Blizzaga Saga: Thank you to verifiaman and Big Boss01 for reviewing the first chapter! I'm glad people like an actual buildup before the hardcore sex. Character development certainly isn't what I look for when I browse M-rated stories. ;)
A small sip of blue potion filled his stomach in place of a proper breakfast. On his long trips away from the castle to deal with monsters, Link was used to feeding himself this way since he could not waste time finding and preparing real food. The blue viscous concoction oozed slowly and torturously down his throat like a squirming ChuChu, and he forced down the urge to gag, knowing it was best to get used to this before leaving.
Link did not say goodbye to anyone. Upon waking, he fastened his personal and trading supplies to his horse and quickly slipped away under cover of darkness, without words and without looking back. Out of sight, out of mind, he thought to himself, planning to take full advantage of the break from Hyrule so he could return in good spirits with the strength to endure anything in his never-ending quest to keep Hyrule safe.
After a full day of riding across the empty Hyrule Field, however, Link did not feel liberated from his troubles. If anything his frustration had boiled over, because as long as he was bound to Epona and could not vent his anger through physical exertion as he usually did, his thoughts were his only company.
He remembered the way his erection would not go away last night, the way he had to tuck it under his belt to hide his massive hard-on. He recalled Vance's round, sneering face and the complete lack of gratitude shown to him by anyone other than Zelda for completing his previous mission. The only thing he couldn't remember was how he had ever hoped that things would change. They had been the same since he started officially serving Hyrule. The only difference was that people had found better ways to mock and belittle him, and that the princess's efforts to deny him affection were having increasingly unbearable effects on him.
Sex was all his fellow knights ever talked about, and though he didn't wish to brag about sexual exploits, he did wish to at least experience a few. He couldn't fault Zelda for not wanting to give up her virginity before she married, but would it kill her to share a simple kiss with him?
Was he a bad person for thinking these things? Sighing, he pulled Epona's reigns and led her to a small stream. "Drink up, girl," he whispered. "This is the last stream we'll see before we get to the desert."
Of course, she didn't need his encouragement, and he watched her lap greedily from the creek. When she lifted her head back up, he decided not to get back onto her right away and lightly brushed her with his fingers. "Do you think I'm living a lie?" Predictably, she did not answer, but he did not need her too. Of every person and animal, Epona was the only one he could be comfortable being around constantly. Not even Zelda had that esteem. And sometimes, like right now as she stopped shifting her head, he swore she was actually listening to him. "Is there anything between me and her, or have I just been wasting my time?" Someone told him once that one's teenage years were supposed to be the best time of his life, but looking back at his eighteen years, he found he couldn't agree. "Maybe things would have been better if I had tried my luck with another girl."
He often used Lon Lon Ranch as a resting spot between destinations when he traveled across the kingdom, and the young woman who lived there was one of the few people he liked being around. Malon was beautiful and kind and full of energy, and he suspected that she liked him. Sometimes he thought she was flirting with him, like when she smiled a little too easily at him or pretended to bump into him or drew attention to her chest by putting her arms behind her head, but he could not know for certain due to his inexperience in such matters. Though he enjoyed her company and found her attractive, he wasn't sure if he liked Malon in that way. But he had to admit that he didn't mind when she invited him to look at her chest, if that was indeed what she did, because it was quite big. Her clothes didn't show off much more skin than Zelda's did, but they were thinner to allow for greater comfort when working outside, and when she ran, when her long red hair and her brooch bounced in joy as she laughed, her shirt allowed him to see every movement her breasts made…
Waking from his daydream with a start, he felt embarrassed even though no one was around, and experiencing a sudden need to purify himself, he washed his face in the stream before remounting Epona and leaving.
Several more hours passed, and he wished a monster would ambush him or something to take his mind of troubling thoughts before he reached the desert; he did not want to attempt his mission while he was wondering how Zelda and Malon would look naked.
As if by design, the sounds of a struggle reached his long Hylian ears: grunts, weapons colliding, and deep-throated gargles of pain urged him to speed up. Though a moment ago he thought he would be relieved by this, the knowledge that someone other than him was being attacked horrified him, and spurring Epona into action, he galloped across the last stretch before Gerudo Valley.
The grass had long since vanished. Epona kicked up dust from the bare earth as she ran, but Link had no trouble seeing the struggle ahead. Four women, Gerudo, fought their way through a group of monsters, and Link realized that Kakariko wasn't the only place the moblins were targeting.
The Gerudo were heavily outnumbered, and one was on the ground, so Link wasted no time. His first arrow hit a creature's back, and though a quick glance was spared his way, the female warriors paid him little mind and used the distraction to cut their way through the aggressors. Scimitars clashed with spears, and two more arrows felled two more beasts. But there were too many, and the moblins were closing in on their pray too quickly. If he wanted to save them, he would have to be there with them.
As soon as Epona got close enough, he dismounted and cut clean through an arm with a yell of fury. He had to be faster. He couldn't let anyone here die. Brushing aside an incoming spear with his shield, he lashed out with his sword arm again, reaching for his unhappy place where all his battle skills and ferocity lay dormant.
Heads rolled. Blood stained his sword and the ground, and soon a mess of bodies was all that remained of the threat. As he calmed down, Link and the three conscious fighters stared at each other awkwardly for a moment. One of them was perhaps ten years older than him, but the others were much younger than Hyrule's knights, and he wondered why they were here instead of someone more experienced. They couldn't have been any older than him.
The adrenaline wore off, and he approached the fallen one with a bottle only to be stopped by the eldest. "What are you doing?" she asked harshly. "Who are you? We were waiting for an ambassador from your kingdom. Are you his messenger?"
"No. I am the ambassador. Here, this potion will heal her."
"You aren't dressed as a diplomat," she accused. "You arrived just after those things did. How do I know you are not somehow involved? For that matter, how do we know that's potion and not poison? Your royal family has never been fond of our kind."
He resisted the urge to remind her that he just saved their hides. "This is not the princess's design. I brewed it myself. If it doesn't work, feel free to hold me accountable." He spoke calmly and held the bottle out to her. "Pour what's left of it over her wounds."
Not hesitating despite her apparent suspicions, she snatched it forcefully from his hands before following his instructions.
"…Oni?"
Judging from how startled they were when he turned his eyes to them, the other two women obviously did not expect him to hear them whispering to each other, and they stopped. Link said nothing, though he wondered what the word meant. He was sure he'd heard that name before, but for the moment it escaped him. He was far more worried about why moblin activity had been so high lately. Dead eyes stared at him from the ground, and he couldn't help thinking of the other dead eyes that would have stared at him had he arrived any later.
"Abia, can you hear me?" the middle-aged one asked, and the girl in her arms groaned as her eyes opened before looking around in confusion.
"Yes, Samiyah."
Letting her stand on her own, the apparent leader, Samiyah, faced him again. "Thank you," she forced herself to say, though there was no gratitude in her voice. After regaining her bearings and rising to her feet, Abia glared at him, much to his surprise. She bared her teeth, but Samiyah spoke before she could get a word in. "You three go ahead and let our sisters know our guest has arrived. Now, Abia," she ordered, apparently not needing to turn around to see her subordinate's anger.
Abia and the two others obeyed. "She has a limp," Link observed.
"She will be fine."
"Even so, once we arrive I can make another potion for her if you'd like."
He could not tell if her expression was a glare or another look of suspicion. "We would appreciate that. What is your name?"
No "may I have the pleasure of knowing your name" or "honored to make your acquaintance". Despite her obvious hostility, he allowed himself a friendly smile at the absence of pointless pleasantries.
"Link," he answered, and she seemed not to take offense at his short, "curt" response.
"Let's catch up to the others." She eyed Epona as he began leading her by the reigns. "Your horse is very brave. It did not abandon you during the fight."
"She's the best." Epona snorted.
The others were nowhere in sight, and he marveled at how quickly they must have moved. Soon the fortress was visible in the distance, looking much the same as it had during his visit in the alternate timeline. Back then he'd had to sneak in and avoided sightseeing to keep from getting caught, but now he took time to really look at it: dry and barren like the rest of the desert, but beautiful in its own way.
His escort remained stiff and silent, but as more people came into view he noticed that everyone seemed to be looking at him. Each red-haired woman stopped whatever she was doing and stared when he walked within sight of her.
"Don't worry about them."
"The attention is a bit unnerving," he admitted.
"It will take them a day or two to get used to you. There hasn't been a man here since…"
"Ganondorf?"
She nodded. "That was seven years ago. And aside from him, most of the Gerudo have never seen a man. For many of us, this is going to be strange."
It looked like it would be strange for him too. But he wouldn't let a little awkwardness get in the way of enjoying himself. He had a feeling spending time with fighters would be a wonderful change from the nobles and the princess. A few friendly spars sounded like a great idea, provided the Gerudo were friendly enough to allow an outsider to participate in their training. His guide, though far from polite, did not seem to resent him for coming to their home, and he hoped the others were the same way.
A young woman perhaps about his age walked up to his group with barely concealed excitement. Her smile was as bright as the sun and her golden eyes shone as she asked, "Are you a prince?"
Caught off-guard, he stuttered. "No. I'm just a diplomat from Hyrule."
"You don't look like a diplomat. Diplomats are weak. You're obviously strong, so you must have some important position. If not a prince, are you the king?"
"Gelbooru, that's enough," Samiyah interrupted harshly. "He already told you what he is. Let's not make our relations with the Hylians any worse than they already are." Her eyes widened and she squeaked out an apology, running away before he could tell her it was all right.
She seemed nice: open and honest, unlike all the conniving and empty talk he was used to hearing in the court. And it was nice to be acknowledged for his strength for once. He had definitely made the right decision coming here.
But he could not ignore the whispers. Turning to Samiyah, he was reminded that the Gerudo did not have pointed ears, and since they were likely as ignorant of Hylians as Hylians were ignorant of them, they probably didn't know that his pointed ears gave him better hearing than theirs. Again the word "Oni" drifted to him over the wind, this time whispered by multiple people, and he pretended to focus only on the path ahead.
Link's instincts were never wrong. They had saved him countless time, and presently he sensed that something was not as it should have been. He didn't know whether that was good or bad, but he kept his guard up. He would be ready, no matter what happened.