Disclaimer: I don't own the Gerudos, Gerudo Fortress, Ganondorf, or anything from The Legend Of Zelda…I do however own any OC's that appear, mainly Nalissa/Nali, Kali, and Katara/Kat.
A/N: Enjoy!! =]
Chapter 5
I honestly have no idea where I'm headed.
There's very few Gerudos out since it's the middle of the night, but the ones on patrol are staring at me funny.
I've always been instructed, and all young Gerudo girls are, never to leave the fortress. But I do so anyway in an attempt to hide from the psychotic, crazed king.
I'm amazed at what I see. Off in the distance, I can see green prickly stuff covering the ground. This must be what grass looks like! I've never seen grass before!
The urge to see more of Hyrule builds up inside of me and soon I'm sprinting faster than ever. I'm going so fast I feel like I'm flying…
That also confuses me! I can feel the wind blowing in my face, but it's not a harsh, stinging wind like in the desert. It's more of a comforting wind, urging me to run faster.
This is the fastest I've ever run. I feel as if this strange, gentle wind is helping carry me away from the wretched desert.
About five minutes later, I'm out of breath and need to rest. I look back. The desert is nowhere in sight.
"Grass!" I say to myself. I laugh and pluck the blades happily. Off to the side I can see some strangle looking plants with petals of different colors.
"Flowers!" I say, plucking a purple one and smelling it. I put it in my hair. I want to keep the beautiful thing.
Convinced that my father won't find me, I allow myself to relax and lay in the grass. I love the feeling of the grass. It's much better than the hot desert sand, for certain.
I close my eyes in an attempt to fall asleep…
But suddenly some noise disrupts my sleep. I open my eyes. About ten feet away are three skeleton-like creatures. And they're coming right at me!
I immediately stand up and attempt to draw my scimitars…but then I realize that I left them back at home.
"Ah!" I screech as the one closest to me swipes at me with its hand. I stare at my stinging arm, which is now bleeding.
"Leave me alone!" I shout again as another one takes a swipe at me.
As I'm running from them, another one pops out of the ground in front of me!
I screech and try to run away, but they've all got me cornered. They each begin taking swipes at me from all directions. I fall to the floor and curl up, my main instinct being to cover my face with my arms.
Next thing I know, the skeletal creatures are howling in pain and they've stopped hitting me. When I open my eyes, I'm in the arms of this burly Hylian man, and he's carrying me somewhere. I start squirming.
"Put me down this instant!" I demand. The man looks down at me and raises his eyebrow.
"Is this the thanks I get for saving your life, young Gerudo child?" he asks. I frown. He's the one who destroyed the skeleton creatures?
"Where are you taking me?" I ask.
"To Kakariko. I live there. I heard screams when I was collecting water from Zora's River and I saw you off in the distance and decided that you needed help." He tells me. I frown.
"Kakariko? Zora's River? What are these places?" I ask. The man frowns.
"I suppose Gerudos from the desert don't get out much, do they?" he asks.
"Well, I can walk, you know!" I snap, struggling again. Goddesses this man's strong. At least he's not Ganondorf carrying me back to the desert. That would be a worse situation. "Please set me down! You're hurting my Gerudo pride!" the man laughs at this.
"Gerudo pride? As you wish, little lady." He says, setting me down gently. I begin to walk but I soon fall over. The man catches me.
"I'm fine!" I shout. I try to walk again but I get the same results. I finally look down at my right leg. It's all bloodied from the skeletons.
"Stalchilds are nasty creatures. They pop out of the grounds at night and they don't fight fair. It's dangerous traveling at night without any weapons in stock. They'll all corner a person and beat them to death." I sigh and give in as the man picks me up and continues to carry me. "What were you doing out all alone, anyway? Don't Gerudos travel in groups?" I nod.
"Yes, usually. But I ran away, and I don't want to go back." The man frowns at this.
"Why?" he asks.
"I dislike our king." He nods.
"I heard about King Ganondorf. He caused all of Hyrule Castle Town's population to move into Kakariko. He sounds like a wicked man." I didn't know my father was so notorious amongst Hylians. That really makes me feel awful.
Once we arrive in Kakariko, the man sets me down to unlock the door to his house. Once we're inside, he sets me in a chair and inspects my wounds.
"I'm a doctor." He informs me. I nod and let him tend to my injuries. When he finishes, he asks me where I'm headed.
"I don't know." I admit.
"There's a house a couple doors down that a rich family used to live in. They apparently became cursed because of their greed and no one's seen them ever since. You should check it out."
He cooked me up a small meal, and when I finished eating, I thanked the man and left to check out the said house.
When I enter, I get this eerie feeling that I'm being watched. Suddenly a skeletal-looking spider drops from the ceiling and hisses at me.
"GET OUT!" it hisses. "FILTHY GERUDOS ARE NOT WELCOME IN THIS VILLAGE!" I screech and dart out the door, completely forgetting that my leg still hurts.
I have no idea where I'm going, but I go up a flight of stairs, and soon I'm on some sort of mountain trail.
"So this is what a mountain looks like." I whisper, amazed at my surroundings. There's a huge smoke ring surrounding the top of the mountain. I press forward.
Once I get to this little cave, I scream in surprise as a rock comes to life!
"What are you?!" I scream. The rock smiles at me.
"I'm a Goron. What are you? You're not a Hylian! You must be a Gerudo! You have round ears and tan skin!" the Goron seems really friendly. I take a deep breath and relax my tense shoulders.
"So, do all Gorons resemble huge rocks?" I ask. The Goron nods.
"Oh yes. We curl up like rocks when we sleep so if something dangerous were to appear, it would mistaken us for a rock." I take in the information.
"Interesting." I say. "Camouflage?"
"Exactly!" the Goron shouts. I smile at it and read the nearby sign.
"Dodongo's Cavern." I read aloud. The Goron nods.
"A few years ago, a boy in green named Link came and cleared the cavern of Dodongos, but now there are still a few in there and I think they might be breeding!"
"What exactly is a Dodongo?" I ask. I thought it might be a person at first since the sign said "Dodongo's Cavern"…but the Goron is using it in a context that makes it sound like an animal.
"They're these dinosaur-like, fire-breathing creatures. The cavern is the source us Gorons get our rocks from to eat, but they overpopulated the cavern five years ago and were eating all of our rocks. When that kid Link cleared out the cavern, more migrated here later on and now there's a lot more in there."
"Are they going to be a problem?"
"Maybe." The Goron says. I smile at the opportunity to help.
"I can help get rid of them for you guys! I just need a weapon…"
"If you follow the trail, you'll find Goron City. There's a sword-maker there. Maybe you'll be able to purchase a sword." The Goron tells me. I smile.
"Thanks." I say. I know that sometimes rupees are found in rocks, so I begin picking up rocks and chucking them against the walls. "Nice speaking with you!" I shout, waving at the Goron and taking off.
***
I'm in the Dodongo's Cavern. I had raised quite a few rupees from the rocks (not to mention I found a secret hole somewhere up the cliff that had treasure in it with rupees), and purchased a big sword called the "Giant's Knife". I'm hoping to destroy the Dodongo problem then befriend the Gorons. Maybe they'll let me live with them when they see that I helped them.
When I see a Dodongo, I nearly drop my sword in surprise. It's huge! It looks at me then with a mighty roar, breathes out fire. I dive out of the way and slice at its face. I'm not sure how to beat it.
The sword clangs against its hard skin, and then breaks off!
I grind my teeth in frustration. The Goron told me that the sword breaks easily, but I didn't know he meant this easily! The Dodongo runs forward and head butts me in the stomach, sending me flying into the wall. The Dodongo towers over me then claws at my already-wounded leg. I cry out in pain as the gash reopens. The Dodongo breathes in oxygen to prepare to breathe fire on me. I cover my eyes and wait for the painful impact…
Suddenly the Dodongo roars in pain! I open my eyes and I'm shocked by what I see. My dad is sending energy balls at the Dodongo. The Dodongo roars angrily and attempts to barbecue my dad. My dad rolls out of the way then sends another energy ball at the beast. The beast roars in agony then falls lifelessly to the floor, exploding soon after. My dad's breathing heavily, and he looks angry. A few seconds later, three Elites run in.
"Your Majesty!" one shouts. My dad looks over at me and looks at my bleeding leg. I'm so terrified that I black out.
***
When I wake up, I'm in my dad's arms. He's carrying me back to the desert!
"No!" I squeal, squirming. I suddenly scream in pain because of the wound in my leg and torso. My dad looks down at me, raises his eyebrow, then bites his tongue and says nothing.
A minute later, he's setting me down on a hospital bed. One of the Elites that had been traveling with him runs off to get a doctor.
"Janina," my father says to one of the Elites. "Remind me to curse the Gorons for letting her enter that dreadful place, and also to banish those annoying Stalchilds that appear in the night." Janina nods.
"Yes, Sire." She says obediently. I push myself up to a sitting position.
"NO!" I scream, groaning at the pain in my stomach from the Dodongo head butting me. My dad gently pushes me back down to a laying down position. "The Gorons didn't do anything wrong!" my father shakes his head at me.
"They gave you a cheap sword to defend yourself with and asked you to destroy their Dodongo problem."
"No, you don't understand…"
"NALI!" a voice shouts. My mom runs in and hugs me.
"Thank the goddesses! Why would you run away not knowing where you're going? Don't ever do that again!" she shouts.
"I'm fine, Mom." I tell her. She looks at my bloody leg and shakes her head.
"You need stitches! What happened?"
"Nali decided to go to the Dodongo's Cavern on Death Mountain and try to solve the Gorons' Dodongo problem…and they gave her a cheap sword to defend herself with." My father says.
"What?" my mom shrieks. "How dare they!"
"That's what I said." He replies. "I'm going to do something awful to the entire race."
"You're a bad man…" I whisper. He turns to glare at me.
"WHAT?"
"No, Ganon. You're daughter's hurt. Now's not the time to argue."
"You need to show me some respect!" he shouts at me.
"You need to show my mother some respect." I say. He glares and turns to the two Elites standing in the doorway.
"Get out of here, Janina and Alani!" he shouts. The two bow and exit as fast as possible. He slams the door, locks it, and turns to me. "What did you say??"
"You need to show my mother some respect." I repeat, pushing myself into a sitting position, despite the pain I'm in. My father walks forward, but my mom stands in front of him and puts her hands on his chest.
"Ganon, she's hurt! Stop it!"
"I wasn't going to hit her." He says, looking at me funny. "I'm just surprised, is all, that she grew a finally backbone. Good. She'll need that to kill."
"YOU'RE CRAZY IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO KILL PEOPLE FOR YOU!" I shout, groaning in pain because of my stomach.
"Ganon, she's seven. She doesn't need to kill." My mom says calmly. I stare in surprise.
"So you knew? You knew what he is?" I ask.
"Nali, now's not the time for this," she tells me.
"You know what he is but you stay with him?" suddenly there's a knock on the door.
"Is it the doctor?" my father calls.
"Yes, Sire!" a muffled voice shouts from behind the door. My father unlocks it and the doctor enters. "Let's take a look at your leg, young one." She says, inspecting my wound. "Ooh, you're going to need stitches."
"I told her that!" my mom shouts.
"Does anything else hurt, child?" the doctor asks me.
"My stomach area and my arm, but as you can see, my arm is already bandaged. It was treated earlier tonight by a doctor in Kakariko." Everyone exchanged confused glances at this.
"How did you get your arm wound?" the doctor asks.
"Stalchilds." I reply. My mom sighs and shakes her head.
"Nali, why would you go out like that with no weapons?" she says.
"You know why I went out." I reply, shooting her a glare. I wince as the doctor feels around my stomach area.
"Broken ribs." She mumbles. My mom looks at me with high concern, and my father's expression is unreadable.
"May I ask you two to please step out while I tend to her wounds?" the doctor asks. My mom hops up immediately and exits. My father lingers in the room for a minute, then exhales deeply and exits.
***
I was so embarrassed when we walked out of the medical ward. It was early in the morning, and all the Gerudos – even some of my friends – were staring at my bandaged body. I mean I have bandages everywhere! My arms, my leg, and around my whole stomach! This isn't a suitable look for a Gerudo warrior!
So now I'm in my room staring up at the ceiling. Suddenly the door swings open. It's my mom.
"Nali," she says, taking a seat on the foot of my bed.
"What?" I mumble.
"About your dad…"
"He's a wicked man, and yet you stay with him and you cower before him every time he so much as looks in your direction. What's more about it?" my mom sighs.
"Your dad loves you very much…and me. The only times he's ever hit me is when I deserved it." I look up at this.
"Mom, you never deserve it…actually, no woman deserves to get hit! This is why I don't want to ever get married!" I shout angrily. "Is this what he tells you when he wants to make up? That you deserve to get beat? How is that love?" my mom stares in surprise.
"Nali!" she shouts disapprovingly.
"I could understand if he snapped just once and then after apologized profusely and never did it again, but he does it all the time, and I have never once heard him apologize to you."
"Kali," says my father's voice from the hallway. I didn't realize he'd been eavesdropping. To prove my point about cowering before him, my mom clams up immediately at the sound of his voice.
"Yes, Ganon?" she asks.
"Why don't you get out so I can talk to her?" my mom looks at him then back at me then nods.
"Yes, Ganon." She says obediently. I shake my head in disgust. My father enters and shuts the door.
"Nali," he says. "I'm so sorry I hit you last night. I didn't mean…"
"I don't care about myself. You need to apologize to my mother." I tell him.
"I already did, and I do apologize to her after we argue. You just don't hear it." He informs me.
"It's not right." I say. "The whole point of the Gerudo race is that the majority of us are women and we're independent and don't let anybody mess with us. I don't understand why every time you walk by they have to cower before you. Don't you respect these women? They risk their lives for you." My dad sighs and takes a seat on the edge of my bed.
"Nali, I don't want you to kill for the fun of it." He says.
"Where did that come from?" I ask, referring to the randomness of his statement.
"Because I know it's disturbing you!" he snaps. "I won't be here one day, and you need to learn to defend yourself!"
"Self defense is different than just killing some random Hylian kid!" I shout.
"He wasn't some random Hylian kid, he broke into my tower!"
"But still…" I say, trailing off. My dad sighs then mumbles under his breath.
"Nali," he says. "As ruler, there are certain things that need to be done to certain people because of me." He explains. "Don't you want to be an Elite one day?"
"Yes, Daddy! It's my dream!" I say.
"You know what they do to people on the raids, right?" I gulp. I never thought about that. "You're going to kill eventually as a Gerudo. It's in your blood and culture."
"Maybe I don't want to be a Gerudo." I say.
"That's a slap in the face to the whole fortress." He says. "Nali, a second ago, you were talking about what makes our race so unique and great. Part of the reason I'm trying to get the Triforce is because I want our race to have a better life." I sigh.
"You shouldn't have tried to force me to kill that kid, though."
"You're absolutely right. I shouldn't have. I thought I was doing what was best for you, but now I can see that it disturbed you and I probably should not have forced it on you so young." He looks at me suddenly. "Say, Nali. It took courage to go to Death Mountain and attempt to fight the Dodongos." He tells me. "Even if you sure could use some better judgment regarding quality swords." He chuckles at this.
"But I almost got killed." He nods.
"That's why you need more training." He tells me. "You know what, if you promise to behave for the next week, I might take you to my tower with me." I look at him in surprise.
"Really?"
"Yep." He says. "The way you charged into that cavern without a second thought made me really proud…" his eyes widen with the realization that he told me he was proud. Tears fill my eyes.
"Really?" I whisper. He smiles and nods and holds his arms out.
What's he doing?
Does he want a…hug?
I laugh happily and throw my arms around him, letting tears pour down my face.
Tears of happiness…
Just like in my dream.
But I didn't have to kill anybody for them!
"I love you, Nalissa." He tells me, kissing my forehead.
"I love you too, Daddy." I whisper, not being able to believe my ears.
"Get some sleep. I know it's morning, but the goddesses know just how little of it you got in that goddess-forsaken medical ward." I laugh at this and close my eyes as my father exits the room.
A/N: Hmm, does anybody buy Ganondorf's sudden change in behavior? What do you think he is planning?
Remember to drop in and leave a review! =]
~Green Eyed Gerudo