Disclaimer: I don't own the Gerudos, Gerudo Fortress, Ganondorf, or anything from Zelda…I do however own any OC's that appear, mainly Nalissa/Nali, Kali, and Katara.
A/N: Enjoy!!
Chapter 2
"Dada." A sweet voice called in the middle of the night. Thinking she was just dreaming, the woman sighed and rolled over. "DADA?" a voice called again. She disregarded the noise once again. Soon the sound of an infant whining filled the chambers. The Gerudo woman shot out of bed.
"Nalissa?" she called. "Don't worry, Mommy's coming, sweetie!" she called, rushing towards the baby's room. She found the small child in her crib with a tear-streaked face. The woman held her in her arms and softly sang to her in Gerudo. The baby calmed down dramatically, and once she got her to stop crying completely, she looked down at the precious baby in her arms. "Poor girl, you probably woke up alone and in the dark frightened, didn't you?" she whispered. The baby looked up at her. "You're so tiny and precious right now…one day I bet you'll be a fearsome Gerudo warrior! There will be not one Hylian who isn't afraid of you!" the baby seemed to listen to her mother speak, despite the fact she didn't quite understand. Her mother's voice seemed to calm her down though. Sensing this, the woman continued to speak. "You know, sweetie, I used to be afraid of the dark too, up until I was thirteen." She smiled at the memory. "The dark and sandstorms. One night during a sand storm, I was alone in my old room. It was dark and I was scared. There was a baby goat trapped outside. I knew it belonged to a Gerudo, and she'd be disappointed if it got hurt. I wanted to get it, but I was scared. But then I realized that there's nothing wrong about being scared, but to face my fears would make me less scared. So even though it was dark and there was a sandstorm and I was frightened, I got up on my feet and darted out for that goat, grabbed it, and brought it into my room to wait out the sandstorm. When the sandstorm let up, and all the Gerudos came out to see if there was any damage done to the fortress, I brought the goat outside. Just so turns out the owner of the goat was an Elite. I explained to her how I got the goat, and she was so impressed with my bravery, a week later on my fourteenth birthday, she arranged a test for me to see if I had what it takes to get promoted to a Green. And guess what? I did." The woman smiled at the memory, and it seemed she was talking to herself rather than her baby. "I learned that even though you're scared, it pays to face your fears and be strong. So remember, sweetheart, even if you're scared, always stay…" she looked down at her baby, realizing she really had been talking to herself after all. Baby Nalissa was fast asleep in her arms. "…Strong." She finished with a smile. She kissed the baby on her forehead and put her back in her crib. "I love you, Nalissa." She whispered.
Walking back to her room, she heard the baby scream again.
"Dada! Dada!" she cried. Her eyes widened.
"Did you say…?"
"Dada!" Nalissa screamed. The woman dashed over to her crib. "Dada!"
"You said your first word! I didn't just imagine it after all." She said with a smile. Nalissa stopped crying and stared up at her mother.
"Dada?" Nalissa seemed to be asking for her daddy. The woman sighed and leaned over her crib.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. Dada's not home right now. He has to take care of some…uh, king business." The baby continued to cry. "Don't worry, sweetie. He'll be back soon. Mama's here; Mama will take care of you." The baby looked at her.
"Dada?"
"No, sweetie. Mama."
"Dada?"
"No, Mama's home."
"Ma-ma?" the woman's face lit up.
"Holy Din, you've said your first two words in one night. You're an intelligent baby!" Nalissa stared and put her little hand on the woman's cheek.
"Mama?"
"Yes." The woman said, smiling. She placed her hand over her baby's, which still rested on her cheek. "I'm Mama."
"Mama." The baby said, this time less so in a questioning way, but more in a decisive way, like she was telling herself this was her mama for future reference.
"Yes." The woman said, smiling. She decided to let the baby sleep with her for the night so she wouldn't be so frightened.
I shoot up suddenly at a loud smacking sound.
"YOU STUPID LITTLE BITCH!" I hear my father, Ganondorf, scream at my mother, Kali. I sigh, rubbing my tired eyes. I really wish he'd stop hitting her and yelling all the time.
"Ganon, please…I didn't mean…" there's another slap, and a loud thud. I sigh and turn over, pulling my pillow over my head to try and shut out the argument.
My father, Ganondorf, is the king of the Gerudos. My mother, Kali, is married to him. For as long as I can remember, my father's always been really abusive to her. It's weird seeing her cower before him when he's angry, because my mother is a fierce Red. She used to be an Elite, but she got demoted a long time ago for some reason that she never really got into explaining to me. My mother is a really powerful Gerudo warrior, and she doesn't let any woman mess with her…I don't understand why all of the sudden when my father's angry, she becomes an obedient little slave to him.
Come to think of it, all the Gerudos are like that. They're all fierce and scary, but in front of my father, they cower and bow to his feet. I understand he's the king and all, and everyone fears him, but it's just so weird to see…
"NALI!" my father's booming voice rings out through the royal chambers. I wish he'd leave me out of it for once…
I pretend to be asleep, but he shouts again.
"NALI! GET OUT HERE!!"
"She's asleep, Ganon…"
"SHUT UP! I DON'T CARE! I'LL WAKE HER LITTLE ASS UP IF I HAVE TO!" he shouts. I shoot out of bed and open the door and begin walking to the family room.
When I enter, my mom's on the floor crying with a bright red left cheek, and my father's standing, angry.
"Yes, Daddy?" I say as calmly as possible.
"Did you take my rapier?" I stare confusedly.
"Oh, the black one that Twinrova gave you?"
"Yes, did you?" he demands, his expression getting angrier by the second.
"No, I didn't." I say. I'm telling the truth. He angrily turns to my mom.
"You did take it, didn't you?!" he shouts at her. I stare in amazement. I knew my dad has been short-tempered lately, but getting this angry over a missing sword was just plain ridiculous.
"Ganon, I swear I didn't…"
"Daddy, you didn't hit her just because you thought she took your rapier, did you?" I ask as calmly as possible. Farore, please don't let him get angry with me for asking that…
But he just turns to me and shakes his head.
"Of course not. I asked her about it and she decided to get a little attitude with me." He says, shooting her a glare.
"Daddy, maybe you left it in the training grounds by accident. You were training there earlier today, remember?" I say. He turns to me again.
"Oh, perhaps it is…I'll send an Elite to go search for it first thing in the morning. Clever girl." He says, patting my head. He turns to my mother. "Go to bed. I'll be there in a minute. I need to have a little…talk with you." He says. My mom looks over at me then over at my dad, then nods, gets up, and walks towards the bedroom. When she shuts the door, he turns to me again. "Was there something you wanted to tell me?" he asks.
"Hmm?" I say.
"You're looking at me like you want to say something."
"Oh, right…" I say. What I really want to tell him is to be nicer to my mother, but he'll get angry with me if I say that. "Today I went to the archery range, and I scored 1,800 points." He raises his eyebrows and nods in approval.
"Impressive…not bad for a six year-old." He says. "I scored 2,000 by the time I was five, but not bad…not bad at all…" he says. My smile turns into a frown.
Every time I try to make him proud of me, he always has some type of comparison to make…like when he was this age, he did this…or when he was this age, he did that…
The one thing I've always longed for him to say was, "I'm proud of you, Nali". But I've never heard it. I fear I never will.
"Aren't you…proud…of me?" I ask, choking on the word "proud". He looks at me suddenly.
"Well there's still some room for improvement, now isn't there?" he says, smirking. I look down dejectedly. "Now, Nali…don't be disappointed. Try to score a perfect score of 2,000. I bet with some more practice, you'll succeed." He says.
"I guess…" I mumble, playing with a strand of my long, red hair.
"Go back to bed. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Nali." He tells me, gently pushing me towards my room. I nod and disappointedly make my way back to my room.
***
When I wake up, I can hear the Twinrova twins' voices, conversing in the family room. I hop out of bed and run out to greet them.
"Grandma Kotake and Koume!" I say, hugging each of them. They're technically like my father's surrogate mothers or something, so they insist on me calling them "grandma".
"Nali," Koume greets with a smile.
"Are they starving you?" Kotake asks, causing Koume and me to stare at her. "Look at this, Koume!" she shouts, pinching my stomach. "She needs more muscle on her, like her dad! She's scrawny!" Koume laughs.
"Don't worry, Kotake. She's only six. She'll grow." Then she turns to me. "Are they starving you?" she asks, her eyes suddenly narrowing.
"What? No!" I say, kind of embarrassed that they're making fun of my stature.
"Alright. Sit, child." Kotake says. I sit on the floor as she sits on the couch and begins to braid my hair. "Speak to us. We haven't seen you in a while."
"Grandma Kotake, I keep having this weird, recurring dream…" I say, but then I pause. Should I tell them? I haven't told anybody, not even my dad, and I wonder if it's even a big deal, anyway…
"Tell us, child." Koume says. I nod.
"Okay. Well, it's of a baby and a mother…I think the baby is supposed to be me, but the woman who is the baby's mother isn't Kali…it's not my mom." I stare in confusion as Kotake and Koume exchange odd glances.
"Who's the mother?" Kotake asks, almost suspicious-sounding.
"I don't know. It's a woman I've never seen before." I admit. "I must say, she's really pretty…she's a Gerudo, with my red colored hair, but her skin is lighter than the average Gerudo…it's like my skin, well, how my skin naturally is." I look down at my tan arms. Normally I'm lighter than this, but I've been constantly going out in the hot desert sun, so now I'm starting to look more like my dad, who's really dark.
"I see." Kotake says, staring at her sister. I look back and forth between the two confusedly. I could almost swear they're the same person…they always seem to know what the other is thinking.
"Anything else, Sweetie?" Koume asks.
"The baby cries in the middle of the night for her dada, and the woman cradles the baby and tells the baby that dada's not home…mama's home." I close my eyes and let myself relive the dream. It was almost like…a memory from my past.
Now Kotake and Koume are really starting to make me nervous. They're looking at each other oddly. They begin conversing in ancient Gerudo…a dialect I completely don't understand…
"Okay, Sweetie. You may go play." Kotake says suddenly. I feel my hair, which is now in a long braid.
"Thank you, Grandma Kotake and Koume, for stopping by." I say, running out of the chambers and into the desert sun.
A/N: So this is one of my first actual stories in someone's POV. And about the witches…a lot of people have different ideas about whether they're the same person (Twinrova) or not…so I don't know if anyone noticed, but that's what I was making Nalissa refer to when she says, "I could almost swear they're the same person…they always seem to know what the other is thinking". She doesn't know that they can combine.
And she really wants Ganondorf to be proud of her…do you remember the awful things he said about her to Nabooru in "Buried In The Desert Sands"? Like how he didn't really care about Nalissa but he is her father and she will do whatever to make him proud? He knows this, and he intentionally refuses to show the girl he's proud of her because he wants her to always try that much harder to make him proud, and it will eventually get to the point that she'll start doing anything for him…even killing people for him.
Remember to review please!! =]
~Green Eyed Gerudo