Battle Plans
"Well," Link said, standing beside Marickiya as they stared at the throng of people milling about, "This place got a lot bigger since the last time I visited."
Lon Lon Ranch was bustling with bodies. People were flitting in and out of huts, tents, a couple houses here and there, selling, buying, and overall attempting to settle in. Why were there so many people? Well that's a silly question, he thought to himself. He began recognizing faces from Kakariko and realized that this was the overflow from the village. The Sages had moved everyone to the Ranch so that they could more effectively protect them.
But boy had the Ranch grown! The entrance couldn't be seen through all of the people and houses. A wall had been built around the new dwellings and they would have to meander through the small town to reach the actual ranch. He was making a path with his eyes through the crowd towards where he guessed Malon's house might be when he noticed Marickiya was no longer at his side.
It didn't surprise him that she had wandered off on her own. He assumed that she had perhaps seen some glinting trinket and made her way straight to it. Sure enough, when he spotted her auburn head, she was bent over some shiny ornaments with a look of awe. He resisted rolling his whole head with his eyes, though a grin peeked through one corner of his lips.
He trudged over to her trying to make his appearance obvious, but she was lost to the sale's pitch of some vendor. He grabbed her hand to drag her away but she jumped at the contact and her attention was finally on him. Her eyes went from his hand wrapped around hers and then to his face, her expression unreadable. He let go, thinking it may have been uncomfortable for her and cleared his throat.
"Um," he began, "I am going to go ahead and look for the Sages. You're free to join me if you like. Or," he added quickly as he could see her interest was slipping away again, "I could meet up with you later." She looked like she didn't have to think about her response but gave him the time to finish his statement.
"I'd like to do a bit of shopping." He nodded.
"Alright, I'll leave you to it then. I'll meet you," he looked up and around people milling about and gestured to the cobble stoned epicenter where all the shops and houses fanned out in a circular fashion, "Just over there in the center of town." She nodded.
They waved to each other as they parted leaving the vendor to sulk.
Marickiya watched as Link's now very recognizable green cap disappeared among the other heads crowding the city center. She tore her gaze from where she was staring to face the line of shops strewn out before her.
'Where to start?' she thought idly as she eyed each store front individually. None really held anything remotely close to what she sought. She moved her feet to the march of the masses and began her search, not knowing just how short it was going to be.
An elderly feminine chuckle reached her ears that irritated her near instantly. Her attention was brought to the owner of the voice. She eyed them warily as she was beckoned forward. An older woman dressed in a billowing robe sitting outside of a massive tent sat waiting for her approach.
"My dear, you'll catch cold dressed like that." The woman said simply as Marickiya arrived within arms reach. She absentmindedly checked herself even though she knew what it was the woman was referring to. Earlier that morning while they were readying to leave the forest, she had offhandedly complained about wearing her ball gown the whole way. Hearing this, the small Kokiri thought to gift her with her very own Kokiri uniform. Link laughed as she was led away from their horses to change into the green of the forest. There was quite a problem with her new outfit however. It was originally meant for a small child. Short as she may be, the garments' dimensions were ill suited for her. Link, of course, had promptly lost himself in a fit of laughter and she couldn't very well dismiss the Kokiri girls' kindness. Link's earlier teasing ever present in the back of her mind, she scoffed internally and began to move away.
"Thanks for the concern, ma'am," she said dryly as she turned, but something clamped firmly around her wrist that forced her to stop. She faced the woman who had grabbed her with a frail looking hand. The woman in turn gave a cheeky grin.
Quicker than an eye could follow, the woman's free arm shot from inside her robes and back up to Marickiya's shoulder. She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking the woman was about to strike her, not having the time for any other kind of reaction. When no blow was forthcoming, she looked down dazedly at what the old lady was doing. She had a length of tape with markings on it stretched from the top of her shoulder to her fingertips. She was taking her measurements.
The Gerudo just stared in amazement. She was definitely looking for a tailor and she definitely found one. She just wasn't so sure she wanted it to be this old hag.
"I think we can help each other out, my dear." The woman continued to stretch her tape over different parts of Mari's torso, muttering mental notes to herself along the way.
"How's that?" Mari asked, still in her dry tone. She was met with another grin.
"You need some desperate adjustments to your…" she cut off, nodding her head in search of the right word, "Outfit," she muttered, "and I'd very much like the get a look at that blue fabric poking out of your bag."
Mari didn't need to look down this time to know what she was talking about, as the very thing she mentioned was already at the fore of her mind. She needed a tailor to possibly fix up her Kokiri garb to a better fit, and she was hoping to repay Link for the extravagant dress he had helped pay for. This lady fit both criteria she had. She thought it over and decided that the deal was unfortunately necessary. Groaning inwardly, she allowed the grinning hag to lead her into her large tent by the hand she still held onto.
Once inside, Marickiya could definitely tell that the lady did this sort of stuff for a living. Differently colored fabrics absolutely littered the place, along with more of those measuring tapes she had pulled from her person. The lady moved about the room and gathered materials. Then she had Marickiya stand upright in the center where there was less of a mess with her arms stretched out. This time with a writing utensil and paper, she began making more and more measurements at a quick pace, with more muttering and furious scribbling to follow. She thought not to interrupt her work so she busied herself with her surroundings.
It wasn't long though, before Old Hag had finished with her tasks and she had moved away to grab something. Mari put her arms down just in time for the seamstress to whip around and thrust something into them.
"Go change into this." It was a simple, long chemise and a troublesome looking cincher. "In the meantime, can I get a better look at your interesting blue fabric?" Marickiya nodded and reached into her bag she had dropped by the tents' entrance and fished it out for her. The light in the lady's eye became brighter and for a moment, she looked several years younger. She gently took her gown and began looking over every inch of it, while Marickiya made her way to change.
When she returned, she was straightening out any folds the dress had accumulated while in the more private part of the tent. The cincher was as uncomfortable as she thought it would be, though she would admit it was fairly flattering. She clutched her Kokiri outfit as she watched the lady, hunched over her blue gown, still talking fervently with herself and sketching something into the same little notebook she had used for measurements. She giggled to herself which pulled her out of her near trance-like state and brought her attention on Marickiya again. Her eyes lit up.
"That suits you well my dear. You may end up walking away with it completely simply because I like the way it looks on you." She gave her a wink and Marickiya smiled in thanks, not sure what else she could do or say. She was just about ready to be done being inside this tent with the woman. "Oh, you can hand me that," she had gestured at the green fabric in Mari's hands. Practically snatching it from her, she pinned a small piece of paper to it, then tossed it aside. With all distractions out of the way, she rounded on the girl and adopted a serious tone.
"Here is my offer. I will do the alterations for free. Keep the dress you're wearing. And I will give you a hundred rupees for this," she held the dress aloft.
Marickiya failed to keep the surprise off of her face. A hundred rupees was more than Link had paid to help purchase it. Coming out of her stupor, she nodded in agreement.
"Good, good!" The smiling old lady seemed happier than ever. "Now, then. Here's your payment," she handed her a small leather pouch with a rupee emblem on one side. "Those alterations won't take me terribly long. I'll ask that you come back at sunset to pick up your garments." They nodded to each other and Marickiya was finally free of the tent's interior. She left the old woman scrambling around the tent gathering pieces of fabric together in the center of the room where a strange looking machine had appeared. She could only guess that it was the thing that stitched the fabric together.
The sun was a bit brighter when she stepped outside; she had to shield her eyes with her hand for a moment to acclimate. Once she was able to see the swarm of people outside, she took a step forward, wondering where she should shop next.
It was like someone walked by and whispered her name. Just as she was about to look around to search for the voice, something darted right in front of her face and made her jump out of her skin. What was with this place? There was too much going on. Kakariko was never this crowded. She was feeling closed in and uneasy, and was sorely missing Link's company.
She closed her eyes and took a quiet steadying breath. Opening her eyes to look around in search of the thing that startled her so much, she noticed a shimmer of light coming from a nearby roof. It was a small white bird. She laughed at herself for being so frightened. The bird's feathers were the purest of white which accounted for its glimmering appearance. It peered down at her from the rooftop.
She gathered her wits and continued her pace down the line of shops keeping a close eye on the white bird as it flitted from roof to roof, very obviously following her movements. She took note of its strange details. Though she lived in the desert all her life, she had seen plenty of different birds from books and the like. Nothing from her memory matched what she saw. Its most interesting feature, she thought, would have to be its tail. It was twice as long as its body and consisted of two thin feathers. She would have thought it was one single feather if it weren't for whenever it took flight, they split a part in a scissor like effect. It was a mesmerizing creature.
Soon, it was leading her towards an alley in between two of the bigger houses in town and Marickiya was forced to make a decision. It would most certainly be idiotic of her to blindly amble down the darkened space. Curiosity was a powerful thing, however. On her guard, she looked around for a second, then tip-toed out sight.
She ducked into the alleyway and saw a tall, hooded person just a few feet away. Already she was having misgivings and was ready to bolt if the situation started to look bad. She neared, and something seemed familiar about the way this figure carried itself. Almost as if they could read her thoughts, the person pulled their hood back to reveal long silver hair that fell in front of one eye.
"Vaati," she exclaimed a bit too loudly. He held his hands up to silence her and gave her a meaningful look. She sidled in a bit closer so they could speak quieter. She felt slightly abashed for being so startled. "What are you doing here?" She asked casually and gestured at the area between the houses.
"Are you traveling with someone named Link?" He said in a hushed tone. She raised an eyebrow at his forwardness. He appeared to be on edge judging from his shifty movements and the fact that he was definitely hiding in between these houses.
"Yes," she said slowly. "Why? Do you know him?" His face muscles twitched for a second and she was sure he was about to say 'yes,' but then he gave a small shake of his head.
"No," he said. She gave him another searching look. "I'm here to give you a warning. You are being followed." He said quickly, to the point. Both her eyebrows were up now.
"By who? What do they want?" She asked.
"A woman. She travels by shadows and she is working under someone by the name of 'Ganondorf,'" at the name, her face darkened a bit. "Do you know of him?" Her only reply was a curt nod.
He became very still suddenly and threw a furtive glance towards the crowd. She followed his gaze, but could see nothing too suspicious. He rounded back on her.
"I do not believe she means to attack just yet. I suggest you be careful with what you discuss publicly."
"Alright," she said. He was already turning to leave down into the darker recesses of the passageway. She took an uncertain step towards him as if she were about to grab at his hand or something, but she stood still in her half attempt. He noticed her movement and stopped to look back at her.
"Yes?" he questioned. She took her hand back from its hovering, and then swallowed.
"Thank you." His one eyebrow visible to her went up a bit. At first she thought he was cocking an eyebrow at her, but something about the way he carried himself made her think he may have actually been a little surprised. "You've helped me twice now." He turned away. "Why are you helping me?" she finally asked.
There was a blanket of quiet over them for a moment. Even the noises from the square faded away. Vaati spoke his next words softly and Mari strained to catch every one.
"I do not have an answer for you currently as I too am being watched." The quiet was becoming deafening then. She felt pressure pushing in from all directions on her head. It was dizzying. "Remember my warning. Keep your guard up." Vaati began to walk away into an especially darkened corner. Mari felt the desire to call out for him to wait, but no words would come forth. Her vision was becoming hazy.
Just as she was wondering what was happening to her, the pressure lifted and sound returned to her ears. She blinked several times trying to snap herself out of her daze. Looking down the path into the darkness where Vaati had been standing previously, she now saw no one. She stared at the last spot she'd seen his glimmering silver hair. One thought rung out amidst the confusion.
Vaati had just used magic to disappear. He was a sorcerer.
0000
"The Temple is being guarded?" Link asked of the room full of Sages. Most of them were huddled around a round wooden table in the center of the room. Nabooru leaned against the wall across from the door, and little Saria sat on the bed. The only one not present was the water sage who currently resided in Zora's Domain, much to his relief, though he would not say that out loud. They were borrowing Malon's bedroom for their meeting for privacy. Impa took charge and had been the one answering most of his questions.
"Yes. It is where the Master Sword resides after all." She folded her arms and looked at the table that was littered with paper notes, maps, and books. "It would be difficult for the Hero of Time to return without his weapon. Equally, it is just as hard to go in weaponless to retrieve it."
"Then we'll put that aside for the moment." Link shook his head dismissively. He folded his hands and then rested his head on them in a thought. "Would I even be able to?" Link asked timidly. "To pull it out, I mean." He couldn't tell from Impa's look if she thought his question was a pointless one. He thought to explain himself more. "I laid it to rest back then. I accomplished what I needed it for. So, would I be able to awaken it again?" When he finished his hurried inquiry, he held his breath and waited. Impa had a pensive look.
"Only the Hero of Time will ever be able to pull it from the stone if he has need of it. I'm sure if you make your will evident, it will awaken." Link was only somewhat satisfied with the answer he got. Everyone looked towards the door when the sound of feminine giggling could be heard beyond it. The door crept open and revealed Malon and Marickiya standing there a bit abashed.
"Oh, were we loud?" Malon asked with a sweet smile.
"No, not at all, you can come in." Link said, sitting up a little straighter. His eyes flicked over Marickiya's new dress. She caught it and flashed him an almost mischievous grin. He shrugged with a grin.
Then her gaze fell on Nabooru. Instantly, her face was set in a scowl and she opened her mouth to say something, even let out a half a word before she looked around at Link. Then she shrunk back. Nabooru had a somber look to her. From Nabooru's request to speak to her privately and then this, he gathered that they really did need to talk. He decided to keep this short then.
"Alright, then. Marickiya?" She redirected her attention back to him. "The situation stands as this; the village is infested with a horde of Moblins. They attacked last night while everyone was being brought here. I'm going to scope out the place, get a head count, and get my weapons from the house." She nodded in understanding. He gave a nod of his own. "We're leaving when it starts getting dark."
"Okay. I have something I need to do at sunset. Can we leave after?" She had a finger to her lip as she remembered the old lady with her Kokiri garb.
"Yes, that's fine." He looked at his companion and noticed she was fidgeting with her fingers. She clearly had something to say.
"I, um…" she wasn't sure of herself, "I met with someone in the market today. His name is Vaati." Her statement was met with a room of blank stares. "None of you know him?" She asked with uncertainty. Link shook his head. "He has long silver hair and red eyes and-"
"Sounds to me like a Sheikah," Nabooru interjected. Marickiya thought on it.
"It's possible. He knows who you are, Link." That one got the Hero of Time looking alert.
"What did he say?" he asked. Marickiya was glad someone was fascinated by her gossip.
"He gave me a warning." The room grew still at this and Marickiya saw that all eyes were fixated on her, no longer in curiosity. "He said that we're being watched. A scout sent from Ganondorf."
Most everyone's expressions grew dark. Impa was the only one who seemed unfazed.
"It's not surprising he'd be on the move so quickly. Keep your wits about you," she demanded at Link.
"About Vaati," she continued and Link looked from Impa back to her, "I'm fairly certain he's a sorcerer." This particular bit of news actually caused Impa to unfold her arms and scrutinize the girl carefully.
"What makes you say that?" The strong woman's eyes were beady and trained on her as she explained.
"Well, he's disappeared on me twice now-"
"You've met twice? Before today?" Link asked with a grim look.
"Yeah, I first saw him at the ball. He gave me a warning there, too." She looked uncomfortable. This news was troubling everyone, though she hadn't meant it to come across that way. She didn't see the man as a threat. "He said the castle wasn't safe," listening to herself, she was beginning to see why everyone was taking all this the way they were.
"How does he disappear?" Impa was still interested in the 'sorcerer' part. Marickiya thought about what had happened in the alley, when her head became fuzzy and unclear. How he seemed to meld right into the shadows themselves. She tried to relay how she felt earlier to the best of her memory. Impa placed her hands on the table and closed her eyes. Then when she stood, she fixed her gaze on the young Gerudo girl.
"That man is not a Sheikah." She looked between the Hero of Time and the girl. "None of them use any kind of magic like that." Everything returned to the stillness it had adopted when Marickiya first mentioned Vaati.
"Be careful around him, Mari." Link uttered to her quietly. She gave him a somewhat defiant frown, but he had looked away before he saw it. She chose not to try and defend her view of the mysterious sorcerer in that moment. There was a not so discreet cough from Nabooru's direction. Link perked up.
"Right," he looked to the other sages who took their cues to leave the room. Then he directed his next words at Marickiya. "I will meet you back here when you finish with your errand at dusk." She affirmed quietly as he closed the door behind him, leaving the two Gerudo women alone in the dimly lit bedroom.
She waited until she could hear no footsteps down the staircase and the door below close before she tiptoed to the bed slowly and sat herself at the end, her feet hanging off the side. She severely hated the silence that stood between them. Who would begin?
"Marickiya," Nabooru pushed off of the wall she was leaning against and Mari looked up. "I am glad to see you are doing well." Mari looked up at her, then, when she could no longer stand it, broke away, hiding tears that were quickly forming. The Gerudo woman also looked downcast and sighed. "You have every reason to be angry with me," Mari had stood up so quickly, it startled the both of them. She looked on with a fierce gaze.
"I could never be angry with you. After all you did for me." Not entirely sure why her anger was stirred so easily, she could do nothing to abate it. The words flowed freely from her heart. "No. I am not angry with you. I am angry that you had been gone for so long and no one ever batted an eye. No one ever tried to find you! They were all so comfortable without you there!" Without truly allowing it to happen, Mari had let a sob escape her lips. Then the tears came. She held her face trying to hide what could already clearly be seen. Nabooru approached her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. Marickiya looked up for a second, and then wrapped the woman in her slender arms. Nabooru, although a bit taken aback from the embrace, returned it. "I missed you. I was worried. You could have been hurt and I could do nothing."
"Hush, child. It's all done with." She said firmly while tugging slightly at the shorn ends of her hair. Her face became dark. "They did this to you?" Marickiya stepped back and was wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. Sniffling, she nodded.
"I can't go back." She said quietly. Nabooru put her hands on her hips.
"No one's sayin' you have to." There was a pause. Mari almost tried to clarify her meaning of the word 'can't'. Nabooru sat down on the bed and she set herself down next to her. "Sounds like you had a pretty rough time while I was gone. I'm sorry for that." Marickiya's stare was set firmly on the floorboards. Nabooru figured she wanted anything other than to talk about it.
"Like you said, it's all done with. I escaped with my life. So… that's what matters." She let out a slow breath.
"It seems like you bagged yourself a nice catch," Nabooru jabbed lightheartedly. Marickiya, however, only looked up in confusion. "He's a great kid, let me tell you." Then the understanding light shone in her expression and she chuckled a bit.
"Oh, it isn't anything like that." She smiled warmly. "But you're right. He is a good kid."
0000
"Link, I don't think this is a good idea."
"Sure it is." He continued to make sure that Mari was firmly attached to his side as he began aiming his hookshot at a nearby rooftop.
"No really, Link. You don't even know if that's going to hold the both of us. What if it snaps?"
"Aw, it'll be fine." He clicked the button signifying his readiness.
"Link, have you thought about just sneaking around the side? There aren't that many of them. We could just walk right up the stairs…" she was mumbling and he was too busy concentrating on aiming. He closed one eye and released.
It was so quiet Mari hadn't heard the hookshot's chain traveling through the air. It attached to the nearest roof just as Link had intended. He glanced at Mari to ask if she was ready but she was lost in her own ramblings. He rolled his eyes internally and grabbed her tight around the midriff, jumping up onto their crate they hid behind.
They were off with a small 'eep' from the girl he held onto. They sped through the air and alighted gently upon the roof. There was a pause as they steadied themselves.
"That wasn't terrible." She grumbled.
"Good, because we're doing it again."
They hookshotted over to their roof, dropped down to their front door and slunk inside, Link constantly checking behind them to make sure they hadn't been spotted.
"We've got to make this quick," Link began to whisper hurriedly but Marickiya cut across him.
"I know, I know." She assured him with a wave of her hand and hopped deftly up towards her loft. "It's not like I have that much stuff anyway," she mumbled more to herself.
She riffled through her possessions picking out what was needed. There were a few clothing articles to account for and a few other small trinkets. She already had her daggers with her, both nestled by her hips. With everything gathered in a neat little pile, she unceremoniously shoved it all little by little into her bag. As she was about to clasp her bag closed with room to spare, a prickling sensation erupted on the back of her neck and her head snapped up. She held still for quite a few seconds, forgetting about the constraint on time, looking in the direction of the tall bookshelf that went all the way up to the edge of her loft.
Sitting on the top shelf among the row of books was a book with a strange design on the spine with no title or author. Before she noticed it sitting there in all its innocence, she could have sworn she had heard a faint whispering coming from its direction. Lost in her own mind, wondering where on earth she'd seen the symbol before, she reached slowly towards the tome.
"Mari. Time. That thing we're running out," Link whispered from the door. She threw him a quick glance as he spoke, then without thinking, grabbed the book from the shelf and threw it into her partially filled bag.
They traded places and Link started to fumble around with his weapons, spare tunics, and contraptions. Not even a full minute into his purge, Mari was alerted by movement just outside the door. She opened a small crack to see a Moblin grunting towards the portal. She whipped around and faced Link with a frantic stare.
"We've got company."
He ducked behind the counter top, completely out of sight. She took a split second to glance around, then set her bag down and scaled the bookshelf next to the entrance. As she's pressing herself into the corner's shadow, the door bursts open and in stomped a Moblin.
Marickiya suddenly formed a haphazard plan. There was only one of them. With her legs propped on top of the shelf and the frame of the door, she quietly pulled out the two daggers she had at her sides. Then she positioned herself over the sniffing Moblin. Without a second thought or looking at Link to show what she was doing, she promptly let herself fall, daggers pointed at the back of the things' head.
It was a quick death. The thing didn't even have time to grunt in pain, though it did have a startled expression on its lifeless face. She smiled and was picking herself up off the floor in a congratulatory fashion. Then two sounds met her ears. One was Link saying her name in caution and the other was a grunt from behind her.
Before she could turn to face what she knew was a second Moblin, a miscalculation, there was thud and she was thrown into the shelf, hit from behind with something large and heavy. The wind was completely knocked out of her and she had to blink several times to comprehend what had happened.
"Marickiya," Link was at her shoulder with a hand moving across her back. She was propped on her hands and finally getting some air back into her lungs. "Marickiya, are you alright?" Link had enunciated the words separately and clearly as if he'd had to utter them a few times. She gave him a gruff nod and turned to look behind them where her enemy stood.
There were two Moblin bodies lying in the entrance; the one she had taken care of, and she could make out an arrow imbedded in the eye socket of the second Moblin who'd blindsided her. Link was still running a finger down her back.
"What is it?" Mari asked trying to turn to give him an analytical look at his weird behavior.
"That was a spearhead," he gestured at the weapon in the slacked hand of the fallen Moblin. "It should have cut right through your tunic." He stated, perplexed. There was a distant reminder that they were still in danger in the form of more Moblin grunts. Link shook himself and stood quickly. "Later. I hope you're ready to go." He grabbed her arm to pull her up and out of the door. Link was tightening his own satchel to his person and then kept a drawn bow as he rounded corners. Marickiya retrieved her own bag and they began making their way out.
"Link, I'm sorry," Marickiya started to say. Link placed a finger to his lips.
"Not now," was his curt reply. This only caused her to feel worse. Link peered around a corner for quite a while, taking lots of mental notes. "Follow me closely." He said when he turned back to face her. She gave the smallest of nods and he was off, quick as a rabbit. It wasn't too difficult to keep up, but she paid extra attention so as not to slip up again.
They weren't taking the stairs like they'd used to come in this time. Link felt it would be easier to best one or two Moblins around corners than alert the lot of them to their presence if they weren't quick enough. As it turned out there were only two Moblins on patrol in the sloping horse's path. They were clear of the walls in no time, but Link wouldn't be at ease until they reached their steeds beyond the bridge over the Zora River. He was constantly throwing glances over his shoulder back at the entrances. They weren't followed. They quickly mounted their steeds and were riding back to Lon Lon.
Marickiya was shamed to have been caught off guard in front of Link. The scenario was replaying in her head and it made her stomach do flips from the embarrassment. Though, she was impressed at how quick Link was on his feet. She wasn't sure how long she'd been delirious for, but Link was so fast to nock an arrow and have it wedged into that Moblin's skull within the same second. His targeting skills were amazing. She thought to herself for a moment.
"Link," she began. They were coming up on the ranch soon and so had slowed their pace. They could speak now without yelling over the clopping of hooves. Before she could say more, Link had held up a hand.
"You don't have to apologize." He said with an understanding tone. She was annoyed that he misinterpreted her.
"I've already done that," she said testily. That caused Link to turn his head a bit to the side to watch her out of his peripherals. "I wanted to ask you something." He slowed Epona to ride alongside her. "Who taught you how to fight like you do?" Link looked skyward and put a finger to his chin whilst still holding onto the reigns. He hummed in thought.
"I used to spar a bit with the children I grew up with. Other than that, everything I've learned, I taught myself. I just kind of picked it up. Why do you ask?" A dawning expression took over his features before she could speak. "You want me to teach you?" The question was more a disbelieving query than an offer.
"I had hoped you could show me a thing or two," she said with a grin. His demeanor became discomfited.
"I've never had to teach anyone anything before. But I will try to show you some things." They were pulling into the stables just outside the new village entrance. "One thing I have noticed is that you're a pretty good fighter," she beamed at his praise, "but you're completely out of your capacity when you have more than one opponent." She gave a grimace to match that statement. "That's something we can work on over the next few weeks."
"Few weeks?" She asked. Link nodded.
"Yes. My head count was at or around thirty-seven Moblins in the village. It's going to take a bit of planning and training, but we are taking back Kakariko."