"Watch your form, Princess! That might work with your little knife, but Gerudo blades are made of tougher stuff!" Nabooru goaded, easily dodging a clumsy swing from the twin blades. Princess Zelda, her opponent, was not necessarily the target of her taunting. She gave a playful glance over at Impa, who was watching the pair off to the side, along with several of the Gerudo guards.
Princess Zelda had made it her goal to help all the races recover from the aftereffects of Ganon's dark influence, personally. She was also using it as an opportunity to further the training she had started under Impa, and learn more about Hyrule. While she had been Sheik, she had not had as much freedom to travel and explore, especially the Gerudo sands. She had entered the lion's den on one or two occasions, but she had been careful to give Koume and Kotake a wide berth. The pair might have been able to sense the magic that was protecting her from Ganon's gaze, or something worse.
The land where both her and Ganon's castles once stood had been badly disturbed by his darkness, and she was reluctant to build there again. She had decided to have the castle be rebuilt away from the city, that way if someone attempted to attack again, her people would not be in as much danger. Hyrule Castle Town had been purged of the darkness that resided within, and the town had taken steps to begin rebuilding. Many were, understandably, reluctant to return to the village, and chose to remain and Kakariko. Still, others had returned to their old homes and business, helping to rebuild the once thriving city to its former glory.
From there, she had spent much time in the Kokiri woods, working with Saria and the Deku tree to purge the darkness that had corrupted the woods. The area around the Forest Temple had been un-salvageable, but, with a lot of time and patience, they had managed to remove the influence from the village and some of the surrounding woods. Both the Deku Tree and Kokiri had assured her that, with time, the woods would fully return to normal. The Gorons had refused her help, claiming that they had not suffered much from their time. He had only just managed to overwhelm them when Link had awoken and rescued them from being fed to Volvagia. The Zora King and Princess Ruto gave much the same answer, that, with time, Zora's Domain would return to normal.
So, the Princess had set out for the Gerudo sands, spending time training with Nabooru. She was determined not to force their entire race to suffer for the crimes of their leader, and Nabooru was determined to stamp out anyone who remained loyal to Ganon and his designs. Still, progress with helping the Gerudo recover had been... slow. It had been the seat of power for Ganon and his minions for so long, some were doubtful they would even be able to purge his taint from their lands. Not to mention, many of the Gerudo, despite feeling that they were at fault for what happened, were uncomfortable accepting the princess' help. Even Nabooru, who had been fairly welcoming, refused to let her aide in some things.
"I think that's enough daydreaming!" Nabooru called, moving forward quickly, and prepared to deliver a one-two punch to the princess. Zelda did her best to try and block the blow, but she needn't have bothered. It didn't actually come, as Nabooru fell to her knees and started clutching her head. "Stop... stop... stop your damn laughing!" she shouted, a look of panic on her face.
Zelda dropped her blades and moved over to her, several of the watching Gerudo doing the same. As she approached, Zelda froze as well, feeling a dark energy as she approached. She looked around wildly, trying to figure out where exactly it was coming from. As she turned, she saw Impa doing the same, albeit in a much more calculated manner, and with a hand on her own blade. But, just as soon as the energy had come, it was quickly starting to fade. She could not pinpoint where it was coming from... it was as if a dark energy had spread across all of Hyrule in a moment, and then completely vanished again. "Are you alright, Nabooru?" Zelda asked, approaching the fallen sage, who appeared to be coming to her senses once again.
"I'm fine," she grunted, ignoring several hands attempting to help her up and getting up on her own. "I just felt... darkness, and... magic? Their magic..." She trailed off, her tone suggesting she was talking more to herself than anyone present. She shook her head slightly, looking at Zelda as if she hadn't seen her there. "I think that's enough practice with me for the day. You can use the training grounds, if you want. I need to... go." With a slight bow, she moved across the rooftop, down into the fortress. The princess could barely make out her speaking to one of the guards that followed her. "Wake Aveil. She needs to go to the Colossus."
The Princess turned back to Impa, who was still scanning the area around them. From the top of the fortress they could see for miles in the desert, but they could not see anything that could have caused the disturbance. Her guardian took her hand off her blade, but didn't appear to have relaxed much. "Are you okay, Impa?"
She looked back, thinking carefully before she spoke. "I am fine, Princess. But, I feel as if I have felt that energy before. It is not quite the energy that Ganondorf gave off, but I can feel it. The essence of the Shadow Temple lies within it." She turned to face her charge, looking over the Gerudo who were still standing there carefully, seemingly deep in thought. "I am going to need to leave you here, temporarily, princess."
The princess took a step back, slightly taken aback by the suddenness. After a moment, however, she regained her composure and nodded to Impa, understanding why she had to go. The Shadow Temple, more than all the others, was a seat of evil. Meant to imprison the darkness of Hyrule's past, the dark power within it needed to be protected from evil seeking to steal that power. "You have my leave, secure your temple."
"Remain here, I will return shortly." She jumped off the top of the fortress, rolling as she landed, before moving swiftly toward the canyon.
Zelda watched her for as long as she could, crossing her arms and sighing. She had hoped that this was over, she had hoped that there would be peace for a time. But it seemed that Hyrule had been robbed of even the smallest respite. They had been so close... so close...
