Before I start I just wanted to say thanks to all the people that have reviewed so far. You have no idea how awesome it makes me feel to read those.
Ganondorf covered his eyes with his arm in an attempt to block the sand that was blowing into them. Beside him, Nabooru did the same. The two had met up a few hours into the test and stuck together ever since.
Nabooru turned to her brother "Do you see any rocks we can use for cover?"
Ganondorf shook his head "I can't see very far, it could be right in front of us and I'd never know it."
Suddenly the ground beneath them began to tremble and the telltale spray of sand that a sandworm left appeared to their right. The two gerudo quickly put their backs against eachother and readied their daggers. The sandworm burst out of the sand and both of them simultaneously dropped to the ground and sliced at the creature as it sailed over head. Both daggers met their mark and the creature screeched before falling to the ground dead.
Nabooru slung the corpse over her shoulder like a sack "Looks like we have dinner!"
As if by a signal, the wind dropped to a halt and the sand settled to the ground, leaving a fine layer of it over the two and their kill. The silhouette of the spirit temple was once again visible on the horizon.
The siblings grinned wordlessly at eachother and started toward it.
The smile dropped from Nabooru's face as quickly as it had come "Ganondorf… someone was buried in the sand."
Ganondorf whirled around to where she was looking and saw the telltale mound of sand that appeared around a body. He was the first to reach it and began desperately digging at the sand, but the body was deeply buried and the sand kept sliding back into place. Nabooru joined him, trying to hold the sand off, and finally they were able to reach an arm. Ganondorf grabbed a hold of it as if his own life depended on it, and pulled until the figure was completely out.
But it wasn't a Gerudo that he had found. Somehow, Chariton had ended up buried under the sand in the desert.
Link snuck through the stables that night. Link was in wolf form, and though the horses knew he posed no danger the stable boy didn't. They were leaving tomorrow morning and Link wanted to say goodbye to Epona, who, despite Link's protests, had been put in a stall by the stable boy like any other horse. He passed several horses; several of them came over to see the wolf-boy that Epona kept talking about. Finally he reached Epona's stall.
She trotted up to the fence "Hello Link. I heard you're leaving tomorrow."
Link nodded sadly.
Epona whinnied comfortingly "It's all right, I know you can't take me with you. Perhaps we could go for one more run?"
Link nodded, happily this time, and unlatched the door with his paws. Epona trotted out. The two headed toward the stable door at a walk, each eyeing the other. As soon as they stepped outside they both took off. It had become a ritual of theirs to have midnight races.
The horse and wolf ran around the field at top speed, the moonlight glinted off them, turning their silent forms into magic in a way nothing else could.
Then suddenly there was another form beside them, no moonlight could reflect of this horse. Her black coat seemed to be night itself. She spared a challenging glance for the two before speeding ahead. Epona and Link both shared equal expressions of surprise, and then determination. They ran harder then they ever had before, trying desperately to catch up with the black mare. They lost track of how many times they charged around the field before they stopped, both their coats thick with sweat.
She trotted back to them, almost laughing "It looks like you still can't catch up hmm?"
Epona looked at her, confused and tried to reply between gasps for breath "Still?"
The black horse gave a whinnying laugh "So you don't remember? I supoose it's been along time since we battled you."
"We?"
She tilted her head to the side, revealing one of her red eyes "My warrior and I of course."
They both started as they recognized her. When they gave no indication of replying she continued "My great-great-grandfather was Ganondorf's steed as well." She tossed her head "My lineage are the fastest horses ever known, Ganondorf is the only one we have ever deemed worth carrying."
She looked at Link smugly "A category you certainly don't fit into."
Epona bristled, immediately defensive of Link "Well Ganondorf hasn't said goodbye to you now has he?!"
Lilith just laughed her horse's laugh "Don't be foolish, I only come to him when he needs me desperately. He doesn't even know where to say goodbye. I am not his steed, he is my warrior."
Without another word Lilith galloped off into the night.