The Gerudo that led them through the halls hummed loudly to herself as they walked on. The guards surrounding Link kept silent, although they themselves were smiling. Link was led down several hallways until he was dragged outside. Link blinked as he was forced into the sunlight and was blind for several moments. As his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, the Gerudo dragged him on. New, loud excited voices came with the light. Once Link could see, he found himself surrounded by Gerudos. Most of them ignored him, but several Gerudos stared angrily at him before vanishing into the crowd. The Gerudos greeted those they met as they dragged him on, cheerful and excited about something that was about to happen. The Gerudo dragged him on until they reached a small clearing in the crowd. Link stared as the prisoners from the cell before came into view, tied to several recently-built posts. The man Evan smiled crookedly at Link as he approached. Link glared at him as the Gerudos forced him to be tied up as well. Once they finished, they vanished into the crowd of chattering women. Link quickly glanced around, looking for a weapon in case this was meant to be part of the festival. Instead of a weapon, he noticed how the posts were arranged. One post was slightly ahead of them, tall and alone in the sea of women.
"Hey, if it isn't you. What'd they do to you?" Link glanced to his left at the man who had spoken, Evan. Link shook his head and nodded his head towards the guards around them, as if he didn't want the Gerudos to overhear the conversation.
"Fine, don't tell us. It doesn't really matter now. What'cha think is going to happen?" Evan asked, staring at the Gerudos congregating around them.
"They are rather excited about whatever is going to happen," Robert hissed. One of the guards turned and glanced sourly at him before returning to her watch. He glanced down towards his feet sheepishly before looking back up at the crowd.
"Look, there's Voltar," Evan growled, nodding his head towards the crowd. Link glanced over to see three Gerudos dragging the man through the crowd towards them, ignoring his efforts to break free. The crowd parted, allowing a path to their destination. They dragged him until they reached the poles that the others had been tied to. However, instead of securing him like they had with the other prisoners, they threw him face-first into the dirt. The man sputtered at the force of the throw, but made no effort to flip over and face the women that had thrown him to the ground. Several of the Gerudos giggled at Voltar.
"Sisters, the time has come for the punishment of the prisoner. Stand him up so that he can face his punishment," Nabooru's voice rang loud and clear as she walked out of the crowd and into the new clearing. The three Gerudos nodded and dragged the man up by his hair, digging their nails into his scalp. Voltar lashed out, throwing his weight towards the nearest Gerudo in order to knock her down. The Gerudo he tried to attack danced out of the way and smashed her arm into his side. He staggered from the blow, giving the women enought time to subdue him once again. He stared murderously up at Nabooru as she approached him, stopping within striking distance, and clenched his jaw in fury.
"Prisoner, you are to be punished for injuring our young sister. Your punishment is to recieve twenty lashes," Nabooru yelled. The crowd cheered around them, excited at the announcement. Voltar scowled and spat at Nabooru's feet, splattering phlegm and blood over her shoes. She glared down at her feet with disinterest and calmly kicked off the soiled shoes. One of the Gerudos holding Voltar growled at the insult and smashed her elbow into his back, driving the breath back out of him. As Voltar gasped in pain and crumpled forward, they dragged him to the remaining post and lashed him to it. He was faced towards the post, leaving his back open.
"Oh, shit," Link heard Robert hiss under his breath. Link glanced at him before spotting the Gerudos back away. A tall burly Gerudo stepped out of the crowd, her large face cold and annoyed. A long leather whip was curled around her wrist and large tanned hands, like a snake basking in the sun. As she approached, she calmly shook the hand holding the whip. The long whip flew out, striking the ground with a snap. The Gerdudos quieted and a few sat down so that those behind them could see, all eager to witness the punishment.
"One," The woman growled as she snapped the whip. The whip caught along the lower back, cutting open the back of the man's shirt from the force of the blow. Voltar flinched at the pain pulled at the ropes, trying to break free. Fingers dug into the wood.
"Two. Three. Four," The woman continued, her voice growing louder in intensity with each lash. Between each lash, she waited for a moment for the pain to set in before unleashing another one. Each blow ripped open the shirt, shredded fabric lay limp against the bruised blood-drenched back. Voltar was obviously trying to keep himself from screaming as flesh from his back was torn by the knotted rope.
"Ten," The woman barked. As the tenth lash struck, he lost control over his voice and bellowed in pain. Several of the younger Gerudos giggled at the sound of his scream, while a few of the older ones smiled to themselves and remained silent.
"This is a show for us, isn't it? This is disgusting," Robert asked quietly, his voice shuddering with each new pained scream and crack of the whip. Link glanced at the man, who was watching the scene with fascinated horror and revulsion. One of the Gerudos also heard him, for she caught Robert's eye and winked slyly at him. Robert stared at her as she looked away again, his mouth clamped shut in terror.
"Stay quiet, or else..." Evan warned, glaring at Robert before turning back to Voltar. By this time, Voltar had stopped screaming. He slumped against the post as far down as he could go, crying despite himself. The woman whipping him paused for a moment, holding back the sixteenth lash. She stepped forward and knelt beside the sobbing Voltar, pressing the blood-stained whip against Voltar's cheek.
"Stand up, you filthy coward," She hissed. He pulled away from her and growled weakly at her, all his former resistance gone with the help of the whip. She scowled at his response and pulled him back up to his feet, shoving him against the post.
"I said stand up," She yelled before backing away. The whip flew and cut into his thick leg muscles. He howled in surprise and pain and struggled once again, unable to slump down as he had before because of the wounded legs. A large teeth-filled smile crossed the woman's face and she lifted the whip again.
"Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen," The woman continued as she slowly finished the punishment, stretching the time between each lash longer and longer. Just before the last lash, Voltar tried muttering something. Without his tongue, he could not truly say what he wanted to. However, the woman seemed to understand what he was attempting to say, for she smiled as she dealt the last blow. The blow was powerful enough to smash him into the post and he crumpled onto his injured legs, howling in pain as both the torn muscles from his back and legs reacted.
"Twenty," The woman hissed. The quiet Gerudos around them burst into excited applause, faces bright and giddy.
"Thank you," Nabooru hissed as she walked forward and stood next to the woman. The woman looked down at Nabooru and smiled before walking back into the crowd. Nabooru stared at the bleeding man before her, lips pursed and annoyed. One brave girl edged her way out of the crowd, sat next to the sobbing Voltar, and began hissing taunts and insults under her breath. He ignored her, instead focusing on the wooden post in front of him.
"That's enough, girl. Go back into the crowd," Nabooru growled. The girl glared up at her before returning to her position at the front of the crowd.
"I have seen that the punishment has been fair and just. Return to your posts, sisters," Nabooru shouted. The crowd grumbled slightly, but slowly dispersed. Nabooru turned and stared at the sobbing man. SHe watched him for a moment, disgust on her face, before turning to the other prisoners.
"Heed the warning, prisoners. We do not take things lightly here, unlike your precious Kingdom. Disobey at your peril," Nabooru shouted. Link glared at her. Nabooru noticed and stared back at him. She smiled slightly and walked away, humming to herself.