted, not wanting to see the smirk on her face.
"Not bad, princess. I thought you wouldn't do it. But now, I've got some more things for you."
She set aside the smaller pot and placed the larger one on the floor where she knelt. It held a red mixture of what looked like berries and powder. Zelda looked apprehensive, but knelt opposite and peered into the pot curiously. Nabooru plunged her hands into the concoction and began mincing it with her fingers, pouring small amounts of water in from time to time from the smaller pot. Soon it became a thick deep-red syrup, rich in colour and texture. All the while Zelda sat in silence.
"Turn around," Nabooru said, and Zelda obeyed. She took Zelda's beautiful blonde hair in her warm fingers and said, "No going back now, princess."
"I know," Zelda said with a wavering fortitude. Nabooru then sunk her hands into the red dye and painstakingly slowly, hair by hair Zelda's blonde tresses were transformed into the deep red of the Gerudo tribe. Not a trace of her true identity would be seen for a long while. It was her father's wish that she would be protected, and Zelda vowed to make it so. It was the least she could do for her father now after upsetting him so greatly.
The princess sighed with a sad smile. She'd asked for adventure, and here it was.
It had been nearly a month since the King had last since his daughter. During that time he had been trying desperately to keep her kidnapping from leaking out into the vicinity of the whispering guards and vassals. For the time being they had managed to believe that Zelda was still grieving, refusing to leave her room, and would admit no one but Impa, the only confident the King could trust. Every morning and every evening Impa would enter the empty chambers, staging the act with such precision the King couldn't have asked for a more loyal subject.
With regard to the captured Gerudos, as far as everyone knew they were still in the dungeons. No one kept patrol down there, being otherwise empty, and once again Impa was entrusted with the duty of taking the minuscule meals during the correct times of the day. It was just as well that they were scraps. The rats down there though would be having a feast.
But there were other matters, growing closer by the day, which he would soon face. It was only another month until Lord Dragmire would return, and the deepest desire was that he would not be the one to tell him of Zelda's capture. With old age came a greater fear of the world, and youth was certainly something that the King was lacking. Everyday was beginning to become a living hell, and the thought of awakening to another dawn was enough for him to feel very indisposed. Though if he could awaken to a day when his daughter could marry the man she loved, it would be a very happy day indeed. He could set aside his throne and retire from the stressful business of Hyrule, to finally enjoy what he had worked so hard for. Many mornings had been filled with that hope, but alas, that was but a dream in a non-existent world, a Hyrule that had been much like Lord Dragmire's description of his own land.
There came a knock at the door and Impa entered quietly. "Suspicion is growing, your majesty. The maids are becoming incessant in their being useful to the princess. They worry as to why none of her clothes have been sent to be washed - I've seen them pressing their ears to the door; they hear nothing and they whisper amongst themselves. People also wonder why the Gerudos have not been publicly executed - the excuses of a long and tortured death do not satisfy them. We cannot keep this up much longer."
"I know, Impa, but what else can we do?" He sighed heavily and his head slumped into his hands. "I can't keep going like this. I need Zelda to take my place, but I know…I know that this Lord Dragmire is not the one she should be marrying! I won't subject her to this engagement. I can't, you know I can't, Impa. There's something that is far too familiar about him, but I just can't figure it out. His very presence makes me feel uncomfortable, and his eyes are so very piercing. I cannot let Zelda marry him, but what choice do I have? Hyrule needs the financial assets that the Lord will bring with him."
"I know, my lord. But there is no use in wishing for the past. We both know that Zelda's happiness could have been secured had Link survived, but now we have to face the problems before us. It was your decision to agree to his proposal. I have spoken with Great Sage Rauru lately, and there may still be hope for the princess if she does enter this engagement." The King looked up with a curious interest. "Your highness, there may be a way to revive Link. Under instruction, I…I have already commenced the ritual in removing Link's body," she said with great embarrassment.
"Impa!" She waited for the reproach. "This is simply the most horrifying scheme I have ever heard. What in Din's name is Rauru thinking?"
"Your majesty, please let me explain. To be truthful, Link never passed on into the heavens. At the time of his death, there was a great sinister power at work that was not normal. With most blessed foresight, Rauru sealed Link's soul in the Sacred Realm before he passed away completely. I…also took the Sacred Stones to place his body within the Temple of Time."
"Why did you not tell me this before? Impa, this could have spared me so much distress. My nerves have been in knots ever since the war ceased."
This hadn't quite been the reaction she had expected. The King seemed to have forgotten every word of her humiliating theft. "Rauru instructed me specifically not to involve anyone in this matter until now."
"Yes, yes, yes," he said waving his hand, "but how is Link to be revived? It has to be some sort of miracle that Rauru is planning." Outside there was the clanking of footsteps from down the hall.
"Maybe so, but I believe that it is possible. I request that I have permission to enter the Great Fairy's Fountain at the bottom of the gates, sir. Rauru's plan is to heal the physical wounds of Link's body, but the magic of the fairies is not sufficient. Zelda's own healing power is required for this to be successful. Then once the doors are sealed again, his body and soul will become one. At least that is how Rauru plans. I only hope that Zelda will understand the situation. I know that I wouldn't want to find out that the grave that I've been visiting had always been empty, and that I would then have to heal a dead body of my loved one."
The King looked thoughtful. "Yes, that is indeed quite the predicament." He paused. "Are you sure it will work Impa? Is Rauru absolutely sure that this will be a success? I know that we all want Link to be alive once more, but if it fails, I don't think Zelda will be able to cope with losing him twice. And then what hope do we have?"
"I don't know, your majesty. I'm not sure myself what this disturbance is that Rauru is so anxious to eradicate, but since Link's death, I've felt uneasy walking around the castle. I, too, have felt uncomfortable since the Lord arrived." The footsteps stopped.
The King sat silently for a moment. He heaved a sigh. "Oh, Zelda, what have I done to you?"
"If it would appease you in any way, your majesty," Impa said in a quiet voice, "I would also like to undertake the task of visiting Zelda to tell her of her fate. It isn't fair to keep her in the dark any longer."
"Impa, you would go to Gerudo Valley?"
"Zelda will need to know sooner or later. I will depart as soon as you wish. I will be gone only a few days. Send word if there is any trouble." The footsteps resumed and became faint once more.
"Please go at once, Impa, and…don't be away for too long." She smiled and turned to go. "Impa, could you tell Zelda that…that I love her, and that I'm only doing this for her sake?"
"Yes, your majesty."
The King thanked her and watched her leave. He almost couldn't believe that, in all of the most forsaken of countries, there was such a person that existed in Hyrule.
'Gerudo Valley' and 'Zelda'; any moment of their lives they would have gladly given up just to hear that muffled snippet of information. Inside their possessed skins Twinrova laughed, a sly grin forming on their faces.
No one knew they were there, and they were invisible to the untrained eye. For some time now, even before the war, they had become owners of two patrolling guards of the castle. Every now and then they would switch bodies to avoid any suspicion from the Sheikah, for they were certain that their suppressed power was producing a disturbance. Even though they merely slept inside the body, hardly affecting the soldier at all, they had seen through their blank eyes the way the Sheikah looked at them.
Their previous rendezvous with their master had called for an unnecessary change of skin. They had been obliged to leave their soldiers as soon as the war had commenced and until the Hero had been drawn out of the castle, a short retreat to their dear Colossus had been the plan. Koume however decided to stay at the castle in a different disguise, ready to inform her sister by gossip stone when their prey would march out to battle. Of course an alternate route had been mandatory to Kotake's secrecy, and upon an arrival coming from the south she had noticed something that would prove useful. Just beneath the entrance of their great stone temple, a small band of low ranking sentries had been on watch.
After their task of murder had been completed, the sisters had reunited at the Colossus and the discovery of these new victims pleased them both. At Ganondorf's call they had easily taken possession of the two Gerudos currently on guard taking their southern route to escape the desert. Their journey had brought them through rugged mountains and across broken wastelands, but eventually the remaining glimmers of Hyrule's field had caught their eye. They had ridden to the castle and had reported to their master, knowing nothing of the Gerudo banishment. Soon after their master had left them, they had been sighted by guards and arrested on the spot. Their predicament had forced them to change skins once more, and ever since that day they had remained in the castle. The two Gerudo women were probably now rotting in the dungeons, but that was not their concern.
Dismissing the thoughts of the past in exchange for the pleasure that the present had brought them, they continued on down the hallway, certain that the Sheikah would be following them for some time before her departure. They too had heard the strange rumours that the Princess was absent from the castle, and they had once scoffed at such foolery. But now that they had heard the rumours confirmed a quick streak of fear ran through their veins.
Ganondorf would need telling of this news immediately, for it sounded as if the King had had this arranged. Quite why Zelda should be in the Gerudo Valley and not in the castle didn't seem worth thinking about. Ganondorf would need to know that he was trying to be outwitted. Again, they grinned at such an idea. No one could outwit the great Lord Ganondorf. The spirit Ganon had been, and because of it he had been killed at the hands of the Hero of Time. Ganondorf, on the other hand, the man at the mercy of the spirit, had been banished, never to return to Hyrule. Indeed, he was incapable of being outwitted.
The Sheikah woman's footsteps grew louder and quicker, and with a salute they stood to the side. She glared at the two of them in doing so, seeming reluctant to pass. But she soon hurried on, eager to be out of their sight. As soon as she gone, Twinrova exercised a small portion of their powers, gripping each of their vessel's brain, and took complete control of their thoughts and actions. With them they made a hasty depart from the castle through the Royal Forest, and raced toward Ganondorf's lair that lay at the edge of Lake Hylia.
serenitythefaierikin: Don't worry,I hope this explained your questions. Thanks for the review, as always! :D
Niamh nic Raghnall: Yeah, I don't like the King either. I've always seen him as a kind of distant person, who really has to rely on everyone else. Thanks for the review :)
Hououza: No time travel in this one, sorry! XD I planned to stay away from that from the start, to avoid it being like my other stories.
par armsford: Yeah, this is completely different from anything I've done before, and I wanted to include a whole new element into it. Thanks for reviewing!
zeldaisthebest: Thanks! :D
Forlorn Rain: Thank you! Hope you had a good holiday too :D
Anonymous: Ah, you'll find out next chapter. Mwa ha. I've got a good scene lined up with the Gerudos for the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing!
Vampiress24: Yep, that's the plan. I'm trying to write a little suspense, but I guess it just leaves people confused. Ah well. Thanks for the review!