That night, Harun left the main fortress on his own. He needed to be alone for a while; somewhere where no one would bother him. In the darkness, he wandered through the empty streets of the deserted fortress grounds, his eyes empty.

Eventually, Harun came to the rocky canyon wall at the south end of Taafei. When he did, he looked up. The walls seemed to stretch upward without end, but for some reason, it was like something was calling to him. Acting without thinking, he began to climb.

Harun was not an experienced climber. Throughout his ascent, he constantly scraped his hands and knees on the sharp rocks, and he slipped enough to nearly fall to the ground several times. That did not deter him, and he did not stop climbing until he reached the next plateau.

When he arrived on a flat surface, he turned and looked out over Taafei. Under different circumstances, he might have been proud to see it. As Urballa had said, this was his people's seat of power, and it was theirs once again. It is what any Gerudo would have wanted. He would've liked to see it, too, one day. But this was not what he had imagined. Sabah had died before even having a real chance at life, and now another chapter in the endless war between Gerudo and Hyrule was unfolding. None of it felt like a victory.

Turning around, he walked further across the plateau. He reminded himself of everything bad that had happened so far. Demise, Ganondorf, Katta, Averla, Sabah. Urballa had come so close to her objective. The Hylian princesses were going to help exorcise him. Any good that could have come from this journey had been snatched away from him, and he didn't even know who was responsible for it, or why they had done it.

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath. He looked over his shoulder, as if expecting one of his mother figures to reprimand him. "Dammit," he said louder, feeling his raise bubbling to the surface. "Gods dammit!" His voice echoed throughout the canyon. His shouts were not directed at anyone. He simply could not think of anything to do but to rage at the heavens. Perhaps one of the gods was looking down on him. Perhaps they would accept the blame, but he doubted they would do anything to help him.

However, his thoughts soon turned to Ganondorf. The only one who would get what he wanted now was the demon king. Harun had experienced the old king's feelings, heard his thoughts, and seen his wishes. The prospect of war with the Hylians pleased him to no end.

"Are you happy?" Harun bitterly asked the spirit within him. "Thousands will die. Is that what you want?" His vision began to cloud over. Random, unclear images flashed before him. The familiar surge of power and anger burned within him as he lost his balance and fell to his knees. "Just leave me be, demon. I never wanted this. Begone. Begone! Begone!"

When Harun opened his eyes again, he was kneeling in ankle-deep water. His mind and his vision had cleared, so he tried to make sense of his new surroundings. All around him was a pool of shallow water, stretching as far as the eye could see. Above him was a haze of black clouds, blocking any sunlight that might have been trying to pierce through. Flashes of lightning jumped between clouds in the distance, illuminating the only other figure in sight.

Harun climbed to his feet. There was a man standing a few meters away from him. A Gerudo man, even taller than he was. The voe's cape swayed gently in the wind, and he stood with his hands on a sword planted in the ground as he gazed up at the dark sky. The prince was stunned, and merely stood there staring at the voe until he finally turned and made eye contact.

"...You," Harun said.

The dark lord nodded. "Me."

The prince took a deep breath. He had wanted to yell at the other voe, but he was scared and confused, and he did not know if any of this was real. "Where are we?"

Ganondorf looked back up at the sky. "Inside the Master Sword."

"...What?" The prince did not know what that meant.

"This has been my prison for the last hundred years," the man said, turning back to Harun. "Until Alkawbra allowed me to aid you."

"Aid me?" Harun said with disgust. "You… You… Do you have any idea what you made me do?" he asked, taking a step forward, nearly in tears. "Lady Averla was my friend. My mentor. She was practically a mother to me. And you made me kill her with my own hand!"

Ganondorf did not respond, continuing instead to stand there with his hands over the hilt of his sword.

"Alkawbra was wrong," Harun asserted. "You do not wish to help me. All you wish to do is use me - use me to settle your grudge with Hyrule. That's all you ever cared about, wasn't it? It was never about freedom, or justice, or aiding your people. It was about vengeance. It was about power."

"Power," the demon king repeated musingly, but he did not confirm or deny Harun's accusations. "You need me, young prince," Ganondorf said after a moment. "The Goddess of Spirit told you as much. No matter how dangerous you think I am, I am nothing compared to the true darkness within you." When he spoke those words, a red flash of lighting lit up the black clouds off in the distance, accompanied by a low, rumbling roar.

"I do not fear the darkness," Harun declared. "I can fight it without you. I will conquer it - make its power my own."

"Power," Ganondorf muttered again. "You do not understand the meaning of the word," he said. "I bore the Curse of Demise for over a century, young prince. I learned to control it. After a while, you stop thinking of it as a curse. It is merely another weapon to use against your enemies. But it is no easy task. If you do not have the will for it, you do not control the power - it controls you." Another flash of lightning ignited the sky, and that terrible roar seemed closer than before. "The curse is hate incarnate. That is all it is. I hated the Hylians. I still hate them. I hated them so much, not even death itself could stop me from pursuing my vengeance. You will come to hate them, too. Or if not them, then someone else. You cannot escape it any more than I could."

"I am not you," Harun argued. "I will never allow that to happen."

Ganondorf let out a low chuckle. "It matters not, young prince. The time for war with Hyrule has come once again. You will continue my work whether you wish it or not."

"Whatever I do, it will be my choice."

"No. It will be Demise's choice - unless you allow me to keep him at bay."

Harun glared at the imposing figure before him. He struggled to decide what to do. If he allowed Ganondorf to continue possessing him, the demon king was likely to somehow manipulate him, using him as a weapon to decimate the Hylians in the coming war. But if he expelled Ganondorf's spirit, perhaps the spirit of Demise would take him over instead. It could lead to the exact same result - or, perhaps, to something even worse.

The prince took a deep breath. "Fine. You will do as the Goddess of Spirit commanded - and no more. You are not to take control of me unless I will it. Do I make myself clear?"

Ganondorf lifted his sword, returning it to its sheath. "Very well, young prince," he said, flipping his cape as he stepped towards Harun. "You are my successor, after all. I expect greatness from you. Do not disappoint me."

Before Harun could respond, Ganondorf reached out with his hand and shoved him. The prince lost his balance and fell backwards, landing flat on his back. However, the ground was no longer covered by ankle-deep water. It was solid rock once again. Looking up at the sky, the thundering clouds were gone as well, and there was only the dark of night.

Sitting up, Harun sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. Despite having made no progress, he felt much calmer than he had been before his conversation with the demon king. The dark spirits still haunted him, but he had come to an understanding with one of them.

Is this what Sage Nashorla had meant by making peace with Ganondorf?

During his short time at the Spirit Temple, the sage had tried to teach him how to commune with the spirits. He had done that tonight, but he had seemingly managed to do it through anger rather than calmness and inner peace.

Have I done something wrong? Was this not the way? Will Ganondorf even stay true to his word? There is so much I do not understand, and yet Urballa and Ganondorf both expect me to be king one day.

Harun's heart sank once again when he came to that realization. He had been allowed to spend one single night believing he did not have to be king, but with Sabah no longer the heir to the throne, it seemed as though the duty would once again fall to him.

Taking another deep breath, Harun stood up and walked back to the edge of the cliff overlooking Taafei.

Perhaps this need not be a curse.

Troubled times were coming, that much was for sure. If anything happened to Queen Urballa, their people would need a strong leader to take her place, lest someone like Elder Kobami seize the throne instead.

"Very well, old king," Harun said aloud. "I will be your successor, but on my own terms. When the time comes, I will lead my people - I will be king."


In the days following Princess Sabah's death, Harun spent much of his time alone. So much had happened all at once, and the young prince found that only the quiet meditation techniques he'd been taught by the Sage of Spirit were able to do anything to keep him calm. However, despite having recently opened a dialogue with the demon spirit that was possessing him, Harun had not made any further attempt to speak with Ganon. As far as he was concerned, the less he had to do with the previous king, the better off he would be.

After announcing her intentions to reclaim Gerudo independence, Queen Urballa had sent the news all across the province. Women from all throughout the desert and the highlands had come marching to Taafei to join the cause. Anti-Hyrulean sentiment was at an all-time high, with many who'd been formerly on the fence finally joining the Ganonite side due to the belief that the Hylians had ordered the murder of the young princess. Even some former Hylianites had been convinced of Hyrule's wickedness.

Coming all the way from the Arbiter's Ground, Sage Nashorla and her retinue had been among the last to arrive. It was the queen's wish for her daughter's spirit to be sent along to the next world by the sage herself, so Sabah's funeral had been delayed until she arrived. Once she had entered the city, she and the other spirit priestesses had immediately gotten to work preparing for the ceremony. Harun wished to speak with her, but he'd not had the chance.

When it came time for the funeral procession, the streets from the fortress to the temple were lined with thousands of Gerudo, all coming to pay their respects in mourning of their lost princess. Harun stood with Queen Urballa outside the entrance to the fortress. Elder Kobami and the rest of the royal procession were there as well, waiting for the priestesses to bring Sabah's body out of the fortress so they could walk through the city down to the temple together.

Sage Nashorla was the first of the spirit priestesses to step outside, slowly waving her lantern-bearing staff in front of her as she led the way. Behind her, six of her priestesses carried Sabah's body atop a golden slab decorated with jewels around its edges. The princess herself could not actually be seen as she was covered in linen wrappings, but with how short the body was, it could only be a child's.

A child.

Harun shuddered as the thought hit him again. Someone had murdered an innocent child; stolen her whole life from her. She would have been queen one day. She could have been the one to free the Gerudo peacefully. But now, she was gone. Her spirit was to be sent to the next world, and her body would remain forever in the crypt below the Spirit Temple.

I wonder if she's here right now.

With her spirit not yet sent, perhaps Sabah was watching her own funeral procession. Harun had long suspected that the reason behind the distant gazes Sage Nashorla and the other spirit priestesses had was that they were constantly seeing spirits that others could not. So many Gerudo and Hylians had died in the recent battle. Were their spirits there, too? There could be dozens of them now haunting Taafei, slowly transforming into Poes or other malevolent entities. Harun hoped the sage and her priestesses would be able to give them all peace as well.

Queen Urballa put on a brave face as she fell in line behind the pallbearers carrying her daughter. She would not show how truly devastated she was in public, but Harun had heard her weeping behind her bedroom door in the fortress several times in the past few days. He'd tried to think of something he could do, but he found it difficult to even talk to her.

Harun and the others joined the queen and followed the priestesses down the path leading out from the fortress. They passed by lines of Gerudo on either side of them the whole way to the temple. Some stood with their heads lowered respectfully. Others saluted or muttered prayers. A few burst into tears at the sight of the child's wrapped body, and some glared angrily, silently swearing revenge on the ones who did this.

When they arrived at the temple, Harun followed Urballa inside. The building was already full of Gerudo nobles, most of whom had known the princess quite well. Space had been left open at the front for the queen and her retinue, so Urballa and the others took their places there. The spirit priestesses continued on, carrying Sabah's body to the far end of the room and placing it on top of a long, rectangular pedestal.

A large statue of Nephysis with Alkawbra wrapped around her took up much of the wall behind them. Only days prior, a winged statue of Hylia had been in its place, but after reclaiming Taafei, the Gerudo had torn that statue down. After two hundred years of being used as a house of worship for Hylia, the temple was back to being used to worship the Gerudo gods, as it had been built for in ages past. Most of the Gerudo in the city were elated by this, but Harun found it distasteful. Princess Sabah had been a devout follower of Nephysis and Hylia. Tearing down one statue in favor of another seemed insulting to her memory.

Nevertheless, the sending ceremony continued. The spirit priestesses in the back took instruments in hand and began playing a somber yet beautiful tune. Sage Nashorla and two other priestess waved their staves in rhythm to it. Harun could not see anything happening, but the air in the room changed somehow. He wondered if that was the spirits reacting to the sage's magic, or if an invisible portal to a spirit realm had just opened up inside the temple.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harun saw Queen Urballa shiver beside him, although it was difficult to tell whether it was because of some spiritual occurrence or simply because of the circumstances. The brave face she'd been wearing for days was starting to crack, and Harun watched with a terrible feeling in his gut as she shed a single tear. The prince turned his attention back to the sending ceremony, not wishing to draw any attention to the queen's turmoil or alert her to the fact that he'd noticed.

I am truly sorry, my queen.


The sun had already set when Harun returned to the temple that night. Most of the other buildings in the fortress complex had darkened, but the prince could see through the temple's windows that the candles continued to burn inside. Sage Nashorla and her priestesses had been given their own quarters in which to stay for the duration of their visit, but Harun had figured the sage would still have business in the temple.

It was not easy to set foot back inside that building. What he'd experienced earlier that day was still fresh in his mind. Nevertheless, he entered. For a moment, the temple appeared empty. But, as he gazed across the expansive room at the giant statue of Nephysis and Alkawbra, he noticed someone lying at the foot of it.

"Sa-!" Harun stopped himself before he called out. Perhaps she was merely meditating, and it would've been rude to interrupt. Moving quickly but quietly, he crossed the room and climbed up onto the dais. There beneath the statue lay Sage Nashorla, eyes closed. "Sage!" Harun shouted, kneeling beside her. His eyes poured over her body, searching for signs of wounds.

However, a moment later, Nashorla opened her eyes. "Prince Harun," she said, sitting up.

"Sage Nashorla." Harun breathed a sigh of relief. "You are unharmed."

"Yes, I am. I apologize for alarming you," she said as they both climbed to their feet. "I was merely communing with my Patron."

"Your Patron?" Harun repeated, tilting his head back to look up at the giant stone cobra on the statue. From his previous experience with Alkawbra, he half-expected to see it move. "What did she say?"

"Only what I wished to know," the sage replied. "The spirits we ferried across the threshold today arrived safely."

Harun nodded his head, then furrowed his brow. "Sage… Princess Sabah… Where is she now?" he asked. "She arrived safely, but to where?"

"I do not know, young one." Nashorla continued to stare through him. She did not appear surprised by his question. As their people's foremost spiritual authority, she probably got questions like that quite often.

"Does Alkawbra not tell you?" he asked.

"She does not."

"Why not?"

"We are the living. It is not for us to know until we pass on ourselves."

"But… Why?" Harun looked up at the stone cobra again. "Why does she get to know? These are our loved ones. Shouldn't we get to know if they are in a better place?" Sabah, Averla, Katta - Harun thought of them all. It pained him to not know whether their spirits were truly at peace.

"Sadly, that is also something I do not understand, my prince. But I have faith that the gods have their reasons."

Harun opened his mouth, but could not think of a follow-up question that would not be a repeat of his previous questions. He was not at all satisfied with the answers he'd been given, but he could tell the sage had nothing else to say on the issue.

"Sit with me awhile, Harun," Nashorla offered, taking a seat on the ground as if to meditate.

Harun was about to complain, but he had come there to speak with her for a reason. "Thank you, Sage," he said, joining her on the floor.

"What is troubling you, young one?" Nashorla asked.

Harun figured the answer to that would be obvious, but then again, Sabah's death was not the only matter weighing on his mind. "Many things," the prince replied. "I… spoke with the demon king."

Nashorla blinked, her face betraying genuine surprise. "I see. So you have finally made contact with your spirit guide."

"He is not my spirit guide," Harun insisted forcefully.

"Alright," the sage conceded, raising a hand as a signal for him to be calm. "What did Ganon say to you?"

Harun closed his eyes, picturing the voe he'd spoken to in his vision. "He said… He confirmed he was doing the job given to him by Alkawbra," Harun replied. "He is keeping Demise's curse at bay for the time being."

"That is good," Sage Nashorla said with a nod, urging him to continue.

"But he also said I would be his successor," Harun added. "Not just because I am the voe, or because I will be king one day. He believes I will grow to hate the Hyruleans just as he did, and I will follow in his footsteps."

Nashorla regarded him silently for a moment, taking in what he'd said. Harun averted his gaze, finding her penetrating stare somewhat uncomfortable. "Do you believe that to be your destiny?" she asked.

"No!" Harun denied. "I- I don't know. I don't want it to be. But the Curse of Demise… he said that's what it does. It is 'hate incarnate.' And lately…" Harun hung his head, ashamed of himself.

"It is natural for someone in your position to have feelings of anger," Nashorla told him gently. After everything she'd witnessed Harun say and do back at the Spirit Temple, combined with the recent events in Taafei, Harun knew she had a point.

"It just…" Harun climbed to his feet, feeling the need to pace. "It just keeps getting worse," he said bitterly, walking to the end of the dais and gazing out over the empty temple, imagining the Gerudo who had filled the pews earlier that day.

"Your condition?" Nashorla inquired, remaining seated.

"Everything!" Harun replied, gesturing to nowhere in particular. "We came all this way to speak to the Hyruleans. We had plans for a peaceful future for both our peoples. My betrothal to the princess was severed, and Sabah and I were happier for it!" Harun turned around and threw his gaze back up at the statue of the goddesses, as if accusing them. "And now she's gone. And with her, our chance for peace. The queen and everyone else want to go to war, and they're sullying Sabah's name by using her death as an excuse to justify it."

"You do not agree with the queen's decision?" the sage asked. "Would you not have Sabah's murderer brought to justice?"

"We don't even know who that is," Harun pointed out. "None of this makes a single iota of sense. And even if I maintain control of my own body, Ganon still gets what he wants in the end."

"Prince Harun." Nashorla stood up and grabbed her lantern-bearing staff that was leaning against the statue. "Have you shared these concerns with the queen?"

"How could I?" Harun asked. "She just lost her only daughter. She wants revenge. Nothing I say can change her mind now."

"We are about to go to war, my prince," the sage reminded him. "If you have any doubts at all about the validity of this extreme action, you must share them with Queen Urballa. It could be your only chance to prevent our people from making a colossal mistake."

Harun took a deep breath, considering the sage's wisdom. She had a point. If asking the queen to reconsider had even the smallest chance of preventing a war, surely it was worth trying. "Very well," he agreed. Glancing out the window and seeing how deep into the night it was, he realized she was likely asleep. "I shall speak with her first thing in the morning."

"That would be most wise, young prince," Nashorla said with a nod. "May the gods grant you good fortune."


When Harun went looking for Queen Urballa the next day, he was surprised to find her in the throne room. It was so early in the day, he figured she would be in her quarters, in the mess hall, or in the temple. Instead, she was sitting on the throne of past Gerudo monarchs, all alone in a completely deserted audience chamber.

As the prince slowly pushed the door open and stepped into the room, Urballa noticed him, but she did not say anything. She seemed distracted, gazing out across the audience chamber as if others were there. It worried Harun, but he walked down the carpet to approach her.

"My queen, may I speak with you?" Harun had to force the words out as he spoke. He knew this was going to be an uncomfortable conversation, but it was one that needed to be had.

"Of course, Prince Harun," Urballa replied, looking down at him. "What is on your mind?"

"It…" Harun hesitated, searching for the right way to approach the matter. "It is about Princess Sabah."

Urballa's eye twitched at the mention of her deceased daughter's name. "I see. That is not unexpected. I imagine she will be on all our minds for some time now. I am thankful that so many have traveled so far to honor her memory."

"Yes," Harun nodded in vague agreement. "But I am afraid there is something… troubling me. About the circumstances of her untimely death."

That seemed to pique the queen's interest. She leaned her chin against her hand and narrowed her eyes, appraising him. "What is troubling you, Harun?"

The prince took a deep breath. "I do not believe the Hyruleans to be responsible for it," he admitted. Urballa stared at him for a moment. Her lack of reaction was unsettling. Harun had tried to work out how she would take it when he made his claim, but now that he'd said it, he couldn't quite tell what she was thinking.

"Interesting," she said at last, leaning back into her throne. "And what has brought you to this conclusion?"

"I have thought about this extensively," Harun replied. "And no matter what angle I approach it from, I am unable to find a set of circumstances in which it makes sense for the Hyruleans to take such an extreme course of action."

"Please explain," Urballa commanded simply.

"From the perspective of the Hylians, what would they stand to gain by murdering the princess?" Harun asked.

"I can think of numerous possibilities," the queen replied. "Lowering the morale of our kingdom. Severing my royal bloodline. Punishing me for insubordination."

Harun shook his head. "Governor Vapith must have known that murdering the princess would only serve to enrage the Gerudo people, not demoralize us," Harun countered. "Additionally, with Sabah in line for the Gerudo throne, and with her acceptance of the Hylian gods, the Hylians would've been incentivized to preserve your bloodline, if anything. And more importantly, if they truly wished to use Sabah to get to you, they would have simply taken her hostage. Killing her would have removed any leverage she might have been able to give them."

Queen Urballa considered Harun's words for a long while before speaking again. "I see the wisdom in your words, young prince," she admitted. "But if it was not the Hyruleans who murdered my daughter, then who, may I ask, is the true culprit?"

Harun had an answer for that, but he could not say it straight away. An accusation this severe needed to be delivered with as much explanation as possible. "I believe we are playing right into the murderer's hands," the prince explained. "The killer must have known we would immediately blame the Hylians, and that the result would be war. That can be the only true motive behind this heinous crime."

"So you believe this to be the work of the Ganonites, then?" Urballa asked. "Perhaps an agent of Shabonne's? Or another from within their faction?"

"That is likely," Harun replied, mentally preparing himself for his next words. "It might also be one of your Ganonite advisors."

Urballa raised an eyebrow. "You accuse Elder Kobami, then?"

"Not accuse, my queen. I am merely stating it as a possibility," Harun clarified, hoping to come across as merely sharing his suspicions. "You must admit it is suspicious, however. She has been encouraging you to declare war on Hyrule and fight for our independence for years, after all."

Urballa shook her head and sighed. "I understand you and Elder Kobami have had your differences, but she is no monster, Harun," she said to him. "She is a cunning old witch - ruthless, even. But there are some lines even she would not cross. She loved Sabah like a granddaughter. I cannot imagine Kobami ever doing something to harm her."

Harun thought about it. Moments ago, he'd been convinced that Elder Kobami's zealous devotion to Ganon and strong desire for Gerudo independence would have allowed her to justify using any means necessary to obtain her goals. However, he remembered what the elder had shown him in the catacombs beneath the Arbiter's Grounds.

The previous voe was murdered as an infant. Kobami seemed disgusted by such villainy.

"Fine," Harun said. He was not entirely convinced of the witch's innocence, but he had his doubts now, and he still had next to no evidence of her involvement. "Perhaps Elder Kobami was not involved. Nevertheless, as you've said, there are many among the Ganonites who would see us go to war with Hyrule. I am certain there is at least one individual in their ranks who would be willing to go so far as to murder a child in the name of their cause."

"True enough," Urballa conceded. "But could one not say the same of Hyrule?"

Harun furrowed his brow. "I beg your pardon, my queen?" he asked, not quite understanding what she meant.

"Just as you said. There are Ganonites who would kill a child for their cause. It follows that there are also Hyruleans who would kill for theirs," Urballa clarified. "In other words, it changes nothing. We will always be able to speculate that perhaps another party had motive, but without further evidence, what can we do but assume the most likely explanation?"

"But how is it more likely that the Hyruleans were behind it?" Harun asked, raising his voice in frustration. "I just explained that they had no reason to kill Sabah!"

"Not Sabah alone, perhaps, but we do not know that she was their only target," Urballa countered. "The Hyruleans may have simply wished to wipe the slate clean - eliminate the entire Gerudo leadership and install their own puppet government made up of only those most loyal to them. I myself was surrounded by Hylians when I heard what had happened to my daughter. And you?"

Harun thought back to the moment when the fighting broke out. "I… I was with Dame Moza, and her Hylian soldiers," he said, his eyes opening wide with realization.

"Precisely," Urballa said with a nod. "Perhaps our assassins were all meant to strike at once, but ours were delayed, or Sabah's struck too early."

Urballa's theory was beginning to make sense to Harun, but as he went over the details, it still didn't quite add up. "No… No, there are still far too many holes in that explanation," he said, shaking his head. "When the fighting began, Dame Moza came to escort me back to the guest quarters. Why would she bother with such a ruse? If their assassination attempt was already underway, why would she not simply attack me then and there?"

"Were you alone?"

"No, I was with my guards."

"Then she was merely attempting to lead you somewhere to separate you from them."

"Moza's forces outnumbered my own!"

"Numbers are not everything. One Hylian is not the equal of one Gerudo."

Harun felt his anger rising. The queen had an answer to everything he said, and the frustration was getting to him. "This is absurd. You say all I am doing is speculating, but you are no different," he stated forcefully, his voice much louder than it had been a moment ago. "The culprit behind Princess Sabah's murder has not even been determined yet, and you would go to war over it? Why are you so determined to make the Hyruleans our enemy?"

"The Hyruleans are our enemy," Urballa replied. Her voice remained level, but she spoke much more firmly now. "You saw it during the negotiations. They never had any intention of giving us even another centimeter of freedom."

"You speak no differently than Elder Kobami now," Harun said accusingly. "If Lady Averla were here, she would never allow you to do this." The queen narrowed her eyes at him after he said that. She did not say anything, but he knew he'd made a mistake.

If it weren't for me, Lady Averla would be here…

Urballa rose from her throne and walked down the steps to Harun's level. He lowered his head in shame, glaring at the ground, but she did not scold him. Instead, he felt her hand on his shoulder. "We are all emotional right now," she said to him, her voice suddenly more gentle and understanding. "I never wanted it to come to this either, but regardless of what any of us want, war is already upon us. My beloved daughter is dead, and so is the Hyrulean governor. Our people cry out for vengeance, and princess Zelda has declared us enemies of the Hyrulean crown. What else can we do?"

Harun looked up and met Urballa's gaze. He could see the fierce warrior's spirit in her eyes, but he could also see the heartbroken mother. He realized that she was just as confused and terrified as he was. Lately, Harun had spent so much time counting his misfortunes, but he'd barely considered what everyone else was going through.

"I… I apologize for my outburst, my queen," he said, dipping his head in shame once more.

"No apologies necessary, my child," Urballa replied, embracing him gently. "We will get through these trying times together. I promise you."


Harun walked away from his conversation with Queen Urballa more confused than he'd been before. He had failed to stop his people from going to war, he was no longer certain that the blame for Princess Sabah's death had been misplaced, and he'd become convinced that war was practically inevitabile at this point either way. As a result, he went about the rest of his morning very mechanically, going through the motions in a haze of foreboding and uncertainty.

The prince managed to have a brief conversation with Sage Nashorla before she left, but it did not resolve anything, and all she could do was offer her sympathies and her prayers. While a number of her spirit priestesses remained behind to join the war effort, the rest of them and Nashorla herself departed soon after, bringing the bodies of Princess Sabah and several other fallen Gerudo nobles with them to be entombed in the Arbiter's Grounds.

As for the rest of the Gerudo in Taafei, they prepared for war. Thousands of women assembled at the eastern gate bearing weapons, armor, horses, camels, potions, food, water, and everything else they would need for an all-out military campaign. Gerudo Canyon would take about a day and a half to pass through, and it was likely to be defended by countless Hyrulean outposts along the way. At the other end of the canyon was the still Hylian-controlled city of Yarna, where Princess Zelda was expected to have fled to. If they could retake Yarna and drive the Hylians out of the canyon, then the entirety of the Gerudo lands would be controlled by Gerudo alone for the first time in more than two hundred years.

Just as they had done while traveling through the desert, Harun and Urballa traveled separately for safety purposes. The first cohort to leave Taafei was a group of light cavalry, sent forth to scout ahead with orders to turn back and report if they ran into any danger. Queen Urballa's cohort had been the next to leave. Her group made up the bulk of their forces, and she was joined by Elder Kobami and Commander Bularis.

The last cohort, bringing up the rear, was Harun's. The soldiers left under his command were mostly new recruits, and it was their duty to escort most of the supply wagons. Harun had been outfitted with a new set of fancy-looking Gerudo voe armor intended to make him appear more authoritative as a military commander and as the crown prince. He was sure he would look intimidating to the enemy, but he did not enjoy being dressed for war, and the massive Gerudo stallion on which he rode was not making things any easier. He had never ridden a horse before, and the beast was much more temperamental than any camel he'd ever ridden.

"Are we ready to move out, Prince Harun?" Laine asked, riding up next to him alongside Emri.

"Yeah, these horses are restless," Kyra added, appearing to Harun's other side, tugging on the reins of her mount. "We should get a move on before the others get all the action."

Harun looked ahead at the gate that Urballa and her cohort had left through some time ago. Part of him wanted to ignore their orders and simply remain in Taafei, not taking part in the assault on Yarna at all. However, he could not bring himself to abandon his queen or let his people fight alone. "Yes, I suppose it's time," Harun agreed. He took a deep breath before raising his voice. "Forward, my sisters!" he shouted. "Move out!"

The start of their journey was rather uneventful, as expected. Harun ordered his troops not to let their guard down, but he would not expect the Hyruleans to try to ambush them until they'd gotten further into the canyon. Nevertheless, he frequently cast his gaze upward, checking to see if anyone was watching them from atop the cliffs.

"More water, my prince?" Laine offered a few hours into the excursion, holding out her waterskin.

Harun tried not to groan. "No, thank you," he replied, lifting up his own waterskin to show he still had his own supply.

Laine pulled her arm back. "My apologies, your highness," she said. "I know you do not appreciate it when we coddle you."

The prince looked at her with surprise. For years, Laine, Emri, and Kyra had been among the noble girls he'd been raised alongside who clung to him the most. As children of prominent Ganonites, they had always showered him with attention and praise, no matter how much he told them not to. Katta had been the only one to truly treat him as an equal. Ever since they'd left Naboris, the three of them had been acting as his personal guards, and they'd been treating him much the same way. This was the first time any of them had apologized for it.

"You are forgiven, Laine," Harun said, speaking genuinely. "I will let you know when I require assistance."

"Hah!" Kyra let out a laugh. "I think we all know what kind of assistance she would like to give you."

Laine and Emri both look scandalized at that remark. "I beg your pardon?" Laine asked, glaring at the other warrior.

"Ladies, please." Harun held up his hands, riding between them as if to separate them.

Laine pulled on the reins of her horse and turned her attention forward. "My apologies once more, your highness."

Kyra chuckled one more time. "Yes. My apologies."

Harun looked at her. Out of the three of them, Kyra was the one who most reminded him of Katta. She was always direct and honest with her words, and she was much less concerned with formality than many of the other noble girls Harun had been raised alongside. She even looked like her, to the point where Harun wondered if they might have had the same father. Kyra and Katta had never gotten along, though. Harun remembered having to break up their fights quite often, lest they end up punished by Lady Averla.

Turning his head, he moved his gaze over to Emri. Of the three of them, Emri was definitely the least like Katta. She was gentle and kind hearted, even a little shy, and she was not the type to offer her own opinion unprompted. However, like Katta, she had always seemed rather indifferent to the Hylianite-Ganonite conflict, usually only offering token support of Gerudo independence whenever those around her expressed their desire for it. That may have been why she'd had the least conflict with Katta out of the three of them, although Katta had liked to tease her now and then.

Laine had often clashed with Katta, but in a different way than Kyra. Laine was always serious, putting duty and honor above all else. Between her size, strength, and discipline, she had the makings of an Iron Knuckle. She had always taken issue with the way both Katta and Kyra refused to take their duties seriously, often telling them to mind their manners in the presence of the prince. Harun knew she meant well, but that had always bothered him. He, too, knew what it was like to be weighed down by others' expectations, but it never sat well with him when people changed the way they acted simply because he was there.

However, despite never having quite seen eye to eye with Katta, the other three noble girls had all had the decency not to besmirch her name following her death. Thinking about it, Harun began to consider that perhaps they understood him better than he gave them credit for. He even felt a little guilty for always being so cold to them and spurning their advances with jaded indifference.

"Ladies," Harun said, getting the attention of all three of them. "What do you plan to do after all of this is over?" he asked. He often avoided making any kind of conversation with them, so he figured he should try being a little more polite.

"Prince Harun?" Laine asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Say we take back Yarna from the Hyruleans," he began to clarify. "Queen Urballa becomes the sole ruler of Gerudo. The fighting is over. What then? What will you do?"

"I will return home and continue my training," Laine replied. "And I will continue to serve you, if you will allow it."

"That's probably the plan for all three of us, isn't it?" Kyra said. "Unless the queen lets us stay in Yarna so we can keep fighting against the Hylians, who will no doubt attempt to take the city from us again." The way she smiled as she said that gave Harun the impression that fighting the Hylians was something she looked forward to.

Their answers were very matter-of-fact, but they were missing the point of Harun's question. "What if there was no fighting, and nothing to train for," he said, rephrasing the question. "What would you do instead?"

"There is always something to train for, my prince," Laine replied, either missing the point once again or genuinely having no other answer.

"Maybe I'd join the arena," Kyra said. "You know, be a gladiator. Duel with other warriors, fight monsters, put on a show for the audience, and look damn fine doing it." As she spoke, she swished her spear in front of her, fighting off imaginary foes.

It's still fighting, but at least it's only for sport.

"And what about you, Emri?" Harun asked, realizing the third girl hadn't answered yet.

Emri seemed startled to be put on the spot all of a sudden. "Oh. Um. Well, anything I can do to serve the royal family would be an honor…"

"Ah, in that case, were you or the queen looking for a new concubine, Harun?" Kyra asked jokingly. Emri gasped, her face turning red.

"Kyra…" Laine muttered threateningly.

"Alright, alright, relax." Kyra waver her hands in surrender, still chuckling at the looks on all their faces.

Harun was disappointed, but not by Kyra's humor. He could tell Emri had wanted to answer differently, but she must have felt compelled to give an answer her mother would approve of, or perhaps her true answer wasn't something she felt comfortable sharing so publicly.

Well, if I am to be king one day, perhaps it would not be terrible to have three loyal subordinates like them. Even if they can be overbearing.

"Hey, Harun, what if-?"

"Enemy sighted!"

Kyra had been about to say something else, but she was interrupted by shouting from further up the line. Startled into a panic, Harun began frantically scanning the area as further shouting began. Up above them, he spotted several Hylians perched atop the scaffolding that ran along the cliffside. Right when he noticed them, the arrows began flying.

"Shields!" Harun shouted, drawing the mirror shield he was still in possession of. He and several others around him were able to protect themselves from the first volley, but others in the convoy were not so lucky. "Archers! Return fire!" As the Gerudo archers drew their bows and began fighting back, Harun began casting spells. It was difficult, but he managed to hit a few of the enemies up above them with some long-range lightning spells.

Although the surprise attack had caught them off guard, the Hylians were few in number. After several of them had fallen, the rest retreated, either continuing down the wooden pathway along the cliffside or climbing the ladders further up.

"Get the wounded on carts," Harun ordered. "Have the healers tend to them immediately." As he spoke, the prince pulled the reins of his horse, trotting over to the canyon wall where one of the Hylians had fallen. He dismounted and looked down at the body. There were no arrows in him, so perhaps the dead man had been one of the archers he'd killed with lightning.

It was easy, wasn't it?

Harun narrowed his eyes. The voice he'd just heard in his head was distinctly not his own. "I was merely defending my people," he muttered, although he wasn't sure if he was justifying his actions to Ganon or to himself.

As was I.

The prince took a deep breath, biting back his anger at the voice in his head.

"Prince Harun."

The voe flinched, then turned around. His guards had rode up behind him. Kyra dismounted and approached the body as well, whistling appreciatively. "Nice shot, Prince," she said. "A fine kill." Harun chose not to thank her.

"What are your orders?" Laine asked the prince.

Harun took a moment to consider the circumstances. They had been attacked by such a small group, it could only have been a scouting force of some sort. Perhaps they'd only attacked because they saw an opportunity to kill the voe, or out of reflex at having been spotted. There were likely more Hyrulean scouts moving throughout the canyon, using the scaffolding to get around and perhaps shortcutting over the plateau to avoid having to travel along the entire road. The other Gerudo cohorts had probably been spotted by such groups numerous times as well.

"The Hyruleans must be intending to strike while we are still on the move," he said aloud. "Their main forces are likely camped out atop Koukot Plateau. Once their scouts relay to them our locations and our numbers, they'll either attack each cohort one by one or try to attack all three at once."

"What should we do, your highness?" Emri asked nervously, glancing upwards as if expecting to see more Hylians there.

Harun looked up as well, trying to decide how best to approach the situation. Despite his participation in the recent battle, he did not wish to simply slaughter the Hylians. If he approached them with only a small force, perhaps he could negotiate with them, or failing that, at least stall their attack in some way through sabotage or distraction.

"I will go to the Hyrulean camp," he declared. "And I'll bring a dozen warriors with me. Laine, stay with the convoy. I'm leaving you in charge."

"Yes, my prince," the young woman replied, straightening her back and sticking her chest out with pride at having been given such a responsibility.

"Thank you. And send a rider up ahead to inform the queen of my intentions. They are likely aware of the enemy presence in the canyon, but tell them of our battle all the same."

"What about us?" Kyra asked.

"You both come with me," Harun replied, speaking to her and Emri.

"Great!" Kyra replied, stomping her spear into the ground and saluting with an eager smile on her face.

"We'll do our best to keep you safe," Emri promised.

"You honor me," Harun said with a nod. "Now, make the preparations. We must move quickly."