Chapter 13:
"Get those horses saddled! Come on, let's move! We can't let those witches get away!" Nabooru barked at her startled guards.
She sat impatiently astride her black stallion walking hither and thither, inspecting the fast progress of preparation. Battle was only minutes away and a wave of excitement coursed through her. She had never felt so responsible and powerful. Neither had she ever come so close to the face of imminent death, but nothing could dampen her faith in her warriors. Though they were to face a foe that they could never defeat, every life would be held in her hands; their blood would stain her heart, and for a moment she was overcome with emotion. Where she was silent however, her horse snorted at his brothers and sisters, fulfilling its master's role.
An immense swell of pride rose up in her throat as she watched them hurry with the quickest speed and efficiency to equip both themselves and their horses. Extra spears were being secured on one flap and daggers were being pushed into leather sheaves on the other. Steel battle masks were fastened to the bridle with thin gauze over each eyehole to stop the sand from blinding the horses. The Gerudos themselves adorned their heads with similar helmets but lighter and more durable. Many were worse for wear due to the cease of trade from their exile, but the women wore them without complaint.
Nabooru could see the hope in their eyes, a hope that this act might redeem and save them from the unthinkable fate that lay before them. If they were to starve, they might as well die in a terrific battle rather than endure the humiliation of their race. But there was no duty in their hearts, no sworn obligation to help the princess escape. Nabooru could see that all of them were doing this out of their own will, they were willing to lay down their lives for the monarch who had caused them to suffer. It made her feel even more overwhelmed than before, and she couldn't help but smile.
All at once there was a cry of war that charged forward from the stables, and all together they galloped into the desert. Everyone knew their objective and everyone was filled with the tingling adrenaline of battle. With the reins in one hand and a tightly gripped throwing dagger in the other, each Gerudo lunged headlong in the sandstorm and filtered out into a spearhead formation with Nabooru at the head.
It was impossible to think clearly, but Nabooru kept running through her plan again and again. Twinrova wouldn't know that the Gerudos would come after them and would be focusing on finding just one figure riding against the storm. If Zelda hadn't been caught then she might be able to buy her some time. At the right moment the majority of the Gerudo would go it alone and spread out throughout the entire desert aiming to find Twinrova first. Twinrova would think that the Gerudo was Zelda. They would then follow them back to the Colossus where she and the remaining Gerudo would be waiting. But her group would also have to make their way to the Colossus alone in case Twinrova found them first. It would look too suspicious to be travelling in a group.
It sounded easy to think of, but whether it would be just as simple in reality remained unknown. Doubt began to gnaw at her plan, but Nabooru smothered it with hope and a belief of victory. Faith was ablaze in her heart even though within moments she would be alone.
It was finally the time to separate, and with a silent rise of her spear into the air the signal was set for the Gerudo to disperse. Her warriors did the same, holding their weapons high as they all gave one last cry of triumph before they disappeared into the sand.
Nabooru rode on heading straight for the Colossus. However it wasn't long before something whistled past her ear with frightening speed. She looked around quickly thinking that Twinrova had discovered her already, but the sandstorm obscured everything in her path apart from the vague shadows of objects looming against the horizon. As she became more alert she was suddenly aware of hooves other than her horse beating against the sand. It couldn't be Twinrova. They didn't ride horses.
Something sailed past her again, and in the blink of an eye Nabooru saw the arrow sunk in the sand. Fear swept over her for the first time since she had ridden into the desert, and afraid that her own warriors had mistaken her for their enemy she cried out for them to hold back.
"You morons! Stop shooting at me! How dare you shoot arrows at your leader!"
But there was no sign of acknowledgement, and she heard another arrow spring forth from its bow. It swiped across her right arm, splitting the skin in a clean line. She winced and cried out again for them to stop. Another narrowly missed her head as it came very close to her ear again. Her attackers couldn't be Gerudo, but the other remaining possibilities filled her with dread. No one else dared to venture into their valley, let alone their relentless desert.
Nabooru had to escape before she was killed. Whoever was wielding the bow had very good marksmanship and before long she would be pierced through the head. Taking a violent swerve to the right she craned her head around and saw the hazy figures of about four riders in hot pursuit. Two looked to be carrying large bows while the others held their traditional crescent swords. The bows looked strangely like those posted at the Colossus, and she could distinctly remember that no one had been equipped with a bow or a sword when they had left the Fortress.
"Damn it all!" she muttered under her breath.
Twinrova must have reached the Colossus already and possessed the guards. They must be searching for Zelda and now she had become their target.
Nabooru looked ahead and saw a tor and formed a quick plan. As she nearly past it she cut right and sped around it, heading north once more. She stood up in her saddle and checked behind her, hoping that they hadn't followed her. From what she could see there were no shapes in the sand-ridden air, but they would soon realise they had been duped. Before lone they would be back on her trail.
As she thought about it, if Twinrova had to possess her guards, Zelda must be safe! Only the goddesses knew where she was, but she must be safe! She exhaled a sigh of relief, and with a renewed courage she snapped the reins.
When Twinrova had brainwashed her all those years ago, the Hero of Time had broken the spell by defeating her in battle. But Nabooru didn't want to risk harming her own warriors, and she was also needed fairly soon to organise her squad into an ambush. The thought of Twinrova actually waiting for them at the Colossus suddenly entered her head, and she scrapped the idea of waiting. As soon as she got there, with or without a squad behind her, she would storm the Colossus and take down Twinrova by herself.
The looming shadows of the monument soon darkened against the sky and the entranceway narrowed in on her. The storm cleared slightly, and to her relief Twinrova were not circling outside. But they could nevertheless be inside. She found a small group of about seven guards herded nervously under the palm trees, and as she galloped past they followed obediently in formation behind her.
They burst in through the open doors to the main chamber only to be confronted by heavy silence. Every click of a hoof against the stone floor sent heads whirling upward, and each crackle of the lit torches sent shivers up their spines. The air felt stale and tainted, as though blasphemers were hiding guiltily in the sacred temple.
"Be on your guard," Nabooru murmured, and spears were grasped and daggers were drawn.
If Twinrova were inside, the Gerudos had certainly given away their disadvantage of surprise, but as of yet, it was undetermined whether they were in any danger. Silently they all slid off their horses and set out in pairs to explore the temple. Nabooru was sure that they were here. She could sense the dark energy emanating from somewhere nearby.
Then just as she had climbed the ladder on the left side of the chamber, and reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a whirling in the air. The wind picked up from outside and blew a blisteringly cold breeze that was scorching hot all at the same time. It froze the hairs on their arms and then burned them in quick succession. The pain stung wildly for moments after, but Nabooru bit her lip to quench her pain.
"It looks like we have visitors Koume."
The horses suddenly whinnied and bolted away from the witches causing the remaining Gerudos to turn around in shock. At the sight of their enemy all courage fled their hearts and they stood there lifeless and cowering. Out of the corner of her eye, Nabooru witnessed this weak surrender and felt infuriated. Four of her women had been caught in the paralysing glare, and she could see them trembling violently as though death itself was caressing them.
Her hatred instantly multiplied tenfold. Every plague that had ever been delivered upon her people, their exile, their humiliation; it was all brought to the forefront of her mind. That two hags could strike so much fear into the hearts of such strong and fearless warriors was unforgivable. Nabooru shook vehemently, and her anger transformed with blinding speed into the strongest force she had ever experienced.
Gripping her daggers tightly between her nimble fingers, she sprung forward and elegantly leapt off the edge of the stairwell. She came crashing down on Twinrova in a cacophony of muffled screams, raging shrieks and the singing of metal blades as they soared with a piercing yelp through the crumpled sheets of their skin. Enlightened by the awesome heroism of their leader the remaining Gerudo warriors shook themselves out of the tight grip of fear and came roaring forward in an ear-splitting crescendo, descending down on their prey, pouncing with their spears and daggers raised before the witches could escape into the air. Bound by an unshakeable sisterhood they ravaged their foe, slashing their huge, unblinking eyes and driving their blades deep into their dead hearts, redeeming themselves through the blood of their enemy.
It was a glorious moment, and as they left the Colossus with two heads clasped firmly in Nabooru's proud hands, there was the rest of her faithful army waiting for her. In a solid wave of purple and glinting steel they dismounted and knelt upon the searing sand. Lifting the greying heads high into the air, Nabooru shouted with a triumphant smile,
"Let this be the end of their tyranny! Let this be the end of our suffering! And let this be the beginning of a new era of peace! These heads symbolise our victory, our strength, and our pride. We will begin new lives from this day forth, where there shall be no poverty, no hunger, and no thirst! We will rise up again out of our strife and fight for a new existence. Today we have proved that we are a brave, valiant and fearless people! Let this new bond of solidarity never waver in our time of need. May we remember that we defeated the enemy who has terrorised us from the dawn on time! This is our new strength, and together we will march forward into a brighter future!"
A unanimous cheer rose up from the crowd, and as Nabooru looked out over her people she noticed that to the side there were four bowing and burying their faces into the sand. She saw the bows and swords at their heads and recognised them as her pursuers. The spell had been lifted with Twinrova's death, but she wondered whether they could remember the heinous crime they had almost committed. Nonetheless she smiled upon them, and taking two spears she staked the two heads and carried them all the way back to the fortress in a slow and prestigious march as the sun blazed in the sky, sinking slowly underneath the horizon.
The dark clouds had not lifted over the castle and hung there ominously with a thick stench of dread exuding from their bulbous shapes. Even the light that shone brightly through the Temple of Time was tainted with the terrible tremors of the ephemeral twilight. Impa tapped her foot against the stone steps in an agitated manner of preoccupation. Zelda should have arrived by now, but with the afternoon dying so early on in the day it was hard to tell what hour is was.
It seemed as though the entire night had passed before them, each moment expecting an anxious princess to creep through the doors. Impa had already instructed Link what to do when Zelda arrived, but it began to seem as though his resurrection would never happen. Once Zelda had healed Link's body, Rauru would intercede and join them together once more. But without Zelda, nothing could go ahead.
Impa could sense Ganondorf's presence growing stronger and began to imagine that he would discover them before Zelda arrived. On her journey back to the castle she had felt her heart stop for a second before she felt like she had been winded. A cold shiver passed over her, lingering in the tight knots of her shoulders and at once she thought of Zelda. Something had been travelling in the opposite direction not too far from where she was; she couldn't see anything but the feeling of darkness had been too strong to have been anything else.
At the time she had suppressed the anxiety and had bowed her head as she rode on. But now that time seemed to drip slowly by, that moment had been tormenting her. She looked wistfully toward Link's silent figure. He was looking down at his maimed body, kneeling beside it, tracing the gash in his chest with his hand. Impa wondered what he was thinking as his glazed eyes stared nonchalantly at the wound.
From where she stood she silently admitted it was an odd sight, but to see them both together, body and soul, it didn't seem as though they were separate. He was looking tenderly at the body as though he was watching someone sleep. She imagined that he had watched Zelda in a similar way but with more love in his face. Had he not been traced the wound, she would have thought he had been lost in a dream with the princess. But the concentrated and repeated gesture told her that in his mind he was not thinking of Zelda at all, but of the battle where he had fallen. He was playing that scene over and over in his head, thinking how he might had survived, how he might have been somewhere else at that moment, or how he might have dodged that fatal strike.
At that moment Impa realised how wrong it was that he had died. His death had gone against everything that he had come to mean and stand for as the saviour of Hyrule. A hero such as he was not meant to die so easily. If he was just another soldier, another warrior from mediocrity he wouldn't have survived the fight with Ganon. He had been chosen by the sages, by the gods to protect this broken land and deliver it out of evil, and he had accomplished his mission. But now, he seemed no more than just another soldier, another nameless face from the battlefield.
Impa couldn't bear to think about this anymore. The sooner Zelda arrived, the sooner they could all be saved. Suddenly, a deep gruff voice boomed from inside the Temple, startling them both. A sphere of white light appeared on the platform above the altar where the three sacred stones lay, and there gradually emerged the figure of a stooped, cloaked man.
"Rauru! Thank goodness you're here," Impa sighed.
"Link," he said suddenly, "I want you to do something for me." The young man looked up, the gravity fading from his face. "Ganondorf has returned to Hyrule," he continued, "You must find Zelda before it's too late."
Both Link and Impa's despair returned, and without waiting for them to say anything, Rauru spoke hurriedly in whispered tones.
"I've discovered that the dark presence hanging over Hyrule is indeed what we all feared. You must avoid any suspicion if Ganondorf is nearby. I fear it's a long and unnecessary route, but you must travel through the forest that surrounds Hyrule's borders until you come to the desert. You must do this, for Hyrule's sake, Link."
For a moment Link stood with a gaze fixed on the old sage. His eyes emptied for a fleeting moment, but then they struck up and blazed with the old hatred of blinding intensity. He merely nodded, acknowledging his mission and left immediately back into the bleak light of the darkness.
AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I can't begin to apologise for being so late with this. I thought that being the summer holidays I could perhaps update a tad quicker than this. But alas, I've been swamped with homework that hasn't really left me any time to write. I've had essays to do early in preparation for university and I've also had a tonne of books to read. I'm sorry that this chapter is another one of those 'connecting' chapters. I promise that interesting stuff will happen shortly, namely the ending.
Tor - Warning: I'm a bit of a Geography nerd. A tor is a hill or rocky peak that stands out from the landscape quite dramatically. They're often found near volcanic areas because they're essentially huge pieces of solidified magma that haven't weathered away like the surrounding landscape. Just to convince you I'm not making this up, there are tors in the south of England, probably because of Snowdonia in Wales. If you're wondering why I've put it in a desert here, I'm counting on Death Mountain being my volcano and the desert being near enough for tors to form; I hope that cleared things up!
Vladimir the Hamster: Yeah, the Kokiri are an intersting race. I've always disliked Mido, but I sympathised with him a little in that last chapter. He's a good guy really.
serenitythefaierikin: I liked that ending too :D. I always like to write descriptively and to waffle on for ages!
Sheik's twin: Thanks! And I'm sorry I didn't update sooner XD
Hououza: Don't worry. The Kokiri will be all right. I won't be mean and let them suffer anymore. Thanks for reviewing so quickly too :)
Forlorn Rain: Now that you mention it, I love that line too! I never quite realised how beautiful that sounds just on its own. But yes, if I don't feel in tune with what I write, I usually end up deleting it, so I only give you the best! XD. I don't feel good about it if I'm not involved, and I also don't feel good when I don't update for ages! I'm sorry! I can't begin to thank you for sticking with me :)
moric: Thanks for reviewing! Sorry it's been so long, but I'll try to get this story finished soon so you can find out.