Blizzaga Saga: Thank you for the wonderful reviews! Sorry this took so long. I could type up a list of excuses, but they're all pretty flimsy. I'll do better with the next chapter. I still don't know if I'm going to turn this into a ZeLink or not, but things are definitely getting more interesting in the desert.
He suddenly felt the harshness of the sun on his pale face. Even the covered parts of his body suffered, for as his leggings constricted around his sweaty thighs, he understood the reason for the oversized pants the Gerudo wore. Awkwardly aware of the fabric sticking to the areas around his testicles, he resisted the urge to adjust himself and tried not to let his legs rub together when he walked.
"Desert too hot for you?" Samiyah asked callously without turning to him. Despite being a decade his senior, she had no difficulty traversing her home terrain, and her red outfit was bold and strong. "You should take your gloves off."
"No thank you." He had no desire to reveal the mark on the back of his hand. The Gerudo knew Ganondorf invaded Hyrule to obtain the Triforce, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for them to assume that the guardian of one of the sacred triangles had something to do with his disappearance.
"If you insist. Still, you are dressed quite strangely." Her tone was not kind, and before he could lash back Link reminded himself that he was here as a diplomat. He had to forget how stressed he had been lately, for it would do no good to mock her outfit; though the bright top he mentally described as skimpy revealed her stomach and shoulders and made her breasts jut out from her brown skin, he knew that this was acceptable and likely tradition in the desert.
Inevitably but ever so slowly, the Gerudo Fortress ceased shimmering in the distance through the heat which rose from the sand in waves. The two unharmed soldiers from earlier waited for them when they at last arrived. Unlike Samiyah, they wore purple, which he guessed meant they ranked below her.
"These two will be your personal escorts for the duration of your visit."
Wordlessly he removed the sacks tied to Epona's saddle. She let her head drop as though breathing out a sigh of relief, and following a subtle tilt of his head from, she neighed in celebration before galloping away.
"You are releasing her?" Samiyah asked with a raised eyebrow while the others started after the fleeing animal.
"She'll come back when I need her. She's a smart horse."
She looked like she didn't quite believe him. The other two women, however, stared at him with even greater awe than they had when he saved them just an hour ago. "—just like him," he heard.
Tired of hearing the familiar name and not having a face to match it to, he turned on them. "Who is Oni?" he asked, wishing when they jumped in alarm that he possessed Vance's skills in subtlety.
The one who spoke glanced briefly at her commander as though asking what she should do. "Well, he's…someone we know, and you look a lot like him. Even your clothing is the same unusual style as his, right down to the hat."
"And your tunic is blue like his," the other added.
Samiyah glared at them. "He is not Oni. His name is Link, and we don't need you two spreading ridiculous rumors. The stares from others are already intimidating him."
Observing their reluctance to offer answers, Link lifted his luggage and signaled with his body that he was ready to go inside, but beneath the calm façade his mind worked furiously to recall anyone who looked enough like him to cause this identity crisis. The only people he knew of who wore hats like his were the Kokiri, and they couldn't leave the forest.
Nestled in a corner of the Gerudo Valley, the fortress of sandstone hid against the valley walls from the wind and sun, and he welcomed the shade. Before he could relax, however, Samiyah appeared alarmingly close as though to scrutinize him.
"You said you can make another potion for Abia?" He nodded, and her eyes narrowed. "Swordsman, archer, equestrian, and healer…why would Hyrule send such a capable person to a group of people they've wanted nothing to do with for seven years? Scouting for an invasion, perhaps?"
As he had been taught during his schooling as a knight, the hero kept a level head. "Though her highness wishes to improve relations with you, most of her servants are spoiled and soft and thus reluctant to enter your harsh domain. As an experienced traveler and warrior, I am uniquely suited to the task."
"Are there any other skills you possess?"
"I'm practiced at stealth." He couldn't help the small smirk that came at the memories of sneaking around the desert fortress. "And I know a few spells, though they won't be as effective in the desert and I hope I won't have to use them."
"You have no reason to fear us."
"It's not that. Moblins have been attacking various parts of Hyrule recently. I never imagined they would attack Gerudo as well. For creatures as cowardly as they are to spread themselves that thin across the land, they must be confident in whatever they have planned. It worries me."
She eyed him carefully. "Thank you for telling me your suspicions, and of your skill in sneaking. We will need to keep a close eye on you, you understand, but informing us of your abilities will go a long way in earning our trust."
At the end of a maze of twists and turns, they arrived at a large room he did not remember seeing on his journey in the alternate timeline. Bright torches, the source of the dim light that spilled into the hallways, lined the walls surrounding a bed that was easily big enough to hold three people. "You will sleep in the king's chambers."
Link froze, replaying the words in his head to make sure he'd heard correctly. "What?"
"It has been vacant for some time. Since we have no king now, feel free to use it as a guest room. As long as you are here, you will have all the privileges he had. If you like, you may rest here for now and I will have servants prepare a meal for you."
Link suddenly felt nauseous. This was the room where his most hated enemy grew up. The others didn't seem to notice, but a dark magical imprint stained the bedchambers. It reeked of hatred, and he could almost hear the wizard's evil laughter. "I appreciate the effort it must have taken to prepare this, but I'm here to better understand your people's needs. Don't give me any luxuries you wouldn't give the others here." While this still felt like a vacation to him, he would have worn his heat-resistant red tunic had he wanted to live luxuriously during his stay.
Predictably, Samiyah scoffed. "If we did that, you would not survive your stay here."
"I understand your concern, but I'll be fine. And…" Link was no fool. After spending so much time studying politics, he knew when people had an ulterior motive. "I know you're only keeping me here because it's the best place to keep an eye on someone, but Ganondorf's lingering presence makes me uncomfortable. He…frightened me once when I was young." It wasn't exactly a lie. "You have my consent to have as many guards as you'd like watch me. I will not mind."
"Very well. I will double the number of guards around you, and in exchange you can sleep where you like. Is this acceptable?"
"Yes. Thank you for your understanding."
"I will have two more guards accompany you."
She sent one of her subordinates away, and soon Abia and Gelbooru joined the two other guards whose names he still didn't know. Not trusting his words, he nodded at Abia, but she huffed and turned away from him, raising her rather large nose into the air.
"Come on…" Gelbooru gently pleaded with her. "He's done nothing to you."
"Shut up, Gelbooru! When last I checked, you were not a real soldier, nor did you even have a mother!"
Gelbooru recoiled and looked to the ground in shame. Link noticed she did not wear purple like the other guards, but a plain white, which he assumed meant she was the lowest class of Gerudo. His fist clenched, and while he was forbidden from chastising or insulting anyone here, he knew of another way to irritate proud people. "How is your leg?" he asked kindly.
Abia briskly marched toward him until they were almost touching, wounded leg moving just as proficiently as the other. Slightly shorter than he, she glared up at him, obviously unaware that he wasn't easily frightened. "I don't need your help," she all but hissed, and deciding his job was done, he said nothing more on the matter.
But something was amiss: there was extra noise in the hallway, the sound of rushing air, and Gelbooru's widening eyes darted to something behind him. He pivoted in time to see a blade coming at his arm from behind. A curved knife at the end of a long pole swooped at him, but with practiced ease he knocked the blade aside with the gauntlet on his right wrist and, in the same motion, grabbed the pole and pulled it from his attacker's grasp.
All was still for a moment. The woman in front of Link looked mildly impressed, but Samiyah and her soldiers made no effort to mask their astonishment. "Shall I draw my sword?" he greeted emotionlessly, already reaching into his unhappy place in case the encounter turned uglier. "Or is this how you usually welcome people?" Link knew that if he fought, the others would fight on behalf of his attacker, and there was no way he could defeat six Gerudo warriors; but he was pissed off and tired of being pushed to the limits of his patience.
Like Samiyah, the new arrival wore red, but her appearance was considerably more elaborate. A yellow jewel decorated her forehead, complimented by the makeup above her eyes, the type of makeup women in Castle Town put on when they wanted something. Another gem much greater in size decorated her ponytail, much like the one Nabooru used to wear. "Nailah and Yumn, our local gossips…" She pointed to the guards, who grinned back sheepishly. "…told me that you rescued my sisters. I thought I might test your combat skills."
"You insult me by coming at me with a glaive, then. I can tell a polearm is not your weapon of choice."
"Correct. Long ago we used these to fight on horseback, but since we were forbidden from leaving Hyrule, we have lost the resources necessary for breeding horses. I was trying to remind myself of the stories my mother used to tell. My weapons of choice are twin scimitars. Samiyah, if you would hand me yours."
"Are you sure—"
"Quite sure," she purred as Link equipped a sword with his left hand and a Hylian shield with his right. "I want to see what he can do." In the dim light with the eye shadow, she attempted to give off an air of either amusement or seduction, a Gerudo tactic he was familiar with and prepared for.
Without instruction the others backed away from the duel. Once they were safely out of the way he rushed forward shield first and batted her left scimitar aside, but she blocked his sword with her right. In an attempt to keep his momentum and force her to retreat, he shoved with his shield again, but she was ready when he stabbed at her. Lifting her curved blades upward in an x-formation, she caught his strike and threw it upward, and he knew from experience that next she would slide the scimitars down the length of his sword to attack his hands.
But Link's greatest asset in battle was his footwork. Even as he pressed forward, he was ready to spring back at any moment, so when he saw her strike coming he reversed his direction and backflipped away. Unfortunately she wasted no time taking advantage of the shift in momentum and pursued him, instantly reversing the power dynamic. Link brought his shield up in time, but her motions were almost too fluid to follow. Every sword strike was a setup for the next as her body and blades curved with deadly grace, and it was all he could do just to defend himself.
Abruptly she stepped back and lowered her weapons. "That cannot be your weapon of choice either."
He grinned as he caught his breath, wondering exactly when he stopped being angry and started having fun. He could never do something like this with the princess. "No. I'm used to fighting multiple enemies like with the moblins earlier. This shield is good for that, but for one-on-one fights I prefer a two-handed longsword." For not the first time, he cursed the fact that he did not have the Biggoron's Sword in this timeline.
"Longsword…a weapon for hewing, slicing, and stabbing. Every aspect of it, from the double edge to the cross-guard to the pommel, is forged for offensive purposes. I have no doubt you would make a fierce opponent with one of those. We shall have to fight again when we are both at our best." She emphasized the word "fierce" with an odd inflection, and he wondered if it was supposed to mean something to him. She turned to the others. "I wish to speak with him alone. Yumn, Nailah, you may put out the torches and remove the food from the large room since our guest will not be staying there." Every other woman left, and Link wondered who she was to have such authority over even Samiyah, who the others seemed to fear. As if sensing his curiosity about her, the mysterious woman sauntered over to him, and he swallowed nervously at having his personal space invaded once more.
"Do not let Abia dishearten you. She is merely upset because she was rescued by a man; she thinks she has lost her honor and prowess. She cannot hate you, for though she will never admit it, she is attracted to power…as am I. I must say you are different from what I expected when Samiyah told me a noble was coming here. You seem to be so much more." She looked over him with an approving glint in her eye.
Link was used to being weighed and measured based on his appearance—at the castle, people almost always found fault with his attire no matter how he tried to look like he belonged there—but to be judged so overtly was unsettling. Now that the battle was over, Link was aware of things that weren't directly related to his survival: things like how close she was at the moment, how much thinner than Samiyah's her delicate face was, the unbearable amount of smooth skin he could see above her gold-laced belt, and how long her beautiful hair was, an attribute presumably reserved for Gerudo royalty. Link cursed his inexperience with the opposite sex briefly before realizing that all the experience in the world couldn't help him here: the Gerudo were in a league far above other women, and if they were anything like Nabooru, they were far less subtle about attraction. He abruptly remembered the Spirit Sage's last words to him. "If only I knew you would become such a handsome man... I should have kept the promise I made back then..."
"I heard your conversation earlier. If you want to live like a Gerudo while you're here, you should fetch water with the women in white. We will start negotiations tonight."
"Thank you," he replied quickly, eager for a distraction from the sexual tension.
"And one more thing."
He froze as she closed the distance between them even more. The light brown skin on her slim belly shone with a thin layer of sweat, and her chest seemed more pronounced than before, almost touching his like she was arching her back to show off. It moved up and down as she too caught her breath. Was she…flirting with him? He quickly shook the thought from his head. Despite Nabooru's words, he did not consider himself particularly handsome. He did not obsess over his appearance in the mirror as some men and women he knew did, and assuming he was good-looking would only detract from the humility he felt heroes needed.
"To hold your own against me for as long as you did is no mean feat. I used to think that all men, besides the great Ganondorf, were useless, but now that I've seen you, I don't think so anymore!" His eyes widened at the familiar words, and at last he realized her identity. "When next we fight, I will judge your performance, and if I deem you worthy I will give you a Gerudo Membership Card. With that you could come back whenever you wanted. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" she asked, trailing a finger down his chest. He nodded dumbly. "I'm sure we have many uses for someone like you, so be sure to try your best. I am Aveil, ruler of the desert in the absence of our king. Please remember my name."
It took him a moment to realize she had left, but he didn't immediately follow. The hushed whispers of the soldiers in Ganondorf's room reached his long ears.
"So which do you think he is?"
"It would be amazing if he was Oni, but it will be up to Aveil to decide tonight at the treaty talks. If he is the other man as our reports seem to indicate, I hope we're not the ones tasked with throwing him in the dungeon."
"Or executing him."
"Yeah. He seems like a nice guy."