A/N: Thanks to alwaysingirl and (NEW REVIEWER!) ZeldaRubix for their reviews!
Holy... God I just left for a week and I suddenly find I have 86 reviews? Thanks to ZeldaRubix we totally destroyed the 75 review mark, so next is the big 100!
Thanks for the encouraging review alwaysingirl! Your reviews always put me in a good mood, so you can be sure I'll keep writing as much as possible.
Zelda's new task awaits her. What will she do?
Read on!
Chapter 27 - Desert
Zelda was still standing long after she had the cup back on the table. Of course, she hadn't had much time to mourn the loss of Dampé, and with her new task entrusted to her, she couldn't waste any more time. She was now tasked with something rather daunting. That is, entering the Gerudo Valley, a place famed for its brutal tribe of women and thieves. She had never visited there herself, but she had heard many rumours: Some say they robbed and beat anyone fool enough to enter their territory. Some merchants were apparently so badly beaten they had gotten amnesia. Nobody ever went to Gerudo Valley, unless they were on really important business. Zelda wondered why then, exactly, the carpenters of Kakariko had to go there.
All Zelda's thoughts now centred on her new task, planning what she would do, how she would get there, and, if necessary, how to escape a dire situation. All thoughts about Dampé, Daisy and the villagers left, and she focused solely on what she was to do. With newfound determination, she exited the graveyard.
The villagers were nowhere to be seen. Zelda assumed they were still congregated in the centre of the village, celebrating in their odd ways. Zelda smiled. Everyone was safe. She didn't have time for any petty gatherings or celebrations. What she had to do now was beyond importance. It called an end to her quest to assist Link in defeating Ganondorf and to unlock his true power. The defeat of Ganondorf - it was so close, so tantalisingly close - loomed in the distance of time. It was only a matter of time before his vile rule would end and Zelda could finally go back to the castle. And most importantly, see her family. The thought of it, meeting her father and mother after all those years. It brought her more hope, courage and determination than praying to the Three Goddesses ever could.
Zelda walked down the staircase near the well, and saw the first groups of people, who were singing triumphantly ad raising their hands to the sky. Even the guard, whom Zelda had helped, was standing small in the centre of a group and lifting his wounded arms in happiness. Zelda smiled. Best to let them get on with it.
She was about to push through the crowd, when one called out, 'It's Sheik!' and the rest of the people turned as one to face their saviour.
'Sheik!' they shouted simultaneously, and started to run toward her. Zelda held up her hands in modesty.
'Hey now. It wasn't all me...' she began. She was interrupted by a shout.
'Praise our saviour, Sheik!' the villager shouted above the din.
Zelda blushed mildly and began to creep further toward the entrance of Kakariko. No time could be wasted...
'Really sorry, guys, but I have to go,' she muttered awkwardly. The crowd gave a somewhat audible sigh of disappointment.
'But we have a celebration planned!' one of the villagers shouted.
'I know. I heard. It's just... I have to be somewhere really important soon.' Zelda said.
'More important than staying with us?' someone else shouted.
Zelda almost said yes, but she just stopped herself. In Kakariko, family and friends were very important.
'It's just important,' Zelda stated with finality.
The crowd kept protesting loudly, until a clear booming voice rang up from behind them. They parted and revealed the shouter. It was Daisy.
'Let her go. If she has something important to do, then let her,' she said, walking up to Zelda. Zelda's face fell at the sight of Daisy, remembering how rude she was.
'Daisy, I...'
'No, Zelda. You already said it yourself,' Daisy spoke proudly. It was clear that she didn't care about how Zelda reacted. All she cared about was making Zelda happy, going along with her important wishes.
'You have to go. You can't waste any time here.'
She grinned widely, surprising Zelda. How she could smile like that when Zelda was leaving again?
'Besides, we'll be just fine here, as you can plainly see. You should get going. Get on with the quest!'
The last phrase was accompanied by a cheer from the crowd, a clear signal that they had accepted her absence. Zelda grinned and wordlessly thanked Daisy, who nodded happily.
'Go on,' Daisy mouthed, and Zelda complied, waving at the crowd and running through the gate. As she ran further from the village, the cheering rose, and rang in her ears. One villager's voice was heard clearly above the rest. One female voice, booming and distant. It was the one Zelda remembered the most, out of all the others.
XxX
It was nightfall by the time Zelda reached the entrance to Gerudo Valley, but thankfully she had got there before any stalchilds had come to ruin her day. With a sigh and an expert flick, she twirled the dagger in her hand and shoved it back in her holster. This was it. The famed Gerudo Valley, where the merchants had been captured and beaten, the source of their ridiculous yet widely believed stories. Zelda readied her needles, just in case they turned out to be true.
As she entered she saw a small body of water, with a large plank of wood gently teetering across the gap. Thankfully she was light the plank barely even vibrated as she traversed it, though she was still cautious.
After that was cleared, a bridge came into view. Although, it probably shouldn't have been called a bridge, as it was snapped quite cleanly in half. All that remained was some planks of wood, some on one side and some on the other, uselessly hanging on the edge. For a second, Zelda wondered what she had to do, but she quickly recalled her leap over the lava at Death Mountain's broken bridge. This one was probably only a couple of metres longer, and there was the other side of the bridge which could act as a ladder if she fell slightly short. She could definitely do this.
Zelda took several deep breaths and walked back over the stairs that led to the bridge. The sound of the rushing water from below calmed her immensely, even though it was the main danger in this situation. It was like an oxymoron.
When she felt she was a sufficient distance from the edge, she turned. After praying to Farore for some much-need courage and taking a few deep breaths, she began to sprint. It seemed like forever, but the edge of the stairs was getting ever closer, and Zelda was running like crazy. When she came to the edge, she leapt.
It was so graceful. Her body was as straight as an arrow let fly from the bow of an expert archer. It was perfectly judged as she was at her peak at roughly the middle of the gap, perhaps even more. As she came to the other side, she began to descend, leaning her body downward. It was so well timed that her path was a perfectly equal parabola on both sides. As she was about to land on the other side, she held her hands out to cushion the blow. As her hands met the ground, she flipped her legs over, and somersaulted over the staircase, landing on her feet effortlessly.
The princess of Hyrule stood in Gerudo Valley now, a lone figure in the rocky cliffs. There was a tent to her left, but as she looked in she found it was empty. Perhaps this was where the carpenters were staying, although she still couldn't guess why exactly they were there. She continued on through the entrance and eventually came to the Gerudo Fortress.
It was exactly as she expected: swarming with guards. What she didn't know, and what nobody had told her, was that they were all female. All held spears in their right hands, and wore the same clothing - a purple top which exposed their well-toned midriffs and trousers which seemed to puff out at the knees. They also all had red hair, and wore scarves which covered the bottom half of their faces, giving them a sense of mystery. They did indeed look intimidating, so much so that Zelda shrank back as soon as she saw one. That spear could very easily run through at least three people at once.
But then she felt encouraged, a sense of adventure and silence overcoming her. She felt invigorated at the new prospect - stealth. Something which all Sheikahs were adept in.
She readied her needles again, and crept along the ledge underneath one of the guard's vision. In the distance, she could see a large gate, which presumably led to the desert. And it was only a couple hundred metres away!
Zelda quickly crawled along the ledge, still avoiding detection. It was easily accomplished, as the ledge was quite tall and Zelda could easily crouch underneath it. It was what she saw next through the slightly sandy air that frustrated her. There was a guard positioned at the gate. She growled quietly in anger, but then realised how stupid she was to overlook such a little thing. Of course they were going to guard the gate! Why did she think they wouldn't?
She decided to chance it. There was no way the guard would fall for the 'rock routine' like the guards from Kakariko. She looked a lot more vigilant.
Zelda put her needles away. She didn't want to kill her, of course. Rather, she felt she should stun her instead. At least then she'll be able to get past and into the desert.
She didn't count on what would happen, however.
As soon as Zelda ran up to the guard and the guard caught sight of her, the guard screamed out, alerting the other Gerudos to her presence. Zelda paused waveringly, but resumed running. If she could only get this one she was in the clear...
The guard shrieked as Zelda chopped her in the neck with a hand, and she fell to the ground. The other Gerudos were running now. They had seen her, and were quickly coming to do goddesses-know-what. Zelda was desperately trying to traverse the ladder, but she had sweaty hands. They just kept slipping on the rungs.
'Come on!' Zelda shouted to herself. She had managed to get a grip on the first rung, and soon moved onto the second.
Yes! I'm going to make it!
Suddenly, an immense pain filled her left side, and she screamed loudly, falling at the feet of the women with a sickeningly loud thump. She desperately tried to escape, but she couldn't move. The pain in her abdomen was much too intense. She yelled again in anger, at herself and the guards. She looked at the nearest one, particularly at her spear. It dripped with blood down to the hilt, and the blood met the ground with an awful 'plop'. Zelda's eyes widened and she looked down at her abdomen. She wasn't quick enough, as one of the guards smashed her head with the butt end of a spear. Zelda's vision started to flash, darkening slightly.
There was only enough sight left to see a small hole in her skin. Finally, her eyes closed, and hands clasped around her body, picking her up and leading her into the unknown.