"Are you okay out here?"

"Hmm?" Aria turned to look at the concerned Aviel. The gerudo laid a hand on her shoulder, bright eyes wide and worried.

"Out here, alone, with him? If this were any other situation- if he were himself, I wouldn't be worried about you being eaten alive- well not literally, but… you don't have to do this alone."

"Thank you. I… You guys are already helping by just bringing the food to feed him. I.. I... " she sighed."it might be some time before I can get him to accept me- let alone to stop snarling at the presence of anyone else. I wish I could just magically turn the world upside down and cure the magical bindings, but.. I can't."

"It gets cold at night here…"

"It does."

"Wouldn't you want someone, anyone, me even, to keep you warm?"

Aria blushed .

"I would, but.. I can't." Aria glanced towards the doorway where Beast Ganondorf was waiting for her, growling softly. He was always growling. "I'll be fine. Really. You guys go on."

"Be careful." Aviel leaned forward and kissed Aria's forehead before walking away, back towards the group waiting to head back to the village. Belatedly, Aria realized she could have asked them if they had any spare blankets.

Ganondorf ceased growling. Aria sighed, rubbing the back of her neck before walking into the room with him. He snorted at her before he laid down, watching her almost calmly as she entered the room. He didn't stand at her presence, didn't growl, just stared at her, huffing and grunting occasionally. She wanted the others to stay. They should stay, they'd known him so much longer than she had and it would make sense that his siblings and cousins, his biological family that had grown up with him- would be able to break this curse on him.

Was he just being prideful, not wanting them to see him in such a painful situation? Or did he not truly recognize them anymore? How could he spend so very little time with her, but still growl when the gerudos came to visit and help?

"You know, eventually you're going to have to chill when others come here. I know you're still mr grumpy pants about me- but you grew up with these women. You've known them your entire life and you can't even bother to at least let them into the temple without being a jerk." Aria scolded him. The canine-like beast tilted his head before yawning and curling up- to the best of his chained ability- into a ball where he seemed to pass out. Ignored. Of course.

The next day she decided to try something different. Instead of giving the meat to him, she waited for him to calm down. He was always a little 'excited' and demanding when it came to the food. Once he had stopped pacing and was staring at her, rather incredulously.

"Good, now this is going to be a little weird, but you need to be patient for your food. I promise you're going to get it. I promise i'm not going to keep anything from you, but we need to work together." Slowly she took a step forward. The giant black and red beast froze in his place. The corner of his lips quirked ever so slightly and she froze in place, watching him.

They stared each other down for a while before he seemed to relax, licking his chops and staring at the meat in her hands.

Aria took another step forward. She knew she'd just crossed the line in which he could lunge- and f he did, she was dead meat. She was certain he knew it. He might be a beast- but that didn't mean he wasn't intelligent. He watched her carefully, letting her take another step forward, before he made his own move.

He laid down, so that he was on eye-level with her. A bit of drool was hanging from his maw, but he didn't move except to blink as she walked even closer- she'd almost stepped backwards at him laying down, it had surprised her so. He licked his chops once more, tongue almost so close she could feel a hint of slobber flecking out from the movement, and then she was in perfect reach for him.

She offered the meat to him, and in the process almost lost a few fingers, because he deftly snatched it from her hands and devoured it in an instant turning away from her as best he could- protecting his meal from her like a common stray. He whirled back to her and for a fearful moment she believed that was the end of it.

He whined at her.

Actually whined.

"Ganondorf.." Aria spoke softly, reaching her hand out slowly towards his nose. He went a little cross eyed as her hand gently touched his wet nose.

His stomach growled loudly, and Aria quickly walked back to the safe-place, grabbing more food for him. From then on she began hand feeding him. He was generally very gentle with her, but she stayed close to the line, never pressing into his territory more than she had to anymore. It wasn't like he begged for her to touch him, just the food she gave him like clock-work, slowly increasing the amount over the weeks.

It seemed like things were beginning to work out, but… when she tried to touch him on the nose he would back away, whine, and sometimes growl. The growling was becoming less frequent.

She'd been there for nearly four months.

The nights were getting colder. The days were getting shorter. Despite being in the desert, Titan had begun to grow his weighty winter coat. Aria was getting a bit slower when she was cold- hunched over near the braziers trying to stay warm- even though fuel was running low. She spent most of her day with Ganondorf, talking to him while she tried to understand the curse that was put on him. Sometimes she just spoke of her days spent with Nabooru and Aria when they were training her, other times she mentioned her not-too-long journey across Hyrule. She talked about the gorgeous lake and ponds that the Zora swam in, the forest- lush with leaves, how the Goron were so strong. Whatever she talked about, she talked to him, let him acclimate to her voice. Sometimes he seemed rather interested, other times he yawned, curled away from her, and fell asleep- just letting her talk to the air before she too fell asleep.

She didn't sleep as much as she wanted to most nights. The cold crept in upon them every night, like a thick blanket of cold fog. She would wake up shivering and have to find her way back to the tack bag where she'd tug on an extra layer of clothing, and Titan's saddle blanket.

It was on one of these cold nights that something broke into the temple. It attacked her as she slept. Her horse had gotten away rather quickly, but the beast- whatever it was, as it was too dark for her to see, had gone straight for her. It let out an soul-freezing shriek and her mind went blank as it slammed down on her leg with a heavy weapon. Aria screamed. It wasn't the only one in the room. There were at least seven of the things, and each time she tried to crawl away one of them screamed. She wished she could move- wished their scream didn't make her blood run cold.

The beast ganondorf jerked awake and slammed forward against the column. He howled, snarled and lunged once more. The column cracked. The chains dug into his fur and he grit his fangs, rushing forward even harder upon hearing Aria scream again.

The columns holding him shattered. He rushed forward into the next room, breaking through the wall and striking down the redead knights or gibidos.. Or whatever these mummy- monsters were. Aria couldn't really focus. The giant canine beast tore through them quickly- biting them near in half before they could shriek. He spat out the parts- probably didn't taste too great.

In moments the mummy-monsters were all dead and there was a loose Ganondorf beast. Aria lay there on the ground- half in shock, half in pain. If it wasn't broken, her leg was certainly fractured. A dark figure loomed over her and she couldn't move as she was stared down by Ganondorf's monstrously huge form.

He leaned down over her, sniffing, golden eyes watching her every breath. She was almost certain she was dead at this point- had to be.

He snarled above her, his golden eyes glaring down at her. She closed her eyes as he went for her. A loud crunched echoed in her head.

This must be what death felt like.

It hurt.

Her leg seared with pain, but when she opened her eyes, she was still breathing. Aria glanced below her. One of the redead knights had still been clinging to her body. It had dug its nails into her skin and when Ganondorf pulled it off her, it had tried to take her leg with it.

It could have been worse.

She honestly expected to be dead. She didn't expect Ganondorf to save her from them. She didn't know what to think anymore. Except that he was staring down at her with his golden eyes. They were at an odd sort of standstill. He could kill her.

"Ganondorf?" She spoke softly. Her throat was hoarse from screaming and then being too paralyzed to scream.

The dark head dipped down, closer to her, his mouth opening slowly. Was this it? Would her last sight be of him chomping down on her upper half? A blue tongue slipped over her wounded leg and she hissed softly. He jerked his head back, paced the large room for a few moments before he sat down staring at her.

"It's not you. You're fine baby, I'm just.." she hissed again as she tried to move her leg. It was absolutely fractured. She could move it, but it hurt to move it. There was no break in the skin, but she didn't have the energy to try and heal it herself. Not yet.

Ganondorf laid down on the ground next to her, his large head close to her leg. He was so much larger up close.

"Do you… know who I am?" She spoke softly, hoping for any sign, anything that could tell her what the Great Fairy had meant, or how to fix this form. She had never seen anything like this before.

No response.

What could she expect from a beast?

He wasn't a common beast, but he was still a beast.

"So uh… you remember that time in the bathing pools… you know when we trained with the water?" Golden eyes watched her, unblinking. "I liked it, you know, the kiss? I've been so afraid of dealing with these feelings. I mean, you're a King basically, you've had a wife, children possibly even. Who am I to come into your life and just…" She sighed, shaking her head.

The giant canine blinked.

"I wish you could understand me. I wish…" She sighed and leaned back against the cold stone. She would have to fix the mess another day. Could she even fix this mess herself? The Great Fairy had seemed to doubt it.

The next morning came quickly. Aria felt like she'd hardly gotten any sleep, but when she woke up- she woke up warm. She must've been grabbed in the middle of the night and brought back to the fortress. They didn't normally use a lot of animal pelts for blankets as far as she knew, but whatever beast's fur they used it was thick and warm, exuding its own heat.

Aria jolted away, well she tried to anyways. Her leg was still throbbing in pain, but there was a pressure on it that seemed to dull it a bit. She had a warm heavy paw on her lower half and she was resting against the back of another paw.

"Ganondorf?" She whispered.

Golden eyes slowly opened, peering down at her. The events of last night raced through her head. He had saved her. Was it because he remembered, or because the last few nights she'd been bringing and cooking him food, nursing a wild beast back to health despite it's enraged nature?

She gasped in pain when he removed his paw from it's position on her leg. He tucked his paw back up under his own leg, and she lifted herself so she could examine the damage. It wasn't broken, but the fracture didn't help. Her leg had swelled a bit in the night. She wasn't a healer. She could dress most wounds, but she'd never dealt with trying to fix a broken leg, or to speed up that type of healing. She wasn't sure what magic to use, did she try fire? No she could set herself ablaze on accident. There was the soft light of life, but what if she did that and the bone stopped growing, or started curling in odd directions?

She had no choice.

She needed to get to a healer.

Carefully, she tried to get up- doing her best to not jostle the leg that she tried to keep as straight as possible. She needed to wrap it up, needed to reach her gear. Ganondorf watched her as she struggled, watched her as she reached her pack, searched through it and tightly wrapped her leg, after she broke and tied arrows together to make some sort of splint. It would keep the leg straight as long as she didn't mess with it too much.

She was standing now, using her staff as a sort of cane.

"Stay." She turned to look at Ganondorf who had stood. He tilted his head, staring down at her. She limped away from him, towards the door. Soft thuds followed behind her and a chain rattled across the ground. When she turned to look at him, he had gotten closer. The chains on his chest had fallen off when he'd broken the pillar, but his back leg still had a chain attached to it. He seemed to pay the weight no mind.

"Stay, please, just stay.." She didn't know how to make him understand, but she couldn't force him to not leave the building. She needed to get to the village, find a healer, consult Koume.

Aria left the room. Her progress was slow and each step was probably doing more bad than good. Titan greeted her with a soft nicker. She got in close to him, tapped his front legs lightly. They'd done this trick before where she tapped his front legs and he lowered himself onto them. It was quite a bit of maneuvering, but she was able to get onto his back. Her aching leg had gotten quite a bit worse. It was a searing pain now and despite her best efforts, she could tell that the arrows had been bent a bit.

She grasped onto Titan's mane, gritting her teeth. It hurt so bad and she needed to get to a healer.

"Come on boy, I need to get home."

Titan tossed his head, side stepping further away from the door as the dark resident shuffled his way out the large doors. The war horse didn't panic or flee, didn't rear and jostle his rider, but he did roll his eyes and side step even further away from the massive canine. Ganondorf was nearly two to three times his size. Aria's gut twisted. No no, why couldn't he just stay? She had no way to control him, no way to prevent him from attacking just anyone, or running off into the desert.

Ganondorf's red-ringed eyes zeroed in on Titan and Aria. His nose flared as he gazed down at the prey- horse.

"No, stay. Bad." Aria scolded Ganondorf, trying to keep a firm hand on Titan's mane. Those golden eyes focused on her. His head tilted ever so slightly as he regarded her curiously. He took a step forward and Titan side-stepped away. Ganondorf let out a deep "yawww" and grunted, walking once more towards Aria.

"Shh,, it's okay.. It's okay. He's not going to hurt you." She patted Titan's neck. He didn't move from his position as Ganondorf got right up close to him and began sniffing and nudging them with his wet nose. Aria gently put a hand on the canine's nose. She couldn't say he would listen to her, couldn't say he wouldn't attack anyone.

She couldn't just chain him up again.

She needed to see a healer.

"Please, Ganondorf, my king, please just stay here." She spoke softly, rubbing his wet nose. She looked into his eyes, but there was just confusion, the confusion of an animal. Had it been too late?

She urged Titan and took off in the direction of the Gerudo Fortress. A loud bark echoed across the desert. Aria glanced back behind her. The large form that was Ganondorf stood where he was, not following her as she rode as safely and quickly as she could to the Gerudo Fortress.

It took most of the day to reach the gates, her leg had gone numb - probably because she'd expended a bit of energy to chill it early on to keep the pain on a tolerable level, but it worried her. It worried her that she had to leave Ganondorf behind as well, to fend for himself.

Aveil greeted her at the gate.

"You're back early, did you…" Aveil went quiet upon seeing her leg, eyes wide. "Did he do this to you? I'll… " Aria put a hand on the gerudo's shoulder.

"No, it wasn't him. I was attacked in the middle of the night by some monsters, they were wrapped up and had large swords.. I don't know what they were. One got me really good on my leg and when they yelled I just.. I couldn't move. He saved me. He broke the pillars and part of the wall, but he saved me."

"I take it he's still a giant beast then."

"Yeah."

" So he's still a giant mindless beast, now loose, in the desert hungry and angry."

"I don't think he's quite mindless."

"We'll keep an eye out for him, let's get you to Koume."

Aria nodded, slipping from the saddle. Aveil ducked under her arm so she had someone to help her put less pressure on the leg and she was taken to the healing tent. It was filled with people from the previous battles across the desert with the other kingdom. It broke her heart to see so many sisters in arms just lying there. The gerudo were many things, but they didn't stand still for long and they didn't like to be lazy. These women were itching to go out and be a productive member of their community once more.

The healers saw to her leg, and she was given one month of rest. A whole month. Sure, it should have been two months, but with the healing magic and herbs the healers had given her, the time was cut in half. She cursed her luck.

Aveil and Nabooru visited her in the morning.

"You're ridiculous, you know that." Nabooru plopped onto her bedside, jostling her leg a little bit, and tossed her arm over Aria's shoulder. "First you come in here, kick everyone's asses and then you go through the Cave of Ordeals, come out just a little jostled up, but you spend 5 months at the Temple of Spirits- a relatively safe and sacred place, and you come rushing back with a broken leg."

"I don't know what to call that, bad luck? Your good luck running out?" Aveil teased, nudging Aria.

"I feel like I've failed."

"You're alive aren't you? You haven't failed just yet. Well maybe at finding a good man." Nabooru ruffled her hair, making the younger woman wince. Aria blushed, ducking her her head.

"Or did you?" Upon seeing Aria blush more, Nabooru grinned and leaned in real close. "Oh you did! You have to tell us all about it!"

"Was he tall?"

"Tall, psh.. Girl was he big?"

"Oh my gosh, stop. Hewasazora."

"A wha… really? You fucked a Zora?! Damn. Was it slimey?"

"Did he have two of them like a snake-?"

"Like a - how do you even know that Aveil?" Nabooru zeroed in on Aveil who shrugged.

"You hear things."

"Uhuh. Sure. "

"Anyways! Where did you learn how to fight. I mean, obviously besides us, you had some new moves!" Aveil leaned over on her arms, getting comfortable.

"You have to tell us everything. I mean, yeah there's the king, but you have a month before you can even think about doing anything. So spill."

"So I fell into the river right?"

"Girl, we thought you were dead. Found the bones and the bags.. We even had a funeral pyre for you. Word was sent all around, everyone, and I mean everyone, knew. How'd you survive?"

"By the will of the Goddess, I'm sure at this point. Both Titan and I should have long since been dead by now. I woke up in a small forest village. They took care of me, helped me back on my feet and one of their warriors- mind you they didn't really consider him a warrior but he's a real fighter.."

"Was he cute?"

"Well, yeah, but that's not the point."

"Cute enough for you and to do a little fun in the hay?"

"Nabs! Stop."

"Okay, okay. I'll stop.. For now."

Aria rolled her eyes and continued on with the story. She'd only gotten to the part where they'd entered the Forest Temple when one of the healers came by and shoo'd Nabooru and Aveil away, claiming her patient needed some rest, not anymore harassment from two captains who needed to focus on their jobs. Aria was sure Nabooru was going to pull rank, but a loud yawn from Aria made the healer's point for her.

They bid their farewells and Aria passed out after the healer gave her some odd tasting concoction to drink that would help her sleep and heal quicker.

The next morning Aria had no visitors. She understood why as gerudo began rushing in, some being carried or helped. They'd obviously just come in from a battle, and she could recognize the tell-tale signs of dark magic on some of them.

The other Kingdom was getting closer in their efforts to master and control the desert.

"I can help!" Aria said to a nearby healer. The woman scoffed and told her to rest. Aria didn't want to rest, she wasn't tired. She wasn't incapable of anything but walking at the moment. That didn't make her useless.

An odd anger bubbled in her stomach. She could help them, she could… she needed to bring Ganondorf back. They needed their king. Aria sighed as she watched more ladies come in, some less injured than others, but it seemed like none of the group had made it out there unscathed.

One woman with a wrap down the entirety of her arm was glaring at her. She'd just had the healers finish patching up her arm, and had been left to her own devices. Aria tilted her head slightly, regarding the woman with confusion. The woman glanced around before coming direction to stand in front of Aria.

"This is all your fault."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't act coy. If you hadn't showed up in the first place none of this would be happening. You've been a spy this whole time, haven't you? You showed up right after the first party. The leaders took you in under their wing, trained you, clothed you, showed you the room filled with maps. Our king took your advice and then you disappeared. You "fell to your death", only to return months later after our king had been taken." Her voice had gradually gotten louder, gaining the attention of the gerudo around her.

"You're a spy! You took the information and gave it to the other kingdom while the gerudo mourned for your disappearance!"

"What are you on about? I fell into the river and spent months trying to get home."

"This is no home of yours spy. You're unwelcome here." The room filled with murmurs, and Aria couldn't believe her pointed ears when she saw and heard many of the women nodding in agreement. Sure there were many others disagreeing, but the agreement seemed to be more prominent.

"You came from the desert, you should return to the desert. You don't deserve the attention of our healers. You don't deserve to be in a land of warriors."

"Yeah."

"You tell that spy."

"I'm not a spy." Aria protested trying to stand and defend herself. The accusing gerudo raised her hand swiftly, but it was caught.

"Enough of this Tali. You dishonor yourself to strike down a wounded ally." It was Aveil. Tali wrenched her wrist from Aveil's tight grip.

"She is no ally of mine. She has corrupted you. She has magiced you and Nabooru, just like our King."

"She has not done such a thing."

"Oh yeah? Tell me. It's been four months since you sent her to heal the King. Why has he not returned? Now you say he is a loose beast in the desert because of this wretch. She's probably killed him, or has been preparing him to come and attack his very people. We should kill her while there's still hope left for the gerudo!"

"There is no hope without our king!" A woman yelled from the back.

"She's killed the king, she's killed us!"

Aria looked and felt like Tali had successfully struck her across the face. How could they believe her lies?

"I don't care what you all believe. She has been an ally to us ever since she came from the desert. Tali you should be ashamed. You all should be ashamed of yourselves." A familiar voice spoke up from the room. It was Faruin who looked rather worse for wear. She was missing an arm. What was left of her arm was wrapped up tightly.

"This is not a place to be having this discussion. You have no right to judge one of your sister in arms, especially when she is physically incapable of taking you to the ring over it."

"I have every right! She's not officially a gerudo, there was no ceremony, no rite of passage. She's not some lost little birdy. She's a sand-cursed spy sent to us from the other kingdom. Probably allies of Hyrule! Our king is dead, and you bitches just assume you're our leaders. She beat you in combat, which only shows to us you are all unfit to lead."

"Enough! You insult us all Tali." Nabooru's voice boomed from across the room as she stood angrily in the doorway.

"I do not insult igerudo/i just the filth it's let in for too long." Tali sneered.

"Ring now."

'But Miss Nabooru, she's still healing."

"Her wound isn't sufficient enough if she's throwing accusations and insults around. I will make it so." Nabooru grabbed Tali by the arm and dragged her out of the room.

"Go back to your work. If you have any further concerns we will hold a meeting in one week. You may also express your concerns in private later, to myself or Nabooru." Aveil glared out at everyone making sure they all went back to work.

"Are you okay? Would you like to be moved to your old room?"

"I.. I would. I don't think I.." Aria looked down at her hands. Was Tali speaking how all the gerudo truly felt about her?

"I'll have you moved by tonight. Do you want anyone to stay with you?"

"No, thank you but I think I just need some time to myself."

"Alright."

True to her word, Aveil moved her back to her old room. She was given a few extra blankets and left alone for the rest of the day. She could still hear the gossip flying around the compound when ladies passed by her door. Tali's defiance was all the rage. So was Nabooru handing her ass to her in the ring- to the point that Tali had to return to the healing quarters.

Some were questioning Nabooru's control as leadership.

It was a week's time. Aria had been allowed to move around with crutches. She wasn't allowed to even touch down on the leg. During her time there, she'd singled out one of the healers and discussed the properties of magical healing, what the bases were and how to work on them. It was a very precise skill and it took years to learn apparently- Koume and Kotake had to take you on as an apprentice when you were younger than 10. Aria wanted to learn it, but it was obviously not something she could learn in a few weeks or even a few months. She was given a list of herbs that could be found around the desert and in Hyrule that helped with the healing process, instructions on how to take care of infected wounds, and balms for sunburn.

Aria also had a bit of time to spend with Faruin. They spent a good amount of time together, Faruin learning how to re-live life without an arm. She was having some difficulties, not being able to balance very well with a weapon, forgetting she didn't have the other arm, which resulted in her dropping and sometimes breaking quite a few cups.

They tried not to talk about all of what was happening in the desert, but every day there would be at least a few people coming back injured. Aria knew there were some that weren't going to come back at all. She didn't get to see Nabooru or Aveil much, but when she did she told them about her adventures in Hyrule, trying her best to take their minds off of the mess that was happening.

By the end of the week there was the meeting. She hadn't been invited. Actually, Nabooru had specifically told her not to come. That didn't stop her from using the shadows to listen in. It wasn't safe for her to do it just inside the room- with no escape, so she listened just barely outside of the door. Koume, Kotake, Nabooru, and Aveil all stood at the front of the large group. They'd had to use the dining hall.

"I know all of you have been unrestful as of late, and there have been many rumors circulating about Aria coming back. I'm sure most you already know what happened in the healing ward. It was unacceptable. We are here as your leaders, to help guide you, and we're always open for you to confide in us. We've brought you here today, because many of you refuse to speak to us privately. You may voice your concerns here. This is an open discussion, no need to raise your hand.

"Is King Ganondorf truly dead?"

"No. He is not dead. He isn't in his right mind to return to us currently."

"Bullshit! That witch killed him in the desert! You've been letting her cover up for months."

"Yeah! Why else would he not be here?"

"Right! King Ganondorf wouldn't just leave us, no matter his state of mind!"

"She killed him!"

"Enough!" Nabooru slammed her hand on a table. "Aria has not killed our King. She has been trying to bring him back to us."

"You just don't want to believe that you let a spy in. You don't want to believe you let a spy in and let her close to all four- five of you, including the king. You're lying to yourselves, like you're lying to us!" That was Tali. Even after Nabooru beat her down in the ring, it was obvious she still held plenty resentment.

"You fools can't fix this, only King Ganondorf can. He's the only one who can save us! You've cursed us all when you let her stay and decided to train her!"

There were many murmurs of agreement in the crowd.

Aria didn't stay for more. She couldn't stand to stay for more. She moved as quickly and quietly as a broken leg and crutches would allow her. Aria grabbed her stuff from the bedroom, including the extra blankets. It'd been less than two weeks. She wasn't ready to go back, but she wasn't welcome here either.

For a moment, she considered returning to Ordon. She would be accepted in Ordon with Link and his town. The gerudo could fend for themselves.

But in this state… she couldn't make the jump.

She would have to return to the desert. It was the only place she could possibly go right now. She walked out of the Gerudo Fortress- the gates unguarded because everyone was still in the meeting.

"I won't stay where I'm not wanted."