The Waters of Nayru

Chapter 6: A Night of Goodbyes

By, Frank Hunter

When the night finally came, Rigo felt as though he'd been waiting forever. There was a nervous excitement in the air and the evening's obligations seemed to drag endlessly.

"If you don't mind, I could use your help cleaning up around here tonight," Grandmother said to him over supper. "The kitchen has been falling into squalor."

"Actually, I was planning to go out tonight. Amili wanted to study the constellations with me," he said, looking at his grandmother more expectantly than he maybe should have been. "The sky's really clear tonight, we think it'd be a good time for it."

His grandmother eyed him over a loaded fork and Rigo tried to act noncommittal. He shoved a load of hash into his mouth, mostly so that he wouldn't have to say anything.

"You know, you spend an awful lot of time with that girl," she said finally.

Rigo swallowed his food. "So?"

"I'm just noticing. You enjoy her company, I think."

He looked down at his plate and stirred at its contents. "Maybe I do," he said mildly. Of course that wasn't the real reason he wanted to get away that night, but it was as good an excuse as any. The best excuses are the ones that are most true.

Grandmother thought on it before answering. "If you'll at least help me clean the dishes, you can go outside tonight. As long as you promise you'll help tidy up the room tomorrow. And you stay out of trouble."

"Of course," Rigo said. He flashed her a smile that he hoped looked more genuine than he felt, because the next two words he spoke hurt as they escaped his lips.

"I promise."

Lying to his grandmother wasn't a habit Rigo typically indulged in, and it wasn't one he would say he wanted to adopt. He finished supper and did the dishes while Grandmother picked up some things around the living area and brushed a thin layer of dust away, humming as she did. When he was finished, he shouldered the leather knapsack containing his food as casually as he could. When his grandmother glanced at it, he shrugged and simply told her, "Instruments. A compass. You know."

"Mm," she said. "Try not to be back too late. If you get in after I fall asleep, please wake me so I know you're alright."

"Grandmother, that's really not…"

"Do it, boy. Please. I'll rest easier."

Rigo kept his composure. "Okay. I will." He went to give her a hug, wrapping his arms around her. It was something he hadn't done in some time, and he found it easier than he remembered. He wondered if he had grown larger or she, in her old age, had grown smaller. It was probably something of both. Grandmother didn't miss a beat though. She returned the gesture.

"I love you, Grandmother," Rigo said.

"And I, you, boy. Be careful," she answered.

"I will," he said. And with that, he was off.

He was to meet Amili in an alley around the back of the pueblo. At night there would be no one else there, and they could pull their materials together and take as much time as needed, within reason. By the time he got there though, she was already waiting. In the moonlight he wondered if he could see tears in her eyes. He knew he was holding back his own, and felt an instant of hot hatred. He hated that the start to such an exciting and wonderful adventure should be marred by such sadness and loss. He decided to let it all alone. If she wanted to cry when he was gone, that was her business.

"You're late already," Amili said. At her feet lay a full water skin. It was, as Rigo had expected, more than half the size of his own body. But he hadn't expected it to already be full.

"What are you doing with that already?" he hissed under his breath. "You're supposed to be getting the water while I get the weapons, so we do it all at once."

"These things are heavy!" she protested. "Besides, I had nothing to do while I was waiting for you, slow poke. So I filled one up. I'll go back for the second one now, if you're finally ready."

Rigo tried to find a way to criticize her, but couldn't come up with anything reasonable. "I didn't get caught," she added.

"Fine," Rigo said. "Fine."

The check list for the journey involved Rigo's bag of dried pork, two water skins, one short sword, one wooden shield, a bow, a quiver of arrows, and, of course, one camel. The water was Amili's job. The weapons were on Rigo because, thanks to his unique relationship with the Stewardess, he had access to the armory. The camel they'd both go for last of all, and then Rigo would be off.

"Let's get the rest of the stuff and be back here in ten minutes sharp. Can you manage that?" he asked.

"I'm not the one who was late," Amili prodded.

"It was my grandmother," Rigo said. Amili quieted.

"Sorry," she said. "It's okay, I wasn't waiting long anyway."

"Don't worry about it," Rigo said, and he set the food satchel down next to the water skin. "Let's just get moving now."

"Wait. I got one other gift for you from the marketplace," Amili said before they got moving again. She reached into her pocket and produced a flint, for striking fire. "I don't know what there is to light out there, but maybe this will come in handy."

"I…" Rigo started, but trailed off. Fire was something he'd overlooked, something now he wouldn't have if not for Amili. He owed her so much, and couldn't begin to imagine how he would ever pay her back.

"Thanks, again," he said, taking the flint. "For everything."

"Don't get mushy," she told him. "Let's finish with the supplies."

"Right."

With that, the kids bounded off in different directions. Rigo stopped long enough to watch Amili disappear into the night, and then slipped back into the pueblo. Yeah, she was something, alright. He wondered if he would ever get to tell her so.

He made straight for the armory. The chamber was set in a deep recess of the pueblo. It was under heavy guard, even at night, but because Rigo was regularly learning to spar in the training rooms within, no one thought much of seeing him there. He greeted several of the guards as he walked past, and made a note of their routes and destinations. They wouldn't be so friendly if they saw him leaving armed, and truth told, he wasn't entirely sure how he was going to sneak out of here with his haul.

He told the guard outside the door that he was going in for some evening training and was admitted to the armory storeroom. Once inside, he went to the clay shelves on one side of the room and chose the items he was most comfortable with. There was dual-edged blade with a ruby set into the handle that was particularly well-balanced and that he felt confident wielding. The wooden shield he chose had the emblem of the Gerudo branded into its center. He strapped it to his back. A standard-looking bow and quiver were also slung over his shoulders.

He was almost finished and contemplated the reality of incapacitating the guard outside the door without hurting her, when he heard a voice from across the room.

"I don't recall assigning you any homework like this," it echoed. Rigo's knees bent instantly, instinctually. He was ready to run or fight, whatever was easiest, but when he looked at his challenger, his stomach turned over. Standing across the room, beside another rack filled with slings and polearms, was Pureet, her arms crossed.

Crap, Rigo thought to himself, and shot a glance at the doorway. But there were no guards. She hadn't brought them in with her. Actually, he realized the entrance had been visible from where he stood all the time. He hadn't seen her come in from that way at all. No one had come in that way.

He eyed her over suspiciously, and then tried, visibly, to relax. Maybe he could talk his way out of this.

"Independent study," he said.

Pureet took a few slow steps toward him, cocked her head, and eyed the quiver on his shoulder, which was full to capacity with war-grade arrows. Rigo couldn't remember ever noticing before quite how tall she was.

"Must be quite a project," she said, "if you need all that gear."

"It's something," he agreed, still wondering how she had even gotten into the room. Still, closer she came. Rigo was uneasy. He wanted to reach for the hilt of his sword, but was afraid any action he took might bring her down on him, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she could kill him if that was what she wanted.

"Your grandmother," she continued, "is, I'm sure, aware of your extracurricular activities?"

He nodded. "Of course."

She was directly in front of him now and looking down. He held her gaze.

"I wouldn't lie to me, if I were you," she said.

His head was spinning, but still he held his ground. He didn't see any way past this, no way to best Pureet physically, and if he got caught lying to her…well, he might as well just try to fight and end it quickly.

Rigo did the only thing he could think of. He told her the truth.

"I'm going to Hyrule. Tonight," he said.

As he said it, Pureet shook. It was, Rigo thought, the only thing me might have said to get that reaction.

"You're going…where?" she asked, unsure even of the question.

"To Hyrule," he repeated.

There was silence as she assessed him, trying to decide, maybe, if he was joking. She seemed to come to the conclusion that he wasn't.

"No one has gone back since we were banished," she whispered.

"I think someone should," he said. "From what I understand, we left things there that belonged to us. Pieces of our past. I think…I think it's important. We need to have some of it, to get some of it back, before we can even start thinking about the future." It was maybe the deepest sentiment Rigo had ever tried to express. And he wondered really how he had come to feel so strongly about the tribe and his role in it. But now that he said it out loud, he knew this was truly how he felt, and this was truly what must be done. Although it seemed redundant, he decided again that he was going, and no one would stop him here.

"This quest. You don't...take it as yourself. Do you?" Pureet asked.

Rigo wasn't sure exactly what she meant, but the words, the answer, spilled from his mouth without even a thought. "No. I take it as king," he said.

Pureet nodded at him slowly. She looked at him in a way he had never seen before, with a kind of reverence he would never have gotten from her as a student in her classes. It was somewhat unsettling, but Rigo held his shoulders high, as he knew he had to. As would be expected.

Pureet seemed to come to a sudden decision and turned on her heel. "Follow me," she said, and stalked back to where Rigo had first seen her standing. Rigo trotted after her, trying to balance the equipment that lay lopsidedly across his back. "Where?" he asked, but he didn't have to. His mentor jammed in one of the shelves on the adjacent wall, and it slid in a few inches. With another push, Pureet pushed the solid wall into a hidden doorway that gave way into a narrow corridor, lit by nothing.

The door closed after the two of them had entered, and Rigo could only follow after his mentor's footsteps into the dark. There were twists and turns, and he kept his hand on the wall, trying not to be afraid in the foreign maze he followed behind the walls of the pueblo he knew so well.

"I make my daily inspection of the armory in the morning, at sunrise," Pureet said as they walked. "I will have to report the weapons as missing then. To Sooru. If she guesses at your plan, she may wish to stop you. We may have to come after you."

Rigo was still shocked that Pureet had not turned him in already, but he tried to take it in stride, to follow along with her and her train of thought. "So what do I do?" he asked.

"Travel to the south as you depart the fortress. Travel for one day's time in that direction. Sooru would take her riders directly to the northeast, for that is where your destination lies. Turn that way only after your day's travel to the south. That should orient you, and keep your path far enough from ours that we will not cross paths, so long as you do not light a fire. Watch your step, there are stairs."

Rigo did not immediately discern that this last bit was meant for him now, and almost tripped on the first step up. He caught his footing at the last second.

"Then won't you just be waiting for me when I get to Hyrule?"

"I do not think Sooru would go so far as you intend to go. She will aim to intercept you on the first leg of your journey. I would guess if you can make it four days to the northeast without being caught, your journey will go uninterrupted the rest of the way. By us, anyway."

The top of the stairway became visible, as moonlight glittered in through a small window ahead of them. The silver light was shockingly bright in the dark space. Rigo had only one more question he needed to ask, and so he did.

"Why are you helping me?"

Pureet turned to him in the moonlight as they reached the window. "You do not see things as clearly as I can, young Rigo. I am exposed to the clan's inner workings, and they are not as smooth as they once were. Sooru is not as stable as she should be, and your imminent claim to the throne of Gerudo disturbs her. Among the soldiers, there is a great split of opinion on who is the rightful leader of the tribe, and who would hold power if it came down to conflict."

She gestured him over to the window, where he came and looked down. They were maybe two stories off the ground, above an angled surface on the wall of the pueblo.

"If you succeed in this gesture as you intend, and you honor the spirit of Gerudo such, I think it would do a great deal to solidify your right to the crown."

Rigo gulped. "You would follow me over Sooru?"

"The Sand Goddess claims you as king, Rigo, and her word is our way," Pureet said. "I would follow you without hesitation or regret, even if it meant my life."

They stood for a long moment before Pureet beckoned him on. "Come. Sit on the sill, and slide down the wall here. It is built for quick escape."

Rigo climbed up onto the sill and tried not to look down. He never knew how Pureet had felt about him, never thought she'd ever seen him as any more than a somewhat insubordinate, stubborn child. He had no idea.

"Slide," she said and rested a hand on his back. "And leave now. Remember. One day to the south, then turn northeast. No fires, at least not for the first four days. You understand?"

"Yes," he said, and before there was a chance for anything else, she gave him a push and he fell out into the night.