Link looked back to the horizon upon which sat the quiet ranch. It would be a tense morning for those remaining at the ranch as they contemplated the dangerous situation Hyrule found itself in. But having crossed the field early that morning, and seen nothing, Link was as confident as he could be that the Royal Guard would be sufficient enough to return the visitors to their home.
As for Malon...
"Sorry, Mal..." He murmured to himself.
He considered it a blessing that she never seemed bother by his disappearance. This time, he recalled her hand as it clutched his. A unique moment in his life.
He was more bothered by his departure than she would be, certainly.
"Let's go, Link." Vooru called.
They had arrived at Gerudo Fortress in good time. Vooru had explained the plan to her leader and now there was nothing to do but wait until the group had been gathered and suited up.
Link waited patiently in a cell. He was relieved to have the time to sleep. Something he still hadn't caught up on from his previous journey with the Gerudo, barely three days ago.
And now he was back, but treated to a more hostile flavored hospitality. His eyes closed and the events that had transpired over the last many days played before his eyes.
How had it even started? Vooru had met up with him in Castle Town one evening. They slept together. For some reason, though he couldn't recall why, they had gone to the Temple of Time. Some point after that, she had begun to address him as Hero. In the years he'd known her, she'd never called him that.
When had she figured it out? How?
He never really found out how, but she managed to convince him to go to the Desert Colossus. Just as she knew he would, Link played into her game, unknowingly. When he refused to open the temple for them, there were too many for him to fight. When he later refused to lead them any further into the temple, they resorted to tactics that Gerudo's were famous for. When they arrived in the sepulchre, Link had enough. He turned his back to them, and left them in the depths of the Temple.
"Hey!"
Hey! Listen!
Link's eyes shot open. He looked around, certain he'd heard his friends voice in his ear.
"Link! Wake up!" Vooru stood with her arms hanging through the bars of the cell.
He rubbed his temples.
"Everything is settled. We'll leave tonight. It will be cooler to travel through the Desert that way."
Link nodded.
Vooru unlocked the cell with a key.
"Come. You can stay in my room."
"I'm fine here." He said with some spite.
She clucked her tongue and strolled into the cell.
"Come now, you think I believe you? I know how you get. And I know you'll follow me to bed."
††
Link awoke to the gentle tracing of fingers along his chest. Vooru propped on her elbow, drew over his scarred body with her fingertips.
"Ah, he is awake." She said, sweetly.
Her hand brushed the hair from his forehead. The candlelight bounced off her gold jewellery.
"It's funny." She said. "Knowing who you are, and considering what a gifted fighter you are... And yet I could have killed you so easily just now. Wouldn't that be a hell of an end?"
He huffed as one would do if they were to laugh, but his lips remained still.
"I can think of worse ways to go." He responded.
She pouted jokingly.
"Don't make jokes like that, my sweet. You'll tempt fate." She kissed his lips gently.
She slid closer to him, pressing her body against his. Her eyes lit up as she saw his scarred shoulder, an injury she had imparted days before, as if impressed by her work.
He swallowed hard.
They hadn't even acknowledged what had happened at the Desert Colossus. Such was their relationship.
"That man. The Captain who was at the ranch yesterday..." Vooru began, pulling away and propping herself back up on her elbow.
His attention peaked and he rolled his eyes upwards to her.
"He is shifty. And we won't deal with him when we lend a hand in the field."
Link didn't care who they dealt with.
"You know him?"
"I've not interacted with him personally, but we as a tribe have dealt with him on recent occasions. He is insincere, a liar, and manipulative."
Link raised an eyebrow accusingly and Vooru smiled.
"Yes, I know what you're thinking, how ironic. The point is, we don't deal with him anymore. It's a waste of time, he can offer us nothing of interest."
Silence settled between them, with Vooru lazily tracing his chest once more, following the dips and ridges of the scars which gained more territory on his person with each year that passed.
"So who is she?"
"Who?"
"The girl you are so clearly desperate for. Is she the farm girl that works at the ranch?"
"I don't know her." Link lied, convincingly.
"Oh, is that so. Well, you couldn't take your eyes off of her, so I assumed you knew her. She spoke to you like she knew you."
"I know her only formally. She works at the ranch, she takes care of my horse sometimes. That's it."
"You looked at her like you wanted to fuck her."
Link clenched his jaw, concealing his annoyance.
"She's a bit frail for my taste." He managed, though it felt like gravel coming from his mouth.
Vooru smiled.
"Somehow, I believe that."
She kissed his lips again.
Link was desperate for relief from thoughts of Malon, and shamefully eager to push her out of his head. He wrapped his arm around Vooru's lower back. Their tongues brushed together, quickly becoming more forceful. She dragged her hand down his torso. He climbed on top of her, their kissing grew forceful, their teeth scraping and biting. He never knew what he was supposed to feel when they slept together. Or when he slept with anyone. Something subsided in him with these interactions, but he couldn't say what.
And what little pleasure he derived, never lasted long.
†††
The desert was predictably arid. The wind swept the sand from the ground and it pelted over them in heavy sheets. The forceful wind tugged at their clothes. They had traveled all night and the morning sun did little to improve the weather.
"Tell me, Hero!" Vooru shouted over the howling wind. "Do you remember the Temple is this fashion in your alternate time?"
A mix of bright sun obscured by veils of wind swept sand, the Spirit Temple stood in grand form.
Yes, it was how he remembered, more or less.
They had arrived a group of seven; Link, Vooru and her five soldiers. They hitched the desert boars beneath some shelter and grabbed their weapons.
Just as Vooru had claimed, the doors remained wide opened.
Now was his chance.
He reached for his Ocarina, intent on closing the doors before they entered. He would deal with the consequences later, the consecration and safety of the temples was on his shoulders.
Just as he pulled the instrument out, he was tackled to the ground, and two of the Gerudo wrestled his hands together and tied them up.
Grinah clucked her tongue.
"Look, kid we've barely started this journey, let's just get along like friends, hey?" She said, firmly fastening a rope around his wrists while the other Gerudo held a blade against his throat.
They pulled him to his feet.
Link wiped his chin on his shoulder, rubbing the blood that had trickled down from biting his lip.
Vooru approached Link. Tenderly she touched his face and slowly ran her hand down his chest to his waist.
"I'll hold this." She said, snatching the Ocarina, still clutched in his bound hands.
She wiped his lip with her thumb, clearing away residual blood.
"I pulled a lot of strings to get you here, Link. Let's try to have fun." She said, faining enthusiasm.
She beckoned for them to follow.
Vooru lead the group as they passed through the temple entrance. Now their footsteps echoed on the sand stone floor, and the howling winds outside were muted. Vooru lead, followed by two soldiers, then Link, followed by two more soldiers, then finally Frae at the rear.
She lead them down the path they had followed only days prior.
"This treasure belongs to the Gerudo race. There is no reason why we shouldn't reclaim it." Vooru reinstated.
"If that were true, then you would have access to it." Link said, indifferent to whether they heard him.
Their footsteps echoed on the stone slabs.
"There was a time where I'm sure we did have access to it. It is our place of worship after all. I think it changed after your time. With the disappearance of the Great Nabooru."
"Nabooru didn't have access to the temple either." He said.
Link felt the head of a spear dig into his back.
"Watch your tongue, kid." Frae, the solider behind him said.
Vooru turned calmly.
"No, no, it's alright. I suspect he may have grounds to assume that. After all, he was the last one to see her alive."
"Then why do we let him come and go as he pleases!? He should be our prisoner if he is responsible for Nabooru's murder...! Just because you fuck him, doesn't let him off the hook for his crimes!"
Frae lost her temper. Before she could go any further, Vooru forcefully grabbed her arm.
"Enough! Frae. We live in the present. Besides. Look at him. He is our prisoner." She calmly released Frae's arm, and walked back to the front of the group.
Frae curled her lip at Link. It was unknown to Link whether all Gerudo knew he was the Hero of Time, or whether just a handful knew. But it wasn't long after they made that discovery that some Gerudo had drawn a line between the fateful disappearance of their leader and Link.
He turned to follow the group when Frae grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Listen, here. I know you can't be trusted. Hero of Time or not, your allegiance is not with us and I know you had something to do with Nabooru's disappearance. We all know that much."
It was unsettling to Frae how his expression remain unmoved. Wanton. Maybe broken. She interpreted something disturbing in the way he looked at her, unaffected and unafraid.
She gave up trying to intimidate him then.
"Just tell me." She said wearily. "Do you know what happened to her? Where our leader went a decade ago?"
Link dragged his eyes upward.
Frae followed his gaze, up to the sky light above the antechamber, where sunlight streamed in.
She met his gaze again, and though she appeared confused, Link knew she understood.
Gone. They all were.