Late Evening, June 21, Year of the Great Kingdom 597
The women were taken completely by surprise at Telma's appearance. They expected to find a Gerudo that looked tired, possibly sun-burned, but this… panicked and terrified young woman was something they had never seen before. They crowded around the doorway, all straining to get a view of the newcomer, but no one could think of what to say.
Telma's mind was badly fractured at this point, and largely functioning on survival instincts and fear. "D-d-don't… come near me." She whimpered hoarsely, as she hugged her knees even tighter. The girls were surprised to hear her speak Hylian and not their native Gerudo. Each knew a little Hylian – to better please their male customers – but only Lavender knew enough for simple conversation.
"She's… asking us to stay away, I think." She muttered to her 'sisters'. "OH, YOU POOR THING!" cried Safflina, who tried to dash into the room with her arms outstretched, but Telma gave a mad shriek of terror and shattered the ceramic washbasin beside her bed – grasping the largest piece and holding it out like a dagger toward them. Safflina quickly leapt back behind the other girls, crying "OH MY GODDESS!" and cowered behind Rose.
The large, ex-warrior cracked her knuckles menacingly, and pushed her way into Telma's room. Despite the woman's screams and desperate thrashing with her make-shift knife, the great Gerudo was able to skillfully grab her wrist and disarm her. She tried to beat her fists against the towering woman's body, but the warrioress seemed immune, and swiftly rolled her into an arm-lock and held her in submission. They were all calling out to her to stop resisting – that they were there only to help her – but her terror was too much and she continued to thrash and scream.
The noise easily carried throughout the entire building and Agnes and Audra quickly raced down the hall, shrieking at the women to explain what was going on. Arriving at the door, they found Rose inside holding Telma's arms behind her back and a large puddle upon the floor. "What the hell is going on here?!" the owner shouted angrily. "She tried to kill Safflina." Grunted Rose, straining to hold the woman tight. "W-well… that's not true exactly," Safflina admitted, "We… kinda frightened her a bit." "A BIT?!" cried Audra, spotting the wet floor between Telma's feet, "What is the matter with all of you?! Get out of here now!"
The four still in the hall dashed away as Rose scowled deeply at her managers. "If I let her go, she may attack you." She grunted. "Put her down gently then." Instructed Agnes. Faster than the blink of an eye, Rose released Telma's arms and clamped her hands upon her body – one over the left side of her back, pressing a thumb onto her spine, and the other over the right side of her neck, pressing three fingers into a soft spot near her throat. The girl twitched for a moment, then fell unconscious. Rose caught her, and carelessly threw her onto her bed.
"Her head will be pounding in the morning." The great Gerudo warned. "Better that she gets some sleep though," Audra corrected, "she looked terrible when the captain brought her in." Rose strolled out of the room, and Audra turned to follow her, but she stopped when she noticed her sister was rooted in place. "Agnes?" she asked quietly. Breathless and without a word, Agnes raised a boney finger and pointed at Telma's head. Audra followed it and spied what had shocked her sister.
In the struggle with Rose, Telma's handkerchief – which had been tied over her hair and bound over the tops of her ears – had shifted, revealing her Hylian heritage. Mercifully, none had noticed but Agnes and her sister. "W-what… is that?" Audra whispered. But her sister just narrowed her eyes and searched through her memory. "I've seen this before… but where?" she wondered to herself. "Close the door." She whispered back, "and lock it. Let's go check the old records."
The two spent the remainder of the night meticulously pouring over old scrolls and scraps of parchment, but found nothing that revealed the nature of their latest visitor. "There's nothing here, sister." Audra exclaimed as dawn approached. "I know I have seen something like this before." Agnes growled, "Let's check the 'other notes' upstairs." Retreating to their private room on the second floor, the pair unlocked Agnes' strongbox and began shuffling through the secret notes that the owner kept on her more 'unusual' or 'important' guests. Finally, buried amongst the private transactions and shameful details of the Gerudo leadership – they found what Agnes was looking for.
"Fourteen years ago… a Gerudo warrior brought a child in here, looking for her last Voe." Agnes read. "The girl seemed to be 'an offense' that had gone unnoticed, and the mother was trying to smuggle her out of the desert." "You think it's the same girl?" her sister asked. "I don't know." Agnes answered, wrinkling her aged brow, "But it's dangerous to have her here."