And now we move onto Chapter 16, and we take a look into Reirousa's past...
Flashback
"Hey, get the hell outta here you noisy brats, an old lady's resting in here, damnit!" shouted a sixteen year old Reirousa, chasing after some Gerudo children playing and making noise outside of their sleeping quarters at Gerudo Fortress.
"Oh come on, you don't have to fuss over me." said Reirousa's mother, stepping out from her room and leaning against the door frame, sporting a small smile.
"W-Who's making a fuss?" Reirousa folded her arms and looked to the side, "Those kids are just annoying little brats!"
Her mother giggled and gave her daughter a soft hug. "I appreciate it, but you worry about me too much, Reirousa, you should worry about yourself more often, why don't you go try to make some friends?"
"I don't need friends.. I don't need anyone else..." Reirousa scoffed, looking to the side.
It was then that her mother knelt down and hugged her, "Sweetie, someday you'll understand what it means to have people to rely on, and to rely on you. I'm not going to be around forever, and I just want you to be able to understand the value in friends before that..."
"D-Damnit mom, stop saying stuff like that..." Reirousa said, "J-Just don't leave yet, okay?" she said, hugging her mother tightly.
"Don't worry sweetie, I won't go anywhere any time soon." she smiled.
A few weeks later, Reirousa found herself looking up to her mother, who was clad in a Gerudo soldier's outfit, and standing among some others like her.
"Y-You're seriously leaving...?" Reirousa asked, "Are you sure about doing this?!"
"I'm sorry Reirousa, but I have to do this." her mother said, "Our king is in trouble, and I need to do my part to save him. If I don't then..." she paused, then nodded with a determined look on her face, "It's something I must do."
"But..."
"You stay good, okay, Reirousa? Remember what I told you before." her mother said, giving Reirousa a soft hug, then a gentle kiss on the forehead, before turning and leaving with the solders.
"B-Be careful, okay mom?!" Reirousa shouted, with tears forming in her eyes, "Come back home right after this, alright?!"
"You don't worry about me sweetie," her mom said smiling and brandishing her sword, "I'll be just fine!"
"I'm sorry Reirousa..."
About a month after the war started, some soldiers had returned to Gerudo Fortress from the battle, Reirousa quickly recognized one of them as her mother's friend and companion, who left with her to the war. She quickly ran up to her mother's friend, but upon asking about her mother's whereabouts, the soldier's relieved expression turned to sadness and pity.
She placed a hand on Reirousa's shoulder, "Your mother didn't make it."
"N-No..." muttered Reirousa, she stepped back, before falling to her knees and hands, "She... she couldn't be..." she then pounded the ground with her fist, "DAMNIT!"
Reirousa turned and ran away, her mother's friend reached out to try and stop her, but she was long gone.
This didn't go unnoticed by another Gerudo who had just arrived as well...
If Reirousa wasn't already a difficult person to approach, this tragic turn of events didn't help much in that regard. She lashed out at just about everyone who spoke to her. She started keeping herself more and more isolated over the next couple of weeks.
Eventually a Gerudo woman approached her home, along with some soldiers, an older woman compared to most other Gerudo soldiers, with faint traces of white hairs among the traditional red hair they were known for.
"Is this the place?" she asked them.
"Yes Commander Imono," one of the soldiers said.
"Very well." she said, bring her hand up and knocking before poking her head in, "Sister Reirousa, this is Commander Imono with the Gerudo army, are you in there?"
"Get the hell outta here!" shouted Reirousa, who was leaning back on a chair with her feet up on the table. There were numerous furniture and other things destroyed around her home, more then likely from being thrown around.
"Listen, Reirousa, I'm sorry about your loss..." Commander Imono started, walking up to Reirousa and putting a firm hand on her shoulder, "But your mother won't be forgotten. She died valiantly in battle, and took down many of the Hylian scum in the process, you should be proud of her."
Reirousa sat quiet for a short while, before tears started forming in her eyes.
"But... she's... gone..." muttered Reirousa, "I got nothin' left... "
"... in that case... tell me, how would you like the opportunity to avenge her...?" the Gerudo commander asked with a small smirk.
"Huh...?"
"Girls, I'd like to introduce you to our newest rookie, Reirousa." Commander Imono stated.
Reirousa stood beside Imono at the training grounds, feeling somewhat intimidated seeing the crowd of Gerudo.
"She doesn't look like much." commented one of the soldiers, "Sure she won't be taken out in the first few seconds?"
"The hell does that mean?!" shouted Reirousa, "I'll pound you!"
"You wanna try something?!" shouted the soldier, getting practically in Reirousa's face.
"Bring it!" Reirousa shouted back, and with that the two started pummeling each other, and the others cheered the two of them on.
"Hey, wait a minute! Everyone settle down!" shouted Imono, only to fall on deaf ears.
Meanwhile, one Gerudo soldier in the back just grinned lightly, "She's really got some guts."
"Gack!" shouted Reirousa, falling backwards from an attack by her sparring partner, her sword falling harmlessly to the ground beside her. "Damnit..."
"Looks like it's my win!" said the Gerudo soldier with her own sword.
"Ugh, I can't get used to fighting this way..." Reirousa muttered.
"Why not just give up then?" asked the soldier shrugging.
"Fat chance! I gotta do this!" shouted back Reirousa, "I got a reason to fight!"
"Really now...?" asked a new person, it was the Gerudo from before who had been watching her, "Go rest up, I'll see to the rookie." she said to Reirousa's sparring partner.
As the other girl left, the soldier knelt down to Reirousa, "Nice work there kid."
"Meh, I couldn't even land a hit on her..." Reirousa scowled.
"How about we spar then?" asked the soldier, "Come on, let's go."
"Uh... alright..." Reirousa said getting up, "So uh, who are you?"
"I'm Hiraemo. My friends call me Hira, but you can call me... Hira." she grinned.
"Uh... okay." Reirousa said rubbing the back of her neck
"Now, draw your blade, and let's see where you're messing up."
The clash of swords went off between the two, until Reirousa lost hers and it fell to the ground.
"Damnit!" Reirousa shouted.
"Hmm... you got the strength, but lack the technique... let's try again." Hiraemo said.
This went on for a while, and despite her effort Reirousa kept getting disarmed.
"That's it, I'm done!" Reirousa shouted, about to turn and walk off.
"Hmm... maybe we could try a different weapon." Hiraemo said.
She lead Reirousa to the weapons racks, where she took a look over at the various weapons on display. Taking a look over at Reirousa again, she then picked out one weapon that was in good shape and was barely used, a warhammer.
"Try this, it might suit you." Hiraemo said.
Reirousa gripped the warhammer curiously, it was heavy compared to the sword, but she had little trouble lifting it.
"Now, let's put em up." Hiraemo said, drawing her sword.
Another clash of steel went off as the two went at each other Reirousa found herself quickly adapting to the warhammer's style. Eventually the two stopped and put down their weapons.
"Not bad." grinned Hiraemo, "I think you may have found your battle style."
"Uh... thanks...?" Reirousa said, looking up at her.
"Come on, let's get some drinks." Hiraemo said leading Reirousa off to the mess hall.
Over the next couple of weeks Reirousa was training hard, using her warhammer to spar with the other Gerudo soldiers, weight raining to develop her muscles, and spending more time with Hiraemo and eventually the other soldiers. At first, many of the soldiers took her little more then a brash brat, but time made them eventually warm up to her. Even Reirousa herself was getting along with them better.
Eventually it wasn't long before the final day of their training before they would go to war. Reirousa was kicking back on a bench, contemplating what she was going to do.
"Hey, ready for this tomorrow?" Hiraemo showed up, handing Reirousa a cup of water.
"Yeah, big time." Reirousa thanked her for the water and took a sip. She watched as a solider past by them, who took a second to wave to the two.
"You're really fitting in well here." grinned Hiraemo, "And you're a great fighter. Commander Imono must have seen something promising when she recruited you."
"Nah, nothin' like that." Reirousa said, "I'm just in this for my mom."
"Your mom?" Hiraemo asked.
"She... died last month in the war..." Reirousa muttered, squeezing her cup, "I gotta take down those Hylian bastards and avenge her."
"...is that really what you think she'd want?" Hiraemo asked.
"Huh?"
"I don't think she'd want you going to war for her sake." Hiraemo said, "When I lost my own mother, I was pretty devastated myself, until someone told me that she may be lost, but she's not gone."
"What does that mean?" Reirousa asked, rubbing her head.
"She may be dead, but she's looking down on me from the world of spirits." Hiraemo said, looking up in the sky with a soft smile, "I was encouraged to not grieve, but to just live on and not worry, that it's what mom would want for me."
"Oh..." Reirousa muttered.
"Well, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but just take it to thought. Now come on," Hiraemo said getting up, "Lets get to the meeting room, Imono wants to explain our battle plans."
"A-Alright!" Reirousa nodded, and with that they went off.
The next day, Reirousa and Hiraemo, along with the entirety of the Gerudo army, all stood in line as Commander Imono stood before them. They were now positioned at the camp just outside the battlefield, everyone ready to strike against the Hylian army.
"Sisters, today is our day to strike down the Hylian scum and free our beloved King Ganondorf! For the sake of our fallen sisters, and the ones waiting for us at home, we shall succeed!" she shouted, raising up one of her twin swords.
"Yeaaahh!" shouted the army, raising their weapons.
"Now, our plan over the next two weeks is as follows..." Imono started, as the troops gathered around her, she described the details of their routes on a large map. Reirousa, not normally one for complicated details, found herself quickly adapting to the strategies. Maybe it was just her determination to avenge her mother, or maybe it was the encouragement from Hiraemo.
"Hey wait a sec." Reirousa brought up, she walked over to Commander Imono's map and studied it. "I got an idea, send these troops over here," she said, moving some pins from one side to the other, "We can ambush em better there."
"...very good Private Reirousa, I wouldn't even had considered that." Imono said, genuinely impressed, "I was right to bring you on board."
"Um... thanks.." Reirousa muttered, rubbing the back of her head, as she turned to Hiraemo, who gave her a thumbs up.
"Very well," Imono shouted out after finalizing the plans, "Now that you all know your routes, everyone fight for your king and our people!"
The crowd cheered out and went off to their positions.
"Well, looks like I'm going off with that group you positioned Reirousa." Hiraemo said, "And you're going with Imono herself."
"Y-Yeah..." Reirousa said, "You just stay alive, alright?"
"Of course you too." grinned Hiraemo, who took a second to put a helmet on. "Fight hard and strong, Reirousa, and we'll see each other again!"
"Right!"
The war between the Gerudo and the Hylians continued through the days, Imono called her sisters into battle, and Reirousa swung in using her warhammer, smashing and bashing Hylian knights down. As time past, despite all odds, the Gerudo were actually starting to get some headway into the war.
Then came one day, when Commander Imono was clashing against a Hylian Knight captain. Imono brought down her twin swords, but the captain blocked off the attack and kicked Imono away. She forced herself up and stood to fight, but more Hylian knights started coming in. Reirousa was worn out from the battling herself, she gripped her warhammer and ran out at the captain, but he easily knocked her away.
"Heh, so this is the strength of the Gerudo? Pathetic." sneered the captain, "None of you stand a chance. Know my name you Gerudo bitches, I am the Hylian Captain Gereminus, one of the strongest in our great army!"
"I think... we need to fall back on our next plan..." gasped Imono.
"O-Okay..." gasped Reirousa, alongside her.
"Heh, these women don't understand," smirked one of the knights who stood alongside Gereminus, "Their delaying the inevitable, soon they'll die like that other group we brought down."
"Yeah, I still remember the last one's words before I did her in." smirked Gereminus. "All she had to say in her final words... I think it was, 'I'm sorry Reirousa.'"
Reirousa paused and her eyes widened, she slowly looked up at Captain Gereminus, "What... did you just say...?"
"Come on, we have to get out of here!" exclaimed one of the Gerudo solders, with her hand on Reirousa's shoulder.
Reirousa however didn't respond, she turned and stomped towards Captain Gereminus, "The hell did you just say?!"
"What's the matter?" shrugged Gereminus, "Did I say something to anger you?"
"Maybe she's Reirousa?" asked the knight beside him.
"The woman I killed was a bit older then most I fought... did you know the woman I killed, a friend perhaps?" asked Gereminus.
"You... YOU BASTARD!" shouted Reirousa, running right at Captain Gereminus and swinging her hammer at him which he blocked with his sword, "THAT WAS MY MOTHER!"
"Oh, is that all?" smirked Captain Gereminus, "Well she's dead, and there's nothing you can do about it now."
"I'LL KILL YOU!" shouted Reirousa, going all out on Captain Gereminus.
"Reirousa!" shouted one of the Gerudo soldiers, turning to her commander, "Imono, we have to stop her!"
"... …let's retreat, we need to hurry." Imono stated, ignoring the soldier's words.
"But..."
"This is her place." Imono said, "This... was her true purpose for being here."
"Wait what?!"
"She was too young for any true combat, I mostly brought her into this war as a human shield, should the situation arise." Commander Imono said, "Her death shall be the saving grace of us all."
"But that's not..."
"Move solider, or her death will be in vain" Imono said, as they all retreated.
But none of those words were heard by Reirousa, who was too much in a blind fury at that moment..
"RAAAHHH!" she screamed out, swinging her warhammer like a mad person, Captain Gereminus was mostly capable of driving back her attacks, he swiped at her with his sword cutting her across her body, but she managed to lunge out and thrust her warhammer forward, impacting into Gereminus before bashing him across the face.
"Gaaahh!" shouted Captain Gereminus, clutching his face.
The other knights then ran in and tackled Reirousa to the ground. She squirmed and trashed around to try and break free, but Gereminus then brought his foot up and stomped down on Reirousa's chest, causing her to scream out. He continued to stomp on her until her injuries grew so severe she fainted.
"What a psychopath." groaned one of the knights.
"Should we kill her sir?" asked another one.
"...no." smirked Captain Gereminus while rubbing his injured face, "I have something better in mind."
Reirousa's eyes slowly opened, as she took a look around where she was. It was a dark isolated room. She tried to move, but found herself chained up against a wall.
"Ugh... the hell happened...?" Reirousa muttered.
"Ah, so you are awake." said a familiar voice, it was Captain Gereminus, walking in with a club in his hand, and a bandage on his cheek.
"You... bastard!" shouted Reirousa, yanking at the chains to try and free herself.
"My, my, that's no way to treat your captor." he smirked, "It's going to make what I'm about to do more painful for you."
"What're you talkin' about?" Reirousa asked, narrowing her eyes.
"My proposition is simple." Gereminus said, "I'm aware you have knowledge of the Gerudo's next plan. I'd like you to tell me everything you know about it, and I'll set you free afterwards."
"Go soak yer head, I ain't telling you anything." Reirousa scowled.
"...I was hoping you'd say that." smirked Gereminus, walking up to Reirousa, then swinging out the club and bashing her in the stomach.
"Gaaah!" shouted Reirousa, as Gereminus started beating her senselessly with the club. She tried her hardest to endure the blows, but they were getting too severe for her. Eventually though, Gereminus stopped and stepped back.
"Anything to say now?" Gereminus asked.
"Screw you." Reirousa simply said.
"Very well, next time I suppose." he shrugged, walking out.
Reirousa spent the next week like this, Captain Gereminus would come in, integrate her for information, she'd refuse, he would beat her up with his club, then leave. She'd receive bread and water to keep her sustained, but it wasn't much.
Reirousa tried her hardest to hold on, trying to keep her thoughts more pleasant things, like the soldiers she had grown to admire during her time training, especially Hiraemo. Her thoughts went to her mother, but it seemed like every time she tried to think of a pleasant memory, all she could think about was her friend telling Reirousa that she was dead, and then the words of Captain Gereminus bragging about him killing her, and all it did was make her sad and angry.
Eventually one day, as Gereminus continued to beat her with his club, she couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't think about anything else anymore, and just wanted to be done with all the pain..
"ENOUGH!" shouted Reirousa, hanging her head down, "I'll tell you what you want..."
"Glad to hear you comply." Gereminus smirked.
"What's going on?"
A few days later, Reirousa found herself bound and tied up, on a hill overlooking a vast plain. It looked somewhat familiar for some reason. She then realized Captain Gereminus was standing beside her, along with numerous Hylian knights.
"Where are we...?" Reirousa asked.
"Do you not remember this? This was the ambush point that your main squadron is going to come from. We're using the information you gave us to destroy them all." smirked Captain Gereminus.
Reirousa froze up and saw very faintly that the Gerudo were on their way to the area, and tears started to form in her eyes.
"No!" shouted Reirousa, "You can't!"
"Thank you so much for this." said Gereminus, "You've been quite helpful."
"EVERYONE!" screamed Reirousa, "RUN AWAY! IT'S A TRAP!"
But it was too late, and the two sides went into battle. The Gerudo fought hard and strong, but the Hylians had an easy advantage over them, and the Gerudo started to fall in battle.
Reirousa tried to shut her eyes to not see them, but Gereminus grabbed her head and forced her eyes open, so that she could watch.
"This is what happens when you mettle with the great Hylian army." whispered Gereminus, "Watch and absorb it, as your people die. I'm keeping you alive so that you send this as a message to any of the surviving Gerudo bitches."
"You... can't..." sobbed Reirousa. Her thoughts went to Hiraemo, who was probably being slaughtered by the knights at the position she placed her, just like the others were here.
Commander Imono meanwhile, ran into battle slashing her twin blades through the knights, before arriving at the top of the hill where Captain Gereminus and Reirousa were.
"You Hylian bastards!" shouted Imono, clutching her side, which was bleeding. "We'll take back our king, and I'll have you head!"
"Hmph, then let's see what you can do." smirked Gereminus, pulling out his sword.
The two clashed heavily, blade against blade. Reirousa herself could only kneel and watch as Gereminus gained the upperhand. He deflected Imono's right sword out of her hand, before going forward and impaling her through the stomach.
"N-No... Ganondorf..." Imono groaned out staggering back, her injuries from the past battles were too much for her, and her body had become too weak, "My husband... please... forgive me..."
And with that, Imono collapsed onto the battleground and rolled down the hill, joining the bodies strewn about
"Commander!" shouted Reirousa.
"Well that takes care of that." smirked Gereminus, "Now to-"
"Sir! We're being attacked on the right!" shouted a knight, running up to Gereminus, "We tried to fend them off but they got the-"
That was the knight's last words before he was sliced across the back and fell to the ground dead.
"What?!" exclaimed Gereminus, as he saw who used the blade.
"Looks like we got the advantage this time!" said a familiar voice, Reirousa's eyes widened and looked to see it was Hiraemo, brandishing her sword. "Reirousa, hold on. I'm going to rescue you!"
"Hira, you're alive!" Reirousa shouted.
"Yeah Reirousa, that placement you recommended to Commander Imono was a great move." Hiraemo said with a grin, "We got the drop on those bastards before they were even the wiser!"
"I... did that...?" Reirousa asked.
"Hmph, you'll die now woman!" Gereminus said, drawing his blade and the two went into battle. The two of them swung their swords with great force and technique, and it was getting more clear that Hiraemo was starting to gain the upperhand in this fight.
"Grrr... you bitch!" Gereminus scowled, he then turned to Reirousa, who was still tied up. He then smirked, and lunged at her with his sword.
"No, Reirousa!" screamed out Hiraemo, running out to block Gereminus's attack, but he deflected her sword and managed to impale her through the chest.
"H-HIRA!" shouted Reirousa, tears running down her face, as her friend fell to the ground.
"Heh, your concern for her made you let your guard down." smirked Gereminus as he turned away, "Even with your ambush, we still have the advantage. Now to put an end to this ba-"
It was then that Captain Gereminus felt a sharp pain, as he realized someone had shoved a sword through his chest from behind. It was Hiraemo, despite having such severe injuries, had been able to impale him shortly after cutting Reirousa free of her binds.
"You let your guard down..." Hiraemo said with a smirk.
"M-My king..." muttered Captain Gereminus, coughing out blood, as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, "I... failed you..."
And with that, Captain Gereminus of the Hylian army fell to the ground dead.
"Hira! HIRA!" shouted Reirousa, running over and kneeling down to Hiraemo who had just collapsed..
"Reirousa... I think it's time I join our sisters in the world of spirits..." she whispered.
"No! You can't! I'll get you to some medical help! I swear!" Reirousa hung her head down, "Please don't..."
"I'll say hi to your mother for you..." Hiraemo smiled lightly, "Don't mourn for us Reirousa... just live..."
And with that, Hiraemo collapsed.
"Hira..." sobbed Reirousa, kneeling at her lifeless body on the hill overlooking the battlefield.
Reirousa slowly trudged through the valley, looking out at the land. She saw many Gerudo and Hylian knights, all dead. She tried her hardest not to look directly at any of them, and just continued on, with tears running down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Under her arm was a certain helmet, the one Hiraemo had been wearing, it was all she could think of to hold onto as a memory of her.
The battle had ended as a failure for the Gerudo, many of them retreated, but any more had died. Even the ones who were part of Hiraemo's team had been beaten off.
Reirousa spent the night at an abandoned tent, but found it impossible to sleep. She closed her eyes tightly but all she could think of was the brutal battle, and seeing her people slaughtered. It was a sleepless night for the survivor of war.
The next morning, she continued on, thinking she would never see living person again, and started to contemplate if she should just collapse on the ground and let the vultures finish her off...
It was then however, Reirousa saw fresh smoke in the distance. She wasn't sure if they were Gerudo or Hylian, and frankly at that point, even after all she had been through she didn't care. She ran as fast as she could to what turned out to be a campsite, and found the occupants to be five Gerudo. They had just been starting to pack up their things when they saw Reirousa.
"Oh! Another of our sisters!" exclaimed one of the girls.
"Huh? Who are you guys?" Reirousa asked.
"My name is Sovan. We're... were soldiers in the war..." sighed one girl, "Our teams were killed in an ambush by the Hylian knights..."
"We couldn't do anything for them..." said another.
"Ugh, I know that feeli- wait a minute..." Reirousa said, taking a good look at them, "You guys look really young to be soldiers, how old are you?"
"I'm fourteen..." sniffled Sovan, "And these girls are younger..."
"F-Fourteen?!" exclaimed Reirousa, "But the Gerudo law says girls can't be solders until they're at least sixteen!"
"Commander Imono... didn't give us much choice..." said Sovan, "She said it was our duty..."
"She threatened to draft my momma if I didn't join..." sniffled another Gerudo.
Reirousa was at a loss for what to say, the army was actually taking younger women and forcing them into the war, they were clearly not fit for battle, giving off the idea to Reirousa that they were just sent in to die, and it affected her thoughts on Commander Imono herself...
A disturbing thought came to her, could it had been her mother went to war to prevent Reirousa from going herself like what this kid had to do? She didn't even want to think about that possibility at that moment...
"Jees..." Reirousa muttered, "So what are you guys gonna do now?"
"I... don't know..." one of the girls said, "If we try to go back to the fortress, we might just get sent back to war..."
"...or maybe executed for failing..." said another.
Reirousa just paused, then let out a deep sigh.
"Alright, let's go." Reirousa said, turning and walking off,
"Huh? Go where?" Sovan looked up and asked.
"Hell if I know." Reirousa said, "I'm sure we'll find a place eventually..." she turned to them and raised her voice gruffly, "Just don't get lost, got it?!"
Sovan and the girls gave the faintest of smiles as they all followed after her.
So that ends the chapter. I'll just say this story in general is a new venture for me to write, but this chapter was probably the darkest story telling I've done, though it was a necessity to show what was going on during the time skip, and I felt this situation was too important for Reirousa to just narrate like Sarami did with her story.
Well I should have chapter 17 out soon enough, stay tuned!