Author´s note:
Apologies for the longer delay! I´ve been swamped with work and life got in the way also. But here it is!
I´m being sneaky...
Chapter VIII
The Coiled Snake
"I promise I´m not looking!" said Zelda, giggling uncontrollably. They had met the most strange individual at the Oasis, Link said he´d known him, and that there were rumors that a voe had infiltrated once. He matched the description of the red headed-cross-dressing man.
"Stop staring!", he said after the third, or fourth... maybe fifth time that she had looked at his bare abdomen. The vai outfit did enhance some of his voe features, Zelda could picture in her mind a very amused Urbosa.
He had been hypocritical, she noticed, as he had been staring at her quite a lot since she had changed into a very similar outfit, albeit she didn´t need the gown. She knew what he felt, this attire was very revealing, given that the pants rested on the hips, and not on the waist, as she remembered it did, a century ago.
Zelda had always been self-conscious of her body, as a late bloomer, she carried all the insecurities of a hundred and eighteen year old teenager. Of course him looking made her feel even more aware of herself. She felt they were even, though, because she was enjoying how flustered he was.
"I´m not staring! I just think you look really good in that outfit, is all!", she said, pretending to be upset. The heaviest and most awkward silence fell upon them. Link´s face was almost purple, and she suspected it wasn´t the heat. She too felt her palms were sweaty, and her whole body felt feverish, but it wasn´t the scorching sun either.
After walking what felt like an eternity under the sun- having refused to rent desert seals. They finally saw signs of civilization. Though about one mile before they arrived to Gerudo town, she had noticed some wooden contraptions, walls and structures were built on a square-like perimeter around Gerudo town.
By the looks of it the desert amazons were in the midst of changing the name od Gerudo Town to Gerudo city. When they arrived the two guards spoke directly and only at him. Zelda reveled in her temporary anonimity.
"It´s you! You´re the Heroine everyone in town is talking about! The Matriarch told us how you defeated the Calamity! I knew you weren´t just a pretty little vai", she clapped Link in the back with quite a bit of force, making him stumble. The other guard eyed Zelda for a few seconds before opening them widely in surprise.
"Hey Byrta I think this is-".
"YOU TWO! WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS SPEAKING TO THE TOURISTS! YOU´RE NO GUIDES! YOU´RE SUPPOESD TO STAND GUARD, FOOLS!", a commanding voice boomed from inside the construction bustle, making them all jump. Every head turned in their direction.
"Move along", said the guard named Byrta all the while winking at them. Zelda smiled broadly at her.
"It certainly seems more lively than last time I was here...", she said, taking in the scene that greeted them as they crossed the gates. Gorons with yellow helmets, carrying piles of stone, hardware or wooden boards walked and talked merrily. A particularily big and muscular goron was in a heated talk with a snobby looking zora.
"Listen, I´m not stupid I can actually read a floorplan, but this arch is not going to hold. This design might have worked with steel, but we´re talking wood and stone here! We need a column in the middle", the goron said.
The zora architect looked positively outraged. "It´s no wonder to me why your city is such a mess, you people have no sense of aesthetic! We are not building a column in the middle of the main gate!". Both of them eyed them absently, Zelda smiled shyly at them.
"And don´t even get me started on the designs for the palace!" she heard the goron shout. The architect shouted something else back, but they were now too far for her to understand anything with all the bustle and noise of the construction. She wondered how did a zora make it this far into the desert...
Some of the gerudo waved at Link, she noticed. One even did as much as hugging him in a back-breaking embrace. The tall woman said something about massages, which seemed like a good idea, but Link grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the main square. She noticed he didn´t let go for a good minute, she didn´t pull away either...
They neared the staircase that lead directly to the throne room, they both stood there in silence. She looked at him and saw through the veil he was smling encourangingly.
"You´ll like her, I promise", he said. "Come on", he said leading the way. She was happy to follow for as long as she could, leading a whole nation just yet seemed like a humongous task which she didn´t look forward to.
"Woah", exclaimed her knight. She agreed.
The throne room was busy to say the least. She counted at least fifty people talking and walking, some of them nodded at them, with the ocasional Sav´otta. They could barely see anything, for most of the people inside were gerudo and they all towered over them. They pushed through a particularily big group of women that were chatting intensely about diamonds and gorons. Two guards hastily cut their way.
"State your business", said unceremoniusly one of them. The other looked at her and then at Link.
Link had barely opened his mouth to do just that, when she spoke up to the guard.
"I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule, I am here to see Lady Riju, Matriarch of the Gerudo". The guards eyed eachother for a moment and then nodded at her, stepping aside. The guard to their left tapped on the floor with her spear and the whole room went silent.
"Princess Zelda of Hyrule!", she announced.
A quiet murmur started to spread among the court, but none dared speak louder than a whisper. The sea of people leading to the throne parted so they could make their way to the Gerudo Matriarch.
Zelda almost gasped at what she saw. She was just as young as them.
"She certainly is", she heard her almost whisper, before saying outloud, "Princess Zelda. Your Royal Highness, you certainly are a sight for sore eyes!", she exclaimed, standing from her throne. Zelda bowed her head in deference. The murmurs grew to a loud set of whispers and fingers started to point at her. She heard some cheers and claps that started to spread like wildfire. Soon the whole room was cheering and clapping. She felt her cheeks burn, but politely nodded and smiled at them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Link getting red in the ears.
"News of your battle with the Calamity have reached us all, as you can see. We have been waiting for you. Please come closer, for we have many things to discuss", she beckoned her. She looked back at Link. He merely nodded.
They walked slowly towards the throne, Link fell behind on purpose, she noted.
"Your Grace", started Zelda "I thank you for this warm welcome. Gerudo hospitality is still a force to be reckoned with". She bowed again, this time a little lower. She heard Link kneeling altogether.
"Your Highness, please. You should not bow to me. It is I who honors you. You have saved our country and for that you have our eternal gratitude. Sarqso", she said while kneeling before her. Every Gerudo soul followed suit, even her personal guard, who was almost twice the size of them.
Awkward was how she would have described her emotions at that moment.
"Please rise", she said softly, looking around the room, "rise". Everyone but Link followed her request.
"You must be tired after all your deeds and travels", she said, acknowledging both of them for the first time. "Please, we have prepared rooms for you. I am confident you will find them suitable". Zelda noticed how paced and solemn her way of speaking was. It had come as a surprise after noticing she was just at least as old as they were.
"We accept your offer gratefully", she said earnestly.
"Dehneru will take you to your room", she said to Link. A tall and lean woman stepped out, looking down at Link. She smiled softly at him which made him blush. Zelda smiled to herself.
"Princess, if you would allow me the honor of walking with you to your chambers", asked Lady Riju.
Zelda graciously accepted. Link eyed her nervously while walking away from where the Matriarch was leading her. She nodded at him knowingly.
They passed two flights of stairs to the upper floor. A hallway that looked like it was also used as a terrace lead to two vast entrances. They passed the first one, she noticed a by no means small amount of desert seal plushies.
The second entrance was less splendid, but was still agreeable in size. A big bed had been placed across at the back of the room, with a view of the desert. Silk drapes floated lazily at the entrance with the warm wind. Lady Riju let out a sigh that ended in a childish raspberry.
"I will never get used to behave like a statue!", she said looking back at her, while tossing her crown to the bed. She slouched on a sofa that was just beside the bed. Her demeanor had changed as much as the weather in the desert at night. She let out another sigh.
"I agree on that one", she said cautiously. Riju started to laugh loudly.
"Relax, Princess", she stood up swinging her legs up and then down in a quick motion, almost jumping out of the sofa. The Gerudo Matriarch seemed less... regal. She was behaving more like what she had expected. Riju served themselves two glasses of something that was clearly not water. She held one of them to her.
"Courtesy of the Noble Canteen", she said mischevously. Downing the contents of her glass in one go.
The princess took the glass and cautiously sniffed it, Riju laughed again. "I promise it´s not poison."
Zelda shrugged and downed her glass in one big gulp. A mixture of ice cold and searing heat filled her throat and stomach. A fit of cough had her having to seat down on the sofa. Riju laughed merrily a third time, clapping and squeaking. "Isn´t it the best?". She noticed the cheeks of the Gerudo Matriarch had gone a shade of pink.
"Are you sure you should be drinking this?", she asked between coughs. Riju was twirling on one foot. "My great-great-great-great... great? Urbosa and the Queen did", she said happily. It´s a tradition of sorts I think. Don´t worry, we´re not going to drink anymore if thats what you´re afraid off". That did make her worries lighten a bit, or perhaps it was her glass of... whatever that was.
"What´s this called anyway?", Zelda asked. Her cheeks began to feel a bit warm and she felt slightly more comfortable with Riju.
"Noble Pursuit", Riju stated simply. "Furosa and I became friends and every now and then I sneak into the canteen. I like to take walks at night when no one notices. It´s like being free.", Zelda noticed a tinge of something on her voice at that last sentence.
"I think I understand what you´re saying", nodding at Riju, who had thrown herself at the bed, laying on her back. She had to get her long braid out of the way. Zelda had never seen so much hair in her whole life.
"I´d rather fight Ganon than being queen", Zelda blurted out after a minute of silence. Riju snorted.
"I´d happily fight by your side than trying to rule this lot", she said hiting her face with the palm of her hand. The hylian princess regarded the gerudo.
"What is it like?", she asked, turning herself around and curling into a ball in the sofa. For some reason she was still clutching her glass in her hands.
Riju rested herself on her elbows, slightly turning her head to where she was. Zelda noticed her nose resembled that of Urbosa...
"Frightening", she said sighing. "It´s frightening and you are not allowed to feel fear. We are very much alike, princess. We must rule despite we want it or not.
"You see... when my mother died I was only thirteen, so naturally, everyone had their doubts about me... ", she looked at the horizon in front of them. "Were it not for Buliara... and a year later for Link. I doubt I would have mustered the courage to do this. I don´t know the next thing about being queen, or about behaving how it is expected of me, and yet... And yet, when Link came here dressed in that silly outfit and told me he was going to fight Naboris, I saw something in his eyes that instilled me with a little of that bravery... You know what I mean", she paused eyeing her. Zelda nodded.
"I knew I could do it the moment I saw him fly inside the titan. I thought 'We just fought a 40 meter tall mechanical beast, I can manage with ruling some feisty redheads'. As soon as he entered I raced back to the palace and told Buliara everything. I remember her smiling to me as if she were my own mother, holding my chin the way she used to. 'You will be the greatest Matriarch the Gerudo have ever seen' and... some other things", she said rather abruptly.
"I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to bring back painful memories", she said awkwardly. She noticed a pair of tears had found their way to her cheeks while listening to Riju. She felt sympathetic for her, she knew all too well how she felt. The death of her own mother had brought a heavy responsibility upon her shoulders. And the death of her father had made it even more real now.
Riju waved her apologies off, wiping away a tear from her eye. "I´m just being silly. It has been nearly three years since and I feel stronger, and even if I don´t seem so, I think I am wiser too". She turned to the side, facing Zelda. The hylian princess felt a bit jealous of her Gerudo counterpart. Riju had a very developed body for a sixteen year old, the famous gerudo hips were already there. She absentmindedly rubbed her hips.
"I´m sure the real reason as to why you´re here", she paused dramatically. "... is to tell me what is Link like". Zelda looked at her blankly for almost a whole minute before realizing what she was talking about. She gasped. The gerudo matriarch laughed so much she fell to the floor, Zelda stood up to help but Riju held her hand up.
"You´re so pure. May the Serpent Goddes bless you always", she said still laughing at her innocence.
"You have shown your cards, princess. But don´t fret, your secret is safe with me. Many of my subjects swoon at the sight of the tiny blonde vai, even I admit I find him very attractive too. You should make a move quick, or he may leave here parenting many kids.". The forwardness of the gerudo took her off guard completely.
"I- I- Link and I are just very good friends!", she said indignantly standing up. Riju had stood up too and was already walking towards the hallway, "I´m just saying, princess... I suggest you take some rest, the celebrations are just getting started. We will discuss other matters after", she stated gravely. The princess merely nodded, still at a loss for words.
Zelda wasn´t sure if she liked Riju or not. She felt jealousy eat her from the inside for the first time in her life.
Dehneru was about two heads taller than him. Her face was lighter than most of her countrywomen and her hair was a light shade of orange. Her accent was heavier too.
"You sure are a very famous vai, tiny hylian.", she said while they walked outside the palace and into the sunny square. Link merely shrugged. Dehneru laughed at his nonchalant attitude. "Don´t be so modest. Everyone here knows about your battle against Naboris, Rudania, Medoh and Ruta. It goes without saying that the recent news of your slaying of the monster have spread rapidly too. I´ve seen many little vai run around pretending they´re Link". She regarded him, but Link had suddenly not known what to say. He was not used to so much praise.
He followed the gerudo down a flight of stairs he knew too well down to the guard´s training plaza. They all looked at him. Captain Taeke shouted some orders to her women and they all resumed their tasks. She walked towards them.
"Remember, you´re one of us now", she said winking ever so slightly. Link grinned back, forgetting the veil concealed his face.
"There will be time for that. Now go rest, you´ve earned it. Dehneru", the captain nodded at the guard. "Off with you", Taeke said amiably.
"We have prepared a suite in our inn. The owner said you´d get a free massage if you wanted one. I suggest you take it, you´ll sleep like a baby", Dehneru said obvlivious to his familiarity with said massages.
"A normal room is fine, really... ", he began. Dehneru clicked her tongue.
"You are not a normal vai, Link", she said eyeing him from head to toes. "Or rather a normal voe", Dehneru said mischievously, winking at him. He shuffled uncomfortably as the gerudo laughed heartily. "You really think you´re fooling anyone with that veil?", she said pointing at it. "Most of the guards know, but we´ve been told to play along. There´s many among our people that still think voe are all mean and bad. Good thing I´m not like our people", she said playfully. Link blushed furiously.
He dreaded and loved being among gerudo women. Their hospitality was legendary, very much so among men, who desired nothing more than to stroll around the steets of Gerudo town even back when he and the princess travelled across Hyrule a century ago. He was not blind, they were very attractive women and he couldn´t blame all the men - and women, that had fallen for a gerudo. He had not openly admitted it but he felt that attraction upon meeting Riju. He had later found out the gerudo developed faster than any other people in the Realm, only to be told later on that the matriarch was barely fourteen. Those feelings had gone away as fast as they had come, but he still liked to admire them.
He dreaded the massages because his body ached for days afterwards and his mind wandered to dangerous places. Often sweaty skin and suggestive noises filled his mind while laying down on the massage table. He had been sure they would discover he was no woman and toss him out. Luckily he had been able to control himself and they never found out. But now that Serta had insisted twice (one indirectly via Dehneru), he wasn´t so sure.
Unlike Zelda, he did not fool himself, he knew the gerudo were forward and despised playing games with men, taking matters of the heart very seriously. As he was thinking this he saw the tall owner of the inn open her arms wide, already wating for them at the entrance.
"My dear you finally came for your free treatment", Serta said. "You can leave her with me", she said to Dehneru. The guard nodded and elbowed lightly Link on the shoulder, he looked at her and saw her smiling and winking knowingly. Link shook his head and aproached Serta.
"Lady Riju expressly ordered that you were to have the best room we could give. She also told me she was sorry they could not give you a room in the palace. According to her it´s not customary for a hylian princess and her escort to sleep in the same room, odd.
"It´s fine, really... ", he trailed off.
"Now about that massage, dear. You seem like you could use a strong pair of hands on those tiny shoulders of yours", she motioned for him to enter a small room with a tall clothed table on it. He knew it all too well.
"You know the drill, dear. Lay on your back, you can leave your clothes over there in the cabinet and you can use that towel to cover yourself if you wish to.", she said while shuffling bottles and musing about aromas and herbs he did not know about.
He grudgingly did as he was told, making sure to cover himself as much as he could. Not daring to take the veil off.
"You´re still as shy as always, I see.", Serta said amused. "A vai should never be ashamed of her body. Even you hylians should be proud of your physique, I´m sure there is a fine hylian out there that already owns your heart. Or maybe it´s a vai!", she said happily as she started to pour oil on his skin.
"Between you and I, there´s rumors thay hylians tend to like strong women, if you catch my drift. All of my friends have already bedded one and to my surprise they all married them. A Gerudo will not marry a voe, or a vai if they cannot satisfy them in bed. If you want I could teach you a thing or two... ", she said after almost crushing his shoulder which made him groan in pain. Serta mistakenly took it as a moan of pleasure because she kept doing that all over his body. Her musings about gerudo sex positions and it´s hylian variations were all she talked about. She described in detail a particularily famous one among Gerudo called 'The coiled snake', that involved amounts of stamina and flexibility no hylian possessed, or so he thought. Thankfully he was laying on his stomach when she had described it to him.
"It´s specially helpfull if you wish to concieve, you see... ", and then Link zoned out for his own sanity, only replying with pained groans and the ocasional ´m-hm'.
An hour later he felt like he could sleep for a week and threw himself on the bed right after Serta had closed the door to his room. His dreams were mostly about sweaty tanned women and fiery red manes billowing with the wind.
Five seconds later, or so it felt, a loud knock on the door woke him up. He had been drooling.
"Link? Are you there?", a soft voice echoed from the other side. He coughed a little and quickly dressed himself. Anything to get away from the lusting owner of the Inn. "Coming", he said to the door.
He hopped on one foot as he put on the shoe, while opening the door. It was good he was wearing the veil, because his jaw had dropped. There under the frame, a blonde and very small gerudo princess was standing awkwardly. Zelda was wearing almost the same attire as Riju wore every time he saw her. For some reason, Zelda looked even better than any Gerudo he had ever seen. The main difference with the usual Gerudo royal attire was that her skirt was blue and had a pattern made of the Hylian royal crest on it. She was wearing her hair in a very long braid.
"Don´t just stand there!", she said, seemingly annoyed, or ashamed. He had never seen so much of her legs until now, he suddenly just wanted to sleep forever and never come out of this room.
"I´m sorry. I just wasn´t expecting you to- ", he had almost said 'To look so beautiful'. It certainly was no lie, but he thought he would have worded it poorly.
"To what?... ", she asked squinting at him.
"er... You look nice, that´s all", he said awkwardly. His ears were burning now.
The princess looked at him expectantly, but he didn´t know what else to say. "How can I help you, Your Highness?", he said after a long pause.
"I thought you´d fancy a walk around the town", she blurted out. "You know... I want to get familiar with the people in my Kingdom... ", she added hastily.
"Of course, Highness. I´ll be out in a minute", he said. Closing the door on her face.
Did you see how pretty she looked?
And those legs. I thought they would never end!
And her hair!
And her eyes!
And her lips!
Two voices inside his mind were arguing about this when a very angry princess said on the other side of the wooden door.
"I´ll meet you at the entrance then, Lady Link", he had to slap himself a coulpe of times before regaining some composture. He fetched his Sword and raced to the entrance, paying no mind to the luscious stares of Serta.
She was standing with her back to the entrance, her arms were closed and he saw her tap her foot impatiently.
"Princess", he said calmly.
"Riju said there would be some celebration in our honor later. I thought we could pass the time walking and talking, but it seems you have better things on your mind". For the love of Hylia he did not know why she was suddenly so angry.
"I have nothing better to do, Highness. A stroll around town would do me good, too. I think". Zelda looked crossly at him, but said nothing and walked - or rather stormed, to the main square. Link had to trot a bit to catch up to her. Her skirt dancing happily as she walked at a brisk pace.
"Princess... er- Is... something wrong?", he asked tentatively.
"Everything´s fine", she said in a tone that clearly told him nothing was fine.
"I take it something is not to your liking here?", he said while they browsed fruit at the market. Many Gerudo turned their heads to take a look at the princess.
"It´s al fine. Weather´s fine. Room´s fine. Lady Riju´s fine", every fine had followed a fruit tossed back to a bag the seller had given her. "It´s all fine, really. Every one here seems to have one thing, or a some one on their minds.", she said after tossing a very unlucky banana inside her bag.
"I know what you mean", Link said sincerelly, obvlivious to what Zelda had meant. She turned around, fuming.
"OH?", she said in a very un-Zelda-like voice. "You do now? Please do tell!". Link looked at her confused.
"I dont know what-", he began. She spoke across him, while paying a very confused Gerudo elder.
"Nevermind!", she said furiously. They walked towards the northern exit. Link had to trot again behind her to catch up. The two guards that had greeted them earlier nodded at him.
When he thought they were out of earsight he walked beside her.
"Zelda, what is going on?", he asked voicing his concern. She turned around abruptly, stopping him in his tracks.
"Riju is what´s going on!". She openly said. He did not understand at all.
"What does Riju...?", he began a question he never phrased.
"She infuriates me!", she exclaimed.
"But she also is very likable!", she countered her own argument.
Link had no idea what was going on. They seemed to be very amiable to eachother just hours ago...
"What did you talk about that upset you so much? ", he questioned. The princess started to walk again, slower this time.
They were now out of town, the heat was barely bearable. He felt his armpits sweat furiously.
"I´m just being stupid, Link", she said as a gust of wind graced their faces, she had to hold down her skirt so it would not reveal anything. He looked away, finding the Gerudo tower very interesting for a minute or two.
"I´m being unfair, is all. She has been the perfect host... I guess I´m just jealous of how well she handles everything". A pair of desert seals were sliding down a dune, pursuing a lizalfos that had tried to hunt them down.
Zelda sighed.
"They all really like having you around, you know?", she said very quietly.
"Yeah", he replied knowingly. "I think they like it a little bit too much", he rubbed his shoulders. "Remind me to never agree to a massage ever again". Zelda saw he was rubbing his shoulder.
"You should learn to say no sometimes", she said laughing. "I am curious about one myself. Maybe I will swing by the Inn tomorrow and we can have a free massage together!".
"Please don´t", he pleaded. "Not unless you want to know about ´The coiled snake'", he said shivering at the memories. She started to laugh again.
"What even is that?", she asked.
"You don´t want to know. Trust me", he said.
"You know I will find out one way or another", she said in a sing-song voice.
"You asked for it", he warned.
Her expressions as he described as best as he could remember what Serta had told him had made it all worth it. By the end of his explanation she was blushing so much her whole face was as red as the hair of a Gerudo.
"I didn´t know people were actually capable of doing that! How does one even prepare for such an ordeal?", she asked. Mortified.
"Well, according to Serta, hylian men - posibly some women too, like this one the best. She also described other ones to me, but I honestly stopped paying attention after this one. You could ask her though", he teased. She hid her face under her hands. Link chuckled.
They made their way back well past noon, as the sun had began it´s descent to the horizon. When they arrived to the gates, Byrta, the guard told them:
"Your Grace, Lady Riju is expecting you and your escort in the Palace courtyard". Zelda thanked her and bowed her head ever so slightly. Byrta returned the bow.
"I guess it can´t hurt to actually have fun", she said to him as they made their way through the crowded streets of Gerudo City.
A/N2: Big thanks to the people that have faved and follwed this story! Next chapter is all about celebrations!... or is it?...
