And now we move onto the next chapter of this arc. Link and Nabooru are down, but are they out? And what secrets lay where they ended up?
"Ugh... my head hurts..."
Link groaned as he set up in a daze. He rubbed his head as he took a moment to look around at his surroundings. There was rubble everywhere, and what wasn't destroyed was pretty old and in bad shape. He himself was laying on a pile of rubble, and the path didn't seem like much other then a straight hallway. He forced himself up, feeling a bit achy from the impact of the fall. He found his canteen close by, with some water leaking from it, so he quickly grabbed it up to prevent any more from spilling out. He then turned to see Nabooru, laying back on the rubble they had collapsed on, and looking just as bad off as he was.
"Nabooru!" Link shouted, running over and sitting her up, "Are you okay?"
"Ugh... not so loud..." Nabooru groaned, putting a hand to her head, "What happened?"
"It was Faurugo." Link said, "She destroyed the floor and I guess we both fell underground."
"Damn that rebel..." she groaned, taking her canteen and taking a swig of it's contents, "If only we had... ugh..."
"Can you get up?" Link asked.
"I can get up just fine..." Nabooru coughed out, slowly getting herself up, but then flinching a bit as she did.
"Hey, let me help you up." Link said, trying to put an arm around her.
"I said I can do it just fine!" Nabooru snapped, she staggered a bit, but soon got herself set. She took a look around the area they were in, and saw the state of everything around them, "So this is underneath the Hall of Knowledge? Doesn't look like anyone's been here in ages."
"Yeah, this must have been where that passage Faurugo was trying to get into lead to." Link said.
They both looked up at the ceiling and saw rubble had completely sealed off the hole they had fallen through.
"Guess we aren't going back the way we came." Nabooru said, taking a swig of her canteen and wiped off her mouth, "Maybe we should go down the hall and hope there's an alternative way out of here."
"Good thinking." Link said, he was about to take a drink of his own canteen, only to shake it a little and see it had very little water left in it. He had to make a note to ration his water supply until they could find another source.
He took a step forward and realized his foot bumped into something. He looked down to see a book laying at his feet, and picked it up, quickly recognizing it.
"Hey, this the Book of Mudora." Link realized, "Halei was using this to translate the ancient Gerudo text in the temple."
"That might be helpful to get us out of here." Nabooru said taking another drink from her canteen, "Let's get going then."
With that, the two headed off down the hallway to find an exit out of the underground.
Unknown to them though, a certain figure was laying back some distance away, as they were slowly recovering from unconsciousness they gripped a pickax they were holding firmly...
"Are you guys sure you're okay?" Link spoke into the air, while holding his ocarina, he had used Saria's Song to contact his Kokiri friend to make sure everyone was alright.
"Yeah, we're just fine!" Saria assured him, "We made it out before the room collapsed, thanks to Reirousa protecting us. We're staying at the library now trying to find a way to get the two of you out of there!"
"And what about the rebels?" Nabooru asked.
"Um, they took off a while ago after all that happened, I think they went looking for their boss." Saria said.
"Hi Link! Hi Lady Nabooru!" they heard a voice suddenly call out.
"Also, Aviel says hi." Saria said.
"Alright, we'll keep you posted if anything comes up." Link nodded.
"Okay, good luck Link!" Saria called out.
"That's a pretty convenient power the two of you have there." Nabooru said as Link put away his ocarina
"Yeah, I used to use it all the time to contact her while I was traveling." Link nodded, "She was always a big help to me when I needed advice, or even just to chat for comfort..."
Nabooru glanced to Link, looking at the longing stare in his eyes as he spoke about his dear friend. She sighed and took another drink of her canteen as the two continued on down the hallway.
Time passed, and the two continued on, taking time too look around at anything that caught their eye. Mostly it was old statues, shelves of destroyed books and tomes. Link noticed how often Nabooru was drinking from her canteen, and was a little concerned for her, but didn't say anything.
As Nabooru was walking along, distracted by a statue overhead, she didn't see an uneven brick on the floor and tripped over it, causing her to fall and bang her already-hurt leg onto the ground.
"Yeeow!" shouted Nabooru, clutching her leg in pain.
"Hey, hold on and let me help you!" Link said desperately.
"Grrr... this is all your fault you know!" Nabooru scowled at Link with a cough, "If you had let me just kill that rebel we wouldn't have gotten into this mess!"
"Hey, I didn't know she had that kind of power! Besides, I was trying to have them captured, not killed!" Link retorted, trying to help Nabooru up, but she pushed him off. She glared down at the ground, then turned to Link, looking clearly annoyed at him.
"Tsk, yeah.. I bet you were just focusing on which one of them would make a good bedmate, huh?" Nabooru spat, before letting out another cough.
"What?! No! That didn't even cross my mind!" Link stated.
"Oh I'm sure." Nabooru said sarcastically with a groggy look in her eyes, "I saw the look you were giving that bitch you saved from that statue... "
"Considering the whole 'about to be crushed by a large stone object' thing, I think it would be perfectly acceptable for me to be concerned for her!" Link shot back.
"Stop shouting yo-" Nabooru was caught off by her coughing out, "...you little..."
Nabooru's coughing fit continued, and Link's annoyance with Nabooru turned to more immediate concern as he realized how bad of a state she was in.
"Nabooru, you look pretty dehydrated, why not have a little more water?" Link observed, taking her canteen and opening it.
"Ah!" exclaimed Nabooru, trying to reach out to stop him, "The thing of it is-"
"...wait..." Link said, taking a moment to smell the contents of her canteen, and his eyes narrowed, "...this is wine. You mean you brought alcohol instead of water all the way out here?! No wonder you're dehydrated!"
"Shad up... yer too loud..." Nabooru muttered, taking the canteen from him, about to drink more of it down, only for Link to snatch it right back, "Hey, I need that!"
"I was wondering why you've been acting like this. What's gotten into you?" Link scolded Nabooru, then said after a moment of thinking, "...you know, what's gotten into you besides half your weight in booze?"
Nabooru just paused, at a loss of what exactly to tell him, "I... just needed something to help me relax..."
"Yes, cause you seem so relaxed right now." Link said rolling his eyes.
"I'm just fine, thank you! In fact I'm so good I could-"
Nabooru's words were cut off by her closed her mouth as her face turned green and her cheeks filled up. She quickly went against a wall and sickeningly heaved out the contents of her stomach on the floor.
"Ugh, our apologies to the goddess of wisdom for this further desecration of her temple..." Link called out loud. He took his own near-empty water canteen and went over to Nabooru, he took hold of her face and made her open her mouth, giving her what remained of his water supply. She gulped it down and sighed out.
"You okay now?" Link asked, patting Nabooru's back.
"Y-Yeah..." she said with a light blush on her cheeks, "Thanks... Link."
"It's alright, now let's keep moving and try to find a way out." Link said, putting his empty canteen away, as he helped Nabooru along.
The two continued down the path, until they saw what looked like light in the distance. Eager to see hope for a chance to get outside, the two of them hurried their pace along. Eventually they made it into the room where the light was coming from, only to see something they didn't expect.
It was a small circular room with a beautiful fountain in the center. There were chairs circled around it, and what appeared to be old dirt pots, where they resumed some plants had been long ago. The room stretched up many many feet to a glass ceiling with a marvelous looking pattern on it that the moon was shining through, illuminating the fountain water with dazzling colors.
"It's beautiful..." Nabooru whispered with awe, then realized, "I wonder how long we've been down here if it's already night..."
"Finally, some water!" Link exclaimed with relief, running over to the fountain, it seemed to have been expertly built to allow water from rain or streams outside to flow into it, and then go into a filter to some other location, making the water crystal clear and clean.
"Do the Gerudo have a desert goddess of rain or something?" Link asked to Nabooru.
"Yes, her name is Seketia, goddess of weather." she nodded.
"In that case thank you Goddess Seketia for this bounty of water!" Link said, putting his hands together and bowing his head, before drinking from the fountain.
Nabooru had an amused smirk on her face as she joined him in drinking the water. After the two took the time to refill their canteens, they decided to sit at the rim of the fountain and take a rest. Link realized something and pulled out his ocarina and played Saria's Song to contact her
"Link? Glad to hear from you again!" Saria spoke up from her end, "Where are you now?"
"We're in some fountain room now, there's a window above us, but it's too high to try and get up to, and there's nothing for my Longshot to attack to." Link said looking up, "How about you guys?"
"Well we couldn't find anything to help us in the library, so we left the temple and have been walking around it trying to find another way out for you." Saria said.
"Hi Link! Hi Lady Nabooru!"
"Aviel says hi again." Saria said with an amused tone in her voice, "Oh! We also ran into the rebels again."
"The rebels? Are you all okay?" Nabooru asked with concern
"Oh it's no big deal, we all agreed on a temporary truce." Saria said, "We set up a campfire and we've been talking. To be honest they don't really seem like bad people!"
"Well keep your guard up regardless." Nabooru pointed out, "It might be a trick."
"Don't worry, one of them did try something when they first ran into us, but Nemisa and Reirousa just shot her a look and they stopped." Saria giggled.
"Yes, fear not my love, we'll keep them in line." Nemisa spoke out to Link.
"Glad to hear you all are doing okay then, how about Halei?" Link asked, feeling some worry for the girl since she wasn't quite used to the desert.
"I'm... not really sure." Saria said with concern, "Something really seems like it's bothering her. We tried talking with her but she keeps shunning us, and she really doesn't want to talk to the rebels at all."
Link frowned at hearing that, he knew he had to do something to make up with Halei when they finally saw each other again, while Nabooru herself just seemed to be contemplating something.
"Well me and Nabooru are probably going to rest here for the night. I'll call you if anything comes up, and good night." Link told Saria.
"Okay, good night!" Saria said, and with that she cut off the signal of the song.
With that, Link and Nabooru both gazed up at the window overhead, and the moon shining through it. Nabooru seemed to have something on her mind, and after a while of resting, worked up the nerve to speak up to her friend.
"Link..." Nabooru eventually spoke up looking somewhat distantly, "Do you think I'm doing the right thing as the Gerudo leader?"
"Is this about what that Faurugo woman was telling you?" Link asked, having a feeling what she said was getting under his close friend's skin.
Nabooru nodded, "For the longest time I've felt I've done what I can for the Gerudo... But in a way that woman is right. I haven't made any real progress trying to do away with the banishment law, and the rebels are going to such extremes to overthrow me and kill you..." she let out a heavy sigh, "I only feel we've made any real progress when you showed up and started helping with things. Thanks to you the caravan routes were taken care of, we're about to make an alliance with the Zora with your engagement to Princess Ruto... I just wonder if... ...if..."
Link stared at her, unsure about what she was thinking about at first, then he realized what was truly bothering her.
"Nabooru, do you think I'm replacing you?" Link asked.
"You're going to be the king soon right?" Nabooru pointed out, "When that happens I'll be stepping down as leader and becoming your adviser. With everything that you've done to help us prosper... I guess sometimes I don't really think I have a right to call myself a leader..."
Link frowned and just took a look to her, he saw the moonlight from the window was reflecting on Nabooru's beautiful body, illuminating her. He found himself drawn into her beauty, but at the same time saw the distant and sad expression in her eyes, and it reminded him of something long ago in his own past. He knew in that moment he had something he needed to say to his friend...
"Nabooru... that's not true in the slightest." Link said.
"What...?" Nabooru turned to him.
"You've done so much for the people. You're worked harder then anyone I've seen to make the Gerudo thrive. You're the one who brought me into your world to begin with, because you felt I could help you. You taught me things I thought I'd never experience before, whether it be leadership, companionship... or romance. I would have never became engaged to Ruto, Kesuta, Korume, Nemisa or Togau without your motivation. You've been a huge influence on my new life..."
"I... I suppose so..." Nabooru said softly.
Link took another glance over at Nabooru and saw her trying to stretch out her back and shift her head left and right to get rid of the stiffness in her joints.
"Still feeling sore from earlier?" he asked.
"Just a little..." Nabooru said, "I should be fine soon."
Link paused, then smiled a little, as he scooted over a bit and put his hands on her shoulders, surprising her.
"What th-"
"Here, let me relieve you of some of that tension." Link said, as he worked on massaging her shoulders.
"Oooh..." Nabooru moaned out as Link went to work on her shoulders and back, rubbing them down slowly but firmly, "By the goddess Aifet, that feels nice... You're getting good at this Link..."
"Like I said before, it's because I've had such a great teacher to help me along." Link whispered into her ear, causing her to blush a bit.
Link continued to talk as he rubbed her down, "As for the Gerudo, you're wrong about them not needing you. They all relay on you Nabooru, they rallied to your side even when they were facing the threat of extinction. You've been doing everything you can to set things right for them all. Even Halei has so much respect for you despite how little time she's been with us, with you welcoming her into the town and all."
Nabooru sighed, "Thank you Link, but I'm not sure about Halei at least... After what that woman said about me controlling my people with hypnotism, she seemed rather bothered by it..."
"That's ridiculous, you and I both know you don't do that sort of thing." Link said, "I admit I heard rumors about your supposed power from some people before I met you, but that's all they are, is just rumors."
"Well I can't exactly disprove it can I?" Nabooru sighed, "The seed of mistrust has already been planted, and I wouldn't be surprised if Halei would tur-"
That's when Nabooru's eyes lit up in realization about something. She was going to speak to Link about it, but decided to wait until she could confirm it.
"Well, either way... the fact of the matter is the Gerudo respect you not because of mind control, but because they just trust you." Link said putting a hand on her shoulder, "You're not just authoritative, but kind as well, and that's why so many of them have been drawn to and believe in you... myself included, so don't even tell me for a second that you're not fit to be the Gerudo leader..."
Nabooru sighed and smiled lightly, "Thanks for that Link."
Link just kept staring at Nabooru, gazing at her beauty, and it was then Link decided to do something bold in that moment, and turned Nabooru towards him and leaned close to her, looking her right in the eyes.
"L-Link, what are y-" Nabooru gasped.
"In fact..." Link said, then taking her by her hands, holding them up and peering at her golden eyes with his blue ones, "I plan to see to it you'll never be unimportant to your people, because when the time comes for me to marry my fiances and they can become my queens..."
"I want you joining them."
"H-Huh?!" Nabooru stammered as she realized what he was getting at,"Wait, you're not serious are you Link?"
"I mean it with all my heart... I want you by my side for the rest of life... to have and to hold forever..." Link said, taking a deep breath, as the moonlight shined down on the two.
"Nabooru, I love you!" Link finally confessed to his longtime and dear friend.
"You... l-love.. me..." Nabooru whispered, but Link continued to speak before she could say anything in response.
"And I want you in particular not just as my wife and queen, but as my Grand Gerudo Queen. You won't just be cast aside when I assume the throne, instead you and I will rule over Gerudo Valley as equals!"
"Link..." Nabooru muttered, as she looked right into his eyes.
She had told Link once before that someday he'd have to pick one of his future queens to be the Grand Queen that would stand as his second-in-command, but didn't expect herself to be the one he choose. Her lips trembled, as she almost in the heat of the moment spoke something, but then a moment from her past flashed through her mind, and the dreams she had the other day, and it was then she finally spoke...
"... … …Link, I'm so sorry."
"Huh?"
Nabooru closed her eyes, removed her hands from Link's, and stood up with her back to him.
"I'm sorry Link, but I can't accept your feelings." Nabooru said.
"What's wrong?" Link asked, "Was it something I said? Did I come on too strong?"
"No, not at all." chuckled Nabooru with a faint smile, "You're a fine, handsome man, and a real charmer. If I had been in a better position, I would had accepted you with open arms, but... I just can't."
"So what's the reason then?" Link asked curiously.
"Well, it's... complicated..."
Nabooru seemed hesitant to tell him, she gazed down at the ground as he watched her, waiting for a reply. Link racked his brain trying to figure out what it could be. As far as he knew, there was no law about him marrying her, the Gerudo people loved her as their leader, and he had prevented what happened in the dark future from ever occurring.. so what could it had been?
That's when it hit him, there was only one possibility he could think of in that moment, as he saw the sad, distant look in her eyes.
"...it's another man, isn't it?" he finally spoke to her.
"Figured it out, huh?" Nabooru said, "Yes, there's someone who holds my heart, he is..." she paused, "...was a great courageous man, a strong warrior, and treated me with upmost kindness, and taught me much of what I know now. And he was the one who I wanted as my husband since I was a young girl."
Link was shocked at these words, it seemed whoever this man was, she cared for him in many of the same ways he felt about her. As much as he was disappointed she rejected him, he could understand how it felt to care for someone like that, as his thought drifted to a certain lovely woman with loong blonde hair he had met in the dark future...
"So... if you don't mind me asking, what became of him?" Link then asked.
"...h-he was killed a long time ago, by Ganondorf." Nabooru said softly, with a hand to her chest.
"I'm sorry to hear that..." Link said, then spoke up as he realized something. "Is that why you rebelled against Ganondorf then? Out of revenge for your loved one?"
"It was part of the reason." Nabooru clarified, "There's a lot more to it then that; I also firmly believed Ganondorf went against everything I was taught about leadership and what was good for the people, but I can't deny I wanted to make the bastard pay for what he had done."
Link just reflected on those words, his fingers absentmindedly flicking at the water in the fountain. It now made sense to him after so long why she was always sidestepping questions he'd ask about her being his lover.
"So if you really care about his man enough even after he passed on, why did you sleep with me so much?" Link asked.
"A couple things." Nabooru said, "I wanted to reward you for what you had done for me those eight years ago by saving me from Twinrova, I also wanted to educate you on pleasuring women so you could be a fine husband for your harem of wives. That's why I said we'd would just be 'friends with benefits.'"
"So there's no real love between us...?" Link asked somewhat sadly.
"Don t be silly Link, of course I love you. You're one of the closest friends I've ever had, and we have an inseparable bond together." Nabooru stated, "From my experience with you, I'd say you've grown into a fine bedmate."
"Even if I'm not the man you wish to marry." Link clarified.
"Again, I'm sorry Link..." Nabooru sighed, she turned her head to him with sympathy in her eyes, "Are you upset?"
"... ...nah, I guess not." Link admitted after a short while, shrugging his shoulders, "After all, I can understand how hard it is to let go of the past." he said, thinking again about what effect his actions in capturing Ganondorf had on the Gerudo.
As Link reflected on the things she said, he started to realize what the love-making between them meant now, and that he was still searching for that one thing he wanted for her...
There was an awkward silence in that moment. All that could be heard was the water in the fountain flowing, until Nabooru finally spoke up.
"We should probably rest up for now." Nabooru slowly went over to one of the chairs in the room and laid down on it.
"Yeah..." Link whispered, walking over to another seat and laying back on it as well. It was surprisingly comfortable despite how long it had been since this place had been occupied, "I'm sure we'll find a way out tomorrow. Night Nabooru."
"Good night Link."
The two of them started to drift to sleep, but Nabooru took one last look at Link with sad eyes, before she herself drifted off.
The next day Link and Nabooru awoke, and after contacting Saria to find out the team was okay, the two of them continued their travel through the temple to find an exit. There was little said between the two during that time, especially after all of what they had talked about the previous night.
"We're getting pretty deep into the the temple..." Link finally spoke.
"Yeah, wonder how far it goes..." Nabooru muttered.
Eventually though the two stopped before a destroyed podium of some kind. They saw on top of it was what remained of some type of statue, though all that was left of it that was recognizable was the feet. On the podium itself was some kind of open compartment that seemed to have held something at some point, judging from the lack of dust in it compared to most of the tunnel.
"Looks like there's something written here..." Link said, seeing some ancient Gerudo writing on the podium. He started flipping through the Book of Mudora to find a translation, but have some trouble finding out what it read, "Hmm, not sure what this says..."
Nabooru paused, and knelt down beside him, looking over the writing herself, "It' s a little worn, but it seems to just be a name of some sort... I think I can get an idea of what it reads..."
She inspected the word, tracing her hand along it, using what knowledge she had of ancient Gerudo writing.
"Mal... Mave... no... Mal... Vez... Hah... Hun... Har..." Nabooru muttered, then spoke out when she felt she had an idea of what it read, "...Mal-ve-zhar?"
"Who is... or what was this?" Link asked.
"Not a clue." Nabooru said, looking up at the broken statue's remains, "But whoever it was, from the looks of it they must have made some enemies..."
"No kidding, looks like something of theirs was even taken right here." Link said, examining the empty compartment.
"Maybe we should keep going, this gives me the creeps for some reason..." Nabooru shivered.
Link frowned as he saw the look on her face, and he reached out to grip her hand. She was startled by this, and almost wanted to pull away, but after a moment, she instead squeezed his hand back, and the two continued on through the hall like that, feeling more at peace with each other in the comfort they shared.
As the two walked along the path, they found themselves making more small talk as they observed various places in the temple. It wasn't much, but they both felt it was helping to relieve some of the tension from last night.
Eventually Link and Nabooru arrived at one last room in the hall. It was an unusual one; it was pretty long and wide, but at the end was a large stone door with no apparent way to open it. There was also a slab with ancient Gerudo writing on it being held by a statue of the knowledge goddess like the others they encountered at the entrance. The most interesting thing about the room however was a large treasure chest with an impenetrable fire barrier surrounding it.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" Nabooru asked with a small smirk, seeing the treasure chest rekindling her enthusiasm, "Bet you're wondering what's in there, huh Mr. Adventurer?"
"Yeah, definitely." Link grinned back, feeling that same uplifting attitude.
They looked over the chest, seeing the barrier was sure enough completely blocking them off from even going near it, so they instead turned to the inscription on the slab.
"Maybe this is what we need to get to the chest." Nabooru said, taking the Book of Mudora and consulting it, "Looks like this is another riddle."
"Maybe we could just get the answer wrong on purpose and get pulled out of here by the Wallmasters." Link half-joked.
"Heh, let's see if we can get what's in that chest first." Nabooru chuckled as she continued to read, "Hmm, interesting... according to the translation, if we answer this, the chest will be ours, and the path out will be made clear."
"Nice, two birds with one stone then." Link nodded, "Alright, so what's the riddle?"
Nabooru cleared her throat and spoke up, going over the translations.
"It hurts the most when lost, yet also when not had at all. It's sometimes the hardest to hold, but the easiest to ignore. It can be given to one, or many. It costs nothing but is worth everything, weighs nothing but lasts a lifetime. What is it?"
"Hmm..."
The two of them stood there for a moment, taking a glance at each other, before both nodding. They both walked up and stood on the button in front of the slab, as the statue's eyes lit up with a glow, indicating it was waiting for the answer. Link and Nabooru looked back to each other with knowing grins, and spoke out to the statue the answer it wanted in unison.
"The answer is love."
It was then the flames surrounding the treasure chest vanished, allowing it to finally be opened, and the giant stone doorway shifted open, revealing oddly enough a downward slope hallway. After taking a moment to make sure the barrier's heat didn't leave the chest scalding to touch, Link and Nabooru looked to each other again and opened it at the same time, peering inside to see what it was.
"Oh... wow..." Nabooru gasped.
"They're... books?" Link asked.
Inside the chest as it turned out to be filled with multiple books, scrolls and tomes. They all had ancient Gerudo writing on all of them, and were expertly made to withstand ages of decay.
"I think we hit the jackpot." grinned Nabooru.
"This must be what Faurugo was searching for all this time!" Link said, taking one of the books and looking it over, "One of these might even be the Gerudo Blood Alchemy Arts book we've been searching for!"
"Ha ha, funny how things work out, huh?" Nabooru chuckled, looking to Link.
"I'd say so!" piped up a new enthusiastic voice, making the two of them freeze up, "So you two finally got me what I was looking for all along!"
The two turned to see the head of the rebel group they had fought before, Boss Faurugo, standing there with her pickaxes. She bore a wide grin, but it was clear she was covered in bruises and cuts from the fight and the fall they had taken before.
"Hey there, glad to finally run into you two again!" Faurugo said, waving with a wide grin on her face, "Sorry to butt into your work, but we have some unfinished business to settle now!"
And that ends the chapter. Link has finally confessed his feeling to Nabooru, even though he was rejected. The question is where will this go, and what will become of them now that the enemy has shown up? Stay tuned!