Was about to include a review corner ... but ... X ... whoever you are, I'm like, not into any kind of politics. And there is no political message behind this story. I'm just pissed at Nintendo for making Zelda games without Zelda ... anyway uh yeah ... update.
Link stepped in the prince- ... Ilia's room. He waited for the guards outside to leave the area so he could speak freely with her. "The King has decided that we will be departing for the forest by the end of the week ... I thought we would have more time to prepare but he is getting more and more concerned about ensuring our victory."
Ilia nodded and offered a chair to Link "I understand, I will make sure to be ready to depart at anytime if the Ling changes his mind again ... is the army still looking for-" Ilia sighed "I think I do not need the answer anyway."
Link looked outside through the window, it was getting late. The night patrol will arrive soon but they still have some time to discuss. "The research have been unsuccessful, it's hard to make people search someone with such a vague description and I think the King-" he wanted to say "gave up" but just in case Link corrected with "-wants to focus our resources on the offensive against the Calamity."
Link stood up and gestured for Ilia to approach and once the young girl was close enough he whispered "This is our chance, we can run away during the expedition but I need more time to plan and the King is unpredictable. I need to know if you can climb and swim, once we are on the run we won't be able to stop until we are sure the army will not try to follow after us."
Ilia was surprised that Link was suddenly so blunt about his intentions, he had hinted that it would be a good time for her to escape but he never specified that he would be coming along to help. "But- ... what about your knighthood and-"
"It doesn't matter anymore." Has much as it hurt, it didn't, this wasn't what he chose to fight for. "Can you climb and swim? " he asked again.
Ilia considered her capacities for a moment before nodding. "I can climb up trees for sure ... bug I don't think I'm capable to do so with cliffs. Do not I have fear of heights it's just- ... I might panick with the army going after us."
Link smiled and grabbed Ilia's hand "Just they try, their level is absurd, I could take on dozens of them if needed. I joined the army to protect my people, that's what I told my superior during recruitment, I never specifies from what." Ilia had a few tears running down her face, she hugged Link, resting her head against his shoulder. "Just a few more days." He whispered.
Morning, Gerudo Town.
Zelda was able to put some pressure on her ankle but it was still too sensitive for her to be able to walk. The healer had brought her a walking stick, at least she was able to move but going out into the desert again was impossible at the moment.
Freya had insisted to sleep next to Zelda, the engineer probably thought that Zelda would feel safer with someone she could trust. It helped a bit ... but in reality not as much as Freya had in mind.
"I can't even say if it is bad luck or if we are just a bunch of idiots." Freya commented as she helped Zelda to dress up. "All this mess because some stupid kids decided it was a good idea to send their friend into the desert for a Molduga hunt ..." she commented.
"That is how you learn, with each failure you become better." Zelda was trying to not wince as Freya was helping her with a bandage, the engineer had soft hands but her movements were a bit too ... linear for the princess. "No one died, and I also learned something."
"Oh ? Please enlighten me hehe." Freya finished and pulled down Zelda's pant over her. "What wisdom did you acquire ?"
"Molduga do not take the same bait twice ... and Gerudo medicine is more advanced than Hylian medicine which I assume to be logical considering that ours is biased by stupid old men."
Freya snorted "I can only agree." Freya grabbed her travel cloak and handed her hand to Zelda "Wanna try to walk out and find something to eat ? We still have to do that urgent thing you asked, but we have all day to think about it so just tell me whenever you feel like it's the right time to get the boring stuff out of our schedule."
"You make it sound like I'm over exaggerating the situation ... I just want to not make a scene." They trusted her, at least a little, she wasn't going to betray them, not even by mistake. "Think about it, if I put us in a bad situation then- ... you get the point right ?"
The Yiga sighed "Fine we will take care of this before lunch then." Zelda smiled and grabbed Freya's hand. The two of them headed out into the main square of the town, they both noticed the young girl they saved yesterday, she was helping her mother to carry food back to their home, she noticed the duo and waved at them.
"See Freya ? That's another reward ... seeing someone smile at you and smiling in return, sharing a little bit of positivity with them."
"Sounds like something quoted out of a book ... you do look like a book person though." The princess did spent quite a lot of time in the library, nobles were more interested into food and decadence than the history and wonders contained into such small objects.
"I used to when I was young, I miss that time ..." Zelda grabbed Freya's arm as they passed by a shop with Hydromelon "We need some." Freya tapped Zelda's shoulder in agreement and bought two from the merchant.
"These things hardly get dry, we will buy some more before departing. Oh ! I just thought about- uh Sh-Sheik coule you just-just stay here for a minute I will be right back ok ?" The Yiga was gone before Zelda had the time to ask Freya what she had in mind. The princess rolled her eyes and watched around her.
There was something about- ... being among these people, instead of permanently being surrounded by guards, servant or pesky nobles or even a mix of the three for that matter. She would define the scene as "life", each individual going toward their objective, affecting the future of the others, making it progress.
She felt small, nonexistent, as a princess she had to make sure this "life" could go on. It was her duty to monitor and organise the armies, the harvests, the diplomacy ... yet she was gone. The Gerudos do not depends of Urbosa, they are swords and shields, sisters protecting each others ...
Zelda sat down against one of the palm tree growing in the main plaza, the noise of the Gerudos around her seemed to quiet down, there was water flowing next to her in one of the small bassins of the plaza. She thought to herself, what about the Yigas ? Kota and Sooga were more like supervisors instead of leaders ...
As she considered how the clan worked Zelda wondered if people could really live without a King to govern them ? Would they end up forming small clusters eventually end up engaging a conflict with the other clusters ? Or would they be able to speak and make compromises ?
"Your sister should be by your side don't you think ?" Zelda turned on her left, Urbosa stood a few meters away from her, by reflex the princess attempted to stand up but the Gerudo chief gestured at her to stop "You do not have to move, I'm not your chief, there is no need for any kind of honorific gesture."
"I-I apologise, it just felt logic, I forgot about my ankle." Zelda dragged down her hood further down over her face "Fr-My sister will be back soon, meanwhile I can rest." Urbosa nodded at the explanation, she kept starring at Zelda though and the princess was having a hard time to handle the pression. Couldn't she just go away ? ... did she "know" ?
"I didn't quite catch your name. Could you tell it to me again ?" Urbosa leaned against the palm tree, Zelda felt the Gerudo's weight making it bend a bit.
"M-My name is Sheik."
"Hmmm ... I would like to thank you properly but I assume any kind of official event might make you uncomfortable, so please, accept an invitation to the palace. I'm offering you dinner tonight." If Zelda had doubts before, any were now gone, Urbosa was a bad liar but to this point- ...
"I- that-that is very generous lady Urbosa but-"
Urbosa moved from her spot to stand in front of Zelda. "I think we have a lot to talk about." She insisted, silencing Zelda "I just want to understand Why- ... are you alright Ze-?"
"Sheiiiik ! I got a surprise for youuuuu." Both the Gerudo and the princess noticed the engineer running back toward her friend with some kind of scroll in her hands. "I was sure I had seen these back during my last visit, I'm sure you are going to-" Freya noticed Urbosa standing about one meter away in front of Zelda. "Enjoy- ... -it ?"
Zelda's cover was blown up, perhaps from the beginning, she wanted to to tell Freya to run, to run and to not turn back for her but her mind told her that it would just make things worse. "Did I miss something while I was gone ? ... Please Sheik tell me you didn't try to steal anything." If the situation wasn't an absolute mess the princess would be laughing at how oblivious the Yiga was.
"Oh do not worry, your "sister" hasn't done anything. I was just inviting you two into the palace tonight for dinner, consider this as a reward for your actions." Urbosa called away from them "You can arrive at any time, please enjoy your stay."
Freya considered the behaviour of Urbosa for a moment before turning to Zelda "Why is the leader of the Gerudos acting like this around you ... and by an extent me ... which means US specifically ?" She was worried, and seriously this time. The Yiga usually appeared beaming and careless about her surroundings, Zelda had to be pushed to the limits of her cover to break Freya's quietude.
"She knows who I am." The princess revealed "She recognised me, I thought cutting my hair and changing the color would help but she figured out everything."
Freya understood the situation, she offered her hand and helped Zelda to stand up, then the two of them attempted to find a secluded place to speak. "So she knows who you are, this is- ... I'm assuming that from your point of view it is bad. But I want to know a few things now, first how do you even know the Gerudo chief and second, should we be worried about your father being on his way to storm the place and drag you back to your old home ?"
Zelda sat back against a wall, her head started to hurt. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to come with you because you looked so excited about going to Gerudo Town and I still joined you even though I knew perfectly that I was going to be dangerous." While the princess spoke Freya checked the area to make sure they were alone "You already know I was sort of ... part of nobility, one of my duties was diplomacy, I hope that this is enough to explain how I know Ur- Lady Urbosa."
"I don't think I need the details regarding how you know her. What is really important now is whether or not she is going to contact your pig of a father or not." Freya explained as she tried to sound focused and reassuring, even though she kept looking at each end of the alley they were in.
Zelda thought about the possibility ... "If we really are friends, she won't do anything." It had always been obvious to Zelda, Urbosa was acting too familiar with her, it wasn't a bad thing, until now. "If she figured me out, she is going to investigate you."
"Oh ... is this why you wanted so much to make sure that "Grandpa" knows about our situation ? I understand you want to keep some of your past for yourself but you can trust me you-"
"I know I can trust you Freya, but I do not want to be a burden or to put you in danger. I just wanted to disappear, to move on quietly. I just ruined everything in about a week and now you are involved ... you shouldn't be worried about me."
"I worry about whoever I want to worry, if you father even tries to approach you in a fifty meter radius I'm stabbing him until I can see the light on the other side." As she explained her plans Freya didn't notice she had taken out her Yiga sickle from under her clothes.
"Hum, Freya, weapon ?" Zelda said, leaning away from the sharp took.
"Uh ? Oh- My-My bad hehehe." The engineer showed back her sickle under her travel clothes. "I was serious though ... you are like a sister to me, I hope you are comfortable enough to feel the same way, it's a violent world we live in, it doesn't have to be faced on our own."
Zelda nodded "You- ... You are right, I do not want to put you in an uncomfortable situation but I can't lie to you anymore so- ... I will tell you everything, but only once we are out of the town."
"You promise right ? You will tell me everything right ? No more traumatic secrets between us right ?"
"I just did."
"You promised ?"
"I promised and I promise again." It was childish, she laughed, but they still had to prepare now. "We should still warn-"
"Already taken care of, I sent a message saying that we were having a lovely stay at Gerudo Town but that you tripped and twisted your ankle on the way." Explained Freya.
"
Zelda deadpanned "I do not think there was any reason to lie." It would just make the whole situation appear more suspicious.
"Grandpa would rather believe that you tripped in an akward way during our journey. Else how would you explain that you borrowed a sand seal and a bow to go fight a Molduga on your own ?" Freya shrugged.
"You followed me though." Zelda countered.
"Hehehe, you didn't expect me to stand on the side and watch you get devoured right ?"
Zelda stoop up and circled around the Yiga "If you mentioned the Molduga you would have had the occasion to explain in detail how you saved me from my own stubbornness and became a local hero." The engineer thought about this for a second before facepalming "Just saying." The princess added.
"You are more viscous than Sooga !" The Yiga concluded as both of them left the alley to enjoy the rest of their day.
"Oh but now that I think about it, how did you contact Kh- I mean Grandpa ?"
"Oh ! There is a secret club in town but it's too crowded to give you the details here, I will bring you there another day, if we are still allowed in town by the end of the day. We could always try to rush out now if you think we are in actual danger" Freya seemed to have already planned carefully this outcome, the Yiga kept eyeing the guards standing near the entry of the town.
"I am not holding you back Freya, but whatever happens I will not let Urbosa do anything to you, if she still refuses to accept my decisions then I want you to leave witho-" freya punched Zelda's shoulder, not too hard enough, but just enough to hurt. "Ouch ! What was that for ?"
"You are cute Sheik but I hate it when you start going all dramatic. It's supposed to be a fun trip ! Breath a bit, if she decides to hurt us, she is the stupid one in this story." Freya hugged Zelda, mostly to apologise about hitting her, but also to make sure her friend wouldn't start rambling about the worst possible outcome.
The princess thought about their situation for a long moment. She couldn't tell Freya yet ... but she could help her guess. "If you had a guess about my old identity, who do you think I was ?"
The engineer scratched the back of her head for a minute, looking at the clear sky to focus. "I would say- ..." the Yiga looked ar her friend from head to toe. "No- ... no way. You aren't princess material." Freya took a step back and pointed a shaky finger at Zelda.
On her side the the princess tried her best to not laugh at that last argument. She didn't expect that Freya only needed such a small push to figure out the truth. "We-Well I guess it's obvious now. Are you- ... are you taking it well."
Zelda expected an avalanche of insults and accusations of betrayal, however- "No I'm not taking it well ! You are a psycho with no regard for self preservation ! Are you out of your mind ?! Do you know how many time you could have gotten yourself killed ! What if I was currently pulling out my scythe to slit your throat would still be trying to befriend me ?!" Instead she received a tsunami of worries.
"I was afraid, I always was ... but I was succeeding at getting past my old life, and I think I still am. You haven't killed me yet so it must be a good sign." Zelda explained.
Freya rolled her eyes and let out a deep sight, after a minute she shrugged and asked with a soft smile "Can I call you Zel then ? Or would you prefer if I call you princess all day ?"
Zelda chuckled "Have it your way, I don't think I care anymore. Sheik is fine, Zel is- ... I like it. Princess ? I had rather not, had I been a true princess I would still be in the castle dealing with- ... well, you can figure this out too."
"The king." Freya completed with a mix of rage and disgust "I guess what Khoga teaches us is true in the end. No offence but I still expected you to send godly light beams at us, if we ended up fighting in the future."
"Do not expect me to perform any kind of magic or miracle, I am as powerless as most humans in the kingdom."
Freya grabbed Zelda's hand and they both headed back toward the main plaza of Gerudo town "It's fine, you aren't boring if it's what you fear."
"So Khoga and Sooga are fine with you staying at the hideout ? I thought you had been lying to them all this time." Freya had been asking a lot of questions now that the veil had been lifted, and Zelda was more than happy to answer as many as possible.
"Pretty sure I would have been beheaded the moment I stepped into the hideout with this kind of hair colour, had it not been for Sooga I wouldn't even be out of the castle at this time."
"We aren't actively biased by people's appearance, a lot of our comrades have blonde hair like you, it's not a shame, we do not do body shaming ... I mean, yes we do because master Khoga is a but clumsy but he enjoys it if it makes us smile."
The two young women were back into the apartments, they had decided to rest a bit before joining Urbosa and going through Zelda's action for the past few days. "Scared ?" Freya asked.
"I feel like I'm about to get grounded by my mother ... I do not remember by mother ever punishing me. How- ... how about- ... nevermind-"
"It's fine, I am not that sensible. My mother never punished me, I was looking out for her and she was looking out for me, we knew how to not hurt each other and the first step was to take care of ourselves in priority. No ... never got grounded either, at least by a mother figure. The Yiga shared. "Has she ever been angry at you ? Your relationship sound quite complex, you aren't related as a family and you are technically equals in term of ranks, how would you- ... position her ?"
Urbosa ... she had been a lot to Zelda, a friend, a mentor, a sister ... a mother. "She is a lot, I don't think I can position her specifically, she isn't everything, but she is a lot more than I could ever had hoped to find."
"The Gerudo chief sounds like a nice person then ... are you going to tell her about me ?" Freya asked without a single trace of worry in her voice.
"N-no of course no !" Zelda placed her hand over the Yiga's shoulder "I won't betray you I promise. And if she tried to hurt you she will have to get through me first."
"Poor me, my only shield is my sworn ennemy who doesn't have any magical powers and currently has a broken ankle." Freya mockingly dramatised, making both of them laugh.
"You could always take me hostage, I wouldn't mind, apparently I'm an incredible damsel in distress."
"I admit it, you know how to put yourself into the worst situations. When do you think we should head out to the palace ?" Freya asked, this gave Zelda the occasion to share her experience with proper Hylian and Gerudo etiquette, the princess summarised that it was mostly nonsense and that Urbosa had absolutely no attachment to silly "traditions" and that chieftain enjoyed respect and honesty more than anything.
"I can hardly believe you had to learn all ... this. Glad you aren't acting like a snob though." The Yiga commented as she help Zelda to get dressed for the evening.
"I'm only being a "snob" toward people who actually deserve to be, it's hard to respect everyone, the least I can do is accept that they make their own choices, no matter if I think they are good or bad. Assuming superiority over other people makes me sick, in the past it was about helping, a few days ago, it was killing me."
"I get the feeling ... Sooga expected me to become one of the top fighters, I'm not sure what he saw in me. I wasn't even interested into fighting, and I could barely hold a knife. He gave up after a while and only taught me some parkour techniques. I'm a creator, I work with a hammer and a wrench ... and sometime a screwdriver, but never a sword."
Zelda stood up and checked if it was fine for her to walk without a stick, it hurt a bit but as long as she avoided to put pressure on her ankle she would be fine. "What about Katanas ?" She continued.
"Do I look like one of our more ... bulky members ? These things are kinda magic, but you need a lot of strength to actually "cut" the wind." Freya shrugged "No wonder Sooga is the only one who is crazy enough to use two at the same time."
The two travellers headed out toward the palace, the streets were as lively during the night as they were during the say. Back in Hyrule curfews were an obligation, a law that had been pushed by her father to reduce the impact of monsters attacks.
The guards at the entrance of the palace let them inside, nodding at the princess and the Yiga, Urbosa wasn't seating on her throne, the found the Gerudo chief passing around the room, when she noticed Zelda and Freya entering she froze for a second. "I apologise I didn't expect you to arrive so soon, I hope you enjoyed your day." Uebosa greeted them.
"Yes, yes we did, thank you for your hospitality Urbosa." Zelda said as she bowed with Freya imitating her.
"I have prepared everything upstairs, please allow me to help." Urbosa offered her hand to the princess and helped her to move up into the palace. Freya wasn't feeling comfortable with so many guards around the place, Urboasa noticed her distress and dismissed her personal guards away from her apartments.
She helped Zelda to sit down at a round table in her room, there was a plate of fruit, dried meat and a bottle of noble pursuit. "I do not wish to pressure you, but I need to deal with this now ... are you aware that your friend is a member of the Yiga clan."
Freya held her breath, and so did Zelda, the two exchanged glances as Urbosa fixated her gaze on the engineer. "Well I guess that's it, it was nice knowing you Sheik." Freya muttered.
"W-wait, Freya is a friend ! She knows who I am and she would never hurt me !" Zelda intervened, placing her arms between Urbosa and the Yiga.
The Gerudo chieftain walked around the table to face Freya, she examined her from head to toe for a few seconds. "Fine, if the princess trusts you then I will allow it, I hardly believe anyone could be vicious enough to successfully deceive her." She extended her hand toward the Yiga, offering to shake it.
"You-you aren't going to zap me are you ?" The Yiga questioned as she reluctantly grabbed Urbosa's hand.
"Me ? No, you are my guest tonight, I will do my best to make sure you feel comfortable in our town." Urbosa dragged Freya closer toward her "But if you perform anything close from threatening near the princess I will bury you alive in the desert ? Understood." The Yiga nodded freneticly. "Good. Please enjoy the food."
The first ten minutes of their evening felt akward, but Urbosa knew how to make them feel at home, to the surprise of the princess Freya was more than willing to share her experience as a Yiga with the Gerudo chieftain, of course she wouldn't answer any question related to their hideout. "I mean, we aren't fighting for the end of the world, it's more like ... natural retribution, the Great Calamity is born out of our negative emotions, it's like a boiling pot of water, at some point it's going to spill." She explained.
"You do have a point ... but why support it then ? Monsters attack people, they hurt them, they create more hatred don't they ? Isn't it just feeding Ganon even more ?" The Gerudo asked suspiciously.
"Monsters aren't as bad as you think ... some are just savages of course, but- ... the lezalfos for example, they are quite smart ! When they aren't trying to hunt you of course, but you have to eat if you want to live right ?" Urbosa nodded, she was forced to acknowledge that despite all appearances, Ganon was justified in it's presence, everyone was a bit responsible. Nature fixing itself in it's own twisted ways.
"Things are getting worse every passing day, everyone in Hyrule fears the ori alliance is going to collapse at any moment, well ... more like when the King will finally lose it." The chieftain explain, she stood up and pointed her finger at the entrance of the desert, it was barely visible but the soft light of the moon helped to distinguish the small passage between the cliffs. "They are closing the borders, they pretend that you never left but it's just smoke and mirrors, everyone knows ... well not everyone, but Impa warned me, and she most likely shared the information to the other champions."
Zelda stood up and walked next to Urbosa "Just how bad is it ?"
The Gerudo sighed "I am not blind you know, your father hasn't supported you a single time since this blasted prophecy was announced. Whatever he expected, he was a fool to believe that harassing you like he did was the solution. He is above denial, this is madness ... Zelda, when Ganon arrives, in a few months, or even in a few years, on which side will you stand ?"
The princess shivered, she looked back at Freya, but even the Yiga didn't seem able to answer, when the end approaches, what kind of role will she have to play ?