After Nabooru had secured Link in the holding cell for the prey, she walked down the stone corridors towards the bath. Several Gerudo girls passed her by, calling out happy greetings to her before hurrying on to their duties. Nabooru returned their greetings and smiled, glad to be back in the fortress. After ten minutes of walking and greeting the Gerudos that passed her by, she reached the baths. She noticed that someone one was singing, something that usually happens when there is only one person that occupies the bath, and walked in to see whom it was.
"Hello, sister!" She called out, looking to see who was inside. The large pool that acted as the Gerudo's communal bath was still for a moment, until a girl leaning against the edge of the pool jumped.
"Nabooru! You scared me," She called out, looking sheepishly up at Nabooru. Nabooru noticed that the girl was Versa; her usually bright face was marred with a dark blue bruise that enveloped the right of her face and a red-scabbed gash from her shoulder to her belly button.
"My apologies, Versa, I am surprised you came back so quickly. Did your hunt go well?" Nabooru called as she walked over to a bench nearby.
"I found my prey really quick, but he had a wife who went completely ballistic when I came at him. I think she destroyed all her precious dishware in hopes to make me leave her house," Nabooru heard Versa mumble as Nabooru pulled off her clothing.
"Wives can be rather troublesome if you are unprepared for them. I am surprised that you had to deal with a wife for your initiation," Nabooru replied.
"How was your hunt, Nabooru? Versa called as Nabooru walked to the edge and sat down. Chilly water lapped around Nabooru's legs. Nabooru smiled and pulled her hair free from its high restrictive ponytail.
"I had to find him by convincing his friends into leading me to him, but it went smooth once I found his hiding spot," Nabooru growled as she slipped in. Nabooru winced as cold water irritated a bruise she hadn't known she had on her ankle.
"Does it get any easier the older you become?" Versa asked.
"As long as you learn from the mistakes you make the previous hunts, it will get easier. If you don't, it will become much more difficult," Nabooru replied as she leaned against the pool's wall. Versa nodded and pulled herself out of the cold water.
"Well, I need to go and talk to Elder Nimona. She wants to make sure the wound doesn't get infected," The younger girl said as she stood up and walked to where her clothes and a large sheet of fabric were located.
"As you should, you would not want it to fester and cause you to miss your initiation," Nabooru replied.
"Yes," Versa answered as she placed the towel back onto the bench and pulled her clothes on.
"Good day, Nabooru," She called back to Nabooru as she walked around the edge of the pool, pulling her thick red hair back into a low ponytail.
"Good day," Nabooru replied as she watched the girl walk out of the room. Nabooru grinned as she pushed herself away from the edge and plunged into the cold water.
"What is that?" Saria whispered as she looked up at Epona. The mare, in return, sniffed at Saria's face and shook her mane as if in annoyance.
"This is Epona. I raised her since she was a foal and she is very fast," Malon replied.
"But, what is she?" Saria repeated, holding a hand towards the horse. Her hand gently brushed against Epona's coat, she retracted it quickly in fear.
"She is Link's horse, have you never seen a horse?" Malon asked. Saria shook her head timidly.
"Don't worry, Epona is a sweet gentle horse. She's going to help us get across Hyrule Field faster," Malon said. Saria nodded and reached out again to the horse. She lightly touched the horse, frownign as she kept herself from jerking away.
"How will she help us?" Saria asked. Malon smiled and picked the child up. Saria squeaked in surprise.
"Put your right leg over Epona's back," Malon said. Saria nodded and reached out with her leg. Once Malon noticed that Saria's leg was safely over Epona's back, she shoved the girl upwards. She yelped and clung to Epona's mane in fright.
"There you go. She'll bring us where we need to go," Malon called. Malon used the stirrups to lift herself onto Epona's back, landing just behind Saria. The girl was staring at the ground below in astonishment.
"All right, little fairy, now it is time for you to be useful for once. Show us the way," Malon said to the fairy sitting on her shoulder.
"Why must you be so mean?" The fairy growled.
"Navi, please?" Saria asked.
"Oh, all right. I'll go…" The fairy mumbled before she fluttered from Malon's shoulder and began flying towards the horizon.
"Let's go, Epona!" Malon cheered. Epona snorted and began dashing after the fairy.
"Ya think he's gonna wake up soon?"
"I don't think he would want to,"
"He looks like a warrior or somethin'. Guess the Gerudo he was against was too much to handle,"
The loud strange voices were what first brought Link out of the thick oppressive darkness. Link groaned, his stomach twisting as he tried to wake himself up.
"Sound's like he's waking up. Morning, sleepy head," The first voice called to Link. Link grimaced at the sound as he tried to move. He felt warm stone beneath him and noticed that his arms were pinned behind his back. He attempted to move his arms, but they remained in place.
"Don't mock him, he probably doesn't know where he is," The second voice scolded. Link opened his eyes and regretted it. The bright light made his eyes water. Slowly, his eyes adjusted and he got a look at his surroundings. The room was made of tan worn stone, a large ray of light brightened the room from it's opening near the ceiling.
"I can mock whoever I want, we all have the same damn problem," Link slowly turned to see who as talking. The man who had been talking was dressed in rags and had a makeshift bandage wrapped around his temple. Another man was glaring at him, dressed in simple peasant clothing.
"How are you feeling?" The second man asked, turning away from the first. The other man snorted and stared upwards toward the ceiling.
"…Wha…" Link sputtered.
"Don't worry, you're just trapped in the Gerudo Fortress with us. You should start praying for rescue now," The first man announced, earning himself a glare from the other man.
"Manners, you could stand to learn some," The second man snarled.
"What's going on?" Link asked as he sat himself up. He tried to sift his thoughts, but he couldn't keep them down long enough to remember what had happened.
"The Gerudo's have some sort of whacked-out festival and abducted us 'lucky' men to join them," The first man retorted. Link froze as the word 'festival' came up and groaned.