Come morning, they set out again to the north. North, out of Labrynna. North, into Lorule.
Ganon went back to teaching Zelda his people's lullabies, until night fell and they were deep in Lorulean territory. He then paused his lullabies for a warning. "Sheik, keep your guard up," he said.
"What for?" she asked.
"Lorule is even more infamous for its thieves than my desert."
"Maybe you're wrong," Zelda insisted. She'd been wrong about the desert folk. Ganon could easily be as mistaken.
"No." His eyes narrowed. "I'm quite sure."
Zelda pursed her lips in frustration, but didn't question him any further. Maybe he was right. The books she'd read on Lorule warned of its thieves. Still she wanted to hope for the best.
"H-help!"
The sudden scream made Zelda flinch. "What was that?"
"Doesn't matter. Ignore it." Ganon kept his eyes forward and lips sealed in a tight line.
"But someone could be in trouble," Zelda pressed.
But Ganon was willing to hear none of it. "Or they could be trying to trick you."
"Or it could be our cowardly bunny."
"What?"
Zelda didn't have time to explain, to remind him of her prophecy and the Lorulean hero she'd dreamt of. A violet cloak rushed past them. A hood covered his head. Rabbit ears on that hood flopped behind him in the wind.
"Sorry, sorry!" he screamed as he passed them.
"Was that your bunny?" Ganon asked.
Zelda's moth fell open without an answer. She'd have to check the map before she could be sure.
"Nice carriage you guys got." The voice came from behind them.
Zelda stared in shock at the hooded figure. The person who had run past them only moments before now sat in the back of the carriage like he owned the place. She couldn't see his face, only the deep purple cloak with bunny ears and a blue striped scarf wrapped around his neck.
Ganon drew the dagger at his hip and pointed it at the stranger. "Explain yourself."
"No time," the cloaked man said.
"Of course there's time!" Ganon demanded.
But the stranger pointed out past the front of the carriage. "They don't think so.'
"They?"
Without any more warning, men in commoners' clothing approached the carriage. They covered their faces with ugly, wooden masks that made Zelda shudder just from looking at them. They readied their clubs and swords, and stalked towards the carriage.
"Give us your goods, and maybe we'll forgive you for harboring that criminal," one of the men said.
"Criminal?" Zelda repeated.
"Sheik, your bow!"
Ganon was right. This wasn't really the time to ponder about the identity of the man in the back of their carriage. Right now, they had more pressing matters to attend to.
"On it," she said.
The stranger clasped his hands together and bowed his head. "Sorry, so sorry!" he kept repeating.
"You better have a good explanation for this," Ganon grumbled. He leapt from the carriage, returning his dagger to its place and replacing it with his two great swords.
"Yes, of course. Of course." The stranger knew better than to try to defy the Gerudo king, especially when he was angry. Good thing he could read people so well. Zelda feared what could have happened to the bunny-cloaked man if he had disagreed.
Probably what was about to happen to these men.
Zelda stood up on the driver's seat, taking out the men too far from Ganon's blades. She knew it was foolish of her, but she couldn't bring herself to kill even one of them. It was much easier to aim for their arms and legs than bring herself to piece through a heart or head with an arrow.
Even so, she couldn't back down and leave the fight all to Ganon. She refused to. Not until the thieves – or whatever these men were – dragged their wounded back into the woods. Then they turned back to the stranger and just in time.
The bunny-hooded stranger crept out from the back of the carriage, but froze when he realized he'd been seen trying to escape. "I, ah… I guess I should explain myself," he said with a nervous laugh.
Ganon sheathed his blades before folding his arms across his broad chest. "Hurry up," he demanded.
"Well, let me begin by introducing myself." He pulled his hood down revealing shoulder length dark violet hair, bright green eyes, and a queasy smile. "I'm Ravio."