Chapter 23

Dawn came, and Zelda remained awake, slowly circling her barren room. The Sages had been her greatest hope. With their deaths, she needed a new plan, but her mind was a murky whirl, refusing to settle on any one idea. Most of her energy was just spent maintaining her posture. The mind follows the body, Nabooru had taught her. A strong stance would foster a strong attitude.

She strode to the bathroom. Not quite the graceful step of a proper princess, but her firm carriage projected a sense of purpose and self-control. Good enough, for the moment.

Zelda looked in the mirror. Her face sagged, and her reddened eyes stood out against the dark bags below them. A smile would be both impossible and inappropriate. But she could compose her face, to hide her distress from the Gerudo.

More importantly, to hide it from Link. She had barely known the Sages at all, beyond a brief word with Kafei and Aghreal; they had been his closest friends. She could not guess at how he would handle the loss, but he had not had Nabooru's hard training. Until he found his feet, she would have to be strong for both of them.

She massaged the tension from her face. First her cheeks, then her forehead. Lemon juice would help with the bags, if she had it. She did not, so settled on a splash of cold water from the sink.

She returned to the main room and positioned herself by the window, hand resting delicately on the sill. If she went to the bed, her anxiety would break through her composed facade. Her heart fluttered, yes, but her brain ticked on.

Nabooru entered. "Boots on. We march to the Gerudo fortress today. Prepare your feet."

Zelda donned a double layer of socks, laced her boots as tightly as she could, and followed Nabooru outside into the overcast morning. They walked to Kasuto's border, where a handful of Gerudo were assembled. Link was already with them, wearing a canteen at each hip and a bag of water on his back.

Nabooru roughly equipped her with the same setup. "Be smart with your water," she said. "I will not spare you any."

Zelda stared at Link, only half-listening. He bore his gear well, and stood tall and alert. When his gaze passed her, his face did not seem empty or sad. The edges of his brow furrowed, just near the nose, and his lips pressed together in a tight line. That was the only sign anything had happened.

She looked harder. There was no way he could be so unaffected. He was…. well… he was weak. But then he was also the Hero. Maybe the trauma of the previous day was needed to awaken his courage.

They had no chance to talk during the first march. So quick was their pace, Zelda had trouble enough just keeping her breath. Even some of the Gerudo breathed heavily through flared nostrils. She didn't see map nor compass among them, but they seemed to know their way. They didn't even pause until near noon.

Nabooru barked a command in Gerudo, and the group settled down into a tight outward-facing circle. Zelda was cramped in the center with Link and Nabooru.

"Rest a bit," Nabooru said, "but leave your boots on."

Zelda drank from her canteen, though not as deeply as she would have liked. The water had lost its coolness long ago, and the canteen's metal mouthpiece scorched her lips.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked Link.

He nodded. "As well as can be." His voice took on a hoarse edge that made her wince.

"We'll find time to talk," she promised.

"Aye, I expect we will."

An odd answer, but she let it drop. He was clearly reticent, and surrounded by Gerudo what could they even say?

Then they were walking again. Blisters started to open on her feet, but she would not let herself fall behind. Beside her, Link trudged forward, face angled slightly down. If he felt any discomfort, he hid it well. The rise and fall of his chest was slight and regular, and he moved with long strides she would not have expected of his short legs.

"Keep up, Zelda," Nabooru growled.

Zelda looked up to see the nearest Gerudo several paces ahead of her. She'd been so focused on Link she hadn't noticed herself lagging. A short dash brought her back to the group.

"Dreaming mid march?" said one of the Gerudo. Zelda ignored it.

She didn't know what would happen if either of them couldn't keep up. Most likely Nabooru would just leave them to the desert. They might slow for Zelda if they wanted to use her as a hostage, but so far there had been absolutely no sign of that. As far as she knew, they hadn't even bothered to confirm that they had her.

Nothing for it but to trudge forward and pray. With life, there was hope. Eventually the Gerudo would slip, and she would seize the opportunity.


They arrived at the Gerudo Fortress just before sunset. It was a sprawling brown construction of haphazard layers. Flickering torches sputtered on the walls like glitter clinging to a rug.

Looking closer, Link could see that each pair of torches seemed to outline a doorway. He could make no sense of the design. With so many possible entrances, they would have little hope of defending against a serious assault. Indeed, during the final stages of the Imprisoning War he alone had slipped through their convoluted guard and infiltrated…

He let the thought drift away. Those were older thoughts, not his. He had pushed them away at first, acting in blind fear. The memories of the dead hero were too valuable to reject, however, and so he merely maintained a careful separation between him and the intruder in his mind.

"You will wait here," Nabooru told him. At her gesture, a pair of Gerudo broke off from the group and flanked him. He was surprised she left only two. Still, even with the low security, now was not the time to attempt escape. This territory was wholly foreign, and he would need to learn more about it first.

Zelda's gaze lingered over her shoulder as she entered the fortress with the rest of their party.

"Was this part of your plan, Zelda?" he muttered to himself. But of course it wasn't. She had lost control long ago. Wisdom could only take one so far in a world of chaos.

"Why am I waiting out here?" he demanded of his guards.

The one to his left shrugged. "Who can say how a Gerudo thinks, who has lived so long among the Hylians?"

Link turned back to the fortress, ignoring her. There was no point in verbal sparring. It was clear she didn't know, so she had nothing worth saying.

The other Gerudo said something in her own language. The first laughed.

"My sister is displeased that I show… less than unity to an outsider," she said. "But I think you should see, now, that here we have less patience with your… oddness?"

Link wondered if they intended to continue the banter all night. If they were attempting to taunt him, they were making a rather poor job of it.

"Look at me when I speak to you," she snapped.

Link slowly turned to look at her, obedient but not reflexive.

"Twinrova's protection does not extend to discipline," she said. "Remember this. We shall not be as lax as the schoolmasters you are no doubt used to."

Twinrova? He did his best to keep the question from his face. Hopefully the dim light would make it less noticeable.

"Hear this now," he said. "I will do nothing to compromise the people of Hyrule, whatever you threaten." He broke eye contact and shrugged. "But aside from that, I may as well be reasonable."

"Is he not cute, thinking he can defy Twinrova?" she said, turning to the other Gerudo. She grumbled something else, scowling fiercely, and the first laughed again.

Somewhere, deep in his memories, the name meant something. Perhaps seeing her would remind him. His gut told him that he would likely end up going through her before he could face Ganondorf, and that meant he would have to find a way to study her.

It sounded like he might become her personal slave. If so, that would provide ample opportunity. For now, he put the issue aside. The future would reveal itself.


A/N: So I finally figured out how this thing ends. Hopefully this means more frequent updates again.