The Waters of Nayru
Chapter 32: Out With the Old
By, Frank Hunter

It was late when the Hylian army regrouped at the entrance to the desert, and they spent one final night there before the inevitable confrontation. Many of the men were uncomfortable on the sand. Rigo could hear them complaining, and it made sense. The whole environment was foreign to them, much as the grassy fields and rivers had been foreign to Rigo when he had first encountered them. Plus, the desert and the Gerudo brought their own imagined threats to Hylian imaginations. It was never a place these people could tread lightly.

When the sun rose over the golden sea of sand, Rigo was already awake and staring off into it. Somewhere beyond all of this was Jirin, the only place left in the world he really wanted to go, which he felt was ironic considering how eager he had been to leave. Closer though, within eyesight as the light became brighter, stood the Arbiter's Grounds, a colossal monument above the sand. The sight of it brought back the more recent memories of his childhood and all the pain of his adolescent life. It strengthened his resolve even further. He knew what he had to do. He knew that before this day was over, blood was going to be spilt, and he would make sure that it was Sooru who paid the price for everything that had happened to him. And if it came down to it, he would protect his people from Tydus. No matter the cost.

The militia roused steadily and the men prepared a simple meal for themselves. When that was done, they grouped again into the solid, military formation they had held when they left the Castle Town, and Tydus marched them forward. Zelda's scouts must have informed him precisely where the Gerudo were camping. At first, Rigo had thought the site would have been near the Arbiter's Grounds. What else was there out here to settle in? But, as they marched onward, Tydus turned them away prematurely, into a small, hidden path tucked into a rock face. The army marched down, through a twisting road that looked as though at one point it had been widely traveled but had fallen into abandonment years ago.

At one point on their trek they reached a deep valley. Below them, far below, flowed the waters of one of Lake Hylia's many tributaries, but the impressive gap didn't matter to Rigo. The only significant part of the chasm was that a makeshift bridge had already been constructed over it. If Rigo had needed any more evidence that there was real activity here, that was it. And excitement began to build up in him despite himself. He had a sneaking suspicion of what would be at the end of this road.

Over the bridge and around another corner, his suspicion turned out to be correct.

As the rock face to their right cleared away, the army marched up on something that Rigo had not expected in all his life to stand before. The building there was familiar in its construction, adobe and clay, though it had fallen into a state of disrepair. Pieces of the walls were broken, some boarded up. Some parts of the settlement were collapsed in on themselves. It looked as though a battle may have happened here at some point, considering all the scraps and rubble that was strewn about, and Rigo knew that was exactly what had happened. It was here that the Gerudo had made their last stand before being driven out of Hyrule and into Jirin, here that their home and their livelihood had stood in all its splendor. Here that had seen the birth and rise of Ganondorf.

This was the original Gerudo pueblo.

And, on the rooftops, Rigo caught sight of several Gerudo guardswomen in the familiar military outfits just as they caught sight of the Hylian army. Their response was instant. One of the guards put two fingers in her mouth and let out a loud, piercing whistle that reverberated around the surrounding canyon. In that moment, wooden gates shot up inside every doorway, every entrance to the pueblo, so there would be no quick way to breach the fortress. The handful of guardswomen on the roof multiplied immediately to several dozen, each holding a drawn bow with an arrow stressed and readied and pointed down at the army. In response, the Hylian army halted, raised shields, and prepared to be bombarded.

A loud, female voice rang out from the rooftops, addressing them. "By decree of the Stewardess of Gerudo," she called, "you are intruding upon the sovereign territory of the Gerudo tribe! Turn back now, and you may leave unharmed! Disregard, and you will be fired upon!"

Tydus quickly dismounted, grabbed Rigo, and all but pulled him from his horse.

"Hey!" Rigo protested. "Get off'a me!"

"File into the ranks and keep out of sight," Tydus said.

"Why should I?!" Rigo challenged.

Tydus glared at him. "I'm under orders to grant you a meeting with the Gerudo commander. You'd like me to do this or not?"

Rigo snarled at him, but said nothing.

"As I thought," Tydus said, and then repeated. "Stay out of sight until she shows her face."

Tydus turned and stepped out in front of the army, facing the Gerudo guards. If he had any fear of being shot by an arrow, he didn't show it. He addressed them in a loud, booming voice saturated with authority.

"By decree of the Queen of Hyrule," he said, "we are here to address a mounting concern with the Stewardess of Gerudo. There is an emissary of the Royal Family among us. We want a parley."

Much as Rigo hated the man, he couldn't help but appreciate Tydus's dramatic buildup. Hiding Rigo, referring to him vaguely as an "emissary," all of this would serve to make the moment he revealed himself that much more shocking to the Gerudo. Sooru's reaction in that moment would be crucial. If she was stunned, taken aback, tongue-tied, they would all see it in that moment. It would give strength to his accusations, perhaps turn her army to his side. Of course, he was sure Tydus was only doing it to deny the Gerudo any information before it was due to them, but it still served Rigo's purposes just fine.

The guard on the roof piped back up. "Diplomatic emissaries do not come escorted by armies."

"Emissaries come with whatever protection they deem necessary," Tydus shot back.

A tense silence filled the air as the two forces stood against one another, neither backing down, neither making a move. No one, it seemed, knew what to do.

The stalemate persisted for some time, but the ball was in the Gerudos' court, and they needed to respond. The guardswoman retorted finally, "Stand your army down, and the Stewardess will come forward to meet you."

"Stand your guard down first, and I will," Tydus answered, effectively getting nowhere. Rigo began to wonder how long before an arrow slipped loose out of nerves, but Tydus pressed on immediately from there.

"Tell your Stewardess we are aware of the Chalice she bears. Tell her we are aware of her plans to enter Hyrule with military force. Tell her these are the concerns we come to discuss, and that it is in her best interest to resolve them without delay."

The guardswoman looked visibly shaken by the revelations Tydus had just given. Evidently, they had not expected the Hylians to know anything about the purpose for their appearance here and granted, without Rigo, they would not have. This time, she whispered something to the guard beside her and disappeared back into the pueblo.

Another tense moment passed where no one spoke. Tydus was still as a statue as he waited for their response. Rigo stood in a line of soldiers, shielded from view by the sheer mass of people around him, though he could still see the span of the rooftop around the peak of a helmet next to him. He had to wait for the proper moment. His teeth shivered with anticipation. It was coming.

Finally, the guardswoman returned and gestured for the guards at the center of the roof to stand down. They slowly released the arrows from their bows and stepped to the side in a linear formation, clearing an open space on the roof. "The Stewardess has agreed to hear your concerns from here," the guardswoman said.

"Fine," Tydus shouted.

With that agreed upon, the guardswoman again made a gesture behind her, and then moved aside herself. Rigo watched as three new figures slowly stepped up and appeared side by side on the rooftop. On the left was yet another guardswoman. This one wore a stern expression on her face and numerous weapons along her belt. A bodyguard by the look of her. On the right, though, was someone much more familiar. The woman was tall and impressive, as she'd always been. Rigo had spent much of his young life with her: Pureet, his teacher and mentor. And she still looked very much like she had before, but with one small exception. There was now a strip of fabric spread tied above the bridge of her nose and wrapped around the back of her head. The fabric covered her eyes entirely with brown cloth, which, at first, confused Rigo. That would obstruct her vision, wouldn't it? She wouldn't be able to see.

Then it dawned on him.

Rigo thought back on the last time he had seen Pureet. She had been ordered to send him to his death to prove her loyalty. Instead, she had supplied him with a way to escape. He knew that Sooru had found out about that. Hadn't she sent guards back to kill him after his explosive flight from the Temple? She must have realized before long that Pureet had given him the blasting powder he'd used to get out. When she discovered that…how would she have reacted? Would she have done something so drastic? Would she have punished her assistant so violently? Would she have…cut out her eyes?

Rigo thought he knew the answer as he saw Pureet standing there, not looking down at the army before them, but instead staring straight ahead into nothingness. Pain and anger flooded through him. What right did that woman have to visit such horrors on her own people!? On his people? How dare she do such a thing to someone he cared so much about!

With his refreshed rage, he looked upon the third figure, the one in the center. It was another woman, of course. This one was dressed in the pure white of the Stewardess of Gerudo. She still wore white silk in her hair, and still wore the traditional gold mask over the top half of her face, but that garb embodied everything he despised and hated most in all the world. Oh yes, he decided. Sooru would die here. Today.

The Stewardess looked confidently over Tydus and his forces, her shoulders high and her posture stiff, as though she were fully in control of the situation. She stared down at the Colonel and addressed him without title or recognition.

"Send your emissary forward," she said, her voice dripping with arrogance, and Rigo didn't wait to be asked twice.

Tydus beckoned him, but Rigo didn't need it. He stormed out from the crowd and with three long strides stood front and center, just in front of Tydus, his black cloak blowing out behind him. The impact of his appearance on the Gerudo was immediate. Rigo could see the bowstrings across the rooftop loosening. He could hear wild murmuring. He heard his name whispered. Good, so they still knew him. They would all know him much better before the end.

He fixed the Stewardess in his gaze and saw that she was staring down at him with her mouth agape. She was speechless. Good. Maybe she hadn't known about his survival. Maybe her soldiers had lied to her after he escaped. Maybe they'd told her he had been killed. Whatever it was, he hoped she felt the sting of betrayal now. It ought to be the last thing she ever felt.

At the top of his lungs, he bellowed her name at her. "SOORU!" When he spoke It, he did so with all the malice he could muster. It was, in all senses of the word, a curse to him.

"YOU AND I HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS!" he went on.

The Gerudo guards all looked confused now, as though they were lost with nowhere to go. Pureet stood up straighter at the sound of Rigo's voice. Rigo thought he could make out the outline of a smile on her face, but he wasn't completely sure. But the Stewardess just stood there, looking down at him. Her mouth started to work, as if she were trying to say something, but no sound came out. It resembled a goldfish. Her shoulders began to slump. She looked like she wanted to run and hide. It was clear she was not as proud, not as powerful as she had projected herself at first. Rigo had robbed her of all that.

He allowed this to go on as long as it would. Good, he thought. Let them see her like this. Let them see how she answers my challenge.

He waited, still as death itself, until she was able to find her voice. He let her flounder until she was able to pick herself up. Then when she spoke, Rigo, who believed he was prepared for any excuse, any eventuality, was taken off guard.

She said his name.

"R…Rigo?"

It felt like a shot in the chest. The tone was what caught him up. The tone of her voice was not malicious. It was not full of hate or spite. It was not hostile at all. What it was filled with was…concern. It was surprised. It was compassionate. What the hell?

Rigo squinted up at her trying to get a look at her face, her body language, anything that would give away her intentions or thoughts. But then, the Stewardess made it clear. The woman reached up and pulled the golden mask from her face, dropping it at her side and exposing herself to him. And to Rigo's surprise, the face behind the mask was not the careworn, tried face of Sooru. No, not even close. The face there, now that of an adult, was one much more familiar to him than he could have been prepared for. He knew it so incredibly well. After all, he had grown up side-by-side with its owner. He had gotten in all manner of trouble with her. He had confided his secrets in her. And, before his life had taken a dramatic turn, he had begun to become deeply intimate with her. And to his astonishment, within the white silk and fabric and all the adornments of the Gerudo Stewardess, there she stood above him.

It was Amili.