It was times like these that Link wished he still had his ocarina on him. He could have skipped the entire wretched event with the mere use of a pretty song, the Sun's Song. However, he instead got to enjoy the hot sweltering day chained to a cell wall. His stomach growled hungrily to his annoyance, reminding him he should eat something.
The Gerudos had brought a small plate of food for him after the grisly whipping they had to watch. However, they had left it sitting just out of reach, close enough that he could tap the metal plate with his boot and yet too far away to use his feet to drag it closer. Even if he could, he was uncertain how he could eat it with his hands chained as they were. He also wondered how the Gerudos expected him to be able to relieve himself while chained to the wall, the bucket chained to the floor several feet away a blazing reminder of bodily functions he was trying desperately to ignore. The only time before this that he even got close to this problem was when he was down in the well, although relieving himself down there now probably wouldn't have affected the water supply as much as the redeads, bone flowers, and monsters did. At the time, all he could think was that he cannot foul the water supply and had to often retreat back up to the village, only to find more monsters upon his return.
He didn't like to think of that memory, or frankly of the horrors he had encountered in the well on that horrible journey to find a spyglass, but it helped him focus on something else besides his needs. As he thought of the trails, he could ignore the grumbling stomach, the parched throat, and keep himself from doing something he would regret.
"Link!" He jumped in shock, opening his eyes and glaring up at the Gerudo. Nabooru grinned down at him, looking especially pleased about something.
"You actually kept yourself together! No pants soiling, or tights soiling I guess I should say! Excellent, this makes this much easier," Nabooru said as she approached Link. He glared at her, ignoring the nagging thought about the others and if this was a common problem. Nabooru chuckled before setting a parcel of clothes besides Link and taking out an iron key. Link was surprised to hear the clinks and clanks of Nabooru freeing him, allowing his sore bruised arms to fall down finally after being kept chained up for who knows how long.
"Change into those clothes and get ready for the festival," Nabooru said curtly. Link scowled and with a burst of speed fueled by his brewing frustration and stood turned and stared at him as he lunged for her. She did not dodge the attack, allowing Link to grab a hold of her throat easily.
"I will not take a part of this, Nabooru. I will be leaving now," Link growled. She rolled her eyes, to his annoyance. She grabbed his wrists and before he knew it, he was suddenly rolling off of her shoulder and crashing onto the ground. He grunted in pain as he rolled over and started standing up. He felt an odd warmth seeping down and froze, thinking he had been hurt somehow and started bleeding in panic. Then he realized what it was as a look of disgust and annoyance crossed Nabooru's face.
"And I was so pleased about how good you have been. Things can never turn out the way I wanted, I suppose," Nabooru groaned, wrinkling her nose and ooking down at him in annoyance. He ignored the comment and leapt up, ready to take her down if she tried to stop him from escaping. She shook her head before dodging his attack and whistling a short note. Before he could react, several Gerudos that had been guarding outside of the room ran inside, jumping onto Link's back and driving him down to the ground underneath their combined weight.
"Thank you, sisters," Nabooru said. The other Gerudos grumbled their answers before hauling him up to his feet.
"Let's clean you up, Link," Nabooru said. The other Gerudos giggled as they dragged him out of the cell and into the hallway.
As Malon, Saria, and Dark Link approached the bridge that crossed over the gorge separating the Gerudo territory from the rest of Hyrule, they realized there was a problem they had not counted on. The bridge was guarded by four armed Gerudos. They were much younger than the Gerudos that usually stood guard of the bridge, probably a few years away from becoming adults. However, the stern no-nonsense look in their eyes betrayed that they were prepared for their job just like the elders that usually stood guard.
"I thought they would all be inside..." Malon muttered to herself, not wanting Saria to hear the worry in her voice. She couldn't help being worried, it was past sun down and what time they had left to stop the Wild Hunt was quickly vanishing.
"Problem?" Dark Link asked, grinning in smug amusement. Malon scowled and ignored him, trying to think of a way to get past the four guards.
"Is something wrong? Who are the other tall people? Are they friends?" Saria asked, noticing that they were no longer moving and staying out of sight of the four Gerudos.
"Nothing is wrong, Saria. There is a little thing we need to deal with before we can..." Malon started, stopping as she saw Dark Link smirk. He stepped away from the group and walked towards the four Gerudos, pulling the sword free of its scabbard.
"Oh no," Malon whispered as she watched him approach the guards. It was too late to stop him, they stiffened at their posts and one of them walked forward to stop him before he got any closer to the bridge.
"What is going on? Where is he going?" Saria asked. Malon frowned before pulling Saria close to her.
"Nothing is going on, I need you to stay quiet, okay?" Malon said shakily as she pulled Saria into a hug and covered her ears. Saria frowned in confusion, but did as complied. Malon looked up and watched as the Gerudo reached Dark Link and was cut down, to the shock of the poor girl and the outrage of the other Gerudo guards. They leapt at Dark Link to save their friend, only to engage in a deadly dance with the doppelganger that left the four young guards bleeding to death on the bridge. Dark Link kicked all four bodies off the bridge without a care and looked back towards them. The look on his face made her instantly regret bringing him out of the temple underneath of the water. His expression of pure glee and blood-thirst was haunting to look upon.
"Nayru, Farore, and Din..." she whispered in fear, now wondering how she was to save Link and get rid of Dark Link without bloodshed.
The Gerudos were still giggling as they dragged Link out of the bathroom. It grated on Link's already frazzled nerves, making the whole spectacle that had occurred even more embarrassing and humiliating than it had been before. The crazy Gerudo guards had dragged him off into a large bath, stripped him, and washed him as if he were a helpless infant. There were other men in the room receiving the same treatment, some to the men's amusement and rest to their rage and horror. The realization that he was not the only one stuck in this position was not comforting, in fact it only drove in the wretched situation even more humiliating. Nabooru had vanished sometime during this exchange, probably to laugh about the whole situation without being seen by Link, he guessed.
"Stop laughing," Link grumbled angrily. One of the Gerudos looked at him and a wicked smile crept across her face.
"What's the matter? Feeling nervous after comparing with your other men?" she asked, pinching his cheeks as she mocked him. The Gerudos snickered again and continued on their way, dragging Link with them. Link ignored the comment and tried thinking about how he could escape before the situation could get any worse.
Then they walked him into the main hall of the fortress. The hall was decorated extravagantly for the festival, rich fabrics draped across the high ceilings and tables covered in rich-smelling food that made Link's already hungry stomach scream at him for something to eat. He could see some familiar faces around the room, their expressions marred with worry and fear. They were all sitting on thick woven mats, their ankles bolted to the floor and arms clamped together in front of them. Obviously, they were not taking any risks of them vanishing during the festival to escape what came afterward.
"All right, my good fellow, you sit here!" One of the Gerudo's said as they forced him to sit on a large purple mat, holding him down as the other Gerudo forced him into the . He kicked out, catching the woman along the jaw and knocking her down. The Gerudo holding him roared in anger and wrapped an arm around his throat, crushing his throat easily. He struggled for air, ignoring the woman he kicked as she got back up. She wiped away a trail of blood from her mouth and forced his legs into the chains, preventing him from escaping. The woman also grabbed a set of chain and clamped them around his wrists, just like the others had. Once he was secured and near-unconscious, the Gerudo choking him released him. He sputtered for breath as the arm pulled away. The second Gerudo waited until he regained his breath, and then slapped him hard across the face.
"You are lucky, boy," she growled, and then the two women left him. Link shook off the slap as best as he could, it left his ears ringing and a mild headache on top of hunger and thirst. He tested the bonds, hoping to see how loose they were. Unfortunately, they were strong and resolute, they were not going to budge soon. He glanced around the hall, hoping to see something useful. The first thing he spotted was a large pedestal where an enormous basin sat. In the basin, nestled amongst coals and wood, a fire blazed. He frowned, wondering why they needed a fire when the day had been hot outside, and looked around. He started as he noticed that most of the Gerudos had vanished, leaving the captive men alone in the room.
"Well, this sucks," Link smiled as he heard Evan shout in annoyance. As if to answer Evan, the doors opened and the Gerudos re-entered. Link could not resist staring at the women, although he knew he needed to escape. The women were dressed in fine brightly-colored silk, exposing much of their lean bodies with embroidered shirts that bared their bellies and breezy near-transparent skirts that showed off their legs without exposing too much for the eye to see. Nabooru came in last, dressed as lavishly as the other Gerudos and grinning as madly as they were. They each walked to their captive, standing next to the man without glancing down at him. Nabooru, however, ignored this and approached the pedestal with the fire. All of the Gerudos turned to the door and waited patiently for the last Gerudo to arrive. Elder Nimona walked through the doors, her face stern and thoughtful. She approached the pedestal, standing on the opposite side of Nabooru.
"Elder Nimona, please proceed," Nabooru said, kneeling before the older Gerudo and bowing her head in respect. The other Gerudos knelt before the elder as well, copying Nabooru's actions as if it had been practiced many times before. The elder nodded slowly to Nabooru before raising her arms up towards the ceiling.
"Lady of the Sun, who guards our way with light and blesses us with her wisdom, we honor you with our love. We have fulfilled the Holy task you have set before us and we will honor you with song and dance. Permit us now, your Grace, to honor and serve you with our cherished friends you have graciously granted us," Elder Nimona called out, her voice strong and beautiful. The central fire shivered and the Gerudos stood, turning to face the fire. It shrank for a moment, a tiny flame sitting amongst a bed of hot coals, and then burst into fiery blue glory.
"Praise be the Lady! Praise be the Lady! Praise be the Lady of the Sun!" The Gerudos screamed with glee, clapping their hands and twirling around with sheer happiness. They danced around, singing and feasting and plying their captives with wine. Link saw Nabooru approach him and realized that he was running out of time.
Malon was forced to leave Saria behind, more for her own protection than anything else. With the doppelganger now blood-thirsty and itching for a ferocious battle, there was no way she could ensure that she would be kept safe if they ran into any more trouble. She stayed behind with both fairies, sitting by the bridge and playing in the sand. A band of carpenters kept an eye on the green-haired Kokiri, working on reinforcing the bridge in case of bad weather and making sure nothing came out to attack her.
"Finally, no more of those horrid questions from the sage-bitch," Dark Link said happily, his attitude lightning up to a dark glee at the prospect of killing Link. Malon frowned nervously and kept ahead of the doppelganger, managing to lead him on a path that did not end with him attacking any more young Gerudo guards. They eventually made it into the heart of the fortress compound and spotted bright lights and heard music coming from a large hall set slightly off the main path to the desert.
"What can it be now?" Dark Link grumbled. Malon shushed him, to Dark Link's annoyance, and hurried over to the hall. She kept an eye on the guards as she snuck by them, praying they would not notice them. Luckily, the guards seemed mesmerized by the music, ignoring them entirely She gestured Dark Link over and then peered through the window and into the hall. She spotted Link almost immediately, looking horribly uncomfortable and chained down to the floor. She bit her lip as she saw how little the Gerudos were dressed, feeling both embarrassed to see them and wondering what she would look like in such a skimpy outfit. She bit her lip as she thought, wondering how to pull him out and vanish into the night without getting caught and killed.
"I can see he has joined a group of harlots and whores," Dark Link muttered, glancing over Malon's shoulder to see what the fuss was about. Malon quickly thanked the Goddesses that she had left Saria behind by the bridge, she did not want to hear the girl ask about what harlots and whores were.
"...We were not aware he...made an ally with the Gerudos..." Malon said quietly. Dark Link snorted and then his red eyes widened with recognition.
"Allying with the same kin as Ganondorf himself? Hmph. Look at that wretched goddess-pawn, sitting amongst such ravishing women..." Dark Link growled as he continued speaking, his voice darkening with barely contained hatred as he stared at his counterpart. Malon looked up at Dark Link, her worry only making her frazzled thoughts become more panicked. He pulled his sword free from its scabbard and hissed angrily under his breath, already ready for the fight he thought was coming.
He doesn't realize this is against Link's will. There may yet be a chance... Malon thought. Then Dark Link stood up and walked towards the large double-doors that led into the hall.
"Don't do anything yet, we still need a plan!" Malon said quickly, reaching out and grabbing Dark Link's arm as if that alone could stop the man before he was spotted. Dark Link growled angrily and brushed off Malon's hand. He stormed out and met the two guards charging at him, dodging their spears easily and cutting them down like grass.
"Damn any plan of yours," Dark Link growled before he stormed to the front doors and threw them wide open.