Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me
Link, now a young voe of ten, sat outside under a tarp with Tangela, who decided she wanted to be a merchant and left her position as guard. She sold arrows and was quite the expert of making them, making her perfect for the position. She also taught Link how to make them, which came in handy since he practiced with his bow a lot. A glance around and she noticed how many foreign vai were in town, keeping note of how many looked like they would need arrows.
Today will another profitable day, she thought with a smile.
She was then snapped out her thoughts when she heard Link hiss in pain. She turned her head and saw him shaking his hand. Her gaze softened as she reached for a bandage and cloth and carefully cleaned the cut Link received from the small carving knife. Once his cut was taken care of she started cleaning the blood-stained knife.
"That's odd," she heard one vai say.
"I thought boys weren't allowed in town," another said.
"No, that's voes."
She couldn't locate who was talking, but she knew the foreigners were referring to Link. Voe weren't allowed in town and Link would be voe soon. She heard these things being said by foreign vai far too many times. She remembered talking to Ender and Lisha about dressing Link up so he could look like a vai once. The conversation ended with Kyra mocking Link, Link going back upstairs to his room, and a big fat no from Tori. After that idea was thrown out the window, Ender decided it would be best to leave Link be and let him wear his usual clothing, which was currently being fixed. Link managed to get a tear in it. So today, Link was wearing a peach shirt with ¾ sleeves, brown capris, and light brown shoes. The clothing was breathable but not nearly as breathable as most standard Gerudo clothing.
I wonder if we have any Gerudo voe clothing. If we do, Link can wear it, and he'll be more comfortable, Tangela thought.
Link let out a bored sigh and shielded his eyes from the harsh glare of the desert sun. It was then that he felt something wrap around his neck, he knew most would usually panic, and that he should be, but he knew it was his 13-year-old sister Kyra. He shot a glare her way, which she combated with a smirk and a light punch to the arm.
"Come on, pipsqueak," one of her many terms of mockery. "Vaba wants us. And to that, I say sarqso. We're getting out of this goddess-forsaken sun."
Link released an irritated sigh, getting up to follow his sister. As he entered the house, he noticed how tidy everything was. Now a clean house shouldn't be new to him, Tori cleaned the house everyday, but this time there was a new atmosphere surrounding it. He found himself marveling at how the multitude of vases and antiques looked so new, when they were probably older than time itself.
Tori turned to face her grandson and granddaughter and smiled. "Vasaaq, Kyra. Vasaaq, Link." She walked outside to a tarp. She sat down and patted two spots next to her for the pair to sit. They hesitantly joined her and rested in the tarp's shadow. "Soon, you'll start training to become a soldier," she looked at Link.
Link nodded with a smile. He's watched his aunt train many times, and always told her that he wanted to become a soldier like her.
Kyra scoffed, "Like there's even a spot for a Hylian."
Tori ignored her and continued, "And when you do, Link, your sister will help you with the basics. The same way Lisha helped her. You see, we Gerudo stay close, and we always try to help each other. Even though—"
"Vaba, Link isn't—"
"Even though we aren't the same."
Kyra huffed and crossed her arms, pouting.
Link found a grin growing on his face but didn't have enough time to get rid of it before his vaba turned towards him, causing him to release an awkward chuckle.
"I want—no, I need you two to take care of each other, support each other, and love each other, like the siblings you are."
"Link isn't my brother," Kyra hissed, "He never was and he never will be," she glared at Link and scowled.
Link looked at his sister in shock. Sure, he knew his sister wasn't his biggest fan, but hearing her say that hurt. He forced himself to hold back tears and dropped his head, propping his arms on his knees.
Tori rubbed Link's back and looked back at Kyra, "Young vai, apologize to your brother."
"For what? Telling the truth?" Kyra stood up and pointed at Link, "He doesn't belong here."
"Kyra," Tori snapped, "that's enough!"
Kyra grumbled and stormed away. Link wanted to curl up into a tight ball and start crying but instead rested against his vaba's side.
"Don't listen to her, Link," Tori cooed, "I think you belong. You're just as Gerudo as anyone else here." She stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "Unfortunately, she won't be the only one who will put you down. You'll meet tons of people who will make you feel like you're not good enough. And when that happens, I want you to remember that the Goddess chose you specifically to be saved from the cruelty of the desert. Surprisingly, most foreign vehvi aren't shown the same kindness you were. Do you understand, Link?"
Link nodded hesitantly and looked up at Tori before looking at the floor and messing with rug they were sitting on. Link then sighed, "Vaba," he started.
She looked his way and gave a small hum to show she was listening.
"Can you tell me why the Goddess chose me?" he muttered. "And how you know?" Now he sounded like he was challenging her.
She let out a short chuckle, "Am I really that bad at hiding secrets?"
Link nodded.
"Well, I suppose your curiosity is fair for your age. Here's the deal, I'll tell you some now, and as you get older, I'll explain it more." She looked over in the direction Kyra stormed off in, "Just so you know, Lisha is going to make you responsible for bringing Kyra back home."
"…Yeah, I know." To Link, it didn't make sense why he was sent him to retrieve his sister, but he did it anyway.
"Don't worry, we'll still talk about this, but in a more private location."
"Come on, Link. Put your back into it!" Kyra, now 20-years-old, barked at her younger brother.
Link, the 16-year-old in question, was currently sparring one of the best Gerudo soldiers who wasn't a commander. She was tough, and much bigger than him. He only stood at 5 feet 2 inches, while she stood at the average height, for a Gerudo anyway, of 8 feet. But that wasn't going to stop him, he kept pressing on. He dodged another one of her blows and attempted to attack her and succeeded. He hit her side with the side of his sword which knocked her off balance. This gave him the chance to trip her and knock her down. She fell and before she could get back up the tip of Link's sword was resting just above her throat.
"Link wins," Urbosa, the new chief, cried out. A mixture of cheers and groans followed the announcement. Link exhaled as relief replaced the adrenaline rush he was just feeling. He helped the Gerudo onto her feet and congratulated her despite the fact she lost. He then walked to his family. One of the vais obviously being the opposite of patient.
"Nice job," Lisha said, "For a Hylian," she added.
Kyra forced herself to stifle a giggle.
"Lisha, please," Ender snapped, "I thought you were over this."
"You should be saying that to Kyra. But will you relax? The one time I'm messing around and you get on my case. Besides, it was obviously Kyra."
"Hey!" Kyra exclaimed.
"Hay's for Hylian horses, sis," Link countered like a young vehvi. He enjoyed being around his family much more now, even though he lost a loved one. A little before his vaba died, he noticed his aunt and sister stopped holding prejudice against him. Which they apparently stopped doing a few years before Tori died, he just hadn't noticed.
"But you're one of them."
"So?"
"You did well, Link," a voice commented.
Link immediately turned around to see who it belonged to. The voice belonged to Chief Urbosa. He nodded in respect of her and her compliment.
"You know, with you being one of my best soldiers, I want you to be my escort to Hyrule Castle next week. Is that okay?"
"Yes, Chief."
"Good. You're going to need to pack enough supplies for two weeks and some. The trip to the castle is longer than you think." With that said, she walked away.
"Lucky," Kyra said when they made it back to their house. "You're not even 17, yet you get to go with Lady Urbosa to meet not only the king of Hyrule, but the princess and the other Champions as well."
Link stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "Maybe…maybe she sees something in me."
"What's there to see besides a sunburnt Hylian?"
"Kyra," Ender scolded.
"I'm just saying," she said quietly. She caught a glance of Link as he sat down on a floor cushion and started reading a random book. "…I just don't see what's so special about him."
"It's okay, Kyra. Besides, Link doesn't know what Lady Urbosa sees in him either. You two are on the same page."
"I guess." She sat down on the sofa behind her brother and gave him a half-hug. "Just don't forget that you're representing the Gerudo, even though you're Hylian."
"And don't forget your manners," Lisha blurted from the kitchen. "You're meeting the king and princess of Hyrule."
"Yeah, that too. But what are we gonna do about your clothes? I'm not sure it's appropriate to go greeting the royal family wearing Gerudo voe clothing."
"Well, we don't exactly have any Hylian voe clothing," Link commented.
"True. But we need to think of something."
"Kyra, relax. If I'm representing the Gerudo, that means I have to wear my tribe's garb with pride."
"Fine," Kyra relaxed, forcibly pushing all her weight on her brother. "I'm just worried. Gerudo and Hylian relations are shaky."
"And they always have been. I know."
"I'm just scared of what will happen to the Gerudo if the royal family learns we raised a Hylian as one of us instead of returning them."
"There's nothing to be afraid of, sis. Besides, Vaba wouldn't want us worrying. So be strong, sis. Be strong, for Vaba."
"Only if you promise to be."
"I promise."
"No, you need to Gerudo promise."
"All right, all right. I, Link, a Hylian raised to honor Gerudo ways, promise to be strong for my vaba, my family, and my tribe. And if I fail to keep this promise, may Nabooru haunt me 'til the end of my days."
"Okay, I believe you."
Link shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Well, since I'll be leaving soon, there are some things I need to do."
"Like packing," Ender suggested.
"I'll do that later."
"No, you'll do that now."
Link knew it was now an order and put his hands up in defeat and walked upstairs to pack.
Azral: Thank you.
CrazyDragon200: Thank you. And, to be honest, I am the absolute worst at identifying something as simple as a sentence. Which is why I try to find good and free grammar checkers. It doesn't work out that well and my friend, who I usually have check my writing, is a huge procrastinator so it takes a while to get her proof-reading unless I bug her.
