Chapter Six - Prisoners

The desert was dark and forbidding under the blackened night sky. Few stars could be seen and the light they offered was very little. But all was peaceful. A gentle desert breeze swept over the sands, rustling through the cloak of a dark figure. Standing on a rise, bright green orbs looked out across the vast sea of sand below. The dunes reached for as far as the eye could see. But off in the distance, rising out of the sands, was a giant rocky structure. The cloaked figure gazed out at the protrusion, then softly began to cross the desert.

The crossing happened quickly. As soon as the figure climbed to the top of the next dune, the giant rock settlement rose high into the air not very far away. Unwavering, the bright orbs watched, hidden within the blackness of the cowl. Continuing on, the cloaked one came into a small oasis at the base of the giant rock. The eyes observed carved on the face of the rock a woman. She sat cross-legged, her elbows against the wall with her lower arms outstretched, palms up. The cowled figure looked over this ancient work.

Moving closer still, the eyes continued their observation until they stopped suddenly at the base of the rock and widened. There was a woman in a white dress standing in front of a doorway that lead into the rock. The cowled figure quickly threw the hood back, revealing reddish-brown hair and blonde bangs, the sea-green eyes staring in shock. The woman in white stood motionless in front of the doorway, her dress fluttering in the desert breeze. Ashekha stood there, just staring.

Then she finally raced forward. The lady in white promptly turned and ran into the dark passage behind her. "Wait!" Ashekha called. "Come back!" But the woman didn't reappear. Quickly, Ashekha made it to the steps at the base and ran straight into the darkness. All was black around her. And silent. She could hear her own panting and the shuffling of her clothes.

After a moment, she stopped. Faintly, she heard the sound of whimpering. She spun around quickly, trying to see in the darkness. Where was the sound coming from? Who was it? Could it be that woman again? She suddenly saw a sliver of light shining from behind her. Quickly spinning, she saw the light grow into rays, and it began to silhouette a figure. Ashekha stared for a moment. The silhouette was a woman in chains! She sat on her knees, her arms outstretched to the side in the air, her head hanging low. Locks of hair fluttered out to the side.

Ashekha moved forward towards the woman. "Hey!" she called.

The woman seemed not to hear. Her whimpering continued, echoing in what sounded like some vast chamber. The light behind her was growing brighter and features were able to be made out. As Ashekha approached, she could see that the woman was naked, her skin pale and unblemished by the sun, her golden locks of hair spilling to her waist. Blood covered the woman's wrists where they stayed locked within the chains.

"Hey!" Ashekha called out again, coming closer. She was within a few paces now.

Then suddenly the sound of laughter filled the vast space about them. It echoed with a certain eeriness about it. Ashekha quickly stopped when the woman's head shot up. Her face was suddenly visible, bright green, tear-filled orbs staring right at Ashekha, her mouth hanging open in fright. "You have to get out!" she cried.

Ashekha stood, shocked.

"Please!" the woman cried again. "You must leave now!!"

Suddenly frightened at the sounds of laughter growing louder, Ashekha turned and ran. She hadn't a clue where she was going, but it was away from the woman. Her heart thumped heavily, causing her head to pound with every step. She panted as she ran, a sudden feeling of weariness creeping up on her. The laughing voices echoed even more, filling the darkness, almost overpowering. Ashekha gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut as she ran. She just wanted this to all be over!

Then she suddenly felt the ground beneath her give out.

THUD!

She shot up and looked around her, panting softly. Through her bangs she glimpsed the outline of a window with a curtain fluttering in the wind, the bunks on either side of her, then behind her was the door with the leather tarp covering it. A sudden pain in her head made her wince. She must have hit her head on the floor.

She paused. The floor.

What was she doing on the floor?

She looked up and saw that her bunk was a few feet above her, some of the covers dangling over the edge. It seemed no one heard her though. Holly and Y'kana were both fast asleep in their bunks. For a moment Ashekha just sat, trying to remember what had happened. It must have been a dream. Rubbing her head, she stood up on wobbly legs, then she gingerly climbed back up into her bunk and laid down. Her mind pictured the woman in chains. What was that all about? Who was that woman? Why was she in chains? Why had she even dreamed the dream?

All the questions filled her mind and she had no answers for them. Thinking about what the answers could be was not going to get her anywhere though. So she closed her eyes and tried to shove the questions aside. Her hands gripped the blankets and she quickly pulled them over her body. She was still tired but afraid to fall asleep again. She looked at the wall and could see a faint trace of light. It must be almost morning. Her stomach twisted in a knot as she thought about how tired she was going to be today. But what could she do?

She lay quietly in her bunk, staring at the wall until it was time to get up.

After breakfast was over, Ashekha proceeded to her first class of the day. A room around the back of the kitchen served as her classroom. Since it was a cooking class, it made sense to be near the kitchen. Several other girls entered the room with her, chattering to each other like little birds. Upon arrival, it appeared that they were going to be baking that day. Pictures of bread, rolls, and cakes were set up behind the teacher's desk while sitting on the tables were pans, sacks of flour, and mixing bowls. Just the other day they had been introduced to baking and were told about all different kinds of foods that came from that process.

From the looks of it, today would be their first experiment with it. Eager to get on with it, Ashekha sat at her table with her friends and awaited the call to attention from the teacher. A few of the younger girls had gotten overly excited about the bags of flour, and with a loud pooftheir table was suddenly covered in a layer of white powder. The teacher shook her head as the room filled with giggles. Ashekha sighed and rested her chin on her hand as she watched the teacher grab for a wet rag. This was going to be a long class.

As the day progressed, Uganguzi trampled around the fortress, attending to whatever needs that she could. With the king gone, she was the main leader running the fortress. Though she had help from one of Ganondorf's trusted advisor's, Sadik, it was still a wearisome task. Usually when the king was away, Nabooru was chiefly in charge and Uganguzi would just be the helper. But with Nabooru away as well, it all fell to Uganguzi. She was amazed by how many things needed to be checked on. New weapons were being brought back from the Gorons, some food exchanges with the Zoras were taking place at Lake Hylia, one of the cows had died and a team needed to be organized to bargain for—which usually meant stealing—a cow from Lon Lon Ranch, and then there were the persistent fools who would try to outwit the gatekeeper in the valley, causing all sorts of mischief and annoyance for everyone. It was hard to believe. There truly were some in Hyrule, thinking themselves to be warriors and heroes, believing that they were so clever as to try and outsmart the Gerudo. It was complete foolishness! Hylians were snobbish children. In their castle walls they had so much money and possessions that they let their selfishness take over. It was downright sickening.

But they were a small matter.

As she walked down a hallway, she stopped by her room to rest a moment. She walked straight to her bed and flopped down, feeling a great sense of relief. She had literally been on her feet all day so far. She couldn't figure out how Ganondorf or Nabooru handled it.

But before long, she had to get back to work. Ganondorf had said that he planned on being back by evening. It was almost that time now and Uganguzi needed to at least appear busy when he returned. She got to her feet once again and left the room. While making her way through the hallways, she passed a group of girls. One of them was Ashekha.

"Hi, Uganguzi!" her daughter waved.

"Hey there, kiddo. Where are you off to?" She gently reached down and gave Ashekha a hug.

"Well we have a horseback lesson in a minute, so we're all going to the stables." She hugged her mother back tightly.

"Okay, well you'd better get going then. I'll see you at dinner."

"Okay. Bye!" Ashekha waved again as she left.

Uganguzi waved back and smiled. Once Ashekha turned the corner, Uganguzi continued on. She made her way towards the very back of the fortress and then down a hall that dead ended in one small room. Within the center of the room on the floor was a large, iron door. It had two sides that opened out and on either side stood a guard. In each corner of the room there were guards as well. They all bore a scimitar and a polearm. Each had a dagger strapped to their belt as well.

Nodding, Uganguzi stood before the door. The two guards on either side grabbed hold of the rings and pulled the door open. Below was a stone staircase and Uganguzi began to walk down. Along the way, there were torches lighting her path. Once she reached the bottom, she glanced around. All about her were holding cells with iron bars, torches dotting the room so that it wouldn't be so dark. As she surveyed the room, she saw only two prisoners, each in different cells.

She approached one of the cells and squatted down, peering inside. Sitting at the back corner of the cell was a man. His face was covered in stubble and his hair was unkempt, the clothes he wore were dirty and disheveled. He was barefooted and very thin from refusing food. Off to the side laid his blanket and several plates of rotting food. Uganguzi looked at his face. He was staring at the opposite wall. "How're you doing today?"

The man said nothing.

"What? Not in a talking mood?" She could sense he was trying not to say anything. "That's very strange 'cause when we first brought you down here a few weeks ago, you had quite the loud mouth."

The man shifted some and turned his gaze down to the ground.

"Oh, I see," said Uganguzi in a mocking tone. "You know, two can play at this game." Then she stood up and began to walk away.

"Wait!" the man's voice echoed. Turning back, Uganguzi saw the man looking towards her now. "Just tell me how much longer you're going to keep me down here."

"As long as it takes."

The man furrowed his eyebrows and moved from his position. He sat up on his knees and grabbed a hold of the bars. "As long as what takes? Why do you keep me down here? Why not just kill me already?"

Uganguzi looked at him with cold eyes. "Believe me, I would love to end your pathetic life right now. But that's not my decision."

"You Gerudo have no respect for anyone but yourselves! You follow that sorry excuse of a king… All he does is force you to steal and kill!"

"Let me remind you," Uganguzi said quickly with an angered tone. "That you are the one who killed one of my sisters! We never once killed any of your men while raiding your supply wagons."

"What were we supposed to do?! Just surrender?"

Uganguzi sighed quietly. "You know that we steal from your supply shipments. You should be used to it by now and just accept it."

"Just accept it? How in the world can anyone accept that?" He paused. "You're all just filthy thieves."

Uganguzi was silent a moment, watching the anger in the man's face. When she spoke again, her voice was hushed. "We do not choose our lifestyles. This is what Din made us to be. You fear and hate us for what we are. You don't realize your flawed judgment… because you simply do not understand us."

The man was silent. He then sat back, letting go of the bars and returning his gaze to the far wall.

"Now tell me," said Uganguzi. "Would you like to wait until the king returns and suffer his punishment? Or would you rather just do yourself a favor and tell me where you buried my sister?" She watched his face.

He remained silent.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said in a half-mocking tone. "Well, I can't help you. Ganondorf will just have to deal with you now." Then she turned and headed back up the stairs into the fortress. The doors slammed shut behind her as she began walking down the hall.