It's time for the second chapter! Before we start, I just wanted to clarify that due to enough comments, I'm rewriting a certain scene in this chapter to make more sense. Thank you all for your comments on this matter!
Seven years had past since the day Link saved Nabooru from Twinrova, and the two making their promise to meet again. He slowly walked through a vast canyon in the Gerudo Valley, taking time to look around for possible monsters. All he saw (besides lots of dirt and sand) was the rare pile of debris from what appeared to be the remnants from battles or something. He wasn't sure what tales the wreckage told, but pressed on regardless.
Over the past seven years, Link had grown from a small but hearty child into a tall capable adult. He still wore his choice outfit style of a green tunic and a matching cap, though he had long traded in his small knife and wooden shield for a steel sword fit for a hero, and a Hylian shield on his back.
His time during those seven years was not spent idle, he had gone on many adventures and quests, traveling to strange lands, meeting and befriending many people, and battling many villains and monsters. His skills had been honed over time, and he was a much greater warrior then ever, even more then back when he was in the dark future. His only true companion through all this was his horse Epona, a gift from one of my closest friends.
Returning to Hyrule after what seemed like forever, he took the time to meet with many of his old friends; the first and foremost being his childhood friend from Kokiri Forest, Saria. While she tried to maintain a calm demeanor, she was clearly worried and upset that she hadn't been able to communicate with him for so long using the magical song she had taught him. They concluded it was due to him not just traveling to other lands, but other dimensions as well. Link apologized and vowed to talk with her much more and share his stories with her from now on.
After that he made his way to Death Mountain, which despite the name was home to some of the most lovable guys Link knew, the rock-eating creatures known as the Gorons, and their leader Darunia. Darunia treated Link as a 'sworn brother', which was the greatest honor a Goron could give someone. After a rather bone-crushing hug, Darunia took his time to introduce Link to his son, who was also named Link. The Hylian hero admitted he was a little flattered at that, and almost flattened when Link the Goron tried to give his 'Uncle Link' a hug as well. Overall, they had a great, if painful, time.
Next came the waterfall basin where Zora's Domain was, home to the fish people known as Zoras, and the home of one of his close friends Princess Ruto. This reunion was kind of an odd one for Link, since she had given him a stone he needed to complete his quest as a wedding proposal after he saved her from a monster. While she had become much more sophisticated over the years, she still retained her somewhat haughty and playful demeanor. He wasn't too sure what to say to answer about marrying her, there was no doubt that even for someone half-fish, she was a beautiful lady all the same, He eventually worked up the nerve to apologize and say he wasn't interested in her as anything more then a friend. Surprisingly, she didn't really mind all that much, and just accepted him as a dear friend, though that still didn't stop her from shoving him into the waters of her home, splashing him, and followed it with a sweet kiss on the nose, saying that if he ever changed his mind she'd be waiting.
After that he had attempted to arrive at Hyrule Castle to meet with Princess Zelda and her Sheikah nanny Impa. That didn't go so well as the others, as he was turned down at the gate almost instantly, and his attempts to sneak in through the usual route in the garden were met with failure. Ultimately deciding it wasn't time to see them just yet, he went on his way.
Finally he came to Lon Lon Ranch, where much of the produce and livestock in the local area came from. It was also home to a childhood friend of his, Malon, daughter of the ranch owner Talon. It was joyous reunion to be sure, Malon calling him "fairy boy" as she was known to, and Epona was thrilled to be back with the other horses. Link eventually decided to leave Epona at the ranch so she could finally rest, thanking her for helping him throughout his adventures.
During Link's stay at Lon Lon Ranch he was met by a traveling postman wearing a bunny hood, who gave him a letter from Nabooru. The letter told him not to meet at the Gerudo Fortress where he was originally thought they would reunite, and in fact telling him not to go anywhere near it. Instead, the map contained directions to another location he had never been before. His journey took him to a vast canyon quite a distance from where he remembered the fortress was.
He was pretty eager to meet Nabooru and see just what this promise she made for him was, hopefully it involved him being able to rest for a few days, he had gone to so many places and gone on so many adventures, while it had been exciting it was tiresome as well.
Though despite all he had done and all the people he met though the years, there was one major thing, one regret he still had after all this time...
'Wonder if I'll ever see you again?' Link thought to himself. Taking a deep sigh, he continued onward.
As he went down the road, he heard a strange high-pitched sound. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was getting louder and closer as he walked. It was somewhat difficult to tell due to the canyon's echoing. It was then that the sound become more clear, and realized it was a woman's voice, and that it was high up. He looked into the air curiously, seeing what looked like a bird flailing around wildly, except it wasn't a bird, it was a... girl?
"Woah! Woooaaah! I can't stop myself! Look out belooow!" shouted the girl as she came downwards, right at Link.
He didn't even have a chance to react as the girl's forehead impacted right into Link's, sending him falling down backwards and the girl falling over on her rear.
"Yeooow!" Link shouted, rubbing his forehead in pain. Before he could even see who it was that impacted into him, she was quickly getting up and frantically looking him over.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" she said, "Did I give you a concussion?! Are you conscious?! Blink twice if you're still alive!"
"Uh, I'm... alive?" Link clarified, "My head just hurts."
"Here, let me help you!" the girl said, getting Link up onto his feet, and then quickly running around his body trying to dust him off with what appeared to be feathers of some kind that seemed to be strapped to her arms. She then tried to straighten his outfit out (except it was already fine before she got her hands on it), and grabbed up his green cap from the ground.
"Umm, I could only find one of your socks..." she said meekly, holding it up to him.
"I-It's fine, that's my hat." Link said, taking the cap, dusting it off and putting it back on his head.
"Oh, I see! I'm so sorry for bonking you, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Aviel!"
Link took that moment to get a good look at the lady who crashed into him. It was clear from her tan skin, round ears, red hair, and revealing silk outfit that she was a Gerudo. This girl in particular had short hair done up in odd spiky strands that stuck out in different directions, reminding him of a bird, and she wore a pair of goggles around her neck. Her outfit itself was a vibrant light green color, and the top he couldn't help but notice, was holding her rather large bountiful chest in it. He also noticed she had a rather well-designed crossbow strapped to her back.
But the most unusual thing about her though were those feathers that appeared to be wrapped around her arms.
Link had to admit he was a little worried about the Gerudo in the area being hostile, but this girl seemed quite friendly.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Link." he said.
"Link? What an odd name..." Aviel said in thought, "If I was your mama I would had called you something like Rinku, or Ravio, or Legolas, or Bob.."
'Bob?' Link thought to himself, wondering what it was with Gerudo questioning his name. He then looked to her arms and decided to change the subject. "If you don't mind me asking, what's with the feathers?"
"Oh, these?" Aviel asked, her eyes brightening up, "This is my special treasure I found a while back, the Roc's Wing!" She held up her arms and much to Link's shock, the feathers fell open, making her arms seemingly transform into long bird-like wings. "With these I can fly free as a birdie!"
"So that's what I saw, that's amazing!" Link said. He had seen and used many strange artifacts and treasures during his travels, but nothing quite like bird wings.
"Hee hee," giggled Aviel, putting her wings to her cheeks and blushing, "I've never been complimented about my wings before! I've been told by my sisters not to trust men, but you seem really nice!" she leaned forward, unwittingly giving Link a generous view of her chest, "And I like your eyes, they're gentle and blue like the sky..."
Link was trying his best to keep his attention of Aviel's own eyes, "Uh, thanks... Actually, I was wondering if you know Nabooru, I have to meet with her somewhere here."
"Lady Nabooru? Oh, she's in the town at the very end of this canyon. It's a straight path, you can't miss it!"
"Ah, I see." Link said.
"Well, I suppose I better get back to my post." Aviel said, spreading her wings out, "It was nice speaking to you Bob!"
"You too, and uh, the name's Link." he said correcting her.
"Oh right." Aviel said, "I hope to see you again!" With that she took to the air. Link watched as she staggered left and right trying to maintain her balance, and flew up to a tall lookout pole with a crow's nest on top overlooking the canyon. Shortly after she landed (well more like crashed) into the nest, she looked out from it and he saw her waving her wing at him, which he replied by waving back to her.
'What a weird girl...' Link thought, 'Least she's a nice person, maybe the Gerudo aren't as hostile as before.'
He continued onward through the canyon, and eventually found a giant gate made form wood and steel, it was pretty high up, it reminded him somewhat of the gate in the Gerudo Fortress that lead across the desert to the Spirit Temple.
"Halt, male!" shouted a voice. Link looked and saw a Gerudo woman standing before him holding a halberd spear, she appeared to be a guard. He had been so distracted by the size of the gate that he didn't even notice her at first. "What business do you have here?"
He took a close look at the guard standing before him. She had her red hair done up in a loose bun, her clothes were the typical Gerudo attire and colored red. She had a black sash with odd markings tied around her waist, and she had steel bands attached to her wrists and shins. Her expression was stern and serious, a very distinct contrast from Aviel.
"I said, what's your business here, MALE." shouted the guard, glaring coldly at Link, snapping him out of his observation. Link did a polite bow at the waist and spoke up.
"Forgive me, but I have an audience with Nabooru." he explained, "I'd like to get access to your town."
"Do you really think I'd fall for such a trick?" asked the guard, "What would Lady Nabooru want with a male like yourself?"
"We go back a long way," Link said, "I have a letter from her right her-"
As Link reached for the letter, he realized it was missing. He scrambled around frantically trying to find it, only to see it was completely gone.
'What?!' he thought to himself, 'Where is it?! I just had it just a little while ag-' It then quickly occurred to him where it most likely had gone, as he recalled when Aviel crashed into him earlier.
'I must have dropped it at that moment...' he realized, then spoke up sheepishly to the guard, "A-Actually, I think I misplaced it and-"
"Hmph, a likely story." said the guard, pointing her halberd at Link, "I bet you're an assassin sent by the king to kill our beloved leader!"
'So Nabooru's in charge now?' he thought to himself, then spoke, "I assure you, if you just ask her, she'll acknowledge m-" Link's words were cut off by the guard swinging her halberd at him, and he instinctively jumped backwards. The guard pulled back, spun her halberd in her hand and struck a battle pose.
"I'll be your opponent, I am Nemisa of the royal Gerudo guard, prepare yourself male!" she stated.
"Nemisa?" Link pondered, "That's a pretty cute name."
Nemisa paused for a few seconds, still in battle pose. It was then that her eyes suddenly widened a little and her face flushed red.
"W-What are you saying you bastard?! I'll kill you!" she exclaimed.
With that Nemisa rushed forward with her halberd and swung it out, but Link quickly pulled up his shield and blocked it.
"Wait, I don't wish to fight you!" Link said calmly, "I just want to-"
"Shut up and fight!" she said, smacking the shield aside and lunging forward with the halberd's blade. Link quickly sidestepped from it, drew his sword and swung it out, knocking Nemisa back.
"So you can fight, good. It wouldn't be as enjoyable killing you if you couldn't." Nemisa said, she came at Link again and swung the halberd, only for him to deflect it with his sword again, causing it to fly out of her grasp and impale down onto the ground.
"There," Link said, "I'd disarmed you, now can we just tal-"
"Disarmed? Hardly." Nemisa said, she brought up her fists and went into a new battle stance, "That halberd is just for show. Now we really fight."
"But you don't have any weapon." Link pointed out, moments before Nemisa charged forward and thrust her fist at Link, forcing him to quickly lean his head to the side, her fist barely scrapping against his cheek.
"My limbs are my true weapons." she said simply.
With that, Nemisa swung her fists quickly and wildly, Link couldn't do much to counter from close range like that, and spent his time dodging and blocking her attacks, only to then suddenly get kicked in the side by her leg.
"Ack, y-you fight with both your fists and your legs?!" Link groaned, clutching his side.
"Karate style martial arts combat," explained Nemisa, flipping backwards and giving the two of them some distance, "A battle style of the Shiekah, now for the last time, draw your blade and fight!"
"Wait, it's not fair for me to fight against someone just using their-" Link's attempt to stop the fight went unheard as Nemisa came right at him again, forcing Link to pull out his sword and swung it at her, hoping to defer her from the fight, but she quickly swung up her leg, managing to block the sword somehow and making a 'clang' sound in the process.
"W-What?" Link realized, seeing that the steel bands she had on her wrists and shins weren't just for show, they were strong enough to withstand his sword.
"You don't think I wouldn't try to fight a sword-user without a shield of my own?" asked Nemisa with a sneer, she then kicked his sword away and then kicked Link across the face, sending him back a bit. He quickly regained his composure and ran forward.
'Guess I'm not going to be able to hold back then.' Link thought, darting forward and swinging his sword, the two were locked in a barrage of fists, kicks and sword slashes. Link's shield and Nemisa's bands blocking each attack.
"You're more skilled then I thought." Nemisa said, "But it's time to end this."
Nemisa then knelt down and leaped high into the air, going well over Link and landing down behind them, then swinging her leg at him, he quickly turned around to block the kick, but her leg managed to hit the side of his shield, sending it back, and allowing her to quickly lunge forward and came at him with rapid kicks and punches, not letting up for a second.
'Damnit...' Link thought as he desperately tried to read her attacks and dodging them, 'She's really strong, stronger then most people I've fought in the past...'
Nemisa tried swinging out at him again, but this time Link brought back his sword and sliced at her with his trademark spin attack. The technique surprised her, before Link then lunged forward and thrust out his sword at her, managing to graze her arm with it.
'H-He caught me off guard?' Nemisa thought to herself with a horrified look in her eyes. Clutching her arm, her body seemed to shake for a second, then spoke out loud, "No, no! I don't lose to another!"
"Another...?" Link asked himself.
It was then Link watched as Nemisa then reached into her pocket, seeming to be gripping at something. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before opening them, clearly filled with rage.
Nemisa then came at Link again, forcing him to swing out his sword, but she started dodging his attacks, oddly through slow and delicate movements he hadn't seen before in battle, he thrust his sword forward and she spun to the side, he tried an overhead swung but she brought her leg up to block it before spinning again and kicking at him.
It was then Link had an idea; he brought out his sword, but instead of using it for an attack like she predicted, he used it to block the kick instead, surprising her. He then brought back his Hylian shield and thrust it forward, bashing it into her and sending her staggering back, giving Link a chance to rush forward and bring down his sword on her, forcing her to block with both wrist bands.
"Listen, let's end this battle, I don't want to fight you anymore." Link said calmly.
Nemisa's eyes widened in that moment as he spoke to her, but then she narrowed them coldly.
"I agree, which is why I'm going to end this." Nemisa said.
Nemisa then swung her leg up and kneed Link in the stomach, causing him to stagger back, before she delivered a powerful kick that sent him back a bit further. He gasped out a bit and looked up to the guard, seeing she was getting pretty tired herself.
He was about to charge in for another attack, but it was then something came up from behind and grabbed him by his arms. He then realized he was now surrounded by multiple Gerudo guards who had arrived in the area to see what the fighting was about, and two of them were holding him in place.
"You're under arrest Hylian male!" shouted one of the guards who had captured him.
"Wait!" Link said desperately, his injuries making it difficult to fight back, "If you just let me expali-"
But then the other Gerudo guard stuck her hand out and grabbed at his neck. She had squeezed a pressure point on it, which caused Link to start to get dizzy.
Before he fell unconscious, he saw Nemisa slowly walking up to him and glaring coldly...
Link blinked and looked around, finding himself in a strange dark void. He wasn't sure where he was, but at the same time it looked somewhat familiar in a weird way.
He wandered around, trying to figure out what was going on, until he saw a lone dark figure standing before him. He stared the figure down, unable to make out any details on them.
"Who are you?" Link asked, contemplating whether to draw his sword or not.
"Heh heh heh, it's been a long time." chuckled the figure, "Did you really think you could get away from me, pal?"
"What are you talking about?" Link asked.
"I'll tell you in due time, if you live that long," the figure said, "But you got bigger problems right now,."
Suddenly, Link found the ground beneath him vanish, and he started falling. He yelled out, hearing a sinister laugh as he fell into the void...
That was when Link woke up, gasping out. He flinched as he felt some pain shoot through his body.
"Ugh, that was a dream?" Link groaned, "Just who was that exactly?"
"Oh! He's awake!"
He heard an unfamiliar voice and turned in it's direction, seeing some Gerudo women looking at him through a window with bars on it. They started talking with each other, but he was in such a daze he could barely make out what they were chatting about.
"Hey, stay away from the male!" shouted a voice, which scared the women off.
He then took a look around to see where exactly he was. It was some kind of stone building he had never seen before, he found himself laying on top of a pile of hay, and there was a steel plate nearby with some bread on it. His gaze looked to the door and windows only to see they were all closed off by steel bears. He also noticed all this equipment was gone.
"Hm, so I'm a prisoner then, swell." Link muttered.
He forced himself up and took a look through the window, he couldn't make out too many details, aside from some more buildings, mostly made of stone like his prison. He also saw a Gerudo woman or two walking around, though they didn't seem to be patrolling or armed like he typically expected of the tribe. Some were casually talking and others were carrying bags around.
"Well this must be the town," Link said, "Least I'm in the right place. Big question is though is how do I get out of this prison?"
He peeked through the bars of the entrance to survey his surroundings, it seemed the prison was in the far back of the town, where there wasn't too many people going around, and there wasn't a guard watching over his cell. If he could get out it wouldn't be TOO hard to sneak off and find Nabooru.
It then occurred to Link he did have a way to escape. Thankful they didn't take his boots, he reached onto the fold at the top of his left boot and pulled out a hairpin he kept hidden in there just for such a situation. He started picking at the lock with the hairpin, and after a few minutes, got the lock open.
He took a second to peek out and make sue no one was looking, then sneaked off, his first instinct was to duck into an alleyway. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side at that very moment, as a small piece of hay from his prison bed fell off his hat, and brushed against his nose, he tried to hold the sensation in, but it was futile, and he wound up sneezing loudly. He hoped this wouldn't get anyone's attention but...
"Hey, the prisoner escaped!" shouted a Gerudo, alerting some of the guards in the town.
"Ah crud." Link said, forced to run off as fast as he could.
"Halt prisoner!" shouted one of a few guards chasing after him.
"Wait, this is a huge misunderstanding!" shouted Link, "I'm just trying to track down Nabooru!"
"He's after Lady Nabooru?! Stop him at all costs!" shouted one of the guards, and they all started running faster after him.
'I probably could have phrased that better...!' Link thought to himself, continuing to run.
Link quickly rounded the corner of a building and into an alley. Looking around, he saw a closed door and a large clay pot with a lid. Thinking fast with his situation, he opened the door of the building, then jumped into the large pot, covering himself with the lid.
Much to Link's relief, the guards took the bait; they saw the door was open and ran into the building to search for him, and completely ignored the pot he was hiding in. When he was convinced the coast was clear, he climbed out of the pot and looked around for his next move. He looked up at the roof of the building and decided that would be a good place to hide. He took to climbing up the side of the alley, using windows and windowsills to get himself up onto the roof of the building.
Peeking out, he saw there was no guards on the rooftops. He climbed up and sighed with relief for the break. He took that time to survey his surroundings, trying to figure out his next move.
"Hey!" shouted a voice. Link froze up at the idea that one of the guards might had noticed him, but then realized how familiar the voice was. He turned to see Aviel flying down onto the rooftop with her Roc's Wings and stumbled onto her feet. "It's you Ravio! I knew I'd see you again!"
"Aviel, I'm glad to see it's you!" Link said, running up and giving her a tight hug.
"A-Ahyayayaya!" stammered Aviel, blushing bright red from being embraced by Link, "W-What are you doing?!"
"Uh, sorry." Link said, letting go and stepping back, "I'm just happy to see a friendly face."
"I... I've never been hugged by a guy before..." said Aviel, putting her wings to her face with a deep red face, "S-So what are you doing up here, learning to fly?"
"Actually I'm running for my life." Link groaned, "I was thrown in prison and I barely escaped."
"Wow, that stinks." Aviel said, "You said you were looking for Lady Nabooru right? How'd you get arrested?"
"I uh, had some trouble with the guard." Link said, "\So do you know where Nabooru is?"
"Yep, she's over at the palace, it's that big building in the center of town." she said, pointing her wing at the large building with the banners hanging from it, "I'd fly you there if I could but my body isn't strong enough to carry anyone."
"It's fine," Link said with a small grin, "You seem to have a hard enough time flying around by yourself."
"Oh quiet you!" said Aviel in a huff, but then smiled lightly, "Actually, maybe there is something I can do to help you. They won't let anyone besides the higher ranked guards into the place right now, but I'll go distract those two, and you can get in through there," she said, pointing to one window on the highest floor, with a banner hanging just below it, "That's where I see Nabooru pass by the most!"
"Thanks, that means a lot." Link said nodding, "But aren't you taking a big risk doing this?"
"Ah it's fine." shrugged Aviel, "I get in trouble all the time around here anyway, and I always get on everyone's nerves..." she looked a look up into the air and said with a sad smile, "I think that's why they put me in that lookout tower, just to keep me out of everyone's hair..."
"Aviel..." Link muttered.
"It's fine," she said with a big grin, "I know my sisters think little of me, but I still love them all! They've warned me of how bad males are, especially Hylians, but you're way different then what they've said, I can tell you're a good person."
Link was a little surprised hearing all this from Aviel, she came off really weird, but he felt he could understand her a little more now.
"Okay, I'll go get the guards' attention, then you can hop over to the window without trouble!" Aviel said, "Actually hold on, let me borrow your sock." she said, taking Link's hat and flying off.
Link was a little confused about her taking his hat, but watched carefully as Aviel flew over to the guards near the banner she had been pointing to, she was flapping her wings wildly shouting something inaudible to Link from that distance. The guards seemed somewhat hesitant, but then she showed then Link's hat. The two guards nodded to each other and ran off in the direction Aviel was pointing.
"Nice!" Link said, impressed by Aviel's surprising cunning. He took that chance to leap over the rooftops one at a time and reached the one across from the banner. Taking a deep breath, he jumped form the last roof and grabbed onto the banner. Thankfully it was pretty durable material, and he was easily able to grip and climb up it to the window. He took the chance to peek inside, then climbed in, finding himself in an empty hallway
He slowly crept down the hallway, keeping an eye on his surroundings. He slowly took a corner... only to collide into someone.
"Ah, sorry about that." Link said.
"Oh no, it's fine, I was the one who-." said the person he bumped into, only for the two to take a look and recognize each other.
"Nemisa?!" exclaimed Link.
"The male?!" exclaimed Nemisa.
"Uh sorry, gotta go!" said Link, turning and running in the other direction.
"Halt intruder!" she shouted, chasing after him.
Link hurried down the halls, avoiding any pots or weapons Nemisa was chucking at him in an attempt to slow him down.
Eventually Link came to the end of a hallway, where there was nothing but a door, deciding it was his only way to go, he started opening the door to find another way to escape, only for him to get tackled from behind by Nemisa, knocking him over through the doorway to the ground.
"Stay where you are, male!" shouted Nemisa, "You're going to pay for-"
"Huh? What's going on here?" piped up a new voice. Link and Nemisa both looked up to see they were in a washroom, where a woman most familiar to Link was lounging in a type of fountain-like pool of water, the woman was looking intently at Link.
It was his old friend Nabooru.
And she was completely nude.
"Link, is that you old friend?" she asked with a bright smile, standing up and showing off her body completely..
"N-Nabooru?!" exclaimed Link, his face a deep red and with blood leaking out from his nostril
"You perverted-!" shouted Nemisa, grabbing his ears and yanking on them, "So this was your plan!"
"Wait, this wasn't what I was trying to do!" Link exclaimed, he reached behind himself to pull Nemisa off him, only to accidentally grab her rear end.
"Wha-" muttered Nemisa, her face flushed red.
"S-something's really soft..." muttered Link.
"What's soft?!" shouted Nemisa in a fit of anger, whacking Link upside the head.
"Legolas, they're onto us!" shouted Aviel in a panic, running into the room herself and tripping, causing her to fall on top of Nemisa and Link, her chest in particular engulfing Link's head.
"This is getting a little too soft..." muffled Link.
"I... think we all need to have a talk." Nabooru sighed, putting a towel around herself.
Well that's chapter two. This one ended up taking longer then I thought, but I'll try to get the next one as soon as possible, work is keeping me busy, but I get enough quiet time to come up with ideas for my stories. (also, thanks again for everyone's input on the fight scene. I hope it doesn't come off as too one-sided against Link this time)
Stay tuned for the next chapter coming soon!