Part Three: Not All Heroes Are Legends

Aveil walked the corridors of the Gerudo settlement, guided by two guards to the conference room. As you can expect, the Gerudo people worried about their missing king, and called upon the "Queen" and she speedily came to their aid.

The three stopped by a huge door. One of the guards opened it. "Here we are, Miss Aveil."

"Thank you." Aveil swiftly entered, meeting two of the seven members of the Gerudo Council, Nabooru sat in Aveil's normal chair, and Telma to the other side of the Prince's seat.

"Welcome, Aveil. Take a seat."

"Where exactly?"

"Josh wouldn't mind if you sat in his chair. Practically, you are the interim leader of the tribe." Aveil stood beside the head chair, reserved for either the Gerudo King, or between one's death and the successor's ascension to the title of Prince, the leader of the Council. She suddenly felt uncomfortable with sitting in the chair. "Good. Now, have you heard from Joshua, whether through letter or magic?"

"No. I haven't heard from him. What's... what has happened?"

Telma cleared her throat. "Earlier today, we felt his presence leave."

"WHAT?" Aveil stood up, shocked over the revelation. Zelda was already missing, and if Josh is gone, Impa is as well. She sat back down, shaking her head. "No, that just can't be chance. Something must have happened. If... If they are gone, Nabooru, who's leading Hyrule?"

"A general named Auru is leading the defense."

"Oh? Then probably he knows what happened. Josh isn't the one to provide updates."

"We might to check on that." Nabooru looked to her left to Councillor Telma, who cleared her throat again.

"The reason we called you, Miss Aveil, isn't just because you are our interim "Queen," so to speak. But also because..." Telma looked to Nabooru for some kind of confirmation, which was given. "...you were called because we don't know who to trust, but you are Josh's friend and closest ally. We need to ask this of you, and only you can approve this."

Aveil raised her eyebrow. "What is it?"

"You need to mobilize our forces."

Aveil stared at Nabooru, biting both her lips to keep from shouting. This was impossible! How could she decide that? Why couldn't Nabooru do so? "That's a major descision. Shouldn't we have done this at first?"

The older women looked at her, silently answering the question. Nabooru just made it verbal. "I was foolhardy, but I don't want to change my mind publicly. You, however, support Joshua no matter what, so if you order it, no one would think about it. Can you at least think about it?"

Aveil couldn't believe Nabooru would make her do this, but if Aveil was to be Queen of the Gerudo in the future, descisions like this would be made. "Yes. I'll need some time."

"Good. Reconvene in two hours or until further notice. And Aveil, remember that Joshua chose you instead of going the traditional way for a reason."

Aveil nodded and left the room, running immediately to her quarters. She slammed the door and sat in front of it, trying to clear her head. Josh was alive, most likely. Funny how now she was worried about him, yet she didn't care when he was doing the same for her. It reminded her of the first time they met, and how he was so certain of himself then, until she put him down.

10 years ago, Arbiter's Grounds

Josh stood in the center of the arena, awaiting his challenger. Nabooru stood behind him, hand on his shoulder. He fiddled with the twin training scimitars at his waist, slightly bored with the waiting. He looked up to Nabooru, who smiled down on him. She handpicked his opponent today, as usual, but it usually was not as big as an event as today. He heard she was one of the best, but that was said about the others as well. But when Nabooru said it, Josh took it seriously.

He was going to win anyway.

"Here she comes, boy." Josh looked towards the opposite gate, and watched it rise, letting two people enter the arena. One was the Elite Telma, one of the best warriors Josh knew, and a little girl.

Well, his only opponents were girls.

Everything about her was red, his favorite color besides black. She wore the typical Gerudo attire, a top exposing the abdominal area, and the puffy pants and shoes, all in red. She also had a red veil across the bottom half of her face.

He was in a sleeveless jumpsuit, black in color from the neck to the waist. His pants and boots matched in color. The symbol of the Gerudo was stitched to his chest, white in color. Hers was on the same place, green in color.

What stood out the most was that she never took her hands off the hilt of the scimitars, like him. She almost had a certain intensity in her eyes, as if she hand been waiting for this battle since last week. Well, if it is a battle she wants, it will be a battle she will get.

Telma and the girl stood outside the ring, opposite of Josh and Nabooru. The older women nodded, and stepped back from the kids as they entered the ring, never taking their eyes off each other until they were feet from each other. Josh waited a moment, expecting a bow or some show of respect, but none came. This was unusual. "Why don't you bow to me?"

"I don't bow to losers."

His eyes went wide with anger. "What? I don't lose. I'm the King of the Gerudo!"

She smiled. "And I'll take your place, as Queen of the Gerudo."

Now, if you're in the stands watching this, depending on how far away you are, you may or may not know that the two were speaking to each other. So when Josh started laughing, you are wondering what has him laughing so much. The closer you are, the more accurate your assumption might be.

And it was a mighty laugh for a seven year old prince. Tears streamed down his face as he clutched his stomach. The girl, however, didn't move a muscle, besides a few facial ones to form a frown. Josh tried to look at her, but it only caused him to laugh even more. He finally calmed himself down after a few minutes, and a fierce stare from Nabooru, and wiped his face. "This is foolishness. You? Queen of my people? Tell you what… If you win, I might consider letting you hang around me. If you lose, I never want to see you again."

"Deal." She outstretched her hand, something Josh wasn't accustomed too. He slowly took it, and shook her slightly smaller hand. However, he wasn't ready when she yanked him close. He felt her breath in his ear. "Don't worry. I won't lose to you." She pushed him back, almost making him fall, and took out her scimitars.

Josh's problem now was that this battle had no referee, cause if it had, he would have his blades out now. Unfortunately, as soon as she whipped her swords out, she started swinging.

There are only two rules: Don't go out of bounds, and first to submit loses. Everything else goes.

Josh ducked and dodged each one of the girl's strikes, sometimes only barely making it. Nabooru didn't lie. This one was good. So good, he had already been to all four corners of the ropeless ring, and still hadn't drawn his blades. He needed a plan, or a golden opportunity.

"Come on, Your Majesty. Fight me!" The nerve of her to mock his title! He'll show her. She went for a double vertical slice, but Josh caught her wrists.

He smiled wickedly. "Gotcha!"

She did the same. "No, I got you."

Simultaneously, they kicked each other in the torso, however, Josh applied his with much more force, creating space. The girl, however, wasn't down. She expertly flipped to her feet as she moved back. Josh got what he wanted anyway. His opponent was disarmed, and he realized it before she did. He ran forward and jump towards her, planning to slam his fist into her face.

What happened instead was him on the ground, arm twisted behind his back, and the girl holding it down. Now he understood why Nabooru selected her to fight him.

Nabooru trained her, just as she trained him. Go figure.

"Aww, look who's on the ground! Submit, my prince!" Once again, she mocked his title. She will pay for this.

After all, he had a surprise. She earned it. "GET OFF!" With his free hand, he summoned a ball of fire, and slammed it on her face. She cried in pain, and jumped off of him. He stood up, and finally drew out his swords, igniting them on fire. She couldn't know Water Magic, so he might intimidate her. After all, she was defenseless. Her blades were outside the ring. She was still clutching the burn. "Submit to me, now, and I won't have to hurt you any longer."

She looked up coldly at him, and outstretched her hands behind her. "Never."

"Very well." He jumped forward, and brought his fiery blades upon her…swords? How?

He must have shown his surprise, for she gave him a toothy grin. "I can use magic too. Lightning Magic, to be specific." Her crackling blades pressured the fiery blades of the prince, and they stood deadlocked in the ring's center for quite a moment. The crowd around them marveled at the sight. No one has put up a fight like this against the prince until now.

Telma walked over to Nabooru's side and nodded her approval. "She's going to be one hell of an Elite one day. Heck, didn't you hear? She wanted to be queen! That girl can dream."

Nabooru kept her arms folded as her eyes focused on the clashing kids. "If she wins, she'll be closer to her dream than ever."

"You're not serious? I mean, leader of the Elites? She could do it. Councilor? She could do it. Josh's wife, and our Queen?" Telma gazed over to the battle, where the two kids were now trading blows, always hitting each other's swords. "That's a longshot, if you ask me."

Nabooru smirked. "Well, someone had to push it."

Telma chuckled and fully turned to the battle. "Girl, you might create something beautiful, or horrible."

Josh was tiring out. He didn't know how long this battle had been going, but he knows it was longer than expected. The girl in front of him was tired as well, but neither planned on losing. She kneeled on one leg, scimitar in one hand, the other hand holding her up. Both fighters lost the use of one blade, and the remaining one was no better.

He looked at her tired form, and smiled weakly. "You're not done yet, are you?"

She smiled back. "No."

"I never had a battle like this. Nabooru has trained you as well as she trained me." He looked around the arena, his people waiting for the battle to resume. "Tell me, what is your name?"

The girl shook her head. "Not telling until one of us wins." She stood up, getting into her battle stance. Josh nodded, and ran towards the girl, dodging her attack with a roll, and spin kicked her in the back. She fell over and rolled back into a standing position, but was too late to counter Josh's next attack. He punched her in the stomach, and then used his knee to hit her face. She fell again, near the edge of the ring, and didn't get up. Josh stood over, and pressed his blade to her neck.

He growled. "Yield."

She frowned. "No."

He spat on her. "YIELD!"

She spat back. "NO!"

He looked at her, confused. She was in no position to be unyielding. "Why?"

"To beat the future king is my goal." She transfixed her yellow eyes on his. "She said that if I win, I'll be closer to my dream."

Josh quickly glanced up at Nabooru, who stood erected with her arms folded and her gaze on them. He quickly looked back down. "Then I'm sorry to destroy them."

But before he carried out his next move, the girl quickly popped her head up, surprising him as their lips met. When they parted, Josh was too stunned to move, and he paid the price for it. The girl pushed him up and over, and he landed in the dirt nearby on his back. He groaned in pain as the arena roared in excitement. He knew why.

Not only had he been embarrassed by the girl, mocked by the girl, and kissed by the girl, he had lost to the girl. He slowly got up to see Nabooru coming to him from the ring. "You alright, Joshua?"

"No… Not yet." He strolled past Nabooru and went back to the ring, where the girl stood. The crowd immediately went silent, and the girl stood her celebrating to look at the boy. He bit his lip, and then spoke. "What is your name?"

The girl smiled. "My name is Aveil, Your Majesty." For once, she said it with respect.

Josh nodded, and stretched his hand out to her. She took it. "Congrats, Aveil. You're the first to beat me in combat. But next time, I will win."

She yanked him in close again, but this time, he didn't falter. Only a determined smiled grazed his face, and it came unto hers as well. "I await our next battle then."

Present Day

Battle was something they were proud of, whether they were opposing each other or teaming up against some cocky girls who thought they could beat the Prince and his 'Princess'.

Even now, he's fighting for her, yet she isn't fighting for him. That had to change.

She had to tell Nabooru her decision.

Link was the best swordsman in Hyrule. No one could deny that, except Josh. But currently, Link wasn't in Hyrule.

Now that debate was opened.

"Hiyah!"

"Haaaa!"

Two swords clanged against each other, as their master and mistress battled against the fields of Ordon, Link's hometown. The boy pushed his opponent's sword away, and landed a kick to the girl's stomach. She fell over, and had a sword pointed for her neck. "Alright, Pip, I yield."

The boy held his hand out, and the girl grabbed it. "Finally, Karene. I thought I would never win."

"Somehow, you always do."

Pipit and Karene were just two of the six warriors from Ordon. Link, a boy named Colin, a girl named Malon, and the present-day Groose. Pipit was similarly skilled as Link with the regular broadsword. Groose had the strength, wielding a sword similar to Impa's. Karene had speed, allowing her to use a fighting rapier with ease. Malon, still a trainee compared to the others, and Colin were a deadly dual wielding duo. While Link campaigned with the Hyrulean Army, the four left behind helped the troops stationed to defend Hyrule, well, defend Hyrule. Link wanted his friends to join the Army, but they all decline, deciding to stay with the defense.

They also knew of the Hero's standing, much to their disbelief and surprise.

Pipit and Karene walked over to the teens' meeting place, the former home of the Hero of Twilight. "They all better be here, with food."

Karene giggled as she climbed the ladder. "You and Link are always hungry."

"We're growing men. We got our girls, so food is always priority number one!"

Karene pointed at him. "So food is more important than me?"

Pipit look to the ground for answers. "Uh..."

"Exactly." They entered the treehoustree house, and were greeted by all the other teenagers, which included Ralph, Colin, his girlfriend Malon, Fledge, the the group, and Ilia, daughter of the mayor. Ruto and Saria, Hylians in this time, definitely unrelated to the Sages, were living in Kakariko Village. Link rounds out the group at ten, but for now, the seven residing in Ordon were all that's left.

Karene went over to the girls, Pipit to the warrior boys, and Fledge kept to himself on a higher platform. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Colin sighed and rubbed his face. "Nothing. Dad is still stressed, trying to find Princess Zelda, but nothing has come up yet. But we'll be getting into some action soon."

Ralph continued. "I heard that the Gerudo have reached out as well. "

Pipit smiled. "The Gerudo are valuable. Some of the best warriors I've ever seen."

"Some of the hottest warriors too."

"They live in a desert, Ralph."

"Even hotter." Pipit turned his attention to Colin. "How's our work in progress?"

"Malon is a badass with a bow and arrow, the short sword, and the throwing knives. She's definitely better than she was two years ago when Lonk was training her."

"How good?"

Colin looked away, trying to hid embarrassment. "Well, she kicked my ass earlier today. But only because I had one sword!" Ralph and Pipit laughed at their friend, who hid his face in his hands. "Come on, guys!"

"Well, we know who wears the pants and the skirt in this relationship!"

"That's it!" Colin stood up, attracting everyone's attention. "Malon, I want a rematch!"

The redhead girl stood up as well, fingering her short swords. "One blade or two? I could beat you either way."

A chorus of "Ohhhh" filled the room, making Colin more determined. "Dual blades." Malon walked up to her boyfriend, chest to chest and patted his cheek.

"Hopefully you win, Colin, or you won't touch all any part of me for a good while."

Colin looked at Ralph and Pipit, who nodded their heads. He returned his gaze to Malon, and held her face. "Don't worry, babe. I won't lose to you."

"Good, son, but save the fight for later." Everyone turned to see Colin's father, General Rusl, in his military armor.

"Dad, what's up?"

"News from the army. Some... events have transpired, so General Impa, Link, and the offensive group is going to take care of that. General Auru will take care of the defense. That's brings me to you."

"How? When?"

"You're now getting to see some action." That was enough to get a cheer from the teens, until the General held his hand up. Rusl looked to Pipit, who didn't understand what was going to happen. "Tomorrow, we leave. Ordon will be well represented in the upcoming future."