Disclaimer: I do not own The legend of Zelda
He was awakened by a sharp clap. "Time to get up."
The girl stood next to the table, upon which a tray with a small variety of food.
"C'mon if it were anyone else they've had you up and working by now. I brought you more food and water."
She plopped herself down onto the floor, sitting cross-legged. She snatched up the same type of fruit he had had the night before.
Cautiously he got up the from the bed and joined her. She picked up another fruit and tossed it to him. "Here, a fig for ya."
So that's what it was called. He noticed a strange looking fruit sat between them. It was rather large, and reddish pink in color.
She noticed him looking at it and picked it up. "What? Never seen one of these before?" When he shook his head in answer she set it down, bottom lip lightly between her teeth. "No...I guess you probably wouldn't have. I've heard my sisters say they don't grow very good outside the desert." She set her half eaten fig down and produced a small knife. "It's a pomegranate," She took the big red fruit and sliced it in half. "Here," She handed one half to him. "Try it. Though I must say, even if you don't like it you need to eat it. Figs aren't exactly the highest source of fiber, if you know what I mean."
vaguely, he thought he remembered hearing that name before. Back in the markets of Castle town.
He picked out one of the strange bits on the inside. "Oh, don't worry about the seeds." She said. "They're edible too." She plucked one from her own half and popped it into her mouth. Not too many people really like to eat the seeds, but, fair warning wasting food is probably one of the biggest sins you can commit around here. I don't want to see you flogged, okay?"
"Oh, I suppose actual introductions are in order. My name is Zanora. I suspect you'll be expected to call me Lady Zanora or mistress. I know I lot of vai like it when their voe call them those things. You're a bit different but I think it's a safe bet. Though if you want to be plain about it master might work too, though that'll probably take some getting used to on my part." She wiped a bit of juice from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. "What's you're name?"
He stared at her. Not entirely sure what to make of everything she had just said.
"What?" She prodded. "Speak up, It's not like I intend to call you slave or thrall all the time."
"My name? It's um...it's"
"C'mon, out with it, voe. I know this all must be hard on you but surely it hasn't made you forget your name. I promise I won't laugh at it. Even if it sounds silly."
"...Link, my name is Link." He answered.
"Link, eh? Good enough." She bit back into her fig.
They ate in silence for a while until he found the nerve to ask her a questing he'd been wondering about. "That one woman in the dungeon, Why did she keep saying I was delirious when you were talking to me like you were?"
"Who?" She asked. "Oh, Zahannah? She doesn't know." She leaned back onto her elbows and causally crossed one leg over the other. "Few know about that, to be quite honest."
"Wouldn't everyone know if one of their priestesses can speak psychically?"
"No," She answered with a shake of her head lightly. "I just simply have no need to use that ability. It would be rude. Or, at least I think it would be."
"Why did you do it with me?" He questioned.
"A couple of reasons." She answered. "I didn't think your mind in your current state of depression would've responded well to me outright saying those things." She sat back up. "Besides, they'd never let me live it down if I begged a Hylian to spare his own life." She muttered.
"But you're a Hylian too," He pointed out, and the casual air disappeared.
"I am not!" She protested.
"Are too. " He argued. "You're ears are just like mine and you don't look anything like the others."
"That is not you're business." She snapped. "I do not wish to force you into silence with a spell, but I will not stand idly while I'm being insulted!"
"But if you're not a Hylian, why don't you look like the others? Everything physical about you different than them, but not that different from a Hylain."
"I just told you that that is none of your business." She stood up quickly. "And for your information, contrary to the popular belief among your kind, we don't all look alike." She huffed. "Now hurry up, I've got to get down to the training ring to help supervise a session today." She crossed the room and waved her finger at him. "The trainees will be getting there soon."
He reluctantly stood and joined her at the door. His hands balled up as she took hold of the wretched chain attached to his neck. Somehow, he thought his pride could survive being forced to work, but he wasn't so sure it could survive being forced to wear a collar and a bloody leash.
She threw open the door and they stepped out into the harsh daylight. "Welcome, Link, " she swept her arm out in front of them in a grand manner, "To Gerudo Fortress."
She led him down a handful of stairs before they reentered The main building. It did not escape him that she was taking him a different way than they path he'd been led the day before. It was long, winding, and confusing. Truly How any of them knew where they were going was beyond him.
They came upon an incredibly large set of doors that were cracked opened just enough that a plethora of voices could be heard. Zanora heaved them open and the voices went quiet .
At least two dozen girls no older than ten at most stood milling about in a disorganized circle.
"Ah, there you are, Zanora," A deeper voice spoke. An extremely muscular woman with hair cut in what he could only think of as a military fashion approached them. A battle axe causally swung over her shoulder. "Cuttin it close this morning aint ya?"
"Ah, Otsana." Zanora addressed the woman. "Yes, sorry. Took a bit of a round about way today."
The woman named Otsana grinned. "Ah no worries. You're usually here before anyone else, but, after all, you probably wanted to get to know your new little friend." She winked suggestively.
His face felt hot at the implication in the woman's words. By the gods he hadn't thought about those...sort of possibilities if he was going to be living here.
Thankfully though, Zanora, too, seemed disturbed by the woman's teasing and cleared her throat, cheeks slightly tinted.
"In a way, I suppose. Lets get the session going, shall we?"
"Alright, alright. Gods, I always forget how fun it is to tease ya." The woman laughed.
Link jumped when Otsana gave a sharp whistle that had the large group of girls scrambling to line up. "Alright, worms, You know the drill, grab ya weapons and find a partner, we're working on our brute force this morning. Got that? Good, now don't make me have to interfere."
Each girl in the long line gave a stiff salute and a "Yes Ma'am." Before scattered out of the room before quickly returning with wooden weapons in hand.
They paired off, seemingly randomly, and wasted no moment before lashing out at each other. Within the first few minutes he had heard quite a large amount of loud thwacks that were accompanied by pained cries.
Zanora and Otsana leaned against a wall, their eyes on the group of kids. Otsana occasionally barking out a name and telling them to correct something they were doing. It seemed so strange, to watch mere children go after each other so bloodthirstily. He flinched as one girl hit the other hard enough with her practice sword that her opponent fell on her back, lip split. She rolled over just in time to avoid the other girl from striking her where she laid. She sat up, spitting a small bit of blood onto the sand.
Otsana gave another whistle that had all of them freezing mid action. "Shanta, Your done, get over here." seeing as only one of them was called by name the rest resumed their fierce practice battle.
The girl he'd been watching who'd gotten the split lip hung her head as she stood and shuffled between the other girls.
Zanora pushed herself off the way and walked up to the girl. "Hold still, Shanta." She commanded softly. The girl kept her eyes on the ground, her small brow furrowed and golden eyes angry. Zanora gently grabbed the girl by the face and a soft glow emanated from her hands.
He watched with fascination as the broken skin on the girls lip slowly weaved itself back together, leaving little more than a slightly raw looking pink spot.
"Shanta, Go home." Otsana ordered.
"But I can still fight," The girl protested. "It was just my lip she didn't knock any teeth out!"
Otsana crossed her arms. "And that's the fifth time in the past fortnight you've been taken down by your opponent. We're not having this argument again. Go."
She looked away guiltily, "Yes ms Otsana..." She trudged out of the room looking rather like a whipped dog.
"It's such a shame about her," Zanora commented, watching the small figure leave.
"Aye, She wants this life badly but she's just not suited for it." Otsana said.
"I remember that you sent her home last time It was my turn to help you. Thank goodness that tooth Yakira knocked out was just a milk tooth."
"Indeed. She keeps it round her neck, did you notice?"
"Yes," Zanora nodded. "What about Ulri, though? She has no partner now."
Otsana whistled once again. "Alright, Irina, you need a break." The girl she addressed did indeed look worn out, her tiny body breathing hard and sweating heavily. She lowered her weapon and joined them, sitting cross legged between the two women. "Thank you, Ma'am. I'll do better next time." She said, wiping her forehead with her arm.
"Olea, pair up with Ulri now." Both girls nodded and joined the other.
The two woman stood chatting idly as they watched the children beat at each other. He couldn't take it any more. He had to say something. "How can you stand around and let little kids beat the tar out of each other!" His outburst seemed to surprise them, more than anger them. "This is wrong on so many levels."
"Oh?" Zanora's brow went up. "What's so wrong about it. They want to be warriors. They have to train if they want to be strong enough to be warriors." She said.
"I don't want to be a warrior," The girl at their feet piped. "I wanna be a thief like mom. But I have to do this to train for that!" She said cheerily. "I'm not the best at fighting, but I beat the other girls in stealth by a ton, right Ms Otsana?" She looked up at the large woman, who laughed and bent down to tussle her hair. "That's right, girly. You're not going to outrun anyone or beat anyone in a match of strength, but its not much use to be strong or fast if you don't see the dagger coming for ya throat."
"Their just kids! They shouldn't be trying to kill each other!" He argued.
"Looks like you're going to have you're hands full training your pet, little bird." Otsana grumbled.
"What, should they be frolicking in a meadow picking flowers?" Zanora challenged.
"Yes! exactly!" A bit stereotypical, perhaps, but at least it was a normal activity for a child to do.
"Well, too bad there aren't any meadows out here." She spat. "This isn't Hyrule proper, pal. We do things differently. Now drop the attitude and shut up."
"If only I could go home, then there wouldn't be arguments like this." He muttered.
She pulled on the chain, making him look up at her. "What was that? Are you looking for a fight?"
"Maybe I am." Well so much for laying low until he got a chance to get away.
The commotion caused the group of kids to cease their fighting. Four dozen eyes watched them curiously.
"You think you could beat me? Words or Swords I would kick your rear easily." Suddenly an idea came to him. It was crazy, but if he could beat her...
"Willing to bet on that?"
That seemed to cool her rage, if but for a moment. "What kind of bet?" She questioned.
"For my freedom. We duel and if I win, you take me back home, or at the very least to the border of the desert."
"And should I win?"
"Then...I guess I'm yours to keep."
"Well that was going to happen anyway. But fine, I accept, so long as Nabri agrees."
Otsana let out a deep laugh. "Don't worry about Nabri, I'll officiate this shebang for ya. Nabri will accept my word on it." She said. "Finally something fun to watch." She dismissed the children from their practice, though the vast majority lingered in the room, eager to see a fight apparently.
Two of them skittered up to Zanora and handed her their practice swords.
She tossed one to him, and went to the center of the large chamber.
He stood opposite of her, at the edge of the circle of rope, held in place by wooden stakes that made up the main ring in the room. He felt somewhat confident. He wanted to be a knight, and his training for that would come in handy here.
"Alright, Nobody kills anyone, and the first to disarm of knock out their opponent wins. That's all I gotta say." Otsana said, planting her axe in the sand next to her.
Zanora charged at him the split second the word go was uttered by their referee.
He jumped out of the way and swung at her, though she twisted round and jabbed him in the side.
He was bigger, presumably stronger, and so he tried to focus on knocking the wooden blade from her hand. Though his sword was strange to him. It was no ordinary short sword. It was curved in a completely foreign way to him which made things more difficult.
Still though, He seemed to have the upper hand, pushing her back towards the edge of the ring with each swipe he took at her.
Suddenly she planted her sword in the sand and clasped them behind her back. A strange smile on her face.
Her strange action caught him off guard enough that she closed in on him. Standing mere inches away.
He froze as she slipped her hands under his shirt and settled on his hips, eliciting a small chorus of oooohs and giggles from their little audience. "W-what are you doing?" He choked out. She gave a coy smile but offered no answer as slowly slid her hands around to the front of his stomach.
An answer, however, did come though it came in the form of her suddenly grasping the hem of his shirt and yanking it up over his head. As he made to pull it down she hooked her foot round his leg and sent him off his feet and into the sand with a start, and she snatched the sword from his hands.
"I do believe I win." She said, lazily spinning the weapon in her hand.
"Not fairly!" He protested. "What kind of fight was that!"
She shrugged. "It's not my fault you froze up like someone who heard a Redead screaming. One ought to be prepared for anything in a fight, should they not? And we were only given the rule to not kill each other. She didn't say we couldn't use tricks."
"Now, kiddos, that's how ya win a fight against a voe." Otsana clapped. "She's right, little voe. I didn't say you guys couldn't pull tricks. Oh man, Nabri's gonna get a good laugh outta this." She slapped her knee before shooing the gaggle of kids out of the room, barking an order to make sure they clean up after themselves this time.
Otsana strode over, looking down at him with her head cocked slightly to the side. "Y'know, I gotta say, I heard you were small from the others, but that could be said about most voe, compared to our vai. But you, you're barely any taller than little Zenora here. A pair of trained thieves given a run for their money by a tiny one like you, it's almost humorous."
"Well, no more arguments." Zanora handed her sword to a passing child and dusted off her hands. "Supervising the kids training was my main duty today, So I guess I'll return you to your room before small mouths repeat what happened here. I imagine loosing like that is humiliating enough without having an entire community laughing at you as you pass by."
Whew, longest chapter yet.
The Gerudo seem the type of people, at least to me, to encourage kids to strengthen each other and take more of an "Eh it happens,' approach to training injuries.
And I'm trying to flesh out the cultural differences that might make the characters clash
