Chapter 16: Crossdressing

It was morning when Link received another letter from Lady Urbosa. It was written simply:

"Go to the sand seal rental this evening. I know you have quite the mastery of vocal impressions, so let's see how you do with a girl voice."

"Oh boy." Link muttered.

Link changed into the outfit and looked at himself in the mirror with his shoulders slumped. If he didn't know it was him, then he would've thought that he was a girl.

Link cleared his throat. "Hello, I'm a girl!"

He frowned, but it was hidden behind the veil. Higher pitched. "Hi, my name is Liari, and one of my favorite pastimes is playing pranks on my brother!"

...That would work.

He used the sheath that Urbosa had sent him to hide the Master Sword. Luckily, the veil also hid part of the hilt.

And off he went.

He rode to Gerudo Town, but because the author of this story has banished long monologues about traveling, we're not going to talk too much about that.

Then he made it to the entrance.

Time to see if this will actually work.

Link dismounted his horse and walked up to the guards.

"Hello, young vai!" One of the guards greeted. "What brings you to Gerudo Town?"

Link cleared his throat. "I'm traveling around!" Link said brightly in his best impression of Liari. "You know, sightseeing and all that!"

"Well in that case, I'd recommend renting a sand seal." The other guard chimed in. "One of the most popular attractions, I'll have you know."

"Oh, well I was actually thinking about doing that!" Link replied, carefully in his Liari voice. "Would you mind giving me the directions?"

"Not a problem, Miss Vai!" The first said with a smile. "Just go down the road. Take the second left, and then the third left. That'll get you there just fine."

Link dipped his head thankfully. "Thank you, Ma'am. Your help is appreciated!" Then he glanced at Epona. "Is there a place for my horse?"

The other gerudo patted Epona's neck. "They usually have extra stables at the Sand Seal rental."

"Oh, okay! Thanks again!" Link waved with a smile, despite it being hidden by the veil, and walked off.

Wow. That actually worked. Maybe I should show Liari that impression and see what she thinks…

But then he remembered that he had to start... for lack of a better way to say it, cutting off Liari, too. The worry in her eyes whenever she saw him… maybe if he seemed like he was stronger, then she wouldn't worry so much.

He reached the Sand Seal rental and was greeted quite enthusiastically.

"Sav'aaq!" The gerudo greeted. "Would you like me to board that horse of yours?"

"Yes, please." Link said in his Liari voice. "How much?"

"Only ten rupees." The gerudo said.

Link dug the rupees out of his bag and handed them to the gerudo.

"Sav'aaq, Viala!" A voice called.

Link whirled around to see Lady Urbosa approaching.

"Lady Urbosa!" The Sand Seal renter greeted. "Here for a ride?"

Lady Urbosa nodded with a sly smile. "But of course." Urbosa turned to Link. "And who might you be?"

Link groaned internally. "My name is...Lyra." Link carefully continued his fake voice. He curtsied slightly clumsily. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Urbosa."

"And I you, Miss Lyra." Urbosa said with veiled mischief. "Would you like to go surf with me?"

"O-oh," Link stuttered. "I'm not so sure-"

"Nonsense!" Urbosa said with a 'kind' smile. "You'll be welcome!"

Crap. "If you insist, Lady Urbosa."

The sun was setting, and the sky blue began to melt into dark navy. Zelda sighed and leaned on the railing of the balcony.

She had been out surveying all day. Divine Beast Naboris was truly incredible. It seemed to carry a power similar to that of Urbosa's, but on a larger scale. The ability to harness lightning.

Speaking of Urbosa…

"Sav'saaba, Little Bird." Zelda turned to see Urbosa approaching her, carrying a handful of blankets and the Thunder Helm. "If you'd like, you can sleep up here."

"Urbosa, what took you so long?" Zelda questioned.

"Ah, trivial affairs." Urbosa said with a dismissing gesture. "Taking care of that poultry situation, some other complaints, etcetera."

"Forcing knights to dress up as women?" Zelda volunteered.

"...We don't talk about that." Urbosa said with a smirk.

Zelda gasped. "No! You actually went through with it for once?"

"Your knight makes for a wonderful lady." Urbosa said with a grin. "His impression is spot on, I must say."

Zelda sighed. "Now I wish I was there…" She would be lying if she didn't think the knight dressed as a woman would be amusing.

"Well, I'm sure you wouldn't have even recognized him." Urbosa said as she spread the blanket on the floor. "Believe it or not, he's quite the impressionist. It makes being silent a bit difficult for him."

"I thought he was mute at first." Zelda said with a huff.

"Well…" Urbosa paused. "Maybe not that difficult. He's always been a bit quiet, but he's changed quite drastically in the last few months. Perhaps something happened to him in the forest. But he'd never tell anyone if it did."

"Why?" Zelda huffed. "If you know so much about him, why won't you tell me anything?"

"He still has secrets." Urbosa said calmly. "Some even I have not been able to discover. But if you're so curious, then you should ask him yourself."

"Urbosa?" Zelda looked in the direction Urbosa was pointing to see Sir Link walking towards them, blank faced.

"Wha- What are you doing here?" Zelda gasped, standing up.

Much to Zelda's surprise, the knight was blank as ever.

"Oh, come on, Sir Link." Urbosa huffed. "Do we have to dress you up as a woman to get you to talk to people?"

"I'm still surprised that actually worked." The knight replied, much to Zelda's actual surprise.

"I must admit, so am I. You make a wonderful young lady."

So, apparently the knight actually had a sense of humor.

...Zelda was starting to feel a bit guilty.

No, no! She wasn't feeling guilty, not in the slightest!

"Well, Sir Link, I'm surprised you got here so quickly. How long did it take you to get out of those clothes?" Urbosa asked.

"...Long enough." The knight replied quietly.

Urbosa laughed. "You know, Liari somehow knew you would do it."

"...She put you up to this, didn't she?" The knight asked blankly.

"Why of course." Urbosa said with a roll of her eyes. "It's not like I'm the one who came up with it, and she simply insisted I go through with it, right?"

"Excuse me, but I'm here, too." Zelda chimed in. "And I'm exhausted! Weren't we about to go to sleep?"

"I suppose so." Urbosa said with a shrug.

"Then I apologize for intruding." The knight said blankly, before turning away and disappearing into the Divine Beast.

"He's really quite the sweet boy." Urbosa said.

"Boy?" Zelda asked.

"Well, yes." Urbosa said with a roll of her eyes. "He's male, and he's under the age of eighteen. I believe he's only a year older than you."

I thought that he was twenty at least. Zelda thought. Most people don't get knighted until twenty, let alone seventeen!

"And he's definitely quite handsome." Urbosa said mischievously.

Aaaaand DONE! I wanted to publish this earlier, but there was a corn maze... and no one can deny a corn maze. I freaking love mazes. So, sorry about that! I could have uploaded this a few hours earlier, but oh well!

And it didn't help that a savage beast kitten by the name of Jinx kept attacking my legs. JINX! STOP IT!

I hope you guys enjoyed this! It was a fun chapter to write! I mean, Link dressing up as a girl? HAH! But if there's anything you think I could fix, don't hesitate to ask!

REPLIES!

MeaninglessMayhem: Awkward encounter, eh? Consistent updates? I'll try! So far I've tried to update daily, but I've already had a few problems with that. I'll see what I can do. Oh, that was you? Okay, I had suspected that, but I wasn't sure. Thanks for clearing things up! I'm glad you enjoy it!

James Birdsong: I think I've seen you reviewing on other stuff, so hello there! Thank you! I'm glad that it is liked!

The-Fallen-Spirit: Don't forget about the mammals, and reptiles, and amphibians, and arachnids, and insects! Oh, and the bananas! ...I swear, I'm not a Yiga.

SmokeyMirrors: Hah, yeah. I freaking love Urbosa. I think I've said that before, but whatever. Zelda? Investigating? We'll see...

SmokeyMirrors (2.0): I think this chapter might have explained a few things, but if it hasn't, then those things will be revealed! Until then, enjoy the anticipation!

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Hope you guys enjoyed! Until next time!

-Ari